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Home SPORTS Why Japan, Qatar are playing in Copa America
Why Japan, Qatar are playing in Copa America
Chidi Nwoke
Copa America Cup
The 2019 edition of the Copa America is currently taking place in Brazil, with elite sides set to battle it out for South America’s biggest trophy.
Two-time defending champions, Chile will like to make it a third, having won the 2015 and 2016 editions of the tournament. Although host nation Brazil will be eager to win their first major title since 2013 on home soil.
Japan and Qatar – both members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) – are participating in this summer’s competition, despite not being part of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).
So why are Japan and Qatar set to take part in the Copa America this year? It is to fill in the remaining gaps in the tournament.
There are only 10 national teams in South America – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela – and so CONMEBOL had to invite teams from another federation to compete as a 12-team competition.
Initially, six extra teams – three from North America and three from Asia – were set to be invited in order to create a 16-team tournament, as was the case for the 2016 centenary competition in the United States.
But instead, in May 2018, CONMEBOL decided the tournament should follow the structure of all other tournament since 1993 and have 12 teams, therefore leading them to invite Qatar and Japan.
North America (Gold Cup) and Africa (AFCON) are busy with their own tournaments this summer, and European nations will be focusing on the Nations League finals.
Read also: Qatar shake up Paraguay with thrilling comeback
The next best country that was available to compete, is Asia, who ran their Asian Cup tournament earlier in 2019 – which leaves them free of scheduling conflicts.
There has been no official reason given for inviting Japan and Qatar to the Copa America over other Asian countries, though it’s likely to do with the outcome of the 2019 Asian Cup.
Japan and Qatar were the finalists for this year’s tournament, and though Japan were favourites to win the competition, it was won by Qatar 3-1 in the final. So, it is fair to assume that both were invited based on their finishes as winners and runners-up in the Asian Cup.
The 2019 Asian Cup was Qatar’s first tournament win, and they will also be hosting the next World Cup in 2022 – perhaps another reason for the invite.
Japan played in one previous Copa America in 1999, held in Paraguay. Japan missed the 2011 Copa America despite also being invited to participate due to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
The country’s federation confirmed that they would be participating in the tournament despite the earthquake, they pulled out on May 16 citing difficulties with European clubs in releasing Japanese players. This led CONMEBOL to invite Costa Rica to participate instead, who accepted.
It’s also likely that AFC teams were selected based on their status as severe underdogs in the competition, with Qatar facing the daunting likes of Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay in Group B.
Meanwhile, Japan have been set with playing against Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador in Group B.
In 2015, Mexico and Jamaica were the two teams invited to participate in the Copa America.
Qatar have never played in the Copa America before and will be using the experience of the tournament to get used to a higher standard of football ahead of their hosting of the 2022 World Cup.
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Arinze Asuzu
http://facebook@asuzu.arinze
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What virtual worlds tell us about participation, community, globalisation and marketing in the 21st century
Lisa Galarneau
Market Research Society, Annual Conference, 2008
In-game advertising
Social media effectiveness
'If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then unto me' William Shakespeare
Prediction of the future is always a difficult task. As Alan Kay famously suggested, 'the best way to predict the future is to invent it'. But great futurists have often said that the key to predicting the future is to have a keen understanding of what is working in the present. What distinguishes a futurist is the ability to look at what is happening in there here and now and analyse, or sometimes shape, what is likely to continue to grow. The tricky bit, as Shakespeare alludes, is determining which activities in the present are mostly likely to flourish in the future. We often ignore the subtler movements and pockets of activity in the world and focus our attention on outlandish and unlikely futures complete with flying cars, food replicators and human transporters. But a more realistic approach is to examine trends outside the imaginations of ungrounded science fiction writers and other pundits. The seeds of our future are on our present: perhaps they are not yet in their final form, but the hints are all around us. Authors Mark Penn and E. Kinney Zalesne refer to these subtle movements as microtrends, or small forces that will usher in tomorrow's big changes (Zalesne, 2007).
The full Research Paper is available to WARC subscribers only.
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Three elephants in Connecticut just got a lawyer
Karin Brulliard
Reporter and editor for Animalia
Minnie, Beulah and Karen are elephants who for decades have belonged to a family-owned, traveling zoo in Connecticut. Over the years, they’ve also been hired out for appearances in advertisements, movies and weddings.
And on Monday, they got a lawyer, though they did not ask for one. The prominent animal rights attorney Steven Wise filed a writ of habeas corpus petition on behalf of the elephants, arguing that they are “legal persons” with a right to bodily liberty and asking the Connecticut Superior Court to order their release to a sanctuary.
Wise and his legal group, the Nonhuman Rights Project, have unsuccessfully made this argument several times before in New York, where their plaintiffs were chimpanzees. As in those cases, the elephant lawsuit cites a wide body of scientific research establishing the species’s advanced cognitive abilities and complex social lives — evidence of what the legal team says is the elephants’ “autonomy.”
If the court granted a writ, it would be allowing the elephants to challenge the legality of their detention and acknowledging their “personhood.” That could usher in profound changes in legal status for animals, which are considered property in the eyes of the law. But critics contend that it might also weaken the rights of some people.
Tim Commerford, owner of the Commerford Zoo, which owns the three elephants, said in a phone interview that he had not seen the lawsuit and had not been aware it was coming. The animals range in age from 33 to 50 and have all belonged to the zoo for at least 30 years, he said.
“They’re part of our family,” he said.
Legal personhood is a term that is not reserved for humans. U.S. courts have determined that corporations can be legal persons, and a New Zealand court has extended the label to a river. Courts in Argentina and Colombia have also recognized legal personhood for chimpanzees and a bear. But the Nonhuman Rights Project’s previous attempts in New York have been stymied by rulings that rejected personhood for chimps based on the animals’ inability to bear legal responsibilities and social duties.
In an interview Monday, Wise said the New York courts were “clearly wrong” about this point, which he hopes the Connecticut court will view it differently. He said the project chose Connecticut as its next site for a case even before finding clients — the elephants — because the legal team judged the state’s common law to be favorable to their arguments. What’s more, he said, elephants might stand a better chance than chimps, in part because “apes are so close to us that it makes some people uncomfortable.”
“Judges may view us in a different way when we’re dealing with an animal that doesn’t look anything like us but has many of the same characteristics,” Wise said. Those characteristics, he said, are explained in affidavits from leading elephant experts, which cite the animals’ empathy, self-awareness and long-term memory, as well as one Wise said deserved special attention: an ability to use calls and gestures to discuss, plan and execute a course of action.
“They engage not only in innovative problem-solving, but they engage in cooperative problem-solving,” Wise said. “They know their past, they know they’re in the present, and they can plan a future.”
Commerford, the zoo owner, concurred that elephants are unusually intelligent. But he said Beulah, Minnie and Karen have ample space and stimulation. Removing them would be akin to taking away a house cat that is “comfy at your house,” he said.
“It’s not right to rip them from my family, from their home,” he said. Commerford referred to Wise and his team as “animal extremists” who “are picking on us and targeting us because we’re a small, family-owned operation and everything we do is on our own nickel.”
Wise emphasized that his arguments are about animal rights, not about animal welfare, and the petition does not dwell on the elephants’ living conditions.
But Richard L. Cupp, a Pepperdine law school professor who has criticized the quest for legal personhood for animals, said that the appropriate way to deal with concerns about captive animals is through expanded animal welfare laws.
Extending legal personhood to animals might end up loosening the definition, Cupp said. If, for example, people decided it was occasionally necessary to approve invasive experiments on animals despite their legal personhood, then the same might theoretically be asked about experiments on humans, he said. Associating intelligence with personhood would also “not necessarily be good for the most vulnerable human persons,” Cupp said.
“It would not surprise me if these animals could be put in a better situation,” Cupp said of the elephants. “But we should focus on human responsibility, either by making sure that our laws are enforced, which sometimes they’re not, or expanding our laws. Our expansion of animal protection laws has been dramatic over the last 20 or 30 years. I’m arguing that should continue.”
Chimpanzees are not ‘persons,’ appeals court says
Chimpanzees are animals. But are they ‘persons’?
This man is trying to help chimps — and soon, elephants — sue their owners
The horror elephants face in India — in one heartbreaking photo
Watch female elephants stage a dramatic rescue of a drowning baby elephant
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Post Nation
Ann Coulter rejects Berkeley’s new invite; GOP students threaten to sue college
National correspondent covering health, science and news
April 21, 2017 at 4:37 PM EDT
Ann Coulter rejected an offer to speak at the University of California at Berkeley on a new date after the university canceled her event because of safety concerns, then quickly reversed itself, saying it would reschedule her speech.
Coulter said she can’t attend on the new date and accused the university of continuing to try to place restrictions on her free speech. The student group that invited Coulter is now threatening to sue the school.
The university first announced Wednesday that it was canceling Coulter’s April 27 appearance following several political protests in Berkeley that turned violent. But amid mounting criticism and national attention, the school reversed its decision Thursday, saying that it had found a safe venue to hold the speech on a different date, May 2.
Coulter and the college Republican group that invited her rejected the new arrangement.
In a series of tweets Thursday night, Coulter criticized the university, saying Berkeley officials were adding “burdensome” conditions to her speech. She said she had already spent money to hold the event on April 27 and was not available to appear May 2. She also pointed out that the later date would coincide with a reading period before final exams, when there are no classes on campus and fewer students are around.
Instead, she vowed to speak in Berkeley on April 27 whether the university approves or not.
GOOD NEWS FOR CA TAXPAYER! You won't be required to pay $$$$ to compensate me & my crew for rebooked airfare & hotels. I'm speaking on 4/27. https://t.co/gsScwzeDNM
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) April 20, 2017
A leader from the college group that invited Coulter said that the group plans to hold the event April 27 only if the university provides a venue. But, the group leader said, a national conservative group, the Young America’s Foundation, is separately working with Coulter to explore spaces off-campus where she could speak April 27.
An attorney for the Berkeley College Republicans group that invited Coulter sent a letter late Thursday to the university threatening litigation if the university does not allow Coulter to speak on campus April 27. In the four-page letter, the attorney demands that the university find a venue near the center of campus for Coulter and allow her to speak in the evening rather than during the day. If that does not happen, the letter says, “we will seek relief in federal court, including claims for injunctive relief and damages.”
University spokesman Dan Mogulof responded to the lawsuit threat, saying, “We are confident that we are on very solid legal grounds.”
Mogulof said the university does not have a venue open April 27 that campus police think can host Coulter without risk to those involved.
“We are concerned about her disregard for the assessment and recommendations of law enforcement professionals whose primary focus is the safety and well-being of our students and other members of our campus community,” Mogulof said.
Coulter and the college Republicans group accused the university of placing strict conditions on the event. But a Berkeley spokesman rejected the claim, saying the one main request the university made in extending its new invitation was to hold the event in the afternoon.
In its offer to Coulter to host her speech on campus on the new date, the university has asked for the event to end by 3 or 3:30 p.m., Mogulof said. Holding the event later in the day would risk protests and potential violence stretching into the evening, when the campus tends to get crowded with commuters and students.
“Everything we’re doing is so the speaker and students can actually exercise their rights without disruption,” Mogulof said. “It’s hard to understand this display of disdain and disregard for the assessment of law enforcement professionals, particularly when their primary concern is the safety and well-being of college students.”
Berkeley gave birth to the Free Speech Movement in the 1960s. Now, conservatives are demanding it include them.
If Coulter does appear next week as she promises, it will most likely spark further debate on the campus as the university continues to wrestle with safety, student views and ideological openness.
But finding a venue, even off-campus, could prove difficult. Berkeley, a relatively small city, has only a few venues that could accommodate large crowds, and some property owners would probably be reticent to rent their space, given the violence that has occurred over the past three months when other right-wing groups have staged events in Berkeley.
Reporters at the San Francisco Chronicle called a half-dozen venues Thursday, and none said they could or would host Coulter.
“Absolutely not,” one owner told the Chronicle. “Not only would we not agree with her politics, but we would also be concerned about the kind of crowds that she would attract.”
It was the same concerns about violence that led university officials to originally cancel the Coulter event. In a letter to the college Republicans, university officials said that after assessing the violence that flared on campus in February, when the same college Republican group invited right-wing provocateur and now-former Breitbart News senior editor Milo Yiannopoulos to speak, they decided to cancel the Coulter event.
On Friday, Yiannopoulos waded back into the controversy, announcing plans in a Facebook post to hold an entire week of events at Berkeley to protest the university’s recent actions. “We will hold talks and rallies and throw massive parties, all in the name of free expression and the First Amendment,” the post reads. “Free speech has never been more under threat in America — especially at the supposed home of the free speech movement.”
Yiannopoulos did not specify a date for his planned protest, saying only that it would happen “later this year.”
On Feb. 1, the last time Yiannopoulos was supposed to speak on campus, some protesters set fires, threw rocks and molotov cocktails, and attacked members of the crowd to try to shut down the event. The violence and damage garnered national attention and forced officials to put the campus on lockdown.
After the university canceled Yiannopoulos’s talk, President Trump criticized the school and threatened in a tweet to pull federal funds from Berkeley.
If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?
Clashes between conservatives and liberals have continued since, both in Berkeley and elsewhere. As recently as last weekend, protests again turned violent — though in the city of Berkeley, not the university campus — as pro-Trump and anti-Trump protesters clashed in the streets. The violence Saturday escalated throughout the day as activists from both the far left and far right joined the fray.
At Auburn University in Alabama on Tuesday, three people were arrested amid protests and a fistfight that occurred over a speech by self-proclaimed white nationalist leader Richard Spencer.
Still, the decision by Berkeley to cancel both events involving high-profile conservatives was especially notable given the campus’s role during the 1960s and 1970s as the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement and its long tradition of social protest. But even more surprising was the school’s reversal Thursday.
Chancellor Nicholas Dirks said the April 27 speaking date presented safety and venue challenges.
“Our police department has made it clear that they have very specific intelligence regarding threats that could pose a grave danger to the speaker, attendees and those who may wish to lawfully protest the event,” Dirks said. “At the same time, we respect and support Ms. Coulter’s own First Amendment rights.”
Dirks said that after the cancellation was announced, he asked university staff to “look beyond the usual venues we use for large public gatherings to see if there might be a protectable space for this event. … Fortunately, that expanded search identified an appropriate, protectable venue.”
A professor called Trump’s win ‘an act of terrorism.’ The student who filmed her got suspended.
University officials have emphasized that they are not canceling Coulter’s event because of her sharply conservative views.
“It has nothing to do with anyone’s political views. We believe in unqualified support to the First Amendment,” Mogulof said Wednesday. “But we also have an unqualified focus on safety of our students.”
The decision to cancel Coulter’s speech drew sharp criticism from some on campus, such as Robert Reich, a Berkeley professor who served as labor secretary in the Clinton administration.
“This is a grave mistake,” Reich said in a Facebook post. He said universities should “do everything possible to foster and protect” free speech, writing that students should be allowed to hear Coulter’s arguments and question them.
“It’s one thing to cancel an address at the last moment because university and local police are not prepared to contain violence. … It’s another thing entirely to cancel an address before it is given, when police have adequate time to prepare for such eventualities,” he said.
Perry Stein and Brian Murphy contributed to this report, which has been updated.
Students were told to select gender pronouns. One chose ‘His Majesty’ to protest ‘absurdity.’
White nationalist Richard Spencer’s ex-classmates decry him — by raising money for refugees
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Exclusive: How Sherry Pollex is helping cancer patients fight in the Charlotte area
Sherry Pollex and her mission to help Charlotte fight cancer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Sherry Pollex is part of NASCAR Royalty, a longtime girlfriend of Martin Truex Jr., and champion in our community. But make no doubt, this woman is a force all on her own.
She’s currently in her five-year public battle with ovarian cancer. She’s still on an oral chemotherapy, taking four pills a day. But it’s what she does to supplement the chemo that has her so excited – she sat down to talk exclusively with our Molly Grantham about how she’s pouring money into a new Charlotte center to help others get the same type of integrative, more holistic, treatment.
"When I was first sick, everybody told me I had something different,” she said. “‘Oh, you have irritable bowel syndrome. Oh, you have celiac disease. Oh, you have Crohn’s Disease.’ And I kept thinking, that's not it. That's not it. There's something deeper than that. And I know my body and I know my body is trying to tell me something."
Sherry’s body was trying to tell her ovarian cancer, stage three. That was in 2014. Doctors gave her a 20 percent chance she’d live to age 40.
She proved them wrong, turning 40 this past May.
“I’m not cured, but I feel good,” she said. “My integrative medicine plays a huge part on the outside in helping me look good. The chemo could stop working at any time and things could turn, but I know I have a little more control over things when I can control how I’m treating my body and what I put into it.”
For Sherry, “integrative medicine” means yoga. Accupuncture. Counseling. Reiki – a stress-reduction technique with hands. Chiropractic care. Exercise. Massage therapy. And a big one - nutrition. All those things Sherry does in conjunction with the conventional chemo, to give her a sense of owning her own cancer, rather than cancer owning her.
“When you have cancer, I think the biggest thing is thinking you want control of it,” she says. “You want to feel like there’s something you can do to make a difference.”
Her belief in these techniques has led to construction at the corner of 4th Street and Queens Road. If you drive by and see the brick building starting to make its way skyward, you can know it’ll eventually be the first of its kind. Future Novant Health SherryStrong Integrative Medicine Oncology Clinic in Charlotte.
The center – with her name on it and much of her funding – will help take a physical, mental and spiritual approach for the cancer patients who are inside its walls.
“I thought when I left there the other day, regardless of what happens to my disease, you know, whether I outlive the statistics or not, you know, what an amazing legacy I’ve left behind,” she said. “Thinking that, take these moments and it’s not like that there’s a reason I got my illness, but God has me right where he needs me.”
Sherry’s faith has grown over the last five years. She recently she got baptized, sharing the video on her social media pages to the delight of her followers. She, along with Martin, also share about local kids who fight pediatric cancer. Together, they’ve always helped sick children, long before Sherry was diagnosed herself, but her relationship with these kids now is a whole new level.
“I get on the floor with them and take my wig off and am like, ‘I’m just like you.’,” she says. “It’s now about walking the walk and showing them that, and not just talking the talk.”
10-year-old Ruby Poulton is one of those bald-headed children to whom Sherry feels a connection. They go to concerts and galas together, Sherry even has Ruby’s name on a bracelet and says they talk every day.
“It’s the age-old lesson, you know,” she says. “About children leading adults in how to live? Every time I’m around here now I think to myself like, if this child can find joy and live with this disease that she has and be so happy and kind and compassionate to other people, then why can’t we?”
The SherryStrong clinic is set to open in November of 2020. She and the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation are also giving a $750,000 gift to Atrium Health to support integrative medicine for kids at Levine Children’s Hospital, some of which is already in play in the form of art and music classes.
She says her goal is to hit both major Charlotte hospitals with this concept of fighting cancer in mental and spiritual ways, and then move beyond.
“I’d love to see SherryStrong Integrative medicine clinics around the country,” she said with a smile. “But let’s start in our community. Let’s start here.”
Alcohol-related deaths rise among women
Jessica Dyer
Veterinarians warn of parasites found in puddles after reports of sick dogs in South End
Paige Pauroso
Piedmont Medical Center to open freestanding emergency room in Fort Mill
Kristi O'Connor
Gaston County woman receives medical bill more than a year later, too late to file appeal
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State of emergency declared for sections of NC ahead of Sandy
October 26, 2012 at 8:29 PM EDT - Updated June 28 at 11:59 AM
Gov. Bev Perdue declared a State of Emergency effective Saturday for 33 eastern North Carolina counties in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy's presence off the coast of the state.
Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center issued a Tropical Storm Watch for most of the North Carolina coast. A tropical storm watch is in effect from Nags Head to the South Carolina border.
"I urge all North Carolinians to keep a watchful eye on Hurricane Sandy and monitor the storm's track. This is an unusual storm and the path it may take is uncertain, Governor Perdue said on Friday.
"The North Carolina Division of Emergency Management is closely monitoring Hurricane Sandy and is standing by to assist citizens as needed. I remind residents to be prepared in the event of power failures and to follow their local news stations for the latest official recommendations and road conditions."
"This is a large storm with a lot of energy and its effects are likely to be felt along our coast and throughout eastern counties," Perdue continued. "People should not be fooled by the category 1 status. Folks need to take this storm seriously and be ready."
The governor's proclamation authorizes officials to respond more effectively to the emergency by authorizing additional state government resources to assist county and municipal governments.
Under the proclamation, the governor has expanded powers to address all aspects of the emergency, including the authority to use state resources needed to respond to the situation.
Perdue activated the State Emergency Operations Center beginning Saturday morning to prepare for and respond to the storm.
The governor also encouraged her fellow North Carolinians to be prepared for Hurricane Sandy possibly hitting the state late Saturday or early Sunday.
"Our state's veteran emergency management team is ready for Sandy, but coastal North Carolinians need to be just as prepared. Please make sure you have extra food, water and supplies on hand in case you lose water or electrical power during and after the storm," Perdue said.
"This is not your typical hurricane that moves through the state in 12 to 24 hours," cautioned Doug Hoell, state emergency management director. "Folks in eastern North Carolina will likely feel the effects of Hurricane Sandy beginning tonight and continuing through Tuesday."
The latest hurricane center advisory projects tropical storm force winds and rain from Hurricane Sandy will begin later Friday night and continue through Tuesday.
Rainfall amounts will be greatest east of U.S. 17, where 4 to 6 inches of rain or more are possible. Areas further inland can expect 2 to 3 inches of rain with up to 5 inches in some spots.
Steady winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 mph are expected in coastal counties from Saturday through Monday, while inland counties as far as the Triangle can expect winds of 15 to 25 miles per hour with gusts up to 35 mph during the same timeframe.
Dangerous rip currents and heavy surf with 18-22 foot waves off the Outer Banks are expected between Friday and Tuesday.
Officials are also cautioning coastal residents to be prepared for storm surge of 1 to 5 feet above ground level along the Inner and Outer Banks, particularly along the lower Neuse River and Pamlico Sound.
Storm surges of 1 to 3 feet above ground level are possible along the southern coast.
Lincoln County teen missing since Friday
Kylie Felice Almstead was last seen at her home on Asbury Church Road.
The body of Army Staff Sgt. Ian McLaughlin came off the plane at Fort Bragg in a “dignified transfer of remains” ceremony.
2019 passenger air travel reaches new heights at Concord-Padgett Regional Airport
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Item 101110 - Boy at Bangor post Civil War parade, 1865
Contributed by Maine Historical Society and Maine State Museum
2682px x 5676px - 8.9"w x 18.9"h @ 300dpi | Need a larger size?
*Credit line must read: Collections of Maine Historical Society and Maine State Museum
John Martin (1823-1904), a Bangor accountant and shopkeeper, wrote about a parade in Bangor on July 4, 1865 that celebrated the end of the Civil War. As part of his description he drew illustrations of two schoolboys to show the outfits they wore in the parade.
This boy is one of the age 11-14 group who "were uniformed in Zouave, red, picken red caps, white waists, red cambrick pants white cotton stockings lace up kip boots." He added that the boys had been drilled several days before marching in the parade.
Martin's descriptions and illustrations are on page 105 of his "Scrap & Sketch Book" that he began in 1864, and which is one of 5 journals and scrapbooks he wrote reflecting on his life and experiences and commenting on current activities.
Title: Boy at Bangor post Civil War parade, 1865
Creator: Martin, John
Subject Date: 1865-07-04
Town: Bangor
County: Penobscot
Media: Ink and watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 5.5 cm x 2 cm
Local Code: Coll. 1972; 1997.16.1
Object Type: Image
For more information about this item, contact:
Maine Historical Society and Maine State Museum
489 Congress St., Portland, ME 04101
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
Fourth of July celebrations--Maine--Bangor
Bangor (Me.)--History
Celebrations--Maine--Bangor
Martin, John, 1823-1904
Parades & processions--Maine--Bangor
Clothing & dress--Maine--Bangor
Use of this Item is not restricted by copyright and/or related rights, but the holding organization is contractually obligated to limit use. For more information, please contact the contributing organization. However, watermarked Maine Memory Network images may be used for educational purposes.
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Digital print reproductions are created at the Maine Historical Society with an Epson Stylus PRO 3880, which uses exclusively engineered Epson Archival Inks and MicroCrystal Encapsulation technology. Prints are on luster resin coated photographic paper. Near photographic reproduction quality is produced with an archive life of over 200 years of lightfastness.
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Ed Miliband promises to listen on UK immigration
- Posted in United Kingdom by Stephanieon 28 September 2010
uk immigration, uk visa, uk visa bureau, ed miliband speech, immigration,
New Labour leader
Ed Miliband. (Image:
Labour.org.uk)
The new Labour leader Ed Miliband has delivered his conference speech in Manchester today, humbly admitting the errors of Labour’s time in office but offering himself as a leader of a new generation.
“Be in no doubt. The new generation of Labour is different. Different attitudes, different ideas, different ways of doing politics.
“Today I want to tell you who I am, what I believe and how we are going to do the most important thing we have to do - win back the trust of the country,” he said.
While Miliband did not make major policy announcements in his speech he did talk on a number of topics of importance including his family’s experiences as migrants to the UK, British economic policy, the national deficit, globalisation and UK immigration.
Humility, Mr Miliband said, was the most important word in politics for Labour.
“We need to learn some painful truths about where we went wrong and how we lost touch... We have to understand why people felt they couldn't support us. We have to show we understand the problems people face today,” he said.
One of the key issues for Labour in the last election was the appearance that the party did not understand voters’ concerns about UK immigration, and Miliband hopes to reconnect with the electorate on this issue.
“New Labour was right to be enthusiastic about the opportunities that come in a more connected world: the movement of goods and services, the chance to travel, the new markets for our companies.
“But this new generation recognises that we did not do enough to address concerns about some of the consequences of globalisation, including migration.
“All of us heard it. Like the man I met in my constituency who told me he had seen his mates’ wages driven down by the consequences of migration. If we don't understand why he would feel angry—and it wasn't about prejudice—then we are failing to serve those who we are in politics to represent.
“I am the son of immigrants. I believe that Britain has benefited economically, culturally, socially from those who come to this country.
“I don't believe either that we can turn back the clock on free movement of labour in Europe. But we should never have pretended it would not have consequences. Consequences we should have dealt with.
“We have to challenge the old thinking that flexible labour markets are always the answer.
“Employers should not be allowed to exploit migrant labour in order to undercut wages. And if we have free movement of labour across Europe we need proper labour standards in our economy, including real protection for agency workers," Mr Miliband said.
What this means for Labour's immigration policy, particularly in light of the difficulties experienced by employers in recruiting highly skilled non-EU employees under the Coalition's restrictive UK Visa cap, is not yet clear.
Ed Miliband’s full speech can be viewed in full here.
- Stephanie Bradley is Content and Communications Editor for the UK Visa Bureau.
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New Zealand visa applicant fighting for residency with child
- Posted in New Zealand by Visa Bureauon 19 May 2011
skilled, general,
The New Zealand visa application was made under the family (partnership) policy on the basis of her marriage with her then-husband – a New Zealand citizen, which broke down while the application had yet to be finalised.
The applicant, Indonesian-born Ferisita Sapalia, 28, informed Immigration New Zealand of the changes to her circumstances, and has appealed further not to reject her application and to consider the best interests of her two year-old child, who was born in New Zealand.
An agreement between the parents stipulates that the child will be raised in New Zealand in his mother’s custody while the father will make regular payments for child support. However Ms Sapalia fears that Immigration New Zealand will now reject her application for residency, which would mean her leaving the country with the child, who would no longer be able to have regular contact with his father.
“If we had kept our mouths shut for a few more weeks, chances are I would have gotten my permanent residency - but I thought it was only right to inform them of a change in the circumstance of our marriage” she said. “Now I have put my son in a situation where he could be kicked out of New Zealand with me. I am just totally surprised that Immigration does not take into consideration the best interest of the child. Children with one parent who is a foreigner also face risk of abduction and ransom in Indonesia."
Associate Immigration Minister Kate Wilkinson has advised Ms Sapalia that her department will not intervene and that she must take her matter to the Family Court. Her spokesman said: “In all custody-related matters, it's the responsibility of the parents to come to an agreement in light of immigration realities, either between themselves or through the Family Court. The minister can reconsider where circumstances change and new information, such as the opinion of the Family Court, is presented to her."
A decision made last year by the Removal Authority in New Zealand stipulated that the residency of foreign nationals with a child who is a New Zealand citizen will not necessarily have their residency determined by the parent-child relationship. Nigel Bickle, head of Immigration New Zealand has said that having a New Zealand citizen child does not automatically give a parent a right to reside or remain in the country.
Ms Sapalia’s current New Zealand visitor visa expires in August.
The New Zealand Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with New Zealand immigration applications.
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©2019 by UNIT 17, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
Alkisti Anastasia Tselenti Mikelatou
alkistimikelatou@gmail.com
The Orkney Islands Archipelago, off the north-eastern coast of Scotland, is a particular destination with a unique
history that goes back to 5000 BC. It carries a mysterious sense of vacancy and isolation. The scattered ruination dominates its landscape: Neolithic structures, stone monuments and abandoned houses are still present on its large,
empty lands to this day.
Through a series of analytical studies on the Orkney archipelago, I have come to challenge the conventional understanding of archives. Through my proposal I wish to bring about the idea that if one wishes to envision an archive for such a special place like Orkney, the only honest representation would be the archipelago itself. The project therefore proposes an organisation that aims to bridge the fragmented temporal and spatial gaps of Orkney Islands as well as to shed light on its marginalised past. It ultimately hopes to restore its historical continuities by bringing together all its past layers under the same landscape, the palimpsest landscape.
The proposal works as a mediator, an essential intermediate state. It provides a holistic informative experience of Orkney’s history through a journey of underground open courtyards and smaller intimate spaces. The proposal was designed to be experienced through a complex system of overground, ground and underground pathways. The
interconnection of the historical layers reflects the complexity of the design which builds on the understanding that history is never linear.
On the journey through the proposal, the visitors are guided by specialist groups who act as
narrators. The visitors are then able to explore the historic monuments revealed on the land through organised bus and walk tours around the archipelago.
The research body of the project focuses on two significant historical layers of Orkney. The first is the prehistoric layer privileged in Orkney’s mainstream narrative, consisting of the Chambered Cairns of Orkney. The Neolithic Cairns are part of the archaeological heritage of the islands and are the main attraction for visitors. Through a primary methodological study on the Chambered Cairns of the archipelago, the project focused on an in-depth analysis of their structural patterns, their calculated orientation and their connections to the landscape.
The second, more
marginalised layer of the project refers to the abandoned houses of the archipelago; which resulted by the Highland Clearances phenomenon. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the landlords cleared the land and houses of the
Scottish farming communities primarily to allow for the introduction of sheep pastoralism. The presence of those
houses today, which are left abandoned on the land, is the only remaining indication of this tragic phenomenon.
The chosen site of the project is the abandoned farming house of Mircady, Deerness -a remote but highly visible location in Orkney Islands-. The abandoned house plays a dominant role in the design of the proposal due to its emotional and physical presence. The Neolithic inspiration of the design in combination with the presence and location of the
abandoned house, aims to bridge the fragmented historical layers of Orkney, not only on a symbolic but also, on a material level. A level that ultimately adds to the idea that the palimpsest landscape of Orkney is itself the archive of
the archipelago.
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info@x-forces.com
Start ups 1427 Start Up Funds Lent £13,954,950 Training Hours 27,068
XFE Business wins 50k Investment at Pitch It Wales Event
Successfully Performed First Widows Programme
Military Life Inspires Multi-Entrepreneurial Mother
At just 31 Suzy Olivier has been at the helm of not one but four businesses. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, where her father was in the Air Force, Suzy settled in Oxfordshire with her husband, Christian, and together they were successfully running a Personal Training and Physiotherapy company. When RAF Brize Norton advertised for a Physio Locum for a few months, Christian grasped the opportunity to work with the Armed Forces. Three months turned into two years and Christian was invited to join the RAF.
On their first re-posting to Portsmouth, Suzy quickly recognised that the transiency of military life meant adjusting her working life as a personal trainer and, after another Service-related move in 2013, the arrival of their first child confirmed Suzy’s determination to generate income from working at home.
“Belle was a couple of months old and I knew I wanted to be a stay-at-home mum for as long as possible, so I needed to find something that would allow me to generate income without having to leave the house. I was on the lookout for a product. Something I could easily store/ stock in my house and sell online.”
Inspired by pioneering Australian and American teething jewellery, Suzy embarked on designing her own products, and found a factory who was willing to work with her in small quantities. Single-handedly, whilst caring for an infant, Suzy created a logo, developed packaging and built her own website. Mama + Belle Teething Jewellery was born with the click of a mouse one Thursday evening.
“I remember the excitement of launching the website. It took 10 minutes after hitting the ‘go live’ button for my first order to arrive, and I cannot tell you how excited I was. I was at home, with my baby asleep in her room, and I had made money. Not much, but it had started. Within a few days the business was busier than I could have ever dreamed.”
Their second daughter, Delilah, arrived in 2016 after their third Service-related move, and Suzy’s business Mama + Belle continued to thrive in online sales and through retailers including John Lewis. As the face of the brand, Suzy had been receiving emails, messages and phone calls from mums with whom Suzy’s story had resonated and were looking for guidance on how to set up a business of their own. This ignited a passion, and a purpose, in Suzy that she hadn’t been aware of before.
“My business had allowed me the privilege of being a full-time stay-at-home mum, and I knew of so many others who would have loved to do the same but their finances simply didn’t allow them to. That’s when I realised that I wanted to start a mission that was about empowering and educating mothers with the tools they need to start their own business, or level-up their existing business to help them achieve the lifestyle they and their families deserve.”
Suzy’s fourth business, Mothers of Enterprise, was launched in May 2018 with the aim to empower, inspire and educate mums into building and growing a thriving business whilst raising a family. Suzy has been immersed in growing awareness for the brand this year, and encouraging members to join the community via the website and social media channels, where examples and advice are shared freely. Suzy is currently working on releasing the first MoE training course, the ‘Success & Happiness Mindset Academy’ in November and the ‘Create & Launch Business School’, next year.
On Mama + Belle, supported by a small team of fellow mums and military spouses, Suzy’s B2B and B2C sales channels are growing. They are preparing to expand internationally, building relationships with distributors in Turkey, South Africa, Japan and America.
In just four short years, Suzy has built two very different, but equally as promising, businesses, notwithstanding four house-moves and the arrival of two children. This intense period hasn’t been without its challenges, Suzy admits:
“Going into both businesses I had no experience of either industry. With Mama + Belle, I had never worked in the backend of retail and had no idea how to set up a wholesale operation. With Mothers of Enterprise, learning the art of creating and delivering digital courses has been a massive learning curve.
“The challenges are constant: funding, skills, mentorship, competition in the market place, keeping up with the changing social media arena, time to manage both a family and business etc etc. I could go on, but I think the very nature of being in business means you’re going to face challenges. I believe that if you’re not facing challenges then you’re not pushing yourself or your business forward.
“One element is key: self-belief. After experiencing success with Mama + Belle, I’ve started Mothers of Enterprise with a whole new understanding of the importance of believing in yourself when you’re going into business. That’s where the strength in having a community around you to draw on is vital.”
When asked how she would advise fellow entrepreneurs and military spouses considering business, Suzy naturally had much to share.
“I don’t believe entrepreneurship is for everyone. That’s not always what people want to hear. I think if you’ve got a service or product that been thoroughly validated (I don’t believe we can always trust what we think is a good idea, hence validation is so vital) and you have an overwhelming passion to deliver that product or service to the best of your ability, and you’re willing to overcome every obstacle that will come your way, then definitely go for it.
“Entrepreneurship is not the easiest of paths to travel, and people often have false delusions of grandeur about it. Those early years are tough and you need to be able to stick it out so you don’t end up in the 80% of start ups failing in the first 3 years.
“This is my favourite quote about entrepreneurship: ‘Entrepreneurship is being willing to live a few years of your life like most people won’t, so you can live the rest if your life like most people can’t.”
X-Forces Enterprise has assisted Suzy with accessing a Start Up Loan to build Mothers of Enterprise, and will be aligning her with a valuable mentor. Suzy said:
“X-Forces arranged the loan with ease and efficiency. I’m excited to be joining their community of Armed Forces entrepreneurs and sharing knowledge and connections for mutual benefit.”
www.mamaandbelle.com
www.facebook.com/mamaandbelle
www.instagram.com/mamaandbelle
www.twitter.com/MamaAndBelle
www.mothersofenterprise.com
www.facebook.com/mothersofenterprise
www.instragram.com/mothersofenterprise
www.twitter.com/Mothers_of_Biz
X-Forces Enterprise (XFE)
Is an award-winning Community Interest Company that nurtures entrepreneurial ambition in the UK military community and are the official delivery partner to the government’s Start Up Loans Company and Career Transition Partnership (MOD). XFE has supported over 1,250 entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and has helped thousands more through training, events and mentoring provisions. X-Forces.com
#XFSuccess
X Forces Admin
Announcing the Finalists for the 2020 Soldiering On Awards
Taking Cookery Online: meet the master pastry chef making courses more accessible
CEO’s End of Year Message
Full Collaborative Partners
Corporate Supporters and Advocates
Government Stakeholders
Copyright © X-Forces | Designed by
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Apple TV set-top box to offer live and on-demand TV?
By Joe Cox 2012-08-17T15:33:48Z
Rumours suggest Apple is considering a set-top box that would show live TV channels alongside its on-demand iTunes content
Apple is rumoured to be planning a set-top box that would combine on-demand iTunes content and live TV programmes.
Essentially an upated version of the existing Apple TV box, which only shows bought iTunes content, the set-top box would see Apple jostling for a more prominent position in the living-room.
The report in The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple would talk to cable operators in the US in order to offer traditional TV channels alongside Apple TV and movie content in the form of apps.
Apple's great rival Google recently announced Google Fiber TV in the US, which sees Google not only offering home broadband packages but also a broadband plus TV package, complete with a TiVo-esque set-top box.
Google TV – a direct rival to Apple TV, which has content from the likes of Netflix plus an internet browser – is only now trying to gain market share in the UK, as boxes from the likes of Sony slowly emerge.
An Apple TV set-top box would arguably be an alternative to the much-rumoured 'Apple iTV'.
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John Mckinstry
Home / Artists / John Mckinstry
Mesmerising and atmospheric, John's painterly rural scenes combine aesthetic beauty and technical panache with an overwhelming sense of peace. He finds much of the inspiration for his work in the shape of isolated farms and cottages on remote hillsides and moorland, along the rugged Atlantic coast, or on the gentle slopes of the Sussex Downs.
Although he received no formal artistic training, John has always painted and has spent over thirty years researching and refining various techniques and mediums to best achieve the evocative interpretations of the landscapes that have brought him such success. In creating his pictures, John uses layers of paint which he builds up then treats by scratching, washing or 'splattering' before adding the next layer to form the texture and depth which characterises his work.
John's landscapes have been exhibited and sold in galleries from Scotland to Cornwall, and can be found in many private collections across the UK.
"Having been brought up in Hertfordshire, living in Sussex and now the West Country, no one landscape holds anymore influence than another, from the rural fields of the home counties, the Sussex Downs, the many English moorlands and the Atlantic Coast, all have played their part in helping to inspire and shape, giving me the opportunity to do something I can't imagine not doing."
Enquire about John Mckinstry
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Diversity & Inclusion Roundtable: Dr Barbara Mariposa - Depression in the workplace
Tuesday 18 September 2018, 08:00 – 09:30
Host Oracle Corporation UK
Depression is predicted to be the biggest causes of ill health globally by 2020. And yet it is still an illness that is shrouded in mystery and silence despite its considerable risks to life and its quality.
Join us for this roundtable where Dr Barbara Mariposa will discuss:
- examining the facts, figures and costs to individuals and companies
- look at current thinking and evidence about who gets ill and why
- dig into what it’s like to be ill, the risks and what it looks like from the outside
- explore the major protective factors
- how to offer help to someone who seems to be unwell
- learn about what we can do to take better care of ourselves and each other
Dr. Barbara is a medical doctor, public speaker, author*, thought leader and “expert by experience”. She runs her own courses, workshops and seminars within the fields of mental health, human-centred organisations, optimising human energy, leadership for the 21st century, and the underlying science and principles that brings it all together. She works in the business world to bring the “how to do it” of mental and emotional wellbeing into the workplace, creating the cultural shifts in which people can flourish and succeed.
Trained at the Royal Free Hospital, London, Dr Barbara has worked internationally, in general practice, psychiatry and public health. Whilst at medical school, she obtained a B.Sc in psychology and began a life-long enquiry into the interdependence of mind, emotion, and body. She combines her love of the arts, music and literature and training as an actor with a passion to spread greater scientific understanding, delving fearlessly into what it means to be human.
Clients include McKinsey, LexisNexis, RBI, Accuity, ICIS, Pro-Agrica, DLA Piper, FieldFisher, Allianz, GSMA, Grey, Kobalt and TCS. One to one, she works with Harvard Business School graduates, creatives, C-Suite staff, managers and homemakers
Empowering inclusive leadership through reverse mentoring: sharing best practice
The Secrets of Group Dynamics
Wednesday 26 February 2020, 09:00 – 16:30
Development Seminar
Tell it Like Ted
Thursday 05 March 2020, 09:00 – 16:30
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A Training Program That Makes Dreams a Reality
This is the sixth and final story in our series of World Day Against Child Labor articles.
Thy La is 17 years old with only a fifth-grade education. He dropped out of school as a child because he faced learning difficulties. Without an education, his options were limited, so he became a monk, a common practice in Cambodia. This temporarily provided Thy La with food and shelter, but it wasn’t a long-term solution. Eventually, he was back with his parents and seven siblings in Trapeang Thlan Village outside Phnom Penh.
Thy La’s dream was to become a mechanic. But that requires training. Thy La didn’t know how to make it a reality.
Enter the USAID Cambodia Counter Trafficking-in-Persons (CTIP) project, implemented by Winrock International. CTIP provides support and training to those at risk for human trafficking and hazardous child labor — people like Thy Ly.
Poverty motivates hundreds of thousands of Cambodians to migrate every month in search of employment opportunities. Many of those who leave are uneducated and have limited access to information, which makes them vulnerable to human traffickers. CTIP targets provinces with a high prevalence of trafficking — strengthening livelihoods, raising awareness, prosecuting traffickers, and offering repatriation and reintegration support for trafficking survivors.
CTIP project partner Sovann Phoum, a Cambodian NGO that helps women and children, worked with Thy La directly to provide a livelihood opportunity. Since it was his dream to become a mechanic, he received motorbike repair training. He also received food and transportation support for a year so that he could complete the training.
In Cambodia, there is no shortage of motorcycles to repair. Photo by Megan Davenport.
Thy La decided to learn mechanical skills not just because it’s his passion, but also because it will always provide steady work. After completing the one-year course, Thy La was able to start working at the repair shop where he completed his training. He expects to become a full-time mechanic within the next six months. He is on a path to self-sufficiency and even helps provide food for his family.
“Thy La is a hard-working student in our motorbike repair shop,” said Mr. Map, the repair shop owner. “He tries his best to learn and he is honest to the customers.”
Once Thy La has learned to repair different motorbike models and saved enough money, he wants to open a repair shop in his village. New skills are creating a bright future for Thy La.
Since 2015, the USAID-funded CTIP project has prevented 4,831 vulnerable people from risky migration through livelihood support.
Cambodia Countering Trafficking-in-Persons Program (CTIP)
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Diversions Politics U.S. Wire
Sports Illustrated names anti-Trumper 'Sportsperson of the Year'
By Jack Davis, The Western Journal
Published December 10, 2019 at 10:53am
Virulently anti-Trump soccer star Megan Rapinoe has been named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated.
Rapinoe was one of the stars of the U.S. Women's National Team that won the World Cup, and scored the goal that gave the team its final victory.
"She is just the fourth woman in the award’s 66-year history to win it unaccompanied, a feat that is both a remarkable athletic achievement and a reflection of entrenched gender biases," Sports Illustrated opined in its lengthy celebration of Rapinoe's life.
"Rapinoe challenged perceptions of her, of female athletes, of all women. She led her teammates, three months before their tentpole tournament, to sue the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay; to declare in advance that they would not visit the White House when they won the Cup," the outlet added.
Congratulations to @mPinoe, the 2019 Sports Illustrated #Sportsperson of the Year https://t.co/FhYYGIT5a7 pic.twitter.com/fHD6sLDhxM
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 9, 2019
"[S]he never expected to have to perform while the president of her country taunted her and a nonzero percentage of Americans rooted for her to fail," the magazine's profile said.
In a profane rant that circulated before the World Cup win, Rapinoe said she would not go to the "f---ing White House" afterward, which prompted a tweet from President Donald Trump advising Rapinoe to play the game first before making post-victory plans.
In the Sports Illustrated piece, Rapinoe revealed that Trump's tweet was a powerful incentive to prove she could win.
Rapinoe burst onto the national stage when she decided to emulate former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest. Kaepernick said he knelt during the anthem to protests racial injustice.
U.S. Soccer eventually changed its rules to forestall such protests.
"Colin Kaepernick very much inspired me, and inspired an entire nation, and still does, to actually think about these things," Rapinoe told Yahoo Sports in May.
"The way he spoke about them so clearly, so matter-of-fact, wasn't trying to convince anyone. Just, ‘This is what is happening, this is what I'm willing to do about it.' I found that extremely inspiring and convicting. Like, how can you not support?"
Trump falls at the other end of Rapinoe's admiration scale. She called the president “sexist,” “misogynistic,” “small-minded,” “racist” and “not a good person.”
She also appears to delight in the fact that her skills on the field give her impunity from any consequences.
"I feel like it's kind of defiance in and of itself to just be who I am and wear the jersey, and represent it. Because I'm as talented as I am, I get to be here, you don't get to tell me if I can be here or not," she told Yahoo.
"So it's kind of a good ‘F you' to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don't look exactly like him. Which, God help us if we all looked like him. Scary. Really scary. Ahh, disturbing," she said.
The Sports Illustrated piece noted that her hatred for the president runs so deeply that she did not talk to her father for weeks after he voted for Trump in 2016.
Sports Illustrated's choice brought some pushback.
In an Op-Ed for the Washington Examiner, writer Tom Joyce said Sports Illustrated made the wrong call.
"There's no denying Rapinoe is a great soccer player. She earned the World Cup’s Golden Ball Award, recognizing the tournament's best overall player," he wrote.
"With Sports Illustrated fighting for relevance and its stature declining, it seems like they went with a pick that would generate buzz among liberals. It’s what they did last year when they had Christine Blasey Ford present their 2018 Inspiration of the Year Award."
"While Sports Illustrated has the right to go full woke ESPN and continue declining because they force politics into the sports world, there are plenty of other athletes that may be more worthy of the award than Rapinoe based on athletic success in 2019," Joyce added.
His suggestions included Tom Brady for winning a Super Bowl at age 41, the full U.S. women's soccer team or even the Washington Nationals.
"Instead of picking a uniter, a person or team that is recognized by everyone as a phenomenal athlete, Sports Illustrated picked a political divider. It will generate some page views for them now, but it won’t save their publication," he wrote.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The Western Journal
After 6-year-old beats cancer, classmates line school hallway to give him standing ovation
Judge smacks down transgender pronouns, says they're a courtesy, not a right
GOP senator doubles down after CNN anchor demands apology for calling reporter 'liberal hack'
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Mark S. Moore link
Ah, thank you for such a kind review. I'm glad I was able to weed out those pesky spelling errors with your proofreading assistance. I'm honored and humbled that you enjoyed the read.
You are very welcome. I really enjoyed your story.
First question.
Please, tell us more about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.
Mark Moore link
Hm, something beyond my bio.
Ever since I was a kid, I've been drawn to Roleplaying Games. I played a game called "Everquest" when I was in middle school and high school and I distinctly remember printing out the lore about the gods and goddesses in the game and bringing it to school to read.
I was fascinated with Greek mythology-esque pantheons of gods and goddesses.
This may be something I plan to indulge in in a future project.
I don't think role playing games existed when I was in school. Certainly not in the small town I grew up in. A population of less than 2,000. I lived on a small hobby farm, 35 acres, in the hills south of town.
Like you, I was fascinated by the mythologies of different cultures. Roman, Norse, Greek and American Native stories. Of course, there was Thor and others in the Marvel comics.
New questions.
Are you a full-time or part-time writer?
What inspired you to write this book?
Why did you choose this genre, or do you feel the genre chose you?
I straddle the technology revolution. I grew up with things like AOL and dial-up internet but also benefited from the proliferation of high-speed internet while I was still young.
To the questions!
I am a part-time writer but I write every day.
There was no single inspiration but if I could boil it down to a handful I'd say it began after watching "The Man in High Castle." That was subsequently followed by a trip to Washington D.C. for work where I asked myself: "What if the British won the revolutionary war?" It began as revisionist history but after a chapter or two I found that too limiting so I made some drastic changes and let my imagination go.
I didn't actually choose the genre. I wrote the story and found out the genre afterward. I just wrote what felt like home. I was less than a year removed from finishing my master's in history and I'd always been drawn to historical fiction and fantasy.
I count R.A. Salvatore and James Clavell as equally important inspirations so it was natural to me that my first book would pull from both of those genres.
Quick side-note: Since I was so close to 2 years of academic writing, the first draft of Rise was incredibly dry! I wrote it like a history paper and I think I put my wife to sleep in the first few pages.
When I was a boy, we had a party line telephone. We had to count the rings, long and short, to know whether to answer or not. I thought we were rich when we got a private line. It was probably because I had discovered girls and was on the phone a lot.
A great prompt for writing, what if the American colonies lost the bid for freedom. 'What if' can trigger wonderful ideas. Some authors are not so lucky, they write a story that is a mashup of two or more genres and find it hard to choose where their book lands.
What kind of work do you do? Feel free to skip that question, if you would rather not answer.
Does your work have any influence on your writing?
Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a link if appropriate.
What do the elements on the cover represent?
I had a similar experience when we finally got a dedicated line for internet and I didn't have to balance it against the family landline.
I work as an international credential evaluator for graduate admissions at a University. It's a job that has me doing research daily on other cultures so that definitely influences my writing.
I designed my book cover. It was one of about 15 I made. The top portion represents the literal chained stone Damien Flynn carries in the first chapter as well as symbolically alluding to the bondage that Riccha is under. The bottom alludes to the inevitable journey and violence that will be necessary to free them.
15 covers, that is pretty good. Your work sounds interesting. Do you interview the students also? That would be quite interesting, I would think.
Was it hard to come up with the title? What was the process?
Were the character names difficult to develop? How did you choose them?
Is this the first book you have written? Will you be writing more?
I've also designed things like promotional bookmarks. Professionals would do a better job but until I hit that best seller list a little extra work is needed! As for my day job, I do extensively speak with our incoming students and often learn a lot about their personal stories which is very gratifying to be a small part of.
The title was one of the things that just clicked because I was able to think about it in context of a grander plan I had which leads into your third question. Rise is the first of a trilogy. I've been hard at work on the second book over the last year and the first draft is almost completed. Rise is the first book I have written and published but I had previously written a large manuscript in high school.
Circling back to the second question, the character names take a bit of research. I'm very fond of pulling names representative of real geographic locations and historical periods. Several characters are named in part from historical figures. They may or may not bare some characteristics from those people. That said, I wouldn't say they were hard. I think location names were more challenging.
Having skill with graphics is very handy. The more you can do for yourself, the less you need to pay out.
I love how you have thought those things through. Your one-word title "Rise" has been used for other books, which I imagine you already know. Thus the need for a secondary title, which I think is quite fitting for your story.
I have heard of websites devoted to names or baby names that were popular in different decades and periods of time.
I noticed that your book is in Kindle Unlimited. How is that working out for you?
Have you ever gone through the query process, seeking an agent or submitting directly to publishers or did you go straight to indie publishing or self-publishing, and why?
Will you stick with this publisher for your next books?
Baby name websites and name meaning website are great resources. So are lists of historical figures. Mixing and matching names is great fun.
Kindle Unlimited was a bonus to what I really wanted to do which was run promotions. I opted in so I could run countdown deals and the like. I know if at least one person who has read my book on Kindle Unlimited so I'm happy to have another avenue for people to read and enjoy.
I queried for about a year before opting to find a professional editor myself and publish without an agent. I'm glad I queried because I honed some skills I needed to in that process and I received some valuable feedback. I think its an important rite of passage for every author to go through.
I chose to self-publish because I went with an editor. The main reason I wanted a publisher was editing. I wanted to have that quality control beyond what I, writer's groups, and friends were able to do. My wife was supportive of the cost so we went for it. At least the next book will be published the same way and edited the same way.
Did you make more money with a person reading your book on KU or less, compared to the person buying your book? I have always wondered about the economics for the author. It seems like a good deal for the reader.
I am glad to hear you consider the query process a positive experience, even though you didn't get a publisher or an agent. So many spend a year or more and feel quite frustrated with the lack of a deal of some kind.
Does writing have a spiritual or healing component for you, does it energize you or make you feel tired?
How do you think your book compares to a book published by a major publisher?
There are many unethical practices in publishing, which one is the most unbearable in your mind?
It's hard to say because they aren't split up like that. Kindle Unlimited is based off pages read where as ebook purchases are off the sticker price.
Querying can be unpleasant. It makes you face some harsh realities but I think that is important as an author. You need to see beyond the pleasantries of your inner circle. At the same time, it's important to see that not getting a deal isn't solely an indictment on your writing either. Marketability and agent work loads also come into play.
Writing has never felt like a chore for me which is why I am able to do it while also working a full-time job. That doesn't mean I can write whenever or that I don't need to eventually stop but it means that I always feel better after a session. I don't know that I would call that spiritual or healing but it certainly leaves me feeling accomplished and satisfied. I never like my writing as much as I do after I first write it. It's only later in the editing process that I begin to pick it apart and question my sanity!
How do I think my book compares to a book published by a major publisher...well that's hard to say. I imagine there's more polish from a major publisher because they will usually have multiple editors and every new set of eyes finds something the previous ones did not. No book is ever finished editing, they're just released and I imagine mine is released a little earlier in that process. That said, I think my book is closer to me. It's had fewer hands in it. That goes beyond the writing to things like the marketing of it and the cover. That could be good or bad depending on how you look at it.
Unethical practices in publishing. Well, I'm not sure if this counts because to me, they are not publishers, they're scam artists. Vanity presses are despicable. A so-called publisher that assumes no risk and takes both your money and your profit is nothing but a scam but they're prolific. I remember the initial elation followed by hesitation and finally anger when I was offered a "publishing contract" with a vanity press early on. For a mere $3,000.00 they would edit and publish my book under their name while providing me with 10% of royalties. It all seems legitimate until you realize in this transaction you are assuming all risk and paying inflated prices for what amounts to one or two rounds of editing. I watched another author go through the same process and saw her go through the same elation to disdain. It's a completely predatory practice and it's just awful.
I agree with you about the query process. It can be brutal and personal tastes come into play so much. Every book has an audience, people who will love it. The opposite is also true, there is a non-audience for every book. It takes time to find the former and cultivate it.
I think every writer goes through that process, loving the first draft until they approach it with a critical eye. No matter how bad it is, the first draft can always be improved. Its sole purpose is to exist and be improved.
I so agree with you about the vanity presses. They exist to separate the author from as much money as possible. If they are smart, they also grab the author's intellectual property rights. In the long run, that is the greatest injury, in my opinion.
Why is it important for writers to tap into the emotions of the characters?
Have you ever done NaNoWriMo?
What kind of preparation do you do before it starts?
It's important to tap into the emotions of the characters because if you don't it's easy to make them hollow which can expose other faults. We're all tuned to recognize different situations. There are certain expectations about how people should react on an emotional level.
We all saw the rancor with season 8 of Game of Thrones and a lot of that was because the character emotion was truncated. The emotional leaps of certain characters left the audience dizzy because so much was skipped. It was difficult to connect If you can't connect, it exposes your plot. Then, in the worst instances, it takes your audience out of the story completely because it feels forced. At that point, the audience just loses interest because there is no investment in story or character.A characters actions need to have reason tied to emotion. They can't just be to advance your plot to get where you want it to be or it feels cheap.
NaNoWriMo...well, I didn't actually know what that was until this past November. I found out about it too late but I imagine I'll give it a shot in 2020.
The way I write, I'll need to clear the rest of my writing projects (including editing) before November in order to be successful.
I heard lots of boos about season 8 of GOT. You make a good point, readers want to identify with characters that are fully developed beings, including emotions. Anything less and the readers feel cheated.
Are you an under-writer or an over-writer?
When the first draft is done, do you need to add more to it to flesh it out or do you have to cut material because there is too much there?
Are you talking about sentences, paragraphs or a chapter that didn't survive the final cut?
Over-writer, for sure. The first draft is always the longest version and I have to go and hack away at it. It's a mixture of a few things. There is often a lot of superfluous description that isn't necessary and I also tend to overindulge in filler words. It's sentences, but put them all together and they'd probably make a chapter. Second and third drafts I may add more content but it will still be less total words than the 1st draft.
It gives you lots of options and choices. If I were a writer I would probably be similar. Fine tuning takes a while. But it sure is worth it.
A good book looks like it was easy to write; while being the result of many hours of labor.
Do you save the parts that didn't make it into the final version?
What do you do to flesh out the characters for your stories?
Have you ever used yourself or other acquaintances as a character for a starting point in a story?
Would they recognize you or themselves in the story?
Oh, so many hours!
I've gone about it a few different ways. I started by writing out short biographies for them which included physical details. When I did that, I realized two things. It helped me stay consistent with superficial details but it hampered their growth. Now, I boil my characters down to events in their lives that have shaped them and general personality traits. I may or may not include physical details. I think this has worked better for me because I can focus more on a character's motivation, not on the color of their eyes.
It's no secret in my inner circle that I have used several acquaintances in my character design. Sometimes it may be a name, other's it's a characteristic, but they always vary from their inspiration. I like to think they'd recognize the connection at first but see the distance from concept to reality in short order.
That seems like a good idea to focus more on events and the effect they have on the characters. A guest blogger, Rick Hall, has created a wonderful tool for writers, the character generator. It focuses on personality types and associated character traits to help creating characters that are congruent emotionally. You might find that interesting.
You provide a lot of emotional space from the reality of your associates to your characters. I think that is a good idea. It offers protection for all involved.
Which is more fun to write, the protagonist or the antagonist, and why?
What is one thing you hate about your protagonist and one thing you love about the antagonist?
That sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out. Thank you for the recommendation.
The temptation here is to say the antagonist. I think that might be the popular answer, but for me it's a tie. They let me delve into different shades of grey so to speak.
Your second question is a little more difficult to answer because in different situations I think I could see either of these traits as redeeming or detrimental.
For my protagonist, I think I hate most that he is very reactionary. He tends to have the "right" reaction but only after first making a mistake or missing something important. At least, in book one!
I love my antagonist's pragmatism. What some perceive as evil or cruel he just sees as necessary. There's some freedom in being able to write from an opposing set of morals. It makes you think about that code and what informs it.
I have heard it said that every villain is the hero in his or her story. That makes perfect sense to me. Perspective is everything.
What is your writing routine when you sit down to write?
Do you write in a straight line or do you write whatever the muse provides for you at a given moment?
Absolutely. There's always an exception, of course, but in writing and in life I don't think anyone ever thinks they're the villain. There are justifications for every action. One could also say every hero is someone's villain.
In order to write I need music. I've got a writer's playlist that's up to 205 songs. I try to start listening to it about 10-15 minutes before I begin writing to let my mind clear and then I just get to it. I normally write for about an hour at a time.
I'd say 99% of the time I'm writing chronologically. The events I write build on each other but if I'm struck by something I may go ahead and write it out somewhere else and come back to it. The same can be said about background. I'll get lost on some anecdote and write it out but then come back to what I was writing.
Editing, though, is very different. There are often times when I find I need to add some more context to previous chapters or that I need to completely re-arrange chapters to fit the narrative. For Rise, I distinctly remember moving the last 7 chapters around quite a bit. Just because I wrote it one way doesn't mean that's how the final product will be read.
Well said. Every hero is a bad guy's villain.
A lot of authors use music to get the muse going. Some even make playlists for characters or chapters. I am reading a memoir that uses a song title and a few lyrics to introduce the next section. It is interesting for me because they are mostly songs I grew up with.
There is another post on my guest blogs by the same Rick Hall, about non-linear writing. It struck me as a good workaround for writer's block. Flexibility is certainly important.
Editing is certainly different from writing the first draft. The pace and flow of a story are quite critical, if the action bogs down, the reader may get bored and close the book.
Now that your book is published, is there anything about it you would like to change?
How do you think your book relates to the world we live in today?
What is the one thing you hope readers will remember from your book?
Music was actually one of the driving forces to me writing at all. I think, at least for me, it is imperative. I've also heard other writers have to have absolute quiet. To each their own!
Remember what I said about nothing ever being finished, just released? That's how I feel about Rise. There are plot tweaks and refining I'd do until the day I die. At some point you just have to let it go and I've reached a point where I've happily let go of Rise and moved on to book 2, the first draft of which is almost completed.
I think my book relates to today in the same way any book about people would. Throughout history there's several enduring traits about human nature. We are beautiful, horrible, creative, and destructive. I like to think my book shows that just as the world today does.
The one thing I'd hope people remember from my book is that there is no absolute "good" and "evil." We've already talked about perspective, but it's very important to consider and to realize that no one is blameless in times of turbulence. Everyone is flawed in some way.
One of my clients is a graphic artist, one day a story appeared in his mind from a picture he made. It's turning into a very good story. Please tell us how music drove you to write. That has to be an interesting story.
I have heard of authors who are afraid to publish and use the excuse of one more editing pass to avoid putting the story out there. Your fans are very happy about that.
We are beautiful and flawed creatures, capable of magnificent generosity and repellent cruelty.
Do you have a classical author or poet you admire?
What popular modern authors have influenced you?
What software do you use to write and publish your books, and why do you use those?
There's a song by a band called Breaking Benjamin, "So Cold." It's both the song and the music video that had a profound influence on me from the first time I saw and heard them. It's not a stretch to say that without that song and video, Rise would not exist.
In fact, the first chapter where Damien is carrying the stone to his own execution is directly influenced by the music video. There's also a powerful line in the song that goes like this:
Wise men wonder while
Strong men die
I suppose I should clarify what you mean by classical authors and poets? I could take it literally and go back to Homer who instructed all of us on how an epic story should be written. The Odyssey remains one of the greatest driving influences for me not just because of the poem itself but because it could be argued that without it, there would be no Hobbit or Fellowship and Tolkien was another one of those great influences for me.
Ah, but then I want to talk about Clavell, Riordan, Iggulden, Salvatore, Hickman, and so many more! Don't get me started. I could talk your ear off about all the writers who have influenced me over the years.
Your second question is a bit easier to be succinct. I dabbled with a few different applications. For word processors, I have used Word, Openoffice, and Google Docs. Word is my go to and the only processor I feel completely comfortable in.
Grammarly is a great little application to find errors in your writing after the first draft. I like it because it explains grammatical structure when it tells you about an error. It's not just "this is wrong" it's "this is wrong, and here's why." It's obviously not infallible, if it was, I wouldn't need an editor. I'd say I use about 70% of the suggestions Grammarly makes.
Honorable mention needs to go to TTS Reader, a free text to speech application. Toward the end of my editing phases before I send it on to new eyes I use TTS to hear the errors.
Thank you for that story about the music video. I might have to look that up.
I leave my questions a little bit vague on purpose, so you can go where you want with them. Even though the questions are the same, every author answers differently.
I love that you read so widely. I think it's important for a writer to know what has come before. While there are only a handful of different plots for a story, every author brings a unique perspective.
Grammarly and other apps like that can be useful. I have tested Grammarly and another program and found that they can't begin to find most of the stuff I find. They do have some utility for a writer working through drafts as you ably pointed out.
How do you keep track of all the characters and events in your books?
Are you a plotter, a pantster, or a hybrid?
Have you ever had the experience of the story swerving in a different direction than planned, as if a character was driving it?
There's definitely a need for an editor and proofreader for multiple rounds after using Grammarly. As you say, it doesn't catch most things. I have found it to be better than Word's built in spellcheck/grammar check, however.
One of the things Grammarly has helped me with is my tendency to merge English and American spelling. I have an American Education but spent many summers in England with family and used U.K. word processors to write summer homework when I was in high school. For example I still haven't come to terms with gray and grey or honour and honor.
Until recently I kept track in a haphazard and unorganized fashion. I had a slew of notebooks where I hand wrote out details and backgrounds as well as stand-alone word documents and phone notes.
Within the last few months I discovered a plotting program called Campfire Pro. It's locked to a download and/or Steam at the moment but they're working on a browser based version. It's not perfect but it has a lot of helpful tools for making timelines, family trees, and character bios.
I admit I had to look up "pantser" before answering this question. I think hybrid would fit me best. As previously mentioned, I do a lot of background here and there to inform the story and I will have a general idea of where I want something to go plot wise. However, I let characters dictate the story as well based on what I've cultivated as their traits.
My characters have driven almost everything. I plan to write a lengthy blogpost on my website once I've finished the story of Damien Flynn and the Ricchan Rebellion about all the places I initially wanted to go and how it changed. I have notes about who would die and when and how that would alter the story, all of which never came to pass.
I suppose I can give a quick example without giving too much away about the story. In the initial phases of plotting out Rise, Damien Flynn actually died toward the end of the book. He served as a martyr of sorts. I don't think I could have gotten away with my series name if I had done that but it certainly would have been shocking to readers, I'm sure!
I can see how the differences between British and American English would be a problem. In the 2016 edition of Word, using the Review mode, you can let Word automatically detect the language the manuscript is written in and you can lock the version you want to write in. Locking your manuscript to American English might be helpful.
I can see where your note tracking would be quite problematic, Campfire Pro sounds useful. Have you looked into Scrivener? I have had several authors tell me it is amazing for doing exactly what you are talking about, and it does a lot more. I have also been told the learning curve is steep. Once conquered, users proclaim its usefulness.
Action, dialogue, or narration; which is easiest to write?
Of the five senses which is the easiest to write and which is the hardest?
Have you ever done any theater, written a play or any screenwriting?
I looked into Scrivener before going with Campfire. I chose the latter because while Scrivener came with a word processor, Campfire had interconnected notations and a robust timeline. It's far from perfect but I really like the layout. I'm excited to see what they do with their browser version in 2020.
For me, dialogue. I find that my characters speak for themselves and it makes it easy to just flow. Trying to deviate speech patterns can be a challenge but its easier to just kind of "go." With narration, it's easy to get bogged down in too much detail. Most of my editing is trimming down narration for superfluous details or overused words.
Sight has to be the easiest. There are just so many words we use daily to describe things we see. I'd say taste and smell tie for second for similar reasons. At least for me, hearing is the most difficult because it's so important and so prevalent but difficult to encapsulate in words.
Nothing worth mentioning. I'm fascinated by it but I've never been able to contextualize in that way.
Good to know that Campfire is an option.
Some authors do better with narration, the natural storyteller living within us all. You are right, it is so easy to get carried away with narration and it can quickly turn into an info dump. Building the essential info into dialog keeps the scene active and narration to a minimum.
I have had more than one author relay to me that theater experience has been helpful for writing concisely.
What kind of marketing are you doing or planning on doing for your book?
What kind of marketing has worked the best and the least for you?
Speaking of marketing, why did you pick me to help promote your book?
Word count bloat is a real problem for me in first drafts and it is almost always narration.
The first steps have been to increase my social media footprint. I've also begun reaching out to bloggers. I've created some promotional materials(bookmarks) and plan to do more of that. I also plan to attend some conventions in the near future, probably after the second book is published.
As a debut author, any marketing is helpful. I think blog reviews have been the most enduring because it's someone other than myself talking about the book's content.
I picked you for two reasons. First, your social media presence. Your posts were ubiquitous. Second, proofreading. I think that's something that is unique to you to combine with a review and marketing. I suppose it didn't hurt that we share the same first name, either!
You are following in the footsteps of many authors. Some marketing experts recommend starting the social media and website process a year or more before releasing the first book. It seems most authors are too busy writing that first book to do that. Better late than never works for most.
I think conventions are a good idea, a great place for those bookmarks. There are so many ways to market and get your name and book to be noticed. Pursuing the Local-Author angle works almost everywhere. Buying small countertop holders for your books and trying to place them in places where people visit like restaurants, gift shops, motels, museums, and other places can be helpful.
Thank you, I try to provide a unique promotional service. This interview is part of that experience, the only live interview for authors on the internet. The name thing works also.
How long does the research process take before you start to write a book or do you do the research as you write the book?How much time passed from when you got the idea to write your book; then actually starting to write the book?
How long did it take you to write the first draft?
I made my website a few months before Rise was published. Twitter was a little earlier than that, perhaps 8 months out. You definitely feel spread thin. I think that's one reason why a lot of authors seek out big publishers, the hope that they might not have to do everything themselves. I look forward to the day when I can farm out some of these responsibilities but for now, the hustle is there!
I jumped in with both feet and began writing the first draft right away. The research happened as I was writing. I'd pause mid sentence and look into things or do some extra research after comments from Alpha and Beta readers.
Since this was my first book it's hard to pinpoint exactly when the first draft ended because I had some hiccups where I thought I was done. I actually released a version of the book under the title of "Ember" which was about half the length about a year after starting.
I'd say if you held me to a realistic time frame - 2 years and I edited it for 1 year. I started in November 2015 and published in November of 2018. By contrast 1st draft of the second book in the series is nearly complete 13 months in. I expect the editing timetable to be faster as well based on everything I learned from the first book.
Good on you for getting the early start on building a fan base. I think you are correct, many authors hope for the multi-book contract with a fat advance. Since Amazon has turned the publishing world upside down, those things are few and far between. Most publishers are scraping by on a very thin margin. They don't take big chances on unknown authors very much anymore. In fact, some publishers won't even talk to an author unless you have a mailing list of a thousand or three. To the publisher, this list represents near-guaranteed sales. Additionally, most publishers expect the author to handle their own book promotions. Of course, there are some publishers who promise guaranteed sales for a hefty fee, guess how often that pans out for the author.
Authors learn so much from the process of writing the first book. The next several books go faster. You are on the right track.
Going back in time, did you do any kind of creative writing, even back in grade school?
How early was it that you realized how powerful words can be?
Mailing lists seem to be as good as gold. I wouldn't say mine is particularly robust. In some ways I'm clinging to the notion that the best promotion for your first book is your second.
I had aspirations as early as high school. I'll get a bit personal here and explain that I had severe social anxiety to the point where I had to be relocated to a school that could handle me. They allowed me to quarantine myself so-to-speak for a time which is where I began to really read and then, naturally, write.
I started to write in about 10th grade and my senior year I began to write my first 'book' I use that term loosely because nothing came of it. The title still makes me cringe 'Tears of Onyx', is there anything more angsty teenager? I think it got to about 30,000 words and I remember submitting it to a contest. Let's just say I'm glad it never got published anywhere.
My realization of the power of words was before that, I think. Like many authors, reading is the gateway. Three books stand-out as the stories that opened me to the possibilities of words on pages. James Clavell's "Shogun", J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book, and Tolkien's "The Hobbit". The last of these was the first I read and it was the first time I was really transported somewhere else. That was about 2nd grade.
Books after the first certainly work toward building a fan base. Side stories, back stories, cover and title contests all help to build a devoted fan base. I know one author who took an early copy of her book on a long hike and did some editing. Later she auctioned it off to the fan who made the most posts on other s.m. platforms about her books in a certain period of time.
It is so amazing how we transform from the angsty teen years into an adult. It reminds me of the caterpillar and butterfly routine. 30,000 words is pretty good.
Reading The Hobbit in the second grade is pretty advanced. You are a good reader.
A lot of new authors struggle with finding beta readers. Because, after the first draft is done, fresh eyes and feedback become very important.
Do you have alpha-readers and/or beta-readers to help you smooth out a lot of wrinkles before publishing?
If you don’t, why?
If you do, how did you find them?
I love the idea of background stories. My patreon is largely built upon that idea. Every other month I add a new background story. It lets me expand on some of the things I write as notes to give my world context.
I have three our four very reliable alpha/beta readers but I'd love to find more. They are integral to getting a story to the next phase. I'm lucky that, in general, they're honest. They''ll tell me when big picture things don't work. I would be lost without them because I get so stuck in my own head that sometimes I don't see what is interesting and what isn't or I make assumptions about what people will conclude or how they will react to certain things.
All of my alpha readers are close connections of some sort. My first reader is always my wife. After that, I have a few friends I've made over the years who have been supportive and honest in their critiques. With Rise, I also relied heavily on a writer's group with three consistent readers. These were other authors so the critiques were more pointed. I think it's important to have early readers that are both authors and readers because the responses you get are often very different.
Tell us more about how Patreon helps you as a writer.
I have over twenty lists of people who provide services to authors on my Twitter home page, one of those lists is for beta readers. You are welcome to take a look. Fresh and unbiased eyes can be so helpful. You are very fortunate to have the readers you have now.
At what stage in your writing process do you bring in the readers?
Do you give them an e-version like a PDF or a hard copy you printed off?
What kind of questions did you ask them to get the feedback you wanted?
I think Patreon is a great way for people to support their favorite authors and get exclusive content in return. It's more of a give-and-take relationship than say, gofundme. On Patreon you are paying to get something in return that is explicitly stated by the author. I researched a few different authors before setting up my tiers.
From an author's stand-point it helps fund things but it also provides new ways to communicate with fans and also new ways to challenge yourself. I admit I felt the pressure of the deadline on the first story I wrote but it was pressure in a good way.
I like to bring in readers after the first draft is completed but I can be a bit impatient. When I write, I want people to read it as soon as possible.
Alpha readers generally know to look past grammar, spelling, and other issues to pick out the big picture problems, like inconsistencies in plot or character development. It's also a safe place to gauge reactions and see if what you wrote is interesting or not.
Beta readers I tend to bring in after a few editing passes.
I supply them with a PDF. I try not to print unless I absolutely have to.
It really depends on what I'm looking for at that given time. I've created worksheets for beta readers before per chapter to gauge reactions specific to the events in the chapter. I've found, though, that it's better for me to just allow them to bring me there comments and ask general open ended questions like "How do you feel about <character/event>?"
Thanks. Patreon sounds like a viable vehicle for authors.
The functions of your Alpha and Beta readers are well defined. That has to be quite helpful.
Do you reward the alpha/beta readers in any way particular?
What are three things, that you wish you knew before you wrote your first book?
Do you have a hero, real or fictional?
It's very helpful to set parameters both for yourself and for your alpha/beta readers. It's a bit like setting expectations for any work or school project so you get the desired outcome. For me, that's improvement to the plot and character development.
With my writer's group it's a give-and-take situation where I'm doing the same thing for them. With my family,friends, and other connections they just have my eternal gratitude!
Three things that I wish I knew before I wrote my first book. Hm, well that's not the easiest thing to answer.
1. It will take longer than you think it will.
2. Your first draft will be terrible, so will your second.
3. Editing is expensive but necessary.
The hero question is an interesting one. I have many people I look up to, real and fiction, but I don't know that I have any heroes because everyone is flawed and we like to hide those flaws from each other. Can I take the sappy answer and say my hero is my wife? I can back it up with a 'why.'
She has a kind and caring spirit but it's her tenacity that is the most admirable. I've never seen someone who works as hard and takes so little time for herself. A hero to me is someone you would aspire to or be impressed by. She is both of those things to me.
Plus, she deals with me on a daily basis. That takes a super hero!
It seems to me that we both married up. My wife impresses me all the time and we have been married for over 42 years.
Your answer about the three things is spot-on. The first draft has only one purpose and that is to exist. The first draft is supposed to be a piece of garbage. I think many writers get caught up in trying to make their first draft perfect and it causes writer's block because they are ignoring their Muse. It's important to let the words flow because you cannot edit a blank page.
What are some challenges to writing Historical Fantasy?
Why and how did you choose this particular time period?
What kind of historical research did you do?
I couldn't agree more about the 1st draft. I took longer to complete it on Rise because I was trying to polish while writing it. That just made more work for me later.
Writing anything that is tied to something real is going to have added challenges. What I want to point out, though, is not the difficulty of things like "how long does it take to travel to x from y by horse in 1650" but the inescapable reality that people will draw their own connections. The challenge for me has been using pieces of real cultures to create fictional ones. This inevitably leads to readers making assumptions and then drawing conclusions, sometimes negative, about depictions. I was aware of this early on which is why, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I called my southern country "Nihonmin" which is a play off the proper name for Japan. The influences are heavy but they are no more Japanese than than Hobbits are English.
I chose this particular time period (roughly the 17th century) because I thought it was under served compared to the usual historical fiction/historical fantasy type-books which draw so heavily on pre-gunpowder history.
Off the top of my head I've research British naval organization, Mongol yurt construction, Colonial government titles and structure, musket physics, cannon physics, revolutionary war medicine and amuptations, and so much more. All of my research has been tied to specific things, not historical events. Since all of my story and characters are fictional I didn't want to be influenced by reading about events or people.
I caught that about Nihonmin, it influenced my reading to think they were very oriental in clothing, manners, and fighting, with or without weapons. There is a great deal I like about the culture, ancient and present. My first martial arts movie was a samurai movie, in Japan Town, in San Francisco.
That's a great search list, life was short and brutal for most people back then.
What is the most valuable piece of advice you have ever received from another writer?
Now that you have a published book, are you writing anything strictly for yourself or are you concentrating on writing for your readers?
What are common traps for beginning writers?
My Master's degree was spent studying Japanese history so it is not coincidental that they are in my book as a not so hidden allegory but I still like to maintain that inspiration can lead in many directions and I've included other cultures in creating them as well.
That's a difficult one to answer because there are many authors who have given me priceless advice. All pieces that are important at different times throughout the journey of writing a book. I'll give one that every would-be-writer should hear in the beginning:
"You don't need anyone's permission to start writing."
The way I constructed Rise, I made a promise to anyone who reads it. As you know, it ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, though I tried to sew it up a little. All of my writing time since publication has been working toward fulfilling that promise and finishing the next chapter in the series.
There are a few. There are writers like myself who when they start out, they want to over-do it. Over-explain, over-write, purple prose everywhere. It's that sudden urge to flex all those writing muscles you've honed. It's normally very bad writing and a chore to read. The next trap is directly related and that's taking criticism as a personal attack or, conversely, taking criticism as sacrosanct. In the first instance you're likely to ignore valid critiques. In the second, you're giving too much credit to any one person and could take on bad habits to please that critic or worse yet, lose your writer's voice. Happiness is somewhere in the middle. I am a much better writer today than I was in 2015 and that's not just practice. It's people critiquing me and showing me what I did wrong and why. I'm sure there are many more but I'll stop here.
That is an interesting major. Do you speak or read Japanese? Have you visited Japan?
I think that is great advice. Every person who writes brings a different perspective to a story, just like the readers do. The readers view a book through a particular set of glasses that no one else possesses.
There is nothing wrong with a cliffhanger. You brought a number of threads together and moved the story forward. The cliffhanger is a time-honored tradition in storytelling.
You hit that particular trap for beginning writers quite well, there must be a balance.
Do you think a strong ego is an asset or liability for a writer and why?
Can you describe the demographic of your ideal reader?
Who is the person most likely to buy your book?
Do you have anything you consider to be your writing lucky charm?
What is the biggest obstacle you face in writing?
Two years of Japanese language left me with a limited understanding of basics. I've never been skilled when it comes to learning languages, it's one of my greatest failures I think.
I think there's a difference between ego and confidence. As a writer you need to be confident or have people around you who can boost that confidence. I'm privately confident but openly critical of my own writing but I'd still say my belief in my work has been shaken more than once. There have been times, even recently, where I questioned if I was good enough to consider myself an author. Too strong an ego could prevent you from improving as an author by ignoring critics. A lack of balance in that is why so many great works have gone unwritten and so many trash novels have been published!
I don't have an ideal demographic because I'm just happy when anyone reads. I have a suspected demographic which would the same as most fantasy and historical fiction.
I think the person most likely to buy my book is someone fascinated with statecraft. I think the person most likely to be surprised they enjoyed my book is someone who looks for character development.
As in something tangible that holds significance to me? No.
The biggest obstacle I face in writing isn't the writing itself but what to do with it when its completed. This is two different things but they're tied together. I struggle with releasing it. That is, being able to say it is clean enough grammatically. That the story is solid where it is and that it ends sufficiently. From there I struggle to market properly. There's a nagging hesitation to sell.
My understanding is that Japanese is not the easiest language to learn. I love the food and some of the philosophy from long ago.
Nice delineation between ego and confidence. That makes a lot of sense.
So many writers struggle with the same thing, you must be normal or as crazy as the rest. ;-) The fear of letting your baby out into the world is very real. Thank you for doing that.
Are there any issues that are peculiar to writing historical fantasy that might not apply to other genres?
Are there any writing styles or genres that you disliked at first but soon came to like?
Do you think reading, watching movies or listening to music help you be a better writer?
What type of book is your favorite guilty pleasure to read or listen to for fun?
I've tried Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. To this point, Japanese was the easiest to me to speak and understand but the hardest to read.
I think the importance of historical accuracy stands out. In traditional historical fiction that can be as important as a factual history book. In historical fantasy, like mine, it's integral to world building.
Romance. I think there was a gender-bias there from a very young age but in working through my writer's group and meeting writer's at conventions I've really grown to appreciate their books. I wish I could write romantic relationships with even a fraction of their expertise.
Reading. That's not to say music and movies don't have their place. Movies can be great for understanding plot devices and character development in a truncated fashion. Reading, though, is the best way to see how other authors have used words to elicit emotion and paint pictures.
I wouldn't say I have a guilty pleasure when it comes to reading or listening to books because I think they're all valuable. I adore fantasy,sci-fi, and historical fiction the most, though.
I thought it would have been easier to learn one of the Romance languages like French. So many of our words in English are borrowed from those different languages. German is hard for me to pronounce, no question about that.
I had that same bias about reading romantic books. I have found some amazing writing in books by romance writers. Now, I am a fan of good writing, regardless of the genre.
We like the same kinds of books to read.
Would you agree or disagree with the statement: suffering is a requirement to be a good writer, and why?
What were your intentions or your goals when you wrote this book?
Do you feel you were successful in getting that message across to the reader?
I think it just goes to show that it's important not to....judge a book by its cover. I had to.
I would say yes, but largely because I think everyone has suffered in some way. Everyone has had a point or moment in their life where everything is in shambles or something dear is lost. It's part of the human condition and it's part of what makes your characters relate-able. If you can't tap into that basic part of existence, you can't make convincing characters.
My intentions and goals when I wrote this book were to create a story that people will read and enjoy but also one that shows the spectrum of morality and ethics.
I think I may have at times played it a little safe but I think the point gets across. There's a turning point specifically for one character and the reactions to it have been fascinating to me. To many, those actions have seemed irredeemable even for someone who was supposed to be a 'good' character. You may know what I'm referring to.
We are told over and over to not judge a book by its cover. The truth is, we all do it. First impressions are priceless and cannot be done over.
I think you are talking about the General. That was a brutal moment, you handled it well. Some writers might have spent many more pages scrutinizing her thought process to the detriment of the story.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer to enhance your career?
Do you subscribe to any magazines, newsletters, blogs or podcasts that enhance your writing career? Feel free to share as many as you would like.
What are your favorite reference books for grammar and writing?
Sometimes its best to leave interpretations to the reader after the initial shock.
It wasn't the most expensive thing, but I paid a monthly fee for an online writer's group. I think that has been by far the most impactful but I'd give strong consideration as runner-up to a course I took at Oxford University - Advanced Creative Writing II.
I don't subscribe to anything and I'm terrible of keeping track of things that I've found helpful but I have a host of web page bookmarks for great write-ups. I might need to create a resource page to keep track because at the moment, I can't think of any to name specifically.
The Elements of Style and The Emotion Thesaurus stand out as helpful reference books that I use often.
If that is an open group, feel free to provide a link, if you would like.
My bookmarks are way out of hand. I have page on my website, Highly Regarded Blogs, I have added links to that page almost every day since the summer.
I have heard good things about both books.
Last questions.
Do you think you were born to write or did you have to learn the craft?
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
How did you celebrate when you published your first book?
Happy to: https://www.thenextbigwriter.com/
Last Questions:
Is it possible to say both? I think we are all storytellers in some way. Some of us create our own stories, other's retell what we've seen or learned and we use different mediums to meet that end. However, to be able to distill all of those jumbled up stories in my head, it's a life-long education. I've only just begun and I have a long way to go.
The most difficult part of my process is definitely editing. Not just cutting of words and fixing grammatical mistakes, but also re-arranging the plot when necessary and making sure character personalities are consistent.
This will be a bit of an anti-climatic question to end on. We didn't really celebrate it in any special way. I think because I'd already started on the second book before the book went live I was just focused on what the next step was. Maybe I'll do something when the next one is finished!
You have created some wonderful content and more is on the way. With more streaming services coming on line the demand for good content is growing dramatically, just as audio books are exploding around the world. I hope you investigate leveraging your intellectual property rights to create long lasting residual income.
I have a new promotion starting tomorrow and must be ready for it.
Thank you so much for a great conversation. You have shared a lot about your writing and publishing journey, others will be able to learn from your experiences.
Thanks again for being a great guest.
Thank you for the opportunity. I've enjoyed chatting about the various aspects of writing that I have experienced so far and hope people will find it entertaining and useful.
I'm always happy to talk writing and my book with anyone so feel free to contact me through Twitter @redbeardflynn, facebook at Mark S. Books or my website, marksmoorebooks.com
And just to reiterate some of the most valuable words I ever heard: You don't need anyone's permission to start writing, just start.
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Amazon Is Dropping a Ton of Money on a 'Lord of the Rings' TV Series
The company just gave the prequel series a "multi-season commitment."
by River Donaghey
Nov 13 2017, 7:43pm
Photo by New Line/WireImage via Getty
Amazon has locked down a deal with the J.R.R. Tolkien's estate to make a Lord of the Rings TV series, giving it a "multi-season commitment," Deadline reports.
Jeff Bezos has been gunning for a Game of Thrones-style tentpole on the streaming service since September, and the new Lord of the Rings deal looks like a big step in that direction. Netflix and HBO were reportedly also vying for the rights before Amazon locked down a deal.
According to Deadline, the company is already funneling a huge amount of money into the project, dropping around $200 million just to lock down the rights and likely planning to spend at least $100 million for a first season. Amazon Studios will spearhead the production, with help from the Tolkien estate, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema.
"The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen," Amazon Studios scripted TV head Sharon Tal Yguado said in a statement following the announcement.
The upcoming series will reportedly take place before the events of Fellowship of the Ring, but other than that, there's no word on what Middle Earth tales or Silmarillion subplots the series will focus on.
Are we finally going to get the Tom Bombadil spinoff the world has been breathlessly waiting for? Or maybe a police procedural starring the Rangers of the North? Or a sitcom about Butterbur at the Prancing Pony? Whatever the show may be, at least one thing is for sure—it's going to cost a shit-ton of money.
Related: LARPing Saved My Life
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US - English (English)
UK - English (British)
Dedicated Internet Access (DIA)
Zayo Bandwidth and I-Light to Expand Broadband Services to Ivy Tech Through Federal Stimulus Award
Zayo Bandwidth and I-Light to Expand Broadband Services to Ivy Tech Through Federal Stimulus Award | February 2010
[ Download the Press Release ]
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Zayo Bandwidth, a regional provider of fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure solutions, announced today in partnership with I-Light that it has received $25.1M from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to connect 21 Ivy Tech Community College campuses to the I-Light network, Indiana’s high-performance, optical-fiber telecommunications network for research and education. The award will also allow Zayo to expand broadband connectivity across the state of Indiana to unserved and underserved areas.
Zayo Bandwidth will build 626 miles of new 96-strand fiber across the state to complete this project and provide new jobs. Two strands of fiber will be dedicated to connect 21 Ivy Tech campuses to I-Light, which connects to the nation’s most advanced educational and research networks Internet2 and National LambdaRail.
“Indiana was a pioneer in 1999 when the state invested $5.3M to create the nation’s first optical research and education network that was owned and operated by higher education,” noted IU President Michael A. McRobbie. “That original network connected the state’s major research universities with great success. In 2005, the state began expanding I-Light to connect all institutions of higher education to I-Light. This federal award greatly accelerates that vision by connecting the remaining Ivy Tech campuses.”
Ivy Tech President Thomas J. Snyder said, “This investment of stimulus money for broadband is especially timely for the growing needs of Ivy Tech. It gives vastly improved connectivity among all Ivy Tech campuses, and connects our students and faculty to the best educational resources that use high speed networks. This grant helps increase the overall efficiency for higher education in the state.”
Zayo will also make broadband services available to as many as 80 communities along the fiber path that presently meet federal guidelines as unserved or underserved, including more than 480,000 households, 49,000 businesses, and thousands of health, public safety, education, and government centers.
The project, totaling $31.8M overall and expected to be completed in three years, is also supported by Zayo matching funds and in-kind contributions and investments from Ivy Tech, Indiana University, Ball State University, and Purdue University.
“Zayo is committed to continually expanding our bandwidth network to unserved and underserved areas for our customers,” said Dan Caruso, Zayo Group President and CEO. “We are honored to be a part of this exceptional collaboration to support the success of Indiana educational institutions.”
“This major investment continues I-Light’s remarkable public-private partnership to serve education,” said Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for IT & CIO. “This project for Ivy Tech will add 600 miles of fiber to I-Light’s existing 1,200 miles across the state.”
The I-Light connections for Ivy Tech will offer increased capacity for collaboration and innovation in education and research across institutional and geographic boundaries. Currently there are 41 Indiana higher education sites connected to the I-Light network.
“Cross-institutional collaboration for research and education allows for more rapid scientific breakthroughs and expanded educational opportunities, provides substantial cost savings, and leads to accomplishment beyond what any one organization is capable of achieving alone,” said McRobbie. “The connection of schools via I-Light is an essential tool for realizing this type of collective success within the state of Indiana.”
McRobbie noted that the operational parts of the I-Light network are already a catalyst for revamping the state’s economy to a greater role in research and education in the life and health sciences, enabling, for example, the state’s single School of Medicine to effectively deliver distributed education programs to its 8 Medical Education Centers across the state.
I-Light fiber connections made possible by the federal stimulus funding include Ivy Tech campuses in Anderson, Bloomington (2 locations), Columbus, Connersville, East Chicago, Elkhart, Evansville, Fairbanks, Fort Wayne, Gary, Kokomo, Lafayette, Lawrenceburg, Madison, Marion, Michigan City, Monticello, Muncie, Valparaiso, and Warsaw.
About Zayo Bandwidth
Zayo Bandwidth, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zayo Group, owns and operates fiber optic networks totaling over 20,000 fiber route miles. Zayo Bandwidth (www.zayo.com/bandwidth) offers services in 141 markets spanning 23 states. Zayo Bandwidth’s mission is to provide responsive bandwidth infrastructure solutions and a strong and growing network.
About I-Light
I-Light dramatically improves Indiana’s position as a national leader in very high-speed networking in support of teaching, learning, research, technology transfer, and inter-institutional collaboration and cooperation, activities that will help fuel the state’s economy. Network management for I-Light is provided by the Global Research Network Operations Center (GRNOC) at Indiana University, a premier provider of highly responsive network coordination, engineering, monitoring and installation services that support the advancement of Research and Education networking. The GRNOC supports the Internet2 and National Lambda Rail research networks as well as many regional optical networks and international connections. Also supporting I-Light is the I-Light network support team, part of University Information Technology Services (UITS) at Indiana University.
Three Questions to Ask When Evaluating Your Google Cloud Platform Connection
How Zayo is Fueling Growth and Innovation for Bare Metal Cloud Provider
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Phone Reviews | Posted on 7th October 2019
Apple’s latest low-cost smartphone, the iPhone 11 is being positioned to appeal the broader market and is less expensive than last year’s iPhone XR when that model was launched. No surprises both look alike on the outside, weighing the same and are the same size. The big difference is the new dual camera system. The iPhone 11 is built well and feels solid. It comes with the best LCD screen on the market though obviously pales in comparison to OLED screens.
The iPhone 11 is a heavy device and it is hard to grip and is difficult to use single handedly. Lightning port for charging is still a feature but with the right cable it is possible to charge the iPhone 11 with a USB-C. It is powered by Apple’s most recent A13 Bionic chip, 4GB of RAM and the minimum amount of storage is 64GB. Whilst the A13 chip is the fastest most powerful chip developed by Apple, it is no longer to tell any difference between the speed of this phone and previous models.
Apple says battery life has increased by an hour compared to the battery on the iPhone XR which had a battery life of 32 hours before needing a charge. During testing the new model actually made it 35 hours before needing a charge. It does take about four hours to charge from zero to one hundred per cent using the 5W charger Apple ships the device with. If you want fast charging you will have to spend money and buy a better Lightning cable to USB-C and a USB-C charger.
The OS
iOS 13 does have a few new features, but on the whole continues to remain similar to the last two versions of the operating system and the big new feature is dark mode which switches the interface to predominantly white text on a dark background. There are new privacy features which allow for the silencing of spam and unknown callers. Apple also guarantees it will continue to support the software for at least five years in comparison to the three years that most other vendors promise.
The camera on the iPhone 11 has a dual 12-megapixel camera on the rear and comes with an ultra-wide camera with a standard camera and can zoom up to 5x which is okay but nowhere near as good as real optical zoom. The main camera is pretty good but ultra-wide is quite possibly the best in class and plenty of fun to play with. Portrait mode is also good and can be used on more than people. Night mode is the big improvement which allows the iPhone take excellent images in low-light conditions. The selfie camera could be improved but delivers decent images in good lighting conditions.
The iPhone 11 is a fantastic smartphone that is not very exciting. Its design is now three years old and looks dated in a world where smartphones are now all-screen. It is also both heavy and large making single handed use difficult. It is a well-made device but it is not cheap. You do get the latest and greatest processor and a battery life that will take you well into day two, possibly three if used carefully. The camera is up there with the best of them and the ultra-wide-angle camera. If you swap the battery at some point you will probably get five years of life if careful. The iPhone 11 is basically an iPhone for people who just want a new device and don’t really care about smartphones.
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Zurich Airport News Flash No. 14 / Half Year Result 2011
Flughafen Zürich AG: Positive first Half Year 2011 with strong growth in traffic and increased outlook
Flughafen Zürich AG concluded its first Half Year 2011 with a strong result. With 73.5 million Swiss Francs, Net Profit for the first half year of 2011 rose by 47.9 percent compared to the first half year of 2010.
The number of passenger grew by 9.0 percent while movements saw an increase of 7.1 percent. With 438.3 million Swiss Francs, revenues were 7.4 percent higher than in the first half year of 2010. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached 225.6 million Swiss Francs, which marks an increase of 15.7 percent compared to last year’s period. EBITDA margin stood at 51.5 percent. In April 2010, air traffic had to be cancelled for several days due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. This led to a loss in revenue of around 7 million Swiss Francs.
Traffic Development
A total of 11.5 million passenger used Zurich Airport from January to June 2011 (plus 9.0 percent). This strong growth is due to the volcanic eruption in April 2010, which caused the cancellation of around 3’000 flights and a subsequent reduction in passenger numbers. The number of local passengers increased by 10.1 percent and the number of transfer passengers by 7.0 percent compared to last years’ period. Transfer share was at 34.4 percent in the first semester of 2011.
Air Traffic Movements increased by 7.1 percent to 138’085 in the first half of 2011. The average seat load factor was at 70.6 percent (70.5 percent in the first half year of 2010) while the average passenger per movement number increased by 2.0 percent to 98.3.
The Turnover increased from 408.1 million Swiss Francs to 438.3 million Swiss Francs (plus 7.4 percent). Revenue in the aviation segment increased by 10.9 percent to 274.7 million Swiss Francs. The figures directly reflect the strong passenger growth. Revenue in the non-aviation segment rose by 2.0 percent to 163.6 million Swiss Franc.
Currency Strength
Flughafen Zürich AG is only marginally exposed to revenue and costs in foreign currencies. However, the strong Swiss Franc does have indirect effects on the results of Flughafen Zürich AG. On one hand, the Swiss benefit from cheaper vacations abroad. This results in more local passengers at Zurich Airport and positively impacts revenues in the aviation segment. On the other hand, shopping abroad is less expensive compared to a few weeks or months ago. Airside – where only passengers shop, wine and dine – commercial revenue has seen a decrease of 2.2 percent compared to last year’s period. This is partially due to the strong Swiss Franc respectively the weak foreign currencies.
Key Figures and Financial Result
Operating Expenses saw a slight decrease of 0.2 percent from 213.1 million Swiss Francs to 212.7 million Swiss Francs despite strong traffic growth. EBITDA increased by 30 million Swiss Francs from 195 million Swiss Francs to 225.6 million Swiss Francs. With 51.5 percent, this half year’s EBITDA margin stood significantly above last year’s period figure of 47.8 percent.
Flughafen Zürich AG expects the passenger volume to increase by 5 to 6 percent for the whole year of 2011. Considering this forecast, Flughafen Zürich AG accordingly expects net profit to grow by 15 to 20 percent.
An important date for Zurich Airport is November 27, 2011. Eligible voters of the Canton of Zurich will vote on the “No new or expanded runways”-initiative (“Behördeninitiative II”) and its counterproposal. Both, initiative and counterproposal call for a ban on new or expanded runways. The counterproposal goes even further by additionally proposing a ban on new high-speed exit taxiways. A vote for either initiative or counterproposal would restrict Zurich Airport as an economic driver and also impede noise-reducing flight regimes in the future. Therefore, those who want to say “Yes” to Zurich Airport should vote for “No” on both, initiative and counterproposal on November 27, 2011.
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Statement in Support of New York City Service Members & Veterans Affected by the Federal Government Shutdown
New York - There are nearly 50,000 federal workers in New York City, almost 1/3 of whom are military veterans. Some of these public servants may have been forced to forgo work or to perform their duties for no pay. Additionally, members of the United States Coast Guard serving at the Fort Wadsworth installation in Staten Island -- home to over 1,000 active duty service members and reservists – are working day and night to secure the third largest port in the United States – the Port of New Jersey / New York – for no pay.
New York City's Coast Guard men and women and the military veterans of the federal workforce have committed to a lifetime of service, both in uniform and as civilians beyond the military. No one – service member, veteran, or civilian – should be punished for choosing a career in service of their fellow citizens by being forced from work or forced to work without pay.
The City of New York stands by all federal workers negatively impacted by the shutdown of the federal government and is especially grateful to the men and women who have committed to serve our country in uniform and beyond military service. Service members, veterans, and their families can use our coordinated-care network, VetConnectNYC or call 1-833-VETS-NYC, to access legal, financial, and City agencies among other providers. Expert case managers will assess your needs and refer you to the organization or provider best suited to respond to your situation.
The New York City Department of Veterans’ Services stands ready to assist any service member or veteran who experiences hardships as a consequence of the shutdown. Call 212-416-5250, email us at info@veterans.nyc.gov, message us on Facebook or Twitter @nycveterans, find a satellite site in all five boroughs at our website www.nyc.gov/vets, or visit us in person at our main office at 1 Centre Street, Suite 2208.
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Home » Articles posted by Emily Bailin Wells, Ed.D.
Author Archives: Emily Bailin Wells, Ed.D.
“Being tough on crime and tough on criminals is not the same thing…”
Just came across this article on Policy Mic featuring a short animated video about mass incarceration in the United States. Vloggers Hank and John Greene worked with visual.ly and The Prison Policy Initiative to create the video. The vlogging brothers write in the description of the video on YouTube,
It wasn’t easy to pick this topic, but I believe that America’s 40-year policy of mass incarceration is deeply unethical, not very effective, and promotes the security of the few at the expense of the many.
It’s hard for me, as a person who was born into privilege, to imagine the challenges convicted criminals face, often for crimes that are utterly non-violent.
If you’re feeling like you want to do something about this, I’m mostly just making this video as an informational resource and to encourage people to think of felons not as bad, scary people but just as people.
The people at The Prison Policy Initiative were very helpful in the creation of this video and if you want to learn more about their work and how to get involved go to http://www.prisonpolicy.org
To be sure, the video does not cover all aspects of the conversation–there is not mention or discussion of how race and class factor into the conversation (e.g. how there is an insanely disproportionate amount of young, lower or working-class Black men in the prison system), but the video is engaging, offers a number of jarring facts, and will hopefully spur some conversation, raise awareness, and prompt people to want to learn more about the injustices of the prison system in the U.S.
Love Letter III: Dear J.
March 6, 2014 2:41 pm / Leave a comment
The third piece in my series of love letters dedicated to the experiences and people that touch me throughout the course of this semester. The latest, I letter to my student who sustained a gunshot in the stomach two weeks ago, and how I’ve been processing it all since.
Dear J.,
Well. Such a bland, insignificant word that often claims nothing more than mediocre ties to caring.
Feeling. We ask as if physical and mental emotions can be tersely conflated into a one word response like “good.”
We need to do better.
is heavy.
Heavy—of great weight; difficult to lift or move.
Heavy, a tangible mass, like what we feel when lifting our grocery bags or a small child up from the ground and into our arms
allowing for the contents to settle,
finding their places on the shelves of our hips, in the nooks of our arms and caverns of our eyes.
Bulbous tears have continued to drop from these eyes for the last seven days,
every time I end the second sentence of this story with, “…shot”.
I’ve told eight people about what happened to you.
Eight people have given me their ears, their eyes, their hearts, their hugs, their attention.
They have listened as I’ve unfolded the details of what went down last Thursday night:
You’d been shot in the belly.
It was gang-related.
You were in the ICU for the entire weekend, under a pseudonym so no one could find you, but you’re home now, resting.
You lost three quarters of the blood in your body.
And when the cops, standing on the steps of their precinct, saw you stumble forward towards the ground they rushed over and began interrogating you—asking you whether you were high or drunk.
It wasn’t until they pulled you up to your feet, and you screamed out in pain, that they realized you had a bullet in your belly…
I can’t stop thinking about you—there is a stream of still and moving images playing on a loop in my mind, accompanied by an internal monologue of questions,
wondering about the moments building to crescendo—
who spoke the last words, what were they? Does it matter? Are you scared?
But this mentally isolated indie film streaming on my brain waves and plucking at my heartstrings is fabricated, imagined, “flattened by my seeing.”[1]
I have to examine how the “physical structures of our seeing and the patterns of thought these mechanisms create, among them spectating, consuming, and flattening, mis-take the world”[2]
You see, J., I’ve been retraumatizing myself over the course of this week. I continue thinking about this event, imagining not what it must be like to get shot; not even to self-deprecatingly wonder “what I could have done to save you.” No. I keep replaying this moment as my way of connecting with you and to the human emotions associated with trauma.
Because this notion of “gang violence” has become a soapy word in our American vernacular and on the 6 o’clock news.
While we might listen to these reports for an affirmation that a shooting took place somewhere deep in the South Bronx, or in Brownsville, or in the Heights—you know, a place where we “know these things take place” because the kids there are violent, illiterate, dangerous
—we don’t hear these stories, who these young people are,
nor do we pause to think about the institutional forces, the dominant narratives, and the normalized practices that are at play, convincing us that this is simply endemic of certain populations. It’s their problem, not ours.
We must ask ourselves, “Does the multiplicity of seeing tragedy compound the horror
or do the repetitive views overwhelm and desensitize?”[3]
This is the ‘closest’ I’ve been to knowing someone who’s been shot,
and I’m overwhelmingly aware of what a privilege it is for me to say this; for this to be my reality.
It’s not a feeling of guilt or naiveté; it’s the weight of the awareness, of the borders and worlds that I am straddling right now. I am working to reconcile my simultaneous locations in them all, and understanding that reconciliation is really neither feasible nor covetable.
This is difficult knowledge[4] we’re dealing with.
That’s not an excuse or prescription, but rather a description; a naming of place, and space and time that deserves attention and love. Or else the knowledge will become dangerous and polarizing (more so than perhaps it already is).
All this said, I want you to know, J, that I see you.
Though I may sometimes be looking at you…sometimes looking after you.
Please know that more than anything, I’m striving to see with you.[5]
Recover strong, heal well, and be safe.
Even before you got hurt, I looked for you in the hallway every Monday and Thursday, when you weren’t coming to school on a regular basis.
I stood against the wall, perching my heels at a 45-degree angle against the plaster and linoleum, scanning faces for yours
I walked up and down the hall once or twice, bobbing and weaving past individuals, then groups of friends, squirming through the hallways, occupying as much room as they can (and they should—they’ve been locked up in classrooms since 8am).
For the past month, I’ve come up empty handed every time, yet still kept looking.
And then today, I hadn’t started my search for you yet, I was going to get settled in my classroom first and there you were.
You’re so much smaller than you were two months ago.
I try to make eye contact with you three times from across the hall, I try to wave, unsure if you see me.
I’m fighting off the guidance counselor who is handing me a survey the students have to fill out—that asks questions that we require them to place themselves in boxes, to represent their answers with “x”s; to place themselves back in the boxes that I am so committed to working with them to break out of.
I’m fighting off students streaming down the hallway, backpacks swinging, sneakers squeaking, laughter so loud, but it feels so far away.
I walk over and I know that you’ve seen me at this point. You’re clumsily putting your jacket on, pretending to be busy, being a 17-year-old.
You look up and make eye contact with me—I timidly unroll my arms to a curved wingspan, so incredibly unsure if this is ok. If I can come into contact with you. To hug you.
You mirror my limbs, a small smile on your face, and you hug me.
It lasts only a brief moment before we pull back.
I ask you how you are.
I ask you how you’re feeling.
And then I’ve go no other questions, not the slightest idea of what to say to you next…
I am not qualified for this shit…
…but it’s alright.
Since the last love letter I’ve realized that my lack of qualifications actually makes me one of the most qualified people to be having these experiences. To have these young people in my life. They are providing me with moments and glimmers of, and access to realities other than mine, which will slowly equip me with the qualifications to know that this “shit” can never truly be mastered, but that it is in the experiences I gain expertise in the willingness of unknowing.[6]
Post-script, written in the afternoon following the morning’s love letter.
[1] Gaudelli, W. (2011, p.1246)
[4] Britzman, D. (1998, cited by W. Gaudelli, 2011)
[5] Gaudelli, W. (2011)
[6] Vasudevan (2010)
Rehabilitation vs. Criminalization: The Need to Rethink Juvenile Justice Programs in New York
January 28, 2014 7:58 pm / Leave a comment
An editorial from this week’s New York Times, “When Children Become Criminals,” engages the question: at what age and under what circumstances should a minor be tried as an adult? This is in response to Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, recently announcing that he would be putting together a commission to develop a plan (recommended changes in laws and procedures) for raising the age for adult criminal prosecution by the end of 2014. Nearly 40,000 adolescents are sent through the New York criminal courts every year, most charged with nonviolent crimes like shoplifting, jumping the turnstile in subway, or possession of marijuana. As is well known, Black and Latino young people, especially young men, are highly overrepresented in New York’s court-involved youth population. One of the major takeaways from the article is the mention of the effects of putting children as young as 16-years-old through the adult court system:
Federally financed studies have shown that minors prosecuted as adults commit more violent crimes later on and are more likely to become career criminals than those sent though juvenile courts, where they receive counseling and family support. Beyond that, neurological science has shown that adolescents are less able to assess risks and make the kinds of mature decisions that would keep them out of trouble.
In 2007, Connecticut raised the age of criminal prosecution from 16 to 18, a law which took full effect in 2012. The state has also adopted new strategies for court-involved young people based on “rehabilitation, not lockups,” working to reduce arrests and save the state money. The Connecticut Legislature created a council of experts from law enforcement, mental health, and other fields to coordinate policy changes. The interdisciplinary collaboration is significant. Connecticut has ceased trying cases involving “nonthreatening adolescent misbehaviors,” like possession of tobacco. Most importantly, the state invested in counseling and intervention programs that “allow young people to make amends for minor misdeeds without going to court.”
I was surprised to learn that New York is one of only two states (North Carolina is the other one) in which 16-year-olds are still automatically tried as adults. The New York law came into effect with the state’s creation of the juvenile justice system under the Family Court Act in 1962. Unable to agree on an age at which offenders should be declared adults, lawmakers temporarily set it at 16, but “…as often happens with public policy, inertia set in and ‘temporary’ became permanent.” More than 250,000 youth under the age of 18 are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults each year. And in New York, almost 90% of boys released from juvenile incarceration are arrested again.
As mentioned above, there have been growing conversations about the repercussions of sending young people through the criminal court system as opposed to providing them with rehabilitation services that might help to address underlying emotional, physical, mental, sociocultural, and environmental factors influencing behaviors. When young people are labeled as criminals or delinquents and tried as adults, their education is disturbed, their psyche is affected, and their re-entry into school and life can be extremely difficult and damaging, especially as they are going through crucial developmental stages of pre-adolescence and adolescence.
In addition, critics argue that many detention centers wrongly focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation for young people. In a recent article on activists’ call for juvenile justice system reforms, AlJazeera America, highlights a new campaign working to change the procedures that the justice system uses with children and adolescents. It’s called Raise the Age:
Raise the Age New York is a public awareness campaign that includes national and local advocates, youth, parents, law enforcement and legal representative groups, faith leaders, and unions that have come together to increase public awareness of the need to implement a comprehensive approach to raise the age of criminal responsibility in NYS so that the legal process responds to all children as children and services and placement options better meet the rehabilitative needs of all children and youth.
I encourage you to check out the Raise the Age website and learn more about the reasons for the campaign and the holistic impact that raising the age could potentially have on the state’s juvenile justice system.
Reading the NYT article and learning about the Raise the Age campaign served as reminders about how the juvenile justice system needs a lot of work, but it is also highlights how imperative it is that we–society, educators, activists, parents, mentors, allies–work hard to challenge dominant narratives about “juvenile delinquents.” It is easy, especially in a sensational-news-saturated world to make snap judgements about young people incarcerated at a young age (who continue to lead lives of crime and punishment). Instead of just accepting the idea that young criminals look or act a certain way, lead certain lifestyles, or have the ability to make different choices but choose a life of crime instead, I encourage us all to take a step back and think about the programs and procedures that are set up to address and hopefully prevent such lifestyles and trajectories. Let’s think about productive and meaningful ways to support young men, in particular, labeled as failures and delinquents before they even grow facial hair.
How can we raise awareness? What kinds of conversations can we have? What new strategies and laws must be put in place in order for legitimate change to occur? Ask yourself these questions, pose them to others, and find more answers at Raise the Age.
Love Letter, Part II: Reflections on Mentoring a Court-Involved Young Person
January 13, 2014 6:01 pm / 2 Comments on Love Letter, Part II: Reflections on Mentoring a Court-Involved Young Person
Because the Youth, Media & Educational Justice course is a year long, as opposed to a final paper, we were asked to bring an ‘artifact’ to the last class–something that represented where we were in our thinking about the course, the topics, the experiences, as we left for winter break. Below is my artifact: a “love letter” that I wrote for myself and to my classmates, reflecting on becoming a mentor for a court-involved young person.
Dear Youth, Media, and Educational Justice Fam,
It’s been nearly two months since my last love letter. To you. To us.
Like last time, it’s challenging to know exactly where to begin.
To reflect on and dissect and pinpoint and pull apart where we have been.
What we have done.
Who we continue to become as a collective. An entity. A family.
Since my last love letter, we have continued to work tirelessly and creatively to locate where exactly youth, media, and justice intersect and overlap; we’ve jumped head first into conversations about and experiences of realness, and messiness, and about possibilities.
…But since my last love letter, I’ve also seen the bruises on the pale, thin wrists of the young woman I mentor–painted on her by the handcuffs of a police officer who arrested her in her living room, in front of her 9-year-old brother and 10-month-old sister;
…bruises from handcuffs of police officers who were responding to a 911 call from her own mother who didn’t want her in the house.
What do I say to this 15-year-old girl as she shows me her bruises and shares her side of the story?
She speaks to me, a weak staccato quiver in her voice, and tells me about an altercation she had with a girl in the group home last night; about how she doesn’t feel safe here in the group home anymore.
What the hell do I say to her—as the scent of my perfume wafts up from the folds of my warm, knit sweater, and reminds me of my family, of summertime, of feeling free and warm and safe—as my mind darts from one image to another, trying to picture her living room, her mother, the journey from Brooklyn back to the group home in lower Manhattan, (in the back of a police car?)—as I unconsciously glance down at my watch: 7:00pm. We have another 30 minutes here. I’ll be home in time to walk the dog and stir the pulled pork brewing in the slow cooker before my sister gets home. Before I lock my door, turn off the lights, and curl up in my warm bed and drift into sleep stressed out about the readings I didn’t yet do for class tomorrow…
How do I listen to her and react to her when according to the “rules” for mentors I can only give this girl a “side-hug” for safety reasons?
What the hell do I say to her when with every passing moment I’m increasingly blinded by my own privilege? By the inarguable fact that I will never know what any of this actually feels like.
Cause like, all I wanna do right now is hug this girl and tell her it’s going to be alright. And tell her that she’s safe here. And ask her a million more questions about what this feels like and what the deal is with her father? And why it is that she is the only one out of the four children in her family who lives in a group home?
I rub her back quickly, a give her a side-hug, and all that comes out of my mouth is, “I’m sorry.”
And she looks at me, with glassy eyes, and the corners of her mouth pull down like she’s holding the other side of a magnet below in her hands, and she nods.
And my mouth takes a similar shape, and my heart gets heavy, and there’s a sharp zing that pierces my core as I take a deep breath in an effort to push the tears that are threatening to emerge back into my eyes.
I am not qualified for this shit.
The following Tuesday, I’m told she is AWOL.
And I wonder if I’ll get paired up with someone else.
I’m still there every Tuesday, collaging and laughing and spending time with the other young women. But the mentoring sessions at the group home feel different, they’ve lost a bit of meaning. They’ve started to feel like a Tuesday night chore, and I feel like an asshole for thinking that.
I don’t see my mentee for three weeks.
And then last week the mentoring supervisor tells me she’s back. That she doesn’t know where she’s been, but that it may not have been the safest situation, and there may be some trauma involved in the situation.
My stomach lurches at the news—I’m relieved that she’s safe, I’m excited to see her, but I’m also absolutely terrified to know where she was, what’s happened, and what the hell I’m going to say to her.
The supervisor tells me that she almost cried when they told her that I’d been coming even while she was away. She couldn’t believe I’d still been there even when she was not. The weight of her decision to go AWOL took on a new meaning when she realized that there were other people involved and affected by her actions. They had her sign a commitment contract, binding her participation in the mentoring program. I don’t know what that means. I don’t necessarily understand the “procedural rationale”. But okay.
I see her from across the room. Her hair is straight, not braided in cornrows or tucked under a fitted as usual. She looks smaller than I remember.
We make eye contact and a big smile spreads across her face.
I stand up.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, with a familiar staccato quiver in her voice, “I missed you,” as she hands me a folded up piece of loose leaf paper, “I wrote you a letter…I’m sorry.”
She gives me a full-on hug. And I full-on hug her back. Screw it.
That night we play bingo. As we prepare our cards, she tells me bits and pieces about what happened at the group home that made her leave, and where she’s been since. We eat pizza, and laugh as B5 and G32 are called…I’m happy she’s back.
…This is not a success story. It’s not meant to depict an event in which all loose ends are gathered and re-tied tightly. There is still a lot of shit going on. She has had 3 altercations in the few days since her return. I still do not know what to say…
But that moment of reunion was one of the most powerful moments I have ever experienced. This is the work. This is why a course like “Youth, Media and Educational Justice” exists. This moment solidified for me why taking on a mentor role in the life of a court-involved young person could fundamentally change the game. How do we work to make invisible children—whose lives are silenced, disrupted, misunderstood—more visible?
I may not be qualified for this shit, but I’m learning and growing and humbled and terrified. And it is now more than ever clear that it’s worth it.
In love and gratitude,
Juvenile in Justice Project
October 30, 2013 4:39 pm / 1 Comment on Juvenile in Justice Project
Juvenile in Justice is an image-based project aiming to document the placement and treatment of American Juveniles housed by law in facilities that treat, confine, punish, assist and, occasionally, harm them. Richard Ross, a California-based photographer, began the project five years ago and it has been traveling as an art exhibit around the world for the last year.
Juvenile in Justice includes images of over 1,000 juveniles and administrators over 200 facilities in 31 states in the U.S, plus extensive information collected from interviews. The hope is that by seeing these images, people will have a better understanding of the conditions that exist. Children’s identities are always protected and faces are never shown.
Juvenile In Justice is a unique source for images of the American juvenile justice system, which are made available to all institutions and non-profits aimed at youth justice system reform– including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Campaign for Youth Justice, Equal Justice Initiative, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange.
It was difficult to find any information about how Ross gained access into so many facilities and was able to interview so many young people. The only limited explanation of the process that I could find was in a press release for the Ronald Feldman gallery in New York City (one of the hosts for the traveling exhibit). It reads:
Ross gains access to the spaces of incarceration, and those working and living within them, through a complicated process of obtaining permission from all levels of administration, permission that is often at the discretion of individuals working in the system. [He says,] ‘I wanted to give a voice to those with the least amount of authority in any U.S. confinement system.’
It is interesting to consider the relationships among “youth,” “media” and “educational justice” as they intersect and emerge within the Juvenile in Justice project. Ross uses familiar art forms (photographs, video, audio recordings) to tell the stories of young people in the juvenile justice system. His work provides an incredible rarely accessible insight into what detention centers and incarcerated youth look like. While the quality of the footage both still and moving is quite beautiful, the images are chilling yet moving. At the same time, however, it is necessary to offer questions about space, audience, and power as they relate to this project.
By “space” I’m referring to the art galleries around the world that have hosted the traveling exhibition, displaying the project’s artifacts. I wonder about what we tend to associate with an “art gallery,” what assumptions we might make about who has access to these spaces? What kind of conversations are had in these spaces? Are the stark white walls and rather sterilized curation of the photographs meant to ironically mimic the environment of a detention center?
Closely tied to space, I think about how notions of “audience” relate to this project. Who is the target audience of this work? Who are the stakeholders? And which audiences have access to the spaces in which this work is shared?
And finally, “power.” It is always crucial to consider the inherent power dynamics that [tend to] exist between adults and young people, especially when the young people are already involved in a system that has rendered them completely powerless (in this case the juvenile justice system, specifically juvenile detention centers). Ross has documented and exposed this aspect of the juvenile justice system in an incredibly raw and unique way, and it is possible that drawing attention to this topic may result in a greater sense of accountability on the part of the justice system. Yet, we must also think about how Ross’ presence in the detention centers — his photographing, interviewing, etc. — may have been received not only by staff but by the young people. Where do we draw the line between voyeurism and educational justice?
I pose these questions not necessarily to elicit answers, but rather in attempts to encourage us all to remember, like John Dewey (1980), that “a work of art is not the object itself–the physical painting, sculpture or photograph…but what the work does ‘in and with human experience'” (cited by Hubard, 2013). Our lived experiences, the contexts within and lenses through which people may see and interact with these pieces are different and that is an important reality to keep in mind.
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YMI Eurasia
Conflicted With Change
The region of the world designated as Eurasia primarily encompasses nations that were once part of, or controlled by, the Soviet Union. Ever since the collapse of the Iron Curtain most of these nations have struggled politically and economically.
During Soviet rule ethnic Russians were encouraged to move to the former republics and were usually the individuals placed in positions of leadership. With independence, the various native ethnic groups have reestablished control, but not without considerable tension.
Russia continues to have strong influence throughout the region as it is the largest nation (population 144 million), and even though its economy is struggling, it is still the dominant economy.
Like much of Western Europe, Eurasian nations are also seeing a negative population growth.
“Russia is experiencing unusually high death rates from non-natural causes (starting in 1992), many related to alcoholism. Life expectancy, especially among working-age males, has dropped precipitously. The Russian fertility rate has declined to among the world’s lowest, while its abortion rate is the highest. As a result, for the first time in Russian history, the annual number of deaths has exceeded the number of births.” (The Rand Corporation)
The lower birth rate translates to a decreasing number of young people. In Russia less than 27% of the population is under the age of 24. Across most of the region the youth population barely exceeds 40%. This is having a direct effect on the overall work force and is a major area of concern as the population ages.
Regarding religion, after years of Communist control, when the number of people claiming to be Christian decreased, there is now a growing number of people seemingly coming back to the faith. However, this resurgence is more about tradition and cultural identification than it is about any return to a biblical faith.
Islam is the dominant religion in the “stans”. Countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are respectively 70% and 88% Muslim, with most of the rest of the population being non-religious.
Freedom of religion as it impacts Christians is restrictive in many of these countries while others maintain somewhat of a secular political culture as a carryover from Soviet days. Persecution against evangelical Christians is also growing in Russia as the Russian Orthodox Church has strong religious and social influence.
However, in Ukraine, Youth Ministry International’s center of Eurasian ministry operation, both the growth of Christianity and youth ministry training has increased significantly since 1994.
Eurasia Ministry Spotlights
The Impact of Mentoring
15th Anniversary for CYM Ukraine
Ukraine | New Training Partnership
YMI Wives in the Trenches
Youth Leader, Alexandra Dutka
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Patrick Hospes - REALTOR®
WOWCALGARY.CA Professional Real Estate Marketing: 403.464.7464
Why is the housing market struggling to recover?
Posted on August 29, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
Stricter lending conditions, a rise in interest rates, persistently high unemployment and slow economic recovery have weighed on housing demand so far this year.
Home sales have eased more than anticipated so far in 2018, as economic conditions did not improve enough to offset changes in the lending market.
By the numbers, Alberta had the fastest growing economy in 2017, employment started to improve and recent net migration numbers are positive. So, why is the housing market still struggling to recover?
- The economy has not yet reached the levels of pre-recession activity.The type of job growth has shifted, as employment gains have not occurred in traditional sectors.
- Higher lending rates and stricter qualifications are preventing some first-time buyers from transitioning to the ownership market. This is also impacting the ability of some existing homeowners to consider moving up to a higher price point.
- Two years of recession left us with excess supply in all aspects of the housing market.
- Consumer confidence continues to be impacted by concerns about Alberta’s prospects and how much more this circumstance could impact housing prices, particularly now with elevated inventories.
Source: http://www.crebnow.com/why-is-the-housing-market-struggling-to-recover/
Patience required in Calgary’s housing market recovery
Posted on August 7, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
Recent struggles in the job market, accompanied by yet another interest rate increase, is piling on to the decisions potential purchasers have to make in the housing market.
The month of July saw 1,547 units sold in Calgary, nearly five per cent below last year. New listings eased to 2,964 units, causing inventories to total 8,450 units. With more supply than demand, prices continued to fall, with a citywide average of $435,200. This amounted to a month-over-month price decline of 0.30 per cent and year-over-year decline of 1.89 per cent.
Despite some positive momentum in some aspects of our economy, our job market has continued to struggle as of late, with some easing in total employment levels over the past few months and persistently high unemployment rates.
Also, the Bank of Canada raised rates again in July. Rising costs, combined with a slow recovery, are weighing on the demand for resale homes in the city. At the same time supply remains high and is resulting in an oversupplied market.
Citywide months of supply have risen for each property type and currently range from nearly five months in the detached sector to seven months in the apartment sector. These elevated levels have been placing pressure on prices in the city.
Detached benchmark home prices totaled $501,300 in July, down 0.4 per cent from last month and over two per cent from last year's levels. Year-to-date average benchmark prices in the detached sector remain just below levels recorded last year.
The apartment ownership sector continues to see the steepest declines, with year-to-date benchmark prices averaging $257,343, three per cent below last year and nearly 14 per cent below 2014 highs.
In a buyers' market, it's critical for all parties to have the most up-to-date information to make a fully informed decision, whether you are buying or selling.
A REALTOR® can help make an accurate determination on how much to sell a home for or how much is too much when purchasing one.
HOUSING MARKET FACTS
Oversupply issues continue to worsen in each district of the city compared to last year. However, compared to historical conditions, conditions today remain better than in 2016 in both the West and City Centre districts.
Year-to-date, the West and City Centre areas have recorded prices higher than last year's levels and continue to edge towards price recovery. Benchmark prices in the West have averaged $733,329 this year, comparable to previous highs.
City Centre benchmark prices have averaged $693,243, nearly three per cent below previous highs. Most districts have recorded detached prices that remain over four per cent below previous highs.
Easing new listings in the apartment condominium sector have prevented any further gains in the amount of inventory in the market.
Supply levels remain elevated compared to sales, keeping year-to-date prices three per cent below last year's levels and nearly 14 per cent below previous highs.
Citywide inventory levels remain just below last year. July inventories edged down in the North East, North, North West, South and East areas of the city compared to the previous year.
Levels remain elevated by historical standards, but any reductions in inventory can help reduce oversupply.
Like the other sectors, attached sales have been easing this year, with 2,225 sales this year representing a 15 per cent decline over the previous year.
Gains in new listings pushed up inventory levels and months of supply compared to last year.
Citywide year-to-date semi-detached prices have eased by nearly one per cent compared to last year. Benchmark price changes have ranged from a three per cent decline in the North West district to a six per cent increase in the South district. Despite the annual gain this year in the South district, semi-detached prices remain nearly five per cent lower than that district's peak.
Year-to-date benchmark row prices have increased on a citywide basis due to gains in the City Centre, North and North West districts. The annual gain is a positive move towards recovery, but row prices remain well below previous highs in every district of the city.
REGIONAL MARKET FACTS
2018 Airdrie residential sales have totalled 732 units so far, which is 11 per cent lower than the same period last year. Sales are at the lowest level when compared to the same period in the past six years.
Year-to-date new listings remain just above last year's levels, totalling 1,600 units and reaching a new peak when compared to the same period in previous years. Total inventories in Airdrie have averaged 544 units this year, approximately 100 units higher than the same period in 2017.
The rise in inventory, combined with easing sales, has caused months of supply to average over 5.2 months for the year, impacting prices.
Detached benchmark prices have averaged $372,386 so far this year. This is 1.29 per cent lower than in 2017.
Year-to-date residential sales in Cochrane totalled 380 units. Compared to the same period in 2017, this number has declined compared to last year. However, total sales continue to be above long-term averages and levels during 2015-16.
New listings are also at historical highs and have reached a new peak of 862 residential units. This has pushed year-to-date average inventory levels up to monthly levels of 390 units and causing months of supply to average six months for this year.
Despite gains in supply on the market, detached benchmark prices in Cochrane remain relatively stable. Year-to-date detached prices averaged $425,714, just above last year but still nearly four per cent below peak levels.
Total residential sales in Okotoks have totalled 320 units so far in 2018. A decline over the previous year and below long-term trends.
New listings remain elevated and comparable to periods in previous years. This has kept inventories at near-record levels, with year-to-date average levels being totalling 248 units.
Months of supply have averaged 5.4 months this year, higher than historical standards. However, the elevated levels have not prevented prices from starting to recovery. Overall, year-to-date detached benchmark prices have averaged $436,786 this year, just above last year but nearly three per cent below peak levels.
Source: http://www.creb.com/News_Centre/Media_Releases/2018/August/Monthly_Housing_Stats_July_2018/
Stampede Caravan Schedule
Posted on June 27, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
The 10 Days of the Calgary Stampede
The Stampede Caravan Committee is the team of volunteers that puts on the famous Calgary Stampede breakfasts. These breakfasts have been part of the Calgary tradition for more than 85 years.
During the Calgary Stampede, you'll find the Stampede Caravan at major Calgary shopping centres. All breakfasts are open from 9:00am till 11:00am, rain or shine. The best part, it's free of charge to those who attend!
A Caravan Breakfast includes:
- Flapjacks, sausage, juice and all the trimmings
- Native hoop dancing demonstration
- Visits from the Stampede Queen & Princesses, Rodeo cowboys, mascots and visiting dignitaries
Marlborough Mall
Serving 9:00 am to 11:00 am
433 Marlborough Way NE
Westside Recreation Centre
2000 69 St SW
Cenovus Family Day Breakfast
Calgary Stampede - Saddledome Steps
Calgary Stampede - Courtyard in front of the Grandstand
261055 CrossIron Blvd.
North Hill Shopping Centre
1632 14th Avenue Northwest
Market Mall Shopping Centre
3625 Shaganappi Trail NW
Douglas Square
11520 24th Street Southeast
Dalhousie Station and Shopping Centre
5005 Dalhousie Drive Northwest
Southcentre Shopping Centre
100 Anderson Road Southwest
Southland Leisure Centre
2000 Southland Drive Southwest
McKenzie Towne Centre
20 McKenzie Towne Ave SE
Genesis Centre
7555 Falconridge Boulevard Northeast
Sunridge Mall
2525 36th Street Northeast
Coventry Hills Centre
130 Country Village Road Northeast
Deer Valley Shopping Centre
1221 Canyon Meadows Drive Southeast
Lending conditions weigh on housing demand
Posted on June 2, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
May sales activity continues to ease with the largest declines occurring in the detached sector. Additional gains in new listings continue to increase inventory levels.
City-wide sales activity in May totaled 1,726 units and is 19 per cent below last years' levels. This is 24 per cent below longer term averages. Sales activity in the detached sector declined to levels not seen in over a decade.
The impact of rising lending rates and stricter qualification levels is causing demand to ease across all product types.
Economic conditions have improved compared to several years ago, but the pace of economic recovery has not been enough to outweigh the changes in lending conditions.
Market supply has not adjusted to sales activity and is pushing months of supply to 4.9 months. Elevated supply relative to demand prevented any further price recovery in the market and city-wide residential benchmark prices totaled $436,900 in May. This is similar to last month and 0.6 per cent below levels recorded last year.
Detached sales and inventories have risen across all price ranges, but the amount of excess supply has been most notable for homes price above $500,000. Months of supply for the higher price ranges remain high compared to the past several years.
The changes in the lending market are preventing some people from moving up in the market. Uncertainty has also caused others to wait on making changes to their housing situation.
However, there are pockets of the market that have not seen the same supply increase. It makes it so important to understand the dynamics of your community.
Housing Market Inventory On The Rise
Posted on April 7, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
As expected, slow sales this quarter have persisted through March in the City of Calgary. This is not a surprise, after stronger growth in sales at the end of last year following the announced changes to the lending market.
First quarter sales totaled 3,423 units, nearly 18 per cent below last year’s levels and 24 per cent below long-term averages. Easing sales and modest gains in new listings caused inventories to rise and months of supply to remain above four months.
Economic conditions are slowly improving, but it has not been enough to outpace the current impact of higher lending rates and more stringent conditions.
We are entering the most active quarters in the housing market with more inventory, which could create some price fluctuations. However, the improving economy is expected to prevent overall prices from slipping by significant amounts.
While prices trended down on a quarterly basis, they remained relatively unchanged over last year’s levels due to modest gains in the detached sector offsetting declines in the apartment sector.
The citywide benchmark price for detached product averaged $502,000 in the first quarter. This is slightly lower than the fourth quarter of last year, but comparable to levels recorded in the first quarter of last year. In March, the detached price reached $503,800, 3.6 per cent below pre-recession highs, but one per cent above the lows recorded during the recession.
The market today is better than what we experienced at the peak of the recession.
You can find good value if you’re looking to buy a home, and you can also get good value if you’re selling. Being well-informed, in any economic condition, is the key, because there are differences in the market depending on what type of property it is and where it is located.
Detached market inventories in the first quarter of 2017 were low compared to historical standards. This year, detached inventories have averaged 2,573 units over the first quarter, 10 per cent below first quarter averages recorded during 2015 and 2016.
Spring will have more inventory than last year, slowing progress on price recovery. However, the amount of price adjustment will vary depending on competing supply by location and product type.
Source: http://www.creb.com/News_Centre/Media_Releases/2018/April/March_housing_stats/
Six Things To Know Before Buying A Rental Property
Posted on March 27, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
This is another cost you will have to factor in when determining your cash flow. Decide what kind of coverage you want for the investment property. Try to avoid areas where your coverage options might be limited or non-existent, such as a flood plain or other area that is susceptible to natural disasters.
The location of a property will determine the type of renters that will want to live there. Central areas generally have the highest demand, but less-pricey options in working-class areas often have better cash flows. Opt for high-growth areas over those that are in decline. Safety is also an important concern. Renters steer clear of unsafe neighbourhoods, so make sure your income property is in a safe and secure area.
Shopping, schools, parks, restaurants and public transportation are just a few of the amenities renters will be looking for, so make sure they are nearby when choosing a property.
Inventory/Vacancy
An area with a high number of vacancies, indicated by a lot of housing inventory on the market, means it might be difficult to find renters for your property. It might also reduce the amount of rent you’ll be able to charge, impacting your cash flow.
The monthly rent you can charge for a given property will be crucial to determining whether it could be a solid investment. Determine average rental rates in the area to make sure the rent you charge will be able to cover your mortgage payment, taxes and other expenses like insurance every month.
Property taxes are a cost you will have to shoulder with any investment property, so make sure you review the most recent tax assessment to determine if they are high, and if so, why that is the case.
As a general rule, expect to find higher property taxes in metropolitan areas, and lower taxes in more rural places.
Be sure to remember that even if you find the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood, high property taxes could make it a poor investment choice.
How To Eliminate Winter Window Condensation
Posted on February 28, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
Does condensation build up on the inside of your home’s windows during the heating season? If it does, you’re not alone. Winter window condensation can be a problem and there are ways you can deal with it.
As homes are sealed better against air leakage, natural ventilation to the outdoors is reduced. As a result, indoor air becomes much more likely to contain damaging levels of moisture during winter.
If your windows sweat enough during the heating season to require periodic wiping with a towel, then you have a problem. And this problem goes beyond ruined window-frame finishes and mould growth on windowsills. It includes the very real potential for decay within wall cavities and attics, too. Window condensation can also be a sign of low indoor-air quality which affects your health.
Where the water comes from
When warm, moist indoor air meets the cooler surfaces of windows during winter, condensation develops on the glass. It’s the same thing that happens on the outside of a drinking glass filled with a cold beverage on a hot summer day.
Breathing, cooking, showering and drying clothes all release huge amounts of moisture into the air. In the good old days, this moisture would make its way outside through all the cracks that were once common around windows and doors. That’s why old, leaky houses are often so dry during winter with no window condensation at all.
While today’s homes mean lower energy bills, they also demand that we consciously provide some sort of fresh air to vent off all that water vapour. Boosting home ventilation is the key to solving the window condensation problem.
Open windows a little
This approach is about as easy as they come. Yes, opening windows will cost you a bit more in heating, but it still may be the cheapest way to solve your moisture problem.
Use exhaust fans and proper venting
Installing a bathroom exhaust fan is important to remove moist air. Bathroom exhaust fans should be used during every shower or bath and for at least 15 minutes afterwards.
Installing an exhaust fan in high-moisture areas of your home can help if you continue having minor condensation problems even with your windows opened.
Dryers that vent indoors spew massive amounts of moisture into your home. Proper outdoor venting of your dryer could solve the whole problem.
Install a heat recovery ventilator (HRV)
Although this option will cost $2,000 to $2,500 installed, it will fix the problem once and for all. It will also retain most of the heat that you’d normally lose through open windows and out of exhaust fans. In fact, HRVs are so effective and energy efficient that they’re now required by code for new houses in some jurisdictions.
All HRVs direct a supply of fresh, outdoor air into your house while exhausting stale indoor air outside. This dual-flow system is the ventilation part of the equation. An HRV also reclaims most of the heat from stale air before shooting it outside.
If a home owner doesn’t want to purchase an HRV... Just open a window slightly and leave a bathroom fan running till the humidity is low enough for your windows to handle it. Might take a few hrs. Repeat as needed all winter.
Opt for better-insulated windows
The higher the R-value of a window, the better it can handle humidity and keep condensation from forming. Triple pane windows, for instance, are much less likely to form condensation than double-pane. In colder climates, triple pane windows will help your home be more energy efficient as well.
Replacing your windows with ones that have better sealing, but the same insulation value as the original ones, can actually increase window condensation because the new windows reduce air leakage and natural ventilation.
Calgary's housing market to stay the same in 2018
Posted on February 7, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
The housing market in Calgary this year will likely look much like it did last year.
The experts forecast says stricter lending criteria introduced this year by Ottawa, coupled with slightly higher interest rates, should put downward pressure on prices.
That will offset any upward momentum that results from Alberta's continuing recovery from the recent economic recession.
The path to recovery is expected to be bumpy, as the market adjusts to a new normal, which predicts minimal changes in sales activity this year in the Calgary area.
More balanced market conditions will be led by the attached and detached sectors of the market, while the apartment sector will continue to struggle with excess inventory in 2018.
The market conditions in the Calgary are expected to remain relatively unchanged in 2018.
While Calgary is officially out of the economic downturn, the housing market continues to face challenges.
Though sales activity increased last year, there was still just too much supply. The condo market in particular has a glut of inventory.
If net migration to Alberta continues to increase, the over supply will start to get absorbed.
The economic conditions are improving, which is helping to support the housing market.
Housing Recovery Strengthens, but Challenges Remain
Housing market conditions are expected to remain relatively unchanged in 2018.
The market will continue adjusting to the 'new normal' in this economy. However, there was modest job growth and net migration last year, with expectations of further improvements into 2018.
Minimal changes in sales activity are expected to be met with easing new listings for some property types. This should support more balanced conditions and prevent widespread benchmark price declines.
In this market, knowledge is power. A REALTOR® will help buyers and sellers understand what options they have, and negotiate the best price for their property.
For buyers, there are a lot of supply choices in all prices across most product types. Sellers need to understand what niche their home falls within, their competition and how fast they have to sell.
Prices will likely continue to face some downward pressure in the apartment sector, with stabilization not expected until the latter portion of the year.
The attached sector may benefit as demand shifts from the detached sector to the attached sector, with modest price gains of 0.38 per cent. Easing demand in the detached sector is expected to be met with easing listings, supporting overall stability in pricing.
Source: http://www.creblink.com/-/media/Public/CREBcom/Housing_Statistics/2018ForecastReportWEB.pdf?la=en
Tempered Optimism
Posted on January 4, 2018 by Patrick Hospes
It is a word used extensively this year, as Calgary’s economy and housing industry tiptoed to recovery.
And that word — modest — is one you will continue to hear in 2018 in relation to expected gains by each branch of the residential home market.
An improved housing market is one of the first indicators of confidence in the economy and 2018 will see slow, steady, grinding improvement.
The economy started to climb out of the hole, reflected in successful spring resale home sales that extended into the fall (November sales were 15 per cent higher than a year ago). Detached homes are selling — though inventory levels of condos remain high — with rebounding oil prices helping potential buyers feel more secure in their jobs.
While new mortgage rules and rising interest rates may impact some housing decisions, job growth and population growth will drive steady housing demand.
With multi-family housing inventories remaining high— particularly in apartment condos — that sector will see a decrease in starts next year.
Between 6,700-7,300 multi-family units will have been started by year-end (compared to 5,756 in 2016), and we can expect a cooling to a maximum of 6,500 units in 2018.
With a combination of purpose-built rentals and new condo units (rented out by investors) coming on-stream this year, and many Albertans leaving the province in search of jobs, it has been a “tough, tough grind” for the rental industry.
There is not a lot of light on the horizon. We think it will be another year or more (before there is some recovery in the rental market).
Check before you buy: A New Homebuyers Guide to Energy Efficient Homes
Posted on September 10, 2017 by Patrick Hospes
Five places you can look when evaluating a home for energy efficiency.
If you’re thinking about buying a new home, you probably hope it’s energy efficient. Not only is it better for the environment, you’ll save money, too.
With that in mind, here are five places you can look when evaluating a home for energy efficiency.
Most windows have two panes; some have three. Hold a flashlight to a window and count the reflections to see how many panes it has. The more panes, the better the window.
Also, make sure to check window orientation. Windows on the south side of a home gain solar heat in the winter and reduce your heat bills. West-facing windows can cause the house to overheat, increasing summer air conditioning bills.
Plan to replace a hot water tank that is more than eight to 10 years old. Newer tanks are a bit more efficient than the older ones, but not by much.
The best option? Tankless hot water heaters. Christenson recommends going with gas-heated devices rather than the electric version. Electric hot water tanks are still efficient but cost more to operate.
If there’s a drain from the furnace to a sewer outlet and there are two pipes coming from the top, the furnace is likely high-efficiency.
Others will cost you more to operate and may soon need to be replaced.
Check the installation date. High-efficiency furnaces have been code in Alberta since 2007. Look for the EnerGuide label sticker to see the amount of energy the furnace consumes. A rating between 66 and 74 means that energy-efficient upgrades have been made to an existing home, while anything above a 75 means that it’s a new house built to meet or exceed efficiency standards.
To get an idea of what the house contains, check the front door jamb. Most homes built after the early ’80s will have a 6 ½ inch jamb, while earlier homes will have a 4 ½ inch jamb. This indicates the amount of insulation in the home.
Typical older insulation is rated at R-12, while newer homes are R-19 or R-20. R-20 stops almost twice the heat loss of R-12.
Sometimes people have updated older homes, so don’t be surprised to find thicker walls in older houses. Thicker is usually better. New homes may have a high-density insulation in their walls, so check the builder’s specifications.
Home Rating
Natural Resources Canada has an energy rating system for new and existing homes: EnerGuide.
You can look for a rating label on the home’s electrical panel. Or the homeowner may have the report available.
Or you can have the home assessed after you move in.
Mid-Year Market Update Shows Stability
The first-half of 2017 marked a shift in Alberta's economy from recession to recovery, with conditions supporting stability rather than expansion.
Resale sales activity is expected to total 18,401 units in 2017, a 3.3 per cent improvement over last year. The pace of growth is slightly faster than originally anticipated, due to the stronger growth that occurred in the first half of the year.
More potential buyers on the market helped move some of the product in inventory and started to create some price stability.
Improvements in the supply demand balance, primarily in the detached and attached sector, caused prices to start to trend up. Demand growth through the remainder of the year is expected to ease relative to inventory levels. This should prevent further substantial shifts in pricing. Overall, annual city wide prices are expected to remain at levels comparable to last year.
Despite generally improving trends, difficulties continue to exist in the condo-apartment ownership market. Rising sales cannot keep pace with the growth in new listings, keeping supply levels high and placing continued downward pressure on prices. This area of the housing market will likely continue to face challenges well into next year, as it will take time to absorb additional inventory in the resale, new and rental markets.
Improvements in the labour market are supporting the shift in the housing market this year.
While the shift is welcome news for many, we continue to expect that process of recovery will be slow and dependent on the property type and location within the market.
32 Simple Ways to Get Your House Ready to Sell
Selling your home can be an exciting time because it means that there will be new opportunities available for you. However, it can be quite stressful as well. This article will give you some simple guidelines to use to help you get your house sold at the best price possible.
1. Decluttered the entire house
2. Brought in a cleaning crew
3. Had the carpets cleaned
4. Touched up paint
5. Fixed broken items to give a better overall impression of the house.
6. Added missing finishes
7. Weeded and landscaped outdoor areas
8. Neutral-ized. Make things a little more neutral, calm-feeling, and easy for the eyes to take in.
9. Eliminated busy-ness. Get rid of a busy patterned rug in living space.
10. Made each space look as large as possible
11. Created consistency in feel and color scheme throughout the house
12. Gave each space a defined purpose
13. Added plants– faux and real
14. Staged simply
15. Used trays for easy staging
16. Had clean white towels in bathrooms
17. Depersonalized– somewhat
18. Made kids’ toys look as clean and neat as possible
19. Had professional photos taken
20. Cleared off surfaces. Make spaces look uncluttered and as large as possible.
21. Created a space for everything. Because there were some things that we used on a regular basis (like our toaster and cooking utensils) that would need to be put away for every showing.
22. Kept all cabinets, drawers, and closets neat and tidy
23. Kept beds as easy to make as possible
24. Kept up with the dishes
25. Kept up with the laundry
26. Wiped down counters daily
27. Swept/vacuumed daily
28. Cleaned bathroom mirrors daily
29. Kept a laundry basket handy for “extras.”
30. Opened all curtains and blinds.
31. Turned on all lights.
32. Left house in “show condition” any time we left for an extended period of time.
As you can see, there are some simple things that you can do in order to make your home more appealing. If you follow these guidelines, you will draw the attention of many interested buyers toward your home. The next thing you know, you will have an offer and your house will be sold.
Housing Recovery Remains A Work-in-Progress
Market sees modest inventory gains, but overall prices inch up
Sales exhibited stable growth through the first half of the year in the Calgary housing market, but the number of transactions slowed slightly in July compared to last year.
City-wide sales totaled 1,637 units, six per cent below July 2016 levels. Year-to-date sales activity totaled 11,957 units, nine per cent above last year.
Sales growth exceeded expectations so far this year. Clients were re-entering the market after delaying decisions until there were some signs of economic improvement.
However, this recovery will require patience. There continues to be many new and resale ownership options available. This reduces the sense of the urgency for many consumers.
Easing sales were met with higher new listings, causing further gains in inventory levels. City-wide months of supply rose to four months, as inventory levels reached 6,675 units this month. This is 17 per cent higher than last year, but still below July highs recorded in 2008.
Modest improvements in the labour market and net migration were necessary to support the turnaround in the housing market.
Driven by detached and attached housing sales, city-wide prices in July improved over the previous month and the previous year. However, it is nearly four per cent below previous monthly highs. Year-to-date benchmark averages remain 0.44 per cent below last year's levels.
Despite the current month activity, the detached sector continues to demonstrate conditions that are more balanced compared to last year.
Apartment condominium product continues to face oversupply in the resale and new home sector, causing further price declines. In July, the apartment benchmark price was $266,200.
10 Days of (FREE) Pancake Breakfasts During Stampede
Posted on July 9, 2017 by Patrick Hospes
The Stampede Caravan Committee is the team of volunteers that puts on the famous Calgary Stampede breakfasts. These breakfasts have been part of the Calgary tradition for more than 85 years. The team get out early in the morning, rain or shine, to provide a Calgary welcome and a western pancake breakfast and entertainment. The best part, it’s free of charge to those who attend!
That’s right folks, the countdown is on and we are one day out from Calgary’s biggest claim to fame and what many would argue is the best time of the year. While some people dread the crowds and flannel that come with the season, there is one thing we think that everyone can agree on and it’s that food tastes better when its free, and pancakes are just better during Stampede!
For all your free flapjack needs, we have put together a comprehensive list of all the big, small, fancy, informal, gluten free and gluten full breakfasts across the city. If you plan it right, you can score free breakfast (and maybe even lunch) for 10 days straight! Put on your stretchy jeans and treat yourself to one of these super delicious, super free Stampede Breakfasts around the city!
Thursday, July 6:
- Stampede Kickoff Pancake Breakfast (Haysboro)
- AM 700 FM/ Calgary Dream Centre Annual Stampede Breakfast (Acadia)
- Calgary Co-op Stampede Breakfast (Oakridge)
- First Flip Stampede Breakfast (Stephen Ave)
- 4th Street Pancake Showdown (Mission)*
* Don't miss this delicious competition during which several Mission restaurants go head to head to make the tastiest, most creative treats! There is something different every few steps!
Friday, July 7:
- Rotary Stampede Parade and Breakfast (Beltline) *Tickets $55
- RAW CANVAS Custom Pancake Breakfast (Kensington/Sunny Side)
- The Mustand Seed/In from the Cold Stampede BBQ
- Nigerian Canadian Association of Calgary Stampede Breakfast
Saturday, July 8:
- 57th Annual CF Chinook Centre Stampede Breakfast
- Calgary Co-op Stampede Breakfast (Creekside)
- NBC Church Stampede Breakfast (North Haven)
- Scandinavian Centre Free Stampede Breakfast (Mount Pleasant)
- MLA Kleinsteuber + VIVO’s Stampede Breakfast (Country Hills)
- Money Mentors 5th Annual Stampede Breakfast (Manchester)
- Cranston’s Annual Stampede Breakfast (Cranston)
- Wendy T’s Gluten Free Stampede Breakfast (Marda Loop)
- Ten Thousand Villages (Crowchild) Stampede Breakfast (West Hillhurst)
- New Western Motors Stampede Breakfast (Highland Park)
- Jason Kenny Annual Stampede Breakfast (Acadia)
- Kent Hehr, MP Annual Stampede Breakfast (Downtown West End)
- Legacy Residents Association Stampede Breakfast (Legacy)
- Renfrew Community Association Stampede Breakfast (Renfrew)
- Get Stacked VEGAN Pancake Breakfast (Bridgeland)
- Marlborough Mall Caravan Breakfast (Marlborough)
- Westside Recreation Centre Caravan Breakfast (West Springs)
- Capstone/ RCC Stampede Breakfast (Rosscarrock)
- Pancake Breakfast and Connections 2017 (Capitol Hill)
- 2nd Annual Stampede BBQ - Calgary Mackay Nose Hill (Huntington Hills)
- Westside Calgary Chinese Alliance Church Stampede Lunch (Country Hills)
Sunday, July 9:
- Triwood Community Stampede Breakfast (Brentwood)
- Centre St Church Free Stampede Breakfast (Strathcona)
- Riverbend Community Stampede Breakfast (Riverbend)
- Commons Church Breakfast (Kensington/Sunnyside)
- Northside Bible Fellowship Church Annual Stampede Breakfast (Tuxedo)
- MLA Malkinson’s Stampede Breakfast (Glenbrook)
- Wild Wild Westside Stampede Breakfast (Signal Hill)
- Free Stampede Breakfast Sunwest Church (McKenzie Lake)
- Westview Baptist Church Free Stampede Breakfast (Ranchlands)
- SCCEFC’s Stampede Breakfast (Highfield)
- Stampede BBQ & County Fair (Lincoln Park)
- Holy Trinity Anglican Church Stampede Breakfast (Panorama Hills)
- Bowness Campus Wood’s Homes Stampede Breakfast (Bowness)
- 5th Annual Puppy Pancake Day (Bowness)
- Calgary-Bow Stampede Lunch (COP/ Winsport)
Monday, July 10:
- Premier’s Annual Breakfast (Eau Claire)
- Qualico-Evanston Stampede Breakfast (Evanston)
- Calgary Co-op Stampede Breakfast (Auburn Bay)
- The ShopNetTV Stampede Breakfast (Olympic Plaza)
- Trinity Lodge Stampede Breakfast (Kelvin Grove)
- Spackman Dental/Smile Zone (Willow Park)
- Silverado Dental Wellness (Silverado)
- CrossIron Mills Mall
- North Hill Shopping Centre
Tuesday, July 11:
- United Nurses of Alberta BBQ (Kensington/Sunnyside)
- Eden Brook’s 4th Annual Stampede Breakfast (Springbank Hill)
- Scotiabank Stampede Breakfast (Stephen Ave)
- Market Mall Caravan Breakfast
- Douglas Square Caravan Breakfast
Wednesday, July 12:
Amber Approved Stampede Breakfast*HEALTHY* (Beltline/Hotel Arts)
- Calgary Co-op Stampede Breakfast (Sierra Springs)
- Momentum Health Stampede Breakfast (Ogden)
- MINAS 3rd Annual Stampede Breakfast (Eau Claire) *Donation
- Century Calgary Stampede Breakfast (Highfield)
- Dimension Dentistry Breakfast (Sundance)
- Italian Style Stampede Breakfast (Kensington/Sunnyside)
- Parkdale Campus Wood’s Homes Stampede Breakfast (Parkdale)
- Dalhousie Station and Shopping Centre Caravan Breakfast
- Southcentre Shopping Centre Caravan Breakfast
Thursday, July 13:
- Best of the East Stampede Breakfast (Forest Lawn)
- Remington YMCA Stampede Breakfast (Quarry Park)
- Home and Away Second Annual Stampede Breakfast (Beltline/ 17th Ave)*Donation
- Southland Leisure Centre Caravan Breakfast
- McKenzie Towne Centre Caravan Breakfast
Friday, July 14:
- Calgary Co-op Stampede Breakfast (Crowfoot)
- Kerby Centre Stampede Breakfast (Eau Claire)
- Genesis Centre Caravan Breakfast
- Sunridge Mall Caravan Breakfast
Saturday, July 15:
- Springs Stampede Breakfast(Kingsland)
- New Brighton’s Annual Stampede Breakfast (New Brighton)
- Tuscany Resident’s Association (Tuscany)
- Own It’s 2nd Annual Stampede Breakfast (Bridgeland)
- Coventry Hills Centre Caravan Breakfast
- Deer Valley Shopping Centre Caravan Breakfast
Sunday, July 16:
- AGAHAN Filipino Stampede Breakfast (Forest Lawn)
- Taking Strides Stampede Breakfast (Currie Barracks)
- Bonavista Church Stampede Breakfast (Bonavista)
- Old Paths Baptist Church Stampede BBQ (Lynnwood)
To find pancakes on the go, there is even an app called “Flapjack Finder” …so you never have to worry about missing out on your next free meal. Happy Stampede, everybody!
June Spells A Gradual Recovery
Calgary's housing market in June saw a modest improvement in sales along with an increase in new listings.
Second quarter activity continues to demonstrate improved supply-demand balance and price stability. City wide benchmark prices totaled $441,500 in June. This is a 0.5 per cent gain over last month and nearly one per cent higher than last year.
The supply gain this month will be monitored. However, on a quarterly basis, inventory levels remain comparable to last year, sales have improved and there have been modest price gains. All of this remains consistent with expectations of a gradual recovery.
Year-to-date residential sales in Calgary totaled 10,322 units, which is 12 per cent above last year's levels. New listings increased by three per cent over the same time period.
Overall, both the sales-to-new listings ratio and months of supply have trended down this year. This signals more stable pricing in the housing market this year.
While there were many buyers waiting for lower prices to step into the housing market, there were also many sellers waiting until prices stabilized before listing their home.
Some of this recent growth in listings will help provide more choice, particularly in the detached market where market conditions had significantly tightened over the past few months.
Detached inventories and sales totaled 3,224 and 1,385 units, for a month of supply of 2.3 in June. Despite the recent rise in supply, over the first half of this year inventories have averaged 16 per cent below last year's levels while sales are 13 per cent higher, keeping this segment in more balanced conditions.
While activity is also improving in the attached segment of the market, resale activity in the ownership of apartment-style product continues to face challenges with weak sales relative to listings and rising months of supply.
As of June, the unadjusted benchmark price for an apartment style product totaled $265,800. This is nearly four per cent below last year's levels and 11 per cent below recent highs.
Home Prices Remained Stable in May
Demand for detached housing continues to rise
Fueled by the detached sector, Calgary home prices trended up for the fourth consecutive month.
The economic climate is supporting detached housing market recovery.
Improved demand and easing supply has created more balanced conditions and ultimately some modest price gains. While it will still take some time for prices to recover, the transition in the detached segment is an important first step to stabilization across all segments of the housing market.
For the first time since June 2015, prices in the detached sector did not decline on a year-over-year basis. Unadjusted detached benchmark prices reached $509,000 in May, one per cent higher than last month and May 2016 levels.
Like the detached market, the attached product has moved towards more balanced conditions. This has supported some recent directional shifts in pricing. However, monthly price declines had fallen by 4.7 per cent over peak levels and year-to-date benchmark prices remain two per cent below last year's levels.
We can really see a slow but sure recovery in the housing market.
Demand for detached product is driving a new sense of optimism for consumers as we move further into spring.
Against this backdrop, the number of new listings rose to 3,866 units in May, which is 17 per cent higher than last year's total for the month. Despite this rise, year-to-date new listings have declined by one per cent over last year.
With the change in market dynamics, people no longer feel like they may need to settle for a second choice in a property.
There are lots of housing choices in every segment of the market and that made for a good situation in an already active spring market.
The variation in market activity also extends to regional areas outside the city of Calgary.
Calgary Home Sales Rise, Prices Hold Steady in April
Posted on May 16, 2017 by Patrick Hospes
Calgary’s real estate market continued a spring resurgence in April as sales improved across all sectors.
Job growth and reduced single-family inventory helped bring some stability to the local market. CREB's April report shows sales of single-family homes rose 6 per cent from a year ago, to 1,204 units. Year-to-date sales of detached homes are up 14.6 per cent, at 3,781 units.
Apartment sales rose 5 per cent, to 287 units, last month, and are up almost 18 per cent this year.
More jobs means less uncertainty for people who are sitting on the fence. There also tends to be fewer people who need to sell when employment improves, and that can prevent inventory gains and further price reductions in the market.
The average sale price of a detached home last month was 4 per cent higher than a year ago, at $562,633. The median price also rose 4 per cent, to $503,250.
CREB said steady sales growth has helped reduce housing supply in the city from elevated levels of the past two years. The number of detached homes on the market is down about 20 per cent from a year ago, it said.
While activity continues to vary by location and product type, more balanced conditions will help to support overall price stability.
Oversupply in the condo apartment category remains a concern as new listings outpace sales growth, keeping prices suppressed.
The median price for apartments last month declined 4.1 per cent from April 2016, to $267,000. The average price was unchanged at $303,000, though prices are down almost 12 per cent from the peak of 2014.
Improvements in the employment situation were necessary to prevent further declines in the housing sector.
Posted on May 3, 2017 by Patrick Hospes
Calgary’s housing market showing signs of stability, but the road to a full recovery will take time.
When we talk about recovery, we have to differentiate the marketplace conditions because there are two segments facing different prospects. There’s the detached market that seems to be improving, and then there’s the apartment segment, which continues to struggle.
Sales in the detached sector have improved from low levels over the past two years, but at the same time fewer listings have been coming onto the market reducing inventory and supporting some price stability.
In March 2017, detached resales increased by 17 per cent compared with the same period last year, and inventory declined by 25 per cent. Prices have remained relatively stable as a result.
With apartments, the challenge is increasing supply in the new home sector weighing on the market. There is a large amount of new apartments under construction, and it is difficult for supply to quickly adjust to the current demand environment as builders rarely halt construction midway through a project.
Still, apartment sales increased, as did the attached segment in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2016.
Employment growth “is critical” to the real estate market. Jobs increase migration and that helps drive housing growth.
Job growth has gone on a small run of late. And oil prices have stabilized, which is equally important. These are good signs for the resale housing market.
The city may face an entirely new normal of slower growth.
Housing Market Set for Favourable Lead into Spring March 2017
Detached prices stabilize as city-wide inventory trends down
After a long period of disconnect between supply and demand, Calgary's detached housing sector is firmly in balanced territory. Sales were still 10 per cent below long-term trends in March, but above levels seen in recent years, while average inventory declined compared to last year, supporting price stability in the detached market.
It's not so much that demand went through the roof in March, but that we had less supply come onto the market, which is really helping to balance things out. These changes are lifting the cloud of uncertainty for housing consumers and nicely positioning our market as we move into the more active spring season.
Unadjusted detached benchmark prices totaled $503,900 in March, 0.4 per cent above last month and similar to levels recorded last year. Meanwhile, Apartment and attached prices continue to remain well below levels recorded last year.
Market conditions are quite different in the apartment sector. The additional supply coming from the new home sector is not easily reversed and the added competition is continuing to weigh on prices in the higher density sectors of the market.
City-wide inventory levels totaled 5,114 in March, 16 per cent below last year's levels. This is primarily driven by the 25 and 17 per cent contraction in the detached and attached markets. Inventory levels in the ownership apartment sector remain three per cent higher then levels recorded last year.
The housing market transition in the first quarter appears to be consistent with trends in the labour market. However, the way the rest of the year unfolds will be largely determined by what happens in the next two quarters, as nearly 60 per cent of all housing sales typically occur in that time frame.
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Waterfront Condo Project Moves Forward with Next Phase of Development
Western Canadian developer Anthem Properties brought some good news to Calgary’s labour market Thursday.
The developer of the Waterfront condo project in the Eau Claire neighbourhood said it’s moving ahead with the next phase of development that will create more than 250 direct construction jobs.
Four buildings totalling 624 units — all sold — were completed in the project’s first phase. The next stage, called Parkside, will eventually consist of six buildings comprising 361 units, of which 85 per cent are sold.
The entire project is expected to be completed by spring 2018.
There is a bit of a softening (in the housing market) but it’s really not as bad as one might think given that huge drop in such an important industry (energy) to this province.
Icon Business Park Adds Another Major Tenant
Hungerford Properties has secured a third anchor tenant for its Icon Business Park in the city’s southeast, bringing the leasing of office space there to almost 70 per cent.
ABB, a global company in the utilities, oil and gas and mining sectors, is leasing about 71,000 square feet of office and warehouse space. The company is moving from three separate Calgary locations into the one space.
The location was chosen after an extensive market search and Icon offered the best in workplace accessibility, convenience of location as well as flexibility to accommodate future expansion, said ABB Canada.
The 761,000-square-foot Icon Business Park has been under redevelopment by Hungerford for the past two years. Other major tenants include pet supply distributor Rolf C. Hagen Inc and The Data Group. The latest deal brings the property to more than 50 per cent leased for both office and warehouse space.
Sales Launched for Unique N3 Condo Project in East Village
Sales are launching today for one of the most unique residential condo projects Calgary has ever seen.
The N3 development in East Village is designed with Generation Y in mind with parking for bicycles and ‘microcars’ only.
Knightsbridge Homes, which is developing the concept, said the project vision also includes social open spaces for entertaining and hosting, Wi-Fi connectivity throughout and fully-furnished IKEA units. Also, to support the marketing platform of – No car, No parking, No problem – each buyer will receive a $500 credit to Car2Go and an urban bicycle.
It will be located near the historic St. Louis Hotel along 8th Avenue S.E. at 4th Street and consist of 300 condo units averaging about $225,000. Occupancy is expected by the summer of 2017.
Joe Starkman, president of Knightsbridge Homes, said the price point, as well as the unique development concept, is tailored to attract buyers in the 20-to-35-year-old demographic.
The N3 development, which stands for New Attitude, New Living, New Vision, held an official launch of the project on Friday. It is being co-developed with Metropia.
“We were fortunate we had a pretty strong seniors population. What we needed to make sure is that we had a difference in incomes as well as different (residences) . . As a community, people are recognizing the strength in East Village and what we really have going for us. It is a different space.”
N3 will be located near the LRT line. Knightsbridge also owns a parcel of land on the other side of the St. Louis which could be another future condo development.
“We had a sensational location. The East Village redevelopment by CMLC is like second to none. I’ve travelled all over the world. This is one of the most incredible undertakings being done anywhere. To the community itself, that was a cornerstone,” said Andrew Brethour, president of PMA Brethour Realty Group which is handling sales and marketing for the condo.
Knightsbridge is planning to develop a pedestrian area on either side of the St. Louis Hotel, where CMLC expects retail and commercial use will be developed for that building.
Knightsbridge has developed a mixed-used, four-tower University City project of 705 condo units in the northwest community of Brentwood. Only 24 units remain unsold there.
CMLC says East Village will be home to more than 11,000 residents upon completion in 2027. It will also be home to the new Central Library, the National Music Centres, an urban shopping centre, and two hotels.
Condo Tower With No Traditional Parking Sells 90% of Units In Five Days
A planned East Village car-free condo tower has sold 90 per cent of its 167 units in five days, according to officials.
The N3 project, to be located near the historic St. Louis Hotel along 8 Ave. S.E., and 4 St., is being developed by Knightsbridge Homes, of Calgary, and Metropia, of Toronto, with an expected occupancy of summer of 2017. The average price of available units is $260,000.
According to Altus Group, a real estate research company, 1,430 new Calgary condos sold in the first half of this year, compared with 2,758 for the same period in 2014.
The resale condo market in Calgary has also taken a hit this year. Through Tuesday, there have been 2,517 MLS sales in the city, down nearly 31 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board.
Calgary Records Largest New Home Price Decrease
The Calgary region posted the country’s largest new home price declines in July, says Statistics Canada.
Its New Housing Price Index fell 0.3 per cent locally from June, tying the region with Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo in Ontario.
“Builders in both areas cited lower negotiated selling prices, as well as lower list prices to stimulate sales as the main reasons for the decline,” said the federal agency.
Prices on an annual basis increased 0.3 per cent in July. Nationally, the index rose 0.1 per cent in July and it was up 1.3 per cent from a year ago.
Housing Affordability Continues to Improve in Calgary
Owning a home in Calgary at market price remains more affordable than it has been on average since the middle of the 1980s, says a new report released Monday by RBC Economics Research.
But the latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report said movements in oil prices are likely to exert a stronger influence on the market direction in the short term.
Alberta’s housing market is still feeling the impact from the oil price shock,” said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist, RBC. “That said, the dust began to settle this spring, and we saw a gradual recovery in confidence, which helped rebalance demand-supply conditions. Home re-sales started to turn around, and sellers no longer rushed to list their properties.”
RBC said prices remained under slight downward pressure for the most part in the second quarter, which helped keep the cost of home ownership in the province on a descending course from the first quarter.
The RBC Housing Affordability measures, which capture the proportion of pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a home at market values, fell slightly in Calgary for both two-storey homes, by 0.8 percentage points to 31.9 per cent, and bungalows, by 0.4 percentage points to 32.4 per cent. The measure for condos stayed relatively the same, rising by 0.1 percentage points to 19.5 per cent.
Across the province, the measures fell 0.5 percentage points to 32.5 per cent for two-storey homes and 0.1 percentage points to 31.7 per cent for bungalows, while rising 0.2 percentage points to 20.1 per cent for condos.
Record $12.25 Million MLS Listing for a Calgary Existing Home
An English-style manor home wrapped entirely in stone is the city’s most expensive ever MLS residential listing, with an asking price of $12.25 million.
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada has listed the nearly 10,000-square-foot Aspen Estates home, which includes five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a 1,200-square-foot patio.
The Aspen Ridge Lane S.W. home — which sits on a full acre — was custom-built by its owner, Jim Quinn of QuinnCorp Communities, the original developer of Aspen Estates, said realtor Corinne Poffenroth, who has the listing.
Poffenroth said the listing includes two separate lots that can be developed. An enclosed galleria connects the primary residence to a 1,000-square-foot carriage house that sits atop a two-level, seven-car garage.
Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist, said the luxury sector comprises about 2.8 per cent of the overall market. For the past couple of years, it was just over three per cent.
It is an overall sign, a reflection, of what’s happening in the economy, adding that new listings in the luxury market represent a greater share of the overall market.
Deal Would Make Calgary-based Real Estate Trust One of Canada's Largest Landlords
CALGARY — A Calgary-based real estate trust would control one the largest collections of rental apartments in Canada under a three-way deal involving nearly 25,000 residential suites in eight provinces and two territories.
Under the proposed deal, Northern Property Real Estate Investment Trust of Calgary will acquire True North Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust of Toronto.
Northern would also acquire a 4,650-suite portfolio of multi-family properties from Starlight Investments Ltd., which is controlled by True North chairman Daniel Drimmer.
Drimmer, 42, would become the largest investor in the merged company, to be named Northview Apartment Real Estate Investment. He would have a 14.5 per cent interest in Northview and have the right to name two members of its board.
Northview is expected to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, where Northern Property and True North units are traded.
In total, the Northview would have suites in more than 60 markets in every province but Prince Edward Island and Manitoba, as well as about 800 employees. The largest number of suites is 8,235 in Ontario.
Its head office would be in Calgary, where Northern Property has its base.
Under the proposed deal, True North shareholders would receive 0.3908 of a share of Northern Property for each share. Based on Friday’s closing price, the offer was worth $9 per share when the deal was announced, which was 16 per cent above True North’s closing price of $7.73 per share.
Drimmer and some of his associates, who collectively have 41.9 per cent of True North’s outstanding voting units, have agreed to vote in favour of the transaction.
In addition, Northern Property would pay $535 million — including $316 million cash, $49 million of assumed debt and equity issued by the trust — to acquire a portfolio of apartment suites from a joint venture between Starlight and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which manages retirement funds for the RCMP, Canadian Forces and the reserve forces.
New Condo Sales Gain Some Ground in Q2
Calgary’s new condo market found its footing over the second quarter following the initial shock of the energy sector downturn, says Altus Group.
A report released on Thursday said second-quarter sales were 29 per cent lower than the average of the past three years, significantly better than the first quarter when sales fell 62 per cent compared with the 2012-2014 average.
Altus Group said 907 new Calgary condos were sold between April and June compared with 1,418 for the same 2014 period. While consumer confidence has improved since the first quarter, increased competition means the smaller pool of buyers has been diluted, it said. Inventory levels grew 14 per cent as sales failed to keep pace with new units coming onto the market.
The more than 3,000 available units, as of the end of June, mark the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008.
The report said the increased inventory is concentrated in pre-sales. Standing inventory remains below 2010-2012 levels with less than 10 per cent of the available units move-in ready.
Calgary’s paradigm has shifted into a slower pace of growth, sure. But the city is still demonstrating a consistent level of demand for new condominium product.
Real Estate Developers Building New Calgary Playgrounds
The Calgary real estate industry has been instrumental in developing new non-school playgrounds in the city with 21 built in 2013 and 2014 and turned over to the city.
The most recently-built playground was unveiled the other day at the massive Currie Barracks development and a sign of a growing trend as developers and home builders look to attract homebuyers into new neighbourhoods.
Ryan Doherty, director of real estate for Canada Lands Company, a Crown corporation developing Currie Barracks, said the 20,450-square-foot playground, which includes the rubber pad with play equipment, all surrounding paths, landscaping, and seating areas, is in the heart of the community.
Playgrounds built by developers are approved and eventually maintained by the City of Calgary.
Doherty said new playgrounds play a very important role in new residential development.
That playground delivers on a long-term promise with residents of the very highest quality amenities. Residents cannot only engage with one another but engage with the community as well.
Calgarians look forward to the creation of new parks and value accessible outdoor year-round spaces where they can be active. The beautification of community spaces with trees, plants and features such as pathways for walking and cycling trails are valued by residents.
Calgary Resale Housing Market Sees Easing of Year-Over-Year MLS sales Declines
The rate of decline in year-over-year MLS sales in Calgary is continuing to ease.
Calgary Real Estate Board statistics indicate indicate July month-to-date activity in the resale housing market, up to and including Thursday, was down 13.9 per cent to 1,890 transactions compared with the same period a year ago.
It is the smallest year-over-year monthly drop of 2015 which began with a near 40 per cent annual plunge in January.
Month-to-date new listings in July were down 8.91 per cent to 2,802 units.
The average MLS sale price was off by 1.11 per cent to $476,500. However, the median price was up 2.42 per cent to $435,300.
The days on the market to sell a listing rose by 21.21 per cent from 33 days to 40 days.
Prices are remaining stable year-to-date as a result of a reasonable demand due to lower interest rates and less new inventory coming onto the market. The roles of buyers and sellers have changed in the last 12 months and this is creating a more balanced market to what it was last year. Balance is healthy.
Renovation Spending in Alberta on the Rise
Continued low borrowing costs and a growing housing stock will boost spending on renovations in Alberta this year and next year, says a report by the Altus Group.
The report said renovation spending, which is defined as the sum of residential alterations, conversions and repairs, reached $7.6 billion in the province in 2014, up 3.7 per cent from 2013. That was the second highest growth rate in the country behind Ontario’s 4.1 per cent.
The Altus Group is forecasting spending to increase by 2.6 per cent this year and by 3.8 per cent next year in the province.
In Canada, renovation spending reached an estimated $67.8 billion last year, up 3.2 per cent from 2013.
The report said the renovation sector accounted for 3.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product in 2014 and renovations are the top purpose for Canadians borrowing with home equity lines of credit.
Alterations/improvements is the biggest component of renovations, contributing about three out of every four dollars spent.
The report said that beginning in the 2000s, spending on renovations grew at 8.7 per cent on an average annual rate. But for the last seven years, including the recession and the subsequent recovery, it has been 2.6 per cent as an average annual rate of growth.
Altus Group said this is still “impressive” when it is compared to the overall Canadian economic average annual growth rate of 1.6 per cent during the same period.
Luxury Home of Canadian golfer Stephen Ames is Listed for Sale at Close To $8 Million
The property in Aspen Estates, at 20 Aspen Ridge Manor S.W., features a French country exterior with an interior that is described as “modern elegant” but combines a Calgary/Alberta feel to it.
It has a French country exterior but a very warm modern interior. The quality of workmanship and the thought they put into the home makes it special in its own right because it was a custom-built home. You just have a lot of special features and items in the home.
The unique property is owned by Ames and Jodi Ames. They have owned the property since 2010.
It has numerous unique features including custom cow-hide benches at the entrance for when an individual walks into the nearly 11,000-square-foot home.
Other features include a four-car garage, 11 fireplaces, nine bathrooms, a horizontal nine-foot fireplace, custom gym, infrared sauna, a custom-built wine room with large wine fridge and built-ins to accommodate about 1,800-plus bottles of wine with proper refrigeration, a media room and a golf simulator room.
Calgary’s luxury home resale market has taken a hit in 2015 with $1-million property transactions down 36 per cent from last year’s record level. A recent report by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada said 289 properties of $1 million or more sold in Calgary during the first six months of 2015. A record 854 high-end homes sold last year, besting the previous records of 726 in 2013 and 544 in 2012.
Arlington Street Has Big Designs for 17th Avenue
Arlington Street Investments president and CEO Frank Lonardelli built the four-storey commercial tower on 8th Avenue S.W. just to the west of the Uptown Theatre block where his head office is housed.
Under construction is The Windsor, a five-storey, mixed-use commercial project on the strategic corner of Elbow Drive and 50th Avenue S.W., surrounded by the communities of Elboya, Windsor and Britannia.
Designed by NORR Architects and built by Clark Builders, the structure will house almost 20,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor and an additional 5,000 square feet on the second. The remaining 70,000 square feet will be built for offices.
Lonardelli’s new focus is squarely on 17th Avenue between Macleod Trail in the southeast to 14th Street S.W. At the vibrant southwest intersection of 17th Avenue and 14th Street, Arlington Street purchased what many people still refer to as the Bank of Nova Scotia block but was known more recently as a retail outlet for American Apparel.
It has been fully leased to Prema Sai Wholistic Living, a clinic with the goal of transforming health care by a variety of different bodywork sessions including massage, acupuncture and detox services consulting with Calgary’s best practitioners.
Kitty corner to that site, Arlington Street has purchased the 36,000-square-foot Condon Building and Lonardelli has great plans to transform it and the parking area into a new Sentinel Block. He wants to create a village atmosphere with a design of retail that will include a grocery store on the main floor and a high tower of residential rental suites bringing more shoppers to walk the avenue.
The company already owns the block of 17th Avenue at 1st Street S.E. The next piece of land to be redeveloped will be the assembly it has purchased between College Lane and the Bank of Montreal branch at 7th Street S.W.
Designed by McKinley Burkart architects and interior designers, the dramatic High Street project is influenced by a New York Italian market concept.
Preliminary designs show a high-end restaurant on the ground floor. On the second will be a cooking school, bakery, wine boutique and grab-and-go foods. Floors three and four will be for office lease and the fifth floor will house a large 8,000-square-foot retail area connected to the second floor by an open glass stairwell and elevator.
It will be a casual, open area with kitchen for simple pastas, wine and beer, a variety of foods for sale and feature an atrium with retractable roof offering wonderful views of the downtown skyline to the north.
Lonardelli has a vision to see all of 17th Avenue as a destination, not just individual stores, so he is keen on providing space for unique shops. He will be in even more control of his idea as he also is in the final stages of negotiations to buy two more major sites he wants to develop along the avenue.
Calgary Has Province's Highest Average Rental Rate for Seniors' Residences
The vacancy rate for seniors’ residences in the Calgary region is on the rise, along with the average cost of a standard space.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the vacancy for standard retirement spaces in the Calgary metro area has grown to 6.4 per cent from 4.8 per cent last year. Average rents climbed to $3,564 this year from $3,460 last year, it said.
The rise in the vacancy rate for seniors housing was largely due to more supply added to the market. While the number of residents in seniors’ housing also rose from the previous year, it did not keep pace with the additions to supply.
Several factors, including land and construction costs, are behind rent increases. Many of the facilities in Calgary also offer more amenities compared to some of the other residences in Edmonton and in other areas of the province.
In contrast, vacancy throughout Alberta declined to 8.1 per cent in 2015 from 8.5 per cent in 2014 and the Edmonton area saw its vacancy rate drop to 6.3 per cent from 7.1 per cent last year.
The average rental rate for standard spaces in Edmonton rose to $2,538 from $2,402 while provincially it was up to $2,922 from $2,826.
The report said there were 11,143 retirement spaces in the province, up six per cent in 2014. About 40 per cent of those spaces (4,432) are in Edmonton and 33 per cent (3,645) are in Calgary.
Oil-fuelled Slowdown Improves Housing Affordability in Calgary
Plunging oil prices boosted housing affordability in Calgary during the first quarter of 2015, says RBC Economics.
Its latest housing trends report, released Monday, said falling energy prices shook the confidence of both buyers and sellers — reversing a trend of rapid price increases and swinging the market sharply in favour of buyers.
Recent developments suggest that housing activity stabilized in spring, and the market will be shaped by news on the economy and the job market in particular over the coming months.
RBC measures affordability using the proportion of pre-tax household income required to service the mortgage of an average home, including principal and interest, property taxes and utilities.
In Calgary, the affordability measures improved in all categories: Condos fell 0.6 points to 19.4 per cent, two-storey homes declined 1.5 points to 32.6 per cent, and bungalows dropped one point to 32.8 per cent.
The Calgary Real Estate Board has logged 1,550 MLS sales through Sunday, a decline of 19 per cent from the same period a year ago. The average sale price was down 2.9 per cent to $482,691.
RBC Economics said sales activity in Calgary has improved in recent months.
Alberta saw affordability measures improve in all categories as well: Condos were down 0.6 points to 19.9 per cent, two-storey homes declined one point to 33 per cent, and bungalows dropped 0.7 points to 31.8 per cent.
At the national level, RBC said affordability measures improved slightly: Condos were down 0.2 points to 27.1 per cent, two-storey homes declined 0.2 points to 47.9 per cent and detached bungalows were unchanged at 42.7 per cent.
Vacancy Rates, Monthly Rents Both Rise in Calgary Apartment Market
Apartment rents in Calgary jumped almost six per cent during the past year despite weakening demand led by the slumping energy sector.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, in its spring market survey, said same sample rents for a two-bedroom apartment rose 5.9 per cent in the 12 months to April 2015. The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment grew to $1,319, eclipsed only by Vancouver — at $1,345 — among the major markets surveyed by CMHC. The average two-bedroom rent in Toronto was $1,269, it said.
Meanwhile, the Calgary-area vacancy rate grew to 3.2 per cent in April, more than double the 1.4 per cent rate of a year earlier.
The CMHC report confirmed rent increases were largely attributed to stronger demand in the latter half of 2014.
The current rate of 3.2 per cent has historically reflected a supply and demand balance.
New condo construction in the past one to two years has decreased rental demand as more renters are buying homes.
Canmore posted Alberta’s lowest vacancy rate, at zero per cent. Cold Lake and Wood Buffalo had the province’s highest vacancy rates at 22.8 and 22.3 per cent respectively.
Southern Alberta Ranch Listed for Record $42.5 Million US
The Bar-N Ghost Pine Ranch in southern Alberta is being listed for sale for a record $42.5 million US.
The nearly 6,000-hectare property, owned by Calgary oil and gas executive Greg Noval, is located 90 minutes south of Calgary and close to renowned UNESCO World Heritage site Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.
The previous owners were the Wesley family, who were well known for establishing an Alberta baseball team, the Granum White Sox.
Offers will be accepted exclusively in US dollars. The list price is about $52.5 million in Canadian dollars.
It features six residential homes “set on a pristine and diverse landscape, with lush meadows, rolling hills, steeper mountain country with scatterings of aspens and evergreens, as well as water springs, trout pond and a lake.
The cattle ranch is also home to elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer and several species of birds including the sharp-tailed grouse.
The water on this site is incredible. There are streams, ponds and a lake on the property that keep this property lush and green most of the year. They’ve never had any water issues. They have gravity water supply that comes into the home. So they have no pumps pumping any water because there’s just that much water on this land.
It is untouched nature basically that is a large parcel that hasn’t been affected by any development or any external effect. It’s been protected.
The working cattle ranch has 800 cattle and 36 Angus cross bulls. It has winter cabin facilities, corrals, barns, machine shops and sheds.
The residences include a luxurious 5,200-square-foot grand ranch home, a guest home, and four village houses for a full crew.
The primary residence has been designed to highlight the beauty of the surrounding natural landscape, with floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing panoramic views, custom millwork with etchings of the prairies and local wildlife throughout the home.
Canadian real estate is now regarded as being among the most desirable assets for discerning buyers worldwide. Given the low Canadian dollar, this property’s unique history, and its location one hour from the U.S. border, it’s no surprise that there has not only been interest from Canadian buyers, but from buyers from the U.S. and internationally as well.
Strategic Group to Build 32-storey Skyscraper in Beltline
A Calgary developer plans to build a 32-storey mixed-used skyscraper on a vacant downtown site that’s been a neighbourhood eyesore for several years.
Strategic Group has submitted a development permit application for the site at the corner of 1st Street S.E. and 10th Avenue. The $130-million project, to be named ONE, will include 100,000 square feet of Class A office space, 227 one- and two-bedroom rental residences and retail, says the Strategic Group.
Strategic acquired the site in November 2014 after it sat vacant for several years after a planned 30-storey condo project never got off the ground.
Despite the current economic uncertainty, the developer has confidence in the city and has confidence in the particular project that they're building.
Construction is expected to start later this year with completion by the end of 2017.
It’s got such great access into downtown so people can really have that living close to work and being able to walk or ride a bike and not having to rely on a car as much to get around. Everything is in a very close range from that site.
Industrial Real Estate Remains in Demand
Things may be a little quiet right now with commercial real estate downtown, but there doesn’t seem to be any slowdown in industrial real estate activity.
Fulton Industrial Park is a 210-hectare development east of Calgary off Highway 22X on TWP Road 230 and Range Road 280. It’s 10 minutes from Stoney Trail and fronts the Canadian Pacific main line, within the intermodal switching zone.
Owner Resland Development of Edmonton has sold about 5 hectares to Myshak Crane and Rigging and another 6 hectares to Whissell Contracting. Both companies are moving out of Calgary to take advantage of lower property taxes and no business tax.
Only four lots remain available in the 28-hectare first phase of the 120-hectare Point Trotter Industrial Park between 68th Street S.E. and Stoney Trail that’s marketed by Walton International Group. The City of Calgary has 24 lots within Phase 1 that will become available but have not yet been released to the market.
Another 54,248 square feet that includes two shops and a 6,500-square-foot office is available along 52nd Street S.E. Also available is 32,000 square feet on 1.6 hectares, with two floors of office and a 24,000-square-foot shop with two 7.5-ton cranes on 84th Street S.E. and another 19,288 square foot office/warehouse complex on 59th Avenue S.E.
Also in the southeast quadrant, Enerflex has moved back into the building it constructed but sold to Surefire in 2011. The 312,369 square feet became available again and Enerflex made the decision to relocate its three divisions to the attractive building on the prime address that gives good exposure to Peigan Trail and 52nd Street S.E.
Industrial continues to outpace other commercial real estate sectors today.
New Housing Investment Still Highest in Alberta
Alberta led all provinces with the largest annual increase in investment in new housing construction in March, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency reported Thursday that total investment in the province increased 15 per cent from a year ago to $937 million.
In British Columbia, spending was up 13.3 per cent to $643 million, while in Ontario, investment rose 2.4 per cent to $1.1 billion, it said.
Across Canada, investment in new housing construction was up 4.2 per cent to $3.5 billion in March.
Investment rose in all dwelling types with apartment and apartment-condominium buildings accounting for much of the national advance, said Statistics Canada. Investment in apartment and apartment-condominium buildings rose 7.5 per cent to $1.2 billion, while spending on single-family homes increased 1.5 per cent to $1.8 billion.
Investment in row house construction advanced 7.7 per cent to $351 million and spending on semi-detached dwellings rose 5.1 per cent to $193 million, it said.
Calgary Area Building Permits Soar in March
Building permit values for the Calgary region soared in March, topping $600 million on the strength of planned multi-family projects and institutional buildings, says Statistics Canada.
Permits in the Calgary census metro area reached $601.1 million, up 66.1 per cent from February and an increase of 34.9 per cent year-over-year.
Residential permits in the Calgary region rose 36.8 per cent from February to $349.1 million. Non-residential permits rose by 140.5 per cent to $252 million — an annual increase of 40.4 per cent. For Alberta, total permits of $1.3 billion were up 11.1 per cent month-over-month and 4.6 per cent year-over-year.
The province saw residential permits of $811.3 million for March which was down 10.7 per cent from the previous month but up 8.6 per cent year-over-year. Non-residential permits rose by 80.4 per cent from February to $515.2 million but were off by 1.1 per cent from a year ago.
Nationally, permits increased for the first time in three months by 11.6 per cent to $6.9 billion. That was also up 13 per cent from a year ago.
Renovation Warranty - Alberta New Home Warranty Program
As a homeowner planning a renovation, it’s important to do your due diligence before hiring a contractor.
But thanks to a new initiative launched this week by the Alberta New Home Warranty Program, the selection process may have became a little bit easier.
The Alberta Renovation Warranty Program empowers renovators and renovation companies that are part of a carefully screened builder group with the ability to offer their customers comprehensive insurance protection. The coverage combines up to $100,000 of deposit protection insurance with warranty insurance that covers materials and labour of up to $100,000. And the coverage spans from the initial engagement to two years after completion of the project.
The program is certainly a game changer. A homeowner can now be assured that there is coverage in place if a renovator defaults, doesn’t meet the standards or goes bankrupt.
Not every renovation company is covered.
It is crucial that homeowners ask if their renovator is part of the Alberta Renovation Warranty Program.
The program vets renovators and renovation companies using rigorous screening methods and high standards, with a focus on several elements from quality workmanship to financial stability and a solid management team.
The program has begun reaching out to current builder members of the Alberta New Home Warranty Program that have renovation divisions, generating excitement and interest.
Albi Renova, the renovation arm of Albi Homes, a Calgary-based luxury home-builder, has recently earned a string of accolades and awards for its excellent business management and stunning home design, including being named as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.
The company has been renovating in Calgary for more than 27 years.
There is no doubt that home renovation and repair are big business. In Calgary alone, they accounted for $2.4 billion in investment value in 2013.
Albi Renova's goal was to bring a greater level of consumer protection to the market.
Toronto Developer Looks To Build Two-Tower Condo Project in East Village
Toronto developer Great Gulf is hoping to make its first foray into the Calgary residential real estate market with a proposed two-tower development in East Village, just east of the federal Harry Hays building.
The project, at 304 Macleod Trail S.E., would include 443 units in towers of 22 and 24 storeys.
A development permit application has been submitted to the city.
From a design perspective, the company wanted to bring something different to the marketplace. There are many local and Vancouver-based developers who are very active in Calgary condo development.
Calgary has a very dynamic downtown with respect to office and retail and recreation. However, the company think it is under-served residentially. Calgary is quite a big sprawling city but it’s historically not had a great deal of truly downtown residential development.
The company certainly seeing some good success with East Village and the Beltline has always performed quite well.
Toronto has had much success with residential towers close to the central business district and the company is quite excited about its potential development site in Calgary.
The company is working on a sales and marketing strategy and it hopes to enter the market in late fall of this year or early in 2016.
Housing Prices Holding Steady in Calgary's Surrounding Area
Housing markets in communities outside Calgary are following a similar pattern to the city, with sales down sharply and prices faring better.
The Calgary Real Estate Board says first-quarter MLS sales in surrounding areas were down 23 per cent from a year ago, at 911 transactions. The average sale price dropped by 0.1 per cent to $468,377. The median price was unchanged at $400,000.
In Calgary, sales were down 33 per cent in the first quarter, to 3,778. The average sale price was off 2.4 per cent to $467,468 while the median price dropped by 1.2 per cent to $420,000.
While city of Calgary prices have started to retract, on aggregate, surrounding area prices have remained relatively stable.
The report said improved supply in the city and surrounding areas will provide consumers with more choices in the second quarter.
The surrounding areas have not seen the same impact on pricing as in the city.
Re/MAX Predicts Two Per Cent Drop in Calgary Home Prices
Re/Max has pulled back its price outlook for the Calgary housing market, now anticipating a 2 per cent drop for the average residential property instead of the 3 per cent increase it originally forecast for 2015.
The realtor group’s Spring Market Trends Report, released Friday, predicts the average sale price will fall to $474,251 after sales declined in the first quarter.
The report said sales in Calgary should rise once buyers believe oil prices have stabilized and are showing signs of recovery. Decreased new home starts are also expected to stabilize growing inventory levels on the resale market, it said.
Office Tower Planned for Former Sally Ann Site
One of Calgary’s busiest downtown intersections is about to undergo a transformation that will make a bold statement through great design and space availability.
The former Salvation Army building at 5th Avenue and 1st Street S.E. is to make way for a gleaming 12-storey office tower that will tie in nicely to the adjacent 1914 red brick North-West Travellers Building and Firehall No. 1 at 6th Avenue.
Les Mabbott, an Edmonton developer with a 30-year track record of successful projects in that city as president, CEO and principal owner of LPI Corp., will build the project.
Mabbott said he is excited about his first Calgary office project that’s unique opportunity to offer top-quality space for companies with smaller needs.
Bow Professional Centre will be located across from the park space where the elegantly giant Family of Man statues resides. It’s a short walk to LRT stations and connected by the Plus-15 system to the Telus Building and Delta Bow Valley Hotel and its impressive neighbour, the Bow tower, on the west side.
Kasian Architects has designed the roughly 60,000-square-foot tower on a setback pedestal to improve the pedestrian realm, giving prominence and relief to the building entries and generally improving both pedestrian and vehicular safety on the bustling corner. It’s expected the main floor will attract a quality restaurant to make use of a patio area under the walkway to the Bow tower. The cut back will also provide a large outdoor patio onto 5th Avenue.
A gathering space for tenants and visitors — including a rooftop garden, landscaped with a pergola and bench seating — is also being considered.
The transparent, full-glass curtain wall surrounds three sides while the transition space to the North-West Travellers has a strong ground-to-top brick facade, in consideration of the City of Calgary heritage building.
Developer Wants To Build in S.W. Calgary Corner Before Ring Road Complete
Now that the province’s southwest ring road has kickstarted plans to build out Calgary’s deep southwest corner, a developer is bidding to begin home construction there before the highway is complete.
Residents below Fish Creek Park have long pleaded for an easier commute, with 37th Street, Macleod Trail and Highway 22X as their over-clogged escape routes.
They’ve applauded the Alberta government’s plans to complete the ring road, as soon as 2020.
But while people in communities like Bridlewood and Evergreen feel their existing roads can’t handle more cars, a land company believes a new suburban neighbourhood can start rising on empty fields to the west before the transportation network gets expanded.
After waiting years for a ring road deal to unlock their edge land’s development potential, Dream Development and Qualico have paid the city to launch an area structure plan for the 789-hectare swath known as Providence. It spans from the ring road corridor to 85th Street S.W., and from the Tsuu T’ina reserve boundary at 146th Avenue to 22X.
Most of the site needs massive water and sewage system extensions, and will likely have to wait until the ring highway’s completion. But the segment at the northeast corner can feed off existing pipes, said Dream Development.
Traffic projects show that 37th Street’s western turn-off south of Fish Creek can handle the initial phases. The ring road would massively add road capacity during build-out.
It’s unclear whether council will allow more fast-tracked edge development. In the last year, councillors agreed to open up lands in Calgary’s far northeast corner and above Coventry Hills because developers said they were running short of ready-to-build lots.
The city will show off early concepts for Providence at a public session Thursday evening at the South Fish Creek Recreation Centre.
There, officials are likely to hear plenty from southwest residents wary of adding even more cars or LRT passengers to their morning and squeezes.
There’s already a five- to 10-minute wait at traffic lights to get onto 37th, said Alia Vanzhov, who lives in Bridlewood and leads the community association.
Even adding show homes west of Evergreen will make life harder for residents, she said.
Developers have set aside their lands closest to the ring road corridor for office, retail and light development. Eventually, Providence will be home to 35,000 people — a “small kind of city” served by a bus-only transitway on 162nd Street S.W.
East Village No-Parking Condo Tower Passes First Hurdle
In the heart of notoriously car-loving Calgary, there could soon be a tower with 168 condo suites and not a single place for automobiles.
The tower would be located at 8th Avenue S.E. and 4th Street, near a future East Village supermarket and less than two blocks from the City Hall LRT. There would be ample bike parking, but no stalls for tenants or visitors.
Knightsbridge Homes, the developer, estimates the units will cost $75,000 less that condos that come with parking. There’s growing public demand, mostly among younger homebuyers.
The unprecedented East Village proposal still needs council approval — which is far from certain — but it won a unanimous OK at the Calgary Planning Commission on Thursday.
The condo tower will go next to council this spring for final zoning approval.
New Development for Attainable Homes Calgary
Attainable Homes Calgary Corporation is partnering with Truman Homes to deliver 42 new attainable homes by the end of this year in a new development called Glenbrook Park in the city’s southwest.
The apartment condos range in size from 600 to 1,050 square feet with one, two and two-bedroom-plus-den units with a starting price of $256,500 to $325,000.
AHCC president said demand for attainable homes is steady in the city. The non-profit organization, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The City of Calgary, helps people get into home ownership by offering below-market prices on apartment condos and town houses with a $2,000 deposit requirement.
There is demand for service and homes because the vacancy rate in Calgary is low and the cost of renting remains high.
In the first quarter of this year, AHCC has sold 45 homes.
Also, 42 families moved into homes, more than 300 people completed the organization’s home education session and more than 1,000 people registered on its website.
The attainable homes at Glenbrook Park will be available for any qualifying buyers to purchase starting at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 28 at the AHCC sales centre downtown.
Canada's Most Affordable Housing Markets Revealed
A recent slip in oil prices hasn’t bucked Alberta’s housing market from being one of the country’s most affordable, according to a report released by RBC Economic Research on Wednesday.
Economists attribute the province’s housing market buoyancy to factors including a strong energy-backed economy, rising incomes, and a population boom. And the results speak for themselves: home resales in Alberta increased by 0.9 per cent from last quarter, setting a new record high.
The report reveals the cost of an average detached bungalow in Alberta to be $405,700, a standard two-storey home slightly more at $410,200, and a condo at $242,800.
The province’s affordability reputation is drawing more and more prospective buyers. For example, housing demand in Calgary is outpacing supply despite new listings increasing 17 per cent in the second and third quarters.
It’s an effect that’s pushing the city's home prices up “at the fastest pace in Canada.”
As for affordability complaints, the report suggests they are “almost entirely” centered in Vancouver and Toronto’s competitive markets where dollars are “most stretched.”
Nationally, RBC’s affordability index eased slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 47.8 per cent for two-storey homes, decreased 0.3 percentage points to 27.1 per cent for condos, and increased by 0.1 percentage points to 42.6 per cent for detached condos.
The index calculates affordability by scoring the percentage of median household income (before taxes) needed to make mortgage, utility, and property tax payments.
For cash-strapped prospective homebuyers, RBC economists say condos continue to be the “more affordable ownership option” in nearly every market.
Street Towns’ Private Backyards A Huge Hit
Homes by Avi has swung the doors open on two new showhomes in its Sunset Ridge Street Towns in Cochrane.
Sales for the homes were launched last year and now Homes by Avi is giving customers the full Street Town experience.
Street Towns have redefined townhome living. It offers the benefit of having the entire package available to our buyers — the home, yard and garage — without the hassle of a condo board and condo fees.
A favourite with buyers has been the Street Towns’ private backyards. Customers really like their own, clearly defined space to use as they wish.
The Street Towns feature a number of floor plan options, ranging from 1,200 sq. ft. to 1,300 sq. ft., most with an open-concept main floor, 2.5 baths and spacious laundry room.
Buyers may choose a three-bedroom layout with ensuite and main bath on the upper level or two master bedrooms with ensuites.
All homes include laminate flooring, granite or quartz in the kitchen, stainless steel appliances, a rear garage and a private, landscaped backyard.
Calgary Remains One of the Most Affordable Big Cities in Canada
The effects of slumping oil prices on housing affordability remained modest and largely isolated to Calgary during the fourth quarter of 2014, but “more substantial consequences are likely to emerge in the coming quarters,” says a new report released Tuesday by RBC Economics.
The latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report said affordability improved in Calgary from the previous quarter as homebuyers “exited the market en masse” in December with listings rising and major cutbacks in the oil industry contributed to a drop in housing market confidence.
That continued in the early part of 2015 as MLS sales in Calgary dropped more than 30 per cent year-over-year in both January and February.
RBC’s affordability measures for Calgary in the fourth quarter of 2014 fell 0.2 percentage points to 20.0 per cent for condos, by 0.4 percentage points to 33.9 per cent for two-storey homes and by 0.6 percentage points to 33.7 per cent for bungalows.
The RBC Housing Affordability measure captures the proportion of median pre-tax household income required to pay the cost of a mortgage on an existing housing unit at going market prices, including principal and interest, property taxes and utilities.
The report said RBC’s affordability measures for Alberta were stable for both two-storey homes (33.9 per cent) and condos (20.4), while the measure for detached bungalows eased by 0.4 percentage points to 32.4 per cent.
Nationally, affordability measures rose by 0.1 per cent for bungalows to 42.7 per cent and by 0.2 per cent for two-storey homes to 48.1 per cent. It was stable at 27.4 per cent for condos.
RBC’s housing affordability measure for the benchmark detached bungalow in Canada’s largest cities in the fourth quarter: Vancouver 82.4 (down 1.2 percentage points)); Toronto 56.8 (up 0.8 percentage points); Montreal 37.3 (unchanged); Ottawa 36.0 (up 0.2 percentage points); Calgary 33.7; and Edmonton 33.5 (up 0.1 percentage points).
"Calgary has remained an affordable city and that really hasn’t changed. We’re still one of the most affordable big cities next to Edmonton and that position hasn’t changed,” said the president of the Calgary Real Estate Board.
Calgary Resolve Campaign Helping Those In Need Of Affordable Housing
On Tuesday, the Community Summit, hosted by the Calgary Homeless Foundation, will launch the updated plan to end homelessness in the city.
Eleven homebuilders in Calgary have stepped up to support the Resolve campaign, with a contribution of $1.4 million each for a total of $15.4 million. The builders who have contributed to the campaign, so far, are: Albi Homes, Brookfield Residential, Calbridge Homes, Cardel Lifestyles, Cedarglen Living, Homes by Avi, Hopewell Residential, Jayman Group of Companies, Morrison Homes, Qualico and Shane Homes.
Many Resolve partners have also received funding from the Government of Alberta. There are nine agencies partnering with the campaign — Accessible Housing, Bishop O’Byrne Housing, Calgary Alpha House Society, Calgary Homeless Foundation, Calgary John Howard Society, Horizon Housing Society, Silvera for Seniors, Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta and The Mustard Seed.
Each of Resolve’s nine partners meets a particular need within the community.
To date, the campaign has raised enough money to provide 915 individuals with a safe and affordable rental home. The funds raised and distributed through Resolve are used in a myriad of ways, such as paying off mortgages, building projects and purchasing land. Resolve tenants pay rent geared to their income, with rent being much lower than market value.
Currently, there are 42 buildings Resolve is supporting in various stages of development, totalling 1,763 units.
The Great Cities report by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce notes that half of the homeless people in Calgary are employed but cannot afford to house themselves.
“The greatest barrier to eliminating homelessness in Calgary is the housing crisis and lack of access to affordable housing,” according to the report. “Cities that lack affordable housing find it difficult to attract and retain labour in certain fields such as education and law enforcement.
Affordable housing boosts economic development by providing the labour force with reliable homes and increasing people’s disposable income, meaning households spend less of their monthly income on housing costs and more on goods and services that support the local economy.
This project will create greater opportunities for employment if people have a stable address, a stable home. They’re able to be more resilient and enter into the workforce in a more stable way. So, that supports businesses in terms of their needing more labour.
The Resolve campaign is a really, really good example of getting some of that non-profit or that affordable or subsidized housing . . . built. They’re showing community leadership, innovation and ownership of the issue. Because of the campaign, it will be able to house 3,000 vulnerable Calgarians in the next four years.
This type of project has never been done in Canada. Nine not-for-profits working together, fundraising together . . . This is the first of its kind in Canada.
CMHC Forecasting House Price Growth in Calgary
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. expects Calgary region home prices to rise over the next two years, albeit at a slower pace than previously forecast.
In an updated outlook Friday, it said the average price locally will rise from $460,584 last year to $469,000 in 2015 and $479,000 in 2016.
CMHC forecasts price growth are now expected to be in line with inflation.
Given lower sales and the pronounced recent increases in new listings, market conditions in Calgary are expected to rebalance, easing the pressure on prices for 2015 and 2016.
Calgary Luxury Home Sales Decline in January
High-end home sales in January fell sharply from 2014’s record level.
Calgary Real Estate Board data show 24 homes sold for at least $1 million last month, a 43 per cent decline from a year ago. No homes sold for more than $1.75 million.
MLS sales of properties more than $1 million reached a record 854 transactions in 2014, up from 726 in 2013 and 544 in 2012.
January CREB data released Monday showed a 38.9 per cent year-over-year decline in overall sales, paired with a 37.2 per cent rise in new listings.
Listings are up substantially, as those who were stretched to the limit, the market speculators and those householders who want to try to time the market, all throw their properties up for sale. It will likely be two to three months before prices slide lower to reflect the changes.
Sellers become faced with the reality of having to lower prices to sell, strategic buyers begin to slowly enter the market looking for bargains.
Attainable Homes Calgary Expands Product Offering
Calgary-based Partners Development Group has offered 10 per cent of its upcoming multi-family developments in the city to Attainable Homes Calgary Corporation in a move to help more Calgarians into home ownership.
The Calgary builder’s newest development, ARRIVE at Skyview Ranch Arbours, includes 16 townhouses that AHCC will begin selling at the end of the month. Another 10 townhouses will be made available through the AHCC program later this year at ARRIVE at Evanston.
The project is located east of Metis Trail N.E., just south of Stoney Trail and north of Country Hills Boulevard.
Partners Development Group has already delivered 23 homes for AHCC in Redstone and Skyview Ranch, which qualifying home buyers purchased with a mortgage pre-approval and only $2,000 down.
AHCC and Partners Development Group are helping more middle-income Calgarians get into home ownership through this socially responsible program.
Affordable housing in Calgary continues to be one of the most important issues facing the city.
Qualifying buyers can purchase an apartment condo or townhouse with only $2,000 down.
The average sale price of an AHCC attainable home was $258,283 in 2014.
AHCC expects to sell about 220 units this year.
Calgary MLS Listings Soar While Sales Plunge
Amid a constant barrage of negative economic news these days, Calgary’s resale housing market is seeing some dramatic swings in listings and MLS sales so far in January.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board website, January MLS sales are down 34.8 per cent from the same period a year ago (from 842 to 549), while new listings have risen by 42.8 per cent to 2,262 and active listings are up by 75.2 per cent to 4,311.
That dynamic has affected the average sale price, which is down by 0.6 per cent to $457,853. The median price has dropped slightly as well by 0.3 per cent to $412,500.
Pending sales of 87 are down by 62.7 per cent.
Buyers who are expecting that there might be an opportunity to purchase a home for a discount over recent value. So they’re delaying transactions in the hope that they see some movement in prices.
Volatility is a natural reaction to the sharp and unexpected drop in the price of oil.
The impact to the overall resale housing market of increased listings is relative to what is happening in sales activity.
What could happen is if you have the listings rise it gives more choice in the market but because of that if the demand isn’t there that can impact obviously that balance in the market and could push it closer towards that buyer’s territory.
If that demand falls and that pace of fall continues, and you still have these listings and they don’t tend to ease off, it impacts the balance in the market and obviously influences pricing as well.
Real Estate Firm Predicts Calgary Housing Prices Will Rise
A national real estate firm is predicting prices in Calgary’s resale housing market, and across the country, will continue to increase in 2015 despite low oil prices.
In releasing its house price survey and market survey forecast Wednesday, Royal LePage said the average price in Calgary will climb 2.4 per cent from 2014 to $472,000 while the Canadian average price will see a 2.9 per cent hike to $419,318.
It said the recent drop in oil prices did not impact the overall real estate market in the fourth quarter of last year.
The Calgary market was one of the hottest in the country, with all three major housing categories seeing near double-digit price growth over this time last year.
There remains a structural imbalance between the availability of homes and number of eager homebuyers. This fundamental discrepancy between supply and demand explains why we’ve seen such aggressive price appreciation in 2014.
Inventory availability remains a major issue across the city, as frustrated buyers are chasing a limited number of homes. The one exception is condominiums, where new units are being built at a faster rate.
Nationally, the average price for bungalows rose by 6.7 per cent to $406,218. Two-storey homes were up six per cent to $443,379. Condos were also up by 4.5 per cent to $257,624.
Calgary Housing Starts Finish 2014 up 36%, But Expected to Cool this Year
Despite a dip in December, total housing starts in the Calgary region finished 2014 up 36.1 per cent from the previous year and hitting a record level.
According to data released Friday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., there were 17,131 starts in the Calgary area in 2014. Multi-family starts rose by 72.1 per cent to 10,637 units while single-detached starts were up by 1.4 per cent to 6,494.
In December, total starts of 840 were off by 6.3 per cent from December 2013 mostly due to a decline in multi-family of 14.1 per cent to 413 units. The single-detached market rose during the month by 2.9 per cent to 427 units.
The CMHC said housing starts in the Calgary area were trending at 15,544 units in December compared to 18,555 in November. The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally-adjusted annual rates of total housing starts.
In 2015, total starts are forecast to decline 16 per cent to 14,400 units with reductions expected in both the single-detached and multiples segments of the market.
Overall homebuilding activity continues to look well behaved in Canada. In Alberta, the slide in oil prices will likely cool activity notably in 2015.
Calgary Real Estate Market To See A Lot Of Changes in 2015
A number of things that occurred in 2014 will have an impact on Calgary’s housing market in 2015.
The New Home Buyer Protection Act gives more protection to the consumer and CHBA endorses this legislation completely. The number of housing starts this year is led by multi-family builders, who are responding to demand from first-time buyers and homeowners looking to downsize who are looking for more affordable, convenient, safe housing that meets their needs. At the same time, this form of housing creates more choice for more people in more places and aligns with the Municipal Development Plan.
One of the changes will be a lot count survey the city will be updating monthly that will identify how much land is available for development, making it easier for developers and the city to plan for future needs.
The Smarter Growth initiative is a collaboration between CHBA-CR and the Urban Development Institute that explores and explains the development process.
Going forward, the major challenges from last year — in particular, Calgary’s dramatic growth and low housing inventory, especially rental accommodation — will affect the market this year, as will a new one, one that is difficult to predict: The price of oil.
If (a low oil price) is prolonged and severe, it will impact consumer confidence which, of course, is a prime motivator for home buying.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has forecast a slowdown to more sustainable levels this year anyway, so a drop in housing starts isn’t unexpected. The challenge will be how low (oil prices) goes.
Some changes to legislation coming in or proposed will also affect the market. While the changes will protect consumers, it will mean some changes to the way homes are built and in turn, may mean some cost increases for builders.
First-time Home Buyers Look to the Web for Research
First-time home buyers (FTBs) are more tech-savvy than other mortgage consumers when it comes to researching mortgages, says the First-Time Home Buyers Survey, conducted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The survey says 84% of FTBs went online to search out information about mortgage options and features, compared to 76% for other mortgage consumers (OMCs).
The FTBs were more likely to visit lenders sites (55%) than broker sites (33%), with about one in five saying they visited websites of both lenders and brokers.
FTBs undertook a variety of activities with 80% using a mortgage calculator (72% for OMCs), 63% completing a financial self-assessment (43% for OMCs), 42% either got pre-approved or filled an online form (24% and 23% respectively for OMCs) and 20% engaged in an online conversation (11% for OMCs).
Not surprisingly, the use of mobile devices to access mortgage-related information was more prominent among FTBs (23% vs. 14% among OMCs), however, at 90%, desktops are still the preference of FTBs.
The use of social media as a tool when looking for a mortgage is increasing and was much more prevalent among FTBs.
About one in five using social media posted a review or rating of either a broker or lender and 30% used social media to find a referral to use a specific professional, such as broker, lender, real estate agent or other professional.
November Starts Fall Year Over Year
Nearly 12,000 multi-family homes under construction
Not as many nails got ham- mered by new home builders in the Calgary region last month compared to November last year.
Builders started 1,078 new homes in November 2014, down from 1,693 in November 2013, according to the monthly report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).
The decrease in construction came in both the single- and multi-family sectors, with single-family starts at 541 homes, down from 595 last year and multi-family starts down from 1,098 units last year to 537 in November.
However, year over year, starts to the end of November this year, 16,291, are 4,603 units higher than to the end of November last year.
A different story exists in the multi-family sector, where 10,224 starts were recorded to the end of November, meaning builders should exceed CMHC’s prediction of 10,500 multi starts this year.
It’s a huge number, given the history of multi starts in the Calgary region, but a bigger number is units under construction.
As of the end of November, there were 11,884 multi-family homes under construction in the region, including 1,188 semi-detached homes, 2,111 row/townhomes and 8,585 apartments.
Inside Calgary city limits, units under construction included 1,010 semi-detached homes, 1,563 row/townhomes and 8,117 apartment condos.
The absorption rate (units taken possession of by owners) for apartments in November was 100% and the available inventory was zero.
In November, CMHC predicted 8,000 multi-family starts in 2015 — the agency doesn’t break out multi starts by type because the apartment sector is too volatile — but CMHC is reviewing its projections for 2015 and beyond.
Calgary House Prices Climb at Fastest Rate in Canada
Calgary again posted the country’s biggest annual price growth for repeat home sales in November, the latest Teranet-National Bank house price index shows.
It found prices in the city rose 9.2 per cent from a year ago, compared with the national average of 5.2 per cent from the 11 major centres surveyed. Dwellings that have been sold at least twice are considered in the calculation of the index.
Calgary Real Estate Board data, through Wednesday, show 533 MLS sales for December, a 7 per cent increase from the same 2013 period.
While home prices in Canada’s 11 major cities may have edged down slightly in November, they still remain quite elevated, hovering near record highs. Moreover, while the decline was fairly broad based, prices in several key cities are well up from year-ago levels.
Going forward, solid momentum in the job market over the past few months, combined with an ultra-low interest rate environment should continue to support the housing market in the near term.
New Listings in November Jump 22%
After several years of declines, active MLS listings in the City of Calgary are on the rebound, according to the monthly report from the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).
New listings in November outpaced sales, resulting in a 22% increase in active listings but, even with the gain, listings remain below long-term averages.
Over the past year, inventories have been low in the city, limiting some of the choice for consumers. While availability in specific segments and price ranges vary, on the whole, the recent rise in inventories will be welcome news for many buyers.
Year-to-date sales in November recorded double-digit gains in all property types, with the strongest increase coming in the condominium sector, including apartments and townhomes, with a combined growth of more than 19%, putting both housing types at record levels.
Tight market conditions earlier in the year caused significant aggregate price gains. It also resulted in a rise in new listings, supporting gains in inventory levels and a push towards more balanced levels. This has helped ease the upward growth pressure on prices.
While Calgary’s price gains have garnered a significant amount of national attention, several indicators are pointing toward more stable conditions, easing risk associated with an overheating market.
Multi-family Starts To Hit 10,500 By Year End
The Calgary area’s multi- family sector is at its highest level of production since the late 1970s, with more than 11,000 units under construction at the end of October.
The high level of units under construction includes more than 8,500 condominium apartments, most of them inside Calgary city limits and may raise fears of overbuilding, but numbers from CMHC say otherwise.
Migration to Alberta and Calgary was at record levels in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the makeup of the migration supports the high level of construction in the multi-family sector.
Jobs are the main reason for the western migration.
As more multi-family homes are completed and inventory rises, CMHC says production will moderate in the Calgary region, with the agency predicting 8,000 multi starts in 2015 and 6,500 in 2016.
First Reaches Milestone In East Village
First, the inaugural building launched in East Village by developers FRAM+Slokker, has now grown its full height of 18 floors. To mark the occasion, the developers, contractors and architects involved in the construction gathered for a roof top ceremony on Tuesday. A ceremonial bucket of concrete was poured in a frame as a lasting mark. Roof top parties are traditionally held to celebrate the finishing of concrete work, in this case, by ITC Construction Group.
First is one of seven buildings FRAM+Slokker has land for in East Village. It is now selling its second building, Verve, an eye-catching design on the Riff, a pedestrian thoroughfare through the community.
The team of more than 150 workers currently working on the project enjoyed a catered lunch after the ceremony in the sheltered parking garage.
When complete, First will have 196 units within the 18 floor tower and its surrounding four-storey podium. It has commercial space on the ground level.
Residents will be able to enjoy that spectacular roof top view when they use their roof top lounge and outdoor patio. And they’ll be able to take an elevator there.
Most Successful Calgary Condo Launch Since Recession
Calgary’s newest condo launch is the city’s most successful grand opening since the recession as 252 units have sold at the Parkside development, part of the Waterfront project along the Bow River in the Eau Claire neighbourhood.
They sold in the span of three days late last week.
It’s another sign of the growing demand for inner-city condo ownership.
Parkside, directly adjacent to Sien Lok Park, will consist of four buildings of 17, nine, nine and six storeys with 302 units. Prices range from $289,900 to $2.3 million.
The company bought the current land just east of the Eau Claire Market in 2004 and started construction on the first building in 2007.
Construction on Parkside will begin in the spring 2015 and all four buildings will be built at once with spring/summer 2018 completion.
The downtown condo market is a segment of housing that never existed before in Calgary. The city’s skyline will be completely transformed in the coming years.
Calgary and Edmonton Top Investment Markets for Real Estate in Alberta
Calgary and Edmonton top the list of residential real estate investment markets in Alberta, according to a new report released Tuesday.
The new REIN (Real Estate Investment Network) Score measures each city or town on five different categories for a total of 50 points including: Economic Risk (possible 12 points); Yield Growth Potential (possible 12 points); Investors’ Insights (possible 10 points), Political Climate (possible 8 points), and Accessibility (possible 8 points).
Calgary and Edmonton topped the rankings with 50 points followed by Fort Saskatchewan (43), Airdrie (41), St. Albert (39), Red Deer (39), Lloydminster (38), Fort McMurray(36), Grande Prairie (36), and Leduc (34).
Calgary received 12 out of 12 in the economic risk category, 10 out of 12 in yield growth potential, six of eight in local politics conducive to business, eight of eight in access to transportation and nine of 10 in investor’s insights.
The report said the formula of job creation creating an influx of people, leading to higher housing values is evident in Calgary.
The report also noted that Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, will see the most residential growth in 2015, a trend that has been helped by more jobs becoming available in the West than in Central Canada, while Calgary and the Greater Toronto Area will hold the most potential for retail growth.
Calgary Resale Housing Market in Balanced Territory
Calgary’s resale housing market is in balanced territory, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
In a report released Friday, the board said the sales-to-new listings ratio in Calgary was 0.717 in September.
It said the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of MLS sales in the city was 34,752, down 2.3 per cent from the previous month but a hike of 8.6 per cent year-over-year.
The annual rate of new listings at 47,676 was down seven per cent month-over-month but up 11.4 per cent year-over-year.
In September, the board said the average sale price in Calgary of $466,425 represented a 0.5 per cent monthly gain and a 6.2 per cent annual gain.
The report also forecast that short-term year-over-year price growth in Calgary would be in the five per cent to 6.9 per cent range.
Calgary’s unemployment rate is the lowest of Canada’s major cities by a significant margin and people are moving to the city not only for the immediate job opportunities, but because they believe in the city’s long-term potential and lifestyle.
Population Growth Continues to Push Calgary Housing Demand
Population growth continues to push housing demand in the Calgary region.
A report released Tuesday described the city’s new housing market as “red hot.”
It said there were 9,294 housing starts in the first half of this year, an increase of 67 per cent over the first six months of 2013, and more than year-end totals for 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The average forecast is calling for 16,400 starts in the Calgary CMA for 2014, which would represent an increase over 2013 (12,600) and the 10-year average of 12,000.
Calgary prices have increased between three per cent and six per cent depending on the housing index from the end of 2013. The metropolitan area has appreciated at an average annual rate of approximately seven per cent to nine per cent over the past decade, notwithstanding the highly fluctuating market values in-between.
Cochrane Reaches All-time MLS Sales High
Cochrane has joined Airdrie and Chestermere for reaching an annual sales record in the resale housing market after just three quarters of the year.
MLS sales in Cochrane year-to-date until the end of September hit the 610 mark, up 38.32 per cent from the same period last year.
The annual peak for sales was established in 2013 with 554 transactions.
The average MLS sale price in Cochrane so far this year is $433,537, up 4.34 per cent from last year, while the median price has risen by 4.99 per cent to $426,250.
Calgary New Home Price Spike Tops Canada
Price gains in Calgary’s new home market are far outpacing what is being seen across the rest of the country.
Statistics Canada reported Thursday that the New Housing Price Index rose in August by 6.8 per cent on an annual basis and by 0.5 per cent on a monthly basis in the Calgary census metropolitan area. Both represented the biggest growth rates in Canada.
Builders reported that land development costs, as well as strong market conditions and increased demand, were the main reasons for the price gain.
Supply and demand has been a major factor in driving prices up in the industry as the city continues to have a buoyant economy supported by strong net migration gains over the past year.
Attainable Homes Calgary Reaches Milestone
Attainable Homes Calgary Corporation has reached a milestone with its 500th sale.
It has also acquired a building at 51 Oak by Truman Homes in the southeast lake community, Mahogany, where qualifying Calgarians can buy a brand new one- or two-bedroom apartment condo at 51 Oak with a deposit as low as $2,000 and a minimum mortgage amount of $201,400.
AHCC is a non-profit organization and wholly owned subsidiary of the City of Calgary that assists working Calgarians with moderate incomes achieve home ownership.
The organization helps people who can afford homeownership but struggle to save enough money for a down payment. Demand for attainable homes has been strong as rental vacancy rates remain low and home prices continue to rise. According to the CREB, the average MLS sale price of a condo apartment in the city was $326,264 in September, up 9.21 per cent from last year while it rose by 4.21 per cent to $352,813 for a condo townhouse.
September Another Record Month for Calgary Luxury Home Sales
Each month this year has established a record for luxury home sales in Calgary’s resale market.
September is the latest. A total of 61 MLS properties in the city have sold for $1 million or more, eclipsing the previous record of 59 for the month set last year.
The most expensive sale so far this month was for a home in Briar Hill at $4.6 million.
The neighborhoods of Altadore/River Park and Elbow Park/Glencoe lead the way in sales in September with six and five transactions respectively as of Thursday.
Calgary House Hunters Expect to Pay More Than They First Thought
A new survey says 47 per cent of Calgary house hunters now expect to spend 19 per cent more on a new home - an increase of $89,389 - from when they first started looking.
The BMO Fall Home-Buying Report, released Friday, said most expected to spend $568,458.
The survey, conducted by Pollara, revealed the main reasons for the higher price expectations: 86 per cent say housing prices have risen since they first started looking; 81 per cent have a better understanding of current prices; and 56 per cent were able to save more for a down payment.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, month-to-date until Thursday, the average MLS sale price in the city of $481,326 has risen by 5.82 per cent from last year.
In Alberta, the survey found that 44 per cent of house hunters now expect to spend 20 per cent more on a new home, or $82,291, up to $499,760.
At the national level, 43 per cent said they expect to spend 21 per cent more on a new home - an increase of $83,556 - from when they first started looking, an increase to $483,397.
Calgary Region Housing Starts Soar in August
A surge in multi-family new home construction helped spike overall housing starts in the Calgary region in August.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Tuesday that total starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area rose by 65.7 per cent during the month from a year ago to 1,627 units. That was mainly due to a whopping 151 per cent hike in the multi-family sector to 1,032 units.
The single-detached market saw a jump of 4.2 per cent to 595 units.
Housing starts were trending at 18,963 in August compared with 18,322 in July, said the CMHC. The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally-adjusted annual rates of total housing starts.
Condos Could Push 2014 Housing Starts to Record Heights
Stronger condo apartment starts are spurring Calgary total housing starts to a potential new record this year but some cooling is expected in 2015, says a new report by Altus Group.
The consulting firm’s housing forecast said total housing starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area are expected to reach 17,800 this year then drop to 15,900 in 2015.
The report said total housing starts in the Calgary region were 12,600 in 2013 and the annual average between 2003-2012 was 12,100.
The high was reached in 2006 with 17,046 starts.
Several factors have contributed to the boost in new condo construction.
Strong demand has led to accelerated new home price increases in Calgary and resale price increases remain above inflation.
Job growth is expected to remain strong this year and next.
Calgary Homebuilders Responding to High Level of New Construction
Calgary’s homebuilding industry is on pace to register its busiest year since 2006 while at the same time meeting the challenges of a labour shortage in the city.
Despite the high level of activity, combined with a current labour shortage, the industry is responding well to the increased housing demand.
A recent Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. report forecasts housing starts in the Calgary region to increase by 24 per cent this year to 15,600 which is the highest number of total starts since 2006 when there were 17,046. Homebuilders have been quite busy for the past three years. In 2012, there were 12,841 total starts followed by 12,584 total starts in 2013.
Absorptions, which are defined as when properties are completed and occupied, hit a recent high of 13,945 in 2003. There were 11,946 in 2013. Year-to-date until the end of July, the Calgary CMA had 7,723 absorptions, up from 6,606 for the same period last year.
Calgary Resale Condo Market Booming As Sales Soar
Calgary’s resale condo market is booming these days with the annual growth in transactions far outstripping the pace in the single-family sector.
That is also sparking what could be a record year for new construction in the multi-family segment of the housing market.
The market for Calgary condos has been strong through 2014. It’s up over 20 per cent year-over-year and we expect demand to continue as buyers and the inventory available becomes more sophisticated. More demand are expecting from local buyers who are increasingly aware of the benefits of the condo lifestyle: convenience, security, unique amenities and proximity to the city’s downtown.
The Calgary economy is also attracting professionals from cities like Vancouver and Toronto, who regard Calgary condos as affordable and attractive alternatives to the highly-developed condo markets they are coming from. At the same time, pre-sale condo developments like The Guardian are attracting buyers and investors not only locally, but from other major cities, as Calgary’s real estate market becomes renowned as a stable place to invest.
Calgary Resale Housing Market Experiences Highest Annual Price Growth
Calgary continues to far outstrip the rest of the country when it comes to annual price gains in the resale housing market.
The MLS Home Price Index, released Friday by the Canadian Real Estate Association, said prices in the Calgary area in July were up by a whopping 10.48 per cent compared with a year ago. Meanwhile, the national aggregate, comprising 11 centres, saw a year-over-year hike of 5.33 per cent as sales rose to their highest level since March 2010.
The closest centre to Calgary’s annual spike was Toronto which recorded a jump of 7.88 per cent.
Over the past three years, Calgary also has the highest rate of price growth at 25.01 per cent compared with 12.52 per cent nationally. And over five years, Calgary’s 28.89 per cent spike is second only to Toronto’s 40.48 per cent increase while it is 26.89 per cent across the country.
Immigration and population growth to begin to affect the resale and new housing markets. Also, a demand/supply imbalance has contributed to higher prices.
Value of Calgary Region Building Permits Soars
The value of building permits in the Calgary region ballooned in June to more than $800 million, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency reported Thursday that permits hit $811.7 million during the month in the Calgary census metropolitan area, an increase of 26.6 per cent from May and up by 51.3 per cent year-over-year.
The Calgary region was buoyed by the non-residential sector which saw permits of $478.5 million, up 135.3 per cent from May and an increase of 147.7 per cent from last year.
Calgary Inner-City Booming with New Home Construction
The inner-city area of Calgary is proving to be a hot market for the construction of new single-family homes this year.
According to data by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., year-to-date until the end of June, there were 204 single-detached starts in the city’s ‘centre’ zone this year, which has increased by 35.1 per cent compared with a year ago.
Since 1999, the highest ever yearly total for starts for single-family homes was in 2006 at 339 units. Last year, builders started 287 single detached homes in the inner-city area.
The attraction to inner-city building is quite simple. Location.
2.42 Homes for Every 100 People Being Built in Calgary
The Calgary region is one of the nation’s leaders when it comes to new home construction.
A report by BuzzBuzzHome, which researches new residential developments, said the Calgary census metropolitan area has by far the most construction relative to its size.
The region has 2.42 homes per 100 people under construction - the best rate in the country. The next highest is the Edmonton CMA at 1.56.
Calgary had the third highest number of homes under construction in the second quarter at 29,438 behind the Montreal CMA at 30,238 and the Toronto CMA at 81,061.
The increase in population is driving demand for housing. Low inventory on the resale market is also placing more demand for new home construction.
Record Activity in Housing Market Outside Calgary
The heat from Calgary’s sizzling resale housing market is reaching out to communities outside the city as Airdrie, Okotoks and Cochrane have experienced record MLS sales.
In a report released Wednesday, the Calgary Real Estate Board said housing activity in Calgary’s surrounding communities continued at a brisk pace with record-setting quarterly sales in those three centres.
Year-to-date, 2,938 units were sold in surrounding towns until the end of June, a 30.46 per cent increase over last year.
The convenience of living in a smaller town that has everything you need is quite appealing especially when people can get more of a house for their budget. The commute to different areas of Calgary is also so much easier with the expansion of the ring road and highway access. Families seem to be looking for more of a small town lifestyle with the convenience of a big city so close by.
Calgary Landlord Buying Land Near New Oilers Rink
While many Calgarians look on with envy as the Edmonton Oilers plan a magnificent new building to play in, landlord Bob Dhillon sees only the opportunity.
The president and chief executive of Calgary-based Mainstreet Equity Corp. has been actively consolidating property in the Arena District.
The area Dhillon has focused on is close to the downtown, between 124th Street to the west, 104th Avenue to the south, 101st Street to the east and 118th Avenue to the north.
It is an area near three post-secondary institutions, close to LRT expansion and the redevelopment along 124th Street and 104th Avenue.
Edmonton’s economy is rolling. In-migration numbers are strong. It’s a gateway to northern Alberta for heavy oil. It’s a port city without the port.
Record June for Calgary Resale Housing Market
Calgary’s resale housing market experienced a record month in June with the average MLS sale price reaching an all-time high and luxury home sales setting a new monthly peak.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, the average MLS sale price for residential properties in the city climbed to $491,928 during the month, eclipsing the previous high of $486,531 established in May.
Prices were up 5.48 per cent from a year ago.
Average sale price records were also set in the single-family category at $562,382 and the condo apartment sector at $350,712.
Previous records in those categories were $556,522 for single-family homes in March of this year and $332,731 for condo apartments in October 2007.
In June, there were 2,670 MLS sales, an increase of 15.78 per cent from a year ago while new listings rose by 27.22 per cent to 3,814.
Active listings at the end of the month were up 3.10 per cent from last year to 4,726.
Calgary’s luxury real estate market set a new all-time sales peak for the second straight month.
Massive Urban Village Planned for Eau Claire Lands
A massive urban village is planned for two city blocks in the southwest Eau Claire neighbourhood that will include about 1,100 residences, a hotel, a supermarket, restaurants, retail space and a public plaza.
A development permit has been submitted for the blocks, currently two surface parking lots, between 2nd Avenue to the south, Eau Claire Avenue to the north, 4th Street to the east, and 6th Street to the west.
The project is expected to break ground in 2015, subject to all necessary approvals, with the first residents in place in 2018. The entire project is expected to be completed over a five to seven year time frame, depending on market conditions.
GWL Realty Advisors Inc. is the advisor and development manager on behalf of bcIMC (British Columbia Investment Management Corporation) which owns the land for the Eau Claire Lands project - six residential towers ranging from 19 to 33 storeys, 30 two-storey ground-oriented townhomes mainly facing Eau Claire Avenue, a 350-room hotel, 65,000 square feet of retail space as well as a public plaza and pedestrian walkway.
Calgary Real Estate Market Recovering After Last Year’s Flood
Last year’s devastating flood had a huge impact on Calgary’s residential real estate market that lingers to this day.
Not so much on the overall city market, which has been one of the hottest in the country, but on the flood-affected areas where sales dropped after the natural disaster — as did house prices.
But now since the prices have gone down, there’s people wanting to buy.
Prices in flood-affected neighbourhoods dropped anywhere from 10 to 25 per cent post flood but a year later they have slowly climbed.
And people with means are also starting to look beyond river properties for luxury homes.
Flood-affected properties would not influence citywide aggregate figures. The prices were going up. Market conditions were outweighed by what happened in those areas. There has been some adjustments in those areas but it wasn’t a large portion. Not enough to alter anything on citywide numbers.
Potential Homebuyers To Sign Written Service Agreements
The Real Estate Council of Alberta is introducing a new regulation that will affect how consumers buy homes through a licenced real estate professional in the province.
Effective July 1, consumers who are buying or selling residential property and are clients of Alberta real estate professionals will be asked by their real estate professional to sign a written service agreement. While this has long been the standard practice for sellers of residential real estate, it will mark a significant change for buyers who have not often been asked to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement, said the council, which says the new rule will enhance consumer protection.
The written service agreement will define the relationship between the parties; explain the services to be provided by the brokerage; explain the obligations and responsibilities of the parties; provide consent for the collection, use and distribution of personal information of the client; and outline the method of calculation of renumeration or how the industry professional will be compensated.
Warm Weather Helping Recreational Property Sales
Sales activity in Canada’s recreational property market is beginning to pick up after a slow start to the year due to a harsh winter and delayed spring.
The 2014 Recreational Property Report said a long and severe winter delayed the traditional spring buying season, but the arrival of waterfront-friendly weather has increased interest, is generating higher inventory levels and is driving sales activity.
Economic factors such as a stable job market, inexpensive mortgage financing and steadily improving consumer confidence remain supportive for purchasers considering recreational properties. Many Canadians dream of owning a country retreat to get away from the pressures of life in the city and the daily grind.
Calgary Luxury Home Resale Market Sets All-Time Record
An all-time record has been set this month for the most sales ever for $1-million plus MLS properties in Calgary.
There have been 85 single-family homes and three condos sold at the luxury level this month.
The most expensive sale was at $4.85 million in the Bel-Aire neighbourhood.
The neighbourhoods of Altadore/River Park and Aspen Woods are leading the way with nine luxury sales each for the month.
The Calgary residential real estate market set an annual record last year for most sales ever at that price point and it is on pace this year to break that mark.
In 2013, there were 732 MLS luxury transactions, eclipsing the previous record of 544 in 2012.
Calgary Housing Market Positive For Next Two Years
Record net migration and the gains in employment over the last couple of years will contribute to increasing sales and prices for the Calgary region’s housing market in 2014 and 2015, says a new report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The Calgary region has experienced strong net migration in the last couple of years with 31,996 in 2012 and 45,168 in 2013. This year, migration is forecast to reach 33,400 and 28,500 in 2015.
Migration, along with other factors such as rising incomes and employment growth, has been a key contributor to the uptick in housing demand that Calgary has been experiencing.
Calgary House Price Growth Leading the Nation
When it comes to home price growth these days, Calgary is leading the pack.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association’s MLS Home Price Index, released Thursday, prices in Calgary in April grew by a nation-leading 9.52 per cent from last year.
The survey of 11 major centres said prices were up by 5.02 per cent across the country.
The index also showed that Calgary prices have spiked by 21.83 per cent over the last three years, which is also the highest rate of growth in the country. Nationally, prices have gone up by 12.19 per cent over that period of time.
Calgary could see the potential of a real strong spike in value increases over the next six months - more than what we have witnessed in the previous six months - unless a whole new wave of available, quality supply hits the market.
3 Eau Claire Project Making Proposal to Creditors
The developers of two connected downtown highrise towers have filed notice of their intent to make a proposal to dozens of creditors who claim they’re owed almost $38 million on the project that was to include residential condos and the new offices of Shaw Communications.
The insolvent company, 3 Eau Claire Developments Inc., filed the notice on April 11 and has 30 days to file a proposal with the official receiver or within any further extension of that period that may be granted by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, said Deloitte Restructuring Inc. in a letter to creditors. Deloitte is acting as official trustee under the proposal. All proceedings against the insolvent have been stayed.
Once a proposal has been filed, a meeting of creditors to consider the proposal will be held within 21 days.
The list of creditors includes Toronto-based ComputerShare Trust Co. of Canada ($20.6 million); Korean Exchange Bank ($8.5 million); Bosa Properties ($2 million) and a numbered Calgary company ($3.4 million).
Calgary a Magnet for New Hotel Development
Calgary is becoming a magnet these days for hotel operators - particularly unique and different brands on the market.
The latest addition is Aloft Calgary University, which will open its doors April 24 along Motel Village on Banff Trail N.W.
It is the first Aloft in Western Canada and only the third in the country, joining Aloft Vaughan Mills (in the Toronto area) and Aloft Montreal Airport as part of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts group of brands, which include the Sheraton, the Westin, and the Four Points.
The new hotel, located along the LRT line near the University of Calgary and McMahon Stadium, will have 143 guest rooms, 4,000 square feet of meeting space, a spin studio, a spa, an indoor pool, a restaurant and the W xyz bar featuring local musicians and DJs.
More Residential Units Planned for Currie Barracks Development
The formal submission to the City of Calgary for the massive mixed-use development of Currie Barracks is almost complete and developers are holding a public open house next week to present it to the public.
The new plan by Canada Lands Company and Embassy Bosa Inc. calls for 5,600 residential units on the site, up from 3,200 originally planned. There will eventually be 11,000 residents in the community which has increased from the 7,000 in the original plans.
The public open house is scheduled for Monday April 14 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Currie Barracks Sales Centre at 2953 Battleford Ave. S.W.
The third open house in the process and the developers hope to submit an application for land-use re-designation in mid-May.
Canada Lands is a Crown corporation that redevelops property no longer required by the federal government.
Buoyant Economy Fuelling Calgary Condo Growth
Calgary’s buoyant economy, healthy population growth and excellent affordability will keep sales of existing condominiums rising over the next few years, says a new housing report released Wednesday.
The latest Conference Board of Canada condo report, released by Genworth Canada, said good demand will also lift condo starts in the city following a pullback in 2013 that was at least partly due to flooding in the summer.
The Winter 2014 Metropolitan Condo Outlook forecast Calgary to see the best growth in prices this year, for eight cities studied, for the resale condo market with median prices rising by 3.2 per cent to $260,523.
The report said they will rise a further 3.4 per cent in 2015 to $269,508.
Affordability in Calgary is a factor. The city has the highest average household income among the report’s eight cities and Calgary’s apartments are not particularly expensive with a median price below Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Victoria and Vancouver.
No Fears of a Housing Bubble for Calgary Housing Market
There is not much cause for alarm about a housing bubble in Calgary despite the sharp growth in prices for the city’s resale market, says a new report released Monday by the Conference Board of Canada.
The board’s initial Housing Briefing: Bubble Fears Overblown report said improvements in energy markets have boosted sales in Calgary’s resale market, and the market is approaching sellers’ conditions. Sales have not fallen on a year-over-year basis since April 2011 and price growth accelerated sharply last year.
The report said that nationally, and in some local markets, Canadian house prices may be headed for a modest decline, but fears of a housing bubble are exaggerated.
Strong Consumer Demand Driving Calgary Housing Market
Although additional resale housing inventory is expected to hit the Calgary market in the spring, a new real estate report says it will be absorbed by strong consumer demand.
The report by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, released Tuesday, said the outlook for Calgary’s real estate market is positive based on key economic indicators and demand is being driven by low interest rates, tight rental and resale real estate markets and strong economic fundamentals.
Calgary’s marketplace demand is due to a number of factors including high incomes and strong net migration to the city.
New Home Prices in the Calgary Region Continue to Rise
The Calgary region experienced the highest annual growth rate in new home prices across the country in January.
The Statistics Canada said Thursday that the New Housing Price Index rose by seven per cent from January 2013 in the Calgary census metropolitan area - its highest annual rise since July 2007.
The NHPI was also up 1.3 per cent on a monthly basis.
Nationally, the NHPI rose 0.3 per cent in January - the largest since May 2012 and mainly the result of strong gains in the Prairie region. On an annual basis, it was up 1.5 per cent.
Calgary Region Housing Starts Soar in February
Housing starts in the Calgary region soared in February compared last year on the strength of a whopping increase in the multi-family sector, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The agency reported Monday that total starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area was up by 41.7 per cent from a year ago to 1,270 units. The single-detached market rose by 15.0 per cent to 559 units while the multi-family market up by 73.4 per cent to 711 units.
The CMHC also added housing starts were trending at 14,993 units in February compared with 14,322 in January. The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally-adjusted annual rates of total housing starts.
Calgary Set Record Highs For Average Home Sale Prices
A low inventory is continuing to drive resale housing prices upward with the city poised to set numerous all-time records from February MLS sales.
As the housing market comes to the end of another month, Calgary is on the verge of hitting new highs for average sale prices and median prices in both the overall city market and in the single-family sector.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, from February 1-26, the average MLS sale price for all city sales was $485,085, up 6.94 per cent from a year ago while the median price rose by 7.80 per cent to $425,000. Also, the single-family home market has seen the average price soar to $553,077, up 8.16 per cent from a year ago while the median price has risen by 10.98 per cent to $485,000.
Albertans Plan To Use Home Ownership As Primary Source Of Retirement Income
With house prices continuing to grow in Canada, a new survey shows nearly 26 per cent of Albertans intend to use their homes as their primary source of income after they leave the workforce.
The 2014 Sun Life Canadian Unretirement Index, released Wednesday, also found that 17 per cent do not know if their investment in their home will serve as their primary source of income during retirement.
The survey also found that 12 per cent of Albertans expect retirement income to come from home equity; 28 per cent to come from government plans; 29 per cent to come from personal savings; and 21 per cent to come from employer plans.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, month-to-date until Tuesday, the average MLS sale price in Calgary was $490,882, up 7.33 per cent from a year ago while the median price has risen by 7.68 per cent to $425,350. In the single-family home market, the average price has jumped by 7.33 per cent as well to $554,011 while the median price has increased by 8.83 per cent to $480,000.
Calgary Housing Market Remains Hot
Calgary’s sizzling resale housing market is showing no signs of cooling as the city recorded the highest year-over-year hike in prices across the country in January - and early indications show February is experiencing a continued escalation in what it costs to buy a home.
The Canadian Real Estate Association released its monthly MLS data on Friday and listed Calgary as the top center in the country for annual growth in the MLS Home Price Index at 8.98 per cent. Nationally, prices, in the 11 centres surveyed, up by 4.83 per cent.
A realtor with RE/MAX said the city’s housing market has started 2014 with a bang. The market has not slowed down at all from the healthy pace it set in 2013.
High Demand Lifting Calgary Housing Market
A high level of demand will continue to lift housing starts, MLS sales and average house prices this year in the Calgary region, according to a report released Thursday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The agency’s first quarter 2014 Housing Market Outlook said housing starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area will reach 14,100 units in 2014 before declining to 13,500 in 2015. They were at 12,584 last year.
The report said a record level of migration in 2013 will help lift MLS sales from 29,954 in 2013 to 31,300 units in 2014 and to 32,100 in 2015 and the high level of demand is expected to be met by more supply which will help lift the average price from $437,036 in 2013 to $449,000 in 2014 and to $460,000 in 2015.
The Calgary and Alberta housing markets will be buoyed in the coming years by strong net migration numbers. CMHC estimates net migration to the province in 2013 will be 103,000 people followed by forecasts of 71,000 in 2014 and 63,000 in 2015.
Calgary's New Condo Market Booming
Calgary’s new condo market boosts in 2013 with sales up by 30 per cent from the previous year and coming close to the peak of 2005 when prices were a lot less for a property, particularly in inner-city neighbourhoods.
A report by the Altus Group Limited says sales in the city reached 5,400 last year for new townhouse and apartment units. At its peak almost a decade ago, sales in the market hit 5,900.
The city’s condo boom is being fuelled by a strong economy, strong growth in employment and in-migration as well as a very low rental vacancy rate.
Calgary Ranks Fifth in Highrise Construction in North America
Calgary is ranked fifth overall in North America for the number of highrises and skyscrapers currently under construction.
A ranking gathered by Emporis, an international provider of building data, said Toronto is North America’s highrise boomtown with 130 projects on the go.
The report, released Tuesday, said New York City was second at 91, followed by Montreal (25), Vancouver (23) and Calgary (22).
Emporis said one aspect common to all the cities in the ranking with the exception of Houston is the majority of the highrises under construction are residential buildings.
It said New York remains the city with the most completed highrises in North America with 6,069.
Calgary Industrial Real Estate Market Continues To See Strong Demand
The high amount of leasing activity in 2013 in the Calgary industrial real estate market is a solid indicator of healthy demand which will continue to take vacant product, according to a new report by Colliers International.
Colliers said absorption - the change in occupied space - remained high at 1.2 million sq ft in the 4th quarter of 2013. This is a small growth over the 3rd quarter which saw just over one million sq ft of absorption.
It also said a shortage of land is expected to continue into this year(2014).
Record MLS sales for Cochrane and Okotoks
Cochrane and Okotoks both experienced record years in 2013 for MLS residential sales activity.
A new report by the CREB said there was strong sales activity in the final quarter of last year in Airdrie, Cochrane, and Okotoks and as the supply of single-family homes in Calgary decreased.
CREB said total sales in communities surrounding Calgary boosts to 4,440 units in 2013, a hike of nearly 12 per cent.
In the city, MLS sales rose by nearly 11 per cent to 23,489 transactions.
Booming Luxury Market Pushes Calgary House Prices to Records
A booming luxury market, and tight overall conditions with listings not keeping pace with demand, has pushed Calgary house prices to unparalleled levels.
Average sale and median prices hit all-time records for the city in 2013 for both single-family home and in the total MLS transactions category, according to data released Thursday by the CREB.
The average sale price for total MLS hit $456,703 for the year, up 6.54 per cent from 2012, while the single-family average price boosts by 7.61 per cent to $517,887.
The median sale price for total MLS was $401,000 and it was $450,000 for single-family homes. The median price up by 5.53 per cent from the previous year for total MLS and it was a 7.14 per cent hike in the single-family market.
Also, December capped a strong year for the residential real estate market with the highest-ever monthly average sale price at $527,764, eclipsing the previous record of $526,546 set in June 2013.
East Village Dream Becoming a Reality
The four cranes rise from the ground and reach skyward just east of Calgary’s downtown City Hall building.
They are an obvious sign of progress in the long-discussed East Village development on almost 20 hectares of land situated in a major spot near the heart of the city.
Another key measure of success in the past year was the large number of people who came down to East Village to visit and participate in activities.
Brown says the community hosted 148 days of events in 2013, attracting more than 50,000 people to everything from the typical festivals to Opera in the Village.
Alberta Expected To Outperform National Housing Markets
According to Global Real Estate Trends report released Friday by Scotiabank Economics, says Alberta may outperform national housing markets in 2014.
“Relatively firmer employment and income gains and strong population growth are expected to underpin modestly higher home sales and steady new construction, while tighter supply conditions lift prices,” said the report authored by Adrienne Warren, the bank’s senior economist and real estate specialist.
The report said Canada’s housing market in 2013 outperformed expectations. The end-year tally for national home resales will be largely on par with 2012 and in line with the average pace of the past decade, it said.
Buyer Enthusiasm Buoys Calgary Residential Real Estate Market
Demand for residential real estate in Calgary this year was at its peak level in years as decreasing inventory levels could not keep pace with buyer enthusiasm, driving the market into seller’s territory for the first time since 2007, says a new report by RE/MAX.
The Housing Market Outlook 2014, released Wednesday, said several offers made their return in 2013 amid growing competition particularly at the lower single-family price points, but the “frenetic climate of 2007 did not return with it.”
RE/MAX said the upper end of the market is anticipated to gain further traction next year, strengthened by employment and income growth and equity gains.
West Coast City Seeing More Sales from Albertans
The lure of a warmer and milder climate is attracting more and more homebuyers from Calgary and Alberta to Victoria.
Shelley Mann, president of the Victoria Real Estate Board, stated the residential market in the West coast city has been experiencing a definite increase in out-of-province homebuyers.
“A lot of them are buying them to come out here and spend the winter. It’s the snowbirds coming this way versus going down south. We’ve got a really good inventory of condos on the market right now and fairly competitively priced. People are looking at that. This is a good investment . . . And there’s a lot of new inventory coming onto the market.”
Canadian Investors Increasingly Looking Offshore
Weathering the global recession better than other developed economies and supproted by strong capital market conditions, Canada’s commercial real estate investors plan to continue to punch above their weight in offshore investing, says the 2014 Colliers International Investor Sentiment Survey.
The survey of more than 500 major institutional, REIT and private investors, with most of the largest players from Canada, revealed that Canadian investors are searching beyond the domestic market to get higher investment returns and diversify risk, said Colliers.
According to transaction data from Real Capital Analytics, Canadians are the largest foreign buyers of commercial property in the U.S. with closed and under-contract transaction volumes reaching $US8 billion. Investor activity in other foreign markets places CanadaaaS. ($US37.5) and Singapore ($US14.4 billion), it said.
Eau Claire Market Project Involves Huge Mixed-use Development
Redevelopment plans for the Eau Claire Market include 5 towers, 1,000 residential units, 800,000 square feet of office space, and 550,000 square feet for retail.
The ambitious plans by Regina-based Harvard Devlopments Inc. would change the market into a more vibrant mixed-use area.
Its objective would be to start construction in the fall of 2014 and the entire phased project would take 7 to 10 years.
Rosanne Hill Blaisdell, managing director of Harvard Buildings Inc. and vice-president of leasing for Harvard Developments Inc., said the developer has been working with the city and different community groups over the last year to come forward with a design. It is gearing up for a land-use application to be submitted before the end of this year or early in 2014 with a development permit following soon after.
The current structure of Eau Claire Market will not come down until the project moves into its third phase in a few years and another structure will be built there to fit retail use.
Town Centre Concept Planned for Currie Barracks
Canada Lands Company is partnering with Embassy Bosa Inc. to build a mixed-use town centre at the Currie Barracks in Calgary.
The vision is for the town center to turn into a main hub of activity for the residents of Currie and its neighborhood. Offering local retail shops and services, plus parks and other outdoor gathering places, the area will be completely revitalized into a unique urban community of its own near downtown Calgary.
Cassidy stated construction will take place in several phases with the retail component expected to be completed within 5 years.
Phase 1 of Currie Barracks is largely complete already with 250 homes. Phase 2 will have about 300 homes with that aspect of the project just beginning.
The town centre plan is being build with retail, office and multi-family components key elements.
Luxury Condo Sales Increase, Smashing Records in Calgary
Luxury condominium sales are increasing in Calgary this year with MLS sales over $1 million currently putting an all-time yearly record.
Year-to-date, until Wednesday, there were 53 luxury condominium sales in the city compared to 21 for the same period last year, as reported by the Calgary Real Estate Board.
The interest in the luxury condo market is obvious in yearly sales profits over the past decade. In 2004, there have been only two sales at that cost and it jumped to six in 2005. But sales took a tremendous leap in 2006 with 29 transactions that year. Annual luxury condo sales for the past few years are: 30 in 2007; 27 in 2008 and 2009; 21 in 2010 and 26 in 2011.
The previous annual record for the majority of luxury condominium sales was 36 in 2012.
Calgary New Home Prices Continue to Increase
Statistics Canada reported Calgary was the top contributor to the national advance in May of new home prices.
The federal agency stated Thursday that the New Housing Price Index inflated 0.1 per cent in May across the country thanks to a 0.9 per cent rise in the Calgary census metropolitan area.
It said builders in the Calgary area reported a growth in material and labour costs as the main reason for higher prices.
On an annual basis, prices in the Calgary region boost by 5.3 per cent. Nationally, they were up 1.8 per cent on a yearly basis.
Calgary Housing Starts Booms
Housing starts in the Calgary are on the upswing, said by the Conference Board of Canada.
A report released Wednesday suggests short-term expectations for the industry in the Calgary region are positive. But the board also stated long-term expectations are negative.
Short-term expectations are set on residential permits data while long-term expectations are based on demographic requirements.
The board said the seasonally-adjusted yearly rate of starts in the Calgary region in May was 12,534, up from 10,890 last year.
Calgary - Top Contributor in National Advance for New Home Prices
In April, Calgary was the top contributor in April to the national progress for new home prices for the third consecutive month.
Statistics Canada reported Thursday that Calgary's New Housing Price Index rose by 0.5 percent in Calgary for the month and by 0.2 percent across the country.
Builders noted that higher material and labor costs as well as market conditions were the primary reasons for higher prices in Calgary, said the national agency.
Across The Country, the index rose succeeding a 0.1 percent growth in March and similar gains over the last 12 months.
Calgary House Price Gain Best in Canada
Posted in June 14, 2013
In May, Calgary had the best monthly growth rate in house prices for repeat home sales across the country, according to a latest report released Wednesday.
The Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index stated prices in Calgary rose 2.3 percent from the previous month.
The May monthly gain was one percent or more in 7 of the 11 markets reviewed led by Calgary. They also included Edmonton (1.9 percent), Hamilton (1.4 percent), Montreal and Winnipeg (1.2 percent), Ottawa-Gatineau (1.1 percent) and Toronto (1.0 percent). Lesser monthly gains were listed in Quebec City (0.8 percent) and Vancouver (0.7 percent). Prices were fixed in Halifax and down from the month before in Victoria (0.8 percent).
The index is predicted by tracking marked or registered home prices over time using data acquired from public land registries. All homes that have been sold at least twice are considered in the computation of the index.
On a yearly basis, prices in Calgary were up by 5.8 percent — the second highest in the country behind Quebec City’s 6.5 percent.
In Canada, the price growth over the 12 months ending in May surpass the cross-country average in 7 of the 11 markets surveyed for the national total index. Besides Calgary and Quebec City, prices boost in Hamilton (5.8 percent), Winnipeg (4.6 percent), Edmonton (4.0 percent), Toronto (3.9 percent) and Halifax (2.3 percent). The 12-month increase matched the average in Ottawa-Gatineau (2.0 percent) and slowed it in Montreal (1.9 percent). Prices were down from a year earlier in Victoria (4.1 percent) and Vancouver (3.2 percent). For Vancouver, it was the 10th straight month of 12-month fall.
New Home Construction Boosts in Alberta
New home construction elevate in the Calgary region in May with Alberta’s level at a five-year high.
It’s an indication that the housing market is increasing.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Monday that total starts in the Calgary census metro area extent 1,078 units during the month, which was a growth from 949 in May 2012.
Multi-family starts grew to 519 in May from 466 a year ago while the single-detached market saw starts rose to 559 from 483 last year.
In May, builders begun construction on 41,438 new homes in Alberta — the highest this year and the first time since early 2008 that the figure has inflated above the 40,000 mark.
The recent Labour Force Survey, released last week, points to a rise in the labour force, which has up by 59,400, or 2.6 percent, over the last 12 months.
Work Alternatives Acquire Big Benefits for Telus
Producing a flexible work environment has seen huge progress in employee work rate and levels of engagement for Telus as well as a corresponding important savings in real estate costs.
The company commence on its alternative workplace idea, Work Styles, in 2006 and is planning to have more employees working outside a traditional office.
Between 2009 and 2012, Telus has cut its real estate footprint by over one million square feet and is looking at a reduction of another 400,000 square feet in the succeeding years. Between 2009 and 2016, it will reduce its office space from 4.8 million sq. ft. to 3.4 million sq. ft. By the end of 2016, the target is to reduce annual rent costs by $50 million. It leases a total of $160 million of office and call center space every year.
By 2015, the aim is to have 70 percent of its 40,000 people working from home or on a mobile basis at least part-time. Today, 47 percent, or 5,000 people, on a given day work outside the office.
Calgary Building Permits Boost in April
The economic value of building permits in the Calgary region leaped to $772.7 million in April, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency reported Wednesday that permits were up 40.6 per cent from March and increased by 12.9 per cent year-over-year.
The gains in Calgary were driven by higher construction intentions for commercial buildings, added the federal agency.
Across Canada, building permits worth $7 billion were issued in April, up 10.5 per cent from March. The advance in April was the fourth consecutive monthly increase. The recent upswing came after a downward trend in the total value of building permits that began in the fall of 2012, said Statistics Canada.
Development Permit may be in works for South Block of The Bow Project
A new development permit for the south block of The Bow project could be filed this year as owners of the property across the street from the tower continue to discuss possibilities for the site.
Original plans for the project included a smaller office building housing office, retail and arts and cultural space in about 200,000 square feet. It was to be a seven-storey complex to be built where the historic York Hotel formerly existed and the complex was to be built using bricks taken from the demolished hotel.
In 2009, plans for the smaller tower were shelved due to tough economic times. But they were revived again in early January 2011 after the city received a development permit application for a 12-storey building to be called 600 Centre.
Development on the site is in a holding pattern.
Jack Matthews, president of Matthews Development which was in charge of constructing The Bow, said potential development on the south block site could take about two years to be built.
More Calgarians Plan to Buy Condos in the Next Five Years: BMO
More Calgarians are planning to buy a condo in the next five years, says a new BMO Bank of Montreal report released on Thursday.
The survey, conducted by Pollara, found that in Calgary prospects for condos among homebuyers has developed eight points from the fall (33 per cent versus 25 per cent), while intent to buy a traditional home has dropped from 71 per cent in the fall to 58 per cent.
For other major cities, the survey showed: 31 per cent of potential buyers in Toronto plan to purchase a condo in the next five years, up 11 points from the fall; intent to buy condos in Vancouver has dipped by five points, from 33 per cent in the fall to 28 per cent; and 24 per cent of buyers in Montreal will be preferring for condo living, down three points.
U.S. Retailers to Shape Future of Canadian Shopping
The continuous flow of U.S. retailers into Canada is expected to have a lasting impact on Canadian retailers and consumers, according to Colliers International’s 2013 Spring Retail Report released Wednesday.
The report said the entrance of U.S. retailers is already one of the drivers behind the retail building boom Canada has experienced in recent years, with an average of 11.5 million square feet of leasable shopping area added annually and tens of millions of square feet currently under construction.
This addition of shopping space to the national inventory, while very large, is not likely to lead to a market bubble, provided Canada continues to demonstrate strong economic and population growth.
Calgary - One of More Affordable Housing Markets in Canada
Calgary’s housing market renaissance has not been a steady process, as the overall improving trend in resale activity was inconsistent last year, says a report released today by RBC Economics Research.
But the city remains one of the more affordable housing markets in Canada.
The latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report said recent statistics, however, show that resales in the area stabilized in the first quarter of 2013 and that month-to-month gains were registered during the February to April period.
Calgary-area buyers continue to benefit from a strong provincial economy, accelerating population growth and attractive housing affordability in Canada.
Alberta Homeowners Most Successful at Debt Reduction
Alberta homeowners report the most success in the country in year-over-year debt reduction.
A Manulife Bank of Canada survey has found that 60 per cent of homeowners in the province said they have less debt than they did a year ago.
Across Canada, 55 per cent of homeowners were in that situation.
The survey said just 20 per cent of Canadian homeowners report having more debt than they did a year ago, with the balance reporting no change in their debt level (16 per cent) or being debt-free over the past 12 months (nine per cent).
Regionally, homeowners in Alberta (60 per cent) and Ontario (58 per cent) are most likely to feel confident they’ll be debt-free when they reach retirement, while those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (53 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (50 per cent) are least likely to be confident, according to the survey.
Across the country, 56 per cent of homeowners are confident they’ll be debt-free at retirement.
Almost Half of Albertans Planning Major Home Renovations
Forty-six per cent of Albertans are planning to make significant home renovations in the next two years – second after Atlantic Canadians (47%) and two per cent above the national average, says a new survey by Scotiabank.
The Scotiabank Mortgage Landscape Study also found that Albertans are more likely to use a line of credit to pay for renovations (37%), which is well ahead of the other regions of the country and the national average (29%).
While dipping into their cash savings to pay for renos is common among Canadians (62%), Albertans are the least likely among the regions to do so (50%), according to the study.
Canadian homeowners say they would most like to renovate their kitchen (33 per cent), followed by their bathroom (16%) and their basement (16%).
Calgary Retail Space To Expand This Year
Calgary has been a highly sought after destination for retailers testing the waters in Canada,report says by CBRE Limited.
Over the last couple of years, several high-profile international retailers have set up shop in the city due to its strong economy and healthy retail sales growth.
That has also led to a demand for more space in the retail market.
The CBRE report says about 1.5 million square feet of new supply is projected to be added to the Calgary market this year, up 1.1 million square feet from 358,495 square feet in 2012.
At the national level, CBRE is forecasting about 5.4 million square feet of new supply this year, trending above the 10-year annual average of 5.2 million square feet.
Canadian Recreational Property Market Boost by Low Interest Rates
Continued low interest rates are having a positive impact on the Canadian recreational real estate market, says a survey by Royal LePage.
The survey, which polled Canadians across the country who either currently own or think to buy a recreational property within the next five years, found that 82 per cent say interest rates will influence their decision to purchase a recreational property — and 58 per cent feel added urgency to buy a recreational property while interest rates are low.
The survey also revealed that 50 per cent suggested that prices will increase and 32 per cent said they will stay the same.
Increasing Momentum for Calgary Retail Market
This year has so far proven to be one of increasing momentum for the city’s retail market, according to a new report by Colliers International in Calgary.
Market vacancy continues considerably unchanged at 2.14 per cent in the spring, up slightly from 1.99 per cent last fall, adding that opportunities for retailers in Calgary’s premier shopping centres remain nearly non-existent and landlords have the option to be very selective in their choice of tenancies to fill upcoming vacancies.
The report said retailer demand for new space in Calgary has reached an all-time high. Low unemployment, exceptional incomes and reasonable costs of living are all contributing to the strength of Alberta’s retail sales which on a per capita basis exceeds the national average by about 34 per cent.
Calgary Region Building Permits Continue to Grow
Contractors took out building permits worth $553.9 million in the Calgary region in March, up 7.1 per cent from February, reported by Statistics Canada.
The federal agency reported Monday that the construction value was also an increase of 21.3 per cent year-over-year.
Alberta saw permits of $1.7 billion for March, up 22.3 per cent on a monthly basis and an increase of 38.2 per cent from a year ago. The residential sector climbed to $821.8 million which represented a 15.9 per cent increase from February and a 16.2 per cent jump from March 2012. The non-residential sector was $856.7 million, up 29.1 per cent month-over-month and 69.0 per cent year-over-year.
At the national level, contractors took out building permits worth $6.5 billion in March, up 8.6 per cent from February and the third consecutive monthly advance. The March increase came mostly from the non-residential sector in Ontario and Alberta, said Statistics Canada.
Smaller Towns Top the Big City in Region's Home sales
MLS residential sales activity in towns outside Calgary improved at a faster pace than the city in April.
The Calgary Real Estate Board’s statistics for the month indicate sales in towns outside the city increased by 12.24 per cent to 431 compared with a year ago.
Within city limits, sales were up 8.28 per cent to 2,381 for the month.
In April, the average sale price in the towns market increased by 2.89 per cent to $365,877 and the benchmark price, which tracks typical properties sold, was up 6.48 per cent to $339,900.
A Luxury Mount Royal Estate Home for Sale Just Under $4 million
A Mount Royal estate home, a three-storey brick home built in 1912, was once owned by the legendary Burns family group of companies, is for sale for just under $4 million.
The property once encompassed all the block on Prospect Avenue S.W. in the prestigious Mount Royal neighbourhood.
It includes about 6,000 feet with the basement and a third storey guest suite which is really rare. It also has a Japanese pagoda in the backyard.
The house, which has undergone renovations, is on sale for $3.99 million.
First Look from Top Floors of The Bow Caps Off a Magnificent Building
It’s like the icing on the cake.
The 54th floor of The Bow, with its breathtaking Sky Garden, caps off what many have described as a magnificent building — one that was recently listed as one of the most dazzling corporate structures in the world.
The Sky Garden floor boasts a state-of-the art 250-seat auditorium on the east side and a huge multi-purpose room with a mountain view on the west. The distance between the two — punctuated with panoramic views of the city, tons of natural light, soft seating and trees — is about one city block in length.
Plans for the tower were announced in October 2006. It was initially owned by Encana but later sold to H&R Real Estate Investment Trust. Energy giants Encana and Cenovus — with more than 4,000 employees between them — are the building’s main tenants.
Calgary Industrial Real Estate Market Active
All signs are indicating that the Calgary industrial real estate market will continue to boom and grow this year, says a new report by Cushman & Wakefield.
The company said overall vacancy in the sector was 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, grows from 6.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. Net asking rents have jumped to $8.63 per square foot per year from $7.89 last year.
The report also said leasing activity in the first quarter of close to 1.4 million square feet is up from just over 921,000 square feet for the same period last year.
Calgary One of Canada’s Most Robust Luxury Home Markets
Calgary is one of Canada’s most robust markets for luxury homes and the baseline entry point for a luxury single-family home is $2 million, which is in line with that of Toronto, says a report by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.
The Top Tier Trends Report: A Comparative Survey of Canada’s Luxury Real Estate Market said the features and amenities in Calgary reflect a distinctive western Canadian lifestyle.
As Calgary’s market for top-tier homes continues to outpace most of Canada, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada survey findings reveal that demand is predominantly driven by younger buyers, largely in the 35 to 40 year old range who have a skew in preference towards inner-city and Beltline living.
Buyers of top-tier homes in Canada are more likely to pay in cash and to use mortgages as part of an overall investment strategy, said the report, adding buyers are more likely to own a secondary, vacation and/or investment property that is often used part time as a vacation property in a ski or sun destination.
The strongest foreign buying influences include China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Calgary Investment in Commercial Building Construction On The Rise
Investment in non-residential building construction in the Calgary region was on the rise in the first quarter of this year, according to Statistics Canada.
The federal agency reported Thursday that investment in the Calgary census metropolitan area reached $913 million, 3.2 per cent growth from last year.
The commercial sector saw investment increase by 4.9 per cent to $742.6 million while the industrial sector experienced a rise of 85.4 per cent to $58.4 million.
In the institutional category, investment was down by 22.8 per cent to $112 million.
Calgary’s Bow Tower One of the World’s Most Spectacular Corporate Buildings
The Bow tower is the tallest building in Calgary.
The 59-storey, 1.9-million-square-foot, $1.4 billion tower was announced in October 2006. It was initially owned by Encana but later sold to H&R Real Estate Investment Trust. Energy giants Encana and Cenovus are the skyscraper’s main tenants at Centre Street and 5th and 6th Avenues S.E.
The Bow has six floors of underground parking connecting under 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue with nearly 1,400 parking stalls and just over 400 spots for bicycles. The structure has 42 elevators. The total square footage of the skyscraper is equal to 48 Saddledomes. There are three Sky Gardens in the structure.
The design architect on the Bow was world-renowned Foster + Partners.
New Bridgeland Condo Aims to Change Architectural Landscape
A new inner-city condo development is being launched in the Bridgeland community.
STEPS Bridgeland is designed by award-winning Calgary architect Jeremy Sturgess and is described as a one-of-a-kind real estate development that will change the architectural landscape of Bridgeland.
It will be a six storey, concrete, condominium development featuring 122 contemporary homes consisting of studios, one and two bedroom apartments, town houses and penthouses.
Besides Sturgess, the development team includes Giustini Bridges Inc., Scott Construction, and Square Foot Real Estate.
The project is located at 918 McPherson Place N.E. and the sales centre, located at 921 1st Ave. N.E., officially opens on Saturday.
Construction is expected to begin in the fall of this year with prices starting from the $180,000s.
Alberta First-time Homebuyers Expect to Spend $406,000
First-time buyers in Alberta expect to spend $406,000 on a home, the highest average in the country, as reported released Tuesday by BMO.
The First-Time Home Buyer’s report said the average amount Canadians planning to buy their first home in the next five years plan to spend is approximately $300,000, with an average down payment amount of $48,000 (16 per cent).
First-time buyers in B.C. expect to spend on average $384,000 and it was $326,000 in Ontario.
The report also found: on average, first-time home buyers expect to be mortgage free in 20 years, with 20 per cent estimating it will take between 10-19 years; those planning to enter the real estate market for the first time are twice as likely to take a fixed rate over a variable rate mortgage (46 per cent versus 20 per cent); and first-timers who expect interest rates to stay the same or decrease over the next five years still prefer fixed rate over variable rate mortgages (39 per cent versus 23 per cent).
Tight Market Gets Home Prices Higher
A tighter market for resale homes led to faster sales as prices set new all-time highs in March, reported by Calgary Real Estate Board.
In Calgary, average housing unit prices including condos and townhouses were up nine per cent to $460,800 from $422,400 in March 2012. That’s more expensive than the record $457,100 in February, which upset the past high mark of $452,600 set in July 2007.
Single-family homes sold in the city averaged $518,400, up by nearly 10 per cent over March 2012, while condos were up nearly 11 per cent at $300,900 and townhouses were up 13.5 per cent at $355,500.
Calgary Leads Country in Hotel Value Growth
Hotel investment across Canada reached nearly $1.2 billion last year with 30 of the 116 total sales taking place in Alberta.
The 2013 Canadian Hotel Investment report released this week by Colliers International Hotels said the 116 hotel sales was a 17 per cent increase over 2011 and the third-highest number in the past 10 years. Alberta’s 30 hotel sales totalled $391 million.
Ontario was tops with 50 sales accounting for $460 million.
Leading sales in Alberta were Edmonton ($121 million), Calgary ($80 million) and Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie ($56 million each), said Colliers.
The Colliers report said Calgary should lead the country in hotel sales value growth this year, at about eight per cent.
Real estate companies came out as the leading investor group in 2012, it said, accounting for 43 per cent of total acquisitions, primarily for redevelopment.
Calgary Resale Housing Market Seeing Price Growth
Calgary is one of only a handful of markets across Canada that has seen seven per cent and more year-over-year price growth for residential real estate, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
In a resale housing survey of markets across the country for February, released Thursday, the board said the city, along with Regina, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Halifax and Newfoundland, experienced year-over-year price growth of seven per cent or more for the latest three months.
On a seasonally-adjusted annual rate, sales in Calgary of 25,416 are up 2.0 per cent in February from last year while listings have dropped by 5.1 per cent to 40,308.
The average sale price in Calgary was $438,412, up 6.1 per cent from February 2012.
Sublet Vacant Space Boosts in Downtown Calgary
A significant change has taken place in Calgary’s downtown office market with a whopping increase of sublet space in the first quarter of this year.
In Calgary, the sublet percentage of vacant space in the downtown market rose to 43.3 per cent this quarter from 8.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.
Nationally, there is 11.3 million square feet of office construction in downtown markets. The national vacancy rate is 6.2 per cent, up from 6.1 per cent in the previous quarter.
Toronto has the lowest downtown vacancy rate in the country at 4.7 per cent followed by Vancouver at 4.1 per cent.
In Calgary, the average Class A rent for downtown space was $40.53 per square foot, down from $40.58 in the last quarter. However, it was still higher than the $35.51 average rent in the first quarter of 2012.
Alberta Manufacturing Sales Boom
While Canada got a decline in manufacturing sales in January, Alberta saw the sector inflated, hitting $6.3 billion and increase of 6.3 per cent, corresponding to Statistics Canada.
According to a report Tuesday by the federal agency, that sales in the province were the largest growth since November 2011. They also topped the nation in development.
Year-after-year, sales in the province remained flat.
Nationally, manufacturing sales dropped 0.2 per cent in January to $48.0 billion, the fourth decline in five months. Sales in January were down in the transportation equipment industry as well as the oil and coal product industry. Overall, seven of 21 industries posted lower sales in January, representing about 52 per cent of the manufacturing sector.
Calgary New Home Prices on the Rise
New home prices in the Calgary region were on the rise in January.
According to a report Thursday by Statistics Canada that its New Housing Price Index for the Calgary census metropolitan area was up 3.3 per cent from a year ago and it had also grew by 0.5 per cent from December.
Nationally, the NHPI climbed by 2.2 per cent on an annual basis and by 0.1 per cent month-over-month.
Calgary listed as an “out-performer” in Canadian Real Estate Market
Canada is anticipated to experience a gradual, modest, downward housing market adjustment over the next 3 years with a “measly” two per cent annual price gain over the next decade, says a study released Monday by TD Economics.
But the bank has also listed Calgary as an “out-performer” in Canada for the long-run rate of return on Canadian real estate. Compared with the national picture, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto were also listed as out-performers for the future.
Calgary Housing Starts Drop in February
Total housing starts in the Calgary region fell by 33.4 per cent in February compared from a year ago, reported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The agency reported Friday that starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area were 896 for the month.
Single-detached starts of 486 were off by 0.8 per cent while multi-family starts of 410 dropped by 52 per cent compared with February 2012.
Year-to-date, total starts in the region of 1,615 are down 24.2 per cent from the same period in 2012. That’s a result of the multi-family sector being off by 32 per cent (888 units). However, the single-detached market is up 12.2 per cent to 927 starts this year.
Calgary to Escape Downturn in Condo Apartment Construction
The apartment sector will be driving most of the overall moderation in housing starts in 2013 across the country with only Calgary forecast to escape the downturn, says a new report by Altus Group.
Altus Group said apartment starts in Calgary were 4,000 in 2012 and are forecast to boost to 4,100 in 2013 before falling slightly in 2014 to 3,600.
The report said that at the end of December there were 4,424 new condo apartment units under construction, up from 3,837 in 2011. Sales rose from 2,482 in 2011 to 2,825 in 2012. And the number of completed but unabsorbed units fell from 285 in 2011 to 254 in 2012.
In the resale housing market, condo apartment sales year-to-date until the end of February are up 13.65 per cent compared from last year, rising from 425 MLS transactions in 2012 to 483 this year.
The average sale price has also jumped by 4.75 per cent from $271,658 to $284,551.
Canadian Housing Prices Overvalued by 20%: Fitch Ratings
American-based agency Fitch says house prices are overvalued by approximately 20 per cent in real terms across Canada, with regional variations.
But in releasing its ratings on Monday, it said Alberta’s market is overvalued by 15 per cent.
Fitch said rises in prices have remained with small corrections since 1996, and specifically since 2008 have risen when underlying fundamentals suggest that growth is unsupportable.
It said the Ontario market is overvalued by 21 per cent, Alberta by 15 per cent, British Columbia by 26 per cent and Quebec by 26 per cent.
The Fitch Ratings “exposure draft” details a “new loan-level model for estimating losses on prime Canadian residential mortgage pools.”
Prices in Calgary’s resale housing market continue to rise as an all-time average sale price record was set in February, dominating the mark which has stood since the boom in July 2007.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, the average MLS sale price for a single-family home during the month was $518,452, up 10.30 per cent from last year while the average price for overall MLS sales in the city was $457,120, up 7.46 per cent year-over-year.
The previous single-family home record high for average sale price was $506,671 in July 2007 and it was $452,589 in July 2007 as well for overall MLS sales in the city.
Calgary Resale Housing Market Sets All-time Record for Average Sale Price
The past single-family home record high for average sale price was $506,671 in July 2007 and it was $452,589 in July 2007 as well for overall MLS sales in the city.
Total Calgary MLS sales of 1,711 in February were down 1.21 per cent from a year ago while single-family home sales drop by 5.62 per cent to 1,209.
In the condo apartment category, sales boost by 13.41 per cent to 279 but the average sale price dipped by 0.40 per cent to $287,830.
And in the condo townhouse sector, sales were up 8.78 per cent to 223 and the average sale price increased by 8.50 per cent to $336,406.
Benchmark prices, which CREB reports as typical properties sold, rose in all housing categories: total residential, 8.25 per cent, $396,100; single-family, 9.31 per cent, $442,500; condo apartment, 5.95 per cent, $252,900; and condo townhouse, 4.62 per cent, $283,000.
Prices during the month were buoyed by very strong activity in the luxury home market.
According to Mike Fotiou, associate broker with First Place Realty in Calgary, there were 63 properties that sold for $1 million or more during the month, a 50 per cent hike from last year, and a record amount for a February.
The month also had the $10.35 million sale of a home in Aspen Woods which set the all-time record for an MLS sale in the city.
Calgary home sets MLS record sale at $10.35 million
On Wednesday, a luxurious home described as a ‘French castle’ has set a record for the highest ever MLS sale price in Calgary as the property in Aspen Woods sold for $10.35 million.
The two-storey home, listed by realtor Corinne Poffenroth, was built in 2010 and had a list price of $11.495 million.
It was originally listed in July 2011 at $12 million.
The sale dominates the previous record high of $10.3 million in August 2009 when the two-storey home, in Elbow Park/Glencoe, of former Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Vernon was sold.
The buyers of the French castle are Larry and Kristi Lindholm. Larry is an oil industry executive in Calgary.
The luxury home market has been exceptionally strong in the past year or so with sales placing a yearly record in 2012 and activity continuing at a healthy pace so far this year.
The continued strength of the luxury market is an indicator of business confidence growing in the city, said Don Campbell, senior analyst and founding partner of the Real Estate Investment Network.
Calgary Housing Market Experiencing Positive Momentum
Calgary’s housing market is having positive momentum and is a “lone shining star” in the Western Canadian real estate market, according to a report by TD Economics.
TD called Calgary’s situation ideal in comparison to what’s happening in Vancouver with the resale housing market seeing sales decrease there by 26 per cent in 2012. Calgary was the only one among its peers to register positive sales growth in 2012 at 14.3 per cent.
TD said average home prices will rise from $411,927 in 2012 to $423,400 this year and then to $431,400 in 2014. Those include all residential homes in Calgary and surrounding neighborhood.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is predicting MLS sales in the Calgary CMA to rise by 1.37 per cent this year followed by another 2.59 per cent in 2014.
The average sale price is expected to boost by 2.59 per cent this year to $423,000 and by another 2.6 per cent in 2014 to $434,000.
Calgary Commercial Real Estate Market Accelerated in 2012
The Greater Calgary real estate market accelerated its recovery from 2009, rising by 81 per cent in terms of overall investment dollar volume in 2012 from the previous year, says a report by RealNet Canada.
The real estate data services company said there were 445 transactions over $1 million during the year totalling $4.84 billion.
RealNet said every commercial real estate sector, with the exception of hotels, saw year-over-year increases.
The office market gained by 45 per cent to $1.6 billion followed by residential land with a huge 349 per cent hike to $770.7 million and retail which grew by 61 per cent to $724.3 million.
Other sectors with their dollar volume and percentage change from the year before were: industrial, $611.4 million, 36 per cent; apartment, $468.4 million, 254 per cent; industrial land, $564.7 million, 108 per cent.
The hotel sector dropped by one per cent to $83.7 million.
The investment market peaked in 2007 with sales totalling just over $5 billion.
As global demand for natural resources continues to increase, Calgary is expected to be further transformed into an international market, according to a 2012 report by CBRE Limited.
Recently, Calgary’s commercial real estate market was listed as the best one in Canada for total annual return on investment.
A report by the Real Property Association of Canada and Investment Property Databank Canada said Calgary had a return of 19.0 per cent in 2012 followed by Edmonton at 17.5 per cent and Winnipeg at 16.8 per cent. Total return for Canada was 14.1 per cent.
Affordable Housing Markets in Calgary
Calgary experienced a housing market renaissance in 2012, reaping the benefits of strong provincial GDP and in-migration, which propelled home resales in the area, reported by RBC Economics Research on Monday.
The latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report listed Calgary as one of the more affordable housing markets in Canada.
The RBC housing affordability measures capture the pre-tax household income needed to service the costs of owning a home at market values.
In Calgary, the average price of a detached bungalow in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $440,600 and the affordability measure was 38.1 per cent. The typical price for a standard two-storey home was $434,700 with a measure of 38.6 per cent and for a standard condo the average price was $250,100 with a measure of 22.2 per cent.
RBC said Alberta’s housing market stayed vibrant in the final quarter of 2012, buoyed by attractive affordability levels, accelerating population growth, a healthy labor market and a strong provincial economy. Although the pace of home resales slowed in the closing months of 2012, the housing market tightened up as fewer properties were listed for sale, it said.
The RBC housing affordability measures for the province fell across all 3 housing types tracked by RBC. RBC’s measures for the benchmark detached bungalow and the standard two-storey fell by 0.2 percentage points to 32.1 per cent and 34.7 per cent, respectively. The measure for condominium apartments fell by 0.1 percentage points to 19.7 per cent. Average prices were: bungalow, $357,900; two-storey, $378,800; and condo, $213,300.
Across the country, affordability measures dropped by 0.2 percentage points for both bungalows (42.1 per cent) and condos (28.0 per cent) and by 0.3 percentage points for two-storey homes (47.8 per cent). Average prices in Canada in the fourth quarter of 2012 were: bungalow, $363,400; two-storey, $410,600; and condos, $237,600.
Calgary housing market sales growth best in Canada
While Canadian home sales dipped in January, specially in major centers like Toronto and Vancouver, Calgary’s housing market remained strong and posted the best year-over-year growth in the country for MLS transactions.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Friday that Calgary MLS sales during the month were 1,572, up 20.2% from January 2012 while sales across the nation were down by 5.2% to 23,579 transactions.
The average sale price in Calgary rose by 9.5 per cent to $418,938 while in Canada it was up 2.0 per cent to $354,754.
Alberta had the best sales growth of any province in Canada in January with MLS transactions 12.1% higher than last year at 3,486. The average sale price also grew by 5.5 percent to $361,524.
And Calgary’s housing market is showing no signs of slowing down in February. Month-to-date from February 1-14, total MLS sales in the city of 847 are 11.01 per cent higher than for the same period last year and the average sale price has increased by 8.33 per cent to $455,386, reported by Calgary Real Estate Board.
Calgary’s housing market has experienced the profit of an overall healthy economy in the past year.
January Record Set for the Average Sale Price in Calgary's Housing Market
Both housing prices and sales went up during January this year with the average selling price up by 12.74 % over last January's figures. The average sales price for a Calgary single-family home was $496,579.
In the single-family Calgary real estate market, this was the 5th highest price ever seen in any month. In July 2007 the peak was hit with a price tag for single-family homes sitting at $506,670.
There was moderate growth in pricing in Calgary last year as Alberta as a whole showed that it's the province that’s rich in commodities that can hold its own in the real estate market. It's important to remember, still, that in the luxury market a record number of homes were sold last year that were selling for $1 million or more. This definitely had some effect on the average pricing number for homes sold.
January sales for condominium apartments
There was a 13.97% hike in the number of condo apartment sales during January this year when compared with last year's sales with a total of 204 passing hands. The average price for a condo went up to $280,273 which was a rise of 13.09% over last January.
Taking a look at the townhouse category
According to the CREB, total sales figures for the MLS listings in Calgary in January were up 15.17% to 1,230 when compared to last January's sales. The average sale price for these MLS units rose to $439,671 which was a 12.34% growth. The highest average selling price for the MLS listings during any January was $413,271, which was found back in 2008.
While it is looked that Calgary will see modest growth during 2013 both in the city and on the outskirts, there are a number of different factors that may affect the real estate market. It's possible that 2013 will surpass expectations for growth, but even if things remain modest, the market is expected to remain positive for the upcoming year.
Smaller Towns Saw More Growth in Home Sales Last Year than Calgary
Last year was an amazing time for the smaller towns and cities on the outskirts of Calgary. In fact, sales were up 21% last year in the housing market, which outpaced even Calgary's sales growth. Cochrane, Okotoks and Airdrie each saw a sales growth in the double digits during the 4th quarter of last year.
The CREB released its figures showing sales increases in Okotoks and Cochrane when compared to the numbers seen in 2011 during the same time period. For Airdrie, however, the numbers decreased by 3% due to a 30% drop in listings. This listings decrease was definitely a limitation for the sales growth potential for Airdrie.
People are heading to the country for the atmosphere and the lower prices. The least expensive homes can be found in Airdrie at a price of $337,067 with Cochrane having the highest price of these three towns with a single-family typical home having a benchmark price of $440,436.The cost of an Airdrie home is almost 21% less than what you'd have to pay for a common home in the city.
According to the chief economist at CREB, Ann-Marie Lurie, homebuyers are doing their due diligence and looking for the most affordable homes possible in the area. As well, she added that you can get more home for your money in these smaller surrounding towns then you would in Calgary.
Homes in the surrounding communities are less expensive for the most part and are becoming increasingly appealing to people as the supply tightens in Calgary for single-family homes.
All of these communities have their own spirit and are worth looking at if you're planning a move to Calgary or are already a resident and are looking for an upgrade. These communities are only going to flourish over the following years and now is the best time to grab yourself a property while the interest rates keep to remain so low.
Saving for Retirement - How Much You'll Need to Spend Your Golden Years in Style
You have certain things that you want to do and accomplish once you hit retirement and in order to get them done you're going to need to have enough money by your side. It seems so vague, though, to try to understand how much money you'll really need once you have taken inflation and other factors into account.
If you sit down with a financial advisor you'll often be told that you'll need at least 60% up to 70% of the income that you're earning annually before retirement to live comfortably. This can get a little scary for most Canadian since 70% of the employed here in Canada don't actually have an employer plan for retirement setup. As well, there are only about 33% that are making use of RRSPs every year.
When you retire you don't have the same types of expenses to worry about like raising children, saving for your retirement, mortgage payments and expenses related to employment. When you take these costs out of the equation you'll actually only need about half of your earnings to live on.
As long as you can retire without carrying along a lot of debt baggage you’ll be fine with about 50% of your income since these expenses won't need to be a part of your budget any longer.
If you take a look at what these authors are saying, and they do raise some excellent points, it may make sense for the average Canadian to start paying off more of their debt and investing less in their retirement fund. If you can work towards becoming debt-free while at the same time being able to save for retirement, this would be the ideal setting to reach for.
This also assumes that there will be no major economic changes in the future such as charging for healthcare. As long as that remains stable across the Canadian nation, and there are no major hits in taxes or other financial areas, the average Canadian may not need as much for his retirement as he first believed.
Last Few Days with the Penny in Calgary
Do you remember when your mother used to tell you "Every penny saved is a dollar earned?” What are we going to tell our children as they grow up without this penny that has signified how essential it is to save even small amounts to make them grow into larger ones?
On Monday the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa is going to stop the distribution of pennies completely. This leaves merchants in the Calgary area scrambling to change their pricing structure to keep up with the changing times. No longer will items be priced at $7.99 or $99.99. No, prices will either need to be rounded up or rounded down to the closest 5 cents.
According to the mint's website, the Canadian government is adopting this guideline for rounding that is being used in other countries successfully.
In general, current pricing will be rounded down if it ends in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents while rounding up will occur for items that end in 3, 4, 8 or 9 cents. When you consider that a lot of items you purchase do end with .98 or .99 cents, as a customer are going to be paying extra for the items that need to be rounded up. It's common to see a bottle of shampoo selling for $6.99 but it's rare to find the same bottle selling anywhere for $6.92.
If you really take a good look at the situation, most merchants are going to be ahead of the game while the average consumer will end up paying more. While it's not a lot of money, it still adds up. Remember the saying?
Giving to a good cause
CBC Calgary is holding a penny drive to put those used pennies you have to a good cause. You can drop off your pennies at CBC Calgary located at 1724 Westmount Blvd. NW up until February 8, between 6 AM to 8 PM.
You can also donate your pennies at BMO branches located in:
- Kensington
- Aspen Landing
- Brentwood
There will be a sign in the branches for "penny love" and you can just drop all of your pennies in and they will automatically be counted for you. You will be given a receipt that you need to drop into the donation box when you made your donation. All proceeds will be given to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Shopping Is A Lot Easier In Calgary!
If you're like most people you want to help out area producers, farmers and suppliers as much as possible. Now, thanks to a new program in Calgary, you can do your part to help back up the people and companies that are working quietly in the background to put food on your table.
The founder and CEO of Localize, Meghan Dear, has started a new project here in Calgary that will show you what produce and other food items have been supplied locally. These products will be coming from Alberta and other parts of Western Canada and will be visibly recognizable on the market shelves next month.
There will be 24 Cooperative stores in the area participating in this new project including the ones in High River, Airdrie and Strathmore. There will be more than 400 various products highlighted with this campaign and as the project progresses it is expected that more supermarkets and suppliers will get involved.
It's easy now to find the products you need that are being supplied locally. There will be labels, bright orange in color, attached to the shelves underneath the food product. This is a unique and innovative project that will help consumers with their food choices to help support local companies and producers.
Shopping locally has become a trend not only here in Calgary but across Canada. People from coast to coast are considering this new trend as a way to support the local economy. It really makes a lot of sense considering it's a win-win situation for both parties involved: the producer get more business and the consumer ends up with fresher produce.
New GIS Planning Website in the Works to Help Attract Business to Calgary
GIS Planning along with the Calgary Regional Partnership is making it easier for businesses around the world to find out all of the research information they need to make an informed decision about relocating to the city or investing in real estate here. Calgary's been on the radar for a lot of investors and companies in many different countries around the world that are exploring for a good opportunity. Now they can access information at the touch of a button to see more about this city and what it offers.
This website is the first step towards providing this data so that further planning can occur. Requests for information can be responded to in real time to keep the progress moving forward without any unnecessary slowdowns.
Regional Partnership has been helping to manage growth in Calgary communities since 1999, focusing on making life as good as it can be for future generations. It works with 14 regional municipalities to ensure sustainable growth on a long-term basis. Now, it is also making sure that decision-makers will have access to the critical business information that they need via this website.
Why Wait Too Long To Buy A Calgary Home?
Too many people put off buying their Calgary home due to market fluctuations. They want to make sure that the timing is absolutely perfect before going ahead and making their purchase. They may also be analyzing such things like interest rates and putting off making a decision until the timing is perfect.
One thing that you can bet on is that inflation is always going to rise no matter what is happening with the real estate market here in Calgary. This means that the value of each and every dollar that you have in your pocket right now it's only going to go down. There's no escaping that. It's a fact of life.
All of the banking giants are not concerned about a real estate crash and neither should you be. Real estate rates are unbelievably low right now and the Calgary market is as close to perfect for taking a purchase as it could be. It's not the right time to sit on the fence anymore trying to analyze the situation. It's time to act and to get a home so that you can start building up equity in it.
If you're worried about the interest rates approaching in the near future you should go ahead and get pre-approved for a mortgage at a rate that can be locked in for 120 days. Then you can start shopping with a real estate agent to help you find the perfect place.
Don't put off buying a property any longer. The longer you wait the more inflation is going to rise and there may be some point in the future where home ownership will no longer be a real possibility for you.
When It's Time To Sell The Family Home
There usually comes a time to decide whether to sell the family home or not and quite often it can be a very difficult choice to make. Children have been raised in this home and there are a lot of memories that seem to be built right into the walls of the home both literally and figuratively. The memories are there every time you walk into a room and in some homes you'll actually see evidence of children's growing charts set on the walls.
How do you walk away from a home that has become such a memory?
In some cases it's a decision that's made not by choice but by necessity. As parents start to age they are looking for something a little easier to take care of and possibly something that offers more freedom.
The memories carry forward
If you are in a position where you need to decide whether it's time to sell the family home or not, one thing you need to realize is that the home is actually not the memories. You are going to be moving into a new place and taking along all of the memories with you.
A fresh new start
If you have plans for retiring soon you'll enjoy the freedom that a smaller place will give you. Sometimes it's just time to move on and embrace a new lifestyle, just like your older children did when they moved out.
While selling the family home can be a very difficult thing to face, there is a new future to look forward to that can't be ignored. You’ll have the chance to make positive changes that further embrace your goals for retirement.
More Women are Buying Condos
The Globe and Mail has released a new report showing that more women are buying condos than ever before. In some cities the statistics are up as much as 1/3 and developers are taking note. New units are being tailored for both the male and the female population of condo dwellers.
Developers are now focusing more of their attention on the following features that are the most important to the average woman.
Safe location - They like the thought of having a concierge that is overlooking a building that is situated in a safe part of town.
Fitness center - A lot of women are looking for a condo building that includes a gym as an amenity.
Enough storage space - Walk-in closets are a big feature for many women that don't want to have to store their clothes and other personal items in a cramped closet space.
Single young women are taking up more and more of the condo buying population these days. According to the report, safety is even more important than the square footage of the condo itself.
The Fairview Neighborhood in Calgary
Welcome to the Fairview neighborhood located here in the southeast corner of Calgary. Situated between Blackfoot, Glenmore and Macleod Trails, this is the perfect neighborhood for anyone that wants a place that is well hooked up to the other 3 quadrants of the city. Homes in Fairview are just a hop, skip and a jump to the LRT station and with the Deerfoot Trail to the east it's easy to get to the airport or downtown in minutes.
Most of the houses in the area consist of single family homes along with some semi-detached residences scattered throughout the neighborhood. Parking can be found easily in this neighborhood and the lots are quite generous. Growing families will love this area since it has everything you'd need close by while keeping the rest of Calgary available.
This is a community with a lot of spunk and spirit. The Fairview Community Association runs a number of events that are tailored to meet the needs of both young and old. These events include sports programs, community gatherings and local events. The association also runs the Seniors Snow Shoveling Program, Block Watch as well as many others.
Many of the homes in the neighborhood have been upgraded and modernized while respecting their authentic charm. This is a perfect neighborhood for anyone with the Chinook Centre, Ikea and Costco within a few blocks of the community.
Tips to Help You Have a Winter Getaway on a Budget
If you're planning on taking some time off after the hectic holiday excitement then you'll enjoy these traveling tips on a budget. There are certain ways you can save some money when you’re on a holiday to get the most out of it. In some events you'll even get much more out of your trip by keeping your cash in your pocket.
Avoid the tours - Sometimes the tours can be extremely overpriced and often they can be boring as well!
Take a longer vacation - Staying somewhere for two weeks will cost a lot less than taking two separate weeklong vacations in a year.
Eat in the city - Don't stay limited to hotel restaurant food since it can be extremely overpriced. Head out for a brisk morning walk to get your breakfast at a local diner.
As you begin to get connected with the locals they'll let you know where the best dining spots are in town and if you're lucky you may even get invited for a home-cooked meal at someone's house.
Calgary's Levels for International Investment Remain Strong
The Conference Board of Canada is predicting an economic development rate of growth equal to 4.1% for the years 2013 and 2016. Developers will be placing their focus on the retail market and adding needed space while investors will be keeping their eyes on office and multi-residential buildings.
Calgary's investment activity is starting out strong for 2013 and is anticipated to flourish even more as the year goes on. With a slow recovery anticipated for Europe's economic recovery, it is expected that international investors will be taking a better look at Alberta, and Calgary in particular, for new opportunities.
Calgary has unquestionably made its way into the global spotlight according to the chief executive and president of Calgary Economic Development, Bruce Graham. According to Mr. Graham, this is most evident in investment real estate as well as in gas and oil projects.
Surviving Calgary's Cold Snap
It's definitely cold outside and while you're busy wrapping yourself and your kids in layers to keep the cold out and the warmth in, you may need to give your house some proper attention as well. Here is an emergency guide you can follow if the cold has set in and your home has been affected by it.
1. Leaving town - If you're planning on leaving town for a few days don't turn the heat down too low. The temperature in your home should be set at 65° and there should be somebody checking on your home daily to make sure that everything looks good.
2. Broken furnace - If your furnace should happen to break down all of a sudden your first step is to call your service provider immediately.
3. Pipes frozen - If your pipes are frozen cover them with wet hot towels. If the pipes are frozen underneath your sink, open up the doors to the cupboard to get warm air circling around the pipes.
4. Bursting pipes - Make a call to a plumber immediately and turn off the main water valve.
Remember – when it’s cold outside your house may need a bit of extra care as well. The biggest problem in the cold is bursting pipes so act as soon as you see any sign of a problem with your pipes.
Present Your Home Properly : Winter "Landscaping"
You know about the importance of landscaping your home before putting it on the market. Keep your home looking its finest for possible buyers that are coming to view your home and this includes not only the inside but the outside as well. In order to keep your home "landscaped" for viewing during the winter, you can follow the recommended tips below.
1. Keep the driveway and walkway shoveled - Don't let any snow accumulate when your home is listed - keep the driveway and walkway cleared as much as possible. This helps to present your house as a neat and tidy home.
2. Get rid of any ice patches - Keep salt handy so that you can get rid of any ice patches that have formed and salt any areas that start to accumulate ice. After the ice has melted sweep away the salt so that it doesn't get carried into your home.
3. Keep the porch and stairs clear - Take off any clutter that may have gathered on your stairs and porch. Don't forget to clear all of the snow and ice off these areas.
4. Invest in a good mat - Invest in a mat that you can wipe your boots on to clear away as much debris as possible before stepping inside.
Just because it's winter there is no excuse to ignore the exterior presentation of your home. It's critical to show your house as a clean and tidy home during all of the seasons of the year!
How Internet is Influencing Home Sales
According to the report, 90% of the people buying a new home used the Internet to browse through the properties in their home search. With more and more people using their computer in order to hunt down the house of their dreams, the number of related searches raised 253% over the last 4 years on Google.com.
Potential buyers are heading online to not only search for homes but to read through online reviews as well. A lot of people have found that YouTube and other videos also helped with their home searching project.
Searchers were particularly interested in gathering information about specific segments in the housing market such as foreclosures and senior housing available. Also popular on the search were tips for first-time buyers.
Looking for a home has never been easier than it is now.
Are You Driving with All-Season Tires or Winter Tires?
Most people really don't understand the difference between all-season tires and winter ones. With the cold and snow that we get here in Calgary, it's worth your while to find out more about the difference between the two and whether you should really take the time, energy and money to invest in a good pair of winter tires.
Today, all-seasons are automatically put in on almost all new vehicles. Most people just keep them on and don't switch over to winter tires when the snow arrives. This brings on the question of whether you should be making the switch or whether you are just as safe driving with all-season tires as you are with winter ones.
A test was conducted in Baudette, Minnesota using one all-wheel drive and one front wheel drive vehicle. After testing the tires in both snow and icy conditions the results were conclusive. The winter tires performed better, by 5% during braking and 20% when turning corners.
While all-season tires may provide enough wintertime traction for drivers in areas of the country that only have occasional light snow, there isn't a possible alternative to dedicated winter / snow tires if drivers expect to encounter deep or frequent slush, snow or ice.
Tires are often the difference between wintertime gripping and white knuckle slipping, and only matched sets of four will do!
Calgary's Nose Hill Park - Paradise Within the City Limits
Nose Hill Park is one of the hidden treasures in Calgary. It's only about 15 minutes away from downtown and within the city limits. It is one of the only places in Calgary that you can visit to get away from it all without having to leave the city.
When you're ready to leave the hustle and bustle of city life for a while you can savor approximately 1,200 acres of pristine wilderness here overlooking Calgary with awesome views. Be sure to bring your camera since once you're on top of the hill you'll want to get some great shots. Discover the best view of downtown at the top or turn your head to the east to see the airport. You'll literally be able to see the planes taking off and landing!
A lot of Calgarians head to Nose Hill Park for the challenge of walking, climbing or even jogging up the hill. It's a must-see for anyone that lives here as well as being a favorite tourist attraction. It's a great place to walk around and experience nature at its finest without having to travel miles outside of the city to enjoy nature in the raw.
Be Informed Before Getting a Mortgage
The Canadian Real Estate Association chief economist, Gregory Klump, agrees that the Canadian government is trying to get consumers to take a second look at the reality of getting a mortgage. This is especially true for first-time home buyers that tend to apply for mortgages with a high ratio. A high ratio mortgage is one with a down payment that is lower than 20%. With this type of mortgage the borrower must take out default insurance according to federal law.
As a result, Canadian consumers are getting more informed and doing more research about home purchases than they ever have been before. First-time buyers are taking the time to ask questions and read through information, especially on the Internet, about the responsibilities and implications that go along with a mortgage and home ownership.
Is this is a good thing? While many people think that the government is just stepping on toes again and putting in provisions that are limiting homebuyers from stepping into the real estate world, others take a look at what has happened in the United States lately and know that Ottawa is merely trying to protect Canadian real estate the best means it knows how.
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Aug 31, 2018 - Zoltán Kovács
What’s wrong with the Swedes?
Why are these senior Swedish figures portraying Hungary as Europe’s bogeyman, spreading falsehoods and distorting facts about our government’s policies on migration?
Hungary-Sweden Relations Sweden Illegal Migration Emmanuel Macron
Could it have something to do with the fact that the country faces general elections on September 9th?
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó summoned Swedish Ambassador to Hungary Niclas Trouvé to have a conversation about recent comments by members of his government that distort Hungary’s staunch opposition to migration and support for defending Europe’s borders.
Those who support immigration, including in this case members of the Swedish government, will not shy away from falsehoods and politically-motivated criticisms of democratically elected governments that, in representing the will of the citizens, oppose mass immigration and open borders.
The pro-migration camp, as Prime Minister Orbán said following his meeting earlier this week with Matteo Salvini, is led by French President Emmanuel Macron, but he’s not alone. As FM Szijjártó put it, “the northern countries are also attempting to gain as much credit as possible in this battle by all intents and purposes launching a competition about who can criticize the countries of Central Europe to the greatest extent.”
Thus far, Sweden seems to be winning this miserable game.
On Wednesday, Sweden’s Migration Minister Heléne Fritzon said that in her view there is no difference between illegal immigrants and the refugees who fled the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
There’s so much wrong with that contrived parallel that I addressed it at length in a separate blog post, "No, the Hungarian refugees of 1956 are not the same as today’s migrants.” Suffice it to say, the comparison collapses for anyone who has bothered with the details, like the fact that Hungarian refugees were in fact following the rules for asylum and they waited peacefully in neighboring states for weeks, months and sometimes even years for a country to admit them. It’s a serious falsification of history that we’re used to reading in the fever swamps of the left-wing blogosphere but not from a member of a European government.
If that weren’t enough, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström also chimed in on Twitter:
I just read today that Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Matteo Salvini in Italy want to form an alliance against ”the democrats and the left” in Europe, naming Macron as their main opponent. I have one thing to say to them: bring it on.
In fact, Prime Minister Orbán was vowing to oppose those who promote immigration against the wishes of the European people. Prime Minister Orbán and Minister Salvini are advancing a democratic cause, fighting illegal immigration out of respect for the will of our citizens.
Following the announcement that he would summon the Swedish ambassador, Minister Szijjártó made it clear that Hungary won’t tolerate any false criticism during the campaign for the elections to the European Parliament.
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Macedonia: From Fragments to Pixels
“Macedonia: From fragments to pixels” is an exhibition of seven (7) innovative interactive systems developed in the laboratories of the Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Institute of Computer Science. These applications project artefacts from the rich collections of the A.M.Th. as well as other sites and museums in Macedonia. Two of these applications were incorporated into the Museum’s permanent exhibitions, while the remaining five are located at a specially-designed hall on the Museum’s ground floor.
This exhibition differs from a conventional one, as the new technologies employed allow visitors to access unique artefacts, archaeological sites and monuments, offering a new interactive experience that combines information and learning through playing. Hence, visitors can explore digital representations of ancient artefacts, travel in time and space and discover, in a simple and modern way, aspects of the history and archaeology of ancient Macedonia, through its virtual image.
Paper View is a tabletop augmented reality system that supports the exploration of terrain-based information (e.g., areas of interest on a 2D map, or a 3D scale model) using rectangular pieces of plain cardboard. The system allows users to study information and interactive multimedia, using the cardboards as individual interactive screens; these cardboard screens can be lifted and held at various angles. Multiple users can concurrently use the table. Paper View illustrates the most important ancient areas on the map of Macedonia, including cities, settlements and cemeteries.
Macrographia is a system that presents a fresco depicting a royal hunt wall-painting, from the tomp of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, founded in Vergina. Visitors are able to explore different levels of information walking across a large projection area. The fresco is analysed part-by-part depending on the location of each visitor in the room. Visitors enter the room and the system follows the movement of each one separately. When a user stands in front of a section of the image, as approching closer to the wall, he recieves more detailed layers of information combined with a better reconstruction of the fresco more similar to the very first painting back in 336 BC. Visitors can select the language of the accompanying text by entering the room from the left or right side.
Cryptolexon consists of a multitouch screen which can be used by one or more players. The names of gods and heroes are hidden within a grid of random letters. As the words are successfully selected, multimedia content with descriptive text, concerning artifacts from the Greek mythodology, is provided on the screen.
Panoptes is a digital exhibition-catalogue system which allows visitors to browse its content and dwell on details of images, read accompanying texts and follow threads of information. Panoptes builds upon the concepts of playful and aesthetic interaction combining functionality with playfulness and serendipity, thus offering an alternative to information kiosks used for browsing item collections. The user is able to discover the gold Macedonian wreaths from the collection of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki by blowing on the windmill toy accompanying the system.
Polyapton comprises a very large interactive screen that can be used by several visitors who wish to explore multifaceted information on a subject at the same time. The system presents a Macedonian fresco depicting a symposium.
Peridexion is a system that offers users the possibility of exploring an object in depth. The system has a touch screen that presents a view of an object at a time. Visitors can select the object or the view they wish to see and then discover points of interest and relative multimedia information, or zoom in on any detail at will.
6, Manoli Andronikou Street
P.O.Box 506 19
GR – 546 21, Thessaloniki
www.amth.gr/en
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Home Opinion Project Syndicate
12:00 AM, November 19, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:00 AM, November 19, 2019
Global trade’s bright (green) future
A container ship arrives at Yusen Terminals on Terminal Island at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, US, January 30, 2019. PHOTO: MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS
Pascal Lamy
Most discussions of trade nowadays inevitably feature the words “war,” “tariff,” or “Trump.” But look beyond the headlines and you will see the foundations of a more collaborative, healthy, and sustainable world trade system emerging.
The global shipping industry, which carries 90 percent of all global trade by volume, has started to acknowledge the urgency of climate change, and is taking steps to minimise its environmental impact. On January 1, 2020, cleaner fuel standards for shipping will take effect globally. After more than a decade of negotiations, member-state governments at the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) have agreed to a new “global sulphur cap,” demonstrating that multilateralism is still possible. The method of powering shipping vessels will now undergo a change on the scale of the shift from coal to oil a century ago.
Under the IMO accord, the shipping industry will be required to reduce sulphur-dioxide and nitrous-oxide pollution on a massive scale. Among other things, the policy ensures that millions of children around the world will have a chance to live healthier lives. Over time, we have learned that these air pollutants can have a deleterious effect not just on our hearts and lungs, but also on brain development. Now that the cap is coming into force, we will soon benefit from the extraordinary effects of a new, permanent global health dividend. We can expect to see data in the coming years indicating reduced health-care costs and improved educational outcomes from around the world.
In the meantime, governments will be collaborating on additional measures to reduce the environmental and climate impact of the global maritime trade system. Such efforts are essential to reach the targets outlined in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. As matters stand, the shipping sector, ranked alongside countries, is the world’s sixth-largest greenhouse-gas (GHG) emitter.
The good news is that under an ambitious IMO agreement concluded last year, the shipping sector must reduce its GHG emissions to “at least” half of their current levels by 2050, while also taking steps to start reducing emissions before 2023. The bad news is that discussions over the best policies for achieving these goals have stalled. As important as mutually agreed targets are, they are no substitute for concrete action.
Still, policymakers have an opportunity to get back on track during a new round of international talks in London this month on decarbonising global shipping. There, delegates to the IMO are considering a wide range of policy options that could make a significant difference.
For example, Denmark, Germany, and Spain have proposed tough, transparent “operational efficiency” regulations that could reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by up to 43 percent by 2030. In real terms, that means preventing a cumulative 3.8 billion tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of shutting down 98 coal-fired power stations.
Still, there are also weaker proposals on the table. One put forward by Japan and Norway would lower CO2 emissions from shipping by only 1-6 percent by 2030, while still allowing for emissions to grow above their current levels.
Given ever-growing public demands for climate action—not to mention new data pointing to the pace and severity of climate change—a weak approach simply is not good enough. Besides, tough efficiency regulations would not make trade more expensive, as some detractors claim, because they would lead operators to acquire more fuel-efficient vessels. Fuel is now the single biggest operating expense in shipping, which means that early adopters of technologies that reduce fuel costs can offer better freight rates and achieve a competitive advantage.
A more efficient shipping fleet would not only make international trade less oil-dependent; it would also help to insulate freight rates against future oil-price spikes, such as the one that led to destabilising food riots around the world in 2008.
At any rate, the industry is ahead of governments on this issue. At a recent shipping industry gathering, industry representatives focused squarely on the question of how to power “global trade without the use of fossil fuels.” Moreover, many large shipping companies have already committed to commercialising full-size, zero-carbon vessels on deep-sea trade routes by as soon as 2030.
Beyond these current efforts, there are many promising new technologies being tested, from clever air-bubble lubricated hulls to wind-assisted propulsion and—crucially—carbon-neutral fuel types. When it comes, the shipping industry’s pivot to these fuels will generate massive investments in renewable energy in developing countries.
Finally, banks accounting for more than 20 percent of all loans to the shipping sector have committed to disclosing the carbon intensity of their loans every year, using transparency to drive capital toward more efficient ships and away from dirty ones.
Clearly, the private sector is stepping up. Now, governments gathering at the IMO summit in London need to do the same, by supporting clear, transparent, and ambitious short-term measures to reduce emissions. Only that can create the incentives for investment in zero-carbon technologies and carbon-neutral trade over the long term.
Pascal Lamy, a former director-general of the World Trade Organization and EU trade commissioner, is a Global Ocean Commissioner.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.
(Exclusive to The Daily Star)
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Tag Archive for: Derek Clayton
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40 Years Ago: Scott wins race, loses trophy and Games’ chance
July 21, 2013 /in General News /by admin
Len Johnson
For want of a dollar, Bill Scott won the 1973 Zatopek but did not receive the trophy. For want of a few seconds, he missed out on the 1974 Commonwealth Games team.
The dollar was the cost of becoming a Victorian Marathon Club member. Neither Scott, nor second-placed Peter Fuller, was a financial member so they were ineligible for the club trophy which instead went to the third placegetter, Arch Sansonetti of the famous cycling family.
The few seconds – 4.4 of them, to be precise – was the margin by which Scott failed to get under 29 minutes, the time he needed to press his claims for selection for the Games in Christchurch in January, 1974.
“If I had got under 29 minutes people would have had to sit up and take notice,” Scott told The Age’s Glenn Lester. Scott had run third in the selection trial a few weeks earlier to Brenton Norman and Derek Clayton, who had both been selected in the marathon as well.
Scott must have been referring to people outside the sport, as he was already being noticed within athletics. Uncompromising in his racing approach, he was the vanguard of the post-Clarke generation of Australian distance runners, leading the way for the likes of Chris Wardlaw, Robert de Castella, Dave Fitzsimons (who did make the 1974 team) and Gerard Barrett to follow.
At 21, Scott broke the mould of Zatopek winners, too. In its early years, the race was won by experienced distance runners but in its next 10 years the race was won by Barrett (just short of his 20th birthday when he took the first of his two victories in 1976), de Castella (22 in 1979) and Andrew Lloyd (also 22 at the first of his four wins in 1981).
The 1973 race was held at Essendon’s Aberfeldie Track, as Olympic Park was in one of its several redevelopments. Fuller, a teammate of Scott’s at the Box Hill club and a middle-distance specialist, helped him set the pace early before dropping back to finish in 30:08.
Sansonetti finished third in 30:30. He was the only one of the three placegetters who would have a direct link to the 1974 Commonwealth Games: his older brother Maurice ‘Remo’ Sansonetti, took a bronze medal in the cycling road race.
Scott, too, eventually found his way into an Australian team. He made the final of the 10,000 metres at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games, finishing ninth despite a painful foot injury.
Scott went on to run 28:18 the following year, then 28:01 in Europe in 1975 in a race in which he finished second to 1972 Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter. He was leading finisher in Australia’s first team to a world cross-country championships in 1975.
An untimely groin injury sidelined Scott through 1976, costing him almost certain Olympic selection, but he came back late in 1977 to begin a productive second career phase. In 1978, Scott made his marathon debut with a win in the Victorian title followed by another in the inaugural Melbourne marathon. He made his second world-cross country team in 1979, ran a personal best 27:48 for 10,000 in Brussels and a marathon ‘pb’ in Fukuoka to finish the year.
Scott began the 1980 Olympic year with an Australian all-comers’ record for Buy Cheap SketchUp Pro 2016 – BuyOEMSoftOnline.com 5000 metres followed by a 27:46.71 for 10,000, both in Melbourne, the latter in a thrilling race against world record holder Henry Rono. Between those runs, the nationals, then the marathon trial in Adelaide he aggravated an existing foot problem. Despite that, Scott made the 10,000 final in Moscow and was with the leaders until late in the race before finishing fifth.
All the problems notwithstanding, it was one of the best years by an Australian distance runner since Ron Clarke.
We were still six years away from having a stand-alone women’s Zatopek race, but 1972 Olympic 1500 metres finalist Jenny Orr made the back page of The Age for running – by ‘invitation’ – in the men’s veterans’ mile.
Geoff Warren, an early member of the Victorian Marathon Club and designer of the race trophy, won the race, with Jenny Orr beating her father, and coach, Theo, for second place.
Asked how it felt to be beaten by his daughter, Theo Orr replied: “Great.”
http://athsvic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/AV-Logo-header.png 0 0 admin http://athsvic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/AV-Logo-header.png admin2013-07-21 02:57:522018-01-17 01:04:0940 Years Ago: Scott wins race, loses trophy and Games’ chance
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Education Week's blogs > Digital Education See more Ed-Tech news
Personalized learning, artificial intelligence, adaptive testing, digital curricula, data privacy, future of work, and all things technology. Education Week reporters help you stay on top of the latest developments in ed tech.
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Writing in Google Docs Doesn't Affect Student Test Scores, Early Research Finds
By Benjamin Herold on April 14, 2015 10:35 AM
Students willingly embrace Google Docs as a new tool for writing, and the free online word-processing tool encourages them to make extensive edits and revisions.
But enthusiastic usage of Google Docs has not impacted student scores on standardized writing and reading exams, according to researchers set to publish a new study based on a relatively small sample of Colorado middle schoolers.
"This study could provide suggestions for K-12 classroom teachers who have adopted Google Docs," wrote Binbin Zheng, an assistant professor of education at Michigan State University and the lead author of the new study, in an email.
"To maximize the educational benefits of Google Docs," Zheng said, "teachers could give more co-authored assignments and provide students with clear guidelines for [giving] appropriate and helpful feedback" to their peers.
The researchers' paper, "Middle School Students' Writing and Feedback in a Cloud-Based Classroom Environment," is currently in press with the academic journal Technology, Knowledge, and Learning. Zheng and her co-authors will be presenting the work this week at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, being held in Chicago. (Follow Education Week's reporting from the conference using the AERA2015 tag at the bottom of this story.)
The study examines how 257 6th grade students at a single middle school in suburban Colorado used Google Docs to write papers and exchange feedback with their teachers and with each other during the 2011-12 academic year. That was the school's first year using the online word-processing tool, which allows for multiple users to write, edit, comment, and communicate together on a single document, either simultaneously or at separate times.
Google Docs is provided for free to schools as part of the Google Apps for Education tool suite, which now has more than 35 million users worldwide. It is also central to the popularity of the inexpensive Chromebook, a cloud-based laptop computer that has been making major inroads in the K-12 market.
As part of their study, Zheng and her colleagues collected 3,537 student writing samples, then developed an analytical tool that allowed them to extract electronic records of each individual editing session done on every paper—18,146 sessions in all.
Their study relies heavily on quantitative analyses, including how many words were added and subtracted to a given document during each editing session; a survey of student attitudes and behaviors as relates to Google Docs; and a statistical analysis to determine whether those factors influenced student test scores.
The researchers also randomly selected 40 students and conducted a qualitative content analysis of every document written by each student, focusing on the nature and scope of the feedback that students received about their writing.
No impact on test scores
The study's big finding: Using Google Docs did not improve (or worsen) student scores on standardized writing or reading standardized tests.
That was determined by comparing students' results on the 2010-11 Colorado Student Assessment Program reading and writing tests, administered before Google Docs was introduced, to their results in 2011-12, after Google Docs had been in use for a year. Neither the extent of a student's revisions, measured by the number of words added to and deleted from an original document, nor the number of times a student edited his or her document had any statistically significant impact.
The researchers also found that the amount and nature of feedback that students received from both teachers and their peers within Google Docs did not have a statistically significant effect on students' test scores.
The study's test-score findings should be treated "cautiously," the researchers wrote, noting the relatively small sample size in their study; the fact that they did not know how much paper-based writing students were also doing; and the study's comparatively heavy emphasis on counting the number of words added/deleted, rather than focusing deeply on document quality.
Among the study's other findings:
The students surveyed (89 percent of whom were white, and 7 percent of whom were Hispanic) preferred Google Docs to pencil-and-paper and more traditional word-processing software programs. They reported using Google Docs between 1-2 hours per day in their English/language arts classrooms and several times per week at home.
Students reported using Google docs to make extensive revisions to their work, a finding the researchers described as consistent with previous findings about other types of computer-based writing. "These results suggest that Google Docs provides support for a process-writing perspective that encourages students to draft, edit, revise, and share documents over longer stretches of time," according to the study. The immediacy and convenience of feedback and communication among teachers and students within a given document was seen as a major advantage of Google Docs.
Nearly three-quarters of the documents analyzed were edited by a single author. Just 5 percent were edited by three or more contributors.
Most of the documents analyzed consisted of a single true author, with others providing feedback. More advanced levels of collaboration, including joint or parallel writing, were rare.
Teachers using Google Docs in the classroom typically offered students heavy doses of "direct feedback," in which they corrected errors related to grammar and writing mechanics (e.g., spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.) Edits and comments related to content, organization, and word choice represented only about one-fourth of the feedback students received, and that came almost entirely from teachers. Peer feedback from other students was almost exclusively related to grammar and mechanics or general comments, such as "Excellent essay!"
Documents with multiple authors were typically edited more times and ended up longer than documents with single authors. They also took longer to get started and longer to complete, a finding that led the researchers to suggest that "teachers should not expect rapid development of co-authored documents" and might instead focus on letting the collaborative process play out.
Overall, the researchers expressed enthusiasm about Google Docs' potential to improve student writing, noting that the process of reading each other's work and offering feedback, if done correctly, enhances students' active participation on the writing process and encourages students to think more deeply about content and structure.
The fact that teachers at the school being studied were at the beginning stages of using Google Docs and exploring ways to integrate it into their writing instruction was likely a factor in why its classroom practices did not reflect that lofty goal, the researchers said.
"Most of the writing activities teachers guided during the studied school year were targeted towards students' individual writing with feedback from others, since it seems to be the easiest type of collaboration for teachers to master at this early implementation stage," the study reads.
"Teachers could, however, explore other forms of collaborative writing with Google Docs in the future."
Photo: Chromebooks in use during an advanced 6th grade reading class at Ridgeview Middle School in Gaithersburg, Md. --T.J. Kirkpatrick for Education Week
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« Ed. Department Teacher Prep Regulations Delayed (Again) | Main | Poor and Minority Kids Must Count in NCLB Waivers, Civil Rights Groups Say »
Will New Hampshire Be Arne Duncan's 'Test Case' for Accountability 2.0?
By Alyson Klein on October 23, 2014 3:49 PM
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been saying that he'd like to work with states and districts to help pare back the number of assessments students must take. A proposed pilot project in New Hampshire might present the department with a good "test case" (pun intended) on the shape that approach could take.
The Granite State, which has been experimenting with competency-based learning for years, is proposing a very small pilot project, in four of its roughly 84 districts. Those districts would test students every year. But, in some grades or subjects, they would use the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium tests, and in other grades or subjects they would use performance-based exams. These tests, known as PACE assessments in New Hampshire, are designed by the state and local districts in collaboration, Paul Leather, the deputy commissioner of education, said in an interview.
Both the PACE and Smarter Balanced tests would be supplemented with other, locally-developed performance-based assessments. And the whole system would be aligned to teacher evaluation in the state, Leather added.
The idea is to provide educators with "richer, deeper information than we're able to get through large scale state assessments," Mr. Leather said. (I previewed the proposal in an earlier story on testing.)
So will the U.S. Department of Education approve New Hampshire's plan? And just how big a departure would it be from the No Child Left Behind Act? NCLB calls for states to test students using state-wide, summative assessments, in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. (States are supposed to use the same tests for all students across all districts, but the department has made exceptions to this rule in the past.)
Leather, for one, doesn't see the plan as a big step away from NCLB or the department's waivers.
"We're really not moving away from annual testing that leads to annual determination [of school's progress]," he said. "Complex performance assessments are really state [summative] assessments, it's just that we've developed them with local districts. ... we are creating, in fact, a system of multiple measures."
The Granite State is going to test-run the common performance assessments whether it wins approval from the Education Department or not, Leather said.
"The real question is whether we will have to do the 3 through 8 and 11 Smarter Balanced as well," he said. "We would really like not to do that" in the pilot districts.
New Hampshire, like more than 40 other states, has a waiver from the NCLB law. But its proposal could necessitate a revision to that plan.
So if New Hampshire gets the green-light from the department on its pilot plan, will a bunch of other states rush to try something similar?
Maybe not right away—New Hampshire has put a ton of work into its proposal and it would be hard for most other states to duplicate it without going through a similar process, folks who have worked with the Granite State say.
That's not to say other states aren't closely watching how New Hampshire's proposal goes over with the department.
"There's been lots of well-wishing from states," who want to try new approaches to assessment, Leather said.
And at least one state, Kentucky, which has also been working on competency-based learning, says it would seek a similar deal if New Hampshire gets the go-ahead.
"We're working right now to have that same model New Hampshire is working on," Terry Holliday, the state's commissioner of education, said in an interview. "If New Hampshire gets support from the department, it will be in our next waiver application also."
Assessment geeks: If you've read Linda Darling Hammond's proposal for a "51st state" model of accountability and New Hampshire's proposal sounds familiar—that's because it should.
New Hampshire based its assessment plan largely on her approach, and she's serving as an adviser to the state. (It's worth nothing that there's been some pushback on Darling-Hammond's accountability design, including on issues such as whether or not it can truly capture student growth. If you're looking for a thoughtful critique, check out this Eduwonk blog post.)
nclb reauthorization
nclb waivers
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How To Raise And Develop A Great Meme Account On Instagram
by Joe Webb | Aug 2, 2019
Memes have also been in the trend, for quite a long time now. People, in their past time, share memes with their friends. And there are also people, who have started creating memes and funny jokes.
It’s easy to select an image, and then write something over it. Sometimes, two or more images are combined and then people write in between both of them. Most of time, it has also been found that people select images from movies and TV series, and also the dialogues of the actor. And when we talk about a career inside this industry, then certainly social media platforms can help a lot, if you have got the potential, and if you see that you will enjoy making memes, day in day out!
Instagram has provided career options, and certainly, it has emerged as one of the most important social media marketing platforms.
Well, then on Instagram, you can start off by creating a business account. You might think that a business account can prove to be a wrong choice for a career in memes, but it’s not like that.
Once you are done, then you will have to think of a creative name of your page, which will be able to attract a lot of people. In a career like meme-making, you to be careful, that it’s all about being creative and hilarious right from the first impression. After that, you can go with a funny image or cartoon or even animated profile picture, which attracts users.
After that, you will also have to write about the memes that you will be making. You will have to make sure that those memes are not offensive, in order to attract the maximum number of people.
You will have to win a lot of hearts, and for that, it’s important that you make all of them laugh. After that, it will come down to your work. Remember one thing, and this is something, which is ignored by a lot of pages. The memes which you upload, have to be of high-quality. Most of the memes that you will find on the internet, are a bit blurry. One thing which you can keep in your head while opening a meme page, is that you will only upload high quality photos.
Instagram is famous for photo-sharing, and therefore, the quality of your photos and videos will matter the most. Make a note of it, and then we can move ahead.
Focus On Getting Likes When Promoting Your Page
Then your focus will be to collect the maximum number of Instagram likes. A lot of likes over your posts will mean that you are on the right path. The progress might be slow, but it should remain steady. In case your account is very young and doesn’t attract many viewers, you would not be able to score many likes on Instagram publications. So it’s highly advised to buy Instagram likes on your post at this point to create an image of some popular and visited account to get more organic likes.
And once you have a fan base, and a large number of people, who text you and share their positive reviews with you, then you can sit over the fact that you have achieved something.
When we talk about earning money from memes, then it will come down to your own head. You can establish your own web page, and through affiliate marketing and advertisements, you can start earning money.
Apart from that, there are some magazines or comics, which publish such stuff. In fact, digitally also, there are some websites which can collaborate with you. The world has provided us with a lot of unique career options, and therefore it’s important to understand that you can get a career opportunity from anywhere.
In the practical scenario, there are brands sitting out there, and designers who are looking for meme makers, and a past-time activity can literally be converted into a great career, which will allow you to earn a lot of money.However, it’s important that you keep on posting memes over your Instagram account, and after a time it’s also possible for you to ask for feedback and interesting topics from the audience, so that they are engaged as much as possible.
When they will start sharing your page with their friends and other people, then certainly your account will grow and appear on the top of this industry.
Copyright © 2017 Bloguin, Inc. - All Rights Reserved - Trademarks used herein are property of their respective owners.
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Interview #9: Julie Fulton
Julie Fulton has Mersey Sound poet Brian Patten to thank for setting her on the path to becoming a published author.
In 1974 when she was ten he chose a poem she'd written for inclusion in a small anthology of children's poems for the Little Missenden Festival, in Buckinghamshire, where she lived.
Julie Fulton with a protective arm around her first
book, Mrs MacCready Was Ever So Greedy
"It was called I Like... and I got to read it out at a big presentation and meet the famous Mr Patten himself. I have had a love of poetry ever since and still tinker with the odd ode to this day."
These days, Julie is the recently published author of rhyming picture book Mrs MacCready Was Ever So Greedy. Her publishers, Maverick Books, are so pleased with her work they've asked her to create a series of 'Ever So' books, all set in the fictional village of Hamilton Shady. Tabitha Posy Was Ever So Nosy is the next one, due to be published on January 28 next year. Julie hopes she will write one a year.
Although she is these days known to the world as a writer, Julie's background is in music and teaching.
She studied music at university, became a school teacher and eventually became a self-employed music teacher.
She had always loved writing and stories, and took great pleasure in reading to the children in her class when she was a school teacher.
Julie's first book
Once you realise this it's easy to see why she's drawn to rhymes and rhythms. Her influences are timeless rhymesters Edward Lear, Dr Seuss, Ogden Nash, Hilaire Belloc and Spike Milligan.
"I've been told my stories are like Belloc's - they have a subtle, underlying moral. I always loved rhymes and poetry and I've always written rhyming poetry. I really enjoy rhythm."
Of Mrs MacCready and her breakthrough as a published author, she said: "I thought it was just a nonsense poem. I wrote it for a writers' group homework. I don't know where it came from, it all tumbled out in an hour. But someone said it's a picture book."
She decided to send it to publishers and was picked up by the second one on her list - Maverick Books.
...and the second in her 'Ever So' series, which will be available next January
The publisher commissioned Jona Jung, a Polish artist, to do the illustrations. It has proved a remarkable collaboration as Jona does not speak English. "She uses Google Translator when she emails me, which makes for some interesting emails! I don't know whether she translates my stories the same way or not. But her illustrations are wonderful and she adds something extra of her own, too."
The book is aimed at children aged four-plus. It's the tale of Mrs MacCready, of Hamilton Shady, who likes to eat. And eat. And eat. Until, eventually, she... well that would be giving the end away. But it's certainly unexpected.
Julie entertains her young fans
One of the things Julie loves more than anything is going into schools to give readings to children and help them to do their own writing. She has a ready-made audience, too, at her local village primary school where she frequently pops in to 'road-test' works in progress.
"It's really useful to be able to do that," she told me. "I always try to put a long word in. In Mrs MacCready it was 'succulent'. The editor wanted to take it out, but I put my foot down."
And so the word remains in the text...
Mrs MacCready was ever so greedy
she did nothing else but eat.
Fish fingers and chips, apples with pips,
plates full of succulent meat.
Julie has narrated Mrs MacCready for the Nook, an e-book reader for the North American market. "I absolutely loved doing it!"
A page spread from Tabitha Posy
I asked Julie if she wanted to write novels for children and, sure enough, she told me she was currently editing a book for children aged eight and over. It's set during the Second World War and is the tale of an 11-year-old evacuee named Susan. Julie has not been able to place it with a publisher yet and she's even considering self-publishing.
Whatever direction Julie Fulton's writing takes in the future I'm sure it will succeed as she's 'Ever So' talented.
* Many thanks to Julie for talking to Bookengine about her work. Her website is here. Visit the website of her publisher, Maverick Books, here.
Posted by Jeremy Craddock at 00:06 3 comments:
Labels: Dr Seuss, Edward Lear, Hilaire Belloc, Jona Jung, Julie Fulton, Maverick Books, Spike Milligan
Interview #8: Sarah McIntyre
Growing up in Seattle, Sarah McIntyre was obsessed with Egyptian tomb paintings and wanted to be an archaeologist.
"I chose my university because it had a good archaeology programme. But at the first lecture I went to, we spent an hour and a half discussing some fireplace lintel, and I thought, hmm, I'm not sure this is what I want to do for a living. It's not exactly Indiana Jones."
Finding herself at a crossroads, Sarah decided she wanted to travel instead and signed up for a degree in Russian.
It would prove a momentous decision for someone for whom serendipity has played a major part in her life and career path.
Today Sarah is one of the most exciting picture book illustrators, comic strip artists and authors around. She has collaborated with the likes of Giles Andreae and Philip Reeve (more of which later) and is the creator of the brilliant Vern and Lettuce strip cartoon in DFC, now Phoenix, comic.
Sarah's collaboration with Giles Andreae
I was hugely excited when she agreed to speak to me, following my interview with Gillian Rogerson, one of Sarah's collaborators.
So how did throwing down her archaeology trowel in favour of a plane ticket to Russia lead to such an illustrious career?
She spent a year living in Russia as part of her course and stayed for a further year afterwards. It was here that she met her British husband, who was working at the British Embassy.
After her studies she worked on a newspaper as a copy editor, writing headlines and captions.
Sarah provided the illustrations for
Gillian Rogerson's brilliant
Princess Spaghetti books
But while she loved the newsroom buzz, she was put off by the way the editor would shame people in front of their colleagues, once making someone cry, and when she tried her hand at journalism, one of her first articles divided the expatriate community, filled the editor's inbox with letters of complaint, and a banker sent a courier around to the office with threats of a lawsuit.
"I thought, I don't want to do the sort of job that just makes people angry with me."
She and her husband decided to move to the UK, London to be precise. "I always thought it would be cool to live in London."
Here she and some friends ran an art gallery for six years. Again, Sarah didn't feel she fitted in.
"I didn't find fine artists to be terribly friendly people, and I was always feeling back-footed, not having enough grasp of art theory. And then I just got bored by fashionable people being obsessed with their image, and minimalism, all this fuss over exhibitions where there was almost nothing to look at.
"Children's books was such a welcoming harbour. People who make picture books are genuinely nice people, and I think it's just as complicated making something that's understandable to both children and adult, and far more fun."
Her Vern and Lettuce comic
strips are now a book
She took evening illustration classes with children's book illustrator Elizabeth Harbour. "Her teaching was so, so good, and even after the classes ended, a bunch of us would still meet up to talk about and critique each other's work. I felt THIS is what I should be doing."
Drawing and painting had always been a passion, but she never considered it as a possible career, always believing she would get a 'proper' job.
At an early career low point, she interviewed to become a rigger on the Cutty Sark, although the contract was for 12 years and if she quit before then, she'd have to pay back all the training fee. Perhaps fortunately for children's books, Sarah didn't get the job, but the Cutty Sark hired her instead to work as Ship's Illustrator.
Her true path was beginning to open up for her. She went back to art college and did a part-time MA over two years studying under Janet Woolley.
"I guess it was round that time I finally figured out what I wanted to do."
With a few US-published children's picture books under her belt, Sarah took a fateful step when she went with her portfolio to see children's publishing supremo David Fickling, whom she'd heard was looking for comic strips. She was signed on the spot to do a weekly strip cartoon for the David Fickling Comic (now recast as the Phoenix). "They said, while you're here, would you like to illustrate a picture book for us?"
The strip cartoon became Vern and Lettuce about animals living together in a tower block. The picture book was Morris the Mankiest Monster by Giles Andreae.
A peek behind the scenes!
Her dual career in children's picture books and comics was well and truly under way.
She has also illustrated books by Anne Cottinger and the Princess Spaghetti books by the wonderful Gillian Rogerson (see my Bookengine interview with her here).
"Working with Gillian Rogerson on the Princess Spaghetti books has been great fun. She's rather quiet as a person, but then she's bursting with this rollicking sense of humour."
These days Sarah makes comics and picture books in a former police station in Deptford, sharing the studio with three other artists. "It still has the police cells and is haunted," she laughed.
On the day I spoke to her, Sarah was working on illustrations for a really exciting new project - collaborating with Mortal Engines author Philip Reeve.
An early rough for Oliver and the Seawigs,
a collaboration with Philip Reeve
They met at the Edinburgh Festival where they chatted about drawing (Philip studied art before he became a writer and earned a living initially doing illustrations for Terry Deary's Horrible Histories books).
They kept in touch, encouraging each other to post a daily picture on their respective blogs - Philip of Dartmoor where he lives, Sarah of Greenwich Park. They became good friends and, being creative people, naturally were drawn to collaborate with one another.
Sarah has illustrated a four-page story for Philip's website and a short story of his, In the Bleak Midwinter.
But it was when they had an idea for a sea adventure story that they landed a four-book deal with Oxford University Press. Oliver and the Seawigs will come out next autumn. They've allowed themselves room for more play, as each book will be a completely different story with its own set of characters, but collected together as a sort of McIntyre-Reeve library.
I asked Sarah if she harboured ambitions to work in film or television. But she said she was keen to continue creating beautifully crafted books.
"I like to leave the future open. I love printmaking and like to see where it takes me.
A more worked-up version of the
scene from Oliver and the Seawigs
"I am excited about e-books. They're something different. I think they will be awesome in the future. These are early days. Some of the apps for e-books are not well developed yet. But whatever e-books are, they are different from books.
"Having said that. If you drop a Kindle in the bath... well, that's not a problem with a traditional book!
"I'm not sure how children's picture books will adapt as e-books. Picture books are like a theatre opening up in front of a child. They are a world of wonder that a parent can share with a child."
So what is next for Sarah?
"I've illustrated Superkid by Claire Freedman, author of the Aliens Love Underpants books. It's about a kid who's a superhero. That's done and is being printed.
An inked up illustration from
Oliver and the Seawigs
"I also have other contracts with David Fickling for books I've written myself and ones written by my friend David O'Connell."
Although she professes not to want to get too busy, she may have to get used to having a very full diary as demand for her work intensifies.
* Many thanks to Sarah for chatting to me. Her fabulous website, Jabberworks, is here. Her equally wonderful blog is here. If you are interested in drawing, illustration, comics and good old artistic craftsmanship, scratchy metal nibs and jet-black ink, then both these sites are veritable gold mines. Once you've visited them, you'll be there for hours! Enjoy.
Posted by Jeremy Craddock at 22:29 No comments:
Labels: David Fickling, Gillian Rogerson, Philip Reeve, Sarah McIntyre, Seawigs
Do you plot or are you seat-of-the-pants?
Please take a look at my guest post at The Edge, the blog of the brilliant collective of writers of the same name who write cutting edge teen fiction.
Thanks to Bryony Pearce and Dave Cousins who invited me to write a contribution. It just goes to show what a welcoming and encouraging bunch children's authors are!
Click here to read the blog.
Interview #7: Kim Donovan
It seems the world of mainstream publishing is in a panic over the advent of e-books and the power of social media to reach readers.
Author Kim Donovan, publishing pioneer
Many publishers and literary agents are worried their days are numbered, fearing a similar fate to record label bosses who are now shaking their heads wondering how on earth they allowed the music business to slip through their fingers.
Writers now have a golden opportunity to go it alone. And to make it big in a way that was not previously possible. No longer is there a gatekeeper barring their entry to the world of publishing.
We’ve heard about Amanda Hocking, John Locke, Kerry Wilkinson and, most famously, E L James’ Fifty Shades series, and their go-it-alone gold rush stories.
Well, let me tell you a story about another publishing pioneer. Someone who is bravely hacking her way through the jungle of children’s book publishing and whose path may well be the one in which others follow in the future.
Let me introduce Kim Donovan, author of St Viper’s School for Super Villains and one of the creative minds behind the independent publishing collective Electrik Inc.
She told me: "I’m one of the co-founders. We’re a collective of children’s writers who have joined forces to publish our own books to a professional standard. We all have MAs in creative writing from Bath Spa University.
"Author co-operatives are brand new in self-publishing and as far as we know there is no other group like our one specialising in children’s fiction in the UK."
Brave new publishing
collective Electrik Inc
(note the switched
'k' and 'c' in the spelling...
now that's neat!)
St Viper’s is the first book to be published with an Electrik Inc logo. It is aimed at seven- to nine-year-olds.
"One of the reasons I wrote St Viper’s was that I couldn’t find enough good books at the right level for my son when he was between seven and eight years old.
"It’s a hot topic at the moment."
She quotes from the latest issue of mslexia, which says teachers in three quarters of the UK’s schools worry about boys’ reading. Apparently, last year 60,000 boys failed to reach the expected reading level at age 11. The National Literacy Trust’s Boys’ Reading Commission found 62 per cent of boys would rather watch TV than read, compared with 45 per cent of girls. And nearly a third of boys said they couldn’t find books that interested them.
Mmm, worrying indeed.
Kim's son Christopher was an advanced reader when he was seven or eight. He soon found Horrid Henry, Astrosaurs and Jeremy Strong's books too easy, but the Michael Morpurgo books his friends were reading to bridge the gap proved too sad for him. Kim wasn't keen on formulaic, team-written books like BeastQuest. If they helped reluctant readers to pick up a book, then fine, but she found other parents agreed with her that booksellers could fill their shelves with much better stories.
It was this insight that led her to write the first St Viper's book, inspired by her son's love of super heroes, which she turned on its head to come up a school for super villains.
The book has had a great response from children, parents, teachers and booksellers who all shared her misgivings that this crucial age group was poorly served. Kim thinks the market has improved since she first wrote St Viper's.
Kim’s journey to become a crusading children’s author and publishing maverick is an interesting one.
Her background is in the health service. She has worked as a midwife, a nurse and as a hospital manager, where part of her time involved writing health strategies.
Although she always wanted to be a writer, this wasn’t quite what she had in mind. She signed up for an MA in creative writing for young people at Bath Spa University. She also did work at publishers Chicken House, reading the manuscripts from the slush pile. During her studies she was encouraged to write realistic teen fiction and she was signed by an agent at PFD on the strength of her MA work. Sadly, she never saw any of her work published. Her hopes and dreams were dashed when PFD closed its children’s list.
Many people would have been crushed. Not Kim. She began to consider doing things herself.
Meeting like-minded writers Janine Amos, Jenny Landor and Kay Leitch led eventually to Electrik Inc.
"We are not self-publishing, here," she told me. "We edit in-house - no one ever edits their own book - and we pay for illustrators, graphic designers, ebook formatting and printing ourselves.
St Viper's School for Super Villains by Kim Donovan
"We then do the publicity and distribution ourselves. It’s hard work, but it’s exhilarating because we keep 100 per cent control."
They plan to publish their books both as print versions and e-books.
Kim believes Electrik Inc is a taste of the future for writers. She doesn’t think mainstream traditional publishing houses will disappear altogether as their distribution power will always be needed. But she thinks authors will be expected to do most of their own publicity via social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook.
I wish Kim and Electrik Inc the very best of luck. I think children’s authors of the future will one day look back and thank them.
And I can confirm St Viper’s is a great read and a beautifully produced book. I look forward to reading more in the series.
* Thanks to Kim and Electrik Inc for speaking to me and sending me a review copy of St Viper’s. Please visit their website, which is absolutely jam-packed with information about their venture. There are some great blog posts about the trials and tribulations of setting up and running an independent publishing collective.
Labels: Electrik Inc, Kim Donovan, St Viper's
Congratulations to Bryony Pearce!
Congratulations to Bryony Pearce - her second novel, The Weight of Souls, is to be published by Strange Chemistry in October next year.
Bryony very kindly gave an interview to Bookengine in July and has generously promoted my humble postings ever since.
Rather than me rabbiting on, I'll simply direct you to Bryony's own announcement at her blog, here.
Labels: Bryony Pearce
Interview #6: Gillian Rogerson
Gillian Rogerson
Gillian Rogerson loves being a writer. Her passion is infectious and inspiring. She's also extremely modest.
While she might not shout from the rooftops about her achievements, let me do so on her behalf.
She has published three picture books in the past seven years, Happy Birthday Santa, The Teddy Bear Scare and The Smallest Hero, a non-fiction title, Children's History of Leeds, and two titles in a series of Scholastic children's books about Princess Spaghetti, You Can't Eat a Princess and You Can't Scare A Princess.
TV and film people are circling Princess Spaghetti, perhaps sensing the next big thing. The character is already a runaway success with young readers.
She always wanted to be a writer - Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree books were her favourite as a child.
Yet it took Gillian a long time to believe she could be a writer. She thought it was something other people did.
Her attitude began to change after a chance encounter.
Gillian, who works as a teaching assistant and lives in Leeds with teenage daughters Rosie and Eve, said: "I once saw Terry Pratchett from afar in a Leeds bookshop about 20 years ago and I thought, he looks just like an ordinary person. If he can write a book, then so can I.
So, when IS Santa's birthday?
"I'd always imagined famous authors to be superhuman and ten feet tall."
She always wanted to write, but because she believed it was an "impossible dream" she didn't pursue it. She forgot about it and went to work in insurance and sold children's shoes.
It was only when she became a mother that she began to think that, yes, she could try to write a book. This was 15 years ago, when her elder daughter was two and she loved sharing picture books with her.
She had a go herself and found that she absolutely loved it. She found she had a gift for storytelling. Her mind proved adept at sparking idea after idea, triggered by the famous writing provocation - 'what if?'.
Over the next five years she wrote and sent off picture book ideas to publishers, without success.
But she was learning her craft and wrote more than 200 in the process.
She would take a simple thought like 'when is Santa's birthday?' and explore it logically until she had fleshed out the idea into a picture book. That particular one became Happy Birthday, Santa!
Her other method of working (and which she still uses) was to deploy a 'story bag'. She would pull out a random character type - a princess, say - along with a random setting - outer space - and put the two together to, hopefully, come up with something fresh. That particular combination resulted in the first Princess Spaghetti book.
"I met Curtis Jobling at a Leeds comic festival last year. And he told me that he uses story dice. Each face of the dice has a different word, like 'volcano', to help you come up with ideas for your story," she said.
Let's hope Princess Spaghetti is soon a major TV series
After toiling hard at her craft, Gillian was signed up for two picture books by Gullane Books. "Like buses, you wait for one for ages then two come along at once!" she laughed.
It was on the strength of this that Gillian was taken on by agent Eve White.
"It was the same time that Eve was considering signing up Andy Stanton, author of the Mr Gum books. Lucky that she decided to go ahead, isn't it?" she laughed.
Gillian can't speak highly enough of the support Eve has shown her. Indeed, she is thrilled with all her collaborators in the publishing industry. She's been lucky enough to have her picture books illustrated by such great artists as Sarah McIntyre and Ingela Peterson.
She harbours ambitions to illustrate her own work. Indeed, she has turned some of her rejected picture book ideas into Kindle e-books, accompanied by her own drawings.
So, with so much going on at the moment, does Gillian have any other writing ambitions?
"I'd love to write a murder mystery. Not a gory one, something more like Agatha Christie," she confides.
I suspect that whatever Gillian Rogerson turns her hand to will be a success.
* Thanks to Gillian for being such a lovely interviewee (and fellow Laurel and Hardy fan, too - it's always great to meet a kindred spirit).
Her website is here. Her page on Eve White's website is here.
Labels: Eve White, Gillian Rogerson, Ingela Peterson, Sarah McIntyre
Once Upon A Wartime
On the way into Imperial War Museum North
It's a bit after the fact now, but I'd like to say what a fabulous exhibition Once Upon A Wartime was at the Imperial War Museum North at Salford Quays.
A fabulous exhibition
It's been on since February and finished on September 2, so I'm a bit late to the party. I took my family on the penultimate day and we were all completely swept up by it all.
It was an exhibition about war as explored by children's literature, using five different books to examine a different face of the subject.
Different rooms looked at a book at a time, with recreations of scenes, complemented by personal effects of the associated writers.
I'd read four of the five books - Michael Morpurgo's War Horse, Nina Bawden's Carrie's War, Robert Westall's The Machine Gunners and Ian Serraillier's The Silver Sword, but was not familiar with the final book, Bernard Ashley's Little Soldier.
Not a great picture - the original
handwritten opening of Michael Morpurgo's
War Horse and first page of the typescript
The show covered the First World War (War Horse), Second World War (Carrie's War, The Machine Gunners and The Silver Sword) and a fictional African war of the 1990s (Little Soldier). The themes represented were 'loyalty', 'separation', 'excitement', 'survival' and 'identity'.
Fabulous to be able to see first-hand the original manuscript pages of the opening to War Horse, notes scrawled by Serraillier on the backs of envelopes, Ashley's chapter notes and a paperweight belonging to Bawden.
There was the original painting of a horse called Topthorn that inspired Morpurgo to create the character of the same name which is Joey's closest friend in War Horse.
School exercise book in which Westall wrote The Machine Gunners
Of particular interest to me was the school exercise book in which Westall wrote The Machine Gunners for his son, Christopher. Westall wrote on the inside cover '£1 reward for anyone returning this book to Westall, 20, Winnington Lane, Northwich'. Also fascinating to see his typewriter and his first Carnegie Medal, for The Machine Gunners.
Coincidentally, the day before our visit I'd spent the day in Northwich with work and took a picture of 20 Winnington Lane, the house where Westall wrote The Machine Gunners. (Surely worthy of a plaque, eh?)
Robert Westall's typewriter with picture on top of him and
a cat at home in Lymm, Cheshire
What was particularly great about the exhibition was that children could really get involved. For The Machine Gunners, they'd recreated an Anderson shelter and decked it out as Chas and his pals did in the book. My daughter and son loved crawling through a tunnel to get to the shelter.
Once Upon A Wartime was on at the Imperial War Museum in London in 2011 prior to its relocation to Salford. Not sure that it's going on anywhere else now, which is a pity.
If you are passing, it's definitely worth popping into the Imperial War Museum North - they have an excellent shop stocked with all the children's books from the exhibition.
Robert Westall's first Carnegie Medal, for The Machine Gunners, 1975
The original painting of Topthorn, which usually hangs in Michael Morpurgo's kitchen
Nina Bawden's teddy bear
20 Winnington Lane, Northwich, the house where Robert Westall wrote The Machine Gunners
Labels: Bernard Ashley, Carrie's War, Ian Serraillier, Little Soldier, Michael Morpurgo, Nina Bawden, Robert Westall, The Machine Gunners, The Silver Sword, War Horse
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Film Review: Blood Glacier
I really wanted to do something fun for the Halloween blog today, but couldn't think of anything too unique, so I decided to watch a "Climbing Horror Movie."
You probably didn't think that was a genre. But I found one. And it was a doozy...
I really really wanted to like Blood Glacier. It's a horror movie that was actually shot in the mountains, with people who appear to know something about the mountains. It's a film where a climber could have suspended their disbelief...
...but the horror elements were so bad and the story was so hokey, that nobody else possibly could have.
There were several indicators that this film experience might not work out.
I know. I know.
The first and most obvious indicator was the title. But there were several other indicators in the first couple minutes of the movie. It was produced by IFC Midnight, which essentially is an indicator that it's going to be a B-level film from the get-go. Additionally, as the film opened, they showed glaciers and mountains, which would suddenly go from pristine to a filtered red at the same time they played jarring music.
Oh yeah, and the film was dubbed too. I think it might have been made by Germans...or something. It's hard to tell while watching it. But it was indeed shot in the Alps.
The bloody glacier in Blood Glacier.
Click on the photo to expand it in its awful gory bloody glacierness.
A group of climate scientists are studying glaciers in a remote corner of the Alps. They discover that a glacier appears to bleeding. Unbeknownst to them, the "blood" coming from the glacier is mutating the local wildlife. Essentially the bacteria in the substance creates hybrid animals. If an animal ate something, the new hybrid would have characteristics of both the host and the thing the animal ate. And of course the hybrid is born the same way an alien from the Alien franchise is born, by bursting out of the host's body.
This presents a bit of a problem for the scientists. You know, because for some reason the prime minister is on her way up to the hut with the hero's ex-girlfriend and lots of other people to get attacked by hybrid blood glacier monsters.
This movie was bad enough that I don't really expect many of you to see it. So I'm going to spoil it for you. If you don't want it spoiled. Don't read another word.
It turns out that the hero and his girlfriend were going to have a baby. She had an abortion and regretted it. She wanted a baby with him...
Which is good because an infected dog licked the hero's blood and had a hyrbid dog-baby-thing burst out of it's stomach which the pair adopted as their own.
For some reason this doesn't seem very plausible.
My favorite line of the entire movie takes place when a woman who is sobbing is also eating a banana. The Prime Minister screams at her, "stop eating that banana while you're crying!" I did in fact laugh quite hard at that moment of the film...
So the story and the dialogue are both pretty laughable, but so are the monsters. It seems like we've been spoiled with monsters for several years on the big screen that look real. Some of these are done with CGI and others are done with puppetry and make-up. The most believable looking monsters actually use a combination of both.
The monsters in this movie are so bad that it's hard not to laugh at them. They look like something that a high school drama scene shop with no budget might produce for a teenage haunted house. They're terrible...and kind of funny.
I really really wanted to like Blood Glacier, but I didn't. The hokiness provided some laughs, but it wasn't really worth an hour and a half of my time...
--Jason D. Martin
I highly enjoyed Blood Glacier, I understand your point of view Jason, my question is have you ever made a movie yourself? Before criticizing put the work yourself into making one. If you can't, just be happy a story was told, what you can't? That's because you are full of yourself.
Jason Martin said...
Thanks for your comment, Robert.
I actually have a masters degree in writing for theatre and film. My plays have been produced throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. A short film I worked on Won Best of Fest in the Seattle Film Race. And I have sold a screenplay to a large film production company, though admittedly, the film was not produced.
Some of my plays have been crushed by critics. And in some cases rightfully so! In other cases, I didn't think the review was fair...but the job of a critic on this blog isn't to talk about what he has done creatively, it's to review materials that others who read this blog might choose to watch.
And that's what I did with Blood Glacier. I told my readers what I thought of the film. I told them the film was not just a waste of time, but a waste of air. I told them that it was horrible, terrible and no good!
And indeed, I told them that I was not happy that that story was told. Because that story was terrible. And if that makes me full of myself, then I am proud to be full of myself!
What if the money to make that film could have been put into something of value? I guess we'll never know.
But what we do know is that there's no accounting for taste...
Film Review: A Lonely Place to Die
Rock Climbing Styles
Training: Injury Prevention
Toproping Etiquette
Extending Your Rappel
Rack on the Shoulder or Shoot from the Hip?
Film Review: Backcountry
Belay Glove Confession
Rappelling Safety
Keeping it Light - Toothpaste Refills!
Understanding Mechanical Advantage
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You are here: Home | Club News | 2014 New South Wales Open State Championships
2014 New South Wales Open State Championships
The 2014 New South Wales Open State Championships were held this past weekend and the Carlile Swimming Club showed they are a growing force to be reckoned with on the Open Stage.
With top teams competing from not only Australia but also internationally, our swimmers were truly competing against some of the world’s best. Carlile had 33 athletes compete in 116 individual and relay events and combined to finish 11th on the point score, a great result and the Carlile Swimming Clubs highest finish in many years.
Congratulations to all individual finalists. Ami Matsuo (50 & 100 Free) and Brittany Barnes (200 Fly) whom swam brilliantly to make A Finals. Nick Robertson (50 Fly), Luke Bibby (200 IM), Stephanie Bremner (200 Back) and Leanne Wright (50 & 100 Free) whom were all B Finalists.
Carlile showed their usual strength in relays medalling in 3 events and making finals in a further three. Congratulations to the Womens 4×100 Freestyle Team who won the Gold medal and the Womens 4×200 Freestyle Team who placed 2nd.
Finally, over the weekend there were two brand new Carlile Club records set in the newly formed mixed 4x50m Relay Events. The team of Jayke Rees, Nick Robertson, Leanne Wright and Ami Matsuo en route to setting a new club record also won the Gold Medal in the Mixed 4×50 Freestyle Relay in a time of 1.39.57. The Mixed 4×50 Medley relay team consisting of Matt Georgevits, Nick Robertson, Jessie Quinn and Ami Matsuo posted a club record time of 1.52.32.
Again, congratulations to all who competed at the meet, young and old, in particular those first time Open State Competitors.
If you subscribe you will receive instant event and news updates from the Narrabeen Swimming Club. Enter your email address and click the 'Subscribe' button below.
2016 FINA World Short Course Championships
2016-17 Swimming NSW State Open and Age Open Water Swimming Championships
2016-17 NSW 13-18 Years State Age Championships
Emily Washer – Big PB in the 50m fly and into the semi
2016 NSW Metropolitan LC Championships
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About: Frontiero v. Richardson
An Entity of Type : unit of work, from Named Graph : http://dbpedia.org, within Data Space : dbpedia-live.openlinksw.com
Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case which decided that benefits given by the United States military to the family of service members cannot be given out differently because of sex. Frontiero is an important decision in several respects, including the fact that it informed the military establishment that in terms of pay, allowances and general treatment, women must be considered on an equal plane as men. However, the Court did not issue a broad decision requiring the military to prove in the courts its reasons for excluding women from combat positions.
Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case which decided that benefits given by the United States military to the family of service members cannot be given out differently because of sex. Frontiero is an important decision in several respects, including the fact that it informed the military establishment that in terms of pay, allowances and general treatment, women must be considered on an equal plane as men. However, the Court did not issue a broad decision requiring the military to prove in the courts its reasons for excluding women from combat positions. (en)
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frontiero_v._Richardson&action=edit
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct-cgi/get-us-cite?411+677
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1972/71-1694
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/411/677/
http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep411/usrep411677/usrep411677.pdf
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/108781/frontiero-v-richardson/
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frontiero_v._Richardson&action=history
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Frontiero v. Richardson (en)
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Sharron A. Frontiero and Joseph Frontiero v. Elliot L. Richardson, Secretary of Defense, et al. (en)
dbr:Frontiero_v_Richardson
dbr:411_U.S._677
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Sacred Heart defeats Assumption, claims rivalry victory
Dalton Pence
Follow @loucathsports
SHA defeats AHS in rivalry victory/ photo by Dalton Pence
On Sunday afternoon, Sacred Heart took down Assumption on the road 60-52. The Valkyries have now won the last seven games in the rivalry between the two, dating back to the 2012/13 season.
“I think we played really well”, Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir said, “I was proud of them in this environment, some of them this is their first time.”
Emotions can play a big role in rivalry games, but it didn’t seem that way early on for Sacred Heart. Ashlee Harris scored eight and Kristen Clemons scored 10 in the first period to give them a 25-15 lead heading into the second.
“It’s hard to come back”, Assumption coach Stacy Pendleton said, “it’s not what we wanted. It was tough to overcome that and we were playing from behind the whole game.”
For Harris however, one of those buckets had a different significance. With 4:18 to play in the first quarter, she nailed a three-pointer, surpassing the 1,000 point mark for her career. “Everybody found me in the right spot”, she said, “I thank my teammates the most for that one.”
“Ashlee just came out with a look in her eye like she was going to make every shot”, Moir said.
In the second quarter, SHA was continuing to try to bust the game wide open and eventually pushed the lead to 14. Assumption had different plans, with Payton Cronen hitting a three-pointer to cap off a 7-0 Rocket run. Despite being down by double digits for most of the first two quarters, the Rockets pulled to within seven, trailing 35-28 at the half.
The Valkyries were able to eventually stretch that out to 11 leading into the fourth, but a quick 4-0 capped off by an Abby McQueary floater brought it back to seven with 5:22 to play in the game. A minute later, Cronen hit her second three-pointer of the night and Assumption made it a two-possession game. She finished with a team-high 14 points.
Shortly after, Harris went on a 5-0 run of her own to push the lead back to double digits and Sacred Heart would not look back.
“I was really proud of the fight my team had”, Pendleton said, “I thought they played the fourth quarter really well.”
Harris (career-high 24 points) and Clemons (20 points and 10 rebounds) led the way for Sacred Heart. Destinee Marshall also has nine points for the Valkyries. “Marshall and Harris are just great guards”, Pendleton said, “it’s really difficult (to come back) on a team with great guards like theirs.”
Moir highlighted her respect for Pendleton’s team. “In a rivalry game you’re going to get everybody’s best shot”, she said, “they don’t quit; they’re going to make a run late in the game.”
Sacred Heart (12-5) will return to action on Tuesday as they travel on the road to Atherton. Coach Moir’s squad has won seven straight and has not suffered defeat in the 2019 calendar year.
“We really haven’t had an easy game”, Moir said. “It’s going to be like that for the rest of the year. I’m so proud of our kids; they bring it every night. There are some things that we’ve got to work on and that’s good because we’re not the team we are going to be in March.”
Maddie Nalley (11 points and 18 rebounds) and Maddie Reed (seven points) also paced the Rockets. Assumption drops to 10-9 and will attempt to overcome a two-game skid when they host Spencer County on Monday night.
Despite the two losses, Pendleton has great optimism for the rest of the season. “We’re knocking on the door right now and we’re just hoping that it comes open soon”, he said, “so we’re looking at top ten teams and we are right there.”
SACRED HEART: 25 10 14 11- 60
ASSUMPTION: 15 13 10 14- 52
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CBLDF Joins Coalition Protesting Censorship of Of Mice and Men in Idaho
By Maren Williams
CBLDF has joined the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Kids’ Right to Read Project and other free speech advocates to protest an Idaho school district review committee’s recommendation that John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men be restricted in the 9th grade curriculum. Some parents and review committee members claim that the 1937 novella about migrant workers during the Great Depression contains too much profanity and is “too dark.”
The Coeur d’Alene school district’s curriculum review committee is in the process of judging the suitability of about 50 books that teachers can choose for grades 6-12. Of Mice and Men is currently used at the 9th grade level for whole-group instruction, but the committee has recommended restricting it to small groups. One parent who sits on the committee dismissed the book as “neither a quality story nor a page turner,” while another member said it should be read only in small groups “to explain away the dark part of it.” School board member Dave Eubanks, who is also a non-voting member of the review committee, added that Steinbeck’s classic has “too darn much cussing.”
In a letter sent to school board members today, NCAC pointed out that the novella paints an authentic picture of a key era in U.S. history:
One of the basic goals of the public education system is to endow students with the knowledge widely shared by other students across the country. Confronting complex and dark themes in literature is part of the educational mission of the schools. A school district puts its students at a distinct disadvantage if it fails to introduce them to the range of ideas that they will encounter in college and in life. Indeed, Criterion 1 of the Coeur d’Alene Public Schools Policy on curricular choices emphasizes the need to “represent diverse eras and aspects of our culture and other cultures.” Of Mice and Men is one of the truest representations of the hardships wrought by the Great Depression, a pivotal period in the United States.
The school board will vote on the review committee’s recommendation at its upcoming meeting on Monday, June 1. At least one board member, chairwoman Christa Hazel, has said she is not in favor of restricting the book and pointed out that the district has received no complaints about it from parents. We hope some other members will join Hazel and let sanity prevail!
Read the full letter sent to Coeur d’Alene board members below.
NCAC Letter Re of Mice and Men
Help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work in 2015 by visiting the Rewards Zone, making a donation, or becoming a member of CBLDF!
Contributing Editor Maren Williams is a reference librarian who enjoys free speech and rescue dogs.
Tags: challenged for: profanity, challenged for: theme, classroom, idaho, john steinbeck, national coalition against censorship, north america, of mice and men, united states
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Roman Martyrology, Complete, in English
Roman Martyrology, Complete, January
Semen est sanguis Christianorum (The blood of Christians is the seed of the Church) Tertullian, Apologeticum, 50
(The Notation P2V preceding a name indicates that the Saint or Martyr was added after 1900 and prior to 1962 and the purging of Saints by Pope Paul VI following the Second Vatican Council)
ROMAN MARTYROLOGY
This Day, the First Day of January
The Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Octave of His Nativity.
At Rome, St. Almachius, martyr, who, by the command of Alipius, governor of the city, was killed by the gladiators for saying, "Today is the Octave of our Lord's birth; put an end to the worship of idols, and abstain from unclean sacrifices."
In the same city, on the Appian way, the crowning with martyrdom of thirty holy soldiers, under the emperor Diocletian.
Also at Rome, under the emperor Alexander, St. Martina, virgin, who endured various kinds of torments, and being beheaded, received the palm of martyrdom. Her feast is kept on the 30th of this month.
At Spoleto, in the time of the emperor Antoninus, St. Concordius, priest and martyr, who was beaten with clubs, and then put to the torture. After a long confinement in prison, where he was visited by an angel, he lost his life by the sword.
The same day, St. Magnus, martyr.
At Caesarea, in Cappadocia, the demise of St. Basil, bishop, whose festival is kept on the 14th of June, the date of his consecration as bishop.
In Africa, St. Fulgentius, bishop of Buspoe, who suffered much from the Arians during the persecution of the Vandals, for holding the Catholic faith and teaching its excellent doctrine. After being banished to Sardinia, he was permitted to return to his diocese, where he ended his life by a holy death, leaving a reputation for sanctity and eloquence.
At Chieti, in Abruzzo, the birthday* of St. Justin, bishop of that city, illustrious for holiness of life and miracles.
In the diocese of Lyons, in the monastery of St. Claude, St. Eugendus, abbot, whose life was eminent for virtues and miracles.
At Souvigny, St. Odilo, abbot of Cluny, who was the first to prescribe that the commemoration of all the faithful departed should be made in his monasteries the day after the feast of All Saints. This practice was afterwards received and approved by the universal Church.
In Tuscany, on Mount Senario blessed Bonfilius, confessor, one of the seven founders of the Order of the Servites of the blessed Virgin Mary, who, herself, suddenly called her devout servant to Heaven.
At Alexandria, the departure from this world of St. Euphrosyna, virgin, who was renowned in her monastery for the virtue of abstinence, and the gift of miracles.
And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
Omnes sancti Mártyres, oráte pro nobis. ("All ye Holy Martyrs, pray for us", from the Litaniae Sanctorum, the Litany of the Saints)
Response: Thanks be to God.
N. B. The reading of the Martyrology is always terminated in this manner.
This Day, the Second Day of January
The Octave of St. Stephen, the first martyr.
At Rome, the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who, despising the edict of the emperor Diocletian, which ordered that the sacred books should be delivered up, preferred to surrender themselves to the executioners rather than to give holy things to dogs.
At Antioch, the passion of blessed Isidore, bishop.
At Tomis, in Pontus, in the time of the emperor Licinius, three holy brothers, Argeus, Narcissus, and the young man Marcellinus. This last, being enrolled among the new soldiers, and refusing to serve, was beaten almost to death, and for a long time kept in prison. Being finally cast into the sea, he finished his martyrdom; but his brothers were beheaded.
At Milan, St. Martinian, bishop.
In Nitria, in Egypt, blessed Isidore, bishop and confessor.
The same day, St. Siridion, bishop.
In Thebais, St. Macarius of Alexandria, abbot.
January 3rd
This Day, the Third Day of January
The Octave of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist.
At Rome, on the Appian way, the birthday of Pope St. Anterus, who suffered under Julius Maximinus, and was buried in the cemetery of Callistus.
The same day, St. Peter, who was crucified at Aulane.
In Hellespont, the holy martyrs Cyrinus, Primus, and Theogenes.
At Caesarea, in Cappadocia, St. Gordius, centurion, in whose praise is extant a celebrated discourse, delivered by St. Basil the Great on the day of his festival.
In Cilicia, the holy martyrs Zozimus, and the notary Athanasius.
Also, the Saints Theopemptus and Theonas, who suffered a glorious martyrdom in the persecution of Diocletian.
At Padua, St. Daniel, martyr.
At Vienne, in France, St. Florentius, bishop, who was sent into exile and consummated his martyrdom, in the time of the emperor Gallienus.
At Paris, St. Genevieve, virgin, who was consecrated to God by St. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, and became famous for her admirable virtues and miracles.
This Day, the Fourth Day of January
The Octave of the Holy Innocents.
In Crete, the birthday of St. Titus, who was consecrated bishop of that island by the Apostle St. Paul. After having faithfully performed the duty of preaching the Gospel, he reached the end of his blessed life, and was buried in the Church of which he had been made a worthy minister by the holy Apostle.
At Rome, in the reign of the impious Julian, the holy martyrs Priscus, priest, Priscillian, cleric, and Benedicta, a religious woman, who ended their martyrdom by the sword.
Also, at Rome, under the same emperor, blessed Dafrosa, wife of the martyr St. Flavian. After her husband had been killed, she was first banished, and then beheaded.
At Bologna, the Saints Hermes, Aggoeus, and Caius, martyrs, who suffered under the emperor Maximian.
At Adrumetum, in Africa, in the persecution of Severus, the commemoration of St. Mavilus, martyr, who, being condemned by the most cruel president Scapula to be devoured by wild beasts, received the crown of martyrdom.
Also, in Africa, the most renowned martyrs Aquilinus, Geminus, Eugenius, Marcian, Quinctus, Theodotus, and Tryphon.
At Langres, St. Gregory, a bishop renowned for miracles.
At Rheims, in France, St. Rigobertus, bishop and confessor.
This Day, the Fifth Day of January
The vigil of the Epiphany of our Lord.
At Rome, in the time of Antoninus Pius, St. Telesphorus, Pope, who, after many sufferings for the confession of Christ, underwent a glorious martyrdom.
In Egypt, during the persecution of Diocletian, the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who were put to death in Thebais by various kinds of torments.
At Antioch, St. Simeon, monk, who lived many years, standing on a pillar, and was, for that reason, called Stylites. His whole life was an unbroken series of wonders.
In England, St. Edward, king, illustrious by the virtue of chastity and the gift of miracles. His feast, by order of Pope Innocent XI., is celebrated on the 13th of October, when his sacred body was translated.
At Alexandria, St. Syncletica, whose noble deeds have been recorded by St. Athanasius.
At Rome, the holy virgin Emiliana, aunt of Pope St. Gregory. Being called to God by her sister Tharsilla, who had preceded her, she departed for Heaven on this day.
The same day, St. Apollinaris, virgin.
This Day, the Sixth Day of January
The Epiphany of Our Lord.
In the diocese of Rheims, the martyrdom of St. Macra, virgin, who, in the persecution of Diocletian, was cast into the fire by order of the governor Rictiovarus. As she remained uninjured, she had her breasts cut off, was imprisoned in a foul dungeon, rolled upon broken earthenware and burning coals, and finally she gave up her soul while engaged in prayer.
In Africa, the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who were burned at the stake in the persecution of Severus.
At Rennes, in France, St. Melanius, bishop and confessor, who, after a life remarkable for virtues innumerable, with his thoughts constantly fixed on Heaven, gloriously departed from this world.
At Florence, St. Andrew Corsini, a Florentine Carmelite and bishop of Fiesoli. Being celebrated for miracles, he was ranked among the Saints by Urban VIII. His festival is kept on the 4th of February.
At Geris, in Egypt, St. Nilammon, anchoret, who, whilst he was carried to a bishopric against his will, gave up his soul to God in prayer.
This Day, the Seventh Day of January
The bringing back of the Child Jesus from Egypt.
The same day, the birthday of blessed Lucian, a priest of the church of Antioch and martyr, who was distinguished for his learning and eloquence. He suffered at Nicomedia for the confession of Christ, in the persecution of Galerius Maximian, and was buried at Helenopolis, in Bithynia. His praises have been proclaimed by St. John Chrysostom.
At Antioch, St. Clerus, deacon, who, for having professed faith in Christ, was seven times tortured, a long while kept in prison, and at length ended his martyrdom by decapitation.
In the city of Heraclea, the holy martyrs Felix and Januarius.
The same day, St. Julian, martyr.
In Denmark, St. Canute, king and martyr. His feast is celebrated on the 19th of this month.
At Pavia, St. Crispin, bishop and confessor.
In Dacia, St. Nicetas, bishop, who made fierce and barbarous nations humane and meek by preaching the Gospel to them.
In Egypt, St. Theodore, a saintly monk, who flourished in the time of Constantine the Great. He is mentioned by St. Athanasius, in his Life of St. Anthony.
At Barcelona, St. Raymond of Pennafort, of the Order of Preachers, celebrated for sanctity and learning. His festival is kept on the 23d of this month.
This Day, the Eighth Day of January
At Beauvais, in France, the holy martyrs Lucian, priest, Maximian and Julian. The last two were killed with the sword by the persecutors ; but blessed Lucian, who had come to France with St. Denis, not fearing, after the slaughter of his companions, to confess the name of Christ openly, received the same sentence of death.
Also, St. Eugenian, martyr.
In Lybia, the holy martyrs Theophilus, deacon, and Helladius, who, after being lacerated and cut with sharp pieces of earthenware, were cast into the fire, and rendered their souls to God.
At Venice, the demise of blessed Lawrence Justinian, confessor, first patriarch of that city. Eminent for learning, and abundantly filled with the Heavenly gifts of divine wisdom, he was ranked among the Saints by Alexander VIII. He is again mentioned on the 5th of September.
At Hierapolis, in Asia, St. Apollinaris, bishop, who was conspicuous for sanctity and learning, under Marcus Antoninus Verus.
At Naples, in Campania, the birthday of the bishop St. Severin, brother to the blessed martyr Victorinus who, after working many miracles, went to rest, replenished with virtues and merits.
At Pavia, St. Maximus, bishop and confessor.
At Metz, St. Patiens, bishop.
The same day, among the inhabitants of Noricum (now Austria), the abbot St. Severin, who preached the Gospel in that country, and is called its Apostle. By divine power his body was carried to Lucullanum, near Naples, and thence transferred to the monastery of St. Severin.
This Day, the Ninth Day of January
At Antioch, in the reign of Diocletian and Maximian, the birthday of the Saints Julian, martyr, and Basilissa, his virgin wife. Having lived in a state of virginity with her husband, she reached the end of her days in peace. But after the death by fire of a multitude of priests and ministers of the Church of Christ, who had taken refuge in his house from the severity of the persecution, Julian was ordered by the president Marcian to be tormented in many ways and executed. With him suffered Anthony, a priest, and Anastasius, whom Julian raised from the dead, and made partaker of the grace of Christ; also, Celsus, a boy, with his mother Marcionilla, seven brothers, and many others.
In Mauritania Caesariensis (now Algeria), St. Marciana, virgin, who consummated her martyrdom by being condemned to the beasts.
At Smyrna, the holy martyrs Vitalis, Revocatus, and Fortunatus.
In Africa, the holy martyrs Epictetus, Jucundus, Secundus, Vitalis, Felix, and seven others.
At Sebaste, in Armenia, St. Peter, bishop, brother of St. Basil the Great.
At Ancona, St. Marcellinus, bishop, who, according to St. Gregory, miraculously delivered that city from destruction by fire.
This Day, the Tenth Day of January
In Cyprus, blessed Nicanor, one of the first seven deacons, a man of admirable faith and virtue, who was most gloriously crowned.
At Rome, Pope St. Agatho, who terminated a life remarkable for sanctity and learning by a holy death.
At Bourges, in Aquitaine, St. William, archbishop and confessor, renowned for miracles and virtues. He was canonized by Honorius III.
At Milan, St. John the Good, bishop and confessor.
In Thebais, the birthday of St. Paul, the first hermit, who lived alone in the desert from the sixteenth to the one hundred and thirteenth year of his age. His soul was seen by St. Anthony carried by angels among the choirs of Apostles and prophets. His feast is celebrated on the 15th of this month.
At Constantinople, St. Marcian, priest.
In the monastery of Cusani, the birthday of St. Peter Urseolus (Orsini), confessor, previously Doge of Venice, and afterwards monk of the Order of St. Benedict, renowned for piety and miracles. His festival is kept on the 14th of this month.
This Day, the Eleventh Day of January
At Rome, the birthday of St. Hyginus, Pope, who suffered a glorious martyrdom in the persecution of Antoninus.
In Africa, blessed Salvius, martyr, on whose birthday St. Augustine preached to the people of Carthage.
At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Peter, Severus, and Leucius.
At Fermo, in the Marches, St. Alexander, bishop and martyr.
At Amiens, St. Salvius, bishop and martyr.
At Brindisi, St. Leucius, bishop and confessor.
In Cappadocia, in a village called Magariassum, St. Theodosius, abbot, who, after great sufferings for the Catholic faith, finally rested in peace.
In Thebais, St. Palaemon, abbot, who was the teacher of St. Pachomius.
At Suppentonia, near Mount Soractes, the holy monk Anastasius, and his companions, who were called by a voice from Heaven to enter the kingdom of God.
At Pavia, St. Honorata, virgin.
This Day, the Twelfth Day of January
At Rome, in the time of the emperor Alexander, St. Tatiana, martyr, who was torn with iron hooks and combs, thrown to the beasts and cast into the fire, but, having received no injury, was beheaded, and thus went to Heaven.
In Achaia, St. Satyrus, martyr. As he passed before an idol, and breathed upon it, making the sign of the cross on his forehead, the idol immediately fell to the ground; for this reason he was beheaded.
The same day, St. Arcadius, martyr, illustrious by his noble birth and miracles.
In Africa, the holy martyrs Zoticus, Rogatus, Modestus, Castulus, and forty soldiers gloriously crowned.
At Constantinople, the Saints Tygrius, priest, and Eutropius, lector, who suffered in the time of the emperor Arcadius.
At Tivoli, St. Zoticus, martyr.
At Ephesus, under Constantine Copronymus, the passion of forty-two holy monks, who endured martyrdom after being most cruelly tortured for the defense of sacred images.
At Ravenna, St. John, bishop and confessor.
At Verona, St. Probus, bishop.
In England, St. Benedict, abbot and confessor.
This Day, the Thirteenth Day of January
The Octave of the Epiphany of Our Lord.
At Rome, on the Lavican road, the crowning of forty holy soldiers, a reward they merited by confessing the true faith, under the emperor Gallienus.
In Sardinia, St. Potitus, martyr, who, having suffered much under the emperor Antoninus and the governor Gelasius, was at last put to death by the sword.
At Singidonum (now Belgrade), in Upper Moesia, of the holy martyrs Hermylus and Stratonicus, who were severely tormented and drowned in the river Danube, under the emperor Licinius.
At Cordova, the holy martyrs Gumesindus, priest, and Servideus, monk.
At Poitiers, in France, the birthday of St. Hilary, bishop and confessor of the Catholic faith, which he courageously defended, and for which he was banished four years to Phrygia, where, among other miracles, he raised a man from the dead. Pius IX. declared him Doctor of the Church. His festival is celebrated on the 14th of this month.
At Caesarea, in Cappadocia, St. Leontius, a bishop, who strongly opposed the Gentiles, under Licinius, and the Arians, under Constantine.
At Treves, St. Agritius, bishop.
In the monastery of Verzy, St. Viventius, confessor.
At Amasea, in Pontus, St. Glaphyra, virgin.
At Milan, in the monastery of St. Martha, blessed Veronica of Binasco, virgin of the Order of St. Augustine.
This Day, the Fourteenth Day of January
St. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers and confessor, who entered Heaven on the thirteenth day of this month.
At Nola, in Campania, the birthday of St. Felix, priest, who (as is related by bishop St. Paulinus), after being subjected to torments by the persecutors, was cast into prison and extended, bound hand and foot, on (snail) shells and broken earthenware. In the night, however, his bonds were loosened and he was delivered by an angel. The persecution over, he brought many to the faith of Christ by his exemplary life and teaching, and, renowned for miracles, rested in peace.
In Judaea, St. Malachy, prophet.
On Mount Sinai, thirty-eight holy monks, killed by the Saracens for the faith of Christ.
In Egypt, in the district of Raithy, forty-three holy monks, who were put to death by the Blemmians, for the Christian religion.
At Milan, St. Datius, bishop and confessor, mentioned by Pope St. Gregory.
In Africa, St. Euphrasius, bishop.
In Syria, in the time of the emperor Valens, St. Julian Sabas, the Elder, who miraculously restored at Antioch the Catholic faith, which was almost destroyed in that city.
At Neocaesarea, in Pontus, St. Macrina, disciple of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, and grandmother of St. Basil, whom she brought up in the Christian faith.
This Day, the Fifteenth Day of January
St. Paul, the first hermit, who was carried to the home of the blessed on the tenth of this month.
In the diocese of Angers, St. Maur, abbot and disciple of St. Benedict. He made great progress with so able a master, for while he was still under the Saint's instruction he miraculously walked upon the water a prodigy unheard of since the days of St. Peter. Sent later to France by St. Benedict, he built a famous monastery, which he governed for forty years, and after performing striking miracles, he rested in peace.
In Judaea, the holy prophets Habacuc and Michaeas, whose bodies were found by divine revelation in the days of Theodosius the Elder.
At Anagni, St. Secundina, virgin and martyr, who suffered under the emperor Decius.
At Cagliari, in Sardinia, St. Ephisius, martyr, who, in the persecution of Diocletian and under the judge Flavian, having, by the assistance of God, overcome many torments, was beheaded and ascended to Heaven.
At Nola, in Campania, St. Maximus, bishop.
At Clermont,in Auvergne, St. Bonitus, bishop and confessor.
In Egypt, St. Macarius, abbot, disciple of St. Anthony, very celebrated for his life and miracles.
Also, blessed Isidore, renowned for holiness of life, faith and miracles.
At Rome, St. John Calybita. For some time living unknown to his parents in a corner of their house, and later in a hut on an island in the Tiber, he was recognized by them only at his death. Being renowned for miracles, he was buried where he had died, and a church was subsequently erected in his honor in the same place.
This Day, the Sixteenth Day of January
At Rome, on the Salarian way, the birthday of the Pope St. Marcellus, a martyr, for the confession of the Catholic faith. By command of the tyrant Mexentius he was first beaten with clubs, then sent to take care of animals, with a guard to watch him. In this servile office, dressed in haircloth, he departed this life.
At Morocco, in Africa, the martyrdom of the holy martyrs of the Order of Friars Minor, Berard, Peter, Accursius, Adjutus, and Otto.
At Aries, St. Honoratus, bishop and confessor, whose life was renowned for learning and miracles.
At Oderzo, St. Titian, bishop and confessor.
At Khinocolura, in Egypt, in the reign of the emperor Valens, the holy bishop Melas, who rested in peace after suffering exile and other painful trials for the Catholic faith.
At Fundi, in Campania, St. Honoratus, abbot, mentioned by Pope St. Gregory.
In the monastery of Peronne, St. Fursey, confessor.
At Home, St. Priscilla, who devoted herself and her goods to the service of the martyrs.
This Day, the Seventeenth Day of January
In Thebais, St. Anthony, abbot and spiritual guide of many monks. He was most celebrated for his life and miracles, of which St. Athanasius has written a detailed account. His sacred body was found by divine revelation, during the reign of the emperor Justinian, and brought to Alexandria, where it was buried in the church of St. John the Baptist.
At Langres, in the time of Marcus Aurelius, the saints Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus, born at one birth, who were crowned with martyrdom, together with their grandmother Leonilla.
At Rome, the finding of the holy martyrs Diodorus, priest, Marian, deacon, and their companions. Whilst they were commemorating the birthdays of the martyrs in a sand-pit, the entrance was closed by the persecutors, and the vault over them broken down, and they thus obtained the palm of martyrdom in the reign of Pope St. Stephen.
At Bourges, the demise of St. Sulpicius, surnamed Pius, whose life and precious death are adorned with glorious miracles.
At Rome, in the monastery of St. Andrew, the blessed monks Anthony, Merulus, and John, of whom Pope St. Gregory speaks in his writings.
This Day, the Eighteenth Day of January
The Chair of the Apostle St. Peter. This festival was instituted to commemorate the establishment of the Holy See at Rome.
In the same place, under the emperor Claudius, the passion of St. Prisca, virgin and martyr, who, after undergoing many torments, was crowned with martyrdom.
In Pontus, the birthday of the holy martyrs Moseus and Ammonius, soldiers, who were first condemned to work in the metal mines, and then cast into the fire.
In the same country, St. Athenogenes, an aged divine, who, on the point of enduring martyrdom by fire, joyfully sang a hymn, which he left in writing to his disciples.
At Tours, in France, St. Volusian, bishop, who was made captive by the Goths, and in exile gave up his soul to God.
In the same place, St. Leobardus, anchoret, a man of wonderful abstinence and humility.
In Brittany, St. Deicola, abbot, disciple of St. Columban.
At Como, St. Liberata, virgin.
This Day, the Nineteenth Day of January
At Rome, on the Cornelian road, the holy martyrs Marius and his wife Martha, with their sons Audifax and Abachum, noble Persians, who came to Rome, through devotion, in the time of the Emperor Claudius. After they had been beaten with rods, tortured on the rack and with fire, lacerated with iron hooks, and had endured the cutting off of their hands, Martha was put to death in the place called Nympha, The others were beheaded and cast into the flames.
Also, St. Canute, king and martyr, whose birthday is the 7th of this month.
At Smyrna, under Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius, the birthday of blessed Germanicus, martyr, who, in the bloom of youth, being strengthened by the grace of God, and freed from all fear, provoked the beast which, by order of the judge, was to devour him. Being ground by its teeth, he deserved to be incorporated into the true Bread of Life, Christ Jesus, for whom he died.
In Africa, the holy martyrs Paul, Gerontius, Januarius, Saturninus, Successus, Julius, Catus, Pia, and Germana.
At Spoleto, in the days of the emperor Antoninus, the passion of St. Pontian, martyr, who was barbarously scourged for Christ by the command of the judge Fabian, and then compelled to walk barefoot on burning coals. As he was uninjured by the fire, he was put on the rack, was torn with iron hooks, and then thrown into a dungeon, where he was comforted by the visit of an angel. He was afterwards exposed to the lions, had melted lead poured over him and finally died by the sword.
At Lodi, St. Bassian, bishop and confessor, who, in conjunction with St. Ambrose, courageously combated the heretics.
At Worcester, in England, St. Wulstan, bishop and confessor, conspicuous for merits and miracles. He was ranked among the Saints by Innocent III.
This Day, the Twentieth Day of January
At Rome, the birthday of St. Fabian, Pope, who suffered martyrdom in the time of Decius, and was buried in the cemetery of Callistus.
In the same place, in the catacombs, the martyr St. Sebastian. He was commander of the first cohort, under the emperor Diocletian, but for professing Christianity he was bound to a tree in the centre of a vast field, shot with arrows by the soldiers, and beaten with clubs until he expired.
At Kicaea, in Bithynia, St. Neophytus, martyr, who, in the fifteenth year of his age, was scourged, cast into a furnace, and exposed to wild beasts; as he remained uninjured, and constantly confessed the faith of Christ, he was at last killed with the sword.
At Cesena, St. Maurus, bishop, renowned for virtues and miracles.
In Palestine, in the time of the emperor Marcian, the birthday of St. Euthymius, abbot, who adorned the Church by his zeal for Catholic discipline, and the gift of miracles.
This Day, the Twenty-First Day of January
At Rome, the passion of St. Agnes, virgin, who under Symphronius, governor of the city, was thrown into the fire, but as it was extinguished by her prayers, she was struck with the sword. Of her, St. Jerome writes: "Agnes is praised in the writings and by the tongues of all nations, especially in the churches. She overcame the weakness of her age, conquered the cruelty of the tyrant, and consecrated her chastity by martyrdom."
At Athens, the birthday of St. Publius, bishop, who, as successor of St. Denis the Areopagite, nobly governed the Church of Athens. No less celebrated for the lustre of his virtues than for the brilliancy of his learning, he was gloriously crowned for having borne testimony to Christ.
At Tarragona, in Spain, during the reign of Gallienus, the holy martyrs Fructuosus, bishop, Augurius and Eulogius, deacons, who, after being thrown into prison, were cast into the fire, where their bonds being burnt, they extended their arms in the form of a cross, and consummated their martyrdom in prayer. On their anniversary, St. Augustine preached a sermon to his people.
At Troyes, St. Patroclus, martyr, who won the crown of martyrdom under the emperor Aurelian.
In the monastery of Keichenau, St. Meinrad, hermit, who was killed by brigands.
At Pavia, St. Epiphanius, bishop and confessor.
This Day, the Twenty-Second Day of January
At Valencia, in Spain, while the wicked Dacian was governor, St. Vincent, deacon and martyr, who, after suffering imprisonment, hunger, the torture, the disjointing of his limbs ; after being burned with plates of heated metal and on the gridiron, and tormented in other ways, took his flight to Heaven, there to receive the reward of martyrdom. His noble triumph over his sufferings has been elegantly set forth in verse by Prudentius, and highly eulogized by St. Augustine and Pope St. Leo.
At Rome, at Aquae Salviae, St. Anastasius, a Persian monk, who, after suffering much at Caesarea, in Palestine, from imprisonment, stripes and fetters, had to bear many afflictions from Chosroes, king of Persia, who caused him to be beheaded. He had sent before him to martyrdom seventy of his companions, who were precipitated into rivers. His head was brought to Rome, together with his venerable likeness, by the sight of which the demons are expelled, and diseases cured, as is attested by the Acts of the second council of Nicaea.
At Embrun, in France, the holy martyrs Vincent, Orontius, and Victor, who were crowned with martyrdom in the persecution of Diocletian.
At Novara, St. Gaudentius, bishop and confessor.
At Sora, the abbot St. Dominic, renowned for miracles.
This Day, the Twenty-Third Day of January
At Barcelona, St. Eaymond of Pennafort. His birthday is the 7th of January.
At Rome, the holy virgin and martyr Emerentiana. Being yet only a catechumen, she was stoned to death by the Gentiles, whilst praying at the tomb of St. Agnes, her foster-sister.
At Philippi, in Macedonia, St. Parmenas, one of the first seven deacons, who by the grace of God faithfully discharging the office of preaching committed to him, obtained the glory of martyrdom in the time of Trajan.
At Caesarea, in Mauritania (Morocco), the holy martyrs Severian and his wife Aquila, who were consumed by fire.
At Antinous, a city of Egypt, St. Asclas, martyr, who, after various torments, was thrown into a river and gave up his precious soul to God.
At Ancyra, in Galatia, St. Clement, bishop. After having frequently endured torments, he finally completed his martyrdom under Diocletian.
In the same place, St. Agathangelus, who suffered on the same day, under the governor Lucius.
At Alexandria, St. John the Almoner, bishop of that city, most celebrated for his charity towards the poor.
At Toledo, St. Ildefonsus, bishop, who, on account of his great purity of life, and his defense of the virginity of the Mother of God against the heretics who impugned it, received from her a brilliant white vestment, and being renowned for sanctity, was called to Heaven.
In the Province of Valeria, St. Martyrius, monk, mentioned by Pope St. Gregory.
This Day, the Twenty-Fourth Day of January
The birthday of St. Timothy, disciple of the Apostle St. Paul, who ordained him bishop of Ephesus. After many combats for Christ, he was stoned for reprehending those who offered sacrifices to Diana, and shortly after went peacefully to his rest in the Lord.
At Antioch, in the persecution of Decius, the bishop St. Babylas, who frequently glorified God by his sufferings and torments, and ended his holy life in chains, with which he ordered his body to be buried. Three boys whom he had instructed in the faith of Christ, Urbanus, Philidian, Epolonius, are said to have suffered with him.
At Neocaesarea, the holy martyrs Mardonius, Musonius, Eugenius, and Metellus, who were burned to death, their remains being thrown into the river.
At Foligno, in the time of Decius, St. Felician, consecrated bishop of that city by Pope Victor. After many labors, he was crowned with martyrdom in extreme old age.
Also, the holy martyrs Thyrsus and Projectus.
At Bologna, St. Zamas, the first bishop of that city, who was consecrated by Pope St. Denis, and there wonderfully propagated the Christian faith.
Also, blessed Suranus, abbot, who lived in the time of the Lombards.
This Day, the Twenty-Fifth Day of January
The conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, which happened the second year after the Ascension of our Lord.
At Damascus, the birthday of St. Ananias, who baptized that Apostle. After he had preached the Gospel at Damascus, Eleutheropolis, and elsewhere, he was scourged under the judge Licinius, had his flesh torn, and lastly being overwhelmed with stones, ended his martyrdom.
At Antioch, in the time of Julian the Apostate, the holy martyrs Juventinus and Maximus, who were crowned with martyrdom. On their birthday, St. John Chrysostom preached a sermon to his people.
At Clermont, in Auvergne, the Saints Projectus, bishop, and Marinus, a man of God, who were murdered by the leading men of that city.
Also, the holy martyrs Donatus, Sabinus, and Agape.
At Tomis, in Scythia, St. Bretannion, bishop, who by his great sanctity, and his zeal for the Catholic faith, shone in the Church, under the Arian emperor Valens, whom he opposed with fortitude.
At Arras, in France, St. Poppo, abbot, renowned for miracles.
This Day, the Twenty-Sixth Day of January
At Smyrna, the birthday of St. Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle St. John, who consecrated him bishop of that city and Primate of all Asia. Afterwards, under Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, whilst the proconsul was sitting in judgment, and all the people in the amphitheatre were clamoring against him, he was condemned to the flames. But as he received no injury from them, he was transpierced with a sword, and thus received the crown of martyrdom. With him suffered in the same city twelve others from Philadelphia.
At Hippo Kegius, in Africa, the holy bishop Theogenes and thirty-six others, who, despising temporal death, obtained the crown of eternal life in the persecution of Valerian.
At Bethlehem of Juda, the demise of St. Paula, widow, mother of St. Eustochium, virgin of Christ, who abandoned her worldly prospects, though she was descended from a noble line of senators, distributed her goods to the poor, and retired to the manger of our Lord, where, adorned with many virtues, and crowned with a long martyrdom, she departed for the kingdom of Heaven. Her admirable life was written by St. Jerome.
In the diocese of Paris, the saintly queen Bathildis, illustrious by her sanctity and glorious miracles.
This Day, the Twenty-Seventh Day of January
At Constantinople, St. John, bishop, who was surnamed Chrysostom, on account of his golden flow of eloquence. He greatly promoted the interests of the Christian religion by his preaching and exemplary life, and after many toils, closed his life in banishment. His sacred body was brought to Constantinople on this day, in the reign of Theodosius the younger; it was afterwards taken to Rome and placed in the basilica of the Prince of the Apostles. This illustrious preacher of the Word of God Pius X declared and appointed Heavenly patron of sacred orators.
At Sora, St. Julian, martyr, who, being arrested in the persecution of Antoninus, was beheaded, because a pagan temple had fallen to the ground whilst he was tortured. Thus did he win the crown of martyrdom.
In Africa, St. Avitus, martyr.
In the same country, the holy martyrs, Datius, Reatrus, and their companions, who suffered in the persecution of the Vandals.
Also, the holy martyrs Dativus, Julian, Vincent, and twenty-seven others.
At Rome, St. Vitalian, Pope.
At Le Mans, the demise of St. Julian, the first bishop of that city, who was sent thither by St. Peter to preach the Gospel.
In the monastery of Bobacum, St. Maur, abbot.
At Brixen, St. Angela Merici, virgin, foundress of the Order of the Nuns of St. Ursula, whose principal aim is to direct young girls in the ways of the Lord. By an indult of Pius VII. her feast is celebrated on the 31st of May.
This Day, the Twenty-Eighth Day of January
At Rome, the second feast of St. Agnes.
In the same place, St. Flavian, martyr, who suffered under Diocletian.
At Apollonia, the holy martyrs Thyrsus, Leucius, and Callinicus, who were made to undergo various torments in the time of the emperor Decius. Thyrsus and Callinicus consummated their martyrdom by being beheaded; Leucius, being called by a Heavenly voice, yielded his soul to God.
In Thebais, the holy martyrs Leonides and his companions, who obtained the palm of martyrdom in the time of Diocletian.
At Alexandria, the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who, whilst they were at Mass in the church on this day, were put to death in various manners by the followers of Syrian, an Arian general.
Also, St. Cyril, bishop of the same city, a most celebrated defender of the Catholic faith, who rested in peace with a great reputation for learning and sanctity.
At Saragossa, St. Valerius, bishop.
At Cuenca, in Spain, the birthday of St. Julian, bishop, who went to his God with the reputation of working miracles, after bestowing the goods of the Church on the poor, and, like the Apostles, supporting himself by the work of his hands.
In the monastery of Rheims, the demise of a holy priest named John, a man of God.
In Palestine, St. James, a hermit, who hid himself a long time in a sepulchre to do penance for a fault he had committed, and being celebrated for miracles, departed for Heaven.
This Day, the Twenty-Ninth Day of January
At Lyons, in France, St. Francis of Sales, bishop of Geneva, confessor and Doctor of the Church, who is mentioned on the 28th of December.
At Rome, on the Nomentan road, the birthday of the holy martyrs Papius and Maurus, soldiers under the emperor Diocletian. At their first confession of Christ their mouths were bruised with stones and they were thrown into prison by order of Laodicius, prefect of the city. Afterwards they were beaten with rods and with leaded whips until they expired.
At Perugia, in the time of Marcus Aurelius, St. Constantius, bishop and martyr, who together with his companions, received the crown of martyrdom for the defense of the faith.
At Edessa, in Syria, the holy martyrs Sarbelius and his sister Barbea, who were baptized by the blessed bishop Barsimseus, and crowned with martyrdom in the persecution of Trajan, under the governor Lysias.
In the territory of Troyes, St. Sabinian, martyr, who was beheaded for the faith of Christ by the command of the emperor Aurelian.
At Milan, St. Aquilinus, priest, who was crowned with martyrdom by having his throat pierced with a sword by the Arians.
At Treves, the demise of the blessed bishop Valerius, disciple of the Apostle St. Peter.
At Bourges, St. Sulpicius Severus, bishop, distinguished by his virtues and erudition.
This Day, the Thirtieth Day of January
At Rome, St. Martina, virgin and martyr, who is commemorated on the first day of this month.
At Antioch, the passion of the blessed priest Hippolytus, who, for a short time deceived by the Novatian schismatics, was converted by the grace of Christ and returned to the unity of the Church, for which and in which he afterwards underwent a glorious martyrdom. Being asked by the schismatics which was the better side, he repudiated the doctrine of Novatus, and affirming that the faith ought to be professed which the Chair of Peter taught, he presented his neck to the executioners.
In Africa, the passion of the holy martyrs Felician, Philappian, and one hundred and twenty-four others.
At Edessa, in Syria, in the reign of Trajan, St. Barsimaeus, bishop, who converted many Gentiles to the faith, sent them before him to be crowned, and followed them with the palm of martyrdom.
In the same place, St. Barsen, bishop, renowned for the gift of curing diseases. For the Catholic faith, he was banished by the Arian emperor Valens into the remotest parts of that country, and there ended his days.
Also, blessed Alexander, a man of venerable aspect and advanced age, who was apprehended in the persecution of Decius and after gloriously and repeatedly confessing the faith, gave up his soul to God in the midst of torments.
At Jerusalem, the birthday of St. Matthias, bishop, of whom are related wonders and actions inspired by faith. After having endured many trials for Christ under Adrian, he passed away in peace.
At Rome, Pope St. Felix, who labored much for the Catholic faith.
At Pavia, St. Armentarius, bishop and confessor.
In the monastery of Maubeuge, in Hainaut, St. Aldegundes, a virgin, who lived in the time of king Dagobert.
At Milan, St. Savina, a most religious woman, who went to rest in the Lord whilst praying at the tomb of the holy martyrs Nabor and Felix.
At Viterbo, the holy virgin Hyacintha de Mariscotti, a nun of the Third Order of St. Francis, distinguished for the virtues of penance and charity. She was inscribed among the Blessed by Benedict XIII., and among the Saints by Pius VII.
This Day, the Thirty-First Day of January
At Barcelona, in Spain, St. Peter Nolasco, confessor, who slept in the Lord on the 25th of December.
At Rome, on the road to Ostia, the holy martyrs Cyrus and John, who were beheaded after suffering many torments for the name of Christ.
At Alexandria, in the time of the emperor Decius, the birthday of St. Metran, martyr, who, because he refused to utter blasphemous words at the bidding of the Pagans, was scourged until he was covered with bruises, and pierced through the face and eyes with sharp-pointed reeds. He was then driven out of the city, overwhelmed with stones and killed.
In the same place, the holy martyrs Saturninus, Thyrsus and Victor. In the same city, the holy martyrs Tharsicius, Zoticus, Cyriacus, and their companions.
At Cyzicum, in Hellespont, St. Triphenes, martyr, who overcame various torments, but was finally killed by a bull, and thus merited the palm of martyrdom.
At Modena, St. Geminian, bishop, made illustrious by his miracles.
In the province of Milan, St. Julius, priest and confessor, in the reign of the emperor Theodosius.
At Borne, St. Marcella, a widow, whose meritorious deeds are related by St. Jerome.
In the same place, blessed Louisa Albertonia, a Roman widow, of the Third Order of St. Francis, distinguished for her virtues.
The same day, the translation of the evangelist St. Mark, when his sacred body was brought from the city of Alexandria, in Egypt, then occupied by barbarians, to Venice, and with the greatest honors placed in the large church dedicated to his name.
Roman Martyrology by Month
January February March April May June
July August September October November December
New: the Roman Martyrology can now be downloaded entirely as either a PDF file or as a Microsoft Word File
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Emma Cowlam is a multi-award winning design graduate of Chelsea School of Art in London and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
After gaining a wealth of experience working in the fashion industry both sides of the Atlantic, she took all she had learnt and combined it with her lifelong passion for drawing. She founded her own studio and launched her first collection of fashion illustrations to global critical acclaim, both in the world of fine art and the famous fashion glossies.
Emma takes inspiration for her refined and beautiful illustrations from the everyday images observed throughout her fashionable daily life and transforms what she witnesses into lasting snapshots. Her work is sophisticated, stylish, elegant and aspirational. She is endlessly influenced by traditional fashion illustrations yet draws with a contemporary, realistic twist.
Her portfolio combines two signature styles which appeal to both fine art and commercial clients. One involves a highly unique and intricate hand stitched illustration technique which elevates a traditional craft to posses a luxury status. Captivating hand stitched collections have been sell out successes at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Liberty of London and Somerset House, to name a few. The second illustration style showcases Emma’s highly skilled talent for pen and ink drawing.
Each of Emma’s illustrations is a one-of-a-kind original to be admired and treasured. Emma’s work is a visual representation of her everyday stylish life. Sartorial style stories stitched and inked.
Welcome to her world.
Clients include: Elle, Elle Decoration, Living ETC, Glamour, Victoria & Albert Museum, Liberty of London, Somerset House, Radley, Mary Portas for House of Fraser, The Trafalgar Hotel, Modern ArtBuyer for Bath in Fashion, Elite for Champneys, Dame Cheryl Gillan MP
Emma is the co-founder of Just Add Style a professional London design studio and luxury womenswear label with a capsule collection of beautifully illustrated silk squares.
Emma is represented globally by Renee Rhyner & Co in New York.
Contact Renee Rhyner
renee@reneerhyner.com
Connect with me on social media:
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Encyclopedia > Columbus City, Iowa
Columbus City, Iowa
Columbus City is a city located in Louisa County, Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 376.
Geography Columbus City is located at 41°15'30" North, 91°22'33" West (41.258225, -91.375711)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²). 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Demographics As of the census of 2000, there are 376 people, 135 households, and 91 families residing in the city. The population density is 631.2/km² (1,613.4/mi²). There are 138 housing units at an average density of 231.7/km² (592.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 74.47% White, 0.00% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 22.87% from other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. 33.24% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 135 households out of which 35.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% are married couples living together, 10.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% are non-families. 28.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 17.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.79 and the average family size is 3.49.
In the city the population is spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $32,188, and the median income for a family is $39,167. Males have a median income of $25,000 versus $22,232 for females. The per capita income for the city is $12,468. 5.2% of the population and 7.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 5.2% are under the age of 18 and 6.7% are 65 or older.
... been courting. As the novel opens, Stiva's friend Levin has returned Moscow from his country estate with the intention of proposing to Kitty. He first meets Stiva who ...
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Syria opposition group: Assad must go for any peace plan to work
Moaz al-Khatib, a former opposition chief and former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, posted a statement on his Facebook page on Thursday which said there would not be a solution 'without the departure of the head of the regime'. (File Photo: Reuters)
By Sylvia Westal Reuters, Beirut Thursday, 1 January 2015
A new Syrian opposition group linked to a prominent cleric said on Thursday President Bashar al-Assad would have to step down as part of any political solution to the civil war, setting out its position ahead of possible peace talks in Moscow this month.
Assad's ally Russia is seeking to gather Syrian government and opposition figures at the end of January to discuss ways to end the nearly four-year conflict which has killed around 200,000 people according to the United Nations.
Moaz al-Khatib, a former opposition chief and former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, posted a statement on his Facebook page on Thursday which said there would not be a solution "without the departure of the head of the regime".
Assad has dismissed calls to step down by Khatib and other figures in the past. Opposition groups and their Western and Arab allies say the Syrian president has lost legitimacy and must go.
Khatib said the statement was on behalf of the "Syria al-Watan" (home) organization and was addressed to the Syrian people. It was not immediately clear whether he was the head of the group and which other members it included. He was not immediately available for comment.
The statement also said any talks would only be taken seriously if they ordered the government to stop the "brutal bombardment" of the Syrian people which it described as "one of the biggest crimes in the history of humanity".
Syria's government says it is fighting a war against militants funded by foreign states. Assad made a rare visit to troops in a district of Damascus late on Wednesday and praised them for fighting "in the face of terrorism".
Thursday's statement appeared to be Khatib's response to invitations to the talks sent out by Russia to opposition figures this week. It did not make clear whether Khatib had been invited or would attend.
Khatib is the former head of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces in Syria, the main political opposition in exile.
Although he no longer heads it, he is a respected figure regularly cited by diplomats as someone who could play a part in a future political solution for Syria. He visited Russia with other opposition figures in November to discuss the crisis.
He stepped down in March 2013 as head of the Western-backed opposition when he came under fire for advocating direct talks with government and offering Assad a negotiated exit.
The opposition coalition now has little influence over insurgents fighting to overthrow Assad in a conflict that has been further complicated by the success of rival hardline Islamist groups.
Last Update: Thursday, 1 January 2015 KSA 19:30 - GMT 16:30
MOAZ AL-KHATIB
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Assad's ally Russia is seeking to gather Syrian government and opposition figures at the end of January to discuss ways to end the nearly four-year conflict
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The Story of the Bermuda Triangle
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On December 5, 1945, five Navy planes and one rescue plane known as flight 19; disappeared while flying over what is now known as the Bermuda Triangle. The bodies of the pilots were never found, nor were most of the bodies from future crashes. The planes used by flight 19 weighed over 10,000 pounds while empty and the rescue plane was built in a way that even a small spark could blow it up. Someone in the area reported to have seen a huge fireball at the same time and place where the planes would have been. The sea in the Bermuda Triangle is over 19,000 feet deep and in some areas gets up to 27,00 feet deep. A 10,000 pound plane would have sunk very quickly.
Christopher Columbus wrote in his journal about the strange way in which his compass moved while sailing through the area. The reasons why compass readings become weird are because the Bermuda Triangle and only one other place in the world (a place in Japan) is where magnetic North and true North line up. Many people cross through the Bermuda Triangle on cruise ships, and private and commercial air planes without any problems other than the magnetic poles, in fact, compared to the amount of ships and planes that pass over the Bermuda triangle, the number of disappearances are slim. Ships don’t act much differently in the area than they do anywhere else in the world.
There are many natural explanations to the disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, such as the quick and violent changes in weather when you least expect them. . The local coast guard mentioned that the storms alone are enough to take down any ship or plane if you don’t know how to handle them. There is a current located in the Gulf of Mexico, called the Gulf Stream that can take a landing plane or a ship with engine troubles up to 2.5 meters per second that could take them anywhere. Another natural explanation is methane hydrates. Methane is a natural gas that can erupt from the bottom of the sea and cause mud to overpower the water. Ships can’t float on mud so they just sink. This is sometimes known as mud volcanoes. Poor navigation is also suspected to have taken a part in many accidents.
Wikipedia suggests that all the stories of the Bermuda Triangle are based on how the writer sees them and what stories will get the most publicity. The coast guard in the Bermuda Triangle area has said that he used to believe the story of the triangle but after doing some research, he has since become sceptical. After many have said that no bodies were ever found after crashes, he has discovered that the reports were always exaggerated because he always found or herd of someone else finding at least one body in a ruin. After all the research that has been done on this subject, it’s no wonder that some of the information does not match up with the truth.
The database is protected by copyright ©essaydocs.org 2016
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Kimberley Jenkinson has been a business skills tutor and assessor for over twenty years. During that time she has worked with several of the world’s most prestigious and best-known organisations, including British Airways, Sky, and the Royal Air Force.
Kimberley is highly experienced in both classroom and workplace delivery of business skills training. She is a talented communicator, and places great emphasis on face-to-face training.
In particular, Kimberley specialises in customer service training. World class organisations understand that excellence in responding to customers produces a significant competitive advantage. Kimberley has the experience to deliver the training necessary to put customer service on a level fir for the 21st century.
A native English speaker, she has travelled extensively, and in addition to the UK has lived in Hong Kong and Singapore. This experience has given her a clear appreciation of the requirements of English language learners.
Paul Jenkinson joined the BBC World Service after graduating in 1988. As a leading news and current affairs Presenter, he became one of the BBC’s best-known English voices around the world.
In addition to his work on air, Paul was responsible for training BBC Presenters and Producers. He designed courses that enabled people from across the world to use BBC English with ease and confidence.
Paul has adapted the skills developed during his broadcasting career to apply them to the needs of individuals and businesses in many other professions. In a world that increasingly uses English as its universal language, he believes that tuition and practise that are clear, relevant, and up-to-date are more essential than ever before.
Paul grew up, lived and worked in London, and it’s the city he calls home. A native English speaker and fully qualified Cambridge tutor, his aim is to make high quality spoken English available to everyone.
Forty38 Ltd. | Registered in Bulgaria UIC 205341420 | © 2019 Forty38 Ltd.
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Sports The Echo
Men’s Soccer Storms into Offseason
By admin February 17, 2016
[author image= “http://echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Colton-Hadlock.jpg”] Colton Hadlock, Staff Contributor
Colton Hadlock is a sophomore at Southern Nazarene University. In his free time, Colton enjoys spending time with family and friends, riding mountain bikes off of bridges into ponds, playing musical instruments, being an unprofessional storm chaser and photographer. His favorite pastime is attempting to eat at every restaurant in Oklahoma. Colton has aspirations of becoming a weather journalist, a filmmaker and a musician. [/author]
The Crimson Storm Men’s Soccer Team are a month into offseason workouts and have hit the ball rolling. In mid-January, the men’s soccer team started off the semester with futsal. Futsal is a modified form of soccer played with five players per side on a smaller court that is generally inside. It’s a high intensity, fast-paced game that requires quick thinking, but does not necessarily require high exertion. It allows the players to get maximum amount of touches on the ball in a fast-paced environment.
I talked to the Great American Conference Freshman Player of the Year and All-GAC First Team midfielder, Tommy Fiszel about what it has been like since the end of last season.
“Since the last game of the season we had a tough ending, and it definitely was not the way we wanted to go out. I feel like we all had a bad taste in our mouth, and we didn’t really take much of a break from soccer,” Fiszel said. “So, after our season ended, we would play futsal in the gym everyday. Once we got back from New Year’s Break, we started workouts and futsal, and because of NCAA rules we complete only 8 hours a week.”
I also asked Fiszel about some of the goals he has for himself and the team for this offseason.
“In the offseason we have some goals we look to accomplish. We want to improve as a team and compete every chance we get. We also want to build our chemistry as a team, because a big part of that is what we were missing during the season,” he said. “The off-season also gives a chance for players individually to build a new reputation for themselves and work to be the best on the team. The players who maybe didn’t get as much playing time have their shot to improve before the next season.”
Next, I caught up with Head Coach George Schroeder and asked him about some of the things he looks forward to most about soccer’s offseason.
“Family time and movies. Holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year. With the college season just wrapping up, it’s nice to have that time to relax and be with family,” said Schroeder. “Part of my work is coaching youth soccer also. So, my days are long during December and January, and I get a nice break from all of it to recharge. I love everything about the Christmas season, so it works out nicely.”
He then went on to explain what the recruiting process is like year round.
“Recruiting is basically the same year round,” Schroeder commented. “During season I am not able to put a lot of time into it, but that is the time of the year our local high school players can tryout. So, there really is not much of a down time for recruiting.”
I then asked Finally, I inquired about some of the things Coach Schroder enjoys doing that he doesn’t necessarily get to do during the soccer season.
“I used to really like to go camping during fall break. That is not possible now during college season, so I will try to camp some during the summer,” he said. “I also try to find a few weekends to go fishing and slow down just a little. I get bored pretty fast sitting around, so it doesn’t take long before I am rejuvenated and back at it. I also really enjoy going to the movies. It’s a chance to escape and relax for a couple hours.”
The men’s soccer team looks to reload this offseason and to have a big season this next fall. With veteran leadership returning, a strong group of promising underclassmen and a solid recruiting class coming in, expectations will be high for the Crimson Storm.
The spring schedule has yet to be announced, but be on the lookout to catch the men’s soccer team in action towards the end of the semester.
All-GAC First Team midfielder Coach George Schroeder Colton Hadlock Great American Conference Freshman Player of the Year local high school players offseason recruiting Tommy Fiszel
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An exciting doctoral project and three minutes to present it to an audience – that were the rules of the Coimbra Group’s “Three-minute thesis competition” that took place for the second time at Göttingen University on 13 February 2019 drawing the attention of more than one hundred spectators. Ten PhD students from Göttingen accepted the challenge and tried to win over both audience and jury with interesting and entertaining presentations.
The evening was filled with a broad spectrum of fascinating presentations. The topics ranged from the effects of contract farming on smallholders in Africa and marketing to promote healthy products and improve livelihoods, via the molecular mystery of reproduction to three forms of contractarian arguments in political philosophy. The presenters did not make it easy for the jury to decide, but Claudia Schmidt was able to convince them with her presentation about “The recycling system of our cells”. Claudia Schmidt is part of the Research Group Membrane Protein Biochemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and is doing her doctoral research on protein quality control in the field of cell-biology.
The first runner-up was Georg Hafner with his presentation on “Explorers of the brain”. Georg Hafner is a doctoral student in the field of neuroscience at the Institute for Neuroanatomy at the University Medical Centre (UMG).
The second runner-up, Daniel Chrisendo, presented the topic “The untold story of land use change”. Daniel Chrisendo is doing his PhD research at the Chair of International Food Economics and Rural Development and is an associated member at the Collaborative Research Centre 990.
The event was moderated by Benedict Wild, himself doctoral student at the German Primate Center. In the Jury, three Göttingen graduate schools were represented with members of the respective graduate school boards, Prof. Dr Tobias Georges, Prof. Dr Matin Qaim and Prof. Dr Jörg Stülke. The fourth Jury member was Dr Camille Couralet, head of the Göttingen Campus Office.
Claudia Schmidt’s video will now be sent to the Coimbra Group where a second jury will select the final three contestants among the finalists of the participating universities from all over Europe. The finalists will be invited to join the Coimbra Group Annual Assembly in Krakow on June 5th-7th, where they will present their projects once more and get the chance to win up to € 3000.
You can find some presentations of other participants here.
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JOINT COMMISSION WORKING GROUP ON
Visit the Web site of the FIG Working Group on Under-represented Groups in Surveying
This Newsletter in -pdf-format
Activities during the FIG Working Week in Athens
NetSurve by Sara Wilkinson, UK
Personalities: Karin Haldrup, Denmark
New Jersey Bars Set-Asides by Wendy J.W. Straight, USA
The Joint Commission Working Group on Underrepresented Groups in Surveying organizes a workshop on Monday May 24 with three presentation and discussion. In the afternoon will be a session concerning young surveyors. I am looking forward to meeting you in Athens.
Gabriele Dasse
NetSurve
What is netSurve and who is it for?
NetSurve is a web based global network for women employed in Surveying. It's a forum for discussion, for sharing experience, for access to examples of best practice such as mentoring, and for support. It's a link for those with similar aims, and it's a point of contact for those doing research in the area.
It will disseminate examples of best practice around the world.
It will provide links to other female friendly initiatives.
There will be regular updates of topical research.
There will be ongoing debates about current issues that anyone can join in.
The network will develop in a style according to the wishes of the members, so suggestions will be welcomed.
There will be a virtual conference in June 2004.
It is a forum for anyone involved in surveying anywhere in the world at any stage in their career. You may be working in mapping, valuation, quantity surveying for example or working in Hong Kong, Sydney, Boston or Basildon. It's for you.
Why a global network?
The web gives us a unique opportunity to find out what is happening in our professional sphere in countries other than our own. We can explore differences and similarities. We can learn form each other's experience of surveying.
If you have any suggestions about what you would like to see on the NetSurve website, please email us (netsurve@shu.ac.uk) with your ideas.
Virtual Conference, 5th - 9th July 2004
The Past, the Present and the Future of Women in Surveying,
5th - 9th July 2004
We'd like to start our website with a virtual conference, as a means of getting as many people in touch with one another as possible. The conference will have three themes, The Past, The Present and the Future of Women in Surveying.
We would like to hear about women's experiences in all aspects of surveying at any stage in their career from all parts of the world. We hope the conference will highlight our shared experiences and maybe also some unique ones, and that it will provide a platform for further discussion and debate.
We aim to hold our conference over the period of one week, from 5th - 9th July 2004. People will be able to visit the conference to download papers and access discussion pages based on the themes of the conference and also to ask authors questions about their papers. There will be discussion opportunities throughout the conference period.
What is the theme?
As it is our first conference, we thought we would have three themes, The Past, The Present and the Future of Women in Surveying. There will be a videoed keynote presentation from a senior female surveyor which participants can play when accessing the conference.
The conference aims to present the experiences, views, perceptions and opinions of women in surveying.
The content of the papers can cover any area of experience such as; Women in surveying, what women think about working in the conservation of historic buildings, women's career paths, women's experiences of surveying education, worklife balance, networking, whether mentoring works, and so on. We would like to receive papers covering as broad a range of surveying experiences over as wide a range of geographical locations as possible.
Who is it for and how to get involved?
We would like to hear about women's experiences in all aspects of surveying at any stage in their career from all parts of the world. So the conference will appeal to everyone, from female students to experienced practitioners. We hope this conference will highlight our shared experiences and maybe also some unique ones, and that it will provide a platform for further discussion and debate.
You can register for the conference now, and see information about how to participate. Access details for the conference will be sent out in June.
We intend on following up on this conference with further virtual conferences but would like participants to suggest themes for future conferences and also when the best time for holding a conference would be.
How to submit papers?
The call for papers has now been made - please inform anyone who may be interested. The papers will be refereed by a panel of surveyors from around the world.
If you would like to participate in the conference please complete the registration information on the website. You will be given a password to use when the conference goes live to access the papers and the comments boxes.
There will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions to authors during the conference. These questions will appear in comment boxes and you will have the option to make your name known or to remain anonymous. You will also be able to make your location known as well. We would like to ascertain where people are from to find out if the network is a global one. The authors will address the comment boxes within a 24 hours period of their 'programmed' delivery (see conference programme details to be published prior to conference). The comments will be sent direct to your email address as well as appearing in the comment box.
Feedback is essential, and as far as we know this will be the first time a global conference has been held focussed on the experiences of female surveyors. We will be asking participants to complete a questionnaire based on the conference and also on the website itself. It is our intention to continuously improve the site but we need your feedback to do so. So let us know if there are things you would like included or omitted from the site and the conferences.
5th-9th July 2004 200 word abstracts submitted
Confirmation of receipt and referees comments returned
Full papers submitted
Referees comments on papers returned
Final papers submitted by email
Conference opens
A copy of the conference proceedings will be available electronically on the website after the conference.
NetSurve is an exciting development and offers a great opportunity to share experiences, views and ideas. Please visit the website and let us know what you think.
Sara Wilkinson
Email: saraw@unimelb.edu.au
Danish chartered surveyor Karin Haldrup has had the opportunity to pursue an untraditional career path stimulated by many interesting assignments abroad.
She was trained as a chartered surveyor at the time of transition from the traditional survey education at the Royal Agricultural University of Copenhagen to the current modern system at Aalborg University, where she graduated in 1978.
After a period of work with mapping and cartography, she later developed a keen interest for the core professional areas of chartered surveyors: land reform, land registration, and land administration.
She has been active in the Danish Association of Chartered Surveyors and has been taken active part in many FIG meetings and other international events.
Her first assignment abroad was in Western Samoa, in the South Pacific, where she worked for 3 years as a UNDP associate expert in cartography preparing census maps and statistical mapping. After the Samoa job, she took a M.Sc. in Cartography at ITC in the Netherlands in a stimulating professional and international atmosphere. In 1985 she began working for the Danish company Kampsax, where she was engaged in modern mapping and in a wide range of consultancy projects.
During the dynamic period of digital reform in Denmark in the 80's, she was engaged in map production, GIS, and product development in different settings in the private sector. She participated in various aspects of R&D, standardisation, and coordination efforts in Denmark. She was also active in the Danish Cartographic Society, e.g., as a contributor and an editor of its journal.
Land Tenure Reforms in Eastern Europe
In the beginning of the nineties, Karin Haldrup took an interest in the huge privatisation reforms in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, inspired by the work of fellow Dane Carl Andreas Koefoed, the driving force of the Stolypin Agrarian Reforms in Russia prior to 1914. The reforms made work with cadastre and land registration more interesting and challenging.
Thus, in 1991 Karin Haldrup took an initiative to launch in the Danish professional community of surveyors international activities in land reforms and land administration, resulting in projects implemented by the private sector. She was instrumental in preparing and managing a number of large projects in the Baltic States, covering both assistance to land reforms, and more technical activities such as e.g., GIS-development and gravity surveys.
Working with Land Administration Projects
From 1992 to 1998 she worked on several projects in support of land administration in the Baltic States and Eastern Europe (Romania, etc.). Since then Karin Haldrup has expanded her interest to the land reforms in Latin America. Thus, in 1999 she started up a new branch of Kampsax in Bolivia based on a contract for the execution of the INRA-land reform covering two million hectares. Later she and her team prepared the winning proposal and negotiated a large contract for a WB financed project in El Salvador on land registration.
Other engagements have included project identification and appraisal missions for international donors in the area of land administration in Mauritius (WB), Cambodia (EU), Malawi (DK), Romania (EU), and Ghana (NDF), etc.
Since 2002 Karin Haldrup has been working as an independent consultant in the field of land administration. In addition she has been working extensively on the problem of how to overcome the current shortage of data on land tenure in general, and how to interconnect data on people and on land.
People and Land Data
Her current work has been inspired by Ester Boserup, previously featured in this newsletter, author of "The conditions of Agricultural Growth, - The Economics of Agrarian Change under Population Pressure" published in 1965. Ester Boserup pioneered observations on gender and development. Sadly, Boserup’s early observations on women’s dispossession of land during transition to a specialised economy are as relevant now as ever.
To ensure a better understanding and managing of the interplay between population pressure and land tenure, data has to be improved. Land tenure data is lacking in most developing countries. In many countries the only newer data set available at national level is the Census data. For this reason Karin Haldrup is promoting building of a partnership between statisticians and land administrators. She sees a unique opportunity for preparing the next census of Population and Housing to better incorporate questions related to land tenure, and to improve the data through better census mapping. Anyone interested in these topics is invited to contact Karin Haldrup and visit here website at: http://www.concensus.org/.
Karin stated: "I would like to express my gratitude to all those individuals, whom I have been so privileged to meet and work with. I am indebted to them for the experience and the time they have generously shared with me."
New Jersey Bars Set-Asides
by Wendy J.W. Straight, USA
(Reprinted with permission from Progress & Perspectives Winter 2004)
In a press release to state newsletters, John Emilius lauded the United States District Court of New Jersey for its July 2003 consent decree barring the state from enforcing its set-aside act for female and minority businesses. Citing violation of equal protection, the court’s decision was a victory for Emilius and his firm GEOD Corporation.
Emilius first brought his case before the national surveying community in a story for the surveyors’ trade journal P.O.B. in May, 1996. His story was featured in the September-October, 1996 issue of this newsletter. In the P.O.B. article, Emilius said, “Only when mandated preferential treatment based on race and gender is eliminated will the playing field be levelled.”
A counterpoint reply to P.O.B. from this newsletter, scheduled to run in September of 1996, was cancelled when the trade journal’s female editor was suddenly replaced by a male.
In another twist of fate, the New Jersey court’s 2003 decision came last summer just as a regional surveyors’ association sponsored the return of “pin-up golf girls” to sex up its annual social event. Though women in the surveying industry considered it a blatant snub, the Southern Nevada chapter of the Nevada Association of Land Surveyors said, “This year’s tournament will once again feature the lovely girls from Pin-Up Golf, Inc. The girls will be at the tournament to help with registration, with the awards banquet, and to sell $25 Mulligan Packages.”
The affiliation with “golf girls” was yet another slap in the face for female surveyors, who for many years have been subjected to sexism on the job, at trade shows, and in trade journal advertising.
This advertisement, which appeared last summer, demonstrates that female surveyors and mappers still face discrimination in their professional associations.
Emilius, on the other hand, has complained for the past eight years that affirmative action such as set-aside programs should not be extended to women, claiming that most do not suffer from discrimination in the surveying and mapping profession.
In his press release, Emilius outlined his own research of the New York and New Jersey departments of transportation (DOT) between 1995 and 2000. He found that of all DOT sub-consultants for engineering design contracts during that period, 80 percent were disadvantaged, minority, or women-owned firms. Of DOT land surveying and aerial surveying sub-consultants during that period, 95 percent were disadvantaged, minority, or women-owned firms.
From those numbers, Emilius concluded, “There is little opportunity for small businesses owned by white males to provide services as sub-consultants….The result is that programs supposedly aimed at ensuring equal opportunity for all actually result in very serious discrimination against, and lack of opportunity for, the small business surveying and mapping firms owned by white males.” He continued, “What began as a measure of justice and grace has become itself a source of injustice and envy.” Then he added, “Our nation’s surveying and mapping firms are presently suffering very severe discrimination.”
Represented by the Atlantic Legal Foundation, Emilius filed suit against the state of New Jersey and several of its officials, alleging discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity and gender. He used the N.Y. and N.J. DOT figures to demonstrate that his own firm had suffered a loss of sub-consultant work as a result of set-asides.
Apparently unaware of the open and continued discrimination against women in the United States surveying and mapping profession, the office of New Jersey’s Attorney General conceded, “…this set-aside program could not survive constitutional scrutiny.”
This award winning cartoon was originally scheduled to run as a counterpoint to the Emilius story in the trade journal P.O.B. eight years ago.
Wendy J. W. Straight
Email: wendy@netsync.net
Editor: Chair of the Joint Commission Working Group on Under-represented Groups in Surveying
Ms. Gabriele Dasse, Kleinfeld 22 a, D-21149 Hamburg, Germany
E-mail: g.dasse@gmx.de
2/04, month of issue: April
© Copyright 2004 Gabriele Dasse.
Permission is granted to photocopy in limited quantity for educational purposes.
Other requests to photocopy or otherwise reproduce material in this newsletter should be addressed to the Editor.
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Tag Archives: John Sandford
Pixel Scroll 1/7/Year of the Goat *** (I’ll Never Be Your) Star Beast of Burden
(1) DECORATOR COLOR. A petition at Change.org to designate element 117 as “Octarine” — a name taken from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books has received over 5,500 signatures at this writing. (Via Steven H Silver and Ansible Links.)
This petition is to name element 117, recently confirmed by the International Union of Applied Chemistry, as ‘Octarine’, with the proposed symbol Oc (pronounced ‘ook’), in honour of the late Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series of books….
Octarine, in the Discworld books, is known as ‘the colour of magic’, which forms the title of Pratchett’s first ever Discworld book. According to Disc mythology, octarine is visible only to wizards and cats, and is generally described as a sort of greenish-yellow purple colour, which seems perfect for what will probably be the final halogen in the periodic table. Octarine is also a particularly pleasing choice because, not only would it honour a world-famous and much-loved author, but it also has an ‘ine’ ending, consistent with the other elements in period 17.
(2) NTA TIME. Voting for Britain’s National Television Awards is open. In the Drama category, David Tennant’s non-sf series Broadchurch is up against Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who, as well as Downton Abbey and Casualty.
Neither Peter Capaldi or Jenna Coleman is a finalist for best actor/actress, but Tennant is.
In New Drama, sf series Humans is a nominee. Game of Thrones is a nominee in the International category.
(3) WITCH WORLD. The Andre Norton Books site announced that the Estate has entered into a deal to turn the first two Witch World novels into a movie.
The following is a statement from The Producers as of 01/05/16.
The Producers of Andre Norton’s WITCH WORLD franchise are surprised, delighted and encouraged by the interest from Andre Norton fans. The Producers are happy to announce that they have developed a new Witch World script that they are very excited about, written by award-winning screenwriters Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens (Janissaries, Star Trek: Enterprise). This script forms the basis of the first movie in a new film trilogy based on the classic Witch World book series by Andre. The Producers’ primary goal in working closely with the Andre Norton Estate, is to ensure that the spirit of Andre Norton is retained in its full integrity within a new, contemporary vision of a classic epic story. The process towards creating a motion picture franchise is lengthy and, in keeping with the Producers’ desire to honor Andre’s creation properly, it will be some time before a release date is announced. Nevertheless, the Producers will keep fans updated on new developments. The Andre Norton Estate thanks Andre’s fans for their incredibly positive response and is in close consultation with the Producers to ensure that Witch World will come to the big screen soon.
(4) HOW WRITERS GET PAID, PART 57. “How novelists are monetizing their short fiction through Patreon” at Medium.
If this model becomes more widespread, then it could significantly alter the cost-benefit analysis that any author applies to writing short fiction. Kameron Hurley, a speculative fiction writer who has published five novels and won two Hugo awards, is constantly inundated with requests from her fans for new short stories. “There is no money in short fiction,” she told me in a phone interview. “You’ll spend 30 or 40 hours on a short story, and you’ll get paid $200. It’s just not worth your while. People would ask me, ‘Hey Kameron, why don’t you write more short fiction?’ Well, short stories were a nice way to get my name out there in the early 2000s, but then I realized I’m getting $200 for an incredible amount of work. I started doing a lot of copywriting work, and I charge $90 an hour for copywriting. If you look at the costs and benefits, you realize writing short stories doesn’t have any financial benefit and it doesn’t make sense.”
So when Hurley launched her Patreon page in 2015, she had one goal: “My bare minimum was $500,” she said. “If I could get that much for a story, and if I could resell it as a reprint or as an original to the short fiction markets, you’re starting to make something that resembles a fair wage.”
(5) KEEP YOUR FUNNY SCIDE UP. At Amazing Stories, David Kilman completes “Scide Splitters’” look at humorous stories eligible for the 1941 Retro Hugos with the third of three installments. He provides short reviews of 23 stories (beware spoilers!) and, at the end, lists what he feels are the top contenders for a Retro Hugo.
January 7, 1934 – Flash Gordon debuts as a Sunday page. Alex Raymond is the initial writer and artist. Within the years that follow Don Moore will assist in the writing chores. Jim Keefe, who was the comic’s writer/artist for years, has a great blog post with lots of art.
(7) YESTERDAY’S BIRTHDAY BOY. Is File 770 in bad odor for overlooking Pepe Le Pew’s cartoon debut on January 6, 1945?
(8) BESTSELLING ROOKIE. Seth Breidbart’s “Ludicrous fact of the year (non-politics division)”: John Sandford is eligible for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
(9) MANETTI RECOMMENDED. Sue Granquist has Goth Chick News Reviews: The Box Jumper by Stoker Award Winner Lisa Mannetti, a lively entry at Black Gate.
‘Magic’ is the operative word for this moody novella. The magic of Harry Houdini serves as an overriding backdrop here, but another kind of magic permeates these pages — the magic of fine writing. Don’t expect the usual linear plot, because there is no direct narrative. Vivid dreams, surreal images, hypnotic memories, all serve to flesh out an unsettling tale that sweeps us into a new fictional dimension. — William F. Nolan, author of Logan’s Run
If those words from one of my favorite authors weren’t reason enough for me to immediately seek out The Box Jumper, then the prospect of Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle together again in the golden age of 1920’s séances would certainly have done the trick.
I am surprised I didn’t hurt myself in the dash.
In her latest, engagingly disturbing novella, Bram Stoker Award Winner Lisa Mannetti transports us to the post-WW I-era where Spiritualism was one of the fastest growing religions, and tricksters knew no bounds when it came to roping in the willing, the gullible and the curious.
(10) PAT HARRINGTON OBIT. Best known as One Day at a Time’s lecherous Schneider, Pat Harrington, Jr., who died January 6, also had some genre roles.
He appeared in three episodes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (once as his stand-up comedy character, faux Italian immigrant Guido Panzini), and in episodes of Captain Nice, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Invisible Man, and The Ray Bradbury TV Theatre. He was in demand as a voice actor on Saturday morning cartoons like Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Aquaman.
He also played the narrator in the last production of Ray Bradbury’s stage play Falling Upward. Harrington was 86.
Pat Harrington in Falling Upward
(11) SHANNARA. MTV has already aired four episodes of The Shannara Chronicles, based on the fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. I’m a wee bit behind in posting the trailer….
Coming to MTV in January 2016, ‘The Shannara Chronicles’ is a new TV series based on the best-selling fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. Set thousands of years after the destruction of our civilization, the story follows an Elven Princess, Amberle, a half-human half-elf, Wil, and a human, Eretria, as they embark on a quest to stop a Demon army from destroying the Four Lands. ‘The Shannara Chronicles’ stars Poppy Drayton, Austin Butler, Ivana Baquero, Manu Bennett and John Rhys-Davies. The series is executive produced by Jon Favreau, Al Gough, Miles Millar, Dan Farah, Jonathan Liebesman and author Terry Brooks.
(12) BUT THIS IS NEWS. NBC has ordered a pilot for Powerless, the first comedy from DC Entertainment according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The single-camera entry is set in the DC Comics universe that’s full of superheroes, villains and people just like us. It’s described as an office comedy about the exceedingly average employees at an insurance company and their quest to find their own power. Like all DC fare, it hails from Warner Bros. Television and will be written by Ben Queen (A to Z), with Michael Patrick Jann set to exec produce and direct the pilot.
As described by File 770 last October, the focus of the series is on the ordinary, “power-less” folk working at the insurance company who often envy the men and women outside their window who make headlines with their supernatural powers.
(13) SUMMER GLAU. Another Firefly reunion is in the works on Castle.
Summer Glau has signed on to guest-star opposite her onetime Serenity captain Nathan Fillion in a spring episode of the ABC drama, TVLine has learned exclusively.
(14) EXPISCATE! With a little imagination, the linked news video of LA trash bins being swept down the street by El Nino rainstorm looks like an invading robot army.
[Thanks to Will R., James H. Burns, Steven H Silver, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]
Posted in Pixel Scroll | Tagged Alex Raymond, Andre Norton, David Kilman, DC Comics, Flash Gordon, Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Jim Keefe, John Sandford, Judith Reeves-Stevens, Kameron Hurley, Ray Bradbury, Retro-Hugos, Seth Breidbart, Sue Granquist, Terry Brooks, Terry Pratchett
Pixel Scroll 10/8 The Legend of Slatestroke
Posted on October 8, 2015 by Mike Glyer
(1) Just finished Ancillary Mercy tonight. What a cast of characters!
“Ohg, lbh xabj, lbh’er nyy bhg bs svfu fnhpr. Naq V qba’g guvax V’ir rire frra n jne orsber!”
“V’z tbvat gbb,” fnvq Fcurar.
“Rkpryyrag!” ercyvrq Genafyngbe Mrvng. “V’yy tb cnpx.”
(2) The ultra-premium all-access pass to the Salt Lake Comic Con is pricey, but not as much as the cost of getting indicted for trying to scam your way into its VIP area.
A federal grand jury has indicted a Layton man, accusing him of impersonating a federal agent to get VIP access to Salt Lake Comic Con.
The indictment, handed down late Wednesday, accuses Jonathan M. Wall, 29, of pretending to be a Special Agent of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah said Wall then demanded Salt Lake Comic Con allow him in “under the ruse that he was entering the VIP area to apprehend a wanted fugitive.”
Wall attracted the attention of a retired Salt Lake City police officer who was providing security for the event, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The officer questioned Wall and notified the Air Force, who also came to question him.
Wall is charged in the indictment with impersonation of a federal officer and making a false statement to a federal agent. If convicted, he faces a combined seven years in prison and a potential $250,000 fine for each count. Wall has not been arrested, but a summons will be issued for him to appear in federal court, prosecutors said.
Incidentally, the indictment reveals that the “false statement” he made was lying about asking for ONE pass when he actually asked for TWO!
(3) And to think no one will be indicted for telling the even bigger whopper that there are people who think The Martian is a true story.
"Is this a true story?" – The woman next to me said to her date at The Martian last night.
— Mike Burns (@pizzanachos69) October 4, 2015
(4) It’s a Big Idea, but it’s also a great news story – how did Ctein and bestselling detective novelist John Sandford wind up collaborating on an sf book, Saturn Run?
That Big Idea led to a Big Problem. How the hell do you get a ship to Saturn in under six months, not to mention building it in under two years? No “wantum mechanics” (Greg Benford’s wonderful term for totally-made-up science shit); it’s not much of a hard bolts-and-rivets thriller if people know you’re faking it. It wasn’t an unsolvable problem. John could research it. In his former life he was a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and has written forty or so thrillers, so he knows research. It’d just take several years of his life to get himself fully up to speed, that’s all.
The hitch was, John’s steady gig is turning out two novels (plus change) each year like clockwork. His readers expect it. He can’t take off a couple of years to explore himself as an author. This led to John’s second Big Idea, the crazy one.
Why not write it jointly with his friend, me?
Ctein includes an entertaining version of his phone call when Sandford talked him into collaborating.
(5) Joe Tonelli on Digg advises about “The Best (And Worst) Movies To Watch On Paramount’s New YouTube Channel”.
Trigger Warning: Splash page has a big movie poster image that looks like Dolph Lundgren auditioning for the role of Aatr’s tits….
Mark no-last-name says, “For some reason the reviewer needs no less than 3 choices for worst SF movie. I can’t argue with him about Masters of the Universe though, even at a young age I could tell how badly that movie stank.”
One of the free sf films in the Paramount Vault is Conquest of Space , which is somewhat hideous despite being based on Willy Ley’s classic book with illustrations by Chesley Bonestell.
(6) SF Site News reports artifacts from the collection of Ray Harryhausen will go up for auction on October 17.
Harryhausen was known for his work in stop-motion animation and worked on films such as Clash of the Titans, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, and Jason and the Argonauts. Auction items include models, paintings, and cameras, many of the objects autographed by Harryhausen.
There are loads of photos of the items at Dangerous Minds.
(7) Congratulations to Taral Wayne for placing his William Hope Hodgson tribute “The Canaries in the Dark” in the second volume of The Yellow Book from Oldstyle Press. There’s no pay, he says. However, I was one of the people that recommended he try it on a fiction market instead of settling for a fanzine appearance, so I say well done.
(8) In “Stephen Hawking answers July questions on Reddit AMA” we are reminded about a truth we already know – these memories are indelible for the fan, not the celebrity.
He responded to just nine questions, taking time to answer one from a Canadian poster who said he’d seen Hawking in 1995 as a boy at a video rental store in Cambridge, England, where Hawking lives. The poster asked if Hawking remembered watching “Wayne’s World 2” on a store monitor while parked for about 5 minutes next to two kids. He answered simply, “No.”
(9) The “Stunning New Mockingjay Part 2 Poster Comes Loaded With Hidden Secrets”.
Non-book readers might want to look away now while we break down the hidden context of the new one sheet.
According to Wired who debuted the poster yesterday, the image serves a dual purpose as a propaganda poster for the District 13 rebellion in the movie, as well as promoting the IMAX release of the film which is actually coming to the UK a day early on 19 November.
(10) A one-minute video about “Guillermo del Toro’s House of Horrors” accompanies the New York Times article.
The director of fantasy and horror films keeps his collection of books, gory props and mannequins where he can see, and be inspired by, them.
The door swings open and there, surrounded by blood-red walls, is a hellhound with four hooded eyes and gaping fangs. The head of Frankenstein’s monster floats, disembodied and huge, a story above it. Peering at you from the living room, his fingers paging through a book, is the early-20th-century horror novelist H.P. Lovecraft. On a Victorian sofa, a demented doll stares down a bronze gargantua, Uncle Creepy and Cousin Eerie.
Welcome to Guillermo del Toro’s imagination.
Bleak House is what Mr. del Toro, the Mexican filmmaker known for the terrifying fantasy of “Pan’s Labyrinth” and American action-horror series like “Hellboy,” christened this pad, which serves as repository and inspiration. He writes there, and when he is in production, a handful of designers work in the repurposed garage. “We draw, draw, draw,” he said, every frame as detailed as animation.
(11) Here’s a candidate for the most expensive toy of the coming Christmas season — Disney’s $120 attempt to make your kid feel like Iron Man.
The starter pack for Disney’s first line of Playmation toys, based on the Avengers, costs $119.99, and requires 12 AA batteries. The main toy is the Iron Man arm gauntlet, but you’ll also get two action figures and electronic bases for them to stand on while they interact with you.
Skeptic John King Tarpinian thinks, “With twelve batteries the kid could not lift his arm.”
(12) And toys for the grown-ups include HP’s Star Wars- inspired laptop and Stream notebooks.
HP has today in Barcelona announced a number of new devices, including the George Lucas-honouring Star Wars inspired Special Edition Notebook.
While we aren’t exactly short of Star Wars products popping up prior to the big movie release, HP does win our “coolest new laptop of the year award” hands down. And only Star Trek fans will probably disagree.
Featuring a “battle worn” finish which is supposed to remind you of how crummy the Death Star is, the Special Edition is also embellished with Aurebesh typeface. Even the touch pad “mirrors the X-Wing Star Fighter Guidance System” while the keyboard features red backlit keys.
(13) There were quite a few Equicons over the years. The first four, 1971-1974, were run by Bjo Trimble in Los Angeles.
Here is some celebrity footage from Equicon in 1974. George Takei, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, Gene Roddenberry, Arlene Martel, Mike Farrell, Robert Foxworth, Larry Vincent, D. C. Fontana, Kirk Alyn, David Gerrold, George Clayton Johnson, and Bjo Trimble.
Mike Farrell and Robert Foxworth are in the Equicon assemblage, because they had just starred in the Roddenberry pilot, The Questor Tapes.
The members of S.T.A.R. San Diego ran Equicon 75 at the El Cortez Hotel, with most of the Star Trek cast attending as guests. The “Captain” in the TV ad is now-famous science fiction author Greg Bear.
[Thanks to Dave Doering, Will R., James H. Burns, John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Will R.]
Posted in Pixel Scroll | Tagged Ann Leckie, Ctein, Guillermo del Toro, Joe Tonelli, John Sandford, Ray Harryhausen, Salt Lake Comic Con, SF Site News, Stephen Hawking, Taral Wayne
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HRW: Impunity for Abuse by Law Enforcement Officials Remains a Problem
"Impunity for abuse by law enforcement officials remains a persistent problem," reads the Human Rights Watch Report 2020.
“Authorities twice postponed the launching of the State Inspector’s Office, created in 2018 to investigate abuses committed by law enforcement and other public officials, citing lack of financing. It became operational on November 1.
By September, the Ombudsman’s Office had received 54 complaints of ill-treatment by prison staff or police and petitioned the Prosecutor’s Office to launch investigations in 52 cases. None resulted in criminal prosecution”, reads the report.
According to the document, on the night of June 20, riot police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas against thousands of protesters outside the parliament building in Tbilisi. “The protest was sparked by the presence of a delegation from the Russian Duma in the parliament’s plenary chamber, as part of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy.
"Some protesters repeatedly tried to break through the police cordon, grabbing and damaging some riot gear. Otherwise the crowd was largely nonviolent. While riot police showed restraint initially, around midnight, without prior warning, they opened fire on the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets, chasing and arresting people who tried to gather.
"Some 240 people, including 80 police officers and 32 journalists, sustained injuries and sought medical attention. Many civilians sustained rubber bullet injuries to the head, legs, and back; two people each lost an eye.
"Police arrested hundreds, and courts sentenced 121 protesters to up to 15 days in jail on misdemeanor violations.
"Authorities pursued largely one-sided accountability. They launched a mass rioting investigation, charging at least 19 protesters, 15 of whom remain in pretrial custody at time of writing. Opposition parliamentarian Nika Melia was released under house arrest. The Prosecutor’s Office designated 67 police officers and only four civilians as victims, depriving many of the injured protesters the opportunity to review investigation files. Following civil society criticism, three more people received victim status in November.
"Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office charged three police officers with exceeding their powers and assaulting a detained protester; courts released all three on bail. The Interior Ministry reprimanded 11 law enforcement officers for misconduct and sent two cases to the prosecutor’s office. The Prosecutor’s Office authorized the Public Defender to monitor the ongoing investigation into police conduct”, reads the report.
Photo courtesy: Ana Dumbadze
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Posted by Josh Glasgow on Jan 6th, 2013 | 0 comments
Time travel is a difficult concept for movies to tackle and often it’s covered with less attention to the content of the story than to its mechanics, because often time travel means keeping track of multiple “time lines” that intersect with one another, avoiding characters’ past selves seeing their “present” selves, and any number of rules which writers use to limit themselves. Don’t step on any butterflies when you’re in the past! Safety Not Guaranteed bypasses these concerns by not really being about time travel, but instead choosing to focus on the far smaller story of the growing relationship between a magazine intern named Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and a potentially insane man named Kenneth (Mark Duplass). As in Another Earth, a monumental science fiction concept is filtered through the narrow lens of a low-budget “indie” film, the kind that meanders about for a bit before getting to its goals.
Darius has come to this small Washington town in order to do a story on how crazy Kenneth is, but of course he isn’t aware of that. He allows her to get close to him because of her droll quirkiness, a sad humility that he finds attractive. So Darius is recruited as a potential partner on a trip to the past (the year 2001, to be specific) using a time machine that Kenneth says he has invented. The pair spends their time discussing their childhoods, playing around while firing guns at targets, eating lunch together, laughing, and so forth. It will come as no surprise to you when I say that the couple grows to have romantic feelings toward one another. This is the heart of the film; to quote the AVClub: “strip away the time travel, which is easy enough, and what’s left is a winsome but insubstantial romance.” I tend to consider romance my favorite genre of film; among my favorite titles are Atonement, Say Anything, and Rocky – all heart-breaking in the sincerity of their romantic pairings. If I were trying to explain what I find so powerful about those three films, I would say that the slow build of the leads’ relationships feels, to me, to be entirely natural. It feels real. When I watch those movies, I feel like I am looking at a true-to-life coupling taking place, the awkwardness and passion and honesty on full display.
I didn’t get that from Safety Not Guaranteed, which makes it easy for me to agree with the description of the movie’s central plot as an “insubstantial romance”. What’s interesting about this is that Plaza and Duplass have an extraordinary chemistry together, and it is precisely that chemistry which sells the movie in spite of a lack of substance otherwise. Though their pairing is driven by plot contrivance, they seem to have fun together and that attitude is infectious. A scene where the two sit on a beach and share with one another their reasons for wanting to travel a decade plus into the past is moving for the sober tone it takes, with one looking blankly past the horizon while recounting tragedies past, the other listening intently. It’s difficult to put into words why Plaza and Duplass could have such easy chemistry together, yet the film itself doesn’t strike the same chords with me as the previously named titles did. I suppose in a way it was inevitable that, say, Adrian would find herself dating Rocky Balboa after all; there I felt as though his gentle understanding and her self-deprecating reticence paid big dividends when Adrian finally allowed her suitor’s affection to break the barriers she’d built around herself. I don’t know how, but it felt immediate and intense. With Safety Not Guaranteed, Kenneth has similarly erected barriers around himself (as has Darius), but I guess they seem made-for-breaking, if that makes any sense.
Let me try to explain this way: I watched the pilot episode of “The West Wing” recently and at the start of the episode, a character notes that the pager of a woman he is sleeping with and his own are almost identical. Immediately, it was clear that the pagers would be accidentally switched and that plot “twist” was set up in a groan-inducing way by a single line of dialogue. It’s possible to do a pager-switch subplot in a far more organic manner – perhaps showing both parties throwing their devices down in the heat of passion and briefly showing the two pagers toppled on top of one another without stating future events so explicitly. With regard to the film at hand, it seems like there’s got to be a better direction to take than matching up a crazy guy with the one girl who understands him. It feels too pat, too easy, even if the actors are able to make it workable. How could it have been handled differently? Perhaps by not throwing the two together instantly. As it stands, Darius and Kenneth meet cute and spend their time alone together constantly. Two other people from the magazine who have come on the trip to Washington just kind of hang around on the fringes of the movie. Truth be told, Darius’ boss Jeff had his own subplot about rekindling a high school relationship, but this is inessential to the movie and has no resolution. Maybe the movie could have had the three journalists working together and through their interactions with Kenneth, a bond grows between himself and Darius which begins to draw the two away from the group as a whole.
Or maybe the movie is fine as is and I’m just trying to rationalize why I just didn’t connect with it. I found Darius and Kenneth an enjoyable pair, but I never felt engrossed in their story. I liked watching the actors together on screen, but I never was particularly worried about their future together. The final act builds into a tense showdown as government agents begin to give chase to Kenneth and he must finally prove whether or not there is a bluff to be called. Once again, this just didn’t do anything for me. If Safety Not Guaranteed is a song, then a lot of the movie is made up of familiar beats played in agreeable ways… nothing particularly noteworthy, but perfectly hummable nonetheless.
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The Story of a House
Official Blog of Glessner House
Thomas B. Carter, Chicago pioneer
Chicago in the 1830s was ripe with opportunity. The population increased at a dramatic rate following the incorporation of Chicago as a town in 1833 and as a city in 1837. Scores of men headed west from their homes in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, seeking their fortune. One of these men was Thomas Butler Carter.
Thomas Carter was born in New Jersey on March 26, 1817. In September 1838 he arrived in Chicago, then a bustling metropolis of 4,000, and just two months later said in a letter home, “but this is destined to become a great place, and will soon surpass Buffalo.” Carter established his dry goods business, T. B. Carter & Co. at 118 Lake Street, in the heart of what was then the business district. His house stood at the corner of State and Madison.
In 1840, he married Catherine Raymond, who had been born in 1818 in New York. Catherine’s brother Benjamin Wright Raymond had been elected mayor of the city of Chicago in 1839 and was just finishing his first term at the time. He was re-elected for a second one year term in 1842.
Benjamin Raymond, Mayor of Chicago
1839-1840 and 1842-1843
Carter was a deeply religious man, and he and his wife were members of First Presbyterian Church. In June 1842, the Second Presbyterian Church was organized and they were among the 26 charter members (Catherine’s brother Benjamin and his wife were charter members as well). Within a few years, he was elected Elder, a position he held until the 1890s. He also organized and led the first choir and served as an officer in both the Chicago Bible Society and the Chicago Sacred Music Society.
By 1847, the congregation was growing to the point that a new building was needed. Carter served on the building committee, and he and his fellow committee members were not pleased with the plans they received from a local architect. Carter was heading to the East Coast, and agreed to show the plans to a couple of architects to get their opinion. There was general agreement that the plans were not sound, and it was recommended that Carter speak with the New York architect James Renwick, Jr., who had achieved recognition for his design of Grace Episcopal Church a few years earlier and had just received the commission to design the Smithsonian Institution “Castle” in Washington, D.C. (Renwick received the commission for his best known work, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, in 1853). Renwick agreed to design a new building, working within the $25,000 budget. It would be the first Gothic Revival building in Chicago, and one of the first buildings constructed of stone in the young city.
Architect Asher Carter was sent to Chicago to oversee construction of the building, which was completed late in 1850. During this period, Thomas Carter hired Carter to design a new house for him on Wabash Avenue, between Adams and Jackson Streets.
Carter remained deeply involved in church work. In 1856 he drew up the original papers creating the “Lake Forest Association” which was a direct outgrowth of his work at Second Presbyterian. The Association oversaw the development of all the activities in the newly created town, purchasing 7,300 acres of land. Fifty acres were set aside for the university, and Rev. Robert W. Patterson, pastor at Second Presbyterian, served as its first president.
Catherine Carter passed away in 1866 at the age of 48. Soon after, he retired from the dry goods business, and became connected with the Equitable Life Insurance Association.
In 1870, he purchased a house at 55 Twentieth Street from James Pattison for $9,000. The house, which now bears the address 215 E. Cullerton Street, was only two years old at the time, but is now the oldest surviving home in the Prairie Avenue Historic District on its original site.
His home, a three story brick Italianate row house, is a good example of pre-Chicago Fire architecture. The architect is unknown, but it possesses all the typical features of this style including tall arched windows and a projecting cornice supported on pairs of brackets.
The beautiful double front doors were recreated and installed in January 2006, based on the one and only known historic photo of the house dating to about 1920.
Immediately after the Chicago Fire in October 1871, Carter became deeply involved with the Relief and Aid Society, organized to assist those impacted by the disaster. In 1874, Carter married Mrs. Margaret Garthwaite of Newark, New Jersey.
In 1892, Second Presbyterian celebrated its 50th anniversary, and Carter, as the last surviving charter member still active in the congregation, compiled and wrote the history of the church. The same year, he moved to Evanston, making it his home during the summer months, and spending the winters in the south. (The Cullerton Street house was leased for many years and finally sold by the family in 1925).
Carter and his wife returned from the South in mid-April 1898, and he was taken seriously ill soon afterwards, passing away at his Evanston home on April 24 at the age of 81. Funeral services took place at Second Presbyterian Church and he was laid to rest at Graceland Cemetery beside his first wife. He was survived by four children – Frank H. Carter of New York, and Frederic R. B. Carter, Mrs. Lansing L. Porter, and Mrs. J. H. Nitchie, all of Evanston.
Carter monument at Graceland Cemetery
Mayor Benjamin Raymond is interred in the same plot
In 1978, a descendant donated many of his papers to the Newberry Library; the collection is now known as the Thomas Butler Carter Papers 1831-1898. The papers include many interesting letters written by Carter to his cousin Aaron Carter in New Jersey throughout that period, as well as an autobiography Carter penned in 1889, covering his early life, difficult journey to Chicago in 1838, and his 50 years in Chicago.
Posted by Glessner House Museum at 9:30 AM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: 215 E Cullerton, Asher Carter, Benjamin Raymond, James Renwick Jr, Lake Forest Association, Second Presbyterian Church, Thomas B Carter, Thomas Butler Carter
The Glessner Center
Glessner House Museum is one of two buildings in Chicago that carry the Glessner name. The other is a lesser known, five-story brick loft building at 130 S. Jefferson Street in the West Loop known as The Glessner Center. In this article, we will explore the history of that building and how it came to be known by that name.
John Glessner arrived in Chicago in December 1870 with his new bride, in order to take over management of the sales office for his farm machinery firm, Warder, Bushnell & Glessner. Business thrived under his capable leadership, and by the early 1880s, the firm sought to build a larger headquarters to house their offices, showrooms, and warehouse.
In August 1882, the firm purchased a lot at the northwest corner of Adams and Jefferson, measuring 80 by 200 feet, for $31,000. Glessner engaged the firm of Jaffray & Scott to design the five-story building. The newly formed partnership consisted of architect Henry S. Jaffray (best remembered today for his design of the George M. Pullman mansion at 1729 S. Prairie Avenue), and designer Isaac Scott, a close friend of the Glessner family, who had completed numerous projects for them including furniture and interiors for their home on West Washington Street.
All was proceeding according to plan until April 10, 1883 when a wooden pier collapsed in the north half of the building, causing the whole interior to crash into the basement level and taking much of the north wall with it. Later that evening, during a heavy windstorm, the east wall, which had been compromised by the earlier collapse, also fell in. Jaffray and Scott were dismissed from the project, and architect W. W. Boyington was called in to complete the building.
The new headquarters was ready for occupancy by October of that year. Known as the “Champion Building” after the trademarked name of the machines produced by the firm, its efficient and attractive design was praised in newspapers and other publications. The building consisted of two main parts. The south half of the building facing Adams contained offices and the showrooms, with huge windows facing south to bathe the spaces in natural light. The north half of the building was utilized as a warehouse, and was bisected by a tall driveway that ran east to west through the building, allowing up to eight delivery wagons to be loaded and unloaded simultaneously while protected from the elements.
The functions of the building were clearly demarcated on the exterior – the offices and showrooms were set beneath a hipped roof with dormers and a tower, whereas the warehouse was a more utilitarian structure with a simple brick cornice. A delicate band of terra cotta ran across the top of the large showroom windows and depicted oak leaves and acorns, an image that would be welcoming to farmers visiting to purchase equipment. Four different designs of oak leaves and three different designs of acorns were used to create a meandering, naturalistic pattern.
The Chicago Tribune, in an October 27, 1883 article entitled “A Champion Enterprise,” praised the building and stated, in part:
“The building, covering an area of 80x200 feet, built of the best pressed brick, terra cotta trimmings, etc. is of elegant architectural proportions, and forms at once an ornament and landmark. Designed and built expressly for a reaper warehouse with great care in every arrangement, it is today the best-lighted and most perfect building of its kind in America.”
(Inland Architect, October 1883)
Another article, published simultaneously in The Inland Architect and Builder, gave a detailed description of the interior:
“What are conceded to be the finest appointed mercantile offices west of New York are those just completed in the Champion Reaper Company’s building built by architects Jaffray & Scott. These offices occupy two floors in the front part of the warehouse proper. The total space occupied is about 60 x 80 feet. A space of 20 feet square is occupied by an immense vault and the stairway leading to the upper tier of offices. This stairway is open, and like the general woodwork, is of red-oak. The main office is 40 x 60, and divided from this and also from each other by partitions composed almost entirely of plate-glass, are four offices about occupying an equally divided space, 18 x 60. The ceilings are frescoed in colors harmonizing with a heavy, solid, polished red-oak cornice and stained glass in quiet shades, give a softening effect. The smaller offices are elegantly fitted with grates and mantels, Turkish rugs are on the polished red-oak floors, and above the mantels bronze panels add effectiveness to the general interior, in which one is apt to forget that this is an office devoted to the demands of trade, and not a costly private apartment. . . As a whole, this office in its arrangement and light-colored decoration, with the view of securing perfect light, is a model in office construction, and reflects general credit upon architect and owner.”
John J. Glessner's office
After Glessner’s firm merged with others to form International Harvester in 1902, the building was utilized by the new corporation, but was sold in 1907. Through the years, it was occupied and owned by various companies and was known by its address – 600 W. Adams Street. For many years, it was owned by Polk Brothers, which used it as a furniture and appliance warehouse-outlet store.
In 1984, as the surrounding neighborhood was rapidly changing, it was purchased by a developer and completely gutted and rehabbed into a luxury loft office building, containing 60,000 square feet of office space. The architects were Booth/Hansen and Associates, with Paul Hansen serving as project architect.
It was renamed The Glessner Center and the main entrance was shifted around the corner to 130 S. Jefferson Street. Many of the exterior features were altered, including the roofline and corner tower, but the basic structure remains as it did when first built. And one original interior feature was left in place – the massive door to the vault, which still bears the inscription “The Warder, Bushnell and Glessner Company – Champion Binders & Mowers.”
Posted by Glessner House Museum at 6:18 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Champion, Glessner Center, Glessner House Museum, Henry S. Jaffray, International Harvester, Isaac Scott, John Jacob Glessner, Warder Bushnell and Glessner
Double Bough Wallpaper Installed
When the Glessners’ corner guestroom was opened to the public in April 2014 after a four year restoration project, one important element was missing – the Morris & Co. “Double Bough” wallpaper. Thanks to the generosity of numerous donors, we raised the necessary funds to replicate the wallpaper which was installed in late June, allowing us to reopen the room earlier this month.
The fundraising campaign was led by a generous $10,000 grant from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), which was sponsored by the Chicago Chapter, the first local DAR chapter organized in the United States. Frances Glessner was a charter member of the Chicago Chapter when it was formed in 1891, and the chapter has funded several recent projects at the museum, including the installation of the exhibit on The Rocks, and the restoration of the Glessners’ Kutani bowl.
Corner guestroom in 1923 (top) and 2015 (below)
The Glessners first installed Double Bough in the guestroom in 1892 after the room had been wired for electricity. When the room was re-wallpapered in 1916, they chose Double Bough once again. In November 2010, during early work in the restoration project, Robert Furhoff, an expert in historic interiors and finishes, uncovered a section of the original wallpaper which was carefully peeled off the wall and conserved. The fragment was important as it established the color way selected by the Glessners. Morris & Co. produced the wallpaper in several different color ways, and of course, the only surviving historic images of the room were in black and white.
Robert Furhoff, November 2010
The Morris & Co. archive in England was consulted, and a small sample was found in one of the company log books that matched the sample from the Glessner bedroom. The museum was also informed that all 22 original hand-carved fruitwood blocks used to print the original paper were in the archive, and could be used again to reprint the wallpaper using exactly the same process as undertaken more than 120 years ago.
Sample from the Morris & Co. archives
In order to produce the wallpaper in this manner, the process is extremely time consuming as each of the 22 blocks is applied individually and then the paper needs to dry sufficiently before the next block can be applied. As such, only one roll of wallpaper can be produced per week.
The order was placed in May 2014 with Zoffany, the parent company of Sanderson, which owns the Morris & Co. archives. Several weeks later, the first strike-off was received for approval. Robert Furhoff was again brought in for consultation, and several corrections were made to the colors used in various parts of the design. The corrections were returned to England and a second strike-off was received, which was approved. Production began and the 25 rolls of wallpaper were shipped to the museum in December.
Wallpaper awaiting installation
Due to the way in which the wallpaper is produced, the installation is a complex process, as absolutely no water or paste can ever touch the surface of the paper, or the ink can be damaged. The museum was fortunate to secure the services of Jim Yates of Historic Wallpaper Specialties, who has a national reputation for the installation of 19th century wallpapers. One of his most prominent projects was the wallpaper in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House.
Jim Yates
In late June, Yates and his team arrived at the museum from Tennessee, and spent the next six days completing the project. Their work began with the installation of muslin on the walls, so that in the event any cracking of the plaster occurs, it will transfer to the muslin itself, and not damage the wallpaper. Once the muslin was installed, it was covered with an acid-free liner to provide the optimum base to which the wallpaper would be applied.
While these steps were being undertaken, the wallpaper was all cut to size and readied for installation. Only one historic photo survives showing the first installation of the wallpaper from 1892.
Fanny Glessner, November 24, 1897
This photo was taken of Fanny Glessner on the day of her formal debut – November 24, 1897. The photo was studied to ensure that the pattern (a 31” repeat) was placed on the walls exactly as it had been originally – both top to bottom, and side to side.
As the wallpaper was placed on the walls, the room took on an entirely different feel, as the space was suddenly filled with the intricate floral design that is among the most complex ever produced by Morris & Co. Within a few days, the furnishings were brought back into the room, including the Morris & Co. “Rose and Thistle” reproduction draperies, Morris inspired area rug, furniture designed by A. H. Davenport & Company, and engravings displayed in custom-made frames by Isaac Scott.
The room was reopened to the public for tours on Wednesday July 1, 2015. With the completion of this room, Glessner House Museum now features one of the largest public collections of Morris & Co. reproduction wallpapers, textiles, and rugs in the country, accurately recreating the Arts and Crafts inspired interior created by John and Frances Glessner more than a century ago.
Labels: Daughters of the American Revolution, Double Bough, Historic Wallpaper Specialties, Jim Yates, Morris and Company, Robert Furhoff, Rose and Thistle
Mrs. Pullman in Washington, D.C.
In last week’s article, we noted an excerpt from the June 28, 1915 Chicago Tribune about Mrs. George Pullman departing Chicago to spend the season at her summer estate in Elberon, New Jersey. The article also noted, “Mrs. Pullman has another mansion in Washington, which she did not occupy this winter.” That reference was to her largest home of all, which she had actually already sold by 1915.
The Pullmans’ daughter Florence was united in marriage to Frank O. Lowden in 1896. Lowden was actively involved in the Republican Party, and rose in stature when he campaigned for William McKinley in 1900. From 1906 to 1911, Lowden served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and lived in Washington, D.C. during that time. Lowden had high aspirations for political office, including the Presidency, so Mrs. Pullman took steps to ensure he and his family would have an appropriate home in the nation’s capitol.
In February 1909, Mrs. Pullman purchased a lot at 1125 16th Street NW, just three blocks from the White House. She hired the prominent architect Nathan Wyeth to design the 64 room house, which cost over $350,000 to construct. Wyeth had just designed the new West Wing and Oval Office of the White House, and would soon be hired to design a home in DC for Secretary of the Treasury Franklin MacVeagh (a Chicago friend of the Pullmans).
The exterior of the four-story Pullman house was clad in limestone on the ground level, with Roman brick facing the second and third stories.
The fourth story was set behind a massive slate-covered mansard roof. The interior was grand on a scale that far exceeded the Pullman house on Prairie Avenue in Chicago.
The imposing entrance hall was designed for the large and elegant receptions Mrs. Pullman envisioned for her daughter and son-in-law.
The oak paneled dining room was among the largest rooms in the house. As construction was proceeding, she made trips to Europe, bringing back large quantities of antiques and decorative arts to furnish the massive home.
The grandest space of all was the enormous gold and white ball room or grand salon, reminiscent of her own Chicago drawing room.
But alas, Mrs. Pullman’s plans for her son-in-law didn’t come to pass. Frank Lowden was taken ill, and didn’t run for reelection, leaving Washington, D.C. at the conclusion of his second term in the House in March 1911. Mrs. Pullman had also been ill, and ultimately no one in the family ever lived in the mansion.
In May 1913, she sold the house and furnishings to a buyer who within a few months sold it to the Imperial Russian government for use as their new embassy. Most of the original furnishings were removed in 1917 when the Ambassador fled to Paris.
In the 1930s the house was redecorated by Eugene Schoen & Sons of New York, who refused to alter the grand salon, “down to the last hair of the last cupid.” It remains in use as the Russian Embassy to this day.
Note: Frank O. Lowden went on to serve as governor of Illinois from 1917 to 1921. In 1920, he was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president, but ultimately lost to Warren G. Harding. He declined the vice presidential nomination in 1924.
Labels: Eugene Schoen, Frank O. Lowden, Franklin MacVeagh, George Pullman, Governor Lowden, Hattie Pullman, Nathan Wyeth, Russian embassy, Washington DC
About Glessner House
Our mission is to spark excitement in architecture, history, and design through a dynamic exploration of Glessner House, its family, and its preservation.
The House is open to visitors for guided tours Wednesday through Sunday at 11:30am, 1:00pm, and 2:30pm. Tours last approximately 75 minutes. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and free for children ages 5 and under. Wednesdays are free for all.
1800 S Prairie Avenue
http://www.glessnerhouse.org/
info@glessnerhouse.org
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The Swift Mansion
Like the Glessner house, the Swift mansion at 4500 South Michigan Avenue is a reminder of the period in the late 19 th and early 20 th...
Harriet Rees House Moved
The long awaited move of the landmark Harriet F. Rees house at 2110 S. Prairie Avenue was completed on November 11 and 12, 2014. A lar...
Jack Simmerling (1935-2013): A Tribute
NOTE: On Monday December 1, 2014, Glessner House Museum will officially dedicate and open the new John J. 'Jack' Simmerling Galler...
New Year's Greetings
The sending of New Year’s Day cards was a popular custom in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. Frances Glessner may have receiv...
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Western Ghats offer best jungle trails: Cycling Goa
The newly registered Cycling Goa, which consists of avid cyclists, organised its first two-day off-road cycling excursion to Ganeshgudi, near Dandeli, in Karnataka, with an aim to promote mountain riding as a sport in the Western Ghats.
The major objective of this excursion was to explore new jungle trails and map the same for mountain riders looking for newer routes.
Thirteen members started on March 23 from Castlerock, near Anmod, and cycled into Ganeshgudi, which is situated on the banks of River Kali, covering a bumpy ride of around 30 kilometres on their well-oiled MTBs (mountain bicycles).
The highlight of the event was the white-water rafting on River Kali. The 13 members of the group were divided into two groups for the trip covering a distance of nine kilometres bumping over a total of nine rapids ~ big and small.
On the second day, the riders set out for an off-road jungle trail. Rainer Dias led the cyclists on this very new trail which lasted about two hours.
The best part of the trip, Rainer said, was getting lost in the woods, losing the trail they had taken only to rediscover it after half-an-hour and finally making it back to the point from where the cyclists had begun.
President of Cycling Goa Bryan Soares said, “The jungle trail at 22 km per hour on a bumpy stretch was an experience of a lifetime. It was totally different from road cycling.”
Ajay Dongre, an Executive Committee member, said the Western Ghats (including the Goa stretch) offer a great terrain for off-road cycling on MTBs. “What Cycling Goa intends to do is explore new trails and map these for off-road enthusiasts,” he informed.
Dongre informed that Cycling Goa was registered just two months back and it expects to have at least 50 members on board soon. “Though we are registered now, our activities have been going on for the last two years,” he mentioned. [H]
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Home » City Life
How to protect your precious pet during the long hot Houston summer
Independence day guide
Ultimate Guide to Fourth of July: Best concerts, fireworks — and snow
How Houston stacks up to the best places to celebrate the Fourth of July
How Houston stacks up to the best places to celebrate Fourth of July
By Marcy de Luna
WalletHub released its list of 2017's Best and Worst Places to Celebrate Fourth of July. Photo by Iam Kluft
WalletHub shines the light on Independence Day celebrations across the U.S., ranking the 100 largest cities as 2017's Best and Worst Places to Celebrate Fourth of July based on how well they balance holiday cost and fun.
Using 18 key metrics, taking into account stats like average beer and wine prices, duration of fireworks shows, and the July 4th weather forecast, the personal finance website’s data team ranks Houston in the middle of the pack as the 51st best city to fete the star-spangled holiday.
Houston ranks well on Affordability (No. 6) and Celebrations (No. 20), but is dragged down by low rankings in Attractions & Activities (No. 72), Safety & Accessibility (No. 68), and Weather (No. 83).
Dallas ranks tops in the state at No. 41, with relatively high rankings on Affordability (No. 11) and Celebrations (No. 18), while Austin comes in at No. 48, with above average rankings in Celebrations (No. 20), Affordability (No. 39) and Weather (No. 44).
Among Dallas suburbs, Plano comes in at No. 52, Arlington is No. 75, and Irving trails at No. 80.
Other Texas cities include San Antonio at No. 59 and Fort Worth at a measly No. 81. Be especially careful if you're driving in San Antonio or Lubbock, as both cities rank in the bottom 5 in the category of the most DUI-related fatalities per capita.
On average, Americans spend $7.15 billion on Fourth of July activities, with more than $1.6 billion on beer and $800 million on fireworks. A record 44.2 million people are expected to travel 50 plus miles from home over the holiday weekend.
So where should you be when the fireworks go off? According to WalletHub's report, Atlanta is the best city to celebrate our nation's birthday followed by San Francisco and Buffalo, New York, respectively. For the full list, click here.
12 best restaurants for New Year's Day brunch in Houston
Ring in 2020 in style at Houston's mega party venue
Houston lands on the nice list of best places to celebrate Christmas
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hill107.net
Battles of Arnhem and Crete
Battle of Arnhem
Arnhem Resources
Battle of Crete
Arnhem: The doorstep to Germany
By August 17th, 1944, the German armies, which four years and three months previously, had overrun so swiftly the whole land of France, were retreating even more swiftly towards their own country. More than a million men, British and American, bursting from their congested bridgeheads in Normandy, were sweeping, in a fury of controlled vengeance, towards Germany. The Americans were soon to reach the Vosges and to link with the army of General Patch moving up from the Mediterranean; the British, composing the 21st Army Group, presently crossed the Seine and the Somme and did not halt till they were well beyond Brussels. To this great victory the contribution of airborne troops was considerable. Apart from the 6th Airborne Division, far to the south, in the vanguard of General Patch’s invading army, were other airborne troops, tough sons of America, some of whom went to battle in British gliders flown by British pilots. Thirty-eight Horsas took them from a dusty airfield near Rome to a still dustier one on Corsica, and thence to their landing zone near the little town of Frejus on the French Riviera.
While these battles were being fought, the tried veterans of the 1st Airborne Division, now at full strength again, were waiting on the Berkshire Downs and in the windy spaces of Salisbury Plain, with an impatience they took small pains to conceal, to play their part in what might ultimately prove to be the final discomfiture of the enemy. At one time the period of waiting seemed likely to be long, for between June 6th and September 17th no less than sixteen airborne operations to support the Allied Expeditionary Force were planned, and all of them came to naught. The reason was simple. Time is needed to plan an airborne attack—not very much time, but enough to ensure that the aircraft and the men to be carried in them are ready and are accurately briefed; for—and it is impossible to emphasize this too often— no airborne attack can succeed unless each man taking part in it knows exactly what to do and when to do it. On each of those sixteen occasions, before the moment for take-off arrived, the armies in the field had either reached or were threatening the proposed objective or the delay imposed by the enemy made the success of an airborne operation impossible. Action, therefore, by airborne forces was not necessary. So these fine troops had perforce to remain in chafing idleness till they were called upon to resolve a situation created by an advance which had exceeded all expectations, especially those of the Germans.
By the middle of September the British 2nd Army had broken through, crossed the Seine, advanced to Brussels and penetrated into Holland. To make this possible, the whole of its transport had been placed at the disposal of its leading Corps, and the other Corps had had perforce to remain more or less immobile. Even so, by the time the main body of the Corps had reached the Brussels-Antwerp line, the situation in regard to supply was already critical. That of the German forces opposed to them, however, was still more so. It may justly be described as chaotic. No organized resistance beyond the Seine had been possible, and it seemed that the remnants of the German 15th Army, which had been allotted the task of defending the Channel coast, were faced with but two alternatives. Either they could retreat into the fortified Channel ports of Boulogne, Calais, Dunkirk, and Ostend and there sustain themselves as long as possible, or they could try to find a way out into southern Belgium and Holland and, if successful, attempt to re-form behind the barriers which nature has there provided.
For a day or two something akin to panic seems to have prevailed among the German forces in the Dutch islands and on the mainland itself. They had but one defensive position left before the Rhine and the frontiers of their country. It was provided by three rivers: the Meuse, which, when it crosses the Dutch frontier, becomes the Maas; the Waal, which is the main branch of the German Rhine; and the Lower Rhine. Had its difficulties of supply been overcome, there is little doubt that the 2nd Army might have pushed through and reached Germany. Yet this was impossible. The main lines of supply still ran from Cherbourg and the artificial port of Arromanches, and large stocks of all sorts were held in dumps near these ports; but road and rail communications between this base area and the front, over 250 miles away, were not equal to the task of supplying large forces which were still on the move and making heavy demands on stores of every kind. Thus were the Germans given breathing space, and they used it to the utmost.
By Air to Battle
The river barriers of Germany
A daylight operation is planned
The objectives at Arnhem
The struggle for the crossings
Collision at the bridge
The 3rd Battalion breaks into Arnhem
The 1st Battalion fights through
Would you like to throw a bomb, sir?
The gliders arrive on schedule
The second lift comes in
Fighting to establish an outer perimeter
A confused and bitter struggle
Strange episodes of the battle
The valiant defenders of the bridge
The final stand at the bridge
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Home > People > Ballinrobe: Fr. Edward Crosby >
Ballinrobe: Fr. Edward Crosby
Fr. Ned Crosby, native of Ballinrobe
Affectionately called Fr. Ned
By Averil Staunton
Fr. Ned Crosby is a native of Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo. He has served as a priest in a wide variety of cultures and places including Hillside, Ballybane, Galway City, Clare Island off Co Mayo, Motupe in Lima, Perú, and is currently parish priest of the village of Kilfenora, Co Clare.
Peru and Galway
In Motupe in Lima, Fr. Ned worked with street children and as a prison chaplain, where he had to minister to members of the Shining Path terrorist group. Fr. Ned is also a former chaplain of St. Joseph's College, Galway "The Bish" secondary school.
Ned's experiences as a cleric at home and abroad have given him a very unique insight into social, political, cultural, and spiritual matters. A renowned "Poet Priest", he has released four volumes of poetry as well as a book on the community of Clare Island entitled "Glimpses of Clare Island". All profits from his books go towards several volunteer projects around the world.
I see the book on Amazon, Glimpses of Clare Island, but I would like to know if there is another way to get it.
Shelia why not try:
http://www.irelandlookup.com/1327831/Booksellers/Mayo/Castle_Book_Shop/
By Sheila Penny
Ballinrobe's Professor of Anatomy, Ambrose Birmingham M.D., F.R.C.S.I. (1864-1905)
Ballinrobe, Co Mayo CBS circa late 1950's
Balllinrobe man John Joe Rochford's recollections
Barrett the Tumbler (lived in Ballinrobe)
Bernie Sears
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Thank You For Smoking is a good example of satire that works. American Dreamz is a good example of satire that doesn't. This is particularly disappointing effort from writer/director Paul Weitz. While hoping for something along the lines of About a Boy or American Pie, he merely came up with more stuff like In Good Company and Down to Earth. Weitz's main issue is that it's not clear what he is trying to say in American Dreamz, or even if he is trying to say something at all. The movie gently lampoons American Idol, President Bush, and fame in general, while throwing in Arab terrorist and other assorted randomness.
The bulk of the film pokes fun at America's obsession with celebrity. American Dreamz is a show modeled on American Idol, and Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant, Bridget Jones 2: Edge of Reason, Love, Actually), is the acerbic British host, a la Simon Cowell. Tweed is bored with his job, and wants to spice up the current season. He decides to recruit an Arab to the show. What he doesn't know is that his choice, Omer (Sam Golzari) is a trained terrorist. Well, a badly trained terrorist. He was sent to Orange County, CA to get out of the way of his fellow terrorists, but now they see an opportunity to use him..
President Staton (Dennis Quaid, Yours, Mine, and Ours, Flight of the Phoenix) is trying to shore up his image and approval ratings by judging the finals of American Dreamz. Omer is ordered to wear a bomb so he can blow up the President, who speaks with a Texas drawl and acts dumb. There is a lot of stuff going on, but all of it seems to set up nothing. Weitz seemed to have fun setting up his characters and situations, only to throw them together and give them nothing to do. There's also the power-hungry Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore, Racing Stripes, Saved!), who will stop at nothing to win the contest, and her earnest but naive boyfriend William Williams (Chris Klein, Just Friends, The United States of Leland).
One of the possible reasons that American Dreamz feels so hollow is that American Idol is already a parody of itself. And, depending on one's political bent, some may feel that George Bush is a parody. The acting and characterizations aren't great. The people are either naive or power hungry. The movie never falls enough to the point where it's bad; it just hangs in some strange limbo. American Dreamz is never dull, but Weitz never does anything to make it engaging.
Haro Rates It: Not That Good.
1 hour, 47 minutes, Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual references.
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Timothy Treadwell (1957-2003) gained notoriety during his lifetime for living amongst the white grizzly bears of Alaska. He would film his summer 'expeditions' and travel around the country during the rest of the year to educate people about the plight of the bears. His very actions were controversial, and he died in the summer of 2003 when a bear killed and ate him and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard. Treadwell left over one hundred hours of footage of his expeditions, and director Werner Herzog (The White Diamond, Wheel of Time) edited it down to a little over ninety minutes.
The result of a fascinating look at a troubled man who was clearly passionate about what he did, although was probably going about things the wrong way. Herzog, who narrates the documentary, edits the footage in such a way that he continually pulls back layers on Treadwell's personality. He begins with the bear footage. Whatever one may think of Treadwell, it is hard to deny that the footage he shot was compelling. Treadwell literally lived with the bears, and according to some, wanted to be one. He gave them all names, interacted with them, and spoke to them. In some cases he was challenged by them for superiority. Using a digital camera, he shot footage of bears and of himself narrating his movies. He would talk about the individual bears, their habits, and explain why they did what they did. While they may look extremely cute, it is important to remember that they can be very dangerous creatures.
Herzog mixes in footage with interviews of Treadwell's friends and acquaintances. He interviews some who think that Treadwell "got what he deserved." As the footage deepens, Herzog begins to show other facets of Treadwell's personality. He comes across as somebody who thinks of himself as a hero, with enemies that may or may not be real. A few people disagree with Treadwell's methods. Showing that he is no threat to wild bears may cause them to feel no fear if they were to come in contact with other humans. In one particularly frightening moment, Treadwell unleashes a torrent of obscenities aimed at various people he hates. This contrasts with tender moments where he plays with foxes as if they were dogs or cats.
The most fascinating aspect of Grizzly Man is that Herzog is able to capture Treadwell in his own words. Nearly everything on the screen is from Treadwell's own mouth. His friends and colleagues give glowing remarks on his character and motivations. Yet, take a step back, and Treadwell becomes a much more muddled figure. He constantly stressed how he was out there alone, yet Huguenard and a few other women accompanied him for periods of time over the years. Worse, he broke the law for reasons he felt were justified. The strongest points in Grizzly Man come from Herzog's interviews with Treadwell's friends. Although his demise was not particularly surprising, the emotional shock is still present. The most powerful point in the film comes when Herzog listens to the tape of Treadwell and Huguenard dying. Although the audience never hears the footage, the silence alone is shocking.
Mongoose Rates It: Pretty Good.
1 hour, 40 minutes, Rated R for language.
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Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > S > Saxony
The Saxon tribe
There arose in Germany during the third and fourth centuries after Christ the great tribal confederations of the Alamanni; Bavarians, Thuringians, Franks, Frisians, and Saxons, which took the place of the numerous petty tribes with their popular tribal form of government. With the exceptions of the Saxons all these confederations were ruled by kings; the Saxons were divided into a number of independent bodies under different chiefs, and in time of war they elected a duke. The Saxons (Lat., Saxones) were originally a small tribe living on the North Sea between the Elbe and Eider Rivers in the present Holstein. Their name, derived from their weapon called Sax, a stone knife, is first mentioned by the Roman author Claudius Ptolemæus (about 130 A.D.). In the third and fourth centuries the Saxons fought their way victoriously towards the west, and their name was given to the great tribal confederation that stretched towards the west exactly to the former boundary of the Roman Empire, consequently almost to the Rhine. Only a small strip of land on the right bank of the Rhine remained to the Frankish tribe. Towards the south the Saxons pushed as far as the Harz Mountains and the Eichsfeld, and in the succeeding centuries absorbed the greater part of Thuringia. In the east their power extended at first as far as the Elbe and Saale Rivers; in the later centuries it certainly extended much farther. All the coast of the German Ocean belonged to the Saxons excepting that west of the Weser, which the Frisians retained. The history of the powerful Saxon tribe is also the history of the conversion to Christianity of that part of Germany which lies between the Rhine and the Oder, that is of almost the whole of the present Northern Germany. From the eighth century the Saxons were divided into the four sub-divisions: Westphalians, between the Rhine and Weser; the Engern or Angrians, on both sides of the Weser; the Eastphalians, between the Weser and Elbe; the Transalbingians, in the present Holstein. The only one of these names that has been preserved is Westphalians, given to the inhabitants of the Prussian Province of Westphalia.
In company with the German tribe of Angles a part of the Saxons settled on the Island of Britain from which the Romans had withdrawn, where as Anglo-Saxons, after having accepted Christianity about 600, they laid the foundation of Anglo-Saxon civilization and the present Great Britain. In attempting to reach Gaul by land the Saxons came into violent conflict with the Franks living on the Rhine. The Frankish king Clovis (481-511) united the various Frankish tribes, conquered Roman Gaul, and with his people accepted Christianity. The new Frankish kingdom was able to bring all German tribes except the Saxons under its authority and to make them Christian. For more than a hundred years there was almost uninterrupted warfare between Frank and Saxon. Many Anglo-Saxon Christian missionaries sought to convert the Saxons, some were killed, some driven away; the names of only a few of these men have been preserved, as St. Suitbert, St. Egnert, the saint called Brother Ewald, St. Lebuin, etc. St. Boniface also preached without success among the Saxons. The Saxons were finally brought under Frankish supremacy by the great Frankish ruler, Charlemagne, after a bloody struggle that lasted thirty years (772-804). Charlemagne was also able to win them to Christianity, the Saxons being the last German tribe that still held persistently to belief in the Germanic gods. At different times the Saxon wars of Charlemagne have been called "religious wars" and the assertion, which cannot be proved, has been made that Pope Adrian had called upon Charlemagne to convert the Saxons by force. Charlemagne's campaigns were intended mainly to punish the Saxons for their annual marauding expeditions to the Rhine, in which they burned churches and monasteries, killed the priests, and sacrificed their prisoners of war to the gods. The earliest date at which it can be proved that Charlemagne had the conquest of the Saxon districts in view is 776. It is evident that if peace was to be permanent the overthrow of the Saxons must be accompanied by their conversion to Christianity. The necessity for this was based also on the nature of the Frankish kingdom in which politics and religion were never separated. At the same time it is true that various measures taken by Charlemagne, as the execution of 4500 Saxons at Verdun in 782 and the hard laws issued to the subjugated, were shortsighted and cruel. The Church, however, cannot be made responsible in any case for this policy of Charlemagne's which it never approved. Although the opposition in Saxon territories to Christian teaching had been obstinate only a few decades before, the Saxons grew accustomed to the new life. The Christian conception of life sank deep into the hearts of the people, and in little more than a hundred years the Saxons were the messengers and defenders of a Christian, German civilization among the Slavonic tribes. The work of converting Saxony was given to St. Sturmi, who was on terms of friendship with Charlemagne, and the monks of the monastery of Fulda founded by Sturmi. Among the successful missionaries of the Faith were also St. Willihad, the first Bishop of Bremen, and his Anglo-Saxon companions. After St. Sturmi's death (779) the country of the Saxons was divided into missionary districts, and each of these placed under a Frankish bishop. Parishes were established within the old judicial districts. With the generous aid of Charlemagne and his nobles large numbers of churches and monasteries were founded, and as soon as peace and quiet had been re-established in the different districts, permanent dioceses were founded.
The medieval Duchy of Saxony
When the Frankish kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Verdun (843) the territory east of the Rhine became the East Frankish Kingdom, from which the present Germany has developed. A strong central authority was lacking during the reigns of the weak East Frankish kings of the Carlovingian dynasty. Each German tribe was forced to rely upon itself for defence against the incursions of the Normans from the north and of the Slavs from the east, consequently the tribes once more chose dukes as rulers. The first Saxon duke was Otto the Illustrious (880-912) of the Liudolfinger line (descendants of Liudolf); Otto was able to extend his power over Thuringia. Otto's son Henry was elected King of Germany (919-936); Henry is justly called the real founder of the German Empire. His son Otto I (936-973) was the first German king to receive from the pope the imperial Roman crown (962). Otto I was followed as king and emperor by his son Otto II (973-983), who was succeeded by his son Otto III (983-1002); both the kings last mentioned vainly endeavoured to establish German authority in Italy. The line of Saxon emperors expired with Henry II (1002-1024), who was canonized in 1146. Henry I had been both King of Germany and Duke of Saxony at the same time. Mainly for the sake of his ducal possessions he had carried on a long and difficult struggle with the Slavs on the eastern boundary of his country. The Emperor Otto I was also for the greater part of his reign Duke of Saxony. Otto I brought the Slavonic territory on the right bank of the Elbe and Saale under German supremacy and Christian civilization. He divided the region he had acquired into several margravates, the most important being: the North Mark, out of which in the course of time the present Kingdom of Prussia developed, and the Mark of Meissen, from which has sprung the present Kingdom of Saxony. Each mark was divided into districts, not only for military and political purposes but also for ecclesiastical: the central point of each district was a fortified castle. The first churches built near these castles were plain buildings of wood or rubble-stone.
Otto I laid the basis of the organization of the Church in this territory, that had been won for the German race and Christianity, by making the chief fortified places which he established in the different marks the sees of dioceses. The Ottoman emperors also aided much in bringing to Christianity the great Slavonic people, the Poles, who lived on the right bank of the Oder, as for a time the Polish country was under German suzerainty. Unfortunately the promising beginnings of Christian civilization among the Slavs were largely destroyed by the violence of the Slavonic rebellions in the years 980 and 1060. In 960 Otto I had transferred the ducal authority over Saxony to a Count Hermann, who had distinguished himself in the struggle with the Slavs, and the ducal title became hereditary in Count Hermann's family. This old Duchy of Saxony, as it is called in distinction from the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, became the centre of the opposition of the German princes to the imperial power during the era of the Franconian or Salian emperors. With the death of Duke Magnus in 1106 the Saxon ducal family, frequently called the Billung line, became extinct. The Emperor Henry V (1106-25) gave the Duchy of Saxony in fief to Count Lothair of Supplinburg, who in 1125 became King of Germany, and at his death (1137) transferred the Duchy of Saxony to his son-in-law, Duke Henry the Proud, of the princely family of the Guelphs. The hundred years of war waged by the family of Guelph with the Hohenstaufen emperors is famous in history. The son of Henry the Proud (d. 1139) was Henry the Lion (d. 1195), who extended German authority and Christianity into the present Mecklenburg and Pomerania, and re-established Christianity in the territories devastated by the Slavonic revolts. Henry the Lion refused to aid the Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in his campaign against the cities of Lombardy in 1176, consequently in 1180 the bann of the empire was proclaimed against Henry at Würzburg, and 1181 the old Duchy of Saxony was cut up at the Diet of Gelnhausen into many small portions. The greater share of its western portion was given, as the Duchy of Westphalia, to the Archbishop of Cologne. The Saxon bishops who had before this possessed sovereign authority in their territories, though under the suzerainty of the Duke of Saxony, were now subject only to the imperial government; the case was the same with a large number of secular countships and cities.
The Diet of Gelnhausen is of much importance in the history of Germany. The Emperor Frederick executed here a great legal act. Yet the splitting up of the extensive country of the Saxons into a large number of principalities subject only to the imperial government was one of the causes of the system of petty states which proved so disadvantageous to Germany in its later history. The territory of the old duchy never again bore the name of Saxony; the large western part acquired the name of Westphalia. However, as regards customs and peculiarities of speech, the designation Lower Saxony is still in existence for the districts on the lower Elbe, that is, the northern part of the present Province of Saxony, Hanover, Hamburg, etc., in distinction from Upper Saxony, that is, the present Kingdom of Saxony, and Thuringia. From the era of the conversion of the Saxons up to the revolt of the sixteenth century, a rich religious life was developed in the territory included in the medieval Duchy of Saxony. Art, learning, poetry, and the writing of history reached a high degree of perfection in the many monasteries. Among the most noted places of learning were the cathedral and monastery schools of Corbie, Hildesheim, Paderborn, and Münster. This era produced architecturally fine churches of the Romanesque style that are still in existence, as the cathedrals of Goslar, Soest, and Brunswick, the chapel of St. Bartholomew at Paderborn, the collegiate churches at Quedlinburg, Königslutter, Gernrode, etc. Hildesheim, which contains much Romanesque work, has especially fine churches of this style. The cathedrals at Naumberg, Paderborn, Münster, and Osnabrück are striking examples of the Transition period. Only a few of these buildings still belong to the Catholic Church.
Electoral Saxony
After the dissolution of the medieval Duchy of Saxony the name Saxony was first applied to a small part of the ancient duchy situated on the Elbe around the city of Wittenberg. This was given to Bernard of Ascania, the second son of Albert the Bear, who was the founder of the Mark of Brandenburg, from which has come the present Kingdom of Prussia. Bernard's son, Albert I, added to this territory the lordship of Lauenburg, and Albert's sons divided the possessions into Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg. When in 1356 the Emperor Charles IV issued the Golden Bull, the fundamental law of the empire which settled the method of electing the German emperor, the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg was made one of the seven electorates. The duke as elector thereby received the right to elect, in company with the other six electors, the German emperor. In this way the country, though small in area, obtained an influential position. The electoral dignity had connected with it the obligation of primogeniture, that is, only the eldest son could succeed as ruler; this excluded the division of the territory among several heirs and consequently the disintegration of the country. The importance of this stipulation is shown by the history of most of the German principalities which were not electorates. The Ascanian line of Saxe-Wittenberg became extinct in 1422. The Emperor Sigismund bestowed the country and electoral dignity upon Margrave Frederick the Valiant of Meissen, a member of the Wettin line. As was mentioned above, the Margravate of Meissen had been founded by the Emperor Otto I. In 1089 it came into the possession of the Wettin family, who from 1247 also owned the eastern part of the Margravate of Thuringia. In 1422 Saxe-Wittenberg, and the Margravates of Meissen and Thuringia were united into one country, which gradually received the name of Saxony. Elector Frederick the Valiant died in 1464, and his two sons made a division of his territories at Leipzig on 26 August, 1485, which led to the still existing separation of the Wettin dynasty into the Ernestine and Albertine lines. Duke Ernest, the founder of the Ernestine line, received by the Partition of Leipzig the Duchy of Saxony and the electoral dignity united with it, besides the Landgravate of Thuringia; Albert, the founder of the Albertine line, received the Margravate of Meissen. Thus the Ernestine line seemed to have the greater authority. However, in the sixteenth century the electoral dignity fell to the Albertine line, and at the beginning of the nineteenth century it received the royal title as well.
The Protestant revolt of the sixteenth century was effected under the protection of the electors of Saxe-Wittenberg. The Elector Frederick the Wise established a university at Wittenberg in 1502, at which the Augustinian monk Martin Luther was made professor of philosophy in 1508; at the same time he became one of the preachers at the castle church of Wittenberg. On 31 October, 1517, he posted up on this church the ninety-five theses against indulgences with which he began what is called the Reformation. The elector did not become at once an adherent of the new opinions, but granted his protection to Luther; consequently, owing to the intervention of the elector, the pope did not summon Luther to Rome (1518); also through the elector's mediation Luther received the imperial safe-conduct to the Diet of Worms (1521). When Luther was declared at Worms to be under the ban of the entire empire the elector had him brought to the Castle of the Wartburg in Thuringia. The new doctrine spread first in Saxe-Wittenberg. The successor Frederick the Wise (d. 1525) was his brother John the Constant (d. 1532). John was already a zealous Lutheran; he exercised full authority over the Church, introduced the Lutheran Confession, ordered the deposition of all priests who continued in the Catholic Faith, and directed the use of a new liturgy drawn up by Luther. In 1531 he formed with a number of other ruling princes the Smalkaldic League, for the maintenance of the Protestant doctrine and for common defence against the German Emperor Charles V, because Charles was an opponent of the new doctrine. The son and successor of John the Constant was John Frederick the Magnanimous (d. 1554). He was also one of the heads of the Smalkaldic League, which was inimical to the emperor and Catholicism. In 1542 he seized the Diocese of Naumburg-Zeitz, and attacked and plundered the secular possessions of the Dioceses of Meissen and Hildesheim. The Catholic Faith was forcibly suppressed in all directions and the churches and monasteries were robbed. John Frederick was defeated and captured by Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg on the Elbe, 24 April, 1547. In the Capitulation of Wittenberg, 19 May, 1547, the elector was obliged to yield Saxe-Wittenberg and the electoral dignity to Duke Maurice of Saxe-Meissen. After this the only possession of the Ernestine line of the Wettin family was Thuringia, which, however, on account of repeated divisions among the heirs was soon cut up into a number of duchies. Those still in existence are: the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the Duchies of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Altenburg.
Duke Albert (d. 1500) was succeeded in the Duchy of Saxe-Meissen by his son George the Bearded (d. 1539). George was a strong opponent of the Lutheran doctrine and had repeatedly sought to influence his cousins the Electors of Saxe-Wittenberg in favour of the Catholic Church, but George's brother and successor, Henry the Pious (d. 1541), was won over to Protestantism by the influence of his wife Catharine of Mecklenburg, and thus Saxe-Meissen was also lost to the Church. Henry's son and successor Maurice was one of the most conspicuous persons of the Reformation period. Although a zealous Protestant, ambition and desire to increase his possessions led him to join the emperor against the members of the Smalkaldic League. The Capitulation of Wittenberg gave him, as already mentioned, the electoral dignity and Saxe-Wittenberg, so that the Electorate of Saxony now consisted of Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Meissen together, under the authority of the Albertine line of the Wettin family. Partly from resentment at not receiving also what was left of the Ernestine possessions, but moved still more by his desire to have a Protestant head to the empire, Maurice fell away from the German Emperor. He made a treaty with France (1551) in which he gave the Dioceses of Metz, Toul, and Verdun in Lorraine to France, and secretly shared in all the princely conspiracies against the emperor who only escaped capture by flight; and during the same year the emperor was obliged by the Treaty of Passau to grant freedom of religion to the Protestant Estates. Maurice died in 1553 at the age of thirty-two. His brother and successor Elector Augustus took the Dioceses of Merseburg, Naumburg, and Meissen for himself. The last Bishop of Merseburg, Michael Helding, called Sidonius, died at Vienna in 1561. The emperor demanded the election of a new bishop, but the Elector Augustus forced the election of his son Alexander, who was eight years old, as administrator; when Alexander died in 1565 he administered the diocese himself. In the same manner after the death of Bishop Pflug (d. 1564), the last Catholic bishop of Naumburg, the elector confiscated the Diocese of Naumburg and forbade the exercise of the Catholic religion. Those cathedral canons who were still Catholic were only permitted to exercise their religion for ten years more.
In 1581 John of Haugwitz, the last Bishop of Meissen, resigned his office, and in 1587 became a Protestant. The episcopal domains fell likewise to Saxony, and the cathedral chapter ceased to exist. During the reigns of the Elector Augustus (d. 1586), and Christian (d. 1591), a freer form of Protestantism, called Crypto-Calvinism prevailed in the duchy. During the reign of Christian II (d. 1611) the chancellor, Crell, who had spread the doctrine, was overthrown and beheaded (1601) and a rigid Lutheranism was reintroduced and with it a religious oath. The great religious war called the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) occurred during the reign of Elector John George (1611-56). In this struggle the elector was at first neutral, and for a long time he would not listen to the overtures of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden. It was until the imperial general Tilly advanced into Saxony that the elector joined Sweden. However, after the Battle of Nördlingen (1634) the elector concluded the Peace of Prague (1635) with the emperor. By this treaty Saxony received the Margravates of Upper and Lower Lusatia as a Bohemian fief, and the condition of the Church lands that had been secularized was not altered. The Swedes, however, revenged themselves by ten years of plundering. The Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 took from Saxony forever the possibility of extending its territory along the lower course of the Elbe, and confirmed the preponderance of Prussia. In 1653 the direction of the Corpus Evangelicorum fell to Saxony, because the elector became the head of the union of the Protestant Imperial Estates. Under the following electors religious questions were not so prominent; a rigid Lutheranism remained the prevailing faith, and the practice of any other was strictly prohibited. About the middle of the seventeenth century Italian merchants, the first Catholics to reappear in the country, settled at Dresden, the capital and at Leipzig, the most important commercial city; the exercise of the Catholic religion, however, was not permitted to them.
A change followed when on 1 June, 1697, the Elector Frederick Augustus I (1694-1733) returned to the Catholic Faith and in consequence of this was soon afterwards elected King of Poland. The formation of a Catholic parish and the private practice of the Catholic Faith was permitted at least in Dresden. As the return of the elector to the Church aroused the fear among Lutherans that the Catholic religion would now be re-established in Saxony, the elector transferred to a government board, the Privy Council, the authority over the Lutheran churches and schools which, until then, had been exercised by the sovereign; the Privy Council was formed exclusively of Protestants. Even after his conversion the elector remained the head of the Corpus Evangelicorum, as did his Catholic successors until 1806, when the Corpus was dissolved at the same time as the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Elector Frederick Augustus II (1733-63), was received into the Catholic Church on 28 November, 1712, at Bologna, Italy, while heir-apparent. With this conversion, which on account of the excited state of feeling of the Lutheran population had to be kept secret for five years, the ruling family of Saxony once more became Catholic. Before this, individual members of the Albertine line had returned to the Church, but they had died without issue, as did the last ruler of Saxe-Weissenfels (d. 1746). Another collateral line founded in 1657 was that of Saxe-Naumburg-Zeitz, which became extinct in 1759. Those who became Catholics of this line were Christian Augustus, cardinal and Archbishop of Gran in Hungary (d. 1725), and Maurice Adolphus, Bishop of Leitmeritz in Bohemia (d. 1759). The most zealous promoter of the Catholic Faith in Saxony was the Austrian Archduchess Maria Josepha, daughter of the Emperor Joseph I, who in 1719 married Frederick Augustus, later the second elector of that name. The Court church of Dresden was built 1739-51 by the Italian architect, Chiaveri, in the Roman Baroque style; this is still the finest and most imposing church edifice in Saxony and is one of the most beautiful churches in Germany. Notwithstanding the faith of its rulers, however, Saxony remained entirely a Protestant country; the few Catholics who settled there remained without any political or civil rights. When in 1806 Napoleon began a war with Prussia, Saxony at first allied itself to Prussia, but afterwards joined Napoleon and entered the Confederation of the Rhine. Elector Frederick Augustus III (1763-1827) received the title of King of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I.
The Kingdom of Saxony
The new kingdom was an ally of France in all the Napoleonic wars of the years 1807-13. At the beginning of the great War of Liberation (1813) the king sided neither with Napoleon nor with his allied opponents, but united his troops with those of France when Napoleon threatened to treat Saxony as a hostile country. At the Battle of Leipzig (16-18 October, 1813), when Napoleon was completely defeated, the greater part of the Saxon troops deserted to the allied forces. The King of Saxony was taken as a Prussian prisoner to the Castle of Friedrichsfeld near Berlin. The Congress of Vienna (1814-15) took from Saxony the greater part of its land and gave it to Prussia, namely 7800 square miles with about 850,000 inhabitants; this ceded territory included the former Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, the former possessions of the Dioceses of Merseburg and Naumburg, a large part of Lusatia, etc. What Prussia had obtained, with the addition of some old Prussian districts, was formed into the Province of Saxony.
The Kingdom of Saxony had left only an area of 5789 square miles with a population at that era of 1,500,000 inhabitants; under these conditions it became a member of the German Confederation that was founded in 1815. King John (1854-73) sided with Austria in the struggle between Prussia and Austria as to the supremacy in Germany. Consequently in the War of 1866, when Prussia was successful, the independence of Saxony was once more in danger; only the intervention of the Austrian Emperor saved Saxony from being entirely absorbed by Prussia. The kingdom, however, was obliged to join the North German Confederation of which Prussia was the head. In 1871 Saxony became one of the states of the newly-founded German Empire. King John was followed by his son King Albert (1873-1902); Albert was succeeded by his brother George (1902-04); the son of George is King Frederick Augustus III (b. 1865). Prince Maximilian (b. 1870), a brother of the present king, became a priest in 1896, was engaged in parish work in London and Nuremberg, and since 1900 has been a professor of canon law and liturgy in the University of Freiburg in Switzerland. The Kingdom of Saxony is the fifth state of the German Empire in area and third in population; in 1905 the average population per square mile was 778.8. Saxony is the most densely peopled state of the empire, and indeed of all Europe; the reason is the very large immigration on account of the development of manufactures. In 1910 the population amounted to 5,302,485; of whom 218,033 were Catholics; 4,250,398 Evangelican Lutherans; 14,697 Jews; and a small proportion of other denominations. The Catholic population of Saxony owes its present numbers largely to immigration during the nineteenth century. Catholicism that can be traced back to the period before the Reformation is found only in one section, the governmental department of Bautzen. Even here there is no continuous Catholic district, but there are a number of villages where the population is almost entirely Catholic, and two cities (Ostritz and Schirgiswalde) where Catholics are in the majority. It should also be mentioned that about 1.5 of the inhabitants of Saxony consists of the remains of a Slavonic tribe called by the Germans Wends, and in their own language "Serbjo". These Wends, who number about 120,000 persons and live in Saxon and Prussian Lusatia, are entirely surrounded by a German population; consequently owing to German influence the Wendic language, manners, and customs are gradually disappearing. About 50,000 Wends live in the Kingdom of Saxony; of these about 12,000 belong to the Catholic Church; some fifty Wendic villages are entirely Catholic. There is also a large Wendic population in the city of Bautzen, where among 30,000 inhabitants 7,000 are Wends.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Saxony, and the Prefecture Apostolic of Saxon Upper Lusatia
As regards the Catholic Church the Kingdom of Saxony is divided into two administrative districts: the Vicariate Apostolic of Saxony, and the Prefecture Apostolic of Saxon Upper Lusatia. The vicariate Apostolic includes the hereditary lands, that is, those portions of Saxony which before 1635 belonged to the Electorate of Saxony and which the Treaty of Vienna of 1815 did not take from the country; the vicariate also includes the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, and the two principalities of Reuss. The Prefecture Apostolic of Lusatia includes the former Margravate of Lusatia, which in 1635 was separated from Bohemia and given to Saxony; since the Treaty of Vienna of 1815, however, this ecclesiastical district comprises only that part of Upper Lusatia that has remained Saxon, the present fifth Saxon administrative Department of Bautzen. Since the adjustment of the parishes in 1904 the Vicariate Apostolic of Saxony comprises (including the small principalities of Reuss and Saxe-Altenburg), 26 parishes and 7 expositorships, with, in 1909, 55 priests; Upper Lusatia comprises 16 parishes, of which 7 are Wendic, and 2 expositorships, with altogether 30 priests. The clergy are educated at the Wendic seminary at Prague, the capital of Bohemia; this seminary, which was founded in 1740 by two Wends, was originally intended only for Lusatia but now is used for the whole of Saxony. Its pupils first attend the gymnasium of Prague and then the university there.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Saxony was established in 1763 by Pope Clement XIII; before this the confessors of the electors, who like all the priest in Saxony at that era were Jesuits, conducted the affairs of the Church under the title of superior. The most celebrated of these was Father Carlo Maurizio Voltor, an Italian, the confessor of the elector and King Frederick Augustus I. Father Voltor was also a noted diplomatist who had much influence at the court of Vienna, for example, he had some share in obtaining the title of King of Prussia (1701) for the Protestant Elector of Brandenburg. The first vicar Apostolic was Father Augustin Eggs, S.J.; for some unknown reason he left Saxony after the death of the Elector Frederick Christian (1764). He was followed by Father Franz Herz, S.J., who continued to administer his office after the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773; after his death (1800) Dr. Johann Alois Schneider (d. 1818) was appointed vicar Apostolic. In 1816 Dr. Schneider was consecrated titular Bishop of Argia, being the first Saxon vicar to be made a bishop. In the troubled times of 1813-14 he was the true friend and trusted adviser of the royal family; he also accompanied the king when the latter was imprisoned by Prussia. His successor, Ignatz Bernhard Mauermann (d. 1845), had the title of titular Bishop of Pellia. In 1831 the canons of the cathedral of Bautzen elected Bishop Mauermann as cathedral dean of Bautzen. After Bishop Mauermann's death this union of the two highest ecclesiastical offices in Saxony was dissolved, but since the death of the cathedral dean of Bautzen, Johann Kutschank (1844), the bishop has held both offices with the exception of the years 1900-04. Bishop Mauermann was succeeded by his older brother Franz Lorenz Mauermann (d. 1845) with the title of Bishop of Rama. The next bishop was Johann Dittrich (d. 1853), titular Bishop of Korykus, who in 1844 had been elected cathedral dean of Bautzen; he was followed by Ludwig Forwerk (d. 1875), titular Bishop of Leontopolis.
After the Vatican Council (1869-70) Bishop Forwerk's skill enabled him to prevent the spread of Old Catholicism in Saxony at the time when the proclamation of the Dogma of Infallibility led to its development in Germany. He was followed by Franz Bernert (d. 1890), titular Bishop of Azotus, who was succeeded by Dr. Ludwig Wahl (d. 1904), titular Bishop of Cocusus (Cocrun). From 1900 this bishop was not able to exercise his office on account of severe illness; during this period the Apostolic See appointed the prothonotary, Monsignor Karl Maas, administrator for the vicariate Apostolic, and the canon of the cathedral of Bautzen, Monsignor Georg Wuschanski, as administrator for Upper Lusatia. In 1904 Wuschanski was made Vicar Apostolic of Saxony and titular Bishop of Samos. Bishop Wuschanski died, however, by the end of 1905. In 1906 his placed was filled by Dr. Alois Schäfer. Dr. Schäfer was born at Dingelstädt in the Eichfelde (Prussian Province of Saxony) on 2 May, 1853, and in 1863 his parents settled at Chemnitz in the Kingdom of Saxony. In 1878 Dr. Schäfer was ordained priest, and was at first active in parish work; in 1881 he was made professor of exegesis at the lyceum at Dillingen in Bavaria; in 1885 he became professor of New Testament exegesis at the University of Münster in Westphalia; in 1894 he was a professor of the same at the University of Breslau, and in 1903 at the University of Strasburg. His title is: Titular Bishop of Abila, Vicar Apostolic in the Kingdom of Saxony, Administrator Ecclesiasticus in Saxon Upper Lusatia. The vicar Apostolic is appointed by the pope upon the nomination of the King of Saxony. According to the Constitution of Saxony the dean of the cathedral at Bautzen is a permanent member of the Upper House of the Saxon diet, but not the vicar Apostolic as such; he is a member only because the two offices are generally united. The two ecclesiastical offices are combined on account of the revenues, and the union is effected thus: the chapter of Bautzen elects as dean the vicar Apostolic who has already been appointed for the hereditary possessions of Saxony. It should be said, however, that the union is only a personal one and that the two administrative districts of the Church exist the same after as before the union.
At the time of the Reformation Lusatia belonged politically, as has already been said, to Bohemia, i.e., to Austria. Before his resignation the last Bishop of Meissen transferred in 1581, with the approval of the Holy See, the ecclesiastical administration of Lusatia to Johann Leisentritt of Juliusberg, dean of the cathedral chapter of Bautzen, as administrator episcopatus. When the Reformation entered the country Dean Leisentritt was able to keep at least a part of the population faithful to the Catholic Church. Most important of those bodies that remained Catholic were: the cathedral chapter of St. Peter's at Bautzen; the two celebrated Cistercian abbeys for women, Marienthal near Ostritz on the Neisse and Marienstern between the cities of Kamenz and Bautzen; a part of the parishes that had been under the control of the monasteries, and some other independent towns. The only members of the chapter of St. Peter's at Bautzen that remained Catholic were the dean, the senior, the cantor, and the scholasticus; the provost, who according to the rules of the foundation was elected from the chapter at Meissen, became a Lutheran. Ever since that time the provostship has been granted by the Saxon government to a Protestant, generally to one of the higher state officials. This secular provost has, however, no connexion whatever with the cathedral chapter; he receives from the government ministry the revenues yielded by the lands belonging to the provostship. The cathedral chapter consists of four resident canons and eight honorary ones; when the position of dean is vacant the power of administration belongs to the cathedral canons; the dean is elected by the regular and honorary canons in the presence of a royal commissioner and is confirmed by the Apostolic See. The Cathedral of St. Peter's at Bautzen is the oldest church in Lusatia, and was built 1215-21; at the end of the fifteenth century it was much altered. Since the Reformation the choir has belonged to the Catholics, and the rest of the cathedral, which is divided from the choir by a grating, belongs to the Protestants. Another church in Bautzen retained by the Catholics is the Church of Our Lady, built in the thirteenth century, in which the services of the Catholic Wends are held. The cathedral chapter has the right of patronage for six Catholic parishes, the right of appointment for the Catholic seminary for teachers at Bautzen, the same for the cathedral school, and also the right of patronage for five Protestant parishes. The convent of Marienstern, in the Wendic district of Lusatia, that was founded in the middle of the thirteenth century, and the convent of Marienthal in the German section, that was founded before 1234, have done much to preserve Catholic life in Lusatia. For hundreds of years the pastoral care of the two convents has been exercised by priests of the Cistercian monastery of Osseg in Bohemia. A pilgrimage church much visited, especially by the Wends, is at Rosenthal in the Wendic parish of Ralbitz. In the treaty between Saxony and Austria of 13 May, 1635, by which Lusatia was transferred to Saxony, the Saxon elector was obliged to grant his special sovereign protection to the Catholic communities of Lusatia and the two convents, the emperor, as suzerain, retaining the supreme right of protection. The Catholics of Lusatia had the right to the free exercise of religion, but in agreement with the earlier legal rights of the State Church, only so far as they belonged to one of the old parishes. Catholics who lived within the boundaries of Protestant parishes were obliged to call upon the Protestant pastor of the community for all baptisms, marriages, and burials, or at least must pay for these the customary fees. This compulsion exercised upon the Catholics living in Protestant parishes was not annulled for Lusatia until 1863.
By a treaty of peace between Saxony and France that was signed at Posen 11 December, 1806, Saxony was made a kingdom and entered the Confederation of the Rhine. This treaty granted the Catholics of Saxony nominally, although not in reality, civil and political equality with the Lutherans. The fifth article of the treaty declared that the Roman Catholic Church services were placed on an absolute parity with the services of the Augsburg and allied confessions, and subjects belonging to both religions were to enjoy civil rights. Now for the first time the bells of the Court Church at Dresden, which had hung silent in the tower for fifty years, could be rung. The concessions to Saxon Catholics made in the convention of 1806 were confirmed by the royal edict of 16 February, 1807, and by the Constitution of the German confederation of 1815 (art. XVI). The relations between Church and State were still further defined by the Edict of 19 February, 1827, which is still in force. This edict abrogated for the hereditary territories the compulsory dependence of Catholics on Protestant pastors and created the Catholic Consistory for the administration and jurisdiction of the Church including matters pertaining to marriage. This consistory is made up of three ecclesiastical and two secular councillors. The vicar Apostolic has the right of nomination for the appointments. A vicarial court was created as, with the exception of Rome, the highest court of appeal; it consists of the vicar Apostolic, two ecclesiastical councillors, one secular Catholic councillor, a legal assistant, and in addition for matters pertaining to marriage two Protestant councillors. At the same time the vicariate Apostolic was declared to be simply a special department for Church and school matters under the supervision of the Protestant state ministry. In Upper Lusatia the ecclesiastical administration and jurisdiction was placed in the hands of the "consistory of the chapter at Bautzen", which consists of the dean, three ecclesiastical councillors and a secular justiciary. The vicarial court was made the court of appeal.
The Constitution of 4 September, 1831, confirmed the ordinances and arrangements that were then valid. It was forbidden to establish new monasteries in addition to the two convents of Marienthal and Marienstern already in existence in Lusatia, or to admit into Saxony the Jesuits or other religious orders. It was not until a few years ago that a few Grey Sisters and nuns of St. Charles Borromeo were allowed to settle in Saxony, in all in thirteen places within eight cities. The authority of the State over the Church, the supreme supervision and the right of protection were assigned by the Constitution to the king as jus circa sacra. By the Law of 7 November, 1837, this authority was given to the department of the minister of education and worship, who by the Constitution must always be a Protestant. The administration and use made of the property of the Church is also under the supervision of the State. Money for the needs of the Church beyond what is provided by the property of the parish or endowments is obtained from a Church tax laid by the State (law of 2 August, 1878). The tax is raised as a supplementary income tax; the yearly amount of the tax is fixed by the Protestant minister of worship and education, while the Protestants can fix the amount of their Church tax themselves. In the years succeeding 1870 there was a bitter struggle in most of the German states between Church and State called the Kulturkampf; during this period a law was issued in Saxony concerning the exercise of State supervision. This law contains the greater part of the ordinances which had been up to then in effect, and in its measures for putting the law into action follows the Austrian and Prussian laws of the decade of 1870-1880, that were inimical to the Church. Public church service can only be held in the 57 parishes, dependent parishes, and chapels; mission services and religious instruction can further be held at certain periods of time in about sixty places. In addition there are 8 churches and chapels that are private property. Very few church processions are permitted. The approval of the State is necessary for the general decrees of the Church authorities when these in any way encroach upon State or municipal affairs; the State authorities are to decide whether infringement has taken place. The approval of the ministry is necessary for the founding of new churches and institutions for priests, for settling or changing the boundaries of parishes, for establishing church service at new stations, in general for new acts of ecclesiastical administration of any kind, which in any way whatever come into contact with national affairs or the ordinary ones of civil life.
A Catholic ecclesiastical office, whether in public or private service, permanent or subject to recall, can only be given to a German who has finished the course at a gymnasium, studied three years at a university, and has passed a theological examination for his office. Whoever has been trained at a seminary conducted by the Jesuits or a similar order is excluded. Further, the national Government can reject anyone who has been chosen for an ecclesiastical office, if it believes that he will use his influence against the State laws or ordinances. The State Government is to be notified at once of every vacancy and of every appointment of a spiritual office. As a rule change of religion is not permitted before the twenty-first year; before change of faith the convert must notify the pastor of the parish of his intention and may have a four weeks' period of reflection assigned to him; after the expiration of this term the convert can demand a certificate of dismissal. The religion of the father is determinative for children of mixed marriages, unless the parents have made a legal agreement otherwise before the child is six years old. All the State schools are denominational; they are not established and maintained by the political communes but by special school communes. In localities where the population is of different faiths the religious minority, if able to do so, can form a new school commune; special religious instruction for the benefit of the religious minority is not given at the expense of the school commune of the majority where that alone exists. Up to the twelfth year Protestant religious instruction is legally permissible for Catholic children. At present a new school law is being prepared, as the School law of 1873 contains many ordinances that are now out of date; however, the confessional character of the schools and the religious supervision of the schools by the pastor of the respective place is to be retained; but efforts have been and are still made to set aside at least the religious supervision of the schools. As regards Catholic schools there is a preparatory gymnasium in Dresden, a seminary at Bautzen, for training Catholic teachers for the primary schools, that is supported by the cathedral chapter of Bautzen, and 51 Catholic public primary schools. There are about 300 Catholic male teachers and about 20 Catholic female teachers. Special Catholic religious instruction is given at more than one hundred and thirty places where there are only Protestant schools. Only about 15,000 of the 24,000 Catholic school children attend Catholic schools; of the remaining 9000 children about 3500 have no Catholic religious instruction. The pressing necessity of new schools cannot be met on account of the lack of money, as most of the Catholics who have come into the country are poor factory hands. On account both of this lack of schools and of the equally great lack of churches, far more than 10,000 Catholics became Protestant during the years 1900 and 1910.
The Prussian province of Saxony
The province has an area of 9,746 square miles, and in 1905 had 2,979,221 inhabitants. Of its population 230,860 (7.8 per cent) are Catholic, 2,730,098 (91 per cent) are Protestant; 9981 hold other forms of Christian faith, and 8050 are Jews. During the summer months about 15,000 to 20,000 Catholic labourers, called Sachsengänger, come into the country; they are Slavs from the Prussian Province of Posen, from Russian Poland, or Galicia. The province is divided into the three government departments of Magdeburg, Merseburg, and Erfurt. The Prussian Province of Saxony was formed in 1815 from the territories, about 8,100 square miles in extent, ceded by the Kingdom of Saxony, with the addition of some districts already belonging to Prussia, the most important of which are the Altmark, from which the State of Prussia sprang; the former immediate principalities of the Archbishop of Magdeburg and of the Bishop of Halberstadt, which Prussia had received by the Peace of Westphalia (1648) at the close of the Thirty Years' War; and the Eichsfeld, with the city of Erfurt and its surroundings. Up to 1802 the Eichsfeld and Erfurt had belonged to the principality of the Archbishop of Mainz; a large of the population had, therefore, retained the Catholic Faith during the Reformation. As regards ecclesiastical affairs the Province of Saxony had been assigned to the Diocese of Paderborn by the papal Bull "De salute animarum" of 16 July, 1821. The province contains three ecclesiastical administrative divisions: the episcopal commissariat of Magdeburg that embraces the entire governmental department of Magdeburg and consists of four deaneries and 25 parishes; the "ecclesiastical Court" of Erfurt, which includes the governmental Department of Merseburg and the eastern half of the governmental Department of Erfurt; and consists of 2 deaneries (Halle and Erfurt) and 28 parishes; the episcopal commissariat of Heiligenstadt, which embraces the western half of the governmental department of Erfurt, that is called the Upper Eichsfeld, and consists of 16 deaneries and 129 parishes.
In those parts of the governmental Department of Magdeburg which belonged originally to the former Archdiocese of Magdeburg and the Diocese of Halberstadt all Catholic life was not entirely destroyed during the Reformation. Besides fourteen monasteries that continued in existence, there were in Halberstadt a number of benefices in connexion with the cathedral and the collegiate Church of Sts. Peter and Paul. As the entire native population had become Protestant these monasteries were only maintained by the immigration of Catholics who, from the time of the Treaty of Westphalia, though in small numbers, steadily came into the country; thus there arose around the monasteries small Catholic communities. The monasteries were all suppressed during the great secularization of the beginning of the nineteenth century, and thirteen parishes were formed, for which the State provided a fund from a part of the property of the monasteries. The other parishes in the governmental Department of Magdeburg were created after the middle of the nineteenth century, when, in consequence of the development of the manufacture of sugar, increasing numbers of Catholics came into the country; the St. Boniface Association gave the money to found these parishes.
In 1905 the governmental Department of Magdeburg contained 76,288 Catholics, that is, 6.25 per cent of the population. The Reformation of the sixteenth century had its origin in the present governmental Department of Merseburg, which includes parts of the old dioceses of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Merseburg, Naumburg-Zeitz, and Brandenburg; in this region all Catholic life was destroyed. It was not until after the Peace of Westphalia that small Catholic communities arose, from the entrance into the district of miners, merchants, pedlars, etc.; these communities grew especially in the nineteenth century on account of the development of manufactures. The first Catholic church service to be held again in this district was established in 1710 at Halle on the Saale by Franciscans of the Monastery of St. Andreas at Halberstadt; the first parish was also erected at Halle in 1810; the other parishes were founded by the St. Boniface Association. In 1905 the governmental Department of Merseburg contained 47,382 Catholics, that is, 4 per cent of the population. The governmental department of Erfurt is an almost entirely Protestant district in which, during the nineteenth century, scattered Catholics settled near districts which had preserved their faith amid the storms of the Reformation era; these districts are the Eichsfeld and a part of the population of Erfurt and its vicinity. Erfurt was founded in 742 by St. Boniface as the See of Thuringia. The first and only bishop, St. Adelar, suffered martyrdom in 755 with St. Boniface, and the territory of the diocese was united with the Archdiocese of Mainz. From the beginning, however, the archbishops of Mainz had episcopal assistants at Erfurt, who, from early in the fourteenth century, were in reality coadjutor bishops and gradually retained almost the same position as a diocesan bishop. After the suppression of the Archdiocese of Mainz (1802), the Diocese of Erfurt was assigned to the Diocese of Ratisbon, then in 1807 to Corbie, and in 1821 to Paderborn. Up to the present day there is still in existence at Erfurt an ecclesiastical board with certain episcopal powers which is called the "Ecclesiastical Court". Celebrated Catholic churches of Erfurt are: the cathedral that was begun about the middle of the twelfth century upon the spot where had stood a church built by St. Boniface; and the Church of St. Severus, erected in the fourteenth century. In 1905 the governmental Department of Erfurt contained 107,190 Catholics that is, 21.53 per cent of the population; the number of Catholics steadily declines, in 1817 it amounted to 29 per cent. Outside of Erfurt and its immediate vicinity, where the Catholics form 12 per cent of the population, the Catholics in the main live together in communities in the Upper Eichsfeld in the three counties of Heiligenstadt (91 per cent Catholic), Worbis (77 per cent Catholic), and Mülhausen-Land (43 per cent Catholic). The soil of the Upper Eichsfeld is not productive; it does not offer, therefore, any of the conditions for industrial development, and many of its inhabitants are forced to emigrate. In the Department of Erfurt the collegiate foundation of Nordhausen has also remained Catholic from the early times; in 1811 it was made into a parish. As regards schools, the religious orders, and the other questions concerning the relations between Church and State, the laws of the Kingdom of Prussia are in force.
WEISSE, Gesch. der kursächischen Staaten (7 vols., Leipzig, 1802-12); GRETSCHEL-BÜLAU, Gesch. des sächischen Volkes (3 vols., 2nd ed. Leipzig, 1863-64); BÖTTIGER-FLATHE, Gesch. des Kurstaates und Königreichs Sachsen (3 vols., 2nd ed., Gotha, 1867-73); STURNHÖFEL, Gesch. der sächischen Lande u. ihrer Herrscher (2 vols., Chemnitz, 1898-1909); JACOBS, Gesch. der in der Provinz Sachsen vereinigten Gebiete (Gotha, 1884); THEINER, Gesch. der Rückkehr der regierenden Häuser von Braunschweig u. Sachsen in den Schloss der kath. Kirche im 18. Jahrh. (Einsiedeln, 1843); FORWERK, Gesch. der kath. Hofkirche zu Dresden nebst einer kurzen Gesch. der kath. Kirche in Sachsen (Dresden, 1851); MACHATSCHEK, Gesch. des Königreichs Sachsen (Leipzig, 1861); IDEM, Gesch. der Bischöfe des Hochstiftes Meissen (Dresden, 1884).
APA citation. Sacher, H. (1912). Saxony. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13497b.htm
MLA citation. Sacher, Hermann. "Saxony." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13497b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Gerald Rossi.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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Green Car - Greenhouse - Green Way - Solar Power
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All About Hybrid Cars
Environmental issues have never been in the spotlight as much as they are today. Consumers are becoming much more environmentally conscious and companies are scrambling to appease them. This is also very true of automobile companies and this trend has lead to the development of hybrid cars. As the name suggests, hybrid cars are just that – hybrids. They do not run on one specific type of propulsion or fuel system. Rather, hybrid cars can typically use at least two propulsion systems.
While many systems have been investigated, the most common hybrid cars are those that can run on either gasoline or electricity in the form of a battery. Most recently, hybrid cars have been manufactured which can use an ethanol derivative, commonly termed Flex Fuel. Inventors have long been conducting experiments to create hybrid cars, without success. In fact, the first experiments were conducted in the 19th century when manufacturers were attempting to phase out steam-driven vehicles. The first successful hybrid car wasn’t created until the turn of the 20th century, but it was more than 90 years before the hybrid car was released for public sale.
Typically, hybrid cars contain the main components of an everyday gasoline-driven car. There is a fuel tank, a transmission and a gasoline engine. However, today’s hybrid car also contains electric mechanisms such as a battery and an electric motor. In some cases, the battery of the hybrid car is powered by solar energy. That way, the battery can recharge itself during the day. Some owners of hybrid cars prefer to switch propulsion systems depending on whether it is day or night. Amazingly, recent developments in hybrid cars have allowed for the kinetic energy created by the gasoline engine to be used to recharge the battery. Hybrid cars are riding a wave of popularity. Most of the major car companies, including Toyota, Honda, and even Lexus, have introduced their own hybrid cars to the automobile market. With their smaller gasoline engines and reduced output of emissions, hybrid cars appeal to any socially responsible individual.
The decreased size of the engines in hybrid cars have also led to new, sleeker designs and the incorporation of much lighter materials. So, the efficiency and power are quite satisfactory for the typical user, with hybrid cars reaching a horsepower of as much as 90. With the advancements in modern technology, it can only be expected that the hybrid cars of the future will be more efficient, cheaper and in great demand.
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The High Water Mark
Here is a sixteen-year-old German girl who has the courage to tell the world, and her government, what she thinks about the migrant policy. Specifically, she is terrified.
Listening to it shortly after reading Mark Steyn's piece (hat tip D29), I have to wonder if she will be the last generation of German girls who feel free to speak in public on this subject.
The German Chancellor cut to the chase and imported in twelve months 1.1 million Muslim "refugees". That doesn't sound an awful lot out of 80 million Germans, but, in fact, the 1.1 million Muslim are overwhelmingly (80 per cent plus) fit, virile, young men. Germany has fewer than ten million people in the same population cohort, among whom Muslims are already over-represented: the median age of Germans as a whole is 46, the median age of German Muslims is 34. But let's keep the numbers simple, and assume that of those ten million young Germans half of them are ethnic German males. Frau Merkel is still planning to bring in another million "refugees" this year. So by the end of 2016 she will have imported a population equivalent to 40 per cent of Germany's existing young male cohort.
This girl may live to see a very different Germany than the one that made her believe that she could express her views about the men who frighten her for the world to see. One wonders what that Germany will do to her.
By Grim on Saturday, January 23, 2016 18 comments
Common Ground: Sources
We spend a lot of time in the Hall arguing with each other, and that's good. I've learned a lot that way and enjoyed the back and forth. However, occasionally I get into an argument where, by the end of it, I feel like I understand my interlocutor less than when I started.
So, for a few posts, I'd like to focus on finding and establishing some common ground. For this first one, I'd like to talk about the sources of our beliefs. I assume everyone has been influenced by their experiences, but those are not easily shared. Hence, I'd like to focus on books, essays, articles, movies, songs, anything we can link to or directly share in some way.
For me, John Locke's Second Treatise of Civil Government has been influential, and the basic ideas of natural rights and social contract are very appealing to me. Embarrassingly, I have to admit I've never read the whole thing, only summaries and commentaries. However, it's not terribly long, so I've made reading it one of my goals for the spring. Wikipedia has a decent treatment, I think.
Another important influence has been Frederic Bastiat's The Law. It's a short read, and the bumper sticker summary might be something like "All Government Is Violence: Vote for Less." ("Vote for the minimum necessary" would be more accurate, but that's getting too long to fit on a bumper sticker readable by anyone but the worst tailgater.)
Finally, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, which I read a couple of decades ago and should read again. Two much more recent books that have influenced me are Milton Friedman and Anna Jacobson Schwartz's A Monetary History of the United States (summarized here on Wikipedia) and Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson.
Yeah, it's mostly old stuff. I am an ex-Progressive; there came a point now about 15-20 years ago where I decided I was no longer a Progressive, but didn't know what I was. (I still haven't quite worked that out.) I did admire the Declaration of Independence, so I started with the Revolutionary period and started reading. Those ideas still make the most sense to me.
What have been some important sources of your political beliefs?
By Thomas Doubting on Saturday, January 23, 2016 20 comments
Labels: Common Ground
By Grim on Friday, January 22, 2016 3 comments
Big dad points
I want one.
By Texan99 on Friday, January 22, 2016 1 comments
The perils of pot
It has been known to cause just a trace of paranoia. The dispatcher kept a straight face.
The late unpleasantness
My sister put this together, so all the references to relatives are the same for me:
These are my great-great grandfather (from my mother's Yankee side of the family), Asa Gates White, born 1817, and his third wife, a spinster schoolteacher named Martha Bush Keyes, born 1826. The Keyes and White families were friends. Like Asa, Martha was born in Morgan County, Ohio, and later moved to Wabaunsee, Kansas. Wabaunsee was founded by Congregationalist abolitionists from the East just after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in 1854. Its schools, where Martha taught, are noteworthy for having always been integrated, 100 years before Brown vs. Board of Education. Later, Asa and Martha moved to San Diego, while Asa's children stayed in Kansas.
My grandfather, Harlow Ferguson, was Asa Gates White's grandson. In 1891, when Harlow was six years old, he and his older sister Bernice were orphaned in Kansas, and their grandfather Asa died a month later in San Diego. Asa's widow Martha was left responsible for the orphans' care, but whether because she barely knew them or because she lived at such a daunting distance, she did not send for them to California. Instead, Harlow was sent to live with a schoolteacher in Wabaunsee, presumably a family friend of Martha. In later years he hired out to a number of different families as a farmhand. He never again saw his sister Bernice or left Kansas. Bernice, though a protestant, was sent to a Catholic orphanage to live; we have no further news of her.
The White family traces its origins back to Elder John White, a Puritan and one of the founders of Cambridge, Mass. Asa Gates White served the Union Army in Company K, 6th Iowa Cavalry, from 1862-1865. My father's family, on the other hand, the Kilpatricks, were completely Southern, having emigrated to Virginia in the 18th century from Ulster, and then spread through the South along with the cotton culture. All able adult Kilpatrick males (too many to list, but including two great-grandfathers) fought for the Confederacy. Only when both my parents ended up in graduate school in 1944 at Berkeley did the Northern family join with the Southern. Eighty years before, their ancestors had been fighting each other, sometimes in the same battle, opposite sides.
By Texan99 on Friday, January 22, 2016 17 comments
The Marine Corps Times suggests that vets should pursue 'more secure' gun laws.
Maybe. Whose security? What is being secured? What is being secured? Liberty, or something else?
How this election is about an argument between Woody Guthrie and Donald Trump's dad.
Jacksonians, or Authoritarians?
In contrast to Walter Russell Mead's ideas about Jacksonians, a fellow named Matthew MacWilliams, Ph.D. student in political science at U. Mass. Amherst and presumably future expert on authoritarianism, has a very different take on Trump's supporters. He claims that he has found one variable that predicts an individual's support for the Donald:
... Trump’s electoral strength—and his staying power—have been buoyed, above all, by Americans with authoritarian inclinations. And because of the prevalence of authoritarians in the American electorate, among Democrats as well as Republicans, it’s very possible that Trump’s fan base will continue to grow....
Authoritarianism is not a new, untested concept in the American electorate. Since the rise of Nazi Germany, it has been one of the most widely studied ideas in social science. While its causes are still debated, the political behavior of authoritarians is not. Authoritarians obey. They rally to and follow strong leaders. And they respond aggressively to outsiders, especially when they feel threatened. From pledging to “make America great again” by building a wall on the border to promising to close mosques and ban Muslims from visiting the United States, Trump is playing directly to authoritarian inclinations.
Not all authoritarians are Republicans by any means; in national surveys since 1992, many authoritarians have also self-identified as independents and Democrats. And in the 2008 Democratic primary, the political scientist Marc Hetherington found that authoritarianism mattered more than income, ideology, gender, age and education in predicting whether voters preferred Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama. But Hetherington has also found, based on 14 years of polling, that authoritarians have steadily moved from the Democratic to the Republican Party over time. He hypothesizes that the trend began decades ago, as Democrats embraced civil rights, gay rights, employment protections and other political positions valuing freedom and equality. In my poll results, authoritarianism was not a statistically significant factor in the Democratic primary race, at least not so far, but it does appear to be playing an important role on the Republican side. Indeed, 49 percent of likely Republican primary voters I surveyed score in the top quarter of the authoritarian scale—more than twice as many as Democratic voters.
And how does one determine how authoritarian an individual is?
In addition to the typical battery of demographic, horse race, thermometer-scale and policy questions, my poll asked a set of four simple survey questions that political scientists have employed since 1992 to measure inclination toward authoritarianism. These questions pertain to child-rearing: whether it is more important for the voter to have a child who is respectful or independent; obedient or self-reliant; well-behaved or considerate; and well-mannered or curious. Respondents who pick the first option in each of these questions are strongly authoritarian.
Based on these questions, Trump was the only candidate—Republican or Democrat—whose support among authoritarians was statistically significant.
MacWilliams points out other demographics Trump could appeal to and then states:
So, those who say a Trump presidency “can’t happen here” should check their conventional wisdom at the door. The candidate has confounded conventional expectations this primary season because those expectations are based on an oversimplified caricature of the electorate in general and his supporters in particular. Conditions are ripe for an authoritarian leader to emerge. Trump is seizing the opportunity. And the institutions—from the Republican Party to the press—that are supposed to guard against what James Madison called “the infection of violent passions” among the people have either been cowed by Trump’s bluster or are asleep on the job.
So the question of why Trump is doing so well is a hot one, it seems. MacWilliams is obviously excited about his discovery, and it is interesting. Still, the social sciences are overwhelmingly neo-Marxists of one flavor or another, I hear, and I wonder if this 4-question test doesn't indicate something besides what they claim.
For example, looking at the questions, instead of authoritarians, might we call them rule-abiding citizens? They believe not only that they should abide by the laws, but that their politicians should as well. Maybe instead of moving to the Republican Party "as Democrats embraced civil rights, gay rights, employment protections and other political positions valuing freedom and equality," they moved because the Democrats increasingly embraced a lawless, anti-democratic, authoritarian, even elitist, ruling style.
I don't know, really. It's just a very interesting contrast with Mead's analysis.
By Thomas Doubting on Thursday, January 21, 2016 12 comments
Searcy fix
Now that "Justified" is over, I'm missing Nick Searcy:
Said @jaketapper to @HillaryClinton, "Will you see '13Hours'?" Hillary: "Nah, I already slept through it once."
By Texan99 on Thursday, January 21, 2016 2 comments
The Nature of Representation
How should we choose a particular representative to vote for, and how should representatives do their jobs?
For the first time in my life there is a candidate that I closely identify with as a human being, and that makes me ask, what is the proper way to think of representation? If I voted for someone just because he would best represent me as an individual, it would be Ben Carson. But I know he probably isn't the best candidate for the nation.
So how should we vote? Should we choose the best representative for us as individuals, or the best representative for the nation?
On a related note, Eric Hines and I got into the question of how representatives should do their jobs in a discussion about Cruz. He pointed out that senators represent states, and the representatives of one state are not beholden to the voters in another. However, this brought up another question for me: Should a senator do what is best for his state or, if there is a conflict, what is best for the nation?
By Thomas Doubting on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 24 comments
A Canadian Jacksonian
By Thomas Doubting on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 3 comments
The Party Pulls Together
DWS: Hey, I've been thinking, and maybe we do need one more debate right before Iowa -- and prime time, too!
Biden: Hey, I've been thinking, and you know socialism is a real problem.
They're getting nervous.
By Grim on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 0 comments
Nobody Really Disagrees With This, Right?
Former New York City Mayor and U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday he doesn't think there is any way Hillary Clinton should be able to avoid facing an indictment for the "secretive and highly classified" government information found on the private email server she used while secretary of state.
"[There are] 13 violations of federal law that she arguably committed," Giuliani [said]... "They treated it — in the case of Petraeus — as a major crime, and his actions are a hundredth of hers," said Giuliani. "She misrepresented about it. She's lied about it. She said she had no top secret material. It's absurd."
And as Clinton "destroyed 34,000 emails," Giuliani said that he would have argued, as a prosecutor, "that's evidence of a guilty knowledge . . . the destruction is evidence of guilty knowledge, evidentiary principle that you can use against someone when they're in a situation where who knows what's on those 34,000 e-mails."
If you have been following the story at all, surely you can't dispute any of that. Her survival as a viable political candidate depends on the fact that so few really believe that our system of law can work to hold her to account. If she rides that long enough to get elected, it'll be another four years of Attorneys General who won't enforce the law on her, or her allies.
What would that do to the country? Can anyone be so unpatriotic as to consider electing her given that?
A Giant in Pakistan
A chemistry lecturer known as 'The Protector' died saving his students by firing back at Taliban militants during a deadly attack on their university that left 30 dead and dozens injured today. Gunmen stormed the Bacha Khan University in Pakistan in an assault that echoed a horrifying Taliban massacre on a nearby army-run school and previous attacks against girls' education, notably the failed assassination attempt of Malala Yusufzai in 2012 in the same province....
The father-of-two opened fire, giving them time to flee before he was cut down by gunfire as male and female students ran for their lives. He was known to his pupils as 'The Protector' because he was a keen hunter and kept a 9mm pistol at school, possibly in light of previous militant attacks.
The Purge Continues
Oxford Students Union votes to remove statue of Cecil Rhodes in order to shame him and itself over the colonial past.
Winter Storm State of Emergency
I assume Grim's Hall readers are quite adequate to the task, but for what it's worth, Governor Deal has just declared a state of emergency.
What About Subversion?
Michael Rubin at Commentary asks why we allow immigrants (especially, in this case, from Iran) to remain in the United States if they betray their new citizenship by acting as subversives for Iran? It's not a new problem. During the Cold War the Communists had a very active program to infiltrate the United States with subversives. Much subversion is protected First Amendment activity. You can say what you want, print what you want, organize for the purpose of effecting political change, and in the case of Iran's revolution, your freedom of religion entitles you to adhere to revolutionary Shi'a Islam if you want. You can advocate for the non-violent transition of the United States to a Communist country, or to an Islamic one.
We don't have a good answer, and I doubt we're going to develop one given that we never did before. Protecting our liberties is generally accepted as more important than protecting ourselves from subversive acts by immigrants. Besides, why get worked up about native Iranians who advocate for Iran when you have Vox and the New York Times?
UPDATE: None of the freed Iranians in the 'prisoner swap' elected to go home to Iran.
No More Ethanol!
Them's fighting words, Trump.
I am tired of losing small engines to E10 gasoline, and E15 gasoline can't even be run in motorcycle engines safely. I am also tired of having to drive out of my way and pay a premium for non-ethanol gasolines, when every station in America could just as readily stock them.
With the Iran-Saudi oil war ongoing, oil prices are going to collapse to levels that could be destabilizing, especially in Latin America. Let's go back to pure gasoline. No more corn in my tank.
Maybe He Was A Lumberjack In His Spare Time
Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' had one of those scary .50 caliber rifles -- one he obtained through President Obama's "Fast and Furious" program.
Via Instapundit, a reminder that the ATF wanted to use their avoidance of American gun control regulations in "Fast and Furious" as a pretext to push for more gun control regulations. Criminals don't obey the law, and it appears Federal agencies don't either.
Nobody's 'Too Big To Jail,' You Know
The headlines describing this as 'Beyond TOP SECRET' are not quite right -- Special Access Programs are technically "TOP SECRET" programs, but there are then further restrictions on access. That's actually not unusual for military programs: we already knew she had TS/SCI data in her emails, and SCI represents a TOP SECRET level of information that is further compartmentalized. In fact, the disagreements about whether SCIs are SAPs is sufficient that I'm not clear on whether this is even new information: the IG report may simply be acknowledging the two TS/SCI emails we already knew about, although FOX News says that is not the case.
In any case, it's big money. If it's additional to the two emails we already knew about, it's huge. If it's a confirmation that the IG considers those two emails to be TS/SAP, it's still really big because it confirms she violated security with incredible recklessness. Violated it for, let us remember, mere personal convenience and to shield herself from being subject to the ordinary public scrutiny that American officials lawfully owe to American citizens.
By Grim on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 6 comments
Radio Derb on "Spree Killings"
John Derbyshire, who has occasionally published books on math in addition to becoming a social pariah, works out the numbers.
Spree killings are anyway only a tiny proportion of gun deaths. There are about 30,000 gun deaths a year in the U.S.A., two-thirds of them suicides. Of the ten thousand or so that aren't suicides, spree killings are a fraction of one percent. If you add up the spree killings for 2015, for example, there were 3 in Chapel Hill in February, 9 in Charleston in June, 2 in Lafayette in July, and 14 in San Bernadino in December; total 28. Out of 30,000.
Round it to thirty, and you've got an easy figure: one in a thousand.
By Grim on Monday, January 18, 2016 2 comments
W. R. Mead on Jacksonians
This is a powerful essay.
For President Barack Obama and his political allies in particular, Jacksonian America is the father of all evils. Jacksonians are who the then Senator had in mind when, in the campaign of 2008, he spoke of the ‘bitter clingers’ holding on to their guns and their Bibles. They are the source of the foreign policy instincts he most deplores, supporting Israel almost reflexively, demanding overwhelming response to terror attacks, agitating for tight immigration controls, resisting diplomacy with Iran and North Korea, supporting Guantanamo, cynical about the UN, skeptical of climate change, and willing to use ‘enhanced interrogation’ against terrorists in arms against the United States.
He hates their instincts at home, too. It is Jacksonians who, as I wrote in Special Providence back in 2001, see the Second Amendment as the foundation of and security for American freedom. It is Jacksonians who most resent illegal immigration, don’t want to subsidize the urban poor, support aggressive policing and long prison sentences for violent offenders and who are the slowest to ‘evolve’ on issues like gay marriage and transgender rights.
The hate and the disdain don’t spring from anything as trivial as pique. Historically, Jacksonian America has been the enemy of many of what President Obama, rightly, sees as some of America’s most important advances. Jacksonian sentiment embraces a concept of the United States as a folk community and, over time, that folk community was generally construed as whites only. Lynch law and Jim Crow were manifestations of Jacksonian communalism, and there are few examples of race, religious or ethnic prejudice in which Jacksonian America hasn’t indulged. Jacksonians have come a long way on race, but they will never move far enough and fast enough for liberal opinion; liberals are moving too, and are becoming angrier and more exacting regardless of Jacksonian progress.
Just as bad, in the view of the President and his allies, Jacksonians don’t have much respect for the educated and the credentialed. Like William F. Buckley, they would rather be governed by the first 100 names in the phonebook than by the Harvard faculty. They loathe the interfering busybodies of the progressive state, believe that government (except for the police and the military) is a necessary evil, think most ‘experts’ and university professors are no smarter or wiser than other people. and feel only contempt for the gender theorists and the social justice warriors of the contemporary classroom.
Virtually everything about progressive politics today is about liquidating the Jacksonian influence in American life. From immigration policy, touted as ending the era when American whites were the population of the United States, to gun policy and to regulatory policy, President Obama and his coalition aim to crush what Jacksonians love, empower what they fear, and exalt what they hate....
There’s another obstacle in the face of a Jacksonian rising: Jacksonians have been hard hit by the changes in the American economy. The secure working class wages that underpinned two generations of rising affluence for the white (and minority) industrial working class have disappeared. That isn’t just about money; the coherence of Jacksonian communities and family life has been seriously impaired. These are the points Charles Murray makes in his harrowing Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010; they have been recently reinforced by studies documenting a holocaust of lower and lower middle class whites.
These devastating changes, utterly ignored by an upper middle class intellectual and cultural establishment that not so secretly hopes for a demographic change in America that will finally marginalize uncredentialed white people once and for all, make Jacksonians angry and frustrated, but they also make it harder to develop an organized political strategy in response to some of the worst and most dangerous conditions faced by any major American demographic group today....
Jacksonian America is rousing itself to fight for its identity, its culture and its primacy in a country that it believes it should own. Its cultural values have been traduced, its economic interests disregarded, and its future as the center of gravity of American political life is under attack. Overseas, it sees traditional rivals like Russia, China, North Korea and Iran making headway against a President that it distrusts; more troubling still, in ISIS and jihadi terror it sees the rapid spread of a movement aiming at the mass murder of Americans. Jacksonian America has lost all confidence in the will or the ability of the political establishment to fight the threats it sees abroad and at home. It wants what it has always wanted: to take its future into its own hands.
Working out how to make that happen is the real problem. The Trump candidacy is at best a mask. Donald Trump is not really a Jacksonian: he is a Trumpist. Jim Webb was a Jacksonian. I am, apparently. Trump is not, and offers no actual hope of making real the promise of genuine self-government.
The governor of Texas has a program that sounds as if it might work, by limiting Federal power and thus empowering the states in a way that, where majorities do exist, the people can 'take their future into their own hands.' If not that, still stronger medicine seems the only answer.
Nemesis Approaches
Nemesis... was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods). Another name was Adrasteia, meaning "the inescapable".
Can you feel her coming through the chilling winter air?
The declaration came as an add-on to anti-Wall Street rhetoric she deployed in response to attacks on her acceptance of vast monies from Wall Street:
"There should be no bank too big to fail and no individual too big to jail."
Even worse, her campaign tweeted the aphorism...
"There should be no bank too big to fail and no individual too big to jail." —Hillary #DemDebate
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 18, 2016
Thoughts on the US Navy/IRGC debacle
Note: these are my thoughts alone and reflect no one else's opinion outside of the voices that live in my head.
By MikeD on Monday, January 18, 2016 8 comments
It Is An Important Question
"Will Hillary Clinton get prosecuted?" is most searched question on Google ahead of the Democratic debate on Sunday night. "Will Hillary Clinton win the nomination?" is second and "What did Hillary Clinton do that is illegal?" is the third.
[T]he problem with this assumption [that Muslims are inferior] is contained in this Polish joke my cousin Tony Zbrowskis told me 50 years ago. But first, do you speak Polish?
How does it feel to be dumber than a Pollack?
And so it goes with Arab Muslims and the Muslims. They speak our language, we do not speak theirs. They have their own alphabet and unlike the Cyrillic alphabet, it is not easily translated into the Western alphabet. Arab Muslims come here not as poor people looking for an opportunity to reach the upper class through hard work, but as students and the like from upper crust families. They study us. They know us. They speak our language and know are culture. They study our government. They do not seek to assimilate. Why would they? We are decadent.
The author goes on to state that liberals think they can use Muslims to further the liberal agenda, but that Muslims will use them instead. I'm not sure he rightly captures the spirit of the thing. The Marxist binary continues to animate the Left in our society, but it is now several binaries of oppression and domination: rich/worker, male/female, white/black, colonialist/oppressed. The last one in particular was a late addition to Marxism -- Lenin wrote a book about it, decades after Marx was in the grave -- but it is wholly out of date now. Colonialism started dying as soon as WWII ended. At least people keep being born male or female, for the most part. The colonial/oppressed model is vastly out of date.
Having these categories of thought blinds you to what is going on. You think you are doing your duty, for being a friend to the weak is 'the duty of a true knight, at least.' But the people designated as 'the weak' aren't so weak anymore: have you seen Dubai?
Yet the categories do not change. They cannot.
The oppressed cannot be the oppressor: that would be a logical contradiction. But human beings are not logical objects. We can oppress here, and be oppressed there: and that my father was oppressed does not mean his son is. Nor vice versa.
The logic of the arguments seems so convincing. The only question is whether the logic applies to the real world.
UPDATE: No kidding from Australia -- "anti-terror laws could prevent teaching from Koran," say Muslim clerics.
What Are "New York Values"?
On 9/11, I discovered much to my surprise that I was very angry about an attack on New York City. It wasn't obvious that I ought to be. My entire life had, after all, been marked by the New York Times remarking on my home and everything I loved in tones most suitable for 19th century anthropologists describing weird savages who practiced cannibalism and head-shrinking on their tribal enemies. I always had the sense that New York had settled itself in judgment against Georgia and the South. Why should I love or defend anyone who hated and despised all I cared about? And yet I did, for reasons that were hard to identify.
Equally hard to identify is exactly what this phrase means, "New York values." I have no idea what the Senator from Texas means by that.
It's a strange place. I've only been there twice, at very different times. The first time was in the 1980s, when it was dangerous and weird. The last time was just a few years ago, when it was gentrified and not very weird at all. It means a lot of things to a lot of people.
As for me, I enjoyed the Cloisters, and then I left. It's not for me. Is that because its values are not mine? Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know how to tell you what it values, or if it values anything. People value things, and there are too many people there. How could you name a coherent vision from such a multitude? America is e pluribus unum, but not New York: it remains many, and if you come back in a decade or two it will be another many, different from before.
UPDATE: Stephen L. Miller proclaims himself a proud New Yorker, and tries to explain what he thinks New York is all about.
At its best, New York is a real, functioning, unglamorous, unforgiving machine. And it’s all of that despite what the balance in your account says. It’s not Times Square on New Year’s Eve. It’s the hidden neighborhoods, tucked out of the reach of the sightseers. It’s the concrete canyons filled with natives hunkering down in hooded jackets and earplugs, not the European visitors searching for Mad Men or the Kardashians. New York is the person on the subway with an overstuffed bag and unfashionable walking shoes, just trying to get to and from work or home. It’s the wind-bitten locals rolling their eyes at the throngs of out-of-towners....
And you have to be able to love it. All of it.
That's New York at its best, according to someone who says he does love it!
I'm glad you're happy, really. I'm just even more glad that I can stay a very long way away from any place like that.
By Grim on Sunday, January 17, 2016 3 comments
There's No Substitute for a .50 Cal
Apparently Mythbusters got to this 'can you fell a tree with a machine gun?' thing a while ago. They determined that yes, you could, in 45 seconds.
So that's 2,250 rounds, which at $0.50 a round is $1,125 for the tree.
Looks to me like it takes about three .50 BMG hits to knock down that tree in the clip below. Now, BMG is a little more expensive -- about $3 a round -- but that still works out to $9 for the takedown. If it takes four or five hits, it's affordable.
Sounds to me like there's no choice but to prefer the .50 BMG rifle for lumberjack work.
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This website was made with the permission, and in the loving memory of Sachkhand Nivasi Jathedar Akali Baba Surjeet Singh Ji 96Krori, the 14th Jathedar of the Budha Dal.
The Budha Dal carries a rich history to it. The Budha Dal is an institute that traces its roots to the Akaal Sena, the army established by the 5th Guru, Akali Guru Arjan Dev Ji and was strengthened by the 6th Guru, Akali Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. The Akaal Sena’s headquarters was the Akaal Takhat Sahib. The Akaal Sena strengthened to such a point that it contained soldiers from all faiths. Their fight was not against any particular body, but against unrighteousness and to uphold peace and equality over the lands they watched over. The Akaal Sena evolved into the Khalsa Fauj. This Khalsa Fauj was the official army of Sahib Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The Budha Dal and Tarna Dal were 2 battalions within the Khalsa Fauj. The Budha Dal were blessed with the duties of maintaining rule within the Khalsa Panth and preserve and protect the Gurdwaras and Ithihasik Asthaans throughout Punjab. The Budha Dal used to be the institute where the Vidhvaans who held a lineage which dated back to the Gurus rested. Also, war veterans and promising soldiers resided at the Budha Dal. The Budha Dal was traditionally respected and recognised as the Panjva Takhat, or 5th Takhat. This was due to the immense power the Budha Dal held. It was recognised to such an extent that the renowned and legendary Jathedar Akali Baba Phoola Singh Ji, the 6th Jathedar of the Budha Dal and the General of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Army, ordered punishment for Maharaja Ranjit Singh for breaking a conduct of the Sikh Dharam. The Khalsa Fauj was reorganised in 1734 by the venerated Jathedar, Akali Baba Nawab Kapoor Singh Ji, the third Jathedar of the Budha Dal. The Khalsa Fauj was split into 2 Dals. The Budha Dal and the Tarna Dal. The Budha Dal still survives to this day and has undergone much tragedy, however this blessed Panth will continue to survive under the blessing of the Tenth Master. The Budha Dal was named after Baba Buddha Ji, who accompanied the first 6 gurus and applied Tikka to 5 of the six. After performing such service to the Gurus, Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji proclaimed that Baba Buddha Ji would have a great place in the House of the Guru. This Gursikh Pyaara would be known to all, not only for the beautiful qualities he possessed and the Seva he did, but also for the recognition he was blessed with, to have the Guru Khalsa Fauj named after him.
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HUMAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT
Where leopards await human compassion
The lack of awareness about a traditionally peace-loving species and inadequate safeguards to protect their natural habitats and corridors are posing a serious threat to the continued survival of leopards in and around the city of Guwahati. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.
20 March 2015 -
Leopards, traditionally living in Guwahati city, are now afraid to let out their territorial roar. The habitats of this big cat species are no longer their own, but have been usurped by humans. Peace-loving animals, the leopards in the city are trying their best however to avoid a situation of conflict and co-exist peacefully with the residents of a city that has been growing in the most unplanned and haphazard of ways.
Unfortunately, panic among city residents at the mere sight of a leopard, mostly triggered by wrong perception and wrong media projections of this peace-loving animal as a ferocious beast, is posing a grave threat to its existence and coming in the way of a happy co-existence.
Animal lovers and wildlife experts have already pressed the alarm bell and say that it is high time to draw up an immediate and strategic plan of action, so that this unique species can be protected in and around the city that has expanded rapidly, destroying their indigenous habitats in the hilly terrains and foothills.
A male adult leopard captured from Maligaon area in Guwahati in a severely wounded condition; it eventually died in the zoo. Pic: UB Photos
An alarming number of 11 leopards, sighted in different human settlements in Guwahati, were captured last year and in January 2015 by the Department of Forest and Environment and subsequently rehabilitated in the Assam State Zoo, Guwahati that is being seen as an alternative space for their survival. However, that is a certainly not an alternative that is in the best interests of the species.
“In the Zoo, we have limited space to provide a home for big-cats. It has the provision to accommodate only 7-8 leopards, whereas we have to accommodate 22 leopards now, in a congested space, following all the recent instances of capture,” says Chandan Bora, the Divisional Forest Officer of the Zoo.
Leopards captured in Guwahati City in 2014 - 2015 (till date)
(Source: State Zoo Authority)
Date of capture
Sub-adult female (Kahilipara area of South Kalapahar RF)
Survived till date
Sub-adult male (Kahilipara area of South Kalapahar RF)
Died due to traumatic injury
Sub-adult male (Birubari area of South Kalapahar RF)
Adult (Birubari area of South Kalapahar RF )
Adult Female (Maligaon area of Gotanagar RF )
Female adult Pandu area
Maligaon area, adult male
Died due to emphysem disease
Male adult Santipur area
Unfortunately, five of these captured leopards, including two sub-adults, one adult female and two adult males have died so far. All, but one, died due to ‘traumatic injury’, as recorded by the zoo authority.
Understanding the leopards of Guwahati
The city of Guwahati, which is also considered the gateway to northeast India, has a permanent population of 9.63 lakh according to the 2011 Census. The city has a total municipal area of 216 square kilometres. Apart from its permanent population, it also accommodates a large number by way of a floating population that daily visits the city for different purposes. The Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority has an administered area of 264 square kilometres.
It is not a very distant past when the green belts of Guwahati city covering hills and plains were considered to be among the safest places and corridors for the big cats, which traditionally prefer to live near human habitations. Ten notified Reserve Forests in and around the city used to support plenty of space for flourishing of floral and faunal diversity.
These include South Kalapahar (70 hectare), Fatasil (670 hectare), Jalukbari (97.70 hectare), Gotanagar (175 hectare), Hengerabari (628 hectare), Sarania (7.99 hectare), Garhbhanga (18,860.58 hectare), Rani (4,370 hectare) Amsang (7,864 hectare) and Deepor Beel, which is a large natural water body with forest cover with and area of 4.14 sq km.
A lost emperor's cry for sovereignty
Leopards face sustained threat
However, it is important to note the fact that reports of human-leopard conflict in the Amsang and Rani reserve forests, which have sufficient forest cover, prey base and water sources, are almost nil. Deepor Beel reserve forest, which is not home to the big cats, is used by them as corridors.
In addition to these, leopards were also found in the various hilly stretches including Nilachal Hill, Narakasur Hill, Chunsali Hill, Nabagraha Hill and Geetanagar Hill. The green cover is also home to vivid avian species, snakes and reptiles, barking deer, monkeys, other cat families including civet cat, lesser cat etc. along with other faunal species.
With the growth of the city, large parts of these notified reserve forest cover have been encroached by people migrating to the city for livelihood. Known for their unique camouflaging capacity inside the jungle, leopards have become frequently visible in these pockets -- mostly when sub-adults get separated from their mothers and search for new territories for their own along the corridors, or when adult females with calves visit nearby human habitations for easy prey.
CCTV cameras installed in various houses and business establishments as a protection measure have recorded their presence too, especially during nights when they search for prey. Such instances often lead to massive hue and cry among citizens, forcing the Department of Environment and Forests to trap them, and finally rehabilitate them in the state zoo.
Even then, people crowd around the cages in which the leopards are trapped and often shout in excitement causing severe psychological trauma to the trapped animal. This is of particular concern to nature lovers and animal rights activists. In the clamour following its capture, the horrified and nervous animal starts to hit the iron rods of the cage in fear, which causes serious injury to the brain, and eventually leads to the death of the animal inside the zoo.
A sub-adult female captured from Kailipara area on 7 March 2014, that died in the zoo due to traumatic injury. Pic: UB Photos
Bibhab Talukdar, Secretary General of Aaranyak, an organisation dedicated to work for wildlife management and conservation, is of the opinion that a general curfew should be announced by the district administration for a while in the locality where a leopard is trapped: to restrain people’s movement, to prevent its stress, trauma and possible attack arising out of such a situation.
While citizens create a shrill ruckus whenever a leopard is sighted, there has not been a single incident of leopards attacking a human being, or even taking away their pets. They only hunt the stray dogs or unattended goats as prey, clearly indicating that they are happy to maintain a peaceful co-existence with human life in the city. On a single occasion alone in November last year, when a leopard was trapped in a cage in Gauhati University near Jalukbari Reserve Forest, the horrified animal attacked a forest official as the latter came very close to it. However, it was not a fatal incident.
“Leopards are territorial animals, live in contiguous habitat and need sufficient space. Although they prefer to live near human habitations, they do not disturb human life, and take away animals very rarely, only when there is an acute dearth of prey. In fact, the leopard has a wide-ranging prey base including barking deer, monkeys, birds, stray dogs, rats and even frogs. They have a positive role in maintaining bio-diversity,” says Professor Prasanta Kumar Saikia at the Department of Zoology of Gauhati University.
The food-chain of the species, however, is closely related to human settlements. Their prey base includes among other things small cat families such as the civet cat, lesser cat and others that in turn depend on small animals and birds reared by humans. In cities, stray dogs form the leopard’s favourite prey due to the ease of capture.
Professor Saikia is of the opinion that an effective awareness drive for citizens would help improve the situation and make the city wildlife friendly city. For example, it should be known that leopards tend to shift their calves every 15 days to protect them from other animals. During this period, a mother may stray into human habitation in search of easy prey. If the mother is trapped, there is every possibility that her calves will die, he points out. Erecting high fencing or boundary walls do not help in preventing leopards from entering human habitation, as they are good climbers too.
Saikia also elaborates on two unfortunate experiences that he encountered recently within the boundaries of the Gauhati University itself. The hills, which are adjacent to this University and extend up to Assam Engineering College, both in the Jalukbari area, have traditionally provided safe homes for this unique species. However, during November last year, night movements of two sub-adults who tried to come out in search of new territory through their corridor were reported.
“The news spread immediately, creating panic and clamour among the students and their parents. This led the university authorities to seek help from the Department of Environment and Forests, which subsequently trapped one of them. The other died as it tried to cross the road towards Tetelia area of Gotanagar Reserve Forest and was hit by fast moving vehicles. As I stay in a quarter, I had had the opportunity to see both of them moving here and there during nights, and it gave me immense pleasure. They were never harmful to us,” recalls the professor.
The one trapped and rehabilitated in the zoo, also died eventually due to “traumatic injury”. Saikia insists on protecting these corridors at any cost by making sufficient arrangements to avoid such unfortunate events.
Far from having safeguards in place, the forest and environment department is yet to come out with a systematic survey to figure out the actual size and population of big cats and other wildlife species in the vicinity of the capital city. The department, however, is planning to carry out an extensive survey using camera traps. Meanwhile, a steering group has been formed for carrying out a ‘sign survey’ to know more about leopard concentration from basic indications; this is likely to begin as soon as the rainy season arrives.
Laudable efforts of Gauhati University
Meanwhile Saikia has already started a survey of leopards and its prey base in greater Guwahati area, involving students of Animal Ecology and Wildlife Biology, a course introduced by the department. Students equipped with tools for camera trapping are already in the field. The study is likely to end during July/August this year, he adds.
The university is also entrusted with a Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) project titled “Leopard-human conflict mitigation though community participation;” the working team includes Professor Jatin Kalita of the Department of Zoology, Professor Prasanta Kumar Saikia, Dr Dilip Chetri, Director of Gibbon Conservation Center, Dr. Abhijit Das of the Wildlife Institute of India and Radhika Bhagat of WTI. Mridul Bora, a Masters student of the department, is the Coordinator of the project.
The project aims to initiate vigorous awareness campaigns in vulnerable areas of the city, a signature campaign among the students, mobile campaigns, wall writing using aerosol paint, and installation of permanent banners under the theme of “Save the Phantom.” The future of the species now rests to a significant extent on the success of these initiatives.
Ratna Bharali Talukdar
Ratna Bharali Talukdar is a freelance journalist based in Guwahati, Assam. She received the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Media Person and the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
URL for this article
http://indiatogether.org/human-leopard-conflict-in-guwahati-city-environment
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Results tagged ‘ Carpenter ’
Could this be the season for CY/MVP?
There’s no sugar-coating the fact that this season has not been anything like what we all had hoped back in February, but there are some bright spots that are impossible to ignore. In fact, the performances of Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw last night once again put their names among those that have to be considered for Cy Young and Most Valuable Player in the National League.
The Dodgers haven’t had that happen since 1988 when Kirk Gibson and Orel Hershiser pulled it off and it hadn’t happened before that in Los Angeles since 1974 with Steve Garvey and Mike Marshall. Of course, we got spoiled in the early 60s when Maury Wills and Don Drysdale did it in 1962, followed by Koufax winning both awards in 1963. Don Newcombe pulled off the double-feat in 1956 back in Brooklyn, the first year the Cy Young Award was given out.
Meanwhile, it hasn’t happened to any team in the NL since Pujols and Carpenter did it for St. Louis in 2005 and the last time it happened in the bigs was when Minnesota did it with Morneau and Santana in 2006.
If the season ended today, do you think they’d both take home these coveted awards?
Photo courtesy Getty Images
Tags: Carpenter, Clayton Kershaw, Cy Young Award, Don Drysdale, Don Newcombe, Kirk Gibson, Matt Kemp, Maury Wills, Mike Marshall, Morneau, MVP, Orel Hershiser, Pujols, Sandy Koufax, Santana, Steve Garvey
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The Jacob Freed Foundation is a non-profit organization, devoted to improving the physical health and mental wellness of the 9 million children worldwide who suffer from childhood obesity. Founded by philanthropist Jacob Freed, the JFF is intended to be an asylum for victims of childhood obesity and their families, providing them with protection and education, as well as family and community based programming. With presence in schools, homes, and society in general, the JFF works diligently to abolish childhood obesity and its devastating effects, from low self-esteem and social isolation to long term health problems, empowering victims of this epidemic and presenting them with the chance to live longer, happier, healthier lives. Jacob Freed felt it his obligation to provide support for those suffering from childhood obesity, many of whom don't have the resources to recover from it. Overweight in his own childhood, Freed saw a weakness in himself that he had an opportunity to correct. Armed with the educational tools that were provided to him throughout his upbringing, and faced with the realization that so many others suffer from the same problem but lack those very tools, Freed felt compelled to lead the battle on their behalf. Inspired by his own ability to overcome the dangers and pitfalls of this epidemic, Jacob Freed and his foundation provide others with this coveted opportunity, regardless of their mental or socioeconomic status. The Jacob Freed Foundation recently joined forces with celebrity music producer and recording artist Timbaland, hosting a fundraising launch event. Through the Jacob Freed Foundation, Freed aims to raise awareness, reversing the detrimental effects of this staggering epidemic, and to teach those afflicted in the interim that they are capable of overcoming any obstacle.
© THE JACOB FREED FOUNDATION
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Government To Make Decision On Russian Diplomats This Morning
| Vendredi, Mars 30, 2018
Earlier more than 25 countries, have expelled over 150 Russian diplomats in connection with the Salisbury incident. Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said today that the nerve-agent attack on Skripal and his daughter Yulia was a "shocking and abhorrent" use of chemical weapons. [Full Article...]
Tearful Australia coach Lehmann quits over cheat scandal
Warner has also lost his IPL contract of a similar value. Axed captain Smith, vice-captin Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft have all been sent home from South Africa for their role in a scandal that has rocked Australian cricket . [Full Article...]
Markelle Fultz Impresses 76ers Fans In Long-Awaited Return
| Jeudi, Mars 29, 2018
Fultz's return just adds to the positivity surrounding the Sixers at present after they secured their first playoff berth since 2012. Fultz sparked the 76ers at times in a reserve role. This proved to be a historic stat line for the 19-year-old as he joined Kevin Porter of the Washington Bullets as the only two players in NBA history to post at least 10 points and eight assists in 15 ... [Full Article...]
Top euro clubs will have paid attention to Isco's comments about Zidane
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Lazio hit for £1.75m by email scammers, claims report
An email was sent to the club by someone who appeared to have knowledge of the details of the transfer deal and they asked for the final instalment to be paid into a new account, which the Italian club complied with. Thankfully, the prosecutor handling the case was able to track the payment to a Dutch bank and it's just as well too - De Vrij is set to leave Lazio this summer after failing to agr... [Full Article...]
David Warner quits as Sunrisers Hyderabad captain
In fact, two days ago, SRH mentor VVS Laxman had indicated that franchise would wait for Cricket Australia's decision on the player. Smith had stepped down from the RR captaincy and Warner had followed the suit on Wednesday. It is not lost on them that there is clamour to ban Smith and Warner for life but some officials, who are conversant with the development, claim such an extreme action is ... [Full Article...]
Russie-France : "On s'en sort avec des fulgurances", estime Bixente Lizarazu
| Mercredi, Mars 28, 2018
L'équipe de France jouait ce mardi en Russie un match de préparation pour la Coupe du monde 2018. Les deux latéraux changent également, avec les titularisations de Benjamin Pavard à droite, et de Lucas Hernandez à gauche. Fyodor Smolov avait réduit la marque pour les Russes (68e). Au retour des vestiaires, les hommes de Didier Deschamps ont su se remobiliser et ont fait le break sur un coup-... [Full Article...]
National Football League owners adopt new catch rule
The NFL on Tuesday approved three playing rule changes at its annual meeting in Orlando, including new language meant to simplify the definition of a catch. "I think when you talk about where some of the gray has existed, a lot of it is in the semantics of the words", he said Tuesday. "If someone asks, 'What is a catch?,' we can say, 'It's control, two feet and perform a football act, '" ... [Full Article...]
Steve Smith Ball-Tampering Scandal
That article relates to "all types of conduct of a serious nature that is contrary to the spirit of the game". Opening batsman Bancroft was caught on camera placing sticky yellow tape, which he used to pick up rough granules off the pitch, into the front of his pants when he believed he had been spotted by the umpires. [Full Article...]
Brazil win 1-0 in Berlin to end Germany's unbeaten run
Manuel Neuer of Germany lifts the World Cup trophy. Hertha Berlin defender Marvin Plattenhardt also started. In stark contrast to the 2014 World Cup semi-final, when Germany ripped through Brazil's defence nearly at will, Die Mannschaft could find no route through to goal . [Full Article...]
Raheem Sterling's plea to England fans: "Show us some love"
The Manchester City forward has been making noticeably better decisions around how to finish chances and has been taking up more intelligent positions on the pitch. "I feel sometimes there is too much negativity". I would love to hear some positive notes going in, just to make the boys know that everyone's behind them. [Full Article...]
Logger track team brings experience to new season
| Mardi, Mars 27, 2018
Running in the 1,500 on Friday in The Dalles, he cut his time down from a year ago and finished in 5 minutes, 5.66 seconds, setting a new personal record. Ryan began her track and field career in middle school, and during the summertime she played competitive softball. She'll likely help out the 4x400 team as well. [Full Article...]
Le coup d'éclat des Pays-Bas, larges vainqueurs du Portugal (0-3)
Très réalistes durant la première demi-heure, les hommes de Ronald Koeman ont fait le break grâce à des buts de Depay (11e) et Babel (32e) et ont enfoncé le clou juste avant la pause par l'intermédiaire de van Dijk (45e+2). Le Portugal avait déjà frisé le code vendredi à Zurich face à l'Egypte (succès 2-1), renversant la vapeur au bout du temps additionnel après un doublé de Cristiano Ronaldo... [Full Article...]
CHELSEA - Courtois rejects Real rumors: "I've got one more year at Blues"
But Courtois, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of the 2018-19 season, confirms he is likely to still be playing for Chelsea next season, but was less open about whether he would sign a new contract. Courtois has returned to Chelsea from worldwide duty with Belgium due to a hamstring injury. I live there quietly and know that I will be at Chelsea next year as well. [Full Article...]
Messi présent face à l'Espagne ?
Jorge Sampaoli fait partie des entraîneurs qui ont eu la chance d'accompagner Lionel Messi durant sa carrière. " Un joueur qui reste le meilleur du monde pendant dix ans modifie ta façon d'entraîner". C'est fou qu'il ne puisse pas profiter de son talent . Messi , c'est le meilleur joueur de l'histoire . C'est une responsabilité, mais aussi un grand plaisir , écrit Jorge Sampaoli dans un ouv... [Full Article...]
Giants, Rams have discussed possible Odell Beckham trade
However, he is reportedly seeking a contact that would make him the NFL's highest-paid wide receiver, possibly in the $20 million-a-year range. In the video , a man who appears to be Beckham is holding the unknown substance next to a pizza on a bed and talking with a woman. [Full Article...]
Yankees' Bird scratched because of sore right foot
This is obviously not the news the Yankees wanted to hear about their starting first baseman, especially this close to the start of the regular season. "This morning I wake up and I'm hitting leadoff", Judge said, per ESPN. "I guess it carried over in (Saturday's) pregame". The 25-year-old has missed significant time in his young career battling foot and ankle injuries He played in just 46 gam... [Full Article...]
Caroline Wozniacki affirme avoir été insultée par des spectateurs — Miami
| Lundi, Mars 26, 2018
Ils criaient des choses sur moi que je ne peux pas répéter et la nièce et le neveu de mon fiancé, qui ont tout juste dix ans, ont été priés de s'asseoir et de se taire. "Si nous avions été avertis, la situation aurait été traitée immédiatement". "La sécurité des joueurs est notre priorité N.1". Eliminée vendredi dès son entrée en lice à Miami sur un score étonnant (0-6, 6-4, 6-4) par la Portor... [Full Article...]
Spieth, McIlroy, Mickelson KO'd in WGC Match Play
And when things are working, his opponents are left scratching their heads at just how he gets his golf ball to do those insane things. "I got off to a good start, really got it going", Watson said. The end came for Thomas at 16. His first opponent on Sunday will be Watson, who made the semis with a narrow 2 & 1 win over Brian Harman before a more comfortable 5 & 3 victory over Thailand's Kira... [Full Article...]
Thinking Southgate makes case for England's defence
After all, there's a World Cup coming up and England have a fairly exciting and youthful line-up this time around, and Gareth Southgate seems like the right guy for the job. England , who had not won in Amsterdam since 1969, now have one more friendly against Italy on Tuesday before Southgate finalises his squad for Russian Federation. [Full Article...]
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Why didn't I cover the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee hearing C.I.'s writing about? I wasn't there for it. It was supposed to start at two. C.I. left about three to do a speaking thing and I stayed but it was starting a few seconds after C.I. got back. (Which I believe was after 6:30 p.m.) So I didn't cover it because I was gone. I went to eat and then to relax some. If it had started while I was there, I was going to cover it. That was the plan. C.I. assumed that I'd have it to cover last night and the snapshot today would quote from my coverage.
But the hearing never started. It was at least four hours and thirty minutes late starting, at least. I've never had a hearing being that delayed. I blame the same person (not on the committee) that C.I. does. The little "OH HELP ME!! OH HELP ME!!! THE REPUBLICANS ARE OUT OF CONTROL" whiner.
I stayed thinking I would be covering it. Instead I was just one of many people staring.
Free Speech Radio News had an interesting headline today:
More than 700 UK workers fired after holding unofficial strike
In the UK a dispute by construction workers at a Total oil refinery threatens to spread across the UK. Workers at 17 power stations and construction sites are holding solidarity actions for the more than 700 workers fired by the French oil corporation. From London, FSRN’s Naomi Fowler reports:
Reporter:According to Total oil refinery workers, 700 people were sacked Thursday night for their previous involvement in unofficial strike action. They say Total has been bringing in foreign European workers in order to drive down wages and undermine job security. Workers say they are not opposed to foreign labor, but believe if they lose this fight, it will give the green light to other big corporations to behave similarly. Total says striking workers are taking part in an "unofficial, illegal walk-out" and that firing workers is normal practice when different parts of a project end. It has so far refused to meet with the unions. Naomi Fowler, FSRN, London.
Big Oil knows no boundaries. As the Iraqi people can certainly attest. Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, June 19, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the VA backlog continues and will continue for some time judging by a Congressional hearing, Gordon Brown continues to be a newsmaker of the week (not a good thing for Brown), Iraqi refugees continue to struggle, and more.
Late yesterday, well after 6:00 p.m., the House Committee on Veterans Affairs' Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs called their 2:00 p.m. hearing to order. US House Rep John J. Hall chaired the subcommittee hearing, "Addressing the Backlog: Can the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Manage One Manage One Million Claims?" Hall observed, "This is a problem that's plagued the VA and the veterans it's supposed to serve for years."
The first panel was composed of the American Legion's Ian de Planque, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Disabled American Veterans' Kerry Baker, Service Women's Action Network's Rachel Ntelson and Gulf War veteran David Bohan of Oregon.
Bohan shared his personal story which is not unique to him and which members of the House Veterans Committee and its various subcommittees have heard repeatedly but there's still been no action on it -- even with John Hall having proposed legislation to assist with this (HR 952).
David Bohan: A counselor at the VA in Roseburg suggested I pursue a claim for my PTSD and for injuries to my left foot during the time I was stationed at Fort Riley Kansas and recommended I contact the American Legion for help. The VA system is confusing, overwhelming and it is not all friendly to veterans. [. . .] So many of the people at VA are not veterans and don't understand what we are going through. You end up feeling like some of them care more about their rules and regulations and paperwork than they care about the veterans. We veterans don't have any idea where the piece of paper or that record is after all of the time. Regarding military records, veterans don't have any idea where our records are kept. And apparently the military doesn't know either. I was up late last night digging through boxes, looking for records to prove I was in the army, that I was in the Gulf War and that I had been in a combat -- in combat and that I had all the necessary stressors to qualify for VA assistance. The memories -- the memories that going through all these materials from my army days were very painful. With the help of American Legion service officer Gregg Demaris, I received a PTSD rating from the BA. But the issues with my foot have not yet been -- been addressed. My medical records from Fort Riley are missing. I've spent hour on the telephone, I've sent faxes, I've even sent e-mails. But after months of trying, no one can find my records. The hospital at Fort Riley says they do not have the records of the surgeries on my foot. I have contacted the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis many, many times. But I still do not have the records of the multiple surgeries on my foot. Until I can obtain those records and present them to the VA, I cannot pursue the rest of my case.
HR 952 would make it much easier for veterans suffering from PTSD to receive treatment for it without jumping through hoops of paperwork. The measure would not help David Bohan with his foot injury. The issue of the foot injury, however, is something that a call to one of his senator's office should have resolved already. (Via the office lighting a fire under the VA. I'm not stating Bohan hasn't pursued that. I would guess he has. I'm stating someone's dropping the ball: Gordon Smith or Ron Wyden -- or both.) We'll note this section of Rachel Ntelson's opening remarks.
Rachel Ntelson: To begin, studies indicate an institutional bias in favor of claimants with combat experience, an advantage which disproportionately favors men. Not only do claim processors fail to understand the degree to which women are effectively -- if not nominally -- serving in combat positions but they also fail to appreciate the extent to which service members in non-combat occupations and support roles are exposed to traumatic events. Among the most pervasive stressors experienced by military women are incidents of sexual assault and harassment. The prevalence of sexual assault in the military is hardly news and has been the subject of a number of recent Congressional hearings and Pentagon reports. By some accounts, nearly a third of female veterans report episodes of sexual assault during military service while seventy-one to ninety percent report experiences of sexual harassment. These experiences are closely associated with PTSD in a variety of studies; in fact, military sexual assault is a stronger predictor of PTSD among women veterans than combat history. Likewise, studies indicate that sexual harassment causes the same rates of PTSD in women as combat does in men. In spite of this correlation, the VA grants benefits to a significantly smaller percentage of female than male PTSD claimants. This disparity stems largely from the difficulties of substantiating experiences of military sexual assault -- especially in a combat arena. Under military regulations, for example, sexual harassment investigations are only retained on file for two years from the close of each case. While criminal investigations of sexual assault are better documented, eighty percent of assault victims fail to report the offense and over twenty percent of those who do file reports opt for a 'restricted' mode that precludes official investigation. Although training and reference materials for raters provide a great deal of guidance on how combat medals and commendations may be used to support PTSD claims, they make little mention of how to address the challenges of documenting military sexual assault as an in-service stressor.
The first panel was the only one not staffed by government employees. We'll note a series of exchanges from it and these are my notes and I may have missed a word or two. (I was tired. During the long wait for the hearing to start, I believe it was Kerry Baker who was on his laptop throughout the wait using the time wisely. Most waiting were thinking, "This has to start soon. This has to." Or as one reporter put it during the long wait, "It won't look very good for the House Veterans Committee if they can't handle a hearing on whether or not the VA can handle claims." No, it wouldn't. That's all stated because the Ranking Member may have had good questions but my pen skids right across the paper during his questions. It was a long wait for the hearing to start.)
Chair John Hall: Mr. de Planque, there have been some concerns and misperceptions about the role of service connection in being able to access VA health care. If a veteran is not service connected than how likely is it that he or she will get turned down for VA health care treatment? Should veterans with claims pending adjudication be held eligible for VA health care and should mental health counseling be offered to all veterans during the stress of the VA claims processing system?
Ian de Planque: In the sense of that, Mr. Chairman, it's -- it's actually -- it's a slightly complicated issue and there have been a number of things that have changed although they are attempting to bring them back forward. In 2003, when the category eight veterans were shut out of VA from treatment, it made it very difficult for them to receive treatment for -- for medical conditions. And that is being phased back in. However veterans who are serving now in the present conflict are entitled to five years of VA health care after they demobilize, after they are discharged from the military and it will run out after that point and they will not be able to get health care for the conditions that are not service connected. With regards to mental health care, in many of the VA outreach clinics they're not in a position to be turning people away from trying to get the care they need but it's not always capable of getting the full level of care that particularly severe cases of mental disorders which can arise. It is possible to get some degree of health care within certain circumstances when you fall into certain categories as a veteran but in terms of an all inclusive group of veterans being able to receive health care if they are not service connected for a condition than that is not the case.
Chair John Hall: I would ask you one more question if I may which is that some of the solutions highlighted in your testimony were already considered and enacted by Congress in PL110-389. Do you think these provisions are sufficient or are there other legislative changes the Legion would like to see Congress enact?
Ian de Planque: In some sense with the changes which have been enacted, they've all been enacted very recently and we're seeing promising signs for example with what VA is beginning to do with improving electronic communication and making 4As into the IT solutions. They're showing promising signs but it's still very early to determine how overall effective those will be. As I've stated before, it would be beneficial to work with the -- the changes that are creating improvements but we don't want to just change the set of tools that continues to operate within the same system. If we -- if you're continuing to make the same problems but doing it electronically that doesn't make it any better than if you're making the same mistakes and doing it on paper. In terms of legislative solutions which could be brought forward, already up for consideration are the -- as we mentioned in our testimony -- the changes to the Section 1154 which covers veterans -- currently covers veterans who have engaged in combat in proving the occurrence of incidents that are consistent with combat and the expansion of it to combat zones as we recognize the non-linear battlefield of modern warfare and that the documentation of all such incidents for all soldiers -- not just soldiers who have infantry cross rifles and can get a combat infantry badge. Not just soldiers who are wounded and receive a Purple Heart which makes things obvious, but all the soldiers who are deployed to combat zones and experience these incidents which are sometimes difficult to document. So continuing to work towards the legislation and pass solutions on that front would be a great help in reducing because it would reduce a lot of their burden for overdeveloping. They would be able to grant that one point and they wouldn't spend a lot of time needlessly developing.
Chair John Hall: Thank you sir, and Mr. Bohan once again thank you for your testimony and your service. It sounds like nobody from VA mentioned to you that you could file a claim even though you were in treatment for over 15 years before you did file. Would your experience with this process have been easier if you had filed a claim right away?
David Bohan: Mr. Chairman, not knowing what the technology back then at that point, I'm assuming there would be roadblocks also as well. But that's hard to say because I did not file back at that time.
Chair John Hall: Fair enough. Thank you. And, Mr. Jackson, I'm interested in the provisional claims processing proposal you mentioned in your testimony. Could you elaborate on how it would work practically by walking us through the first steps of finality for a veteran who might file a claim under this system?
Robert Jackson: My pleasure, Mr. Chairman. What this does, it essentially is not a -- it's not a permanent fix. What it does is buys time. What you're doing is you're -- you're allowing existing information to be used for a provisional rating. The veteran then -- if he or she decides that that rating is not what they think is sufficient then they can continue the process that they normally would. The goal of the provisional proposal that Jerry [Manar] has created is to -- is to get claims -- new claims through the system quickly allowing the VA workforce to work on the backlog. It's -- it's something that's not going to be a permanent fix but it's something that could certainly alleviate some of the workload.
This is where the Ranking Member Doug Lamborn came in. I believe I nodded off for his entire questioning of the first panel. Here's where Hall resumed speaking.
Chair John Hall: In listening to your testimony I'm reminded of a hearing we held over a year ago on artificial intelligence, Dr. Randy Miller, Chair of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University made similar observations about reducing the days to process claims by using clinical informatics which is what your imaging scanning center would seem to do. Have you also considered that the scanned image should be converted into a standardized electronically processed format? What is the feasibility of implementing the proposed centralized information system that you mentioned in your testimony?
Kerry Baker: Well Mr. Chairman, if you're talking about -- are you suggesting if we use something like an image scanning center would you do more than just copy the document? Would you have a workable format that could provide some sort of database and search-able tool? That would absolutely be preferable. It would allow people to search the claims file much, much easier than sitting there having to read 1000 pages on the computer. The feasibility of that? I'm afraid I don't have the expertise. I don't know where VA is in their IT development, if they could do something like that. As I understand it, there's a lot of companies out there and processes out there that can capture that sort of data. I just don't know where VA is with that technology.
Chair John Hall: Thank you. And your plan also calls for a reduction time from one year to 180 days of the time that a veteran can make an appeal but then allows them the opportunity to ask for an extension. Other insurance programs have restrictions that do not allow an appeal after the due date. Are their circumstances in which you could see a case being closed and an appeal being disallowed? And should there be a limitation on the number of times that a veteran can appeal the same condition without new evidence?
Kerry Baker: I could see where one could get closed and disallowed if they allowed the six months to run out and they did not request an extension and they couldn't show any cause as to why their appeal should be equitably told. That would be no different than the appeal running out at the in excess of one year point right now. Only right now they cannot request an extension and they cannot be equitably told the court have stopped short of addressing that issue with the appellate period. So we realize that the six months issue may not be met with a lot of favoritism upfront but when you're providing a couple of extra benefits that a lot of people are going without right now -- which is the extension and the equitable tolling -- we think that's more than fair. And it's still six months we're talking about. The average time it takes VA to get an NOD is forty-one days. 90% of all the POs are received in the first six months. So we think in the long run the system will be much better with that. You had a second part of that question?
Chair John Hall: Should there be a limitation on the number of times the veteran can appeal the same condition without new evidence?
Kerry Baker: Well VA -- VA has a process now, a lot of people get it confused. If you -- if you reapply for the same thing and you've been denied for and you don't have any new evidence, what you normally get is -- you will get a decision saying 'you haven't presented new evidence, your claim is not reopened.' However, that issue -- in and of itself -- can be appealed all the way up to the courts. So it is, in effect, a claim within the system -- the claim is an appeal to reopen the claim. During the appelate process, that could be decided in favor of the veteran and goes all the way back down to the beginning just to be reopened and the actual issue decided so I mean there is some convulsion there -- how do you go about, you know -- Iiii -- rectifying that. I wouldn't suggest that you simply not allow the veteran to reopen anything without new evidence, I mean there's a fine line where you start taking away rights as some point. But if they had no evidence whatsoever, that's kind of what they do now. You can just appeal that decision just like you can appeal anything else.
Chair John Hall: Thank you very much. And Ms. Ntelson, thank you first of all for your support of HR 952. The information that you've presented on women's veterans -- women veterans corroborates what we have heard before at our hearings. When the Department of Defense appeared at one of these hearings, they described their PTSD approach as relying on the opinion of the medical examiner which is what it seems you are suggesting. So if VA like DoD instituted a disability evaluation system that relied more on medical opinions than psychometric testing results, do you think this change would be reliable enough for the establishment of compensation?
Rachel Ntelson: Well I think that there's a value in allowing -- a VA professional has a treating relationship with the claimant. To have their word, you know, taken at face value. Presumably since these are VA medical professionals, there's been some sort of vetting, some sort of determination, that their credentials are approriate. So it doesn't make very much sense to me that if somebody has been in a treating relationship with a medical professional or counselor employed by the VA on the VHS side of the equation that -- that somebody on the benefit section to decide that, you know, that person's word isn't good enough.
Chair John Hall: Thank you. And lastly would you please elaborate on your recommendation to incorporate upon request investigative files of harassment and sexual assault into the joint virtual lifetime electronic record. How would thi help women veterans
Rachel Ntelson: Well an enormous problem for women with military sexual trauma in establishing their in-service stressor is that it's so hard to obtain those documents. Like I say there are actual military policies -- especially with harassment as opposed to an actual criminal case of assault that prevent records from even being kept on file for more than a couple of years. So if somehow those -- the documents that do exist could be memorialized and kept within the system, you know, for as long as possible, so that if the claimant elected to they could use that in support of their claim. I think that would be very helpful in establishing that there was an in-service stressor.
The second panel was composed of the VA's Lt Gen James Scott and the VA's Michael Ratajczak. Michael Ratajczak made many sound points in his opening remarks but the point we'll emphasize was his points that managers without experience or with only a little experience when it comes to processing claims are not able to provide training, to supervise or to assist with the work. That's basic but it is a repeated point you will hear from VA as you step away from the appointees and administrators at the top. US House Rep Deborah Halvorson was probably the strongest voice from the committee or the panel on the second panel. She pointed out how confusing the form alone was and how someone's claim being turned down can be confusing and leading to more work as a result of appeals over a denail that may or may not have been judged correctly. Who answers the question when a veteran calls in about a denied claim is a basic question.
Her efforts to keep it basic and simple weren't helped by Ratajczak meandering answer that did not address the issues but offered bromides (no heading in the manual with "do the right thing"). Good for Halvoroson for interrupting and asking, "And why aren't we doing that?" Why aren't veterans brought in immediately when there's something confusing about their case that might lead to a denial. Ratajczak replied that it's "because we're not giving credit for doing it." Halvorson explained how she runs her office, "Because I have a lot of caseworkers in my office and I don't let them share cases, I want them starting it and finishing it because when there's questions, one person can answer the question because if you've got a team or five people working on something, you're going to get five different answers depending on who answers the call." Ratajczak wanted to offer a ton of examples that backed up Halvorson's question but none that answered her question. He ate the time, ran out the clock and avoided providing an answer.
"I don't have an answer for that," Michael Waldcoff said in a flat voice on the third panel. Though VA sends many people to Congress who make that comment, the Deupty Under Secretary for Benefits was replying to John Hall's question about how many veterans committed suicide while waiting for their claims to be settled? That's a basic question and as distrubing as Wadlcoff's claim that he didn't know was his obvious disinterest in the question. Hall rightly noted that this was "a question that VA should be able to answer" -- yes, they should.
Today Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reports that there has been an increase ("nearly doubled") in the number of enlisted seeking treatment for dependency on or abuse of alcoholism. and he notes there were 142 recorded army suicides in 2008 and that there are already 82 confirmed so far this year. This as VA's backlog continues.
Turning to England. Gordon Brown's been the topic of the week. Fresh from nearly losing his prime minister post and on the heels of the spending scandals in Parliament, Brown promised a new age of transparency only to turn around Monday and offer the long promised inquiry into the Iraq War . . . as a back-door, hidden-from-public view song and dance. Today Andrew Sparrow (Guardian) offers "Iraq war inquiry: Five reasons why a full Gordon Brown U-turn looks inevitable" which includes:
1. The Commons wants a public inquiry This hasn't had much publicity, but yesterday the (Labour-dominated) Commons public administration committee published a strong report criticising the format proposed by Brown. This was its key finding: While we welcome the government's announcement that an inquiry into Iraq will be held, that it will have a broad scope, and that it will aim to learn lessons from the decision to go to war, the conflict and its aftermath, there is a strong risk that the inquiry as currently constituted will not be able to pursue what should be its fundamental purpose: to identify the truth and ensure that the executive can be held properly accountable for its decisions and conduct in relation to Iraq. Tony Wright, the committee's chairman (and the man Brown has just asked to recommend ways of making the Commons operate more effectively), said this: It is also crucial that the inquiry be conducted openly and in public, and that Parliament has a role in establishing it. Only an open, legitimate and credible process of this kind will satisfy a sceptical public that this inquiry is not a whitewash.
Aljazeera's Inside Iraq this week explores Gordon Brown's never ending problems. "The announcement," Aljazeera notes of Brown's closed-door inquiry, "was supposed to boost his populartiy among the British public. However the calls for an inquiry has met with indifference at best, hostile criticism at worst." John F. Burns (New York Times) offers that the "outcry" has been from the families who lost service members in Iraq, "the House of commons, from newspaper editorials and from powerful establishment voices, including a retired military commander, Gen. Sir Michael Jackson, who oversaw Britain's operations in Iraq as army chief in 2003." Duncan Gardham (Telegraph of London) covers Brown's spokesperson who swears that "the precise format of the inquiry" will be determined by Sir John Chilcot.
While everyone else appears eager to pull correspondents out of Iraq, a British paper has actually sent another correspondent into the country. Alice Fordham (Times of London's Inside Iraq) notes that Barham Salih, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, is now Twittering. Yesterday Salih noted he was following news on Iran's elections while "Busy with our own elections". Click here for Ray Odierno's Facebook page. Alice Fordham is blogging at the paper's Iraq blog and blogging regularly on a variety of topics. Visiting an American base, she noted all the food associated with the US, "It's not a new observation, and my colleague Martin Fletcher wrote brilliantly about the supply chain required to keep the thousands of troops stationed here in popcorn and Froot Loops. But sometimes in Iraq an unexpected offer of marmalade or somesuch reminds me of the British colonial legacy here, and I wonder if, as the Americans withdraw, they will leave behind a taste for infintely variable ice cream and baseball."
From baseball to karate, BBC reports 45-year-old Izzat Abdullah was shot dead in Mosul today. He had been the coach of Iraq's karate team. On the topic of Mousl, Thursday Chelsea J. Carter (AP) reported it was allegedly Mosul police that shot dead US Lt William Emmert February 24th, as well as his interpreter (five more people were wounded in the attack). Carter reported that Col Gay Volesky was told by the Mosul police chief that the reason the two alleged killers hadn't gone before a judge was because there were 'doubts' but "Volesky wasn't buying it, saying the men's relatives had identified them." Nikki Weingartner (Digital Journal) observes, "The first step in the process of prosecution is appearing before a judge."
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Mosul bombing targeting an alcohol store which left two people injured, a Baquba roadside bombing which wounded Ahmed Zarkush ("District Commissioner of al Saidyah") and three members of his security team, a Falluja house bombing and an Anbar Province sticky bombing targeting Zeki Obaid's son who was wounded (Obaid fled to Jordan in 2008).
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports aremd clashes in Falluja in which two civilians were wounded, 1 person shot dead in Mosul from "a speeding car" and, dropping back to last night, 1 Iraqi soldier and 1 iraqi civilian shot dead in Mosul.
Patrik Jonsson and Kristen Chick (Christian Science Monitor) report on the small number of Iraqi refugees admitted into the US and note that the number who have been able to find work has fallen from 80% in 2007 to 11% this year. International Rescue Committee's Alaa Naji states that the Iraqi refugees "never imagined that they would be struggling to survive here in America. They expected more from a country that was involved in the violence that destroyed our land, homes, and loved ones." IRC has a new report [PDF format warning] entitled "Iraq Refugees In The United States: In Dire Straits." "We conclude," the report notes, "that the U.S> resettlement program, likely the only safe alternative for thousands of Iraqi refugees, faces major structural challenges in its organization and funding. These challenges are exacerbated by a simultaneous global economic downturn and resettlement of a highly educated refugee population with many special needs. Issues like rising unemployment and homelessness are threatening the well-being not only of Iraqi refugees but also of all recently resettled refugees in America." The report notes conditions that can add to economic issues:
Many of the women widowed by the war in Iraq have young children. Without male relatives, these women are especially at risk in Iraq and in its neighboring countries and are considered among the most vulnerable of refugees. In Phoenix, the IRC delegation met with six refugee women from Iraq whose husbands were killed. The situation for those who are here alone with young children is especially precarious. Like other refugees, they must secure a job soon after arrival in the United States. Manyhave been separated from sons, brothers or other family members because of the delays from the additional security checks that Iraqi men are subjected to before the United States will grant them admission.
In Atlanta Commission members met Shayma Sadeq, a single mother with three children who recently obtained a job working the night shift cooking for inmates at a detention facility in Atlanta. It is a job she is not likely to continue to hold for long. The support she receives from the state pays only for certified day care providers, and such providers do not operate at night. Unable to afford nightmare childcare for her three minor children, she has arranged for a neighbor to watch the children at night, but the arrangment is not sustainable. At the same time, the financial support the IRC is able to provide to her has run out. Without a job she and her children will soon face eviction.
Inaya Al Basha, a widow from Iraq living alone in Phoenix, has received multiple eviction notices. She jokes that if she is evicted she will come to sleep at the IRC office. Like other refugees with eviction notices, she has nowhere else to go. The homeless shelters in Phoenix are at capacity and the waiting list for subsidized housing is up to two years long.
Assyrian International News Agency also covers the refugees with a report (including many photos) entitled "Assyrian Refguees in Sweden Caught in Political Struggle." The article notes that despite puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki meeting with Pope Benedict XVI there's no increase in trust. A refugee is quoted stating, "How will he [al-Maliki] protect anyone? He doesn't even dare to leave the Green zone."Meanwhile Asia News reports that the Pope met with the Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians Ignace Youssiff III Younan today and the Pope declared, "I constantly pray for peace in the Middle East, in particular for the Christians who lived in the beloved nation of Iraq, every day, during the Eucharistic Sacrifice, I present their suffering to the Lord." On Iraqi Christians, Iran's Press TV observes the declining number of Christians in Iraq stating "nearly half have fled" as a result of threats and attacks "unleashed by the Salafi militants as well as the Al-Qaeda. These Salafi groups did not appear over night in the Arab countries. Some regional governments have been funding these groups primarily to target Shia Muslims and those Sunnis who rose up against extremism." A large percentage of Iraq's external refugees are Christians. Some Christians remain in Iraq. In Kirkuk, Archbishop Louis Sako has called for an end to executions in Iraq as Amnesty International also has. Adnkronos Security quotes Archbishop Sako stating, "The Death penalty is horrible deed. It is humanly and spiritually unjustifiable. It is an offence to life and to the maker." This as Iraq Oil Report notes a Sunni satellite TV station which is said to broadcast hate speech aimed at Shi'ites and Christians inflaming tensions in Najaf with such comments as, "If I have ten nuclear bombs, I would use one against Christians and Jews, and the remaining nie agains Shi'ites."
TV notes. Starting with PBS. This week on Bill Moyers Journal (begins airing tonight on most PBS stations, check local listings, and it streams online -- video and audio -- and offers transcripts):
Instructed by a dream and organized in prayer, Leymah Gbowee andthousands of everyday women in Liberia - both Christians and Muslimsalike - confronted warlords and a corrupt president to successfullyfight for peace and dignity in their war-torn nation. "I realized thatevery problem we encounter on this journey, I'm going to rise above itand lead these women because they trusted me with their lives and theirfuture," says Gbowee. Journal guest host Lynn Sherr interviews LeymahGbowee and Abigail Disney, who documented their inspiring tale in theaward-winning film PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL. Lynn Sherr is along-time broadcast journalist who most recently covered events inLiberia for PBS' news program, WORLDFOCUS.NOW on PBS offers:According to the Department of Education, the average amount of undergraduate student debt in this country is now more than $22,000. And sudden changes in lenders' terms and rates can quickly turn a personal debt into a financial sinkhole, grounding the dreams of many college graduates even before they've started.This week, NOW follows the story of a single mother in Baltimore trying to dig herself out of more than $70,000 student loan debt. While issues of personal responsibility are debated, there's no question the high price of higher education is creating an ocean of student loan debt for people who can least afford it.How are the 70 million Americans with student debt frustrating America's economic recovery?Washington Week finds Gwen sitting around the table with Barbara Slavin (Washington Times), Karen Tumulty (TIME magazine), David Wessel (Wall St. Journal) and Jeff Zeleny (New York Times). All begin airing tonight (check local listings) on most PBS stations and tonight also finds Bonnie Erbe sitting down with Karen Czarnecki, Irene Natividad and Leslie Sanchez to discuss the week's news on PBS' To The Contrary. Check local listings. And turning to broadcast TV, Sunday CBS' 60 Minutes offers:
A Clean Version Of Hell Exclusive footage from within and a rare interview with its former warden takes viewers inside the secretive "Supermax" federal prison, where the nation's most dangerous and infamous criminals - including terrorists - are held under the strictest rules. Scott Pelley reports.
The War Next Door Drug-cartel fueled violence has turned into a war in Mexico, with thousands of deaths and the government battling well-armed gangs whose military-quality weapons come mostly from U.S. dealers. Anderson Cooper reports.
LeBron Steve Kroft profiles the Cleveland Cavalier's superstar, LeBron James, who at only 24, is already among an elite handful of athletes who command tens of millions a year in playing and marketing fees.
60 Minutes, Sunday, June 21, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
gregg zoroyausa todaythe new york timesjohn f. burnsandrew sparrow
patrik jonssonkristen chickthe christian science monitor
bill moyers journal60 minutescbs newsto the contrarybonnie erbenow on pbsnprthe diane rehm showpbs
Feingold & Holder, absestos
Washington, D.C. - Today, Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing on Department of Justice Oversight. Under questioning from Senator Russ Feingold, Holder declined to call the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program “illegal” despite previous instances where both he, and then-Senator Obama, labeled it as such. Following the hearing, Senator Feingold issued the following statement:
“I was disappointed by Attorney General Holder’s unwillingness to repeat what both he and President Obama had stated in the past – that President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program was illegal. For an administration that has repeatedly stated its intention to restore the rule of law, this episode was a step backward. While the Attorney General restated his belief that the program was inconsistent with the FISA statute, his testimony today, and the administration’s delay in withdrawing the Bush Administration’s legal justifications for the program, are troubling.”
Video of Senator Feingold’s exchange with Attorney General Holder today is available here and a transcript is available here. Holder’s response to Feingold’s questioning was markedly different than past comments Holder has made on the issue. As Senator Feingold mentioned, Holder referred to the program in the June 2008 speech to the American Constitution Society as an “act in direct defiance of federal law.” And as Senator Feingold mentioned, President Obama labeled the program as “illegal” back when he was a Senator (Woodrow Wilson Center on Terrorism, August 1, 2007).
That's Senator Russ Feingold's on Eric Holder's nonsense yesterday. If you missed it, Holder refused to admit that Bully Boy Bush's administration broke the law. Under direct questioning from Feingold, he refused to admit it. He sidestepped it over and over.
If you missed it, Democracy Now! featured some of the exchange today:
Sen. Russ Feingold: “Now that you’re the attorney general, is there any doubt in your mind that the warrantless wiretapping program was illegal?”
Eric Holder: “Well, I think that the warrantless wiretapping program, as it existed at that point, was certainly unwise, in that it was put together without the approval of Congress.”
Sen. Feingold: “But I asked you, Mr. Attorney General, not whether it was unwise, but whether you consider it to have been illegal.”
Holder: “The policy was an unwise one, and I think that the concerns that I expressed then have really been remedied by the fact that Congress has now authorized the program.”
Sen. Feingold: “But did you think it was illegal?”
Holder: “Well, I thought that, as a I said, it was inconsistent with the FISA statute and unwise as a matter of policy.”
This is Free Speech Radio News with a health and enviornment update:
EPA declares a public health emergency in asbestos riddled Libby, MT
Just months after a judge ordered the W. R. Grace & Co. to pay $250 million to help clean up the asbestos-riddled town of Libby, MT, the US Environmental Protection Agency for the first time ever has declared a community has a public health emergency. Because of asbestos contamination remaining from Grace & Co.’s vermiculite mine, the community’s rate of repertory disease and cancer is well above the national average.
“It is a toxic legacy. The legacy of decades of mining operations.”
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.
“While EPA has been conducing a clean up of Libby for several year, we are recommitting to getting the job done right. Our superfund program is today signing an action memorandum to assure the financial resources needed for that cleanup. And we will be considering the cleanup of more properties based on the data we are currently analyzing.”
In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services says it will provide grant funds for residents suffering from asbestos-related illnesses.
In May, a judge cleared the executives of W. R. Grace & Co. of personal wrongdoing in the case.
Thursday, June 18, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, a fire blazes in Baghdad, Iraq's LGBT community gets some attention, Gordon Brown paints himself into a corner, the Senate votes for more war, Norman Solomon makes a fool of himself yet again and more.
Today Phil Sands and Nizar Latif (The National) report, "American troops may have to remain in violent cities such as Mosul and Baquba after the end of this month, despite plans for a complete US pull-out from urban areas, according to an official in one of Iraq's most powerful political parties. Mohammed al Gharawi, of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), the largest single party in Iraq's parliament and the group in control of the ministery of the interior, said he would support an extension for the US military presence to prevent a worsening security situtation." Meanwhile AFP reports on "U.S. army commanders" who stress that there is confusion ("mired in confusion") over the so-called departure from Mosul by June 30th ("when U.S. soldiers must leave cities and major towns nationwide") and that "[t]hey also believe the political message emanating from Baghdad about the U.S. withdrawal has created a false impression among Iraqi citizens that U.S. troops will no longer be seen on Mosul's streets when, in fact, they will."
The Iraq War hasn't ended. Ann is filling in for Ruth and Tuesday she noted a Jackson Sun article her aunt passed on of "how 140 Tennessee National Guard members were being deployed to Iraq." The Mercury reports Maj Gen Vincent Brooks is headed to Iraq (and "900 members of the headquarters of the Big Red One are deploying"). Vinnie Brooks became famous at the start of the Iraq War as The Daily Liar though his official title was "Deputy Directo fo Operations". Karen Middleton (The News Courier) reports "80 members of the Athens-based 203rd Military Police Battallion" will be leaving for Iraq (departure certemony tomorrow at Beasley Field, 4:00 p.m.). And Chris Roberts (El Paso Times) notes approximately "125 soldiers with the post's 47th Transportation Company will head for western Iraq for a 12-month tour of duty." ("The post" is Fort Bliss.) Monday on KPFA Flashpoints, Iraq Veterans Against the War's Camilo Mejia appeared (noted and quoted in Tuesday's snapshot) and we'll again note one section:
Camilo Mejia: For an organization like Iraq Veterans Against the War for instance, who depend greatly upon contributions from the public and support from ally organizations, we're having a very difficult time right now getting through to people and fund raising and doing things like that because the sense right now within the larger public is that the Iraq War is ending, that the Iraq occupation is coming to an end -- which is not true, and that the Afghanistan War is now the good war and that the -- Basically the Iraq War became indefensible. People turned against it. And they needed a new centerpiece for the global war on terror which is just another excuse for invading and occupying another country to go after their natural resources and Afghanistan is that war now. So a lot of people are on the fence or skeptical or giving President Obama the benefit of the doubt. If you add to that the financial crisis and a lot of people out there who are holding on to their savings and taking pay cuts and unemployed and not contributing the same and don't really feel like anti-war issues are any more that relevant, not as relevant as before. So that's the civilian side of things. I think right now we are on a stand-by when it comes to the civilian side. When it comes to the GI side? Regardless of what the official rhetoric is soldiers are still being deployed -- soldiers, marines, air service men and women -- we're still being deployed. And people are still coming back form Iraq and Afghanistan with untreated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, returning to poverty in a broken economy being recycled from Iraq to Afghanistan. The VA crisis is really bad. We're short staffed. We have people who are suicidal who are waiting months to see a psychiatrist or psychologist or even a case worker. So regardless of the state of the civilian side of things we're going to continue to resist because our experience hasn't changed.
The Iraq War is not over and it will not be over this year (or next or . . .). Jeremy Scahill (RebelReports) examines Tuesday's House vote for the War Supplemental and reports, "New York Democrat Anthony Weiner, who voted against the war funding in May -- when it didn't matter -- only to vote Tuesday with the pro-war Dems, sounded like an imbecile when he made this statement after the vote: 'We are in the process of wrapping up the wars. The president needed our support.' What planet is Weiner living on? 'Wrapping up the wars?' Last time I checked, there are 21,000 more US troops heading to Afghanistan alongside a surge in contractors there, including a 29% increase in armed contractors. Does Weiner think the $106 billion in war funding he voted for is going to pay for one way tickets home for the troops? What he voted for was certainly not the 'Demolition of the 80 Football-field-size US Embassy in Baghdad Act of 2009.' To cap off this idiocy, Weiner basically admitted he is a fraud when he said the bill he voted in favor of 'still sucks'." Joshua Frank (Dissident Voice) observes, "No longer can the blame for the turmoil in Iraq and Afghanistan rest at the feet of George W. Bush alone. This is now Obama's War on Terror, fully funded and operated by the Democratic Party. [. . .] Had Bush pushed for more military funds at this stage, the antiwar movement (if you can call it that) would have been organizing opposition weeks in advance, calling out the neocons for wasting our scarce tax dollars during a recession on a never-ending, directionless war. But since Obama's a Democrat, a beloved one at that, mums the word." As Trina observed earlier this week, "never forget that Iraq was always seen by other countries as a chance for Big Business to take control. A tag sale enforced at gun point. There are no uncharted countries on the earth so the 'missions' these days aren't to discover new markets in a new world. The missions are to take a country under and create a new market on top of the corpses."
At a press conference today, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared of her party and the House she leads, "As you know, the veterans issue has been a high priority for us. We planted that flag when we took the majority in the Congress. We did more in that first two years than had been done in the 77-year history of the Veterans Administration. It's now 78, 79 years old. We have a Democratic President in the White House. Secretary Shinseki, working with him, we are able to do even more." Some argue that those who care about veterans go out of their way to ensure that more wounded ones aren't created by continuing illegal wars. Today the Senate followed the House lead. Perry Bacon Jr. (Washington Post) reports Barack got his War Supplemental with 91 votes supporting more death, destruction and financial waste and only five voted no. They are Russ Feingold, Bernie Sanders, Jim DeMint, Mike Enzi and Tom Coburn.
This morning the House Veterans Affairs' Health Subcommittee held a legislative hearing and US House Rep Deborah Halvorson stepped in to chair the subcommittee. She did a strong job as chair. Not "as a first-term member of the House, she did a strong job," she did a strong job period. US House Rep Jerry McNerney was among those speaking on legislation. He introduced HR 1546 and we'll note some of his remarks explaining the need for it. HR 1546: "To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Committee on Care of Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury.
US House Rep Jerry McNerney: More than 1.6 million troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and about half of those brave men and women are now veterans. Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI has become the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A Rand Corporation Study estimates that up to 320,000 troops who served in these conflicts suffer from brain trauma. Milder forms of TBI can result -- these are milder forms -- can result in cognitive problems such as headaches, difficulty in thinking, memory problems, abnormal speech or language and limited functioning of arms and legs. TBI's effects on veterans and their families can be devastating. I've met personally with several veterans from my district who suffer from severe brain injury in Iraq. One is doing well in my hometown with a four year scholarship from the Sentinels of Freedom. I just had lunch with him a couple of weeks ago and I'm very pleased to see how well he's adjusted. Unfortunately, many wounded veterans face an even more arduous path to recovery. The brain is probably the most adaptable organ of the body but any time there is a traumatic injury or section of the brain is damaged, it takes time to adjust and compensate. When a soldier's wounded, he or she is first transported to a trauma center to treat brain swelling. Brain swelling is the biggest and most immediate risk from a brain injury. After being stabilized, soldiers may face invasive surgical procedures and painful cooling treatments to combat inflammation followed by extensive physical and psychological therapy. I've seen first hand how difficult this treatment is and we owe our veterans the very best.
Blasts from improvised, explosive devices have become one of the most common causes of injury for troops currently serving in combat zones and recent studies show that 59% of blast exposed patinets at Walter Reed have been found to have some form of TBI. In April of 2007, the Veterans Administration began screening veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan since the beginning of October 2001 for symptoms that may be associated with TBI. Of the 61,285 veterans that the VA screened for TBI 11,804 -- or 19% -- of those veterans screened positive for TBI symptoms. Department of Defense and Veterans Administration experts note that TBI can occur even if a victim does not suffer from an obvious physical injury -- which sometimes takes place when the person is in the vicinity of a powerful detonation. In these instances, signs and symptoms of TBI -- such as the ones I mentioned earlier -- are not often readily recognized. According to the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration's mental health experts, mild TBI can also produce behavioral symptoms similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or other mental health conditions. And TBI almost always causes Post Traumatic Stress. The relationship between TBI and Post Traumatic Stress can further complicate diagnosis and treatment. As a result, further research must be conducted to examine the longterm effects of these injuries which are not yet fully understood and the best treatment models to address TBI and improve coordination care for injured veterans.
Traumatic injuries -- Traumatic Brain Injuries have often effected a large number of female service members and as the number of women enlisted in the armed forces continues to grow, we must ensure that our focus on health care continues to encompass all veterans. I hope we can continue to collect data to ensure that the women veterans receive the same quality of care as their male counterparts and I am committed to working on this committee to assist in that endeavor.
When a solider is transitioning to civilian life, it is imperative that we have a system in place that is able to properly evaluate and assess the risks and challenges if any these veterans and their families might face. Given that evidence suggests that combat related TBI is an increasingly frequent occurance and that the effects of TBI are still poorly understood, prioritizing research and oversight will help plan for addressing treatment and long term care. Research in TBI is also particularly important for understanding Post Traumatic Stress because the amnesia that often occurs as a result of TBI increases the challenges of Post Traumatic Stress treatment. Studies have shown that, in the absence of factual recall, individuals may have delusional or reconstruct memories of trauma. These individuals may retain false memories rather than factual results.
Turning to England where the good times keep coming for Gordon Brown. His efforts at a behind-closed-doors 'inquiry' appear to be falling apart. Philip Webster (Times of London) reported this morning, "Parts of the Iraq war inquiry may now be held in public after Gordon Brown was forced into a partial climbdown." James Kirkup and Alastair Jamieson (Telegraph of London) add that Lord Bulter was "critical of the decision to hold hearings behind closed doors". At the Guardian, Toby Helm stated that "Buter will accuse the government of 'putting its political interests ahead of the national interest'" today. Andrew Grice, Kim Sengupta and Nigel Morris (Independent of London) report it's not one noted person who'll be speaking out against Brown, it's two: Lord Hutton and Lord Butler. Great Britain's Socialist Worker notes the crony-infested panel for Gordo's inquiry: "John Chilcot, its chair, was part of the last Iraq whitewash, the Bulter inquiry. Another committee member, Sir Lawrence Freedman, wrote Tony Blair's 1999 Chicago speech setting out the idea of 'humanitarian' war." The Belfast Telegraph reports that Gordon's closde-door policy has been criticized by former Prime Minister John Major who states: "The Government's decision to hold the inquiry into the Iraq war in private is inexplicable -- not least in its own interests. [. . .] The arrangements currently proposed run the risk of being viewed sceptically by some, and denounced as a whitewash by others. I am astonished the Government cannot understand this." ITN quotes Bulter stating, "The form of the inquiry proposed by the Government has been dictated more by the Government's political interest than the national interest and it cannot achieve the purpose of purging mistrust." Rebecca will be blogging about this topic tonight and should remember to include these words "I told you so." (Because she did.)
The executive editor of the Merced Sun-Star, Mike Tharp, is back in Iraq for McClatchy Newspapers. Today at McClatchy's Baghdad Observer, Tharp explains a trip in the Green Zone, "Haider, our driver, and I were threading our way through 108 degrees and a narrow concrete path hemmed in by blast walls in the International Zone (IZ). . . . At a dozen points along the 20-minute route, we were checked for IDs, and sometimes body-searched, by Iraqi soldiers, police and hard-eyed Peruvians. The modern-day Incas were armed with AK-47s and looked as if they wanted to revenge Pizarro by humiliating any gringo in range. The name of their private security company is Triple Canopy. In what passes for military logic, some of the checks and searches were only 30 or 40 meters from the last one, in plain sight of the next group of gunsels, who had just watched their comrades force us to dump everything from our pockets into a plastic bowl."
In Baghdad today, Xinhua reports, fire fighters attempted to battle a blaze at the Ministry of Health's 11-story building: "Dozens of the ministry's employees have been stranded in the upper stories, but Iraqi civil defense managed to evacuate them, the source said."
Iraq's LGBT community remains under assault. Khalid al-Ansary (Reuters) reports on those who have sought refuge in Turkey including 28-year-old Ameer who fled after repeated death threats. Ameer now hopes he will be granted refugee status in the US -- but the 'fierce advocate' for gays and lesbians in the White House is doing nothing. While the federal government has done nothing, the city councils in Los Angeles and San Francisco have spoken out as have many California legislatures. Cynthia Laird (Bay Area Reporter) notes this announcement:
Gays Without Borders/San Francisco will hold a fundraiser for Rainbow World Fund/Iraq Friday, June 19 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Cafe Flore, 2298 Market Street in San Francisco.
The event takes place after last month's successful local action to bring attention to the fact that LGBT people are being persecuted in Iraq, including reports of torture, beating, and killing of gay Iraqis in an effort by police to "clean up" the country by getting both beggars and gays and lesbians off the streets.
Gary Virginia and Michael Petrelis are two San Francisco activists who have taken the lead on local organizing efforts; the Rainbow World Fund is serving as a fiscal sponsor to collect and distribute the funds raised.
The plight of gay Iraqis has garnered attention from politicians. Last week State Department spokesman Ian Kelly condemned acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals in Iraq because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Earlier this month, 45 California lawmakers, led by state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and the LGBT Legislative Caucus, called on the Obama administration to prevent the persecution of LGBT people in Iraq.
For more information about this week's fundraiser, contact Virginia at (415) 867-5004. Donations can be made online at www.rainbowfund.org.
While California activists again pick up the slack, Barack ignores the targeting of Iraq's LGBT community just as Bully Boy Bush did. Duncan Osborne (Gay City News) reports:
Writing in Gay City News, Doug Ireland first broke the story in March of 2006 that Iraqi gays were being killed by death squads. Ireland and other gay press outlets continued covering the story in 2006 and into 2007, with the mainstream press offering occasional stories. The killings and the gay press reports on them have continued into 2009. In September 2007 -- nearly two years ago -- Gay City News sent a Freedom of Information request to the State Department that sought all records "that relate to or identify homicides, assaults, or other violent acts committed against homosexual persons in Iraq." On May 26 of this year, the department responded, releasing two documents, totaling nine pages, that represent all the records that agency compiled from March 1, 2003, roughly the start of the Iraq War, through the date of the records request. No documents were withheld and only a small portion of the released documents was blacked out. Two pages consist of a letter, dated March of 2007, from Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, to the department that forwarded an email from a constituent who was concerned about the killings.
The other seven pages are mostly internal emails -- three pages are a 2006 Washington Blade story on the killings -- with one from September 2006 and the rest from 2007.
ORAM, Organization For Refuge, Asylum & Migration, [PDF format warning] issued a press release noting: "ORAM, a groundbreaking international refugee advocacy organization, announced its launch today. The Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration is the first non-governmental organization (NGO) to focus exclusively on refugees and asylum seekers fleeing sexual and gender based violence. ORAM provides free legal counsel for LGBT refugees in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), who have escaped violence, executions and 'honor killings' in their home countries."
Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mortar attack on the Green Zone, a Mosul roadside bombing which wounded an Iraqi soldier and a Diyala Province sticky bombing which injured one man and his son.
Reuters reports 1 person shot dead (from "a speeding car") in Mosul and an Iraqi soldier accidentally shot another Iraqi soldier to death in Mosul. DPA notes 2 Iraqi police officers were shot dead in Mosul.
DPA reports 1 corpse discovered in Mosul.
At CounterPunch today, professional media hooker Norman Solomon demonstrates that, even with a plush bankroll, you can't teach an old whore new tricks. Normy gave it up for Barack. He could have remained neutral but he whored it. And he LIED because he didn't think he needed to tell people he was supporting Barack, that he was a pledged delegate for Barack. He noted it in his columns but his radio appearances? 'Surely no one would pay attention.' He thought wrong. His reputation in tatters, he keeps trying to slink back in as an 'independent' voice. You can only lose your cherry once, Norman. In "Obama and the Antiwar Democrats" (no link to trash), Norman wants to YET AGAIN tell you what to do. Forgetting that's what got him into trouble in the first place. He wants you to support . . . Marcy Winograd. Why the hell should anyone support her? Because Norman loves her? Last year, he was spreading for Barry O -- his judgment is a joke. Norman wants you to know Marcy's different. Really? Back in May, Ruth wondered, "Why should anyone vote for Marcy Winograd?" Noting Marcy's sexual ravings over Barack (she pants as easily as does Norman), Ruth wrote, "She is perfectly fine with all of Mr. Obama's cavings last week (military tribunals, torture photos, etc.). She said so. What is progressive about that stance?" Not a damn thing. Not one damn thing. And after you hijacked the peace movement and whored it out for Barack in 2007 and 2008, shame you on you, Norman Solomon, for showing up in 2009 and telling people the answer is a 2010 election. Norman Solomon really needs to consider retirement. He's destroyed his reputation and he apparently has nothing left to offer except, "VOTE!" Norman's confused a high school civics lesson with activism.
Pity Norman didn't want to teach history instead. That's needed. May 28, 2009, Alyssa Rosenberg (Government Executive) was reporting on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's announcement that "domestic partners of gay and lesbian diplomats" would be granted "many of the same rights and protections as the spouses of heterosexual Foreign Service officers." That would be the same Hillary who issued a statement June 1st noting this month is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Poor Barry O, he spent the primaries going around declaring, "What she said!" All this time later, he still can't lead. Yesterday Barry O finally had a remark to offer on . . . Well, no, he didn't and no one called him out, now did they? Click here for the White House video of Barry's remarks. Search in vain for "gay" or "lesbian." He says "the people that they love are of the same-sex" and gets in one ref to "LGBT employees". And Homophobic Barry Obama never notes that it's Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. How embarrassing. He's still a half-assed copy of Hillary. Marcia, Cedric and Wally covered the do-nothing Barack last night.
You need to grasp how much you would ridicule a White president who refused to mention Black History Month while signing legislation effecting African-Americans during Black History Month. There's a lot of bigotry going on and not all of it can fall under "soft bigotry." Witness raging homophobe Harry Jackson who was a guest on today's Diane Rehm Show (NPR) and lied and flamed and made a real ass out of himself. First off, Harry, no photographer has a license. A photographer who doesn't want to take a photo doesn't get a "license revoked." No surprise that a bigot like Harry Jackson would also be an idiot. Maybe if he wants to weigh in on life today, he needs to do a little more research. Most jaw dropping moment when he likened same-sex relationships to suicide. He also used "you people" to refer to gays and lesbians, insulted them as a "sudden population" (that will apparently die out? or be executed?), whined repeatedly about "reverse discrimination" and how "my kids are going to be taught . . . my kids will be taught in school" that people like Harry Jackson are bigots. And people like Harry Jackson are bigots so apparently Harry Jackson also wants to declare a war on education. Harry whined about how he's been intimidated. As dumb as he is, one has to wonder how he'd even know if someone was trying to intimidate him. Harry basically told every caller and e-mailer they were idiots and was especially patronizing to those in Diane's audience who self-identified as Christians.
State of journalism. The Washington Post's Walter Pincus has written an essay for Columbia Journalism Review and it's worth reading but I've been asking, "When is anyone going to ask the real questions?" Janet Coleman interviewed him for Monday's Cat Radio Cafe on WBAI and she didn't raise what I feel are the big issues. It's a fine interview, Janet always does strong interviews and knows her craft. You have eighty or so days to catch it at the WBAI archives and I believe it stays up at Cat Radio Cafe as long as that site is up. But before Walter's interviewed next, notes. Politico is not a site I care for (obviously) and it's nothing but Rona Barrett's DC! But Walter needs to be asked about it because this is an online version of what he attempted in the early seventies -- only not as gossip, as news. There were eight or nine places around the country where the paper he and others were planning would be printed and service those communities. Especially with various laid off, forced retired et al journalists willing to explore doing an online combine today, Pincus should share the insight on why that project did not work. In passing, and on his own, he alluded to that with Janet.
Walter Pincus: I'm one of these people who, years ago, tried to start a paper and had to learn the hard way that it's the business side that takes the hardest work. We all know how to write stories, to some degree know how to find out information. But making it pay and producing a package that appeals to a wide enough number of people to support advertising is the trick. And I think this younger generation once they put down their Twitters and all these superficial electronic gadgets that are headline services and do something really worthwhile are going to come up with some ideas and we'll have a new generation of press entrepreneurs.
Walter Pincus, and others, were planning their paper at the start of the seventies. There would be national coverage in all the papers and some regional coverage would migrate into the other papers. That was the plan. It was ambitious. And he speaks above, briefly, about a paper that failed. If you're talking about the state of journalism today, that passage above is as important as anything in his essay. Maybe more. By the way, Liza Featherstone also has an article in the new CJR, she's covering the identity crisis at the Wall Street Journal.
PBS note, this week on Bill Moyers Journal (begins airing tomorrow night on most PBS stations, check local listings, and it streams online -- video and audio -- and offers transcripts):
Instructed by a dream and organized in prayer, Leymah Gbowee andthousands of everyday women in Liberia - both Christians and Muslimsalike - confronted warlords and a corrupt president to successfullyfight for peace and dignity in their war-torn nation. "I realized thatevery problem we encounter on this journey, I'm going to rise above itand lead these women because they trusted me with their lives and theirfuture," says Gbowee. Journal guest host Lynn Sherr interviews LeymahGbowee and Abigail Disney, who documented their inspiring tale in theaward-winning film PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL. Lynn Sherr is along-time broadcast journalist who most recently covered events inLiberia for PBS' news program, WORLDFOCUS.
phil sandsnizar latif
kpfa
flashpointsnora barrows friedman
camilo mejiairaq veterans against the war
joshua frank
philip websterjames kirkupalastair jamiesontoby helmandrew gricekim senguptanigel morris
laith hammoudimike tharp
the washington postwalter pincus
wbaijanet colemancat radio cafe
bill moyers journalpbs
sex and politics and screeds and attitudetrinas kitchenthe daily jotcedrics big mixruths reportsickofitradlz
My BFF Kevin Zeese
Oh look, my Best F**king Friend Kevin Coward Zeese writes an article at Dissident Voice and concludes with his usual b.s.:
Will Obama ever have the political courage to actually fight for what he knows is the answer? State senator Obama, circa 2003, said, “I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program.” (applause) “And that’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the House.”
Well, the public has given the Democrats all three but Obama and the Democratic leadership have refused to even consider single payer. Instead they fight for the interests of the insurance industry and falsely call it health care reform. Mr. President, please show some political leadership — stand up for what you know is right.
Listen to Kevin begging from his knees. Will he rub his face in Barack's crotch next?
Why the hell not. Kevin Zeese is a pathetic know nothing.
Wake up, you stupid s**t, Barack's not for universal health care, not for single-payer.
Kevy poo, go to Morning Edition (NPR) this morning and listen along to the segment. Here's NPR's summary:
As lawmakers on Capitol Hill hammer out legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says that a single-payer option is not on the table.
"This is not a trick. This is not single-payer," Sebelius told Steve Inskeep. She added: "That's not what anyone is talking about — mostly because the president feels strongly, as I do, that dismantling private health coverage for the 180 million Americans that have it, discouraging more employers from coming into the marketplace, is really the bad, you know, is a bad direction to go."
I think Kathleen just told you what Barack thinks is right. How's it feel to be a Punk Ass? How's it feel to always be the dumbest piece of s**t floating in the tank?
Truly, Kevy, you were going to get brave. Remember when you were telling me that? Remember when you were going to show that spine?
You have no spine, you stand for nothing. You can't stand because you're always on your knees. Stand up and stop embarrassing yourself. You're as craven as Michael Moore in 2004, on his knees begging Ralph Nader not to run. Grow the hell up.
P.S. I'm mentioned in the snapshot. Don't want to get in a back and forth with C.I. but what I wrote yesterday and Monday in no way was as outstanding as what C.I. wrote this morning. If you missed it, C.I. sparked the fire online on that topic. I appreciate the praise and I love that C.I.'s modest but the reality is C.I. did more this morning on that topic than I did yesterday and today.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Nouri offers trash talk to Le Monde, house raids and arrests in Iraq, and Gordon Brown remains stuck in the trap of his own making.
Last night the Democratically controlled US House of Representatives passed the War Supplemental. 226 members (221 Democrats, 5 Republicans) voted for it, 202 members (32 Democrats, 170 Republicans) voted against it. (Six members did not vote, three Dems, three Republicans.) Perry Bacon Jr. (Washington Post) notes that Anthony Weiner caved and broke down like a do-nothing piece of trash despite claiming he wouldn't vote for it. He is quoting saying it "sucks." Yes, and this week so does Tony. Bacon reports the strong arming efforts by "Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner" as well as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Janet Hook (Los Angeles Times) also notes the pressure, "Administration officials and Democratic leaders intensely lobbied holdouts among the Democratic ranks in advance of the House vote. The result was close because only five Republicans supported the bill and 32 antiwar Democrats opposed it." Hook quotes cowardly George Miller who voted for it after it opposing it last month. The coward insists, "I'm against the war." David Lightman (McClatchy's Miami Herald) quotes US House Reps Dennis Kucinich and Lynn Woolsey. Kucinich wonders, "How do we support the troops? We support them by bringing them home. That's what we should be appropriating money for, not to keep them there." Woolsey declares, "I don't vote to fund the troops in these situations, ever." Cindy Sheehan (Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox) states, "I am not even remotely surprised that the new supplemental bill for war funding passed the House today." She notes the War Hawks Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Obama and Rahm Emmanuel would not have allowed a vote to be taken if they were sure it would be rammed through and that Nancy, Steny, Barack and Rahm -- as members of Congress -- "gave George Bush every damn penny for war he demanded so why wouldn't they also fill their own WAR chests?" Cindy explains how she left the Democratic Party in 2007 because of disgust over exactly these sort of actions and encourages Woolsey and Kucinich to follow her lead. It was not just Democrats who voted against the measure, obviously by the count. Paul West (Baltimore Sun) reports that his state's conservative, Roscoe Bartlett, and liberal, Donna Edwards, voted against it ("the only Marylanders to"). Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) stated this morning, "The Republicans opposed a part of the bill to increase funding for the International Monetary Fund." That's painting with a broad stroke. Ron Paul would have voted against the measure regardless of the IMF provision. And it doesn't really matter why they voted "no," what matters is they voted "no." If I'm on trial for murder and you vote me not guilty but because you like my shoes, I don't give a damn. I'm just happy you voted me not guilty. There's a purity play going on that's not helpful. And, most importantly, the House Republicans demolished the talking point that they and a lot of Democrats fell back on repeatedly: Not to vote for the war funding was to spit on the troops! No. Not voting for the war funding was not voting for the war funding and, thanks to the House vote, maybe we can avoid that loco talking point for a few years. Goodman played Kucinich stating:
We are destroying our nation's moral and fiscal integrity with the war supplemental. Instead of ending wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan now by appropriating only enough money to bring our troops home, Congress abdicates its constitutional authority, defers to the President, and asks for a report. That's right. All we're asking for is a report on when the President will end the war. [. . . .] There's money, too, for the IMF, presumably to bail out European banks, billions for the IMF, so they can force low- and middle-income nations to cut jobs, wages, healthcare and retirement security, just like corporate America does to our constitutents. And there's money to incentivize the purchase of more cars, but not necessarily from the US because a Buy America mandate was not allowed. Another $106 billion and all we get is a lousy war. Pretty soon that's going to be the only thing made in America: war.
At Kokesh for Congress, Adam Kokesh speaks with Ron Paul (video). We're getting ready to vote for the supplemental bill which is a total disaster and going exactly the opposite direction. So in time, we're going to see a change because we can't continue this, we just can't spending money, borrowing money, and then printing what you don't have. That just leads to a disaster." At Antiwar.com, Scott Horton's posted Ron Paul's remarks on the House floor regrding the War Supplemental and we'll note this section:
I wonder what happened to all of my colleagues who said they were opposed to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I wonder what happened to my colleagues who voted with me as I opposed every war supplemental request under the previous administration. It seems, with very few exceptions, they have changed their position on the war now that the White House has changed hands. I find this troubling. As I have said while opposing previous war funding requests, a vote to fund the war is a vote in favor of the war. Congress exercises its constitutional prerogatives through the power of the purse.
Jeremy Scahill (Rebel Reports) concludes, "This vote has revealed a sobering statistic for the anti-war movement in this country and brought to the surface a broader issue that should give die-hard partisan Democrats who purport to be anti-war reason for serious pause about the actual state of their party. Only 30 Democrats voted against the war funding when it mattered. And these 30 did so in the face of significant threats to their political future from the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That means that only 30 out of 256 Democrats are willing to stand up to the war and the current president presiding over it."
From sell out Dems to sell out New Labour Gordon Brown. BBC reports this afternoon that "Conservatives are to step up the pressure on the government to hold the Iraq war inquiry in public by staging a Commons debate on the issue. MPs will debate a Tory motion next week calling for the Iraq proceedings to be held in public 'whenever possible'." For those late to the party, Rebecca's been following Brown's problems for weeks now and she offered last night:and, as i pointed out when he managed to skate by, his 'saved' job is not 'good news' for him. he now has to deliver.right out of the gate, gordon's already demonstrated he can't deliver and that there's been no change. which means the next time they try to oust him, he won't have a card left to play.he can't say, 'i'll be transparent this time!' he promised that before. he promised every thing to hold on to his job.and he got to hold on to his job.and he went back to doing exactly what he'd always done.gordon doesn't grasp it but that 'saving' was actually the beginning of the end.
Gordon Brown came very close to losing his prime minister post. His first action after pinky swearing he was a changed politician was to announce (Monday) a closed door inquiry into the Iraq War staffed by his friends. Michael Evans (Times of London) reports General Lord Guthire of Craigiebank feels the inquiry Brown's proposing is insufficient and says a full inquiry would also "examine Mr Brown's role in the failure to supply the Armed Forces properly." David Pamment writes the Guardian to ask, "What has happened to his promises, made little more than a week ago, to being to listen to the people and would make parliament more transparent, open and accountable? Gordon is unable to change the way he does politics. We should stop colluding with a prime minister who is deep in denial, and clearly unable to deal with his addiction to secrecy and government by cabal."
Jim McCluskey writes the Independent of London:
In setting up an investigation into an alleged crime it would seem unwise to create an investigating panel composed of employees, ex-employees and friends of the alleged criminal. If the investigating panel is then told to work in secret and not find anyone guilty there is a chance that suspicions might be aroused with respect to the authenticity of the exercise. Groans of disbelief and despair echo round the country as Mr Brown's inquiry into the Iraq war is compared with his promise of more open government. As your columnist Adrian Hamilton says (16 June) this is an insult to the citizens and to Parliament. The response must be for the citizens, against whom the alleged crime of entering into an illegal and unjust war was committed, to set up their own parallel inquiry.
Adrian Hamilton's column (mentioned in the letter above) concluded with this: "The invasion of Iraq did not have full public support, it has not ended in victory and it is impossible to deal with the questions it poses without apportioning blame. This inquiry is a classic establishment exercise in driving a thorny subject into the long grass -- par for the course, yes; predictable, no doubt; but nonetheless an insult to the public and to Parliament for all that." Chris Irvine (Telegraph of London) reports General Sir Mike Jackson is also calling out the behind-closed-doors nature Brown is proposing with Jackson saying it fees "the climate of suspicion and skepticism about government". Kim Sengupta and Michael Savage (Independent of London) note, "Senior military and intelligence officers have condemned Gordon Brown's decision to hold the Iraq war inquiry in secret, warning that it looks like a cover-up. Military leaders, who have lost 179 personnel in Iraq, want their actions judged by the public, and intelligence officials say the politicans' manipulation of intelligence should be thoroughly examined." Dubbing it "scandalous," Jonathan Steele (Guardian) wonders, "Does he [Brown] seriously imagine he can dictate its mandate and procedure on his own? At the very least, he should have discussed these issues with the leaders of other parties first. Better still, he should allow a day's debate in parliament on it." Binoy Kampmark (CounterPunch) observes, "The difficulty with this inquiry is that it already has an appearance of being toothless even before it begins in earnest. The procedure of this paper tiger will take place in camera. It has no powers of any consequence, lacking such important means as that of subpoena, relying on the goodwill of those it asks to attend. (Tony Blair will, in all probability attend to spite his long time rival, though he need not.) Evidence need not be given on oath. When ultimately published, sensitive material will be abriged for the public readership."
Joey Jones (SKY TV -- link has text and video) noted this morning that Brown's Children's Secretary Ed Balls ended up being put on the spot when he showed up for an interview on a different topic and he did say "he hoped the inquiry team would hold some hearings in public". Paul Waughn (This is London) reports Balls "threw No.10 into a panic when he suggested in a TV interview that his 'personal view' was that the Iraq inquiry should be accessible to the public." MP George Galloway of the Respect Party issued the following statement: "This was a war that has killed a million people, conceived in secrecy and justified with lies. Now we are to have an inquiry in secret presided over by figures who are thoroughly compromised. This is an insult and belies the commitment to 'transparency' that Gordon Brown made just days before. Not even the generals who carried out the orders to attack Iraq have any confidence with the terms under which the inquiry has been set up. It will not have the right to apportion blame and it will only report after the next election. This is an utterly cynical manoeuvre that will convince no-one. In the meantime, the war in Afghanistan is growing and getting worse."
From the British Parliament to the Iraq one, MP Harith al-Obeidi (also spelled Obaidi) was assassinated Friday outside his mosque. The day before he was assassinated, he had called for an independent investigation into reports of abuse and torture in Iraqi prisons. Amnesty International issues the following:
Iraq: Amnesty International calls for an independent investigation into the assassination of Dr Hareth al-'Ubaidi
In a letter sent to the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamil al-Maliki, Amnesty International has expressed grave concern at the killing of Dr Hareth al-'Ubaidi, Vice-President of the Human Right Committee of the Iraqi parliament, and requested urgent clarification as to what steps the government has undertaken to investigate the murder. The organization has also called for an independent investigation into reports of torture of detainees in a prison in the city of al-Diwaniyah.
Dr al-'Ubaidi, who also headed the Sunni Accord Bloc in parliament, was shot dead at the end of Friday prayers on 12 June 2009 at al-Shawwaf Mosque in the Baghdad district of al-Yarmuk. After firing at Dr Hareth al-'Ubaidi with a pistol the killer is reported to have thrown a hand grenade at other prayer attendees, killing five people and injuring 12 others, before he was shot and killed by police.
A number of Iraqi parliamentarians have since denounced the killing and attributed Dr Hareth al-'Ubaidi's murder to his human rights work, especially his recent exposure of cases of torture, including rape, of detainees following a visit he undertook a few weeks ago to a women's prison in al-Kadhmiya in Baghdad. Dr al-'Ubaidi told the media that several women detained at the prison told him that they had been raped during interrogation.
Further evidence of torture of detainees is reported to have been brought to light by a human rights body affiliated to al-Diwaniyah Governorate, which has accused the security authorities of torturing detainees during interrogation in order to extract "confessions". Investigators from the Interior Ministry are reported to have identified bruising on 10 of the 170 prisoners in al-Diwaniyah Prison that may have been caused by torture or other ill-treatment.
In its letter, Amnesty International has requested prompt clarification of the steps being taken by the Iraqi authorities to investigate the attack on Dr al-'Ubaidi and other worshippers at al-Shawwaf Mosque, which it strongly condemns, and to establish whether it was perpetrated by a gunman acting alone or with the active assistance of others. Further, the organization has requested prompt clarification of the steps being taken by the Iraqi authorities to investigate the allegations of torture cited above and to bring to justice those responsible for such abuses. In accordance with Iraq's obligations under international human rights law, including the UN Torture Convention (CAT), such investigations should be independent, impartial and conducted and completed without delay. The outcome should be made public and anyone found responsible should be brought to justice through fair trial procedures and without recourse to the death penalty.
The organization has called on the Iraqi authorities to ensure that all detainees have access to regular medical care, families, lawyers of their own choosing and the right to challenge the legality of their detention. In addition, all persons in custody should either promptly charged with recognizable criminal offences and trial in accordance with international standards of fair trial, or released. Public Document
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK www.amnesty.org
al-Obeidi was assassinated Friday. Monday reports emerged of a Baghdad prison where prisoners were on a hunger strike to protest the conditions. Naturally the Ministry of the Interior runs it. And naturally no one notes that over two years ago the Ministry of the Interior was supposed to have STOPPED running prisons -- in fact, they were supposed to have only run detention centers (not prisons) and that was supposed to have een stopped with CPA Order No. 10. June 5, 2003, PDF format warning, the order in question read: "Full authority and control over all detention and prison facilities, currently exercised by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Interior, is hereby vested in the Ministry of Justice. The Directorate of Adult Prisons and Directorate of Juvenile Prisons in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, all facilities under their authority, and all employees thereof, are hereby transferred to the Ministry of Justice." AP reports Jawad al-Bolani, Interior Minister, assured the press that at least 40 'bad apples' employed at the prison would be fire. In other distractions, Middle East Online reports a raid today in Baghdad in which Ahmed Abed Oweiyed was arrested. Who? Exactly. Aljazeera magazine reports the claim is he's a member of al Qaeda in Iraq and he's responsible for the assassination of al-Obaidi. "Wait," you say, "a fifteen year-old . . . who turned out to be 25 or 27 depending upon reports, is supposed to have been responsible." The 'logic' goes that Ahmed Abed Oweiyed was the "mastermind" of the assassination. Al Qaeda in Iraq targeted al-Obaidi specifically because . . . Well no one's supposed to ask that. It's supposed to fall under the generic "Sunni MP too close to Shi'ite" 'logic.' Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) reports that while the convicted-let's-sentence-him claims were being made, "[o]ther officials were more cautious in their assessments. . . . Al Qaeda and Sunni hardliners accuse members of Ubaidi's Accordance Front of being traitors for taking part in the political process with a Shi'ite-led government. But Ubaidi was also a leading rights defender, in particular of Iraqi prisoners, and some fellow politicians have tried to point the finger at other potential culprits, such as Interior Ministry officials."
Kim Gamel (AP) covers the raid and also notes that Nouri al-Maliki was interviewed by Le Monde and that he states of the American troops, "We will not ask them to intervene in combat operations or in operations related to maintaing public order." Yeah, that's the feel good quote which is why we skipped it this morning -- any outlet that covers will note that and ignore all the rest. Le Monde offers a Q & A with Nouri al-Maliki entitled "Les Arabes doivent prendre Obama au sérieux." al-Maliki maintains US and Iraqi relations are "good" and must continue to have mutual respect and non-interference. (No, the US and Iraq relationship has never had either.) He claims Iraqi sovereignty is restored and, with it, civil order which allows his (puppet) government to now rule.
On the Iranian group of rebels or terrorists (considered terrorists by Iran), the ones Saddam welcomed in Iraq and the ones the US military has protected since 2003, Nouri declares that they killed Iranians (at least 12,000) in Iran and that they killed Kurds and Shi'ites once Saddam let them into Iraq. He states that no country will take them but they must leave Iraq. They have no place in Iraq, he insists, but Iraq will not turn them over to Iran.Claims Iraq will have a national identity and not a Shi'ite one or Kurdish one or Sunni one. On the Sahwa ("Awakening" Councils, "Sons Of Iraq"), Nouri states he was lied to.Nouri states the United States lied to him.Nouri states that he asked the US how many Sahwa there were and he was told only 53,000. At which point, he says, he agreed to integrate them into Iraqi forces and asked only for lists. When the lists finally arrived (he says six weeks after being requested), there weren't 53,000 names there were 107,000. He gets a snide remark about the US military officers not being very selective. He compares it to the Iraqi police of 2003-2004 which he claims were actually members of al Qaeda in Iraq or militias and argues he had to fire 30,000 such people as a result (fire from the police).He states only 20% of Sahwa will be integrated into Iraqi forces. He states many broke the laws and those who did are going to the courts. Everyone, he maintains, cannot be integrated. Nouri lies throughout and, on the point of Sahwa, he knew it was more than 50,000. The US Congress, in April of 2008, was making a very big deal about the huge number -- approximately 100,000 -- and Nouri was following those hearings (Petraeus and Crocker) and he was also given a briefing on them by then US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing wounding five people.
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports armed clashes in Mosul with at least one civilian wounded and at least 1 civilian dead. Reuters note 1 man was shot dead last night in Iskandariya.
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 6 corpses discovered in Baquba.
The US military announced: "Multi-National Division – North CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, TIKRIT, Iraq – A Multi-National Division – North Soldier died as a result of a non-combat related incident in the Ninewa province of northern Iraq June 16. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. The names of service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense official website at http://www.defenselink.mil/. The announcements are made on the website no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member's primary next of kin. The incident is under investigation." The announcement brings the total number of US service members killed in the Iraq War to 4314.
At a roundtable at the US Socialist Worker, Jeremy Scahill and Anthony Arnove discuss Barack's wars and occupations. Excerpt:
Jeremy: Let's step back and look at what we've seen happen over five months of the Obama administration when it comes to foreign policy.
We've seen a radical escalation of the war in Afghanistan. We've seen Obama continue to use a quarter-million U.S. contractors--50 percent of the force that's fighting the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's increasing the number of mercenaries in Afghanistan by 29 percent and approximately 23 percent in Iraq.
He's continuing the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and maintaining the monstrous U.S. embassy that was built, in part, on the basis of slave labor. He's continuing to dole out contracts to KBR, the single greatest corporate beneficiary of the war, despite the fact that its work has electrocuted U.S. soldiers.
He's pumping up the National Endowment for Democracy, the leading organ to promote U.S. neoliberal economic policy and interfere in the elections and democratic processes of countries where the outcome might not be favorable to U.S. interests. He's continuing to use the rhetoric of the war on drugs in Latin America.
Overall, he's implementing a U.S. foreign policy that in some ways--or, I think, in many ways--advances the interest of the American empire in a way the Republicans could only have dreamed of doing.
What people, I think, misunderstand about Barack Obama is that this is a man who is a brilliant supporter of empire--who has figured out a way to essentially trick a lot of people into believing they're supporting radical change, when in effect what they're doing is supporting a radical expansion of the U.S. empire.
I think that it's a bit disingenuous for people to act as if though they were somehow hoodwinked by Barack Obama about this.
If people were playing close attention during the election--not just to the rhetoric of his canned speech that he gave repeatedly, and the commercials, and the perception of his supporters was that he somehow was this transformative figure in U.S. politics, but also to the documents being produced by the Obama campaign and the specific policies he outlined--you realized that Barack Obama was very much a part of the bipartisan war machine that has governed this country for many, many decades.
What we see with Obama's policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and the broader Arab and Muslim world, as well as his global economic policies, are a continuation of the most devastating and violent policies of the Bush administration--while placing a face on it that makes it easier to expand the iron fist of U.S. militarism and the hidden hand of the free market in a way that Republicans, I think, would have been unable to do at this point in history.
Anthony: I think the key word is perception. Whether or not people were paying enough attention, it's clear that Barack Obama was able to get elected by signaling, even if only rhetorically, a shift in U.S. foreign policy. But as Jeremy points out, the continuity is really disturbing on a number of fronts.
There are striking similarities to the policies of the Bush administration. Take, for example, habeas corpus rights. The Obama administration made a lot of noise about closing down Guantánamo. Yet in a series of briefs, the Justice Department has said that prisoners held in any base other than Guantánamo don't have habeas corpus rights--for example, prisoners being held in Bagram, Afghanistan.
The administration has also filed briefs saying people in Guantánamo shouldn't have the ability to challenge their detention in civilian courts, so it's preserved the military commissions policy of the Bush administration.
In Iraq, although Barack Obama promised he would have all troops out by 2012, the ground is being laid for troops to stay in Iraq for years and years to come. The army chief of staff, Gen. George Casey, said that the Pentagon was making preparations to keep troops in Iraq until the year 2019.
Anthony thinks the key word is "perception." Fine, Anthony, let's talk perception. Let's talk about the very clear "perception" the Socialist Worker presented all through 2008 that Saint Barack, the Christ-child, was the answer to all of society's ills. And, staying with "perception," when you and Howard Zinn agree to host a Barack inaugural ball, it creates a "perception." And don't e-mail me with that excuse about how you and Howard wanted your names taken off. Had you asked, your names would have been taken off. That ball wasn't staged by strangers, it was staged by your friends. There was never, NEVER, any excuse for you or Howard to lend your names to that event.
"Perceptions"? Yeah, there are a ton of them and it's really time to own the ones that you are responsible for. It gives me no pleasure to point that out. But it needs to be said and we need to quit playing like we had bravery. We had nonsense. And it was especially disappointing to be calling out a Corporatist War Hawk in 2008 and grasp that the bulk of the Socialist Worker -- SOCIALIST! -- wouldn't even join in because they were too vested in Barry O's victory. You need to own your part in creating "perceptions." I'm not in the mood for revisionary history. You need to get honest, do a self-inventroy and take some accountability. It's not that easy, Anthony. Those of us who stood up when it mattered, who screamed loudly about the War Hawk aren't going to let those of you who promoted him suddenly pretend that they were also calling him out. Uh-uh. We put it on the line, you coasted. That's reality. You were an enabler for Barry, but you were not a liar for him. (Many others were and they get ripped apart by me here with glee. With glee!) You could have been much worse and many were and those people wouldn't get a link in any snapshot. But we're not playing that game. Too many of us stood up for the issues that mattered when they mattered and too many others coasted. There's not going to be any revisionary history. And, one other thing, Socialist Worker will never have any growth in readers in the US until it's political gas bags (I mean that gas bags, I don't mean writers-thinkers like Lance) grasp that insulting the working class doesn't make them want to read you. 2008 was a shameful period for the Socialist Worker and they either need to clean house or they need to implement a sensitivity training because the bulk of the writers demonstrated no ability to relate to the working class -- they did, however, demonstrate how much 'fun' it was for them to insult the working class. Repeatedly.
This morning I shared my thoughts re the media frenzy on Iran. Shirley and Martha say that's the big topic in the e-mails. Repeating, Kat has been covering this. Click here and here. And Jeremy Scahill weighed in this morning. And he highlights Sibel Edmonds take. It's not an Iraq subject and that was my excuse for not weighing in until this morning (also true, I've still got that stupid cold and this morning was the first morning this week I read the Times in full) but the opinion I expressed was neither novel nor unique. Kat was already on the terrain before me and you can read Jeremy and Sibel's opinions as well. All are common sense opinions and the fact that you're not getting them goes to the fact that media is trying to emote you into a war with Iran.
Iraq War veteran and conscientious objector Josh Stieber is on a cross-country trip in the US. Meghan Tierney (Maryland's Gazette) reports he's taking eight months to travel to California on foot and on bicycle. He states, "I hope to encourage people to live closer to the things they say they believe and demonstrate that violence isn't the only way to solve problems." Josh Steiber is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. More information on his journey can be found at Contagious Love Experiment.
Meanwhile, as Cedric and Wally noted last night, after the offensive DOMA brief (comparing same-sex relationships to incest and pedophilia) the "very least" Barack could do was to extend benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees, the very least. Kilian Melloy (Boston's The Edge) reports that "critics charge that the memorandum, which has limited scope and staying power, is an anemic gesture that will do little to redress the inequalities in federal benefits faced by gay families. Partly because of DOMA itself, full equality of family benefits for federal employees would be difficult to come by without comprehensive legislative action." USA Today adds, "Response from gay rights groups to President Obama's offer of some federal benefits to same-sex partners of government employees: The sound of one hand clapping." Holly Bailey (Newsweek) notes the offensive DOMA brief and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell cave while pointing out, "All the bad publicity prompted the White House to schedule Obama's announcement today, though an administration official insisted to Newsweek that the 'memo' had been in the works all along. Indeed, privately, White House aides have been giving the wink and nudge treatment to the gay community for weeks, saying that Obama still believes everything he said in the campaing but he's had to deal with other pressing issues. (Btw, that sounds a lot like what Obama has said about abortion.)" The Baltimore Sun observes, "Mr. Obama has been disappointingly tepid in his commitment to affirming civil rights for gays at a time when he should be not only using his powers as chief executive to extend those rights but also his powers of moral persuasion to get the country behind them."
Lastly, David Zurewik (Baltimore Sun) continually demonstrates that TV criticism need not be reduced to the Water Cooler nonsense served up by the Idiot Bellafante (who just makes up moments on TV shows she 'reviews,' click here for Ava and I noting that) and so many others but something that actually resembles thought because it is actual thought and an actual critique:
It really is a cozy game that the White House is playing with the TV news industry, and it will be too late for us as citizens when some enterprising journalist (are there any left?) chronicles it in a book that is published two years from now. But wait, she or he will have to have access to the White House to get a decent advance, which demands its own kind of getting into bed with the administration.
Perhaps, the best measure of how compliant the mainstream TV press has become is Obama's complaint Tuesday about having "one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking" his administration. Obama declined to name the "station" when asked by CNBC interviewer John Harwood -- what a childish, silly bit of gamemanship by a president. How could anyone not think it is Fox?
When Harwood said he assumed Obama was speaking of Fox, the president replied, ""That's a pretty big megaphone. You'd be hard pressed if you watched the entire day to find a positive story about me on that front."
Given all the reckless and irresponsible words uttered by the likes Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, I hesitate to write these words, but good for Fox. It must be doing something right, if it has the president complaining about the tiny bit of scrutiny he gets on TV.
On the other hand, if Fox News is our last, best TV watchdog on the White House, then the TV press, as well as media critics like me, should be profoundly embarassed, and vow to start doing a better job -- immediately.
iraqthe washington postperry bacon jr.the los angeles timesjanet hook
cindy sheehandavid lightmanmcclatchy newspapers
adam kokeshpaul west
killian melloy
amy goodmandemocracy now
mcclatchy newspaperssahar issa
michael evanschris irvinekim sengupta
anthony arnove
david zurawik
Torture, not you know what
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http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/13604/47/Scanning-the-Pyramids.aspx
Could the ScanPyramids Project unlock the secrets of Egypt’s Wonders of the Ancient World, asks Nevine El-Aref
Four millennia after their construction, the ancient Egyptian Pyramids at Giza still conceal their secrets. Although research has been carried out on them throughout history, many questions remained unanswered. How were the pyramids built? Why do they have different shapes? How could they have lasted for 4,500 years without collapsing? Why do the inner structures of the pyramids have such inexplicable anomalies? These are just a few of the unanswered questions that are still puzzling today’s archaeologists.
However, with the help of modern non-invasive technology many of these questions may now be finally resolved. Under the motto “Just because a mystery is 4,500 years old doesn’t mean it can’t be solved,” the Ministry of Antiquities has initiated the ScanPyramids Project in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University and the French Heritage Innovation and Preservation (HIP) Institute.
The project aims at probing the heart of Egypt’s pyramids from afar without touching or drilling into them. This would be achieved through the use of radioactive muons, or cosmic particles, infrared thermography, photogrammetry, scanning and 3D reconstruction by international researchers from three major universities: the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University, the Université Laval in Quebec and the Nagoya University in Japan.
“The scientific ScanPyramids Project is an unprecedented, large-scale project and will begin early in November,” Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty told Al-Ahram Weekly on the fringes of a press conference held on Sunday in Cairo. He explained that the first phase of the project would focus on four pyramids from the Fourth Dynasty: the Bent and Red Pyramids of Snefru at the Dahshur Necropolis and the Khufu and Khafre Pyramids on the Giza Plateau.
“We selected these pyramids to be in the project’s first phase not because they are Fourth Dynasty masterpieces, but because they hide many secrets,” Eldamaty said, asking how it had been possible to construct Khufu’s Pyramid on the Giza Plateau, which contains 2.5 million blocks of stone weighing five million tons in only 25 years.
Why does the Bent Pyramid of Snefru in Dahshur have a different structure from the king’s second pyramid at the same necropolis? Why does the Bent Pyramid have two doors and two burial chambers? “The various explorations conducted in the past using less sophisticated means than today have resulted in strange images that could correspond to hidden chambers in these structures,” he pointed out, adding that the high technology methods to be used today were non-invasive and non-destructive.
Eldamaty said that two infrared thermography missions would establish a thermal map of the pyramids to reveal differences in density. One would be conducted by expert Jean-Claude Barré, while the other, running for at least a year, would be led by the Université Laval in Quebec.
“Their goal is to identify if there are any voids behind the facades of the pyramids,” he said. Two missions using muon radiography also aim to verify and accurately visualise the any unknown structures within the monuments. These techniques are being developed in Japan by teams from the country’s High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK) and Nagoya University.
“The team is to work for a year trying to crack the codes of the pyramids. I am announcing 2016 as the “Year of the Pyramids,” Eldamaty told the Weekly, adding that the ScanPyramids Project had already been approved by the permanent committee of the Ministry of Antiquities and had obtained all the necessary permissions from the concerned authorities.
“The infrared and muon technologies will also be used to look for a possible hidden chamber in king Tutankhamun’s tomb, which may be the burial place of queen Nefertiti, as British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves proposed in his recent theory,” Eldamaty said.
He said that archaeologists have not discovered the mummy of the legendary queen Nefertiti, and Reeves, who was in Luxor in September to probe his theory, believes a hidden door in Tutankhamun’s tomb could conceal her burial place. The permanent committee for Ancient Egyptian antiquities at the ministry has already approved using radar to search within the boy king’s tomb, but the search is still awaiting security clearance.
Mehdi Tayoubi, president of the HIP Institute, a co-initiator and coordinator of the ScanPyramids Project, described it as “very important” because it is a mix of the arts, science and technology in an attempt to use new perspectives and approaches to find solutions to heritage issues. “Our desire is to form an international team of experts and then to discuss the theoretical and technological approaches that could be used to test the archaeological reality on the ground,” he said.
Many previous missions have attempted to unravel the mysteries of the pyramids, he said, and even if they had been unsuccessful, they had helped advance knowledge. For example, 30 years ago the French EDF Foundation had detected a density anomaly in Khufu’s Pyramid. “Our goal is to make our contribution and to prepare, in all humility, the path for future scientific research missions,” he said.
Former minister of education Hani Hilal who leads the team from the Faculty of Engineering pointed out that until now many theories have been proposed either to explain the construction of the pyramids or their structural anomalies, but nothing has yet been proved. “Now through using state-of-the-art techniques we can get concrete results that archaeologists and Egyptologists will interpret to test which theory is correct or acceptable,” Hilal told the Weekly.
He said that when people asked him about the purposes of participating in such a project as an engineer and not an archaeologist, he answered that “I and the team of engineers are participating in the project because we are physicists and engineers and the pyramids were built by engineers, so we will be better able to understand our ancient Egyptian counterparts. But we would not be able to do so without the cooperation of the archaeologists.”
The ScanPyramids Project was in the direct line of what he had done 30 years ago in 1982, when, in collaboration with a Franco-Egyptian mission from the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University and the Ecole des Mines in France, he had helped carry out scientific and technological studies on ancient monuments in Egypt. “We were the pioneers in the domain,” Hilal said, adding that the work had led to the creation of the Engineering Centre for Archaeology in Egypt, which had become a centre of excellence in the region.
In 1986, Hilal had also participated in studies using a micro-gravimeter carried out on Khufu’s Pyramid. But he said that the surveying technique used at that time was not fully professional like the current one, so results were not achievable. But the survey helped people to understand more about the pyramids.
“With the current mission and advanced technology we may not be able to resolve all the mysteries of the pyramids, but we are progressing by testing new processes. No doubt we will obtain good results about what the pyramids hide behind their massive blocks of stone,” Hilal said, adding that if the techniques work they could also be used elsewhere.
MATTHIEU Klein who is in charge of thermographic data acquisition in situ said that the infrared thermography work implemented by Jean-Claude Barré was one of the most promising methods to try to understand what lies within the monuments.
The technique is based on a physical law that says that all materials emit radiation as a function of their temperatures, which can be measured by digital cameras equipped with special sensors. These cameras generate images in which each colour corresponds to a given temperature.
The technique, he said, is widely used to reveal heat losses in poorly insulated homes, and it allows the presence of defects in buildings to be located. “Thus, a cold air current will be represented in blue, whereas a heat source will be shown in red. These specialised cameras are also capable of quantifying the emissivity of materials,” Klein said.
For example, under the sun’s heat the interior of a white car will be cooler than the interior of a black one. Similarly in identical sunlight, granite and limestone will not return the same temperature. “The principle is simple, but its implementation requires sophisticated instruments and highly experienced operators,” Klein said.
In this project, the goal is to realise a true thermal map of the Dahshur and Giza Pyramids. This will be done through making thermal images of the four sides of each pyramid three times throughout the day in order to read the amount of energy it gains when absorbing the sun’s heat. The first time will be half an hour before sunrise when the monument has evacuated maximum energy during the night. The second time will be at noon, and the third will be in the evening. In a few days, said Klein, hundreds of thousands of images will be recorded and compared with each other by a computer programme.
The differences in emissivity will allow scientists to investigate the surface of stones that are now the same colour due to bad weather, sand and pollution. “But what interests us most are potential cold spots on the surface, which could reveal cavities, rooms or hallways within the monuments,” he said.
Muon detection
RESEARCHER Kunihiro Morishima of Nagoya University in Japan has invented an advanced kind of negative film like that used in old cameras that could help detect muons as part of the scanning project.
Morishima explained that muons come from the upper layers of the earth’s atmosphere, where they are created from collisions between cosmic rays and the nuclei of atoms in the atmosphere. They then fall to the ground at nearly the speed of light.
“Like the X-rays that pass through our bodies allowing us to visualise our skeletons, these elementary particles like heavy electrons can very easily pass through any structure, even large and thick rocks, such as mountains,” Morishima told the Weekly. He said that detectors, placed at appropriate places, allow scientists to discern void areas that the muons have crossed from denser areas where some of them are absorbed or deflected.
“The challenge of this technique is to create highly sensitive detectors and then to accumulate enough data over several days or months to emphasise the contrasts,” he said. He added that in the case of applying the technique to the pyramids it could take from 90 to 120 days.
“It is the first time that muon radiography has been used on a monument, but it is now frequently used for the observation of volcanoes,” Morishima asserted. He explained that more recently KEK in Japan had also developed a detection approach based on electronic scintillators, which are resistant to nuclear radiation unlike chemical emulsions, in order to scan inside the Fukushima nuclear plant.
A laboratory to develop and analyse the images captured by the muon radiography has been established on the Giza Plateau by the Japanese team. “This laboratory is the first to be built and equipped outside Japan,” Morishima said.
Photogrammetry and lasers
RESEARCHER Yves Ubelmann said that in parallel to the Pyramids exploration missions, the Iconem Company would carry out a photogrammetry campaign using drones and laser scanners to rebuild the Giza Plateau and the site of Dahshur in virtual form with their monuments in 3D using unique centimetre precision. “This campaign is entirely dedicated to the advancement of knowledge. Sharing and transfer are the key words,” Ubelmann said.
The algorithms used by Iconem were developed by the French National Institute for Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, which is already working in Pompeii and in Syria and Afghanistan to help restore threatened sites. Ubelmann told the Weekly that Iconem would use drones with wings like helicopters in order to collect the data.
The drones with wings would allow data to be collected from large areas in the reconstruction of the pyramids’ environment with resolution of up to five cm. Details of this micro-topography would also give clues about the position or shape of unexcavated buildings.
The second type of drones look like helicopters, and though they have less autonomy they can hover. They can take images metres away from the monuments, and the results are detailed to a centimetre scale. “This high definition will provide geometric information about especially the alignment and assembly of the blocks, but also the texture and possibly traces of tools or construction work,” Ublemann confirmed.
“Photogrammetry allows us to work and combine the different scales exploited in the same digital model and propose a global interpretation of the sites,” he concluded, adding that to complete the mission the team would also perform laser analysis inside the monuments in areas where photogrammetry cannot operate.
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PRO Sport - Beech Stock, Single Shot
Code: PY-177-510
The Air Arms Pro-Sport has earned a faithful following among field target shooters because it's remarkably accurate and easy to shoot. You don't have to shoot field target to appreciate this gun. In fact, you might want to get the .22 for hunting rats, mice, rabbits and squirrels. It's super-quiet because it has a built-in silencing device that is part of the barrel. The Monte Carlo stock and raised cheekpiece are just a couple of the gun's ergonomic features. Air Arms has increased the amount of area that is checkered on the grip and forearm. If you've ever had sweaty palms while hunting or during a match, you'll appreciate the extra gripping power! The Pro-Sport has a 12-groove Lothar Walther barrel and comes to you in a tuned state. That means you won't have to spend hours or days fiddling with the gun to make it shoot beautifully. The weight given in the specifications section at left says 9.03 lbs., but that's for the walnut stock. The beech stock is only 8.60 lbs. This rifle does not come with a scope or sights, so remember to pick up a scope when ordering! Don't forget to pick up a variety of recommended pellets, which are listed in the AMMO link below. Select appropriate accessories, including targets and a scope, by clicking on the ACCESSORIES link.
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Written by Krystin Baker
Photographs by Shaundrie Jones and Chelsea @MIZZR3D
Angels with Heart Benefit Concert - Trey Songz
As Trey Songz makes his way through the country on his Chapter V World Tour, he along with Miguel and Elle Varner made a pit-stop in Los Angeles. Tonight was a special show; it streamed live on www.xumanii.com, for $1.99. This made the show viewable to everyone in the world. All proceeds from the stream went to Trey’s foundation, “Angels With Heart (AWH).”
AWH was founded by the Grammy nominated artist in 2010 as a call for help from his fan club, Trey’s Angels, to make a positive impact on their communities. “I have been blessed to be in the situation where I am able to touch and be heard by so many people. It’s only right that I use that voice to give back and empower the youth, strengthen families and communities.”said Songz.
Songz opened the show with the intro from the single "Dive In"; featured on his latest album, Chapter V. Taking a few second from performing; Trey played a clip of him preparing for a hot date night at home. Shower. Sit ups. Massage…need I say more? The trailer from his new movie coming out January 4th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was previewed, before going into his song, “Don’t Be Scared”.
After a while, Trey took a break from his love-making music to sing about his heartache. Songz started the somber moment of the show with a snippet of “Me4U” from his Anticipation 2 mixtape. Shortly after, he began performing “Can’t Be Friends”, from Passion, Pain, and Pleasure, with the help of his dancers, Deja and Della. Along with his amazing horn section, Trey sung “Fumble”, one of the most emotional songs on the album.
In “Fumble”, the R&B crooner sings about how he fumbled his most recent love’s heart. “I fumbled your heart, should’ve let go of my past for you, you did everything I asked of you, drive across the country if I asked you to….but I’m just bad for you”, belted the soulful singer. I sure hope he’s able to rebound her heart. He seems rather heartbroken about hurting the one he loves.
Purchase Chapter V NOW!!!
Join Trey's Angels! Click Here!
This may have been one of the greatest songs performed tonight, “Without a Woman.” Songz sings, “A man can’t be a man, without a woman….you can try as hard as you can…but you ain’t nothing without a woman” with his horn players. Trey brought out his friend/rapper, Fabolous to perform their hit “Say Aah.” Songz, who has a birthday coming up Wednesday, went on to perform 2Chainz and Kanye West’s hit “Birthday Song”.
As Trey does every show during “Bottoms Up”, he takes time out to shout out his audience. He asks that the lights be raised so he can take a look out into the crowd; he then proceeds to point out the women in the audience. “You in the mint green….you with the iPhone light in my face”. This, hands down, is a great moment for his fans. Trey pointed out a particular young lady in the show who he states had been jumping up and down the entire show. He asked the fan to come up on the stage. Before he could get it out good, the young lady leaped up onto the stage and into Trey’s arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and just about knocked him over. She never calmed down as Trey asked her to hold the mic. He took off his Chapter V chain and placing it around her neck. Still not calm, he sent her back stage to get herself together.
Songz ended the show shortly after performing 2 Reasons and thanking everyone apart of the tour. He also thanked his mother, April, who runs his AWH Foundation. He asked her to come to the stage. Ms. April simply thanked everyone and explained AWH Foundation’s mission. She stated one of the projects is to help the children of their hometown, Petersburg, Virginia. Ms. April stated it was also her “Big Baby’s” birthday. Trey will be 28 on November 28th. Mama Songz led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday’" to her oldest son. The show closed with Trey Songz blowing out the candles on his birthday cake that was presented to him by his Mother, friend, Fabolous, and manger Kevin Liles.
If this was not the funniest thing I have seen all year, I do not know what it is. This young lady was called onto the stage after her enthusiastic behavior all night! When called to the stage...you know what--just watch the video -->
But shout out to this young lady! Not everyone gets the chance to meet their favorite celebrity crush! I hope she enjoyed herself and found her belongings!
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Mary Anne Mohanraj
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A look at the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan
FILE - In this Sunday, May 5, 2019 file photo, people buy dates, a favorite food for Muslims' fasting month of Ramadan, at a wholesale market in Karachi. Muslims across the world will be observing Ramadan, when they refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk. Muslims traditionally break their fast like the Prophet Muhammad did some 1,400 years ago, with a sip of water and some dates at sunset. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan, File)
FILE - In this June 29, 2014 file photo, displaced Iraqi citizens gather for a communal meal to break their fast during the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, at an encampment for displaced Iraqis, in the Khazer area outside Irbil, northern Iraq. Most Muslims around the world began fasting on Monday, May 6, 2019, for the start of the month of Ramadan. It's also a month of gratitude in which the faithful, abstaining from food and water during the day, are reminded of those less fortunate. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - In this June 30, 2014 file photo, an Indian Muslim father holds the hands of his daughter in his palms and prays before breaking fast on the first day of holy month Ramadan at the Jama Mosque in New Delhi, India. Most Muslims around the world began fasting on Monday, May 6, 2019, for the start of the month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
In this Friday, May 3, 2019 photo, Iraqis shop for food in a preparation for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan at the Shorjah market in central Baghdad, Iraq. Most Muslims around the world began fasting on Monday for the start of the month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)
FILE - In this June 16, 2018 file photo, people take a ride at an amusement park during Eid al-Fitr celebrations, that mark the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Baghdad, Iraq. Most Muslims around the world began fasting Monday, May 6, 2019, to mark the start of Ramadan. The end of Ramadan is marked by intense worship, early morning Eid prayers the day after Ramadan and then families typically spend the day at parks, eating in the sunshine for the first time in a month. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)
FILE - In this July 11, 2018 file photo, Chechens wait to break their fast at a roadside during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, at the main Mosque in Grozny, Russia. Most Muslims around the world began fasting on Monday, May 6, 2019, for the start of the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev, File)
FILE - In this July 4, 2014 file photo, a Palestinian girl reads the Quran, Islam's holy book during Ramadan, at sunset in Gaza City. Most Muslims around the world began fasting on Monday, May 6, 2019, for the start of the month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)
FILE - In this June 15, 2018 file photo, men place offerings into a box during a prayer service at Masjid Al-Farooq for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Most Muslims around the world began fasting on Monday, May 6, 2019, for the start of the month of Ramadan. It's also a month of gratitude in which the faithful, abstaining from food and water during the day, are reminded of those less fortunate. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, May 5, 2019 file photo, Indonesian Muslims perform an evening prayer called 'tarawih' marking the first eve of Ramadan, at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. Most Muslims around the world began fasting on Monday for the start of the month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Many Muslims around the world began fasting Monday to mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
This means waking up before dawn to eat, hydrate and pray. Once the sun rises, Muslims abstain from food and drink, including water, until sunset. They repeat the grueling routine every day for a month.
Here are some questions and answers about Islam's holiest month and how it's observed.
WHY DO MUSLIMS FAST?
Fasting is meant to bring worshippers closer to God through steady remembrance, reflection and sacrifice. Daily fasting, combined with five daily prayers and extended evening prayers, challenges worshippers to focus on their actions, deeds and thoughts, rather than on material desires and instant gratification.
Fasting is a requirement in Islam — a reset for the mind, body and soul. Muslims are expected to show self-control and deeper spirituality during Ramadan.
It's also a month of gratitude. By abstaining from food and water during the day, the faithful are reminded of those less fortunate. Each night during Ramadan, mosques and aid organizations set up tents and tables to serve free evening meals for the poor.
HOW DO MUSLIMS FAST?
Muslims must abstain from all eating, drinking or smoking from dawn to dusk each day for the entire lunar month, around 30 days. A single sip of water or coffee, or a puff of a cigarette, is enough to invalidate the fast.
Sexual intercourse is also forbidden during the daylong fast, and Muslims are encouraged to avoid gossip, arguments and idle time.
To prepare for the fast, Muslims wake for a pre-dawn meal called "suhoor." Often the small meal will include vegetables and fruits, tea, yogurt, dates and power foods such as beans and lentils. In many cities in the Muslim world, volunteers wake the faithful for suhoor by marching through the streets chanting and beating drums.
HOW DO MUSLIMS BREAK THEIR FAST?
Muslims traditionally break their fast like the Prophet Muhammad did some 1,400 years ago, with a sip of water and some dates at sunset. After sunset prayers, a large feast known as "iftar" is shared with family and friends.
Iftar is a social event as much as it is a gastronomical adventure. Across the Arab world, apricot juice is an iftar staple. In South Asia and Turkey, yogurt-based drinks are popular.
CAN MUSLIMS BE EXEMPTED FROM FASTING?
Children, the elderly and the ill are exempt, as well as women who are pregnant, nursing or menstruating. Travelers, including athletes taking part in tournaments away from home, are also exempt from fasting.
Muslims living in countries with excessively long daylight hours are advised by religious scholars to adhere to the fasting times of the nearest Muslim-majority country.
HOW DO MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRIES OBSERVE RAMADAN?
Many Muslim-majority countries curb the sale of alcohol during the month of Ramadan, limiting when it can be sold and to whom. In some countries, people who eat in public during the day can be fined or even jailed, although adherence to Ramadan etiquette by non-Muslims is often a personal choice and not enforced by police.
In the United Arab Emirates, which has large Western expatriate populations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, restaurants use curtains to conceal customers who eat during the day. In Saudi Arabia, restaurants simply close during the day.
WHAT ARE SOME RAMADAN TRADITIONS?
Once the start of the holy month is declared, Muslims share holiday greetings such as "Ramadan Mubarak," or "blessed Ramadan," via text messages, calls and emails to family and friends.
Another hallmark of Ramadan is nightly prayer at the mosque among Sunni Muslims called "taraweeh."
Egyptians follow the tradition of the "fanoos," a Ramadan lantern that is often the centerpiece at an iftar table or seen hanging in shop windows and from balconies.
Increasingly common are Ramadan tents in five-star hotels that offer lavish and pricey meals throughout the evening. While Ramadan is a boon for retailers in the Middle East and South Asia, critics say the holy month is increasingly becoming commercialized.
Scholars have also been disturbed by the proliferation of evening television shows during Ramadan. In the Arab world, monthlong soap operas rake in millions of dollars in advertising.
HOW DO MUSLIMS MARK THE END OF RAMADAN?
The end of Ramadan is marked by intense worship as Muslims ask to have their prayers answered during "Laylat al-Qadr" or "the Night of Destiny." Muslims believe that on this occasion, which is usually observed on the 27th day of Ramadan, God sent the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad and revealed the first verses of the Quran.
After these intense nights of prayer, the end of Ramadan is met with a holiday called Eid al-Fitr. Children often receive new clothes, gifts and cash.
Muslims attend early morning Eid prayers the day after Ramadan. Families typically spend the day at parks, eating in the sunshine for the first time in a month.
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In the 1960s and ’70s, Ed and Elsa Prince advanced God’s Kingdom from the end of a cul-de-sac just a few miles from Lake Michigan. There, they taught their four children—Elisabeth (Betsy), Eileen, Emilie and Erik—a deeply religious, conservative, free-market view of the world, emphasizing the importance of self-reliance and sending them to private schools that would reinforce the values they celebrated at home, small-government conservatism chief among them.
Moving on, we exchanged info. I gave him my business card, he gave me his number. I thought cool, I just made a new friend who has the same mindset as I do, you know, work hard for the good life. He called me a couple of days later and we met at a small time franchise restaurant (his choice - part of the presentation). He brought his wife with him. They were both 22 years old. Not that it's weird, but I don't know. They both sounded like such nice people, I mean really nice. It's hard to take them or think that they are even out to commit anything that is considered bad. They gave me a book called "Business of the 21st Century" and I was to read it in four days, probably because in five days there was a meeting I was not yet aware of, and after reading the book we met again.
Disguising the upward flow of fees within a downward flow of commissions definitely has its advantages. One of the decisive factors in the 1979 FTC decision exonerating Amway from allegations of pyramiding was that most of its revenues came from product sales, not from enrollment fees. The assumption is that those sales are based on rational consumer choices—made on the basis of price and quality—and that the money paid into the bonus system is not an extraneous surcharge, but merely the portion other corporations would pour into their marketing budgets. Amway claims, in fact, that it’s able to save even its small time distributors money by avoiding things like pricey mass advertising. These savings are the source of the alleged wholesale 30 percent Basic Discount that every distributor is supposed to enjoy even before the bonuses kick in.
In the last quarter of 2015, DeVos family donations accounted for over half of those made to the Michigan Republican Party. Dick DeVos, Rich’s oldest son, who served as president of the company before passing the torch to his younger brother Doug, made an unsuccessful run for Michigan governor in 2006. His wife, Betsy, has served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party and finance chair for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and now chairs the board of directors of the American Federation for Children, a nonprofit which promotes giving students taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend private schools.
People think in terms of excellence, including success, wealth achievements, and gracious living. We feel uncomfortable about things at the lower end of the scale. We become anxious about peoples and nations in the grip of poverty. It makes us uneasy and often guilty to think of starving children and realize what bounties we have in America. Yet we should always bear in mind that poor people cannot help poor people. What we can do, however, is to condition ourselves to speak out and stand up for those things in which we believe. To do this effectively, we must first have faith – faith in self, faith in God, faith in our convictions. Once these conditions are met, you will be amazed at how easy it is to speak out.
This said, according to Inter@ctive Week, "The commissions aren't all that great, even though they can add up to greater than 50 percent of the cost of the goods sold. If privately held Amway generated $6 billion in sales in 1998 as estimated, then each of its 1 million distributors would have pulled in, on average, only $6,000. It's nice extra income, but a livelihood only for the most talented, hardworking or aggressive. Or, for those with a large personal family tree.
I can promise you will lose friends and lovers. If that's worth it to you then go forth, but be aware that for the participant (or victim) in this, your loss of friendships will sometimes be invisible, and occasionally worth much more than you ever thought. It's an honest decision - you shouldn't be friends with someone who treats you this way. Every single person who has fallen into this trap I have seen lose friends in the long run, even if we tried to see past it. It's a black mark of a terrible person. When someone tells you who they are, you should listen to them.
As its Sales & Marketing Plan demonstrated, there were two ways to make money in Amway. You could buy products cheap (at wholesale costs reportedly 30 percent below retail) and sell them dear; or, more lucratively, you could share The Business with others, and build your own empire of “downlines.” Since Amway awards bonuses to its distributors based on their wholesale volume, and since each distributor’s wholesale figures includes the sales made by his or her “downlines,” each convert to the Amway cause would enlarge his or her own incomes. To see how this worked, we were told to imagine recruiting six distributors, each of whom would bring in four more, who in turn would each net an additional two. Our downlines, according to this “6-4-2” formula, would then have seventy-eight members. If each of our underlings did $100 a month in sales, we’d be making an extra $2,000 a month in bonuses.[5]
The reason some people received $84 was because they didn’t work hard enough to earn more. This business isnt for everyone. Just try the products and of you dont like them then return them you have 6 months to return them. Just dont start stating facts that aren’t true just because you lost a friend. They probably left because they trying to be with people who were trying to succeed. Take it from me im 16 years old and this business has not failed me yet.
I absolutely agree with this post! I was recently approached by a friend to attend a “business meeting” regarding a “great business opportunity on the Internet” but he did not wanted to say anything until the meeting happened with him and his friend, who supposedly was the owner of this business venture. When I arrived to the “meeting” Suprise! I saw other friends there and about 300+ other unknown people. Immediately warning bells started ringing and I knew it was a pyramid scam anyhow, I stayed for the meeting and indeed by the end my suspicions were confirmed and it became quite obvious that the my friend’s friend was the recruiter. A few days later I heard back from a very close friend of mine who had also been approached and attended a separate meeting, she questioned me about it because the recruiter told her that I was “very excited at joining this venture” which of course was an absolute LIE and an obvious attempt to manipulate and pressure her to join! After two weeks, the recruiter contacted me ACCUSING ME of stealing a USED lip gloss from his wife the day of the so called meeting and then proceeded to ask me why hasn’t he heard back from me?!?! Could you imagine? The freaking nerve of these people!!!! Of course I put him in his place and hope that he never, ever dares to contact me again because if he does I will file a complaint for harassment!!
Methodology: Source Euromonitor International Limited. Claim verification based on Euromonitor research and methodology for Amway Corporation conducted from April to May 2012. Euromonitor studied ten leading direct selling companies in Brazil, as provided by Amway, and through interviews with company distributors and company employees Euromonitor tried to determine if any of the companies had implemented an internal Facebook page exclusive to distributors that provides tools for customization, retailing and content management. None of the ten leading direct selling companies had this capability at the time of the research. To the extent permissible, Euromonitor does not accept or assume responsibility to any third party in respect of this claim. Further information is available upon request.
Than please do enlighten us, what the difference is between Amway, Avon, Oriflame, etc. and the few other 1000 MLM "businesses" out there? All you can see, read, hear if you attend a meeting or not is the same script. Everyone is selling the best products, everyone is making tons of money, everyone is the amazing 2% who are smarter than other people on earth. (Oh and most of the time it turns out they have the same owners, or the name just changed :O suprise) And do not even start with sales. Topshop is one of the biggest TV and online sellers of 90% crap and useless stuff. Is it a business? Yes. Do they make money? Yes. Do they annoy, scam and rip people off? Yes. They have horrible reviews, lawsuits, complaint masses. Something running and some making money out of it does not make it a proper business nor legit. And please do not use the word meeting or training word regarding any of these companies. Getting some random people talking about how their yacht looks like is not a business mindset. Ever tried to make a project? Ever had a project plan and completed it? How many business models can you tell us? And in how many of those have you achieved anything? Please feel free, we would love to see. And having a degree has nothing to do with any business model. A person who was milking cows for a living for 40 years can have a successful business without having finished primary school. And "so to finish up", a real business with real products does not need people to run around and harrass people with their products. And I am not talking about coca cola and friends here. Everyone can find a product they need which is good and for a proper price. Noone needs someone to hold hands while shopping.
The Dream is “sort of about pyramid schemes,” as host Jane Marie says at the beginning of the new podcast series, but it takes a moment to figure out just what that means. In the beginning of the first episode, which you can listen to exclusively here, Marie dives into a classic pyramid scheme of the 70s and 80s, the “airplane game,” a trend that became so prevalent among a certain subset in New York and South Florida that The New York Times caught on, calling it “a high-stakes chain letter.”
In 2013, eSpring was one of the Reader's Digest Trusted Brands Award winners in the water purifiers category in Malaysia.[62] In 2015, Amway was recognized for the sixth consecutive year by Frost & Sullivan as Asia Pacific Water Filtration company of the year.[55] According to an Amway commissioned study of global sales conducted by marketing research firm Verify Markets, eSpring was the world's largest selling brand of kitchen water treatment systems and home water treatment systems in 2014.[63]
Oct 20, 2018; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers safety Kyle Cote (32), linebacker Chad Smith (43), linebacker Shaq Smith (5), and safety Denzel Johnson (14) celebrate during the second half of the game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Tigers won 41-7. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-382469 ORIG FILE ID: 20181020_pjc_ak7_603.JPG
In the canonical 6-4-2 pyramid, the “Direct Distributor” on top receives a 25 percent “Performance Bonus” on the entire group’s spending.[7] The Performance Bonuses that go to his six “legs” (12 percent of their sub-groups’ spending) are deducted from his own, leaving him with a 13 percent profit. In turn, they payout 6 percent bonuses to their four “legs,” who payout 3 percent bonuses to their two. Those bottom forty-eight distributors, in other words, get back 3 percent of everything they spend while the top distributor gets 13 percent of everything they spend. (The amount of all checks are calculated, incidentally, by Amway’s central computer and distributed by Amway; uplines don’t actually write checks to their downlines.) It would amount to the same thing if the distributors at the bottom were to receive the 25 percent rebate—and then pay fees directly to their uplines equal to 3 percent, 6 percent, and 13 percent of their purchases.
Quixtar relies primarily on person-to-person referral rather than advertisements for sale of products;[8] however, Quixtar has recently announced the launch of a multimillion-dollar ad campaign.[9] A large part of the marketing budget is spent on paying bonuses to distributors. IBOs were paid more than $370.1 million in bonuses and incentives in fiscal year 2006.[1]. Bonuses are paid for individual sales and sales generated by people one sponsors but not for sponsoring itself.[10][11]
[9]The Amway Business Reference Manual itself gives the lie to the 30 percent figure. It calculates the Basic Discount by subtracting a product’s wholesale distributor cost from the suggested retail price (both denominated in dollars) and then dividing them by the BV price, which is set by Amway for each product but which is usually smaller than the U.S. dollar price. If the calculation is done solely in dollars, the Basic Discount shrinks to about 17 percent. And when I did a real price comparison, that 17 percent came down to about 4 percent.
Amway is a good company and has helped a lot of people worldwide already which should be because they existed since 1959(?). There’s just one thing I did not like and that was when some top distributors introduced their own training seminars and made it a part of Amway. Then some uplines made it compulsory to attend these meetings which are not free but on one hand you’ll get trained. Some distributors just gets hyper-excited acting queer instead of thinking business-like. It’s up to you how you’ll behave. Their products are mostly good. Surely, you’ll not earn if you don’t work it out. Of course, prospecting is part of it just like any other business. Then the business presentation, then closing the deal or have the prospect sign up. It doesn’t end there. You have to guide your distributors until they can made it on their own. Just like any distribution business, you have to check how your dealers are performing. Have a business mindset and hardworking attitude and you cannot avoid earning.
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United Methodist Glass 2: The great west window
This most likely will be the last United Methodist Church-related post for a while. But then you never know --- the East Park meeting I'd planned to write about Tuesday has been postponed, today, because of the snow. On the other hand, I'd like to revisit Waynick Cemetery before writing about the Waynick window --- but anyone familiar with that little cemetery out southwest of town (also known as Holmes) also knows it's not an especially good place to visit when there's lots of snow on the ground (and the roads).
The great west window at First United Methodist initially appears almost identical to its counterpart in the south front of the church, but the panels have another set of sponsors, two specific and two more general.
The most southerly panel is devoted "To the memory of M. Rizer," hardly a familiar name in Chariton. If you know where to look in the Chariton Cemetery, you can find a tiny headstone also inscribed "M. Rizer," with no dates and nothing to indicate gender or relationship.
"M" stood for "Michael," and Michael Rizer was a skilled carpenter, born during 1813 in Virginia, who arrived in Chariton during 1865 most likely because his daughter, Mary, had settled here with her first husband, Dr. Henry Jay, during 1860. In his 50s, his services were much in demand and he was mentioned in newspaper reports in connection at least one of his projects, the Gasser Building, now housing Sportsman's Bar on the south side of the square.
Mary had rather bad luck with husbands. Dr. Jay died in 1868 and her second husband, Capt. William L. Robison, during 1883. She buried them side-by-side and when her father, Michael, died ca. 1890 she buried him on the same lot. Both husbands have equally uninformative tombstones.
On Feb. 2, 1885, Mary married as her third husband, Benjamin Franklin Bates, builder of the legendary Bates House hotel. Bates served on the 1898-1900 building committee for the new Methodist Episcopal Church, and this probably was a factor in the decision to include in it a window in memory of Michael.
Mary herself died Feb. 17, 1905 --- unexpectedly in Chicago where the couple were visiting. B.F. Bates brought her remains back to Chariton and buried them near near her first and second husbands behind a small stone inscribed only "M.H.B" for "Mary Hamilton Bates."
The middle panels of the west window are dedicated more generally, perhaps funded by consolidating smaller memorial contributions. The second panel is in memory of "our Christian Fathers."
The third panel is dedicated to the memory of "our Christian Mothers."
The final panel was installed "In memory of my parents (by) A.M. Wheeler" and that inscription has the effect of memorializing Mr. Wheeler rather than his parents, who are not named.
Armstead Mason Wheeler (1840-1912) was an Ohio native and Civil War veteran who became a prominent Chariton-area farmer. He was serving as a Lucas County supervisor when the new Lucas County Courthouse was built in 1893-94 --- and that distinction was mentioned in his obituary.
His parents, whom the window panel memorializes, were Samuel Davis Wheeler (1810-1897) and Elizabeth (Matthews) Wheeler (1817-1900). The couple, natives respectively of Virginia and Ohio, married during 1834 in Ohio and brought their family west to Lucas County during 1856, settling first in Liberty Township, then moving during 1873 to a farm in Whitebreast Township, nearer Chariton. Samuel was an attorney, too, served in the Iowa Legislature and, like his son, served several years as a Lucas County supervisor.
All of the Wheelers were long-time and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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Uncovering Space
Public Presence by
Jen Reimer
Max Stein
20 SEPT, 14H00-16H00
Presented by matralab in collaboration with Pop Montréal
Curated by Jen Reimer
In the 12th century, architects and composers would work closely together to create a sacred space: the listener and the viewer’s experience were considered when building these environments. The space itself was an integrated experience: there was no separation between music and architecture.
Now, many urban spaces are utilitarian and exist as a host for transience: moving cars, buses, trains and people from point A to point B, without consideration of the passer-by or viewer’s experience. Many of these spaces are vast and resonant, almost like cathedrals in themselves. Can these spaces be re-imagined in a way to become more integrated and experiential? How can the space itself become a memorable experience for those passing through?
As the city grows and expands technologically, there are more distractions pulling us further away from the physical world – our sense of community and the spaces we inhabit. Perhaps it is the responsibility of the artist to redirect people’s gaze and draw them closer to the space they are in: through creating a new narrative that takes into consideration the viewer and the listener – perhaps we will all experience the space in a new way.
How can artistic interventions create new awareness of urban spaces? Uncovering Space is a presentation and discussion that explores the aesthetic re-framing and re-imagining of built space.
Andrew Emond (http://undermontreal.com/) is a Canadian photographer who often explores the built environment. He is the author of Under Montréal, a resource established in 2009 to document Montréal’s underground infrastructures.
Jen Reimer & Max Stein (http://reimerstein.com/) are Montreal-based sound artists who share a fascination with resonant spaces, the urban soundscape and site-specific performance and installation.
Exploring the relationship between sound and the built landscape, Douglas Moffat (http://builtsound.org/) creates spaces built for listening.
Will Straw (http://willstraw.com/) is Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and Professor within the Department of Art History and Communications Studies at McGill University in Montreal.
Moderated by Sandeep Bhagwati (http://matralab.hexagram.ca/). Professor Bhagwati is a composer, theatre director and media artist. As Canada Research Chair for Inter-X Arts at Concordia University Montréal since 2006 he currently directs matralab, a research/creation centre for intercultural and interdisciplinary arts.
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Ward v. Wolfenbarger
MICHAEL CHARLES WARD, Petitioner,
HUGH WOLFENBARGER, Respondent,
OPINION AND ORDER ON REMAND MODIFYING THE TERMS OF THE GRANT OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND RESOLVING PETITIONER'S PENDING MOTIONS (Doc. 347, 349, 350)
HONORABLE ARTHUR J. TARNOW UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter is on remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Petitioner seeks enforcement of this Court's order of September 13, 2004 granting petitioner habeas relief on his 1971 convictions for possession of marijuana, M.C.L.A. 335.153; and possession of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), M.C.L.A. 335.341(4)(c) and ordering that these two convictions be expunged from his record.
For the reasons that follow, the Court modifies the terms and conditions of the original grant of the petition for writ of habeas corpus.
On June 30, 2004, this Court granted a writ of habeas corpus to Petitioner, on the ground that he had been deprived of his right to appeal and his Sixth Amendment right to appellate counsel on his 1971 convictions, because the state trial court failed to advise Petitioner that he had a right to appeal and had a right to the appointment of appellate counsel if he was indigent. See Ward v. Wolfenbarger, 323 F.Supp.2d 818, 828-30 (E.D. Mich. 2004). The Court conditioned the granting of the writ upon respondent taking immediate action to afford Petitioner an appeal of right to the Michigan Court of Appeals with the assistance of appellate counsel. Id.
Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration and/or clarification of the Court's opinion and order. On September 14, 2004, the Court granted Petitioner's motion for reconsideration and ordered that an unconditional writ of habeas corpus issue in this case. See Ward v. Wolfenbarger, 340 F.Supp.2d 773 (E.D. Mich. 2004). This Court believed that it erred in granting a conditional writ of habeas corpus, rather than an unconditional writ of habeas corpus, in light of the prejudice that Petitioner would suffer from any further delays in adjudicating his claims in the state appellate courts. Petitioner had been deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel on appeal when he was not advised on the record by the state trial court of his right to appeal or his right to the appointment of appellate counsel. Thirty three years had elapsed since the time of Petitioner's conviction. Because of the substantial delay, this Court determined that there was no way that granting Petitioner a new appeal of right with the Michigan Court of Appeals would vitiate any prejudice arising from the denial of Petitioner's right to appeal his 1971 convictions. Id. at 775-76.
The Court declined to order Petitioner's release from incarceration on these convictions, because the sentences on his 1971 convictions had expired. Instead, the Court concluded that Petitioner was entitled to have these 1971 convictions and all of the effects stemming from them expunged from his record. Ward, 340 F.Supp.2d at 776-77. The Court vacated the judgment of conviction against Petitioner for the offenses of possession of LSD and possession of marijuana from the Huron County Circuit Court from January 20, 1971 and ordered that the record of conviction be expunged. Id. The Court further ordered the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Huron County, Michigan to forward a copy of this Court's order to any person or agency that was notified of Petitioner's arrest or conviction involved with these offenses. Id.
Petitioner has several times come before this Court, claiming that respondent failed to fully comply with the terms of the writ. Petitioner specifically claimed that his 1971 convictions were being used to deny him parole on his 1981 conviction for possession with intent to deliver 650 or more grams of cocaine, contrary to M.C.L.A. 333.7401 (1) and (2)(a)(i). This Court several times denied Petitioner permission to reopen his case, concluding that Petitioner presented insufficient evidence to show that the Michigan Parole Board (MPB) was using these 1971 convictions to deny parole to Petitioner.
In 2009, the Sixth Circuit affirmed one of the Court's decisions to deny Petitioner permission to reopen his habeas petition. See Ward v. Wolfenbarger, 342 Fed.Appx. 134 (6th Cir. 2009); cert. den. 130 S.Ct. 1291 (2010). The Sixth Circuit concluded at that time that Petitioner had offered “nothing other than speculation” that the Michigan Parole Board took into account the vacated 1971 convictions in a way that prejudiced his shot at parole. Id., at 137.
Nonetheless, on July 14, 2014, after this Court had again denied Petitioner's request to enforce the writ, this case was remanded by another panel of the United States Court of Appeals from the Sixth Circuit for a determination of whether Petitioner's 1971 convictions, which this Court had ordered expunged, were still being used by the Michigan Department of Corrections (M.D.O.C.) to classify Petitioner and to determine his parole eligibility on his 1981 conviction. Ward v. Wolfenbarger, No. 10-2287/2313, 11-2043 (6th Cir. July 14, 2014)(ECF 162). The Sixth Circuit noted that both parties had presented evidence to that court involving several documents from the M.D.O.C. concerning Petitioner's current incarceration on his 1981 conviction. These documents still listed Petitioner's 1971 convictions and also list Petitioner as having a “B” prefix, suggesting that the M.D.O.C. is still using the 1971 convictions against Petitioner in establishing his security classification. Id. at * 3-4 (ECF 162, Pg ID 22478-79).
The Sixth Circuit then noted the following:
We will not consider new facts in the first instance on appeal and deny the motions to supplement the record on appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 10(a); United States v. Husein, 478 F.3d 318, 335-36 (6th Cir. 2007). Nonetheless, these documents raise unanswered factual questions about whether Ward is still being classified based on the expunged 1971 convictions and whether his eligibility for parole has been adversely affected by the expunged convictions. The problem, as we see it, stems in part from the wording of the district court's order in Ward II [340 F.Supp.2d 773 (E.D. Mich. 2004], which did not explicitly instruct the State of Michigan to remove references to the expunged convictions in any document that might be used against Ward or instruct the State to reclassify him without using the expunged convictions. However, although the State of Michigan was not specifically ordered to remove the notation from documents viewable by the MPB [Michigan Parole Board], the State was certainly on notice that it was expected to do so and that it was under a duty to ensure that Ward suffered no collateral consequences from the expunged convictions. See Ward III [342 F. App'x.] at 136-37.
Id. at * 4 (ECF 162, Pg ID 2579).
The Sixth Circuit remanded the matter to this Court for further findings of ...
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Community Contact Staff — January 11, 2016
Snagged coveted position: CTV News Montreal to cover Quebec National Assembly
Bigger things are happening for Maya Johnson at CTV News Montreal.
Less than three years after she snagged a full-time position as a general assignment reporter that allowed her to cover some of the biggest breaking stories across the province and beyond, Johnson was named the station’s Quebec City Bureau Chief, a much coveted position among Journalists and a significant promotion for the west island resident.
Although Maya had been filling in at the bureau since September, the announcement came in December, and it means that she will be moving to Quebec City, where she will be covering the National Assembly on a permanent basis.
The promotion comes a little more than ten years after Johnson joined CTV in 2005 when, as a 21-year-old, she was one of the youngest reporters in the newsroom.
And it places her in the belly of the political beast, which is an apt definition of this province.
She told The CONTACT that she is looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m thrilled about this new opportunity. It’s a privilege to become a member of the Press Tribune covering the National Assembly. I’ve always enjoyed covering politics and when it comes to politics, Quebec is the province that just keeps on giving. There’s no shortage of material. It’s going to be an exciting challenge.”
In the spring of 2015, Johnson made her debut at the anchor desk filling in on weeknights and weekends, which she will continue to do from Montreal, when the National Assembly is not in session.
Also, when time permits, she will be submitting her special features to the CONTACT.
Next post Spotlight on Talent and Achievement
Previous post Money and sex and politics…
Ethics Committee rules that police racially profiled Kenrick McRae
Rosie Awori, January 13, 2020
Mifty Yusuf
Congrats Maya! You deserve it!
anne janice farray
Maya congratulations on your “new” assignment. Keep on moving up; you are a bright star, light and role model to our youths.
Congratulations Maya!
Congratulations on this huge achievement! Continued success.
Marilyn S.
That’s the sort of news one is excited to hear. Big Congratulation to you Maya Johnson! You are a true example of success among women of color. Continue to shine your brightest light among the stars. No one more deserving of this position than you. Hard work breathes success.
You are amazing! Keep on achieving!
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By Elaine Kub
There are many unanswerable questions and unknowable answers in this business, so I feel a special sort of relief when someone asks me a question that actually has a straightforward answer, like this email I received from a reader last spring:
"Each and every year, x amount of corn acres are planted. Without exception, 8% to 9% fewer acres are harvested. Similar occurrence in wheat, to a slightly smaller degree. However, we always manage to harvest 99% of planted soybean acres. Any idea why that occurs?"
The reader's observations turned out to be spot on again in 2019, looking at USDA's most recent figures for planted and harvested acreage. Of the 89.7 million acres (ma) of corn planted in the United States in 2019, only 81.4 ma were ultimately harvested for grain (91%). Meanwhile, U.S. farmers did indeed harvest 99% of the 76.1 ma of soybeans that were originally planted in the spring. Why the different outcomes?
Happy to have an answer, I replied to that reader's email that a significant portion of planted corn acreage gets cut for silage during the summer, and therefore, those acres don't end up in the "Corn Harvested for Grain" acreage column. Similarly, a significant portion of planted wheat acreage gets grazed as grass before the grain heads out, and therefore those acres don't end up being harvested for grain. In contrast, virtually no one grazes or feeds immature soybean plants to livestock (on purpose).
After watching the 2019 corn crop get planted late, develop late and get swarmed by silage-chopping crews who claimed to be busier than ever before, I've been anticipating some final acreage figures that would show an unusually large portion of the 2019 crop going into silage and a notably small portion getting harvested for grain. But apparently this has not been the case, at least not according to the latest figures from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Only 7.3% (6.6 ma) of the planted corn acreage was reportedly chopped for silage, which is well within the normal range of the past several decades. Back in the '80s, farmers used to chop 10% to 12% of the corn crop, but in more recent years, the proportion has remained within 6% to 8%.
The "Harvested-for-Grain" category, at 91%, is also perfectly normal compared to recent years. In 2007, the U.S. harvested the highest proportion of corn-for-grain at 92.5%. In 1983 and 1993, there were notably low proportions of harvested acres at less than 86%.
That left only 1.8% of 2019's planted corn acreage unharvested for any reason (1.6 ma), at least according to NASS' latest information. That's a little high compared to most recent years, but a smaller proportion than was seen after the drought of 2012 when 2.6% was left unharvested.
Sometimes, fields do wither in drought, get flooded away, or hailed out. Otherwise, farmers typically don't abandon or till under any crop if it can somehow provide some revenue. A lot of the 2019 corn crop wasn't easy to harvest (through mud or snow in several of the northern states), but it mostly got harvested anyway. Other crops may not follow the same pattern, like spring wheat, canola and other more-sensitive small grains and specialty crops that may need to be abandoned after the early heavy snow in North Dakota and the Canadian prairies.
I'm told that even some of that snow-bound canola is going to be given another try this spring. Corn stalks, however, hold their ears several feet above ground. That means even at the edges of fields where snow drifts formed too high and too hard for a combine to drive through, the grain will still last in the field and likely be harvested eventually in the spring (assuming the pheasants don't eat it all at that now-very-convenient height).
Keep in mind, of course, that although the usual harvest season is already over, and the number and proportion of harvested versus unharvested acres is entirely observable, these latest figures from NASS aren't really "final." For instance, they waited until just now -- in the latest January World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report -- to trim the number of 2018's harvested acres, from 81.7 ma down to 81.3 ma. It will certainly take until March or April to see how many of the still-standing fields and edges of fields will really be harvested, and it could easily take until next January for the official supply and demand tables to reflect that reality.
Elaine Kub is the author of "Mastering the Grain Markets: How Profits Are Really Made" and can be reached at elaine@masteringthegrainmarkets.com or on Twitter @elainekub.
(BE/AG)
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Vehicle Code - VEH
DIVISION 11.5. SENTENCING FOR DRIVING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE [23500 - 23675]
( Division 11.5 added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 118, Sec. 84. )
CHAPTER 2. Court Penalties [23530 - 23598]
( Chapter 2 added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 118, Sec. 84. )
ARTICLE 2. Penalties for a Violation of Section 23152 [23536 - 23552]
( Article 2 added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 118, Sec. 84. )
(a) (1) If the court grants probation to person punished under Section 23536, in addition to the provisions of Section 23600 and any other terms and conditions imposed by the court, the court shall impose as a condition of probation that the person pay a fine of at least three hundred ninety dollars ($390), but not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). The court may also impose, as a condition of probation, that the person be confined in a county jail for at least 48 hours, but not more than six months.
(2) The person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended by the department under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352 or Section 13352.1. The court shall require the person to surrender the driver’s license to the court in accordance with Section 13550.
(3) Whenever, when considering the circumstances taken as a whole, the court determines that the person punished under this section would present a traffic safety or public safety risk if authorized to operate a motor vehicle during the period of suspension imposed under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352 or Section 13352.1, the court may disallow the issuance of a restricted driver’s license required under Section 13352.4.
(b) In any county where the board of supervisors has approved, and the State Department of Health Care Services has licensed, a program or programs described in Section 11837.3 of the Health and Safety Code, the court shall also impose as a condition of probation that the driver shall enroll and participate in, and successfully complete a driving-under-the-influence program, licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code, in the driver’s county of residence or employment, as designated by the court. For the purposes of this subdivision, enrollment in, participation in, and completion of an approved program shall be subsequent to the date of the current violation. Credit may not be given for any program activities completed prior to the date of the current violation.
(1) The court shall refer a first offender whose blood-alcohol concentration was less than 0.20 percent, by weight, to participate for at least three months or longer, as ordered by the court, in a licensed program that consists of at least 30 hours of program activities, including those education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 11836) of Part 2 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) The court shall refer a first offender whose blood-alcohol concentration was 0.20 percent or more, by weight, or who refused to take a chemical test, to participate for at least nine months or longer, as ordered by the court, in a licensed program that consists of at least 60 hours of program activities, including those education, group counseling, and individual interview sessions described in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 11836) of Part 2 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) The court shall advise the person at the time of sentencing that the driving privilege shall not be restored until proof satisfactory to the department of successful completion of a driving-under-the-influence program of the length required under this code that is licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code has been received in the department’s headquarters.
(c) (1) The court shall revoke the person’s probation pursuant to Section 23602, except for good cause shown, for the failure to enroll in, participate in, or complete a program specified in subdivision (b).
(2) The court, in establishing reporting requirements, shall consult with the county alcohol program administrator. The county alcohol program administrator shall coordinate the reporting requirements with the department and with the State Department of Health Care Services. That reporting shall ensure that all persons who, after being ordered to attend and complete a program, may be identified for either (A) failure to enroll in, or failure to successfully complete, the program, or (B) successful completion of the program as ordered.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 22, Sec. 87. (AB 75) Effective June 27, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 110 of Ch. 22.)
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Neocon Debate in U.S. Should Inspire Japan
What is meant by the term “neoconservative” or “neocon” in the United States? The definition of this term has become a subject of serious debate among American intellectuals.
Given that neocons are believed to have had a lot of influence over the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, and in light of the vociferous criticisms of Bush’s policy toward Iraq, the question of who should be called neoconservatives is an item of interest to both those who label others and those who are labeled neocons.
First of all, there can be no argument about how neoconservatism was born. What distinguishes that political philosophy from the older U.S. conservatism lies in the fact that neocons were liberal intellectuals who used to support the Democratic Party, but were disillusioned with conventional liberalism.
The starting point for neoconservatism was skepticism about such factors as movements against the Vietnam War that were prevalent around the beginning of the 1970s in the United States and excesses in liberalism as shown by the hippie lifestyle, in addition to the U.S. detente policy that was especially conspicuous in the middle of the 1970s and was, in the eyes of the original neocons, thought to ignore the realities of the Cold War.
Representative among neoconservatives in the political world in those days was Democratic Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson. Known as the “godfather” of neoconservatism among scholars and critics is Irving Kristol, the father of today’s neoconservative leader Bill Kristol.
Strauss’ philosophy
These figures left the ranks of the Democratic Party and subsequently grew to be potent forces supporting the administration of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
When it comes to the philosophical background of neoconservatives, the main intellectual influence on them is said to be Leo Strauss, a philosophy professor at the University of Chicago.
Regarding Strauss’s thinking, Bill Kristol has presented explanations in the form of quoting passages of writings by Strauss. One of them reads: “A social science that cannot speak of tyranny with the same confidence with which medicine speaks, for example, of cancer, cannot understand social phenomena as what they are.”
Strauss started his life anew after leaving Germany in 1937 to flee the Holocaust, and he later became naturalized as an American citizen. Here lies the so-called Jewish background of neoconservatism.
At the core of neoconservative thought is an absolute rejection of Marxism and fascism. Neoconservatives believe man’s natural rights of freedom and democracy cannot be compromised by dictatorial rule or relativism. This, however, is why neoconservatism is often confounded by the simplistic, U.S.-style veneration of democracy.
It is noteworthy that Strauss’s praise of the democracy of the United States stems in part from his knowledge of the classics.
Reflecting on Plato’s ideal of rule by a philosopher-king, Strauss said: “The wise do not wish to rule and the unwise do not wish to be ruled.” From this it follows, “The political problem consists in reconciling the requirement for wisdom with the requirement for consent.” The best way to give wisdom its due in a manner that meets the necessity for consent is for a wise legislator or founder to draft a code, one that the citizen body can be persuaded to adopt without coercion, according to Strauss. His philosophy extols the constitutional framework on which was founded the United States, his new homeland.
How do Strauss’s philosophies mean for U.S. foreign policy?
As Irving Kristol puts it, there is no set of neoconservative principles concerning foreign policy, but there only are a “set of attitudes” that have been derived from historical experiences, especially those pointed to by Thucydides, an ancient Greek historian. (Incidentally, “The History of the Peloponnesian War” by Thucydides is one of my favorite books to the extent that I gave copies of the book to my colleagues while I was a section chief at the Foreign Ministry 35 years ago.)
According to the neocon line of thought expounded by Irving Kristol, patriotism, first of all, should be considered a natural and healthy sentiment.
Second, world government is a terrible idea since it can lead to world tyranny.
Third, politicians should, above all, have the ability to distinguish friends from enemies, according to Kristol.
Finally, neoconservatism upholds a down-to-earth, common-sense point of view regarding national interests, saying national interests in the eyes of a great power transcend national boundaries.
As long as neoconservative attitudes concerning foreign policy are in line with such classical, commonsense ways of thinking, neocons view it as essential to judge for them the evolution of today’s world as accurately as possible.
It is in this context that analyses of the world by such specialists as Robert Kagan get a high profile.
According to Kagan, the emergence of a unified Europe was first expected to affect greatly the world’s balance of power, but it later became evident that traditional European powers have lost the will to have truly effective military might, instead giving up the military roles they once played. As a consequence, the United States has become the sole military superpower, Kagan said. ===
Power brings responsibilities
Here, differences emerge between the views of neoconservatives and traditional conservatives, who have remained undecided yet about what to do with such vestiges in U.S. history as isolationism.
According to Irving Kristol, “With power come responsibilities, whether sought or not, whether welcome or not. And it is a fact that if you have the kind of power we now have, either you will find opportunities to use it, or the world will discover them for you.”
“The older, traditional elements in the Republican Party have difficulty coming to terms with this new reality in foreign affairs,” he said.
Such neoconservative thought has been strongly influential on the Bush administration’s foreign policy.
What is referred to as U.S. unilateralism and views in favor of preemptive strikes, for instance, recall the neocon theory that national interests of a great power are not limited by national boundaries.
The speech Bush made just before the beginning of the Iraq war at the American Enterprise Institute, a leading think tank in Washington, declared the objectives of the war, pledging to bring down the dictatorial regime of then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and pursue the goal of realizing freedom and democracy in the entire Middle East, including Palestine. Bush’s speech on Nov. 6 on his intent to act for the cause of democracy is of the same effect as the AEI address.
Early this month, I attended a meeting in Washington with a small number of people taking part, including Bill Kristol, Kagan and U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton.
What impressed me was that the participants were all serious-minded and philosophical, with both their written and spoken words beautifully clear cut and refined.
As mentioned above, there are dangers of neoconservatism being misunderstood as simplistic, out-and-out imperialistic, self-centered or excessively pro-Jewish, though in terms of the philosophy behind it that is far from the case.
I could not help but be struck with awe and respect for the intellectual vitality of the United States to know that a group of people imbued with a new philosophy and new mode of thinking had got its turn to participate in a great transformation of the world. Furthermore, their philosophy is not a mere casual idea, but is rooted in a profound understanding of the classics. ===
Japan’s intellectual decay
There can of course be objections to neocons. That’s the way democracy works. A new direction of the United States can be paved through the checks and balances of proponents and opponents of a wide range of views. Neoconservatism is undoubtedly one of the key elements in the course of finding a balance of ideas.
How about Japan, for that matter?
None of those who were at the forefront of the radical student movements as symbolized by Zengakuren (the National Federation of Students’ Self-Government Associations) and Zenkyoto (all-campus joint struggle committees of universities) can explain, to younger generations, why they resorted to those extremes. If any, the exceptions would be limited to the perpetrators of the 1970 hijacking of a Japan Airlines plane, who are still in North Korea.
To be sure, soul-searching about those days led to the emergence of such distinguished thinkers as the late Kenichi Koyama and Seizaburo Sato.
A large majority of the former Zengakuren-Zenkyoto activists and their sympathizers seem to have done nothing but have their onetime anti-U.S., anti-Japan-U.S. security treaty position replaced by a nationalistic version of anti-Americanism and substituted their former leftist, anti-establishmentarianism for environmentalism. They do so on the pretense of ensuring continuity of their views, but in doing so they only ignore their past misdeeds.
Nothing new can be born out of such sterility.
Can there be any possibility of movements for a new Japan by doing away with the decay of thought that has plagued this country since its defeat in World War II?
Of essential significance for us in tackling this challenge is to return to the wisdom of the classics and the treasury of history, I believe.
We should recall that the renaissance that opened up the door to the modern world began with the revival of the classics.
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Interview with Hazardous Chemical Expert – Chungang Zhang
December 23 20:15 2019
He is respected as a “hazard chemical expert” and has many inventions marked with “Patent Pending”. His works such as (Organic Chemistry), (Organic Chemistry and Organic Materials Research), and (Chemical Analysis Technology and Principle Research) have been used as university textbooks. Many excellent papers were published on Chinese top-level journals, i.e., (China Petrochemical Management) and (Chemical Management), winning the first prize of the National Engineering Technology Awards, the first prize of the Huaxia Cup Science and Technology Innovation Competition, the first prize of the Huachuang Cup National Science and Technology Competition Awards, etc. The contribution of his company’s brand, as a pioneer of hazardous chemicals, to the fluoride industry has been reported by the media. He is Chungang Zhang.
The environmental problems has severe effects on every human, animal, and nation today. With the increasing use of hazardous chemicals in unscientific production and transportation, the destructive power of hazardous chemicals has seriously affected the environment. From the starting point of the fluorination in organic chemistry and transportation, Chungang Zhang has been working hard and making outstanding contributions in the fields of hazardous chemical safety, environmental protection, and related scientific researches.
Chungang Zhang’s story with the chemicals can be traced back to the 1980s. In the 1980s, he was admitted to Kyoto University and received high honor for his undergraduate studies from his instructor. After graduation, he directly advanced to pursue the master degree in Chemistry.
Chungang Zhang followed the trend of China’s reform and opening-up and eventually created his own international hazardous chemicals company. In 2018, the turnover of his company is more than 100 million yuan, which is served by more than 40 employees with professional college degree.
He also dared to innovate. In response to the issue of small cans with refrigerants overheating in containers, he invented a PVC insulation film to avoid accidents. In the past, there is no recycling method or customized equipment for the use of refrigerants in the developing countries. Chungang invented a seal for the refrigeration system, which is the most effective solution to prevent the leaking problems in the system. Using the seal in a large number of refrigeration systems would help alleviate the current issues of global warming and ozone hollow. Both inventions have been filed for patent applications and are under pending status.
Chungang Zhang is the person on the right. The second person from the right is Geno Nardini, the chairman of the South American Aerosol Association. The person in the middle is Hugo Chaluleu, the chairman of the Brazilian Aerosol Association.
Appointed as the most important member of The Chemical Industry Commitee and Engineering Society of China, Chungang participated in the initial and final review of the national standard GB / T 36765-2018 (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (aerosol can type) for automotive air conditioners). At the conference of the China Standardization Association Automotive Committee in April 2019, he raised a proposal to develop an International Standard of Refrigerants for Automotive Air Conditioning, which was accepted by majority of the participants. At the International Aerosol Innovation Forum, he published the paper titled (Analysis of Dangerous and Harmful Factors and Preventive Measures in the Whole Process of Production and Transportation of Dimethyl Ether), which was highly praised by Mr. Geno, the chairman of International Aerosol Association and South American Aerosol Association, and Mr. Hugo, the president of Brazilian Aerosol Association.
All these contributions and achievements are motivated by Chungang’s belief that his fate will be closely linked to the rapid development of the industry of the hazardous chemicals ever since he entered the university. As a successful Chinese entrepreneur, he will continue to strive in the industry of hazardous chemicals and expand his influence elsewhere in the world, making contribution to the chemical safety in the global environment!
Company Name: Am-News
Contact Person: JANE
Website: www.am-news.com
© 2019 Copyright Colorado News Desk. All Rights reserved.
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Montreal mayor pins climate hopes on public transport boost
by Sophie Hares | @SophieHares | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Wednesday, 21 February 2018 14:00 GMT
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante speaks during the North American Climate Summit in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., Dec. 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski
Mayor Valerie Plante says Montreal faces worsening flood risks and extreme weather due to a warming climate - which will dictate how the city spends its resources
By Sophie Hares
TEPIC, Mexico, Feb 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Convincing more commuters in wintry Montreal to leave the comfort of their cars and take a bus or train to work will involve hefty investment in public transport but is crucial to help the city tackle climate change, said its mayor.
Valerie Plante, the first female mayor of the Canadian city, the largest in Quebec province, said Montreal already faces worsening flood risk and extreme weather due to a warming climate - which will dictate how the city spends its resources.
"Our biggest challenge is definitely around transport," said Plante, adding that the city's transport system needs to be improved to reduce its planet-warming emissions and fight climate change.
"This is where we can take action... This is where we need to put our energy, our resources - this is the next big thing," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.
Plante, whose election campaign pitched her as the "right man for the job", will be one of a group of female mayors gathering in Mexico City next week for the second Women4Climate conference organised by the C40 urban climate change alliance.
The meeting will bring together mayors and business leaders to discuss the role women can play in curbing climate change and making communities more resilient to its impacts.
Cities - which are home to over half the world's population and produce more than 80 percent of global economic output - are increasingly positioning themselves to lead on climate action.
"Cities are at the forefront of so many issues - climate change is the one that we see right away," said Plante. "It is important for cities to stand strong and get invited to the debate, into the thinking."
Plante, who beat a political veteran to be elected mayor in November on a promise to boost transport and affordable housing, said Montreal was working to add a new metro line she hopes could be built within five years.
Construction of the world's third-largest light rail system, costing $5 billion, is scheduled to get underway in April in Montreal, which is home to about 1.7 million people, with a total of some 4 million in its greater metropolitan area.
A new report by the Montreal Metropolitan Community showed 65 percent of commuters in and around the island city rely on private cars to commute.
With the risk of flooding predicted to rise, the city must work out how to protect those living in exposed areas while maintaining green spaces on the island, which could help absorb excess water, added Plante.
WOMEN'S PERSPECTIVE
Equitable access to food is another issue Montreal is aiming to address, through a food policy council that will explore options such as working with major stores to distribute unsold food and setting up food banks, said the mayor.
"It's an environmental issue as well as a social responsibility issue," she said. "It's all part of how we share resources - how are we more resilient?"
Female mayors are heavily outnumbered by their male counterparts globally, but Plante said she and her peers could collectively help shape the fight against climate change and empower a new generation of women to take the lead.
"Women bring a different point of view to the table - they see different impacts and different solutions," she said. "It is always worth it to have these perspectives when it comes to building the future."
(Reporting by Sophie Hares; editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/)
The Thomson Reuters Foundation is reporting on resilience as part of its work on zilient.org, an online platform building a global network of people interested in resilience, in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation.
Agriculture and environment
Climate Politics
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Biola University's suburban campus of 95 acres is located in La Mirada, Calif., and borders Los Angeles and Orange Counties in Southern California.
Dr. Barry H. Corey began his tenure as President on July 1, 2007, officially launching the celebration of Biola's centennial.
Students (2017–18 academic year)
6,172 total
Students (Undergraduates)
Students (Graduates)
Biola has eight schools offering over 145 academic programs ranging from the B.A. to the Ph.D. The eight schools are the School of Fine Arts and Communication, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Education, Talbot School of Theology, Rosemead School of Psychology, Crowell School of Business, School of Science, Technology and Health, and the Cook School of Intercultural Studies.
Student-faculty Ratio
536 (Doctorate 43%)
4-1-4 calendar year
Tuition Average
Degrees Granted
1,254 (year total for previous academic year)
Biola is a nationally ranked university and provides a premier education that integrates the Bible in over 35 majors and 75 academic programs. For over 100 years, Biola has prepared students to impact the world for Christ in their chosen careers while fostering spiritual life transformation in an all-Christian campus community.
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12/14/09: Memoir — Donald Breckenridge
This is Donald Breckenridge’s brutal, sad memoir of his father dying. Stark and beautiful and full of our common humanity; pity, love, kindness, stubbornness, squalor and valor. The language is matter of fact, the only apparent artfulness is in the unconventional punctuation and, sometimes, the way the dialogue breaks up the sentences. There are two narratives: one works back and forth over the story of a life, two lives, father and son, and the father’s declining days; the other, more mysterious, follows Breckenridge to a diner, the subway, the train station. We get detailed accounts of conversations with the diner owner. We oscillate between donuts and staph infections, but by the genius of construction and understatement, horror and hopelessness accumulate. The word “love” isn’t thrown around, but the son patiently bandaging dabbing medication on those awful sores tells you more than words. You are fascinated, cannot turn away.
This is from a memoir/novel in progress, a new book (please read the NC interview with Breckenridge and two earlier pieces of fiction we’ve published here — links at the bottom of the piece), equal parts fiction and autobiography. This is the first autobiographical section.
I asked the waitress for a chocolate donut and told her that I didn’t need a bag. She handed me the donut with a serrated sheet of wax paper folded over it, “That will be ninety cents,” and two napkins. I removed a dollar from my wallet and gave it to her. She rang up my purchase then handed me a dime. When I thanked her she told me to have a nice day. I pocketed the dime, pushed open the door and ate the donut while walking to the corner. I wiped my mouth with the napkins then dropped them and the wax paper into a trashcan before descending the stairs at the subway station entrance.
I was washing the dishes when the phone rang. “Can you get that?” A cigarette was burning between his fingers, “It’s not for me,” another one smoldered in the ashtray. Poker chips, two soft packs of Marlboro 100’s, wallet, magnifying glass, notepad, checkbook, beige coffee mug filled with ballpoint pens, and a worn deck of cards were crowding his end of the table. Three chairs, “Of course it’s for you,” with the brown vinyl cushions torn open, “it’s your birthday,” that leaked powdery chunks of yellow foam all over the floor. “So?” December sunlight filled the broad row of casement windows in the living room, “Why would they be calling here,” facing the tall trees, “if it wasn’t for you?” Brown paper grocery bags, empty cigarette cartons, five or six months worth of the Washington Post, beige plastic shopping bags overflowing with the blue plastic bags the Post was delivered in, glossy color circulars for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Labor Day, Back to School, July 4th were piled on the floor. He tried sounding resolute, “You get it.” Pizza boxes stacked atop the microwave. My hands were submerged in warm water, “I’m busy.” Blackened chunks of rotten countertop surrounding the sink held puddles of suds. My sister hired a maid service to come and clean his townhouse twice a month but they quit a few years ago. My father got up, “It’s a robot,” and made his way into the kitchen. I turned to him while saying, “You can’t know that until you pick it up.” He was wearing flip flops and tube socks, jeans that were baggy at the knees and stained with urine from the crotch to the waist, an oversized grey cable-knit wool sweater pocked with cigarette burns, long wispy grey beard, an eye patch coated with dried mucus, and a Band-Aid that covered most of the large open sore near his right temple. “Someone is trying to sell me something.” I saw him, “You shouldn’t be getting those calls anymore,” once and sometimes twice a month during the last few years of his life. He cleared his throat, “They still call.” I washed the dishes and did his laundry, bought groceries, vacuumed the carpet, and occasionally cleaned the bathroom. “A hundred dollars says it’s not a robot.” Coffee grounds, dropped food, ashes, spilled milk, strands of pasta glued to the splintered linoleum floor. He had a distinctive smokers croak, “You’re sure about that,” that I still hear while recalling this conversation. I would open the window above the kitchen sink to get some air and frequently lingered there—especially in winter. “Absolutely.” The window overlooked a well-tended lawn, clusters of bushes and trees, a park bench at the foot of a towering Sweet Gum tree, and rows of two-story red brick townhouses constructed during the Second World War. A high-rise dominated the skyline and the faint drone of traffic from 395 always accompanied the view. Despite his grumbling, “We’ll see about that,” there was no mistaking the anticipation in his voice. He picked up the phone and said hello. I turned off the faucet then dried my hands with a paper towel. He told the caller that he had, muttered thanks and hung up. Tomato sauce was smeared on my elbow. “And?” He walked through the kitchen, “The phone company was asking about the yellow pages,” returned to his chair. “What?” He picked up the cards, “They wanted to know if I got the new one,” and began to shuffle them. I stood in the doorway and said, “Those assholes.” He turned to me with a deflated smile, “You owe me a hundred dollars.” I balled up the paper towel and tossed it in the trash. The garbage disposal was still working. Filmy water vibrated in the sink before being sucked down the drain.
I encountered the owner of the diner and an elderly waitress standing behind the counter. They were discussing the best place to display the sign for a new online delivery service. The owner greeted me like a long lost friend while handing me the sign, “You can order what you want on there.” I recognized the logo, “I’ve seen this advertised on the subway,” placed it on the counter and asked the waitress for a coconut donut then added that I didn’t need a bag. The owner proclaimed, “You can now order that on your computer through the internet.” I was taken by his enthusiasm, “That’s really great,” although I’ve never purchased anything, “I hope you get more customers that way,” except the donuts, “Your donuts are really great,” the food has never looked appetizing, “the best in the neighborhood.” Bleached color enlargements lining the walls above the counter are backlit by dim fluorescents and feature dozens of greasy dishes undoubtedly made with the cheapest ingredients available. The waitress handed me the donut with a serrated sheet of wax paper folded over it, “That will be ninety cents,” and two napkins. I removed the dollar from my wallet and handed it over while wondering if a purchase this small would make the minimum for free delivery. If I asked the owner that, even if he knew I was joking, it would only prolong our conversation. He proclaimed, “This will change the way my customers order food.” The waitress rang up my purchase then handed me a dime. When I thanked her she told me to have a nice day. I pocketed the dime then congratulated the owner while pushing the door open.
I removed the metrocard from my wallet and swiped it at the turnstile. A woman picked up her baby in the stroller and hoisted it over a turnstile. Another woman was pushing an old man in a wheelchair. They were headed toward the stairs leading to the Manhattan bound trains. A rowdy group of high school kids were on the platform yelling at each other and clearly enjoying the aggravation they were causing around them. All of the seats on the bench were taken—the West Indian homecare attendant eating a bag of BBQ potato chips, two old Asian women talking quietly, a teenage boy dressed in black with techno leaking out of his earbuds and two teenage girls in Catholic school uniforms engrossed in their cell phones.
In 1968 (the same year I was born and adopted) the doctors removed a small growth from the tear duct of my father’s left eye. Further tests revealed a massive brain tumor behind his nose. After being told of his condition, he overheard a group of doctors in the next room discussing his x-rays, and one doctor expressed surprise he was still alive, all of them doubted he would live more than a few years. He was 31. My father underwent a number of invasive brain surgeries over the next decade to remove those tumors. My brother and sister were born in ’76 and ’77; having two biological children with my mother while fighting for his life gave him the strength needed to defeat cancer. In the early 80’s he took part in an experimental neutron procedure to rid his brain of the tumors. The operations of the previous decade had taken an awful toll on him and the doctors were out of options on how to approach his cancer. At the time only three patients were willing to undergo this experimental procedure, of those three, he was the only one who survived.
When the donut was gone I wiped off the corners of my mouth with the napkins then dropped them and the wax paper into a trashcan before descending the stairs at the subway station. I removed the metrocard from my wallet and swiped it at the turnstile. The train arrived and the doors opened. It had been a long day and I was (finally) on my way home. I took a seat. I was going uptown to my job on 207th street. I was going to the Port Authority to catch a bus. I was on my way to JFK. Our flight to Athens was in three hours. I had to catch a train at Penn Station. The Chinatown bus left for DC every other hour. I was meeting my publisher for drinks at Grand Central. My corduroy jacket was too thin and I left my scarf at the office. They couldn’t start the reading without me. The subway ride to the bus that went to Laguardia would take an hour. I had to meet with the bank manager before 5 o’clock. The library book was overdue. I promised to mail all of these documents yesterday. I needed to take a piss so hopefully the train wouldn’t be delayed. I was late for my next appointment across-town and hadn’t called ahead. I should have brought a book. It was a warm spring evening growing dark and I wouldn’t get to Alexandria until early in the morning.
I would dab at the sores on his forehead with a paper towel that was soaked in rubbing alcohol before covering them with an over the counter ointment for Staph infections. “That hurts.” After searching the Internet I’d concluded that it was a Staph infection. The puss-filled lesions were black around the edges and gradually tearing through his broad forehead already scarred by repeated brain surgeries. “Does it burn?” The most familiar looking images of Staph infections that I found were from photographs of corpses. The sweet smell of rotting skin is stronger than cigarette smoke. He looked up at me with obvious discomfort, “It tingles.” In the summer of ’04, a horn-like bump appeared on his forehead, instead of consulting a doctor and getting it removed, he simply cut it off with a pair of scissors.
Seated across from me were two teenage boys in blue tracksuits and running shoes, an Orthodox Jew with poor eyesight reading the Talmud, an old woman staring vacantly at the subway floor.
Cigarette smoke effectively mutes your sense of smell and it’s only hours after leaving a smoke filled environment that it returns. My sense of smell would come back on the bus, usually a few miles before we pulled into the Baltimore Travel Plaza, and although I knew what to expect, the stench of nicotine on my hair and clothes always embarrassed me.
When you sleep time no longer exists. Sleep is the best relief for pain. Death is better but you cannot will yourself to death. The sores gradually burrowing into his forehead began as an ugly thumb-size wound that appeared above his right temple in the late spring of ’08. He refused to see a doctor, and the infection gradually spread from there. My father passed two kidney stones in the summer of ’08, alone and lying on a couch in his sweltering living room, with a broken air conditioner, no fan, and the windows closed. When I saw him that August, I begged him to go to the hospital, pleaded with him, cursed him, and ultimately failed to convince him to get any medical attention. A few years earlier my siblings and I attempted an intervention—to get him to give up his car, sell the townhouse and move into an assisted care facility—we only succeeded in hurting his feelings. “I think that means that it’s working.” He was tired of living and wanted to die but dying is hard work. “How would you know?” Understanding why someone you love wants to die isn’t the same thing as accepting that decision. “I don’t.” Standing by as my father continuously refused medical care while living in absolute squalor was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. “Why don’t you go and see a doctor?” If you can go through your life without entering into this kind of agony, you may be short on experience, but you are very fortunate. “I’ve had enough doctors.” We were nearing the end of our very long thread. “Then tingles means it’s working.” I stood above him and applied band-aids to what became the lethal skull infection that killed him ten months later. I was completely helpless and tremendously grateful for all of the time we had together. My father lived far beyond everyone’s expectations. I was so afraid that he would die at any time, and my only regret, now that he is gone, was not lingering after saying goodbye. I never rushed out the front door but leaving him in that filthy townhouse after we embraced always made me feel unkind.
He would go weeks without answering the phone. I would call the fire department and ask them to check up on him and tell them to tell him to call me. I got so fed up with being unable to reach him, after the third or fourth time of having the fire department check in on him, that I took a Chinatown bus down to DC and woke him up long after midnight. The ringer was off because answering the constant barrage of telemarketing calls was a pain in the ass and he simply forgot to turn it back on. Getting those calls to stop was as simple as putting him on a do not call list. Surviving could have been as simple as making an appointment and taking a cab ride to a doctor’s office. His insurance offered fairly good coverage but getting him to care about his health was impossible. “Ok, doctor.” He was still smoking three or four packs of cigarettes a day depending on how many hours he slept. He would only leave the house to go to the supermarket. “It’s almost finished.” The ancient looking man with grey hair and a scraggly beard, eye patch, glasses with heavy black frames, brown windbreaker, white dress shirt, worn at the knees blue jeans, canvas sneakers dyed beige from nicotine slowly pushing a shopping cart through the Giant on South Glebe Road once a week. That was my father. Maybe you saw him there? He always paid with a check. His diet consisted of waffles drowned in syrup, black coffee, tall glasses of milk, candy bars, ice cream, occasionally canned vegetables, bananas, sometimes pasta, mashed potatoes, and grilled meat that would frequently begin to rot in the fridge before he got around to cooking it—unless one of his children found the souring Styrofoam packages first and threw them away.
The West Indian nanny feeding grapes to an unhappy child strapped in a stroller, the young Mexican mother with her two daughters wearing identical pink dresses and haircuts although one was a few years older and taller than the other, the West Africans standing around the metal pole having an animated conversation in French, a scowling Haitian teenager texting someone, the Dominican boy playing with a Spiderman action figure, an attractive brunette reading a paperback and showing plenty of thigh, two young black boys jumping on their seats antagonizing their distracted and clearly exhausted mother, an old drunk with his eyes closed and head resting on the window, the Chinese man slowly walked by playing something that sounded vaguely like Mozart on a bamboo flute and there was a lull in the noise as everyone took in his waltz-like refrain.
The neutron procedure worked and my father beat cancer although he lost an eye and his ability to smell. His marriage ended soon after, my mother had stood by him through some of the most difficult years of his life, but now found him changed physically and mentally to the point where she could no longer live with him. They split-up in ’83 and he moved from Virginia Beach to Alexandria for work. I joined him in his townhouse two years later, attended high school and lingered under his roof for another year before moving to New York City. My father never remarried, never dated, after being downsized in the early ’90s he never held another job, and rarely left his townhouse.
I grabbed a few pairs of socks and some underwear. Monday was our laundry day so my options were limited. A few clean T-shirts, a dress shirt, a pair of jeans, toothbrush, and the phone charger went into the backpack. A paperback copy of Théophile Gautier’s My Phantoms got tossed into the backpack—although I doubted I’d be able to read on the train.
Born and raised on a dairy farm in Oneida County, New York, my father was the third of six children. Photos from his teens reveal a very handsome and ambitious young man. He was the high school senior class president and the only one in his family to finish college. He earned a masters degree in mechanical engineering from the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He commanded a Swift Boat in Danang, Vietnam in ’69 -’70 and saw combat although he never talked about it. He was the cool sailor in dress whites and the decorated officer with a storied and distinguished career. He was a plainspoken dairy farmer. He possessed an intrinsic sense of decency and extraordinary tenacity in the face of impossible odds. He was an epic procrastinator. He had a terrific sense of humor. He never locked the front door to his townhouse. He was incredibly stubborn–pigheaded to the point of being a public menace. It was only after plowing into a DC Metrobus and totaling his car while driving legally blind on an expired license that he started taking a cab to the supermarket. My father wasn’t vain, and although he rarely acknowledged it, the drastic alterations to his physical appearance were extremely difficult for him to accept. Every look in the mirror—regardless of how diminished his sight or filthy the reflection—was a reminder of what cancer had taken from him.
I tried calling after purchasing the ticket—thinking he would be able to get off the couch, walk across the living room and answer the phone. Or maybe the phone was on the coffee table and he would be able to reach it. I wanted to tell him that I was on my way. I would be there as soon as possible. It rang and rang as I crossed Penn Station then the line went dead. I tried again and finally gave up after a recording informed me that the person I was calling was unavailable, that I should try calling later. The TGIF was nearly empty. I ordered and downed a shot of Jameson but didn’t have time for another because the train to Washington was boarding.
Wake up around 8, have coffee and waffles, read the funnies, do the crossword, play a few games of Solitaire, Sudoku, then nap until lunch, nap after lunch, watch television, more Solitaire or left hand vs. right hand Scrabble, have dinner, watch the local and national news, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, sports or sitcoms then fall asleep on the couch around 10—nearly everyday for two decades. I walked to the supermarket while he napped and picked up a steak, some potatoes, and a container of mixed greens. I brought down a strawberry cheesecake from Juniors and a bottle of red wine. We always drank good wine together. If I’d known this was going to be his last birthday I would’ve bought more wine. Why hadn’t I forced him to go to the hospital? I could have just picked him up, tossed him into the back of an ambulance—strapped him onto the gurney and away we go. I could have prolonged his life. Everyone who loved my father tried to convince him to take better care of himself and now he is gone. A few bites of steak and half a helping of mashed potatoes, he barely touched his salad after drowning it in Ranch dressing and only drank half a glass of wine—it was a Saint-Chinian—but managed to eat a sizeable wedge of strawberry cheesecake and washed that down with a tall glass of milk. I finished off the wine and smoked his cigarettes with the filters torn off while we sat at the table talking and playing poker. My brother called while we were watching How I Met Your Mother to wish him happy birthday. He was 72.
Four months later he took a cab to the supermarket and fainted in an aisle. He told me later that he was simply tired and needed to lie down. The manager called an ambulance. He spent three days in the hospital before he was released, took a cab home, made it up the stairs and collapsed on the floor. He lay on the carpet for two or maybe three days before a neighbor called to tell me that the newspapers were piling up on the porch, that he wasn’t answering the door, or the phone. Should she call an ambulance? Would it be okay to check on him? I told her to go in and that I would stay on the line. Instead she promised to call me back when she knew what was happening. I spoke to him after she got him onto the couch and he assured me that there was nothing to worry about, that I shouldn’t come down, everything was going to be okay.
I was lulled to sleep after Newark and woke up just as the train pulled into Baltimore. I could have been the only person in the car. The weirdly glowing vegetation that clung to the rocky embankments surrounding the empty platform and my reflection in the window gradually superimposed over a warehouse. We crawled by deserted loading docks, a staggered sequence of orange lights as the train curved through a tunnel, slipping by blocks of desolate row houses, theatrically lit graffiti adorning brick walls, running along a tall chain link fence topped with razor wire, a billboard glaring defiantly into the darkness, carried above empty intersections, through swaths of dark green, long white lights and patches of trees, flashes of suburban lawns, parking lots, illuminated vegetation glistening beneath streetlights, prefabricated condos, darkened strip malls just off the highway now adjacent to the tracks, red taillights vanishing into headlights casting onto rain-slicked roads, gas stations like small islands awash in cold fluorescents, empty intersections, darkened houses, churches, restaurants and racing over a large body of water while watching for a sign that never arrived.
When hailing a cab outside of Union Station I learned that drivers pick up two or three passengers going in approximately the same direction before leaving the station. Since the Metro closes at midnight and there is a shortage of cabs I shared the ride with a chubby Delta Airlines pilot who had been stranded at BWI due to a thunderstorm and a sleep deprived Army officer just back from Afghanistan. The officer, seated on my left, remained silent throughout the ride to Crystal City. The pilot was seated beside the driver and never stopped talking about how he had been inconvenienced by the weather. His car was in the long-term parking lot furthest away from the arrivals building at Reagan National. He drunkenly apologized for parking so far out of the way, had he known that the storm was going to cause his flight to be diverted, had he known that he was going to take the train down from BWI in the middle of the night, had he known that he would have to take this ridiculous cab ride, had he known all of that he would have parked much closer to the airport. He wouldn’t shut the fuck up and when we finally reached his car he couldn’t get out of the cab fast enough. I was relishing the thought of kicking his ass until I realized that would have only prolonged this unbelievable delay. I asked the driver stop at the 7/11 closest to my father’s place so I could get cash out of the ATM to pay for the ride. It was two-thirty in the morning when I finally pushed open the door and climbed the stairs. My father was lying on his back between the couch and the coffee table. He had fallen while attempting to answer the phone. He was soaked in piss and shit. I picked him up and got him onto the couch, assuring him that I was there, and that everything was going to be okay. Would he like a glass of water? Yes. A cigarette? No. Would he like to take a shower and change his clothes? No.
—Donald Breckenridge
Donald Breckenridge is the Fiction Editor of The Brooklyn Rail, co-editor of InTranslation, Editor of The Brooklyn Rail Fiction Anthology (2006) and The Brooklyn Rail Fiction Anthology 2 (2013), and the managing editor of Red Dust Books. In addition, he is the author of more than a dozen plays, the novella Rockaway Wherein, and the novels 6/2/95, You Are Here, and This Young Girl Passing. He recently completed his fourth novel, And Then, and he is currently working on a new book and a one-act play.
2014, Fiction, Memoir, NC Magazine, Vol. V, No. 5, May 2014
2 Responses to “12/14/09: Memoir — Donald Breckenridge”
RobinO says:
This is extraordinary. I felt every heartbreak, every honest, exasperated, terrified, perceptive, hopeful, defeated one of them. I am a former nurse, and this careful telling by a devoted son of what it is to attend a father refusing medical care beautifully exemplifies the kind of pain that many families suffer as death draws near. But because this long death in particular was so painful to attend, I found the anguish nearly unbearable. I’m so glad you wrote this. I’m so glad you were there for your father. I’m so glad you had the courage.
Donald Breckenridge says:
Robin, Thank you so much for your kind take.
What Wolves Eat: Poems — Patrick O’Reilly Tattoo: Fiction — Dede Crane
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Holy and Great Council
From the monthly issue of our newspaper
Various Articles on the web
The picture of the modern World
By Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos and Saint Vlassios
In all ages, men have been trying to understand the state of the world in which they live in order to be able to confront the problems that arise. If one does not study the state of the world, he will not be able to find solutions out of the impasse.
Today we observe that many people try to identify the picture of the modern world. Among them are philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, politicians, journalists, etc. However, we should also look at the views of the theologians, and, above all, of the Fathers of the Church which are timeless.
It is known that the Fathers of the Church believe that the human nature is in a fallen state, which means that it is ruled by sensual pleasure and pain, which constitute the original sin. Therefore, I think we should view the state of the modern world through the link between pleasure and pain and through their transcendence.
After a few introductory remarks, I will attempt to focus on a great saint of our Church who is able to help us with what we face in our times effectively, because he is noted for his great insight and mental capacity, as well as his broad experience in divine matters. He is St. Maximus the Confessor, who may well be considered a most modern Father, for he combines many talents, such as: a deep knowledge of human matters, of the philosophical trends of his time, experience of God, an outstanding writing style, and, generally, one could say, that he combines theological, philosophical, social, existential, and psychological knowledge.
1. Facing the Third Millennium
I believe we now stand on a distinctive turning point in history. Everyone talks about the Third Millennium which mankind is about to enter, and a lot of hopes have been raised. However, we will only be able to comprehend the present and assess the future, if we examine what has happened in the past carefully.
With the fear that I might fall into the temptation of generalizing what is only a detail, I would like to underline that there are some characteristic features of the past two millennia, in terms of the Church, at least.
The First Millennium is characterized, on the one hand, by the persecutions and the heresies which abounded in the domain of the Church and, of course, influenced society, and, on the other hand, by the Church’s martyrdom and the delineation of faith, achieved by the Ecumenical Councils, where great Fathers were at the forefront. Thus, in the First Millennium, there was a pronounced development of the spirit of martyrdom, martyrs who gave a good confession of faith appeared within the Church, and Orthodox teaching about Christ, the Triune God and the Church in general was also articulated. The Ecumenical Councils defined Orthodox Christology, Pneumatology, Trinitology, anthropology and Ecclessiology. This was also the period when Orthodox monasticism emerged as a reaction against the secularization of church life. It is known, of course, that monastic life is the experience of the prophetic, apostolic, martyrlike life, lived within the Orthodox Church.
The Second Millennium is characterized by the theological development of Orthodox hesychasm, which certainly existed before. So, after confronting the persecutions and the heretics and delineating revealed Orthodox Faith, the Church battled with secularism which took the form of departure from the orthodox theological criteria of theology, of a loss of the true prerequisites of Orthodox Theology. It is evident that this secularism is related to man’s turn towards the horizontal dimension of life and to a neglect of the vertical dimension towards God, as well as to scholasticism and moralism which developed in the West. The fact is that, during the Second Millennium, the Church, through its great Fathers, defined more precisely the methodology of Orthodox doctrine and of true spiritual life, which is hesychasm, in the full Orthodox meaning of the term. It is true that if we do not assign proper importance to Orthodox hesychasm, it is doubtful whether we will be able to comprehend the teaching of the Fathers on Christology, on theology, on Divine Oeconomy, on salvation.
In the First Millennium, after the Apostles, an important role was played by the Apostolic Fathers, the Cappadocian Fathers, St. Maximus the Confessor, St. John of Damascus, and St. Photios the Great. In the Second Millennium, an important role was played by St. Symeon the New Theologian, St. Gregory Palamas, and all the hesychastic Fathers through to St. Nicodemos the Athonite and other subsequent neptic Fathers.
We may pinpoint some major hesychastic milestones during the Second Millennium which determined the atmosphere of the Orthodox Church and demonstrated her difference with Western tradition. One such milestone is St. Symeon the New Theologian who lived at the beginning of the Second Millennium. Another is the hesychastic movement, expressed primarily by St. Gregory Palamas, and also includes previous hesychast Fathers, like St. Gregory of Sinai, and others that followed, which emerged around the middle of the millennium. A third is the movement of the Fathers of the Philokalia, the so-called Kollyvades, led by St. Nicodemos the Athonite, which extends to our days [ 1 ]. If one recalls that the Second Millennium started with the explosive presence of St. Symeon the New Theologian and ends with the search for the life according to the Philokalia, which is very relevant today, one may realize that hesychasm, or the so-called neptic life, is what constitutes the distinctive feature of the Second Millennium, as the latter approaches its end.
Faced now with the Third Millennium, we may point out that two major trends prevail. The first one is the force of power, based on both the intelligent and the passible part of the soul. It is characterized by secular life, a preoccupation with worldly matters, a dismissal of the last things, and the excitement of sensual pleasure and pain. The second one is that of a martyr-hesychast, found in persons who either have a great thirst for God or else are disappointed by an even life and search for something inner, existential and ontological.
Even if this search of hesychasm and the Philokalia can be observed in our days, it has to be stressed that the atmosphere of our age points in a different direction. That is, in the domain of the Church, the dominant trend is, by and large, that shaped by Stephanos of Nicomedia, with whom St. Symeon the New Theologian disagreed. In theology, even though we observe a radical shift today, the prevailing atmosphere is the one shaped by Barlaam the scholastic, who opposed the hesychasm of St. Gregory Palamas. In monasticism, the dominant trend has been formed by the "anti-Kollyvades", who opposed the spirit of the Philokalia of St. Nicodemos the Athonite and other like-minded Fathers. In social and church relationships, the spirit of George Gemistos Plethon and Bessarion of Nicaea prevails, rather than that of St. Mark of Ephesus and Gennadios Scholarios.
The seeking of pleasure and hedonism dominate our times, at all levels of life, and this is why there is profound pain and affliction. In my view, what can be observed today is the rule of sensual pleasure and pain. Therefore, the essential contribution of the Church is to help people transcend this nexus of the dualism of sensual pleasure and pain within the boundaries of their personal life. So-called social problems will be solved through the cure of this basic anthropological problem.
In the analysis that follows, there is an attempt to study the issue of contemporary hedonism in relation to the view held in the Orthodox Tradition about the dualism of pleasure and pain.
I believe that this issue has important consequences for modern life. It is actually an existential issue with serious repercussions on the personal and social level. It is what determines the whole way of life of modern man.
2. Hedonism
If we undertake a careful examination of modern societies we will observe that a pervasive hedonism prevails. Modern man cultivates it intensely, he experiences it in his personal life and, of course, all modern mass media are engaged in serving and praising it. TV stations, magazines, books, radio stations, cinema, theater, songs, literature, etc. all audio-visual means satisfy man's insatiable hunger and thirst for the enjoyment of sensual pleasure.
The philosophical system of hedonism, that existed in antiquity, is well known. According to this school of thought, pleasure is good, while sorrow and pain are bad. The founder of this school was Aristippus of Cyrene (435-355 BC). Because of his origin, the School itself was named Cyrenaic. According to Aristippus, both the past and the future escape man’s grip and, therefore, the only thing under his control is pleasure enjoyed in the present. This is actually a gnoseological empiricism, for it teaches that man's intellect cannot attain the experience of spiritual values and, therefore, such spiritual values cannot regulate human life. According to Aristippus, "pleasure is, by itself, preferable and good," regardless of the objects and the sources generating it. Man must enjoy pleasure, without, however, being ruled by it. He said: "I possess, I am not possessed". Pleasure precedes moral rules and the latter should step aside when they obstruct it.
Hedonism was developed as a system and experienced by Epicurianism. Epicurus's ethics start with pleasure which is "the beginning and end of living happily... it is the first and natural good ... for every pleasure is good ... like every pain is bad". Of course, Epicurus did not assign priority to material and sensual pleasures because he put spiritual pleasures first. He argued that the equation of pleasure with sensual enjoyment is wrong. Although material pleasures give enjoyment, they are connected with pain. Much more valuable are the pleasures of the soul. Overall, Epicurus's theory of knowledge is empirical and materialistic. [ 2 ]
Both Aristippus and Epicurus placed hedonism within their whole gnoseological system which was certainly materialistic. It is a philosophical theory based on gnoseological principles. This is also observed in later philosophers for whom hedonism constituted part of their philosophical system.
The difference with the modern reality of the experience of hedonism is that, first, pleasure today is separated from spiritual pleasures and remains solely within the sphere of bodily senses, and, second, it is not an outcome of a gnoseological theory, of a philosophical system, but rather a fruit of sensual indulgence, with no reflections and visions. It is a derivative state. While for the philosophers of hedonism pleasure is considered an existential issue, for modern man it is just an indulgence, it is not part of existential problems. Of course, on a deeper level, even the modern enjoyment of pleasure constitutes an existential search, but man does not feel it in this way and does not start to experience pleasure from this principle
An extreme and non-philosophical hedonism and seeking of pleasure dominates modern societies. Here we use the term not in its original philosophical sense but with its common contemporary meaning. A pursuit of gratification exists. This is why pain, asceticism and deprivation are avoided in modern societies and there is a pursuit of indulgence by any means, and a predominance of individual rights. I believe the difference between Orthodox and anti-Orthodox life lies at this point. The Orthodox Church speaks about the Cross and the Crucifixion, all the time, and this is something incomprehensible for human mentality.
Next, we will present St. Maximus the Confessor’s teaching on pleasure and pain. It will be shown that in their entire theological work the holy Fathers continue the thinking of the ancient philosophers, as St. Maximus does here, answering their questions in the light of and with the experience of the Revelation.
3. Pleasure and pain according to St. Maximus the Confessor
In his Centuries on Theology St. Maximus the Confessor refers to the nexus of the dualism of pleasure and pain, which, by any standard, is an important subject. This means that we cannot discuss Orthodox Theology if we fail to face this crucial point, because the transcendence of pleasure and pain is, precisely, a prerequisite for correct Orthodox Theology. As St. Maximus the Confessor says, the transcendence of pleasure and pain proves that man has cleansed his heart from the passions.
As we pointed out above, the whole of modern life is governed by pleasure and pain, since, in our age, enjoyment and the gratification of the senses dominate, while at the same time deep grief, an inner pain prevails. In reality, modern man tries to escape pain through the satisfaction of sensual pleasure. All contemporary problems, such as AIDS and drugs, are to be found in this connection. This is why I believe it is extremely important to see this link between pleasure and pain, as elaborated by St. Maximus the Confessor.
a) The origin of pleasure and pain
The world was created by God in Trinity The most perfect creature is man, for he is the apex of creation, the microcosm in the macrocosm. Analyzing the issue of the creation of man and its relation to the birth and the origin of pleasure and pain, St. Maximus says that God the Word who created man's nature, made it without pleasure and pain. "He did not make the senses susceptible to either pleasure or pain."[ 3 ] He insists on this point by saying: "Pleasure and pain were not created simultaneously with the flesh." [ 4 ]
While there was no pleasure and pain in man before the fall, there was a noetic faculty towards pleasure, through which man could enjoy God ineffably. [ 5 ] But he misused this natural faculty. Man oriented the "the natural longing of the nous for God" to sensible things and thus "by the initial movement towards sensible things, the first man transferred this longing to his senses, and through them began to experience this pleasure in a way contrary to nature". [ 6 ] The words "according to nature" and "contrary to nature" show the complete ontological change that took place in man and depict his fallen state clearly.
Of course, man did not invent this mode of operation of the faculties of the soul on his own, but with the advice of the devil. The devil was motivated by jealously against man, for whom God had shown special care and attention. It is interesting that the devil envied not only man but God Himself: "Since the devil is jealous of both us and god, he persuaded man by guile that God was jealous of him, and so made him break the commandment" [ 7 ].
After the unnatural movement of the noetic capacity of the soul to sensible things and the birth of pleasure, God, being interested in man's salvation "implanted pain, as a kind of chastising force" [ 8 ]. Pain, which God, in His love for man, tied to sensual pleasure is the whole complex of the mortal and passible body, that is the law of death, which has, ever since then, been very closely connected to human nature. In this way, the "manic longing of the nous" which incites the unnatural inclination of the soul to sensible things, is restrained [ 9 ].
This whole analysis by St. Maximus the Confessor in no way reminds us of Platonic teaching about the movement of the immortal soul from the unborn realm of the ideas, and its confinement to a mortal body which is the prison of the soul. This is simply because St. Maximus the Confessor, being an integral member of the entire Orthodox tradition, makes no distinction between a naturally immortal soul and a naturally mortal body, he does not believe in an immortal and unborn realm of ideas, and, obviously, does not adopt a dualistic view of man, according to which salvation consists in his liberation from the prison of the soul, which is the body. In St. Maximus' teaching there is a clear reference to the unnatural movement of the faculties of the soul and to the "manic longing of the nous", which draws the body into situations and acts which are against nature.
It is clear, then, that ancestral sin consists of the "initial movement of the soul" toward sensible things and in the "law of death" granted by God's love for man. Therefore, pleasure and pain constitute so-called original sin. Pleasure is the soul's initial movement toward sensible things, while pain is the whole law of death which took roots in man's existence and constitutes the law of the mortal flesh.
St. Maximus makes some marvellous observations. He states that the transgression (of the commandment) devised pleasure "in order to corrupt the will", i.e. man's freedom, and also imposed pain (death) "to cause the dissolution of man's nature". This means that pleasure causes sin, which is a voluntary death of the soul, while pain, through the separation of soul and body, causes the disintegration of the flesh. This was, actually, the work and objective of the devil, but God allowed the link between pleasure and pain. That is, He allowed the death to come into man's existence on grounds of love and philanthropy, for pain is the refutation of pleasure. Thus, "God has providentially given man pain he has not chosen, together with death that follows from it, in order to chasten him for the pleasure he has chosen." [ 10 ]
On several occasions, St. Maximus refers to "voluntary pleasure" and "irrational pleasure", as well as to "involuntary" and "sensible" pain [ 11 ]. Pain balances the results of pleasure, that is, it subtracts pain, but does not completely revoke it [ 12 ].
Therefore, pleasure precedes pain, since all pain is caused by pleasure, and this is why it is called natural pain. For Adam and Eve, pleasure was without cause, that is, it was not preceded by pain, while pain, which is a natural consequence of pleasure, is an obligation, a debt, paid by all men who have the same human nature [ 13 ]. This is what happened to Adam and Eve. For their descendants, things are a little different; the experience of pain leads them to the enjoyment of pleasure.
After the Fall and the entry of the law of sin and death into his existence, man is in a tragic state, because, even though pain reverses pleasure and annuls its active movement, man cannot reverse and eliminate the law of death which is found within his being, and this law brings a new experience of pleasure. "Philosophy towards virtue", namely man's whole ascetic struggle brings dispassion in his will but in his nature, because asceticism cannot defeat death, which is found as a powerful law within man’s being. [ 14 ] Herein lies the tragedy of man, who may cure pleasure and obtain inner balance through voluntary pain (asceticism) and involuntary events (external grief, death) but is unable to liberate himself from pain, which is determined by the law of death [ 15 ].
b) The purpose of Christ's incarnation
So far we have described how the link between pleasure and pain was established after the Fall. Pleasure was a result of the irrational movement of the faculty of the soul , with its natural consequence the coming of pain, along with the entire law of death. This combination of pleasure and pain became a law of human nature. Obviously, while living a life contrary to nature, man could not be delivered from this state which had become natural. Christ's incarnation contributed to man's liberation from this connection between pleasure and pain. St. Maximus the Confessor also makes some marvellous observations on this point too.
It was absolutely impossible for human nature which had fallen to voluntary pleasure and involuntary pain to return to the former state "had the Creator not become man". The mystery of incarnation lies in the fact that Christ was born human, but the beginning and cause of His birth was not sensual pleasure, for He was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, outside the human way of generation, and He embraced pain and death by His own free choice [ 16 ]. For man, pain came as a result of sin, it was involuntary. While for Christ, who was born without sensual pleasure, pain was received by choice.
All humans born after the transgression, are born with sensual pleasure, which precedes their birth, because man is an offspring of his parents’ pleasure and, of course, no one is free, by nature, from impassioned generation provoked by pleasure. Thus man had the origin of his birth "in the corruption that comes from pleasure" and would finish his life "in the corruption that comes through death" [ 17 ]. Therefore, he was a complete slave to pleasure and pain "and he could not find the way to freedom" [ 18 ]. Humans are tortured by unjust pleasure and just pain and, of course, by their outcome which is death [ 19 ].
For man to return to his previous state and to be deified, an unjust pain and death without cause had to be invented. Death had to be without cause, not to be caused by pleasure, and unjust, not following an impassioned life. In this way, most unjust death would cure unjust pleasure which had caused just death and just pain. In this way mankind would enjoy freedom again, delivered from pleasure and pain. Christ became perfect man, having a noetic soul and a passible body, like ours, but without sin. He was born as a man by an immaculate conception and, thus, did not have any sensual pleasure whatsoever, but voluntarily accepted pain and death and suffered unjustly, out of love for man, in order to revoke the principle of human generation from unjust pleasure, which dominates human nature, and in order to eliminate nature’s just termination by death [ 20 ]. Thus, Christ's immaculate conception as man and His voluntary assumption of the passibility of human nature, as well as His unjust death, liberated mankind from sensual pleasure, pain and death.
Christ's birth as man took place in a way contrary to that of humans. After the Fall, human nature has its principle of generation in "pleasure-provoked conception by sperm" from the father. A direct consequence of this sensual birth is the end, namely "painful death through corruption." But Christ could not possibly be ruled over by death, because He was not born in this pleasure-provoked way [ 21 ]. With His incarnation, Christ offered a different principle of generation to man, the pleasure of the life to come, by means of pain. Adam, with his transgression, introduced a different way of generation, a generation originating in sensual pleasure and ending in pain, grief and death. Thus, everyone who descends from Adam according to the flesh, justly and painfully suffers the end from death. Christ offered a different way of generation, because, through His seedless generation (birth) and His voluntary and unjust death, He eliminated the principle of generation according to Adam (sensual pleasure) and the end which Adam came to (pain-death). In this way "he liberated from all those reborn spiritually in him" [ 22 ].
The way by which Christ became incarnate and cured human nature reveals indisputably that He is wise, just and powerful. He is wise because He became a true man according to nature without being subjected to any change. He is just, because He voluntarily assumed passible human flesh, out of great condescension and love for man. This is also why He did not make man's salvation tortuous. He is also powerful, because He created eternal life and unchangeable dispassion in nature, through suffering and death, and in this way He did not show Himself to be at all incapable of achieving the cure of human nature [ 23 ].
c) Personal adoption of salvation
Christ’s work and the purpose of His incarnation has to be experienced by man personally. Christ’s victory over death and pain has to become each human being’s own personal good. This means that a person who is associated with Christ must be freed from the tragic link between pleasure and pain, and especially get rid of the rule of death, which is deeply rooted in human nature. We must look how St. Maximus analyzes the functioning of pleasure and pain in man after the Fall, and how his freedom and cure are preserved, in more detail. This is an important point, because it shows the state of contemporary humanity as well as its way of liberation from the oppression of death.
St. Maximus makes the analysis that the domination of pleasure and pain exists in the passibility of nature. Since our generation (birth) takes place in a fallen way, sensual pleasure and pain are rooted in our existence. The power of sin lies in the passibility of nature, through pleasure and the dominion of death, of pain. That is to say, sin is caused by sensual pleasure and results in pain and, of course, death. But the experience of pain turns man to sensual indulgence as a comforting medicine. Thus, the renewed enjoyment of pleasure increases pain [ 24 ].
I think it is worth quoting here the full text by St. Maximus, because it is an outstanding passage:
"For the dominion of pleasure and pain clearly applies to what is passible in human nature. And we seek how to alleviate through pleasure the penalty of pain, thus in the nature of things increasing the penalty. For in our desire to escape pain we seek refuge in pleasure, and so try to bring relief to our nature, hard pressed as it is by the torment of pain. But through trying in this way to blunt pain with pleasure, we increase our sum of debts, for we cannot enjoy pleasure that does not lead to pain and suffering."[ 25 ].
In this passage by St. Maximus the Confessor, the tragedy of human nature, as experienced in modern times, is manifested in its entirety. We may emphasize three characteristic points.
First: The experience of sensual pleasure always brings a corresponding pain. That which happened to Adam, whereby initial pleasure brought pain and the experience of death, happens with every sin on a personal level. In committing a sin, man feels pleasure and then experiences terrible pain, not only due to remorse but also due to the whole spectre of death and the darkness of Hell. Many of David's Psalms analyze this state in detail: "For my soul is full of troubles and my life draws near to the grave" (88:3).
Second: The experience of pain and death leads man to seek comfort and consolation. Unaware of how to eliminate the disease-breeding cause of pain, which is pleasure, he ends up in sensual pleasure again, in indulgence to comfort his embittered nature. Thus, the experience of pain drives him to various pleasures in life, from sexual gratification to drugs, because he wrongly believes that in this way he will get rid of the spectre of death.
Third: The new experience of pleasure necessarily brings new pain, because pain is always the outcome of pleasure. So, a vicious circle occurs and man cannot be delivered in any way from the terrible combination of pleasure and pain.
Liberation from this tragedy takes place in Jesus Christ. As we said before, Christ, by way of His birth and His death, gave a new mode of spiritual generation to man. With His incarnation He gave mankind supra-natural Grace, namely deification (theosis), while with His passion He gave dispassion, with His sufferings He gave comfort and with His death granted eternal life to human nature [ 26 ].
This can be seen in the saints. Whoever is united with Christ and is born spiritually is freed from sensual pleasure, which originates in the law of sin. However, Christ allows the saints to accept death, not because death is an outcome of sin for them, but to condemn sin. The saints who are united with Christ do not have the sensual pleasure of generation, which comes from Adam, but do have the pain which comes from Adam. They have it as a way of refuting sin. Since its mother is not sensual pleasure, the death of a saint becomes a father of eternal life. As Adam's hedonistic life became a mother of death and corruption, similarly Christ's death for Adam becomes the parent of eternal life, because it is free of Adam's pleasure [ 27 ].
The saints, however, who attain deliverance from the torment of the chain of pleasure-pain, achieve it because they are united with Christ. Union with Christ is reached through a combination of sacramental (mystical) and ascetic life. St. Maximus insists on living an ascetic life, because Holy Communion and the partaking of Divine Grace through the sacraments is not without prerequisites. We will now see what St. Maximus says about this special way in which the saints experience the ascetic method and life, and how, united to Christ, they transcend pleasure and pain.
First he stresses that affording voluntary pain and bearing involuntary pain removes sensual pleasure and suppresses its impetus. [ 28 ]. Voluntary pains are all spiritual exercises, such as fasting, vigils, deprivation, and all voluntary ascetic effort in general, voluntarily bearing the painful cross of the struggle to transform the passions. Involuntary sufferings are all events that take place unwillingly and unexpectedly, such as illness, death, temptations and hardships. Man takes on voluntary temptations of his own free will, and endures involuntary ones with faith and endurance in God.
Of course, as already mentioned, St. Maximus teaches that sensual pleasure and pain are not revoked completely by human ascetic effort, because the Righteous in the Old Testament also made such an effort. Nevertheless, they were unable to free themselves from the chain of pleasure and pain, and, above all, were unable to free themselves ontologically from the dominion of death. This liberation of human nature was achieved in Jesus Christ and is experienced in the partaking of Divine Grace in the mysteries of the Church. However, each person must struggle in Jesus Christ to transcend pleasure and pain.
St. Maximus the Confessor makes a detailed elaboration of these issues and presents the way this revocation of pleasure and pain is achieved in personal life.
First, he divides pleasure and pain (grief) into two categories, a pleasure of the soul and a pleasure of the body, as well as a pain (grief) of the soul and of the body. Pleasure of the senses creates pain in the soul and pleasure of the soul creates pain to the senses. The experience of virtue brings pleasure and pain. That is, virtue is accompanied by pain of the flesh, because, by living according to God, man lacks the soft and friendly sense. It is also accompanied by the pleasure of the soul, because it enjoys the pure concepts, freed from every sensible thing. For this reason, anyone who desires the life of Christ, which is held in heaven and will be given as an inheritance through the rising of the dead, feels joy and delight in his soul, while feeling sorrow in the flesh, i.e., he feels the pain and grief caused by temptations [ 29 ].
Although he feels pain in the flesh because of voluntary or involuntary temptations, a person who lives in Christ is unceasingly happy, for he knows that in this way he is liberated from the law of sin and death. Redeeming pain is necessary for the cure of man, but this pain should be sound, not irrational [ 30 ].
We have already stressed in this presentation that modern human life is dominated by sensual pleasure and pain, because there is a vicious circle that has been planted in human nature due to Adam's fall, but also cultivated by every man. Only Christ, being perfect God and perfect man, transcended pleasure by his seedless generation by the Holy Spirit and from the Virgin Mary, while also defeating death and pain, by assuming the painful Cross. It is precisely for this reason that Christ is the perfect man and the model for all the faithful. Christ is both the archetype of our creation and our healer, the one who liberates us from the tragedy of sensual pleasure and pain. Asceticism according to Christ is to be seen in this perspective, which is clearly distinct from any other asceticism of the eastern kind, because it is not ruled by human effort, but by God's energy and man’s synergy.
4. The great contribution and value of Orthodox hesychasm
In the analysis above we established that sensual pleasure causes tremendous problems in the being of man, for all the tragic seeds of pain and death are hidden in the state of pleasure. When someone carries the cross of asceticism in Jesus Christ, he is freed from the tyranny of sensual pleasure. Therefore, the presence of pain in our life is beneficial, when we confront it with faith, patience, and in God. This implies that an intensive effort and a continuous struggle against our fallen human nature is required. We carry the seeds of tragedy within our existence. Man’s fundamental problem is not social evil, but the corruption of human nature. So, we continuously struggle to transform mortal nature into a person according to Christ.
This transformation is achieved through Orthodox hesychasm, which aims at the transcendence of pleasure and pain. It is not an old-fashioned and ungrounded method, but rather a most applicable and modern act. Orthodox hesychasm is closely connected to the cure of man. Today, men seek therapy because they are possessed by the tragedy of sensual pleasure and pain. It is on this point that I see the greatest value of Orthodox spirituality, which differs clearly from any other spirituality of either the Western or the Eastern type.
The fact that the modern world is characterized by the experience of tragedy, related to the enjoyment of sensual pleasure and the experiencing of pain, and that today's man seeks redemption and cure and finds it in Orthodox hesychasm, is something clearly demonstrated so many people who turn to Orthodox Theology in its authentic expression, both in Greece and in the West. The works of the neptic Fathers of the Church, the reading of Philokalia, which, in its final form, was completed by St. Nicodemos the Athonite along with St. Makarios Notaras, Bishop of Corinth, the spread of the works of St. Symeon the new Theologian, of St. Gregory Palamas and many other saints, the study of the works of the 4th century Fathers, through the neptic-hesychastic teaching of the Church, all demonstrate this search by contemporary man. Therefore, we should not just look at the negative conditions, such as the tragedy of sensual pleasure and pain, but also look at the search for a cure and what Orthodox Theology has to offer.
There is still a huge traditional layer of Orthodox life in our people. Unfortunately, however, this layer is sometimes exploited by irresponsible and self-seeking individuals.
In observing contemporary church life, one feels that there are many Christians who, even if they do not have any sound theological arguments, react against the scholasticism that has entered the sphere of Orthodox. Likewise, they react to the Vaticanization which is visible in church administration, to the moralism exhibited in the area of spiritual life, to the ecumenistic view of matters of church life. They are unable to combine these with the true Orthodox church life, as lived by their ancestors, which they also read about it in the works of the Church Fathers. Many of these people belong to the Old Calendarists. It is essential that we offer Orthodox life in its authentic expression, so that we attribute a correct ontology to their reactions and prevent them from derailing to minor details. This is also necessary in relation to the great movement observed in the West towards Orthodox Theology and Orthodox church life.
I believe that this is the work of the great Fathers of the Church throughout the centuries, for they gave a theological interpretation of all ecclesiastical currents. If there was no St. Symeon the New Theologian in the 11th century, perhaps the views of Stephanos, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, would have prevailed. These were purely cerebral and, I would dare claim, scholastic views. But St. Symeon showed in his works that the basis and purpose of Orthodox church life is man's deification (theosis), which is achieved by the energy of the Holy Spirit and the vision of the Uncreated Light.
In the 14th century, if it were not for the beneficial presence of St. Gregory Palamas, hesychasm might have been considered a heretical deviation from genuine church life according to the Gospel. But St. Gregory Palamas presented authoritatively and clearly the whole theology of hesychasm, what man is, how his union with God is achieved, what deification is, and the relationship between noetic prayer and man's ontology and salvation.
Further on, if the towering figure of St. Nicodemos the Athonite had not dominated the 18th century, the sizeable movement of Athonite monks that reacted to the reforms and the secularism of Orthodox life, and expressed its reaction by refusing to have memorial services on Sunday, would have been considered a heresy. St. Nicodemos, however, demonstrated clearly, in all his writings, that the movement of the so-called Kollyvades was the genuine spirit of the Philokalia, which constitutes the very essence of Orthodox church life.
I believe that if in the beginning of this century, when the calendar problem emerged, there had been a great Father of our Church, such as St. Symeon the new Theologian, St. Gregory Palamas, St. Nicodemos the Athonite, then he would have proved that the popular reaction to the introduction of the new calendar was, in reality, a reaction to the introduction of alien views from the West, a reaction to the secularization of Orthodox Theology. Unfortunately, however, the issue was not viewed in this perspective and they made the mistake of limiting people’s attention to the change in the calendar. The same mistake could have been made at the time of St. Gregory Palamas, if the debate had been confined only to the method of prayer without considering its theology. And this also holds true if, in the age of St. Nicodemos the Athonite, the whole issue had been restricted to the Sunday memorial services and the full meaning of the reaction to the spirit of secularism in Church had been overlooked.
All the above have been said in light of the fact that a deep layer of Orthodox life and conduct exists in Greece today. We have to cultivate and assign theological meaning and significance to this layer, because only in this way will the Orthodox roots of life remain alive in our people. And we must do the same for all the numerous converts to Orthodoxy in the Western world. Today, people in the West love Orthodoxy and are enthusiastic about it, because they read the writings of the neptic Fathers and seek this inner peace and communion with God. They look for this theology which can tell them how to get rid of sensual pleasure and pain.
The present state of the world is expressed vividly and in detail by St. Paul the Apostle, as preserved in his second Epistle to Timothy. There are two trends and two states of people.
Those living outside God belong to the first one. St. Paul writes: "Know this also, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanders, without self-control, brutal, despisers of those that are good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying its power: From such people turn away. For of this sort are those who creep into houses, and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away with by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they will progress no further: for their folly shall be manifest to all, as theirs also was" (II Tim. 3: 1-9).
In the second category are those who are united with Christ, the disciples of Christ who search for the truth and live in Christ, as expressed by the Apostle himself: "But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra - what persecutions I endured: but the Lord delivered me out of them all. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3, 10-12).
People of the first category are "evil men and seducers, ... deceiving, and being deceived," while people of the second category are those who are whole and complete, in the words of the Apostle: "that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. 3: 13-17).
I would like to believe that a strong current of people who live in the spirit of unspoiled church tradition also exists today. As well as others who are disappointed by the tragedy of hedonism and pain, and seek a way out of this tragic Hell. Rather than remaining idle when faced with negative situations and lamenting over the tragedy of the modern world, we should take a look at these positive aspects and feed those who are hungry and thirsty for God's righteousness. In this the way we will contribute to the revitalisation of Orthodox church life.
[ 1 ] George Mantzarides, "Person and Institutions", Pournara, Thessaloniki, 1997, p.147 on.
[ 2 ] "Religion and Ethics Encyclopedia", vol.6, p.7 and Greg.Kostaras, "Philosophical propaedia", 218 and 263.
[ 3 ] "The Philokalia", London, 1981, Trans. Palmer, Sherrard, Ware, Vol II. Fourth Century, 33, p243
[ 4 ] ibid., 34, p.244.
[ 10 ] ibid., 34, p.244.
[ 11 ] ibid., 34, 35, p.244.
[ 17 ] ibid., 39, pp.244-245.
[ 23 ] ibid., 40, 41, 42, p.245.
[ 29 ] ibid., 7, p.236.
[ 30 ] ibid., 8, 9, 10, p.236-237.
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The Term Autocephalous Church
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Religious Centers and Interfaith Initiatives
Pluralism Project Events
Franciscan Letter from Santa Fe
In 1610, Juan de Escalona, a Franciscan friar in the new settlement of Santa Fe, wrote to the Spanish Viceroy in Mexico City about the abuses of the governor of Santa Fe, Don Juan de Onate.
The first and foremost difficulty, from which have sprung all the evils and the ruin of this land, is the fact that this conquest was entrusted to a man of such limited resources as Don Juan de Onate. The result was that soon after he entered the land, his people began to perpetrate many offenses against the natives and to plunder their pueblos of the corn they had gathered for their own sustenance; here corn is God, for they have nothing else with which to support themselves. Because of this situation and because the Spaniards asked the natives for blankets as tribute, even before teaching them the meaning of God, the Indians began to get restless, abandon their pueblos, and take to the mountains.
The governor did not want to sow a community plot to feed his people, although we friars urged him to do so, and the Indians agreed to it so that they would not be deprived of their food. This effort was all of no avail, and now the Indians have to provide everything. As a result, all the corn they had saved for years has been consumed, and not a kernel is left over for them. The whole land has thus been reduced to such need that the Indians drop dead from starvation wherever they live; and they eat dirt and charcoal ground up with some seeds and a little corn in order to sustain life. Any Spaniard who gets his fill of tortillas here feels as if he has obtained a grant of nobility. Your lordship must not believe that the Indians will part willingly with their corn, or the blankets with which they cover themselves; on the contrary, this extortion is done by threats and force of arms, the soldiers burning some of the houses and killing the Indians. . . .
I have told all this to make it clear that the governor does not have the resources to carry out the discovery of these lands. I do not hesitate to say that his majesty could have discovered this land with fifty well‑armed Christian men, giving them the necessary things for this purpose, and that what these fifty men might discover could be placed under the royal crown and the conquest effected in a Christian manner without outraging or killing these poor Indians, who think that we are all evil and that the king who sent us here is ineffective and a tyrant. By so doing we would satisfy the wishes of our mother church, which, not without long consideration and forethought and illuminated by the Holy Spirit, entrusted these conquests and the conversions of souls to the kings of Castile, our lords, acknowledging in them the means, Christianity, and holiness for an undertaking as heroic as is that of winning souls for God.
Because of these matters (and others that I am not telling), we cannot preach the gospel now, for it is despised by these people on account of our great offenses and the harm we have done them.
[From G.P. Hammond and Agapito Rey, Don Juan de Onate, Colonizer of New Mexico, 1595-1628. Part II (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1953), 692-95.]
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America’s Many Religions
Introduction to Sikhism
Guru Nanak’s Message
The Sikh Scripture
The Development of the Sikh Community
The Khalsa
The Struggle for Survival
Sikh Renewal and Identity
Sikhism in America
First Arrivals
Discrimination: The “Ragheads”
The Ghadar Party: Freedom for India
Bhagat Singh Thind: Citizen or Alien?
Assimilation: California Farmers
The New Immigration: Reconstituting the Community
The American “Cousins”
The Sikh Community Today
The Sikh Experience
The Gurdwara
The Guru Granth Sahib
Kirtan: Singing God’s Praise
Langar: The Communal Meal
Taking Amrit: Initiation
The Festival of Baisakhi
Issues for Sikhs in America
America or Khalistan?
The Five K’s and the Courts
Growing Up Sikh
Sikhism Post 9/11
Directory of Religious Centers
The gurdwara, literally the “gateway of the guru,” is basically a meeting place for Sikhs. It is not considered a sacred space as such, but gains its sanctity from the fact that it houses the sacred scripture called the Guru Granth Sahib. The scripture occupies a place of honor on a raised lectern in the sanctuary. A gurdwara may be as spectacular as the neatly landscaped and newly expanded complex in Palatine, Illinois or as simple as the home of a Sikh family, which may become the gurdwara for a small Sikh community.
The gurdwara is the gathering place of the Sikh community. It is a place of worship to be sure, but is also an educational and service institution that contains a langar hall where large communal meals are prepared and served, and a place where the community may discuss the political and social affairs of the day. In Sikh communities in the United States, the gurdwara has become an essential locus of Sikh identity. For some newly arrived immigrants, it may be the first place they stay, for the tradition of Sikh hospitality, which includes providing shelter and food in the gurdwara, is strong.
Sikh worship is generally devoid of complexity and ritual. It consists simply and powerfully of the gathering together of the community and of the singing of shabads, the sacred hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib. Although there is no system of priesthood, Sikhs usually maintain a granthi who is well-trained in the reading of the Guru Granth Sahib and the singing of its hymns. During the program, however, any member of the congregation, including children, may read from the Guru Granth Sahib and lead the singing. Women and men normally sit on opposite sides of the room, except for those who sit together in front of the Guru Granth Sahib to sing the hymns.
No gathering at the gurdwara is complete without taking prashad, a sweet pudding made of mixed wheat, flour, sugar, and butter that is distributed as the divine gift of the Guru. The langar following the singing and prayers from the Guru Granth Sahib is also an important part of the gurdwara program. Each gurdwara is equipped with a large kitchen where men and women prepare the meal, counting it a special service and blessing to be able to do so for the whole community.
America’s first gurdwara was established in 1912 in Stockton, California, in the heart of the farming country where Sikhs first settled. In America today there are dozens of gurdwaras, many of which have re-purposed or renovated existing structures to serve the Sikh community’s needs. In Millis, Massachusetts a former Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses has become a vibrant Sikh community center. In Bridgewater, New Jersey a single-story house on thirteen acres of land has evolved into a three-building gurdwara complex over the course of three decades. In Hayward, California the community has transformed the sanctuary and educational center of an Episcopal Church into a gurdwara. During the period of transition, it shared the buildings with the Episcopal congregation.
The last three decades have seen the building of a number of spectacular new gurdwaras, too. The gurdwara in Fremont, California is a huge center with over 9,000 registered members. First founded in 1978, the gurdwara is recognizable by its traditional golden domes along former Hillside Avenue, now renamed Gurdwara Road. Further north in El Sobrante a modern-looking gurdwara clings to the side of a hill and large porticos line the second floor deck, allowing visitors to take in vast vistas of the Bay Area. In the heart of Los Angeles, the city’s oldest Sikh community built a very traditional-looking building on North Vermont Avenue. The Sikh gurdwara is fast becoming a visible part of the American religious landscape.
The Guru Granth Sahib »
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Usually, they grow to a particular size and stop. Thus, it is referred to as turgid. Although it is not papernow plasmolsysed, it is not turgid either.
Tell us a bit about yourself to start. Enzymes, but do not modify the last products of the reaction.
You do not have to get a college degree. You also ought to finish the mandatory on-line orientation form. There are 3 types of the principal system.
Osmosis Definition Biology - the Story
The more complicated The hill, the more energy you have to use to visit the other side. No energy is critical to be provided. There are 3 sorts of the significant system.
Even though the perfect gas constant was made to refer to gasses and the way in which they diffuse and behave, additionally, it applies to liquids. In fact, osmotic pressure is the most significant source of support in plants. In reality, it has become the most important supply of support in plants.
The Dirty Truth on Osmosis Definition Biology
Describe how molar concentration impacts the procedure for diffusion. Polymorphic genes have more than 1 allele at every locus. Aerobic respiration occurs in the occurrence of oxygen.
Students are often asked to spell out the similarities and differences between osmosis and diffusion or maybe to compare and contrast both kinds of transport. Specific activity is very different from activity, but the calculation of specific activity is still associated with the activity value. Activation energy is frequently used to denote the minimum http://cs.gmu.edu/~zduric/day/essay.html energy necessary for a particular chemical reaction to occur.
Scientists stressed that the random motion is why diffusion occurs. Such a difference in concentration is known as a gradient. Elementary reactions exhibiting these negative activation energies are generally barrierless reactions, where the reaction proceeding trusts in the capture of the molecules in an expected well.
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Other genes can affect the phenotypic expression of a particular gene. There are two kinds of enzyme inhibition. 23 ATP molecules are produced from every NADH and 2 ATP molecules are made from FADH2.
A polysaccharide, which is created from several monomers, can be known as a polymer. Carbon atoms have the capacity to bond to four other atoms. It is brought on by the large molecules bouncing against pores through which they cannot fit.
Whether a substance has the ability to diffuse through a mobile membrane depends upon the qualities of the substance and features of the membrane. There are dozens and dozens of different kinds of enzymes in your cells, which all participate in various varieties of reactions. Each chemical procedure is catalysed by a particular enzyme.
Physics is one of the most essential branches of science. If you're working to publish a paper in a specific journal, you're likely to be requested to adhere to the format of that journal. In philosophy of mind there's still much that can be done on the topic of modules.
What Is So Fascinating About Osmosis Definition Biology?
Take for example, the thought that the data in a conscious system needs to be unified. For this reason, you might rest assured your term paper service is going to be delivered by means of a pro. As a dilemma of fact, somebody cannot escape failures.
What You Must Know About Osmosis Definition Biology
Speaking about the solvent being 'free' isn't entirely accurate, but nevertheless, it might help to comprehend what's happening. Smaller regional firms have an inclination to concentrate on the requirements of regional customers and would therefore suit anyone who'd love to turn into an essential part of their regional small small small business community. For evaluating the difficulty of an item, it is helpful to take into consideration research papers for sale the probability of guessing the suitable answer.
Osmosis Definition Biology Explained
Turgidity is essential for healthier plant cells, as it assists them maintain rigidness. If plant cells don't have sufficient water, you're wind up with a wilted bit of lettuce or a saggy celery stalk. Monosaccharides are the absolute most basic carbohydrates and are often called simple sugars.
Osmosis is an important process for every single living organism in Earth and that includes humans and plants. UV waves are the reason for sunburn and can cause cancer in living organisms.
A whole potato ought to be used in future experiments. When you check on the carrot each day or two, you are going to observe it has swelled. On the flip side, fresh water fish almost never should drink since they are continuously absorbing water through their skin.
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Turnberry Park walkabout
Yesterday a committee called the Perry Barr neighbourhood tasking group took a walk-about in Turnberry Park accompanied by Jon and Ray. The group brings together the police, councillors, council officers from various departments and community representatives. We also had with us some of the youth workers who operate from the Trehurst Centre and Pete Short the local parks manager. So, as you can see, it was quite a large group.
The police community support officers have undertaken a project which has suggested a number of small ways and big ways of improving the park. The police have special concerns about the safety of people who use the footpath from Trehurst Avenue to the main park - and the youth workers seemed to share a few of their concerns.
The parks department have already made a start on some of the simpler suggestions and it was good to see a big effort had been made to cut away the undergrowth on this footpath. They had also taken a digger in to clean the main drain, which sits between the playing field and the wooded area. One of the questions is how much it will take to drain the playing field so it could be got into use for football all the year round.
There are quite a few ideas in the plan, some more achievable than others, and once it has taken more shape it would be good to see it published for full consultation.
The party walked up to Cardington Avenue, where we met residents who want some more fencing to protect the back of their properties. One of the issues the NTG has resolved is that all future fencing around the park will be green and will, preferably, be reasonably attractive.
Other ideas being kicked around include:
put some markings around the basketball hoop in the middle of the park and maybe add a second hoop;
maybe also a kickabout wall in this area where footballs can kicked off;
get some banners on the lampposts at the main Turnberry Road entrance - a simple way to let people know there is a park there. At the moment there's nothing to tell you - and for years people called this land by at least three different names!
regular clean up teams around the wooded area;
There's a question about whether it's worth putting more lighting on the footpaths. Two or three years ago we lit the main path across, known as Forger's Walk, but this was comparatively short compared with the long path to Trehurst;
removing some of the barriers at the Trehurst entrance - while keeping it secure. The entrance here is forbidding and the barriers have had the perverse affect of providing a hang about area for young people, enabling them to jump on neighbours' garden walls;
extend the toddlers playground just behind Turnberry Road.
We've done various consultations with residents in recent years about the future of this park and they have generally been positive about developing it. Some ideas cost more than others - but there are also possibilities for funding. For instance the planning permission for the development on Booths Lane requires funding to be put into this neighbourhood.
If you have ideas, please feel free to post them here!
at Wednesday, July 16, 2008 0 comments
Swans back
The swan family in Perry Hall Park returned this week - sadly minus the father. The family were taken to the Wychbould Swan Rescue centre after the father got into a fight with a dog. Unfortunately he failed to heal and the rest of the family was returned this week.
Dog-owners have been urged to take particular care - and the rescue centre has posted notices all round asking people to restrain their dogs. The dog-walkers group, Bark for the Park, has been helping raise money for the rescue centre in recognition of their efforts for these delightful birds.
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The rotation of ‘Oumuamua
April 29, 2018 Benoît Noyelles Leave a comment
Hi there! Today we go back to ‘Oumuamua, you know, this interstellar object discovered last Fall. Its visit to our Solar system was the opportunity to observe it, and here we discuss on an analysis of the variations of its luminosity. I present you The excited spin state of 1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua, by Michael J.S. Belton and collaborators. This study tells us that its rotation state might be complex, and that affects the way we figure out its shape. It has recently been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Remember 1I/’Oumuamua
Different modes of rotation
Observing the rotation
2 numerical algorithms
A cigar or a pancake?
Remember 1I/’Oumuamua?
I already told you about ‘Oumuamua. This is the first identified object, which has been found in our Solar System but which undoubtedly originates from another System. In other words, it was formed around another star.
The Pan-STARRS survey identified ‘Oumuamua in October 2017, and the determination of its orbit proved it to be unusually eccentric. With an eccentricity close to 1.2, its orbit is a branch of a hyperbola rather than an ellipse. This means that it comes from very far, passes by while the Sun deviates it, and leaves us for ever.
This is the highest eccentricity ever recorded in the Solar System so far. Other objects had an eccentricity larger than 1, but which could have been caused by the gravitational perturbation of a planet. Not for ‘Oumuamua.
Its full name is actually 1I/2017 U1 (ʻOumuamua). 2017 because it was discovered in 2017, 1I as the first Interstellar object ever discovered (by the way, the International Astronomical Union has created this category for ‘Oumuamua), and the name ‘Oumuamua means scout in Hawaiian.
The announcement of its discovery motivated the observers all around the world to try to observe it and make photometric measurements. Here we discuss what these measurements tell us on the rotation and the shape. But before that, let me tell you something on the rotation.
We will consider that our object is an ellipsoid. This is actually unsure, but let us assume it. We have 3 different axes, and we could imagine different configurations for its rotation:
Tumbling rotation: the object rotates around its 3 axes, and basically this is a mess. We could be in a situation of dynamical chaos, like for the moon of Saturn Hyperion.
Short-axis mode (SAM): the rotation is strongly dominated by a motion around the shortest axis. This is the case for many bodies in the Solar System, like the planets, our Moon… This does not mean that the rotation is strictly around one axis, but we will see that a little later.
Long-axis mode (LAM): the rotation is strongly dominated by a motion around the longest axis.
The LAM and SAM modes.
These last two modes can actually cohabit with tumbling, i.e. a tumbling rotation may favor rotation around one axis.
If the rotation were strictly around one axis, then the body would look like a top. But this rotation axis may move with respect to the figure axis. This motion is named precession-nutation. The precession is the averaged path of the figure axis around the angular momentum, while the nutation contains the oscillations around it.
Now, imagine that you look at an object, which has such a rotation. How can you estimate it? There are ways.
Actually the brightness of a body not only depends on the distance from it, or on the insolation angle, but also on the surface facing you. This means that from the brightness, you can deduce something on the rotation state of the object. In particular, this surface brightness depends on its location with respect to the principal axis. If the object has the shape of a cigar, the reflected light from the long axis and from the short one will be different, and the lightcurve will present periodic variations. And the period of these variations is the rotation period. Easy, isn’t it?
Actually, not that easy. First, you assume that the surface has a constant albedo, i.e. that the ratio between the incident and the reflected lights is constant. But you do not know that. In particular, an icy surface has a higher albedo than a carbonaceous one. Another difficulty: a tumbling object, or even one with a precessional component in its rotation, will present a combination of different frequencies. Of course, this complicates the analysis.
However, you simplify the analysis in adding observations to your dataset. The authors used 818 observations over almost one month, spanning from Oct, 25 to Nov, 23, 2017. This includes observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, from the Magellan-Baade telescope at Las Campanas Observatory (Chile), from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, from Pan-NSTARRS (these last facilities being based in Hawaii)…
Once the observations are obtained as raw data, they must be treated to correct from atmospheric and instrumental problems. And then it is not done yet, since the authors need an absolute luminosity of ‘Oumuamua, i.e. as if its distance to the observer were constant. The motion of ‘Oumuamua actually induced a trend in its distance to the Earth, and a trend in its luminosity, which the authors fitted before subtracting it the measured lightflux.
Once this is done, the authors get a lightcurve, which is constant on average, but presents variations around its mean value. Unfortunately, the required treatment induced an uncertainty in the measurements, which the authors had to consider. But fortunately, these practical difficulties are well-known, and algorithms exist to extract information from such data.
Basically, you need to extract periods from the variations of the lightflux. For that, we dispose of the classical tool of Fourier Transforms, which in principle requires equally spaced data. But the recorded data are not equally spaced, and remember that you must consider the uncertainties as well.
Specific algorithms exist for such a purpose. The authors used CLEAN and ANOVA, to double-check their results. These algorithms allow in particular to remove the aliasing effect, i.e. a wrong measurement of a period, because of an appropriate spacing of the data. And now, the results!
The authors found two fundamental periods in the lightcurves, which are 8.67±0.34 and 3.74±0.11 hours. Interestingly, they connected these measurements to the possible dynamics of rotation, and they found two possible solutions:
Long-Axis Mode: In that case, the possible rotation periods are 6.58, 13.15 and 54.48 hours, the latter being the most probable one.
Short-Axis Mode: Here, ‘Oumuamua would be rotating with respect to the short-axis, but also with oscillations around the long axis of periods 13.15 or 54.48 hours.
In both axis, the long axis would also precess around the angular momentum in 8.67 ± 0.34 hours. Moreover, the authors found constraints on its shape. Previous studies already told us that ‘Oumuamua is highly elongated, this study confirms this fact, and tells us that ‘Oumuamua could be somewhere between the cigar and the pancake. But once more, this result could be weakened by variations of the surface albedo of ‘Oumuamua.
The study is here, and the authors made it freely accessible on arXiv, thanks to them for sharing!
the web page of Olivier R. Hainaut,
the one of Karen J. Meech,
the one of Beatrice E.A. Mueller,
the one of Jan T. Kleyna,
the one of Hal (Harold) A. Weaver Jr.,
the one of Marc W. Buie,
the one of Michał Drahus,
the one of Richard J. Wainscoat,
the one of Wacław Waniak,
the ResearchGate profile of Barbara Handzlik,
the homepage of Sebastian Kurowski,
the one of Siyi Xu,
the one of Scott S. Sheppard,
the ResearchGate profile of Marco Micheli,
the homepage of Harald Ebeling,
and the one of Jacqueline V. Keane.
ObservationsRotation
Analyzing a crater of Ceres
Hi there! The space mission Dawn has recently visited the small planets Ceres and Vesta, and the use of its different instruments permits to characterize their composition and constrain their formation. Today we focus on the crater Haulani on Ceres, which proves to be pretty young. This is the opportunity for me to present you Mineralogy and temperature of crater Haulani on Ceres by Federico Tosi et al. This paper has recently been published in Meteoritics and Planetary Science.
Ceres’s facts
The crater Haulani
Dawn at Ceres
Different indicators
VIR and FC data
A young and bright region
Possible thanks to lab experiments
Ceres is the largest asteroid of the Solar System, and the smallest dwarf planet. A dwarf planet is a planetary body that is large enough, to have been shaped by the hydrostatic equilibrium. In other words, this is a rocky body which is kind of spherical. You can anyway expect some polar flattening, due to its rotation. However, many asteroids look pretty much like potatoes. But a dwarf planet should also be small enough to not clear its vicinity. This means that if a small body orbits not too far from Ceres, it should anyway not be ejected.
Ceres, or (1)Ceres, has been discovered in 1801 by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi, and is visited by the spacecraft Dawn since March 2015. The composition of Ceres is close to the one of C-Type (carbonaceous) asteroids, but with hydrated material as well. This reveals the presence of water ice, and maybe a subsurface ocean. You can find below its main characteristics.
2.7675 AU
Orbital period
4.60 yr
Spin period
965.2 × 961.2 × 891.2 km
Mean density
2.161 g/cm3
The orbital motion is very well known thanks to Earth-based astrometric observations. However, we know the physical characteristics with such accuracy thanks to Dawn. We can see in particular that the equatorial section is pretty circular, and that the density is 2.161 g/cm3, which we should compare to 1 for the water and to 3.3 for dry silicates. This another proof that Ceres is hydrated. For comparison, the other target of Dawn, i.e. Vesta, has a mean density of 3.4 g/cm3.
It appears that Ceres is highly craterized, as shown on the following map. Today, we focus on Haulani.
Topographic map of Ceres, due to Dawn. Click to enlarge. © NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
The 5 largest craters found on Ceres are named Kerwan, Yalode, Urvara, Duginavi, and Vinotonus. Their diameters range from 280 to 140 km, and you can find them pretty easily on the map above. However, our crater of interest, Haulani, is only 34 km wide. You can find it at 5.8°N, 10.77°E, or on the image below.
The crater Haulani, seen by Dawn. © NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / Max Planck Institute for Solar System Studies / German Aerospace Center / IDA / Planetary Science Institute
The reason why it is interesting is that it is supposed to be one of the youngest, i.e. the impact creating it occurred less than 6 Myr ago. This can give clues on the response of the material to the impact, and hence on the composition of the subsurface.
Nothing would have been possible without Dawn. Let us talk about it!
The NASA mission Dawn has been launched from Cape Canaveral in September 2007. Since then, it made a fly-by of Mars in February 2009, it orbited the minor planet (4)Vesta between July 2011 and September 2012, and orbits Ceres since March 2015.
This orbit consists of several phases, aiming at observing Ceres at different altitudes, i.e. at different resolutions:
RC3 (Rotation Characterization 3) phase between April 23, 2015 and May 9, 2015, at the altitude of 13,500 km (resolution: 1.3 km/pixel),
Survey phase between June 6 and June 30, 2015, at the altitude of 4,400 km (resolution: 410 m /pixel),
HAMO (High Altitude Mapping Orbit) phase between August 17 and October 23, 2015, at the altitude of 1,450 km (resolution: 140 m /pixel),
LAMO (Low Altitude Mapping Orbit) / XMO1 phase between December 16, 2015 and September 2, 2016, at the altitude of 375 km (resolution: 35 m /pixel),
XMO2 phase between October 5 and November 4, 2016, at the altitude of 1,480 km (resolution: 140 m / pixel),
XMO3 phase between December 5, 2016 and February 22, 2017, at the altitude varying between 7,520 and 9,350 km, the resolution varying as well, between
and is in the XMO4 phase since April 24, 2017, with a much higher altitude, i.e. between 13,830 and 52,800 km.
The XMOs phases are extensions of the nominal mission. Dawn is now on a stable orbit, to avoid contamination of Ceres even after the completion of the mission. The mission will end when Dawn will run out of fuel, which should happen this year.
The interest of having these different phases is to observe Ceres at different resolutions. The HAMO phase is suitable for a global view of the region of Haulani, however the LAMO phase is more appropriate for the study of specific structures. Before looking into the data, let us review the indicators used by the team to understand the composition of Haulani.
The authors used both topographic and spectral data, i.e. the light reflected by the surface at different wavelengths, to get numbers for the following indicators:
color composite maps,
reflectance at specific wavelengths,
spectral slopes,
band centers,
band depths.
Color maps are used for instance to determine the geometry of the crater, and the location of the ejecta, i.e. excavated material. The reflectance is the effectiveness of the material to reflect radiant energy. The spectral slope is a linear interpolation of a spectral profile by two given wavelengths, and band centers and band depths are characteristics of the spectrum of material, which are compared to the ones obtained in lab experiments. With all this, you can infer the composition of the material.
This requires a proper treatment of the data, since the observations are affected by the geometry of the observation and of the insolation, which is known as the phase effect. The light reflection will depend on where is the Sun, and from where you observe the surface (the phase). The treatment requires to model the light reflection with respect to the phase. The authors use the popular Hapke’s law. This is an empirical model, developed by Bruce Hapke for the regolith of atmosphereless bodies.
The authors used data from two Dawn instruments: the Visible and InfraRed spectrometer (VIR), and the Framing Camera (FC). VIR makes the spectral analysis in the range 0.5 µm to 5 µm (remember: the visible spectrum is between 0.39 and 0.71 μm, higher wavelengths are in the infrared spectrum), and FC makes the topographical maps.
The combination of these two datasets allows to correlate the values given by the indicators given above, from the spectrum, with the surface features.
And here are the conclusions: yes, Haulani is a young crater. One of the clues is that the thermal signature shows a locally slower response to the instantaneous variations of the insolation, with respect to other regions of Ceres. This shows that the material is pretty bright, i.e. it has been less polluted and so has been excavated recently. Moreover, the spectral slopes are bluish, this should be understood as a jargony just meaning that on a global map of Ceres, which is colored according to the spectral reflectance, Haulani appears pretty blue. Thus is due to spectral slopes that are more negative than anywhere else on Ceres, and once more this reveals bright material.
Moreover, the bright material reveals hydrothermal processes, which are consequences of the heating due to the impact. For them to be recent, the impact must be recent. Morever, this region appears to be calcium-rich instead of magnesium-rich like anywhere else, which reveals a recent heating. The paper gives many more details and explanations.
I would like to conclude this post by pointing out the miracle of such a study. We know the composition of the surface without actually touching it! This is possible thanks to lab experiments. In a lab, you know which material you work on, and you record its spectral properties. And after that, you compare with the spectrum you observe in space.
And this is not an easy task, because you need to make a proper treatment of the observations, and once you have done it you see that the match is not perfect. This requires you to find a best fit, in which you adjust the relative abundances of the elements and the photometric properties of the material, you have to consider the uncertainties of the observations… well, definitely not an easy task.
You can find the study here. Mineralogy and temperature of crater Haulani on Ceres, by F. Tosi et al., Meteoritics and Planetary Science.
The ResearchGate profile of Federico Tosi,
the one of Filippo Giacomo Carrozzo,
the one of Andrea Raponi,
the one of Maria Cristina de Sanctis,
the homepage of Guneshwar Thangjam,
the ResearchGate profile of Francesca Zambon,
the one of Mauro Ciarniello,
the one of Andreas Nathues,
the homepage of Maria Teresa Capria,
the one of Martin Hoffmann,
the ResearchGate profile of Katrin Krohn,
the one of Andrea Longobardo,
the one of Ernesto Palomba,
the homepage of Carle M. Pieters,
the ResearchGate profile of Katrin Stephan,
the homepage of Carol A. Raymond,
and the one of Christopher T. Russell.
asteroidsCereschemistryImpactsObservations
Dust coorbital to Jupiter
Hi there! You may have heard of the coorbital satellites of Jupiter, or the Trojans, which share its orbit. Actually they are 60° ahead or behind it, which are equilibrium positions. Today we will see that dust is not that attached to these equilibrium. This is the opportunity to present you a study divided into two papers, Dust arcs in the region of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids and Comparison of the orbital properties of Jupiter Trojan asteroids and Trojan dust, by Xiaodong Liu and Jürgen Schmidt. These two papers have recently been accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The Trojan asteroids
Production of dust
Non-gravitational forces affect the dust
Numerical simulations
Some stay, some don’t…
Lucy is coming
Jupiter is the largest of the planets of the Solar System, it orbits the Sun in 11.86 years. On pretty the same orbit, asteroids precede and follow Jupiter, with a longitude difference of 60°. These are stable equilibrium, in which Jupiter and every asteroid are locked in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance. This means that they have the same orbital period. These two points, which are ahead and behind Jupiter on its orbit, are the Lagrange points L4 and L5. Why 4 and 5? Because three other equilibrium exist, of course. These other Lagrange points, i.e. L1, L2, and L3, are aligned with the Sun and Jupiter, and are unstable equilibrium. It is anyway possible to have orbits around them, and this is sometimes used in astrodynamics for positioning artificial satellites of the Earth, but this is beyond the scope of our study.
Location of the Lagrange points.
At present, 7,206 Trojan asteroids are list by the JPL Small Body Database, about two thirds orbiting in the L4 region. Surprisingly, no coorbital asteroid is known for Saturn, a few for Uranus, 18 for Neptune, and 8 for Mars. Some of these bodies are on unstable orbits.
Understanding the formation of these bodies is challenging, in particular explaining why Saturn has no coorbital asteroid. However, once an asteroid orbits at such a place, its motion is pretty well understood. But what about dust? This is what the authors investigated.
When a planetary body is hit, it produces ejecta, which size and dynamics depend on the impact, the target, and the impactor. The Solar System is the place for an intense micrometeorite bombardment, from which our atmosphere protects us. Anyway, all of the planetary bodies are impacted by micrometeorites, and the resulting ejecta are micrometeorites themselves. Their typical sizes are between 2 and 50 micrometers, this is why we can call them dust. More specifically, it is zodiacal dust, and we can sometimes see it from the Earth, as it reflects light. We call this light zodiacal light, and it can be confused with light pollution.
It is difficult to estimate the production of dust. The intensity of the micrometeorite bombardment can be estimated by spacecraft. For instance, the spacecraft Cassini around Saturn had on-board the instrument CDA, for Cosmic Dust Analyzer. This instrument not only measured the intensity of this bombardment around Saturn, but also the chemical composition of the micrometeorites.
Imagine you have the intensity of the bombardment (and we don’t have it in the L4 and L5 zones of Jupiter). This does not mean that you have the quantity of ejecta. This depends on a yield parameter, which has been studied in labs, and remains barely constrained. It should depend on the properties of the material and the impact velocity.
The small size of these particles make them sensitive to forces, which do not significantly affect the planetary bodies.
Classical planetary bodies are affected (almost) only by gravitation. Their motion is due to the gravitational action of the Sun, this is why they orbit around it. On top of that, they are perturbed by the planets of the Solar System. The stability of the Lagrange points results of a balance between the gravitational actions of the Sun and of Jupiter.
This is not enough for dusty particles. They are also affected by
the Solar radiation pressure,
the Poynting-Robertson drag,
the Solar wind drag,
the magnetic Lorentz force.
The Solar radiation pressure is an exchange of momentum between our particle and the electromagnetic field of the Sun. It depends on the surface over mass ratio of the particle. The Poynting-Robertson drag is a loss of angular momentum due to the tangential radiation pressure. The Solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun’s corona, and the Lorentz force is the response to the interplanetary magnetic field.
You can see that some of these effects result in a loss of angular momentum, which means that the orbit of the particle would tend to spiral. Tend to does not mean that it will, maybe the gravitational action of Jupiter, in particular at the coorbital resonance, would compensate this effect… You need to simulate the motion of the particles to know the answer.
And this is what the authors did. They launched bunches of numerical simulations of dusty particles, initially located in the L4 region. They simulated the motion of 1,000 particles, which sizes ranged from 0.5 to 32 μm, over more than 15 kyr. And at the end of the simulations, they represented the statistics of the resulting orbital elements.
This way, the authors have showed that, for each size of particles, the resulting distribution is bimodal. In other words: the initial cloud has a maximum of members close to the exact semimajor axis of Jupiter. And at the end of the simulation, the distribution has two peaks: one centered on the semimajor axis of Jupiter, and another one slightly smaller, which is a consequence of the non-gravitational forces. This shift depends on the size of the particles. As a consequence, you see this bimodal distribution for every cloud of particles of the same size, but it is visually replaced by a flat if you consider the final distribution of the whole cloud. Just because the location of the second peak depends on the size of the particles.
Moreover, dusty particles have a pericenter which is slightly closer to the one of Jupiter than the asteroids, this effect being once more sensitive to the size of the particles. However, the inclinations are barely affected by the size of the particles.
In addition to those particles, which remain in the coorbital resonance, some escape. Some eventually fall on Jupiter, some are trapped in higher-order resonances, and some even become coorbital to Saturn!
As a conclusion we could say that the cloud of Trojan asteroids is different from the cloud of Trojan dust.
All this results from numerical simulations. It would be interesting to compare with observations…
But there are no observations of dust at the Lagrange points… yet. NASA will launch the spacecraft Lucy in October 2021, which will explore Trojan asteroids at the L4 and L5 points. It will also help us to constrain the micrometeorite bombardment in these regions.
You can find below the two studies:
Dust arcs in the region of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids,
Comparison of the orbital properties of Jupiter Trojan asteroids and Trojan dust,
and the homepage of Jürgen Schmidt.
celestial mechanicsnumerical methodsresonancesstability
Forming Pluto’s satellites
April 8, 2018 Benoît Noyelles 1 Comment
Hi there! A team from the University of Hong Kong has recently explored a scenario of formation of the small satellites of Pluto. You know, there are 4 small bodies, named Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra, which orbit around the binary Trans-Neptunian Object Pluto-Charon. At this time, we don’t know yet how they were formed, and how they ended up at their present locations, despite the data that the spacecraft New Horizons sent us recently. The study I present you today, On the early in situ formation of Pluto’s small satellites, by Jason Man Yin Woo and Man Hoi Lee, simulates the early evolution of the Pluto-Charon system. It has recently been published in The Astronomical Journal.
The satellites of Pluto
Proximity of Mean-Motion Resonances
Testing a scenario of formation
The long-term evolution is ruled by tides
Possible scenario, but…
The American Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930. He examined photographic plates taken at Lowell Observatory at Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, and detected a moving object, which thus could not be a star. The International Astronomical Union considered Pluto to be the ninth planet of the Solar System, until 2006. At that time, numerous discoveries of distant objects motivated the creation of the class of dwarf planets, Pluto being one of the largest of them.
The other American astronomer James W. Christy discovered a companion to Pluto, Charon, in June 1978. Still at Flagstaff.
The existence of far objects in our Solar System motivated the launch of the space missions New Horizons in 2006. New Horizons made a close approach of the system of Pluto in July 2015, and is currently en route to the Trans-Neptunian Object 2014MU69. The closest approach is scheduled for January, 1st 2019.
In parallel to the preparation of New Horizons, the scientific team performed observations of Pluto-Charon with the famous Hubble Space Telescope. And they discovered 4 small satellites: Nix, Hydra, Styx and Kerberos. You can find some of their characteristics below, which are due to New Horizons.
17,181 km 42,656 km 48,694 km 57,783 km 64,738 km
0 0.006 0 0.003 0.006
0° 0.8° 0.1° 0.4° 0.2°
6.39 d 20.16 d 24.85 d 32.17 d 38.20 d
6.39 d 3.24 d 1.829 d 5.31 d 0.43 d
Mean diameter
1,214 km 10.5 km 39 km 12 km 42 km
Styx seen by New Horizons © NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute
Nix seen by New Horizons © NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute
Kerberos seen by New Horizons © NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute
Hydra seen by New Horizons © NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute
We should compare these numbers to the ones of Pluto: a mean diameter of 2370 km, and a spin period of 6.39 d. This implies that:
Pluto and Charon are two large objects, with respect to the other satellites. So, Pluto-Charon should be seen as a binary TNO, and the other four objects are satellites of the binary.
Pluto and Charon are in a state of double synchronous spin-orbite resonance: their rotation rate is the same, and is the same that their mutual orbital motion. If you are on the surface of Pluto, facing a friend of yours on the surface of Charon, you will always face her. This is probably the most stable dynamical equilibrium, reached after dissipation of energy over the ages.
And the four small satellites orbit outside the mutual orbits of Pluto and Charon.
We can notice that:
the orbital period of Styx is close to three times the one of Charon,
the orbital period of Nix is close to four times the one of Charon,
the orbital period of Kerberos is close to five times the one of Charon,
the orbital period of Hydra is close to six times the one of Charon.
Close to, but not exactly. This suggests the influence of mean-motion resonances of their orbital motion, i.e. the closest distance between Charon and Styx will happen every 3 orbits of Charon at the same place, so you can have a cumulative effect on the orbit. And the same thing would happen for the other objects. But this is actually not that clear whether that cumulative effect would be significant or not, and if yes, how it would affect the orbits. Previous studies suggest that it translates into a tiny zone of stability for Kerberos, provided that Nix and Hydra are not too massive.
Anyway, the authors wondered why these four satellites are currently at their present location.
They addressed this question in testing the following scenario: Charon initially impacted Pluto, and the debris resulting from the impact created the four small satellites. To test this scenario, they ran long-term numerical simulations of small, test particles, perturbed by Pluto and Charon. Pluto and Charon were not in the current state, but in a presumed early one, before the establishment of the two synchronous rotations, and with and without a significant initial eccentricity for Charon. The authors simulated the orbital evolution, the system evolving over the action of gravitational mutual interactions, and tides.
The tides are basically the dissipation of energy in a planetary body, due to the difference of force exerted at different points of the body. This results in stress, and is modeled as a tidal bulge, which points to the direction of the perturber. The dissipation of energy is due to the small angular shift between the orientation of the bulge and the direction of the perturber. The equilibrium configuration of Pluto-Charon, i.e. the two synchronous rotations, suggest that the binary is tidally evolved.
The authors applied tides only on Pluto and Charon, and considered two tidal models:
A constant time delay between the tidal excitation and the response of the tidal bulge,
A constant angular shift between the tidal bulge and the direction of the perturber.
The tidal models actually depend on the properties of the material, and the frequency of the excitation. In such a case, the frequency of the excitation depends on the two rotation rates of Pluto and Charon, and on their orbital motions. The properties of the material, in particular the rigidity and the viscosity, are ruled by the temperatures of the objects, which are not necessarily constant in space and in time, since tidal stress tend to heat the object. Here the authors did not consider a time variation of the tidal parameters.
Other models, which are probably more physically realistic but more complex, exist in the literature. Let me cite the Maxwell model, which assumes two regimes for the response of the planetary body: elastic for slow excitations, i.e. not dissipative, and dissipative for fast excitations. The limit between fast and slow is indicated by the Maxwell time, which depends on the viscosity and the rigidity of the object.
Anyway, the authors ran different numerical simulations, with the two tidal models (constant angular shift and constant time delay), with different numbers and different initial eccentricities for Charon. And in all of these simulations, they monitored the fate of independent test particles orbiting in the area.
The authors seem disappointed by their results. Actually, some of the particles are affected by mean-motion resonances, some other are ejected, but the simulations show that particles may end up at the current locations of Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. However, their current locations, i.e. close to mean-motion resonances, do not appear to be preferred places for formation. This means that we still do not know why the satellites are where they currently are, and not somewhere else.
The next target of New Horizons is 2014MU69, which we will be the first object explored by a spacecraft, which had been launched before the object was known to us. We should expect many data.
You can find here
The study, made freely available by the authors on arXiv, thanks to them for sharing!
and the homepage of Man Hoi Lee.
Binary asteroidsnumerical methodsresonancestides
The system of (107) Camilla
April 3, 2018 Benoît Noyelles Leave a comment
Hi there! I will present you today a fascinating paper. It aims at a comprehensive understanding of the system composed of an asteroid, (107) Camilla, and its two satellites. For that, the authors acquired, processed and used 5 different types of observations, from all over the world. A consequence is that this paper has many authors, i.e. 27. Its title is Physical, spectral, and dynamical properties of asteroid (107) Camilla and its satellites, by Myriam Pajuelo and 26 colleagues, and it has recently been published in Icarus. This paper gives us the shape of Camilla and its main satellites, their orbits, the mass of Camilla, its composition, its spin period,… I give you these results below.
The system of Camilla
5 different types of data
The orbit of the satellites
Spin and shape
The composition of these objects
The asteroid (107) Camilla has been discovered in 1868 by Norman Pogson at Madras Observatory, India. It is located in the
outer Main-Belt, and more precisely it is a member of the Cybele group. This is a group of asteroids, named after the largest of them (65) Cybele, which is thought to have a common origin. They probably originate from the disruption of a single progenitor. I show you below some Camilla’s facts, taken from the JPL Small-Body Database Browser:
We have of course other data, which have been improved by the present study. Please by a little patient.
In 2001 the Hubble Space Telescope revealed a satellite of Camilla, S1, while the second satellite, S2, and has been discovered in 2016 from images acquired by the Very Large Telescope of Cerro Paranal, Chile. This makes (107) Camilla a ternary system. Interesting fact, there is at least another ternary system in the Cybele group: the one formed by (87) Sylvia, and its two satellites Romulus and Remus.
Since their discoveries, these bodies have been re-observed when possible. This resulted in a accumulation of different data, all of them having been used in this study.
The authors acquired and used:
optical lightcurves,
high-angular-resolution images,
high-angular-resolution spectrum,
stellar occultations,
near-infrared spectroscopy.
You record optical lightcurves in measuring the variations of the solar flux, which is reflected by the object. This results in a curve exhibiting periodic variations. You can link their period to the spin period of the asteroid, and their amplitudes to its shape. I show you an example of lightcurve here.
High-angular-resolution imaging requires high-performance facilities. The authors used data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and of 3 ground-based telescopes, equipped with adaptive optics: Gemini North, European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope (VLT), and Keck. Adaptive optics permits to correct the images from atmospheric distortion, while the HST, as a space telescope, is not hampered by our atmosphere. In other words, our atmosphere bothers the accurate observations of such small objects.
A spectrum is the amplitude of the reflected Solar light, with respect to its wavelength. This permits to infer the composition of the surface of the body. The high-angular-resolution spectrum were made at the VLT, the resulting data also permitting astrometry of the smallest of the satellites, S2. These spectrum were supplemented by near-infrared spectroscopy, made with a dedicated facility, i.e. the SpeX spectrograph of the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF), based on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Infrared is very sensitive to the temperature, this is why their observations require dedicated instruments, which need a dedicated cooling system.
Finally, stellar occultations consist to record the light of a star, which as some point is occulted by the asteroid you study. This is particularly interesting for a faint body, which you cannot directly observe. Such observations can be made by volunteers, who use their own telescopes. You can deduce clues on the shape, and sometimes on the presence of a satellite, from the duration of the occultation. In comparing the durations of the same occultation, recorded at different locations, you may even reconstruct the shape (actually a 2-D shape, which is projected on the celestial sphere). See here.
And from all this, you can infer the orbits of the satellites, and the composition of the primary (Camilla) and its main satellite (S1), and the spin and shape of Camilla.
The orbits of the satellites
All of these observations permit astrometry, i.e. they give you the relative location of the satellites with respect to Camilla, at given dates. From all of these observations, you fit orbits, i.e. you numerically determine the orbits, which have the smallest distances (residuals), with the data.
This is a very tough task, given the uncertainty of the recorded positions. For that, the authors used their own genetic-based algorithm, Genoid, for GENetic Orbit IDentification, which relies on a metaheuristic method to minimize the residuals. Many trajectories are challenged in this iterative approach, and only the best ones are kept. These remaining trajectories, designed as parents, are used to generate new trajectories which improve the residuals. This algorithm has proven its efficiency for other systems, like the binary asteroid (22) Kalliope-Linus. In such cases, the observations lack of accuracy and many parameters are involved.
You can find the results below.
S/2001 (107) 1
1247.8±3.8 km
<0.013
(16.0±2.3)°
3.71234±0.00004 d
643.8±3.9 km
~0.18 (<0.23)
(27.7±21.8)°
1.376±0.016 d
You can deduce the mass of (107) Camilla from these numbers, i.e. (1.12±0.01)x1019 kg. The ratio of two orbital periods probably rule out any significant mean-motion resonance between these two satellites.
The authors used their homemade algorithm KOALA (Knitted Occultation, Adaptive-optics, and Lightcurve Analysis) to determine the best-fit solution (once more, minimization of the residuals) for spin period, orientation of the rotation pole, and 3-D shape model, from lightcurves, adaptive optics images, and stellar occultations. And you can find the solution below:
254±36 km
4.843927±0.00004 h
This table gives two solutions for the shape: a spherical one, and an ellipsoid. In this last solution, a, b, and c are the three diameters. We can see in particular that Camilla is highly elongated. Actually a comparison between the data and this ellipsoid, named the reference ellipsoid, revealed two deep and circular basins at the surface of Camilla.
Moreover, a comparison of the relative magnitudes of Camilla and its two satellites, and the use of the diameter of Camilla as a reference, give an estimation of the diameters of the two satellites. These are 12.7±3.5 km for S1 and 4.0±1.2 km for S2. These numbers assume that S1 and S2 have the same albedo. This assumption is supported for S1 by the comparison of its spectrum from the one of Camilla.
In combining the shape of Camilla with its mass, the authors deduce its density, which is 1,280±130 kg/m3. This is slightly larger than water, while silicates should dominate the composition. As the authors point out, there might be some water ice in Camilla, but this pretty small density is probably due to the porosity of the asteroid.
The webpage of Myriam Virginia Pajuelo Cubillas, first author of the study,
The website of Benoît Carry,
the one of Frédéric Vachier,
the webpage of Michaël Marsset,
the ResearchGate profile of Jérôme Berthier,
the one of William J. Merline,
the one of Peter M. Tamblyn,
the ResearchGate profile of Al Conrad,
the webpage of Alexander Storrs,
the ResearchGate profile of Bradley Timerson,
the webpage of David W. Dunham,
the ResearchGate profile of Steve Preston,
the website of Arthur Vigan,
the ResearchGate profile of Bin Yang,
the one of Pierre Vernazza,
the website of Laurent Bernasconi,
the one of David Romeuf,
the webpage of Raoul Behrend,
the one of Christophe Dumas,
the one of Jack Drummond,
the one of Jean-Luc Margot,
the one of Pierre Kervella,
the one of Franck Marchis,
and the website of Julien H. Girard.
asteroidsBinary asteroidsinternal structurenumerical methodsObservationsOccultations
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Jesus Is Magic
Don't rush out to buy this one.
I've had a crush on Sarah Silverman since she appeared in There's Something About Mary. That dark hair and the cute face - I was instantly hooked. In case you're not familiar with her, Sarah is an L.A. based comic who gets bit parts in movies and I don't know much else about her other than she's cute and I've had a crush on her.
Dreading another long flight from Los Vegas to Baltimore, I stopped by the local Fry's Electronics to pick up a DVD to watch and found Sarah's new Jesus Is Magic DVD and picked it up. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that Sarah is "The most outrageously funny woman alive!" Variety said that Jesus Is Magic is "Explosively funny and perversely adorable." And the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Comedy as ruthlessly provocative as anything since the heydey of Lenny Bruce."
Those are some big words from some big industry guns and I was seriously looking forward to watching the video. But there's something else to consider... In the world of Hollywood media, it's not uncommon for a production company to "encourage" a writer to write something positive (or even just put their name to something scripted) about a film/video with the promise of including that writer's name and publication in the ad. It's not really deceptive. It's marketing.
I wish I had that in mind when I was perusing the racks of DVDs at Fry's because I would have bought something else and just downloaded Jesus Is Magic off the Internet.
Overall, Jesus Is Magic is a disappointment. It's entertaining at best and offensive at worst. Perhaps Sarah displays the epitome of Jewish neurosis, but I just don't get it. It's barely funny. It's not a video that I would watch over and over again because of it's witty insight into the human persona. It's vaguely concealed racism at best.
Hawaii-based comic Andy Bumatai, in his seminal CD release Brain Child noted that good comedy has insight into the culture that it's joking about, while poor comedy is based on superficial and stereotypical understanding of the culture. And Sarah's understanding is of the latter rather than the former.
One of the things that separates most other comics from Sarah is their ability to make fun of and laugh at themselves. Sarah is unable to do any of that. She's unabashedly Jewish by her own demonstration that she's part of the "chosen people" but refuses to poke fun at her own people instead positioning Blacks as the target while propositioning that Jews are indeed White.
In fact, it seems that the only time Sarah mentions Blacks or Chinks or any other ethnic minority is in a derogatory context because she obviously lacks depth and understanding of the people she's making fun of. We cannot laugh with her but moreover, can only watch in horror to these poor jokes.
But all isn't bad in Jesus Is Magic, like I said previously, Sarah's strength is in being an entertainer. Her musical breaks are interesting, funny and entertaining. She needs to stay with the entertainment side of her career and stay away from the comedy.
If you're looking for a video that's going to keep you rolling with non-stop huge belly laughs, Jesus Is Magic is not for you. It's at times entertaining, sort of funny and definitely offensive because Sarah lacks any insight and understanding to the people she's joking about.
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Dave Pearce and Steve Lamacq new shows on Radio 2
Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 1:00 pm Post subject: Dave Pearce and Steve Lamacq new shows on Radio 2
Radio 2 have announced that Dave Pearce will present a dance music show Saturday night 10pm - midnight starting Saturday April 14th.
Also Steve Lamacq will move to Thursday night 11pm to midnight.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/Dave-Pearce-joins-Radio-2.html
Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:47 pm Post subject:
I like Dave Pearce.
If Radio 2 are going to have a tweak at Saturday evenings, I wish they had moved Bob Harris forward to at least 10:00pm. Whilst I don't have any axes to grind with Dave Pearce, I'm sure he can still be slotted in somewhere in the schedule and 'His Bobship' can be put back to a (comparitively) more accessible start time as he used to be, pre-Douglas!
I agree with Lee, I'd much prefer to have Bob Harris on earlier than Dave Pearce.
I don't really feel Dave Pearce fits Radio 2. It's bizarre that you'll get him in virtually the same slot as David Jacobs!
Just seems the rest of the BBC that would be more suited don't want him so Radio 2 are lumbered with him instead.
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:19 pm Post subject:
Radio 1 is changing their schedules around and Radio 2 are bringing different shows to the station. I think it fit well on a Saturday with all ages of listeners tuning in now.
Radio 1 is changing their schedules around
Yeah, but I don't see what that's got to do with Radio 2.
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:30 pm Post subject: Has Radio 2 become a scrap heap for Radio 1 rejects.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/mar/27/radio-2-radio-1-rejects?CMP=twt_gu
Shaky Fan
DJs moving from Radio 1 to Radio 2 is hardly a new thing! T Wogan?? J Young??
Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 5:51 am Post subject:
Agree with shaky it's gone on for ages
Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:12 am Post subject:
I suppose it has, but isn't there supposed to be a bigger audience gap nowadays?
With Radio 1 aiming for younger listeners it seems like their older DJs just linger around the BBC waiting for their slot on Radio 2 to open up, and I don't think it should be like that - although I admit it's mainly because I think Pearce, Whiley and Ball are useless!
Okay so it has happened in the past but those that Shaky mentioned were IMHO and I suspect many other R2 listeners slightly more suited to R2 than those we are getting now.
I've caught a Dave Pearce a couple of times and I don't think his output is for Radio 2.
Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:56 pm Post subject:
Fine if they're happy to just keep the older listeners and not attract younger ones.
I'm in my early 40s and the likes of Dave Pearce would have arrived at Radio 1 when I was in my late teens / early 20s. Similarly those older listeners who prefer Wogan / Young etc would have been (what?) in their 30s / 40s when they made the move.
I doubt Radio 2 will be content to just keep the older listeners because to do that their audience will eventually die off (literally!)
The older listeners won't all have died off just yet though Shaky!
I think R1 remit should be stretched to cover a slightly older age group, because just what are older listeners supposed to do? They keep saying we in general are living longer.
I was almost 30 when I first started to listen to some of R2, not all by any means but I didn't expect R2 to change for me, I actually felt R1 should have tried to keep me as a listener for longer!
And someone in their 30s/40s is the sort of person that would want to listen to the like of Dave Pearce. Unfortunately Radio 1 seems keen to pension off any listeners over the age of about 20 these days and anyone that falls outside the target group is going to move on somewhere else - first stop for many will be Radio 2! If Radio 2 listeners hate so many of the current presenters (as seems to be the case with some members of this forum) there's no law stating that they have to keep their radios tuned to the station - there's a wide range of other stations available....
Shaky you regularly say older listeners can switch off but just where do you expect them to go to? Just because you are older doesn't mean you start to like classical music but there is nowhere else for them to go.
Are you saying they should have to stop listening to radio altogether because there is no station that plays anything that appeals? That is why there is so much anger when Radio 2 bring in all the younger presenters or sideline 'older' presenters to late night time slots. Older listeners are, or will soon be, the the larger majority of the population so they should be catered for.
You'll be in that age group yourself at some stage and the way things are going you'll be overlooked more quickly than those a bit older just now!
I don't say they should switch off - I say they can listen to other stations. To take the TV equivalent. I watch (for example) Have I Got News For You on BBC1. That doesn't mean I can only watch BBC1 - if there's something on BBC1 that I don't like I don't watch it - I can see what's on the other stations or watch a DVD. So if someone doesn't like Steve Wright's show they could try re-tuning at that point or put on a CD / listen to their MP3 player.
but there is nowhere else for them to go.
You make it sound like there is no other alternative to Radio 2. There are dozens of other Radio stations - and literally thousands via the internet. You aren't seriously suggesting that there is absolutely nothing amongst them that would broadcast something that would appeal to you? Of course, if you are then maybe you're being a bit too choosy.....
You'll be in that age group yourself at some stage and the way things are going you'll be overlooked more quickly than those a bit older just now!H
Ah but I can stick on my CDs and listen to my ipod! Or retune my radio
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:28 am Post subject:
Not everyone has the internet you know, it's a mistake that many make in thinking that.
There should be a music radio station that caters for people who like music from the 40's, and 50s and not 1 or 2 shows a week. I'm thinking of my Mum in this instance who fortunately does enjoy some classical music.
You obviously don't understand the situation so there's no point in trying to convince you!
Presumably they have radios - there are many stations that they canre-tune to! My reference to the internet is not saying that people SHOULD listen in there but was merely pointing out that those who do will have an even bigger choice!
Leaving aside the condescending nature of that remark it's not too difficult to understand what I'm saying - in a nutshell THERE IS PLENTY OF CHOICE OUT THERE - NOBODY IS RESTRICTED TO RADIO 2 - IF YOU DON'T LIKE SOMETHING DON'T LISTEN TO IT!
There is no need to shout..............................
It's more that you don't understand what I and many people on here are saying about there being no station for listeners who like music from the 40s and 50s.
I have to agree with Helen on this subject, Shaky Fan.
Radio 2 really should be for an older audience who like an easier listening style of music.
There are loads of stations banging out mindless dance music, chart stuff and rap music, why shouldn't the BBC cater for people who like music of a different ilk?
I've never understood the idea that an audience will die off either, I find as you get older you appreciate good music regardless of when it was made.
I didn't really get into music till the 80's as I was born in 67 but I love tunes now from the 40's onwards, music should never be segregated in my opinion.
I really like music from now as well, but all Radio 2 seem to want to play at the moment is X Factor contestants, or mainly artists that are in their 20's which don't appeal to me much.
I think Radio 2 should step back a fraction and stop forgetting that older people do enjoy music too.
Instead of playing Marcus Collins four times a day, five days a week, they could play him twice a day with maybe a Sinatra song and a song by The Jam, or a Doris Day song and a song by Donovan etc etc.
You have to give some of us who aren't teenagers something to listen to on a station which is designed to cater for us.
Last edited by gazmando on Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
Of course there are other stations for older listeners to tune into but the vast majority are filled with very regular advertising breaks and many former Radio 2 listeners think (quite naturally) why they should have to endure the delights of commercial radio when there is an advert free station which should be catering for their needs rather than simply turning itself into a pension plan for presenters who were mediocre even in their Radio One days
I enjoy listening to The Golden Hour and the Double Top Twenty Show on Smooth but it's very noticable just how few tracks they manage to fit into one hour because of all the advert breaks
There have been some good presenters who have made the transition sucessfully in recent years including I have to agree Steve Lamacq but Dave Pearce, give me strength - I wouldn't even engage him to present at my local music pub
That could be because there is very little call for it, as an all-day thing.
Saga was the nearest, playing 50s onwards (my mum liked that), but it proved not to be commercially viable because audiences were too small. Now, I like 40s and 50s music as much as almost anything but I believe it would be wrong for the licence fee payers money to be spent to support a service which very few of them actually want.
I am more than happy for the existing provision in the evenings to carry on ad infinitum - I enjoy them when I can get to listen - but at other times I do not expect the nation's best and most popular radio station to play Mario Lanza, Mantovani, Al Martino etc.
Radio 1 is being realigned to attract a younger audience, ages 15-29 which, if you think about it, is no different to how it started out in 1967. It hardly sits well with that sort of demographic if your presenters are old enough to be the audience's parents so, just as most of the current band of Radio 2 heroes used to be on Radio 1 in the 1970s/80s, it will be only natural for some current Radio 1 names to make the same journey. I know it's a bitter pill for some to swallow, and at the moment I struggle to see where the likes of Moyles and Cotton will end up, but it's a simple matter of evolution.
They used to do it Gazmando and it wasn't all that long ago. I don't see why they can't do it now and during the daytime. It's down to the producers who are mostly in their 20s so couldn't hope to have the musical knowledge to mix up the genres a bit.
As you say 99% of other radio stations cater for the Xfactor brigade so having one for other type of music isn't that much to ask for IMHO.
Last edited by Helen May on Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
I agree with you up to a point Ron but the fact is that it simply never has been automatic for former big named presenters on Radio One to get a slot on Radio Two
What about the likes of DLT, Simon Bates, Bruno Brookes and Gary Davies all big names and very competent presenters none of whom were ever given the chance of making the transition in the direction of Radio Two?
I don't think the whole thing has much to do with talent - it's more to do with whether the Controller happens to like you
Well DLT and Bates fell out with management, so they were never likely to get a phone call from R2. Dunno about Brookes and Davies but I'd rather have Smashie and Nicey.
You're right that some current R1 presenters won't sit well on 2 - we're a long way yet from having the sort of music policy which Radio 1 has had for the last ten years. We've already had a taste of Trevor Nelson, Steve Lamacq, Sara Cox - they're hardly rebel rousers. Scott Mills, Reggie Yates aren't bad. Even Chris Moyles, if he could just shut up and play some music.
In ten years time I would be surprised if we don't see at least half of them on Radio 2 during the day.
The more I see of these "names" and, unfortunately hearing them sometimes, the less important Radio 2 gets for me.
Bland presenters and mostly bland music of today.. thank heavens for internet radio!
Hopefully by then Ron the present economic crisis will be over and we might have a Radio 2 Extra - and perhaps even a Radio One Extra
Failing that I think it might turn out to be a plan to reduce the population because so many people will be topping themselves
It's a very attractive option rather than being tortured with the likes of Scott Mills or Chris Moyles
Just in case anyone should get the wrong idea, I am quite happy with most of Radio 2's current presenters, although if I listened to JV and SW very often I would end up throwing bricks. The choice of music played is not their fault - I swear that Gary Bones was taking the pi**, really, today for an hour after Popmaster.
ruddlescat wrote:
Radio 1 extra already exists! I would support the idea of a radio 2 extra provided it was a 'shouter-free zone' and brings back those presenters that we used to enjoy, that Lesley Douglas unceremoniously dumped in her version of 'the night of the long knives'.
Sorry about that - I should have remembered about Radio One Extra - it doesn't really serve the gap between Radio One and Radio Two though - from what I know I think it just plays minority rap type music which you might easily hear on Radio One anyway
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 2:35 pm Post subject:
What an interesting discussion.... lot's of thoughts along the lines that I've had conversations on for years....
Basically, the conclusion seems to be that as the years go by, the remit (or target audience) for Radio 2 gets stretched into something bigger and bigger, and the struggle to cover all the bases gets more and more impossible. Radio 1 sticks to the teenagers, Radio 3 sticks to classical, and Radio 2 is left to hop around trying frantically to cover every other style of music and every other age-group. Impossible.
I am quite happy with most of Radio 2's current presenters, although if I listened to JV and SW very often I would end up throwing bricks. The choice of music played is not their fault - I swear that Gary Bones was taking the pi**, really, today for an hour after Popmaster.
so am I except for Vanessa, CE breakfast, Gary bones music on KB, JV, SW is a bit dull and repetitive and so is the drivetime show.... (thats' most of the daytime then )
and the evenings are better except for Jo W and Claudia
Nod I don't think Gary Bones must do the music for JV these days.
A couple of weeks ago I heard JV say with a reference to the TOTP 77 shows on TV which he'd been watching, that he'd Tweeted the guy who does the music for the radio show to say 'we must play this tomorrow'. I expected to hear him say Gary but I think he said his name was Michael.
Gary's the big boss, isn't he though? When he became Ken's producer he was specifically told to make the whole station's playlist more predictable and blander (but probably not in those words).
Yes he is Executive Producer as Ken says at the end of the show, but I don't expect that means he does every show's music. When I was last there he told BDG and I that JV himself had asked him to do his music.
I would guess he has other things to do since his promotion. I was only repeating what JV said a few week's ago on air.
I think KB's show is produced by Gary Bones and Michael Tester, at least that's what I think he announces after every Friday programme.
Hopefully Tester's tastes are a bit better than the bland, cheesy drivel chosen by Bones.
Helen: out of interest, the song JV referred to was They Shoot Horses Don't They, by Racing Cars, from February 1977.
Thanks I couldn't remember the song!
I got the impression from when I met Gary that the JV show has always had someone not from within their small team to choose the music. I suppose they concentrate on the news stories of the day.
Yes he is Executive Producer as Ken says at the end of the show, but I don't expect that means he does every show's music.
No, he doesn't do every show's music (that's why the shows not directly produced by him actually have some variation now and then) but he's the one who sets the policy of what generally gets played or doesn't.
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Home GeneCology Research Centre Research Publications A convenient new analysis of dihydroxyacetone and methylglyoxal applied to Australian Leptospermum honeys
PDF - Published Version (Open Access) 240 KB Adobe Acrobat PDF Download
PDF - Published Version (Open Access)
A convenient new analysis of dihydroxyacetone and methylglyoxal applied to Australian Leptospermum honeys
Windsor, S | Pappalardo, M | Brooks, P R | Williams, Simon | Manley-Harris, M
New Zealand mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey is known to exhibit non-peroxide antibacterial activity caused by the active ingredient methylglyoxal which arises by chemical conversion of dihydroxyacetone during honey maturation. This study determines whether methylglyoxal and dihydroxyacetone are present in Australian Leptospermum honeys. This research developed a rapid and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the concurrent analysis of methylglyoxal and dihydroxyacetone in honeys. Both compounds were quantified as their O-(2, 3, 4, 5, 6-pentafluorobenzyl) hydroxylamine. HCl derivatives on single run reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. Four species of monofloral Leptospermum honeys sourced from Northern Rivers Region, New South Wales, Australia contained methylglyoxal and dihydroxyacetone. The highest methylglyoxal concentrations were found in Leptospermum polygalifolium honeys.
Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy / Vol. 4, No. 1, pp.6-11
http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JPP11.025
FoR 1104 (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) | high-performance liquid chromatography | dihydroxyacetone | methylglyoxal | Leptospermum | honey | manuka
Copyright © 2012 Academic Journals. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
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Separate ways
While we are often told that food has been the saviour of the pub trade, I am more and more coming to believe that it has ruined it. The original purpose of a pub was a place where people could meet and socialise over a few drinks. If they wanted a sit-down meal outside the house, they would go to a café or restaurant. Back when I started drinking in the 1970s, this remained very much the case. Many pubs served food, but it was generally very much a sideline and often confined to sandwiches and snacks. Looking back, it is surprising how many of the high-profile rural destination pubs did not serve evening food at all.
In the mid-1980s, my local pub offered no food on Sunday lunchtimes, and was packed throughout the two-hour session from 12 to 2. Now it’s open all day, majors on set Sunday lunches, and sees fewer customers overall and certainly far fewer casual drinkers.
More and more, pubs have expanded their food trade in an attempt to develop their business. In the process they have encroached on the territory of dedicated restaurants and increasingly sacrificed their original character as pubs. We are left with a strange hybrid kind of business that may superficially resemble a pub but in reality is just a second-rate dining outlet. And of course with food comes “family dining”, and places where you could once enjoy a quiet pint have become infested with howling infants.
I can’t help thinking that it would have been better if pubs and restaurants had gone their separate ways, which would leave us with much more welcoming and convivial pubs, albeit perhaps fewer in numbers, and a better everyday dining experience too. This, of course, is something that remains the situation in many Continental countries.
As I’ve said before, it’s an increasingly rare experience, and one that is to be savoured, to come across a proper pub ticking over nicely and doing what it’s supposed to.
Smoking licences petition
Bouncing downhill
Feeling the draught
The revolution has been cancelled
A pint and a half, Sir? You're nicked!
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City of Ember - review
8:05 pm 23 April 2015
“Father," said Doon as they hurried along, "the mayor is a fool, don't you think?"
For a moment his father didn't answer. Then he said, "He's in a tough spot, son. What would you have him do?"
"Not lie, at least," Doon said. "If he really has a solution, he should have told us. He shouldn't pretend he has solutions when he doesn't."
Doon's father smiled. "That would be a good start," he agreed.”
-from the book
Lina & Doon are in the same class at school. When the students turn 12, they pick a job out of a hat. When Lina draws Pipeworks laborer, she is very upset. She does not want to be underground all day. Doon draws messenger and asks Lina to trade. He wants to work with the generator to try to figure out how to fix things. See, the only light in Ember comes from the streetlights, the generator is failing and the city of Ember is running low on supplies. When the Builders built Ember, they left instructions in a locked box, with a timer, designed to open at the right time. But, over the years, the box has been misplaced. When Lina's little sister, Poppy finds the Instructions, she chews on the paper and by the time Lina gets to it, well, most of the words and letters are missing. Trying to figure out the puzzle leads Lina and Doon on an adventure.
I think I would describe this book as just ok. I definitely didn't love it. The world building was tedious and did not hold my attention at all. It took so long for Lina to discover that there was a puzzle to solve and then to figure something out. It seemed like it took forever for them to find the door. Then I was excited to see them figure out the backstory. Why were they all brought to Ember, many generations ago? Where exactly is Ember? What major event made the Builders decided to build Ember?
Well, when the end came, I have to say it was disappointing. I felt like the author really let me down. If there had been a really cool explanation or backstory, maybe I would have read the next book in the series. But, there wasn't, so I'm done. My 11-year old son wasn't thrilled with the book either. At first he said he liked it, but I think he just didn't want to disappoint me. By the last quarter of the book, even he admitted it was boring.
I guess if you go into the book knowing that the escape is the end and there is no backstory or big reveal, then you might like it. Or maybe I just missed the whole point?
Adventure middle grade Read 2015
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Arrest Logs
Paul Gullixson
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PD Preps
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49ers Blog
Bob Padecky
Lowell Cohn
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Gas Card Contest Rules SonomaPets 2011-04-04T07:44:07-08:00
OFFICIAL RULES FOR SKILL PROMOTIONS
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ONE (1) Grand Prize winner will receive a $50 gas card. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received during the entire Promotion Period. Total Retail Value of Grand Prize(s): $50.
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The acceptability and feasibility of implementing a bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool for sexually transmitted infections in England: mixed-methods study
JMIR Public Health Surveillance, 2018; 4, 4(2):e52 (doi:10.2196/publichealth.9010).
Authors: Sonali Wayal, David Reid, Paula B. Blomquist, Peter Weatherburn, Catherine H. Mercer, Gwenda Hughes
Background: Sexually transmitted infection (STI) surveillance is vital for tracking the scale and pattern of epidemics; however, it often lacks data on the underlying drivers of STIs.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the acceptability and feasibility of implementing a bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool, comprising a self-administered Web-based survey among sexual health clinic attendees, as well as linking this to their electronic health records (EHR) held in England's national STI surveillance system.
Methods: Staff from 19 purposively selected sexual health clinics across England and men who have sex with men and black Caribbeans, because of high STI burden among these groups, were interviewed to assess the acceptability of the proposed bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool. Subsequently, sexual health clinic staff invited all attendees to complete a Web-based survey on drivers of STI risk using a study tablet or participants' own digital device. They recorded the number of attendees invited and participants' clinic numbers, which were used to link survey data to the EHR. Participants' online consent was obtained, separately for survey participation and linkage. In postimplementation phase, sexual health clinic staff were reinterviewed to assess the feasibility of implementing the bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool. Acceptability and feasibility of implementing the bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool were assessed by analyzing these qualitative and quantitative data.
Results: Prior to implementation of the bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool, sexual health clinic staff and attendees emphasized the importance of free internet/Wi-Fi access, confidentiality, and anonymity for increasing the acceptability of the bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool among attendees. Implementation of the bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool across sexual health clinics varied considerably and was influenced by sexual health clinics' culture of prioritization of research and innovation and availability of resources for implementing the surveys. Of the 7367 attendees invited, 85.28% (6283) agreed to participate. Of these, 72.97% (4585/6283) consented to participate in the survey, and 70.62% (4437/6283) were eligible and completed it. Of these, 91.19% (4046/4437) consented to EHR linkage, which did not differ by age or gender but was higher among gay/bisexual men than heterosexual men (95.50%, 722/756 vs 88.31%, 1073/1215; P<.003) and lower among black Caribbeans than white participants (87.25%, 568/651 vs 93.89%, 2181/2323; P<.002). Linkage was achieved for 88.88% (3596/4046) of consenting participants.
Concusions: Implementing a bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tool in sexual health clinics was feasible and acceptable to staff and groups at STI risk; however, ensuring participants' confidentiality and anonymity and availability of resources is vital. Bio-behavioral enhanced surveillance tools could enable timely collection of detailed behavioral data for effective commissioning of sexual health services.
Keywords: Web-based survey; electronic health records; feasibility studies; public health surveillance; sexually transmitted diseases.
© Sonali Wayal, David Reid, Paula B. Blomquist, Peter Weatherburn, Catherine H. Mercer, Gwenda Hughes.
Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 04.05.2018.
Tagged under: Research methods, HIV policy and practice, Evaluation, All gay & bisexual men, All African people in the UK
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Joseph I. Zumpano: Healthcare, International
Contact Joseph I. Zumpano
Zumpano Patricios
312 Minorca Ave.
Healthcare, International
As president and managing shareholder, Joseph I. Zumpano founded the firm in 2003 and has overseen its growth from Miami, to Chicago and Salt Lake City, as well as satellite arrangements in 16 countries. Zumpano’s practice focuses on major litigation and arbitration matters, including the representation of large hospital systems, and other health care providers, in multi-million dollar disputes with managed care payors, as well as disputes between healthcare providers. Zumpano has architected and argued cases which have resulted in the recovery of over $250 million to the benefit of healthcare providers. Zumpano has also led a number of significant international litigation efforts, including the historic case of Weininger v. Castro, in which almost $24 million was collected in a lawsuit against Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, and the Army of Cuba. The lawsuit and the successful collection effort received national and international press coverage. Zumpano’s experience in recovering funds in cross-border disputes also includes representation of a client in the successful piercing of a Bahamian Trust. Zumpano led the multi-jurisdictional effort against the defendants and the court ordered the turnover of approximately $4 million in assets. In another recent historic case, Zumpano tried and obtained a $191.4 million judgment (against the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional and the Norte de Valle Cartel) on behalf of the son of a former Colombian Senator and Ambassador to the United Nations. Zumpano and his team recovered almost $1 million in funds from a money laundering operation of a Mexican cartel that was an agent and instrumentality of the defendants in the case. To the firm’s knowledge, it is the first time in U.S. history that a terror victim has recovered from a Mexican cartel under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. Zumpano earned a BA from Harvard University and a dual degree in law and public health from Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University.
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Sunday 19 January 2020 - 19:03
About SDC
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Article (146): Membership in More than One Board of Directors
Any person is entitled, in his personal capacity, to be a member of the Board of a maximum of three Public Shareholding Companies concurrently. A person is also entitled to represent a corporate body in the Board of Directors of three Public Shareholding Companies at most. In all events, the said person is not entitled to be a member of the Board of Directors of more than five Public Shareholding Companies in his personal capacity in some, and as a representative of a corporate body in the others. Any membership in a Board of Directors of a Public Shareholding Company obtained by such person contrary to the provisions of this paragraph, shall by the force of Law, be considered null and void.
Each candidate nominated for membership of the Board of Directors of a Public Shareholding Company shall notify the Controller in writing of the names of the companies in which he is a member in the Boards of Directors therein.
No person may nominate himself for the membership of a Board of Directors of a Public Shareholding Company in his personal capacity or as a representative of a corporate body if the number of his memberships equals the number stipulated in paragraph (a) of this Article. However, he is permitted to resign from any membership within two weeks from the date of his new membership nomination, provided that he may not attend the meetings of the Board of Directors of the Company to which he was elected a member, prior to rectifying his position in accordance to the provisions of this article.
Article (150) :
The Members shall adjust their situation in accordance with these Instructions including depositing securities by virtue of the decisions issued by the Board of Directors for this purpose.
Article (60): Company Management
The Company shall be managed by a manager or Management Committee whose members shall not be less than two and not more than seven, whether they are shareholders or others, in accordance with the Company's Memorandum of Association for a period of four years. The Memorandum may provide for a shorter period. The Management Committee shall elect a chairman, a deputy chairman and those authorized to sign on behalf of the Company.
The manager of the Limited Liability Company or its Management Committee shall have full power to manage the Company within the limits specified by its Memorandum of Association. Transactions and actions realized or exercised by the manager or Management Committee in the name of the Company shall be binding on the Company before others dealing with the company in good faith, irrespective of any restriction stipulated in the Company's Articles or Memorandum of Association.
Others dealing with the Company shall be considered bona fide unless the contrary is proven. However, others shall not be obligated to ascertain that there is any restriction on the powers of the managers or the Management Committee in their power to bind the Company under its Articles or Memorandum of Association.
Article (135) Government and Official Corporations’ Representation in the Board of Directors
A- 1.
Should the Government or any official public corporation or any public corporate body subscribe in a Public Shareholding Company, then they shall be entitled to be represented on its Board of Directors, by a number in proportion to their subscription proportion in the Company capital if that proportion entitles it for one or more memberships in the Board, and in this case it shall not participate in the election of other Board members. If their subscription is less than the percentage that grants them membership in the Board than they shall use their nomination right and participate in electing the members of this Board just like any other shareholder, and the person representing any of same on the Board shall enjoy all the membership rights and bear its responsibilities. It is not permitted, in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph, to appoint one member on more than one Board of Directors of two companies in which the Government or official public corporation or public corporate body is a subscriber therein, including Arab and foreign companies, or companies that an official public corporation or public corporate body is a subscriber therein
If, and in any event, a representative of the Government or an official public corporation or public corporate body is appointed in more than two Companies' Board of Directors, then he shall be obligated under legal and disciplinary liability to correct his position during a period that does not exceed a month, in accordance with the provisions of clause (1) of this paragraph, by notifying the specialized body he represents in order for it to appoint a replacement in the company in which he relinquished his membership, and shall notify the Controller thereof. This provision is applicable to all existing cases upon this Law coming into force.
The membership of the representative of the Government or the official corporation or the other public corporate bodies in the Board of Directors of the Public Shareholding Company shall continue for the term determined for the Board. The party that appointed the said representative shall have the right to appoint another person to replace him, at any time, for the remaining period of his predecessor’s term in the Board, or to delegate someone to temporarily replace him in the event of his illness or absence, provided that the Company is informed in writing in both situations.
Should the member who represents the Government or the official public corporation or any public corporate body submit his resignation from the Company's Board of Directors, his resignation shall be accepted, and the entity whom he represented must appoint a new representative to replace him.
Provisions relating to the appointment of a Government representative on the Board of Directors of Public Shareholding Companies shall be determined in accordance with the Jordan Investment Corporation Law and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, and any other legislation that amends or replaces the said Law.
The provision of this Article shall apply to non-Jordanian governments and public corporate bodies when subscribing to the capitals of Jordanian companies.
Article (136): The Representation of a Corporate Body
If a corporate body, other than public corporate bodies referred to in Article (135) of this Law is a shareholder in a Public Shareholding Company, then it may be nominated for a number of seats in the Board of Directors in proportion to its shareholding in the Company's capital. In event of its election it shall name a natural person to represent it in the Board of Directors within ten days of the date of its election, provided that the appointee holds the membership conditions and qualifications stipulated in this Law with the exception to his ownership of the Board of Directors’ qualifying shares. A corporate body is deemed to have lost its membership if it fails to name its representative within a month of its election. The corporate body may also replace its representative with another natural person during the Board's duration.
Resultant of trades
No. of Management Committee Incomplete
Article (133): Shares whose Ownership is Necessary for the Nomination for the Board Membership
The Public Shareholding Company's Memorandum of Association shall specify the number of shares which must be held by a member to qualify for nomination as a member of the Board of Directors, and to retain his position as a member therein. Those shares should not be attached, mortgaged or under any other lien which prevents their unrestricted disposal. The restriction provided for in Article (100) of this Law, regarding prohibiting the disposal of founding shares, shall be excluded from this provision.
The qualifying number of shares for membership on the Board of Directors shall continue to be attached as long as the owner of such shares is a member of the Board of Directors and for a further period of six months following the expiry date of his term therein. Such shares may not be negotiated during that period. To that end the shares shall be marked as attached shares and a reference to this effect shall be made in the shareholders register. Such an attachment is made as a security for the Company's interest and to guarantee the obligations and responsibilities of that member and the Board of Directors.
Any member of the Board of Directors of a Public Shareholding Company shall be automatically abated from his term of office if, for any reason whatsoever, the number of shares that he should own decreases to less than the number of shares which he should be an owner of pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Article, or if an attachment has been levied upon the shares pursuant to a final Court decision, or it they have been mortgaged during his term of office, unless he completes the shares which have been decreased from the shares which qualify him for such term in the Board within a period that does not exceed thirty days. Such shareholder may not attend any of the Board’s meetings during the period in which the decrease of his shares occurs.
Article (95): Fixing the Company's Capital and Duration of Paying the Unsubscribed Part
The authorized capital of the Public Shareholding Company and the subscribed part shall be fixed in Jordanian Dinars and shall be divided into nominal shares at a par-value of one Dinar each, provided that the authorized capital shall not be less than five hundred thousand (500,000) Dinars and the subscribed capital shall not be less than one hundred thousand (100,000) Dinars or twenty percent (20%) of the authorized capital, whichever is greater.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph (d) of this Article, the un-subscribed capital shall be paid within three years of the date of the Company's founding or the increase of the capital, as the case may be. In the event of default in payment of the un-subscribed capital within the said period, the following should be observed
If the subscribed capital exceeds five hundred thousand (500,000) Dinars at the end of the period, the authorized capital of the Company shall be become its actual subscribed capital.
If the subscribed capital is less than five hundred thousand (500,000) Dinars at the end of the period, the Controller shall issue a warning to the Company to pay the necessary difference in the amount with the effect that the actual subscribed capital of the Company becomes five hundred thousand (500,000) Dinars within thirty days from the date the notice is served to the Company. Should the Company fail to do so, the Controller shall have the right to request the Court to liquidate the Company in accordance with the provisions of Article (266) of this Law.
The Company's Board of Directors may re-issue the un-subscribed shares of the authorized capital of the Company as the Company's interests may warrant, and at the value which is deemed proper by the Board, whether such value is equivalent to the nominal value of the share, or higher or lower than it, provided that such shares shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of the applicable regulations and legislations in force.
The Board of Directors of the Public Shareholding Company shall obtain the approval of the extraordinary General Assembly in the event that the un-subscribed shares are covered by any of the following methods:
Incorporating the voluntary reserve into the Company's capital;
Capitalization of the Company's debts or any part thereof provided that the creditors of these debts consent thereto in writing;
Conversion of convertible bonds into shares in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
It shall be permissible by a decision of the General Assembly in accordance with rules set by same for this purpose to allocate a part of the Company's un-subscribed capital as an incentive to the Company's employees. In such a case, this part may continue to be offered to them for a period that does not exceed four years as of the date of the Company's registration or the increase in its capital, as the case may be.
The Board of Directors may issue shares as provided for by the provisions of the Securities Law in force.
Article (132): The Board of Directors
The management of a Public Shareholding Company is entrusted to a Board of Directors whose members shall not be less than three and not more than thirteen as determined by the Company's Memorandum of Association. The members of the Board shall be elected by the Company's General Assembly by means of a secret ballot in accordance with the provisions of this Law. The Board of Directors shall undertake the management of the Company for four years as from the date of its election.
The Board of Directors shall invite the Company's General Assembly to meet during the last three months of its term, in order to elect a new Board of Directors to replace it as of the date of its election, provided that the Board continues to manage the affairs of the Company until the new Board is elected if its election is delayed for any reason whatsoever. The delay in this case should not exceed three months from the expiry date of the term of the existing Board whatever the case maybe.
Article (60) : Company Management
Article (167):
Should the chairman of the Board of Directors of a Public Shareholding Company, or any of its members, submit their resignation, or should the Board cease to have legal quorum due to the resignation of a number of its members, and if the General Assembly fails to elect a Board of Directors for the Company, the Minister shall upon a recommendation of the Controller, form a temporary committee composed of any number of experienced and specialized persons which he deems appropriate. The Minister shall appoint from amongst the members of the committee a chairman and a deputy in order to assume the management to the Company. He shall also invite the General Assembly to meet within a period not exceeding six months from the date of the formation of the committee, in order to elect a new Board of Directors for the Company. The chairman of the committee and its members shall be granted remuneration at the expense of the Company in accordance with what is determined by the Minister.
Article (167) The Right of the Minister to Form a Committee to Manage the Company upon the Resignation of the Board of Directors’ Chairman and Members
The provisions of paragraph (a) of this Article shall apply to Banks, financial services companies and insurance companies, after seeking the opinion of the Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, the Securities Commission and the Insurance Regulatory Commission, as the case may be.
Article (168) Notification of the Controller of Occurrence of a Serious Loss to the Company and Right of Minster to Dissolve the Board
The chairman of the Board of Directors, any members thereof, its general manager or its auditors shall notify the Controller of the occurrence of any financial or administrative disorders or serious losses which affect the rights of the Company's shareholders or creditors. The Controller shall also be notified if the Company Board of Directors, or any member thereof, or its general manager exploit their powers and position in any manner that achieves for their or another’s account any benefit in an illegitimate manner. This provision shall apply in case any of same abstain from work which the Law stipulates its implementation or the completion of any practice pertaining to fraud or considered embezzlement, forgery or breach of trust in a manner that affects the rights of the Company and its shareholders. Failure to do so by any of the aforesaid shall subject them to ommisive liability.
The Minister shall, in any of these cases and upon the recommendation of the Controller, after ascertaining the correctness of the notification, dissolve the Company's Board of Directors and form a committee of any number, which he deems appropriate, of experienced and specialized persons to manage the Company for a period of six months renewable twice at most and shall appoint a chairman and a deputy chairman from amongst its members. In this case, the committee shall invite the General Assembly during that period to elect a new Board of Directors for the Company. The chairman and members of the committee shall be granted remuneration, at the Company's expense, as shall be determined by the Minister.
The provisions of this Article shall apply to Limited Liability Companies and Private Shareholding Companies in any case approved by the Council of Ministers upon the recommendation of the Minist.
Last update on Sunday 19-01-2020 at 15:34:53
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