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Command Center Associate in Gurnee, Illinois.
First Name f3a84360
Last Name 33bafaab
Email bdf1ea8d
35c8dafc Email me about jobs like this
Gurnee | Illinois | United States | 60031
This position is responsible for greeting customers and managing the customer storage pick-up process.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Meet and greet storage buy customers.
Manage the storage buy pick-up process with the company’s car topper program.
Demonstrate knowledge and comply with the company’s phone answering standard operating procedures (SOP).
Verify the identity of the person picking up the storage buy order(s) to ensure he/she is authorized to do so.
Obtain the required customer information on all storage buy pick-ups.
Deliver customer storage buy orders in POS.
Comply with the company’s safety standard operating procedures for lifting practices.
Be an expert in all product knowledge and assist customers with product questions and selections.
Clean and stock products according to Floor & Décor’s brand standards.
Act and work in a manner that is consistent with the company’s core roles.
(1) year of retail sales experience required or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to perform the essential functions of the job, as determined by the company.
Excellent communication skills (verbal and written).
Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work with all levels of store management and store associates.
Strong computer skills and internet project coordination experience.
Must be a self-starter and work well in a fast-paced environment.
NOTE: All duties and responsibilities listed are considered to be essential job functions and requirements, and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. Marginal functions of the position (those that are incidental to the performance of fundamental job duties) have not been included. However, the omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or logical assignment to the position.
This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and the employee, and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the business and requirement of the job change.
Gurnee Illinois United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States, 60031 Store Operations Store Operations
Gurnee Illinois United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States, 60031 Warehouse Warehouse
Gurnee Illinois United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States, 60031 Store Operations Specialist Store Operations Specialist
Gurnee Illinois United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States, 60031 Customer Service Customer Service
Gurnee Illinois United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States, 60031 Store Sales Specialist Store Sales Specialist
Wood Department Manager
Gurnee Illinois United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States, 60031 Store Sales Store Sales
It’s great being part of a culture where entrepreneurship and team spirit are not just buzzwords. If you love working with a great group of people and desire the opportunity to grow, this is the place for you. PURPOSEResponsible for achieving sal...
First Name c3db2aae
Last Name f0f44ed5
Email 2e7aecb6
Department and Location 96de7451
Departments c6157610 Departments ff1369dd Accounts Payable Admin Commercial Sales Construction Customer Care Operations Customer Care Operations Leadership Customer Care Services Customer Service Design Services Distribution Operations Distribution Warehouse Ecommerce Human Resources Inventory Legal Leadership Marketing Merchandising Pro Services Product Review Store Operations Store Operations Leadership Store Operations Specialist Store Sales Store Sales Specialist Supply Chain Systems Support & Enhancements Talent Technology Treasury Warehouse
Locations 35201b09 Locations f5c01316 Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Alexandria, Virginia, United States Algonquin, Illinois, United States Arlington, Texas, United States Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States Arvada, Colorado, United States Atlanta, Georgia, United States Aurora, Illinois, United States Austin, Texas, United States Avon, Massachusetts, United States Baltimore, Maryland, United States Birmingham, Alabama, United States Bloomingdale, Georgia, United States Boynton Beach, Florida, United States Bridgeton, Missouri, United States Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States Buford, Georgia, United States Burlingame, California, United States Carson, California, United States Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Chicago, Illinois, United States Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Clearwater, Florida, United States Concord, North Carolina, United States Countryside, Illinois, United States Dallas, Texas, United States Denver, Colorado, United States Devon, Pennsylvania, United States Downey, California, United States Draper, Utah, United States El Paso, Texas, United States Essex Fells, New Jersey, United States Everett, Washington, United States Farmingdale, New York, United States Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States Fort Myers, Florida, United States Fort Worth, Texas, United States Fountain Valley, California, United States Fullerton, California, United States Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States Glendale, Arizona, United States Greensboro, North Carolina, United States Gretna, Louisiana, United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States Hampton, Virginia, United States Henderson, Nevada, United States Henrico, Virginia, United States Hilliard, Ohio, United States Hollywood, Florida, United States Houston, Texas, United States Humble, Texas, United States Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Jacksonville, Florida, United States Katy, Texas, United States Kennesaw, Georgia, United States Knoxville, Tennessee, United States La Quinta, California, United States Lakeland, Florida, United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Levittown, Pennsylvania, United States Littleton, Colorado, United States Lombard, Illinois, United States Louisville, Kentucky, United States Marietta, Georgia, United States McDonough, Georgia, United States Memphis, Tennessee, United States Mesa, Arizona, United States Mesquite, Texas, United States Miami, Florida, United States Milpitas, California, United States Mission Viejo, California, United States Moorestown, New Jersey, United States Moreno Valley, California, United States Morrow, Georgia, United States Nashville, Tennessee, United States New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Norco, California, United States North Charleston, South Carolina, United States North Richland Hills, Texas, United States Novi, Michigan, United States Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States Orlando, Florida, United States Overland Park, Kansas, United States Paramus, New Jersey, United States Pasadena, Texas, United States Phoenix, Arizona, United States Plano, Texas, United States Pompano Beach, Florida, United States Port St. Lucie, Florida, United States Reno, Nevada, United States Reynoldsburg, Ohio, United States Riverdale, Utah, United States Rocklin, California, United States Roswell, Georgia, United States Sacramento, California, United States Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States San Antonio, Texas, United States San Diego, California, United States San Gabriel, California, United States Sanford, Florida, United States Santa Ana, California, United States Sarasota, Florida, United States Saugus, Massachusetts, United States Savannah, Georgia, United States Seattle, Washington, United States Skokie, Illinois, United States St. Louis, Missouri, United States Sugar Land, Texas, United States Tampa, Florida, United States Tempe, Arizona, United States The Colony, Texas, United States Thornton, Colorado, United States Tolleson, Arizona, United States Tucson, Arizona, United States Utica, Michigan, United States Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States Wayne, New Jersey, United States West Palm Beach, Florida, United States Wichita, Kansas, United States Woodbridge, Virginia, United States Woodland Hills, California, United States
First Name a8fc1227
Last Name 64550c4f
Email 948a8cca
0ab46ef2 Email me about jobs like this
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Overnight Warehouse Associate in Burlingame, California.
First Name 8294cca2
Last Name 67ab1e22
Email 3a65d602
28c4b4ec Email me about jobs like this
Burlingame | California | United States | 94010
Burlingame California United States Burlingame, California, United States, 94010 Warehouse Warehouse
Milpitas California United States Milpitas, California, United States, 95035 Store Operations Store Operations
Display Builder
Milpitas California United States Milpitas, California, United States, 95035 Store Operations Specialist Store Operations Specialist
First Name cd01ceda
Last Name b67a3c7c
Email 902f9603
Department and Location 8c5ebadc
Departments 6025a574 Departments 89c39d4f Accounts Payable Admin Commercial Sales Construction Customer Care Operations Customer Care Operations Leadership Customer Care Services Customer Service Design Services Distribution Operations Distribution Warehouse Ecommerce Human Resources Inventory Legal Leadership Marketing Merchandising Pro Services Product Review Store Operations Store Operations Leadership Store Operations Specialist Store Sales Store Sales Specialist Supply Chain Systems Support & Enhancements Talent Technology Treasury Warehouse
Locations 864c5be5 Locations e29eef38 Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Alexandria, Virginia, United States Algonquin, Illinois, United States Arlington, Texas, United States Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States Arvada, Colorado, United States Atlanta, Georgia, United States Aurora, Illinois, United States Austin, Texas, United States Avon, Massachusetts, United States Baltimore, Maryland, United States Birmingham, Alabama, United States Bloomingdale, Georgia, United States Boynton Beach, Florida, United States Bridgeton, Missouri, United States Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States Buford, Georgia, United States Burlingame, California, United States Carson, California, United States Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Chicago, Illinois, United States Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Clearwater, Florida, United States Concord, North Carolina, United States Countryside, Illinois, United States Dallas, Texas, United States Denver, Colorado, United States Devon, Pennsylvania, United States Downey, California, United States Draper, Utah, United States El Paso, Texas, United States Essex Fells, New Jersey, United States Everett, Washington, United States Farmingdale, New York, United States Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States Fort Myers, Florida, United States Fort Worth, Texas, United States Fountain Valley, California, United States Fullerton, California, United States Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States Glendale, Arizona, United States Greensboro, North Carolina, United States Gretna, Louisiana, United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States Hampton, Virginia, United States Henderson, Nevada, United States Henrico, Virginia, United States Hilliard, Ohio, United States Hollywood, Florida, United States Houston, Texas, United States Humble, Texas, United States Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Jacksonville, Florida, United States Katy, Texas, United States Kennesaw, Georgia, United States Knoxville, Tennessee, United States La Quinta, California, United States Lakeland, Florida, United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Levittown, Pennsylvania, United States Littleton, Colorado, United States Lombard, Illinois, United States Louisville, Kentucky, United States Marietta, Georgia, United States McDonough, Georgia, United States Memphis, Tennessee, United States Mesa, Arizona, United States Mesquite, Texas, United States Miami, Florida, United States Milpitas, California, United States Mission Viejo, California, United States Moorestown, New Jersey, United States Moreno Valley, California, United States Morrow, Georgia, United States Nashville, Tennessee, United States New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Norco, California, United States North Charleston, South Carolina, United States North Richland Hills, Texas, United States Novi, Michigan, United States Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States Orlando, Florida, United States Overland Park, Kansas, United States Paramus, New Jersey, United States Pasadena, Texas, United States Phoenix, Arizona, United States Plano, Texas, United States Pompano Beach, Florida, United States Port St. Lucie, Florida, United States Reno, Nevada, United States Reynoldsburg, Ohio, United States Riverdale, Utah, United States Rocklin, California, United States Roswell, Georgia, United States Sacramento, California, United States Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States San Antonio, Texas, United States San Diego, California, United States San Gabriel, California, United States Sanford, Florida, United States Santa Ana, California, United States Sarasota, Florida, United States Saugus, Massachusetts, United States Savannah, Georgia, United States Seattle, Washington, United States Skokie, Illinois, United States St. Louis, Missouri, United States Sugar Land, Texas, United States Tampa, Florida, United States Tempe, Arizona, United States The Colony, Texas, United States Thornton, Colorado, United States Tolleson, Arizona, United States Tucson, Arizona, United States Utica, Michigan, United States Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States Wayne, New Jersey, United States West Palm Beach, Florida, United States Wichita, Kansas, United States Woodbridge, Virginia, United States Woodland Hills, California, United States
First Name 9a6a036a
Last Name b23393f3
Email 82ce991d
7ca77581 Email me about jobs like this
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WHEN DID GHANA GO TO THE DOGS? Literary review of Ayi Kweih Armah’s, The Beautyful ones are not yet born (1) of (3)
19 January, 2017 Carlos Battaglini
Reviews | African literature
The Beautyful ones are not yet born by Ayi-Kweih-Armah is a novel that tells the story of a railway traffic control clerk in Ghana, who is disenchanted with life and the course of events in his country. The main character remains nameless, as Armah simply refers to him as ‘the man”. He feels very lonely and misunderstood and finds it increasingly difficult to live in his own country, on his own continent.
He has to hold out against the pressures of his ambitious wife and mother-in-law, who can’t quite grasp why the man refuses to accept a bribe from a timberman (they aspire to enter the system and become rich the quick way). The man goes through life unmotivated and only able to find peace in his walks and with his only friend, Teacher. Teacher is a man who walks around his home naked. He left society behind a long time ago and took refuge in his books, in contemplation and in his bohemian lifestyle. Teacher makes astute reflections on life, however, in his own words, he is still not happy. He feels trapped.
The man feels overwhelmed by so much corruption, which is embodied in Koomson, an old school friend who chose to fall into line and is now a Minister in Nkrumah’s government, a government that is purportedly socialist, but in practice it turns out to be more of the same.
Koomson, just like all other corrupt officials (after all, he who does not steal in Ghana and in Africa is plain stupid), sets an example in Oyo’s mind (the man’s wife), and in the mother-in-law’s, who insist that the man should take advantage of all possible means, be they illicit or not, to get rich and become someone of importance. Regarding Oyo, Teacher even goes as far as saying to the man that he will have to leave her to enjoy her own sadness, unless he is willing to destroy himself to feed her desires.
The pressure to become corrupt continues to mount, but the man refuses to capitulate. Despite feeling immense pain at such refusal, and having a guilty conscience as his values are turned upside down, he hears voices whispering to him stipulating that it is wrong not to steal.
The truth of the matter is that the man feels awful at having to take such ‘honest’ decisions, as they contradict the general trend that applauds corruption. Corruption is ever present in society, that even if you wanted to pursue corrupted officials so as to convey an image of public honesty, the investigation committee would be set up by the corrupted officials themselves, along with the ‘transparent’ structures needed to save themselves.
That’s what makes it so hard to live in a country, on a continent, where most people aspire to live like the very recent white rulers (or executioners, depending on which way you look at things). In fact, according to the narrator, Ghanaians did not feel hate towards white man, or a desire for revenge or something along those lines, but rather, Ghanaians really and truly felt love for white man. The black man loves white man (who is still somewhat in control) although the black man actually needs to find his own solutions himself (according to the narrator).
One aspect that is not explicitly pointed out, although it does seem quite evident, is that most events in the novel take place during Nkrumah’s coming to power and the ensuing collapse of his government and thus in the midst of euphoria following African independence in the 1960s, recently freed from white colonial yoke. At times, the man himself also gets carried away by the wave of hope that spreads across the continent and across Ghana.
He joins one rally or another and he even cheers on the leader. However, deception and disappointment soon creep in, engulfing the man with such depressive thoughts that he finds himself anchored in absolute pessimism. There is no solution, there is no hope – all is lost. Ghana, Africa is cursed by disastrous leaders and misses out on one chance after the other to get out of this rut and use its resources to its advantage, once and for all. All hope is lost.
Melancholy and sadness make up the narrative thread in this novel. The man is not the only one to experience this frustration; some friends join him in taking refuge in marihuana and a bohemian lifestyle so as to escape the heavy burden reality.
War is also mentioned – wars that seem to refer back to colonialist disputes between Ghana and the United Kingdom. More specifically, there were four wars between the Ashantes and the British Empire between 1824 and 1901; this fragmented narrative aspect reappears throughout the novel, which often goes off track and at times even seems to play with surrealism. In any case, it seems clear that the novel backs the argument that claims that the country’s bellicose past has created a dysfunctional and disorganised society, which finds it very hard to move forward.
Nevertheless, it’s not all bad news. As is often the case in many African countries, political positions of power are fickle and Koomson soon becomes a victim of a coup d’état against Nrumah’s government. Koomson is suddenly not only just another citizen, but also one of the coup’s targets. Having hit rock bottom, the former Minister now seeks shelter at the man and his wife’s house.
Feeling sorry for him, they take him in and the man goes as far as helping him to plan a pathetic escape through tunnels full of rubbish and lavatories full of dirt and manure. Maybe it is his loyal nature or his inner goodness that push the man to help Koomson. He manages to lead the politician all the way to a boat, with which he flees to Abidjan, whilst he stays on a Ghanaian beach.
Tags: Ayi Kweih Armah, African literature
Carlos Battaglini
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TOXIC LOVES. Literary review of Bai T. Moore’s Murder in the Cassava Patch
MANY THINGS STILL HAVE TO CHANGE. Literary review of Ayi Kweih Armah’s ‘The Beautyful ones are not yet born’ (3) of (3)
“Is Chimamanda a writer or a sociologist?” Literary review of AMERICANAH by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2) of (3)
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KY Ct. App.
LEONARD MARTIN APPELLANT v. APPELLEE
Court of Appeals of Kentucky.
LEONARD MARTIN APPELLANT v. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE
NO. 2010–CA–000671–MR
Decided: March 09, 2012
BEFORE: TAYLOR, CHIEF JUDGE; DIXON AND LAMBERT, JUDGES. BRIEF FOR APPELLANT: Leonard Martin, Pro Se West Liberty, Kentucky BRIEF FOR APPELLEE: Jack Conway Attorney General Perry T. Ryan Assistant Attorney General Frankfort, Kentucky
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
OPINIONAFFIRMING
Leonard Martin, proceeding pro se, appeals from a March 4, 2010, order of the Floyd Circuit Court denying his motion for post-conviction relief under Kentucky Rules of Criminal Procedure (RCr) 11.42. We affirm.
In 2003, Martin, a former Floyd County Sherriff's deputy, was indicted by a Floyd County grand jury on three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree sodomy. In each charge, the victim was the granddaughter of Martin's wife. At his second trial in June 2004, Martin was found guilty of the charges and sentenced to a total of twenty-five years' imprisonment. Double
Martin directly appealed his convictions to the Kentucky Supreme Court, which affirmed the Floyd Circuit Court judgment of conviction on August 25, 2005. Martin v. Com., 170 S.W.3d 374 (Ky.2005).
On August 10, 2006, Martin, proceeding pro se, moved the trial court to vacate his convictions pursuant to RCr 11.42. Double In his motion, Martin claimed that his convictions were the result of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. On October 10, 2010, defense counsel filed a supplemental memorandum of law in support of Martin's previous RCr 11.42 motion. The trial court granted an evidentiary hearing on the motion.
At the hearing, the trial court heard testimony from Martin's trial counsel and several witnesses who claimed that they would have testified as character witnesses had Martin's trial counsel called them to testify. The court denied Martin's request for post-conviction relief. The trial court concluded,
Based in all of the foregoing and review of the record herein, this court does conclude, as a matter of law, that not only was the legal assistance of the trial counsel not ineffective, but rather was reasonable under the facts of this case. Additionally, this court would conclude, as a matter of law, that even had trial counsel been ineffective, (which this court does not find), as claimed by the Defendant, the Defendant would not have been prejudiced and the result of the proceedings would have been the same. The evidence was clearly overwhelming against the Defendant, with both his granddaughter and daughter testifying as to the criminal sexual acts of the Defendant Martin.
Martin now appeals the trial court's denial of his RCr 11.42 motion.
Our review of a trial court's decision regarding an ineffective assistance of counsel claim is governed by a two-prong test established by the United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). The Strickland test was adopted by the Kentucky Supreme Court in Gall v. Commonwealth, 702 S.W.2d 37 (Ky.1985). The test first requires the defendant to show that trial counsel's performance was deficient. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064. The second prong of the Strickland analysis requires the defendant to show that trial counsel's deficient representation prejudiced his or her case. Id.
Our review does not extend to reasonable, strategic choices made by trial counsel. Trial counsel's “actions are to be viewed in light of what was known at the time of trial and his acts are to be given great deference.” Brown v. Com., 253 S.W.3d 490, 501–502 (Ky.2008). “An RCr 11.42 motion is not an exercise in second guessing counsel's trial strategy.” Parrish v. Com., 272 S.W.3d 161, 170 (Ky.2008) (internal quotations omitted). “Conjecture that a different strategy might have proved beneficial is also not sufficient.” Hodge v. Com., 116 S.W.3d 463, 470 (Ky.2003)(overruled on other grounds by Leonard v. Com., 279 S.W.3d 151 (Ky.2009).
First, Martin claims that his trial counsel failed to adequately investigate potential defenses and call certain witnesses. Double
[C]ounsel has a duty to make reasonable investigation or to make a reasonable decision that makes particular investigation unnecessary under all the circumstances and applying a heavy measure of deference to the judgment of counsel. A reasonable investigation is not an investigation that the best criminal defense lawyer in the world, blessed not only with unlimited time and resources, but also with the benefit of hindsight, would conduct. The investigation must be reasonable under all the circumstances.
Haight v. Com., 41 S.W.3d 436, 446 (Ky.2001)(overruled on other grounds by Leonard v. Com., 279 S.W.3d 151, 159 (Ky.2009)(internal citations omitted).
To support his claim, Martin called several witnesses to testify at the evidentiary hearing and claimed that they would have testified on Martin's behalf if his trial counsel had contacted them. Each witness claimed they had known Martin for a significant period of time and that he was a good, moral person.
Only one witness, Avorn Hamilton, claimed to know anything about the underlying facts of the case, but his testimony merely assumed that Martin's wife, Iris, lied to police because she intended to move back to Michigan. This assumption was based upon Iris's failure to register her automobile in Floyd County. In light of the Commonwealth's decision not to call Iris to testify at the second trial and the highly speculative nature of the testimony by Hamilton, Martin has not demonstrated how failing to call Hamilton was prejudicial to his case or would have otherwise affected the outcome of the trial.
During the hearing, Martin's trial counsel testified that he did not call any of these witnesses because he believed that their respective testimony lacked relevance and was inadmissible. He also testified that his experience has shown that multiple character witnesses can have a negative effect on a jury. The Kentucky Rules of Evidence (KRE) 404(a)(1) expressly permits character evidence “of a pertinent trait of character or of general moral character offered by an accused․” However, “[a]n accused who elects to defend by use of character evidence must produce evidence of character that tends logically to prove that he or she did not commit the specific crimes charged.” Robert G. Lawson, The Kentucky Evidence Law Handbook, § 2.15[3][b] at 99 (4 th ed.2011).
Although testimony concerning Martin's high moral character may have been admissible, trial counsel's decision not to call character witnesses was not unreasonable. The witnesses' testimonies were vague and held no probative value concerning the underlying facts. Trial counsel's focus on the aforementioned defenses was not an unreasonable trial strategy.
Martin claims that his trial counsel should have called Iris to testify at the second trial in order to impeach her credibility. In the first trial, Iris testified for the Commonwealth. During the evidentiary hearing, trial counsel testified that he was pleased that Iris did not testify in the second trial because he felt that her testimony was damaging. Trial counsel's decision not to call Iris was reasonable given the circumstances of this case.
Martin also makes a variety of claims against the trial court in the conduct of his RCr 11.42 hearing, including that the trial court erroneously limited the evidentiary hearing and failed to address all issues raised in Martin's pro se RCr 11.42 motion. He also asserts that the hearing should have been postponed to allow Martin additional time to obtain records proving his innocence, and that the trial judge should have recused from the case. None of these issues were raised before the trial court and have not been properly preserved for our review.
RCr 10.26 provides:
A palpable error which affects the substantial rights of a party may be considered ․ by an appellate court on appeal, even though insufficiently raised or preserved for review, and appropriate relief may be granted upon determination that manifest injustice has resulted from the error.
In Graves v. Commonwealth, 17 S.W.3d 858, 864 (Ky.2000)(quoting Jackson v. Commonwealth, 717 S.W.2d 511, 513 (Ky.App.1986)), the Kentucky Supreme Court explained, that:
Under this rule, an error is reversible only if manifest injustice has resulted from the error. That means that if, upon consideration of the whole case, a substantial possibility does not exist that the result would have been different, the error will be deemed nonprejudicial.
Our review of the record indicates that Martin mischaracterized his claims that the trial court improperly limited the evidentiary hearing and failed to address the issues that Martin raised in his pro se motion. Our review of the hearing indicates that the trial court did not limit the evidentiary hearing and specifically addressed the issues raised in Martin's pro se motion.
Further, Martin's claim that the trial court should have recused from the case is also without merit. During the evidentiary hearing, the trial court notified Martin's trial counsel, the Commonwealth, and Martin that he had known one of the defense witnesses for many years and considered him a friend. Neither attorney objected or requested that the court recuse. In addition, the trial court questioned Martin about the recusal and he expressly agreed to the trial judge going forward in the hearing. Therefore, Martin's claims that the trial court should have recused from the hearing are unfounded.
Following our careful review of Martin's brief and the record, we conclude that Martin was given an ample opportunity to present his claims and present any relevant evidence on his behalf at the evidentiary hearing. We also conclude there was no palpable error rising to the level of manifest injustice in the conduct of the evidentiary hearing below. “The purpose of RCr 11.42 is to provide a forum for known grievances, not to provide an opportunity to research for grievances.” Hodge, 116 S.W.3d at 468.
Accordingly, the Floyd Circuit Court's denial of Martin's RCr 11.42 motion is affirmed.
ALL CONCUR.
TAYLOR, CHIEF JUDGE:
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Two D.C.-Area Radio and TV Outlets are on the Move
Media, Top Center Sponsored
News radio station WTOP, a radio and rating powerhouse, is moving its Washington, D.C., headquarters to Chevy Chase in December or January, to accommodate its growing staff, reports Bethesda magazine, which added:
“We have grown tremendously over the years by serving the D.C. region with at h 24/7 news, traffic and weather operation,” said General Manager Joel Oxley. “Whether it is in digital, federal or broadcasting, our moving to a bigger space, with completely new state-of-the-art technology, will only help us grow more.”
WTOP’s new offices will be based at 5425 Wisconsin Ave. between Clyde’s of Chevy Chase and Giant Food on Wisconsin Circle near the intersection of Wisconsin and Western avenues—a dividing line between Maryland and the District.
More than 200 employees will occupy more than 30,000 square feet on the building’s fifth floor, and the number of employees is expected to grow, Oxley said.
(WTOP’s current operation is pictured above.)
Meanwhile, WTOP reports that Fox 5 WTTG-TV, which announced last fall its intent to move to fancy, new Bethesda, Maryland digs, has signed the lease and made the move official. Its relocation is still about three years away.
WTTG and WDCA-TV will occupy 59,172-square-feet at 7272 Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Bethesda in The Wilson, a 360,000-square-foot, 23-story office tower currently under construction, part of a 937,000-square-foot mixed-use project that will include a residential high rise called The Elm, as well as a second, yet-unnamed residential tower.
WDCAWTOPWTTG
Two-Thirds of U.S. Businesses Invest in Online Advertising
D.C.-Based The Stagwell Group Secures $260 Million to Purchase Digital-First Agencies
WTOP’s Chris Core Retires After More than 50 Years in Broadcasting
WTOP Radio and its “Glass-Enclosed Nerve Center” on the Move
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International Organisations Law
Pre-litigation Assistance
Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights
Anti-corruption Training Course
News & Conferences
The (dis)advantageous relationship between International Organisations and their host countries: the Austrian experience
By BWL | Administrative Law, Centre of Excellence, Civil Servants, Employment Disputes, IAL, International Administrative Law, International Organisations | No Comments
The relationship between International Organisations (IOs) and their host countries creates some interesting legal and political issues which do not always sit happily together: on the one hand, IOs have broad autonomy and enjoy a remarkable number of privileges and immunities (which are generally a grey area for the host country’s authorities) yet, on the other hand, the IOs are an important resource for the host country in terms of economy and visibility.
In considering this relationship, the Latin expression “do ut des”, which means “give and receive” or, perhaps more accurately, “give to receive” is particularly relevant to the subject matter. In fact, in principle, hosting international organisations is convenient and “remunerative” but it implies the loss of sovereignty of the host country in some fields (e.g. see the extraterritoriality of the international premises) and the conferment of a number of privileges and immunities to the international organisations (inter alia, the immunity from national courts).
Privileges are exemptions from the otherwise applicable substantive law of a state, while immunities are usually regarded as exemptions from the administrative, adjudicatory, or executive powers of a state[1]. Typical privileges of IOs are partial exemptions from some areas of domestic law (such as taxes, customs, foreign exchange controls, immigration), the most common of which is the exemption from the obligation to pay any direct taxes for the IO itself and its employees (while for indirect taxes, reimbursement schemes are frequently agreed)[2]. However, the most important and significant immunity enjoyed by the IOs is that from legal suit, the so-called “jurisdictional immunity”, which can raise different interpretations but the existence of which is not controversial. What is controversial is its scope, i.e., whether it is absolute, restrictive or functional. Most treaties or agreements usually confer a functional immunity, which is not a crystal clear concept, especially for the national authorities that have to face the grey area of IOs’ immunities. It seems that, in practice, the concept of functional immunity frequently leads to a de facto absolute immunity[3].
While financial privileges’ disputes are mainly settled on a diplomatic level, the jurisdictional immunities have generated the most extensive case law in domestic court decisions, which provide “examples for judicial dialogues or conversations crossing national jurisdictional borders”[4]. National courts adopted different approaches to the jurisdictional immunity of IOs also in consideration of the legal system in place, i.e. common or civil law system, the first relying on precedent decisions, the latter on a “constant jurisprudence” that stems from codified legal sources. However, the common denominator is that national courts, in deciding whether to grant the jurisdictional immunity, rely on the availability of alternative dispute settlement methods. With the 1999 Waite and Kennedy v. Germany judgment of the ECtHR, the obligation for IOs to provide an alternative access to justice (namely, an effective internal justice system, comparable to the national one) has been directly linked to the awarding or not of the immunity from the national process. By way of a concrete example, if a national court can be persuaded that the existing mechanism within an IO is insufficient to afford the staff member proper protections of his or her employment rights, it could waive the IO’s immunity in the specific case and proceed to a judicial review of its internal justice system, with consequences on the immunities.
Therefore, in order to enjoy the privileges and immunities there is a “contractual exchange” whereby international organisations must fulfil their side of the bargain, by providing staff member who are subject to those immunities with access to appropriate and sufficient systems of justice as they might expect in domestic jurisdictions[5]. The privileges and immunities of international organisations cannot be considered inalienable if they conflict with the fundamental rights and principles of the host country, of the European Union and fundamental and basic principles of human rights. In short, immunities from legal suit do not give the IOs carte blanche to do as they see fit: this point is all the more pertinent where tortious harm has been caused to the staff member at the hands of the defendant organisation and the functional immunities from legal suit do not extend to such circumstances. The same concept applies to the immunity from enforcement measures, regularly enjoyed by IOs. Even if a domestic court is allowed to rule against an IO, the judgment cannot be directly enforced due to the Organisation’s strong immunity shield from enforcement measures. However, in this case, domestic courts have applied the Waite and Kennedy doctrine where the claimant does not have a reasonable alternative mean of enforcement.
On the other hand, being an International Organisation’s member state is commonly considered beneficial for both state and society, therefore being a host state creates particular advantages. The Austrian government described the presence of IOs in Vienna as an important goal of its foreign policy because it positively affects the country’s reputation and influence in international relations and has positive effects on the local economy.[6] Thus, Austria and the other countries hosting IOs have an interest in the smooth functioning of the Organisations present on their territory and in their freedom from unilateral interference, which generally originates from provisions in treaties and domestic legislation on IOs legal personality and their privileges and immunities. In this regard, it should be noted that Austria occasionally extends privileges and immunities to events related to IOs (such as seminars or meeting) or grants them to international entities whose status as IOs is uncertain such as, the OSCE, which is more a political organisation rather than an international humanitarian one and the CTBTO, which is a treaty signed and ratified by many countries but which cannot enter into force and become binding until all the nuclear technology holder countries sign and ratify it. However, Austria, throughout the years showed a balanced approach towards IOs’ immunities when those immunities negatively affected third parties’ rights, in particular their right of access to justice. In fact, in Austria the ECHR (see, in particular, article 6) enjoys constitutional rank (like in most civil law European legislations) and the access to justice is part of the treaty law such as, for example, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR 1966, in particular, article 4); in addition, it is considered a norm of customary international law, thus binding both IOs and States[7].
During the Cold War, Austria served as platform for international dialogue, due to its geopolitical position and its neutral status. This role of “international hub” was strengthened by the opening in 1979 of the Vienna International Centre (VIC), also called UNO City. Since then, Vienna is seat of the United Nations (UN), together with New York, Geneva and Nairobi. The idea of the VIC born in 1966, when the Government of Austria made an offer to the United Nations to construct in Vienna an International Centre to be used by organisations belonging to the United Nations system. In 1967, the Government of Austria and the city of Vienna jointly decided to assign an area on the left bank of the Danube as the site of the centre and in 1968 organised an international competition for the design of the buildings, which attracted the interest of architects worldwide and was in the end won by the Austrian Johann Staber. The Government of Austria (65%) and the city of Vienna (35%) shared the VIC construction costs (approximately 640 million Euros)[8]. The construction site began in 1972 and the VIC complex, which covers an area of 180,000 m² and has extraterritorial status, was inaugurated on 23rd August 1979. Separate agreements were signed by Austria and, respectively, IAEA and the United Nations (on behalf of UNIDO and the other United Nations entities in Vienna) on 28 September 1979. The Government of Austria handed over the VIC complex to the United Nations and IAEA for the symbolic rental sum of one Austrian schilling (equivalent to 0.07 euro today) a year for 99 years[9].
Over the years, the presence of international entities in Austria grew exponentially and it is now quite impressive: more than 40 IOs, financial institutions, diplomatic representations, NGOs and Quasi-NGOs are present on the Austrian territory and constitute an important economic factor, too. They employ more than 6000 employees, out of which about a quarter are Austrian citizens. According to a recent study by Ernst & Young, the sector spends about 725 million Euros per year, which result in a macroeconomic demand effect of about 1.4 billion Euros and thus contributes to GDP growth and Austria’s prosperity. In the long-term, all indicators demonstrate the economic benefit of the sector, in particular, conference activities increased by one third in the period 2010 – 2014[10]. In this regard, for example, the nuclear negotiations with Iran, successfully completed in Vienna in July 2015, and the “Syria talks” held since autumn 2015, generated a publicity value equivalent to 100 million Euros.
Further to encourage the settlement of International Organisations, Austria incentives also Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to choose it as their seat. In fact, upon request of an organisation, the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs may grant the legal status of Non-Governmental Organisation by decree, on the legal basis of the Federal Law on the Granting of Privileges to Non-Governmental International Organisations. NGOs not only are an important expression of the civil society, they also enrich the thematic work of International Organisations. In relation to this, since 2016, NGOs have the possibility to apply for recognition as Quasi-International Organisations upon the fulfilment of certain requirements: the organisation must have non-profit character, its structure has to be similar to that of an IO, it must have permanent staff and an appropriately equipped office in Austria; in addition, its work must be related to the mandate of an established IO. On the other hand, the legal status of Quasi-International Organisation implies certain tax exemptions. A recent example of an organisation, which has been awarded the status of Quasi-International Organisation and that chose Vienna as its seat, is the “Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All)”. It started its activities in summer 2013 and established its permanent headquarters in Vienna in 2015. SE4All is headed by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for “Sustainable Energy for All” and therefore fulfils all the above-mentioned requirements[11].
Overall the relationship between IOs, NGOs and Austria can be described as extremely positive and fruitful for both parties. However, the other side of the medal is that the host country tends to avoid conflicts on the privileges and immunities granted to the IOs and on the “grey area” constituted by the jurisdictional immunity. Therefore, there is still room for a more regulated and transparent cooperation between the IOs and the national authorities in order to grant the IOs’ employees and, in general, the third parties involved in disputes with IOs, the full respect of their civil fundamental rights.
Ludovica Moro
ludovicamoro@brettonwoodslaw.com
[1] A. Reinisch, International Organisations Before National Courts.
[2] A. Reinisch, The Privileges and Immunities of International Organisations in Domestic Courts.
[3] See supra note 2.
[5] This is a well-established principle also in the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. A commentary on the Convention by Professor August Reinisch states: “The de facto “absolute” immunity of the United Nations is mitigated by the fact that article VIII, section 29, of the Convention requires the United Nations to “make provisions for appropriate modes of settlement of: (a) disputes arising out of contracts or other disputes of a private law character to which the United Nations is a party”. The General Convention’s obligation to provide for alternative dispute settlement in case of the Organisation’s immunity from legal process can be regarded as an acknowledgment of the right of access to court as contained in all major human rights instruments.” (http://www.un.org/law/avl/ )
[8] Source: United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV) website.
[9] See supra note 8
[10] Source: Austrian governmental website – www.bmeia.gv.at
[11] See supra note 10
Bretton Woods Law’s unique Global Approach to an International Practice
By BWL | Administrative Law, Centre of Excellence, IAL, IAL Seminars, International Administrative Law, Multilateral Development Banks, News | No Comments
Law firms and barristers chambers often claim that they practise throughout the world and describe their work as international; but what does it mean to have a truly international practice? For the lawyers at Bretton Woods Law, an international practice means exactly that: practising in different countries, in different languages, with people of different nationalities and cultures, and within different international organisations. Since its birth in spring 2012, BWL has set itself apart from other law firms and barristers chambers by living up to its ever growing reputation as an established team of preeminent international law specialists with a truly global reach. BWL’s international practice manifests itself in the following ways:
1. International anti-corruption practice: investigations into alleged sanctionable practices in development projects worldwide
In the last 18 months, the lawyers at BWL have undertaken investigations into World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded projects carried out in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Ukraine, Kosovo and Sri Lanka. They have worked directly with the World Bank’s Integrity Vice-Presidency (INT) and the ADB’s Office of Anticorruption and Integrity (OAI), and have established themselves as experts in this specialist field. Members of Bretton Woods Law are also currently instructed by the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Integrity and Anti-corruption Department (IACD) and have workings with the Global Fund’s Office of the Inspector General.
2. International organisations and their internal justice systems
The lawyers at BWL currently operate in seventeen international organisations, based in nine countries and spread over four continents. Their work is varied and they currently act for:
the staff associations, councils and unions of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), the European Patent Office (EPO);
individual international civil servants and board members at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC) the Commonwealth Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the EBRD, the IDB, the PAHO, the EPO and the ADB; and
the Commonwealth Secretariat (in relation to cases arising out of grievances within its own internal justice system).
Beyond assistance and representation in the disciplinary boards and the first-tier tribunals such as the Conciliations Committees, the Grievance Committees and the Joint Appeal Boards, the lawyers at BWL also represent clients in the IDB Administrative Tribunal in Washington DC, the EBRD Administrative Tribunal in London, the ADB Administrative Tribunal in Manila and the International Labour Organisation Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT) in Geneva.
3. International Alternative Dispute Resolution
Beyond traditional litigation and advocacy within international organisations’ internal justice systems, the lawyers at BWL are experts in international Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and currently represent the Uruguayan, Guyanese, Brazilian, Guatemalan, Bolivian, Nicaraguan, Mexican, Paraguayan, Panamean, Costa Rican and Argentinian Country Offices of a large international organisation in formal mediation proceedings. BWL also has experience of mediations arising out of employment disputes within the EBRD and the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. Through its International Alternative Dispute Resolution Services (iADRs), BWL’s dedicated team ensures it offers known experts in International Organisations Law who are CEDR trained and accredited mediators who have the ability to broker settlement agreements in the most difficult and challenging of circumstances.
4. Multilingual lawyers and offices worldwide
Boasting seven specialist lawyers of four different nationalities and diverse backgrounds, who between them practise (written and spoken) in English, French, Spanish and German, BWL has representative offices in all the important seats of international organisations worldwide: London, Geneva, New York City, Washington DC, Tunis and Manila. Members of Chambers have lived and practised in the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States of America, Tunisia, France, Switzerland, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Belize, Cyprus, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Netherlands, Australia and the Gaza strip.
By travelling around the globe representing International Civil Servants who face intricate employment issues, the BWL team faces varying approaches, languages and cultures on a daily basis, all of which they takes in their stride. This innate empathy with different nationalities enables them to represent their clients against large international organisations with a very human approach. The same can be said for their work alongside companies who have been accused of fraud, corruption and bribery on projects funded by multilateral development banks (MDBs). Their ability to carry out investigations and research involves dealing with clients, including international organisations and International Financial Institutions (IFIs), from around the world, and their cultural sensitivity and international experience is highly advantageous and benefits clients and colleagues alike.
The First Conference of the BWL International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence
By Neil Macaulay | Centre of Excellence, IAL, International Administrative Law, London, News | No Comments
Around fifty professionals working in the area of International Administrative Law congregated for the inaugural BWL Centre of Excellence Conference in the heart of London between the 17-18 October to hear and discuss a wide variety of presentations on the current legal issues facing international civil servants.
Delegates attended from around the globe to be updated and debate issues such as delay, human rights, immunity from suit, equality of arms, conflicts of interests and many other current big issues facing international civil servants.
Present at the conference were representatives and members of Staff Associations and Unions, managers and lawyers working for International Organisations, judicial representatives, academics and external legal practitioners specialized in the field of International Administrative Law.
Many of those attending joined the various committees that will now commence working to improve the quality and accessibility of International Administrative Law together with the sharing of best practices that currently exist within the many International Organisations.
The International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence is a registered community interest company established with a mandate to improve the state of International Administrative Law.
Following the success of this first assembly a second conference will be held in the autumn of 2014 in London.
The Reform of the UN System of Administration of Justice – the UNRWA example
By Antje Kunst | Centre of Excellence, IAL, International Administrative Law, News | No Comments
The Reform of the United Nations Administration of Justice System (“UNAJS”), which came into effect on 1st July 2009, was long overdue and has brought with it some significant improvements. Certain aspects however, long petitioned by staff associations, IAL practioners and academics, and recommended by the Redesign Panel on the UNSAJ, have not yet been achieved.
In its Resolution 61/261 of 4th April 2007, the General Assembly criticised the UNAJS by stating that is was “slow, cumbersome, ineffective and lacking in professionalism, and that the current system of administrative review is flawed”. It decided “to establish a new, independent, transparent, professionalized, adequately resourced and decentralized system of administration of justice consistent with the relevant rules of international law and the principles of the rule of law and due process to ensure respect for the rights and obligations of staff members and the accountability of managers and staff members alike”.
The overhaul of the administration of justice system was especially important for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (“UNRWA”). Over the years, many cases were brought within its justice system by its employees, including a significant number of cases brought before the former UN Administrative Tribunal in New York (“old UNAT”). The large volume of cases within UNRWA’s internal justice system is hardly surprising considering that UNRWA employs over 29,000 local staff, and nearly 120 international staff members.
The structure of the previous formal justice system within the UN, including UNRWA, provided for a one-tier system. The main bodies in which the formal processes of the internal justice system were initiated (the Joint Appeals Board and the Joint Disciplinary Committee), conducted peer reviews which made recommendations on the dispute; these were then submitted to the UN’s Secretary-General (or the Commissioner-General in the case of UNRWA) who made the final decision. This decision could then be challenged by the staff member before the old UNAT.
In line with the UN’s new two-tier system of administration of justice and in agreement with the UN Secretary-General, UNRWA established its own first instance Dispute Tribunal, the UNRWADT in Amman, effective from 1st June 2010. A Special Agreement dated 11th December 2009 was concluded between the UN and UNRWA’s Commissioner-General by which UNRWA accepted the terms of the jurisdiction of the new UNAT.
As a transitional measure, appeals by UNRWA staff members following a Joint Appeals Board report were receivable by the UNAT if the final decision on the appeal was taken by the Commissioner General on or after 1 July 2009. The UNRWADT, through a single judge, has so far rendered 92 judgments in nearly three years which is a significant number. 44 applications were dismissed on receivability grounds, 39 applications were dismissed on the merits, two judgments were interpreted, one judgment was on remedies, five applications were successful and one was partially successful.
In an attempt to rebalance the inequality of arms between international organisations and their employees, the General Assembly in its resolution 63/253, decided that professional legal staff in the Office of Staff Legal Assistance shall assist staff members in processing claims through the formal system of administration of justice. In this respect, UNRWA has created the position of Legal Officer, based at UNRWA’s HQ in Amman, who advises staff on employment matters and who may assist in preparing staff submissions to the Agency, the UNRWADT and the UNAT. It remains to be seen how effective this assistance can be considering the vast number of UNRWA’s local staff.
Compared to the International Labour Organisation Administrative Tribunal (“ILOAT”), the potential remedies before the UNDT and UNAT are few in number. Although the Tribunals have the power to order rescission of the contested decision and specific performance, in cases where the contested administrative decision concerns appointment, promotion or termination, the Tribunal must indicate the amount of compensation that “the respondent may elect to pay as an alternative to the rescission of the contested decision or specific performance ordered” (Article 9 of the UN Appeals Tribunal’s Statute). In practice, the Secretary-General almost always opts for compensation instead of changing the wrongful decision. In contrast to this, the ILOAT decides itself whether or not rescission or specific performance is possible, and if not it awards compensation. The UNAT judged this to be “a glaring example of injustice and discrimination between the two categories of staff members working under the United Nations system”. This situation is particularly problematic in the case of UNRWA’s local staff, given the employment opportunities, or lack thereof, for many Palestinian Refugees.
Staff associations play an important role in protecting the interests of staff members of international organisations. The Redesign Panel recommended that because staff members are sometimes reluctant to enter the formal justice system for fear of reprisal, Staff Associations should have the right to bring actions independently to enforce the Staff Rules and Regulations. This recommendation has not yet been taken up and Staff Associations only have a right to submit a “friend of the court” brief (Article 17 of the UN Appeals Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure).
It remains to be seen how efficient the new UN internal justice system will be for UN and UNRWA staff members. At Bretton Woods Law, we will continue fighting to improve this system in the context of the Bretton Woods Law International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence.
The Application of Human Rights to International Organisations: Do Employees of International Organisations Enjoy the Right to a Fair Hearing of their Employment Disputes?
By Lee Marler | Centre of Excellence, Civil Servants, Human Rights, IAL, International Administrative Law, News | No Comments
International organisations are products of international law, as they are invariably created by means of multilateral treaties. It is therefore not surprising that the International Court of Justice (“ICJ” or “World Court”) has made it quite clear on several occasions that international organisations “are bound by any obligations incumbent upon them under general rules of international law” (Advisory Opinion on the Interpretation of the Agreement of March 25th, 1951 between WHO and Egypt [1980] I.C.J. Reps at 89-90. See also the Reparation for Injuries Case [1949] I.C.J. Reps 174 at 179: an international organisation is “a subject of international law and capable of possessing international rights and duties”).
It is now generally accepted that international organisations, as international persons, are bound by the customary rules of international law, including the customary aspects of international human rights law. By way of example, Sands and Klein, editing Bowett’s Law of International Institutions, take the view at page 456 that:
“notwithstanding the fact that an international organisation is not a party to, say, a human rights treaty …if the rule contained in an agreement is reflected in customary international law then it can, as such, bind an international organisation. It has been suggested, for example, that the World Bank is not subject to general international norms for the protection of fundamental human rights. In our view that conclusion is without merit, on legal or policy grounds.”
The right to a fair and, indeed, a public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal in the determination of rights and obligations is now undoubtedly a general rule of international law; it is a ‘fundamental human right’ that finds its origins in article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“the Declaration”). Building upon the Declaration, which was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10th December 1948, the states of Europe sought in 1950 to enforce certain Declaration rights by agreeing the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”). Article 6(1) of the ECHR provides that in the determination of civil rights and obligations “everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.”
The geographical limitation of the ECHR was to a certain extent addressed and remedied by the United Nations opening for state signature on 19th December 1966 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”), which came into force on 23rd March 1976. In conformity with article 10 of the Declaration and article 6 of the ECHR, article 14(1) of the ICCPR states that in the “determination … of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.” Similar provisions can be found in other international human rights treaties, such as article 8 of the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights and articles 10 and 20 of the 2012 ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.
Most, if not all international organisations enjoy as a matter of law some form of immunity from legal suit in their respective member states. This means that international civil servants, as the employees of international organisations, are prevented from pursing employment related complaints in national employment courts and tribunals. In order to maintain their immunity from suit, international organisations are thus obliged to provide their employees with a forum in which they can litigate their disputes and, as such, international organisations have over the years developed and implemented various forms of internal justice mechanisms. But merely providing an international civil servant with a mechanism by which his or her case can be heard is insufficient, as international law, as is clearly demonstrated above, requires that the hearing must be public and above all fair, which means that the mechanism must offer all the guarantees inherent in the notion of due process. The consequences for an international organisation of failing to provide for a fair internal system of justice is that it risks losing its immunity and therefore risks being sued successfully in national courts. In Waite and Kennedy [1999] 116 ILR 121, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”), dealing with a case concerning the European Space Agency, made plain that “a material factor in determining whether granting […] immunity from […] jurisdiction is permissible is whether the applicants had available to them reasonable alternative means to protect effectively their rights under the [ECHR].”
The right to the enjoyment and protection of human rights is not lost merely because an individual decides to work for an international organisation. Human rights ‘black-holes’ do not exist and they most certainly do not exist within organisations created and maintained by states. So, in short, the answer to the question is yes, international civil servants, as the employees of international organisations, have the right to have their employment complaints heard and heard fairly.
Second Geneva International Administrative Law Seminar Focuses on the Fear of Retaliation
By BWL | Centre of Excellence, Civil Servants, Employment Disputes, International Administrative Law, News | No Comments
Bretton Woods Law’s second International Administrative Law seminar took place at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Geneva on Wednesday 27th April and, as ever, one topic on a full agenda really resonated with the attendees – the fear of retaliation.
It is apparent from seminar attendees that many international civil servants are reticent to file a case against their employers, as they are scared that their international organisation will engage in reprisal and retribution.
Bretton Woods Law stated that the best way to combat retaliation was to construct an anti-retaliation policy that contains a reverse burden of proof, which means that if an international civil servant files a case within the internal justice system operated by his or her employer and is then allegedly retaliated against, it is up to the international organisation, as the employer, to prove on a balance of probabilities that it has not engaged in such a practice.
Bretton Woods Law has the expertise and experience to draft such anti-retaliation policies, as well as all other related policies, such as whistleblower protection mechanisms, and have done so for a number of international organisations. To discuss your own particular anti-retaliation requirements or any other international administrative law matter, contact your nearest Bretton Woods Law office.
For a detailed list of all the topics discussed at the second Geneva International Administrative Law seminar, please click here.
If you have been the victim of retaliation by an international organisation or any other form of unfair treatment, why not apply to join the International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence, a ‘think-tank’ designed to assist in the global development and improvement of International Administrative Law. The Centre of Excellence provides amongst other things, a neutral forum for discussion and debate for those individuals interested in developing International Administrative Law.
Bretton Woods Law celebrates its first successful year based on experience in and knowledge of International Organisations Law
By BWL | Administrative Law, Centre of Excellence, IAL, International Administrative Law, Multilateral Development Banks, News, Voluntary Disclosure Programme | No Comments
Bretton Woods Law today celebrates its first birthday, a year that has seen innumerable achievements in both the Multilateral Development Bank and International Administrative Law sectors, where it now dominates.
Although Bretton Woods Law is one today, the experience of its lawyers spans decades and it is hardly surprising that in its first year its multilateral development bank practice has absolutely flourished. Bretton Woods Law specialises primarily in assisting companies that have been accused or charged by the multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank Group, of having engaged in sanctionable practices (i.e., fraud, corruption, collusion or coercion) on bank funded projects. Bretton Woods Law’s record in the past twelve months has been impressive and warrants mention: three complete immunity arrangements brokered, one caveated immunity arrangement obtained, five completed internal investigations undertaken and instructions to undertake seven more. Moreover, advice has been given on entering a voluntary disclosure programme and a complete new integrity compliance program that meets and exceeds the World Bank’s Integrity Compliance Guidelines was designed, implemented and accepted as “gold standard” by the bank. Not a bad achievement for the first year!
Bretton Woods Law has an in-depth understanding of the Voluntary Disclosure Programme established by the World Bank, the only Multilateral Development Bank to do so, and has spent its first year advising clients on such preventative measures.
To read more about Voluntary Disclosure Programmes and how Bretton Woods Law can be of assistance, please click here
International Administrative Law
As specialists in International Administrative Law, which is the employment law of the international organisations, Bretton Woods Law has spent the past year representing International Civil Servants around the globe that are or have been in dispute with their respective international organisations. Their experience and knowledge of this particular area of law is second to none and has seen them undertake cases throughout the world, not only for Staff Associations and their membership, but also for the international organisations themselves. Bretton Woods Law is currently working on international administrative law matters in the following international organisations:
The Commonwealth Secretariat
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Pan American Health Organization
International Administrative Law Seminars
Bretton Woods Law’s commitment to improving International Administrative Law has led them in their first year to hold three International Administrative Law seminars of their own (two in Geneva and one in Washington) and on top of this Bretton Woods Law lawyers were invited to participate in the UNSO-ICTY sponsored conference in The Hague. The Geneva and Washington seminars were designed to enable Staff Associations and their members to get together and debate the hot topics associated with this law. The seminars gave attendees a chance to share their experiences, good and bad, of international administrative law as well as benefiting from free advice and consultancy from International Administrative Law specialists.
Overview of our Washington seminar
Overview of our first Geneva seminar
Overview of our second Geneva seminar
International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence
It has been very clear for a long time that International Administrative Law was in desperate need of an independent body to assist in its global development and improvement and with this in mind Bretton Woods Law set up the International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence. This Centre of Excellence has been created to act as an effective ‘think tank’ from which new and thought provoking ideas and concepts will emerge, alongside promoting international best practices, to enhance and significantly improve the employment law of international organisations worldwide. Through the work of its membership, the Centre’s mandate and purpose is to be an effective focal point, ensuring fairness and justice for all who work within international organisations.
The Centre of Excellence is open to anyone involved in International Administrative Law: legal practitioners, union representatives, mediators, ombudspersons and academics, in fact anyone who wants to become engaged in the evolution of the law.
To apply for membership click here
A Truly International Practice
When Bretton Woods Law opened its doors it had four full time lawyers working on multilateral development bank and international administrative law matters, with other lawyers on call, but the uptake on its services has been such that it has now been joined full time by two further international lawyers: Alex Haines from France and Antje Kunst from Germany. The multilingual Bretton Woods Law team, speaking English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, and led by Lee Marler and Neil Macaulay, is even more effective now than it was twelve months ago.
Moreover, when Bretton Woods Law opened for business, it was from the outset an international law practice, with offices in London, Geneva, New York and Washington DC. However, due to the quantity of work they are receiving from the Philippines, they have now opened an office in Manila. This new office is a true testament to what Bretton Woods Law has achieved in its first year and more importantly what it hopes to achieve in its second.
For full contact details for Bretton Woods Law’s offices, please click here.
Bretton Woods Law International Administrative Law seminar at PAHO draws top international civil servants from the Americas
By Lee Marler | Administrative Law, Centre of Excellence, Civil Servants, Employment Disputes, International Administrative Law, News | No Comments
On 28th February, Bretton Woods Law held a seminar at the behest of PAHO (Pan-American Health Organisation) on International Administrative Law – the employment law of international civil servants. The seminar drew 50 attendees from around the Americas, including senior Staff Association members as well as doctors and other medical professionals.
The topics in the agenda were wide and varied and included: clarity of the law, confidentiality of proceedings and the role of lawyers for the organisation. However the point that seemed to cause the most debate was Staff Associations – their independence, the need for dues, industrial action & retaliation.
Some of those present expressed their fear of approaching Staff Associations to discuss their concerns and joining class actions for fear of retaliation and reprisal. There was also an in-depth discussion on the fact that even if employees win their case, they will not automatically be awarded their legal fees – which along with the fear of retaliation creates a strong barrier to some international civil servants taking their grievances to a tribunal.
It was of course agreed that the present situation is unfair and untenable, and change needed to happen, particularly a confidential forum where international civil servants could share their views and experiences without fear of reprisal and retaliation.
In view of these concerns, Bretton Woods Law was delighted to have the opportunity of inviting all attendees to apply for membership to the International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence , a forum whose primary aim is to assist in the global development and improvement of International Administrative Law.
The Centre of Excellence has also been designed to create just what these international civil servants need – a confidential arena in which they can, without fear, freely express their concerns and views. It is hoped that from these shared experiences, new and thought provoking ideas and concepts will emerge, which, together with promoting international best practices, will enhance and significantly improve the employment law of international organisations worldwide.
If you are an International Civil Servant, who wants to help change your employment law, apply today for membership to the International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence.
Equality of arms – a hot topic at first Geneva seminar
By Lee Marler | Administrative Law, Centre of Excellence, Civil Servants, IAL, International, International Administrative Law, News | No Comments
On 6th February, Bretton Woods Law held its first International Administrative Law seminar in Geneva. The seminar was attended by a number of senior Staff Association members in order to discuss a selection of the most important aspects of International Administrative Law facing international civil servants today.
One of the main topics that was debated was the thorny issue of ‘Equality of Arms’, and for those international civil servants who could not make the seminar, an overview of Bretton Wood Law’s thoughts on this particular subject can be found below.
Bretton Woods Law has also set up the International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence, to assist in the global development and improvement of International Administrative Law. Apply for membership >
Equality of Arms
A ‘David v. Goliath’ situation prevails in most, if not all international organisations. An employee who wishes to raise a complaint that his or her contract of employment has be contravened by the organisation that he or she works for (e.g., a secretary who claims to have been bullied or harassed by her boss), will normally have to face a human resources department that is advised by specialist lawyers from within the organisation’s legal department. In some organisations, such as the multilateral development banks (e.g., the World Bank, EBRD etc.), whole teams of lawyers exist (known as institutional & administrative (“I&A”) law teams) whose primary function is to defend the organisation against employment related claims brought by staff members. What is more, the organisation has if necessary the funds at hand to engage external lawyers to advise it and protect its interests. In stark contrast, the employee does not have such legal resources at his or her disposal and may well not have the funds to engage a lawyer at all or only for a limited period of time. The majority of internal justice systems operated by international organisations do not provide for any form of ‘legal aid’ nor do they operate a defence service under which lawyers are employed by the organisation to represent employees before the grievance committees and administrative tribunals that they operate (however, c.f., the United Nations Office of Staff Legal Assistance). Moreover, the statutes and procedures that create the committees, boards and tribunals that form the internal justice systems of many international organisations either do not permit those bodies to award costs against the organisation and in favour of the employee or, if they do, those costs can only be awarded at the very end of a case, which may take years to finalise. Indeed, it would appear to be a tactic of some lawyers within certain organisations that we have encountered to delay intentionally in order to put the injured international civil servant to unnecessary expense and thereby starve him or her out of the litigation process. One case in which Bretton Woods Law lawyers are involved is now in its third year due to ‘stalling tactics’ on the part of the organisation. Other cases are delayed by an organisation taking novel and ultimately unsuccessful jurisdictional arguments (on this point see O Elias’ The Development and Effectiveness of International Administrative Law (2012) at page 339). In one international organisation in which we operate it can take up to fifteen years before a judgement is actually rendered by its administrative tribunal, which is astonishing as much as it is troubling. Put bluntly, many international civil servants simply cannot afford to engage lawyers to assist them at all or for the time required in order to navigate the labyrinth of laws implemented by international organisations. This disparity of wealth and the manner in which it is exploited by some international organisations causes an ‘inequality of arms’ between the litigants that can taint the legitimacy of the internal process and render it unfair. The solution to this all too prevalent problem is of course obvious: the organisation that cloaks itself in an immunity from legal suit and thereby compels its employees to use its internal justice system should provide for a legal aid scheme of some description or, alternatively, arrange for legal insurance to be available to all of its employees, in the same way that it provides for medical insurance.
If you are an international civil servant and in need of specialist employment advice, contact your nearest office.
Bretton Woods Law launches IAL Centre of Excellence
By BWL | Administrative Law, Centre of Excellence, Civil Servants, Employment Disputes, IAL, International Administrative Law, News | No Comments
Bretton Woods Law is proud to announce the launch of the International Administrative Law Centre of Excellence, an exclusive members-only group whose main focus is to to assist in the global development and improvement of International Administrative Law. Click here for further details and to apply for your complimentary membership today
Banques de développement
Civil Servants
Cross debarment
Debarment
Disputas Laborales
IAL Seminars
Les litiges du travail
Sanctions Board
Voluntary Disclosure Programme
World Bank publishes ‘first study of exclusion systems around the globe’
US Supreme Court Restricts the World Bank Group’s Immunities
Fraud dominates investigations at the Asian Development Bank
The Inaugural World Bank Group Sanctions System Annual Report FY18 Reveals a Sharp Rise in Settlements
Bretton Woods Law holds a Staff Rights Workshop in Vienna
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Dude, Where’s My Suicide Pill? Alfonso Cuarón’s The Children of Men
Alan Vanneman
One virgin birth too many
There are two reasons why I hate going to art films. The first is that everyone in the audience is as old as I am. That means swelling bellies, cottage-cheese necks, and balding domes, all of which I can see in the mirror every day.
The second reason why I hate going to art films is that they’re terrible! Alfonso Cuarón’s The Children of Men, based on a “dystopian” novel by P. D. James, is the most recent offender, and a most egregious one.
Why are art films so bad? Because they take the sentimental, manipulative dramatic tricks and clichés of “bad” commercial films and place them in the service of supposedly “different” films, which are, if anything, even more clichéd than the damn commercial flicks! Worst of all, the entire enterprise is drenched, nay, permeated, with the cloying sweet syrup of solemn self-congratulation.
Cuarón’s adaptation takes quite a few liberties with James’ 1992 novel, but in my opinion any film, novel, play, dramatic recitation, or comic strip that’s built around a “miraculous” birth in a childless, dysfunctional society is going to run on four legs and answer to “Fido.”
James’ novel pictures a society that’s simply fading away.1 There’s no crime, because there are no young people. There’s a dictatorship not because of disorder but because no one can be bothered to vote. Cities are disappearing and the countryside is expanding. Old people are being bumped off or eased into suicide because it’s too much work to take care of them. There are a few malcontents, who are shipped off to the Isle of Man, which is your basic man-eat-man hell-hole.
Cuarón has tarted things up considerably. Women still can’t have babies, but instead of peaceful decline we have videogame-style chaos — a tyrannical government, a terrorist resistance, terrible poverty, pollution, etc., and holding pens on every corner for illegal aliens. The countryside is littered with endless piles of burning steer carcasses.
Theo (Clive Owen) is a petty bureaucrat in this petty world, hoping for nothing more out of life than alcohol, tobacco, and an occasional joint with his hippie dad (Michael Caine), still keeping the faith, nobly caring for his paralyzed wife and listening to the Stones.2 Theo’s life, such as it is, is disrupted rather thoroughly when a gang of terrorists put the snatch on him. It seems they’re led by Theo’s ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore) and they need “transit papers” for this black chick, “Kee” (Clare-Hope Ashitey).
Yes, “transit papers” do sound a lot like “letters of transit,” which you may remember from Casablanca.3 Hey, how many plots are there? Theo gets the papers, except that, for some not terribly believable reason, he has to go along with the girl, which, amazingly, doesn’t seem to bother him, except that when Julian is murdered by some other terrorists (what they’re mad about isn’t at all clear), things start to get a bit hairy. Theo’s taken to the “good terrorist” hideout, where, in perhaps the most predictable plot twist of the year, we learn that Kee is, yes, PREGNANT! Who could have seen that coming?
Well, long story short, Kee makes it, more or less. She gives birth to a baby girl, named “Dylan”4 in honor of Theo and Julian’s dead son. She and the kid are picked up by a boat named “Tomorrow,”5 which I’m hoping is a good sign.
The point of dystopian fiction is to tell us, pretty much, that the world is either going to hell or that it’s already gotten there. P.D. James’ novel, written back in 1992 was, apparently, an attack on birth control and modern hedonism. Fifteen years later, we don’t seem to be very close to the all-enveloping ennui that she imagined.6 Cuarón’s “vision,” pretty much an attack on George Bush, isn’t any more accurate. We’re growing richer, not poorer. Pollution in the U.S. has declined every year during the Bush Administration, thanks to legislation dating back to the reign of the King of All Monsters, Richard Nixon. There are no tanks in American streets, no illegal aliens in cages on street corners.7
If Cuarón wanted to make a film attacking George Bush’s domestic policies or the War in Iraq that actually had some substance, well, fine. But this isn’t it. Despite the fury of the left, capitalism keeps chugging along, making us rich. Despite the fury of the right, the religious and sexual obsessions of the past continue to fade.8 Life! It’s not so bad!9
Is there anything worse than a “classic rock” soundtrack that’s meant to be taken seriously? Yeah, a classic rock soundtrack that’s meant to be taken seriously augmented by a soulful soprano singing sappy religious kitsch. Oh, my aching ears!
Early in the picture, Theo says “I woke up this morning and felt like shit. Then I went to work and I felt like shit.” I said to myself “I woke up this morning and felt fantastic. Then I went to this movie and now I feel like shit.”
The worst cliché in the whole film, except for the pregnant black chick thing? We know that Theo’s a good guy because dogs like him.10
Absolutely the best thing to come out of Children of Men is the Internet Movie Database “goofs” page, which contains the following beauts sent in by the world’s greatest film critic (not me).
When Theo is first detained by the terrorists, one of the newspaper cuttings pasted around the cell says “Beckhams celebrate Golden Anniversary.” David and Victoria Beckham will not celebrate their Golden (50th) wedding Anniversary until 2049 but this movie takes place in 2027.
When Kee and Theo leave the block of flats during the battle, most of the soldiers are using the SA80A1 assault rifle. The SA80A1 has already been replaced by the SA80A2, and it’s only fucking 2006! [I edited this one a bit. AV]
In the scene where the car is driving backwards hunted by people, and a black Enduro motorcycle is after the car, it sounds clearly like a four stroke engine. However, when it gets hit by the door and falls down, it sounds like a two stroke bike. [Totally like a two stroke, I would say, and I mean totally. AV]
The car that Theo jump starts has (according to the sound of the engine) an automatic gearbox. Jump starting automatics is impossible. [Also, we see the car rolling down a hill at about 20 miles an hour and Theo can’t jump start it. Later, when he’s pushing it at about 3 miles an hour, a chick (a midwife chick! Go figure!) starts it. AV]
Yeah, but not really. We hear “Ruby Tuesday” on the soundtrack, but that ain’t Mick. [↩]
I haven’t read James’ book, and I certainly don’t intend to, because it sounds like an exercise in clinical depression. Wikipedia gives a plot-spoiling synopsis [↩]
It’s a bit of a Casablanca year this year. The scriptwriters for Blood Diamond and The Good German seem to have had a few drinks at Rick’s Place as well. [↩]
OUCH! [↩]
Double ouch, eh, mon ami? [↩]
Back in the day, female authors of detective fiction in the UK, like Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham, were inclined to a misty if not mystical brand of Anglo-Catholicism. James, it seems, is not so didactic, but does enjoy brooding on how evil we humans are. Hey, I can’t argue with that. Look at Dick Cheney! There’s evil! [↩]
George Bush is notoriously pro-immigrant, much more so than many liberal Democrats who want to “save” us from global competition — save us by letting the poor in other countries starve. [↩]
Don’t tell our Commander in Chief, but the retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Shalikashvili, thinks that “if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces.” [↩]
Yeah, this is an awfully political review, didactic, even. Don’t fuck with me, Alfonso. When you fuck with me, I fuck back! [↩]
Also kittens. What a guy! [↩]
— Alan Vanneman
Alan Vanneman is a writer living in Washington, DC. He is the author of two dead-tree novels, Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra and Sherlock Holmes and the Hapsburg Tiara, both published by Penzler Press. Sherlock Holmes and the Hapsburg Tiara is available as an audiobook from Blackstone/Downpour. He is also the author of three new Nero Wolfe novellas recreating Rex Stout’s famous fat detective, a FREE ebook, and Author! Author! Auden, Oates, and Updike, a collection of two short stories and a novella, available both as an ebook and print on demand. All of his fiction can be accessed here at his blog Literature R Us. Portions of his article "Alfred Hitchcock: A Hank of Hair and a Piece of Bone," which originally appeared online in Bright Lights, have been included in a textbook anthology by Allison Smith, Trixie Smith, and Stacia Watkins.
Previous story Looking at Charlie: The Idle Class, Pay Day, The Pilgrim, and A Woman of Paris
Next story Cinephilia in Turin: Davide Ferrario’s Dopo Mezzanotte (Italy, 2004)
From the Sublime to the Romantic: Lars von Trier’s Melancholia January 31, 2012
There Will Be Blood and Queen Elizabeth: The Golden Age February 28, 2008
Auteur in Distress: On Wallace Beery, von Sternberg, and Sergeant Madden February 1, 2006
Ann-Margret in Wonderland: But Bates and the Brits Are at Home in The Return of the Soldier February 1, 2006
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Directors · Festivals & Awards
Thrilling and Horrifying: Bellocchio and De Palma at the Venice Film Festival 2015 (with Detours to Childhood of a Leader and Beasts of No Nation)
Lesley Chow
Marco Bellocchio's Blood of My Blood
From the start of Blood of My Blood, we can sense the power that is contained within the mysterious malleability of light. Within a scene, some actions are clearly etched while others lack sharp outlines, making them harder to digest – and easy to contest. There are elements too fragile, too diffuse to survive the transition into narrative: history is a very fine sieve, and not everything can pass through intact.
Like the Berlinale’s Panorama, the Horizons program at Venice contains a large number of “issue” films. Labeled as forums for emerging cinema, these sections tend to be dominated by conventionally harrowing films that appeal on the grounds of topicality and urgency. Some works have enough stylistic flourishes to avoid being pure message movies, although one doubts they would have qualified on formal innovation alone. The typical entry is a blend of genre suspense and arthouse tedium (long takes, routine actions, glimpses of sallow flesh).
A Monster with a Thousand Heads
This year’s Horizons opener, the Mexican drama A Monster with a Thousand Heads, zeroes in on a single social issue. The title is misleading: it looks at the inequality of healthcare through one case study, without exploring its larger implications. When Sonia (Jana Raluy) crusades to get better treatment for her husband’s cancer, she cuts a straightforward path through society, from the minor players to the centers of power. As she turns violent, the moral complications are minimal, since her cause remains righteous. Our expectations are never challenged – for instance, we don’t see how the use of controls might be essential for medical research. True, the film isn’t all plot – director Rodrigo Plá uses blur, silence, and turns his actors’ backs to the camera – but these are obvious ways of conveying alienation. What do they tell us other than that “the system’s not working” and the protagonist is mad as hell? As judges of the FIPRESCI Prize for Horizons and Critics’ Week, we saw a great many of these films: competent, affecting, but not memorable – and not really engaged with cinema as a medium.
Thus it was a shock to come across The Childhood of a Leader: one of the few works in Horizons that really did announce the arrival of a new voice. Although it might be taken for the late work of a European master – in the tradition of Alexander Sokurov’s profiles on dictators – this film is the debut of 27-year-old American director Brady Corbet. It is as spectacular and precisely orchestrated as its thunderous soundtrack: an investigation of power and the psychological complexes that underlie oppression and megalomania.
We begin with an American family living in France just before the treaty of Versailles; the father is a diplomat, the mother a fragile beauty, and the child an angel-faced boy with malign tendencies. While Corbet’s style is much more explosive, what he shares with Sokurov is a crucial reluctance to explain evil. Instead, there is an expression of the fascist sensibility through visual and sonic effects, giving us a close study of the textures of power: what it would feel like to be inside a diabolical mind.
From the opening scenes, Corbet clearly has creative energy to burn: the booming orchestral soundtrack makes us experience power as an exciting assault on the senses, always moving forward and upward. This is not one of those meek arthouse films (Wakolda, 2013, The Counterfeiters, 2007, The Lives of Others, 2006) that treats fascism as a phenomenon we are all familiar with; instead, we will reinvestigate the experience of totalitarianism from a child’s point of view.
Documentaries about fascist rulers tend to make use of orchestral music – most often, the cruel chords of Prokofiev evoke history’s dark days. But Scott Walker’s score does something different here: while a shriek of violins forces us to stand to attention, it also pricks up our senses during routine scenes, in the style of a pulp thriller. It makes us shiver during sequences of family life, as we watch a young boy’s personality come together. Thus the will to power is both exhilarating and terrifying; even from childhood, this would-be dictator has a vision of how the world might be shaped – like an ideal geometry or a set of chords.
The opening credits look like overlapping blueprints, imperfectly blotted sheets – an effect that is somehow frightening, as if mundane details are being mounted into an irrefutable case. But while the film purports to “know” the nature of evil by identifying it in embryonic form, it also questions the bluntness of such an approach. Only the most naïve viewer would perceive the garden-variety problems of this boy – parental adultery, an iron-willed father, a lack of gender differentiation – as latent signs of fascism. If the camera treats Prescott (Tom Sweet) as a kind of Damien or demon child, this only reflects the fantasy of evil as a discrete, coherent entity. When the film’s adult characters try to pin down the definition of sin (literally holding forth from their armchairs), this is seen as facile theorizing.
As the film progresses, we may feel that this boy is not nearly wicked enough – that time is running out for him to become a tyrant of world-shaking proportions. Where is the monster inside the commonplace brat? The film is divided into elegant chapter titles that assure us that something dreadful is around the corner, but their wording is too droll to be taken seriously.
Rather than a study of the origins of evil, the film is in fact viewed through the eyes of evil – the scrutinizing gaze of pathology. When we diagnose an “ordinary” family drama through the lens of world history, we may be missing the point. After all, when Preston’s father and his colleagues carve up Europe at the end of World War I – an act that will have disastrous consequences – the film purports to tell us that the real devil is next door, incubating in the nursery. Is this convincing? Not in any literal sense – we are merely invited to note the emotional similarities between a child’s cunning and the will of a dictator.
Like the work of Michael Haneke and Lars von Trier, The Childhood of a Leader seems provokingly sterile. Its leading ladies, Bérénice Bejo and Stacy Martin, are both listless speakers of English – potentially sinister but blank. Instead, evil is expressed visually – through the alarmed look of black on white and opacity against blur, the sudden sharpness of an image. Overall, the film seems to have a lack of affect – until the last scene, set years later.
We see officials in a conference room, like the one in which Preston’s father and his colleagues redesigned Europe so long ago. They finalize documents and exchange dry comments. One of them enters a car, which travels through an enthralled crowd; at this point, both the camera and the turbo soundtrack fire up. The camera makes furious stabs at the sky, like a fist pumping the air, repeatedly lashing an invisible enemy. Finally we realize where power lies – in the coolness of the war room and the intoxicating energy of the masses. It is a sensational ending, reflecting an insider’s experience of totalitarianism – equal parts thrilling and horrifying.
When it comes to explaining the machinations of power – and the necessary complicity of the camera – no one does it better than Marco Bellocchio. For his latest work, Blood of My Blood (Sangue del mio sangue), the jury unanimously awarded him the FIPRESCI Prize for best feature in competition. He deserves this and more, for a revolutionary, still under-recognized body of work. One of Bellocchio’s innovations has been to portray multiple perspectives and time periods within a single frame, through his distinctive use of light – a chiaroscuro that conceals as much as it reveals. In his films, events are constantly being remolded and shaped by light, and therefore subject to change: the real can be rescinded and judgments overturned. This has devastating political consequences: why does fog conveniently descend to obscure facts when the social hierarchy is threatened? In Bellocchio, the play of light is a play of power – whoever controls the light has the ability to determine what makes history and what gets left out in the process. Hence his frequent use of chambers and cells: dark, primordial spaces in which experience is still half-formed, not yet crystallized into narrative.
Bellocchio’s films are often set in this kind of underworld (My Mother’s Smile, 2002, Buongiorno, Notte, 2003, The Wedding Director, 2006), where events take on their final shape through small movements of light and shade. However, everything is so dimly lit that the mind goes a little hazy. With a bit of convincing, we might be persuaded that what we have witnessed is only a hallucination, a projection of our distracted minds. Nevertheless, this incubation phase is crucial in terms of the formation of history: during this time, incidents swirl together to produce what experts will later regard as an irrevocable event. All kinds of notions are subject to change: suicide, sainthood, chastity, witchcraft, and even rape can be reclassified in the constant shuffling of values, since these are subjects that rely on technical definitions. After a certain period, the chamber is opened and an “event” is cleanly ejected: a version of history that happens to favor the status quo. Up until now, the real is still reversible – but once the consensus has been determined, it is written in stone.
The shifting light in this film indicates multiple points of view at work – most significantly, it suggests that different temporal planes can inhabit the same scene. As in Henry James’ The American, each character comes with his or her own time frame and set of narrative rules. People in the same room don’t necessarily exist in the same genre – one character may belong to the gothic, while another comes from the world of the American short story. The young nobleman Federico (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio) may as well be a Jamesian protagonist, for all his understanding of diabolical European institutions. In 17th-century Italy, he visits the convent where his brother reportedly committed suicide after being seduced by an attractive nun, Sister Benedetta (Lidiya Liberman). The scandal would prevent the brother from being buried in holy ground, but the clergy are open to a bargain: the verdict of suicide will be recanted if Federico can get the nun to admit to communing with the devil.
Blood of My Blood
Here, we can already see there is leeway in the documenting of events: tiny technicalities separate absolution from damnation. In order to get Federico’s brother over the line, token testimony from the nun is required, preferably backed up with sobbing. The priest in charge of the inquisition turns out to be wily and coaxing, much more than the femme fatale he claims to denounce; through torture, the clergy extract confessions in the manner of a police state, driven by a pedantic need to classify. When Benedetta starts to cry, the priests fixate on her tears as if they were stigmata or hymenal bleeding; this is a culture driven by “signs” and marks. If all the signs line up, they believe the doors to heaven will open. Meanwhile, Benedetta is walled up alive inside a chamber.
The film’s second part opens in the present day, as a brash young man named Federico (again played by Pier Giorgio Bellocchio) enters the same convent of Bobbia. This time, he is accompanied by an oligarch who wants to buy the dilapidated building. However, a mysterious Count (Roberto Herlitzka) already lives there: a recluse who only ventures out at night. In the bright light of the 21st century, there are no more shadows or cobwebs to be seen – and surely there is no suspicion of deviltry? But the Count does resemble the priest who ordered the nun’s torture, and he is feared for his vampiric hold on the people. In this town, the forces of tradition seem as strong as ever – the community is bound by silence over conspiracies involving tax fraud. And what happened to Benedetta, the supposed witch who was imprisoned for life? The Count often thinks about her, but only an English-language soundtrack provides some sympathy for her plight: a layer of words inaccessible to the characters themselves.
If, to quote Bernardo Bertolucci, “we never forget a film’s light,” what do we remember about Blood of My Blood? In Bellocchio, identifying political meanings comes down to analyzing aura: working out spatial perceptions and how they are constructed. There is the light cast by official history, which builds definition and contour, deflecting the eye from unwanted detail. There are the shadows of the underground chamber, where space and time are uncertain – Bellocchio tricks our senses by playing “dream sequence” music over significant acts. And then there is the sudden halt of light and sound, which causes us to believe we’ve dozed off: a way of breaking off the spell you never knew you were under. Using light, Bellocchio gets audiences to doubt their memories, allowing a new narrative to be brought to the foreground – and thus replicating the system of control he has long been obsessed by. In this film, he refers to the stranglehold of the Italian government and the Catholic Church, but it is a power structure seen all over the world.
When Venice announced it was giving a lifetime achievement award to Brian de Palma, I looked forward to a reel of career highlights: all those spirals and swish pans circling around a juicy climax. One could link up the tracking sequences from, say, Dressed to Kill (1980), Body Double (1984), and Femme Fatale (2002) – all shot from the perspective of a lustful stalker – and come up with a hypnotic piece of film. I’m a case-by-case admirer of De Palma; his work is formalist eye candy – sometimes irritating, but always addictive.
Sisters (1973) remains a tantalizing pleasure and an early sign of the director’s cruel, baiting wit – the plot sees a feminist outwitted by a fashion model. Dressed to Kill and Femme Fatale are irresistible glitz, using images of softness and luxury to fog up the analytical gaze. Raising Cain (1992) is an underrated twist on the erotic thriller, in that sex is filmed from the point of view of the cuckold: the lush central romance between Lolita Davidovich and Steven Bauer unfolds before horrified eyes. On the other hand, films don’t get much worse than The Black Dahlia (2006), a toneless noir starring Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Swank as two of the most awkward femmes fatales of all time – does De Palma have trouble getting women to be slinky?
De Palma’s vision is based on lusciousness and the knife: no one has matched softcore and sadism to such keen effect. That very ’80s ambience of lingerie and mood lighting is designed to warm you up, then chill you to the bone: his sleek, sweatless bodies are waiting to be slashed. The conflation of seduction with violence may be troubling, but one struggles to argue with a director so self-aware – you can’t tell him anything he doesn’t know or won’t dismiss as humorless. However, some of his fetishes do get wearying. Surrender the pink: I can’t help but notice that De Palma likes to show women with just a sliver of areolae, again and again. Instead of wanton toplessness, what we get is a coy blush of nudity. With Nancy Allen in Dressed to Kill, Deborah Shelton in Body Double, and Melanie Griffith in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), he trots out the old peekaboo shot before covering them up: a touch of exposed pink leaves the women’s coolness and whiteness intact. It’s a predictable tease: the girls remain idealized and unviolated, safely sealed for another day.
The awards presentation was paired with the screening of a new documentary, De Palma, by Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow, in which the director proves to be a very sane, lucid talker. I agree that Cliff Robertson ruined Obsession (1976) in his attempt to overshadow Geneviève Bujold: she gives a great, sensitive performance that reminds us that Hitchcock worked with Joan Fontaine and Ingrid Bergman as well as his cool blondes. I’m also impressed by the calmness with which an artist can resolve to make big hits (Mission: Impossible, 1996), bending a franchise to his sensibility.
But what ultimately pulls us towards De Palma is the thrill of the anti-human: the idea of taking a rigorously formal approach to emotion, slicing through sentiment. There is something exciting about seeing murder as an exercise in minimalism, to be determined by color coding and a gem-like perfection of editing. The white of the eye, the pink of the nipple – they represent a voyeur who is aroused and chilled at the same time. And that is the electrifying effect of De Palma – the fact that he appeals to us through the values of both commercial porn and abstract art, reflecting a world-view that is lip-smacking but bloodless, puerile yet highly sophisticated.
In terms of “putting the audience through it,” there is the approach of a Hitchcock, De Palma, or Brady Corbet, in which we can enjoy the precision of structure while being tortured by it. In The Childhood of a Leader, Corbet invites us to admire a vision of brutal clarity and linearity, even as those sight lines hone a future of fascism. But there is also a manner of “putting through it” designed to give viewers the worthy sense of suffering. One of Venice’s most anticipated premieres, Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, belongs in the latter category. Of course the movie is “disturbing” – how could it not be, depicting the lives of child soldiers in West Africa? There is nothing really wrong with this film, but it is not sufficiently complex given the incendiary nature of its subject. It is at pains to make itself intelligible to a concerned Western audience, taking us on the expected journey from impossibly cute to confronting. Fukunaga could have achieved more with a vision of quiet, lucid horror, rather than this amped-up presentation with blood on the lens. It was a promising idea to give the main character, Agu (Abraham Attah), a voiceover, but this too obviously represents a conscience. I feel there should have been some mystery surrounding the breakup of identity – as in Terrence Malick’s The New World (2005), where displacement causes Pocahontas’ thoughts to separate into multiple voices, without her knowing the source.
That leaves the performance of Idris Elba as the main point of interest: his warlord is a charismatic monster, in the tradition of Michael Douglas’ Liberace and Forest Whitaker’s Idi Amin. Lately there has been controversy over whether Elba should be the next James Bond, with the likes of Rush Limbaugh protesting that a black Briton cannot play a Scot (even though Ian Fleming gave Bond Scottish antecedents after seeing Sean Connery’s performance). But Elba is very close to Connery, kingly in size and self-regard, with the “brief, unromantic” hardness that Fleming wanted for Bond. The character was conceived as a mixture of virility and an “anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department.” Stone-eyed, with immense vocal power and a sly affect, Elba would seem to fit the bill, giving Bond glamor and brutality, as well as a characteristic low cunning.
Conservative commentators say a black Bond would be an outrageous sop to political correctness. Which begs the question: what is James Bond about these days? Is he Scottish in the same way that Hamlet is Danish? I tend to feel that Hamlet is more about being young, a glorious rose of youth, than being Scandinavian – therefore age might be more indispensable than color in casting. Similarly, Judi Dench’s skin would not preclude her playing Shakespeare’s Cleopatra (who is “with Phoebus’ amorous pinches black”) if we accept that Cleopatra now represents a concept, an ideal of liberty and voluptuousness, more than any specific culture; in fact, Dench’s presence stops us from being overly attached to historical context. Limbaugh’s argument that a white actor could not play Barack Obama is a different case – today, the name Obama still stands for a person rather than a myth. We don’t have sufficient distance from his legacy to see him as purely symbolic.
So I want to ask you: at this point, is James Bond about being distinctively Scottish? Or does he embody more of a mental type, the successful sadist? Some might answer the former – but if not, by all means, Elba is your man.
— Lesley Chow
Lesley Chow is an Australian writer on music and film. She has been a member of the critics′ jury at Venice and Berlin film festivals, as well as publishing in Times Literary Supplement, Salon, Senses of Cinema, Cineaste, The Quietus, Pop Matters, and CNN. She is currently working on a book about female anomalies in popular music. Contact her here: [email protected].
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Pierre Etaix: Revisiting a Forgotten Master July 31, 2010
Paradise Betrayed: Talking with Terence Davies About Of Time and the City July 31, 2008
Loving the Bad: An Interview with Frankie Latina and Sasha Grey on Modus Operandi November 22, 2010
Dispatch from the Desert: The Fifth Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2011) October 31, 2011
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Tag: cathymarston
Biographical Ballets Now & Then
Biographical Ballets Now
When we started researching biographical ballets, we were under the impression that such ballets were a rarity. Fortunately however, discussions with friends and colleagues revealed a multitude of works, including forgotten and unknown examples, demonstrating that, as in cinema, people’s lives offer a rich source for creation in ballet.
Internationally a number of recent biographical ballets have been based on the lives of iconic figures from the arts, amongst them Broken Wings (Lopez Ochoa, 2016), based on the life and work of Frida Kahlo; John Neumeier’s Nijinsky and Yuri Possokhov’s Nureyev, both from 2017; and Morgann Runacre-Temple’s The Kingdom of Back (2018) about the relationship between Mozart’s elder sister Nannerl, also a composer, Mozart himself and their father.
Our focus for this post is of course driven by the successful addition to the British ballet repertoire that is Cathy Marston’s Victoria for Northern Ballet. Monarchs and royals are no strangers to the ballet stage. Kenneth MacMillan devoted full-evening works to exploring the lives of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolevna of Russia (Anastasia, 1971) and Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (Mayerling, 1978) in his inimitable full-blooded style. Between these two ballets, in 1976, came Peter Darrell’s Mary Queen of Scots, while in 1995 David Bintley tackled the subject of Edward II through the lens of Christopher Marlowe’s 1592 play. On a smaller scale is the more recent Elizabeth by Will Tuckett (2013), but this choreography incorporates spoken and sung text, as well as onstage musicians.
Like Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria is such a familiar figure to us. Even if we never learnt about her in school, there are documentaries and films available, as well as the current ITV series Victoria, now having completed a third series. Literature is aplenty in the form of both biographies and fiction, diaries and letters, and a Christmas never goes by without a reminder of how she and Albert established family traditions such as gathering round a decorated Christmas tree. In everyday London life their names crop up repeatedly: Victoria Station, the Victoria line, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, the Albert Memorial, the Victoria Memorial. To say nothing of the numerous statues of Victoria throughout the UK …
But Queen Victoria reigned for over six decades, and writings by her and about her were carefully edited. She had a hugely important public persona to develop and project, as well as a private life to lead with its famed tragedies. Consequently, she is frequently portrayed in conflicting ways, which we definitely experienced as we watched documentaries in preparation for this post (“Queen Victoria’s Letters” 1&2; “The Secret Life of Queen Victoria”; “Queen Victoria’s Children 1,2,3”; “King Edward Parts 1&2”). So how can a choreographer create a ballet about Victoria, who was celebrated as wife, mother and widow, as well as empress and queen, over so many years of political change, in a single evening?
The solution that Cathy Marston and librettist Uzma Hameed came up with was to portray Victoria from a very specific perspective – that of Beatrice, Victoria’s youngest daughter. This enabled a sufficiently narrow focus for a two-act ballet, with a selection of a restricted number of characters and events covering the many decades from Victoria as a young woman prior to ascending the throne right up to her death.
While the notion of “narrowness” and “restriction” may initially seem limiting, if you think about it, this process of paring down is absolutely essential in any adaptation that involves a change of medium necessitating any substantial change in length or duration, such as the adaptation of an 800-page book into a 100-minute film, or years of a person’s life into a 300-page volume. Such are the skills necessary to achieve a process of adaptation of this kind, that they have been referred to as a “surgical art” (H. Porter Abbott qtd. in Linda Hutcheon and Siobhan O’Flynn 19).
Victoria premiered on March 16th of this year, and has received a substantial amount of media attention, including interviews with the choreographer, articles, and numerous reviews. Therefore, the fact that the ballet is framed by Beatrice’s rewriting of her Mother’s diaries and presented in flashbacks following Beatrice’s reading in the diaries is well documented. Some of the reviews stand out to us in the way they highlight the writing and rewriting of history (King, Lowe, Monahan, Roy, Winter). Unsurprisingly, this topic of how history is written is close to our hearts, although for some Marston’s delight at finding an “unreliable witness” (qtd. in Dennison) to Victoria’s life may come as a surprise. However, to us this seems to be at the heart of the ballet, not only in how it portrays the events of Victoria’s life, but how it challenges some of our preconceptions of Victoria, and therefore startles and stirs us in equal measure.
If you have been following the ITV series Victoria, you will be familiar with the passion of the young Victoria; however, we see nothing in the series to compare with the sheer sexual pleasure expressed by Marston’s choreography for Victoria and Albert’s wedding night duet (“Northern Ballet’s Victoria”), which on one occasion in our viewing elicited a “wow!” from the audience.
Victoria and Albert on their Wedding Night – Abigail Prudames as Victoria and Joseph Taylor as Albert in Victoria. Photo Emma Kauldhar
In the course of this pas de deux hardly a moment goes by without the couple stroking and kissing one another’s limbs, torsos, heads and faces. They spin and swoop together around the stage in arcs of elation; they wrap themselves around one another emanating exquisite sensual satisfaction. Even though Victoria’s decades of grieving for her husband are almost an historical cliché, we tend not to associate the figure in black with the physical passion that she clearly shared with Albert and that Marston has expressed with such ravishing eloquence.
The Wedding Night – Abigail Prudames as Victoria and Joseph Taylor as Albert in Victoria. Photo Emma Kauldhar
Similarly, our pervasive awareness of Victoria’s love for her consort may inhibit our ability to connect such passion with the disagreements over Albert’s role in politics. With characteristic economy of means Marston conveys these turbulent arguments through tussles over a red box symbolising affairs of state. But in the ballet Victoria’s intransigence is seen at its most passionate in her furious resistance to Beatrice’s desire to marry: bent over double with fists clenched, her rage is palpable. And while we may indeed envision Victoria as domineering and controlling, the ferocity of her physicality collides with the conventional image of Victoria.
Watching Marston’s Victoria makes us feel on the one hand that we’re learning more about the iconic monarch, but on the other hand the experience of having our well-worn vision of Victoria challenged is destabilising. Consequently, and counterintuitively, Victoria seems to become more of a mystery than previously. Perhaps this is because Marston presents her as a human being – as daughter, lover and mother, as well as queen and empress. But equally, because we so clearly witness her through layers of subjectivity. Marston makes this crystal clear through her words in interviews and rehearsals, and no less through the stage action itself. Victoria writes, and Beatrice reads, remembers, discovers, reacts and edits: the lives of Victoria and Beatrice written by Victoria and rewritten by Beatrice with nostalgia and longing on the one hand, and surprise, disapprobation and anger on the other.
Biographical Ballets Then
Unlike in the case of Queen Victoria, the royal lives that MacMillan chose to adapt are probably perceived by British audiences as more than usually mysterious. This is particularly the case for Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova, who was believed by some to have survived the massacre of the Imperial Russian family by the Bolsheviks in 1917. But the circumstances of Crown Prince Rudolf’s death, the last of the Habsburg dynasty, was deliberately covered up for political reasons and therefore also shrouded in mystery. This sense of mystery has perhaps been intensified by the highly romanticised 1956 Anastasia featuring Ingrid Bergman in the titular role, and Mayerling with Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve (1968).
What probably attracted MacMillan to these two historical figures was his inclination towards sombre subject matter and characters who experienced a sense of being an outsider – a theme that MacMillan revisited repeatedly (Parry “Creating Anastasia” 4). But in both cases, as we watch, we gain a sense that the creators were intent on revealing some kind of perceived truth through the ballets, that they were committed to uncovering a mystery and replacing it with historical “reality”.
MacMillan created what was to become the final act of Anastasia in 1967 during his time as Director of the Deutsche Oper Ballett in Berlin. The German city was rife with stories of a woman named Anna Anderson claiming to be Anastasia Romanova, youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, a woman frequently referred to as “Fräulein Unbekannt” (“Miss Unknown”) (Welch 8). Anna had been saved from drowning in a Berlin canal in 1920 and had been living in Germany ever since, and from 1932 striving to legally prove her royal identity (Parry “Creating Anastasia” 4).
This one-act ballet was set in a mental hospital, where Anna is seen reliving life as a member of the Imperial family before the Russian Revolution, and witnessing the assassination of her family before being rescued. Flickering film footage of the Imperial family and Russian political events accompanied by a musique concrète score of fractured, distorted voices and harsh, jarring sounds opens the work. This moves into Bohuslav Martinŭ’s dissonant Symphony No. 6 which complements MacMillan’s visceral, angular and splintered movement material, revealing Anna’s emotional turmoil. Her battle to be accepted as Anastasia is exacerbated by memories of her turbulent personal history, which includes the loss of a husband and child.
Anastasia-24-10-16-Royal Ballet-5042 Natalia Osipova and Edward Watson by Tristram Kenton
Figures from her past – her parents, siblings, Rasputin, Bolshevik soldiers –haunt her, randomly emerging and re-enacting crucial events; at times they are confused with her present alienating company of medical staff and visitors. The theme of the outsider is patently clear: Anna is segregated from any potential community in her current life by the four walls of her hospital room, and she is segregated from the community of her past through their death.
Four years later when MacMillan was working as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet, the choreographer developed the one-act work into a three-act ballet, portraying the Imperial family in events leading up to World War I (Act I) and the 1917 Revolution (Act II). Although the flashbacks that fill Anna’s mind in the final act are fragmented and muddled, indicating her state of mind, the first two acts follow a clear chronology. Therefore, the characters who haunt her in Act III are initially presented logically and in context, conveying to the audience a sense of factual reality. This means that there is no disconnect between Anastasia’s historical past and Anna’s memories, giving credence to Anna’s claims. And the final moments seem to confirm this: “At the end of the ballet, she stands like a ship’s figurehead at the prow of her bed as it sails round the stage, a small defiant figure floating on a sea of darkness” (Parry Different Drummer 327).
Gillian Freeman, who wrote the scenario for Mayerling, organised three acts that cover the last eight years of Rudolf’s life from his wedding day to his suicide with his young mistress Mary Vetsera. Rudolf’s troubled relationships with women, from his mother and wife to his various mistresses provided rich material for transforming into expressive pas de deux, one of MacMillan’s great talents as a choreographer. It is abundantly clear that the choreographer wanted to portray Rudolf as a tormented human being who had been abused as a young boy, was emotionally neglected, suffered from venereal disease and was obsessed with death. Although MacMillan focused on the emotional aspects of his life, he also dealt with the political pressure that Rudolf faced from his friends campaigning for Hungarian independence.
What we find particularly fascinating is that Freeman insists that she wanted the ballet to be rooted in fact, and that all the events portrayed in the ballet can be historically verified (“Mayerling: South Bank special, part 1, 1978”), including Mary Vetsera’s arrival at Rudolf’s quarters wearing only a coat and a nightdress, his fascination with guns and skulls , and bringing his wife to the tavern managed by his Mistress Mitzi Casper (Freeman “The Uncertain Beyond” 10-11).
Mayerling Sarah Lamb as Mary Vetsera ROH 2017 Photographed by Alice Pennefather
Freeman was very insistent that the ballet portray the true circumstances of Rudolf and Mary’s death, so different from the sanitised version of events that was publicly announced in an effort to disguise the truth (“Mayerling: South Bank special, part 4, 1978”).
Therefore, in the case of both Anastasia and Mayerling there is a sense of a mystery solved and a truth revealed: Rudolf’s nature and the events surrounding his death are revealed, as is Anna’s identity.
In 2017 historical novelist Hilary Mantel stated the following:
… history is not the past – it is the method we have evolved of organising our ignorance of the past …It is no more “the past” than a birth certificate is a birth, or a script is a performance, or a map is a journey. It is the multiplication of the evidence of fallible and biased witnesses, combined with incomplete accounts of actions not fully understood by the people who performed them.
In our opinion, one of the aspects that distinguishes Marston’s approach to the creation of biographical ballets from MacMillan’s is her attitude to the past and to history. This reflects the shift in thinking about the past and how we construct both personal and public history that evolved over the second half of the 20th century, and is so wonderfully expressed by Mantel. Rather than attempting to discover unbiased facts, Marston recognises that history depends on “biased witnesses”. Nonetheless, whether consciously or subconsciously, in creating these ballets both choreographers have expertly and inventively deployed not only their choreographic imaginations but also their historical imaginations.
In 1994 DNA tests proved that Anna Anderson was not in fact Tsarevna Anastasia. Yet this is perhaps not the point. All of these ballets can be interpreted in a more open way, helping us to think about issues of identity, the way we see ourselves and make sense of our own pasts and to question assumptions that we make about the way we understand the past from the remnants it leaves behind.
©British Ballet Now & Then
We are very grateful for the support of Rachel Evans, Senior Communications Officer of Northern Ballet, and Ashley Woodfield, Head of Ballet Press of Royal Opera House in the production of this post.
Next time on British Ballet Now & Then … Last Saturday the Royal Ballet staged Margot Fonteyn a Celebration to mark the centenary of the British Prima Ballerina Assoluta’s birth. In response we will discuss Fonteyn plus three of the ballerinas who participated in the celebration: Lauren Cuthbertson, Francesca Hayward and Yasmine Naghdi.
Dennison, Matthew. “Victoria through the eyes of her favourite child: how the life of Queen Victoria became a ballet”. The Telegraph, 25 Feb. 2019, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/dance/what-to-see/victoria-eyes-favourite-child-life-queen-victoria-became-ballet/. Accessed 11 June 2019.
Freeman, Gillian. “The Uncertain Beyond”. Mayerling. Programme. Royal Opera House, 2018, pp. 9-12.
Hutcheon, Linda, and Siobhan O’Flynn. A Theory of Adaptation. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2013.
“King Edward VII – Part 1”, YouTube, 1 June 2011, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdRddYn605c&t=1278s. Accessed 10 June 2019.
“King Edward VII – Part ”, YouTube, 1 June 2011, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S-4veChkRA. Accessed 10 June 2019.
King, Tom. “Northern Ballet Victoria Festival Theatre Edinburgh”. Entertainment Edinburgh / Southside Advertiser, 10 April 2019, http://www.southsideadvertiser.biz/Northern-Ballet-Victoria=Festival-Theatre-Edinburgh-2019.htm. Accessed 11 June 2019.
Lowe, Philip. “Review: Victoria”. East Midlands Theatre, 2 April 2019, http://www.eastmidlandstheatre.com/2019/04/03/review-victoria-northern-ballet-touring-curve-leicester-2-6-april-2019/. Accessed 2 June 2019.
Mantel, Hilary. “Hilary Mantel: why I became a historical novelist”. The Guardian, 3 June 2017, http://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/03/hilary-mantel-why-i-became-a-historical-novelist. Accessed 10 June 2019.
“Mayerling: South Bank special, part 1, 1978”, YouTube, 10 Sept. 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IntawIGac4. Accessed 2 June 2019.
Monahan, Mark “Victoria, Northern Ballet, Sadler’s Wells, review: a fascinating tale of royal passion being struck from history”. The Telegraph, 27 March 2019, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/dance/what-to-see/victoria-review-northern-ballet-sadlers-wells-fascinating-tale/. Accessed 2 June 2019.
“Northern Ballet’s Victoria: behind the veil”. YouTube, uploaded by Northern Ballet, 13 Feb. 2019, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw0RF8xUzR8. Accessed 1 June 2019.
Parry, Jann “Creating Anastasia”. Kenneth MacMillan’s Anastasia, performance by The Royal Ballet. DVD notes. 2016, Opus Arte, 2016, pp. 4-6.
—. Different Drummer – The Life of Kenneth MacMillan. Faber and Faber, 2019.
“Private Lives of the Monarchs – Ep01The Secret Life of Queen Victoria”, YouTube, 22 July 2018, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyVIPGcXMPo. Accessed 2 June 2019.
“Queen Victoria’s Letters – A Monarch Unveiled – Episode 2”, YouTube, 28 Apr. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7–sZ_kH0pI. Accessed 2 June 2019.
“Queen Victoria’s Children – Episode 1”, YouTube, 15 June 2015, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv4RvQuCmR4. Accessed 2 June 2019.
“Queen Victoria’s Children – Episode 2”, YouTube, 20 Dec. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hovoqQDllbw. Accessed 2 June 2019.
“Queen Victoria’s Children – Episode 3”, YouTube, 21 Sept. 2017, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv4RvQuCmR4. Accessed 2 June 2019.
Roy, Sanjoy, “Northern Ballet: Victoria review – royal story is a feast of brilliance”. The Guardian, 10 March 2019, http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/mar/10/northern-ballet-victoria-review- cathy-marston-ballet-queen-daughter-beatrice-choreography-grand-leeds. Accessed 1 June 2019.
Welch, Frances “The False Grand Duchess Anastasia”. Kenneth MacMillan’s Anastasia, performance by The Royal Ballet. DVD notes. 2016, Opus Arte, 2016, pp. 6-8.
Winter, Anna. “Victoria review at Sadler’s Wells, London – ‘a ballet to treasure’”. The Stage, 27 March 2019, http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2019/victoria-review-sadlers-wells-london/. Accessed 2 June.
Author britishballetnowandthenPosted on June 12, 2019 June 14, 2019 Categories Biographical BalletsTags #ballet, #ballethistory, #Britishballetnowandthen, #dancehistory, #RoyalBallet, anastasia, annaanderson, biographicalballets, cathymarston, dancewriting, gillianfreeman, hillarymantel, historiography, history, Kenneth MacMillan, lynnseymour, mayerling, monarchs, northernballet, princealbert, queenvictoria, royalalberthall, uzmahameed, victoria, victoriaandalbert, victorialineLeave a comment on Biographical Ballets Now & Then
Female Choreographers Now & Then
Female Choreographers Now
At British Ballet Now and Then we have been following the debate on female choreographers. In 2009 The Guardian critic and historian Judith Mackrell asked “Where are all the great female choreographers?”, and considered reasons why we see so few dance works choreographed by women, particularly on major stages by the world’s most prestigious companies. Since then the question seems to have become simply “Where are all the female choreographers?”. Luke Jennings, author and dance critic of The Observer, has published thoughts on this topic on several occasions (“Female Choreographers”), highlighting work by Vanessa Fenton and Cathy Marston that he had admired in the smaller venues of the Royal Opera House that had not led to opportunities to create for the main stage (“Sexism in Dance”), and culminating in his response to Akram Khan’s position on redressing the gender balance in choreography (“You’re Wrong, Akram. We Do Need More Female Choreographers”). Female ballet choreographers, including Cathy Marston (qtd. in Jennings), and Crystal Pite (qtd. in Mackrell), whose work we discuss below, have joined in the debate.
The current Artistic Directors of the UK’s two most prestigious companies have been tackling this conundrum. As soon as Kevin O’Hare was in post as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet (RB) in 2012, he commissioned the much-sought-after Canadian Crystal Pite to choreograph a new work for his company. By the time the work, Flight Pattern, premiered in March 2017, the company had not performed a work from a female dance maker for 18 years. Under Tamara Rojo English National Ballet had already the previous year taken more radical action by staging a triple bill of new works created by female choreographers entitled She Said, thereby highlighting the voice of women in the creative process. Mackrell referred to the programme as a “campaigning first for an industry in which most of the repertory is created by men”. And indeed David Bintley, Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, a company that already has a “strong record” of performing works by female choreographers (Anderson “Birmingham Royal Ballet”), has followed suit with plans for a triple bill of choreographies by Ruth Brill, Jessica Lang and Didy Veldman next season.
So, in case you haven’t had a chance to see Flight Pattern or She Said, here is a short outline of the works to at least give you some impression of their focus and diversity.
Characteristic of Pite’s oeuvre is her concern with the human condition, and the world as it is with all its conflict and trauma. Referring to Flight Pattern she says: “This creation is my way of coping with the world at the moment” (qtd. in Spencer). On this occasion, the plight of refugees is her theme. But the work also demonstrates her skill in moving large numbers of dancers in imaginative and compelling patterns, groupings and configurations around the stage, ideal for a large-scale company such as the RB.
At the heart of She Said were two iconic women (one real, one mythological), and the act of dancing itself. Broken Wings by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa portrayed the life of Frida Kahlo in a swathe of vibrant colours and imaginative stage sets evoking the artist’s work. Kahlo’s life of love and suffering was portrayed in quite a literal way in terms of movement content, unlike Yabin Wang’s M-Dao, a sparse, pared down but searing account of the Medea myth, in which Medea’s dead children were represented by fallen drapes that she gathered in her arms, and her vulnerability portrayed by one bare foot. In stark and satisfying contrast, Aszure Barton’s virtuosic Fantastic Beings “inflects the classical language with a wonderful strangeness – brooding missed beats, skittering deviations, and an exhilaratingly bold eye for pattern” (Mackrell), and the choreography skilfully captures the unique movement style of each dancer (Kechacha).
The theme of strong women is an important focus for British choreographer Cathy Marston (qtd. in Winter), whose 2016 Jane Eyre is currently being performed by Northern Ballet (NB). Marston has been choreographing professionally for almost two decades in this country and internationally, and Jane Eyre is her third work for NB, the first being Dividing Silence, as early as 2004. Three years prior to this a pas de deux by the name of Three Words Unspoken was premiered in the Clore Studio at the Royal Opera House with Brian Maloney and a young Tamara Rojo whose intense and dramatic performance enriched the compelling choreography. Nonetheless, even though Marston held the position of Associate Artist at the Royal Opera House from 2002 to 2006, she was not given the chance to create work for the main stage.
Happily, over the coming months two of Marston’s works will be touring in various locations throughout the UK, giving thousands of people the opportunity to see her work. In addition to NB’s tour of Jane Eyre, Ballet Black is performing a brand new work that she has created for the company entitled The Suit. This is based on a fable by South African author Can Themba, and has already received positive reviews highlighting her skill and inventiveness in conveying various relationships, emotions and dramatic situations (Anderson, Roy, Wonderful News).
Christopher Hampson, Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet (SB) since 2012, has been proactive in expanding his company’s repertoire with works by female choreographers, including Kristen McNally from RB and former resident choreographer for the Atlanta Ballet, Helen Pickett. Although he may not have commissioned choreography from Crystal Pite, in 2016, while the Royal Ballet were waiting for work to begin on Flight Patterns, SB in fact performed the European premiere of Pite’s 2009 Emergence, originally created for National Ballet of Canada (Crompton). Four years previous to this SB had premiered A Streetcar Named Desire, created for them by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, later to choreograph Broken Wings for ENB. This work has been seen in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, and London.
It would seem then that it is possible to see a variety of work created by female choreographers here in the UK, but it takes time, and either patience, or the willingness and means to travel. Thanks to forward-looking directors, next season we have more to look forward to: as well as BRB’s triple bill of new choreographies by women, ENB are staging She Persists, a triple bill of Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring, Broken Wings and a new work by first artist Stina Quagebeur.
Female Choreographers Then
While we have been appreciating the opportunities we now have to experience a range of works by female choreographers (limited though it still is), as we ponder on two female choreographers from the past, we are focussing on the crucial contributions they made to shaping British ballet style, contributions that are perhaps not generally fully recognised or acknowledged. One of them, Ninette de Valois, we tend to associate more with her crucial role in establishing the Royal Ballet; the name of the other, Andrée Howard, may even be completely unfamiliar to you.
Despite de Valois’ inestimable role in the establishment of British ballet and the fact that she was quite a prolific choreographer, few of her works are still performed. Amongst her most celebrated ballets are The Rake’s Progress (1935) and Checkmate (1937), available on DVD in a 1982 performance by Sadler’s Wells (now Birmingham) Royal Ballet, and her 1931 Job. With their moral themes of faith against all the odds, human frailty, and the battle of good against evil, these works are rather sombre in tone. However, amongst her hundred or so works were a 1950 single act version of Don Quixote to a score by the Spanish Catalan Roberto Gerhard featuring Robert Helpmann as the Don and Margot Fonteyn as Dulcinea, as well as the comic 1940 Prospect Before Us about two rival 18th century theatre managers.
If you watch the scene with the Dancing Master from The Rake’s Progress, with its swift and intricate footwork complemented by quick changes in direction and bends and twists of the torso, you might be forgiven for thinking that this is a ballet by Frederick Ashton, the Founder Choreographer of the Royal Ballet, who is generally thought of as the architect of the English style. Critic Alastair Macaulay has pointed out the similarity in the styles of de Valois and Ashton in this scene (205), while Judith Mackrell has presented an intriguing and perspicacious argument that particular aspects of de Valois’ choreographic style were more inherently English in nature than were Ashton’s: “… De Valois’ choreography was in certain respects even more British in temper than Ashton’s – uncluttered, clear-eyed, and almost literary in its detailed realisation of character and plot” (“Vanishing Pointe?”). So, even though most of her works are no longer performed, it seems that de Valois made a significant contribution to the development of a recognisably English style in her capacity as a choreographer as well as in her role of founder-director of Britain’s national ballet company.
And so to Andrée Howard. Even though you are probably unacquainted with Howard’s choreography, she was in fact a founding member of The Ballet Club (later renamed Ballet Rambert, the company that eventually became Rambert Dance Company) and started choreographing in the 1930s. In 2005 the RB revived her best known work, La Fête étrange (1940), and the following year Rambert Dance Company revisited her Lady into Fox, the work that initially made her name in 1939. Other than these two ballets all of Howard’s works have been lost. Nonetheless, she is a truly fascinating figure in British ballet; in fact historian and archivist Jane Pritchard describes her as a “key choreographer from the founding years of 20th century British ballet”.
Both La Fête étrange and Lady into Fox are characteristic of Howard’s oeuvre in that they deal with dark subject matter based on literary themes. La Fête étrange tells the story of a young man who chances upon an engagement party and precipitates the break-up of the betrothal. More startling is the subject matter of Lady into Fox, as the title summarises exactly the narrative of the work: a young woman metamorphoses into a vixen. Howard’s choice of daring subject matter is perhaps at its most pronounced in her 1947 adaptation of David Garnett’s novel The Sailor’s Return concerning a mixed race couple trying to settle in Victorian England. Important for the current debate on female dance makers is Professor Susan Jones’ assessment of Howard’s oeuvre as “evoking in dance a specifically female experience” (261): “In several ballets Howard returned to the theme of the abandoned woman, isolated by social and patriarchal forces beyond her control, where the dissemination of narrative through choreographed movement principally charts the inner conflict of the female protagonist” (261-62).
In the late 1940s to early 50s Howard staged works for both Sadler’s Wells Opera/Theatre Ballet and Sadler’s Wells Ballet (now BRB and RB). It is very interesting to us that a young Kenneth MacMillan was performing with these companies at that time and even danced in her ballets Assembly Ball (1946) and La Fête étrange (Parry 64, 71). This means that he had plenty of exposure to her work. With her penchant for disturbing, or at least unsettling, subject matter, it seems inconceivable that Howard would not have made a lasting impact on this giant of British ballet, celebrated for bringing realism to the art form. (You can read about MacMillan’s choral works in our January 2018 post.)
Therefore, in our opinion, it not only important to give female choreographers opportunities to create ballets, but also to ensure that their most effective works are preserved and that their influence as choreographers appropriately acknowledged.
Next time on British Ballet Now and Then … Next month, just one year after its creation, Aszure Barton’s Fantastic Beings will be the first of the three works from ENB’s She Said to be revived (with some reworking). It is being performed as part of the Voices of America bill, which will be reviewed by our editor, Libby Costello.
© Rosemarie Gerhard 2018
Anderson, Zoë. “Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sadler’s Wells, London, Review”. The Independent, 6 Nov. 2017, http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/birmingham-royal-ballet-a8040666.html. Accessed 23 Mar. 2018.
—. “Ballet Black, Barbican Theatre, London, Review”. The Independent, 20 Mar. 2018, http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/ballet-black-review-barbican-a8264861.html. Accessed 23 Mar. 2018.
Crompton, Sarah. “Scottish Ballet: Crystal Pite; Angelin Preljoçaj review – one great, one good”, The Guardian, 21 Aug. 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/aug/21/scottish-ballet-crystal-pite-emergence-angelin-preljocaj-mc-14-22-edinburgh-festival-review. Accessed 25 Feb. 2018.
Jennings, Luke. “Female Choreographers: further thoughts”, Luke Jennings, 2 Mar. 2015, https://thirdcast.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/female-choreographers-further-thoughts/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2018.
—. “Sexism in Dance: where are all the female choreographers?”, The Guardian, 28 Apr. 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/apr/28/women-choreographers-glass-ceiling. Accessed 25 Feb. 2018.
—. “You’re Wrong, Akram. We Do Need More Female Choreographers”, The Guardian, 18 Jan. 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jan/18/akram-khan-more-female-choreographers-for-the-sake-of-it-luke-jennings-reply. Accessed 25 Feb. 2018.
Jones, Susan. Literature, Modernism and Dance. Oxford UP, 2013.
Kechacha, Rym. “She Said: the enduring power of the female voice in dance at ENB”. Bachtrack, 14 Apr. 2016, https://bachtrack.com/review-she-said-lopez-ochoa-wang-barton-english-national-ballet-sadlers-wells-april-2016. Accessed 21 Feb. 2018.
Macaulay, Alastair. “Ashton and De Valois”. Ninette de Valois, Adventurous Traditionalist, edited by Richard Allen Cave and Libby worth, Dance Books, 2012, pp. 199-208.
Mackrell, Judith. “Crystal Pite: ‘In ballet, girls are less likely to be prized for being mavericks’”. The Guardian, 2 May 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/may/12/crystal-pite-girls-ballet-choreographer-prized-mavericks. Accessed 14 Feb. 2018.
—. “English National Ballet: She Said review”. The Guardian, 14 Apr. 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/apr/14/english-national-ballet-she-said-review-sadlers-wells-london. Accessed 14 Feb. 2018.
—. “Vanishing Pointe: where are all the great female choreographers?”. The Guardian, 27 Oct. 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/oct/27/where-are-the-female-choreographers. Accessed 14 Feb. 2018.
—. “Where would we have been without her?”. The Independent, 6 June 1993, http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/dance-where-would-we-have-been-without-her-dame-ninette-de-valois-celebrated-her-95th-birthday-1490132.html. Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.
Masterpieces of British Ballet: Checkmate, The Rake’s Progress. Choreographed by Ninette de Valois , performance by Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet. 1982, VAI, 2006.
Parry, Jan. Different Drummer: the life of Kenneth MacMillan. Faber and Faber, 2009.
Pritchard, Jane. “Women Choreographers and English National Ballet”. ENB, 8 Mar. 2018, http://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/women-choreographers-english-national-ballet/. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.
Roy, Sanjoy. “Ballet Black review – Shakespeare in tutus for enchanting double bill”. The Guardian, 18 Mar. 2018, http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/mar/18/ballet-black-review-shakespeare-in-tutus-for-enchanting-double-bill. Accessed 20 Mar. 2018.
Spencer, Mel. “Crystal Pite: Flight Pattern is my way of coping with the world at the moment”. Royal Opera House, 9 Mar. 2017, http://www.roh.org.uk/news/crystal-pite-flight-pattern-is-my-way-of-coping-with-the-world-at-the-moment. Accessed 25 Feb. 2018.
Winter, Anna. “Cathy Marston: ‘Many of my works are led by strong women’”. Exeunt, 28 June 2016, http://exeuntmagazine.com/features/cathy-marston-many-works-led-strong-women/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2018.
Wonderful News. “Ballet Black’s The Suit & A Dream Within A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an emotional and joyous journey”. The Wonderful World of Dance, 16 Mar. 2018, http://www.thewonderfulworldofdance.com/ballet-blacks-suit-dream-within-midsummer-nights-dream-emotional-joyous-journey. Accessed 20 Mar. 2018.
Author britishballetnowandthenPosted on March 26, 2018 March 28, 2018 Categories Female ChoreographersTags #andreehoward, #balletblack, #ballethistory, #balletnow, #balletthen, #britishballet, #britishnowandthen, #christopherhampson, #devalois, #ENB, #femalechoreographers, #NB, #RB, #SB, #shesaid, #tamararojo, cathymarstonLeave a comment on Female Choreographers Now & Then
Cathy & Jane: A Review of Northern Ballet’s Jane Eyre
When Shanghai Ballet visited London in 2013, they brought with them an adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. In this production, the figure of Berthe Mason, Mr Rochester’s wife, is foregrounded, making the notion of a dualistic vision of womanhood central to the work. However, three years later British choreographer Cathy Marston created a Jane Eyre for Northern Ballet offering a completely different perspective. We went to see the ballet in Leeds, but from April to June it will continue to be performed in a number of UK locations: Belfast, Sheffield, Cardiff, London and Manchester.
Binary representations of women abound in 19th century ballet, for example the good, chaste, virginal and beautiful pitted against the evil, seductive, sexual and ugly: think of Effie and the Sylph, Giselle and Myrthe, Aurora and Carabosse, Odette and Odile. However, Marston refreshingly eschews such tropes and places Jane herself right at the heart of the work, from start to finish.
The way in which the structure of the ballet hangs on Jane’s development is ingenious, opening as it does at that point in the narrative where she is at her most emotionally and physically vulnerable, alone and in a state of collapse on the moor, having fled Thornfield after discovering the existence of Rochester’s wife. From there the first act depicts scenes from her life as they pass through her memory – the death of her parents, her childhood and early adulthood at Lowood, the events at Thornfield – until the action reaches the starting point and the scene on the moor is repeated. This repetition is daring on Marston’s part, and it leaves the audience in no doubt as to the focus of this adaptation.
Jane’s physical weakness and emotional exhaustion in this crucial scene on the moors are clearly demonstrated through her drooping body and her reliance on her partner St. John Rivers to support her. This dependency however is not characteristic of her duets with Rochester, each of them imaginatively and eloquently depicting the stages of their growing relationship. From Jane’s awkward juddering movements suggesting her conflicting feelings for Rochester and humorous gestures, such as the sharp kick she gives him in the shin, the movement becomes more sensuous. Support work, so integral to ballet pas de deux, is tellingly not restricted to Rochester, but shared, for example, when the couple tenderly lean against one another. The duets are also unusual and revealing in being punctuated by Jane defiantly staring back at Rochester. In contrast, the duet between Blanche Ingram and Rochester is much more conventional, as Rochester supports Blanche in lifts and turns depicting traditional ballet gender relations, thereby suggesting a relationship that would be condoned by society but would be of little interest to Rochester.
Marston has created an extraordinarily rich and expressive gestural language that is based on neither everyday body language nor on traditional mime and is fully integrated into the choreography. These gestures convey character, emotion and circumstance to the audience. The mechanistic repetitive movements for the pupils of Lowood School suggesting the drudgery of their daily chores are reminiscent of Anna de Keersmaeker’s Rosas danst Rosas. The adult Jane shifts between reaching out as if grasping for freedom, and folding her arms over her torso, as if straitjacketed, bound to an existence that she is desperate to escape. Rochester repeatedly holds one hand up to his face dividing it in two, left from right, implying something duplicitous in his nature, while Adele’s movements are all skittish with constantly varying gestures of excitement and glee. This gestural language is at its most eloquent in a circular wrapping movement of the arms for Rochester and Jane, symbolic of marriage, firstly initiated by Rochester, but then on Jane’s return to Thornfield initiated by her.
Patrick Kinmonth’s uncluttered designs and evocative costumes allow for seamless narration, and perhaps one of the reasons why he is so successful in this is that he was involved with Marston in writing the scenario. Moving wings represent the grimness of Lowood, the barrenness of the moors, and in contrast the fireplace and all-important entrance to the attic at Thornfield. The most striking costume is Berthe’s wildly flowing crimson red dress, which highlights her dangerous feral nature and connects her with the image of fire so crucial to the narrative.
But even more striking is the final mesmerising image of Jane on her own calmly walking towards the audience as the curtain falls. She has been reunited with Rochester in a soul-stirring duet of mutual love, passion and respect, but it is ultimately the trajectory of Jane’s life and personal journey that we are following, and the contrast between our first encounter with Jane as vulnerable, weak and lost to this final image of strength, independence and self-belief is a potent one indeed, and one befitting our times.
Author britishballetnowandthenPosted on March 14, 2018 October 31, 2018 Categories Opinion PiecesTags #ballethistory, #femalechoreographers, #janeeyre, #nothernballet, cathymarstonLeave a comment on Cathy & Jane: A Review of Northern Ballet’s Jane Eyre
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About Phillipsburg
Building the Community Building
The Phillipsburg Community Building was built in 1936-1937 during the Great Depression as a project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which was established by the federal government and the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 to provide relief to the unemployed.
The local newspaper reported this project to be "the biggest WPA project in the sixth district, involving an expenditure of $107,205, exclusive of the rock quarrying project to provide building stone." Local architect Owassa J. Jennings worked on the project, Dr. Guy Innes served as the project superintendent, and H.C. Townsend was the foreman.
74 men worked to quarry limestone in November of 1935 at the quarry south of Glade, Kansas. A crew of 58 men began excavating at the building site in February of 1936 and construction of the 9,200-plus square foot building began March 24, 1936. The community building was formally dedicated on Tuesday, October 26, 1937.
National Historical Register
The building is listed on the National Historical Register.
425 F St.
Phillipsburg, KS 67661
City Government Office
Does the city provide recycling?
Does the city clear snow and ice off of the sidewalks?
How can I report a pothole?
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Robert Page, 89
August 23, 2016 by Special to ClevelandClassical.com
by Kelly Ferjutz
Special to ClevelandClassical.com
‘Legacy’ might be the most overused word in the English language. But no word is more appropriate to describe American conductor Robert Page, who passed away at his home in Pittsburgh on Sunday, August 7. He was 89.
Born in Abilene, Texas on April 27, 1927, Page went on to become a beloved figure in Cleveland. He served as director of choruses for The Cleveland Orchestra from 1971 to 1989; assistant conductor of the Orchestra for 12 of those years; and chorus master of Cleveland Opera for 6 years. His work with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus on their recording of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana won him a Grammy Award — one of his two.
Also closely affiliated with the communities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Page guest conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, taught at Temple and Carnegie Mellon Universities, and directed and conducted the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.
He was an enthusiastic ambassador of music, period.
If you’re like many other Clevelanders, you’ve probably attended one of The Cleveland Orchestra’s popular Christmas Concerts at Severance Hall. Page was responsible for expanding these concerts both in number and in repertoire, branching out from traditional Classical fare to popular, contemporary Christmas songs and even newly written holiday songs.
Local soprano Andrea Anelli, founder of Cleveland Opera Theater and director of ContempOpera Cleveland, recently shared with me her experience working with Page. “He was the chorus master for the first production I sang with Cleveland Opera. I immediately felt I was part of something very alive, very thrilling! You understood what was expected — focus and passion — and the result was extremely fine musical artistry.”
As a former usher at Severance Hall, I was privileged to observe Page’s work for ten years. He was unfailingly cheerful and courteous, smile on his face, as he bustled — all 5½ feet of him — around the labyrinthine hallways of the building (pre-renovation).
And as a reviewer, I was lucky enough to attend and write about two very special concerts he conducted here in Cleveland. The first was a performance of Verdi’s Requiem in February 2007, presented by the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cleveland. Leading a 124-voice choir, four soloists, and a large orchestra that included several members of The Cleveland Orchestra, Page was not quite 80 years old at the time, but his vigor and vitality were that of a much younger man.
Two years later, in March 2009, Page led an outstanding presentation of Haydn’s oratorio The Creation at Fairmount Church. Again, it was a performance that would have knocked the socks off any audience, anywhere!
Passionate about the future of choruses, Robert Page co-founded Chorus America in 1977, serving as president of the organization from 1990 to 1993. He formed the Robert Page Singers (now the Cleveland Singers) in 1982, touring with the choir across Europe.
More recently, Page returned to Cleveland for several of the early seasons of WCLV’s annual Jubilation! Elizabeth Stuart Church Choir Festival, serving as an honored member of the jury panel.
Page felt strongly that large choruses performing with orchestras should not be considered “amateur.” If pay was not possible for these groups, he wanted to ensure them respect. To that end, he established the policy of having members of his Mendelssohn Choir re-audition every season. There might have been some quiet grumbling, but the quality that resulted was striking.
The musical world is perhaps quieter and less ebullient after the passing of this musical giant disguised as a man.
Second photo courtesy of The Cleveland Orchestra Archives.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com August 16, 2016.
Filed Under: Previews Tagged With: Robert Page, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
About Special to ClevelandClassical.com
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The Impossible Man: Celebrating the Extraordinary Life and Career of Jim Steranko
John R. Parker
Jim Steranko
Of all the artists who've made a permanent impact on comics, Jim Steranko did so the quickest, solving the puzzle in the fewest moves. Born on this day in 1938, he's had many occupations --- artist, writer, magician, escapologist, musician, designer, publisher, scholar, innovator, raconteur, living legend, and Twitter celebrity. His life and art are so singular that only one word seems to describe him: Steranko.
By now, it seems like everybody should know Steranko's story innately, like ancestral knowledge passing through generations of readers. There are scores of comics masters with interesting lives, but none so fascinating and improbable as his, and the more one learns about him, the more he seems like a character sprung from one of his own creations; rendered in flesh but still wet with fiction, just barely real. His art and his legend are impossible to discuss individually; they are permanently entwined.
Born into a hardscrabble coal mining family in Appalachian Pennsylvania, Steranko was a keen self-educator from an early age, teaching himself to draw, and also teaching himself card tricks, close-up magic, and even lock-picking. Like all kids raised in poverty, his paramount lessons were likely in the tenuous art of survival; how to make it in a world that he knew didn't care for him. Perhaps it was that overwhelming necessity that inspired his unbound imagination, his self-assured determination, and the panoply of experiences that comprise his unlikely, protean life.
He performed in circuses before he hit his teens, starting as a magician, and matriculating to fire-eating and escape artistry. In his later teens, he made a living as a thief, utilizing his experience as an escapologist for safecracking and breaking-and-entering. He sang and played guitar --- again, self-taught --- in the primordial days of rock and roll, sharing stages with the likes of Bill Haley and The Comets, and even claims to have originated the idea of the Go-Go dancer. And somehow, in-between beds of nails, rockabilly riffs, and escapes from jail --- in an arranged publicity stunt, not during his time as a juvenile delinquent --- Steranko found success as a commercial artist.
He wrote and illustrated a book on close-up magic, Steranko On Cards, and contributed to Genii, a renowned magic magazine; he worked for a printing company for several years, and eventually got a nice job in advertising. He had no family to support and nothing whatsoever to lose, and when he properly entered the field, he did so under entirely different circumstances to the men who had started comicbooks a generation earlier. For Steranko, comics wasn't about necessity; it was purely another form of artistic expression.
After a short stint with Joe Simon's Harvey Comics and Tower Comics, Steranko entered Marvel's offices in 1966 --- visiting Archie, DC, and Paramount Animation the same day --- and left with an assignment, the 'Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD' feature in Strange Tales.
Like many in the Marvel bullpen, he was at first finishing Jack Kirby's layouts of Stan Lee's plots, and the results in those earliest issues showed promise, but lacked brilliance. In a very short time, though, Steranko engineered a complete and completely unprecedented takeover, which breathed new life into both the character and the medium.
After he made it clear to Lee that the book would be better without Kirby's layouts, Steranko took over all penciling duties, and the change was dramatic. The comic took on an immediately sexier, more experimental design; sleek, full-page compositions that took greater liberties with the dissection of time.
Like Alex Toth or Bernard Krigstein, Steranko understood the temporal possibilities inherent in the comic page, and experimented with them in ways Kirby simply did not. He quickly sloughed off Lee as a writer too, soon taking over full scripting and art duties, completely unheard of at the time.
Once in control, Steranko evolved and innovated at an alarming rate. He appropriated concepts from pop art and commercial design, particularly op art, a high-contrast style of optical illusion that added new textures to the printed page. He translated cinematic effects that evoked everything from detective noir to the French New Wave. He perfected the collages that Kirby experimented with in Fantastic Four. He infused his art with elements of surrealism and psychedelic art, with pages that owed almost as much to Salvador Dali, Wes Wilson and Peter Max as Wally Wood, Will Eisner, and Alex Raymond.
Steranko synthesized styles and genres, using Nick Fury --- who came to look quite like the artist himself --- to explore superheroes and super-spies, horror stories and far-out science fiction. His work exuded sex and style, and excelled at moments of grace and silence without sacrificing raw power.
With Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, Steranko revealed a panorama of exciting new possibilities for the medium that was almost impossible to match. He followed that up with three issues of Captain America that were just as ingenious visually, but bogged down by Lee's clunky exposition and an overabundance of disruptive word-balloons. He provided the interiors for two issues of X-Men that he admitted his heart was never really into, but made a lasting contribution on the covers, where he redesigned the logo to the dashing piece of two-point perspective that we all know today.
His final two stories for the publisher were in the horror and romance genres, each achingly superb --- but a mere four years after he'd entered comicbooks, he made his escape. Like James Dean, who altered an American generation's concept of cool with only three films, Steranko defined cool for an entire medium in less than thirty issues.
Steranko has remained in the comics world since, but tangentially, his contributions scattershot. There's the illustrated novel Chandler: Red Tide, which Steranko claims is the first graphic novel, but that's debatable.; his superb adaptation of the Sean Connery film Outland for Heavy Metal; and his New Wave sci-fi take on the Man of Steel in the landmark Superman #400.
Characteristically, though, Steranko moved on to new challenges and thrived. He wrote Steranko's History of Comics, perhaps the first long-form work of comics scholarship. He edited and published magazines, painted book covers and posters, and worked in film, where his most enduring contribution was designing the iconic look of Indiana Jones. He continues to dip his toes into comics for covers and pinups, and occasionally teases the possibility of new interior work, but at this point it seems almost impossible.
But this is Steranko we're talking about. He specializes in the impossible.
Filed Under: Jim Steranko, nick fury, Nick Fury Agent of Shield
Categories: Anniversaries, Marvel
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Year-old study shows false promise of ‘assault rifle’ ban
Dave Workman
A much overlooked report from one year ago has some revealing information about so-called “assault rifles.” (Dave Workman image)
A year-old study of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI Uniform Crime Reports by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) revealed what Second Amendment activists have known for a long time: semiautomatic rifles “compose a fraction of all the rifles used in crime.”
The revelation was published Jan. 11, 2019 and it did not get much, if any, attention from the establishment media. Gun owners who have come to distrust the press aren’t surprised, since—they believe—the conclusion doesn’t concur with the gun control narrative.
But now, with proposals to ban such guns looming in Washington, Oregon, Virginia and elsewhere, this overlooked information has fresh value. According to Reuters, six states have already banned such firearms.
Anti-gun Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson support such a ban, which led more than 86,000 Washingtonians to sign an online petition calling for their removal from office.
As noted in the FEE report, raw data from the FBI looks at homicides committed with rifles of any type, so those involving so-called “assault rifles” are a fraction of all slayings in any given year. Rifles are used an average of 340 homicides annually, FEE estimated using data from 2007-2017, and perhaps as many as 439 slayings each year.
Still, the report noted, “Believe it or not, between 2007 and 2017, nearly 1,700 people were murdered with a knife or sharp object per year. That’s almost four times the number of people murdered by an assailant with any sort of rifle.”
“In any given year,” the story added, “for every person murdered with a rifle, there are 15 murdered with handguns, 1.7 with hands or fists, and 1.2 with blunt instruments. In fact, homicides with any sort of rifle represent a mere 3.2 percent of all homicides on average over the past decade.”
That’s not the kind of information the gun prohibition lobby wants people to be thinking about, say rights activists.
Reuters quoted Gov. Inslee, who recently stated, “We should be making it harder for those who want to inflict mass violence and destruction upon innocent people. By limiting magazine capacity and banning assault weapons, we can work toward a day where no one in Washington state loses a friend or family members to senseless gun violence.”
But that assertion is in doubt, considering the FBI data. The FEE report referred to a New York Times analysis from February 2018 that counted 173 people who had been killed in mass shootings involving AR-15 type rifles from 2007 through 2017.
“That’s 173 over a span of a decade,” the FEE report said, “with an average of 17 homicides per year. To put this in perspective, consider that at this rate it would take almost one-hundred years of mass shootings with AR-15s to produce the same number of homicide victims that knives and sharp objects produce in one year.” (Emphasis in original story.)
Bottom line, according to the year-old FEE report: “Banning or confiscating such firearms from the civilian population would likely produce little to no reduction in violent crime rates in America.”
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HYSTERICAL VIDEO: Black Trump Supporter Says “I am Governor Northam and I am in Blackface Today!” at VA Gun Rights Rally
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I.D. Me - Fingerprint-based Patient Identification System
David Li
Identifying the Need
One major issue ambulance corporation faces is obtaining medical information and records of every patient assisted. In many cases the patients are found unconscious with little to no identification found on them. On some occasions, unconscious patients are allergic to many medications, making it difficult for the paramedic to treat the patient in fear of causing more medical conditions. Thus, there is a need for a system to quickly identify and provide access to critical medical information and history of a patient without the need of verbal communication.
Our solution (the I.D.-Me system) is to use the patient’s fingerprint of the right index finger to identify the patient in a medical database, Should files not exist, our system will register the patient and associate him/her with the print such that in the future, the patient’s information could be quickly acquired. In this way, no verbal communication is necessary to obtain the needed information. The patient data is stored in several files on a computer within the ambulance and are encrypted with a high security encryption algorithm to comply with the HIPAA, which sets legal guidelines for the security of sensitive patient information.
Solution Details
The I.D.-Me system is composed of two parts that communicate via radio transmissions across an Xbee radio which sends data at a frequency in the 2.4GHz band and follows the Zigbee protocol (IEEE 802.14.5). The first part of the system is a laptop located within the ambulance for EMT use, where the patients' files are stored encrypted with AES-256. We designed a special and intuitive graphical PC program written in Python (allowing compatibility with multiple operating systems) to allow paramedics to review patient data, in addition to modify, delete and add to medical history. Attached to this laptop is a wireless dongle, which we call the “Base Station”, whose sole purpose is to allow the computer to wirelessly communicate with the fingerprint scanner.
The second hardware component of the I.D.-Me system is the "Remote Device", whose purpose is to collect and identify a patient's fingerprint, securely reporting the patient's identity to the EMT computer through the Base Station. This battery powered device consists of an Arduino Microcontroller and a generic fingerprint scanner, in addition to an Xbee radio and 3 status LEDs to assist the EMT in scanning the fingerprint. When a signal is received from the Base Station, this Remote Device is designed to rapidly scan the patient's finger twice when pressed onto the fingerprint scanner for a 99.9999% fingerprint detection accuracy. The I.D.-Me benefits from a common interface between the Remote Device and Base Station for scalability.
This design fulfills a technology push, allowing emergency medical support teams to ensure the patient’s lives are in good hands. The I.D.-Me system will be a step forward in the future of technology that can provide ease and security in the medical field when dealing with patients.
Kayla Houshmand
Software used for this entry:
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Home » References » The Eden Project: The Core, UK
The Eden Project: The Core, UK
The Eden Project is one of the most innovative and high profile of the Millennium Projects. It is the largest plant enclosure in the world built in the lightest and most ecological way possible.
The education centre, known as The Core, is the fourth phase of the Eden Project and is a showcase for building in a responsible and sustainable way, in accordance with Grimshaw's Environmentally Viable Architecture audit system.
During the evolution of the design the Grimshaw team collaborated with the sculptor, Peter Randall-Page. Rather than starting with any preconceived ideas about how art should be integrated with the building, it was decided that Peter would be engaged as a consultant with no specific output required.
What emerged was an appreciation of the universal rhythms found in many natural forms. The design for the building was generated from a natural pattern called phyllotaxis, which is the mathematical basis for nearly all plant growth.
Hence the roof structure recalls the arrangement of scales on a pinecone. This naturally occurring rhythm has been resolved into an efficient and elegant timber structure in collaboration with SKM Anthony Hunts. Randall-Page's influence is also evident at the heart of the building, where the sculptor has developed the idea of a massive granite sculpture representing the latent energy found in apparently inanimate seeds.
The Core is shaped around this remarkable piece of work that has been designed and realised specifically for its location.
Bodelva, Cornwall
Roof parts/dormer
Industrial and agricultural
57 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1M 5NG
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A Glorious End to a Remarkable Tradition
Raleigh -- ( Fri., Aug. 7, 2015 )
Hinshaw Music, Inc.: Celebration Concert - Music of John Rutter and Others
Performed by Bel Canto Company (Welborn Young, director)
Free -- Edenton Street United Methodist Church , (919) 933-1691 , http://www.hinshawmusic.com/ -- 8:00 PM
By Ken Hoover
August 7, 2015 - Raleigh,NC:
One of the first things Don Hinshaw did in the startup of Hinshaw Music was put together a Celebration Concert showcasing music the fledgling firm was publishing. That was forty years ago and this 41st Celebration Concert marked the end of this remarkable tradition. Over all these years, guest clinicians for the affiliated workshop and conductors for the concerts have included outstanding music masters but most frequently and most famously the esteemed British composer John Rutter.*
On this occasion, the gorgeous sanctuary at Edenton Street United Methodist Church was filled with Rutter admirers to hear his most recent extended work, The Gift of Life: Six Canticles of Creation, to be performed in the second half of the concert – and to be a part of what had been announced as the last Hinshaw Celebration Concert.
Performing was the renowned professional chorus from Greensboro, Bel Canto Company, under the wand of Wellborn Young. Their singing lived up to their reputation with exquisite performances in a variety of styles, always with impeccable intonation, phrasing and ensemble.
The first half of the concert consisted of ten selections from Hinshaw's shelves. The grand hymn "Lift Up Your Heads, O Mighty Gates" was given a majestic setting for organ, congregation, and choir by Robert Powell. Alice Parker's arrangement of "Be Thou My Vision." with a gentle arpeggio accompaniment and a solo by the warm alto voice of Carolyn Hall, was a delight.
"The Jesus Gift" by Gilbert Martin sounded like a well-polished Broadway lullaby with wondrous alto solo work by Natalie Haven. The traditional spiritual "Keep Your Lamps" was given a dynamic performance with piano and percussion accompaniment as arranged by André Thomas.
"Come to Me, O My Love" by Allan Parker featured a gentle rustic melody nicely interwoven and developed. Mack Wilberg's setting of "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" for choir, two flutes, and harp was beautiful in every sense. The magical hymn "How Can I Keep From Singing?," written by a Baptist minister, adapted by the Quakers, and claimed by all choristers, was heard in a beautiful unaccompanied arrangement by Ronald Staheli.
Howard Helvey's marvelous Latin motet "O Lux Beatissima" brought out the best of men of the Bel Canto Company. Rich modern harmonies with tones rubbing against each other and hints of light breaking through the surface made this piece stand out strikingly.
Also of note and admirable originality was Dan Forrest's "Good Night, Dear Heart," a touching requiem sung by the women of the chorus with a subtle piano accompaniment. The first half of the concert concluded with another familiar old hymn – "There’s a Wideness in God's Mercy," in an updated arrangement by Robert Lau.
The second half began with Rutter taking great relish in conducting the audience in his arrangement of the hymn "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling."
The Gift of Life: Six Canticles of Creation is described by Rutter as "a celebration of life – the opposite of a Requiem." It is in six movements, beginning with a setting of the "Canticle of the Three Holy Children," from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It is a 26-line catalogue of all the elements of creation that are each invited to "bless ye the Lord; praise him, and magnify him for ever." There is ample opportunity here of text painting which Rutter does with skill and imagination. For example, the music is a bit blustery on the line "O ye winds of God, bless ye the Lord," and there is a chill in the open chords describing "O ye dews and frosts...."
The movement begins with a brief fanfare for organ, tubular bells and timpani and proceeds most of the way with piano and harp interplay accompanying the chorus and ending with a warm chorale setting of the traditional doxology.
The second movement, "The Tree of Life," is a gentle lullaby carol – the kind of thing Rutter is well known for and does better than anyone else. The text is from the collection of Joshua Smith (New Hampshire, 1784).
The third movement, "Hymn to the Creator of Light," is one of the most remarkable things to come from the pen of Rutter. Right off it makes you sit up and pay attention. The melody develops with unexpected steps and the harmony is enriched with delicious dissonances. The counterpoint develops tantalizing glimpses of light. This music comes from a place deep in the soul of the composer and communicates an experience that only music of this nature can convey. The text, drawn from Lancelot Andrews (1555-1626) and Johann Franck (1618-77) is realized superbly in Rutter's setting.
The fourth movement, "O Lord, How Manifold are Thy Works," uses text from Psalm 104 with a closing eight-line summation by the composer himself. Here we have again somewhat of a cataloguing of the creatures God called into being and opportunities for musical text painting. The line "The lions roaring after their prey; do seek their meat from God" caught my ear when I heard the men of Bel Canto doing a little bit of roaring. This movement ends with a glorious homophonic chorale.
Movements five and six, "The Gift of Each Day" and "Believe in Life," are both settings of poems by Rutter. They speak of gratitude for life and belief and hope and are set to beautiful flowing melodies that touch the soul.
It was a glorious and fitting end to this treasured tradition. Thanks to Hinshaw, all of their officers, staff and all of the composers they represent.
A Tribute Article:
John Rutter – Sacred Music for the World
If you have visited a house of worship – Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, or Jewish – it is highly probable that you have heard music composed by John Rutter. If you have attended a high school, college, or church choir concert, the odds are very high that you have heard music from the creative heart of John Rutter.
In the BBC television documentary on the history of sacred music, hosted by Simon Russell Beale, John Rutter is introduced in this way: "One of the most commanding contemporary figures is a man who has been described as the greatest living composer of choral music: John Rutter."
Across his native England and the European continent, over the ocean from Canada to the tip of South America and in much of the Orient, the music of John Rutter has captured the hearts of multitudes who find it to be a meaningful expression of their deep inner feelings and beliefs.
Soon to celebrate his seventieth birthday, John Milford Rutter was born September 24, 1945, in London and spent his first nine years in an apartment over the Globe Pub on Marylebone Road which was run by his grandmother. Neither of his parents was musically inclined, but very early, young John became conscious of an affinity to the tones and rhythms of music. His parents were supportive and provided such opportunities as they could afford for his musical training. By his mid-teens he had a definite sense that his future would be in the making of music.
His formal education was through Highgate School where his classmates included John Tavener, Brian Chapple, and other notables. He further pursued his music studies at Clare College, Cambridge, where he sang in the choir (one of the first to include women singing the high treble and alto lines). He served as director of music at Clare from 1975 to 1979 and led the choir to international prominence.
It was in Cambridge that he met the outstanding choral conductor and scholar David Wilcox, and over the years their collegial relationship produced several volumes of collected Christmas carols and English choral music.
Rutter's compositional career has been intimately integrated with America from early on. His first visit to the United States was in May 1974, for the premier of Gloria, commissioned by the chorus The Voices of Mel Olson, based in Omaha, Nebraska. The Latin text, drawn from the Ordinary of the Mass, is a centuries-old challenge taken up by many classical composers. It offers opportunities for music of exaltation, meditation, and jubilation and in Rutter's realization it is masterfully set for chorus, brass ensemble, timpani and organ. It continues to be one of his most popular works.
Another element of Rutter's relation with his American cousins began in 1975 when Don Hinshaw, searching for talented composers to publish through his fledgling firm, was advised by American choral music sage Erik Routley to seek out the still largely-unknown John Rutter.
Hinshaw flew to Cambridge where he and Rutter met and began what was to become a very mutually productive relationship characterized by great respect and deep affection between the two. When Don Hinshaw passed away in 1996, Rutter wrote and dedicated to his memory an ethereal piece entitled "Cantus" based on the word "alleluia." (There is a beautiful recording of it in an arrangement for brass ensemble and choir on the King's College, Cambridge/Stephen Cleobury recording of the Requiem.)
It was in those years, from 1975-1979 that Rutter's choral music began to take wings. His publishers knew the markets that were hungering for his direct, clear line and singable style of music. He needed more time for composing and resigned his post at Clare College in 1979.
After leaving Clare he was invited to conduct and record a Christmas concert at Salisbury Cathedral. For this occasion, he gathered some of the singers from Clare to form a chorus. This was the beginning of The Cambridge Singers, and later, of the recording company Collegium. The two of them together have provided an astonishing legacy of music for the generations to come.
He is frequently invited to guest conduct, especially his own works. His compositional career has embraced both large and small-scale choral works, orchestral and instrumental pieces, a piano concerto, two children's operas and music for television, but it's the choral music of his early childhood that is at the heart of all he does. That music in the schools and churches where he sang was the well-spring of his magnificent career. Now as well as then, whatever activity the day brought, he always looked forward to the singing.
What would Christmas be without the dozens of lilting Christmas carols? The comforting and uplifting Requiem, and the unforgettable "The Lord is my Shepherd" which is part of it, has touched millions. To list just the most popular of Rutter's works would require pages more.
At this year’s Music Celebration we heard for the first time a new work: The Gift of Life: Six Canticles of Creation. It has been announced that this will be the last of these concerts. As Rutter approaches his 70th birthday (September 24) he has declared he “feels 27 inside” and there is no indication he plans to stop composing. There will be international celebrations and tributes to this most remarkable composer of sacred music for the world.*
To hear this man talk about the satisfaction his work has given him, the joy of knowing that something he has created has enriched so many lives, young and old singers and audiences and worshipers, is to only hope that the love and affection they find in themselves through his music reaches back to the man who gifts so much to them.
For an inspiring commentary by John Rutter on the meaning and importance of music in our world today, go here.\
*Edited/updated 8/11/15.
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svg-chess-rules svg-chess svg-dashboard finances svg-payment svg-register
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The terms and phrases used in these REGULATIONS shall have the following meanings:
a. ALGORITHM OF ELO POINTS – ELO POINTS calculation, showing the way of calculating and debiting them according to the mathematical algorithm, constituting Annex No. 1 to these REGULATIONS;
b. ARTICLE – a basic editorial unit of this REGULATIONS, however, it is only an auxiliary and ordinal value, not relevant when interpreting these REGULATIONS;
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f. TRANSFER ORDER – ACTIVE PLAYER operation within the PLATFORM constituting a specific instruction addressed to the OPERATOR, this action is binding for the OPERATOR as soon as it is made, only to the extent that the action determines it, this action may be made only in one of the following ways:
i. a move involving a transfer of funds in a given amount to another PLAYER, related to the RESULT OF THE GAME and made by accepting the amount to be incurred in the case of LOST, ATTACHING TO THE TABLE OR PLACING THE TABLE;
ii. a move involving the payment of funds in a certain amount accumulated on the DEPOSIT ACCOUNT by the PLAYER, made to the PLAYER issuing the TRANSFERMENT DIFFERENTIAL by clicking the “REMOVE MEASURES” button available as part of his ACCOUNT;
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-His LOGIN;
-the number of ELO POINTS he has;
k. ACCOUNT – an individual PLAYER profile, assigned to only one PLAYER, created as part of the PLATFORM by completing the REGISTRATION process, individualized by giving him/her a unique LOGIN selected by the GAME, and securing it with a PASSWORD;
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ALGORITHM;
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t. RANKING – the PLAYER classification as part of the PLATFORM, made automatically based on the number of ELO POINTS eligible for PLAYERS;
u. TERMS AND CONDITIONS – these regulations of ChessGold PLATFORM;
v. REGISTRATION – the process of creating an ACCOUNT by the PLAYER as part of the PLATFORM, starting with the “REGISTRATION” button click, described in ARTICLE 5 of this REGULATIONS;
w. DRAW – within the meaning of these RULES, this is the RESULT OF THE GAME consisting of a tie of two PLAYERS having the same number of ELO POINTS who, as a result of CONCLUSION, did not bear the profit/loss in the number of ELO Points they have;
x. REMATCH – within the meaning of today’s regulations, the action consisting in inviting the opponent after the end of the current game on newly determined conditions (the color of the pawns is changed).g
y. RODO – Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46 / EC (general regulation on data protection);
z. PLAYER’S BALANCE – a number of financial resources expressed in CURRENCY held on the BANK ACCOUNT by the PLAYER, taking into account both DEPOSIT, COMPLETE UPDATES, as well as WIN or DEFEAT and PROVISION;
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-flood, earthquake, lightning, hurricane, whirlwinds, volcano eruption or other similar atmospheric phenomena;
-switching off the electricity supply by the electricity supplier for reasons beyond the OPERATORS’ control;
-incorrect functioning of the DEVICE or internet browser;
-hackers’ activities, hacking into the computer network or the OPERATOR server;
The provisions of force majeure apply also in the event of an act being the state ruling (in particular, an international agreement, statute, regulation, ordinance, resolution of the authorized authority / administration), under which the PLATFORM cannot function properly within a given period of time;
bb. BID – financial rate expressed in CURRENCY for 1 ELO POINT (USD 1 for 1 ELO POINT) determined by the PLAYER who HAS ESTABLISHED THE TABLE or negotiated by the PLAYER who HAS ESTABLISHED THE TABLE WITH THE PLAYER who wants or was invited to JOIN THE TABLE, with the possibility of negotiating.
cc. TABLE – a virtual chessboard made available as part of the online PLATFORM GAME;
dd. TABLE OF FEES – a document containing variants of fees for the transfer of funds to an EXTERNAL OPERATOR, which at the same time constitutes Annex 4 to this Regulations
ee. DEVICE – a computer, laptop, tablet or other mobile device that allows the processing, reception and sending of data used by the PLAYER during the use of the PLATFORM;
ff. SERVICES – all services provided electronically by the OPERATOR to the PLAYER via PLATFORM, subject to regulation under this REGULATIONS, including, but not limited to, services consisting of running PLAYERS ACCOUNT and enabling the PLAYERS to take part in online sports competitions and comment on them;
gg. SUPPLEMENT OF FUNDS – transferred by the PLAYER to the BANK ACCOUNT for safekeeping to replenish funds on the PLAYER’S ACCOUNT, which PLAYER remains the owner and sole administrator, and OPERATOR is only authorized to mediate in the execution of specific instructions from the PLAYER, which are reduced by the amount of the commission for the transfer of funds to the EXTERNAL OPERATOR, resulting from the SCHEDULE OF CHARGES constituting Annex No. 4
hh. CURRENCY – the currency of the US dollar, which is the currency in force for all funds related
to the use of the PLATFORM;
ii. WIN – cash expressed in CURRENCY being the subject of the GAME not exceeding the one-time amount of USD 400.00 (in words: four hundred US dollars), assigned in the GAME RATE to a specific resolution of the GAME along with the number of ELO POINTS assigned to them, transferred after the end of the game by a given PLAYER in accordance with the rules set out in the REGULATIONS, after deducting the amount of PROVISION, being a win in a competition in the field of sport within the meaning of the Act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax (ie 2018 item. 200 with changes);
jj. RESULT OF THE GAME – RESOLUTION OF THE GAME, after its END, consisting of: a. VICTORY or LOSING, determining the increment or loss of ELO POINTS, as well as an increase or decrease in financial resources made in accordance with the TRANSFER ORDER, b. DRAW;
kk. PAYMENT – an order to transfer some or all of the DEPOSIT held to the PLAYER’s account via an EXTERNAL OPERATOR. This operation requires entering the correct e-mail address registered in the EXTERNAL OPERATOR system. Faulty entering this address will prevent TRANSFER ORDER. This e-mail address may be different from the address used during REGISTRATION.
ll. TERMINATION OF THE GAME – within the meaning of this REGULATIONS this is:
-making a “checkmate” or “checkmate” move against the opponent in the GAME
-elapse of the time set for GAME or DRAW;
-each of the above WAYS OF COMPLETING THE GAME will be signaled by the “GAME OVER” message;
ii. SETTING THE TABLE – the PLAYER’s move within the PLATFORM to initiate a chess duel as part of the GAME by creating a new TABLE, entitling him to perform the first white move during the GAME, while determining the RATE applicable during the GAME, combined with the possibility (but not necessary): options negotiating the RATE and inviting another GAME PLAYER, with a simultaneous visualization of the ASSEMBLED TABLE on the table with TABLES;
jj. PERMANENT PURCHASE – ACTION PLAYER move within the PLATFORM, made on the basis of the PLAYER’S ACCOUNT, constituting an instruction for a cyclic transfer of the amount of COMMISSION to the OPERATOR, which will occur only when the PLAYER WILL WIN IN THE GAME;
kk. VICTORY – within the meaning of these REGULATIONS this is the RESULT OF THE GAME, referring to that of the PLAYER, who as a result of ENDING OF THE GAME, made a profit in the number of ELO POINTS.
The rights and obligations set out in these REGULATIONS referring to the OPERATOR also apply to any persons employed by or with OPERATOR on any factual or legal basis, which has been authorized and delegated to exercise control and supervision over the installation, operation and proper functioning of the PLATFORM.
1. All provisions of these Regulations are based on generally applicable provisions of the Polish legal system.
2. These REGULATIONS define the rights and obligations of the PLAYERS, the rules for the use of the PLATFORM, as well as the provision of services via the OPERATOR via electronic means within the meaning of art. 8 of the Act of 18 July 2002 on the provision of electronic services (No. OJ of 2017, item 1219, as amended).
3. SERVICES provided under PLATFORM include in particular, but not exclusively, the following:
-promotion of chess games as a sport discipline on a global scale, in accordance with the principles of fair play;
-enabling PLAYERS from all over the world to play chess duels (GAMES) at a distance via the Internet;
-making available to the PLAYERS the possibility of obtaining a measurable WIN from the winning chess duel.
4. SERVICES within the PLATFORM are provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at the request of the PLAYER, via the Internet. Using the PLATFORM requires the use by the PLAYER:
-A DEVICE like a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone device that uses the current version of Gooogle Chrome or Safari web browser, with JavaScript enabled,
-enabling cookies in the web browser,
-having an e-mail account.
5. Cookies are used on the PLATFORM website. Using the PLATFORM without changing the browser settings means that cookies will be placed in the PLAYER’S DEVICE. More information PLAYER will find on the page in the annex – privacy policy.
6. The OPERATOR is not a provider of data transmission services. The costs of data transmission required to run and use the PLATFORM are covered by its PLAYERS on its own, and the OPERATOR is not responsible for the amount of these charges.
7. In order to ensure the security of message transmission in relation to the SERVICES provided, the OPERATOR undertakes technical and organizational measures appropriate to the level of security risk of the SERVICES provided.
8. Upon the acceptance of the REGULATIONS, an agreement is concluded between the OPERATOR and the PLAYER for the provision of electronic services. The contract is concluded for an indefinite period. The manner of concluding the contract for the provision of services between the OPERATOR and the PLAYER, described in the first sentence, is also the only way to conclude this type of contract between these entities.
II. PARTICIPATION
GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR USING THE PLATFORM
1. Using the PLATFORM SERVICES requires creating a PLAYER’S ACCOUNT and then logging in. Persons not logged in, as well as persons without an ACCOUNT, do not have access to the SERVICES provided under the PLATFORM.
2. Having an ACCOUNT and providing the data necessary to create it is voluntary but necessary to participate in the GAME and provide SERVICES by the OPERATOR and their settlement.
3. Each PLAYER can have only one ACCOUNT.
4. In the event of occurrence in this REGULATIONS, a reference to the time related to the use of the PLATFORM, for a time is the time appropriate for the UTC time zone + 1:00 (Warsaw).
5. Use of the PLATFORM, including in particular, but not exclusively, when playing GAMES using any bots, scripts, electronic devices, programs or any other mechanisms enabling any automatic decisions during the PLAY or supporting PLAYER’s GAME using such mechanisms or impeding or preventing GAME OF THE GAME’S opponent is connected with the right to special labeling of such GAME by the OPERATOR.
6. The OPERATOR reserves the right to refuse REGISTRATION in the event [5]of doubts as to the identity of the PLAYER or to respect the provisions of the REGULATIONS by the PLAYER.
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PLAYER
1. The PLAYER, accepting this TERMS AND CONDITIONS, declares that he is fully aware that he is the only person authorized to use the account created by him as part of the PLATFORM.
2. The PLAYER is not allowed to use someone else’s ACCOUNT and can not use the PLATFORM (by sharing his ACCOUNT) with another person, including, but not limited to, a person under 18 years of age.
3. The PLAYER is responsible for the security of his ACCOUNT in this regard, that he should not share the ACCOUNT data in the form of LOGIN and PASSWORD to third parties, and in the event of any unauthorized access to the ACCOUNT or attempts to obtain such access, the PLAYER is obliged to immediately report this issue to the OPERATOR.
4. Using the PLATFORM and playing GAMES within it is only the PLAYER’s right, not his / her responsibility. The PLAYER has the full right to opt out of using the PLATFORM at any time in the mode described in ARTICLE 6 of these REGULATIONS.
5. OPERATOR does not send unwanted messages to PLAYERS (SPAM). The PLAYER may agree to receive from the OPERATOR additional information from the PLATFORM by marking the appropriate checkbox.
6. As part of using the PLATFORM, PLAYERS are obliged to comply with these REGULATIONS, to comply with the RULES and to make it impossible for the GAMES under any circumstances:
a. violate the provisions of the generally applicable law of the country in which the Game he has his residence, as well as the Republic of Poland, as the place where the PLATFORM is located;
b. provide the OPERATOR or other PLAYER or PLAYERS with false, inaccurate or misleading information regarding the actual state of affairs (including impersonating any person or entity);
c. to refrain from providing the OPERATOR with explanations or answers to questions regarding the occurrence of doubts or reports regarding deficiencies in the use by the PLAYER of the PLATFORM;
d. to set up several ACCOUNTS at the same time or to register multiple ACCOUNTS assigned to the same bank account from which cash payments were previously made as DEPOSIT or SUPPLEMENT OF FUNDS;
e. distribute viruses, Trojan horses, malware or any other programming mechanisms that attempt or may damage, disrupt, distort, falsify, intercept or misappropriate any system, data, information or services available under the PLATFORM;
f. provide unlawful content, as well as publish offensive content or advertisements;
g. send unsolicited commercial information (spam) via the PLATFORM;
h. use the PLATFORM in any other manner inconsistent with the purpose set out in the REGULATIONS.
7. If the PLAYER is suspected of money laundering activities within the meaning of the AML Act (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1049) or any related activities, OPERATOR reserves the right to immediately suspend / remove an ACCOUNT and blocking the payment of funds until the matter is clarified, as well as reporting suspicion of this activity to the competent authorities.
CREATING A PLAYER’S ACCOUNT (REGISTRATION)
1. an ACCOUNT consists in assigning to the PLAYER a specific LOGIN and PASSWORD given by the PLAYER during REGISTRATION as well as individual and unique to him.
2. Creation of an ACCOUNT requires the PLAYER to provide the following data:
a. name;
b. surname;
c. information whether the PLAYER is of age and 18 or over;
d. e-mail address;
e. login;
f. password.
3. The PLAYER is responsible for the correctness, correctness, and completeness of all data, which will be provided to the OPERATOR during the REGISTRATION and is obliged to update the given data in case they change, using the option available in the ACCOUNT settings.
4. The name and surname given in the process of creating the ACCOUNT must correspond to the actual identity of the GAME and the name and surname registered in his birth certificate. If the OPERATOR is in doubt as to the provision by PLAYER of data that does not correspond to the actual state of affairs, the OPERATOR is entitled to initiate the procedure of suspension or deletion of the ACCOUNT referred to in ARTICLE 7 of this REGULATIONS, with all its consequences.
5. In the case of a withdrawal of funds, the PLAYER is obliged to complete in its profile an e-mail address of the PAYMENTS OPERATOR account to which the above-mentioned payment order will be executed.
6. After completing the PLAYER REGISTRATION process, an activation link will be sent to the ACCOUNT, after entering the link and carrying out the login process to the ACCOUNT, the REGISTRATION process will be terminated. The first correct login to the ACCOUNT shall be considered the moment of the conclusion of the REGISTRATION.
7. In the event the PLAYER wishes to obtain the right to play and become an ACTIVE PLAYER from the moment the ACCOUNT is created, he is obliged to pay the DEPOSIT to the BANK ACCOUNT in accordance with the rules described in these REGULATIONS.
8. As part of the ACCOUNT, the following information about the PLAYER is collected, available only to his message:
a. PLAYER’s data referred to in paragraph 2 above;
b. e-mail address associated with the EXTERNAL OPERATOR account, from which he makes a payment as DEPOSIT or REPLENISHMENT OF FUNDS, as well as withdrawals from the PLAYER’S ACCOUNT;
c. information about funds financed by the PLAYER, paid out and unpaid, remaining on the BANK ACCOUNT (including access to the entire history);
d. the number of ELO points owned by the PLAYER;
e. information about the games played by the GAME PLAYER, taking into account their score and progress, and the PLAYER IDENTIFIER being an opponent in GAME, including the PLAYER of the challenger to the duel.
9. The ACCOUNT is also associated with the PLAYER ID, which is open to other PLAYERS and within which the following information is available:
a. PLAYER’S LOGIN;
b. the number of ELO points owned by the PLAYER;
c. statistics of the duels played by the PLAYER as part of GAMES;
d. access to historical games as part of GAMES
10. The PLAYER can integrate the ACCOUNT with your account on the social networking site Facebook as well as the Google+ account. Such integration, however, is voluntary and does not limit other services provided through the PLATFORM. Integration, referred to above, is possible under the condition of accepting the respective Facebook or Google+ regulations, in particular, the principles of sharing user content and data, security rules and protecting the rights of others.
ENDING THE USE OF THE PLATFORM
1. The PLAYER’s ending the use of the PLATFORM is voluntary at any time.
2. To terminate the use of PLATFORM SERVICES completely, it is required to send an electronic form “request to close the account”, constituting attachment number 3 to this REGULATIONS. The deletion of the ACCOUNT will be tantamount to termination of the contract for the provision of services by electronic means with immediate effect.
3. In the case when the PLAYER’S BALANCE is positive, ending the use of the PLATFORM, as a rule, also requires the PLAYER to issue a TRANSFER ORDER by selecting the “REMOVE MEASURES” option. Then, the OPERATOR, when executing the PLAYER’s instruction, will transfer the amount of funds specified in the instruction, less the amount resulting from the SCHEDULE OF CHARGES constituting the cost of transferring funds, to the PLAYER, using the payment method selected by the option “REMOVE MEASURES” within 7 days from the date of submission of the TRANSFER ORDER.
4. Issuing by the PLAYER command “REMOVE MEASURES” referred to in paragraph 3 above, it also requires an indication of the e-mail address associated with the EXTERNAL OPERATOR account to which the payment is to be made.
5. The options available to the OPERATOR in terms of compulsory termination of PLATFORM use by PLAYER are described in the further part of this REGULATIONS.
6. The PLAYER accepts and agrees that the removal of the ACCOUNT is synonymous for this PLAYER with the irretrievable loss of all data stored within the ACCOUNT.
7. Due to historical data, the LOGIN remains on the PLATFORM database, which can be used for the historical presentation of chess games of other users. If you recreate your account, your previous username
CONSEQUENCES OF BREAKING THE RULES WHEN USING THE PLATFORM
1. In the event of any failure to comply with the PLATFORM use by the PLAYER, including, but not limited to:
a. an occurrence of PLAYER’s allegation of a crime related to the use of PLATFORM by him;
b. the PLAYER’s behavior in an unethical or dishonorable manner towards other PLAYERS in connection with the use of the PLATFORM;
c. transferring funds between accounts by deliberately losing chess games between users;
d. deliberately win / lose to increase / decrease your ELO ranking;
e. an occurrence of the PLAYER’s use of programs, mechanisms, etc., as referred to in ARTICLE 3 par. 5 of these REGULATIONS;
The OPERATOR may initiate explanatory actions in order to verify the obtained information on deficiencies and take appropriate measures to eliminate them, prevent further failures in the future and to protect the PLAYER and the PLATFORM.
2. As part of the explanatory steps, the OPERATOR has the right, in particular, but not exclusively, to request the PLAYER to provide explanations regarding the misconduct, appointing the PLAYER for this purpose an appropriate date, not shorter than 14 calendar
days, and in the case of the failure referred to in paragraph. 1 lit. and above, also notify the competent law enforcement authorities.
3. In order to prevent further failures and to protect the PLAYER and PLATFORM, the OPERATOR may take the following actions:
a. marked the PLAYER’S ACCOUNT,
b. temporarily suspend the ACCOUNT OF THE PLAYER until the matter is resolved;
c. forcibly delete the PLAYER’S ACCOUNT.
4. In the case of forced removal of the PLAYER’S ACCOUNT, the OPERATOR may additionally block the possibility for the PLAYER to recreate the ACCOUNT at all or for a limited period of time.
5. The compulsory removal of the PLAYER’S ACCOUNT does not determine the creation of the OPERATOR’s obligation to refund the Player’s funds if the PLAYER’S GAME is positive in this respect. In this case, the PLAYER will be allowed limited access to the ACCOUNT, allowing only the use of the tab concerning the execution of the TRANSFER ORDER for funds deposited on the BANK ACCOUNT by the PLAYER. The funds will then be returned based on the PLAYER’s instructions to the OPERATOR and via the payment method chosen by the PLAYER, within 3 days of submitting the TRANSFER ORDER. To return funds in the described case, apply accordingly to the provisions of art. 6 par. 3 and 4 of this REGULATIONS.
ARTICLE 8. COMPLAINTS
1. All complaints related to the functioning of the PLATFORM and the provision of SERVICES through it by the OPERATOR, as well as questions regarding the use of the PLATFORM, should be addressed to the OPERATOR at the email address: support@chess.gold.
2. The complaint should contain in its content:
b. detailed description and a reason for the complaint.
3. The response to the complaint will be sent to the email address from which it was received. If the complainant wants the reply to the complaint to be delivered to another email address, he should stipulate this in the message.
4. Within 30 days of its receipt, the OPERATOR considers the complaint and informs the PLAYER of the result of its consideration. In the situation where the data or information provided in the complaint need to be supplemented, the OPERATOR asks, before considering the complaint, the PLAYER to complete it.
5. The use by the PLAYER of non-judicial means of dealing with complaints and redress is voluntary.
6. Detailed information on the use by the PLAYER of non-judicial means of dealing with complaints and pursuing claims and rules of access to these procedures are available at the offices and on the websites of district (municipal) consumer ombudsmen, social organizations, whose statutory tasks include consumer protection, Provincial Inspectorates of Trade Inspection and the following Internet addresses of the Office Protection of Competition and Consumers:
a. http://www.uokik.gov.pl/spory_konsumenckie.php;
b. http://www.uokik.gov.pl/sprawy_indywidualne.php;
c. http://www.uokik.gov.pl/wazne_adresy.php.
7. The PLAYER can get free help in resolving the dispute between the PLAYER and the OPERATOR, also using the free help of a county (municipal) consumer ombudsman or social organization, whose statutory tasks include consumer protection (including the Consumer
Federation, Association of Polish Consumers).
ARTICLE 9. RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL FROM THE AGREEMENT
The PLAYER may withdraw from the contract for the provision of electronic services. The above authorization should be implemented by sending a written statement of withdrawal from the contract in the abovementioned (it is enough to send a statement before its expiry) to the following address: support@chess.gold. The declaration may be submitted on the form, which is attached as Annex 2 to the Act on Consumer Rights of 30 May 2014 (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 683) and Annex No. 2 to these REGULATIONS.
III. CHESS GAME
ARTICLE 10. GAME
1. The GAME can be initiated only by the ACTIVE PLAYER by setting a TABLE or JOINING a TABLE.
2. SETTING A TABLE is not tantamount to starting the GAME. Starting the GAME requires joining the table by another ACTIVE PLAYER.
3. Each TABLE referred to in paragraph 2 above, should contain the following information:
a. PLAYER IDENTIFIER – founder of the TABLE,
b. information about the bid,
c. information about the possibility of negotiating bid,
d. information about the time of the GAME,
e. information about the possibility of negotiating the GAME time,
f. information about the CHESSSHIELD marking, two options to react to the message “YES” and “NO”; and optionally: information about the time in which it must be CONCLUDED.
4. In the sole responsibility of the PLAYER, it remains to decide whether to set up a TABLE or to accept such an initiative from another PLAYER and also, in the case of PLAYING A TABLE, choose a PLAYER who is an opponent in a given game.
5. Clicking the “YES, I CONFIRM THE PAYMENT OBLIGATION” button under the message referred to in para. 2 and 3 above, is tantamount to the start of the GAME and TRANSFER ORDER, but PLAYERS must have enough cash allocated to the ACCOUNT, which will cover the
entire RATE GAME in the event of the GAME ENDING. Otherwise, it will be impossible to play the game. If the PLAYER – the founder of the TABLE anticipated such a possibility while setting up the table, PLAYERS can take the negotiations and reduce the RATE accordingly, so that it is possible to start the GAME.
6. The game is played on the general rules of the game of chess according to the regulations of the FIDE organization and every PLAYER is obliged to follow it.
7. After the end of the game, each PLAYER receives a message with the content of the GAME RESULT.
8. If the PLAYER’s BALANCE does not allow the PLAYER to play another duel under the PLATFORM as a result of losing the GAME, in order to continue the participation in the GAME, the PLAYER should make a REFUND on the ACCOUNT.
9. ENDING THE GAME results in a corresponding increase or decrease in the number of ELO POINTS for PLAYERS. The principle of ELO POINTS passage is that each PLAYER gains or loses as many ELO POINTS as was assigned in the RATE for a given GAME RESULT.
10. The ELO POINTS are transferred immediately, automatically after the end of the game.
11. In the event of the occurrence of FORCE MAJEURE, GAME is considered to be invalid, and such a game is being canceled without any consequences (including legal and financial) for the GAME AND / or the OPERATOR.
ARTICLE 11. POINTS AND PLAYER’S RANKING
1. Establishing an ACCOUNT is synonymous with granting the PLAYER 1200 starting ELO POINTS. Each PLAYER, creating an ACCOUNT, starts the game as part of GAMES on the PLATFORM from the same level as the above number of ELO POINTS.
2. Participation in the GAME as part of the PLATFORM results in either an increase or decrease in the entitled ELO POINTS for the PLAYER.
3. The increment of ELO POINTS occurs in the case of WIN, and the ELO POINTS down in the case of LOST. REPLACEMENT OF THE MEANS ON THE ACCOUNT or a payment higher than the minimum amount stipulated in this REGULATIONS does not increase the number of ELO
Points owned by the PLAYER.
4. ELO POINTS accumulated by PLAYERS in the course of the GAME are visible to other PLAYERS in the PLAYER ID and allow you to locate PLAYERS as part of the RANKING.
5. In connection with the publication of data by the OPERATOR of the GAME as part of the RANKING, for the sole purpose of creating the PLAYER’S classification under the PLATFORM, the PLAYER, by accepting these REGULATIONS, also agrees to the publication his data in the RANKING. The data included in the consent contain:
c. number and history of games played by the PLAYER.
IV. FINANCIAL SETTLEMENT
ARTICLE 12. PAYMENT FOR DEPOSIT AND SUPPLEMENT OF FUNDS
1. Every deposit made by the PLAYER under the title of DEPOSIT or COMPLETE REMEDIES must come from a bank account owned by the PLAYER. Payments are made via the EXTERNAL OPERATOR SERVICE
2. The first deposit of funds by the PLAYER will always be a deposit in the title of DEPOSIT, and each subsequent payment will be made by the SUPPLEMENT OF THE MEANS.
3. The payment for the SUPPLEMENT OF THE MEANS may be made at any time.
4. Payments due to DEPOSIT or SUPPLEMENT OF THE MEANSwill always be made through an EXTERNAL OPERATOR after accepting its terms and table of fees, which the PLAYER is obliged to read.
ARTICLE 13. WITHDRAW OF FINANCIAL FUNDS
1. The PLAYER may at any time withdraw funds accumulated by him on the BANK ACCOUNT.
2. Withdrawal of funds referred to in paragraph 1 above, is made for a specific TRANSFER ORDER issued by the PLAYER, specifying the amount of funds to be paid out.
3. TRANSFER ORDER, regarding the withdraw of funds, is the option of the PLAYER to choose the option “WITHDRAW FUNDS” as part of his ACCOUNT.
4. The PLAYER acknowledges that all cash settlements, including a DEPOSIT or SUPPLEMENT PAYMENT, or the WITHDRAWAL OF FUNDS, are made by the OPERATOR.
5. Every withdrawal of funds by the PLAYER is associated with the cost of transfer, according to the TABLE OF FEES for which the PLAYER hereby agrees.
6. The withdrawal of funds results in a decrease in their amount on the BANK ACCOUNT in relation to the PLAYER who made the withdrawal while leaving the ELO PO number unchanged.
7. Settlements between PLAYERS and between OPERATOR and PLAYER will be available under the PLATFORM in the “PAYMENT” tab. The document containing the settlements will be generated in one-month periods. This document will include both an excerpt from the
history of GAMES and WINS as well as the fees paid for COMMISSION.
V. FINAL REGULATIONS
ARTICLE 14. COPYRIGHTS
1. OPERATOR hereby declares that:
a. he is entitled to copyrights to the PLATFORM, which are not limited in any way or encumbered by the rights of third parties and that the PLATFORM does not infringe upon the rights of third parties;
b. did not grant any person a license entitling him to use the PLATFORM;
c. has the exclusive right to grant permits for the disposition and use from the formulation of the PLATFORM.
2. PLAYERS are only entitled to use the SERVICES provided under the PLATFORM. PLAYERS are not entitled to copying, preservation, reproduction, processing, alteration or any other activities aimed at consolidating, using or changing the idea expressed through the PLATFORM or using it for other purposes than specified in these REGULATIONS.
3. Due to the use of PLATFORM by PLAYERS, they are obliged to inform the OPERATOR of any perceived violation, suspected violation or attempted violation of the economic rights of the OPERATOR resulting from the PLATFORM.
ARTICLE 15. PRIVACY POLICY AND PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
1. The administrator of personal data entered by PLAYERS to the PLATFORM is the OPERATOR, with whom the PLAYER can contact by email at support@chess.gold.
2. In the matter of personal data protection, the PROVIDER may contact the OPERATOR through the Data Protection Supervisor designated by him, by email iod@chess.gold.
3. During the creation of the ACCOUNT, as well as during the use of the PLATFORM, the OPERATOR may request PLAYER to provide personal data referred to in the REGULATIONS, in order to properly implement the SERVICES provided by the OPERATOR through the
PLATFORM. Providing personal data is voluntary, but not providing them will result in the conclusion and implementation of the contract for the provision of SERVICES will be impossible.
4. The legal basis for the processing of PLAYER’S personal data is the contract for the provision of SERVICES between the PLAYER and OPERATOR, which is concluded as a result of the acceptance of the REGULATIONS, and for which the processing of the PLAYER’S data is necessary.
5. The PLAYER personal data will be processed only for the following purposes:
a. related to the implementation of the contract for the provision of SERVICES (including enabling the use of PLATFORM, in particular registration, login to the ACCOUNT, ACCOUNT service) or to take action at the request of the data subject prior to its conclusion (in accordance with Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. b) GDPR);
b. examining complaints, and requests and responding to them (in accordance with Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. b) GDPR);
c. fulfillment of legal obligations incumbent on the OPERATOR resulting from the Accounting Act of 29 September 1994, Dz. U. of 2018, item 395 with later d. [legal basis: Accounting Act of 29 September 1994 (Journal of Laws of 2018 item 395) – in particular art. 74z, in accordance with art. 6 par. 1 lit. c) GDPR];
d. possible determination, investigation, enforcement of claims or defense against claims that are legally legitimate in this interest of the OPERATOR (in accordance with Article 6 (1) (c) of the GDPR);
e. providing payment services (in accordance with Article 6 (1) (f) of the GDPR);
f. storing data for archiving purposes and ensuring accountability (in accordance with Article 6 (1) (f) of the GDPR);
g. statistical and analytical testing, i.e. better selection of SERVICES to the needs of our PLAYERS, optimization of SERVICES, providing IT security of the PLATFORM, detection of unauthorized use of SERVICES, financial analysis of the OPERATOR being the
implementation of its legitimate interests in this interest (in accordance with Article 6 (1) (f) of the GDPR);
6. THE OPERATOR processes the following personal data of the GAME: first and last name, information on the age of majority, e-mail address, LOGIN, bank account number, IP address, data on the browser and operating system.
7. In order to use individual SERVICES provided by the OPERATOR through the PLATFORM, it is necessary to provide personal data by the PLAYER indicated in ARTICLE 5 of the Law. 2 of this REGULATIONS.
8. The OPERATOR processes personal data of PLAYERS on the basis and in compliance with the requirements of the Act of 18 July 2002 on the provision of electronic services (ie, OJ 2017, item 1219, as amended) and GDPR.
9. The OPERATOR shall ensure that appropriate technical and organizational measures are in place to ensure the security of the personal data processed, in particular, to prevent access to unauthorized third parties or their processing in violation of generally applicable laws, preventing personal data loss, damage or destruction. The PLATFORM uses encrypted data transmission (SSL) during registration and logging in.
10. The personal data of the PLAYER will be stored for the period of:
a. the Contract concluded with the OPERATOR and after its termination, in relation to the legal obligation of the OPERATOR resulting from the generally applicable provisions of law (eg tax law);
b. indispensable for pursuing claims by the OPERATOR in connection with the conducted activity or defense against directed claims, on the basis of generally applicable legal provisions, including limitation periods for claims specified in generally applicable laws;
c. in order to ensure accountability, i.e. to prove compliance with provisions regarding the processing of personal data, they will be kept for a period in which the OPERATOR is obliged to keep data or documents containing them to document the fulfillment of legal requirements and enable control of their compliance by public authorities.
11. When processing personal PLAYER’S DATA, the OPERATOR may use subcontractors (eg IT, accounting, tax, financial and legal companies), acting on its behalf, who will process data only and exclusively in the purposes specified by the OPERATOR, referred to in paragraph. 5 above. The data of PLAYERS may be transferred to these entities at the moment of providing these data at the time of REGISTRATION, and also later, for the period during which the OPERATOR stores the PLAYER’S data.
12. The OPERATOR does not intend to transfer the PLAYER’s personal data to a third country or to international organizations.
13. Based on the PLAYER’s data, the OPERATOR will not take automated decisions against the PLAYER, in the decisions that result from profiling.
14. The PLAYER, who has forwarded his personal data to the OPERATOR, is entitled to:
a. the right to access your data and receive a copy thereof;
b. the right to rectify (correct) your data;
c. the right to delete data, data processing restrictions;
d. the right to transfer your data;
e. raise objections to data processing, including profiling, and for direct marketing purposes;
f. withdrawal of consent in the event that the OPERATOR will process the PLAYER data based on consent, at any time and in any way, without affecting the legality of the processing, which was made on the basis of consent before its withdrawal;
g. lodging a complaint to the President of the Office for Personal Data Protection, when the PLAYER decides that the processing of personal data violates the provisions of the GDPR.
15. The PLAYER, in order to exercise his powers, referred to in paragraph 14 above, he can turn to the OPERATOR with a request by sending it to the following e-mail address: support@chess.gold or via the PLATFORM using the options available in the ACCOUNT settings.
16. In the event of permanent removal by the PLAYER of personal data necessary for the OPERATOR OF SERVICES provided through the PLATFORM, the PLAYER will lose the ability to use these SERVICES.
ARTICLE 16. LIABILITY OF THE OPERATOR
1. The OPERATOR conducts ongoing supervision over the technical functioning of the PLATFORM, ensuring its correct operation. The OPERATOR does not guarantee constant availability of all PLATFORM functions, as well as their faultless operation.
2. The PLAYER uses the PLATFORM voluntarily at his own risk. The OPERATOR’s liability for any damage caused in connection with the use of the PLATFORM, and in particular its nonfunctioning, as well as improper functioning is excluded in the widest possible, legally
permissible range.
3. The OPERATOR is liable only for losses and damages reasonably foreseeable and resulting directly from the violation of the provisions of these REGULATIONS, and the OPERATOR’S liability is limited by further provisions of this Article.
4. The OPERATOR shall not be liable for limitations or technical problems in ICT systems used by PLAYERS’ DEVICES and which prevent or limit PLAYERS’ use of the PLATFORM and services offered through it, as well as that, may involve LOST GAME. The OPERATOR is not responsible for quality that is unsatisfactory for the PLAYER and performance of the PLATFORM.
5. If the mandatory legal provisions do not provide otherwise, the OPERATOR shall not be responsible for:
a. the PLAYER’s loss of data within the ACCOUNT due to force majeure or circumstances on the part of the PLAYER;
b. negative consequences of the PLAYER logging out of the ACCOUNT;
c. the results of using the ACCOUNT by the PLAYER in a manner inconsistent with applicable law, provisions of the REGULATIONS and the possible damage resulting therefrom;
d. the consequences of using a personal data (eg an e-mail address) during the REGISTRATION process by an unauthorized person who did not consent to it.
6. During the PLATFORM operation, there may be interruptions due to technical reasons, in particular resulting from the necessity to maintain the PLATFORM or servicing systems. The OPERATOR will inform about the planned break in the operation of the PLATFORM by inserting the relevant information in the PLATFORM at the appropriate time.
7. The PLATFORM SERVICES may be discontinued in the event of improper connection quality, damage or defects in telecommunications equipment, power systems, computer equipment, failure of the telecommunications network, power outages or any third party activities during the transaction.
8. The OPERATOR has the right to block access to the PLATFORM or individual SERVICES in the event of irregularities in the use of the PLATFORM, in particular, any circumstances that could damage the PLAYER or OPERATOR. The OPERATOR is not liable for temporarily suspending access to the PLATFORM for the period necessary to remove any threats or irregularities.
ARTICLE 17. CHANGING OF THE REGULATIONS
1. The OPERATOR has the right to change the REGULATIONS.
2. The OPERATOR informs about the change of the RULES about 14 calendar days before the changes come into force by posting a message in the PLATFORM. In the event that the PLAYER does not agree to change the RULES, he has the right to terminate the contract for the provision of electronic services. The contract for the provision of electronic services is terminated when the OPERATOR receives information about the termination of the contract by the PLAYER. In the event of termination of the contract referred to in this paragraph, the relevant provisions of the REGULATIONS regarding the return of funds in the event of the removal of the ACCOUNT apply accordingly.
3. If the changes in the REGULATIONS are not accepted, the PLAYER may not use the existing rules. The OPERATOR, along with the receipt of the notice of termination, will immediately delete the ACCOUNT OF THE PLAYER. In such a situation, Article 7 para. 5 of the
REGULATIONS.
4. THE OPERATOR provides access to the REGULATIONS through the PLATFORM in such a way that it is possible to download, perpetuate and print it.
ARTICLE 18. FINAL PROVISIONS
1. The OPERATOR has the right to assign the PLATFORM rights to another entity without the prior consent of PLAYERS. The OPERATOR is obliged to inform the PLAYER about the assignment of rights. PLAYERS are not entitled to assign rights and obligations to another entity.
2. In matters not covered by the REGULATIONS, the relevant provisions of Polish law shall apply, in particular the Civil Code (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 459, as amended), the Act of 18 July 2002 on the provision of electronic services (ie, Journal of Laws 2017 item 1219, as amended), the Act of 30 May 2014 on Consumer Rights (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 683, as amended), the Act of February 4, 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2017, item 880, as amended), the Act of June 25, 2010 on sport (ie, Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1463, as amended), the Income Tax Act of July 26, 1991 from natural persons (ie Journal of Laws 2018, item 200, as amended). In addition, the provisions of the GDPR apply.
3. The law applicable to the settlement of disputes is Polish law. In the event of any disputes arising from the provision of the PLATFORM SERVICES, the first step is to attempt an amicable solution with the OPERATOR. In the absence of the possibility of reaching an agreement, the competent court will be competent for their final settlement.
4. The following Annexes form an integral part of the REGULATIONS:
Annex No. 1 – ELO point algorithm
Annex No. 2 – Form for withdrawal from the Agreement (template).
5. In the case of translation of this REGULATIONS into a language other than Polish, in a situation where any discrepancy arises between the translation of the REGULATIONS and its Polish language version, the Polish version is binding.
6. Regulations come into force on 10.12.2018.
ELO point algorithm.
Form for withdrawal from the Agreement (template).
PayPal table of fees.
CHESS CLUB SOWINIEC z o.o.
Stanisława Taczaka 13
VATIN: 783-177-41-62
E-mail: support@chess.gold
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Para facilitar el uso de nuestro sitio web y adaptarlo a las necesidades de nuestros usuarios, utilizamos cookies. Read more
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Taylor Wallace, PhD, CFS, FACN
twallac9@gmu.edu
Taylor C. Wallace, PhD, CFS, FACN, is the Principal Consultant at the Think Healthy Group and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University. Prior to founding the Think Healthy Group, Dr. Wallace served as the Senior Director of Science Policy and Government Relations at the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) and the Senior Director of Scientific Programs at the National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA), a public-private partnership, managed and operated by the NOF. He has extensive experience in developing and implementing comprehensive and evidence-based scientific, policy and legislative programs in the fields of nutrition and food science. His academic research interests are in the area of nutritional interventions (micronutrient and dietary bioactive components) to promote health and prevent the onset of chronic disease. Dr. Wallace’s background includes a PhD and an MS in Food Science and Nutrition from The Ohio State University and a BS in Food Science and Technology from the University of Kentucky. In his free time, Dr. Wallace manages and operates a large food and nutrition blog, www.DrTaylorWallace.com, where he provides science-based nutrition, food safety, and food technology information to the general public and consumer media. Dr. Wallace has served on the Boards of Directors of the Institute of Food Technologists and Feeding Tomorrow. He is a fellow of the American College of Nutrition and is the 2015 recipient of the Charles A. Regus Award, given by the American College of Nutrition for original research in the field of nutrition. Dr. Wallace is an editor of four academic textbooks and has authored over 30 peer reviewed manuscripts and book chapters.
PhD, Food Science and Nutrition, The Ohio State University
MS, Food Science and Nutrition, The Ohio State University
BS, Food Science and Technology, University of Kentucky
Dr. Wallace's Website
Nutritional interventions (micronutrient and dietary bioactive components) to promote health and prevent the onset of chronic disease
Weaver, C.M., Janz, K., Kalkwarf, H., Lappe, J., Lewis, R., Gordon, C., Wallace, T.C., Zemel, B. (2016). National Osteoporosis Foundation’s position statement on peak bone mass development and lifestyle factors: A systematic review and implementation recommendations. Osteoporosis International, 27, 1281-1386.
Wallace, T.C., & Fulgoni, V.L. III. (2016). Assessment of total choline intakes in the United States. The Journal of the American College of Nutrition. (online first).
Costello, R.B., Wallace, T.C., & Rosanoff, A. (2016). Nutrient brief: Magnesium. Advances in Nutrition 7(1),199-201.
Weaver, C.M., Alexander, D., Boushey, C.J., Dawson-Hughes, B., Lappe, J.M., Liu, S., LeBoff, M.S., Looker, A.C., Wallace, T.C., & Wang, D.D. (2016). Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and risk of fractures: An updated meta-analysis from the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Osteoporosis International, 27, 367-376.
Wallace, T.C., Slavin, M., & Frankenfeld, C.L. (2016). Systematic review of anthocyanins and markers of cardiovascular disease. Nutrients, 8, 32.
Wallace, T.C., & Giusti, M.M. (2015). Nutrient brief: Anthocyanins. Advances in Nutrition, 6, 1-3.
Wallace, T.C. (2015). Twenty years of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act – How should dietary supplements be regulated? The Journal of Nutrition, 145, 1683-1686.
Wallace, T.C., Blumberg, J.B., Johnson, E.J., & Shao, A. (2015). Dietary bioactives: establishing a framework for recommended intakes. Advances in Nutrition, 6(1),1-4.
Wallace, T.C., & Fulgoni, V.L. III. (2014). Examination of multivitamin/mineral intakes in the United States, 2007-2010. The Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 33(2), 94-102.
Wallace, T.C., Fulgoni, V.L. III, & Reider, C. (2013). Calcium and vitamin D disparities are related to gender, age, race, household income level, and weight classification but not vegetarian status in the United States: analysis of the NHANES 2001–2008 dataset. The Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 32(5), 321-330.
Wallace, T.C., MacKay, D., Ritz, B.W., McBurney, M., Shao, A., Miller, J., Brooks, J., & Hendricks, L. (2013) An industry perspective: dietary supplements and mortality rates in older women. Journal of Dietary Supplements, 10(2), 85-92.
Wallace, T.C. (2012) Dietary reference intakes and nutrition labeling: updating the daily values for vitamins and minerals. The Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 31(4), 233-238.
Heaney, R.P., Kopecky, S., Maki, K.C., Hathcock, J., MacKay, D., & Wallace ,T.C. (2012). A review of calcium supplements and cardiovascular disease risk. Advances in Nutrition, 3(6), 763–771.
Topics: Nutrition, Disease Prevention, Health Promotion, Chronic Disease
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In which language did Pontius Pilate communicate with Jesus?
According to this post:
Both Aramaic and Hebrew were in use in the Land at the time of Jesus. However, while we cannot say one predominated, we can say that Mishnaic Hebrew was very much a living language used by people of all walks of life in Judea and Galilee.
So, maybe we are safe to assume that Jesus spoke these languages.
Yet, Pontius Pilate was a Roman, who would have spoken Latin. Would he have been able to speak Hebrew? And as such, in the Gospels' account of Pilate's encounter with Jesus, did they speak in Hebrew? Is there any evidence, or perhaps tradition on this?
life-of-jesus language pilate
Based on the meta culture of the Eastern Mediterranean region of the time, have you considered adding Greek into the possible languages being used in the area? In some ways it was a lingua franca of that region. (Good question). – KorvinStarmast Apr 21 '17 at 12:02
@KorvinStarmast Mmm, views seem to be contradictory on this. For example, this one against Greek (see comment about Greek), and this one in favour on Greek. It was probably likely that Pilate did know Greek. If Jesus knew a bit of Greek, then that might have been the language. Now, we can also say, from a Christian point of view, that the Holy Spirit could have given Jesus the knowledge of tongues. In this case, Greek or Latin would be the answer. – luchonacho Apr 21 '17 at 12:40
There is reason to believe that the language Pilate communicated with Jesus was Greek. After all it was the language of commerce at that time throughout the Mediterranean world. Let us not forget that Pilate's inscription on the Title of the Cross was written in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. "This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was near to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin." (John 19:20)
How do we know what languages people actually spoke in Roman Judaea? We have a lot of written evidence from the region that is contemporary with the era of Jesus: papyri, inscriptions, graffiti, and historical texts. From hundreds of examples surviving from Roman Judaea, we can easily document which languages people understood and used both in official transactions and in their daily lives. The ancient evidence is very clear on this point: the everyday language spoken by the Jewish and Samaritan populations of Palestine in the time of Jesus was Aramaic, while the official language for administrative communication was Greek.
While Roman soldiers and officials from Rome probably did speak Latin among themselves, they would have used Greek to communicate with members of the local ruling class, such as Herod’s family and the Jewish high priests. - Two Archaeologists Comment on The Passion of the Christ
Here is more along this line of thinking.
In which language did Pilate and Jesus likely converse during Jesus's trial?
Almost certainly in Greek.
The first language of almost all Palestinian Jews in the 1st century was Aramaic. However evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish pseudepigraphic writings, inscriptions on ossuaries (limestone bone burial boxes), etc. show that Greek was spoken there as well. In the Mediterranean world at that time, most people were bilingual (Greek + their native language) so that they could do business with all the other ethnic groups in the Empire.
Jesus grew up in tiny Nazareth where everyone spoke Aramaic, but lived just over the ridge from Sephoris, a large, well-to-do city where Greek was the common language. As a small-time carpenter (Gk., “tekton,” actually more like a craftsman) he would need to speak Greek to snag his share of the business there. Barring a miracle, it wouldn’t have been very cultured or even necessarily grammatically correct, but it would be understandable to another Greek speaker.
Pilate on the other hand, given what we know of him from the Jewish writers Josephus and Philo, most likely would not have put forth the effort to learn Aramaic, the language of a people he had no respect for. Latin was actually not widely spoken at all, being confined mainly to it’s original home Latium. Outside of Rome, it was mainly used for official inscriptions and, occasionally, military orders to fellow Romans.
But he too would have spoken Greek. So, as the scholar Joseph A. Fitzmeyer wrote:
“In what language did Jesus and Pilate converse? There is no mention of an interpreter. Since there is little likelihood that Pilate, a Roman, would have been able to speak either Aramaic or Hebrew, the obvious answer is that Jesus spoke Greek at his trial before Pilate.”
The Wikipedia entry for Latin lists it's spread to Palestine/Judea in the late first and early second century A.D. Prior to that, Hellenization spread Greek culture and language throughout the Mediterranean beginning with Alexander the Great around 300 B.C.
It seems unlikely a Roman, either Pilate or Herod, would take the time to learn Hebrew or Aramaic, but we aren't told otherwise. I recently read an article stating there are 8 specific references to Hebrew in the Gospels but none of Aramaic. The same article states "Eloi! Eloi! (My God!) is Greek, and the rest of the quote makes sense in either Hebrew or Aramaic (El has idiomatic usage in Hebrew: God, of God, heaven, of the skies; it also appears to be a deity of Mesopotamian origin).
It's fair to say God can speak whatever language he wants. But as far as Pilate is concerned, the evidence points to Greek. Greek would be spoken as the second language to educated Jews in Jerusalem (behind Hebrew) and as the first language by the Roman inhabitants - at least for a few more generations.
Stu WStu W
There are numerous inaccuracies in this answer. Specifically, in Greek of that time, both Hebrew and Aramaic were referred to without distinction by the word Ἑβραΐς. Second, Eloi is a transcription of the Aramaic for "my God". Matthew 27 includes both the Aramaic transcription and the Greek translation. – sondra.kinsey Apr 21 '17 at 21:53
Assuming they spoke without a translator, they almost certainly used Greek (Koine or common version). The Romans greatly respected Greek culture from who they derived so much of their culture, all educated Romans knew Greek, and, most importantly, Greek was the administrative language of the Eastern part of the Roman empire (since the Romans knew Greek and were inheriting provinces governed by Greek speakers for over 300 years).
On the other side, since they had been ruled by various Greek-speaking regimes for 300 years, peoples throughout the Eastern Mediterranean spoke Greek to varying degrees, with the elite fluent. (Indeed, the Jewish community in Egypt was primarily Greek-speaking and left many Greek versions of parts of the Bible.) Note that the New Testament was originally written in Greek, not Latin and not the Hebrew and Aramaic of the Old Testament. A Roman governor would not have had to learn either Aramaic (well established throughout the region as the administrative language of several successive empires over 600 years until the coming of the Greeks/Macedonians in 331 BC) or the rarer Hebrew.
To clarify what some web sites have erroneously claimed - that Greek was the administrative language of the whole Roman empire - is demonstrably false as Latin was both the administrative and primary language throughout the Western part of the empire, which is why Latin's descendants remain in use as French, Portuguese, Spanish, Romansch, Italian, and even Romanian further East, as well as Latin itself in the Vatican today and among the scholars, the church, and the educated throughout the Middle Ages and even into modern times. But Greek was the most common shared language of the rulers and the governed throughout the Eastern Mediterranean.
KorvinStarmast
Benjamin DilleBenjamin Dille
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How did Rahab speak the language spoken by Joshua’s spies
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CVS Health and Roger Williams University To Offer Professional Development Program to Support Diverse Suppliers
Training program created by Center for Workforce and Professional Development at RWU School of Continuing Studies will help CVS Health diverse-owned suppliers develop skills in finance, leadership and technology
As part of its ongoing commitment to support the development of diverse business leaders, CVS Health and the Center for Workforce and Professional Development at Roger Williams University's School of Continuing Studies have opened registration for the CVS Health Executive Learning Series for Diverse Suppliers, a customized professional development program to help diverse business owners grow their companies.
The training program, now in its fourth year, helps diverse vendors gain critical management skills that allow them to expand their business relationships with CVS Health and drive their companies’ success in areas such as marketing, finance and human resources.
Supplier diversity is a strategic business imperative for CVS Health, and the company relies on its suppliers to help solve cost, quality and access issues in the evolving health care landscape.
The Executive Learning Series is a cornerstone program in the company’s ongoing focus on supplier diversity, a commitment recently recognized by Billion Dollar Roundtable, a top-level corporate advocacy organization that promotes supply-chain diversity excellence, for reaching its goal of spending over $1 billion with diverse suppliers.
“At CVS Health, we recognize that working with large corporations can be challenging for small businesses that don’t always have a lot of resources,’ said Raul Suarez-Rodriguez, manager, Supplier Diversity, CVS Health. “RWU has been a valuable partner in developing a training program that is specifically catered to our diverse suppliers, which allows us to deepen our partnerships with these small business owners and invest in their development by creating training opportunities that expand their capacity, skill level and growth potential.”
“Collaborating closely, CVS Health and CWPD identified the gap in professional development for diverse suppliers and built a one-of-kind program that included both the core competencies that CVS Health values and the management skills that can help strengthen each participant’s business as a whole,” said Dawne Pezzuco, director of the Center for Workforce and Professional Development. “With this customization, CVS Health is able to strengthen its relationships with suppliers while also helping these small businesses flourish in their communities.”
“With the Center for Workforce and Professional Development at RWU's School of Continuing Studies, corporate partners can create a customized learning experience that meets their specific industry needs or organizational goals,” said Jamie E. Scurry, dean of the School of Continuing Studies. “The unique programming created by the CWPD truly exemplifies our mission of furthering the education of our students, helping them to reach new career successes, pursue new career paths and remove barriers to upward socio-economic mobility.”
Fifteen diverse suppliers will be selected for the Executive Learning Series for Diverse Suppliers program, which launches on July 20 and will focus on building skills in areas such as finance and budget, leadership, management, technology, human resources and communications. The Series delivers:
An intensive curriculum designed to expand capacity, skill level and growth potential in critical areas.
Practical experience, including an opportunity to respond to a sample Request for Proposal.
Support for introductions and relationship building with CVS Health procurement professionals.
The opportunity to join peers in a mutually supportive and lasting network.
The application deadline is June 8. Click here for more information on the program.
The Center for Workforce and Professional Development at RWU's School of Continuing Studies and CVS Health developed the curriculum with help from several national diversity chambers and councils, including Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and Regional Partner Organizations, National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, National Minority Supplier Development Council and it Regional Affiliates, National Veterans Business Development Council, Rainbow Push Coalition, U.S. Business Leadership Network and the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce.
The Executive Learning Series for Diverse Suppliers program begins July 20, 2018, and courses will be offered through a blend of in-class and online learning, concluding in October. For more information on the Professional Education Center, visit https://scs.rwu.edu/
This release originally appeared on the Roger Williams University News Archive on May 14, 2018, and is posted here with permission from Roger Williams University.
Celebrating Our 10-Year Partnership with Diverse Supplier WEI
Councils and Affiliations
Supplier Diversity Awards and Recognitions
CVS Health Ranks #27 on DiversityInc's 2019 Top 50 Companies for Diversity List
CVS Health and Truth Initiative Challenge All Women's Colleges to Go Tobacco-Free
CVS Health Expands Commitment to Veterans Transitioning to Civilian Life
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Archive for the ‘Caps Chick’ Category
CapsChick of a View from the Cheap Seats shares her Earliest Hockey Memories
Logo by Gray from Couch Tarts
(A View from the Cheap Seats is in the stunning brigade of great Washington Capitals blogs and is rapidly becoming one of our favorites. How can you fault anyone after reading all of her great questionnaires (even if she was gullible enough to invite me). Hopefully Caps Chick doesn’t make a point to do TOO many of those great features or CLS might go out of business.
If … this was a business, that is.)
My dad moved to the Washington, DC area in 1974, the same year the Capitals came into existence. A Boston Bruins fan from his days in New England, he went to the very first preseason game ever held in the nation’s capital – and bought season tickets right then and there, beginning a love and a passion for the team that has spanned decades.
So you could say that being a Caps fan – or at least a hockey fan – wasn’t so much a choice as it was a birthright. I was indoctrinated right from the womb, really. There’s even a story that my mother would attend games while pregnant with me and I would proceed to kick to “Let’s Go Caps!”…I only kind of believe it.
(Editor’s Note: Somehow that’s not the first female blogger who relayed this story/anecdote as Wrap Around Curl also seemed to make this reference. Is it wrong to feel a little jealous about these puck based childhoods?)
That baby’s not just kicking, it’s making a kick save!
So my upbringing was a rather unique one, entirely Caps-centric in a city of Redskins fans – but it was ingrained in me from such a young age that it becomes hard to pick out just one memory that defines hockey’s place in my life. It’s really more of a collage of sights and sounds and events that turned me into the obsessive nutjob I’m proud to be today.
I remember my sister and I getting little replica jersey t-shirts from the Junior Fan Club and proudly wearing them as often as I could, begging to wear them to school and to bed and then wondering why they weren’t clean when I got to go to games. We had a pile of pom-poms in a basket in our basement, souvenirs of past playoff series that would occasionally make cameos in whatever make believe dress-up games we would be involved in on any given day; the number of times I pranced around with white plastic hair is too high to count. On the wall was a growth poster featuring a very young, very large Scott Stevens in full uniform and on skates. I remember gazing up at it and thinking he was a giant, an impression that was probably not helped by the fact that the poster was hung about a foot off the ground. Yet because of that poster Stevens was probably one of the first players I recognized just by looking at his face – and one of my earliest favorites for that exact reason.
Then there was the arena. Back then it was the Capital Centre, a place that often felt like a second home because of how much time we spent there and how comfortable it felt no matter how big and loud and potentially scary it could be (especially when Penguins fans were in town…ahem).
It had the strange, scooped-out roof that in my mind looked like it had been crushed by a giant rear end and the parking lots named after patriotic symbols like ‘Stars and Stripes’ and ‘Eagle’. There was the huge video screen in the middle of the arena, the first of its kind, and smaller computerized screens in the corner with funny little cartoons that acted out penalties or implored the crowd to cheer. The concourse smelled like popcorn and cotton candy and cigarette smoke – of course this was back in the days when you were allowed to smoke in arenas. And the building was always filled with noise of some kind or another, whether it was the organ or the cheering of the crowd or the wandering trumpeter who appeared in different sections throughout the game.
Back then I didn’t really understand the concept of “other teams” the way I do today. I knew I hated the Penguins, Flyers, Rangers, Devils and Islanders, but aside from a few select faces of evil (Lemieux, Hextall, Ulf Samuelsson, etc.) I couldn’t have named players even on those teams – and outside of the Patrick Division, forget it. Hockey was very personal to me. I honestly believed that when I went to a game or watched it on TV the Caps couldn’t possibly lose; if I cheered loud enough they would score. And when they got knocked out of the playoffs, as seemed to be their tradition, hockey ceased to exist until fall. I don’t even remember actually watching the Stanley Cup being awarded until the Rangers won it in 1994.
But I knew my boys. I knew guys like Miller, Ridley, Johansson, Langway and Hunter, knew their numbers and their on-ice personalities. And really that’s probably the strongest memory of them all – the players I grew up with, the ones who taught me to love the game and the Caps, and the ones I still idolize to this day.
Well…that or the hatred of the Penguins. It’s a toss-up.
Posted in Caps Chick, guest posts, Hockey memories | Leave a Comment »
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Cilley Scores 23 in, 82-78, Win at Western Connecticut
Western Connecticut
Rhode Island College (11-5, 5-1 LEC) 41 41 82
Western Connecticut (10-5, 3-3 LEC) 27 51 78
Pts: Austin Cilley - 23
Reb: Chris Burton - 7
Ast: Tom DeCiantis - 7
Pts: Jeremiah Washington - 16
Reb: Jeremiah Washington - 9
Ast: Bobby Bynum - 3
More news about: Rhode Island College
Danbury, Conn.-Freshman guard Austin Cilley (Westerly, RI) racked up 23 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team held off Western Connecticut en route to an 82-78 victory at Feldman Arena on Wednesday night in Little East Conference action.
RIC improves to 11-5 overall with a 5-1 record in LEC play. The Anchormen have won five straight contests and seven of their last eight overall. Western Connecticut drops to 10-4 overall with a 3-3 mark in conference play.
Senior guard Tom DeCiantis (North Kingstown, RI) finished with 15 points, a team-high seven assists and five rebounds for RIC, who held the Colonials to a paltry 34 percent (23-for-67) shooting effort on the evening. Senior guard Nyheem Sanders (Pawtucket, RI) totaled 15 points and three assists, while junior forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, NY) chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Sophomore guard Jeremiah Washington (Bridgeport, CT) registered a team-high 16 points for Western to go along with nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Freshman guard Kendall Marquez (Willimantic, CT) added 13 points and four rebounds off the bench, while classmate guard Bobby Bynum (New Haven, CT) recorded 12 points, three assists and two steals.
After Western Connecticut jumped out to an early, 7-2, lead with 17:43 on the clock behind five points from sophomore guard Ronnie Underwood (Bridgeport, CT), the Anchormen stormed out to a 26-11 lead over the hosts following a 24-4 run over the next six and a half minutes. RIC hit 10 straight field goals and scored 15 unanswered points to close out the scoring surge, which was capped off by a trey from Cilley with 11:07 left in the half.
The Anchormen, who jumped ahead by as many as 19 points late in the first frame, eventually went into the break with a 41-27 halftime lead. RIC shot at a remarkable 52 percent (15-for-29) clip through the first 20 minutes and outrebounded the Colonials, 23-11, during the first stanza. Cilley tallied 14 first-half points for the visitors, who also shot 88 percent (7-for-8) from the free throw line and 44 percent (4-for-9) from beyond the three-point arc.
The Colonials opened the second half with a 19-12 scoring run to cut the deficit down to seven, capped off by a pair of free throws from Washington that made it, 53-46, with 10:39 remaining. After RIC bounced back to extend its lead to 14 on several occasions over the next four minutes, Western again rallied to trim the margin to just five following nine unanswered points, including five points from Marquez.
Clinging to a 65-60 lead 6:24 remaining, the Anchormen upped its lead to nine, 74-65, behind a 9-5 scoring run over the next three minutes. The Colonials responded with back-to-back baskets to again cut the deficit to five with 1:32 on the clock and eventually made it a two-point game after a brief scoring flurry was capped off by a three-pointer from junior center Tony Seldon (Bloomfield, CT) with just 19 seconds left to play.
After a single free throw from junior forward Jacob Page (Brookline, MA) on the ensuing possession put the visitors on top, 81-78, with 15 seconds on the clock, Western missed a jumper on the other end, while DeCiantis buried a single free throw with one second left to seal the, 82-78, victory for RIC.
RIC outrebounded Western, 44-37, in the win, but committed a whopping 29 turnovers, as the hosts came up with 19 steals on the night. However, the Anchormen dished out 20 assists on the night, compared to just eight assists for the Colonials, who also committed 18 turnovers of their own.
The Anchormen shot 49 percent (27-for-55) from the field, 50 percent (8-for-16) from beyond the three-point arc, 63 percent (20-for-32) from the free throw line.
The Colonials connected on 82 percent (27-for-33) of its free throw attempts, but shot just 19 percent (5-for-27) from downtown.
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College hosts Eastern Connecticut in Little East Conference action on Saturday, Jan. 25 (3 p.m.).
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The Portuguese in the Persian Gulf: Hormuz, Bahrain and Mosul
By Kenneth Maxwell
Prologue: When visiting Bahrain recently, we visited the Portuguese fort. Naturally, when I returned to the United States, I talked with Professor Maxwell about the experience and asked if he would be willing to look back at the Portuguese initial engagement in the Gulf. And it is good thing I did, because it turns out that the Portuguese established a trading and choke point template that in many ways continues until today.
The Portuguese initiated European seaborne contact with Asia in May 1498 when the fleet of Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on the malabar coast of India.
By rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the Portuguese established the passage between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.
Over the next three decades the Portuguese established a chain of fortified trading posts reaching from Mozambique and Malindi in Africa, to Goa in India, to Ceylon, to Malaca on the Malay peninsula, to Macao in China at the mouth of the Pearl River, and after 1543 they established an outpost in Nagasaki in Southern Japan.
The overwhelming objective of the Portuguese was trade: Pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg.
Religion followed. They soon established a round trip route between India and Lisbon known as the “Carreira da Índia.”
The voyage lasted about six months, the fleets leaving Lisbon in March or April with an average of twelve or thirteen ships.
In 1510 Goa became the capital of the Portuguese “State of India.” (Estado da India). The Portuguese established fortresses along the Canara and Malabar coasts where they were interested in cinnamon. They participated in the spice trade (pepper, cinnamon, and cloves).
The return fleets left Cochin and Goa at the beginning of the year, with the average cargo at the beginning of the sixteenth century, of between 7,000 to 10,000 hundredweights.
Vasco da Gama, with the title of “Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia and India” returned to Lisbon in 1503 from his second voyage with 13 ships and 1,200 tonnes (metric tons) of pepper.
In 1511 Albuquerque sent an expedition to the Moluccas (the Maluku islands in present day Indonesia) where cloves, the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family of myrtaceae, syzgium aromaticum, were grown, a valuable and much much sought after spice.
In 1513 the first Portuguese arrived in China, though it was only in 1557 that their presence in Macao was sanctioned by the Chinese. It was from Macao that regular voyages to Japan took place.
The Portuguese Fort as seen July 2019.
The Portuguese introduced firearms to Japan as well as medicine, astronomy, navigation and shipbuilding. Their Christian missions were also successful, making more than 100,000 converts, while running a valuable silk trade from Macau, and advising the rising power of the Tokugawa shogunate on military tactics. In the 1630s friction resulted in the great massacre of Christians in 1638, and the banning of all Portuguese from Japan in 1639.
During the early 16th century Portuguese superiority in ships, artillery, military techniques, and fortress construction, made it possible for a few thousand Portuguese to sustain a seaborne enterprise stretching from East Africa to Japan.
This thalassocracy was always dependent on the indifference to maritime affairs by China, and the divisions in the Asian world.1
Portuguese control was never complete, especially on the land, where the great empires of the Ottomans in the Balkans and Anatolia, the Mamluks in Egypt and Syria, the Safavids in Iran and Iraq, and the Mughals in India, dominated.
In the Indian Ocean Muslim merchant communities were well established when the Portuguese arrived. The massive pilgrimages of Muslims to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in the Arabian penunsula produced a cyclical pattern of Indian ocean-going voyages of thousands of people.
The Portuguese also relied on local informants, particularly Jewish converts living in East Africa and Asia during the early years.
The Portuguese brought a combination of state and merchant interests together and introduced a warrior culture and a ruthless military commitment.
They did not hesitate to use force.
In addition to building fortresses the Portuguese established a system of “cartazas” which were “authorisations” essentially “safe conducts” to allies and denied to enemies, which allowed non-Portuguese ships to circulate without being attacked by the Portuguese.
Essentially the Portuguese coerced the local merchants into paying them fees while seizing the most lucrative trade routes for themselves.
While there were no European competitors this system worked.
Portuguese Hormuz Fort Pictured mid-16th Century.
The most important long term contribution of the Portuguese in Asia, however, was the identification and mapping out of the strategic choke points: The Strait of Hormuz still one of the world’s most important maritime transportation routes, and the Strait of Malacca, still the main shipping route between the Indian and the Pacific Oceans.
With their more powerful ships and cannons, the Portuguese established themselves by force of their superior military technology at these key points for trade and of geo-strategic influence. Where the Portuguese had led, later on the Dutch East India Company and the English East India Company followed.
The Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were an essential part of the Portuguese scheme to control the trade of the Indian Ocean, and in particular to break the trade network created by Muslims in the Indian Ocean.
The Portuguese had attempted to establish a base in the island of Socotra, when in 1507, a Portuguese fleet commanded by Tristão da Cunha, with Afonso de Albuquerque, captured the port of Sug after a fierce battle. Tomás Fernandes started to build a fort there but lack of food and a poor harbour led the Portuguese to abandon the the island four years later.
The Portuguese were unable to control access to the Red Sea.
The Mameluke sultanate of Egypt, with the support of the Venetians, prepared a huge Armanda and a fierce battle took place in 1509 off the coast of Diu, where the Portuguese were victorious. Egypt was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1517 and they seized Basra in 1546.
Albuquerque failed to capture Aden at the entrance to the Red Sea, making it impossible for the Portuguese to control the goods passing through the straight of Bab-el-Mandeb. In 1538 the Ottomans captured Aden which they held until the 1630s
Aden and Hormuz dominated the maritime commerce of the Middle East controlling the entrance to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf and linking the overland routes between the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean.
Portuguese enjoying a meal in the Persian Gulf.
In the Persian Gulf the Portuguese were more successful.
In 1514 the fleet of Pêro de Albuquerque reached the island of Bahrain, and in 1515 Afonso de Albuquerque returned to Hormuz.
The Portuguese built fortress on Hormuz which became their main base.
Together with Muscat and Curiate in Oman and Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, Hormuz became the base from which the Portuguese attempted to control access to the trading routes over land between the Indian Ocean and Europe via Basra, Bagdad, Aleppo and Tripoli, and to the eastern Mediterranean.
Hormuz with a population of Arabs, Persians, Indians, Jews, and Christians, was where Portuguese control of the customs house (bangsar) placed the Portuguese at the crossroads of the Iranian, Arab, and Indian worlds.
The key for the Portuguese in Asia was to control the sea routes.
Dom Francisco de Almeida, the first viceroy of India between 1505 and 1509, put this paramount interest in a letter to King Manuel of Portugal. It was necessary he told the King, that “all our might be in the sea. For if we are not mighty there, everything will be against us, as long as you be mighty in the sea, India will be yours, and if you are not in the sea, little will fortresses on land serve you.”
The objective of Afonso de Albuquerque in the Persian Gulf in 1507 was to control and block the Muslim trading routes which allowed valuable Asian goods to be taken to the eastern Mediterranean, and from Hormuz, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, the customs house controlled by the Portuguese, oversaw a lucrative trade throughout the Gulf region.
An Omani pilot, Ahmad bin Majid, had guided Vasco da Gama on his first journey from East Africa to Calicut. Muscat on the Omani coast and Bahrain in the Gulf and their fortresses became a key part of this network. In Muscat the Portuguese established an armed presence in 1508.
Defended by a small number of Portuguese officers and locally recruited auxiliaries, Muscat became the most strongly fortified base on the Arabian peninsula.
The Portuguese remained there until 1650 when Muscat was recaptured by the Omanis of the al-Ya’ruba dynasty.
On the island in Bahrain, where the Khalife family have ruled since 1783, the Portuguese constructed a huge stronghold with towers joined by a fortified wall.
The Bahrain Island was a key strategic point on the route between Hormuz and Basra and from which the trade along the Persian Gulf could be monitored and controlled.
The Portuguese fortress on Bahrain built on the site of an Arab fort, consists of three huge strongholds and two towers joined by a wall linking the strongholds together, and is surrounded by a trench.
It was first occupied by the Portuguese in 1521 and it was enlarged in 1559.
The Portuguese held Bahrain until they were expelled by Shah Abbas of the Safavid dynasty of the Persian empire in 1602.
The key position of the Portuguese on the island of Hormuz which controlled access to one of the world’s most strategically important choke points was lost to a joint Persian and English army and flotilla in 1622 when some 2000 Portuguese inhabitants were expelled to Muscat.
The featured graphic shows a 1563 map of the Gulf and the Red Sea and showing Bahrain and Hormuz.
The Portuguese built onto the fort which was originally an Arab fort which can be easily seen when inside the Fort itself.
About Dr. Kenneth Maxwell:
Dr. Kenneth Maxwell
A thalassocracy or thalattocracy (from Classical Greek θάλασσα (thalassa) (θάλαττα in Attic Greek), meaning “sea”, and κρατεῖν (kratein), meaning “power”, giving Koine Greekθαλασσοκρατία (thalassokratia), “sea power”) is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea (such as the Phoenician network of merchant cities) or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassocracy
Posted in Global Dynamics
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Asia-Pacific Naval
U.S. Navy Submarine USS Key West Conducts Mobile Logistics Demonstration
December 11, 2019 December 11, 2019 DP Staff Writer 0 Comments Apra Harbor, Dry cargo ship, Guam, Mobile Logistics Demonstration, Submarine, U.S. Navy (USN), USA, USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4), USS Key West (SSN-722)
The U.S. Navy Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Key West (SSN 722) conducted a mobile logistics demonstration with the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4) in Apra Harbor, Guam on Dec. 10.
This is the second forward-deployed logistics demonstration designed to evaluate supply ships’ ability to sustain submarine operations in an expeditionary setting.
The demonstration, which involved Key West mooring alongside Byrd, was the first overnight mooring between a U.S. submarine and a dry cargo class ship. Dry cargo class ships are responsible for providing logistic lifts to deliver cargo (ammunition, food, limited quantities of fuel, repair parts and ship store items) to U.S. and allied ships at sea. The demonstration was performed to highlight the submarine’s ability to go safely alongside a dry cargo class ship, which could facilitate the transfer of weapons, stores, critical repair parts, and provide the ability to support crew rest.
“This demonstration confirms the capability of a T-AKE receive a forward-deployed submarine independent of external entities,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Jack, the operations officer at CSS-15. “This ultimately increases the submarine force’s sustained lethality in the Indo-PACOM area.”
In addition to being the first overnight mooring, the demonstration showcased the first time water facilities were moved from a submarine to a T-AKE.
“These evolutions are a tremendous opportunity for our submarines to practice key demonstrations with dry cargo class ships,” said Capt. Tim Poe, Commander, Submarine Squadron Fifteen. “The training we gain from these demonstrations help us improve on the submarine community’s ability to replenish at sea and to provide key facilities needed to keep our submarines forward deployed.”
Key West is one of four Los Angeles-class nuclear-powere attack submarines assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron Fifteen (SUBRON 15), which is located at Polaris Point, Naval Base Guam in Apra Harbor, Guam. Also based out of Naval Base Guam are submarine tenders USS Frank Cable (AS 40) and USS Emory S. Land (AS 39). The submarines and tenders are maintained as part of the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed submarine force and are readily capable of meeting global operational requirements.
Original story by Lt. j.g. Meagan Morrison, Commander, Submarine Squadron 15
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Lynyrd Skynyrd Announces LAST OF THE STREET SURVIVORS FAREWELL TOUR
Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., Bad Company and numerous other friends to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers as They Visit Each Venue For the Last Time
Tickets On Sale to General Public Starting Friday, February 2
After a career that has spanned more than 40 years and includes a catalog of more than 60 albums, Southern Rock icons, Lynyrd Skynyrd, will embark on its final Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour presented by SiriusXM. The first leg of the career-concluding tour, produced by Live Nation, will kick off Friday, May 4 in West Palm Beach, FL at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre and will wrap Saturday, September 1 in Atlanta, GA at the Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood. The tour will cross the country throughout the summer over Fridays and Saturdays to give fans one last memorable night of classic American Rock-and-Roll.
Tickets for the tour go on sale to the general public starting Friday, February 2 at 10:00 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com. Citi® is the official presale credit card for the Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour. As such, Citi® cardmembers have access to purchase U.S. presale tickets, which are available beginning Tuesday, January 30 at 10:00 a.m. local time until Thursday, February 1 at 10:00 p.m. local time through Citi’s Private Pass® program. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.
“It’s hard to imagine, after all these years, the band that Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and myself started back in Jacksonville, would resonate for this long and to so many generations of fans. I’m certain they are looking down from above, amazed that the music has touched so many,” said Gary Rossington, original and founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Lead vocalist, Johnny Van Zant added, “we’ve been blessed by these great songs and the messages they carry to the fans. It’s been a true honor to try and fill in my brother’s footsteps for the past 31 years, keeping the music and his spirit alive.”
In addition to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, numerous friends including but not limited to: Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., Charlie Daniels Band, Bad Company, Marshall Tucker Band, 38 Special, Blackberry Smoke and Blackfoot, will perform as special guests on the tour. The tour derives its name from their new song, “The Last of the Street Survivors” and the band’s fifth studio album Street Survivors that is certified multi-Platinum by the RIAA and includes the Platinum-certified single, “What’s Your Name.”
The Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour marks a big moment for the three generation of fans, as the band has been consistently touring since it took a decade off in 1977. The iconic group is widely known for their live performances that usually include their beloved, elongated version of “Free Bird,” most often played at the end of their set, and their live albums including their multi-Platinum certified One More from the Road.
The Southern Rockers are best known for the RIAA Platinum-certified “Sweet Home Alabama” and self-proclaimed signature song, “Free Bird,” that Rolling Stone said was “easily the most requested live song in existence.” With more than 30 million units sold over their career, the band, that USA Today called the “whiskey-soaked genre’s most popular and influential crew,” has become a cultural icon that has spanned five decades. With everlasting hits such as “Simple Man,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “What’s Your Name,” “Call Me The Breeze,” “You Got that Right,” and more, Rolling Stone named Lynyrd Skynyrd one of its 100 Greatest Bands of All Time.
Stay tuned for future announcements and specific tour line-ups in your markets.
Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour presented by SiriusXM
Announced Dates Below
Friday, May 4 – Coral Sky Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Florida
Saturday, May 5 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, Florida
Friday, May 11 – Starplex Pavilion, Dallas, Texas
Saturday, May 12 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Presented by Huntsman, Houston, Texas
Friday, May 18 – Ak-Chin Pavilion, Phoenix, Arizona
Saturday, May 19 – Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, California
Friday, May 25 – Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California
Saturday, May 26 – Glen Helen Amphitheater, San Bernadino, California
Friday, June 22 – PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, New Jersey
Saturday, June 23 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh, New York
Friday, June 29 – Coastal Credit Union Music Park, Raleigh, North Carolina
Saturday, June 30 – PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, North Carolina
Friday, July 6 – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Saturday, July 7 – Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, Virginia
Friday, July 13 – Darien Lake Amphitheater, Darien, New York
Saturday, July 14 – Xfinity Theatre, Hartford, Connecticut
Friday, July 20 – Xfinity Center, Mansfield, Massachusetts*
Saturday, July 21 – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, New York
Friday, July 27 – Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Saturday, July 28 – Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Friday, August 3 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Illinois
Saturday, August 4 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center, Noblesville, Indiana
Friday, August 10 – DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, Michigan+
Saturday, August 11 – Budweiser Stage, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Friday, August 17 – Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Saturday, August 18 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, St. Louis, Missouri
Friday, August 24 – Lakeview Amphitheatre, Syracuse, New York
Saturday, August 25 – KeyBank Pavilion, Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
Friday, August 31 – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, Pelham, AL
Saturday, September 1 – Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, Georgia
*on sale at 11:00am local time
+on sale Saturday, February 3 at 10:00 am local time
VIP Packages will be available for all dates. Details available at lynyrdskynyrd.com
About Lynyrd Skynyrd
Original members Ronnie Van Zant, Bob Burns, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, and Larry Junstrom formed the band in 1964, originally known as My Backyard, the band changed to its famous name in the early 1970s, and became popular in the Jacksonville, FL area, where the original members were from. They signed with Sounds of the South Records in 1972, and released their self-titled disc the following year. The album that featured “Free Bird,” arguably the most-recognized single in the Southern Rock genre, has sold more than 2 million units since its release. Later down the road the band recorded iconic tracks “Sweet Home Alabama” and “What’s Your Name.”
The band’s story took a tragic turn in October 1977 when a plane crash took the lives of Van Zant, Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines, and several of their road crew. The band took a decade-long hiatus before reuniting for a tour and live album, Southern by the Grace of God. Since then, the band has toured and recorded extensively, with their most recent release being Last Of A Dyin’ Breed. The band’s current line-up includes original member Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Keith Christopher, Peter Keys, Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
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Reggie Bush, Marques Colston: Opposite starts, identical endings in the Saints Hall of Fame
By Les East
Category: Saints, Saints Hall Of Fame
METAIRIE – They are as different as Hollywood and Hempstead, Long Island, the places they left to begin their careers as New Orleans Saints.
One was the team’s top draft choice, No. 2 overall, a Heisman Trophy winner, a college football champion, a celebrity as much as a running back with a personality to match.
The other was an after-thought, the team’s last draft pick, a seventh-rounder, a compensatory pick no less, No. 252 overall, from an FCS program known as Hofstra, the longest of longest shots to play in an NFL game, an anonymous player content to be out of the spotlight.
“They arrived here in a little different way,” Saints coach Sean Payton understated.
But Reggie Bush and Marques Colston are bound together by more substantial stuff than that which provided the initial contrast – the same draft class, two bright lights that arrived amid the post-Hurricane Katrina darkness, Super Bowl champions, all-time Saints greats.
And as of Saturday evening, 2019 classmates as well as former teammates entering the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame.
Their Saints careers started with the 2006 NFL Draft, but to fully understand their legacies you have to understand the months preceding their contrasting arrivals.
It was August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and the levees broke and New Orleans nearly drowned.
The Saints evacuated to San Antonio and many of their fans evacuated to countless other places. Many of the citizens gradually came home and started rebuilding their lives.
The football team returned in January of 2006 and started rebuilding too. First came Payton as a rookie head coach, then he started trying to lure assistant coaches and free agent players.
It was a difficult sell when recruiting visits took place amid the devastation, the darkness, the merely sporadic signs of life after dark in a city known foremost for its liveliness after dark.
“We were celebrating each little small victory,” Payton said. “We would get a coach to come, and we’d ring a bell.’”
Remember the bell.
The challenge got a little easier when a linebacker named Scott Fujita signed, then a bit easier when an injured quarterback with nowhere else to go named Drew Brees followed suit.
A few more trickled in and Payton assembled staff.
Then came the draft.
The day before the draft, Payton and other officials briefed owner Tom Benson on the players they were considering drafting. They never mentioned Bush because they were certain he would be picked by the Houston Texans with the No. 1 pick.
Payton was out to dinner when word leaked that the Texans were going to draft N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams. Imagine being the Memphis Grizzlies and learning the Pelicans were going to pass on Zion Williamson.
Just like that, the Saints rookie head coach who had been struggling to convince marginal free agents to join him, saw the most coveted college player in recent memory fall into his lap.
Payton grabbed a pen and a napkin and started diagramming ways he could utilize Bush. Work quickly filtered to quarterbacks coach Pete Carmichael.
“Your head just started racing with the possibilities,” Carmichael said.
When Payton and his colleagues reassembled in the war room the morning of the draft, a few guys started speculating about exactly what kind of king’s ransom the Saints could get by trading the pick.
Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis ended that conversation in tandem, saying simply, “man, we are not trading this pick.”
When New Orleans officially selected “Reggie Bush, running back, USC,” the franchise was changed.
“I’d say on a 10 Richter scale, the selection of Reggie Bush was a 9.9 for this organization,” Payton said. “This was like Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson, the Beatles. Seriously, that is how big it was.”
Remember the bell they would ring with each little victory? Drafting Bush was different.
“We said, ‘ring the bell three times,’” Payton said. “It was a big, a big deal for our city to have that opportunity to select Reggie Bush.”
Tens of thousands of people who were scrambling each day to rebuild their homes and their lives, figured out a way to scrape together enough money to buy season tickets to go see their football team that had come precariously close to becoming San Antonio’s team just a few months earlier.
The 2006 season was sold out on season tickets as has every season since.
Remember now, Payton was a 42-year-old rookie head coach trying to figure out how to do head-coach stuff. He remembered his primary mentor, Bill Parcells, advising him, “that first pick of the draft, make sure you fly them in commercial with the rest of the draft class. That first pick of the draft, don’t have a separate dinner, or hotel suite, or limousine waiting for him.”
Bush arrived by private jet and Payton picked him up in a limousine, put him up “at the Loews penthouse suite” and brought him to a private dinner at Emeril’s.
“I thought I’d broken like every rule in the book regarding this first pick,” Payton said. “And I have only been here two months. I mean, Bill’s not going to talk to me.”
Payton and Bush led an entourage of a dozen people to the back room of the restaurant as the patrons started chanting, “Reggie, Reggie, Reggie.”
Meanwhile Colston waited and waited. After the Saints picked Bush, 249 more players were drafted into the NFL over two days. Finally, the Saints picked Colston.
“When you get drafted in the seventh round, one you’re not really super excited to still be on the board,” Colston said. “You’re really not super excited to go to a 3-13 team. You know, for me, I was (four) three picks away from being able to find what I thought would be the best destination to go and try to make a roster as a free agent.”
In the long run, New Orleans was the best place for him.
Once Bush and Colston arrived after the draft, the differences started to matter less and similarities started to emerge.
Colston had never been to New Orleans before. When he arrived to start his first job he was greeted by “the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.”
“You instantly felt like this is bigger than football,” Colston said.
Upon his arrival, Bush was given a tour, which included the Ninth ward, ground zero for Katrina.
“Right away, I felt this sense of responsibility to give it 110 percent every day, every time I stepped on the field,” Bush said, “and to at least do my very best to try to bring this city and this organization a Super Bowl.”
The Super Bowl would come soon enough, but first, for Colston anyway, it was about making the team.
Payton, wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson, assistant Johnny Morton and some scouts saw just enough intangibles from Colston in his college film, even though it was “somewhat grainy,” as Payton recalled, to take a flyer on him.
But Colston’s performance at the rookie mini-camp just days after the draft validated teams passing on him for 251 picks.
“I don’t know if it was the heat here or his back, a combination of a few things,” Payton said. “I know there was this point with Marques where he was thinking, ‘man, is this it, am I in the NFL – and do I belong?’”
Colston said he was “in survival mode day in and day out” for training camp.
“You’re hoping that you did enough that day to keep your job,” he said.
But he showed dramatic improvement 11 weeks removed from the rookie camp.
“All of a sudden we got back for training camp and the light was turned on,” Carmichael said.
“Each day, boom,” Payton said, “This Colston just keeps making pars and birdies just keeps putting practices together.”
About a month into camp, Payton realized, “hey, we’ve got our starting split end.”
So he traded away veteran Donte Stallworth.
Quickly, Colston became Brees’ favorite target, “a symbiotic relationship,” as Payton called it, born during countless hours of extra work at training camp at Millsaps College.
“Drew and Marques had such a great relationship,” said Carmichael, who became offensive coordinator after three seasons. “Drew trusted Marques. He knew exactly what he was going to do. He knew where Marques was going to be. Marques had such a great feel and the amount of catches that Marques made in traffic was just amazing.”
Carmichael said the Saints used to say that with Colston, “one on one was like one on none because you could throw it up to him and he was going to make sure that nothing bad happened and come down with the football.”
(Photo: Parker Waters)
Colston came down with the football 70 times for 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie. He was only the second-leading receiver because Bush caught 88 passes for 742 yards, in addition to 565 rushing yards, and he scored eight touchdowns.
Carmichael said the Saints usage of Bush was simple: “Just get the ball in his hands and let him do his magic.”
“He had the ability to make a home run out of the shortest pass,” Carmichael said.
That 2006 team brought New Orleans to the NFC Championship for the first time, where it lost to Chicago.
The Saints would miss the playoffs in 2007 and 2008 before putting everything together in 2009.
They went 13-3, claimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and hosted Arizona, ironically the opponent against whom the Saints will play Sunday when Bush and Colston are honored at halftime.
When the Saints offense was introduced before the playoff game, Bush sprinted to midfield carrying a baseball bat.
Payton had left a baseball bat in each player’s locker as a reminder of his admonition to “bring the wood,” meaning be the most physical team.
“I’m talking to the guys in the locker room and I’m like, ‘I think I want to bring the bat out,’” Bush recalled. “And they’re all like, ‘yeah, you should do that. You should bring it out.’ But now when I look back on it, nobody else wanted to also bring the bat out. It was just me.
“And so they were kind of egging me on and do it. And then, you know, I remember running out on the field with the bat and then immediately look to the sideline and coach is like, come here. Now the pressure was on me at that point. I had no choice but to go out and ball.”
He did just that, scoring on a 46-yard run and an 84-yard punt return and accumulating 217 all-purpose yards in a 45-14 win.
“I was ecstatic for how he played,” Payton said. “And yet, I remember him carrying out the baseball bat that was like our secret and thinking, ‘holy cow, there’s going to be questions about that.
“But an amazingly, amazingly dynamic player and amazing teammate.”
Colston left his bat in his locker and added a characteristically more mundane six catches for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Both players had more modest stats a week later, but Bush did catch a 5-yard touchdown from Brees as the Saints beat Minnesota in the NFC Championship 31-28.
Two weeks later in the 31-17 victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl, neither player found the end zone, but Bush had 65 all-purpose yards and Colston caught seven passes for 83 yards.
In the end Bush played five seasons in New Orleans, scoring 33 touchdowns, rushing for 2,090 yards and catching 294 passes for 2,142 yards.
Colston played 10 seasons and became the franchise’s all-time leading receiver in every category – 711 receptions for 9,759 yards and 72 touchdowns. In 10 playoff games with five different Saints teams he caught 58 passes for 788 yards and four touchdowns.
Payton has often said that he doesn’t care how a player arrives in New Orleans. He will be evaluated strictly on who he is and how he performs once he arrives. There is no better example of that than Colston.
“He was very humble in how he played, very respected as a teammate,” Payton said. “The consistency and the professionalism and knowing exactly what you were going to get week in and week out and mind you, what you were going to get was the all-time leading receiver in the history of this organization.”
But for all the differences between Colston and Bush, there are also plenty of similarities.
“They’re both smart. They both love football. They were both competitive. They both had great work ethics,” Carmichael said. “When it all came down to it, they were great teammates, they were great in the locker room, all of those things that you were looking for outside of football.
“These guys had so many similarities in their preparation. When they got on the field they were competitive, you wanted the ball in both of their hands, you trusted both of them.”
Aside from all the catches and yards and touchdowns – and even the Super Bowl title – perhaps the most significant thing that the two newest Hall of Famers share is the joy, excitement and hope that they brought to a city in desperate need of each.
“I truly believe everybody that came to this team during that time period was brought here for a purpose,” Bush said, “to help restore hope to the city, to the people, by going out and doing what we do best, which is playing football, winning football games.
“I think one of the best parts of our job was to be able to go out into the city and to be able to physically help people rebuild their homes. This is about helping people who are in need and people who are right here in our backyard. That’s what sports is about – being able to go the extra mile and not just say, ‘I’m just going to show up and, and collect the check.’ But, to be able to actually impact and affect people’s lives outside of the arena.”
Bush had just turned 21 years old when he was drafted. Colston turned 23 shortly thereafter.
“The opportunity to be here and not only New Orleans, but understand that you’re representing the entire Gulf region,” Colston said. “Just to be able to play a small role in that resurgence and just have the opportunity to interact with people and understand the impact that you’ve made on their lives over the years. (There is) no feeling in the world like that.”
When Bush and Colston are formally inducted Saturday night, Colston’s highlight film might be a little longer than Bush’s, and Bush’s speech almost certainly will be longer than Colston’s.
But the portraits of the two players that will immortalize them in the Hall of Fame will rightfully be of identical size.
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Les East
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Les East is a nationally renowned freelance journalist. His blog on SportsNOLA.com was named “Best Sports Blog” in 2016 by the Press Club of New Orleans. For 2013 he was named top sports columnist in the United States by the Society of Professional Journalists and Louisiana Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. You can follow…
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Tamsin Flowers: Mountain Man
August 29, 2013 Delilah Devlin
High Octane Heroes—the name says it all! A wonderful collection of diverse stories with one thing in common: full-blown alpha male love interests. These are tales of irresistible he-men, hot-blooded and ready for action. And these guys also know how to love. They’re not afraid to show their softer side—but only to the right woman…
So who is that woman? For every High Octane Hero featured in the anthology, there’s a woman who catches his attention or captures his heart. Some of these are true damsels in distress, in need of rescue by the man of their dreams. But some of them are strong, independent women who are in total control of their lives and don’t need a man to lead the way. Surely they don’t want rescuing…?
Well, I believe there are moments when we all do!
So, what sort of heroine did I pick for my story in the collection, “Mountain Man?” Ah… Melody. She’s certainly in need of rescue and she’d be the first to admit that the predicament in which she finds herself is totally of her own making.
Here’s how the story opens:
Right. Take a deep breath. Begin.
“Hi, my name’s Melody and I’m one of those idiots you see on the news reports…”
You know the type of idiots I mean? The man that nearly drowns when he falls through ice trying to save the dog that isn’t in danger. The family that go out to sea in an inflatable toy raft. The old lady who drives twenty miles down the freeway in the wrong direction without noticing the cars piling up around her. Those idiots.
And now, because of what happened up in the mountains last weekend, I’m one of them too. So I’m going to tell you exactly what happened and perhaps you’ll avoid making those same mistakes and looking like a fool. You see, I’m the idiot that went up the mountain in trainers, without a map. That idiot.
Right from the start it was my fault. It was my idea to go hiking in the late autumn and it was me who persuaded Frankie to come, when it was obviously against her better judgment. It was me who left the map in the trunk of the car and it was me who couldn’t be bothered to dig out my hiking boots. Frankie didn’t even have any, walking not being her thing, but I told her trainers would be fine; we’d stick to the paths…
Here are some of the lessons that I learnt.
Just because it’s sunny in the morning, it doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way.
Fog can come down real fast on a mountain.
Trainers offer no support to ankles.
Paths can vanish abruptly.
Shorts do not keep you warm.
Blundering on when you can’t see where you’re going can lead to accidents.
Now I know those things.
Luckily for Melody and her friend Frankie, there’s a High Octane Hero around to save the day—and I don’t think I’m giving anything away by telling you that. After all, it says so on the cover of the book!
Tamsin Flowers loves to write light-hearted erotica, often with a twist in the tail/tale and a sense of fun. Her stories have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and she is now graduating to novellas with the intention to pen her magnum opus in the very near future. In the meantime, like most erotica writers, she finds herself working on at least ten stories at once: while she figures out whose leg belongs in which story, you can find out more about her at Tamsin’s Superotica or Tamsin Flowers.
SOMEBODY PASS ME A TISSUE
SMOKIN’ HOT FIREMEN is in the Rhapsody Book Club!
4 thoughts on “Tamsin Flowers: Mountain Man”
Gayle Latreille says:
Nice excerpt. Congrats on the release
Tamsin Flowers says:
Thanks, Gayle. I’m really looking forward to the release.
Sounds good. Wish you all the best
Thanks, Julie – I’m excited to have been included in this anthology.
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About Christian
http://Vasquez
Posts by Christian:
The Psychology of Casino Colors
November 5, 2019 By Christian in Default
Casinos are no stranger to modern-day living. Gambling and casinos are being legalized at a tremendous speed globally, but what few ever suspect when they walk into a casino is the massive amount of psychology behind every little bit of detail you face as soon as that you enter the premises. Let’s explore the magic behind the colour green and why it is so commonly seen within the industry.
By no means do we want to suggest that when casino interiors are designed, that the ultimate purpose it to manipulated clients, but ultimately the casino management needs clients to behave in a certain way, willingly, to make an existence? Hence every bit of décor, every combination with which you are faced, are planned into the smallest detail, with a purpose to obtain results.
The Color of the Tables
Overtime casino goers became accustomed to some aspects on the casino floor. One such simplistic element with a significant impact is the colour of casino tables. These tables are predominantly green; it is easy to accept that green is just the industry standard. Yet, the industry is capable of producing any colour tabletops, but green as a colour has proven itself to be psychologically calming. It is a colour linked to relaxation, and that is what the casino managers want. A stressed-out player next to the table is not going to benefit anyone. Casinos want players to feel calm and relaxed and almost at home when they enter their facilities. They want their clients to stay a bit longer and return often, and that is what they manage to achieve with something as simplistic as the colour of their tabletops.
Green represents stability. On the colour spectrum, it is precisely balanced between the much warmer colours like orange, red and the fresh colours on the other side of the range of blue and purple. This calming colour aids players to feel much more relaxed in the environment, which could be considered to be very intimidating in many ways. Not only are casino patrons often faced with confined and crowded spaces, but also the number of flashing lights and constant noise can contribute to them cutting their stay much shorter. This is not beneficial to the casino; hence, they balance these factors out with the calm presence of green tables.
Green is also the colour of the light indicating you to go ahead at a traffic light. It reflects a positive affirmation that you can proceed. Almost as if green is a call to action, urging the player to take that step and go ahead. In certain cultures, the colour green is also associated with prosperity. It can be linked to financial security in the same way that banknotes are often green — just one example of how every little detail is well thought through.
The Designers behind Architectural Greatness
November 3, 2019 By Christian in Designer Friend
Art can take on many forms from the abstract to the obscene, it can cause instant moments of fleeting abundance, it can be fluid, or it can be timeless pieces of mastery. The latter being the work of architectural masters, designers of greatness, the dreamers behind the grandiosity of casinos, outshining the test of time. These architects managed to create playgrounds known for their thrill and fun, magic and wonder, palaces of magnificence. Here are only a few of these masters of construction and the timeless pieces they created.
Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas – Jay Sarno
Sarno’s vision was conceived in the 1960s. It has stood the test of time as well as the test of renovation, still intact with the original idea well presented. This palace brings back memories of the Greco-Roman empire, complete with statuary and marble designs. Indeed an exact resemblance of the larger than life design Sarno envisioned decades ago. With Julius Caesar welcoming visitors into this opulence and spectacular magnitude.
The Grand Lisboa, Macau – Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man
Standing out above the rest is the crown jewel of Macau. The most outstanding of all thirty-eight casinos in Macau and the tallest building around at an impressive forty-seven stories. This is the creation of two architects from Hong Kong. The building was intended to be daring, to be expressive and to be a clear reflection of the ocean greeting the shores of the peninsula. The building also brings back memoirs of times gone by, times of Portuguese colonialism, exploring life in a different time.
Adelaide Casino – Buchan Architects
Two worlds are merging into one. The historic train station in Adelaide became one with a new architecture to create an intriguing balance between the landmark days gone by and modern times of the here and now. This is an intimate casino with only 90 gaming tables and 950 casinos. Keeping intact the history of the building inside protected by an outer exterior of modern shine with gold-tinted glass blends, complementing the golden hints on the old train station’s stones.
Crown Casino, Melbourne – Daryl Jackson
Jackson envisioned an illuminated glass spectacle serving as the hallmark set at the riverfront of the Yarra River. This is indeed a theatrical place with more than 200 000 square feet of gaming space, offering over 2 000 luxury rooms, shops and restaurants. The clean lines of the building reflect the river, lending a sense of being alive to the stagnant structure. This is considered to be an architectural masterpiece which brought Jackson plenty of recognition for his ingenious design.
Venetian Macau, Aedas and HKS
As extraordinary as her sister situated in Las Vegas that served as the inspiration when the extraordinary dream was dreamt for Macau. Impressive in size too, Venetian Macau is 550 000 square feet of gaming excellence. Intertwined with canals, shops and even gondoliers. This is a building of awe and wonder, as lavish on the exterior as the interior.
When Stadium Designs Go Wrong
October 28, 2019 By Christian in Default
Designing a stadium is an architect’s dream. It is an opportunity to flaunt skill and talent and earn respect much needed in the industry. Yet sometimes even when it all appeared awe-inspiring on paper, some flaws might show up only when completed, and then the grandiosity of the arena gets overshadowed by some wonky design flaws defining what was supposed to be magnificent as magnificently odd.
Arlington Stadium in Arlington Texas
The stadium was opened in 1965 to attract MLB to the district. A couple of years later the Texas Rangers did arrive in 1972. What the Rangers’ fans had to face was. Unfortunately, a stadium merely fit for minor-league games with no roof or canopies or any source of shade in an area where temperatures reach a scorching three-digits regularly. Day games were a no-no as fans couldn’t spend all the time in the sun. It was only in 1978 that an upper deck was added which brought on some relief for a limited number of fans.
Kingdome in Seattle, Washington
Kingdome opened for play in 1976 with one hidden flaw, and that was that the structure wasn’t built to handle the amount of downpour which Seattle is known for. The leaking roof remained a concern that received little attention. Not even the outcry in 1990 from Ken Griffley Jr., outfielder to the Mariners that the leaking roof caused the centre field to be an unsafe zone was enough to bring about real change. In 1994 the roof could take it no more, and the years of complaints came crashing down as the saturated panels gave in. Three of the 15-pound fibreglass panels each 32 by 48 inches large came tumbling down and crushed the chairs below mere hours before the stadium would be filled with fans. The entire ceiling had to be replaced to find the glory which Kingdome deserved finally.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York
The stadium deemed the most significant tennis venue globally opened for play in 1997 with a seating capacity of 22 547. As in any other stadium, Row Z is hardly anyone’s choice to sit, but in this stadium, the ones ending up there are purely the laughable stock of the event. Sitting an extraordinary 120 feet above the court makes watching the game impossible. The stadium’s design included two rows of luxury boxes just above the lower bowl and then above that are the seats of the second level expanding so high up in the sky that this stadium is higher than many of the well-known MLB parks.
The experience of watching tennis from Row Z in the famous Arthur Ashe stadium can easily be replicated. Only by sitting in a super uncomfortable plastic chair and watching tennis on the tiniest smartphone screen that you can lay your hands on, you will experience something of it. Although, do be sure that it is indeed the most miniature smartphone around otherwise you will still be able to observe too much.
Sports Venues Sustainability
Preserving a green legacy or reducing a carbon footprint, these are the significant factors that stadiums consider to increase their sustainability factor. Some stadiums in the world have managed to construct or even renovate existing structures in such a way that they have become the forerunners in innovation and are setting the benchmark to strive for in regards to sustainability globally.
More than 4 200 solar panels provide the energy to power the home of Ajax football club. An energy-generating escalator can be found within the main building, and they also have installed energy storage. This energy storage system has been constructed from second-life batteries previously used in electric cars. These used Nissan LEAF batteries are used to distribute energy to the neighbouring residential areas when needed and also serves as a backup power source to the stadium. Their lawns are watered from rainwater which they collect from the roofs. Energy is also preserved through the use of residual heat to keep the field frost-free. Also, the supporters travelling to games are always urged to make use of public transport of other energy-saving means of commuting.
Various innovative sustainability improvements that could be found in Silicon Valley were incorporated by the home of the San Francisco 49ers. They showcase more than 1 000 the best solar elements available in the market which are distributed throughout the entire building. They also showcase a solar-panelled roof deck and pedestrian energy bridges. The top of the suite tower of the stadium is home to a 27 000 square feet green roof. All their cleaning products and materials are purchased from sources providing sustainable materials. Food is sourced locally, and they minimize the carbon footprint by having about 78% of their food suppliers situated within a 150-mile radius, while 85% of their food is sourced locally in California. All these efforts and commitment to combat climate change earned the San Francisco 49ers the recognition of the White House Office of Science and Technology.
Golden 1 Centre
2017’s most technologically advanced and greenest facility for sports and entertainment is home to the Sacramento Kings. The stadium is in the top three of high-performance buildings globally. They are continually conveying the message of promoting a greener lifestyle to their fans and business partners. The stadium harness all the energy needed through solar panels and their water conservation plans managed to reduce their water consumption by 45%. Construction to the stadium was completed during late 2016, where after the construction waste was 99% recycled and the demolition materials weren’t dumped in a landfill.
FIFA World Cup Stadium
Qatar is home to the 2022 football World Cup and is committed to building 12 venues. These venues will have no carbon emission and will thus deliver on a zero-carbon tournament. The stadiums also feature specialized climate controls that can control the temperatures which often exceed 40C during events.
Impressive Bar & Restaurant Interiors
October 14, 2019 By Christian in Default, Designer Friend
Any great restaurant or bar gets its reputation for brilliance not only from the delicacies served on the menu which is of immaculate standard, nor from the vibe which is a culmination of the personalities of the group attracted, but also due to design brilliance, something with a spectacular visual appeal. Here are some of the world’s top restaurants and bars which are beyond impressive in their design.
H.R Giger Museum Bar
This architectural masterpiece is the creation of the Swiss artist, H.R Giger. This bar delivers a unique and almost surreal experience, and the entire premises is a work of art. Every bit of space of the interior from the floors to the ceiling is covered in Giger’s acclaimed biochemical environment and the characters he designed to fit in it. Thus the entire interior of the bar is one piece of art, both inspiring and incredible. The original Giger bar opened in Chur Switzerland in 1992, and then a new Giger bar was opened in 2003 in Gruyères.
Truth Cafe
Truth Cafe is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The Daily Telegraph has nominated truth as the world’s best coffee shop, and this was with good reason. Not only does Truth Coffee deliver on an immaculate quality of only the best beans available, but their steampunk theme is impressive and captivating. The theme centres on Colossus. Colossus is their vintage Probat coffee roaster. It has all the modern much-needed electronics to deliver on an excellent final product with the visual appeal of another world. Here enjoying a cup of the best roast is more than popping in for a quick coffee, it is indeed a culinary experience.
The Bicycle Bar
Based in Bucharest, the bar’s interior is inspired by the owner’s love for bicycles. Indeed a childhood dream which entered reality and the entire restaurant is a reflection of this passion for bikes. The chairs and tables are mostly made of reused vintage bicycles, and even the lighting fixtures reflect this love. The restaurant blends in perfectly with the Bucharest old city centre and the industrial décor often displayed in its surroundings. Some of these parts used have been shipped from Great Britain, some dating back as far as 1930. Other pieces have been sourced from the oldest as well as the largest bicycle factory in Romania, Pegas. Although Pegas has been closed for a while already, their brilliant creations still amaze patrons to this vintage bar, daily.
AMMO Restaurant
AMMO is standing for Asia, Modern, Museum and Original. This award-winning restaurant is set in the heritage site of an explosives compound which was in use in the 19th century. It has a contemporary ambience and both an Italian as well as Japanese influence. The décor is the inspiration of Joyce Wang and her team at the Wang Studios, and it is based on Alphaville, a 1965 film masterpiece. Reflecting an industrial and military past combined with a modern space set away from the busy city centre of Hong Kong.
Designing Stadiums of Brilliance
October 6, 2019 By Christian in Default
Creating a building intended to not only allow the flow of thousands of people with ease within a short period but also bringing the most needed facilities, unobstructed views and have tons of visual appeal, is no easy task. The world of sports is showcasing some of these great works of architectural brilliance, sporting not only excellent functionality but are also fantastic looking wonders, carrying themselves with panache and grandeur. These are the designs of geniuses, wonders of the world, captivating audiences and invaluable to the world of professional sports.
The Slovenian company, OFIS Arhitekti, designed this architectural wonder. It was unveiled in 2012 and could seat 13 000 spectators, meeting the exact standards of UEFA, and it is the home to the Bate Borisov Football Club. The stadium has a rare appearance resembling living cells as the dome is constructed from aluminium with splodgy openings. Contributing to the aesthetics resembling a living organism, the entire stadium dome is draped in a fabric with a skin-like appearance. The functionality of the stadium is brilliant with a rounded shape which enhances the sound, and the 3 000 square foot plaza serves as a walkway to the various parking areas which are carved into the nearby surreal landscape of forests.
Home to Bayern Munich
This world-famous design by the company Herzog & de Meuron was their second feather in their hat as they are also the geniuses behind the design of the Beijing National Stadium. Allianz Arena turned over time into more than the home of the football legends of Bayern Munich but is also a well-known tourist attraction of the city. The colour-changing façade for which the stadium is known as one of the requirements which were set for the architects of the time. An illuminated body was required but even more intriguing was the fact that it had to be colour-changing and that is precisely what they delivered. The stadium also had to be set in an open landscape, designed to facilitate a procession like an appearance when fans arrived to attend the game within the crater-like interior which the stadium brought. These elements were all incorporated within the structure, adding to distinctive appeal as an architectural work of magnificence.
London Aquatics Centre
Zaha Hadid Architects are a British architectural company known for their designs which deliver on organic-looking exteriors. When the company was awarded the design of the Aquatics Centre which would be the home to the 2012 Olympic Games, it is was already assumed that the flow of water would be core in her design. The lines of the building quickly immersed with the outside terrain of a river landscape in Olympic Park. The centre’s sweeping roof creates the impression of a growing wave. This too is a stadium of structural brilliance. No wonder that it made a list as the best-built building in the United Kingdom.
The World’s Most Glamorous Casinos
September 29, 2019 By Christian in Default
Three casinos which are symbolic of a glamorous gambling affair. Spending a night at any of these grand casinos is limited to a selected group in the world, a playground for the super-wealthy and their friends. Home to the stars and celebrities, the royalty and the super-rich of the world. Therefore these venues deliver an aesthetic appeal to live up to the standard of decadence to please their patrons. Decorated in the most exquisite and lavish, to entertain and entice.
The Venetian Macao is breath-taking in both grandiosity and magnificence and earns a bronze medal on this list. The casino is significant in size and brings her patrons 3 400 slot machines and 800 gambling tables. In a separate arena, all entertainment and sporting events are hosted. This arena is as grandiose as the rest of the Venetian Macao, covering an entire area of 550 000 square feet. It isn’t the sheer size which gained it third place in our rankings, but much rather the impressive interior design. An intricate balance between Eastern influence and Western aesthetics with a dash of exotic wood. The Chinoiserie murals remind of an 18th-century lifestyle while the lavish crown mouldings are delivering an over-the-top appeal of luxury, fuelled by the abundance provided by a Feng shui design.
A legendary contribution to Germany’s crown of exceptional beauty. Casino Baden-Baden was indeed described as the most beautiful casino of the world, by none other than Marlene Dietrich. In its 268th year of glamourous existence, Baden-Baden is a good number two. The interior has a strong French influence contrasted against the backdrop of the mystical Black Forest. The interior and design of Baden-Baden were based on the palaces of French royalty, and it inevitably turned out to be a playground for kings. Gilded mirrors and crystal chandeliers, draped in scarlet curtains are echoing wealth and opulence. The only element absent here is time, for no clock will be seen, enticing patrons to lose themselves in a time of glamourous brilliance.
Casino De Monte Carlo, Monaco
The globally acknowledge icon of luxury and splendour. The Belle Epoque building has been home to the wealthiest and most famous in the world since it was opening in 1863. The casino has been the inspiration of many silver screen presentations of a lifestyle of glamour and allure. It has made an appearance in some Hollywood classics from the Golden era too. The outside is richly decorated with marble statues and onyx columns. Every single night is an affair with Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s and Rolls Royce’s dropping their patrons at the Old-World entrance before they float up the sweeping steps into a night of splendour. Dressed in the best as designed by the leading fashion houses of the world. Nothing is spared in their attire or their entertainment. The inside is as richly decorated with stained glass windows and enticingly dramatic frescoes covering the walls between the Rococo ceiling and the floor. Players at these tables settle only for high-stakes of French Roulette, Trente et Quarante or Poker.
Las Vegas Themed Party
Throwing a Las Vegas themed party is not the easiest to tackle, but if you plan it well and execute it correctly, it is the most exciting of themes. The planning includes not only décor but also food and drinks. Even the way you set up your furniture contributes to the atmosphere and of this memorable evening. Most of your friends and family are familiar with online and mobile sports betting and gaming, which might turn the pressure on, as you want to re-create this new form of entertainment during the party.
Event Furniture & How it Makes Your Party Stand Out
The furniture to use for a Vegas-themed part should include different elements such as chairs and tables as well as props. When you start planning the party, you need to take into consideration the room in which you host the event. The furniture is essential to offer the event vibe and sometimes renting a hall is a great option, depending on the size of the game and the number of people you invite.
Design and Décor
The furniture is the centrepiece of the whole event and needs to make your guests feel comfortable to stay longer. Some parties offer real money play amongst friend’s while others just monopoly money. Some of the more significant functions use professional dealers to host Vegas-style events. The décor, design, furniture and even the food need to compliment the theme, and you could ask guests to dress accordingly. Most Vegas-theme parties are inspired by a specific era, which further adds to the exciting topic.
Invitation Designs
First impressions count, and if it is a birthday or surprise party, the invitation is the first announcement and needs to make an impression. The most popular is large playing cards or something printed to look the same. You could send a casino chip with the invitation, which can be used in the first round. This gets the guests in a real gambling mood, and they’ll gladly dress to impress.
When it comes to the event of the evening, and you want to offer something close to Vegas, you’ll need a DJ, roulette wheels and stacks of different colour chips. Adding a few slot machines ensures the success of the evening. Depending on the theme, a gambling or Vegas party could also include a type of James Bond type of theme. This would require a great selection of different cocktail glasses, a barman and even a few waitresses to add to the Bond-feel. It’s quite an extravagant theme although it adds style, class, cigars and cognac to the event.
You could offer bonuses to the best dressed, have an Elvis look-a-like to welcome the guests to Vegas and karaoke on the side. The entertainment options are as unlimited as the entertainment in Las Vegas!
New Gen Gambling
The overall facilities and designs of casinos have changed dramatically over the past decade to stay on the mark with the demands of the new generation. The older style casinos were a bit dark, some a little over colourful and in many cases disorienting. Even the older casinos were designed that way for several reasons. Every detail, component and design are used to create the perfect ambience for casino visitors. The casino is first built and then the designer’s step in to complete an environment that will attract visitors. In some areas, the more traditional design is most appreciated, although the people that loves gambling have changed. Casinos have no option but to change with their gamblers.
The new generation of gamblers has access to online casinos offering sportsbetting, live casinos as well as traditional table games and slots. It’s almost impossible for land-based casinos to compete with that. Even more so since mobile casinos now accommodates players no matter where they find themselves. It pushes land-based casinos to offer services that will still draw the crowd in terms of design and entertainment value. Most casino owners called in the help of professionals, and the first approach was to redesign the casino floor layout. Most casinos previously used a maze-styled design with narrow paths leading past the machines.
Unorganized Maze-Layout
To get to the exit, you would need to use the maze-style path, pass all the slots, and it required you to walk quite a distance. It was almost a random maze in which nothing felt organized. As with everything else, there was a good reason for this layout, if gamblers planned to leave the rows of slots, they passed could tempt them to stay longer. They’d spend a little more money as they try a few spins on their way out. The maze-style casino layout is no longer used in modern casinos, now players have space to move, and the casino floor is neatly organized. Casino game players like space, it allows them to feel that they explore the options. Many studies followed and only recently it was found that the best layout is a playground type of theme, it is also much more effective than the previous maze layout.
The reason why players visit a casino is to have fun, and regardless of the gambler age now, he or she remembers the fun they had at carnivals or playgrounds. The playground theme brings back the same feeling of joy and enjoyment, which naturally makes them want to stay longer. The new layout includes lower ceilings that offer a homey feel and the colour combination need to inspire the players. Some designers use a lighter colour combination others more colourful. One thing that remains important is a pleasant smell; new casinos know how to entice all senses.
Designing A Sports Bar Everyone Loves
September 6, 2019 By Christian in Default
The design of any sports bar is based on creating something customers would enjoy. The main reason why anyone visits a sports bar is to experience an atmosphere that brings them closer to the feel of being at a live match or sports event. Sports bars are places where you can cheer for your team and mingle with other sports fans. The uniqueness of design, service level and quality of food all contributes to the popularity of the sports bar. The design is focussed on maximizing the experience of the sports fan. When you plan to design your own, it will start by visiting the meccas of the most popular sport in your area. Note down what stands out and what made the experience memorable for you.
Also, pay special attention to what strikes you most about the bar and get inspiration from comments from others at the bar. The names of the bars are essential as one of the main things is to choose a title that will fit the entire concepts of the bar. The theme is most critical when it comes to memorabilia and the colour of the décor. If you open a bar close to a football field or sports stadium, it should welcome those on their way to the live match. At the same time, it should offer others a clear view of the game via several big screens. Memorabilia-wise it should include items from top teams, rugby, soccer, cricket or other major sports.
Primary Focus of a Sports Bar
The main attraction of any sports bar is the big screens showing the sporting event. The seating should offer sports fans an unobstructed view from more than one monitor. There is no shortcut when it comes to purchasing high-quality screens that provide a great view. This is what the customers come to enjoy, and the main attraction should offer high-definition pictures. The number of filters depends on the size of the bar, and most of the smaller bars have around eight screens. Larger sports bars have approximately 45, and it is best to call in the experts when you’re ready to install. Sports bar clients do not expect an exceptional dining experience; they want excellent food, lots of beer and a clear view of the match.
All the rest are nice to have extras; the main attraction is excellent quality viewing available on enormous screens. Comfortable seating keeps fans happy for longer, and they tend to discuss their sports betting outcomes after the match. If they feel comfy, this discussion could continue for longer. It is also a great socializing spot for discussing future events so that a high sports bar would facilitate pre-match, match and after-match visits. Most successful sports bars have considered all three scenarios and some of the large pubs also offer sports betting facilities. If you could find a suitable venue close to either a stadium or a sports betting venue, half the struggle is won.
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Paraguay - major soybean exporter in the 'Heart of South America'
Her Highness Sheikha Moza with First Lady of Paraguay
Amir's visit to Paraguay important chapter in bilateral ties: envoy
Amir starts his state visits to four Latin America countries with Ecuador Monday
Foreign Minister meets UK senior defence adviser
Qatar lifts exit permit system
QATAR South America Paraguay
Asunci?n, capital of Paraguay.
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in central South America, bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest.
Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the centre of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazon de Sudamerica ('Heart of South America').
Indigenous people have been living in eastern Paraguay for at least a millennium before the arrival of the Spanish.
Spanish Conquistadores arrived in the country by navigating the Paraguay River at the beginning of the 16th century, establishing themselves in the City of Asuncion, which nowadays is the capital of Paraguay.
The country became independent at the beginning of the 19th century.
With around 7mn inhabitants, Paraguay is a founding member of Mercosur, an original member of the United Nations, the Organisation of American States, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Lima Group. Also, the city of Luque, in Asuncion's Metropolitan Area, is the seat of the Conmebol. Paraguayans are known for being a very happy and easy-living people and many times the country topped the "world's happiest place" charts because of the "positive experiences" lived and expressed by the population.
In recent years, the economy has grown as a result of increased agricultural exports, especially soybeans. Paraguay has the economic advantages of a young population and vast hydroelectric power.
The soybean industry has grown exponentially in South America, including in Paraguay. The results of this growth have been substantial for Paraguay especially and the soybean industry has brought economic expansion to the country.
According to information available online, Paraguay was fourth on a list of top 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of soybeans during 2017. Its soybeans exports were worth $2.1bn, accounting for 3.7% of the world's exported soybeans. Paraguay is also the sixth largest producer of soybeans in the world.
Overall, Paraguay’s most valuable exported goods are soybeans, electrical energy, oil cake, beef, corn, insulated wire or cable and rice. The country shipped $8.7bn worth of goods around the globe in 2017, up by 2.1% from 2016. As of June 2018, Paraguay’s exported goods were valued at $4.9bn, up by 13.3% compared to the first six months of 2017.
The country also boasts of the third most important free commercial zone in the world: Ciudad del Este, trailing behind Miami and Hong Kong.
Paraguay is also looking to cash in on the growing demand for yerba mate herb. Yerba mate tea, made from a holly tree whose scientific name is Ilex paraguariensis, has been beloved in South America since before colonisation. The herb has been popular for centuries in countries, including Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil. And now, the rest of the world is starting to catch on.
In Paraguay, entrepreneurs and farmers are attempting to take advantage of this by experimenting with new products made from the herb, such as ice cream and medicinal creams. Paraguay produces 50,000 tonnes of yerba mate annually, making it the world’s third largest producer.
The vast majority of Paraguay’s yerba mate producers are families – about 10,000 – operating on a small scale. Many of them are starting to exploit the herb’s popularity and nutritional value by turning it into new kinds of products.
(Courtesy: Wikipedia, DPA, http://www.worldstopexports.com/)
Last updated: October 02 2018 11:02 PM
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Items Manhattan: Riverside Drive - 123rd Street
Manhattan: Riverside Drive - 123rd Street
Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy
Image ID 722792F
Photographic views of New York City, 1870's-1970's, from the collections of the New York Public Library
Detroit Photographic Co. (Photographer)
Shelf locator: AZ 12-2335
Manhattan (New York, N.Y.)
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
General Grant National Memorial (New York, N.Y.)
Grant, Julia Dent, 1826-1902
Citation/reference: 0967-C9
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 3e44c0f0-c552-012f-deee-58d385a7bc34
Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "Manhattan: Riverside Drive - 123rd Street" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1900. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-52a7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "Manhattan: Riverside Drive - 123rd Street" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 20, 2020. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-52a7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. (1900). Manhattan: Riverside Drive - 123rd Street Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-52a7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
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Home > JPHS > Vol. 23 (1995) > No. 1
Jackson Purchase Historical Society
A Summary of World War II After Pearl Harbor
(1995) "A Summary of World War II After Pearl Harbor," Jackson Purchase Historical Society: Vol. 23 : No. 1 , Article 18.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/jphs/vol23/iss1/18
United States History Commons
All Issues Vol. 43, No. 1 Vol. 42, No. 1 Vol. 41, No. 1 Vol. 40, No. 1 Vol. 39, No. 1 Vol. 38, No. 1 Vol. 37, No. 1 Vol. 36, No. 1 Vol. 35, No. 1 Vol. 34, No. 1 Vol. 33, No. 1 Vol. 32, No. 1 Vol. 31, No. 1 Vol. 30, No. 1 Vol. 29, No. 1 Vol. 28, No. 1 Vol. 27, No. 1 Vol. 26, No. 1 Vol. 25, No. 1 Vol. 24, No. 1 Vol. 23, No. 1 Vol. 22, No. 1 Vol. 21, No. 1 Vol. 20, No. 1 Vol. 19, No. 1 Vol. 18, No. 1 Vol. 17, No. 1 Vol. 16, No. 1 Vol. 15, No. 1 Vol. 14, No. 1 Vol. 13, No. 1 Vol. 12, No. 1 Vol. 11, No. 1 Vol. 10, No. 1 Vol. 9, No. 1 Vol. 8, No. 1 Vol. 7, No. 1 Vol. 6, No. 1 Vol. 5, No. 1 Vol. 4, No. 1 Vol. 3, No. 1 Vol. 2, No. 1 Vol. 1, No. 1
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Home > Education > Counseling & Human Services > ETDs > 86
Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations
An Exploration of the Use of Expressive Writing to Reduce Physical and Emotional symptoms Associated with Stress in a Sample of Orthodox Jewish Wives Preparing for a Religious Observance
David Jay Richels, Old Dominion University
Nina Brown
John Nunnery
Alan Schwitzer
Theodore P. Remley, Jr.
The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of a short-term expressive writing intervention using a value-laden topic and neutral topic on the physical and psychological well-being of a group of Orthodox Jewish wives preparing for a religious observance. Participants (N = 42) were assigned to the experimental group (n = 22) and to the control group (n = 20) on a rotating basis, in the order of which they first logged into the survey website. The physical well-being of participants was measured by reduced scores on the PILL for physical symptoms associated with stress. Psychological well-being was measured by using the subscale scores on the MAACL-R for anxiety, hostility, and depression. Results from the data collection were analyzed using a Multivariate Analysis of Variance for within group differences on the measures and a Multivariate Analysis of Covariance for the between group differences on the measures with pretest scores used as the covariate.
Results indicated no within group differences pre- and post-test on the subscales of the MAACL-R with the exception of the PILL. A statistically significant main effect for the pretest scores and the post-test scores suggests that the participants may have had a reduction in physical symptoms regardless of the writing prompt they received. The multivariate tests indicated two main effects for covariates but no main effect for group membership. Follow-up analysis comparing the post-test scores on the PILL indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the scores reported by the experimental and control groups. This difference indicated that the control group reported fewer physical symptoms of stress following the writing intervention. Additionally, the main effect for the Pretest and post-test responses on the dependent measures indicated that a change in responses did occur following the writing intervention.
Discussion of the results and how they relate to the literature are included. Implications of the investigation and recommendations for future research are also included.
10.25777/5pzs-tr26
Richels, David J.. "An Exploration of the Use of Expressive Writing to Reduce Physical and Emotional symptoms Associated with Stress in a Sample of Orthodox Jewish Wives Preparing for a Religious Observance" (2009). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dissertation, , Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/5pzs-tr26
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/chs_etds/86
Clinical Psychology Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons
Department of Counseling & Human Services
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BOSTON AREA TEENS ATTEND CONVENTION WITH WELCOME MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA
Just a few weeks ago, Washington DC was host to a huge delegation of top leaders from around the world. No, these were not politicians here to hear President Obama’s State of the Union Address, but 2,000 teens from across 18 countries coming to participate in the largest International...
March 10, 2013 Edit 0 0
Just a few weeks ago, Washington DC was host to a huge delegation of top leaders from around the world. No, these were not politicians here to hear President Obama’s State of the Union Address, but 2,000 teens from across 18 countries coming to participate in the largest International convention that BBYO has ever had. Of the teens present, 19 of them were from the Boston Area. These high school students celebrated president’s day weekend by listening to the state of the order from their two international presidents and electing their new international board for the coming year.
Considering the enormous parallels to our American government system, it is no surprise that President Obama sent a video welcome message to the teens that were about to convene in his back yard. The President addressed the audience, “this gathering gives you a chance to affirm your faith and recommit yourselves to the enduring values this organization represents.” He then encouraged the teens to return home, spread their enthusiasm and show the important role that young people play in making a difference in society. Jason Harlam, AZA President for the New England Region felt, “that President Obama’s message was incredible. Seeing Obama take the time to make a video for BBYO showed the power that we all had. It empowered all of us to be leaders and make a difference. I will never forget seeing his face appear at opening ceremonies.”
In addition to the President, the Convention body heard from Michael Froman, Assistant to the President of the United States and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs. Froman, an alumnus of BBYO and former Grand Aleph Godol (International Teen President of AZA), referenced BBYO as having contributed most to who he is today.
Friday morning at the BBYO Stand UP Day of Service and Advocacy plenary, BBYO welcomed alumni engaged in Jewish communal service, educational and entrepreneurial work around the world. The teen leadership body presented the Annual BBYO Stand UP Lifetime Achievement Award to DNC Chairwoman and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who spoke about the importance of standing up for critical causes of the day. The Convention body also heard remarks from Josh Mandel (R-OH), a Marine Corps veteran and State Treasurer of Ohio. Wrapping up the plenary, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice delivered a Call to Action before the delegates went into the DC community for hands on service and advocacy training.
Lindsay Goodman, BBG President of New England Region particularly enjoyed the BBYO Day of Service in DC. “I worked at Kid Power and we played with underprivileged children on the playground,” said Goodman. “It was eye opening to see how the children were so polite and had so much fun when they had so little. I learned that people can be extremely similar and can understand each other’s feelings no matter how far away they live.”
For nearly 90 years, this convention has served to unite the rising leaders of AZA and BBG, to set the course for the coming year, determine strategies for strengthening BBYO as a youth-led movement and connect teens to the worldwide Jewish community.
For more information on BBYO, please visit www.bbyo.org.
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Tag Archives: Wyandotte County
The Magic of Moon Marble Company
Even though it has been around since 1997, I first heard of Moon Marble Company a few years ago, when the Kansas Sampler Foundation named it one of Kansas’s 8 Wonders of Commerce. After hearing everyone from our 12-year-old nephew to my historical society executive director singing its praises, Jim and I finally made our own trip to the mecca of marble making.
Moon Marble Company: Where the magic happens.
Moon Marble is one of the most whimsically wonderful places we’ve ever visited. The building’s exterior only hints at the happy energy inside. The place is filled with marbles and toys, bright colors and staff that truly love what they’re doing.
As you’d expect, bins and bins and more bins of beautiful marbles line the walls of an entire room.
You’ll find bins and bins and bins of beautiful marbles at Moon Marble Company.
There are also cases of some of the most beautiful art marbles made by true craftspeople. Many of the marbles showcase the work of Moon Marble’s own marble masters, but the company also sells marbles by other glass artists from around the country.
I love this marble SO MUCH. (Artist: Cathy Richardson)
Many of the marbles made in-house are mesmerizing. (I didn’t catch the name of the artist who made this one.)
Three days a week, Moon Marble marble makers offer demonstrations on how marbles are made. You’ll learn the difference between machine-made and handmade marbles and come to appreciate the science and artistic skill that goes into making a truly beautiful and unique marble. The day we were there, artist Ernie Kober made a marble for us, rotating a ball of molten glass over a 2000° flame as we all leaned in toward the safety glass.
Marble-making masters offer free demonstrations three days a week.
Many of these beautiful marbles can fetch a handsome sum (and rightfully so). However, visitors will have an easy time finding marbles they can afford. Jim needed a few hundred marbles for a physics lab he was teaching, and Moon Marble lets you fill a container that holds about a hundred small machine-made marbles for just $8.50.
Now, here’s the part of Moon Marble that was a total surprise to us: room after room of vintage toys. I have no idea where they get them, but if you’re yearning for a plaything from yesteryear, you will probably find it at Moon Marble.
Moon Marble is a mecca for old-timey toys.
We expected to spend a half hour or so at Moon Marble, but our short visit lasted an entire afternoon. It’s a fun place to learn and shop and will appeal to the whole family. If you’re in the KC Metro area (especially during the colder months when you’re looking for fun indoor things to do), Moon Marble is a fun choice.
This entry was posted in Exploring Kansas and tagged Art, Bonner Springs, Cathy Richardson, Ernie Kober, family-friendly, glass, Kansas, marbles, Moon Marble Company, toys, Wyandotte County on December 26, 2015 by Diana Staresinic-Deane.
Rosedale World War I Memorial Arch
High up on a hill, the Rosedale World War I Memorial Arch is easily seen from the Seventh Street Trafficway in Kansas City, Kansas. However, this was the first time my husband and I ever actually made the trip to the park where the arch stands.
The Rosedale Arch was dedicated to local World War I soldiers in 1923.
Rosedale was originally established in 1872 as a distinct Wyandotte County town. It was ultimately annexed by Kansas City, Kansas, but maintains its name as a community. The Rosedale Arch echoes the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and was originally designed by Rosedale native John Leroy Marshall and dedicated in 1923. More recently, monuments were added to commemorate soldiers from later wars.
The little park is a lovely retreat in the middle of the city and is easily accessible. In addition to the arch, there is a great view of the downtown Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri skylines.
The park is high on the hill and offers a view of the downtown Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri skylines.
This entry was posted in KC Metro History Quest and tagged History, John Leroy Marshall, Kansas, Kansas City, Rosedale, Rosedale Arch, Skylines, Soldier Monuments, World War I, Wyandotte County on August 13, 2013 by Diana Staresinic-Deane.
Sunday Snapshot: Huron Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas
High above street level on a mound of prime downtown real estate lay the final resting ground for many members of the tribe that would lend its name to the county of Wyandotte. In 1843, Wyandots migrated from Ohio to what is now Kansas. When they arrived, the land they were promised was no longer available, and instead, they purchased 36 acres from the Delaware, who were already living in the area.
During those earliest months, epidemics of disease swept through the Wyandot, and they buried their dead on the hill overlooking the river. As the area was opened up to White settlement, the cemetery land was supposed to be protected ground, but as much of the surrounding land changed hands, several attempts were made to sell the cemetery and remove the graves–especially as the business district grew around it.
Huron Cemetery hovers over the intersection of 7th and Minnesota in downtown Kansas City, Kansas.
When such an attempt was made in 1906, three sisters with some Wyandot blood in their veins–Helana, Eliza, and Ida Conley–padlocked the cemetery gates, built a shanty over their parents’ graves, and pointed shotguns at anyone who tried to remove tombstones or bodies. Eliza “Lyda” Conley studied law and was thought to be the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court. The three sisters kept up this occupational protest for several years as court after court ruled in favor of the sale, but the public sided with the Conleys and in 1913, Congress denied the sale and instead appropriated funds to improve the grounds.
One of three sisters who fought the sale of the cemetery land, Helena Conley’s marker includes a curse.
One of three sisters who camped in the cemetery to prevent its sale for development.
One of three sisters to protest the destruction of the cemetery, Eliza Conley was one of the first female lawyers in the U.S.
Today, the cemetery includes winding paths and is a scenic, green overlook for an otherwise paved downtown. The cemetery is thought to be the final resting ground for several hundred early area residents, though only a few dozen graves are specifically marked. Many are graves of Wyandot chiefs, a few of which are still marked today.
Early settler Lucy Armstrong’s recollection of the Huron Cemetery. Armstrong’s husband was a member of the Wyandot.
Because many White settlers had assimilated and married into the Wyandot nation, graves sometimes carry traditionally European names, English translations of native names, as well as Native American names. In many places, a marker indicates only that there are many unmarked graves.
This marker honors Doctor Grey Eyes.
Marker for Ron-Ton-Dee, or Warpole.
Only a few dozen individual markers exist at Huron Cemetery. Hundreds of other graves are unmarked.
The cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places and is easily accessible (it’s right next to the Kansas City Kansas Public Library). Detailed plaques at the entrance outline the history of the Wyandot and the burial ground. It’s worth a visit, both to remember those who came before us and to understand just how valuable two acres of land can be to different people.
This entry was posted in KC Metro History Quest, Sunday Snapshot and tagged Cemeteries, Delware Indians, Doctor Gray Eyes, History, Huron Cemetery, Kansas, Kansas City Kansas, Lucy Armstrong, Minnesota Avenue, National Register of Historic Places, Native Americans, Photography, Photos, Ron-Ton-Dee, Tribal Land, Wyandot Indians, Wyandotte County on June 9, 2013 by Diana Staresinic-Deane.
Sunday Snapshot: Interstate Federal Savings Sign in KCK
I have a boatload more to share from our recent adventures in Wyandotte and Johnson counties, but for now, here’s one of my favorite street scene pictures: an awesome vintage sign in downtown Kansas City, Kansas.
A fabulous vintage sign for the Interstate Federal Savings building at 7th and Minnesota in Kansas City, Kansas.
This entry was posted in Sunday Snapshot and tagged Interstate Federal Savings, Kansas City Kansas, Photography, Photos, Street Art, street scene, Vintage Business Signs, Wyandotte County on May 26, 2013 by Diana Staresinic-Deane.
Sunday Snapshot: Sumner Academy, a high school with heritage
Originally known as Sumner High School, Sumner Academy of Arts and Science nurtures some of the brightest minds in Kansas City, Kansas.
I still remember walking through the doors of this fabulous Art Deco building to enroll for the first time in 1989. This was my dream high school, and I did a little dance the day I received my letter of acceptance. But what I didn’t fully understand about Sumner was its history and how that history is interwoven with the history of race relations in Kansas City.
Many Kansans believe that schools were racially segregated right up until Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. However, in Kansas City, Kansas, this was not true until 1904, when a Caucasian boy was allegedly killed by an African American boy in a baseball park. The next morning, 700 Caucasian students refused to allow the 80 African American students to enter Kansas City, Kansas High School even though the accused murderer was not a student. This incident led to the passage of a state law that mandated segregated schools in 1905.
Sumner High School was born at the corner of Eighth and Oakland.
The student population outgrew the original 1905 building, and in 1939, the Public Works Administration built the original sections of the present-day building. It was never as grand or flashy as Wyandotte High School, which catered to the Caucasian population, but it has an elegance that has graced the corner of Eighth and Oakland for more than 70 years.
In 1978, the courts ordered the integration of Sumner High School. That fall, Sumner Academy of Arts and Science opened its doors as a public college prep magnet. Sumner High School already had a reputation for providing an excellent education. Sumner Academy would provide that education to a more diverse student body.
My husband and I are part of the class of 1994, and we’re both incredibly grateful for the education we received there. However, it is only now, nearly two decades later, that I am beginning to really appreciate the role that Sumner Academy played in the history of an entire city.
Read more about Sumner Academy, its architecture, and its history through the National Historic Register application.
This entry was posted in Sunday Snapshot and tagged Art Deco, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, History, Kansas, Kansas City, Photography, Photos, segregation, Sumner Academy, Sumner High School, Wyandotte County on August 5, 2012 by Diana Staresinic-Deane.
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Are Uber drivers employees?
Today’s question comes from Jennifer T. in Diamond Heights who asks:
Q: “I drive for Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash. I have filed my taxes as an independent contractor as that’s what I was told to do by these companies. I heard that there is a new law which will provide me with protections that usually have only been provided to employees. What am I, an independent contractor or employee? What new protections do I have now?”
A: The new law that you have heard about, AB 5, amends Labor Code Section 3351, adds a new Labor Code Section 2750.3, and amends sections 606.5 and 621 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, to ensure the workers who are currently exploited by being misclassified as independent contractors are instead recognized as employees who have basic rights and protections. The legislative history produced during its enactment declared that when workers are unfairly misclassified as independent contractors: (1) these workers are harmed by the loss of significant workplace protections such as they deserve under the law, including a minimum wage, workers’ compensation if they are injured on the job, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, and paid family leave; (2) it is unfair to other employers who must compete with companies that misclassify; and (3) there is harm to the state of California in the form of lost revenue from these companies avoiding obligations such as payroll taxes and premiums required under workers’ compensation, Social Security, unemployment, and disability insurance programs.
The new Labor Code Section 2750.3(a)(1) remedies these injustices by providing that a person providing labor or services for remuneration (money) shall be considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that all of the following conditions are satisfied: (A) The person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the terms of the contract for the performance of the work and in fact; (B) the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; (C) the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.
The amended Labor Code Section 3351 provides that the law applies to every person in the service of an employer under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, and specifically includes: non-resident immigrants and those without proper documentation; minors; elected and appointed paid public officers; incarcerated persons engaged in vocational rehabilitation for pay; truck drivers; and tutors. The law also exempts a long list of occupations including, but not limited to: physicians and surgeons; dentists; podiatrists; psychologists; veterinarians; licensed lawyers, architects, engineers, private investigators, accountants, barbers, estheticians, and cosmetologists; registered security brokers and advisors; real estate salespeople; live-in nannies; direct sales people; and commercial fisherman. The law also does not apply to any workers who can negotiate for their rate of pay, control their hours, and market themselves to multiple businesses, such as: travel agents; outsourced marketing consultants; HR administrators; graphic artists; design professionals; grant writers; fine artists; tax preparers; some still photographers; photojournalists; freelance writers who only do occasional work; repossession agents; and construction trucking service providers.
You, as a Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash driver, are squarely protected under this law and must now receive the benefits other employees would receive, including earning at least the minimum wage. In its perpetual refusal to follow the law, Uber has indicated that it will not comply with AB 5 and filed a federal lawsuit at the end of last year claiming the law to be unconstitutional. Notably, it did not file in a California State Court, which it predicts would be a futile exercise because AB 5 was based on a groundbreaking California Supreme Court decision, Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 (“Dynamex”), which established the new test for determining whether a particular set of job circumstances make someone an employee or independent contractor. Uber hopes the conservative U.S. Supreme Court will be more receptive to their pleas. Fortunately, this will likely be an uphill battle as the Supreme Court has routinely upheld a state’s rights to legislate its own citizens’ working conditions.
Pause and Think Before You Hit Record: The Implications of Secret Recordings in the Workplace
By: Christopher Dolan and Vanessa Deniston
This week’s question comes from Edgar M…
Q: “I work for a large corporation with offices nationwide. I was recently switched to a new department, and already, I have been having problems with my new direct supervisor. He regularly makes racially charged comments around me, which I find offensive. I have told him to stop, but that has only made things worse. I have tried complaining to my HR representative about this behavior, but she is good friends with my direct supervisor and doesn’t believe my reports. I feel the only way I will be taken seriously is if I am somehow able to record my supervisor’s racist comments as proof. Can I do this if no one will take me seriously?”
A: Thank you for your question, Edgar. Certainly, the impulse to capture an injustice on tape is a hard impulse to ignore, especially when those around you are turning a blind eye to or claiming it isn’t happening. Secretly recording someone without their knowledge and consent, however, is a criminal offense under state and federal law with serious consequences.
The federal Wiretap Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C. § 2511) provides it is illegal to secretly record any oral, telephonic, or electronic communication that the communicator would reasonably expect to be private. The California Penal Code § 632(a), enacted under the California Invasion of Privacy Act of 1967, makes it illegal for any person to intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a communication use a recording device to record a confidential communication, whether or not the conversation occurs in person or through some other medium, such as over the phone. Such an offense may be punished by a fine of up to $2,500 per violation and/or by a term of imprisonment of up to one year. California is one of a handful of states with a “two-party [or “all-party”] consent” law, meaning the consent of every single party to the conversation is required before a person can legally record a confidential conversation. In other words, if nine out of ten board members agree you can record a private board meeting, that is one too few.
These criminal consequences will outweigh any potential benefit you may derive from capturing such evidence on tape, especially because in nearly all cases, secret recordings are not admissible evidence in court. Penal Code § 632(d) provides that unless you are trying to prove a violation of section 632 itself, any evidence obtained as a result of recording a confidential communication is not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other proceeding. In short, if you have a secret recording of your supervisor spouting racist inappropriate comments that you feel is a smoking gun for your case, it will likely be excluded long before a jury can ever hear about it.
The grey area lies in whether there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in the space where the recording is made. The answer to this question depends on the recording’s location and context. For instance, there is a big difference between recording a conversation in a busy airport terminal and recording a private disciplinary meeting between you, your supervisor, and a Human Resources representative in an office behind a closed door. This is because it is reasonable to expect that a conversation in public airport terminal to be overheard by people passing by. The same is not true for the private HR meeting.
Context may be nuanced, however. There may be reasonable expectation of privacy in that same airport terminal at 4:00am on arrival of a red-eye flight if the conversation occurs in an empty corner of the terminal where there are no staff or people in sight. Likewise, a conversation at top volume in the doorway of your supervisor’s office adjacent to an open floor plan in earshot of the entire office. There is quite a different expectation of privacy in this context, as opposed to the private HR meeting.
Even if you believe, however, that you are in an environment where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, there are many variables to be considered and it’s likely not worth the risk. If you believe your supervisor is doing or saying something inappropriate, rather than record them, make a written complaint to your Human Resources department, quoting the specific language you heard or describing the conduct you observed and indicating it made you feel uncomfortable. By creating a written record with your employer, you protect yourself far more than you do by making a recording that could potentially expose you to criminal liability. Always contact an employment attorney to assist you in taking legal, effective steps towards addressing a difficult workplace issue.
Who is liable for falling trees?
Recently, I addressed a question posed by a reader who asked who is responsible for damage caused by a tree branch falling from an adjacent yard and crashing through the roof of their house, narrowly missing their child. The article addressed the answer to that question with the assumption that it was a tree owned or maintained by a municipality. This week, I will address trees owned by individual, non-governmental owners.
The reader’s inquiry involved a neighbor’s tree overhanging their property. State law provides that the owner of a tree whose branches overhang an adjoining landowner’s property is liable for damages caused by the overhanging branches. Therefore, if your neighbor’s tree drops a branch and causes injury to a vehicle, person, or structure, they are liable to you for the damages caused.
In general, you are legally allowed to take it upon yourself to cut off any tree branch that overhangs your property from the point where it crosses the boundary. Courts have ruled that shade and debris cast by a neighboring branch, blocking light, clogging gutters, deteriorating a roof, etc., can constitute a nuisance, thereby making the tree owner liable for any and all damages caused. The recovery of damages is generally proportional to the extent of the injuries. Indeed, in the 1952 case of Grandona v. Lovdal, the Supreme Court of California ruled and reasoned as follows: “Trees whose branches extend over the land of another are not nuisances, except to the extent to which the branches overhang the adjoining land. To that extent they are nuisances, and the person over whose land they extend may cut them off, or have his action for damages and an abatement of the nuisance against the owner or occupant of the land on which they grow; but he may not cut down the tree, neither can he cut the branches thereof beyond the extent to which they overhang his soil.”
However, there is a a major caveat: some jurisdictions, like Sausalito, have specific tree ordinances that may prohibit this kind of self-help. Before altering a tree, it is advisable to look into any such tree ordinance in effect. Additionally, even when no local ordinance exists, it would be beneficial to first talk to your neighbors before altering a tree rooted on their property; people can get very wound up over trees and it’s never wise to create unnecessarily hostile relationships with your neighbors.
If you have suffered harm from your neighbor’s trees but the neighbor will not consent to altering the tree, you can file an “action for abatement” requesting the court to order your neighbor to remove the trees or to allow you to cut the branches back to your neighbor’s property line. In Bonde v. Bishop, again in 1952, the California Court of Appeals reasoned with respect to an action by a tree owner against his neighbor who cut back the branches: “The finding that the tree in question was a constant menace to the property of the defendants is sustained by the testimony to the effect that in the past large branches had fallen on the roof and porch of defendants’ house, one of such branches tearing a hole in the roof; that the leaves filled the gutters, and littered the porch and lawn. Clearly, under the testimony appearing in the record here and the findings of the trial court, this tree was ‘an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.’”
In this case, where a tree with previous, known rot damage fell on a house and punched through the roof into a child’s bedroom, there is likely have a strong case for holding your neighbor liable for negligence as well. Actions in negligence hold property owners responsible for failing to take reasonable care to prevent foreseeable damage to others as a result of dangerous conditions on their property. If one is successful in proving that a neighbor negligently maintained their property, one would have the right to recover both economic losses (property damage, cost for clean-up, medical expenses, etc) and non-economic damages such as pain, disfigurement, emotional distress, anxiety, and, in the child’s case, treatment for what sounds like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Homeowner’s insurance covers economic losses caused by falling trees, so you should open a claim with them. They will later seek reimbursement from the neighbor’s insurance.
You don’t need to put up with a hostile working environment
Today’s question comes from Geraldine T. in Berkeley:
“After reading your article on unlawful harassment two weeks ago, I have a couple of questions. I work in a warehouse and I don’t want to be a “narc,” but I don’t think I should have to put up with the offensive sexual type behavior going on here. One female worker and the male warehouse foreman have known each other for years and they say all sorts of sexual stuff to each other and laugh, all the time. For example, the foreman might say “where do you want me to stack these poles,” and the female worker might answer, “you know where you can put that pole baby, anytime, just don’t let your girl find out.” I don’t need, or want, to hear this crap at work. I am fairly religious and it makes me so uncomfortable that some days I don’t even want to go to work. Whenever I say anything like “I don’t need to hear that kind of talk,” they look at me with disgust and tell me to mind my own business. With Christmas coming, I need this job to buy gifts for my kids and pay the rent. What can I do?”
Geraldine, you shouldn’t have to choose between a workplace free of sexual harassment and your job. This happens all too often. The type of unlawful behavior you describe is known as “hostile environment” sexual harassment and can involve various forms of verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature that have either the purpose or effect of creating a hostile or offensive working environment. The conduct need not be directed towards you — your awareness and objection is enough. As such, the foreman would be considered to be harassing you, but not his female friend because she participates in the conduct and therefore does not appear to find the conduct “unwanted.”
A “hostile environment” case requires proof of three elements: (1) an employee subjected to unwanted conduct; (2) such conduct being based on sex; and (3) harassment “so severe or pervasive” as to “alter the conditions of the victim’s employment.” In cases like yours where there has been no direct impact on your work assignments or conditions, the law would require a “commensurately higher showing that the sexually harassing conduct was pervasive and destructive of the working environment”; that is, it has to be so bad that a reasonable person in your position would find it intolerable and detrimental to their working environment.
To hold an employer accountable, the employer must have had actual or constructive knowledge of the conduct and have failed to remedy it. Examples of actual knowledge include personal observation or another employee’s report. Constructive notice is found when the conduct is so prevalent that a reasonably aware employer would know about it. In cases like yours where a supervisor is involved in the conduct, the supervisor’s knowledge is imputed to the employer.
I suggest that you look at your employee handbook to see if they have a process for reporting such conduct and follow that process. Don’t worry if it requires you to bring it up with your direct manager; you can skip that. I always suggest that a person in your situation file a WRITTEN complaint with their manager’s manager and human resources or, If there is no human resources department, then with the owner. Once in receipt of your complaint, the company is legally obligated to conduct a reasonable, good faith investigation and take “prompt and sufficient remedial measures” to put an end to the harassment. You may also file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing at their website: dfeh.ca.gov.
Many people in your situation choose to make anonymous complaints because they are afraid of retaliation. However, there are good reasons not to complain anonymously, though. First, the law prohibits retaliation, including comments, altered job assignments, bogus discipline, or termination, against an employee who has made a good-faith complaint. Second, since your foreman and his friend already know your feelings towards their conduct, they will probably guess who reported them and possibly take actions against you, which the company can claim not to constitute retaliation because the complainant did not reveal their identity. As such, it is best to let them know up front.
Finally, I suggest that you speak to an Employment Trial Lawyer, who usually works on a contingency (taking a percentage of any recovery), for further advice. My firm believes in giving the employer an opportunity to “do the right thing” and avoid a lawsuit if possible, so our employment law team often counsels employees in effectively communicating with their employer to obtain a harassment-free workplace. If these efforts fail, the employer’s insufficient response can serve to strengthen a later lawsuit.
New state laws expand workplace protections against sexual harassment
Ava G from The Haight asks: “I heard that there were some new laws on sexual harassment. As a member of a women’s empowerment group I was wondering if you could summarize them so we can discuss them at our next monthly meeting.”
Ava, the #MeToo movement started, and continues to run strong, in California. Over the next several weeks I will report on many of the new, progressive, laws extending important protections to California workers. As you have heard, the California Legislature and Governor Newsom have acted decisively in broadening California’s workplace protections in the areas of sexual harassment. As the owner of a law firm which has represented employees (only) in cases of harassment and discrimination over the last 25 years, I can say confidently that these new laws provide much needed additional protection for workers in California.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed two important measures into law on Sept. 30, 2018. Senate Bill 1300, propounded by Senator Jackson and codified as Government Code Section 12923, added a host of new employee protections. The law, with certain exceptions, prohibits an employer from conditioning continued employment, or incentives like raises or bonuses, on the execution of a release of a claim or right under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), a nondisparagement agreement (an agreement that prevents the employee from disclosing truthful facts that may be negative), or other document that denies the employee the right to disclose information about unlawful acts in the workplace, including, but not limited to, sexual harassment. The law further provides that any such agreement or document containing such a clause is unenforceable. In addition, SB 1300 extends the previous FEHA requirement that employers protect their employees from sexual harassment by non-employees to require protection from all forms of harassment on the basis of membership in a protected class, race, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification, etc.
SB 820, propounded by Senator Leyva and now codified in the California Civil Code Section 1001, renders unlawful any settlement agreement including a confidentiality provision that prevents the disclosure of factual information pertaining to civil or administrative complaints of sexual assault, sexual harassment, or workplace harassment or discrimination based on sex. The law provides that any such provision in a settlement agreement entered into on or after Jan. 1, 2019 is unenforceable. The law does permit a provision, however, that would safeguard, at the claimant’s request, the claimant’s identity and any facts that could lead one to discover the claimant’s identity (except in matters involving a government agency or public official), as well as a provision that prevents the disclosure of the amount paid to settle the claim, at the request of either party.
On Oct. 10, Gov. Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 9, propounded by Assembly Member Reyes, which extends the time for an employee to file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, a prerequisite for the employee to file a lawsuit or, at the employee’s request, for the Department to conduct an investigation and prosecution of the claim within the administrative system. Until now, employees have been required to file a charge of discrimination or harassment (retaliation or other unlawful conduct) with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one year in order to preserve their right to sue their employer for unlawful harassment or discrimination. AB 9 amends Government Code section 12960 to extend the time that an employee has to file a complaint of discrimination and harassment by two years. Now aggrieved employees have up to three years to file a claim and initiate legal action. Moreover, certain additional extensions of time may be granted if the conduct is discovered after the expiration of the three-year period or the aggrieved party finds out the true identity of the unlawful actor.
Although these periods have been extended, it is always best to act promptly when dealing with these matters as documents disappear, memories “fade,” witnesses change jobs and frequently move, making the accumulation of evidence more difficult. It is also important to note that AB 9 is a prospective law, meaning that it does not revive claims which have already expired. As always, it is advisable to consult an experienced sexual harassment attorney to ensure the best outcomes in prosecuting your claims.
Most gift cards come without expiration dates
This question comes from Kim M. in Pacific Heights, who asks:
Q: “I want to get my daughter a gift card for the holiday, but I have heard that they have fees and expiration dates that can result in the card losing most or all of its value. What is the law regarding these gift cards?”
A: Gift cards can be good for the retailer and the receiver. The receiver can take advantage of the Cyber Monday and Black Friday sales to get more for his or her money, and the retailers get cash upfront without reducing inventory. These cards used to be more of a benefit for retailers, but the California Legislature, in combination with certain consumer-rights groups, has enacted legislation designed to protect consumers.
California Civil Code Section 1749.5 contains the bulk of the law regarding gift certificates and gift cards. Section 1749.5 makes it illegal to sell a gift certificate that contains an expiration date. Likewise, it provides a prohibition against service fees, including any fee for dormancy (unless it has been dormant for more than 24 months, the fee is clearly stated in 10-point type on the card, the fee is no more than $1 per month and the remaining value of the card is $5 or less each time the fee is assessed).
Any gift certificate sold after Jan. 1, 1997, is redeemable in cash for its cash value or subject to replacement with a new gift certificate at no cost to the purchaser or holder, and any gift certificate with a cash value of $10 or less is redeemable in cash for its cash value.
There are certain exceptions to the no-expiration rule. Namely, gift certificates issued pursuant to an awards, loyalty or promotional program without any money or other thing being given in exchange for value, gift certificates donated or sold below face value at a volume discount to employers or nonprofits for fundraising purposes and certificates for perishable food products. Certificates of this type must have the expiration date in capital letters printed on the front.
One issue with gift cards that are not redeemed is the company may go bankrupt. This has happened in the past, leaving countless individuals with gift cards with no value beyond that of the plastic in their hands. California law states that the value of a gift card is held in trust by the issuer such that when and if the issuer goes bankrupt, the gift card value is not considered part of the bankrupt entity’s estate but is considered the holder’s property.
Civil Code Section 1749.6 states that an issuer of a gift certificate who is bankrupt shall continue to honor a gift certificate issued prior to the date of the bankruptcy filing on the grounds that the value of the gift certificate constitutes trust property of the beneficiary (holder). Under certain limited circumstances, gift certificates with an expiration date can be rendered valueless, but the money therefore does not go to the retailer it escheats — i.e. it reverts back to the state’s general fund if it is uncollected property.
Before purchasing gift cards or gift certificates, ask the vendor about their redemption policy. For a gift card that can be used by many non-affiliated vendors, ask for expiration dates and any relevant fees. In addition, ask about where the unused portion of the value can be redeemed and how that amount can be redeemed. This is also important for “single seller” cards, many of which can be purchased at an unaffiliated location.
So, Kim, this is probably more than you were asking for, but there it is. Unless the certificate meets these exceptions above, it can not be subject to an expiration date and your daughter should be able to benefit from your generosity.
Who is eligible for paid sick leave?
This week’s question comes from Angela in Berkeley, who asks:
Q: “I work part-time at a restaurant to help pay for school. My mother is not in great health and lives alone, so sometimes I’m the only person who can help her when she’s too sick to perform daily functions. I’ve heard that even shift workers in California earn paid sick leave, but I don’t understand how that works or if I can use it to take care of my mother. I’m afraid to ask my employer in case they think they should stop scheduling me for as many shifts.”
A: Thank you for your question, Angela. I am sorry to hear about your mother and the tough situation you find yourself in. Luckily, both the state of California and the city of Berkeley have paid sick leave (“PSL”) laws that should offer you some comfort. By law, your employer is required to post a notice of your rights to paid sick leave in a conspicuous place at the worksite.
California’s Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014 provides the equivalent of one PSL hour per 30 hours worked by any employee who works for at least 30 days within the state for a given employer, with very limited exceptions. Unless you work on an airplane crew or are a member of a union that has explicitly waived PSL rights by contract, you are covered by PSL protections. Employees begin accruing PSL hours on the first day of employment and may begin to use them starting on the 90th calendar day of employment. Employers must record the number of PSL hours accrued by all non-exempt employees on end of pay-period wage statements and retain all records of PSL hour accrual and use for three years. If an employee is rehired by an employer within one year of the date of separation, all previously accrued PSL hours must be immediately reinstated. PSL hours must be paid on the payday for the next payroll period as usual, at the average hourly wage over the previous 90 days of employment.
Where city and state laws conflict, employees enjoy the rights provided by the more protective policy. Effective October 2017, the City of Berkeley’s minimum wage ordinance further protects PSL rights for any employee who works at least 2 hours in a calendar work week within the city. Another difference between the protections provided by the state and city involves the maximum number of PSL hours an employee may use and accrue over each year of employment. California law allows all employers to cap use of PSL hours to 24 per year and cap accrual at 48 per year. The City of Berkeley’s ordinance provides different limits for smaller employers (with 24 or fewer employees) versus larger employers (with 25 or more employees). Smaller employers in Berkeley may cap both use and accrual of PSL hours at 48 per year. The city ordinance allows larger employers less leeway, allowing them to cap accrual of PSL hours only at 72 per year and does not allow such employers to limit employees’ use of PSL at all.
As to your question about taking PSL to care for your mother, PSL hours may be used for any medical need of an employee or the employee’s children, parents, spouse or registered domestic partner, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings. Children and parents under this law include step, adopted and foster children and parents. Additionally, Berkeley’s ordinance provides the employee the ability to designate one additional person for whose care PSL may be used if that employee does not have a spouse or registered domestic partner.
An employee must provide their employer with “reasonable” advance notice of taking PSL if the need is foreseeable. For example, an employee cannot ask to take paid sick leave on the same day for a medical appointment scheduled weeks ahead of time. However, if the need is not foreseeable, such as when your mother needs you to care for her unexpectedly, the employee must merely provide notice as soon as possible. Under state law, an employer may not require an employee to provide documentation of the medical need causing the PSL use.
The law specifically provides that if you accumulate paid sick leave and take it for a valid reason, your employer cannot retaliate against you for doing so. There is a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the employer takes any negative employment action, including reducing your scheduled shifts, within 90 days of taking PSL; that is, the law will presume the employer is retaliating unless they provide an unrelated lawful business reason for the action. If your employer retaliates against you for requesting or using a paid sick day, you can file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s office or consult with a trial attorney to protect your rights.
Identifying liability in an officer-involved accident
This week’s column focuses on a recent incident about which we have received a number of inquiries. On Sept. 18, a Redwood City police officer en route to a reported crime scene lost control of his patrol vehicle and struck a pedestrian standing in the median of El Camino Real, as well as two other cars approaching from the opposite direction. The pedestrian was hospitalized with critical injuries. Readers have reached out wondering who bears responsibility when an officer-involved accident results in serious injury.
In general, the California Vehicle Code (CVC) regulations apply to all drivers, whether or not they are acting in a law enforcement or other public capacity. However, an exception provided in CVC Section 21055 applies when an authorized emergency vehicle is either: (1) responding to an emergency call or fire alarm; (2) engaged in rescue operations; or (3) in immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law. In any of these situations, emergency vehicle drivers are required to warn the public with red lights visible from the front of their vehicles and, when reasonably necessary, activation of sirens. This exception is designed to ensure emergency vehicles a clear and speedy pathway when the risks to the public from an emergency outweigh the risks to the public from the emergency vehicle’s haste.
Municipalities may also establish “general orders” governing local practices for handling emergency vehicle responses in line with CVC requirements. For instance, Redwood City Police Department’s General Order 316.4 further requires officers to “reduce speed at all street intersections to such a degree that they shall have complete control of the vehicle” and to “elect to respond to the call without the use of red lights and siren at the legal speed limit” where the officer judges that violating traffic laws would present an unreasonable risk given present road and traffic conditions.
When an officer is sued for personal injuries or property damage resulting from a vehicular accident, CVC Section 21055 may be raised as an affirmative defense, meaning an officer may avoid liability if they can prove every element of the exception. Such a legal determination depends heavily on the facts of a particular case. However, the defense will generally not apply if the officer: (1) neither received information to justify an emergency response nor reasonably determined from observation that such a response was necessary; (2) failed to warn the public by illuminating a red light visible from the front of their vehicle and, if reasonably necessary, activating a siren; (3) failed to drive with due regard for public safety given the extraordinary circumstances; or (4) exercised their emergency privileges “arbitrarily,” which courts have interpreted to mean acting either with knowledge that serious injury will probably result or with wanton or reckless disregard of the possible consequences.
In the case of the Sept. 18 crash, it appears that the officer was dispatched pursuant to a legitimate emergency, namely reports of a home invasion. However, the affirmative defense still may not apply if a court finds any of the other three conditions to exist. For example, it is not clear from available video footage whether the officer’s vehicle was operating the minimum required forward facing red light, or siren if conditions are found to warrant one. It is also unclear why the officer lost control of the vehicle and, given such a result, whether he would be found to have been driving with due regard for public safety. The narrative initially offered by the Redwood City Police Department relies on a finding of wet, slippery road conditions. However, as stated above, the Department’s own General Order requires officers to use sound judgment, including taking road conditions into account, when considering their manner of response to an emergency. The Department has turned investigation of the accident over to the California Highway Patrol.
Employers are generally liable for the negligence of employees acting within the “scope and course” of their employment. Therefore, if the officer is found to have acted negligently, the city of Redwood City can be held responsible for any injuries caused and forced to pay for legal damages. However, if a court finds the officer to have acted with knowledge or wanton and reckless disregard that serious injury will probably result, this level of culpability may be found to be outside the “scope and course” of his employment, relieving the city of employer liability.
The city may also be found liable for the legal damages involved in this accident if it is found to have resulted from a vehicle defect and a court finds the Department failed to properly maintain, inspect, or repair the patrol car. If the car is found to have been defective upon purchase, the manufacturer and dealer may also bear responsibility under a products liability theory.
A balancing act for employers: service animals and allergies in the workplace
This week’s question comes from Brian T., who asks:
Q: I work in an office with a fairly liberal policy on pets in the workplace. While I love animals, I am unfortunately allergic to certain types of longhaired dogs and cats. A co-worker of mine, who has a physical disability, brings his service dog to work every day to help him navigate around the office. The dog is very sweet, but I often find myself having an allergic reaction when I have to interact with this co-worker or walk by his office. Although I want to be sensitive and respectful of my co-worker’s needs, I also need to be able to work without having a serious allergic reaction. What are my options?
A: Thank you for your question, Brian. You raise a number of valid concerns and, under both California and Federal law, your employer will have to negotiate them with care. First, it is important to note that it sounds like your co-worker is utilizing a service animal, rather than an emotional support animal. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to perform tasks for an individual with a disability. On the other hand, federal law defines an “emotional support animal” by exclusion: as any animal used to assist, support, or provide service to a person with disabilities, but which does not meet the stricter definition of a service animal.
Both the ADA and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in employment and housing matters. As part of their anti-discrimination requirements, both the FEHA and the ADA mandate that employers must extend reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities in order to allow them to perform the essential functions of their job, so long as doing so does not pose an undue hardship on the employer. Both laws regard bringing a service animal to work as a possible reasonable accommodation under appropriate circumstances.
In the case of your co-worker, it sounds like he uses a service animal because his job requires him to get up and move around the office and his own physical limitations make doing so difficult. Therefore, unless having the animal at work presents undue hardship, your employer is likely required by law to allow him to utilize a service animal at the office as a reasonable accommodation to aid in his mobility.
Adding the concern of your allergies into the mix, however, makes things more complicated. Having a serious allergy that prevents or hinders you from performing the essential functions of your job is also a valid concern, and could potentially qualify as a disability deserving of reasonable accommodations. As such, your employer will likely have to perform a balancing act in order to make sure that all employees with disabilities are treated fairly under the law.
The law requires your employer to engage in a good faith, interactive process with you, as well as your co-worker, to arrive at a lawful solution that works for both parties. This will likely require some creativity and flexibility. The particular accommodations discussed during the interactive process will depend on the severity of your allergies, the extent of your co-worker’s need for the specific accommodation of a service animal, and the unique environment in which you both work.
One solution might involve eliminating in-person contact between you and the service animal by simply relocating your workspace to the opposite side of the office and arranging to use separate bathrooms and common spaces. If physically separating you from your co-worker would create an undue hardship, as may be the case in a small office environment, your employer should still make reasonable efforts to minimize your exposure. This could mean adjusting each of your work schedules, temporarily removing the service animal at any time when you and your coworker have to attend meetings together, providing options for one or both of you to work remotely, and/or allowing you to wear protective equipment such as an allergen mask.
If your allergies are so severe that even working in the same environment as the service animal present serious health risks for you, speak to your employer about these concerns immediately. To ensure that your legal rights are fully protected, you should contact an employment attorney, such as those at the Dolan Law Firm PC, to help you navigate the situation.
C.R.O.W.N. Act Natural Hair Grooming Protections in the Workplace
This week’s question comes from Maya in San Francisco, who writes:
Q: Dear Chris, I interviewed for a receptionist position at a San Francisco company. The person interviewing me offered me the job, but said that I would need to conform to the company’s “grooming policy,” which states “hairstyle should reflect a business and/or professional image.” When I said that I would prefer not to cut my dreadlocks, she rescinded the job offer. I told her that I do not understand what how I wear my hair has to do with my ability to do the job and she told me that “dreadlocks are simply not professional.” Isn’t this discrimination?
A: Thank you for your question, Maya, and I’m sorry for the frustration you’ve experienced in the job market. It certainly does sound like your situation could qualify as unlawful discrimination, under not only the general anti-discrimination provisions of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) but also under the newly-enacted Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act (the “C.R.O.W.N. Act”). When the C.R.O.W.N. Act was signed into law in July, California became the first state in the nation to legally protect people in workplaces, as well as K-12 public schools and charter schools, from discrimination specifically based on their natural hair.
Under FEHA, employers have long been prohibited from implementing dress or grooming policies that adversely impact one race more than another. By stating that “dreadlocks are simply not professional,” without any rational justification related to your ability to perform the job, the interviewer appeared to indicate that the company’s “grooming policy” establishes different employment standards based on race by prohibiting one of various natural and protective hair styles available to black employees. An arbitrary employment policy like this would likely be deemed contrary to FEHA, even before the C.R.O.W.N Act takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
However, any legal debate that might have been made previously on this issue will soon be rendered moot when the C.R.O.W.N. Act supercedes the more general existing anti-discrimination policies to expressly provide that hairstyles fall within the definition of race. The C.R.O.W.N. Act expands statutory protections by amending the FEHA and the California Education Code to define “race or ethnicity” as “inclusive of traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.”
When it takes effect next year, the C.R.O.W.N. Act will prohibit employers from enforcing purportedly “race neutral” grooming policies that restrict natural hair styles, such as Afros, braids, twists, cornrows and dreadlocks, that that disproportionately impact employees of color. The C.R.O.W.N Act expressly defines “protective hairstyles” as including, but not limited to, “braids, locks, and twists” and makes clear that traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and hairstyle, should be protected from discrimination in the workplace and in schools. The C.R.O.W.N. Act recognizes that “[p]rofessionalism was, and still is, closely linked to European features and mannerisms, which entails that those who do not naturally fall into Eurocentric norms must alter their appearances, sometimes drastically and permanently, in order to be deemed professional.”
You should note that an employment discrimination claim must be filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”) within one year of the unlawful event or your rights to seek recovery may be barred. The DFEH’s phone number is 1-800-884-1684 and their web site is: http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/. In addition, it is always a good idea to contact a trial lawyer with knowledge of employment laws to discuss your case.
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Posts tagged ‘bias’
It seems I was mistaken
It seems I was mistaken.
My middle son, Alvin, likes to make noise – constantly. He hums and drums and whistles quite loudly all through the day until each and every other member of the household is at their wit’s end. And I have honestly believed, up until quite recently, that this was done for the express purpose of annoying the people around him and/or getting attention. It has seemed even more bothersome in light of the fact that two of us have Aspie issues and difficulties tuning out background noise in order to function. And when my NT husband who doesn’t generally have these issues has also been driven to distraction, I have usually concluded that the noisemaker was, in fact, being a trouble-maker.
Please understand, Alvin does cause trouble. He “stirs the pot” so to speak and will move from room to room in our home starting unpleasant interactions with whomever he finds. Besides making random noises all through the day, he will talk at length to people who are clearly trying to read, nag people about issues on which they’ve already declared their position quite clearly, comment upon siblings’ activities and personal habits, and even harass our pets when he’s feeling bored – all seemingly just to get a response. He also has a tendency to invade other people’s space and to barge into rooms that aren’t his when other people are trying to be left alone, because he doesn’t like being alone. And when he’s not doing any of that, Alvin’s still making seemingly random noises.
I usually deal with Alvin’s anxiety and boredom by going along with whatever social plans he happens to make, giving him jobs to do which take him out of the room currently being occupied by his latest victim, and trying to find books series for him to read. Once Alvin finds a series he likes, he’s a reading machine. I also try and create times when I will specifically pay attention to him and give him a chance to tell me about whatever is on his mind. He doesn’t really require that other people participate in his conversations and frequently argues with whatever they say, anyway, but he has a tremendous need to talk. Still there are frequently times when enough is enough, and I just need a few minutes of quiet in order to think before I can figure out how to meet his needs and mine and everyone else’s. And that’s generally when things like the random noises become too much.
Alvin doesn’t have a diagnosis. I can tell from my experience with Simon that Alvin has major anxiety issues, and I’ve witnessed his temper. I even took him to therapy for a while to try and work on anger management. He has problems with being alone, unless he’s really engaged with a book or a game, so he keeps seeking out company. Then his general behavior begins to annoy whomever he’s with, and Alvin gets defensive and angry. He’s smart and loves to argue, so then the interaction turns into an argument, which with siblings can often escalate into something physical. So basically, the kid moves from room to room leaving problems in his wake. I can actually tell what room he’s in by listening for where there’s a problem brewing in my house, and when he’s away at a friend’s, the house is noticeably quieter.
Once again, all of us including myself have been working on the assumption that Alvin is doing this on purpose – or that at the very least he has some control over his behavior that he’s not exerting. He’s not autistic. He behaves very well at school, and I’ve never had a complaint from any of his friends’ parents. He has at least a general understanding of which of his behaviors are problematic for other family members and why, because he’s been told at length again and again. But it just keeps happening. And I think I’m starting to see why.
As it turns out, Alvin is constantly making noise even when no one else is around. Lately I’ve been finding him humming and drumming and tapping and whistling even when there’s no one there to annoy. I’ve also been trying out this idea of looking at my other kids the way I look at Simon – not assuming he can do things just because others can or because he’s supposed to be a certain way at a certain age. Simon has a diagnosis and a whole string of professionals who could give reasons why he has certain difficulties. Alvin doesn’t have any of that, but does that really mean there’s nothing going on with him? He’s certainly anxious, and while that might be reduced if he weren’t in such frequent conflict with those around him, for now maybe the noise-making behaviors are just his way of soothing himself. That’s how I would interpret the situation if it were my Aspie son doing the same things. Why should he be the only one who gets the benefit of the doubt?
My husband will occasionally joke that Simon is my child and Alvin is his child because of their personality traits, and I haven’t disagreed. (We’re still not settled on which of us gets to claim our overly social Theodore :)). More and more it’s looking like I’ve been judging the behavior of my essentially NT middle son differently simply because he’s not an Aspie. Looking back, I think I’ve been holding Alvin to a different standard. It’s a standard that hasn’t worked for at least two of us in this family, so why should I assume it would work for him?
Just as I’ve been in the middle of writing this we’ve had another problem between siblings. It was typical in that there was really no one person at fault. Simon didn’t want Alvin invading his space, Alvin was just trying to talk to him, and everybody overreacted. After separating them and solving the immediate problem, I told Alvin some of what I’ve been thinking about things that he does not really being on purpose and maybe just being a way to calm himself. He told me that the “not being on purpose” part was what he’s been trying to say before, and I told him I was sorry for not understanding and believing that right away. I’m not sure exactly where we go from here, but just saying that seemed to calm him down quite a bit. We still have the problem of managing the needs of a family member who feels compelled to make noise and the needs other family members who require quiet in order to think and function. Hopefully with all of our needs on more equal footing we can start to make some progress.
Communication, How we manage, Parenting, Siblings
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News eAdmin eAdmin 2019-08-14T15:12:58+00:00
eAudit Named to the 2019 Inc. 5000 List for the First Time,
Ranking at No. 450
Emerald Isle August 14, 2019 – eAudit has been named to Inc. magazine’s annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. It is the first year the young company has earned the distinction.
“There’s no single course you can follow or investment you can take that will guarantee this kind of spectacular growth,” says Inc. editor in chief James Ledbetter. “But what the companies on this list have in common is persistence and seizing opportunities.”
“We had a goal of making the Inc. 5000, we knew it was achievable, and we achieved it,” says eAudit operations manager Kirsten Evans. “As a small team, we have learned a lot from each other and helped each other in our individual roles, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see that teamwork and commitment pay off.”
Since the first three companies went live on the eAudit dashboard Nov 15, 2014, the firm has grown rapidly and now manages small parcel audit for 846 shippers. eAudit offers a proprietary SaaS platform that ensures customers automatically get refunds for small parcel billing errors and late deliveries, along with a business intelligence platform that identifies further opportunities for savings and increased operational efficiency. In its five years of existence, eAudit has helped its customers save $21,201,799.72.
“We have listened to clients over the years and understood their needs and added the services they have said they wanted,” says Evans. “We have a lot of plans in place to continue helping our clients with their own business growth, and in the process to make the Inc. 5000 again ourselves!”
eAudit recorded three-year average growth of 1007% percent to rank 450 on the 2019 Inc. 5000. It is the number one North Carolina company to make the 2019 list in the transportation and logistics category.
Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held October 10 to 12, 2019, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona.
About eAudit
eAudit, an Inc. 5000 honoree, leverages proprietary technology unique to the industry that ensures our customers automatically get refunds for small parcel billing errors and late deliveries. The Software as a Service is self-funded by the recovery of the refunds that eAudit secures on customers’ behalf. Our business intelligence platform identifies further savings opportunities and offers customization and advanced reporting that helps shippers become more efficient through process and behavioral changes as well as other operational improvements. For more information, visit eaudit.com.
Methodology of the Inc. 5000
The Inc. 5000 is a list of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation. The 2019 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2015 and 2018. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2015. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2018. The minimum revenue required for 2015 is $100,000; the minimum for 2018 is $2 million.
About Inc. Media
Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. Inc. took home the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in both 2014 and 2012. The total monthly audience reach for the brand has been growing significantly, from 2,000,000 in 2010 to more than 20,000,000 today. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
Kirsten Evans
Socialmedia@eaudit.com
8002 Emerald Drive, Suite D
At eAudit we specialize in making shippers smarter. Cost saving and efficiency is what we do.
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© 2019 eAudit LLC | eAudit is handmade in North Carolina.
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National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Micro/Nano Fabrication
Established in 1996, the National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Micro/Nano Fabrication is constituted by efforts from Peking University (the leading role) and Shanghai Jiaotong University. It currently has 57 faculty and staff members, including 31 full professors, and 18 associate professors. Among them, there are 3 Chinese Academy Science members, 1 Changjiang Scholar, and 3 recipients of Distinguished Young Scholars of NSFC, 2 chief scientists of National Basic Research Program of China (National 973 program).
The Peking University part of the national key laboratory mainly focuses on the silicon-based micro/nanofabrication techniques and the integration solution of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and integrated circuit (IC). Main research areas include:
(1) Design and fabrication of MEMS/NEMS
(2) Advanced MEMS/NEMS sensors and actuators
(3) Three-dimensional integration and MEMS-CMOS integration technology
(4) Micro/nanosystem technology
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‘Fed up with looking at four walls? Then come and look at ours instead!’ – Senior Citizens Enterprise Woodwork Group
February 15, 2019 February 15, 2019 Helena 1 Comment
Based at the Meadow Road Youth Centre, the Senior Citizens Enterprise Woodwork Group, in Dudley, is a group for older people who are interested in woodwork. It’s a fun and friendly environment offering older people a place to learn new or develop existing woodworking skills. It’s also a great place to find new friendships. The group has 23 members in total. Some members live on their own, some are widowers, some just like to get out of the house, make something and put their skills to good use! The oldest member, Ken, is 93 years old.
‘Fed up with looking at four walls? Then come and look at ours instead!’ That’s the motto of the Senior Citizens Enterprise Woodwork Group.
The wood workshop is fully equipped with modern tools and machinery. There really isn’t much that the group hasn’t made, and they’re always on the lookout for new projects to keep them occupied. They’ve kindly created cosy homes for many of the animals at Dudley Zoo, a castle hideout for the zoo’s female guinea pigs, a hotel for rabbits, bird, bat and red panda boxes. They’ve even built penguin boxes – they tell me that they have successfully bred since, so must have done a good job making them feel at home!
Members have also kindly given their time and skills to build a variety of bird habitats for the Midland Metro Alliance which will be installed along the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill route for the Midland Metro. It’s hoped that the bird boxes will attract a wide range of nesting birds.
They’ve built a bench for Acorns Children’s Hospice, nest boxes for local schools and they’re now looking to build Pine Marten boxes for an RSPB site in Shropshire.
The group acquire offcuts of wood donated by local businesses which enables them to build all of the items, these materials would otherwise have gone to landfill. They have even rescued supermarket trolleys from the canal and used the wheels to make wood replenishing trolleys that fit snuggly under the workbenches.
Steve is one of the youngest members of the group, he joined when he was 63 and mainly makes things for the family like shelving and benches. He tells me that people like to come to the workshop because they enjoy the camaraderie and they like to have a good laugh. A couple of members don’t look forward to the Christmas holidays as it just imposes on them coming to the workshop! They’ll open up again as soon as Boxing Day arrives, as long as there are two people in the workshop, for health and safety reasons, they will happily come in over Christmas!
Steve contacted Dudley CVS to get support to apply for a Dudley Community Forum Grant of £550. The application was successful, helping them to purchase sanding disks, belts, saw blades, machine saws and new router bits. They’ve also received £900 from Age UK, which they have used to buy a new router machine.
Dave is one of the founding members of the group, he’s made things including rocking horses and dolls houses. It usually takes him about 3 months to make a rocking horse which is made in blocks, glued together and then carved and painted. He’s also carved a shark out of wood, which sits on his fireplace at home.
Chairman Mick, is highly skilled on the woodturning lathes, he’s made fruit bowls and pens. He’s even made a beautifully carved walking stick.
Dave and Derek have a background in upholstery. Derek recently made an intricate money box. He enjoys coming to the workshop, but doesn’t like Thursdays much, as that’s when the workshop closes for the weekend!
Ken, the oldest member, is making clocks for his sons out of an old sideboard that belonged to his parents.
Bruce makes detailed wooden toy trains, plains and trucks. He finds his inspiration in woodwork books.
Bill is 84, he came to the workshop when he was 70, he started out as Chairman. He likes to make clocks and other things. He remembers the days when they used to walk around timber yards asking for offcuts of wood. He said “Coming here is good, we can discuss things over lunch, at our age, we don’t see anybody, pubs are too expensive and not good for you!’
George, the treasurer, likes to make boats with sails. He keeps them in his large shed, apparently, you have to go in sideways because of the number fabulous boats, lifeboats and submarines he has made.
All members are extremely skilled and talented. Some had skills before, some hadn’t, many have learnt skills from each other. All of their items are beautifully made and finished to a high standard.
The group originally started in the early 2000s when a few people were faced with redundancy from local businesses. It was suggested they go on other courses to re-skill, one of those was a woodwork course at Dudley College. When that closed down the group moved to Mons Hill in Dudley, then amalgamated with another group from Brierley Hill, it was then that they moved to Meadow Road Youth Centre where they have been based for over a decade now. They still use the original machinery that was donated by Dudley College over a decade ago.
The group has recently become a member of UK Men’s Sheds Association. Men’s Sheds provides support and guidance to individuals and groups across the UK, raising awareness of the social and health benefits of Men’s Sheds in reducing isolation, loneliness and in empowering local communities. Men’s Sheds supports individual groups to connect with new members of the community. They also provide advice and guidance on starting up and running a shed providing practical information guides, example documents and toolkits on topics such as registering as a charity, insurance, funding, sourcing equipment and venues, and volunteer recruitment.
To anyone who might be interested to join, they would say, “Come in, do your own thing, we’ve got heating, toilets and cups of tea to keep us nice and warm! What more could you want?”
To find out more about the group visit https://bit.ly/2WxNlHd
community spaces, funding, small groups, volunteeringfunding, health and wellbeing, Men's Sheds, older people, Senior Citizens Enterprise Woodwork Group, small groups
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Reblogged this on Volunteering Counts in Dudley borough.
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Science in My Backyard
Staff Pieces
About the DuQuark
Duquesne Digital Commons
Creating an anonymous word document
Peer Reviewer Guidelines
Contest Pieces
Animal Review
January 9, 2020 in Science in My Backyard // Conservation geneticist uses scat to gain insight on the elusive snow leopard
December 23, 2019 in Staff Pieces // Environmental Justice Disparities in Alaska Native Communities
December 23, 2019 in Staff Pieces // Secondary Poisoning and Ecological Effects of Anticoagulant Rodenticides
December 21, 2019 in Staff Pieces // Acid Mine Drainage
December 20, 2019 in Staff Pieces // Wild Salmon: Protecting the Icon of the Pacific Northwest
Meredith Bennett
Junior, Environmental Science
On Monday, September 23rd, Greta Thunberg, the 16-year old climate activist from Sweden, addressed world leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. The speech was alarming; filled with facts that make it clear how urgent the climate crisis really is. The science behind climate change is, quite simply, terrifying. Miss Thunberg’s address, however, was more than a speech advocating for climate action. As I watched her speak, moved by the raw emotion in her voice, I recognized the frustration that we experience when we face barriers to communication, particularly concerning the climate and larger environmental crisis.
I am reminded of the fact that science cannot speak for itself. As scientists, it is not enough to practice science. It is our obligation to share scientific discoveries with each other and to make those discoveries accessible to the general public. This responsibility holds tremendous weight in society, especially today. Communicating science to the public, especially when it relates to topics like climate change, requires an understanding of the science itself, along with an ability to present information in a way that is accessible to those without a science background. The members of The D.U. Quark, Duquesne’s student-run scientific journal, take on the responsibility of providing scientific information to the faculty and students of the Duquesne community.
The D.U. Quark’s name comes from the definition of quarks in Physics. Quarks can be defined as the fundamental particles of nature. They combine to form protons and neutrons, which organize themselves into the nuclei of atoms. Interestingly, quarks come in different flavors, based on their properties and characteristics. Like quarks, the members of The D.U. Quark are diverse and bring wonderfully unique perspectives to the journal. Students across all disciplines of science at Duquesne have submitted articles to the journal. Articles range from a description of radiation shielding which protects astronauts on Mars to a compelling argument for sustainable pharmacy.
Members of The D.U. Quark contribute to the journal in a wide variety of ways. A group of about eight students act as reviewers in the journal’s double-blind peer review process. Both the author and reviewers of an article are always anonymous to one another. This ensures the quality of peer review at the journal and allows students to experience an authentic process within scientific publication. In addition to formal scientific papers submitted by Duquesne students, The D.U. Quark publishes articles by staff writers, covering topics that range from the interplay between art and science to the signalling pathways that convey bladder pain to the brain. The D.U. Quark also features interviews of student researchers, providing an opportunity to explore the fascinating science happening at Duquesne.
As the editor of The D.U. Quark, I have been able to observe firsthand how interdisciplinary collaboration can enhance science communication. Some of the journal’s most enthusiastic and engaged members are not from the STEM field. Effective science communication is made possible by the interactions between students with different talents. Claire Neiberg, a sophomore English Major, joined The D.U. Quark as a freshman, and is currently the Promotions Officer. She states, “I have always been fascinated by science and the way the world works, and I thought this would be a perfect way to become involved with it as a liberal arts major whose passion and purpose is to write”. In this way, The D.U. Quark has encouraged students to add their voices to conversations about science, even if they are not science majors.
The D.U. Quark is also a unique learning experience for students in scientific fields. Today, almost all students complete some form of undergraduate research, and it has become an unwritten rule that research is part of a complete scientific education. Actively developing scientific communication skills is not as common, even though scientific writing is intrinsic to the research process. Alex Plyler, a Junior studying Forensic Science, is the Section Editor of The D.U. Quark for staff articles. She explains that learning about the peer review and science publication process has “taught me crucial skills that will definitely come in handy when I begin contributing to a wider scientific audience”. Peer review is an especially valuable skill, especially for students pursuing research. The D.U. Quark offers the unique opportunity for students at Duquesne to learn about the scientific publication process through firsthand experience.
In this time when communication has never been more crucial within the scientific community, The D.U. Quark endeavors to be a source of quality scientific information for the Duquesne community. We also hope to provide students with unique opportunities to develop skills that will contribute to their professional development, whether they intend to pursue research, a job in an industry, or even a career teaching english. The final mission of The D.U. Quark is to foster a greater appreciation for the importance of science communication to the general public. As Alex Plyler explains, “When it comes to improving scientific communication with the public, keeping the balance between accuracy and accessibility is key”. We must foster a culture of communication and collaboration both within the scientific community and between scientists and the wider world.
The D.U. Quark is an open access scientific journal published right here at Duquesne! We publish articles on a rolling basis at our website, www.duquark.com. Be sure to check out the website and follow us on social media @theduquark.
Conservation geneticist uses scat to gain insight on the elusive snow leopard
Environmental Justice Disparities in Alaska Native Communities
Secondary Poisoning and Ecological Effects of Anticoagulant Rodenticides
Acid Mine Drainage
Wild Salmon: Protecting the Icon of the Pacific Northwest
View TheDUQuark’s profile on Facebook
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Can Doing Too Much of a Good Thing Actually Be a Bad Thing?
by duquark in Staff Pieces
by Maeve Godshalk As someone with a Type A personality, I’ve never believed that less is more. More often than not, I’m a “yes” person. I always say yes to [...]
Come make tote bags and eat food with us on Monday! This is an event you don’t want to miss. We hope to see your here! 🌿
Meet the Exec. Board: Alex Plyer is serving as the Staff Section Editor this year. She is third year Forensic Science and Law major. When not working for the Quark, she is a part of the Duquesne chapter of ASBMB and Phi Sigma Lambda. In her free time, she loves reading, thrifting, and listening to music. She is excited to play a more active role in the Quark this year by getting more of our staff involved in the peer review process.
Meet the Exec. Board: Annie Panageas is serving as the Secretary this year. She is a third year Forensic Science and Law student. When not working for the Quark, she is on the exec. board for Phi Sigma Lambda. In her free time, she loves reading, exploring new places, watching Netflix, and spending time with friends and family. She is excited for the year because of all the new and exciting chances and additions we are making to our journal and involvement on campus.
Congratulations to the first place winner of our Summer Photo Contest, Hannah Enderby: “This is a picture of me on a day at work last June. My job is a paid internship at the Citizen Science Lab. Basically, what I did was I taught week-long science camps to middle and high school kids. Our camps include Microbiology, Zoology, Drone, SeaPerch Robotics, NASA, Ancestry DNA, DNA camp. In this photo, I was teaching children at the Bridgeville Public Library how to shoot a nerf ‘rocket’ using water and dry ice. [This photo] emphasizes what I did over the summer, which was teaching kids modern-day, fun science and getting them interested at a young age!”
Meet the Exec. Board: Justin Nedzesky is serving as the Peer Review Section Editor. He is a fifth year Pharmacy student. When he is not working for the Quark, he is a member of AMCP, ISPOR, Rho Chi, and Kappa Psi. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and playing sports. This year, he is excited to work with the peer review team.
Congratulations to the second place winner of our Summer Photo Contest, Ashton Marini: “This photo was taken in a cave called Actun Chapat at Cave World in Belize. This cave is so large that the ending has never been found, and I was told that there was a guide who spent three days straight exploring it. There were many Mayan artifacts in the cave along with the bats, scorpion spiders, fish, and centipedes, which is what the cave is named after. Actun Chapat means "centipede cave". The cave exploring was one of my favorite parts of the trip, along with going to Secret Beach where we ate lunch at picnic table in the ocean towards the end of our stay in Belize.”
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E3 Spark Plugs >> Ferrari Drives $2.3 Million in Aid for Earthquake Victims
Ferrari Drives $2.3 Million in Aid for Earthquake Victims
This Ferrari 599xx auctioned for $1.8 million, benefitting victims of devastating earthquakes in northern Italy.
When devastating earthquakes rocked northern Italy last month, Ferrari quickly revved up its philanthropic engines. The iconic carmaker launched an online auction that in just 14 days raised $2.3 million to help victims. Among the items auctioned – a 599XX track car that went for a cool $1.8 million.
The first quake hit May 20 with a 6.0 magnitude tremor that killed seven people, left 6,000 homeless and destroyed dozens of historic buildings. A second, 5.8 magnitude quake struck on May 29, killing another 17 people, injuring hundreds and raising the number of homeless to 14,000 people in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region.
The top seller, of course, was that gorgeous 599XX, which sold to an American bidder for 1.4 million euros, equivalent to nearly $1.8 million. It’ll be signed by Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo and F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, then delivered to its new owner in grand style at the Italian Grand Prix in September.
Also on the block were an F60 nose-cone, purchased by a Malaysian client for 23,000 euro ($28,722); and the engine from the F2008, which won the Constructors’ World title in 2008, bought by a bidder in Great Britain for 80,000 euro ($99,904), almost twice its reserve price.
“A pole position result: I knew I could count on the big-heartedness of the Ferraristi but they’ve still managed to surprise me once again,” said di Montezemolo. “I would like to thank all the clients, collectors and enthusiasts that did their bit. Their bids have sent out a message of warmth and solidarity to the people in our region affected by this tragedy.”
E3 Spark Plugs sends props to Ferrari and all the bidders for their generosity, and best wishes to all those affected by the earthquakes.
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The Arctic vs Antarctica: 5 main differences
Unlike anywhere else on Earth. Almost 12,500 miles separate the Arctic from the Antarctic, two "ends of the world" lying at opposite extremes of the planet. Though these regions of the North and South Poles resemble each other, they present very different and unique natural spectacles to the visitor. So if your heart can't decide between the Arctic and the Antarctic, follow our guide!
The Arctic vs Antarctica:
5 differences between these two frozen lands
Unlike anywhere else on Earth
Almost 12,500 miles separate the Arctic from the Antarctic, two "ends of the world" lying at opposite extremes of the planet. Though these regions of the North and South Poles resemble each other, they present very different and unique natural spectacles to the visitor. So if your heart can't decide between the Arctic and the Antarctic, follow our guide!
On solid land
or out on the sea?
The primary difference between the Arctic and the Antarctic is a geological one. The Arctic is a sea of ice surrounded by land and located at the highest latitudes of the northern hemisphere. A region with vaguely defined limits, it extends over six countries that border the Arctic Ocean: Canada, the USA (Alaska), Denmark (Greenland), Russia, Norway and Iceland.
Antarctica, by contrast, is an entire continent to itself located in the southern hemisphere and 98 percent covered by an ice cap. There are mountains reaching a maximum of just over 16,000 feet in height to be found there. Though it is home to dozens of scientific bases, Antarctica does not belong to any country.
Terrain: long-inhabited
or inhospitable?
Numerous populations of native peoples live at the North Pole. The Inuits of North America, the Sami of Northern Europe and the Yakuts at the edge of Siberia have long inhabited this vast territory. Each in their own way, they manage to cope with the wild and extremely harsh natural environment.
Inaccessible prior to the modern era, the South Pole remained untouched by human presence until 1821. Today still, this southern continent does not have any permanent inhabitants, just scientific teams that rotate on a regular basis.
Animals: tame and fearless
or shy and enigmatic?
'Arctic' comes from the Greek word 'arktos', meaning 'bear' – the northern polar region is the sacred land of the polar bear, one of the largest land predators on the planet. Arctic foxes, caribou/reindeer, snowy owls and musk ox: the Arctic showcases a wonderful range of native fauna, though the animals are shy and fearful in the presence of humans.
In Antarctica, the marine fauna boasts sea lions, whales, seals and elephant seals, amongst other creatures. In addition, there are also around forty species of birds that inhabit the southern polar region. With human contact being both recent and extremely limited, the animals of the South Pole are quite fearless, making them a wonderful spectacle for visiting observers.
Cold or very cold?
Temperatures at the North Pole can vary quite significantly, with the thermometers dropping particularly low in February. In Norway and North America, it is not unusual for it to be over 50°F during the warmest months.
In Antarctica, the mercury can easily drop below -67°F, especially in mountainous areas. It was also on the frozen continent that the lowest natural temperature on Earth was recorded: -128.56°F!
Icebergs: small or large?
Literally mountains of ice – 'isberg' in Swedish and Norwegian –, the icebergs of the North Pole come from parts of the ice sheet that flow down to the sea. They are normally irregular, torn and jagged in shape, and relatively modest in size.
The largest icebergs in the world are found in the South Pole. Veritable mountains of frozen freshwater, they are an almost unbelievable sight to behold. In 2017, an iceberg measuring 2,200 m² in area broke off from an ice shelf in West Antarctica.
Amidst these two immense, frozen and barren landscapes, you quite simply get the sensation of being a tiny molecule standing remote and isolated from the real world. From the North to the South, a fantastical, dreamlike escape awaits you!
Discover the polar regions
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Home > Calling all suicide bombers
IS and its media
Calling all suicide bombers
The media is playing its part in today's horror as "Islamic State" showcases its terrorists in magazines, videos and on the Internet to recruit new members. Joseph Croitoru examines how IS strategy has developed and evolved
The radio station operated by the terrorist militia "Islamic State", which has been broadcasting regularly for the past few months in English, French, Russian, Turkish and Kurdish, is called "Al-Bayan". The Arabic term succinctly reveals the group's agenda, conjoining modernity and tradition to connote both an "announcement" and also spreading the word of the Koran.
The daily Arabic news programme, around seven minutes long and consisting mostly of war reporting, has followed the same pattern for months. A brief rendition of a jihadist song (nasheed), which praises the Islamic Umma (world community) and continues in the background as the news is read, is followed by reports of "successful" suicide attacks by IS members.
The radical Sunni station refers to them by the term "amaliya istishhadiya" (martyrdom operations), originally popularised by the Shia arch-enemies who are today at war with the IS: the pro-Iranian Hezbollah introduced the term in the 1980s.
The IS terrorist militia lets it be known that its suicide martyrs – "Istishhadiyin" – are deployed both offensively and defensively. Sometimes their bombs clear the way for combat troops to follow, or the bombers detonate armoured vehicles laden with explosives to slow down the advancing enemy.
To make sure daily messages from "Al-Bayan" like these do not get lost in the constant stream of information, the IS website periodically features a special report on its suicide bombings – a diagram for example shows 65 such attacks during October in Iraq and Syria.
Twenty-minute "martyr" farewells
Checking the veracity of such information is not easy, not least because the Arab media use various names for the suicide operations of the IS, which are in fact very numerous. What is striking is that the term "suicide" is always included, in pointed emphasis of the fact that this form of terrorism violates Islam′s prohibition of suicide, something Islamists like to gloss over.
For the media staging of its suicide bombers, the IS likes to make use of a genre already established three decades ago, perpetuating their deeds individually on video or at least in an extended photo sequence. But the competition is watching: rival terrorist militias, in particular the Syrian "Nusra Front", which is linked to al-Qaida, is also very productive in this respect.
The macabre and the mundane: "suicide attackers should raise their right hand with a pointing index finger at some point during the farewell video – signalling the number one, a symbol for the unity of Islamic faith and the unity of the jihadists. The Palestinian Hamas popularised this gesture years ago, but not wanting to be linked with the IS under any circumstances, they have now reverted to the traditional victory sign," writes Croitoru
Such rivalry has occasionally prompted farewell videos to swell to lengths of up to twenty minutes. Usually, the reading of the "will", which often segues into a hate sermon, is followed by a farewell scene as the perpetrator climbs into the vehicle and drives off to launch the attack. The final chord is then struck with the explosion scene, which is often shown repeatedly.
The pointing index finger is mandatory
Lately, however, the videos bidding farewell to IS suicide bombers have become noticeably shorter, probably due to their great proliferation. The bombers are still permitted to appear before the camera as individuals wearing their own, very diverse, clothing. But they are clearly asked to play it up a bit.
An underage Arab, for example, holding a small Koran in his hand on his way to blowing himself up with belt full of explosives, acts the role of the devout and contemplative believer before uttering a torrent of jihadist slogans and threats. For a Tajik car bomber, by contrast, two sentences in broken Arabic must suffice, muttered out of the window of his prepared tank car, before he proceeds to his death.
Recently it has apparently been decided that suicide attackers should raise their right hand with a pointing index finger at some point during the farewell video – signalling the number one, a symbol for the unity of Islamic faith and the unity of the jihadists. The Palestinian Hamas popularised this gesture years ago, but not wanting to be linked with the IS under any circumstances, they have now reverted to the traditional victory sign.
Welcome to the "caliphate"
The IS also glorifies its death terrorists in four non-Arabic magazines. Probably the best known among them is the English "Dabiq", named for a town in northern Syria where the doomsday battle will ostensibly take place against the "infidels". The magazine evokes apocalyptic themes and a supposed global war of civilisations, which the IS claims to be spearheading on the Muslim side.
Again and again, the suicide attack is highlighted as the preferred weapon, as it also is in the French counterpart "Dar Al-Islam" (House or Dominion of Islam), a magazine designed to teach Francophone Muslims where they supposedly truly belong. They are especially welcome to take part in the IS "caliphate" as suicide soldiers: by the third of six issues of "Dar al-Islam" currently published, a death driver from France was already being extolled, sitting at the wheel of his vehicle and smiling.
Similar to "Dar Al-Islam", the latest, third issue of the Turkish IS magazine, "Konstantinyye", features on its cover a massive explosion, under the heading "Martyrdom operations are allowed and legitimate".
Dead end: IS also glorifies the role played by its suicide bombers in four non-Arabic publications. "Konstantiniyyee", published for the Turkish market, emphasises that "martyrdom operations are allowed and legitimate"
Ataturk denigrated as an idol
The magazine's title was chosen cleverly, because "Konstantiniyye" is the Ottoman name for Istanbul, thus recalling the Islamic conquest of Byzantine Constantinople and its conversion into the capital of the Ottoman Caliphate. The publishers thus echo the way Erdogan's AKP has glorified this victory over the East Roman Christian Byzantine Empire in its neo-Ottoman discourse for the past several years. Ataturk is however consistently vilified in "Konstantiniyye" as a "kafir" (infidel) and "tagut" (idol).
This division between good and evil also colours the rhetoric of the Russian IS periodical, "Istok" (source, origin), in which suicide attacks are likewise a featured theme. The decision by Russian, Caucasian and Central Asian sympathisers to carry out an "Istishhad Operacja" is not only exalted here as the culmination of an almost mystical enlightenment – to dispel any last doubts, it is interwoven with the narrative of an intimate camaraderie, which these non-Arab mujahedeen then believe to be typical of IS.
Joseph Croitoru
Translated from the German by Jennifer Taylor
Recruitment strategies used by Islamic State: A mutation of religionThe image policy of IS: Terror in the spotlight The IS manifesto for women: Baiting the jihadi brides
Source URL: https://en.qantara.de/content/is-and-its-media-calling-all-suicide-bombers
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Cheap Seats
A cheap seat is usually a high up seat in a venue or an arena where the ticket is sold at less expensive prices. The cheap seat is also commonly referred to as the "nosebleed section" of a venue
Cheap Seats may refer to:
Cheap Seats (album), album by the American band Alabama
"The Cheap Seats", title song by American country music group Alabama from their same titled album Cheap Seats
"Cheap Seats" (song), song by Canadian country singer Dallas Smith
Cheap Seats (TV series), full title, Cheap Seats without Ron Parker, television program broadcast on ESPN Classic and hosted by brothers Randy and Jason Sklar
The Cheap Seats (TV series), a television show on FOX Sports that mostly consisted of interviews with pro baseball players at home via Skype
"Welcome to the Cheap Seats", single by The Wonder Stuff, from their 1991 album Never Loved Elvis
What We Saw from the Cheap Seats, 2012 studio album by American alternative singer-songwriter Regina Spektor
Disambiguation page providing links to topics that could be referred to by the same search term
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Cheap Seats.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cheap_Seats&oldid=799374822"
Disambiguation pages with short description
This page was last edited on 7 September 2017, at 09:47 (UTC).
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Joy of Cooking (band)
For the album, see Joy of Cooking (album).
Joy of Cooking was an American music ensemble formed in 1967, in Berkeley, California. Identified with the hippie culture, the band's music melded rock & roll with folk, blues, and jazz. The band released three studio albums on Capitol Records in the early 1970s as well as a minor hit single in 1971, "Brownsville". Led by guitarist Terry Garthwaite and pianist Toni Brown, who shared lead vocals, Joy of Cooking was an unusual example of a rock band fronted by women. [1][2]
1 Career
2.1 Joy of Cooking
2.2 Toni & Terry
2.3 Terry Garthwaite
2.4 Toni Brown
Career[edit]
Joy of Cooking was led by pianist Toni Brown and guitarist Terry Garthwaite.[3] The rest of the band comprised bass guitarist David Garthwaite (Terry's brother), drummer Fritz Kasten, and percussion player Ron Wilson. Keyboard player Stevie Roseman replaced Toni Brown for a time. Bass players Happy Smith and eventually Jeff Neighbor replaced David Garthwaite on bass guitar and Glen Frendel was added on lead guitar.[4][5][6][7]
The band's music was a mix of hippie sensibilities with rock, blues, folk, and jazz, and the lyrics often reflected feminist themes.[3][8]
Discography[edit]
Joy of Cooking[edit]
Capitol Records issued three albums by Joy of Cooking in the early 1970s and an anthology disc in 1993.[3]
Joy of Cooking (1971)
Closer to the Ground (1971)
Castles (1972)
American Originals (1993)
A fourth album, Same Old Song And Dance (1973), was never released, although certain songs were included on American Originals.
Capitol also issued a 7" single of the song "Brownsville" (with B-side "Only Time Will Tell Me") in 1971.[9]
A compilation of previously unreleased tracks, Back to Your Heart, was issued on the independent NJOY label in 2007.[3][10] The double-CD album includes a set of live music, the first such release by the band.[8]
In 2016 a 3 CD live album was released on Shady grove "Curiosities From The San Francisco Underground Volume One". Disc 1 was by Joy of Cooking, Disc 2 by Grateful Dead and Disc 3 by It's A Beautiful Day. All live tracks and all previously unreleased. Joy of Cooking live tracks : 1 A Friend Of A Friend 2. It's Not Easy 3. Wandering Man Suite Part 1:Everyman;Part 2:Story Road 4. The Things You Wish 5. The Next In Line.recorded live in Pacific High Studios 9-5-71 broadcast on KSAN FM.
Toni & Terry[edit]
Garthwaite and Brown each had solo careers after Joy of Cooking disbanded, but they also worked together again as a duo named Toni & Terry. Their full-length LP Cross Country was issued by Capitol in 1973, followed by The Joy in 1977.[11]
Terry Garthwaite[edit]
Garthwaite refocused herself on jazz music and in 1975, released her first solo album, Terry. The album was produced by David Rubinson and engineered by Fred Catero for Arista Records, and features accompaniment by numerous jazz artists of contemporaneous or future fame: Howard Roberts and Wah-Wah Watson on guitar; Chuck Domanico and Willie Weeks on bass; Sonny Burke, Roger Kellaway, and Patrice Rushen on keyboards; and Philip Smith on saxophone. Drums and percussion were played by Harvey Mason, Sr., John Guerin, Scott Mathews, James Gadson, and Bill Summers, and special guest vocals were contributed by The Valentinos and Bobby Womack.[12][13] In later years, Garthwaite recorded several more albums for independent labels including Hand in Glove (1979), Moving Day (1985), and Sacred Circles (2000).[14]
Garthwaite recorded Live at the Great American Music Hall in 1980 (released 1981 by Flying Fish Records) with Rosalie Sorrels and monologuist Bobbie Louise Hawkins. The three artists sat on stage together and took turns performing, selecting material responsive to the prior performance. Garthwaite contributed 4 of the 13 tracks.[15]
Toni Brown[edit]
Remaining close to the Joy of Cooking sound, Brown released her first solo album, Good For You, Too, on MCA Records in Canada in 1973; it was released in the US in the following year along with a 7" single, "Big Trout River".[16] She continued collaborating with Garthwaite as well as released a second solo album, Toni Brown (1979) on Fantasy Records[16] before changing careers. (Her discography is sometimes mistakenly conflated with that of former Relix magazine editor Toni Brown, who released numerous independent albums in a similar country-folk-rock vein in the 1990s and 2000s.) Brown earned a master's degree in clinical psychology and in 1991 founded Four Winds West, a non-profit transitional house for disadvantaged youth in Fairfax, California.[8][17]
Nick Katzman
^ "One of the first bands led by female musicians, and one of the earliest to deal with feminist issues within popular music"
^ "Too Late but Not Forgotten"
^ a b c d Christgau, Robert (2002). "Christgau Reviews: Joy of Cooking". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
^ Moore, Steve (5 May 1973). "Toni & Terry: Ex-Joys Try New Approaches". Rolling Stone (RS135): 20. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 5 September 2017. We're adding a guitar player, Glen Frendel
^ Hardy, Phil (1976). "The Joy of Cooking". The Encyclopedia of Rock, Volume 3 The Sounds of the Seventies (paperback). England: Granada Publishing Limited. pp. 142–143, 305. ISBN 0-586-04269-5. Retrieved 5 September 2017. The group, who have since added another guitarist, Glen Frendel
^ Clarke, Donald. "JOY OF COOKING". Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music. DonaldClarkeMusicBox.com. Retrieved 6 September 2017. Garthwaite kept Joy Of Cooking alive with guitarist Glen Frendel
^ "Sounds". California Living Magazine. San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Chronicle. 12 December 1973. p. 178. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Glen Frendel, gtr;
^ a b c Liberatore, Paul (May 10, 2007). "Trailblazing feminist rockers cooking again". Marin Independent Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
^ "Joy of Cooking, "Brownsville" " at Discogs (list of releases)
^ Back to the Heart at AllMusic. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
^ Toni & Terry discography at AllMusic. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
^ Terry (1975) at AllMusic. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
^ Christgau, Robert (1981). Rock Albums of the '70s: A Critical Guide. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 148. ISBN 9780306804090.
^ Terry Garthwaite discography at AllMusic. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
^ http://www.bobbielouisehawkins.com/the-great-american-music-hall/
^ a b Toni Brown discography discography at Discogs
^ "Four Winds West: Safe passage to independence". Fourwindswest.org. Four Winds West, Inc. 2003. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
Joy of Cooking official website
Terry Garthwaite website
Toni Brown website
MusicBrainz: d4639f0c-298b-4151-a53d-2fe49cd3e3bf
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joy_of_Cooking_(band)&oldid=902691428"
Okeh Records artists
Capitol Records artists
Musical groups from Berkeley, California
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Home/Locations, News/Celebrating Five Year in Business with Six Branch Openings in 2018
Celebrating Five Year in Business with Six Branch Openings in 2018
Melissa M2018-08-31T15:15:17-07:00August 31, 2018|Locations, News|
Elite Roofing Supply, a locally owned, independent distributor of roofing materials and supplies, recently added branches in Monroe and Bossier City, LA; Tucson and Mesa, AZ; and Denver, CO to its list of branch locations and is scheduled to open Lynwood, CA on September 1, 2018. Founded in 2013, Elite’s mission is to provide roofers with an independent distributor that is knowledgeable in both commercial and residential roofing and committed to being good stewards in the industry and serving the professional roofing contractor community.
Recognizing the Louisiana market was underserved, Elite opened two strategically-placed locations in Bossier City and Monroe. The Bossier City branch with its 11 team members and fleet of three trucks, serves the surrounding Shreveport area and is operated by Managing Partner, Robert McCalman. Robert is from Bossier City and has been in the construction industry for 25 years, 14 of which have been in roofing distribution. The Monroe, LA location serves customers within a 100-mile radius of its location. Managing Partner and Branch Manager, Doug Norman, a Louisiana native, has a long history in the industry having worked in building product distribution as an owner and manager for over 35 years. He oversees a team of 12 highly skilled people and a fleet of four trucks to serve the area.
With its roots in Arizona, Elite’s growth with its Mesa and Tucson branches expands its opportunity to service this important market. The Tucson location is led by Managing Partner, Rick D’Alessio, a seasoned professional with over 30 years in the roofing and construction industry. This branch employs 11 people and operates four vehicles in its fleet. Paul LeFevre is the managing partner of the Mesa branch, overseeing a team of 14 people and a fleet of four vehicles. Paul has more than 30 years of industry experience starting in 1986 as a truck driver and quickly moving into an inside sales position. He ascended the ranks holding different positions such as Purchasing Manager, Manager of Procurement and Regional Manager for one of the larger distributors.
The Lynwood, CA branch is placed at a key location close to where I-105 meets I-710 to serve the South Los Angeles area. Managing Partner and Branch Manager, Rick Sasseen has been in the building products distribution industry for over 30 years. Working in various roles including driver, crane operator, inside sales, operations and management, Rick knows the business inside and out. A native Californian, Rick will oversee a team of 15 people at this location with its five trucks and looks forward to opening their doors in September.
Elites’ CEO and Chairman of the Board, Brian Torry says, “We open branches in markets where we find synergies with the right people who have expressed interest in joining the Elite family. Our goal is clear – to be the preeminent independent distributor west of the Mississippi, and our expansion plans are determined by the strong partners who wish to be part of our independent distribution culture.”
“Elite offers a unique value proposition to our customers,” commented Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Weiss. “Each branch’s managing partner has long-lasting relationships in their markets, understands the challenges of the business and is empowered to partner with customers and vendors to create winning scenarios for all involved. This year marks our fifth year in business and with 12 branches open and more to come, we remain committed to our philosophy of being a locally-owned distributor that provides a customized customer experience and a comprehensive line of quality roofing materials.”
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform.
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1004) The Christian Doctor Who Took on the NFL
Dr. Bennet Omalu (1968- )
By John Stonestreet, January 8, 2016 at: http://www.breakpoint.org
America’s favorite sport can be brutal. A Christian doctor’s quest to save football players’ lives is the subject of a moving new film.
Thirteen years ago, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a pathologist working at the Alleghany County Coroner’s office in Pittsburgh, performed an autopsy on one of the Steel City’s greatest sports heroes: Steeler Hall of Famer “Iron” Mike Webster.
What the Nigerian physician found shocked him. Webster’s teeth had rotted away and he had resorted to using Super Glue to try to reattach them. His remains looked and smelled like he had been living in his car, which he had.
Omalu began wondering how a man so celebrated in life wound up dying as he did. The answer to that question is a story of courage, perseverance and more than a little faith. And it’s depicted brilliantly in the new film, “Concussion” starring Will Smith.
Omalu examined Webster’s brain, which showed no readily visible signs of trauma. But further tests, which Omalu paid for out of his own pocket, revealed “brown and red splotches” all over his brain. These splotches, called “Tau proteins,” are also found in the brains of those suffering from Alzheimer’s and senile dementia. They’re described as being “kind of like sludge, clogging up the works, killing cells in regions responsible for mood, emotions, and executive functioning.”
This is what reduced Mike Webster to a mentally-disturbed man living out of his car.
And he wasn’t the only one. Former Steelers Terry Long and Justin Strzelczyk, both of whom died young after quick mental deterioration after their playing careers, showed the Tau proteins in their brains. And it wasn’t just Steelers, either. Former Eagles safety Andre Waters, who killed himself at age 44, showed the same abnormalities when Omalu examined his brain.
When Omalu published his findings in a prestigious medical journal, he expected the NFL to be grateful to him for pointing out the health risks to its players. He was, to put it mildly, naïve. As his mentor tells Omalu in the film, the NFL owns an entire day of the week, the one the church used to own, and his findings threatened that arrangement.
The NFL and its apologists went after Omalu hard, personally as well as professionally, causing him great suffering. And this is where his story becomes a story of faith. As Omalu told Christianity Today, his concern for the players had its inspiration in the parable of the lost sheep.
As he said, “The shepherd had 100 sheep, and 1 went missing. What did he do? He took the 99, kept them safe to go search for the 1. Even if these findings affect only one player, that player is as important as the other many . . . That was what helped me to keep moving on. It was no longer about me . . .”
When “moving on” became especially difficult, he prayed “Lord God Almighty, if this is not of your will, if I am on the wrong side, I pray you’d reveal it to me.” When other cases turned up, his wife told him, “Bennet, it is not a coincidence that you are getting these cases. Are you the only doctor in the world?”
And almost as remarkable as this story of how one Christian immigrant doctor changed the way America’s most popular sport is played is the fact that Omalu’s story, including the role his faith played in his work, made it on to the big screen pretty much intact.
“Concussion” is not an easy movie to watch. It earned a PG-13 rating for intense depictions of drug use and human suffering. In fact, when Sports Illustrated showed it to 70 retired NFL players, some of them found it to be, in SI’s words, a “panic-inducing horror flick.” But it’s still a story that needs to be told.
As viewers learn in the film, Omalu’s full name in his native Ibo language means “he who knows, must speak.” And that’s Christian witness in a nutshell. Now it’s up to us to listen.
Meet the Christian Doctor Who Changed How We Play Football
Katelyn Beaty | Christianity Today | December 22, 2015
“Concussion” (movie trailer)
Luke 15:3-6 — Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’”
Isaiah 6:8 — Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?… And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Jeremiah 6:10-11a — To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. But I am full of the wrath of the Lord, and I cannot hold it in.
O Lord God, when Thou givest to Thy servants to endeavor any great matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning, but the continuation of the same to the end, until it be thoroughly finished, which yields true glory; through Him who for the finishing of Thy work laid down his life, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.
–Source unknown, based on a saying by Sir Frances Drake
| Tagged courage
151) Wisdom of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (circa 1818 – February 20, 1895), former slave, was an American abolitionist, women’s suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Douglass is one of the most prominent figures in African-American and United States history. He was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant.
“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others; rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”
“The soul that is within me no man can degrade.”
“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”
“The life of a nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.”
“I may be deemed superstitious, and even egotistical, in regarding this event as a special interposition of divine Providence in my favor. But I should be false to the earliest sentiments of my soul if I suppressed the opinion… that from my earliest recollection, I (had) a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of my career in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hope departed not from me, but remained like ministering angels to cheer me through the gloom. This good spirit was from God, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise.”
“Allowing only ordinary ability and opportunity, we may explain success mainly by one word and that word is WORK! WORK!! WORK!!! WORK!!!! Not transient and fitful effort, but patient, enduring, honest, unremitting and indefatigable work into which the whole heart is put.”
“The man who is right is a majority. He who has God and conscience on his side, has a majority against the universe.”
“Such are the limitations of the human mind, and so thoroughly engrossing are the cares of common life, that only the few among men can discern through the glitter and dazzle of present prosperity the dark outlines of approaching disasters, even though they may have come up to our very gates, and are already within striking distance… Prophets, indeed, were abundant before the war; but who cares for prophets while their predictions remain unfulfilled, and the calamities of which they tell are masked behind a blinding blaze of national prosperity?”
II Chronicles 7:14 — “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10 — Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
Joshua 1:9b — “…Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
O God our Shepherd,
Give the Church a new vision and a new charity,
New wisdom and fresh understanding,
The revival of her brightness
And the renewal of her unity;
That the eternal message of your Son,
Undefiled by the traditions of men,
May be hailed as the good news of the new age;
Through him who makes all things new,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. –Percy Dearmer
150) Five Lessons We Can Learn From Antoinette Tuff
By Nicole Symmonds, August 22, 2013, at www.urbanfaith.com (See Meditation #149)
Antoinette Tuff’s courage and faith saved many lives and can teach us a great deal. (We have been inspired by this) school bookkeeper who courageously talked Michael Brandon Hill out of going through with a shooting rampage at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, Georgia. In deflecting Brandon Hill from going forward with the shooting, she not only saved the lives of hundreds of school children and adults, but she showed many what faith looks like, even in the midst of fear… Here are some lessons gleaned from her courageous and faith-filled actions.
#1. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” –Nelson Mandela
Tuff is honest about being terrified during her interaction with Brandon Hill. She has no delusions of superhero grandeur. But instead of letting that terror stunt her ability to respond in crisis, she worked through it. In connecting with that feeling of terror, she may have also connected with Brandon, a young man whom we have some reason to believe felt some terror of his own and was fearful. Here we see Mandela’s words in action, indicating that courage is not the absence of fear but triumph over it. It is okay to acknowledge fear, but after that we must push through it with courage.
#2. The tools we need in a time of crisis are sometimes within us.
In an interview… Tuff said that she reflected on a sermon series that her pastor was preaching to help her engage with Brandon Hill. She remembered how it taught her how to console people who are bereaving and, through this reflection, she discerned that Brandon-Hill was a young man who was hurting and in need of care. Sometimes we think that we need particular credentials in order to affect change in someone’s life; and sometimes those credentials are necessary. But at other times, we have what someone needs within us, be it a scripture, a sermon, or, as we will see in the next lesson, our story.
#3. Our story could pull someone else through, if we are willing and able to share it.
Following the reflection on her pastor’s sermon, Tuff mentioned that she shared her story with Brandon Hill. Tuff recently lost her husband of 33 years, the only man she has ever known; and she has a son with multiple disabilities, and a daughter who is preparing to head to law school. Given this, she felt like she was at a low point and that nobody loved her; but last year she experienced a turning point and shared with Brandon Hill “Life can still bring about turns but we can live from it, in spite of what it looks like.” Upon hearing this, Brandon Hill began to open up to her, confessing that he hadn’t taken his medication and sharing his concerns about the consequences for the crime he was considering committing. Brandon Hill didn’t completely surrender at that moment, but he was comforted and calmed through the realization that there was someone going through similar struggles. Tuff reminds us that we never know how our stories might connect or change someone else’s life and we have a responsibility to share that story…
#4. Make your judgment, but decide to give people the benefit of the doubt.
When Brandon Hill came into the administrative office at McNair Tuff’s stated, “He had a look on him that he was willing to kill.” He stated as much as he warned Tuff and her colleagues that this wasn’t a joke and had Tuff announce the same over the school intercom. But rather than treat Brandon Hill like a common criminal, she treated him like a normal person or, better yet, her neighbor. She seemed to espouse Jesus’ second great commandment in Mark 12: 31, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Despite what she knew Brandon Hill was possible of, she chose not to let that define the way she treated him. This too is our responsibility, to not let our behavior be dictated by who someone is or what they have done, or will do, but be guided to love them because of the common humanity we share and the fact that we are all created in the image of God.
#5. Be humble.
It seems that Tuff has been humble from beginning to end in this situation. She is not interested in being called a hero; rather she wants to give God the praise. It is through God’s grace and mercy that Antoinette Tuff believes and knows she “got over.” It is that humility that guided her through it, acknowledging that this might not have been something she could do on her own. It is that humility that is taking her through the countless interviews and making her a living testimony of what faith in the midst of fear can do. Tuff’s humility leads her and us to God and reminds us that God is with us, working through and among us. We may not always see it or understand it, but God is still working.
Isaiah 41:10 — “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Colossians 3:12 — …As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
O Most Merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,
May we Know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
And Follow Thee more nearly,
Day by Day. Amen.
–Richard of Chichester, 13th century
149) A Gentle Response
The Amazing Story of Antoinette Tuff
By Eric Metaxas, http://www.breakpoint.org , September 5, 2013
How do we respond when everything is on the line? In fear, or in faith? Or perhaps in a little of both? Well, one amazing story is getting national attention, and I want you to hear it.
The scene had all the makings of yet another tragedy. Twenty-year-old Michael Hill walked into the Ronald E. McNair Learning Academy in Decatur, Georgia armed with an AK-47, five hundred rounds of ammunition, and in his words, “nothing to live for.”
Yet events in Decatur didn’t turn into another Newtown, thanks to the grace of God and a remarkable woman armed only with her faith.
That woman was Antoinette Tuff, the school’s bookkeeper. After Hill took her as a hostage, Tuff acted as the go-between for Hill and the authorities. It was Tuff who relayed Hill’s demands that the police stop using their radios and “stop all movement” or else he would start shooting.
But that’s not all that she did. Tuff started talking to her captor. Specifically, she started talking to him out of her own experience and as a Christian. As she told CNN, “I was just praying. . . . in the inside of myself and saying ‘God, what do I say now? What do I do now?’ I just kept saying that on the inside because I knew that I had no words to say.”
But she found the words. She referred to Hill as “Sir,” “sweetie, and “baby.” She told him that “we’re not going to hate you.” She then went one step further and told him that “I just want you to know I love you, though, OK?”
And she didn’t stop there. Understanding that Hill was a troubled soul– he had actually gone off his psychiatric medication– she shared her own struggles and pain. She told him about her divorce, her disabled son and her own thoughts of suicide, adding that “We all go through something in life. You’re gonna be OK, Sweetheart.”
She even offered to walk outside with him if he turned himself in to make sure that the police wouldn’t shoot him.
Through a combination of love, empathy, and grace she persuaded Hill to surrender, and then told him that she was proud of him.
After the ordeal, she told the 911 dispatcher who heard and recorded her entire conversation with Hill, “I’ve never been so scared in all the days of my life. Oh, Jesus.”
She told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that part of what helped her was a sermon series her pastor had started on the previous Sunday about being “anchored in the Lord.” In fact, the morning before her encounter with Hill she had started studying what the pastor had to say about being “anchored in the Lord.”
As Cooper told her, “That was good timing of that sermon,” to which she replied, “Very good timing.”
I can’t imagine what she was feeling while Hill pointed a gun at her, and I don’t want to imagine what it would be like to be in her shoes. All I want to do is pray that if I’m ever in such a position that I would respond with a fraction of the grace, love, empathy, and courage that Antoinette Tuff did.
The word “hero” gets thrown around pretty promiscuously in our culture. We often use it when what we really mean is “reliable” or even just “celebrity.”
But Antoinette Tuff is the real deal. She is a reminder of what Christian courage looks like: She didn’t need a weapon, just her faith and a willingness to love the unlovable and to share her own pain, failures, and struggles, knowing that the rest was in God’s hands.
Antoinette Tuff
Proverbs 15:1 — A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
I Peter 3:13-15 — Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
Ephesians 6:10-13 — Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
A PRAYER FOR OUR ENEMIES FROM THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH:
Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst command us to love our enemies, and those who defame and injure us, and to pray for them and forgive them; Who Thyself didst pray for Thine enemies who crucified thee: grant us, we pray, the spirit of Christian reconciliation, that we may heartily forgive every injury and be reconciled with our enemies. Grant us to overcome the malevolence and offences of people with Christian love of our neighbor. We further beseech Thee, O Lord, to grant to our enemies true peace and forgiveness of sins; and do not allow them to leave this life without true faith and sincere conversion. And help us repay evil with goodness, and to remain safe from the temptations of the devil and from all the perils which threaten us, in the form of visible and invisible enemies. Amen.
May 2, 2013 by Leon Stier
21) Character, Conscience, and Courage
Peter is 31 years old, a hard worker, and devoted to his job. He is good at what he does and is quickly moving ahead of everyone in his office, even those who have been at the company for many more years. He is moving up to the highest levels of management in a large corporation. Someone with his skills and goals and ambitions is required to put in a lot of time on the job– seventy hour weeks are expected. But Peter loves what he is doing and does not mind the long hours. His hard work is what separates him from the rest of the pack. All he needs to do to achieve his dream of being a top executive is to continue to pour his whole life into his work.
But now a complication has entered Peter’s life. Two years ago his sister and her husband were killed in a car accident, leaving behind three children. At first, the children went to live with Peter’s other sister, who, like Peter, is not married. She managed for a time and Peter has given her some financial help, but now the sister needs more help. She cannot afford all the costs of three children, day care, rent, doctor bills, and everything else, along with the many times she has to miss work to care for sick kids, go to necessary appointments, meet with teachers, and do everything else that can go with caring for children. She asked Peter if they could all move in to his house for a while. She could save what she is now spending on rent, and, would have a little help on hand. Peter is a good man and quickly agreed to let them move in. But now, after a few months, things are getting difficult. Three kids can take a lot of time he is learning– time away from work to pick this one up here, or take that one there, or just sit with them for a while so the sister can go get groceries. The sister is still doing the bulk of it, but Peter had not been used to any interruptions at all, and he is now feeling the pressure. And his boss was starting to notice that Peter isn’t as available to work the endless hours like had always been before.
I read about Peter in a book by Dr. Laura Schlessinger called How Could You Do That? Schlessinger is a psychologist and author, and for a long time had a radio call-in talk show. She does not talk much about finding fulfillment and feeling good about yourself and doing what is best for you, as do many counselors. Rather, she talks very directly about taking responsibility and doing the right thing and self-sacrifice and duty and morality and faith. Peter was someone who called into her show asking for advice about his predicament. He was considering asking his sister and the children to move out. “What about me?” he said, “this is my only chance at success. I have to focus on work, or I will be out of the running.”
Dr. Schlessinger said this to him: “Peter, you sound like a good man, so I don’t have to lecture you like I have to lecture some of the others who call in to this show. But let me just give you one question for you to ask yourself as you make this decision. Project yourself into the future 15 years, and imagine yourself from that perspective looking back at this time and this decision. What do you think you will wish then that you had done now?” She could hear Peter sobbing at the other end of the phone. He thanked her and said he knew what he had to do. He was sad because he could see his dream of rising to the very top coming to an end. But he knew that four people needed his help more than he needed to be at the top. And he knew that in the long run, he would feel better about doing the right thing now. He would just make up his mind to be satisfied at work with only moderate success. He could live well enough on that, and his sister would get the help she needed, and three children would have a home. It was the right thing to do, and he realized that doing the right thing would, in time, bring its own kind of deeper reward.
Dr. Schlessinger lists three necessary characteristics of a good moral foundation. She calls them the three “C’s” — they are Character, Conscience, and Courage. Peter had Character– he wanted to do the right thing. He had Conscience– it bothered him to consider not doing his duty. And, after talking to Dr. Schlessinger, he made the decision to have the Courage to do what was needed.
In 1723 when he was only 20 years old, New England pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards wrote 70 “Resolutions” to serve as a guide to his life and ministry. This is one of those resolutions:
“I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live if they were to live their lives over again. RESOLVED, that I will live just as I think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age.”
I Corinthians 16;13, 14 — Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.
Galatians 6:9, 10 — Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Matthew 25:21 — ‘…Well done, good and faithful servant!…’
Grant us, O Lord, grace to follow thee… In little daily duties to which thou callest us, bow down our will to simple obedience, patience under pain or provocation, strict truthfulness of word or manner, humility, and kindness. In great acts of duty, if thou shouldst call us to them, uplift us to sacrifice and heroic courage, that in all things, both small and great, we may be imitators of thy dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. –Christina Rossetti
15) Facing Up to Reality
Clarence Jordan (1912-1969) was a Baptist preacher, New Testament scholar, and farmer. He operated an integrated farm in Georgia in the 1950’s before integration was allowed in the South. Blacks and whites lived, worked, and ate together on this cooperative farm, and their neighbors did all they could to get them out of the area. In this reading, Jordan describes one of the attempts to get him to move. (From Cotton Patch Sermons (p. 114) by Clarence Jordan)
One time about 93 carloads of Ku Klux Klansmen came out to Koinonia Farm and suggested to us that we find a climate a little bit more conducive to our health. We declined the advice, and word got out that I was about to be lynched. Some very dear friends came to me and suggested that I find refuge north of the Mason-Dixon line.
I said, “Well, we came here because of the will of God, and, if we leave, it will have to be because of the will of God.”
They said, “Now, wait a minute here, you’ve been a preacher too long. You’ve got to get your head out of them theological clouds and face up to reality. That Klan is about to lynch you and you might as well face up to it.”
Well, I hadn’t been sitting there being bombed and machine-gunned and all like that for three years without being aware of the fact that I was in danger. But I said to them, “Now, what do you mean ‘face up to reality?’”
They said, “Be practical. It’s all right to discuss theology at the seminary, but you got to face up to the cold stark facts of life.”
I said to them, ‘Now listen, I think I’m the one that’s being realistic and you are the ones that are being unrealistic. You’re facing up to the demands of the Klan which is temporal and transient. And I’m facing up to the demands of God who is eternal. Now who’s being realistic? I think God was here before the Klan and I think He’ll be here after the Klan is gone. And I think God is more real in this universe than the Ku Klux Klan.”
Faith is not belief in spite of evidence but a life lived in scorn of the consequences. Clarence Jordan
The story is told that after one sermon before a Southern congregation, an elderly woman approached Clarence Jordan and said, “I want you to know that my granddaddy fought in the Civil War, and I’ll never believe a word you say.” Returning her steely glare with a gracious smile, Jordan replied, “Ma’am, your choice seem quite clear. It is whether you will follow your granddaddy or Jesus Christ.”
Matthew 10:28 — (Jesus said), “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Psalm 56:3-4 — When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
Psalm 118:5-8 — In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
Acts 21:12b-14 — …We and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
O Lord Jesus, who art the only health of all men living, and the everlasting life of those who die in thy faith: I give myself wholly unto thy will, being sure that anything which is committed unto thy mercy cannot perish. –-Thomas Cromwell, before his execution
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Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado (1964- )
Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado is a Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the University of Utah School of Medicine and is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, 24 February 1964, Sánchez Alvarado left his home to pursue education in the United States, where he received a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology and chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 1986 and a Doctorate in pharmacology and cell biophysics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1992.
“Use of reproductive technology for sex selection for nonmedical reasons” (2015), by the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine
In June 2015, the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, or ASRM, published “Use of reproductive technology for sex selection for nonmedical reasons” in Fertility and Sterility. In the report, the Committee presents arguments for and against the use of reproductive technology for sex selection for any reason besides avoiding sex-linked disorders, or genetic disorders that only affect a particular sex.
Ernest John Christopher Polge (1926-2006)
Twentieth-century researcher Ernest John Christopher Polge studied the reproductive processes of livestock and determined a method to successfully freeze, thaw, and utilize viable sperm cells to produce offspring in animals. In 1949, Polge identified glycerol as a cryoprotectant, or a medium that enables cells to freeze without damaging their cellular components or functions. Several years later, Polge used glycerol in a freezing process called vitrification, which enabled him to freeze poultry sperm, thaw that sperm, and use it to fertilize vertebrate embryos.
Pope Sixtus V (1520-1590)
Known for dropping a long-held distinction in the Catholic Church between the animated and unanimated fetus, Felice Peretti was born in Grottamare, Italy, in 1521, son of a Dalmatian gardener. In his early years, Peretti worked as a swineherd, but soon became involved in the local Minorite convent in Montalto, where he served as a novice at the age of twelve. He went on to study in Montalto, Ferrara, and Bologna, continuing his devotion to religious life, and in 1547 Peretti was ordained as priest in the city of Siena.
Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
Pope Pius XII was born Eugenio Maria Giuseppi Giovanni Pacelli on 2 March 1876 in Rome, Italy, to Virginia and Filippo Pacelli. Known for his oft-disputed role in the Roman Catholic Church's approach to the Nazis and World War II, Pope Pius XII also contributed a number of important documents regarding conception, fertility, abortion, and reproductive control to the Vatican's collection of writings and doctrine on procreation.
Sergio Cereceda Stone (1942- )
Sergio Cereceda Stone was born 16 April 1942 in the coastal city of Valparaiso, Chile. Stone's mother Luz was a housewife and caretaker for Sergio and his younger brother Lionel; his father Sergio served among the country's twenty appellate court judges. In the early 1950s Stone's father relocated the family to Santiago to further his law career.
Subject: People, Ethics, Reproduction
Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)
Pope John Paul II's views on abortion and embryology have been very influential to the Roman Catholic Church. He strictly forbade abortion and other threats to what he regarded as early human life in his encyclical entitled "Evangelium Vitae," meaning the "Gospel of Life." His authority on moral and social issues was highly regarded during his lifetime.
Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)
Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, marked his contribution to the abortion debate by removing the distinction between an "animated" and "unanimated" fetus from Catholic doctrine, and established the edict that a human should be protected starting from the moment of conception onward. This proclamation made abortion at any time of gestation punishable by excommunication. Pope Pius IX's decision became Canon Law of the Catholic Church.
Katharine McCormick (1876-1967)
Katharine Dexter McCormick, who contributed the majority of funding for the development of the oral contraceptive pill, was born to Josephine and Wirt Dexter on 27 August 1875 in Dexter, Michigan. After growing up in Chicago, Illinois, she attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she graduated in 1904 with a BS in biology. That same year, she married Stanley McCormick, the son of Cyrus McCormick, inventor and manufacturer of the mechanized reaper.
Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)
Pope Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, has been crucial to the clarification of Roman Catholic views on embryos and abortion in recent history. His 1968 encyclical "Humanae Vitae" spoke to the regulation of birth through various methods of contraception and sterilization. This encyclical, a result of Church hesitancy to initiate widespread discussion of the issue in a council of the Synod of Bishops, led to much controversy in the Church but established a firm Catholic position on the issues of birth control and family planning.
Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (1880-1958)
Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 15 October 1880 to Charlotte Carmichael Stopes, a suffragist, and Henry Stopes, an archaeologist and anthropologist. A paleobotanist best known for her social activism in the area of sexuality, Stopes was a pioneer in the fight to gain sexual equality for women. Her activism took many forms including writing books and pamphlets, giving public appearances, serving on panels, and, most famously, co-founding the first birth control clinic in the United Kingdom.
Pope Innocent XI (1611-1689)
Pope Innocent XI, born Benedetto Odescalchi, made considerable contributions to the Roman Catholic approach to embryology by condemning several propositions on liberal moral theology in 1679, including two related to abortion and ensoulment. His rejection of these principles strengthened the Church's stance against abortion and for the idea of "hominization," meaning the presence of human qualities before birth.
Leon Richard Kass (1939- )
A PhD and medical doctor turned ethicist, Leon Kass calls himself an unlicensed humanist. Throughout his unique career he has sought to impact others and engage important cultural issues. This he has accomplished over the course of many years by studying biochemistry, teaching humanities, writing articles and books on ethics, and serving as chair of the President's Council on Bioethics.
Margaret (Peggy) Goldwater (1909–1985)
Margaret Goldwater advocated for birth control and reproductive rights in the United States during the twentieth century. Goldwater was a socialite and philanthropist and was married to Barry Goldwater, US Senator from Arizona. She spent much of her life working to further the women's reproductive rights movement, which sought to expand women's legal, social, and physical access to reproductive healthcare, including contraception and abortions.
Subject: People, Reproduction, Outreach
Frederik Ruysch (1638-1731)
Frederik Ruysch made anatomical drawings and collected and preserved human specimens, many of which were infants and fetuses, in the Netherlands during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Ruysch had many interests, including anatomy, botany, and medicine, and he discovered structures of the lymphatic system and of the eye. His collection of preserved human specimens were used as educational tools for his students and for other physicians, and they were displayed in a museum of his own making that was open to the public.
Walter Edward Dandy (1886-1946)
Walter Edward Dandy studied abnormalities in the developing human brain in the United States in the twentieth century. He collaborated with pediatrician Kenneth Blackfan to provide the first clinical description of Dandy-Walker Syndrome, a congenital brain malformation in which the medial part of the brain, called the cerebellar vermis, is absent. Dandy also described the circulation of cerebral spinal fluid, the clear, watery fluid that surrounds and cushions the brain and spinal cord.
John George Children (1777–1852)
John George Children described several species of insects and animals while working at the British Museum in London, England, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Children also conducted research on chemical batteries called voltaic cells and briefly studied and manufactured gunpowder. One of the species he described, the Children’s python, or Antaresia children, was used in the twenty-first century as the subject of experiments that involved the biological cost of reproduction in snakes.
Nicole Marthe Le Douarin (1930- )
Nicole Marthe Le Douarin was one of the first progressive female pioneers of developmental and embryological research. Some of her most notable and ground-breaking work involves grafting quail and chicken embryos together in order to study the developmental fate of each contributing embryo. Le Douarin was born in Brittany, France, on 20 August 1930. As an only child she was inspired by her mother, a school teacher at the time, to develop a passion for learning.
Kurt Benirschke (1924-)
Kurt Benirschke studied cells, placentas, and endangered species in Germany and the US during the twentieth century. Benirschke was professor at the University of California in San Diego, California, and a director of the research department at the San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California. He also helped form the research department of the San Diego Zoo and its sister organization, the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species.
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Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (1968)
The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA or the Act) was passed in the US in 1968 and has since been revised in 1987 and in 2006. The Act sets a regulatory framework for the donation of organs, tissues, and other human body parts in the US. The UAGA helps regulate body donations to science, medicine, and education. The Act has been consulted in discussions about abortion , fetal tissue transplants , and Body Worlds , an anatomy exhibition.
Subject: Legal, Outreach, Reproduction
In the Womb (2005), by Toby Mcdonald and National Geographic Channel
Written, produced, and directed by Toby Mcdonald, the 2005 National Geographic Channel film In the Womb uses the most recent technology to provide an intricate glimpse into the prenatal world. The technologies used, which include advanced photography, computer graphics, and 4-D ultrasound imaging, help to realistically illustrate the process of development and to answer questions about the rarely seen development of a human being.
Subject: Outreach, Reproduction
The Milky Way (2014)
On 26 April 2014, Gravitas Ventures released the documentary The Milky Way, a film directed by Jon Fitzgerald that compares breastfeeding in the US with breastfeeding in European countries. The film was produced by Piece of My Heart Productions and Cause Pictures. In the film, producers Jennifer Davidson and Chantal Molnar travel to Berlin, Germany, and Stockholm, Sweden, to observe how people perceive breastfeeding there, compared to in the US.
The Cabinet of Frederik Ruysch
Frederik Ruysch's cabinet of curiosities, commonly referred to simply as the Cabinet, was a museum Ruysch created in the Netherlands in the late 160ss. The Cabinet filled a series of small houses that Ruysch rented in Amsterdam and contained over 2,000 specimens, including preserved fetuses and infants. The collection remained in Amsterdam until it was purchased by Tsar Peter the Great of Russia in 1717 and transferred to St. Petersburg, Russia.
Chernobyl Heart (2003)
In 2003, HBO Original Programming released the documentary Chernobyl Heart. Maryann De Leo directed and produced the film, which is about the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident and how the radiation from that accident has affected people living in the area. Side effects have included mental disabilities, physical disabilities, and genetic mutations.
The Malthusian League (1877–1927)
The Malthusian League, founded in London, England, in 1877 promoted the use of contraception to limit family size. Activists Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant established the Malthusian League after they were arrested and exonerated for publishing a pamphlet describing techniques to prevent pregnancy. Founders based the league on the principles of Thomas Malthus, a British nineteenth century economist, who wrote on the perils of a population growing beyond the resources available to support it.
People's Padre: An Autobiography (1954), by Emmett McLoughlin
Emmett McLoughlin wrote People's Padre: An Autobiography, based on his experiences as a Roman Catholic priest advocating for the health of people in Arizona. The Beacon Press in Boston, Massachusetts, published the autobiography in 1954. McLoughlin was a Franciscan Order Roman Catholic priest who advocated for public housing and healthcare for the poor and for minority groups in Phoenix, Arizona, during the mid twentieth century. The autobiography recounts McLoughlin's efforts in founding several community initiatives throughout Phoenix, including the St.
Subject: Outreach, People, Publications, Religion
"Hybrids and Chimeras: A report on the findings of the consultation" by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in October, 2007
In 2007, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in London, UK, published Hybrids and Chimeras: A Report on the Findings of the Consultation, which summarized a public debate about research on, and suggested policy for, human animal chimeras. The HFEA formulated the report after conducting a series of surveys and debates from earlier in 2007. The HFEA issued a statement in September 2007, followed by an official report published on 1 October 2007. Their report on human-animal chimeras set a worldwide precedent for discussions of the ethical use of those embryos in labs.
Subject: Publications, Legal, Outreach
Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (1974- )
Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is a nonprofit organization that began in 1974 as a joint endeavor by Reginald and Catherine Hamlin and the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia promotes reproductive health in Ethiopia by raising awareness and implementing treatment and preventive services for women affected by obstetric fistulas. It also aims to restore the lives of women afflicted with obstetric fistulas in Ethiopia and eventually to eradicate the condition.
Eclipse of Reason (1987)
Eclipse of Reason is a 1987 anti-abortion documentary film directed, filmed, and narrated by Bernard Nathanson, an obstetrician in the US. American Portrait Films released the film in 1987 featuring Nathanson’s commentary and footage of an abortion of a four-month-old fetus. The film also featured the testimony of women who had suffered following similar procedures. In Eclipse of Reason, Nathanson equates the fetus to a person, likening abortion procedures to murder and arguing for the illegalization of abortion.
Subject: Outreach, Religion
"Drama of Life Before Birth" (1965), by Life Magazine and Lennart Nilsson
Life Magazine's 1965 cover story "Drama of Life Before Birth" featured photographs of embryos and fetuses taken by Swedish photojournalist Lennart Nilsson to document the developmental stages of a human embryo. Included in this article was the first published image of a living fetus inside its mother's womb. Prior to this, embryos and fetuses were observed, studied, and photographed outside of women's bodies as non-living specimens.
Subject: Publications, Outreach, Reproduction
Ameisen: Die heimliche Weltmacht (Ants: Nature’s Secret Power) (2004)
Ameisen: Die heimliche Weltmacht (Ants: Nature’s Secret Power) is a nature documentary about ants. Wolfgang Thaler wrote, filmed, and directed the film, which focuses on the work of ant researcher Bert
The Silent Scream (1984), by Bernard Nathanson, Crusade for Life, and American Portrait Films
The Silent Scream is an anti-abortion film released in 1984 by American Portrait Films, then based in Brunswick, Ohio. The film was created and narrated by Bernard Nathanson, an obstetrician and gynecologist from New York, and it was produced by Crusade for Life, an evangelical anti-abortion organization. In the video, Nathanson narrates ultrasound footage of an abortion of a twelve-week-old fetus, claiming that the fetus opened its mouth in what Nathanson calls a silent scream during the procedure.
The Miracle of Life (1983), by NOVA
The most-watched NOVA documentary ever made and a revolution in the understanding of human development, The Miracle of Life (abbreviated Life) employs the most current developments in endoscopic and microscopic technology to capture the intricacies of human development. Narrated by Anita Sangiolo and vividly illustrating the most minute and hard-to-reach parts and processes of living systems, this film truly flexes the muscles of the newest photographic technology of its time, with esteemed photographer Lennart Nilsson behind the camera.
Better Babies Contests in the United States (1908–1916)
Better babies contests were competitions held in state fairs throughout the US during the early twentieth century in which babies between the ages of 6 and 48 months were judged for their health. In 1908, social activist Mary de Garmo established and held the first better babies contest at the Louisiana State Fair in Shreveport, Louisiana. The contests, mirroring theories established in the US’s eugenics movement of the twentieth century, aimed to establish standards for judging infant health.
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ClientSoft Puts an AS/400 Spin on XML
The late 1990's have witnessed a return to the concept of universal and unencumbered data access, driven first by the Internet and the Java programming language, and most recently by the hype surrounding the Extensible Mark-up Language (XML). The promise of XML is real, however, and if software vendor ClientSoft Inc. has its way, the AS/400 and other so-called "legacy" systems may soon leverage their own iteration of XML--dubbed Terminal Emulation Extensible Mark-up Language (TxML)--as a means to gain newfound relevance in many enterprise environments.
"I don't think you're going to find anybody that's telling people to toss out their legacy systems and start from scratch on top of XML," acknowledges Coco Jaenicke, manager of product marketing with Object Design Inc., a software vendor that produces the client/server-based eXcelon XML Data Server. "A legacy system works, they're established and they're popular and they're everywhere, and XML allows you to effectively leverage them."
But the fact remains that XML, whatever its promise, was originally developed for and largely within the client/server or distributed computing worlds. Many XML applications are written for popular client/server platforms such as Windows NT or any of several Unix flavors. Even Bluestone Software's XML Suite is a Java-based application rather than a native AS/400 one.
Accordingly, ClientSoft announced plans to develop TxML, an XML standard for IBM 3270 and 5250 terminal emulators, as a means to enable both the AS/400 and mainframe operating environments to participate in XML's platform-independent data access model. TxML works by allowing application developers to directly access system data in terminal emulator programs without actually needing an API.
"TxML's separation of content and presentation in modeling mainframe data gives application builders the freedom to program more quickly, efficiently and smarter," says ClientSoft president Scott Nevins. "TxML is automatically scalable and provides a standard format for transmission to a legacy database and data sharing between applications."
ClientSoft has integrated the TxML standard into its ClientBuilder product line, a development toolset for enterprise-to-enterprise, enterprise-to-Web and enterprise-to-wireless legacy data extension solutions. In addition, the company hopes to provide its TxML specification to the World Wide Web Consortium.
According to Object Design's Jaenicke, the beauty of XML is that it can readily be extended to embrace even highly specialized standards such as TxML. What it all adds up to, she maintains, is a language--XML--that can restore the relevancy of "legacy" systems in many enterprise environments, even those in which sexier and less reliable client/server systems have perpetrated an unwelcome encroachment. "XML neutralizes platform disparity--it's effectively the lingua franca for the middle tier. XML is the lingua franca for doing e-business," she concludes, noting that the power of XML is precisely this type of extensibility: Software vendors or systems integrators can create XML connectors to virtually any operating environment.
Tim Minahan, a senior analyst in electronic commerce with Boston-based consulting firm Aberdeen Group, agrees, noting that XML-based solutions are a boon to enterprise application integration efforts. "Aberdeen believes that XML technologies have the ability to provide support for open application integration, allowing disparate systems to interoperate with one another," he avers.
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The Episodic Table of Elements
A chemistry podcast about the fascinating true stories behind each element on the periodic table.
Element Updates
32. Germanium: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
by trappleton
4 Comments on 32. Germanium: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Bell Labs, Clemens Winkler, Computers, Dmitri Mendeleev, Electronics, Germany, Jack Kilby, John Bardeen, Texas Instruments, Walter Brattain, William Shockley
Silicon gets all the press, but germanium was the real trailblazer of the Information Age.
Featured above: One of Bell Lab’s publicity photos promoting the transistor, featuring John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley. “Boy, Walter hates this picture,” Bardeen told a reporter several years later. “That’s Walter’s apparatus and our experiment, and Bill didn’t have anything to do with it.’ “
Episode Script
Germanium was the second of Mendeleev’s predictions to come true, after gallium. If any doubt in Mendeleev’s periodic table after gallium, germanium squashed it.
As for neptunium, Herman’s discovery turned out to be some improperly identified niobium, so the name was freed up again a few years later when the element in between uranium and plutonium needed a name.
I couldn’t really get into exactly how transistors work, as it’s a little beyond the scope of this short episode. It also benefits from some visual aid. Once again, Veritasium does a good job explaining it for us:
The “traitorous eight,” as Shockley called them, went on to become giants in the field — as close to household names as electronics can become, including Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel.
When studying history, the point at which any story begins or ends is largely a matter of perspective. For instance: Germanium was discovered in 1886 by Clemens Winkler, but its existence was predicted by Dmitri Mendeleev about fifteen years earlier.
He called the element “eka-silicon,” because he knew it would occupy the space beneath silicon in Group 14, but that was merely a placeholder name. True naming rights belonged to whomever first chemically isolated an element in the lab, and Winkler was amused by a recent parallel in another of the sciences: Like element 32, the planet Neptune’s existence had been predicted decades before anyone ever saw it through a telescope. Winkler sought to name his own discovery “Neptunium” in celebration of this little coincidence — but sadly, the Russian chemist R. I. Herman had just taken that name for his own, entirely unrelated discovery.
So Winkler took a page out of de Boisbaudran’s book and lent the new element the Latinized name of his homeland: Germania.
Of course, that means the prologue to germanium’s story could include the entire Franco-Prussian War and unification of the German states, which is a just little too complex for the intro segment of this podcast.
The point is, Sometimes, a prequel can be just as interesting as the main story. When it comes to the blockbuster tale of semiconductor electronics, the name of that prequel is germanium.
You’re listening to The Episodic Table Of Elements, and I’m T. R. Appleton. Each episode, we take a look at the fascinating true stories behind one element on the periodic table.
Today, we’re lowering our resistance to germanium.
We discussed electronics the last time we visited Group 14 — it’s hard not to when the subject is silicon. But we didn’t have much time to get into the pre-silicon history of electronics.
The dawn of electronics was heralded by the invention of the vacuum tube. This device could manipulate an electrical current in several ways. It could amplify an electrical signal, or convert a current from AC to DC. But perhaps most groundbreaking was its ability to precisely control the flow of electricity by acting as a gate, or a switch. Depending on whether certain conditions are met, the tube can permit the flow of electricity in an “on” state, or switch off and break the circuit.
This simple mechanism provides the basis for all modern computers. When we say that our electronic devices speak in a language of zeroes and ones, this is what we’re talking about. “Zero” indicates a switch that’s off, while “one” indicates a switch that’s on. And everything can be translated into a series of zeroes and ones — from the simplest mathematical equation to sonorously spoken stories of science.
Of course, it requires an enormous number of switches to perform these tasks, especially as they grow more complex. One of the world’s first general-purpose computers, ENIAC, employed well over 17,000 vacuum tubes to carry out its assigned tasks — tasks that are laughably simple by modern standards.
There’s a very obvious practical problem with such a setup: 17,000 glass vacuum tubes take up a lot of space, and they’re pretty delicate, to boot. If you’ve ever wrestled with a tangled string of Christmas lights, you have a rough idea of how frustrating it can be to repair such a machine. ENIAC and machines like it were famously gargantuan, taking up entire rooms and weighing dozens of tons.
By the 1940s, it was clear that for the field to progress, it needed to move beyond bulky glass bulbs. No one felt this more urgently than William Shockley, a physicist at Bell Labs. He came up with the idea of the solid-state transistor: A device that could switch on or off like a vacuum tube, but had no moving parts. This would make it faster, smaller, more efficient, and much less prone to breakage.1
But Shockley couldn’t figure out how to build the thing. His best attempt involved “a small cylinder, coated thinly with silicon,”2 but practice never bore out the theory. He recruited a handful of scientists to help tackle the problem, most notably John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. Even on this team of legendary chemists, physicists, and engineers, Bardeen was renowned as the brains of the operation. Meanwhile, Brattain was the man with the magic hands, able to build just about anything. Shockley performed the imperative task of supervising the team, often from a distance as he attended lectures and conferences overseas.
Left to their own devices, Bardeen and Brattain got along famously and made steady progress on the problem. By December 1947, they had learned enough to construct a working prototype of the solid-state transistor. Critically, they tossed out Shockley’s silicon cylinder in favor of germanium — as we mentioned in episode 14, germanium possesses some electrical qualities that make it easier to work with for this purpose. The two unveiled their invention — and Shockley was furious.3 4
The duo might have used Shockley’s original research as a jumping-off point, but they had clearly advanced much further on their own. Additionally, on the day when Bardeen and Brattain revealed their work, Shockley was in Paris for the Christmas holiday, highlighting just how out-of-the-loop their supervisor was.5
Shockley ran back home, and the man who had been so conspicuously absent from the lab for years was suddenly making his presence very known. Since this whole project was his idea, he figured, he deserved all the credit.
When he returned to Bell Labs, he went straight to the lawyers, and ensured that his name would be the only one to appear on U.S. Patent No. 2502488, “Semiconductor Amplifier.” Whenever a photo was taken for publicity, Shockley made sure he was in front of the camera. And finally, he split up the dynamic duo, sending Bardeen off to work in an entirely different building on unrelated projects. Shockley then locked himself inside a Chicago hotel room for four straight weeks until he drew up schematics for an even better transistor.
Shockley effectively ruined any relationship the three men had. Bardeen left Bell Labs not long afterward. Brattain remained, but refused to report to Shockley anymore.
Bardeen and Brattain remained friends, occasionally meeting up for a round of golf even as their careers went in separate directions. But they understandably kept their distance from Shockley until 1956, when all three were summoned to Stockholm, where King Gustaf VI of Sweden jointly awarded them the Nobel Prize in Physics.
So Shockley got exactly what he wanted. But that didn’t make him a better person. The same year they won the Nobel Prize, Shockley founded his own semiconductor company. It was barely up and running for a year before eight of his top scientists resigned in protest of his tyrannical personality. The company limped along for a few years after that, but it never brought a single product to market, and was finally shuttered in 1968.
Today, Shockley Semiconductor is widely regarded as the birthplace of Silicon Valley. Considering it was a foolhardy endeavor fueled more by ego than ideas, that seems like an appropriate designation.
And somehow, by the time he died, Shockley’s reputation had little to do with his Nobel Prize or Silicon Valley. He spent the rest of his life as a fierce proponent of eugenics, and spouted such overtly racist rhetoric so passionately that the issue took up half of his lengthy obituary in the New York Times.6
Regardless of the personalities involved, the transistor was a revolutionary invention — one of the most important of the twentieth century. Pretty much every electronic device that’s ever made its way into consumers’ homes — and there are a lot of them — only exists because of the transistor.
But while the gents at Bell Labs invented the transistor, they didn’t perfect it. For years, computer chips were knotted messes of solder and wire. Much like the old vacuum tubes, these were delicate, and prone to failure. And while the shift from glass tubes to solid-state transistors allowed for more complex circuitry, computers were being called upon for increasingly difficult tasks… which meant even more complex circuitry. It was a problem that hardware engineers called “The Tyranny of Numbers.”
Enter Jack Kilby, who was a rookie engineer at Texas Instruments in 1958. He arrived at the TI campus in the middle of the summer, just as literally every other employee was going on vacation. So he had a lot of free time to work on whatever his heart desired.7
He had an idea to change how computer chips were built from the ground up. Rather than take a bunch of separate components and solder them together, he thought, why not start with one big block of material and carve the circuit into it?
Silicon chips were commonplace by that time, but for this experiment, Kilby didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. He went back to the ol’ reliable of semiconductors: germanium. It took a little while to work out all the kinks, but by September of that year, Kilby had built a complete working circuit out of a single slab of germanium. It eliminated the many thousands of potential points of failure, reduced heat and power consumption, and allowed for a much smaller design. In short, it was superior in every way.8
Kilby called his design the integrated circuit. Colloquially, people called it the microchip.
Surprisingly, this breakthrough didn’t take the world by storm. It amused other scientists on the lecture circuit, but that was about it. So, largely in an effort to show off the practical value of the microchip, Kilby designed the pocket calculator — as powerful as a desktop computer, but a fraction of the size.
Kilby received the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions, and for once, the honor wasn’t mired in controversy. And microchips only became smaller and more powerful. In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore famously predicted that scientists would double the number of transistors they could fit on a microchip every eighteen months. That became known as Moore’s Law, and it was more or less accurate through the end of the twentieth century.
We’re now at a point where whatever device you’re using to listen to this podcast almost certainly holds billions of individual transistors, some of them no larger than fifty atoms across, on a processor that’s conducting millions of operations per second. If a typical mobile phone were built using vacuum tubes rather than microchips, it would be the size of the Hindenburg.9
We’re now at a point where if scientists try to build transistors any smaller, quantum effects start interfering with their operation. It’s the latest obstacle hardware engineers need to break through if microelectronics are to advance. In the meantime, companies like Intel and Texas Instruments are focusing on decreasing processors’ power consumption, rather than increasing their speed. Germanium tends to play second fiddle to silicon in the semiconductor industry these days, but who knows? It’s been the battering ram scientists used to break down walls in the science of electronics twice before. Perhaps it’s just waiting to come out of mothballs to break down this one, too.
You can find Jack Kilby’s original germanium microchip in the Smithsonian Museum, in case you weren’t convinced of element 32’s esteemed place in the history of semiconductors, and you can be sure that it’s of very high purity. The only problem is, the museum staff won’t let you take it home to add to your collection.
Germanium isn’t completely absent from modern electronics. It’s used in LEDs and some processor chips, but it’s more often appreciated for its unique properties. In the same way that beryllium is completely transparent to x-rays, infrared light passes straight through germanium as though it were clear glass. Any kind of infrared camera you can buy almost certainly relies on a high-purity sample of element 32.10
In fact, because of these specialized uses, any germanium you get your hands on is likely to be pretty pure. That might not be the main reason so many people invested so much time and money into researching germanium, but it is a nice side effect.
Thanks for listening to The Episodic Table of Elements. Music is by Kai Engel. To learn why the neptunium discovered by R. I. Herman wasn’t the neptunium on the periodic table, and how William Shockley did even further damage to his own reputation, visit episodic table dot com slash G e.
Next time, we’ll get off our lazy arsenic.
Until then, this is T. R. Appleton, reminding you that much like the microchip, Marvel’s Ant-Man also grows more powerful as he shrinks, until he encounters serious trouble in the Quantum Realm.
American Physical Society, John Bardeen, William Shockley, Walter Brattain. Alaina G. Levine.
PBS.org, Transistorized! This verbatim description of Shockley’s first attempt is replicated in all sorts of media, but it all seems to point back to this source.
PBS.org, Transistorized! Shockley, Brattain, Bardeen.
IP Watchdog, Evolution of the Transistor. Steve Brachmann, April 3, 2017.
The Disappearing Spoon, p. 40-44. Sam Kean, 2010.
The New York Times, William B. Shockley, 79, Creator Of Transistor And Theory On Race. Wolfgang Saxon, August 14, 1989.
All About Circuits, Jack Kilby And The World’s First Integrated Circuit. Tim Youngblood, September 16, 2017.
Texas Instruments, The Chip That Jack Built.
This is a really rough calculation assuming a volume of 75ml per vacuum tube, with some assistance from Wolfram Alpha.
PeriodicTable.com, Germanium. Theodore Gray.
4 Replies to “32. Germanium: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”
Tenje Akhiro says:
Search YouTube for “The Elements in Six Dimensions”
trappleton says:
I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking at there.
Perhaps not entirely but enough to cause pause. It was not meant for general consumption. However, it shows why the elements end at 119.
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Project acronym 1D-Engine
Project 1D-electrons coupled to dissipation: a novel approach for understanding and engineering superconducting materials and devices
Researcher (PI) Adrian KANTIAN
Host Institution (HI) UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Summary Correlated electrons are at the forefront of condensed matter theory. Interacting quasi-1D electrons have seen vast progress in analytical and numerical theory, and thus in fundamental understanding and quantitative prediction. Yet, in the 1D limit fluctuations preclude important technological use, particularly of superconductors. In contrast, high-Tc superconductors in 2D/3D are not precluded by fluctuations, but lack a fundamental theory, making prediction and engineering of their properties, a major goal in physics, very difficult. This project aims to combine the advantages of both areas by making major progress in the theory of quasi-1D electrons coupled to an electron bath, in part building on recent breakthroughs (with the PIs extensive involvement) in simulating 1D and 2D electrons with parallelized density matrix renormalization group (pDMRG) numerics. Such theory will fundamentally advance the study of open electron systems, and show how to use 1D materials as elements of new superconducting (SC) devices and materials: 1) It will enable a new state of matter, 1D electrons with true SC order. Fluctuations from the electronic liquid, such as graphene, could also enable nanoscale wires to appear SC at high temperatures. 2) A new approach for the deliberate engineering of a high-Tc superconductor. In 1D, how electrons pair by repulsive interactions is understood and can be predicted. Stabilization by reservoir - formed by a parallel array of many such 1D systems - offers a superconductor for which all factors setting Tc are known and can be optimized. 3) Many existing superconductors with repulsive electron pairing, all presently not understood, can be cast as 1D electrons coupled to a bath. Developing chain-DMFT theory based on pDMRG will allow these materials SC properties to be simulated and understood for the first time. 4) The insights gained will be translated to 2D superconductors to study how they could be enhanced by contact with electronic liquids.
Correlated electrons are at the forefront of condensed matter theory. Interacting quasi-1D electrons have seen vast progress in analytical and numerical theory, and thus in fundamental understanding and quantitative prediction. Yet, in the 1D limit fluctuations preclude important technological use, particularly of superconductors. In contrast, high-Tc superconductors in 2D/3D are not precluded by fluctuations, but lack a fundamental theory, making prediction and engineering of their properties, a major goal in physics, very difficult. This project aims to combine the advantages of both areas by making major progress in the theory of quasi-1D electrons coupled to an electron bath, in part building on recent breakthroughs (with the PIs extensive involvement) in simulating 1D and 2D electrons with parallelized density matrix renormalization group (pDMRG) numerics. Such theory will fundamentally advance the study of open electron systems, and show how to use 1D materials as elements of new superconducting (SC) devices and materials: 1) It will enable a new state of matter, 1D electrons with true SC order. Fluctuations from the electronic liquid, such as graphene, could also enable nanoscale wires to appear SC at high temperatures. 2) A new approach for the deliberate engineering of a high-Tc superconductor. In 1D, how electrons pair by repulsive interactions is understood and can be predicted. Stabilization by reservoir - formed by a parallel array of many such 1D systems - offers a superconductor for which all factors setting Tc are known and can be optimized. 3) Many existing superconductors with repulsive electron pairing, all presently not understood, can be cast as 1D electrons coupled to a bath. Developing chain-DMFT theory based on pDMRG will allow these materials SC properties to be simulated and understood for the first time. 4) The insights gained will be translated to 2D superconductors to study how they could be enhanced by contact with electronic liquids.
Project acronym AfricanNeo
Project The African Neolithic: A genetic perspective
Researcher (PI) Carina SCHLEBUSCH
Summary The spread of farming practices in various parts of the world had a marked influence on how humans live today and how we are distributed around the globe. Around 10,000 years ago, warmer conditions lead to population increases, coinciding with the invention of farming in several places around the world. Archaeological evidence attest to the spread of these practices to neighboring regions. In many cases this lead to whole continents being converted from hunter-gatherer to farming societies. It is however difficult to see from archaeological records if only the farming culture spread to other places or whether the farming people themselves migrated. Investigating patterns of genetic variation for farming populations and for remaining hunter-gatherer groups can help to resolve questions on population movements co-occurring with the spread of farming practices. It can further shed light on the routes of migration and dates when migrants arrived. The spread of farming to Europe has been thoroughly investigated in the fields of archaeology, linguistics and genetics, while on other continents these events have been less investigated. In Africa, mainly linguistic and archaeological studies have attempted to elucidate the spread of farming and herding practices. I propose to investigate the movement of farmer and pastoral groups in Africa, by typing densely spaced genome-wide variant positions in a large number of African populations. The data will be used to infer how farming and pastoralism was introduced to various regions, where the incoming people originated from and when these (potential) population movements occurred. Through this study, the Holocene history of Africa will be revealed and placed into a global context of migration, mobility and cultural transitions. Additionally the study will give due credence to one of the largest Neolithic expansion events, the Bantu-expansion, which caused a pronounced change in the demographic landscape of the African continent
The spread of farming practices in various parts of the world had a marked influence on how humans live today and how we are distributed around the globe. Around 10,000 years ago, warmer conditions lead to population increases, coinciding with the invention of farming in several places around the world. Archaeological evidence attest to the spread of these practices to neighboring regions. In many cases this lead to whole continents being converted from hunter-gatherer to farming societies. It is however difficult to see from archaeological records if only the farming culture spread to other places or whether the farming people themselves migrated. Investigating patterns of genetic variation for farming populations and for remaining hunter-gatherer groups can help to resolve questions on population movements co-occurring with the spread of farming practices. It can further shed light on the routes of migration and dates when migrants arrived. The spread of farming to Europe has been thoroughly investigated in the fields of archaeology, linguistics and genetics, while on other continents these events have been less investigated. In Africa, mainly linguistic and archaeological studies have attempted to elucidate the spread of farming and herding practices. I propose to investigate the movement of farmer and pastoral groups in Africa, by typing densely spaced genome-wide variant positions in a large number of African populations. The data will be used to infer how farming and pastoralism was introduced to various regions, where the incoming people originated from and when these (potential) population movements occurred. Through this study, the Holocene history of Africa will be revealed and placed into a global context of migration, mobility and cultural transitions. Additionally the study will give due credence to one of the largest Neolithic expansion events, the Bantu-expansion, which caused a pronounced change in the demographic landscape of the African continent
Project acronym AgeConsolidate
Project The Missing Link of Episodic Memory Decline in Aging: The Role of Inefficient Systems Consolidation
Researcher (PI) Anders Martin FJELL
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH4, ERC-2016-COG
Summary Which brain mechanisms are responsible for the faith of the memories we make with age, whether they wither or stay, and in what form? Episodic memory function does decline with age. While this decline can have multiple causes, research has focused almost entirely on encoding and retrieval processes, largely ignoring a third critical process– consolidation. The objective of AgeConsolidate is to provide this missing link, by combining novel experimental cognitive paradigms with neuroimaging in a longitudinal large-scale attempt to directly test how age-related changes in consolidation processes in the brain impact episodic memory decline. The ambitious aims of the present proposal are two-fold: (1) Use recent advances in memory consolidation theory to achieve an elaborate model of episodic memory deficits in aging (2) Use aging as a model to uncover how structural and functional brain changes affect episodic memory consolidation in general The novelty of the project lies in the synthesis of recent methodological advances and theoretical models for episodic memory consolidation to explain age-related decline, by employing a unique combination of a range of different techniques and approaches. This is ground-breaking, in that it aims at taking our understanding of the brain processes underlying episodic memory decline in aging to a new level, while at the same time advancing our theoretical understanding of how episodic memories are consolidated in the human brain. To obtain this outcome, I will test the main hypothesis of the project: Brain processes of episodic memory consolidation are less effective in older adults, and this can account for a significant portion of the episodic memory decline in aging. This will be answered by six secondary hypotheses, with 1-3 experiments or tasks designated to address each hypothesis, focusing on functional and structural MRI, positron emission tomography data and sleep experiments to target consolidation from different angles.
Which brain mechanisms are responsible for the faith of the memories we make with age, whether they wither or stay, and in what form? Episodic memory function does decline with age. While this decline can have multiple causes, research has focused almost entirely on encoding and retrieval processes, largely ignoring a third critical process– consolidation. The objective of AgeConsolidate is to provide this missing link, by combining novel experimental cognitive paradigms with neuroimaging in a longitudinal large-scale attempt to directly test how age-related changes in consolidation processes in the brain impact episodic memory decline. The ambitious aims of the present proposal are two-fold: (1) Use recent advances in memory consolidation theory to achieve an elaborate model of episodic memory deficits in aging (2) Use aging as a model to uncover how structural and functional brain changes affect episodic memory consolidation in general The novelty of the project lies in the synthesis of recent methodological advances and theoretical models for episodic memory consolidation to explain age-related decline, by employing a unique combination of a range of different techniques and approaches. This is ground-breaking, in that it aims at taking our understanding of the brain processes underlying episodic memory decline in aging to a new level, while at the same time advancing our theoretical understanding of how episodic memories are consolidated in the human brain. To obtain this outcome, I will test the main hypothesis of the project: Brain processes of episodic memory consolidation are less effective in older adults, and this can account for a significant portion of the episodic memory decline in aging. This will be answered by six secondary hypotheses, with 1-3 experiments or tasks designated to address each hypothesis, focusing on functional and structural MRI, positron emission tomography data and sleep experiments to target consolidation from different angles.
Project acronym AGINGSEXDIFF
Project Aging Differently: Understanding Sex Differences in Reproductive, Demographic and Functional Senescence
Researcher (PI) Alexei Maklakov
Summary Sex differences in life span and aging are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom and represent a long-standing challenge in evolutionary biology. In most species, including humans, sexes differ not only in how long they live and when they start to senesce, but also in how they react to environmental interventions aimed at prolonging their life span or decelerating the onset of aging. Therefore, sex differences in life span and aging have important implications beyond the questions posed by fundamental science. Both evolutionary reasons and medical implications of sex differences in demographic, reproductive and physiological senescence are and will be crucial targets of present and future research in the biology of aging. Here I propose a two-step approach that can provide a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the biological basis of sex differences in aging. First, I propose to resolve the age-old conundrum regarding the role of sexspecific mortality rate in sex differences in aging by developing a series of targeted experimental evolution studies in a novel model organism – the nematode, Caenorhabditis remanei. Second, I address the role of intra-locus sexual conflict in the evolution of aging by combining novel methodology from nutritional ecology – the Geometric Framework – with artificial selection approach using the cricket Teleogryllus commodus and the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. I will directly test the hypothesis that intra-locus sexual conflict mediates aging by restricting the adaptive evolution of diet choice. By combining techniques from evolutionary biology and nutritional ecology, this proposal will raise EU’s profile in integrative research, and contribute to the training of young scientists in this rapidly developing field.
Sex differences in life span and aging are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom and represent a long-standing challenge in evolutionary biology. In most species, including humans, sexes differ not only in how long they live and when they start to senesce, but also in how they react to environmental interventions aimed at prolonging their life span or decelerating the onset of aging. Therefore, sex differences in life span and aging have important implications beyond the questions posed by fundamental science. Both evolutionary reasons and medical implications of sex differences in demographic, reproductive and physiological senescence are and will be crucial targets of present and future research in the biology of aging. Here I propose a two-step approach that can provide a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the biological basis of sex differences in aging. First, I propose to resolve the age-old conundrum regarding the role of sexspecific mortality rate in sex differences in aging by developing a series of targeted experimental evolution studies in a novel model organism – the nematode, Caenorhabditis remanei. Second, I address the role of intra-locus sexual conflict in the evolution of aging by combining novel methodology from nutritional ecology – the Geometric Framework – with artificial selection approach using the cricket Teleogryllus commodus and the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. I will directly test the hypothesis that intra-locus sexual conflict mediates aging by restricting the adaptive evolution of diet choice. By combining techniques from evolutionary biology and nutritional ecology, this proposal will raise EU’s profile in integrative research, and contribute to the training of young scientists in this rapidly developing field.
Project acronym ASD
Project Atomistic Spin-Dynamics; Methodology and Applications
Researcher (PI) Olof Ragnar Eriksson
Summary Our aim is to provide a theoretical framework for studies of dynamical aspects of magnetic materials and magnetisation reversal, which has potential for applications for magnetic data storage and magnetic memory devices. The project focuses on developing and using an atomistic spin dynamics simulation method. Our goal is to identify novel materials and device geometries with improved performance. The scientific questions which will be addressed concern the understanding of the fundamental temporal limit of magnetisation switching and reversal, and the mechanisms which govern this limit. The methodological developments concern the ability to, from first principles theory, calculate the interatomic exchange parameters of materials in general, in particular for correlated electron materials, via the use of dynamical mean-field theory. The theoretical development also involves an atomistic spin dynamics simulation method, which once it has been established, will be released as a public software package. The proposed theoretical research will be intimately connected to world-leading experimental efforts, especially in Europe where a leading activity in experimental studies of magnetisation dynamics has been established. The ambition with this project is to become world-leading in the theory of simulating spin-dynamics phenomena, and to promote education and training of young researchers. To achieve our goals we will build up an open and lively environment, where the advances in the theoretical knowledge of spin-dynamics phenomena will be used to address important questions in information technology. In this environment the next generation research leaders will be fostered and trained, thus ensuring that the society of tomorrow is equipped with the scientific competence to tackle the challenges of our future.
Our aim is to provide a theoretical framework for studies of dynamical aspects of magnetic materials and magnetisation reversal, which has potential for applications for magnetic data storage and magnetic memory devices. The project focuses on developing and using an atomistic spin dynamics simulation method. Our goal is to identify novel materials and device geometries with improved performance. The scientific questions which will be addressed concern the understanding of the fundamental temporal limit of magnetisation switching and reversal, and the mechanisms which govern this limit. The methodological developments concern the ability to, from first principles theory, calculate the interatomic exchange parameters of materials in general, in particular for correlated electron materials, via the use of dynamical mean-field theory. The theoretical development also involves an atomistic spin dynamics simulation method, which once it has been established, will be released as a public software package. The proposed theoretical research will be intimately connected to world-leading experimental efforts, especially in Europe where a leading activity in experimental studies of magnetisation dynamics has been established. The ambition with this project is to become world-leading in the theory of simulating spin-dynamics phenomena, and to promote education and training of young researchers. To achieve our goals we will build up an open and lively environment, where the advances in the theoretical knowledge of spin-dynamics phenomena will be used to address important questions in information technology. In this environment the next generation research leaders will be fostered and trained, thus ensuring that the society of tomorrow is equipped with the scientific competence to tackle the challenges of our future.
Project acronym BONE SCAN
Project Traces in the bones: reconstructing the lost soft anatomy of the earliest vertebrates through ultra-high resolution synchrotron scanning
Researcher (PI) Per Erik Ahlberg
Summary Early vertebrate evolution involved a series of drastic structural reorganisations as new features were added and elaborated. The fossil record illuminates this evolutionary history more directly than inferences from the diversity of living forms, but the fossils usually consist only of bones whereas many of the most important and interesting changes occurred in the soft anatomy. Traditional approaches to reconstructing the musculature and other soft tissues of fossil vertebrates rely on subjective tools, like the visual identification of rough bone textures thought to indicate muscle attachments, and generally leave a lot to be desired. Here I propose a wholly novel and radically more objective approach to the identification of soft-tissue contacts, using holotomographic synchrotron CT at sub-micron resolutions to identify these contacts by the three-dimensional micro-architecture of the bone. A pilot study has already shown that such scans (performed at the ESRF synchrotron facility in Grenoble) are capable of imaging key features such as arrested growth surfaces and probable Sharpey s fibres in 380 million year old fossils. We will undertake a systematic review of the three-dimensional bone micro-architectures associated with different soft-tissue contacts in living vertebrates, and the use this as a key to reconstruct the soft-tissue contacts on fossil bones with unprecedented accuracy. This will permit us to produce far more reliable reconstructions of the soft anatomy than has hitherto been possible. Our findings will inform other areas of palaentology, particularly functional morphology, and will also be of great importance to evolutionary developmental biology.
Early vertebrate evolution involved a series of drastic structural reorganisations as new features were added and elaborated. The fossil record illuminates this evolutionary history more directly than inferences from the diversity of living forms, but the fossils usually consist only of bones whereas many of the most important and interesting changes occurred in the soft anatomy. Traditional approaches to reconstructing the musculature and other soft tissues of fossil vertebrates rely on subjective tools, like the visual identification of rough bone textures thought to indicate muscle attachments, and generally leave a lot to be desired. Here I propose a wholly novel and radically more objective approach to the identification of soft-tissue contacts, using holotomographic synchrotron CT at sub-micron resolutions to identify these contacts by the three-dimensional micro-architecture of the bone. A pilot study has already shown that such scans (performed at the ESRF synchrotron facility in Grenoble) are capable of imaging key features such as arrested growth surfaces and probable Sharpey s fibres in 380 million year old fossils. We will undertake a systematic review of the three-dimensional bone micro-architectures associated with different soft-tissue contacts in living vertebrates, and the use this as a key to reconstruct the soft-tissue contacts on fossil bones with unprecedented accuracy. This will permit us to produce far more reliable reconstructions of the soft anatomy than has hitherto been possible. Our findings will inform other areas of palaentology, particularly functional morphology, and will also be of great importance to evolutionary developmental biology.
Project acronym BRAINMINT
Project Brains and minds in transition: The dark side of neuroplasticity during sensitive life phases
Researcher (PI) Lars T. WESTLYE
Summary The potential and boundaries of the human mind is determined by dynamic interactions between the environment and the individual genetic architecture. However, despite several breakthroughs, the genetic revolution has not provided a coherent account of the development of the mind and its disorders, and the missing heritability is large across human traits. One explanation of this impasse is the complexity of the gene-environment interactions. Current knowledge about the determinants of a healthy mind is largely based on studies whose modus operandi is to treat the environment as a static entity, neglecting to consider the crucial fact that environmental inputs and their genetic interactions vary dramatically between life phases. The objective of BRAINMINT is to provide this missing link by zeroing in on two major life transitions, namely adolescence and pregnancy. These phases are characterized by temporarily increased brain plasticity, offering windows for adaptation and growth, but also host the emergence of common mental disorders. I propose that a multi-level investigation with this dark side of brain plasticity as the axis mundi will add a mechanistic understanding of this link between growth and vulnerability. I will test the main hypothesis that mechanisms that boost neuroplasticity promote adaptation to a dynamic environment, but at the cost of increased risk of psychopathology if exposed to a combination of genetic and environmental triggers. To this end I will utilize cutting-edge longitudinal brain imaging, electrophysiology, rich cognitive and clinical data, immune markers, gene expression and genetics. I will leverage on massive imaging data (n>40,000) and novel tools to increase power and generalizability and improve brain- and gene-based predictions of complex traits. Aiming to help resolving one of the modern day enigmas, BRAINMINT is a pioneering and high risk/high gain effort to find mechanisms of brain plasticity that support and harm the brain.
The potential and boundaries of the human mind is determined by dynamic interactions between the environment and the individual genetic architecture. However, despite several breakthroughs, the genetic revolution has not provided a coherent account of the development of the mind and its disorders, and the missing heritability is large across human traits. One explanation of this impasse is the complexity of the gene-environment interactions. Current knowledge about the determinants of a healthy mind is largely based on studies whose modus operandi is to treat the environment as a static entity, neglecting to consider the crucial fact that environmental inputs and their genetic interactions vary dramatically between life phases. The objective of BRAINMINT is to provide this missing link by zeroing in on two major life transitions, namely adolescence and pregnancy. These phases are characterized by temporarily increased brain plasticity, offering windows for adaptation and growth, but also host the emergence of common mental disorders. I propose that a multi-level investigation with this dark side of brain plasticity as the axis mundi will add a mechanistic understanding of this link between growth and vulnerability. I will test the main hypothesis that mechanisms that boost neuroplasticity promote adaptation to a dynamic environment, but at the cost of increased risk of psychopathology if exposed to a combination of genetic and environmental triggers. To this end I will utilize cutting-edge longitudinal brain imaging, electrophysiology, rich cognitive and clinical data, immune markers, gene expression and genetics. I will leverage on massive imaging data (n>40,000) and novel tools to increase power and generalizability and improve brain- and gene-based predictions of complex traits. Aiming to help resolving one of the modern day enigmas, BRAINMINT is a pioneering and high risk/high gain effort to find mechanisms of brain plasticity that support and harm the brain.
Project acronym CACTUS
Project developmental social Cognition and ACTion UnderStanding
Researcher (PI) Kjell Gustaf Gredebäck
Summary Humans are social creatures throughout life. This proposal aims to advance our knowledge of the mechanisms that mediate understanding of others’ actions from a developmental perspective. A special emphasis will be devoted to mirror neuron and teleological frameworks. The former framework focuses on reciprocal motor activation during action execution and observation whereas the later framework emphasizes the application of abstract principles to observed events. The mechanisms that guide both processes will be investigated in isolation, but special attention will also be devoted to understanding how these diverse forms of action understanding jointly contribute to action understanding. The project encompasses three essential research objectives, illustrated by three research questions. How do mirror neuron and teleological processes influence action understanding? How does action understanding enable social action evaluation (empathy and pro-social preferences)? How is action understanding expressed during real-life social interactions? These questions will be addressed by presenting infants and toddlers with social events of varying complexity (from simple actions and animated sequences to complex everyday social events), relating empirical findings to predictions derived from the teleological and motor cognitive frameworks. The overarching aim is to provide a computational model of early emerging social cognitive capabilities, with a focus on action understanding and action evaluation, while passively observing others and while partaking in social interactions with others.
Humans are social creatures throughout life. This proposal aims to advance our knowledge of the mechanisms that mediate understanding of others’ actions from a developmental perspective. A special emphasis will be devoted to mirror neuron and teleological frameworks. The former framework focuses on reciprocal motor activation during action execution and observation whereas the later framework emphasizes the application of abstract principles to observed events. The mechanisms that guide both processes will be investigated in isolation, but special attention will also be devoted to understanding how these diverse forms of action understanding jointly contribute to action understanding. The project encompasses three essential research objectives, illustrated by three research questions. How do mirror neuron and teleological processes influence action understanding? How does action understanding enable social action evaluation (empathy and pro-social preferences)? How is action understanding expressed during real-life social interactions? These questions will be addressed by presenting infants and toddlers with social events of varying complexity (from simple actions and animated sequences to complex everyday social events), relating empirical findings to predictions derived from the teleological and motor cognitive frameworks. The overarching aim is to provide a computational model of early emerging social cognitive capabilities, with a focus on action understanding and action evaluation, while passively observing others and while partaking in social interactions with others.
Project acronym CAPTURE
Project CApturing Paradata for documenTing data creation and Use for the REsearch of the future
Researcher (PI) Isto HUVILA
Summary "Considerable investments have been made in Europe and worldwide in research data infrastructures. Instead of a general lack of data about data, it has become apparent that the pivotal factor that drastically constrains the use of data is the absence of contextual knowledge about how data was created and how it has been used. This applies especially to many branches of SSH research where data is highly heterogeneous, both by its kind (e.g. being qualitative, quantitative, naturalistic, purposefully created) and origins (e.g. being historical/contemporary, from different contexts and geographical places). The problem is that there may be enough metadata (data about data) but there is too little paradata (data on the processes of its creation and use). In contrast to the rather straightforward problem of describing the data, the high-risk/high-gain problem no-one has managed to solve, is the lack of comprehensive understanding of what information about the creation and use of research data is needed and how to capture enough of that information to make the data reusable and to avoid the risk that currently collected vast amounts of research data become useless in the future. The wickedness of the problem lies in the practical impossibility to document and keep everything and the difficulty to determine optimal procedures for capturing just enough. With an empirical focus on archaeological and cultural heritage data, which stands out by its extreme heterogeneity and rapid accumulation due to the scale of ongoing development-led archaeological fieldwork, CAPTURE develops an in-depth understanding of how paradata is #1 created and #2 used at the moment, #3 elicits methods for capturing paradata on the basis of the findings of #1-2, #4 tests the new methods in field trials, and #5 synthesises the findings in a reference model to inform the capturing of paradata and enabling data-intensive research using heterogeneous research data stemming from diverse origins. "
"Considerable investments have been made in Europe and worldwide in research data infrastructures. Instead of a general lack of data about data, it has become apparent that the pivotal factor that drastically constrains the use of data is the absence of contextual knowledge about how data was created and how it has been used. This applies especially to many branches of SSH research where data is highly heterogeneous, both by its kind (e.g. being qualitative, quantitative, naturalistic, purposefully created) and origins (e.g. being historical/contemporary, from different contexts and geographical places). The problem is that there may be enough metadata (data about data) but there is too little paradata (data on the processes of its creation and use). In contrast to the rather straightforward problem of describing the data, the high-risk/high-gain problem no-one has managed to solve, is the lack of comprehensive understanding of what information about the creation and use of research data is needed and how to capture enough of that information to make the data reusable and to avoid the risk that currently collected vast amounts of research data become useless in the future. The wickedness of the problem lies in the practical impossibility to document and keep everything and the difficulty to determine optimal procedures for capturing just enough. With an empirical focus on archaeological and cultural heritage data, which stands out by its extreme heterogeneity and rapid accumulation due to the scale of ongoing development-led archaeological fieldwork, CAPTURE develops an in-depth understanding of how paradata is #1 created and #2 used at the moment, #3 elicits methods for capturing paradata on the basis of the findings of #1-2, #4 tests the new methods in field trials, and #5 synthesises the findings in a reference model to inform the capturing of paradata and enabling data-intensive research using heterogeneous research data stemming from diverse origins. "
Project acronym COMPASS
Project Colloids with complex interactions: from model atoms to colloidal recognition and bio-inspired self assembly
Researcher (PI) Peter Schurtenberger
Host Institution (HI) LUNDS UNIVERSITET
Summary Self-assembly is the key construction principle that nature uses so successfully to fabricate its molecular machinery and highly elaborate structures. In this project we will follow nature’s strategies and make a concerted experimental and theoretical effort to study, understand and control self-assembly for a new generation of colloidal building blocks. Starting point will be recent advances in colloid synthesis strategies that have led to a spectacular array of colloids of different shapes, compositions, patterns and functionalities. These allow us to investigate the influence of anisotropy in shape and interactions on aggregation and self-assembly in colloidal suspensions and mixtures. Using responsive particles we will implement colloidal lock-and-key mechanisms and then assemble a library of “colloidal molecules” with well-defined and externally tunable binding sites using microfluidics-based and externally controlled fabrication and sorting principles. We will use them to explore the equilibrium phase behavior of particle systems interacting through a finite number of binding sites. In parallel, we will exploit them and investigate colloid self-assembly into well-defined nanostructures. Here we aim at achieving much more refined control than currently possible by implementing a protein-inspired approach to controlled self-assembly. We combine molecule-like colloidal building blocks that possess directional interactions and externally triggerable specific recognition sites with directed self-assembly where external fields not only facilitate assembly, but also allow fabricating novel structures. We will use the tunable combination of different contributions to the interaction potential between the colloidal building blocks and the ability to create chirality in the assembly to establish the requirements for the controlled formation of tubular shells and thus create a colloid-based minimal model of synthetic virus capsid proteins.
Self-assembly is the key construction principle that nature uses so successfully to fabricate its molecular machinery and highly elaborate structures. In this project we will follow nature’s strategies and make a concerted experimental and theoretical effort to study, understand and control self-assembly for a new generation of colloidal building blocks. Starting point will be recent advances in colloid synthesis strategies that have led to a spectacular array of colloids of different shapes, compositions, patterns and functionalities. These allow us to investigate the influence of anisotropy in shape and interactions on aggregation and self-assembly in colloidal suspensions and mixtures. Using responsive particles we will implement colloidal lock-and-key mechanisms and then assemble a library of “colloidal molecules” with well-defined and externally tunable binding sites using microfluidics-based and externally controlled fabrication and sorting principles. We will use them to explore the equilibrium phase behavior of particle systems interacting through a finite number of binding sites. In parallel, we will exploit them and investigate colloid self-assembly into well-defined nanostructures. Here we aim at achieving much more refined control than currently possible by implementing a protein-inspired approach to controlled self-assembly. We combine molecule-like colloidal building blocks that possess directional interactions and externally triggerable specific recognition sites with directed self-assembly where external fields not only facilitate assembly, but also allow fabricating novel structures. We will use the tunable combination of different contributions to the interaction potential between the colloidal building blocks and the ability to create chirality in the assembly to establish the requirements for the controlled formation of tubular shells and thus create a colloid-based minimal model of synthetic virus capsid proteins.
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Scottish Independence: a Question of International Law or of the EU’s “New Legal Order”? (Part II)
15 February 2013/ By Ciara Murphy
Scottish Independence through the Prism of European Union Law
In the previous post, we discussed Professor Crawford and Professor Boyle’s legal opinion on Scottish independence and set down the framework for state continuity, state succession and succession to membership of international organizations. In this post, we turn to the crux of their enquiry: would Scotland have to reapply to join the EU? In a word, their answer is “yes”. However, Crawford and Boyle are at pains to emphasize that this is, in legal terms, unknown territory:
“All this is not to suggest that it is inconceivable for Scotland automatically to be an EU member. The relevant EU organs or Member States might be willing to adjust the usual requirements for membership in the circumstances of Scotland’s case. But that would be a decision for them, probably made on the basis of negotiations; it is not required as a matter of international law, nor, at least on its face, by the EU legal order.” [para.164]
It should be mentioned that, as far as the remainder of the UK is concerned (the “remainder of the UK” following Scottish separation is referred to as “rUK” throughout, to distinguish it from the UK as it currently exists), its continuing membership in the EU would be relatively uncontroversial (without engaging, for the time being, with the far more controversial question of whether the UK intends to remain in the EU at all!) The reduction of their territory would not have any effects on their obligations under EU law, since the definition of territory is a matter for Member States and not for EU law (Case 148/77 Hansen v Hauptzollamt Flensburg, consider also the case of German reunification). The EU Treaties would simply cease to apply to their former territory. The authors do recognize, however, that the UK’s voting rights and its representation in the European Parliament would have to be adjusted to take account of their reduced population.
Returning to Scotland, there is of course no clear precedent for this situation (the independence of Algeria in 1962 and Greenland situation can be distinguished on the facts, see paras.143 et seq) and the Treaties are silent on the question of succession to state membership. Crawford and Boyle, echoing Barroso’s position, deem Article 49 TEU, the legal basis for accession to the EU, to be quite clear on its face – as a new state, it must apply for EU membership in accordance with the requisite procedures and an accession agreement must be ratified by all Member States.
The opinion does not discuss the question of whether Scotland could maintain the Treaty opt-outs that the UK currently enjoys, but simply notes that the Treaty does not contemplate a situation whereby the accession procedures could be varied (and elsewhere, the Commission has made it quite clear that adoption of the acquis is non-negotiable; see also Article 7, Protocol 19 of the Treaties on the Schengen acquis). If the procedure to admit Scotland was to be modified, this would be a political, rather than a legal, concession. Either way, a Treaty amendment would still be necessary to accommodate the increase in membership.
Usefully, the authors note that a legal vacuum – resulting from the Treaties ceasing to apply to Scotland – is unlikely to eventuate, since EU law could continue to apply in Scotland by virtue of domestic law, specifically the European Communities Act 1972.
The Role of European Citizenship
In the final section of their opinion, Crawford and Boyle recognize that their conclusions under public international law might not convince the EU law establishment, which “might be expected to resist allowing part of a current EU Member State to withdraw automatically from the EU, especially insofar as it would affect the individual rights of current EU citizens.” The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in particular, might attach significance to the role of Union citizenship – if, of course, they ever got to consider the question, which the authors think is unlikely. They proceed to warn the CJEU that any judicial intervention on this subject would be an overreach of their judicial function, “effectively usurp[ing] the role of the Member States in negotiation a political solution” [para.183].
There are essentially two types of objection to the international law analysis, a “light” and a “strong” version, both of which rely on the European citizenship provisions and case-law, and the oft-cited aphorism that “the EU constitutes a new legal order of international law” which counts individuals as well as sovereign states among its subjects, first uttered in the Van Gend en Loos case.
The “light” version takes the position that there is a legal obligation incumbent on the EU and all Member States to negotiate Scottish independence in good faith. The opinion cites the writing of Lane, who in turn refers to the principle of self-determination, a reference which is rightly dismissed as being of little relevance to this situation, since it is generally agreed that self-determination of peoples is to be exercised within the framework of existing states, so long as there is a representative government based on equality and non-discrimination [see para.175; see also Reference re Secession of Quebec].
Crawford and Boyle suggest that the argument that the EU would be bound to negotiate in “good faith”:
“would have to rely on a creative and expansive reading of EU treaty provisions that has no legal precedent. There is no provision that obviously gives rise to such a requirement.” [para.177]
However, there is, arguably, such a provision. Article 50 TEU, introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, provides for the possibility to withdraw from the EU and imposes an obligation on that state to notify and to negotiate and conclude an agreement governing its withdrawal. Sir David Edward, a considerable authority given his 15 years of experience as the British Judge in Luxembourg, has elaborated a contemporary version of the “good faith” argument by relying on Article 50 TEU and the citizenship provisions.
Sir David argues that while the EU is a creature of international law, it has become “a new legal order”, and consequently:
“the solution to any problem for which the Treaties do not expressly provide must be sought first within the system of the Treaties, including their spirit and general scheme. Only if the Treaties can provide no answer would one resort to conventional public international law (including doctrines of state succession).”
Article 50 TEU provides that withdrawal shall take place two years after negotiation or notification, time that is necessary to “unravel a complex skein of relationships, liabilities and obligations.” It follows that, in the light of Article 50 and the numerous rights and obligations vested in individuals and
“in accordance with their obligations of good faith, sincere cooperation and solidarity, the EU institutions and all the Member States (including the UK as existing), would be obliged to enter into negotiations, before separation took effect, to determine the future relationship within the EU of the separate parts of the former UK and the other Member States.”
He surmises that the Treaty drafters cannot “have intended that there must be prior negotiation in the case of withdrawal but none in the case of separation”. This teleological reading of Article 50 TEU is a convincing one, one which is also advanced by Aidan O’Neill, but which the legal opinion does not seriously address.
O’Neill’s position is portrayed the “radical” or “strong” form of the argument, maintaining that both states should succeed to the EU and that automatic succession is possible (see his posts on the eutopia blog here, here and here). O’Neill relies on the distinct nature of the EU legal order, its primacy and purposive approach to interpretation and the prominent place given to individuals as subjects of EU law. He argues that the nature of EU citizenship rights espoused in Zambrano, combined with the holding in Rottman, where the withdrawal of German citizenship was found to fall within the scope of EU law, would lead the CJEU to the conclusion “that Scotland and [the rUK] should each succeed to the UK’s existing membership of the EU, but now as two States rather than as one”. In these matters, the EU law should have primacy over international law and the CJEU should be “the final arbiter on such weighty matters of State(s)”.
Crawford and Boyle dismiss this argument by simply pointing to the contingent and derivative nature of EU citizenship, from which it results that citizens of an independent Scotland would no longer be able to invoke the citizenship provisions. Article 20(1) TFEU provides that citizenship of the Union is “additional to and [shall] not replace national citizenship”. Articles 24 and 25 of the ILC Articles on the Nationality of Natural Persons in Relation to the Succession of States (2000) provide that persons having their place of habitual residence in the successor state will receive the nationality of that state while the predecessor state “shall withdraw its nationality from persons concerned qualified to acquire the nationality of the successor State”. Therefore, persons acquiring Scottish nationality would no longer be UK citizens and therefore, could no longer avail of the protections of Union citizenship.
This is, to my mind, the correct approach: the citizens of an independent Scotland would, albeit regrettably, simply not be citizens of the Union any longer. Moreover, the jump from Rottmann to a conclusion that Scotland should automatically succeed to membership of the EU appears to be a leap too far. I would, in any event, question the pertinence of the Rottmann holding to this situation. While it is characterized as a case concerning the withdrawal of national citizenship rights, one crucial aspect of that case was, in my view, the fact that he would have been left stateless without German citizenship. In that respect, it is different from a situation where the withdrawal of UK, and consequently EU, citizenship would only occur where Scottish citizenship had already been granted and statelessness would not arise.
I do wonder, however, whether the reverse argument could be made: could EU citizens currently resident in Scotland find a cause of action on the ground that the rights acquired under the EU Treaties have been withdrawn? The vested or acquired rights doctrine suggests that a change of sovereignty cannot affect the interests of individuals. Would these EU citizens have any claim against the redefinition of the territory of the EU and therefore the scope of application of EU law?
Given the UK Government’s objectives, the opinion is perhaps less conclusive than it might have hoped: the opinion recognizes that we are simply in unchartered waters and there is no definitive answer as to the legal status of an independent Scotland.
However, the divergence in position between public international law and advocates relying on EU law is particularly marked. The often rocky relationship between EU law and international law is well-known, with the CJEU’s “infidelity” to international law most apparent in the infamous Kadi decision.
This situation, however, is not the place to affirm the “sacrosanct” primacy of EU law over international law nor to vindicate the role of the CJEU. EU law simply has no role in the birth, creation or formation of states – rather, it is an area where the supremacy of EU law simply has to give way to the laws of public international law. Crawford and Boyle succinctly sum this tension up and it is to them that I leave the last word:
“Of course, there might be a distinction between the position in public international law generally and the position in the EU legal order. Public international law (as already discussed) is the proper law for answering questions of state continuity and succession outside the specific context of the EU. Even if the ECJ were to take a different approach, that would not affect the status of the rUK and Scotland generally. It would only affect their position within the EU legal order.” [para.184]
EU constitutional law / Public International Law / Uncategorized
About Ciara Murphy
Ciara Murphy studied European and international law at Trinity College Dublin (LLB), the College of Europe (LLM) and the University of Michigan (LLM). She is currently a trainee law clerk at the International Court of Justice, supported by a fellowship from the University of Michigan.
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''Anchorman'' is a summer movie we can't wait to see
Updated April 21, 2004 at 04:00 AM EDT
Anchorman: Frank Masi
”Anchorman” is a summer movie we can’t wait to see
RELEASE DATE July 9
WHY WE CAN’T WAIT Will Ferrell’s on a roll. After ”Old School” and ”Elf,” we bet he could make us laugh just by reading the news.
THE PREMISE Ferrell (far right) is a top TV news anchor in 1970s San Diego, whose boys’ club (including Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Steve Carell) is disrupted by the arrival of a competent newswoman (Christina Applegate, center).
SOURCE An original idea by Ferrell and director Adam McKay
THE BACK STORY Here’s how you know it’s 1973: ”All the clothes are brown,” says Ferrell. Also, says McKay, everyone smokes all the time. Back then, he notes, ”when you heard ‘cigarettes,’ you didn’t think of cancer. You thought of a cowboy.”
BURNING QUESTION Is this story too retro for Ferrell’s young-ish audience?
COME FOR Ferrell’s foolery
STAY FOR Scene stealer Carell, whose faux-newsman résumé includes his correspondent gig on ”The Daily Show” and his babbling broadcaster in ”Bruce Almighty”
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Custom «Team Building and Development for Coca-Cola» Essay Paper
Custom «Team Building and Development for Coca-Cola» Essay Paper essay
Organizations are made of individuals, who when brought together form a team. A team is a group of people who work together cooperatively to achieve a common goal (MSH, 2005). Human resources, if effectively and efficiently deployed may yield the highest form of productivity in an organization. Every employee in an organization must make an informed decision to work with others through a focused commitment, bearing in mind the challenges that come with team work such as; ego, lack of teamwork skills, communication barriers, diverse cultural backgrounds and environmental variations that must all be synchronized to create a participatory group (Berry, 2006).
Buy Team Building and Development for Coca-Cola essay paper online
"Leadership is about giving a team or organization the courage to truly commit to extraordinary goals. Well managed teams understand their capability extremely well and set commitments they know they can meet."Tim Esque.
This paper will therefore focus on Team Building and Development as one of the key Organizational Behaviour concepts. It will also give key highlights of how the Coca Cola Company has used and applied this concept in its operations towards achieving its global mission.
Brief Background of the Coca Cola Company
The Coca Cola Company is the world's leading producer of soft drinks with a mission of refreshing the world, inspiring moments of optimism, happiness and creating value to make a difference. It is rooted in the core values of leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, passion, diversity and quality. Its two strongest pillars are the people and its brands. With over 139,600 associates across the globe, team building and development is one of its major pillars that has propelled its success in the industry.
Program and procedures applied by Coca-Cola in Team Building and Development
Coca Cola strives to create an enabling working environment to its employees, as it believes that the work place is also a place of exploration, creativity, professional growth and interpersonal relationships. It has successfully embraced the culture of a learning organization. Peter Senge (2007) defines a learning organization a that where people constantly increase their ability to produce the results they truly need, where new thinking patterns are nurtured and employees have joint ambitions. At Coca Cola, people are inspired and motivated to reach beyond their potential and thereby achieving the ultimate organizational objectives. "We want our people to take pride in their work and in building brands others love. After all, it's the combined talents, skills, knowledge, experience and passion of our people that make us who we are."("Coca-cola homepage," 2012). It therefore uses certain programs and procedures in its team building and development process as highlighted below:
Creating a shared vision among all employees. Coca Cola believes that in order to achieve the long term goals, it is important for the vision of the organization to be emphasized and enforced among employees. The company's vision inspires and motivates the employees in terms of their daily activities at the company and for the future.
Situation analysis of current opportunities, challenges and threats in the market. The organization encourages team work for a collective analysis of its market status. Through team building and development, ideas are shared regarding competitors, market demands and required supply of Coca Cola products.
Defining the challenges and selecting priorities. Through team building and development, the company has been able identify the existing challenges and setting strategies on overcoming these barriers through prioritizing what needs to be done.
Developing action plans. Teams play a critical role in the preparation of action plans at Coca Cola. The various teams and technical working departments such as the sales and marketing teams brainstorm together on the best possible ways to go about task implementation.
Implementing the plans in teams and evaluating outcomes.
Lessons learnt on Team Building and Development
Team work is essential in achieving any organizational goals. From the research done, I was able to note that team building and development comes with its share of challenges as well. As a class team, it was fun working together as various ideas were generated due to the diverse perceptions of individual members. Everyone had a specific role to play thus a lot of ideas were brought on board. These diversity however proved challenging at certain points as it was difficult to agree on particular ideas unanimously.
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Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Shared A Heartwarming Video Of Support For A 3-Year-Old Battling Cancer And It’s Inspiring
There are many Hollywood celebrities that fans drool over and always get excited to meet. But it takes a special star to earn the love and admiration of fans of all ages, a thing that Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, makes look as easy as a pie.
Wherever he is, Samoa, Canada, or the U.S., Dwayne Johnson stands out not just for his sturdy, muscular physique, but also for his lovable and inspirational personality that is simply, heartwarming.
On Monday, The Rock reminded the world why he is the best when he shared an amazing video to support a sick 3-year-old boy.
A post shared by therock (@therock) on Sep 22, 2019 at 9:42am PDT
Dwayne Johnson shares a heartwarming message to a sick fan
When he can, Dwayne Johnson is known to send love to people in need, and his messages are always a means of giving them hope and showing them that someone cares. Recently, the big guy sent an amazing video message to a child diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia to prove once again, that he also has a big heart.
In his message, The Rock said that the little boy, Hyrum Harris, is currently in the fight for his life and what he needs at the time is strength and hope.
Hyrum, I know I’m a complete stranger to you… but myself along with millions of other strangers who will watch this video are sending you so much love, strength and mana your way.
In the best way he knows how, The Rock told Hyrum that he’s not alone and even sang a song from Moana, a film that gives the young boy strength.
With the message, the father to a 3-year-old daughter proved that indeed, joy and hope costs nothing, since that’s the only way to give life meaning and make a difference in the lives of others.
A post shared by therock (@therock) on Sep 3, 2019 at 10:55am PDT
Fans loved Dwayne Johnson’s message to the kid
To all fans that got the video, the Jumanji star's message rang true and people were not shy to express their appreciation for his big gesture that gave Hyrum and many others strength when they need it the most.
A post shared by therock (@therock) on Aug 26, 2019 at 9:48pm PDT
@bosslogic: All the strength to this kid ❤️🙏
@crisnanushka: Thank you for being you!!!!
@deli__marie: Awww what a remarkable respond. You are the most sweetest caring celebrity I have ever met to take the time and reach out like this. Xoxo
@jackieraerae: Thanks for reaching out to him! You’re such a good guy!
For little Hyrum, we pray for strength, and to Dwayne Johnson, we must say that “we smell what he’s cooking,” and it's heavenly!
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Home » Issues » Evidence-based decisions in law, health and business
Near enough isn't good enough when it comes to life-saving medical procedures, multi-million dollar deals and high court actions. Detailed, accurate information is essential if doctors, lawyers and business executives are to make the right decisions - decisions that give the best results for patients, clients and every small shareholder. Google and Wikipedia searches provide useful pointers, but you cannot beat the quality and depth of information provided by highly skilled library and information professionals.
When budgets are tight, it's often the library budget that is cut by top level management who don't use the service and don't realise the contribution it makes to the quality of their people's decision-making. Often the dollar saving is tiny but the negative impact on the organisation is massive.
Health libraries are a good example. In 2012, ALIA and Health Libraries Inc published A Question of Life and Death, an investigation into the value of health library and information services in Australia, which revealed just how important libraries can be to good outcomes for patients. Asked about their use of the library service, doctors, nurses, surgeons and other medical professionals gave the following replies:
95% said it had helped them progress their studies
95% said it helped them discover new and valuable information
86% said it helped keep them abreast of the latest clinical developments
83% said it had helped them improve health outcomes for their patients
82% said it helped them progress their research
76% said it had helped them achieve higher marks in their exams
65% said it had helped them confirm their diagnosis or treatment plan
Most significantly, 76% said it had changed their thinking and improved their diagnosis or treatment plan.
The Commonwealth Budget, handed down in May 2014, announced a shake-up in government health agencies, which means Health Libraries Australia (HLA), an important group within ALIA, has to resell the importance of libraries to a new set of administrators. For example, HLA wants to see health librarians included in the National Health Workforce Dataset - at the moment, health librarians are not counted in the medical workforce, despite their vital role. The government has committed to Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records for patients, but ignored the opportunity to involve health librarians, who have the skills to help patients and clinicians work through electronic records.
Australians need and deserve evidence-based decision-making from the health, law, business and other professionals who give advice and take action on their behalf. Employing library and information professionals is the best way to ensure that the information on which life-changing decisions are made comes from highly reputable sources, with little room for error. Unfortunately, the people who use and value the library and information service are rarely the people who sit at the boardroom table.
It's our job to convince the bean counters of the importance of investing in library and information services. In 2014, ALIA, Health Libraries Inc, HLA and the Australian Law Librarians’ Association published the findings of an independent report into the return on investment of these special library and information services. SGS Economics carried out the cost benefit analysis and reported that for every dollar invested, there was more than $5-worth of value. Taking health libraries alone, the return was in the order of $15 for every dollar invested, as reported in Worth every cent and more.
Our HLA Group plans will be lobbying government for health librarians to be recognised as an integral part of the health workforce, with unique and valuable skillsets, which not only support current activities but may be of even more use in the future, with the emphasis on open access to health and medical research. By sharing the work of researchers in a more open environment, curated by library and information professionals, advances in medical science can be achieved with more efficiency and greater speed.
Many health, law and corporate libraries are under serious threat. If you work in an organisation with one of these libraries, go and talk to the library staff about your local situation. If there are threats to funding, talk to your manager about the importance and value of the library service. Help spread the word to senior management that cutting funding to the library is a small short term gain which can have serious long term consequences.
Do you want to tell us about your experiences in how the library helped your with an issue in health, law or business? Please drop us a line or post your story on our Facebook page.
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1. Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor from Detroit, Michigan.
2. In addition to his solo career, he is a member of D12 and (with Royce da 5’9″) half of the hip-hop duo Bad Meets Evil.
3. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States; Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has had ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200.
4. He has sold more than 172million albums, making him one of the world’s best-selling artists.
5. After his debut album Infinite (1996), Eminem achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP; he received his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for the commercially successful second album.
6. His next two releases (2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP and 2002’s The Eminem Show) were worldwide successes, with each certified diamond in US sales.
7. Both won Best Rap Album Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win the award for three consecutive LPs.
8. Eminem went on hiatus after touring in 2005, releasing Relapse in 2009 and Recovery in 2010; both won Grammy Awards.
9. Recovery was the bestselling album of 2010 worldwide, and the rapper’s second international bestselling album of the year (his first was The Eminem Show).
10. Eminem’s eighth album (2013’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2) won two Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album; it expanded his record for the most wins in that category and his Grammy total to 15.
11. Eminem has developed other ventures, including Shady Records with manager Paul Rosenberg.
12. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Lose Yourself”, the first rap artist to win the award. Eminem has made cameo appearances in the films The Wash (2001), Funny People (2009), The Interview (2014) and the television series Entourage.
13. Bruce left the family, moving to California During his childhood Eminem and Debbie shuttled between Missouri and Michigan, rarely staying in one house for more than a year or two and living primarily with family members.
14. In Missouri they lived in several places, including Saint Joseph, Savannah and Kansas City, Friends and family remember Eminem as a happy child, but “a bit of a loner” who was often bullied.
15. One bully, De’Angelo Bailey, severely injured Eminem in the head; Debbie Nelson filed a lawsuit against the school in 1982, which was dismissed the following year.
16. Eminem spent much of his youth in a lower-middle-class, primarily African-American Detroit neighborhood. Eminem heard his first rap song (“Reckless”, featuring Ice-T) at age nine on the Breakin’ soundtrack, a gift from Debbie’s half-brother Ronald (Ronnie) Polkinghorn.
20 Definitive Truths Revealed About Shakira
13 Spectacular Facts About Rihanna
12 Awesome Truths You Did Not Know About James Franco
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HomePosts tagged 'Berry'
Chain Stores, Axes And Earthquakes Are Just Some Of Today’s Facts.
November 11, 2014 November 10, 2014 fasab Factoids, Unusual 22nd and 24th president, 43 presidents, 44th President, A&P, alcohol, alcoholic beverages, ants, Barack Obama, Barbary Coast, bean, Bee’s Knees, Bento de Gois, Berry, bodyweight, books, Brazilian woman, British-owned, canada, chain stores, cocktails, customers, direct, Disaster Café, disastrous dinners, earthquake, eat your dinner, education, elected, Entertainment, entertainment products, Estonia, European, fact, facts, first probe to study Pluto, first recorded chain store, forest industry, French 75, get a fish drunk, Great Wall of China, Grover Cleveland, Henry Walton Smith, Herne, horror films, horror movie, illegal, importation, information, James Wan, Kartuli, last Brazilian slave, launched, lift and carry, live during three different centuries, Lloret de Mar, Loganair, London, magazines, Maria do Carmo Jeronimo, Marja, Mary Pickford, mask the flavor, meal, melon, Meloni, Nackawic, nasa, nationwide Constitutional ban, New Brunswick, New Horizons mission, newspapers, nicknamed, non-consecutive terms, Oa, Ohio, Ohio State University, oldest living person on earth, Orkney Islands, own bodyweight, Papa Westray, Pea, percentage of the movie’s box office earnings, Pluto, Portuguese explorer, Potato, production, Prohibition, sale, Saw, scientific research study, Scotland, Sidecar, small town, Soup Town, Souptown, spain, stationery, streets, Superior, Tartu, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, time capsule, transportation, trivia, United Cigar Stores, Unites States, up front salary, USA, vegetables, W H Smith, Westray, Wisconsin, Woodstock, Woolworth's, world's largest Axe, world's oldest woman, world’s shortest commercial flight, youngest and highest-earning directors in film history
Yes, chain stores, axes and earthquakes are just some of today’s random selection of fabulous facts here at the fasab blog.
Hope find a few things new and interesting.
NASA’s New Horizons mission will
be the first probe to study Pluto.
It was launched on January 2006,
and will be near Pluto on July 2015.
The world’s largest Axe is located
in Nackawic, New Brunswick, Canada.
It stands 15 metres (49 ft) tall,
weighs over 55 tons and the
axe-head is 7 metres (23 ft) wide and
has a time capsule embedded within it.
It sits on a concrete stump 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter.
The axe was commissioned, designed and
built in 1991 by a company in Woodstock and it
symbolizes the importance of the forest industry in the region.
There is a small town in Estonia (actual name ‘Tartu’)
that has been nicknamed of ‘Souptown’ because most
of its streets are named after various vegetables,
such as Kartuli (Potato), Herne (Pea), Oa (Bean),
Marja (Berry) and Meloni (Melon).
The town of ‘Superior’ in Wisconsin in the USA
is also known as ‘Soup Town’
but this is simply because the name was shortened
to ‘Soup’ and then ‘Town’ added later.
The first recorded chain store was British-owned W H Smith,
founded in London in 1792 by Henry Walton Smith and his wife.
The store sells books, stationery, magazines, newspapers,
and entertainment products.
In the U.S., chain stores began with the founding of
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) in 1859.
By the early 1920s, the U.S. boasted three national chains:
A&P, Woolworth’s, and United Cigar Stores.
Ants are known to be able to lift and carry
about 50 times their own bodyweight,
but a recent scientific research study by
Ohio State University suggests it can be up
to an incredible 5000 times their bodyweight.
It was during the stupid ‘Prohibition’ period
in the Unites States (1920-1933),
when there was a nationwide Constitutional ban
on the sale, production, importation, and
transportation of alcoholic beverages,
that ‘cocktails’ gained popularity.
They were offered to mask the flavor of poorly made
alcohol and popular versions included
‘Mary Pickford’, ‘French 75’, ‘Barbary Coast’,
‘Bee’s Knees’, and the ‘Sidecar’.
And, by the way,
it is still illegal in Ohio to get a fish drunk.
Barack Obama is the USA’s 44th President,
but there actually have only been 43 presidents:
Grover Cleveland was elected for two non-consecutive terms
and is counted twice, as the 22nd and 24th President.
Although the Great Wall of China has
existed for more than two thousand years,
most of the rest of the world didn’t know
about it until after the first European,
a Portuguese explorer named Bento de Gois,
discovered it in 1605.
Not quite as old as the Great Wall of China,
but nonetheless impressive, was Brazilian woman
Maria do Carmo Jeronimo who for a while
was the oldest living person on earth.
She was the last Brazilian slave,
and one of very few people in history who
managed to live during three different centuries;
she was born in Brazil in 1871 and
she died on June 14, 2000,
at the incredible age of 129 years and 102 days.
Unfortunately lack of a birth certificate,
which were not often issued in those days especially for slaves,
prevented her official recognition as the world’s oldest woman.
If you ever wondered what it would be like
trying to eat your dinner during an earthquake
then you should book a table at
Disaster Café, in Lloret de Mar, Spain.
At the “disastrous” dinners customers experience
an artificial 7.8 magnitude earthquake
so don’t wear your best gear as there are likely
to be spilled food and drinks during the meal.
When James Wan agreed to direct the horror movie ‘Saw’
he also agreed not to receive an “up front” salary
but instead opted for a generous percentage
of the movie’s box office earnings.
‘Saw’ made over $100 million globally and it is
considered one of the most profitable horror movies of all time.
Wan’s risk also enabled him to become one of the youngest
and highest-earning directors in movie history.
The world’s shortest commercial flight takes place
between the two Orkney Islands, Westray and
Papa Westray, north of Scotland.
Operated by Loganair,
the flight covers a distance of only 1.7 miles (2.7 km)
and if the weather conditions are favorable,
it can be completed in just 47 seconds.
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Kerr speaks out on US shootings, Obama White House visits
Last updated Jun 3, 2019
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Sunday urged Americans to vote for gun-control candidates in the wake of a US shooting rampage that left 12 dead and four wounded.
The tragedy spurred action by Kerr, whose university president father was fatally shot in 1984 in Lebanon by a Shia militia known as Islamic Jihad.
Kerr, guiding the defending champions in the NBA Finals for the fifth year in a row, said he hopes a younger US generation that has lived under the fear of mass shootings might force a change in American gun-ownership laws.
“The young generation, the March For Our Lives generation, has really inspired me,” Kerr said.
“So I offer my support to them and to all young people, and hope that we can create a change where we don’t all have to walk around scared we’re going to get shot in our country.”
Police say the shootings Friday at a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Virginia, were by public works department engineer DeWayne Craddock.
According to the Washington-based Gun Violence Archive monitoring group, it was the 150th mass shooting, with four or more people shot or killed, in the United States this year.
Kerr, whose Warriors are facing the Toronto Raptors for the NBA crown, wore a T-shirt with the message “Vote For Our Lives” on the front to a pre-game news conference ahead of Sunday’s second game of the best-of-seven championship series.
“The shirt has everything to do with the tragedy in Virginia Beach a couple days ago and how devastated so many families are and so many people are,” Kerr said.
“The shirt is a reminder that the only way we can get out of this mess is to actually vote, and to vote for people who are going to be willing to create some change in our gun laws in our country.”
Kerr’s remarks came only minutes before the tipoff of a contest in Toronto which former US President Barack Obama was slated to attend.
Kerr said he was not aware Obama would attend until “a little while” before he spoke to the media and recalled the Warriors’ visit to Obama’s White House after the team’s 2015 NBA crown as a great moment.
“The White house visit, for sure, after the 2015 championship,” Kerr said. “That was quite a thrill to visit there and have the whole team there. It was a treat to experience that.”
What went unsaid was the team’s decision not to visit US President Donald Trump in the White House after winning the NBA titles the past two seasons.
– No visits to Trump –
Warriors star guard Stephen Curry said after Golden State’s 2017 title that he wouldn’t go to the Trump White House. A White House invitation was later rescinded by Trump after Curry and others had already said they wouldn’t attend.
That prompted NBA star LeBron to call Trump a “bum” on Twitter and add, “Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!”
Last year, Warriors stars Curry and Kevin Durant and James said during the finals they would not attend a White House celebration if their team won.
Kerr called Trump a “blowhard” and “ill-suited” to be president in 2017.
Kerr was an 18-year-old college freshman in January 1984 when his father Malcolm, then president of American University of Beirut, was shot in the back of the head.
As a player, Kerr won five NBA titles, three with the Chicago Bulls and two with San Antonio. He has coached the Warriors to three titles in four seasons and seeks another this year.
Kerr, a Liverpool supporter, did strike a lighter tone in congratulating the club for beating Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final.
“My novice analysis was it was not a particularly well-played game, but again, the result was the desired one for Liverpool fans,” Kerr said.
AmericansBarack ObamaDeWayne CraddockGolden State WarriorsIslamic JihadShia militiaSTEVE KerrToronto Raptors
Kerr says Durant could play in NBA Finals on one practice
Former Jazz coach Layden wins life achievement award
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FAMU researchers develop decision-making tool using meta-analysis, scenarios and causal chains/loops in eco-hydrological systems
August 2018 (Source: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Florida A&M) - TALLAHASSEE, FL – Decision tools allow for the examination and prediction of impacts of altered climate on natural and managed ecosystems. They are useful in describing future risk, the marginality of systems, and guide actions to mitigate risk. Decades of studies have resulted in various tools, however, a few decision-making tools have been developed for planning and management of ecosystems due to future climate scenarios. Further, there remains a disconnect between the supply and demand of climate information and the need for tailoring the information for decision making purposes. This disconnect is exacerbated by the high volume of studies concerning climate change impacts to date and the availability and number of methods for scenario development. Further, the future is uncertain and unknown, therefore changes and variability in climate are not easily detected.
Given the high volume of studies and lines of evidence, and the availability of a number of methods for developing scenarios and the need to develop decision support tools; that developing a tool that combines scenario development and meta-analysis is novel, warranted and timely. Additionally, it would improve the linkages between climate-impacts research and planning, management, adaptation, and mitigation by providing quantitative information to stakeholders and managers.
Florida has many endemic plants, vertebrates, and insects that are only found in Florida and the tropics. Florida’s 2000 miles coastline contains diverse ecosystems and landscapes and habitat for many endangered species. In general, coastal estuaries and bays are of great ecological value and economic significance (produce about 50% of global ecosystem services that benefit humans). Florida’s agriculture yields 63% of the winter vegetables for the U.S. with revenues of $1.48 billion in 1995–1996. Florida is the fourth most populous state in the US and the third fastest growing state, with more than 17% net increase in population from 2000 to 2010. Florida’s biodiversity is threatened by these related stressors including: increasing, land-use change, increasing population and socioeconomic growth. These stressors and play a crucial role in facilitating adaptive change. The close proximity of coastal ecosystems, large human populations, and high productivity make ecosystems in Florida some of the most heavily utilized and threatened on the planet.
Researchers at FAMU have developed a decision support tool that could reduce the disconnect between the supply and demand for climate information in making decisions from climate change impacts, assessment, of natural and man-made ecosystems. The tool developed by this study has three major components: 1) perform meta-analysis --synthesize and combine recent relevant studies to arrive at conclusions about a body of research on temperature and precipitation changes, 2) develop climate scenario(s) [synthetic or incremental] from meta-analysis, Incremental scenario refers to a method of scenario development where a climatic variable is changed incrementally by arbitrary amounts and 3) development causal chain and loops. Although the developed decision tool is demonstrated by applying it to selected ecosystems and environments in Florida, USA, the tool can be used by multiple stakeholders in ecosystems and environments throughout the world.
Meta-analyses result for Florida: 32 studies revealed precipitation changes ranged between +30% and -40%, while and temperature changes ranged from +6 °C and -3 °C for Florida. Meta-analysis represents a systematic approach to combining the results of relevant studies to arrive at conclusions about, how a body of research has been applied.
Incremental scenarios for Florida: Scenarios must be coherent, internally consistent, and represent plausible descriptions of possible future climate states. From meta-analysis, seven incremental scenarios, were developed at 10% increments in the precipitation change range (+30%, +20%, +10%, -10%, -20%, -30%, -40% precipitation changes) and nine scenarios with 1°C increments in the temperature change range (+6°C, +5°C, +4°C, +3°C, +2°C, +1°C, -1°C, -2°C, -3°C for temperature changes).
The causal chains/loops in Florida (Fig. below) were developed using Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework for selected ecosystems and resources (e.g. agro-ecosystem, mangroves, water resources and sea turtles). The meta-analysis in these ecosystems, incremental scenarios as well as author expertise on the topic was used to identify the indicators used to represent the components of the DPSIR framework using chains/loops. The selected ecosystems and resources is impacted due to pressure exerted by the changes in temperature and pressure (incremental scenarios) and their response to them (e.g. mitigation and adaptation strategies) were shown in the causal chains/loops.
Anandhi, A., Sharma, A. and Sylvester, S., 2018. Can meta‐analysis be used as a decision making tool for developing scenarios and causal chains in eco‐hydrological systems?‐Case study in Florida. Ecohydrology, online.
The Florida Climate Institute (FCI) is a multi-disciplinary network of national and international research and public organizations, scientists, and individuals concerned with achieving a better understanding of climate variability and change.
Copyright © Florida Climate Institute. All rights reserved.
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Unlocked And Loaded: Families Confront Dementia And Guns
July 1, 2018 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments
Verg holds a .38-caliber revolver. “Guns have been a big part of our lives,” says Verg, who got her first rifle at age 12. (Heidi de Marco, KHN)
With a bullet in her gut, her voice choked with pain, Dee Hill pleaded with the 911 dispatcher for help.
“My husband accidentally shot me,” Hill, 75, of The Dalles, Ore., groaned on the May 16, 2015, call. “In the stomach, and he can’t talk, please …”
Less than four feet away, Hill’s husband, Darrell Hill, a former local police chief and two-term county sheriff, sat in his wheelchair with a discharged Glock handgun on the table in front of him, unaware that he’d nearly killed his wife of almost 57 years.
The 76-year-old lawman had been diagnosed two years earlier with a form of rapidly progressive dementia, a disease that quickly stripped him of reasoning and memory.
“He didn’t understand,” said Dee, who needed 30 pints of blood, three surgeries and seven weeks in the hospital to survive her injuries.
As America copes with an epidemic of gun violence that kills 96 people each day, there has been vigorous debate about how to prevent people with mental illness from acquiring weapons. But a little-known problem is what to do about the vast cache of firearms in the homes of aging Americans with impaired or declining mental faculties.
Darrell Hill, a former local police chief and two-term county sheriff, was diagnosed in 2013 with a form of rapidly progressive dementia. (Frank Carlson, PBS Newshour)
Darrell Hill, who died in 2016, was among the estimated 9 percent of Americans 65 and older diagnosed with dementia, a group of terminal diseases marked by mental decline and personality changes. Many, like the Hills, are gun owners and supporters of Second Amendment rights. Forty-five percent of people 65 and older have guns in their household, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey.
But no one tracks the potentially deadly intersection of those groups.
A four-month Kaiser Health News investigation has uncovered over 100 cases across the U.S. in which people with dementia used guns to kill or injure themselves or others. Along with our partner PBS NewsHour, we shed new light on an aspect of guns and public health that is rarely discussed.
Dee Hill examines the last of the guns that once belonged to her husband, Darrell Hill. “I no longer have any guns in my home,” she says.(Jason Lelchuk, PBS Newshour)
From news reports, court records, hospital data and public death records, KHN found 15 homicides and more than 95 suicides since 2012, although there are likely many more. The shooters often acted during bouts of confusion, paranoia, delusion or aggression — common symptoms of dementia. They killed people closest to them — their caretaker, wife, son or daughter. They shot at people they happened to encounter — a mailman, a police officer, a train conductor. At least four men with dementia who brandished guns were fatally shot by police. In cases where charges were brought, many assailants were deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Many killed themselves. Among men in the U.S., the suicide rate is highest among those 65 and older; firearms are the most common method, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These statistics do not begin to tally incidents in which a person with dementia waves a gun at an unsuspecting neighbor or a terrified home health aide.
Volunteers with Alzheimer’s San Diego, a nonprofit group, became alarmed when they visited people with dementia to give caregivers a break — and found 25 to 30 percent of those homes had guns, said Jessica Empeño, the group’s vice president.
“We made a decision as an organization not to send volunteers into the homes with weapons,” she said.
Click on the graph for larger view.
At the same time, an analysis of government survey data in Washington state found that about 5 percent of respondents 65 and older reported both some cognitive decline and having firearms in their home. The assessment, conducted for KHN by a state epidemiologist, suggests that about 54,000 of the state’s more than 1 million residents 65 and older say they have worsening memory and confusion — and access to weapons.
About 1.4 percent of those respondents 65 and older — representing about 15,000 people — reported both cognitive decline and that they stored their guns unlocked and loaded, according to data from the state’s 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Washington is the only state to track those dual trends, according to the CDC.
In a politically polarized nation, where gun control is a divisive topic, even raising concerns about the safety of cognitively impaired gun owners and their families is controversial. Relatives can take away car keys far easier than removing a firearm, the latter protected by the Second Amendment. Only five states have laws allowing families to petition a court to temporarily seize weapons from people who exhibit dangerous behavior.
But in a country where 10,000 people a day turn 65, the potential for harm is growing, said Dr. Emmy Betz, associate research director at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, a leading researcher on gun access and violence. Even as rates of dementia fall, the sheer number of older people is soaring, and the number of dementia cases is expected to soar as well.
By 2050, the number of people with dementia who live in U.S. homes with guns could reach between roughly 8 million and 12 million, according to a May study by Betz and her colleagues.
“You can’t just pretend it’s not going to come up,” Betz said. “It’s going to be an issue.”
Dee Hill met her future husband, Darrell, when the pair were teenagers. She now wears their wedding rings on a chain around her neck. “I put that ring on him and I took it off him,” she says. “He never had it off in 58 years.” (Frank Carlson, PBS Newshour)
Polling conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation for this story suggests that few Americans are concerned about the potential dangers of elders and firearms. Nearly half of people queried in a nationally representative poll in June said they had relatives over 65 who have guns. Of those, more than 80 percent said they were “not at all worried” about a gun-related accident. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)
Dee Hill had ignored her husband’s demands and sold Darrell’s car when it became too dangerous for him to drive. But guns were another matter.
“He was just almost obsessive about seeing his guns,” Dee said. He worried that the weapons were dirty, that they weren’t being maintained. Though she’d locked them in a vault in the carport, she relented after Darrell had asked, repeatedly, to check on the guns he’d carried every day of his nearly 50-year law enforcement career.
She intended to briefly show him two of his six firearms, the Glock handgun and a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver. But after he saw the weapons, Darrell accidentally knocked the empty pouch that had held the revolver to the floor. When Dee bent to pick it up, he somehow grabbed the Glock and fired.
“My concern [had been] that someone was going to get hurt,” she said. “I didn’t in my wildest dreams think it was going to be me.”
An investigation classified the incident as an assault and referred it to Wasco County District Attorney Eric Nisley, who concluded it was “a conscious act” to pick up the gun, but that Darrell didn’t intend to harm his wife.
“I evaluated it as if a 5- or 6-year-old would pick up the gun and shoot someone,” Nisley said.
Dee was outraged at the suggestion she consider pressing charges.
“I didn’t want anyone to think it was intentional. Nobody would have believed it anyway,” she said.
Proponents of gun ownership say guns are not to blame.
The National Rifle Association declined to comment for this story.
Dr. Arthur Przebinda, who represents the group Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, said researchers raising the issue want to curtail gun rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and are “seeking ways to disarm as many people as possible.”
Focusing on the potential of people with dementia shooting others is a “bloody shirt-waving tactic that’s used to stir emotions to advance support for a particular policy endpoint,” he said.
“I’m not disputing the case that it happens. I know it can happen,” Przebinda said. “My question is how prevalent it is, because the data is what should be driving our policy discussion, not fear or fear-mongering. It’s bad science.”
Two decades of NRA-backed political pressure that quashed public health research into the effects of gun violence partly explain the lack of data, experts said. But that doesn’t mean there’s no problem, said Dr. Garen Wintemute, director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California-Davis.
“[Critics] are arguing as if what we have is evidence of absence,” he said. “We have something quite different, which is absence of evidence.”
Delmar Scroughams and his wife, Vergie “Verg” Scroughams, at home in Rexburg, Idaho. During a lucid moment in May, Delmar, who has dementia, acknowledged his weapons could prove dangerous. (Heidi de Marco, KHN)
Even some families grappling with the problem are wary about calls to limit gun access.
“I hope your intent is not to ‘bash’ us for our beliefs and actions with guns,” said Vergie “Verg” Scroughams, 63, of Rexburg, Idaho, who showed KHN reporters how she hid a loaded gun from her husband, who developed dementia after a stroke in 2009.
Verg became worried after Delmar Scroughams, 83, grew angry and erratic earlier this year, waking up in the night and threatening to hit her. It was out of character for the former contractor who previously built million-dollar Idaho vacation homes for families of politicians and celebrities.
“In 45 years of marriage, we’ve never had a big fight,” she said. “We respect each other and we don’t argue. That’s not my Delmar.”
Six months ago, Verg took the loaded .38-caliber Ruger from a drawer near Delmar’s living room recliner, removed the bullets, and tucked it under socks in a box on a high shelf in her closet. “He’ll never look there,” she said.
She doesn’t want Delmar to have access to that gun ― or to his collection of six shotguns locked in the bedroom cabinet. But Verg, a real estate agent who shows homes in remote locations, doesn’t want to give up the weapons she counts on for comfort and protection. She carries her own handgun in the console of her car.
Video: Dementia and Guns
“We live in Idaho. Guns have been a big part of our lives,” said Verg, who got her first rifle at age 12 and recalls hunting trips with her two sons among her fondest memories. “I can’t imagine living without guns.”
Guns Under The Pillows
Federal law prohibits people who are not mentally competent to make their own decisions, including those with advanced dementia, from buying or owning firearms. But a mere diagnosis of dementia does not disqualify someone from owning a gun, said Lindsay Nichols, federal policy director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. If a gun owner were reluctant to give up his arsenal, his family would typically have to take him to court to evaluate competency.
Since the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February, more states are taking action to make it easier for families ― including those with a loved one with dementia ― to remove guns from the home.
Eleven states have passed “red flag” gun laws that allow law enforcement or other state officials, and sometimes family members, to seek a court order to temporarily seize guns from people who pose a threat to themselves or others. Red flag bills have proliferated across the country since the Parkland shooting; six were passed this year and six more are pending.
In Connecticut, which in 1999 enacted the nation’s first red flag law, police used the measure to seize guns from five people reported to have dementia in 2017, according to a KHN records review.
Last summer, an 84-year-old man with dementia alarmed his neighbors at a senior living community in Simsbury, Conn., by announcing that he had a gun and planned to shoot a bear. The man later reported that his .38-caliber Colt revolver was missing; police found it, loaded, in the console of his car. Police got a court order to seize that gun and a rifle he had in his closet.
In December, police seized 26 guns from the Manchester, Conn., home of a 77-year-old man with dementia who was threatening to kill his wife. She told police that he was a danger to himself, and that his threats were “normal baseline behavior.”
In 2008, police in Manchester also seized nine firearms from a 70-year-old man with dementia who had pointed a gun at his daughter when she went to check on him because he didn’t recognize her at first. The man had been sleeping with loaded guns under his pillows and hiding guns in drawers, and his daughter was worried for the safety of his home health aides.
In Ohio, at one memory care clinic, 17 percent of patients diagnosed with dementia reported having a firearm in their homes, according to a 2015 Cleveland Clinic study.
But many families are reluctant to take away the sense of safety, independence and identity that their loved one, often the family patriarch, derives from guns.
‘A Guilt I’ll Never Ever Get Away From’
In the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia, Malissa Helmandollar, a 46-year-old assistant in an optometrist’s office, regrets not taking her father’s guns away.
Her dad, Larry Dillon, loved to hunt. Even after a coal-mining accident left him paralyzed from the waist down at age 21, Dillon would shoot turkey, squirrel and deer from the seat of his four-wheeler. For as long as she could remember, her father kept a gun under the cushion of his wheelchair.
“He felt he couldn’t take care of us, or himself, without it,” she said.
In June 2017, when her father was 65, she began to notice strange behavior.
“He would see people crawling out of the washing machine,” she said. He forgot how to tell time. Sometimes he would just stare at his dinner plate “like he didn’t know what to do.”
Every night for weeks, Dillon grew scared that people were trying to break in and burn his house down, Helmandollar said. Dillon slept with a 9 mm semiautomatic Glock pistol at his nightstand in the double-wide trailer he shared with his wife, Sandy, in Princeton, W.Va.
Dillon was firing at “intruders,” whom he apparently hallucinated due to his dementia, when he killed his wife, Sandy, on July 6, 2017. (Malissa Helmandollar)
Helmandollar made him an appointment with a neurologist, but he never made it to the doctor.
Five days before his appointment, on July 6, 2017, Helmandollar’s 9-year-old daughter was sleeping over at her Mamaw and Papaw’s house, as she loved to do. That evening, Helmandollar got a frantic call from her daughter.
Helmandollar sped to the house with her son. She found her stepmother, Sandy, dead in an armchair with several bullet wounds. Helmandollar heard her father tell police that he saw intruders breaking in to the house, so he grabbed his Glock and started shooting in the bedroom where his wife and granddaughter were watching TV.
But there had been no intruders that night. Dillon, who was deemed incompetent to stand trial for murder, was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a disease whose early symptoms can include vivid visual hallucinations.
Helmandollar said her father never understood what he had done. Before he died in April, he kept asking Helmandollar why his wife never visited him. She could never bring herself to tell him.
Meanwhile, Helmandollar’s daughter and 18-year-old son are in counseling for the trauma they experienced.
“It crossed my mind that maybe I should’ve taken the guns, and I didn’t,” Helmandollar said. “It’ll be a guilt that I’ll never ever get away from.”
Belated diagnoses of dementia are too common, according to Dr. Melissa Henston, a geriatric psychologist in Denver who administers cognitive exams that can confirm impairment. She said many of the patients she sees have moderate or even severe dementia before being diagnosed.
“There’s denial and a false belief that a lot of cognitive problems are just normal for age,” she said. “These conversations that need to take place never take place until it’s too late.”
For Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, there are limited treatments and no cure. About one-third of people with the disease become combative during the course of their illness, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. And more than 20 percent who develop dementia become violent toward their caretakers, a 2014 study showed.
Advocates have long warned patients and families about the potential risk of guns, said Beth Kallmyer, the Alzheimer’s Association vice president of care and support.
“The reality is, there’s no way to know who’s at risk for becoming agitated or even violent,” she said.
‘We Need To Pay More Attention’
In Minnesota, Sharon Van Leer, the 70-year-old director of diversity and inclusion at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, said she never would have predicted the phone call she got from police nearly three years ago.
Her father, Kenneth Bowser, a 90-year-old Army veteran and retired postal worker, had been living for many years with his oldest son, Larry, 65, in the St. Paul suburb of Maplewood.
Kenneth Bowser (center) visits with (from left) grandchildren Tonya Cotton and Mark Cotton and daughters Sharon Van Leer and Janet Bowser at a locked forensic nursing home in St. Peter, Minn., in 2016. He was sent to the home after he fatally shot his son and caretaker, Larry, in 2015, and was deemed unfit to stand trial because of his dementia. (Sharon van Leer)
At 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 12, 2015, Kenneth Bowser dialed 911.
“Who is bothering you?” the dispatcher asked him, according to a transcript of the call.
“My oldest son, oldest son and I shot him, I shot him,” Bowser replied. “He’s laying there dead, dead.”
“Where is the gun?” the dispatcher asked.
“The gun is in my hand,” Bowser said.
Van Leer said she believes her father never intended to be violent: “Daddy was never like that.”
In the 911 call, Bowser appears confused. “I’m 70 — uh, 100 — 91 years old,” he said. “I’m paralyzed on one side.”
Bowser, who had not been diagnosed with dementia before the shooting, was confirmed to have Alzheimer’s and deemed not competent to stand trial.
Now Van Leer drives 90 minutes most Sundays to visit her 93-year-old father in a locked, state-run nursing home where he’s set to spend the rest of his life. Staff wheel him out to a windowless visitation room, where Van Leer and her sister spoon-feed him nutrition shakes and give him back rubs.
Van Leer said she had noticed some signs of decline before the shooting — he would leave bacon on the stove and burn it, or forget where he put his cigars. But because she did not live with him, she said, she didn’t realize how far his dementia had progressed.
“We need to pay more attention, as our parents get older, to the changes,” Van Leer said. “They can disguise it really well.”
Removing guns from the home is the best way to prevent violence, the Alzheimer’s Association and other experts advise. But Dr. Diana Kerwin, director of the Texas Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders program at Texas Health, said that’s not the answer for all families.
“I don’t do a blanket ‘guns are bad, you can’t have guns in the home,’” she said.
Instead, she advocates storing guns safely — locked up, unloaded, with the ammunition kept separate from the guns. Firearms can also be disabled or, in some cases, replaced with a decoy, although that raises the risk of them being mistaken for a real weapon in an emergency.
“We had one patient with a gun with rubber bands that he would shoot and he was fine with that,” Kerwin said. “He was used to shooting varmints. You try to help them maintain the lifestyle they always had.”
Hair-Trigger Tempers
Families walk a fine line, balancing independence with safety.
Christal Collins, a 50-year-old massage therapist in South Carolina, never got along with her dad. He beat her and her mother before the couple divorced, she said. But when he nearly died from spinal meningitis in 2013, Christal agreed to take him in — along with his small arsenal.
Bill Collins, a retired heavy-equipment operator and Army veteran, was so attached to his guns that he kept a .22-caliber pistol in his pocket day and night, even while he slept. On Saturdays, he’d load it with rat shot and fire the tiny pellets at snakes as he mowed the lawn. On Sunday mornings, as he watched Shepherd’s Chapel sermons on TV, he’d clean the gun and reload it with Magnum bullets.
Bill also kept a cabinet stocked with three handguns, three sawed-off rifles, three hunting rifles and a thousand rounds of ammo. While he had stopped hunting, he told his family he didn’t want to be caught without a gun when the “race war” broke out.
As he grew older and sicker, Bill shuffled around the house in slippers and didn’t seem as physically threatening, Christal said. But his bouts of aggression and paranoia grew worse, and in November 2014, after Bill had gotten lost for two hours at a local convenience store, his doctor said he was showing signs of dementia.
Christal considered sending her father to an assisted living complex, but when he found out he couldn’t bring his guns or knives, he refused to go. And she swore she would never put her parents through the neglect she saw when she worked at a nursing home. So she stayed in the house with him, in a rural, swampy stretch of Conway, S.C., not far from Myrtle Beach.
Christal tried to limit her father’s access to guns. One day, she slipped the key to his gun cabinet off his keychain — a difficult feat, since he slept with the keychain hooked to his belt. It was “war” in the house for three days, she said, as he hounded her and accused her of stealing the key. He then busted the original lock with a hammer and screwdriver and installed three new padlocks.
“I really thought we were all going to die that day,” Christal Collins (right) says of the day her father wounded her and her fiancé, Allen Holtzman (left), then took his own life.
Christal Collins (right) is overcome by emotion while talking about her father, Bill Collins, in Conway, S.C., on June 4, 2018. In 2015, Bill Collins, who had been showing signs of dementia and paranoia, wounded Christal’s fiancé, Allen Holtzman (left), then took his own life with the .22-caliber pistol he always kept by his side. (Randall Hill, Kaiser Health News)
Bill also slept with a loaded .357 Magnum under his pillow.
“There was no gun safety,” Christal said. “Every time I tried to talk about it, it would be a fight or an argument or a problem.”
On June 14, 2015, a Sunday, her father started “cussing and ranting and raving,” accusing someone of stealing things from his room, she said. Bill, who was 75, raised his hand to hit Christal — something he hadn’t done in his old age — and her fiancé, Allen Holtzman, stepped in to intervene.
In a flash, Bill pulled the .22 pistol out of his pocket and fired at Holtzman’s chest, knocking him down to the couch.
“Dad, you shot him!” Christal yelled in disbelief. Then she saw him put the gun at the base of Holtzman’s skull. She knocked it away just as he fired.
“Wrong damn shells!” Bill declared in disappointment, discovering he had fired rat shot.
Bill aimed the gun at Holtzman’s 20-year-old daughter, and then at Christal. He had a look in his eyes “like the lights were on but nobody was home,” Christal recalled. She dragged Holtzman, who was bleeding from over 200 rat pellets, toward safety in their bedroom, as more pellets flew behind them.
As Christal talked to a 911 dispatcher on the phone, she heard two bangs. The first was her father slamming the door to his room. The second was her father taking the gun and, after replacing the cartridges, shooting himself in the head.
Some argue that people should have the right to end their lives on their own terms instead of suffer through the debilitating decline of dementia. But Christal said she hates that her father harmed others along the way. And the aftermath of a suicide can be horrific, she said.
“When you clean your dad’s brain matter off the wall, the pillow, the carpet …” she said, trailing off in tears, the trauma still raw nearly three years later, as she sat with her fiancé in their double-wide trailer home.
Holtzman, a 42-year-old construction worker, shrugged off his own injuries, saying the pellets just burned. But Christal said they were lucky her father forgot to change the ammo.
“Allen, you would’ve been dead,” Christal said.
Christal said if she had to do it again, she would have removed the guns from the home.
Though, she reflected, “I honestly don’t know if we could have taken them away.”
“If it’s a man and they have had weapons their whole entire life, it’s one of the hardest things for them to give up,” Christal Collins says of her father, Bill.
Giving Up The Guns
For families grappling with such decisions, one option is to establish a “gun trust” that outlines how the weapons will pass to family members once a person becomes incapacitated or dies. These trusts may make it easier for people who must give up firearms in order to move into a nursing home, for instance, said David Goldman, an estate-planning lawyer in Jacksonville, Fla., who said he has drawn up over 20,000 gun trusts. But the process works best when the gun owner complies.
“They rarely want to give up their guns,” Goldman said. Another obstacle is that gun trusts must be drawn up before dementia becomes too advanced.
Ideally, families should discuss firearm access soon after a diagnosis of dementia and consider setting a “firearm retirement date,” akin to an advance directive for guns, Betz and colleagues advise. It’s similar to discussions about taking away the car keys when driving becomes dangerous, she said.
“One of the tricky things is, for driving, there are some assessments you can do,” Betz said. “They’re not perfect, but they’re helpful. There isn’t anything for firearms.”
Doctors who routinely ask dementia patients about driving should also ask about guns, Wintemute said. Too often, though, they don’t.
“Docs say: ‘I don’t know enough about the risks and benefits, I don’t have the time,’” Wintemute said. “Only about one-third do it with any frequency.”
Critics of gun restrictions like Przebinda argue that the essential difference between driving and guns is that one is a privilege and the other is a protected constitutional right.
“The two are not the same,” he said. “You do not have a right to conveyance. You have a right to self-defense, you have a right to protecting your home and your family that’s intrinsic to you as a human being.”
He balks at any formal assessment of firearm use among people with dementia, saying it could lead to “a totalitarian system that decides when you can have rights and when you cannot.”
Instead, the decision should be left to families, Przebinda said. “People who own guns know what measures are available to them.”
Even that knowledge, however, may not be enough. Dee Hill of Oregon said it was “strictly an accident” that her husband, the retired sheriff, shot and critically wounded her. To this day, she doesn’t regret showing him the guns.
“That sounds stupid, but, no, I don’t,” she said. “He spent darn near 40, almost 50 years in law enforcement and a gun was always with him, and so to deprive him of not even seeing them, in my heart of hearts, I couldn’t deny him.”
For Verg and Delmar Scroughams of Idaho, the dilemma of keeping guns in the house remains. In a lucid moment in May, Delmar acknowledged that the weapons he’s had all his life could be dangerous.
“I got a disease I don’t know the name of and, eventually, anything could happen,” he said.
Such moments of awareness are becoming rare, Verg admitted. Soon, Delmar may no longer recognize her. As his condition worsens, she said, it’s up to her to make sure no one is harmed.
“I would feel extremely responsible,” she said. “It would be my fault.”
—JoNel Aleccia, Kaiser Health News and Melissa Bailey, Kaiser Health News
This story is part of a partnership between Kaiser Health News and PBS NewsHour.
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Lt Frank says
NO….your NOT getting my guns ! I’m over 65 and go to the range every other week.
FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS
Laura Shaver says
I own a gun. My grandmother and my mother both had dementia.
Good chance it will hit me also.
Doctors MUST have whatever permissions they need to report
patients with dementia to proper authorities
Our right to own guns can only extend to my own ability to make
good decisions.
I would hope that my children would take my gun away the same way
I removed my Moms keys and car.
COMMON SENSE goes a long way
Obviously this condition should be added to the list of flags that deny gun ownership.
knightwatch says
O.k., Lt Frank… we’ll wait. We’ll be patient. We’ll get your gun. Too bad you won’t know it.
We have a mass dementia issue in gun-addled America. Can we add that to the list of flags that deny gun ownership?
MannyHM says
Emotionally charged. The key here is to use common sense – A person with dementia should have no access to weapons (guns, knives, sharp tools…), toxic substances, etc. There’s a time when such person should be protected from self and others. Objectivity is needed.
Of course we need better “gun safety” regulations! Of course those who are diagnosed with less than “full mental capacity” should be questioned about any guns in the “household” and those guns should be removed.
However, through the years, the $$$ from NRA political “campaign contributions” (AKA BRIBES) has STOPPED any such thing from happening. For example:
Gun violence is a public health issue. It’s a leading cause of premature death in the United States, killing more people each year than diseases like HIV, hypertension and viral hepatitis.
While violent crime has generally been on the decline since the mid-1990s, the latest reports from the FBI suggest crime rates may be starting to increase. Gun crime has been a persistent problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 33,594 individuals were killed by firearms in 2014 alone. That’s only about 200 less than the number of people killed in motor vehicle accidents. In 2015, roughly 85,000 people were injured by firearms, including nearly 10,000 children.
In order to prevent gun injuries and deaths, we need accurate information about how they occur and why. While police reports and FBI data can provide some detail, they don’t include the thousands of cases that go unreported each year. Between 2006 and 2010, the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that more than a third of victims of crimes involving a firearm did not report the crime to police. The National Crime Victimization Survey, which collects victimization data from about 90,000 households each year, helps to fill in this gap. However, even this survey has its drawbacks. It doesn’t collect data from youth younger than 12, it doesn’t include murder, and it doesn’t help us fully understand the offender’s motivations and beliefs.
Social scientists like me need more research in order to get the level of detail we need about gun crime. There’s just one major roadblock: The federal government won’t fund it.
2. How much federal money is there?
In 1996, Congress passed the Dickey amendment. The legislation stated that “none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.” While that wording did not ban CDC gun research outright, the legislation was accompanied by a US$2.6 million budget cut. That amount happened to match the amount the CDC had spent on firearms research the previous year. The message was clear. From 1996 to 2013, CDC funding for gun research dropped by 96 percent.
The CDC wasn’t the only federal agency affected. In 2011, Congress added a similar clause to legislation that regulated funding for the National Institutes of Health. However, due to a directive from the Obama administration, the NIH continued to provide funding for gun research. That push faded as the Obama administration left office.
Earlier this year, the NIH discontinued its funding program that specifically focused on firearm violence. While firearms researchers can still apply for funding through more general NIH funding opportunities, critics say that makes funding for gun research less likely.
3. What prompted these funding restrictions?
The Dickey amendment was passed after a CDC-funded study, led by physician and epidemiologist Arthur Kellerman, found that having a gun in the home increased homicide risk. After the results were published, the National Rifle Association pressured lawmakers, arguing that the CDC was inappropriately using its funds to advocate for gun control..
You worry about your guns and I’ll worry about mine. It’s my right to own a gun and until I’m declared incompetent you nor no one else is going to take it away from me! The issue with gun deaths is mental people who flip out because they are mentally ill, not those with dementia.
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ranger613
Faneditor
Waterworld (aka Fishtar), 1995
[Image: Waterworld-Costner.jpg]
Ugh, ok, probably going to have disagreements on this one but fine -- this was a solidly entertaining movie and I liked it. Honestly, I didn't just expect this to be bad, I expected it to be shit, with the reputation it has, and intentionally avoided it whenver it was on tv. I've never seen it until Dustin6595 made a fanedit request prompting me to get the BluRay, and I watched it yesterday.
44% n RT is pretty ridiculous for this movie to have. So as far as I read, most of the criticism for the movie per contemporary reviews are (1) we don't like Kevin Costner because he was apparently a prick on set, (2) we don't like Kevin Costner because he was divorcing his wife at the time, (3) the movie rips off Road Warrior, (4) it was the most expensive movie ever made, therefore it should have looked better, (5) Kevin Costner acts like he doesn't care about anything in the movie, his heart's not in it, (6) it was silly and over the top, (7) It's over 2 hours.. These are all pretty irrelevant reasons to hate on the movie, and some very silly too, like the actual film was 2h 7min excluding credits. 7 mins over 2 h is a huge gripe?
I don't care about Kevin Costner, just like I don't care about 'Mad Max' Mel Gibson-- they're characters in movies as far as I'm concerned, not people, so their personal lives mean jack shit to me. Nobody today cares about how much this movie costs,but it looks pretty damn impressive-- very few CGI shots unlike contemporary films of the time, lots of practical effects and sets which is always awesome. Costner's Man with No Name character is an unlikeable rogue (not Bull Durham, Silverado, Dances with WOlves or Field of Dreams dude)--he suggests child murder, forced prostitution and beats a woman into submission with a paddle--he is very reminiscent and clearly modelled on Eastwood's Leone character and even Max from Mad Max 2; angry loner type, but unlike the latter two who had charisma,Costner's Mariner was just flat out apathetic, cold and brutal in many scenes,something not all audience (including myself) warmed to at all, but that was the Character. And as for his 'heart not being in it', he reportedly put over 20 mil of his own money into making it, and did most of the stunts himself--actually more than any other star I remember--its clearly Costner sliding down or up pulleys and harnesses in those scenes which don't appear to have safety nets. He was in top form.
Silly and over the top? Well, it was no more silly and over the top than Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Both films had eye rolling goofy and ridiculous moments (The Humungous?). Yea they're not The Insider or Schindler's List, they're action-adventure films, so they're going to be a little stupid. Waterworld has its share of ridiculous moments, but nothing worse than what you would find in any other/today's summer blockbusters.
The movie takes the Mad Max/ Road Warrior concept and applies it to a new world to make a very unique and interesting environment. This is infinitely more interesting to me than a reboot or sequel or rebooquel or whatever the fuck else hacks refer to it as nowadays. The movie writers also explicitly state they were influenced by the Mad Max trilogy-- I see this as a good thing as an interesting idea can be changed to conform to a new setting.
Plot-wise, (theatrical cut, which I feel is the definitive cut) the film does not drag (except after the climax for about 10 mins), all the scenes had something interesting, it was quite well directed, the music was good, the villains were great to watch. My only gripe was that it should have been more hardcore and amped up the violence and cursing for an R. These lines from the final cut for example: "You freaking re***d. What in the screwed-up world do you think you are?" really annoyed me, they should not have toned it down for a PG-13. There are things I would cut to tighten pacing, and of course the goofy acrobatics in one scene, silly dialogue by a little girl in another, etc.
It's not a great movie, or a masterpiece, and its not the Lord of the Rings story-wise, but it's a very enjoyable escapist flick which delivers 100% on its promise. It's hard to believe this movie has a rep as bad as it does. It's also definitely my favorite film from Kevin Costner (I don't like anything else he's been in, literally--yes all of them from Dances to Bull to Field to Silverado to 3000 miles to Jack Ryan and Man of Steel). But I love Road Warrior, and this movie did a pretty damn good job of being Road Warrior on water, which is fun to watch and I definitely will revisit again.
Score: 3/5 (enjoyable escapist fun)-- should be a 73% on RT
Note: Just reading the cutlist, I can tell the theatrical version is my preferred cut. The runtime is perfect and nothing really drags. I'm more interested in the characters' actions than why the world is the way it is, so I'll only be using the Theatrical bluray for the Ocean Warrior edit.
In the Works: Star Wars the Last Jedi, Blade Runner 2049
Released Edits (link): Hobbit, Walking Dead, Blade Runner, Miami Vice, Sherlock, 007...
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News in English - Похоронный портал
TOPOLA, SERBIA. St. George's Church. The interior of this Serbian royal family's mausoleum is covered with exquisite mosaics. - Похоронный портал
TOPOLA, SERBIA. St. George's Church. The interior of this Serbian royal family's mausoleum is covered with exquisite mosaics.
St. George’s Church, also known as the Oplenac Mausoleum, is both a church and mausoleum for members of the Karađorđević dynasty. It was built by King Peter I of Serbia.
The temple is a monumental building. Its interior is covered with more than 40 million pieces of colorful glass, creating a dazzling array of more than 15,000 shades of color. The mosaics, which pay tribute to the most prominent Serbian medieval frescoes and monasteries, surround the marble floor and iconostasis.
The church wasn’t always meant to have such wonderful mosaics. Originally, King Peter intended to have the names of all the soldiers who died in the Balkan Wars carved into the wall. But the king perished before the church was complete, and the start of World War I meant a new conflict was soon to claim more soldiers’ lives.
The upper part of the church contains the tombs of the founders of the Karađorđević dynasty. Six generations of the family, including Prince Alexander and King Alexander I, were buried in the church. Down in the crypt, you’ll find 39 additional tombs.
The church is located on the Oplenac Hill, near the town of Topola. In addition to the church, the complex includes the royal vineyards and winery, the house of King Peter and the Vineyard Keeper's House.
CONTRIBUTED BY Aalexplorer
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Guitares & Basses
Guitars and Guitarists
Tony Kanal’s Dream Car BB
Music + Life
Tony Kanal’s relationship with Yamaha is a special one – one that the company is sincerely proud of. In 1987 he borrowed money from his father to buy his first bass – a natural finish BB1600 – to play shows after school. Since then, Kanal has enjoyed more than two decades with legendary ska/rock band No Doubt, and currently performs with his new band DREAMCAR. From his first BB1600 to the new custom BB3000 he comissioned especially for DREAMCAR, Kanal has always been killing it with a BB series bass in hand.
DREAMCAR consists of Kanal on bass, his former No Doubt bandmates Adrian Young and Tom Dumont on drums and guitar, and Davey Havok of AFI on lead vocals.
“Davey and I would see each other in similar circles in Los Angeles – we eat at the same places and go to a lot of the same shows,” said Kanal. “Our bands had crossed paths in the past, so I proposed to Tom and Adrian that we ask Davey to collaborate and they were totally into it. We invited Davey to dinner and asked if he would be interested in working on music with us. He said yes!”
“We gave him four initial ideas, and within a couple of days he sent back all four with his own ideas and we were like, ‘whoa, there’s something really cool here,’” continued Kanal. “So then we all went in the studio, which was a really creative and freeing experience – we had so much fun doing this.”
The quartet released their 1980s-inspired debut DREAMCAR in spring 2017, followed by an intensive U.S. Tour, including spots on the Coachella and Austin City Limits bills to name a few. Starting fresh with a new band has also given the guys a chance to return to the smaller club circuit, something they’re excited about.
“It's been a long time since we've played club shows,” said Kanal. “We recently did a couple of shows at the Roxy in Los Angeles – the last time we were on that stage was 22 years ago! So it had been a long time. It’s awesome to play big shows, but there’s also something special about intimate shows with all of the energy that is contained in small venues. It's been nice to get back there again. Some of the stages are so tiny so you have to be really careful you don't knock your band mates off the stage!”
To mark this new era in his musical journey, Tony reached out to Yamaha about a special project with a vintage Yamaha bass. Yamaha was thrilled to help celebrate this new project, and worked closely with Tony to realize his vision.
The bass Tony chose for this project was a 1984 BB3000, and the goal was to match the bass’s visual design to the DREAMCAR artwork, designed by Duane Diebolt, a talented artist operating under the name Master Control Program.
Kanal is absolutely thrilled with the resulting collaboration, and Yamaha is proud to bring his vision to life with a gorgeous DREAMCAR custom BB3000.
“I just love how the collaboration with Yamaha turned out,” concluded Kanal. “Thanks to their awesome custom shop, not only does my BB3000 play and sound great, now it looks amazing too!”
Discover the BB range: Discover the BB range: https://goo.gl/xjf4Z3
Learn more about DREAMCAR, check out these sites:
http://dreamcarmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dreamcarmusic
https://www.instagram.com/dreamcarmusic/
https://twitter.com/dreamcarmusic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4a4ZqWAUWjDNAnBTfxhJFn?autoplay=true
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The incumbents respond by calling this a long-term challenge: to flatten out the tax curve, cities must work to attract more business and industry, because businesses pay higher property taxes than residents. In most municipalities, small businesses pay three or four times times as much as residents for each $1,000 in property value; the tax multiplier for major industry goes as high as 14.8 (City of Vancouver) or even 18.4 (Burnaby).
But despite the dramatic differences in levels of business and industrial activity from city to city in Fraseropolis, the amount of municipal taxes paid by homeowners tends towards equality across the region (judging from figures taken from the Government of B.C.)
Maple Ridge has struggled to attract business and industry. Residential taxpayers shoulder 77.3 per cent of the property tax burden. (The numbers in West Vancouver and White Rock are higher, but both of these enclaves have made conscious decisions to exclude industry.)
Burnaby may be the most successful municipality, with a mix of major industry, light industry and retail that allows the City to reduce the residential share of municipal property taxes collected to 47.8 per cent.
However, 2011 municipal taxes on a “representative house” are roughly the same in both places: $1797 in Maple Ridge and $1897 in Burnaby.
If you don’t like that measure, you can look at residential property taxes per capita: Burnaby has the lowest number of any city in the region, $413, compared with $572 in Maple Ridge; however, the proportion of renters in Burnaby is twice as high (38 per cent to 19 per cent), and if we excluded them the advantage to Burnaby homeowners would be much smaller.
The City of Vancouver, with its head office towers and port location, collects $2381 from the representative house, or $507 per capita; the City of Port Moody, one-tenth the size of Vancouver and much weaker in business assessment, collects $2267 per house or $568 per capita.
I can only guess at the reasons for this tendency to gravitate to the middle, given the huge differences in local capacities. Perhaps the more industrial municipalities need to spend more on infrastructure due to industrial demands or age. Perhaps they’re storing up reserves against a rainy day; Burnaby, for example, is said to be sitting on a mountain of cash. Some would argue when municipalities get the room to tax, they build up layers of idle employees where poorer cities hire contractors as needed.
It’s my general view that municipal services are a bargain. And certainly the outrage over taxes tends to focus on the trivial. The hottest topic in Maple Ridge is a decision by Mayor and Council to vote themselves a raise; I calculate that if Council salaries were cut in half, it would enable an average property tax reduction of 50 cents. However, there’s no doubt that the outrage around taxation makes it harder for governments to get things done. This outrage could be mitigated if the process of budget development was more public and more interactive (although that would cost money too.)
I have made up a selective table that expands on the numbers above. Is there a pattern? Langley City would win a prize as a tax haven for small business, and it has low residential taxes at $1685 per representative house. (It is also geographically small and square and fully serviced.) Among all the cities, Chilliwack has much the lowest taxes per house at $1412.
« Port Coquitlam: where’s the port?
Local elections, regional roulette »
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Home Gossip Colombian Singer Maluma's Net Worth And Salary: His House And Lifestyle
Colombian Singer Maluma's Net Worth And Salary: His House And Lifestyle
Sabina Gartaula Mon Jul, 2018
Juan Luis Londono Arias, professionally known as Maluma, is a singer and songwriter from Colombia, and he has an estimated net worth of $12 million. He is best known for his singles which have reached top 10 in Billboard Hot Latin Songs like Corazon, Borro Cassette, and many others.
Born on 28th Jan 1994, the 24-year-old has been active in the music industry since 2010 and has worked with some big names like Ricky Martin, Shakira, Leslie Grace, Sin Bandera and many others.
Keeping his career aside, here we are going to take a closer look at his house, salary, and assets.
Maluma Net Worth and Salary
Maluma has an estimated net worth of $12 million as of 2018, and he has gained massive fame in the past few years working with some top-rated artists.
ESTOY LISTO / I'M READY. @lavozmexico #TeamMaluma
A post shared by MALUMA (@maluma) on Jul 18, 2018 at 8:24am PDT
His career as a singer is hands down his primary source of income, but the details about his monthly and annual salary are still a mystery. There are no reports about how much he makes through his record sales and public appearances.
However, he is a massive sensation on YouTube. According to some sources, VEVO on YouTube pays him an estimated $15,000 for every million streams on YouTube and that's a huge addition to his assets. The sum is not just limited to Maluma as other artists working with VEVO also earns a similar amount.
Watch him in the commercial for Addicted Fragrance.
Likewise, Maluma also makes a good earning through endorsement deals and sponsorships. To date, he has endorsed numerous brands like Apple Music, XFINITY X1 Entertainment Operating System, Spectrum Mi Plan and has appeared in commercials for Faces USA and The Brands.
Maluma Properties: Houses and Cars
Maluma is doing great in his career, and he is living a very lavish lifestyle with the net worth he has accumulated through his hard work. However, there is little to no information when it comes to his houses and cars.
For some reason, there are no reports of him purchasing a new house or selling his old one. Likewise, the case is very similar for his cars. Hands down, he loves his fancy cars and has been spotted driving high-end cars like Ferrari, Lamborgini, and others.
CAPTION: Maluma car SOURCE: lujoyconfort.com
These cars usually have a starting price of over a thousand dollars.
I'm not @Pitbull but Mr 305 is in town! #MalaMia
A post shared by MALUMA (@maluma) on Jul 18, 2018 at 5:03pm PDT
Meanwhile, during the FIFA World Cup 2018, while attending as a guest performer alongside Nicky Jam, the singer was robbed at a top hotel in Moscow. According to Mirror, the robbers took away jewelry worth £600,000, i.e., $787,520.
Hopefully, he has gone past the traumatizing event. Moreover, the singer is yet more to accomplish and his net worth is sure to increase in the future.
# Singers
# FIFA World Cup 2018
# Maluma
# Colombian
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ISIS turns to extortion, kidnapping for revenue as allies win back territory
By Vivian Salama The Associated Press
Posted October 19, 2016 8:28 am
Updated October 19, 2016 2:13 pm
2:08 Nearly 1,500 people fleeing Mosul arrive at refugee camp
WATCH ABOVE: Almost 1,500 Iraqis displaced due to fighting had arrived at the Debaga refugee camp by Wednesday since the start of an operation to retake Mosul from ISIS.
As the battle for Mosul rages on, and as the Islamic State group (ISIS) sees its territory shrink to half its original size and its dreams of a caliphate evaporate, the extremist fighters are losing access to the sources of revenue that once gave them their power, prompting them to turn to extortion, kidnapping or foreign donations like their predecessors, the militant group al-Qaida.
The Islamic State group had a unique ability to capitalize on the natural resources of its territory in Iraq and Syria and swiftly implement a system of taxation and governance that allowed it to rule an area that once was the size of Switzerland.
READ MORE: ISIS using human shields as Iraqi and Kurdish forces advance on Mosul
WATCH: French air force releases video showing their part of the campaign to re-take Mosul from ISIS
1:54 French air force releases video showing their part of the campaign to re-take Mosul from ISIS
French air force releases video showing their part of the campaign to re-take Mosul from ISIS
As the battle gets underway to retake Mosul, the group’s largest stronghold in Iraq, the Islamic State group is being denied access to revenue sources such as oil and gas and cash reserves that once amounted to more than $1 billion in 2014, said Daniel Glaser, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing.
With those resources slipping away, the Islamic State group is expected to revert to “traditional methods we see al-Qaida using – whether it’s deep-pocket donors, whether it’s charities, whether it’s NGOs, whether it’s criminal activity,” Glaser said in a recent discussion at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Beyond oil and gas sales, the Islamic State group also generated some $30 million per month in Iraq from taxation and extortion in 2015. Hisham al-Hashimi, an expert on IS who advises the Iraqi government, said the militant group currently makes about $4 million per month from taxes in Mosul alone. Al-Hashimi said the group charges a 4 percent income tax on salaries less than $600 per month, and 5 percent on monthly salaries between $600 and $1,000.
READ MORE: Iraqi forces pause military advance on Mosul after coordinated attack against Islamic State
3:47 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters run through heavy gunfire during Mosul offensive
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters run through heavy gunfire during Mosul offensive
Civilians flee Mosul as Kurdish Peshmerga fighters continue siege against ISIS
Iraqi offensive underway to retake ISIS-held city of Mosul
Joint Kurdish/Iraqi offensive slams into ISIS-held city of Mosul, Iraq
Bank robberies made up the Islamic State group’s third biggest source of revenue, mainly in Mosul, where there was more than $500 million in state-owned bank vaults when they captured the city in June 2014, but that was “a one-time take for them,” Glaser noted, and they are quickly burning through that cash.
Glaser says the Islamic State group is under financial duress. Fighter salaries have been cut in half in some areas, including in Raqqa, Syria, its de facto capital. The group also set up an internal corruption agency, suggesting corruption may be a factor, Glaser and al-Hashimi said.
Graphiq
To compensate, there’s been a noticeable spike in the IS group’s revenue from criminal activity, such as extortion – the Paris-based Center for the Analysis of Terrorism says extortion accounted for a third of its revenue in 2015, compared to 12 percent in 2014.
READ MORE: What you need to know about the battle for Mosul
In Syria, Islamic State-run services are lagging and the group recently shifted from paying fighter salaries in U.S. dollars to Syrian pounds, indicating that their access to money markets has been disrupted, said Ziad Awad, editor of The Eye of the City, an online publication in Deir el-Zour. He added that the militants’ access to resources in Deir el-Zour, including oil, has been halved amid ongoing coalition airstrikes, which are complicating oil sales and transportation.
The oil wells were “bringing in about $2 million daily,” Awad said in a Skype interview from Turkey.
“This has shrunk because they’ve lost markets inside Syria and Iraq, due to shrinking territory.”
The Iraqi government moved to suspend government salaries to people living in IS-controlled areas last year in an effort to hit its taxable revenues. Glaser said that the move dealt a significant blow to the group, since the Iraqi government payroll is about $2 billion per year in Islamic State-held territories.
But the challenges remain with reports that the militants coerce some employees to leave IS-controlled territory to collect their salaries, holding their property as collateral, only to retroactively tax them when they return home.
WATCH: Iraqi forces launch campaign to liberate Mosul from ISIS
0:59 Iraqi forces launch campaign to liberate Mosul from ISIS
Iraqi forces launch campaign to liberate Mosul from ISIS
The group is shifting from a governing force to a militant group on the run.
“In a traditional terror financing model, you don’t have an organization that is focused on governance and on holding and managing territory,” said Yaya J. Fanusie, director of analysis at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies’ Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finances and a former CIA counterterrorism analyst. “Al-Qaida’s money went to mainly operations and training.”
Beyond criminal activity, Fanusie said IS will likely pursue money through any number of sources as its territory shrinks, from charities to nonprofit groups, sympathetic, wealthy donors, or the huwala system, an alternative remittance system used in countries around the world that allows the transfer of funds domestically and internationally without using formal financial institutions.
“ISIS losing territory is good, but to launch an attack in Europe or the U.S. or any part of the world doesn’t cost a lot,” he said, using an acronym for the group. “If they’re being squeezed in Syria and Iraq and directing their resources on attacks externally and less on governance, then it doesn’t mean they’re not a dangerous force.”
Associated Press writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.
© 2016 The Canadian Press
ISISIslamic StateISIS MosulBattle for MosulMosul offensiveBattle of MosulISIS territoryFighting ISISISIS Terrorism
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By CHARLES GREEN on April 30, 2016
Album by David Bowie
ISO/Columbia
Leave it to David Bowie to æstheticize his own death. The glam-legend’s passing on January 10th, two days after his 69th birthday, coincided with the release of his final album, Blackstar. Comprised of seven down-tempo tracks, Blackstar is the darkest of all swan songs, brought (back) to life by veteran producer Tony Visconti, who fuses sad-sounding saxophones with rock and electronica. On “Lazarus,” Bowie imagines himself as a dark god, singing “Look up here, I’m in heaven” before a trio of electric guitar chords rains down like lightning. Apart from the biblical allusion, “Lazarus” is the name of the off-Broadway musical that Bowie co-wrote as a sequel to 1976’s The Man Who Fell to Earth, his first major film. There’s “’Tis a Pity She Was a Whore” to lighten the mood, albeit briefly; the speaker is beaten by a masculinized woman who “kept my cock” and “stole my purse.” The themes on Blackstar are largely existential as the pop star looks back over his life. “By the time I got to New York, I was living like a king,” he sings, referring to his Carnegie Hall debut in 1972. On “Dollar Days,” he looks back to his childhood as David Robert Jones and the “English evergreens” of his native Brixton. If there’s one last deposit in his queer catalog, it could be “Girl Loves Me,” which, far from being a love song, paints a grim picture of heterosexuality. “I’m cold to this pig and pug show” is one of the few intelligible lyrics in a song made up of Nadsat (the language in A Clockwork Orange) and the gay argot known as “Polari.” In a 1972 interview with Melody Maker, Bowie once blurted out “I’m gay,” though he was a married man (and new father) at the time. In 1983 he changed his tune once more, telling Rolling Stone that declaring himself to be bisexual was “the biggest mistake I ever made,” since “I was always a closet heterosexual.” Whatever Bowie was off the record, his music remains one long study in the erotic enigma of gender and selfhood. Blackstar will not only intensify but complicate his mythic status as the studly starman who fell to earth.
Colin Carman
Batty Bwoy
by Max-Arthur Mantle
AM Books. 265 pages, $24.95
This first novel tells the story of a young gay Jamaican man as he struggles with his sexuality in a deeply homophobic country and later strives to find a place for himself in the U.S. It begins with his mother Daphne’s efforts to improve her life. With her husband in America, she must raise her three children in Jamaica alone. Her son Mark grows up a sensitive boy, more drawn to other boys than to sports or girls. In a country where all signs of “unmanly” behavior are actively discouraged, such behavior risks taunting and even violence. Indeed, the novel’s title refers to a pejorative Jamaican term for a gay man. His mother’s inattention makes Mark’s situation even more perilous; as a young child, when left unattended in the kitchen, he is severely burned in an accident. He escapes Jamaica for Washington D.C.’s Howard University, where he distinguishes himself by directing the annual fashion show, an outrageous event produced by the friends he’s made in the area’s gay clubs and bars. Unfortunately, he gets caught up in the drug culture, and after brief jail time and a stint in the Navy, he finds himself in New York, struggling to survive and find love. Some readers may find the Jamaican patois challenging, but the general meaning is almost always clear, and it gets easier as you go along. Others may wonder why so much time is spent on Daphne at the start, when Mark is the main character. She reappears at the end and serves as a bookend to Mark’s coming of age, showing his growth. A semi-autobiographical novel and the first in a projected trilogy, this novel explores the challenges faced where growing up different means facing danger.
Making a Scene: Lesbians and Community across Canada, 1964-84
by Liz Millward
UBC Press. 328 pages, $35.95
This well-researched study of twenty formative years of lesbian community-building in Canada covers a lot of ground. Liz Millward describes the challenges for lesbians in Canada in the 1960s and beyond. Because Canada has a vast, rugged geography, harsh winters, and a thinly-spread population, it has often been easier for Canadian lesbians to find community in large American cities directly south of them than to identify with other Canadians to the east and west. The author also explains several groundbreaking legal, social, and technological changes in the period under discussion that affected Canadian lesbians, particularly the Omnibus Bill of 1968, which decriminalized sex between men. Sex between women had never been illegal in Canada, but many lesbians didn’t know this, and the liberalized legal climate brought up sexual orientation as a topic for public discussion. The cross-fertilization of second-wave feminism, the hippie counterculture, gay men’s community-building, and aspects of regional culture (such as a farm-based tradition of cooperative labor on the prairies) all contributed to an emerging national lesbian movement. The Trans-Canada Highway and developments in communication technology have been crucial in enabling lesbians to plan conferences and festivals and to circulate information. Millward has captured the flavor of an era by combining data from previous studies with eyewitness accounts and black-and-white photos from private collections. She proposes a symbiotic relationship between self-defined lesbians and their “scene” or social milieu: a lesbian identity requires a social context, and vice versa.
Jean Roberta
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By ROBERT GRIMMINCK on November 2, 2015
IF YOU WERE to ask a teenage boy what he thought of a movie that was nearly devoid of women characters and was instead filled with muscular, handsome men who are often physical with each other and sometimes scantily dressed, you would probably get an answer that included the word “gay,” in both teenage senses of the word (homosexual and bad). And yet, that same young man might well be part of the huge audience of young men who flock to the action movies that feature just this sort of scenario.
Modern action films have their roots in that most macho of genres, the Western. Classic Westerns featured morally righteous heroes defeating evil men and action sequences like shootouts, showdowns, stunts on horses, and old-fashioned fist fights. The next evolutionary step in the action genre was the rise of the maverick cop film, with movies like Bullitt (1968) and The French Connection (1971) emerging in the late ’60s and early ’70s. The maverick cop genre was essentially an update of the Western in which the action was moved from the Old West to contemporary urban areas, and horse stunts were replaced with car chases, but the gritty violence and the theme of good and evil remained intact. A third major step happened in the early 1970s with the rise of martial art films like Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Big Boss (1971). These films focused more on hand-to-hand combat than on gun battles or chase scenes.
Then came the ’80s, and a new style of action movie started to make its way to American theaters. These films were hybrids, taking elements from the earlier genres. They featured the same tropes of gun fights and stunts. The heroes were men who worked within an authoritative institution such as the police or the military, but they were outsiders who opposed the establishment and focused on their own sense of morality. Another feature of these movies was more hand-to-hand combat, as in the many martial arts films of this era. But what was really new and different about these movies was that they starred men with chiseled bodies who usually shed more and more clothing as the film went on. And they starred actors, such as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who were not chosen for their acting skills but for their macho physique.
Throughout this history, the heroes have always been men who were ostensibly straight, indeed masculine to a fault. And yet, for just as long, these action films have flirted with gay subtexts. Even the most macho films have often included allusions to gay culture, and some of them have even featured gay characters. As action movies continued to progress from the 1980s, the subtext has evolved as well, so that homosexuality has moved from subtle hints to obvious metaphors and even outright eroticism. What follows are several examples that I hope will demonstrate this historical sequence.
The 1950s was definitely not the best time for screenwriters to openly include gay characters or storylines in a film, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t secretly used. A perfect example of this hidden subtext is William Wyler’s Ben-Hur, which stars Charlton Heston in the title role.
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ROBERT GRIMMINCK
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The Movies, Part II
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Inside interview with artist Kelela
Selena Roberts | Staff Writer
Kelela Mizanekristos, otherwise known as Kelela, is a singer/songwriter who is far from afraid to express herself.
She experiments with her music and seeks to break down barriers with her craft. Kelela is known for her debut mixtape, Cut 4 Me, her EP, Hallucinogen, and her most recent album, Take Me Apart. Recently, our Arts and Entertainment writer, Selena Roberts, had the pleasure of interviewing her.
SR: What are your musical influences?:
K: I have a lot of different influences. Some are abstract and some are literal. They include Natalie Cole, Joni Mitchell, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey.
SR: What is your background in music?:
K: Neither of my parents played music. I played the violin for about ten years [starting] in the fourth grade. I would [also] sing in choir.
SR: How would you describe your music?:
K: I would say that it is rooted in R&B. Vocally, that is where I am coming from in terms of style. In terms of production, I am influenced in electronic. When I think about making music on machines, I think of Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Timbaland.
SR: What advice would you give someone who is trying to make it in the music industry?:
K: There are different stages of your journey. Identifying where you are in your journey first is important. There’s a lot of frustration when you do not know where you are.
People [also] need to remember that there’s so much work and so much effort needed. There’s a lot of failure, and not in an abstract sense. It’s important for people to be okay with where they are first in their journey. Think [more] about being honest than being big. Be true to yourself before selling it to other people.
SR: How would you describe your sense of style?:
K: I’m all things. There are different moods for different events that I go to. When I dress for a show, I have to be comfortable. I have to be able to move and jump in [my outfit]. There can’t be any restrictions. It’s hard to pinpoint my actual style. I always wanted to embody different things. There’s an element of futurism. I would say there is something classic that exists in the thread that I like. It’s about mixing and matching.
SR: How do you calm down before a performance?:
K: I practice scales. I’ll practice scales in the shower. It’s a good way to calm down and be in my own universe. I enjoy being quiet. I’ll try to find a way to be confined.
SR: Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?:
K: Hopefully, there’s elements of this that I don’t know. There’s elements that I can’t predict. Definitely enterprise, building a business that helps other women in the music industry, specifically women of color.
I want to give them a set of tools that will help them navigate the industry. There’s a reality check that women will go through. My interest is to provide an institution for artists, [especially] women of color, to come in, get briefed and get a set of tools to thrive.
There are black people in the industry on the artist perspective; but on the business side, it is shocking to see the lack of people of color.
SR: What would you be doing now if you were not performing?:
K: I would be pursuing a PhD, to be honest. I would be getting [a PhD for] doing the same thing I am doing now through the music platform.
SR: What social media platforms can your fans find you on?:
K: Mainly on Instagram and on Twitter. I have a Facebook page that is less personal, I would say. I am not as active on Snapchat. Those are the main outlets for me.
Want to get to know Kelela a bit more? Check out her latest project, Take Me Apart, available on Apple Music, and follow Kelela on Twitter and Instagram @kelelam.
17 Nov 2017 16 Nov 2017 hamptonscriptArts & Entertainment, Kelela, Selena Roberts
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Republican Congressman Pleads Guilty to Stealing Campaign Funds
Racial acts cause uproar at Syracuse University
Censorship on Egyptian Press
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Waitrose recruits new drinks chief from Tesco
Published: 20 April, 2010
Pierpaolo Petrassi MW has left Tesco to head up the BWS department at Waitrose.
Global Brands launch new VK flavour
Global Brands Ltd, is investing £400k to launch a new fruit flavour for its RTD brand, VK.
Duncan Taylor awarded Liquid Golds
Draycott to head Gonzalez Byass sales
Former First Quench buyer Melissa Draycott has been named sales director of Gonzalez Byass UK.
Wine site launches with just 54 wines
A wine website offering only around 50 wines at a time has been launched to hopefully make the process of buying wine easier for the average drinker.
Two licensees fined after substituting leading brands
Two licensees have been fined after routine Trading Standards inspections found them guilty of substituting leading spirits brands.
Gerard Basset wins World's Best Sommelier
Gerard Basset, owner and founder of the hotel TerraVina, Hampshire has been awarded the title of World's Best Sommelier.
Scotch exports hit new high
Scotch whisky producers achieved record exports in 2009 despite the global recession.
Brintex introduces blogging zone to LIWF
Brintex, organisers of the London International Wine Fair, will for the first time incorporate a dedicated bloggers' zone at this year's event.
New Zealand overtakes Germany in UK wine sales
New Zealand is claiming to have overtaken sales of German wine in the UK when looking at country of origin percentage shares.
Alfredo Vidaurre/Montes Winery Scholarship winner announced
A Bibendum Wine employee has won the third annual Alfredo Vidaurre/Montes Winery Scholarship.
Pusser's Rum awarded golds in USA and UK
Pusser's Rum, has won two world-beating awards in competitions held both in the USA and the UK.
Diageo plans £10m cooperage
Diageo is undertaking a £10 million project to build a new cooperage in Scotland.
Big Fortified Tasting opens in London
Over 300 fortified wines will be available to taste at next Monday's first Big Fortified Tasting.
Jack Daniels launches 2010 music marketing campaign
Jack Daniels is to join forces with top musicians who will perform iconic tracks at three JD Sets in London, Manchester and Glasgow.
Northern Hospitality Awards winners announced
Greens Restaurant & Bistro in Whitby, Yorkshire was named Best Restaurant of the Year in the Northern Hospitality Awards last night.
Angela Mount to head up Gondola Wines
Angela Mount is to be announced as the new head of Gondola Wine, the new online wine retail site from Dragon's Den entrepreneur Peter Jones.
Constellation renews Come Dine with Me sponsorship
Constellation Europe has announced its second year Hardys and Echo Falls sponsorship of the Channel 4 TV show, Come Dine With Me.
South Africa launches sustainability seal
The South African wine industry claims to have launched the world's first sustainability seal that guarantees eco-friendly production and bottle provenance.
Oddbins bounces back with double-digit rise in sales
Oddbins has released a strong set of first quarter figures which show double-digit retail sales growth over the last 10 weeks.
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Research Spotlight: Making Friends in Violent Neighborhoods: Strategies among Elementary School Children
Mario Small
Making Friends in Violent Neighborhoods: Strategies among Elementary School Childre
Black children growing up in the U.S. are exposed to violence in their communities at a much higher rate than their white peers. Studies have shown that children of color are twice as likely as white children to be assaulted with a weapon, and black children in particular are three times more likely to be exposed to gun violence and twenty times more likely to witness a murder. In a recent HCEO working paper, MIP network member Mario Small and his co-author Anjanette Chan Tack explore how the exposure to such violence effects childhood friendship formation.
Small and Chan Tack note that much of the literature on childhood friendship formation studies those growing up in more stable environments. Most studies on neighborhood violence focus primarily on gang involvement, or the prevalence of antisocial behavior among violence-exposed youth. Yet, as a paper by David Pyrooz and Gary Sweeten estimates, nationwide only 2 percent of youth belong to gangs. In “Making Friends in Violent Neighborhoods: Strategies among Elementary School Children,” Small and Chan Tack seek to bridge the gaps in these areas of research.
For the paper, the researchers interviewed 72 parents, teachers, and students from two Chicago elementary schools located in violent neighborhoods. The names of the schools, Brown and Goodwin, as well as those of the interviewees, have been changed for confidentiality. Students at both schools were primarily African American and from low-income households. Chicago was something of an ideal city for this research, as a recent uptick in school closures and high residential mobility means that many children in the district recently changed schools. In the period of this study, 7 percent of Chicago Public Schools students transferred. Brown had a relatively high in-year mobility rate, at 17.4 percent, while Goodwin had a rate of 5.3 percent. Despite these differences the friendship process was basically the same.
“It turns out there was no difference,” Small says. "The reason was the violence was so overwhelmingly a part of their lives, that every aspect of their relations to others --- their socialization, their friendships, their best friends, all of it --- was one or another way implicated in their attempt to manage violence."
Interestingly, the original intent of the project was not to study violence. Instead it began as “an investigation of the relationship between school mobility and how students form network ties.” In the interviews, the children were asked to describe their school and neighborhood. They “repeatedly and without prompting turned to the topic of violence.” Small says the “extent to which their lives were so dominated by violence that they couldn’t think of friendship outside of it” was a complete surprise.
“Children perceived violence to be pervasive and unpredictable in both settings, and shifting from one to the other did not especially change feelings of safety,” the paper notes.
Their responses led Small and Chan Tack to wonder: “How do such environments affect the way that children think about friendship?” They found that children responded to the threat of violence by forming friendships strategically. The authors identified five strategies that students adopted: protection-seeking, avoidance, testing, cultivating questioners, and kin-reliance. The findings indicate that “one consequence of violence is the very heterogeneity of strategies deployed.” More than half of the children interviewed reported using two or more strategies when choosing friends. “Children are forced to be maximally strategic, and therefore highly adaptable, in their decision-making, since no strategy was fool-proof and the threats of the context itself were dynamic,” the authors write.
Small says one finding was particularly disheartening: the extent to which the elementary school girls “were actively and openly concerned about sexual assault.” Around the time of the study, two children reported being sexually assaulted near one of the neighborhood schools. The kids referred to such assailants as “raper men.” For added context, during the study period, the neighborhood around Brown had 200 reported sexual assaults and Goodwin had 50.
“Imagine your 11-year-old comes to you and says they’re scared about making sure they have the right friends because they need protection from rapists,” Small posits.
The paper notes more than once how strategic these children are forced to be in their everyday decision-making. Such high-stress environments can take their toll on later-life outcomes. Indeed, Small and Chan Tack write that the strategies these youth employ are “likely to have long-term consequences for trust, pro-social behavior, and interpersonal relations.”
“It’s not that hard to imagine why,” Small says.
The importance of understanding childhood friendship formation in such environments is crucial. Psychology literature has repeatedly shown that “failure to form successful, enriching friendships during childhood can lead to maladjustment, low educational attainment, and criminal behavior in adulthood.” The authors acknowledge that violent crime has fallen to historic lows in many places, yet in several cities, including Chicago, rates have risen in recent years. Chicago had 750 murders in 2016, the year the study was published.
Small believes more work is needed to gain a better understanding of the effects of exposure to violence. Such research could also help inform public policy, which tends to focus on reducing violence. “The exposure is just as important as reduction,” Small says. “I think we neglect the extent to which witnessing is itself a problem, because it’s happening at a time where kids are not just making friends but they’re learning how to make friends.”
Small hopes the paper helps further conversations around childhood exposure to violence and adult outcomes. “Some of the narratives have become so normalized,” he says. “Violence is something that’s easy to become desensitized to.
“The truth is, you know, these are children,” he continues. “These kids are forced to, not just grow up fast, but grow up in ways that many of us would consider unhealthy for just about anyone.”
Thanks to Anjanette M. Chan Tack and Mario Small for their assistance in completing this article.
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Dean Corbae
corbae@ssc.wisc.edu
Network Leader
Markets (M)
Dean Corbae is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also holds an appointment in the Department of Finance, Investment, and Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business. Corbae has been a Visiting Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Cambridge University, as well as a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland, Dallas, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. Corbae's research in macroeconomics and econometrics has been published in Econometrica, the Journal of Political Economy, and others. His current research projects focus on consumer credit and bankruptcy, foreclosures, and banking industry dynamics.
Corbae earned his B.A. in Economics from Colgate University in 1982 and his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in 1990.
Inequality: Measurement, Interpretation, and Policy (MIP)
Employer Credit Checks: Poverty Traps versus Matching Efficiency
HCEO Special Issue of the Review of Economic Dynamics out now
3 Questions with Dean Corbae
Market Incompleteness and Inequality II
Market Incompleteness and Inequality I
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Conquering the Fear of Public Speaking
by John Donovan Feb 19, 2019
Does the fear of public speaking bring you to your knees? You're not alone. Sara Petterson/Getty Images
Your heart quickens, your hands turn clammy and your brain dissolves into oatmeal. Those killer opening lines that you had planned? They've all but vanished with no evidence that they ever existed, just like your all-day deodorant and any sense of cool that you may have temporarily summoned.
The classic — if undoubtedly way too flip and clichéd — deer-in-the-headlights look now is glued to your blank face. And all those people around the table in the conference room (or classroom, or auditorium) are doing the absolute worst thing that they could do right now.
They're staring. And waiting ... waiting ... waiting. For you. "'I can't wait to get off this stage," you say to yourself. "I just want to run and hide. This is not going well. I'm going to bomb.'"
That, says Scott Compton, a professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine, is exactly what those with a fear of public speaking are thinking. And that, of course, is exactly the problem.
It's Real, and It's Scary
The fear of public speaking is seriously real. It is a type of social anxiety disorder, which is a term first coined in 1980 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the DSM). From the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):
People with social anxiety disorder have a general intense fear of, or anxiety toward, social or performance situations. They worry that actions or behaviors associated with their anxiety will be negatively evaluated by others, leading them to feel embarrassed. This worry often causes people with social anxiety to avoid social situations.
Social anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, affects a whopping 15 million American adults. Among the many subsets of the disorder, the fear of public speaking — sometimes called glossophobia — is king. The National Social Anxiety Center, citing the NIMH, goes even further, claiming that at least seven out of 10 grapple with some degree of glossophobia.
This fear is way more serious than sweaty palms and a tied tongue. Those with severe glossophobia worry so much about how they act or appear in public that they often avoid public settings altogether, and that can be harmful to their personal and professional well-being. Things get even more serious, the ADAA warns: "People with social anxiety disorder are also at an increased risk for developing major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorders."
The Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety lays it out in stark terms: "The name may sound harmless, but the disorder is complex, cruel and anything but simple. Social anxiety is far more than shyness and a fear of public speaking. It is an addiction to avoidance and a disease of resistance."
Social anxiety disorders, including glossophobia, are defined by extreme fear and worry. They are the most common mental disorders in the U.S., according to the ADAA.
Among the signs that someone may be suffering from an anxiety disorder (from the ADAA):
Feeling nervous, irritable or on edge
Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
Having an increased heart rate
Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation), sweating, and/or trembling
Feeling weak or tired
Having trouble sleeping
Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems
The anxiety is thought to be centered on the amygdala, a part of the brain associated with emotions. The idea is that the amygdala, acting on bad memories or false ideas of what could happen, releases "fight or flight" hormones that put the body in a stressed state. Thus the sweaty palms, racing heart and the desire to get away.
The disorders often start in young people, Compton says — a shy child who won't participate in class even though s/he knows the answers, or is afraid on play dates, or won't join a sports team for fear of messing up — and grow as the child becomes an adult.
"Most of the anxiety disorders start in early childhood and go untreated and unrecognized," Compton says. "People end up developing some pretty maladaptive sort of coping strategies."
The go-to strategy seems to be avoidance. Those who have been dealing with social anxiety for years, including the fear of public speaking, simply avoid stressful situations whenever they can. And that's about the worst thing they can do when it comes to conquering their fears.
"The more you avoid, the worse it becomes," Compton says. "My motto in therapy is you need to avoid avoidance. It's almost like, if something causes you anxiety, you need to do the exact opposite of what your history is telling you to do."
Getting Past Glossophobia
Therapy can help a fear of public speaking and many other social anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy (talking things through), something widely used to treat social anxiety by many, including Compton.
"In therapy, you start with kind of small things. 'I know you don't want to go to a conference and be a keynote speaker. But would you be willing to give a talk in front of one other person?'" Compton says. "Start small, build up some confidence and success. And then gradually turn the heat up in terms of making the situation gradually more anxiety-provoking."
Anxiety-lessening medication is a possibility, too. But the first step may simply be practicing a speech in front of a mirror, or with a friend, or solo in an empty room. Also, learn to slow down and breathe. And buy into the idea, as Compton says, that your life will be better if you overcome your fear.
"You've got to get them to avoid the avoidance," he says. "When they can make that step [of] being willing to do that thing — even though their history is sort of saying, 'Oh my gosh, this is going to be awful!' — those are the ones that kind of get over their fear of public speaking."
For those facing the scary prospect of making a public speech, or being in any public setting where you may have to talk, the National Social Anxiety Center has loads of tips that could help ("rehearse to increase confidence," and "learn to relax"). One of the group's suggestions is to "de-catastrophize" the brain freeze, that public-speaking blackout that often happens with glossophobia. "The audience will usually forget about it quickly," the NSAC says. "I've given talks where I've completely bombed," Compton says. "Life goes on."
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10 Strange Phobias
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‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ Trailer: Video Game Adaptation Speeds Into Paradise
By eelyajekiM | @ | May 1st, 2019 at 10:00 am
Though video game film adaptations have garnered very mixed to horrible results, the craze isn’t ending anytime soon. Paramount has released the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog, a CGI-animation and live-action hybrid that sees the title character, who is animated, interacting in the real world.
Now we get to see why Sonic (voice of Ben Schwartz) is here and how he will protect this world from the likes of Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). Check out the trailer and a new poster below.
Tags: Ben Schwartz, Jason Marsden, Jeff Fowler, Jim Carrey, Josh Miller, Oren Uziel, Paramount Pictures, Patrick Casey, sega, Sonic the Hedgehog
‘Pet Sematary’ Final Trailer: One Last Chance To Convince You To See One Of SXSW’s Best
By eelyajekiM | @ | April 1st, 2019 at 5:00 pm
The first look at an all-new Pet Sematary dropped at SXSW last month, where it was met with rave reviews. Since then, Paramount has been pushing hard to make sure that you will see it by showing us some pretty terrifying trailers. Now, just before its release later this weekend, the studio has put out one final trailer, that should, hopefully, convince you to see what everyone has been talking about. Check out the newest trailer for Pet Sematary here below.
Tags: Amy Seimetz, David Kajganich, Dennis Widmyer, Hugo Lavoie., Jason Clarke, Jeff Buhler, Jete Laurence, John Lithgow, Kevin Kolsch, Paramount Pictures, Pet Sematary, Stephen King
Watch ‘Rocketman’ Star Taron Egerton Sing “Tiny Dancer” With Elton John
By eelyajekiM | @ | February 25th, 2019 at 8:16 pm
The Elton John musical fantasy biopic Rocketman is set to hit theaters this May. Taron Egerton will play the iconic musician, whose music has garnered millions of fans around the world. And while we have seen his musical talents on display in only a few films and the two Rocketman trailers and one featurette, we have yet to get the full effect of his take on Elton John. Until now.
During Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party (the awards were held last night), both John and Egerton took to the stage to sing “Tiny Dancer,” and it made for not only an impressive performance, but something that should prove to everyone that the actor was the right person to portray the singer. Check out the video here below.
Topics: Movies, Music, News, Videos
Tags: Bryce Dallas Howard, Dexter Fletcher, Elton John, Giles Martin, Jamie Bell, Paramount Pictures, Richard Madden, Rocketman, Taron Egerton
‘Rocketman’ Trailer: Taron Egerton Discovers The Price Of Fame and Fortune In Elton John Musical Fantasy
By eelyajekiM | @ | February 21st, 2019 at 4:00 pm
Taron Egerton has an unbelievably good singing voice. It’s a bit of a shame we don’t get to hear more often. Luckily, the actor will put that to good use in Rocketman, a film that covers Elton John‘s formative years as a global icon and music artist.
Directed by Dexter Fletcher, the film won’t be a traditional biopic, but rather a musical fantasy that uses Elton John’s music to tell the story of his life and career. Today Paramount released an official trailer for the film, and you can check it out below.
Check Out A New Featurette For ‘Rocketman’ Starring Taron Egerton As Elton John
By The Movie God | @ | February 20th, 2019 at 5:08 pm
Paramount Pictures has released a new featurette video for Rocketman, the Elton John biopic starring Taron Egerton as the legendary musician.
The video features Egerton, director Dexter Fletcher, and music producer Giles Martin talking about the movie. You can check out the video along with a recently released poster below.
Tags: Bryce Dallas Howard, Dexter Fletcher, Elton John, Giles Martin, Jamie Bell, Lee Hall, Paramount Pictures, Richard Madden, Rocketman, Taron Egerton
‘World War Z 2’: Paramount Cancels Brad Pitt and David Fincher’s Zombie Sequel
By eelyajekiM | @ | February 7th, 2019 at 11:00 am
It appears that there are two ways to kill a zombie movie, an over inflated budget and production delays. I’m sure there are more ways to do it, but it looks like those two things were the bullet to the head for World War Z 2.
The sequel, which was supposed to bring back Brad Pitt and be directed by David Fincher, has been cancelled by Paramount Pictures. More on the report below.
Topics: Movies, News, Sequels
Tags: Brad Pitt, David Fincher, Paramount Pictures, World War Z, World War Z 2
New Trailer For ‘Pet Sematary’ Released By Paramount
By The Movie God | @ | February 7th, 2019 at 10:00 am
Nothing like kicking off your day with a hot cup of coffee and a horrific new trailer for Pet Sematary. The movie is the latest adaptation of the terrifying Stephen King tale, which was previously adapted into a movie back in 1989.
The movie is directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes), and stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow, Jeté Laurence, and Hugo Lavoie. Jeff Buhler (The Prodigy, Nightflyers) and David Kajganich (Suspiria, The Terror) wrote the screenplay.
Click on over to the other side for a brief synopsis and to watch the new trailer.
Topics: Movies, News, Remakes
‘Wonder Park’ Super Bowl Spot: The Power Of A Child’s Imagination Brings A Defunct Theme Park To Life
By eelyajekiM | @ | February 3rd, 2019 at 6:48 pm
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon have released another look at Wonder Park, a family-friendly animated feature that centers around a girl who uses her imagination to bring a defunct theme park to life. Check out the latest look at the upcoming film here below.
Topics: Commercials, Movies, News, Trailers
Tags: Brianna Denski, David Cross, Jennifer Garner, John Oliver, Kath Soucie, Ken Hudson Campbell, Ken Jeong, Kenan Thompson, Kevin Chamberlin, Matthew Broderick, Mila Kunis, Nickelodeon, Norbert Leo Butz, Paramount Pictures, Super Bowl 53, Wonder Park
New ‘Pet Sematary’ TV Spot Teases Return Of Zelda
By The Movie God | @ | January 17th, 2019 at 11:50 pm
Paramount has released a new TV spot for Pet Sematary, the latest adaptation of Stephen King‘s novel of the same name.
The TV spot is extremely short at only 15 seconds, but it teases a character who will no doubt be of interest to fans of King’s book and the 1989 movie adaptation which stole sleep from so many: Zelda. The name alone causes me to start sweating nervously. I’ve never even played any of the video games because of it. OK so that’s all a bit of exaggeration, but that ’89 movie helped along greatly by Zelda did something very few movies have ever been able to do: terrify the ever-loving shit out of me.
You can check out the TV spot below.
Topics: Movies, News, Remakes, Videos
Director Christoper McQuarrie To Tackle Back-To-Back ‘Mission: Impossible’ Sequels With Tom Cruise
By eelyajekiM | @ | January 15th, 2019 at 5:30 pm
Last year’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout was on many critics’ top ten lists. And with good reason. The pulse-pounding and heart stopping practical stunt work and thrilling action, all performed by Tom Cruise, has audiences hungry for more. And it looks like Paramount will be giving us just that.
New reports confirm that director Christopher McQuarrie will be back for not one, but two Mission: Impossible films with Cruise that will be shot back-to-back and released in 2021 and 2022. More on the report below.
Tags: Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 7, Mission: Inpossible 8, Paramount Pictures, Tom Cruise
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Home » Course examines what prosperity looks like throughout life
Course examines what prosperity looks like throughout life
In the freshman seminar course GESM 131g, "Prosperity Across the Lifespan," Min-Kyoung Rhee and students explore the diverse aspects of success, lifespan and human development.
By Lois Albert Angelo | September 30, 2019
Taking on the task of defining and illustrating what success looks like can seem incredibly daunting. However, Min-Kyoung Rhee and her cohort of freshmen have dared to explore such a profound and existential topic. In her freshman seminar, “Prosperity Across the Lifespan,” Rhee explores the diverse aspects of lifespan and human development at each stage from infancy to death and dying.
Rhee, an instructional assistant professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, researches the complexities of mental health disparities among ethnic minority immigrants, including older adults. A Trojan alumna, she completed her PhD at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work in 2013. Before returning to USC, Rhee served as an adjunct lecturer at Chung-Ang University’s School of Social Work in Seoul, Korea. She hopes that her freshmen can apply knowledge of development and prosperity to better understand their own prosperity throughout life.
“I wanted my students to understand that prosperity can mean different things to different people and to help them find their own unique definition of prosperity rather than a universal definition,” Rhee said. “While they included happiness, love, and financial stability as one of the pillars of prosperity, they also expanded the pillars to include access to equal opportunities, freedom, and spirituality.”
The Freshman Seminar Program, introduced in the fall of 2011, grants incoming freshmen the opportunity to tackle an engaging topic with a member of the USC faculty and a small discussion group comprised of their peers. Some seminars such as Rhee’s have tackled issues concerning the mind and body; other topics have ranged from musical subcultures to the post-Communist landscape and natural disasters. In 2013, University Professor Caleb Finch and Assistant Professor Jennifer Ailshire of the USC Leonard Davis School taught a similar gerontology-focused seminar investigating human longevity with the improvements made by modern medicine, hygiene and food preservation.
Min-Kyoung Rhee, instructional assistant professor of gerontology, explains a discussion assignment to students in GESM 131g, Seminar in Social Analysis: Prosperity Across the Lifespan.
“Although the course title itself was predetermined, I had plenty of room to redesign the course,” Rhee said. “Throughout the course development, I tried to focus on connecting the two key words: freshmen and prosperity. Freshman year in college is certainly an exciting time full of new experience–an opportunity to meet new people, learn, and grow. However, it can also be overwhelming and confusing at times.”
The class tackles the concept of prosperity from a multidisciplinary aspect, observing the ramifications of socioeconomic status and culture on a person’s perception of happiness.
Two weeks into the class, the students challenged themselves to establish a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely (SMART) goal as part of their “Prosperity Project.”
Nicole Levi, a freshman in the class majoring in English at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, said, “I feel that this class allows me to think about multiple aspects of prosperity and aging, rather than a limited view that I may have had before. Prosperity is typically thought of as wealth, at least in my experience, and this class does a good job of exploring other definitions and facets of prosperity.”
Through a combination of various group discussions and lectures, students learn about concepts such as theoretical perspectives on human development and the basic principles of lifespan human development.
“In the second half of the semester, students will focus on learning human development in middle and late adulthood as well as death, which are directly related to the field of gerontology,” Rhee said. “I hope students have opportunities to learn new perspectives about aging and gain valuable insights into how aging issues can be better addressed in real life for themselves and their family members.”
Students in the class come from all walks of life, bringing different experiences into the limelight as a means of understanding their personal definition of prosperity.
“The idea of getting old definitely seems farther away, but as I see my younger sister and friends grow up, I begin to realize the truth about getting older,” said Samarth Kamle, a freshman majoring in biomedical engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering. “I took this class because it seemed like an interesting seminar on a topic that is pertinent to everyone: life.”
The class intends on reinforcing that prosperity can be achieved by people of all age-groups in various ways. Recently, the class discussed the multidimensionality of the human lifespan and created concept maps to demonstrate how prosperity seeps into every aspect of life.
“I’m very excited to hear their stories, which I believe will make all of us grow and be inspired from each other,” Rhee said. “I am very lucky to work with them through the process, and I really hope that they not only learn about prosperity but also feel prosperous.”
Category: Courses, Featured, Lifespan Health, School Culture, Students
← Researchers Urge a Broader Look at Alzheimer’s Causes (Duke Blog)
Minimalism Offers Surprising Wellness Benefits (Forbes) →
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Google Gets The Microsoft Treatment In Europe; EC Opens Antitrust Inquiry
Joseph Tartakoff Feb 23, 2010 - 10:34 PM CST
Credit: Corbis
Google (NSDQ: GOOG), which has faced three antitrust inquiries in the U.S. over the last year, is now facing its first in Europe. The WSJ says that the European Commission has opened a “preliminary probe” into Google at the behest of three European competitors, including Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) subsidiary Ciao, which had filed an antitrust complaint against Google with the Germany Federal Cartel Office last month. The other companies include French legal search engine ejustice.fr and U.K. price comparison site Foundem. In a statement, the EC says that while it is “examining” the complaints, it “has not opened a formal investigation for the time being.”
In a blog post, Google confirms that it has been notified by the EC of the three company’s complaints — and says it is “confident that our business operates in the interests of users and partners, as well as in line with European competition law.” The company then defends itself against the allegations, which include that Google’s algorithms demote results from Foundem and ejustice.fr in the company’s search engine.
The inquiry comes as the EC has finally settled its long standing litigation with Microsoft (Microsoft has agreed to include a ballot screen on all new PCs so that users can easily choose to install a browser other than Internet Explorer if they wish; the new ballot screen was unveiled just last week).
At the same time, rhetoric against Google — which is even more dominant in the European search market than in the U.S. — has been rising. In January, Germany’s Justice minister suggested that the company was becoming “a giant monopoly similar to Microsoft” and also that month French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked his finance minister to examine the possibility of levying a tax on the company.
Microsoft, meanwhile, has suggested that Google would eventually face antitrust scrutiny in Europe. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said this year that “whenever you have a company that has more than a 90 percent market share in a key market, it is inevitable that people will have questions to ask. We say that with some experience.” And, indeed, in its blog post, Google points out that Microsoft has several links to the new probe, noting not only that Ciao is owned by the company but also that Foundem is a member of an advocacy group that has been funded by Microsoft.
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July 14, 2010 · by E · in Economy, International, Politics. ·
by Alan Cibils & Rubén Lo Vuolo
Argentina’s spectacular December 2001 economic crash and default were the culmination of a debt-led development process that began in the late 1970s. Much has been written about the crisis and its causes, and many interpretations have been put forth as to why it occurred. Despite overwhelming empirical evidence to the contrary, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the financial establishment still claim that the root cause of Argentina’s crisis was the public sector’s inability to reduce its deficit. Other explanations have included the more esoteric “debt intolerance” concept, or that the default itself was the cause of Argentina’s 2002 economic collapse.
This paper argues that none of these explanations hold up under scrutiny. Rather, the December 2001 default and economic crisis were the logical outcome of a massive debt accumulation process which resulted from two main factors. First, the negative effects of policy prescriptions by the international financial institutions (IFIs), particularly the IMF and the World Bank (WB), enthusiastically implemented by Argentine officials. In other words, US-trained Argentine officials and IFI staff acted like a team in which there was a high degree of agreement on the economic policies to be implemented. Second, a series of exogenous shocks which ranged from US interest rate hikes to financial crises in Asia, Russia, and, finally, Brazil. These shocks led to spiraling costs of public sector borrowing and to massive capital flight as the system unraveled. The combination of inconsistent macroeconomic policies and exogenous shocks led to an economic collapse of historical proportions in December
While the Argentine fixed exchange rate regime had managed to survive the Mexican and Asian financial crises, the Brazilian crisis proved too much for an economy straining under the effects of an overvalued currency. A recession set in during the last quarter of 1998 and that recession was to become a depression. By the end of the depression in the second quarter of 2002, Argentina had lost almost 20 percent of its GDP.5 Under these conditions, and as a result of the exponential growth of
Argentina’s public debt, this paper argues that sovereign default was not only a logical consequence, it was also a necessity. Given the three-year- long economic recession, economic reactivation would have been uncertain, and perhaps impossible, in the absence of such a default. Also fundamental to economic recovery was the abandonment of the fixed exchange rate regime; the result allowed for a more realistic set of relative prices. Section I of this paper will provide a description of the main reasons
behind Argentina’s debt accumulation for the 1990–2001 period. Section II will evaluate the central role played by the IMF both before and after the 2001–2002 crisis. Section III will briefly discuss issues surrounding the actual costs of Argentina’s sovereign default. Section IV will address the main issues surrounding Argentina’s debt-restructuring process. This paper will then conclude with a list of lessons that can be drawn from Argentina’s experience with debt, default, and the IMF.
I. THE 1990S: ORTHODOX REFORMS AND EXPLOSIVE GROWTH OF
PUBLIC DEBT IN ARGENTINA
The origins of Argentina’s debt troubles can be traced back to the 1976 military dictatorship. When the military took power, Argentina’s public debt totaled approximately $8 billion.7 By the time the military left seven years later, the public debt had more than quintupled to $45 billion.8 However, the latest chapter in Argentina’s debt-accumulation saga began in 1989, when Carlos Menem was elected president in the midst of substantial social unrest and economic instability brought on by very high inflation rates. Menem had campaigned on a traditional populist discourse, promising higher wages and a “productive revolution.” Campaign discourse notwithstanding, as soon as Menem took office it became clear that his policies would be diametrically opposed to those he had promised just weeks earlier. During 1989 and 1990, two different economy ministers made unsuccessful attempts to reduce high inflation and economic turbulence. These attempts included a series of orthodox fiscal and monetary policy measures, such as a freely floating exchange rate, a radical reduction of fiscal spending, and the first privatization of state enterprises. Additionally, debt-service payments on Argentina’s public debt, which had been in a virtual state of default since 1988, were resumed.Partly as a result of these policies, there was another hyperinflationary episode toward the end of 1990. Consequently, in early 1991 Menem appointed Domingo Cavallo, a Harvard-trained economist, as economyminister. Cavallo promptly implemented a radical, Washington Consensus12 (WC)-inspired stabilization and economic restructuring program known as the Convertibility Plan. The main components of this plan were the following: (1) trade liberalization; (2) financial and capital account liberalization, including equal treatment for foreign and domestic capital; (3) privatization of all state-owned enterprises; (4) prohibition against printing money unless backed by dollars in the Central Bank’s reserves; and (5) pegging of the peso to the dollar by law, on a one-to-one exchange rate.
The Convertibility Plan’s primary stated objective was to reign in inflation and to provide a strong anchor for expectation formation. However, the plan’s unstated objectives went much further. Over the next decade the plan would produce a profound transformation on the Argentine economy and society that would definitively dismantle what was left of the Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) era Welfare State. In other words, state enterprises, utilities, and social security were all to be privatized, state intervention in the economy was to be drastically reduced, and health and education were to be decentralized. The success of the Convertibility Plan hinged upon attracting foreign capital inflows. The hope was that foreign capital flows would set off a
“virtuous cycle” of economic growth and general welfare improvements for the population (through “trickle down” effects), which would then lead to further investment flows and so on.14 Solving the public debt problem was seen as key to attracting foreign capital.Therefore, a “once-and-for-all solution” to the debt problem was devised. Official faith in this strategy was such that Minister Cavallo stated in 1993 that “the public debt will be insignificant by the end of the century.” The “once-and-for-all solution” consisted of two main parts. The first component of the solution to the debt problem consisted of allowing privatization of state enterprises to be purchased partly with Argentine public debt bonds. This was the case for the national telephone company, Entel, and the national airline, Aerolíneas Argentinas. This operation greatly favored holders of Argentine debt, since they were given full credit for bonds that were trading at 15–20 percent of their nominal value on the
open market.The second component of the solution to Argentina’s debt problem came with the Brady Agreement, signed in December of 1992. According to this agreement, Argentina would swap its $21 billion debt to commercial banks,
plus $8.3 billion in late payments, for 30-year Brady bonds with lower interest rates and an average capital reduction of 35 percent. The main result of this swap, illustrated in Table 1 below, was the atomization of Argentina’s creditors from a few Northern commercial banks to hundreds of thousands or millions of bondholders around the world. How permanent was this solution to Argentina’s debt problem? The data in Table 1 shows that Argentina’s public debt continued to grow at an alarming rate throughout the 1990s, reaching explosive levels toward the end of the decade when the much publicized default occurred.
the main result of the Brady bond swap was that Argentina was able to regain access to financial markets.22 Renewed access to these markets enabled the debt accumulation process that eventually resulted in the largest sovereign default in history.
What were the reasons behind this explosive debt accumulation? Perhaps the most widespread explanation given for Argentina’s December 2001 debt crisis is that the country was unable to reign in its runaway fiscal spending and therefore needed to borrow increasingly large sums to both finance its deficit (since, by law, Argentina was unable to finance itself by printing money) and to service its rapidly accumulating debt. For example, according to Anoop Singh, the IMF’s former Western Hemisphere Director, “failures in fiscal policy constitute the root cause of the . . . crisis.” This view continues to be voiced by high ranking IMF officials and is mentioned repeatedly in the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office report on the IMF’s role in the Argentine crisis. Many orthodox economists, in Argentina and abroad, and much of the business media support this view as well. When examined against actual data, however, the contention that Argentina’s spiraling debt was caused by runaway fiscal spending or debt intolerance becomes untenable. Based on available data, three main causes emerge for Argentina’s 1990s debt buildup. First was the growth in debt service due to external shocks. Second was the privatization of social security. Third was the growth of private sector demand for foreign exchange, created by the very nature of the previously discussed economic restructuring program known as the Convertibility Plan.
A. Growth in Debt Service Due to External Shocks
It is difficult to find evidence that the government’s fiscal policy played a significant role in bringing about the December 2001 debt crisis. Table 2, seen below, shows the central government’s revenue, spending, interest payments, and primary and overall budget deficit or surplus from 1993– 2001. Although the government budget does move from a surplus of 2.7 billion pesos in 1993 (1.2 percent of GDP) to a peak deficit of 8.7 billion pesos by 2001 (3.2 percent of GDP), this worsening of the fiscal balance is not a result of increases in government spending. Rather, the worsening of the fiscal balance can be explained by the country being hit with a series of exogenous interest-rate shocks that caused a debt spiral and, eventually, a default.25 The shocks that hit Argentina can be seen from the data on the government’s primary balance26 in Table 2, below. The primary balance moves from a surplus of 5.6 billion pesos (2.4 percent of GDP) in 1993 to a surplus of 1.5 billion (0.5 percent of GDP) in 2001. But this worsening of the primary balance was not a result of government decisions to increase spending. Primary spending was 19.1
percent of GDP in 1993, and 18.6 percent for 2001. Rather, Argentina became stuck in a debt spiral in which higher interest rates increased the debt and the country’s risk premium. Argentina’s unrestricted capital mobility and currency board system—a deadly combination—made it impossible for the country to withstand the external shocks. A recession that would become a depression began in late 1998, substantially eroding economic activity and fiscal revenues. The government’s response,
following IMF prescriptions, was to implement increasingly orthodox economic policies, which only deepened the recession.
This combination of policies and events led to ever-higher interest rates and debt-service payments until default became all but inevitable in December of 2001. Some economists have argued that the economy could have adjusted to and recovered from the external shocks, if only wages had fallen enough: If Argentina had a more flexible economic system, especially in its labor markets, its economy would have been more able to adapt to the rigors of the Convertibility Plan; unemployment would have
been lower; growth would have been stronger; fiscal deficits would have been smaller; and interest rates would have been lower because creditors would have had more confidence in the capacity of the Argentine government to service its obligations.
Any macroeconomic policy regime that requires such a fall in nominal wages is, as a practical matter, untenable. Theoretical and political issues aside, suggesting a drop in wages as the solution to the Argentine recession shows a profound lack of knowledge of the workings of the Argentine labor market. Regardless of what the labor legislation says, in reality, virtually half of all employment is informal, with no benefits and substantially lower wages than the formal sector.28 In other words, the Argentine labor market has had a high degree of flexibility for almost a decade, rendering the argument of lower wages irrelevant.
Considering the array of problematic policies already in place, it is also difficult to imagine any fiscal policy—assuming it were even politically possible to cut enormous amounts of government spending—that could have avoided the December 2001 crisis. The overvalued currency, the size and growth of Argentina’s debt (mostly denominated in foreign currency) relative to export earnings, and the free mobility of capital all contributed to the inevitable crisis that materialized in 2001.
B. Privatization of Social Security
Another main cause for Argentina’s 1990s debt buildup is the Argentine government’s decision in 1994 to privatize the public pay-as-you-go social security system that had been in existence since 1967.29 This decision was strongly promoted and supported by the World Bank and the IMF and had a major impact on Argentina’s fiscal accounts.30 As Table 3 shows, the lost
revenue, plus accumulated interest costs, amounted to nearly the entire government budget deficit in 2001.31
Lost Soc. Sec. Rev -0.5% -1.0% -1.0% -1.0% -1.0% -1.0% -1.0% -1.0%
Interest Rate 10% 10% 10% 10% 14% 14% 20% 20%
Interest Costs -0.01% -0.10% -0.20% -0.30% -0.60% -0.86% -1.59% -2.16%
Additional Deficit -0.51% -1.10% -1.20% -1.30% -1.59% -1.86% -2.59% -3.16%
Cumulative Debt -0.51% -1.62% -2.72% -3.83% -5.35% -7.50% -10.05%-13.49%
Source: Baker and Weisbrot
Table 3: The Fiscal Impact of Social Security Privatization (percent of GDP)
The reason social security privatization had such a substantial impact on government accounts is really quite simple and should have been easily predicted. The government lost most of the social security contribution revenues, which, followingprivatization, were funneled to the private pension funds. However, the government’s expenditures on social security remained the same, as all of the retirees on the pay-as-you-go system continued to collect their pensions from the government. In this way, a substantial gap was created which, according to the data in Table 3, amounted to 1 percent of GDP each year between 1995 and 2001. Due to restrictions on deficit financing imposed by the Convertibility Plan, the government’s options were to either increase revenues, radically lower expenditures, or borrow to cover the gap. The government resorted mainly to borrowing, which contributed to the debt spiral.32 This increased borrowing, coupled with the external shocks described earlier, produced an explosive debt accumulation process that collapsed in December 2001.33 C. The Balance of Payments: Demand for Foreign Exchange A third cause for Argentina’s debt buildup can be found in the very nature of the convertibility regime itself, which created a growing demand for foreign exchange from both the public and private sectors. The public sector demand for foreign exchange was based on two needs: (1) the need to keep Central Bank reserves equivalent to pesos in circulation (as per the Convertibility Law), and (2) the need to make debt-service payments that were primarily in foreign exchange.34 Private sector demand for foreign exchange resulted from a need to finance imports, which, given the overvalued peso, resulted in a growing trade imbalance. This was only reversed during the recessionary periods.35 The private sector also showed
a growing preference for the dollar over the peso, as witnessed by increasing dollar-denominated bank deposits and the dollarization of many economic transactions. As a result, throughout the 1990s, both the private and public sector had negative current account balances. The only way to ensure a current account surplus was through sustained capital account surpluses. While foreign direct investment partially satisfied this need, overall it proved insufficient to meet the demand for foreign exchange. As a result, the foreign exchange gap was covered with both public and private debt. Starting in the mid 1990s, increasing capital flight worsened this situation, resulting in a growing private current account deficit, as shown in Table 4.
According to several authors,38 the private foreign exchange deficit was covered with public sector reserve accumulation, due primarily to new debt issues. As a result, private behavior (particularly that of large business conglomerates) worked against the survival of the convertibility
1992-94 1995-99 2000-01 Total ’92-’01
CURRENT ACCOUNT -8.908 -10.654 -6.854 -9.370
Private Sector -6.650 -6.818 -1.448 -5.694
Trade Balance -2.633 -380 5.033 27
Financial Services -913 -2.515 -2.411 -2.013
Real and Other Services -3.104 -3.924 -4.070 -3.707
Public Sector -2.258 -3.836 -5.406 -3.677
Financial Services -2.141 -3.728 -5.322 -3.571
Real and Other Services -117 -108 -84 -106
CAPITAL ACCOUNT 11.842 13.711 2.761 10.960
Private Sector 8.595 4.902 -5.309 3.968
Foreign Direct Investment 4.783 10.602 7.428 8.221
Portfolio and Other Investment 4.097 -548 -5.814 -208
Capital Flight -3.772 -9.935 -6.170 -7.333
Foreign Debt 3.487 4.783 -753 3.287
Public Sector 3.247 8.809 8.071 6.993
Foreign Debt 3.247 8.809 8.071 6.993
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS 2.934 3.056 -4.093 1.590
Private Sector 1.945 -1.916 -6.758 -1.726
Public Sector 989 4.973 2.665 3.316
Source: Kulfas and Schorr (2003)
Table 4: Disaggregated Balance of Payments Data (1992Ń2001)
(annual averages in millions of dollars) regime, which subsisted as long as it did thanks to continued public indebtedness.
In sum, a combination of exogenous shocks, privatization of the social security system, and capital flight were the main factors responsible for the debt buildup of the 1990s. These problems were compounded by both the economic recession that began in the third quarter of 1998, which later became a full-fledged depression, and the recessionary fiscal policies that the government implemented at the behest of the IMF.
D. Debt Intolerance?
Some have argued recently that Argentina may suffer from “debt intolerance,” given that it has “serially defaulted” on its debt throughout its almost two hundred-year history.40 According to this argument, the default and crisis are due to economic characteristics acquired over two centuries and to the government’s irresponsibility in borrowing beyond its level of “debt tolerance.”Damill has convincingly argued against this view.42 The country’s remote past is, for all practical purposes, irrelevant to the current situation. It is hard to argue that Argentina’s financial crisis in the late 1800s had any direct bearing upon the crisis of 2001. By placing the emphasis on the remote past, proponents of the “debt intolerance” theory tend to ignore the very real policy mistakes of the 1990s that had a direct bearing on debt accumulation and the subsequent default. Be that as it may, it is interesting that financial markets—which actually loan the money—completely ignored the notion of debt intolerance in the
Argentine case, lending far beyond the level that Reinhart has suggested. Furthermore, the IMF itself ignored the notion of debt intolerance in Argentina, as witnessed by its almost $10 billion loan to Argentina just three months before the economic collapse. Given Argentina’s post- default success with new debt issues, and given that the country’s debt-to- GDP ratio is currently greater than 80 percent, it would appear that financial markets still do not consider debt intolerance to be a relevant
II. THE IMF AND POLICY FORMULATION IN ARGENTINA
Following the Argentine financial meltdown, the IMF went to considerable lengths to show that Argentine officials were entirely to blame for the collapse of the Convertibility Plan.46 However, as will be shown, the IMF had substantially participated in Argentina’s macroeconomic policy formulation before, during, and after the crisis, and is therefore also partially responsible for the economic collapse. First, as the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) report clearly states, the IMF supported Argentina’s policy reforms during the 1990s, including the privatization of social security, which was the main cause of
the country’s fiscal problems, described earlier.47 IMF support was explicit, as privatization was a condition in several of the IMF agreements with Argentina during the 1990s.48 Further, the IMF’s invitation to President Menem to address the Joint Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the IMF and the World Bank Group in October 1998 was a clear sign of the
IMF’s approval and support for the economic policies implemented in Argentina during the 1990s.
Second, when the depression began in late 1998, the IMF conditioned its financial assistance on a series of fiscal spending cuts aimed at reducing the fiscal deficit. As pointed out above, the deficit was not due to increased fiscal spending but to debt-service payments that spiraled out of control as a result of exogenous shocks and the privatization of social security. IMF-recommended fiscal spending cuts acted procyclically, deepening the crisis until the system collapsed. Spending cuts resulted in a drop in economic activity, which, given Argentina’s tax structure, resulted in drops in fiscal revenue and increases in the fiscal deficit. At that point, further fiscal spending cuts were implemented, and so on and so forth, feeding the economy’s downward spiral.
Third, the IMF tripled its exposure to Argentina (from $5 billion to $15 billion) just three months before the default.51 This postponed the Convertibility system’s collapse, thus deepening the capital flight process that was already taking place and that eventually resulted in the December 2001 run on deposits.
However, the IMF’s participation in the Argentine crisis does not end with the December 2001 default. According to official Argentine government documents, following the crisis, the IMF committed substantial errors in three key areas: (1) diagnosing the crisis and its aftermath, (2) making projections about the evolution of key economic variables in the post-crisis months, and (3) making policy prescriptions.Among the projection errors committed by the IMF, the official document mentions two examples. IMF economists first ignored, and then refused to accept, empirical evidence presented to them in June 2002 that indicated that the drop in economic activity had bottomed out and that there were strong signs of economic reactivation. Based on these indications, Argentine authorities projected an 11 percent drop in GDP for 2002. However, as late as September 2002, IMF technical staff were projecting a GDP contraction of 16–20 percent. Actual GDP growth for 2002 was -10.9 percent.53
Then, despite the IMF’s projections of a substantial drop in GDP, the IMF also projected a real exchange rate appreciation. This was to be caused by real and nominal exchange rate “overshooting,” which IMF staff believed would be substantial due to the chaotic exit from the fixed exchange rate regime. Basically, IMF staff believed that relative prices would continue to be very close to what they had been during the fixed exchange rate regime. In contrast, Argentine officials believed that due to the prolonged recession and the abrupt interruption of capital flows, the equilibrium real exchange rate would be substantially depreciated compared to the convertibility real exchange rate. Actual data proved that Argentine official projections were correct.
According to the Argentine official document, the IMF also generally disregarded Argentine policy initiatives, insisting on its own policy prescriptions. Given the IMF’s errors in diagnosing the crisis and its effects, its policy prescription errors were also substantial. • In February 2002, after the fixed exchange rate was abandoned, the IMF insisted on a totally free floating exchange rate regime, which Argentine authorities implemented against their better judgment. The IMF’s argument supporting its plan was that the foreign exchange market would automatically reach a new equilibrium. However, just as the Argentine authorities feared would happen, the price of the dollar shot up because of a speculative bubble that appeared to have no ceiling. The price of the dollar stabilized only when Argentine authorities implemented a “dirty float” in April 2002. The IMF, however,
rejected the dirty float exchange rate regime, arguing that the Central Bank’s international reserves did not belong to the country and could therefore not be freely utilized to prop up the currency.
• The IMF also opposed the Argentine government’s decision to make optional the swap of frozen bank deposits for bonds (the swap was required to normalize the banking system). Instead, the IMF wanted to make the swap compulsory, illustrating a lack of comprehension of the volatile social and political situation in Argentina during 2002. A compulsory swap would likely have caused more social upheavals at a time when stabilizing policies were badly needed.
• For the financial system, the IMF recommended the same shock treatment that had had failed in Indonesia following the 1997
Asian crisis. The IMF advised drastically reducing the number of financial institutions, seeking an accelerated purge of the banking system by closing down banks not deemed viable. The government, however, preferred a gradualist approach, since the
number of banks had already dropped considerably since the 1995 Tequila crisis. The government also believed that, in time, those financial institutions that were not viable would close on
their own.
• As is the norm, the IMF continued to demand fiscal spending cuts following the December 2001 crisis. However, the default
on much of the public debt meant that Argentina would run a primary and overall surplus for the first time in many decades,
making spending cuts unnecessary.Further, the IMF went considerably beyond its mandate, making recommendations unrelated to the IMF’s purview or areas of expertise. For example, in the months following the crisis, the IMF called for a change in Argentina’s bankruptcy law to remove protections for firms filing for bankruptcy and to provide better conditions for creditors. The IMF also actively lobbied for the repeal of the “economic subversion” law, under
which the government could investigate white collar crimes committed by firms, banks, or individuals.60 At the time, the law was being used to investigate capital flight that had violated banking restrictions implemented during the crisis. Both laws were modified according to the IMF’s demands. Finally, the IMF also insisted that privatized utilities be allowed to increase fees as they saw fit. Utility rates had been frozen in the post- crisis months pending contract renegotiations with the privatized utilities,
due to systematic and well-documented contract violations. Despite the fact that many of these renegotiations are still pending, many utility rates have been steadily increasing for the last few years.In sum, it is clear that the IMF was partially responsible for the Argentine crisis. The IMF actively participated in the design of the macroeconomic policy environment that resulted in the December 2001 collapse. As a result, Argentine authorities concluded that “the IMF’s technical staff appears not to be totally up to the task of dealing with a situation where a large crisis has erupted and should, therefore, give local authorities a greater margin to formulate and implement economic policies necessary to deal with the crisis.”
III. HOW COSTLY WAS SOVEREIGN DEFAULT?
Some have argued that Argentina’s default was too costly, stating that the dramatic drop in GDP in 2002 was a direct consequence of that default. However, Argentina’s sovereign debt default provides arguments for a powerful refutation of the conventional wisdom regarding the costs of default. The consensus among orthodox economists and experts in international finance was that Argentina would suffer severe long-term consequences for breaking the rules in such a spectacular way: a huge
sovereign default, combined with what was widely denounced in the business press as a refusal to bargain with creditors, and a contentious relationship with the IMF.66 The result, however, has been quite the opposite. Before considering the hypothetical costs of default, it is useful to lay out the sequence of events in order to better understand the issues. First, by January 2002, Argentina was in an economic depression which had begun in the last quarter of 1998. As a result of the depression and of IMF-
sponsored fiscal austerity measures, it had become increasingly difficult to balance fiscal accounts—a problem that was temporarily solved by taking on new debt. Consequently, it became clear that the convertibility regime had become unfeasible, as its continued existence hinged on increasingly unavailable foreign capital flows. Second, the abrupt end of foreign credit
to Argentina in late 2001 resulted in the much publicized default and sealed the fate of the convertibility regime. Third, the exit from the convertibility regime in early 2002 was unplanned and disorderly. The currency was
initially fixed at a higher value vis-à-vis the dollar, eventually being allowed to float freely per IMF recommendations, causing substantial dislocation in the economy.70 When, contrary to IMF prescriptions, a managed float was adopted for the exchange rate in late April 2002, the economy began to emerge from the crisis.Given the sequence of events, it should be clear that the deepening of the crisis in 2002 was due far more to the effects of the depression and chaotic exit from the fixed exchange rate regime than to the default itself. However, even from the perspective of those that blame the default for the crisis, the default was still the least costly option available. Further, even if one insisted on blaming the crisis on the default, a convincing argument can still be made that defaulting was the least costly option available. Over the three-month period following the December 2001 default, the economy continued to decline, losing about 6.3 percent of its GDP.72 The loss in GDP is an upper bound for the cost of the default because it is almost certain that, even if the best of all possible non-default solutions had been brokered, there would still have been a further decline in GDP before the economy recovered. In reality, the cost of Argentina’s default was almost certainly less than zero, since any non-default solution reached at that time would most likely have cost the country more, in terms of continued lost output, than did the default. Within a few months of the default, economic recovery was well under
way, and there was positive growth for the last three quarters of 2002. The Argentine economy grew by 8.8 percent in 2003 and by 9 percent in 2004 and 2005. Thus, from the perspective of “shock therapy”—a harsh adjustment, necessary to get the economy back on a sustainable growth path—the post-default adjustment was successful and delivered quick results. Therefore, even if one insisted on blaming the economic crisis on the default, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that default was the right
choice for Argentina. In fact, even taking the worst estimate of the cost of default (6.3 percent of GDP), it is still virtually equal to Mexico’s loss from the 1995 peso crisis (6.2 percent of GDP), where Mexico was assisted with a $40 billion IMF package. It is also substantially less than the cost of adjustment during the Asian economic crisis, where Indonesia lost more than 13 percent of GDP.It is important to remember that the Argentine government received absolutely no outside assistance during the entire crisis. Quite the opposite occured, in fact there was a very large net drain of money out of Argentina to multilateral creditors. In 2002, as poverty and unemployment reached record levels, and as the recovery was just getting under way, the country made net payments totaling $4.1 billion, or more than 4 percent of the GDP, to multilateral creditors.78 For 2003–2004, there were further net payments of $5.9 billion. From a purely economic standpoint, the default seems a success. More importantly, the economy was able to get back on a solid growth path, something that could have taken much longer if it had retained
its crushing debt burden. It is hard to imagine that Argentina would have done better by trying to please the IMF and other creditors. The previous four years of depression, as well as the demands put forward by the IMF in its protracted negotiations
with Argentina during 2002, indicate that continued stagnation and even further decline were likely possibilities if the country had pursued tighter monetary and fiscal policies. Also, the acceptance of an unsustainable debt burden would have undermined the confidence of foreign investors. The Argentine government made the best decision that it could under the
circumstances, and it probably avoided further chaos by choosing default and rejecting IMF prescriptions.
IV. DEBT RESTRUCTURING AND BEYOND
In early 2003, it became clear that Argentina was emerging from its political and economic crisis. As a result, the IMF and defaulted creditors increased pressure on Argentina for a solution to its $100 billion default debt. After intense negotiations, including two different Argentine official debt-restucturing proposals, a debt restructuring swap was opened and a substantial portion of the defaulted bonds were swapped. Despite this relative success, many questions remain regarding Argentina’s public debt sustainability. The following section discusses the debt-restructuring process and its implications.
A. Leaving the Default Behind: From Dubai to Buenos Aires
The process to emerge from default began in September 2003, when Argentina issued a set of conditions to creditors under which it was willing to restructure its debt. Conditions included a 75 percent capital reduction, or “haircut,” considerably lower interest rates and longer maturities, and no recognition of interest payments accrued since the default. Creditors were outspokenly opposed to these restructuring conditions and demanded a better offer. One of the more outspoken groups, the Global Committee of Argentine Bond-holders (GCAB), even teamed up with the IMF to pressure Argentina for a better deal for private creditors. IMF and creditor pressure resulted in a new offer on June 1, 2004. Known as the “Buenos Aires Proposal,” the new offer represented a 100 percent improvement for defaulted creditors over the Dubai guidelines. Interest rates were doubled, the haircut was reduced from 75 percent to roughly 45 percent, and recognition of past-due interest since the default was recognized as a part of the debt.84 The Buenos Aires offer, however, was still not accepted by either the IMF or the creditors. The Argentine government’s offer, nonetheless, was final because officials claimed that the resulting debt-service load was the maximum the country could afford to pay based on realistic sustainability assumptions.85 Thus, for the first time in the history of modern defaults, the debt restructuring swap proceeded without the explicit support of the IMF. The debt-swap process ended on February 25, 2005, with a 76.15 percent acceptance rate. This was no small accomplishment and did indeed have several important aspects. The deal implicitly recognized the impossibility of servicing the pre-default debt under the terms with which it was issued. Additionally, Argentina successfully resisted substantial pressure from the IMF and the financial establishment to improve the offer. Further, the new bonds issued as a result of the debt restructuring were for a lower amount and at lower interest rates, thereby improving Argentina’s debt-service terms over those existing prior to the default. And finally, the default was resolved after three years of uncertainty. Specifically, the financial results of the debt restructuring swap can be
summarized as follows:
• Of the $81 billion in defaulted debt, $62.318 billion, or 76.15 percent, entered the debt-swap. Holders of roughly $19 billion
did not accept the terms and conditions of the swap and remain as holdouts.
• For the $62.318 billion that entered the swap, the Argentine government issued $35.261 billion in new bonds. That is, the “haircut,” or reduction on the nominal value of the defaulted bonds, was 43.4 percent.
• The maturity of the new bonds is considerably longer (up to forty-two years) than the old bonds and the interest rates are
considerably lower.
• The currency structure of the new debt also changed considerably. A full 37 percent of the total stock of post-swap debt is now denominated in pesos. Morever, the rate of return on these bonds is tied to inflation, making them by far the most profitable investment in the Argentine public debt bond pool.
• The debt-to-GDP ratio went from 113 percent at the time of default in December 2001, to 72 percent after the default. However, this does not take into account the $19 billion that did not enter the debt-restructuring. Therefore, total debt-to-GDP ratio is actually 87 percent when one takes holdout debt into account. Accordingly, even though the capital reduction was considerably less than the 75 percent proclaimed by the government, one can still consider the debt restructuring to have been a success, particularly given the lack of support from the IMF and the G7. Several factors made this result possible. On the international front, low interest rates and a lack of good investment options, the decreasing credibility of the IMF both within and outside the institution, and a generalized belief that the Argentine fixed exchange rate regime had run its course, were all key. Another important factor was the lack of alternatives for private creditors vis-à-vis the Argentine government debt restructuring offer. An indication of this lack of alternatives was the relatively high acceptance rate of the Buenos Aires Proposal by creditors even in the face of a substantial capital reduction.
B. Troubles with the Official Approach to Debt Restructuring
The government presented the results of the debt restructuring swap as a resounding success. The IMF, as well as the creditors owning 24 percent of the defaulted debt who did not participate in the debt restructuring swap— referred to as “holdouts”—claim that the default is not yet fully resolved. While this is problematic, there are other fundamental problems that
Argentina’s post-debt-swap situation leaves unsolved.
1. Acceptance of All Pre-Default Debt as Valid
Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects of the Argentine government’s approach to debt restructuring is that it unquestioningly accepted all pre- default debt as valid. By doing so, the official strategy ignored the substantial irregularities committed by the military dictatorship (1976-1983) when contracting the debt.92 The official strategy also validated all of the
financial speculation cycles and scams of the past two-and-a-half decades. These cycles typically consisted of a period of growing private and public indebtedness, followed by capital flight and eventually the “socialization” of private debt (i.e., the transformation of private debt into public debt) as the financial crisis erupted.93 These cycles were compounded by repeated debt restructuring episodes, which turned out to be major scams in which the financial and corporate sectors benefited greatly from overpriced bonds, and the public sector (i.e., the taxpayers) was repeatedly and cumulatively saddled with the costs of financial speculation.
Critics have rightfully argued that the government should have used the debt restructuring opportunity provided by the default to carry out a long- overdue, in-depth examination and depuration of the stock of public debt.
2. IFI Debt Unquestioned
Equally troubling is the Argentine government’s treatment of international financial institution (IFI) debt. The official approach has been to fully honor the approximately $32 billion debt to the IFIs without even trying to get more favorable repayment conditions (for example, lower interest rates and/or a longer repayment timeline). Official justification for this approach was that G7 support was needed for the debt-swap to be successful. In this view, to challenge the validity of IFI debt would have been too costly and could have threatened the success of the debt- restructuring effort. As time has shown, Argentina’s strategy regarding IFI debt failed, sincethe IMF and the G7 never did back the Argentine debt-restructuring process. As a result, the strategy on IFI debt imparted (1) a larger capital reduction on private creditors; (2) preferential treatment to those who bear substantial responsibility for the Argentine catastrophe; and (3) larger fiscal surpluses (or new indebtedness) in order to face a hefty IFI debt-serviceload during the next decade.
3. Paying Off the IMF: Poster Child Till the Bitter End
If the Argentine official strategy vis-à-vis IFI debt was questionable, the strategy on IMF debt was downright scandalous. Official debt-service sustainability projections had been based on an agreement with the IMF that would have provided for the rollover of 100 percent of IFI capital payments for the foreseeable future.94 However, in order to refinance this debt, an agreement with the IMF was necessary. This would have required implementing the usual list of IMF-sponsored policies, many of which were directly responsible for the 2001 economic crisis.
Clearly, the government could not submit to such conditionality and risk turning the economic recovery into yet another recession. It is also clear that Argentina had substantial leverage that it could bring to bear in its negotiations with the Fund. With a debt of roughly $10 billion,95 Argentina was the IMF’s third largest debtor behind Brazil and Turkey. As the old adage goes, “if you owe the bank $10,000, you have a problem; if you owe the bank $10 billion, the bank has a problem.”
Given this situation, the Argentine government had several options available. First, it could have continued to service the debt with the IMF according to the original payment schedule, as Argentina had been doing since the last agreement failed in August 2004. Alternatively, it could have unilaterally restructured its debt with the IMF, making its maturity equal to that of restructured bonds (thirty-five years on average). A third option would have been to unilaterally restructure its debt with the IMF, imposing similar conditions to those imposed on private creditors (capital reduction, reduction of interest rates, and substantially longer maturity). Finally, Argentina could have defaulted to the IMF as a way to recover some of the losses caused by IMF blunders. However, rather than taking any of the above options, President Kirchner’s administration opted for a solution suggested by the IMF itself: to pay the IMF in full, three years ahead of schedule, using Central Bank international reserves.96 Thus, in early January 2006, the Kirchner administration took $10 billion from the Central Bank’s international reserves and paid off the IMF, proving that Argentina was willing to be the IMF’s poster child until the bitter end.97 The government presented the IMF debt cancellation as part of their desendeudamiento, or debt-reduction strategy. In reality, Argentina’s net stock of public debt did not change, since the Argentine Treasury had to issue new bonds in order to compensate
the Central Bank for the reserves it was taking to pay off the IMF. According to the government’s rhetoric, with this payment Argentina was able to finally liberate itself from the IMF.99 While it is true that Argentina needed to rid itself of the IMF, and it is also true that the IMF is no longer in the picture, this was the worst possible to way to get rid of the IMF. Given the IMF’s shared responsibility for Argentina’s economic crisis, and given Argentina’s ongoing high hunger, poverty, and unemployment rates, it is questionable whether this was the best use of $10 billion.
4. Post-Default Debt Fully Recognized
Also questionable was the official approach to the roughly $35 billion public debt issued in the months following the default and devaluation. The financial system entered a new crisis as a result of the 2002 devaluation and because many bank customers had dollar-denominated loans. In order to avoid massive bankruptcies, the government converted all loans to pesos at the old exchange rate of one peso to one dollar, and issued bonds to the banks for the difference between the old and the then-current nominal exchange rates.101 In the process, the government bailed out countless large corporations, many of which produced mostly for export markets and made dollars in exchange—corporations that were in no risk of bankruptcy due to the devaluation.
However, most of this new debt is owned by the local financial system, which explains why the official strategy was to accept all debt as legitimate and to continue making payments on this debt as originally contracted.Critics have maintained that beneficiaries of this new debt issue should have been identified and a tax levied against those who benefited unduly. This was not done and, as a result, the Argentine taxpayer and defaulted creditors must pay for this unnecessary corporate bailout.
C. A Heavy Burden
Many issues factor into the question of how much of a solution to Argentina’s decade-long debt problem this latest debt-swap represents. Clearly, much depends on the debt-service structure for the years ahead, and on other factors such as macroeconomic performance and economic growth, fiscal revenue, the exchange and inflation rates, the balance of payments, and foreign interest rates. Table 5 contains a schedule of Argentina’s debt-service obligations for the period 2006–2016. Before interpreting the data, it is necessary to make some important clarifications about payments that are excluded from the table:
• The data assumes the January 2006 $10 billion payoff to the IMF as having taken place and, therefore, does not include any debt-service payments to the IMF;
• The data does not include debt-service payments on the $10 billion in bonds issued by the Treasury to the Central Bank in compensation for the international reserves used to pay off the IMF;
• The data does not include $5.3 billion that the Treasury owes the Central
Bank and is supposed to pay back in 2005;104
• The data does not include payments for the “GDP-linked” coupons on
restructured bonds;105
• The data does not include debt-service payments for new debt issued in
2006 or later;106
• The data does not include payments on the roughly $24 billion holdout
debt;
• The data does not include $2.5 billion debt to the Paris Club and other
official creditors, which is still in default and pending restructuring; and
• The “Total” column includes payments due after 2016 but not shown in the
When added up, the data not included in Table 5 amounts to substantial payments, making the debt-service schedule all the more onerous. Bearing that in mind, several conclusions can be drawn based on the data in Table 5.
First, Argentina’s debt-service obligations through 2011 exceed 3 percent of the GDP. Furthermore, through 2009, Argentina’s yearly debt-service obligations exceed 4 percent of the GDP. Even with IMF debt service out of the picture, the government will have to issue new debt in order to meet its debt-service payments. New debt issues and growth rates above 3 percent will result in heftier debt-service payments in the short- and medium-run, which means that the debt-service load will be considerably
heavier than what Table 5 shows.
Second, Argentina’s debt-service schedule, augmented by new debt issues, implies that the government will need to have large, sustained primary fiscal surpluses for many years to come. Indeed, a recent publication by economists from the University of Buenos Aires concludes that Argentina will have to maintain a primary surplus of 3 percent of GDP and positive growth rates for the next twenty-five years in order to meet debt-service payments.107 Obtaining such results would require a break from Argentina’s two hundred-year history, since the country was never able to achieve such macroeconomic performance on a sustained basis. Furthermore, obtaining a primary surplus of this magnitude on a sustained basis depends on several factors. A primary surplus depends on high rates of growth because Argentina’s tax structure is highly dependent on economic activity. Therefore, in order for fiscal revenue to keep up with debt service, high rates of growth are necessary. However, high growth rates also impact debt service since many of the restructured bonds have “GDP-linked” coupons. A primary surplus also depends on tight control of fiscal spending. In order to obtain and sustain a surplus, fiscal spending must be kept in check. This means continuing to postpone public sector wage increases and other urgent needs, such as dealing with still alarmingly high rates of poverty, indigence, unemployment, and dealing with the profound crises in the education and public healthcare systems. A third factor in obtaining a primary surplus is export growth because one-third of fiscal revenues come from export taxes. In other words, maintaining a primary surplus means that exports will need to continue to grow apace.
Furthermore, since two-thirds of Argentina’s public debt is denominated in foreign currency, maintaining a trade surplus is also key to getting the foreign exchange needed to meet debt-service payments. Third, maintaining a trade surplus depends on being able to maintain price competitiveness, and price competitiveness depends on being able to maintain a competitive exchange rate and low salaries, in relative terms. In other words, this means being able to continue to postpone long-delayed real wage improvements for Argentine workers who have seen their income consistently eroded in real terms for the last three decades of WC-sponsored policies.
Fourth, inflation control is another key component of the government’s policy agenda. Inflation has two major potential impacts with regards to debt service. First, inflation affects consumer and investor expectations and can eventually negatively impact economic growth. Second, 37 percent of Argentina’s restructured public debt is denominated in domestic currency
and is linked to inflation. An increase in inflation directly impacts the country’s debt-service commitments. Additionally, in order to keep inflation in check, the government’s main objective is to maintain the set of relative prices that resulted from the maxi-devaluation that took place in early 2002. This means keeping wages repressed—a difficult task in the face of increased demands for redistributive policies to make up for many years of real-wage decline. Fifth, debt sustainability also assumes that Argentina will be able to issue new debt, at reasonable interest rates and maturities, in order to finance current debt service. With local banks already heavily exposed to the public sector—roughly 50 percent of bank portfolios are in state securities—new funding may be hard to come by. Relying on foreign capital could complicate matters further, as capital inflows are generally motivated by short-term speculative behavior, and can have destabilizing effects on the nominal exchange rate—the centerpiece of the government’s macroeconomic policy. The overriding conclusions are simply that, in the “best case” scenario,f or the next thirty years, debt service will continue to be a dominating factor of Argentina’s economic, social, and political life. Additionally, there is no chance that the regressive effects of three decades of WC-sponsored policies will be undone in the short- or medium-run. Specifically, this means postponing redistributive policies, not dealing with highly concentrated and unequal power structures within the economy, and not dealing with still alarmingly high levels of poverty, indigence, and
unemployment. In sum, it is hard to conclude that Argentina has finally left its stop-and- go financial cycles of debt accumulation, crises, and restructuring behind. Argentina’s debt-service schedule, especially in the short- to medium-term,
is hefty; being able to keep up with it depends on maintaining the highly unequal economic structure of the past decades.
IV. CONCLUSION: WHAT CAN WE LEARN?
Argentina’s experience with debt and financial crises over the last decades provides important lessons.
1. Default can be a viable option: Clearly default is not something to be taken lightly, but it has been and will likely continue to be an option for sovereign borrowers. The Argentine case shows that defaulting was not as disastrous as many had predicted. Indeed, the default helped Argentina to end the unviable fixed exchange rate regime and it freed up resources to deal with the multiple dislocations produced by the structural changes that resulted from the devaluation. Whether the time and resources were put to best use in Argentina is a different matter, but it is unquestionable that the default was the correct and most efficient option, given thecircumstances.
2. Public debt should be subject to strict scrutiny and rules: This is fundamental to avoiding excessive indebtedness and financial cycles and crises, which are costly and undesirable. It is also fundamental that the process by which a country takes on new debt be scrutinized by the country’s representative institutions, such as its congress or parliament, and that new debt be subject to extensive sustainability analysis.
3. It is easier to default on foreign lenders than domestic lenders: It is clear from the government bailouts—of privatized pension funds, banks, and the corporate sector—that it is easier to default on foreign bondholders than on domestic bondholders and powerful economic actors. The reason for this should be clear. The main consequence of a default on foreign borrowers is political and perhaps financial. Defaulting on domestic borrowers would almost certainly have substantial political repercussions, in addition to severe economic and financial consequences.
4. Pleasing financial markets should not be the aim of debt- restructuring processes: For a debt-restructuring process to result in a sustainable and serviceable debt load, it must be based on an economy that grows thanks to strong internal markets. For this to take place, it is fundamental to have productive investment and an equitable distribution of income. This is opposite to the Washington Consensus prescriptions, which are centered on financial liberalization and the free flow of speculative funds.Those are precisely the policies that feed the financial stop-and-go cycles that Argentina has experienced for the last three decades, the results of which are well known: unsustainable debt loads, financial crises, defaults, and record levels of poverty and
unemployment.
5. A return to international capital markets is not a sign of success: Neither should a return to international capital markets be taken as a sign of financial health. If debt sustainability is contingent on renewed access to international capital markets, then most likely, debt-dependence will not have been fully severed.
6. Ending financial stop-and-go cycles and debt-led capital accumulation should become a priority: Argentina is a prime
example of the failure of financial liberalization and “debt-led” development policies.109 Since dependence on foreign capital
flows and indebtedness do not lead to sustainable development, it is of prime importance to abandon these policies in favor of economic policies that promote sustainable and egalitarian growth. It is essential to reclaim the language, ideas, theory, and policies of development economics, which neoliberal economics has discarded. A strong state, capable of efficiently and effecitvely intervening in and regulating economic activity, is essential.
7. Debt restructuring should be approached globally, and not exclusively as a financial issue: By approaching the debt issue
exclusively in financial terms, Argentina ended up with a debt- service schedule that substantially reduced its freedom to undo the nefarious legacy of decades of WC-type policies. Furthermore, Argentina also wasted an opportunity to examine its debt-
accumulation process and to make sure those who benefited unduly were taxed accordingly. These issues should have been
addressed in order to ensure a fairer distribution of the burden of debt service.
8. The success of a debt-restructuring process cannot depend on prolonged, large primary fiscal and trade surpluses: In the
Argentine case, the success of the debt-restructuring process depends on large and sustained primary fiscal and trade surpluses.
This strategy is questionable and its chances of success are dubious. First, a large primary surplus drains resources from the
economy that could be used to foster investment and job creation, and to contribute to a more equitable distribution of income.
Second, economic cycles are endemic to market economies, and Argentina is certainly no exception. To assume that an economy
will indefinitely have positive growth, in addition to primary and trade surpluses, is unrealistic. Unfortunately, this is precisely the assumption made in the government’s sustainability analysis.
9. The IMF is incapable of predicting financial crises and lacks the tools or knowledge to deal with a crisis once it erupts: If there is a lesson that stands out from the Argentine experience, it is that the IMF does not possess the know-how or the appropriate theoretical framework to forecast or effectively deal with financial crises. The IMF’s “one size fits all” approach to economic policy and crisis resolution has failed repeatedly around the world. Asian nations have learned this lesson well and their massive foreign reserve accumulations now serve as an insurance against ever having to follow IMF advice again. While reserve accumulation can be costly, it is bound to be less costly than following the IMF’s advice.
10. Once the crisis erupted, the IMF was more eager to cash-in and get out than to provide assistance: After the crisis erupted in
December 2001, the IMF did not provide Argentina with any new funds. Furthermore, the IMF’s efforts appeared to be geared
primarily toward reducing its exposure in Argentina.Unfortunately, Argentina did exactly as the IMF expected, using
its Central Bank reserves to cancel its IMF debt in advance.
11. The international financial institutions must be redesigned: The IMF’s substantial mishandling of the Argentine (and other)
financial crises clearly points to a need for institutional redesign. The IMF and The World Bank’s grossly mistaken policy prescriptions point in the same direction. It is clearly necessary to redesign the IFIs in such a way as to create a true international lender of last resort that will provide financial assistance to countries experiencing a crisis. Additionally, IFIs should be accountable for the policies they prescribe and the results they produce. History will tell if the lessons from the Argentine debt debacle will help to modify the current process of international economic integration, in particular the development policies of peripheral countries. If debt default is used simply as a shortcut to return to the liberalized international capital markets, then clearly not much will have been learned. Rather, the task ahead should be to define a development strategy that leaves behind the model of spasmodic debt-accumulation cycles.
Alan Cibils and Rubén Lo Vuolo are Research Associate and Academic Director, respectively, at the Centro Interdisciplinario para el Estudio de Políticas Públicas (www.ciepp.org.ar). This paper is an updated and substantially revised version of Alan Cibils & Rubén Lo Vuolo, Nothing Certain but Debt and Taxes: Lessons From
Argentina’s Recent Debt Debacle (Intergovernmental Group of 24 (G24) Working Paper,
“In our view, failures in fiscal policy constitute the root cause of the current crisis,” declared Anoop Singh, IMF Director for Special Operations, in Buenos Aires on April 10, 2002, four and a half months after the default. Anoop Singh, Director for Special Operations, IMF, Press Briefing, Introductory Remarks on the Role of the IMF Mission in Argentina (Apr. 10, 2002) available at http://www.imf.org/external/np/tr/
2002/tr020410.htm. This view is repeated by IMF officials to this day and is a central part of the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office report. See INT’L MONETARY FUND INDEP. EVALUATION OFF., THE IMF AND ARGENTINA, 1991–2001, at 14 (2004), available at http://www.imf.org/External/NP/ieo/2004/arg/eng/pdf/report.pdf (hereinafter
IMF Report 2004).
3See Carmen M. Reinhart et al., Debt Intolerance 3, 34 (Nat’l Bureau of Econ.Research, Working Paper No. 9908, 2003); Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff,Serial Default and the “Paradox” of Rich to Poor Capital Flows (Nat’l Bureau of Econ.
Research, Working Paper No. 10296, 2004).
See generally, e.g., Alan B. Cibils et al., Investigación – La Argentina desde la cesación de pagos: el FMI y la depresión, REALIDAD ECONÓMICA, 2002 (Arg.); RUBÉN LO VUOLO, ESTRATEGIA ECONÓMICA PARA LA ARGENTINA: PROPUESTAS (2003)(describing the policies that led to the crisis).
See Instituto Nacional de Estadística Censos, http://www.indec.gov.ar/ (providingeconomic census data).
See Lo Vuolo (2003), supra note 4, at 54-64.
Matías Kulfas & Marín Schorr, La Deuda Externa Argentina diagnóstico y lineamientos propositivos para su reestructuración, in CENTRO INTERDISCIPLINARIO PARA EL ESTUDIO DE POLITICAS PUBLICAS (Fundación OSDE, 2003), available at
http://www.ciepp.org.ar/publicacionesDP.htm.
See generally ALEJANDRO OLMOS, TODO LO QUE USTED QUISO SABER SOBRE LA DEUDA EXTERNA Y SIEMPRE LE OCULTARON: QUIÉNES Y CÓMO LA CONTRAJERON (Ediciones Continente ed., 2004) (1989).
The first was Néstor Rapanelli, a senior executive at a large Argentine transnational corporation. In December 1989, he was replaced by Erman González.
González committed to paying $100 million per month which, given the stock of debt and accumulated arrears, was essentially symbolic and intended to show Argentina’s intention to honor its debt.
See generally Lo Vuolo (2003), supra note 4.
The term “Washington Consensus” was first used by economist John Williamson to indicate a set of policies promoted by the Washington-based IFIs and the U.S. Treasury. They broadly include trade and finance liberalization, tight fiscal and monetary policies, and freely floating exchange rates. The terms “neoliberal,” and “new orthodoxy” are also used to refer to these policies and subsequent modifications. While the “consensus” appears to be cracking, the term “Washington Consensus” will still be used for its succinctness. See John Williamson, What Washington Means by Policy Reform, in
LATIN AMERICAN ADJUSTMENT: HOW MUCH HAS HAPPENED? (Inst. for Int’l Econ., John Williamson ed., 1990).
See generally Mario Damill et al., Argentina: Una Década de Convertibilidad– Un Análisis del Crecimiento, el Empleo y la Distribución del Ingreso (2002).
See RUBÉN LO VUOLO, ALTERNATIVAS: LA ECONOMÍA COMO CUESTIÓN SOCIAL 47-
54 (2001) (Arg.).
Kulfas & Schorr, supra note 7, at 15.
Id. at 19.
Id. at 20-22.
See generally Cibils et al., supra note 4; Lo Vuolo (2003), supra note 4 (providing a
more in-depth discussion on the default).
Kulfas & Schorr, supra note 7, at 20-22.
Anoop Singh, Director for Special Operations, IMF, Press Briefing, Introductory
Remarks on the Role of the IMF Mission in Argentina (Apr. 10, 2002) available at
http://www.imf.org/external/np/tr/ 2002/tr020410.htm.
See, e.g., IMF Report 2004, supra note 2, at 37-43.
An interest-rate shock occurs when, for example, a key foreign interest rate (such as the
U.S. Fed’s short-term interest rate) increases and, as a result, Argentina’s debt-service
load increases (because much of Argentina’s foreign debt was contracted at variable
rates).
The primary balance or primary fiscal surplus/deficit is the government’s fiscal result
(surplus or deficit) excluding debt-service payments.
Michael Mussa, Argentina and the Fund: From Triumph to Tragedy, in POLICY
ANALYSES IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, July 2002, at 9.
See Noemí Giosa Zuazúa, La estrategia de la administración Kirchner para enfrentar
los problemas del mercado de empleo, at 12, CENTRO INTERDISCIPLNARIO PARA EL
ESTUDIO DE POLITICAS PÚBLICAS, (Análisis de Coyuntura No. 12, 2006).
See Dean Baker & Mark Weisbrot, The Role of Social Security Privatization in
Argentina’s Economic Crisis, April 2002, at http://www.cepr.net/publications/
argentina_2002_04.htm.
See generally Laura Goldberg & Rubén M. Lo Vuolo, La reforma de la reforma: un
nuevo sistema de previsión social para la Argentina, in CENTRO INTERDISCIPLINARIO
PARA EL ESTUDIO DE POLITICAS PUBLICAS (Serie Documentos de Trabajo, No. 45,
2005), available at http://www.ciepp.org.ar/trabajo.htm (providing a detailed analysis of
how Argentina’s social security privatization failed).
See Baker & Weisbrot, supra note 29, at 2 (discussing the assumption behind the
calculations in table 3).
See Cibils et al., supra note 4.
Ironically, the government ended up borrowing substantial amounts from the
privatized pension funds, which ended up with bonds worth 16 percent of the defaulted
debt. This, in turn, gave the privatized funds substantial bargaining power since the
government needed the funds to participate in the debt-restructuring process in order for
it to have any chance of success. As a result, all talk about pension system reform has
At Debt’s Door 791
VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 2 • 2007
been abandoned by the current administration. See Ismael Bermúdez, El gobierno
anuncia el acuerdo con las AFJP, CLARÍN (Arg.), October 7, 2004
Recessions resulted from contagion from the Mexican peso crisis (1994-1995), the
Asian crisis (1997), and the Russian and Brazilian crises (1998).
One of the goals of the fixed exchange rate regime was to strengthen the peso.
However, private sector preference for the dollar was an indication that, at least on this
point, the convertibility regime failed.
See, e.g., Mario Damill, El balance de pagos y la deuda externa pública bajo la
convertibilidad, BOLETÍN INFORMATIVE TECHINT, July-Sept. 2000 (Arg.); Matias Kulfas,
El rol del endeudamiento externo en la acumulación de capital durant la convertibilidad,
REVISTA ÉPOCA, Nov. 2001 (Braz.).
See generally Kulfas & Schorr, supra note 7.
See generally, e.g., Reinhart et al., supra note 3; Reinhart & Rogoff, supra note 3.
See generally Mario Damill et al., La deuda Argentina: historia, default y
reestructuración, CEDES, Apr. 2005, available at http://www.observatoriodeladeuda.
org/Documentos/Frenkel_Debt.pdf.
Reinhart et al. estimates that Argentina is “safe” with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 15
percent. Reinhart et al., supra note 3, at 34-35. Argentina’s current debt-to-GDP ratio is
five times as high, and yet it has not had any trouble issuing new debt. For current debt
data, see Ministerio de Economia y Produccion, http://www.mecon.gov.ar.
Press Release, Int’l Monetary Fund, IMF Augments Arg. Stand-By Credit to $21.57
Billion, and Completes Fourth Review (Sept. 7, 2001), available at http://www.imf.org
/external/np/sec/pr/2001/pr0137.htm [hereinafter IMF 2001 Press Release].
See generally Jorge Schvarzer & Pablo Orazi, Estimaciones sobre el flujo de pagos
futuros de la deuda. Un scenario de vencimientos que sigue presentando dificultades, in
CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS DE LA SITUACIÓN Y PERSPECTIVAS DE LA ARGENTINA (Notas de
Coyuntura, Nov. 22, 2006).
The prime example of this is the extensive report produced by the IMF’s so-called
Independent Evaluation Office. See generally IMF Report 2004, supra note 2.
See, e.g., Press Release, Int’l Monetary Fund, IMF Approves Three-Year Extended
Fund Facility for Argentina (Feb. 4, 1998), available at http://www.imf.org/external/np/
sec/pr/1998/pr9801.htm; Press Release, Int’l Monetary Fund, IMF Approves Extension,
for Fourth Year, of EFF Credit to Argentina (Apr. 6, 1995), available at
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/1995/pr9518.htm.
See Carlos Saul Menem, President of the Republic of Argentina, Statement at the
Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the IMF and the World Bank Group,
(Oct. 6-8, 1998) available at http://www.imf.org/external/am/1998/speeches/pr05e.pdf.
See, e.g., Press Release, Int’l Monetary Fund, IMF Approves US$7.2 Billion Three-
Year Stand-By Credit for Argentina (Mar. 10, 2000), available at http://www.imf.org/
external/np/sec/pr/2000/pr0017.htm; Memorandum of Economic Policies of the
792 SEATTLE JOURNAL FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
CASE STUDIES ON NEOLIBERAL ECONOMIC REFORMS
Government of Argentina (Feb. 14, 2000), available at http://www.imf.org/external
/np/loi/2000/arg/01/index.htm.
See IMF 2001 Press Release, supra note 44.
See MINISTERIO DE ECONOMÍA Y PRODUCCIÓN, ARGENTINA, EL FMI Y LA CRISIS DE
LA DEUDA 19 (July 2004) (Arg.) at http://www.mecon.gov.ar/analisis_economico/nro2/2
_fmi_crisis_deuda.pdf (hereinafter EL FMI Y LA CRISIS DE LA DEUDA).
See id.
When a country signs an agreement with the IMF, it gives up part of its sovereignty
with regards to economic policy making since the IMF imposes its conditions and
policies in exchange for a loan. However, the IMF also managed to override Argentina’s
political sovereignty by demanding policies and changes in the country’s legal
framework that had nothing to do with the Fund’s chartered mandate.
EL FMI Y LA CRISIS DE LA DEUDA, supra note 52.
The situation with privatized utilities is still very much in flux. Two privatization
contracts have been rescinded: the national mail system and the national waterworks
system. However, other privatized utilities have been allowed to increase their rates
significantly: road tolls, telephone, gas, and electricity. Contractual violations have yet to
be dealt with.
The Ministerio de Economía y Producción is the Argentine equivalent of the U.S.
Treasury Department. It is the government ministry in charge of economic policy. See EL
FMI Y LA CRISIS DE LA DEUDA, supra note 52, at 10.
The costs of default go considerably beyond the purely economic. It is well known
that unemployment, poverty, and indigence rates reached record levels in 2002.
However, here too one must consider what would have been the costs had there not been
a default and had the depression continued for a few more quarters. We do not have the
counterfactual, but it is hard to believe that the latter option would have had lower social
See Mark Weisbrot, Shock Therapy That Changed the World: How Argentina’s
Default and Recovery Changed the IMF and the International Financial System (June 23,
2005) (unpublished paper, on file with the Center for Economic and Policy Research).
See generally Cibils et al., supra note 4.
See Weisbrot, supra note 66, at 17.
See Ministerio de Economía y Producción, Información Económica, at
http://www.mecon.gov.ar/peconomica/basehome/infoeco.html [herinafter Información
Económica] (providing on-line monthly and quarterly information on the Argentine
economy).
Información Económica, supra note 73.
See generally Ministerio de Economia y Produccion, Información sobre Deuda
Argentina [Argentine Public Debt Information], http://www.argentinedebtinfo.gov.ar/
(providing official debt-related information, including information on the restructuring
conditions) (last visited Apr. 6, 2007).
The main bond-holder associations have websites with documents and press releases
clearly stating their positions. See generally Global Committee of Argentina
Bondholders, http://www.gcab.org (last visited Mar. 4, 2007); Task Force Argentina,
http://www.tfargentina.it (last visited Mar. 4, 2007); American Task Force Argentina,
http://www.atfa.org (last visited Mar. 4, 2007); and Interessengemeinschaft Argentina,
http://www.ig-argentinien.org (last visited Mar. 4, 2007).
The Global Committee of Argentina Bondholders (GCAB) held a presentation at the
joint World Bank-IMF meetings in Washington D.C., in October 2004. No other foreign
creditor group was present. See GCAB Presentation on Occasion of the IMF/World Bank
Annual Meetings, Oct. 4, 2004, at http://www.gcab.org/images/WB2004_Presentation
_Final.pdf.
For data pertaining to the debt, visit Subsecretaría de Financiamiento,
http://www.mecon.gov.ar/finanzas/sfinan/ (last visited Apr. 4, 2007).
If interest payments due since the default are added, holdout debt becomes roughly
$24 billion.
Subsecretaría de Financiamiento, supra note 84.
For more information on this particular segment of Argentina’s public debt, see
Eduardo M. Basualdo, Deuda externa y poder económio en la Argentina, NUEVA
AMÉRICA, 1987 (Arg.); Alan Cibils & Rubén Lo Vuolo, Nothing Certain but Debt and
Taxes: Lessons From Argentina’s Recent Debt Debacle (Intergovernmental Group of 24
(G24) Working Paper, 2005) and the references there cited.
This happened in 1982, when Domingo Cavallo was president of the Argentine
Central Bank, and again in 2002, accounting for much of $35 billion post-default debt
issues.
See generally Argentina Debt Sustainability Analysis spreadsheets, at
http://www.argentinedebtinfo.gov.ar/documentos/argentina-dsa.zip.
At the time of the default, Argentina owed the IMF roughly $15 billion. Between
January 2003, and August 2004, there were two successive agreements in place which
provided for the roll over of capital payments. However, when in August 2004, the IMF
inexplicably delayed approval of an agreement review, Argentina unilaterally decided to
suspend the agreement. From that point on, Argentina paid the IMF in full and on time
each time a payment came due.
In June 2005, the IMF concluded its Article IV consultation with Argentina. In the
press release, the IMF explicitly stated that “most Directors considered appropriate that
the authorities should have the flexibility to draw on their international reserves to
finance the significant levels of debt service, including repurchases to the Fund…” IMF
Executive Board Concludes 2005 Article IV Consultation with Argentina, Pub. Info.
Notice No. 05/83, June 30, 2005, available at http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/
pn/2005/pn0583.htm.
See Decreto No. 1599, Dec. 15, 2005.
See Palabras del Presidente de la Nacion, Nestor Kirchner, en el acto de anuncio del
plan de desendeurdamiento con el fondo monetario internacional, (Dec. 12, 2005)
(President Nestor Kirchner’s speech announcing the cancellation of Argentina’s debt with
the IMF) available at http://www.presidencia.gov.ar/discursos.aspx.
While the poverty rate has dropped from its 54 percent peak in 2002, it is still at 34
percent. That is ten points above the poverty rate in May of 1998, before the last
depression began. Indigence (basic needs unmet) is currently 12.2 percent, also down
from its peak of 27.7 percent in 2002, but more than double its level in May 1998 (5.3
percent). Finally, while unemployment was down from 24 percent at the peak of the
crisis, it is still at 14.1 percent. Underemployment is currently at 11 percent, which
means that 25 percent of the economically active population currently has trouble finding
full-time work. Furthermore, 48 percent of those currently employed are informally
employed with no benefits, lower incomes, and no legal protection. See Instituto
Nacional de Estadística Censos, http://www.indec.gov.ar/ (providing economic census
data).
See Jorge Schvarzer & Hernán Finkelstein, Renegociación de la deuda: un panorama
confuso de montos quitas, pagos y sustentabilidad futura, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS DE LA
SITUACIÓN Y PERSPECTIVAS DE LA ARGENTINA (Notas de Coyuntura No. 16, 2004).
In reality, most of these corporations did very well with the devaluation since their
products became internationally much more price-competitive, overnight.
Lo Vuolo (2003), supra note 4, at 61-64, 82-87.
Technically, the Treasury is supposed to pay back Central Bank loans during the year
following that in which it was granted. However, there is no penalty associated with non-
repayment except that no new loans will be granted until the old ones are paid off.
Roughly speaking, GDP-linked coupons pay the equivalent of 5 percent of the
difference between actual and projected GDP in real terms. According to Schvarzer et al.
if Argentina continues to grow at high rates, these payments could be substantial. See
generally Schvarzer & Orazi, supra note 45. In 2006 alone Argentina will have to pay
$367 million for these coupons.
Between January and June 2006, the government had issued $2.3 billion in new debt.
Jorge Schvarzer, et. al., Estimaciones sobre el flujo de pagos futuros de la deuda. Un
escenario de vencimientos que sigue presentando dificultades, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS DE
LA SITUACIÓN Y PERSPECTIVAS DE LA ARGENTINA, (Notas de Coyuntura Nº22, 2006).
See Williamson, supra note 12.
Ilene Grabel has wittily and ironically called this “speculation-led development.” Ilene
Grabel, Speculation-Led Economic Development: A Post-Keynesian Interpretation of
Financial Liberalization Programmes in the Third World, 9 INT’L REV. OF APPLIED
ECON. 127-149 (1995).
See Int’l Monetary Fund, Argentina and the IMF, http://www.imf.org/external/
country/ARG/index.htm (last visited Apr. 4, 2007); Argentine Public Debt Information,
http://www.argentinedebtinfo.gov.ar/ (last visited Mar. 4, 2007).
For example, see IMF 2001 Press Release, supra note 44; IMF Executive Board
Concludes 2005 Article IV Consultation with Argentina, Pub. Info. Notice No. 05/83,
June 30, 2005, available at http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/ pn/2005/pn0583.htm.
Tags: Academic article
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Clubtail Dragonflies: Pictures and Identification
Clubtail Pictures
Second only to the skimmers in number of species, approximately one hundred clubtail dragonflies (Gomphidae) fly around the water areas of North America.
The common name derives from the comparatively, irregular appearance of the tail at the bottom of the abdomen. However, in physical terms, it’s really the separated eyes that characterize the family members.
Gomphidae species also go by common names such as spinyleg, snaketail, ringtail and grappletail.
Most, if not all Gomphidae species exhibit local geographical ranges. Each genera and species chooses a particular ecosystem and tends to stay put. For example, approximately twenty percent of the species have a range that extends to only one or two states. The Acuminate Snaketail (Ophiogomphus acuminatus) is documented for Alabama and Tennessee. The Chesapeake Snaketail is documented for Maryland.
Unsurprisingly, most clubtail species adapt to slow and fast moving water areas at all elevations. The good news for tourists to almost any state is that with a little walking and patience, a picture of a new Clubtail dragonfly species to add to a life list can almost always be right around the next corner.
The remainder of this page presents pictures and information covering a sample of representative species of clubtail drgonflies that lack the common name clubtail. Rather, they have names such as Spinylegs, Forceptails, Ringtails and Grappletails. Please press the Clubtail Pictures button for additional pictures and identification tips for Clubtail dragonflies that have the world clubtail as part of the common name.
It starts with the Grappletail (Octogomphus specularis, North America’s sole Octogomphus species). They inhabit cool mountain streams from British Columbia, south through California.
The picture at the top of the page shows a side view of the male with white nose and white thorax stripes. There is also a yellow form.
Clubtail Dragonflies: Dragonhunters
Dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus). A very large eastern Clubtail and the sole representative of the Hagenius genus. Our largest, most powerful dragonfly is the Dragonhunter, the largest of clubtail dragonflies.
It hunts other dragonflies and is immune to bee and wasp stings
Forceptails
At the opposite end of North America, three forceptail species roam near slow moving waters.
The large size, blue eyes, and relatively bright colors of the Two-striped Forceptail (Aphylla williamsoni) in the fourth picture help to catch the eye of careful observers.
Males are a bit more colorful than females, having the reddish bottom of the abdomen contrast with the darker patterned abdominal top. The female abdomen is a more consistent dark color.
They fly from mid-summer to late fall.
Caught flying, the Narrow-striped Forceptail (Aphylla protracta).
Leaftails
Leaftails are mostly a tropical and sub-tropical genera of clubtails. Two species, the Four-striped and Five-striped make appearances in Texas with spillover in New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Snaketails
Sixteen Snaketail Dragonfly species (Ophiogomphus) initially get recognised by the presence of a pronounced yellow and/or green thorax.
Snaketails adapt to multiple ecosystems, with species found in slow and fast moving water areas at most elevations.
The Great Basin Snaketail (Ophiogomphus morrisoni), for example, live in the high mountain areas of the Southern Cascades (Oregon) and Northern Sierra Nevada Mountains (California and Nevada). Some individuals are also known to fly down to the valleys.
The picture shows a side view of a male with a hint of the long patch of white along the side that starts at the top of the abdomen.
The yellow tips of the tail with their small, dark dots, are good field identification clues.
The Pale Snaketail (Ophiogomphus severus), on the other hand, prefers low elevation mountain streams throughout the West, partially into the Midwest.
Males and females look similar, with the green thorax serving as the primary field identification clue.
Bison Snaketails look similar, however they have a distinct brown stripe on the thorax.
Sinuous Snaketail
Ringtails
Ringtail dragonflies (Erpetogomphus) allso fit into the general clubtail dragonflies family.
Six Ringtails have been documented in the United States. Four of the six species are located in the Southwest, including the Serpent Ringtail in the picture. Populations of the Serpent Ringtail live in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
The species directly above this paragraph, the Eastern Ringtail has a range that extends across most of the area east of the Rocky Mountains. The final species, the White-belted Ringtail lives in the West, including the Rocky Mountain states and California, Oregon and Washington.
Sanddragons
Four Sanddragon species live in the United States, with the Common Sanddragon in the picture, having the widest range. It can be found in most states east of the Rocky Mountains.
The Gray Sanddragon in the above picture has a range limited to a few Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast states. The remaining two species, the Tawny Sanddragon and Belle’s Sanddragon have very limited Southeast ranges. The Tawny Sanddragon, for example, only flies in Florida.
Spinylegs
Spinylegs are strictly an Eastern genera of clubtails with three species documented. The picture shows a Black-shouldered Spinylegs, the most common species. It can be found in almost all states east of the Rocky Mountains.
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Meet the Mastermind behind the Magnificent Kalaw Fireworks Festival
03 Nov Meet the Mastermind behind the Magnificent Kalaw Fireworks Festival
Posted at 07:24h in Kalaw by Steph Cheung
Every November, when the rainy season comes to an end, the people in Myanmar’s Shan State throw a party. The fire balloon festival in Taunggyi is notorious. Thousands of people flock to the Shan State capital and risk their lives to watch hot air balloons explode in the sky. Equally magnificent, but perhaps lesser-known, is the fireworks festival in the hill town of Kalaw. Nestled in pine-clad mountains, this lovely little heritage town has a lot going for it at any time of the year, but it’s definitely worth a trip during the Tazaungdaing festival — also known as the ‘Festival of Lights’. As the night descends onto the town, the streets fill with glowing processions of locals carrying paper lanterns, small candles and sparkle sticks. They’re joined by teams of muscly men with drums, gongs and giant stacks of fireworks arranged carefully around the top of bamboo poles, moving towards the sports ground nearby. When the poles are lit, for a split second you can see nothing but fountains of flames and seas of sparkle. We meet U Ngwe Saung, the inventor of the famous ‘firecracker tower’, to find out what it takes to build a winning tower, learn more about the festival’s unique community spirit and how it all started.
“I had the idea to build a tall firecracker tower when I was just twelve years old. My friend was about to become a young monk, so for his novation ceremony, I decided to build something spectacular. My father helped me build a tower, which we took to the monastery. We were the first family to have such a small festive celebration like this in Kalaw. Since then, other people have wanted to join us and make firecracker towers as well. Every year, the festival is getting bigger.”
Now at seventy years old, Ngwe Saung is very proud to see what started as a fun day of invention for him as a young boy, turn into a festival that encourages youth to channel their creative energy. Every year in November, teams lead a procession through town of firecracker poles, which are handmade from homemade fireworks and bamboo. The festival coincides with the full moon day of Tazaungdaing, which occurs on the eighth month of the Burmese calendar. The festival is the loudest and most famous in the Shan State capital of Taunggyi. Yet U Ngwe Saung says the celebration in Kalaw is just as exciting.
“At first, we wrapped pine in small pieces of wood that burn quickly around a long wooden pole to create our firecracker towers. Over the years, we chose to use bamboo sticks with a stick on top and cloth soaked in gasoline instead,” explains Ngwe Saung in his home in central Kalaw. With his legs wrapped around his chair, he retells with animated hand gestures how over time, the poles have become taller for shooting firecrackers into the sky.
“Now the poles are 10 metres high. We shoot rockets into the sky to send a message to Buddha. We want to know if it will be a good harvest or not, which is why we give an offering of light to the skies. In Shan, we also believe that we have been born from dragons, so we offer fire to the dragon ancestors as well.”
Although Ngwe Saung has retired from fire-tower building, he lends his creative eye to many other fields. First and foremost, he introduces himself as an environmentalist.
Ngwe Saung was forced to drop out of school at the tender age of 10 when his mother died and the responsibility of looking after his brother and sister fell on his shoulders. Ngwe Saung’s father gave up his trade of carpentry so he could spend time with his children, and together they worked in a plot of land of damson plum trees, which he bought. Ngwe Saung quickly developed an environmentalist way of thinking and also began to suggest value-added products like preserving fruit, using bark to make natural dye and jams. He has continued his entrepreneur skills and helps farmers around Kalaw with knowledge about how to improve their techniques, and gives market advice about the most profitable fruit trees.
Tazaungdaing 2019 will be celebrated from November 3rd, 2019 to November 12th, 2019.
Excited to discover the Kalaw Fireworks Festival and more?
Explore Kalaw through the lens of locals with the iDiscover App&Map, created and designed by locals. Download our app (it’s free!) here, and here to get your free, beautifully illustrated map of Kalaw to complement our app.
About iDiscover
Our guides are created by locals, designed by locals and powered by locals… with a little help from iDiscover. Hear their stories, share their passion and learn what they love! Our Kalaw Neighbourhood App&Map are curated by Kalaw Tourism Organisation, illustrated by local artist Ko Wai Yan and proudly powered by The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ).
Words and photos by Libby Hogan
Libby is a freelance journalist who has documented the changes across Myanmar’s many ethnic states in the past three years, specifically after Aung San Suu Kyi won the elections. Her passion is looking at youth culture and stag leaping to isolated regions to hear untold stories from those who never had access to media or the opportunity to speak freely. Check out her website.
Interviews by Nang Phoo Pyi Mon
Phoo is a Shan girl. A lover of nature. She would not want to live anywhere else but in the Shan mountains. Phoo loves talking to people and people love talking to her. As a language graduate, she has a deep interest in psychology, culture and religions, in her country and far beyond.
craftsmanship, events, festival, heritage, kalaw, Myanmar
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Kalaw Heritage Hotel – Through the Eyes of its Last Living Original Resident
Temple fatigue in Myanmar? Find religious gems in the Heritage Town in the Shan Mountains of Kalaw
Finding Myanmar memories in the picturesque heritage town of Kalaw
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Published on Institute in Basic Life Principles (https://iblp.org)
Home > About IBLP > What We Do > International Ministries
Sveta and Masha were among the first of our orphans to come to the Moscow Training Center. Arriving apprehensive and tearful, they quickly responded to the genuine love of Christ that was shown to them.
Amazing doors of opportunity to minister in other countries have been opened to IBLP through the bright countenances of young people who are committed to God in every area of life and radiate His love to others. In every country where we serve, national leaders have been captured by their Godly character and purpose in life and desire these qualities to be characteristic of their own nations.
As the IBLP Ministry becomes part of a nation’s society and as we seek to honor those in authority and help them achieve their goals, God is glorified and many are drawn to Him.
If you would like more information about any of these ministries, please contact the IBLP International Ministries Department at 630-323-9800, ext. 208 or by e-mail at [email protected] [2].
Sign up to receive a newsletter [3] filled with reports of what God is doing in countries around the world and specific prayer requests.
In 1993, IBLP began a ministry in Australia, which now traverses most of the country. We serve the nation from our Yarra Training Center [4] through life-changing seminars, character-building opportunities, and the ATI home-education program [5]. The potential of ministry to troubled youth and their families in Australia continues to grow.
The eagerness and excitement with which those in Mexico embrace God’s truths presented at Basic [6], Advanced [7], and Financial Freedom Seminars [8] has continued for more than a decade. A dedicated local staff oversees the seminars and has expanded the work by serving government leaders, ministering to orphans and prisoners, and supporting the ATI program [5] in Mexico.
At the encouragement of Mongolian leaders, IBLP established a base of operations in Ulaanbaatar, in 2000, to serve the Mongolian people through teaching English and character, evangelism and discipleship, by reaching out to orphans and abused children, and providing training in practical skills.
New Zealand was the first country outside the U.S. to begin hosting Basic Seminars [6] in 1990. Ten years later, the Ministry of Education requested help with a rapidly growing problem—youth who have been suspended from school and lack direction in life. The Arahina Training Center [9] exists to encourage and mentor alienated youth through a program called Buildcom.
In 1999, the city leaders in the Manila metro area had a growing interest in character development and invited IBLP to work with them to achieve this goal. The following year, the first two Basic Seminars [6] were hosted in the city of Manila. Since that time, the seminar ministry has continued and God has given exciting opportunities to disciple orphans and instruct pastors in Biblical principles.
In 1998, we began teaching character and Biblical principles in the public schools and orphanages of Romania under the direction of the Ministry of National Education. This ministry has now expanded to include seminars for police; working with Parliament, prisons, mayors, and local governments in Bucharest and other cities; serving in churches and summer youth camps; and hosting Basic Seminars [6] throughout the country.
God has also given us the privilege of discipling believers and churches all around the country by training over 330 Russian pastors and lay leaders in the foundational Biblical principles of the Basic Seminar [6].
Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia
Through the prayers and hard work of seminar alumni from Southeast Asia, the first Basic Seminar [6] in Singapore was conducted in 1993. Today, seminars are also held in Malaysia and Indonesia with ATI [5] students teaching at Children’s Institutes [10] and providing character training in all three countries. The example of these dedicated students inspired many Asian families to want to home educate their own children through the ATI program [5].
An IBLP Seminar Office [11] was established in Taipei in 1995 to support the numerous seminars [12] and Children’s Institutes [10] that are held in major cities. In 2001, we were invited by the Ministry of Education to teach English in public schools and summer camps. This unique ministry continues on to date.
Source URL: https://iblp.org/about-iblp/what-we-do/international-ministries
[1] https://iblp.org/node/996/
[2] mailto:[email protected]
[3] https://iblp.org/stay-informed/iblp-newsletter-request
[4] https://iblp.org/about-iblp/what-we-do/training-centers#ytc
[5] https://iblp.org/discipleship-tools/home-education-advanced-training-institute
[6] https://iblp.org/discipleship-tools/basic-seminar
[7] https://iblp.org/discipleship-tools/advanced-seminar
[8] https://iblp.org/discipleship-tools/financial-freedom-seminar
[9] https://iblp.org/about-iblp/what-we-do/training-centers#atc
[10] https://iblp.org/programs/global-encounters/international-childrens-institutes
[11] https://iblp.org/about-iblp/contact-us#iblptw
[12] https://iblp.org/seminars
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Canada 150 Ten Minute Talks: "The Irish Origins of Canadian Confederation: A Slightly Twisted Perspective" (Prof. David Wilson)
Tuesday, March 14, 2017, 3:00PM
Prof. David Wilson, Professor, Department Of History, U Of T
The "Ten Minute Talks" series will be afternoon events held during the winter semester, and led by faculty from the History Department. Light refreshments will be provided. The idea is that these will be very short talks giving a basic introduction to the issues for a non-specialized audience, followed by discussion.
This talk will be given by Professor David Wilson, whose background in modern North Atlantic history is specialized in modern Irish history and the Irish in North America.
Kimberly Main
kimberly.main@mail.utoronto.ca
Room 2098, Sidney Smithy Hall, 100 St. George St, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3 view full map
Alumni and Friends, Community, Faculty, Graduate Students, Undergraduate Students, Staff
Photo credit: LAC “Fathers of Confederation” MIKAN: 3194982. Public Domain.
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Online Song Encyclopedia
I’ve Just Seen A Face (as made famous by The Beatles)
January 2, 2018 by HistoryOfMusic
“I’ve Just Seen a Face” is a song by the Beatles. It appeared on their 1965 United Kingdom album Help! and in the United States on the Capitol Records version of the Rubber Soul album.
“I’ve Just Seen a Face” was written by Paul McCartney[4][5] (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and features McCartney on vocals. Before its recording, the song was briefly titled “Auntie Gin’s Theme” after his father’s youngest sister, because it was one of her favourites.[6][7] It is one of very few Beatles songs that lacks a bass track.[citation needed]
McCartney has stated, “It was slightly country and western from my point of view… it was faster, though, it was a strange uptempo thing. I was quite pleased with it. The lyric works; it keeps dragging you forward, it keeps pulling you to the next line, there’s an insistent quality to it that I liked.”[8] Its lyrics sound effortless and conversational, but they also contain a complex sequence of cascading rhymes (“I have never known/The like of this/I’ve been alone/And I have missed”) that is responsible for the song’s irresistible propulsion.[9] According to music critic Richie Unterberger of allmusic, “Several songs on 1964’s Beatles for Sale, as well as “I’ll Cry Instead” from A Hard Day’s Night, had leaned in a country and western direction. But ‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’ was almost pure country, taken at such a fast tempo that it might have been bluegrass if not for the absence of banjo and fiddle.”[3]
Music critic Ian MacDonald said the up tempo song “lifted the later stages of the Help! album with its quickfire freshness.”[10] Capitol Records chose it as the lead track for the US edition of Rubber Soul with the intent of giving the album a stronger acoustic feel, in step with the then-current folk-rock movement.[8]
The song was recorded by the Beatles on 14 June 1965 at Abbey Road Studios in London in the same session with “Yesterday” and “I’m Down”.[11]
Paul McCartney – lead vocal, harmony vocal, acoustic lead guitar
John Lennon – acoustic rhythm guitar
George Harrison – acoustic lead guitar
Ringo Starr – brushed snare, maracas
Personnel per Ian MacDonald[7]
Categories Beatles Post navigation
The Ballad Of John And Yoko (as made famous by The Beatles)
Eyes Without A Face (as made famous by Billy Idol)
Andrea True Connection
Eric B & Rakim
Herman's Hermits
Lemon Pipers
Ohio Express
Peter and Gordon
Standells
Technotroic
Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks
Tommy James & The Shondells
Act Naturally (as made famous by The Beatles)
All I’ve Got To Do (as made famous by The Beatles)
All You Need Is Love (as made famous by The Beatles)
And Your Bird Can Sing (as made famous by The Beatles)
Anna (Go To Him) (as made famous by The Beatles)
Any Time At All (as made famous by The Beatles)
Baby It’s You (as made famous by The Beatles)
Bad Boy (as made famous by The Beatles)
Boys (as made famous by The Beatles)
Chains (as made famous by The Beatles)
Dizzy Miss Lizzy (as made famous by The Beatles)
Don’t Bother Me (as made famous by The Beatles)
Don’t Let Me Down (as made famous by The Beatles)
Glass Onion (as made famous by The Beatles)
Good Morning Good Morning / Sgt. Pepper’s Reprise / A Day In The Life (as made famous by The Beatles)
Helter Skelter (as made famous by The Beatles)
Here Comes The Sun (as made famous by The Beatles)
I Am The Walrus (as made famous by The Beatles)
I Call Your Name (as made famous by The Beatles)
I Feel Fine (as made famous by The Beatles)
I Need You (as made famous by The Beatles)
I Wanna Be Your Man (as made famous by The Beatles)
I’ll Be Back (as made famous by The Beatles)
I’ll Cry Instead (as made famous by The Beatles)
I’ll Get You (as made famous by The Beatles)
I’m A Loser (as made famous by The Beatles)
I’m Looking Through You (as made famous by The Beatles)
I’ve Got A Feeling (as made famous by The Beatles)
If I Needed Someone (as made famous by The Beatles)
It Won’t Be Long (as made famous by The Beatles)
It’s Only Love (as made famous by The Beatles)
Misery (as made famous by The Beatles)
Not a Second Time (as made famous by The Beatles)
One After 909 (as made famous by The Beatles)
Please Mr. Postman (as made famous by The Beatles)
Please Please Me (as made famous by The Beatles)
Run For Your Life (as made famous by The Beatles)
Savoy Truffle (as made famous by The Beatles)
Sexy Sadie (as made famous by The Beatles)
She Said She Said (as made famous by The Beatles)
She’s A Woman (as made famous by The Beatles)
Slow Down (as made famous by The Beatles)
Thank You Girl (as made famous by The Beatles)
Ticket To Ride (as made famous by The Beatles)
What You’re Doing (as made famous by The Beatles)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (as made famous by The Beatles)
With A Little Help From My Friends (as made famous by The Beatles)
Words of Love (as made famous by The Beatles)
You Can’t Do That (as made famous by The Beatles)
You’re Going To Lose That Girl (as made famous by The Beatles)
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (as made famous by The Beatles)
You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me (version as made famous by The Beatles)
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Tag Archives: designer
The only person I’d heard of before visiting the fantastic exhibition ‘Women’s Work: Pioneering Women in Craft, 1918 – 1939’ was Enid Marx. What a joy, then, to stumble upon so many women with local connections who were busy shaping our modern world through craft just after the First World War. And in so many different ways. Take the modernist designers, Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher (below),
for example, whose jazzily designed textiles printed by hand, often using hand blocks, gained the attention – and custom – of Coco Chanel among many others.
Then there are the sumptuous designs of weaver, Alice Hindson, including beautiful bags, textiles, including this dress…
…and some of her student designs…
I also loved the vibrant pottery of Denise Wren, which included quirky, small animals, lamp bases, bright vases, and this ‘pot with “stormy sunset” glaze…
Another happy discovery – the work of Catherine ‘Casty’ Cobb, a pioneering silversmith, whose work often incorporated found objects – i.e. upcycling before the word was invented – and included an unusual cruet set made of ivory shot through with silver pins, as well as this bold, yet very chic necklace…
Quoting from the Ditchling Museum booklet “Respected as teachers as well as makers, the craftswomen were championed by female entrepreneurs and gallery owners and various networks were formed.” This is one of the things that emerged for me from the exhibition – the women weren’t just artists, they were businesswomen. Far from being impoverished artists starving in garrets or suffering for their art, they got on with taking their skills out there, starting successful businesses and producing incredible work – even if it wasn’t going to be as upheld in future years as it should be. Well done to Ditchling Museum for shining a light on these women and helping to give them the recognition they deserve.
What I liked about the exhibition (another thing I liked) was the cards that gave visitors the chance to write down and display the names of other craftswomen who aren’t given the recognition they deserve. This was mine…
Eastbourne’s Tirzah Garwood who so often falls in the shadow of her husband, Eric Ravillious, yet produced spellbinding woodcuts, particularly of people, animals, and domestic scenes. Tirzah deserves a post of her own (and will probably get one as I’m going to be talking about her on Thursday as part of my Pioneering Women of East Sussex talk for one of the Eastbourne WIs). Watch this space.
In the meantime, do go and see ‘Women Work’ in Ditchling to make some fantastic discoveries and learn about some women who should be household names.
It’s on until 13th October and open Tues to Sat 10.30am – 5pm, and Sunday and bank holidays 11.00 – 5pm.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged artist, designer, Ditchling Museum, exhibition, tours | Leave a reply
In Praise of Peggy Angus
I went to the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne last week and was baffled to discover a fantastic female artist who seems to have dropped out of conventional art history. The quite startingly good exhibition, ‘Peggy Angus: Designer, Teacher, Painter’ http://www.townereastbourne.org.uk/exhibition/peggy-angus/ is only on until 21st September and if you are in any way within reach of Eastbourne in the next few days – or even if you aren’t – you really should go. Peggy, although Scottish, worked locally, having bought a shepherd’s cottage called ‘Furlongs’ near Firle. The Sussex countryside is a robust and lively presence in her work, as much a part of her paintings as it was in her friend’s, Eastbourne artist Eric Ravilious, with whom she used to paint. Her life and work and great generosity as an artist and woman deserve much, much more than the brief, potted resume I’m going to give here, but this is her basic story…
Peggy (real name Margaret MacGregor Angus) was born in 1904 in Chile where her father was a railway engineer. Aged 17 and resettled with her family in Muswell Hill, Peggy won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art where her contemporaries numbered Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Edward Bawden. She was taught by Paul Nash, who claimed she was the most obstinate student he’d ever taught. With her brothers and father lost in the First World War it became apparent that, for Peggy, art could never be a luxury but a means to earn money. She trained to be a teacher and in the early 1930s, with one of her teaching jobs bringing her to Eastbourne, she decided to buy ‘Furlongs’, a ramshackle and primitive stone cottage without running water nestling in the South Downs (the story goes that the owner of the house, a local farmer, initially didn’t want to sell so Peggy just set up a tent and camped outside until he changed his mind a few months later). Furlongs was a weekend retreat where she immersed herself in painting lively scenes of the surrounding countryside, all frisky cattle, rat-catchers, threshing, and milking cows ‘I like doing life, things happening,’ she says on a 1980s-filmed interview that runs in the exhibition ‘People doing things.’ Unlike Ravilious whose depictions of the exact same places are haunting, empty of people and isolated, making the landscapes of the South Downs oddly haunting and magical, Peggy’s show a version that is full blooded and immersed in everyday life, warts and all. Peggy and Eric Ravilious, a frequent guest at Furlongs, would go out and paint together. They were both fascinated by the nearby Asham Cement Works (now demolished) and it’s interesting to see both artists’ depictions of this evocative landmark hung next to each other in the gallery, Peggy’s robust and in oil next to the wispy, wintry Ravilious watercolours. This is Peggy’s from 1934.
I am loving imagining the pair of them, lugging their easels over the Downs, perhaps sandwiches or a piece of cake wrapped in paper, the famously jocular Ravilious and Peggy who has been described as ‘eccentric’, ‘opinionated’, ‘difficult’ and ‘a warrior’. Did they argue over their different depictions and styles? Did they laugh?
And here’s one by Ravilious from 1939, ‘Tea at Furlongs’ . Wouldn’t you just like to pull up a chair and pour yourself a cup of tea at that table?
I can’t resist adding this portrait of John Piper completed by Peggy in 1937, now in the National Portrait Gallery.
Those colours and shapes! I stood in front of this in the gallery and it seemed to glow.
Furlongs became something of an alternative Charleston. Not only Ravilious and his wife, the artist and engraver Tirzah Garwood, but also Herbert Read, Serge Chermayeff (co-architect of Bexhill-on-Sea’s De La Warr Pavilion), Brighton artist Percy Horton, John and Myfanwy Piper, painter and Bauhaus professor Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, among others, were frequent guests. The Towner exhibition has recreated one of the rooms – a burst of colour, gorgeous wallpaper, murals and unmatching crockery. Remarkable that the two cradles of artistic talent, just a stone’s throw away from each other, didn’t seem to rub shoulders. I get the impression – I might be wrong – that Furlongs was a whole lot less self-conscious, the ‘Coronation Street’ to Charleston’s ‘Dynasty’ perhaps.
In the title to the exhibition the word ‘painter’ comes last after ‘teacher’ and ‘designer’. Beautiful as her paintings are, it’s really in the latter two that Peggy Angus made her most enduring mark.
Peggy was a fan of William Morris and believed that art and life were inseparable, that art could be found in the everyday and was at its best when it was by the people, for the people, a joy to the maker and user. A visit to the Soviet Union in 1932 with the Art Teachers Conference impressed her with that country’s equality for women and its discussion of art in the context of social history. (This visit impressed her so much she was known as ‘Red Peggy’ afterwards). The impulse to use her talent for the good of society was strong. Not only did she teach, gaining a reputation for coaxing talent from her pupils as well as a lifelong love and respect for the potential of art as a force for good, she also became an incredibly prolific designer, although this seems to have been accidental. Post second world war, when art materials were in short supply, ever practical Peggy turned to potatoes, encouraging her students to experiment with potato printing. One evening FRS ‘Kay’ York, one of the architects involved in the nationwide post-war reconstruction of schools and public buildings, came to dinner, saw the tiles and thought they’d make good murals. Peggy became a prolific and beautiful tile designer, her simple but starkly colourful geometric patterns the perfect way to soften the hard materials and angular lines of the new buildings. .
Her tile work (sadly no longer there) embellished, among many, many other places, the early Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. Below is what you could have enjoyed arriving at Heathrow in 1955.
Peggy would draw the designs of the tiles onto paper and when her daughter suggested hanging some on the wall she had the idea of creating wallpaper. Like the tiles, these were often wonderful geometric patterns often in two shades of the same colour. Ever practical again, she would design them in emulsion paint so clients would be able to mix and match them to their houses with ease.
I took a lot of things away from this exhibition. Mainly – why haven’t I heard about this woman before? Perhaps the circumstances of her life – a single mother with two children meant that, unlike many of her male contemporaries who had the luxury of slipping off to places like Paris to find themselves and experiment for a few years, she had to work hard to earn money. She was never wealthy (apparently she was making the journey to Furlongs from London on the bus with a rucksack until old age). She also had a social conscience which played a part, I think, in her spending a lot of her energy in sharing her talent, nurturing, encouraging, lighting sparks in other people (in her eighties she was running art classes for senior citizens in London). I came across this great article in The Observer http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jul/06/peggy-angus-warrior-painter-designer-tiles-wallpaper in which Rachel Cooke writes “Perhaps, too, her reputation, or lack of one, is connected to the matter of personality. For women of Angus’s generation, professional life was rarely anything less than a struggle: they were required to be tough and, as a result, often
seemed difficult. “She could be really rude to people,” says her daughter, Victoria. “Absolutely foul. She thought it was unfair, her life. She longed for a wife, for someone to do the cooking so she could get on with her work.”
This great generosity and sharing spirit comes out so well in the exhibition. I left with a spring in my step. All those colours, the busyness, the activity in her paintings, the beautiful tiles and wallpaper that would cheer and enrich any house, the fact that, in this artist’s hands, mere potato printing went on to adorn the walls of the world’s busiest airport, the Scottish folk songs from the interviewed film, Peggy’s voice singing out. Working in museums I see a lot of exhibitions but I left this one with a sense that life was a bit brighter.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged artist, designer, Eastbourne, teacher | 2 Replies
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Black History Museum
Downtown Neighborhood
Our building was the Idaho Black History Museum located in Julia Davis Park. The museum proves Idaho�s rich foundation of history, diversity, and �reinvention�, being the oldest black history museum in the Pacific Northwest. The building was originally constructed as the St. Baptist Church in 1921, which was founded by Reverend William R. Hardy in 1908. In 1982 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Idaho Black History Museum, a non-profit corporation, was established in March 10, 1995 and is an organization established to educate individuals about the history and culture of African Americans, with special emphasis on African Americans in Idaho. The Museum presents exhibits and provides educational and community outreach programs including lectures, films, workshops, literacy programs, and musical performances. The Museum itself is currently housed in what used to be the St Paul Baptist Church. The Church, constructed in 1921 is one of the oldest structures built by Blacks in the state of Idaho and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The original Church was donated to the Idaho Black History Museum, Inc. by the St Paul Baptist Church Congregation in 1994 when they vacated the original building for a larger facility. Boise City Parks and the Recreation Commission had discussions of moving the building to Julia Davis Park in Boise. They later gave authorization for the move forward to relocate the building pending City Council approval on May 21, 1998. On June 9, 1998 Boise City Council voted unanimously to authorize the Idaho Black History Museum to move the museum to Julia Davis Park. Ground breaking ceremonies were held on August 18, 1998. The building was relocated to Julia Davis Park on September 8, 1998, with renovations beginning in October 1, 1998. The Grand Opening for the new museum was held on March 8, 1999. The Museum shares the eighty-six acre Julia Davis Park neighborhood with other popular institutions, including the Boise Art Museum, Idaho State Historical Museum, Zoo Boise, the Rose Garden and the Discovery Center of Idaho. This was definitely an appropriate location for the museum as it is surrounded by other significant museums to Idaho�s history. The building did lose a piece of its architecture when it was relocated to Julia Davis Park. The original building contained a kitchen underneath what is left of the building today. There used to be stairs leading down to the kitchen right as you walked in the front doors of the building. However when the building transitioned from a church to a museum, the kitchen was no longer needed. Its unfortunate they did not keep that part of the building, as the kitchen would have supplied that much more architectural significance. We decided that the architectural style of the Idaho Black History Museum was probably more colonial even though it was built in 1921. It has the typical white clapboard all around the outside, and it shows similar siding on the inside with some original oak clapboard along the walls. It doesn�t have any shuttered windows, but it has these beautiful stained glass windows. After interviewing Bob Olson we found out that those windows were actually ordered from a Sears Roebuck catalog, which we thought was pretty interesting since they looked pretty authentic. The Museum also has that rectangular shape to it, and it is very symmetrical with matching amounts of windows on both sides. A weird touch that the building has is a brick chimney, we didn�t find out if that was original to the building or not, but it definitely stood out among the plain, white style of the building. Another interesting feature of the building was the front doors. We found out that they weren�t original to the building, but they were hand carved and placed on the building when it was moved to its current location. The style of this building was very rare for 1920�s Boise. It was built as a church originally and you can tell that they didn�t have a lot of money to spend on it. It was one of the only black Baptist churches in Boise at the time and it didn�t have to be this huge fancy building. In a way, this building shows how much black people of Idaho were discriminated against. They didn�t have a lot of money to build the church and the building didn�t really have any character in the beginning. The only expensive part of the building was the stained glass windows, and even then they were ordered from a catalog so it wasn�t that expensive. African Americans just wanted a place to practice their religion and this building is what they came up with. It was one of the only public places where any race was allowed in Boise at the time. Idaho was very bad when it comes to discriminating against others, especially blacks. That is probably why they turned the church into the Idaho Black History Museum. They wanted to remind Idahoans that there were black people in Idaho, and even if they weren�t treated well they were present and they did some amazing things.
Building submitted by Sarah Shaw & Bri Strodtbeck
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Preface; this is just some scattered thoughts and reaction to events that unfolded in the larping community today. There’s probably a ton of stuff that I need to elaborate on at some point.
This meme feels particularly appropriate today.
I started larping when I was 13 years old, some 20+ years ago. Back then we were the weird kids running around woods with padded sticks and bedsheets with holes cut in them.
But the worlds we built felt so real and captivating, that it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that this particular bug was one that stuck around.
Larping permeates all layers of societies and larpers come from all walks of life. It’s one of the things that make this community great. Especially in Scandinavia where I believe we do what we can to make sure that there’s room for everyone; in spite of flaws, social ineptitude or diagnosis.
Most of us have always been the odd ducks, so I’d like to tell myself we’re more tolerant of whatever damage the others carry around (this is of course total bullshit, but I like the thought and the idea that this is what we work towards).
Fast forward to today, and larping is a massive hobby. We who participate in it form international communities and share incredible experiences. We pour obscene amounts of money, time and effort into crafting our worlds, and as we’ve grown up we’ve become an increasingly demanding audience.
Commercialising our art
It’s difficult to talk about larping in Scandinavia without mentioning Dziobak Larp Studios. They’re the producers of the massive events you’ve read about on Geek & Sundry, HuffPo and elsewhere. From the Harry Potter-ish College of Wizardry to the Downton Abbey inspired Fairweather Manor they’ve managed to bring larping into the mainstream. That is in and of itself a massive accomplishment. But sadly these successes have not come without cost.
DLS is the brainchild of “Visionary Wild Card” Claus Raasted. Claus is an old acquaintance of mine, and I can definitely vouch for the “wild card” part of his chosen title. We’ve rarely seen eye to eye, and at times it has led to clashes, which were from my perspective more a matter of personality than objective. It’s hard to refute the benefit of having Claus in our community. He is, for better and worse, a trailblazer and a force to be reckoned with.
So, what’s the problem
Sadly, as DLS has grown and the company is trying to be profitable that “come hell or high water” attitude has repeatedly caused problems for DLS. It’s easy to see how this particular aspect of Claus’ personality permeates his company.
There was a time when the laissez-faire attitude of associations were easier to deal with because everyone was a volunteer and just doing the best they could with what was available. To me it feels like as if DLS is often trying to play itself down as “just another association”, while still being a for-profit company.
It feels to me that DLS hasn’t quite realized that there’s a different level of expectation when you’re a for profit company selling a product. Sure, they may say it’s co-creation, and that’s likely true, but that’s also really easy to sell with a customerbase as intensely passionate as the average larper.
No one is perfect, and growing a company naturally means you will fuck up from time to time. It is, however, how you manage those fuckups that will define your long term success. And it is managing it’s fuckups that it seems to me that DLS stumbles again and again.
Rather than respond to criticism by listening and integrating, they try to silence critics. By going so far as using a business relationship to silence a critic by contacting their employer. Or by saying that critics have hurt their employees feelings (welcome to the big leagues; this is how customers react).
Fucking up rights management. Which is an admittedly difficult arena when you have so many passionate volunteers who will spend so much of their spare time to make sure their experience at your event is the best experience it can possibly be. But that just makes it so much more important that you get it right every single time.
And worst of all; repeatedly working with and hiring abusers and then turning a blind eye when made aware of the situation. This feels particularly grating as Claus has repeatedly positioned himself as a proactive feminist in the larping community, so seeing this kind of behaviour from his company ends making all his good works smack of manipulation and hollow talk (which I know it isn’t, but goddammit if it doesn’t feel like it).
It seems like the guiding principle at DLS is not unlike Facebooks; “move fast and break stuff”. The problem is of course that DLS has far less social capital than Facebook, and each time they break stuff they also erode the community’s confidence in them.
Most of the time I don’t respond or react at all to these kinds of things, but DLS is swiftly becoming the face of larp in a commercial sense, and I am so tired of seeing them drop the ball. Am I being unfair or too harsh? Maybe, though I don’t think so. All of my frustration is founded in wanting these lovable morons to succeed.
DLS would do well to figure out what their position is on social issues, because right now it certainly feels like they’re picking and choosing when it is convenient to respect and protect those who love and attend their events. Maybe then it’ll be easier to root for them again?
Journal, Roleplaying
drama, dziobak larp studios, larping
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Current: Image Comics at WonderCon
Image Comics at WonderCon
Image Comics is pleased to return to WonderCon this year on Friday, March 25 through Sunday, March 27.
VARIANTS SOLD AT THE IMAGE BOOTH (#1802):
Circuit Breaker #1 WonderCon Variant by Kevin McCarthy and Kyle Baker, cover by Kyle Baker ($10)
Tokyo Ghost HC Convention Variant by Rick Remender and Sean Gordon Murphy, cover by Sean Gordon Murphy ($35)
PANELS HOSTED BY IMAGE COMICS:
Image Comics: Where Creators Own Creativity, Friday, 3/25/16, 4:30p.m. - 5:30p.m., Room: 403AB
The sky's the limit with comics, as Joe Harris (SNOWFALL), Keenan Marshall Keller (THE HUMANS), Brian Schirmer (BLACK JACK KETCHUM), Jimmie Robinson (POWER LINES), and Brian Haberlin (FASTER THAN LIGHT) know very well. New creativity has been crucial to the success of comics and drives the most compelling stories out there. In this panel, we'll discuss the importance of creativity and resonant ideas when creating comics. There's no story that comics can't handle, so don't be afraid to go deep or weird or both.
Top Cow Productions: From Then to Now, Saturday, 3/26/16, 11:30a.m. - 12:30p.m., Room: 515B
Founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992, Top Cow Productions soon made its name as the publisher of hit comics like Witchblade, The Darkness, and Cyberforce. The series stood the test of time, spawning a whole multimedia empire. Sit down with Marc Silvestri, Matt Hawkins (COO of Top Cow Productions), and Bryan Hill (Story Editor) for an exclusive look at where Top Cow has been and where it's going next.
Image Comics: Where Creators Own Craft, Saturday, 3/26/16, 2:30p.m. - 3:30p.m., Room: 403AB
Ed Brubaker (THE FADE OUT), Kurtis Wiebe (RAT QUEENS), Tom Neely (THE HUMANS), Greg Hinkle (AIRBOY), and Malachi Ward (ISLAND) all bring one important thing to their work: a very, very high level of craft. Craft is what makes comics go—it makes for beautiful art, clever writing, and amazing storytelling. Craft is a product of talent, hard work, and experience—if you want to know what it takes, come listen to the best.
SIGNINGS HOSTED AT IMAGE COMICS BOOTH (#1802):
FRIDAY, MARCH 25TH
12:00 - 12:45 PM Greg Hinkle
1:00 - 1:45 PM Ed Brubaker, ticketed
2:00 - 2:45 PM Jimmie Robinson
3:00 - 3:45 PM Brian Haberlin
4:00 - 4:45 PM Kyle Baker & Kevin McCarthy
5:00 - 5:45 PM Dustin Nguyen
6:00 - 6:45 PM Joe Harris
SATURDAY, MARCH 26TH
10:00 - 10:45 AM Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel
11:00 - 11:45 AM Joe Harris
12:00 - 12:45 PM Malachi Ward
1:00 - 1:45 PM Kurtis Wiebe, ticketed
3:00 - 3:45 PM Sina Grace
5:00 - 5:45 PM Brian Schirmer
6:00 - 6:45 PM Tom Neely and Keenan Marshall Keller
SUNDAY, MARCH 27TH
11:00 - 11:45 AM Kurtis Wiebe, ticketed
12:00 - 12:45 PM Brian Schirmer
2:00 - 2:45 PM Sina Grace, Amber Benson, Daniel Freedman, ticketed
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Busayo pops up Naija on American runway
By Gregory Austin Nwakunor
23 October 2016 | 2:52 am
Knocks as Ondo Free School Shuttle Service stutters
1 day ago Sunday Magazine
Michael Iheonukara Okpara: A resolute and selfless leader
Back to school with energy and concentration
Michelle Oluwabusayo Olupona
As she walks gracefully into the upscale restaurant on Tiamiyu Savage, Victoria Island, Lagos, Michelle Oluwabusayo Olupona looks cheerful.
“I need a bottle of table water,” Michelle tells the lady behind the counter, looking over her Jackie-O sunglasses, she turns attention to her guest, she asks, “what do you care for?”
“Nothing,” her guest mutters.
“No, please you must get something,” she says with a smile.
“Can we sit there,” she asks, pointing to two empty seats by the corner.
Seated opposite the attractive, intelligent, and by every measure, healthily rounded legal practitioner and fashion designer, her guest couldn’t, but allow the tape to roll, as conversation drifted from law to the economy and finally, fashion.
“I’ve always had a creative side,” Michelle recalls.
Though, she read law and has practiced for over 11 years, Michelle’s love has been fashion making. She always wanted to express herself creatively.
“It is important for me to be seen as a creative person,” she quips, with a cheerful candour. The attorney adds, “it has, however, been challenging combining both professions. Practicing law in a firm, I knew quite early, wasn’t really for me, but for a variety of reasons, mostly financial, and because I had worked hard to earn the degree and become a lawyer, I felt compelled to stay in the position, though, it didn’t make me happy.”
You wonder why law and not a degree in fashion?
“My dad is an academic. My mum, on the other hand, is a totally creative person. She is a nurse and I think quite a lot of parents were like, ‘you have to get a certificate. That’s why we have come to this country.”
A podcast host, boxer, traveler and writer, Michelle is currently a counsel with New York City Economic Development Corporation. She advises and counsels small businesses on corporate formation, product development, intellectual property and general commercial matters. She negotiates and drafts structural and foundational documentation for growing companies. She equally advises and counsels on corporate governance matters, as well as conducts trademark searches.
Between September 2005 and September 2011, she was with Greater New York City as a senior associate, advising on a myriad of corporate matters. She was equally involved in legal representation for New York-based non-profits on a wide range of matters including, intellectual property, licensing, real estate, corporate governance and tax compliance.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Haas School of Business at U.C Berkeley and her Juris Doctor (JD) degree from New York University School of Law.
She was a corporate associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where she was specialised in corporate governance, finance and intellectual property matters. While at Cleary Gottlieb, she seconded to Lawyers Alliance for New York, advising non-profits on a variety of matters.
She said: “The lawyer’s duty is to sit down and read a lot of papers. I have a lot of energy and love running around… They are not really engaging and connecting with people. Law is more like somebody buying your time and paying for the content of your brain,” she says. “The creative industry is not like that.”
The creative industry opened her life to other possibilities and allowed Michelle to meet different people. She says, “though, I like law and found the discipline interesting, the actual practice is not.”
Michelle’s other life, fashion, has completely warped her. Though, it was her selfish way to really reconnect with her African roots, which she left in her twain years, moving to the US at a tender age, which brought out the best in her. At that age, it was really agonising. “In 2000, something in me said, ‘you have to start going to Nigeria. We left in 1991, and ever since, we’ve kept coming back,” she says, patiently.
She would always have her clothes made in Nigeria, using African fabric and textiles. The legal practitioner recollects the excitement she had over an outfit, which she wore as a small child, but didn’t fly, at all, in her school.
“I grew up in a very Yoruba home and never lost my appreciation and love for our culture and that includes our fabric, I would wear them and then wanted to just indulge that desire and wanted to celebrate that in a larger way,” she says, looking comfortable.
The smile on her face is understandably huge. She’s found hope and joy in her creativity. “In 2009, I made a few outfits and wore them in New York. People really liked it and started asking me who made it. This was when African fabrics were not the vogue in the US,” she says.
She would wear it to work and people started commenting on it. In 2011, she made a few dresses, which she kept under her bed. “There was one that had one pocket. I gave it to my sister, Bola, who wore it and people were just asking where she got it. I didn’t know how to sell Bola. Bola brought them out and started selling during my birthday party. At the end of the day, she sold three and she gave me a certain sum of money. I was so happy, because all I wanted to do was express myself creatively and not selling the stuffs. That was the first time I made something and gave it to someone who sold it.”
ON Saturday, October 1, Michelle celebrated Nigeria in the US with a fashion show tagged New York Pop Up | Fall Collection. For those at the event, it was an opportunity to share the traditional indigo dyeing technique that began among Yoruba women in Southwest Nigeria. “The Pop-Up was really exciting for me, as it was an opportunity to share more about the different textiles that inspire my work. I work primarily with Adire, which translates to ‘tie and dye’. I have to admit that I have been using the term incorrectly. I typically use Adire to describe all types of dyed fabrics that I work with, but that is actually wrong,” Michelle says.
“So, it is not indigo/blue/navy blue, it is not really Adire,” the lady admits. “There are three primary types of adire traditionally – Eleko, Alabere and Oniko. Historically, this rich blue was created with natural dyes from the indigo plant. What’s really cool about these prints is they often tell a story with the symbols that are drawn onto the fabric. Eleko is created using cassava paste (Eko, which is only my least favorite Nigerian breakfast meal) to hand draw the design (sometimes a stencil is used) before dyeing the fabric. (I have some video of that process which will post later). Alabere is created using needle and thread to create the design before dyeing and tying raffia around the fabric before dyeing creates Oniko.”
SINCE she found joy in fashion, Michelle is not reluctant to talk about how supportive her family has been to her career. She says, “when I started, the first thing was like, are you sure about this thing? I started doing it and I told them that’s what I wanted to do. There’s one thing I’m so sure in my mind, if I had not done it, I would have regretted. This business I have, I wouldn’t have had it, if not for my parents. The family has been very supportive.”
In addition, Michelle is the co-founder and chief legal officer for Busayo, an e-commerce company that curates textiles and apparel designed and manufactured in Lagos.
The designer reveals, “my principal inspiration is the grandiosity of African fashion in our traditional form… The fact that we Africans love to dress up and look fierce and that our clothing is a reflection of who we are. I wanted to design clothes that celebrate our African aesthetic and move African fashion beyond ‘tribalism’. I wanted to design clothes that I would want to wear. That was really it. I am a lawyer by training and was really nervous about straying off this prescribed path.”
She uses a lot of ankara and adire. She equally integrates other types of textiles such as, jersey and lace.
“I think our fabrics are so bold, creative and dynamic. And I am interested in clothing that is simple yet dramatic. Clothes that make statement. African fabrics do that in an amazing, powerful way,” she confesses.
For Michelle, there is so much a name can do. When she launched her vintage-inspired collection of wax prints for the contemporary American woman, the choice of a name to reflect the mood it’ll bring to all who wear her custom garments was Busayo: A word that means ‘addition to joy’ in the Yoruba language.
Over the years, Michelle has chosen other names to reflect her designs, but basically, they have a relationship with her. Most of her pieces are named after someone in her extended family and after other people she loves. However, Busayo’s three favourite pieces from that first collection were named after her siblings – Tolu, Bola and Jide.
The first collection was primarily named after women in her family. In the second collection and other collections, she honoured the men in her family. One of the pieces is Jacob, her dad’s name, while another, Kunle, is that of one of her uncles.
In her2012 collection, she was a lot more of accessories, integration of different types of African prints beyond Nigerian offerings. A lot more classic shapes, but more fun prints.
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You can support GWS!
Any of the links below will take you a page on the UA Foundation website where you can make a direct and secure credit card donation to the selected fund.
Gender and Women's Studies - Unrestricted
The mission of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies is to promote and support teaching, research and outreach that works to contest the historical, ongoing and pervasive gender-based oppressions within society.
Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy Endowment
Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy, a longtime faculty member and former head of the UA Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, is a major founding figure in women’s studies. As Kennedy prepares for retirement, her colleagues and friends have banded together to fund an endowment in her name.
The Women's Plaza of Honor
The Women's Plaza of Honor publicly and permanently celebrates women who have made significant contributions to the history of Arizona or whose lives have otherwise enriched the lives of others.
Women's Studies Advisory Council
(WOSAC) is a member-based community organization that promotes and supports the students, faculty and activities of the University of Arizona Gender and Women's Studies Department.
Support one of our scholarships!
Or, if you prefer to donate by check simply make your check payable to: "UA Foundation" and designate one of the funds listed above on the memo line and send to:
Department of Gender & Women's Studies
For more information, please contact the Department directly,
SBS-GWS@email.arizona.edu
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rob thomas, ph.d. rob thomas, ph.d.
Header background image: Neu Wave Hookers by Eon McKai (2005)
I am the author of User's Guide to Pornography (forthcoming, Zer0 Books). I live in San Francisco, CA where I have taught at San Francisco State University and other schools since 1998.
My courses are broadly concerned with the relationship between contemporary culture and the history of Western philosophy, with particular emphasis on modernism/modernity, theories of the image, pornography, affect, cinema, San Francisco, and political economy.
I hold a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Program in Philosophy, Literature, and the Theory of Criticism at the State University of New York (SUNY), Binghamton (2005), M.A. in Philosophy from SUNY, Binghamton (2004), M.A. in Humanities from San Francisco State University (2000), B.A. in Liberal Arts from Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA) (1997). In 1999, I studied with Giorgio Agamben in the seminar on "The Time That Remains" at UC Berkeley.
I can be found online at theorist.io
theorist.io
HUM 390
in the Fall of 2005, Dr Thomas began teaching Images of Eroticism as a feminist porn studies course. In 2017-18, he developed an online version of the course that was subsequently certified as Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT) by Academic Technology at SFSU. This is one of the most unique and transformative courses Dr. Thomas has ever created.
© 2005 – 2018 | Content and Design by Rob THOMAS, Ph.D.
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2.5% of Cypriots dependent on alcohol
September 17, 2018 at 9:28am
Edited by Melissa Hekkers
The increase in alcohol consumption by Cypriots of all ages and especially by teenagers has been observed during recent years and the Cyprus National Addictions Authority is taking action to implement programmes to deal with the matter.
The percentage of over-consumption of alcohol by students has been deemed as particularly worrying, while focus is being placed on the increasing rate being recorded by female students.
The data recorded in the Authority’s annual report that was recently delivered to the President of the Republic reflects a concrete image represented by the Cypriot society.
Of particular concern is the number of people of all ages who have applied for treatment due to their dependence on alcohol.
Based on the data recorded in the annual report of the Authority, 273 people applied for treatment due to alcohol abuse in 2016.
In its annual report, the Authority also analyses the data of individuals who have applied for and received treatment.
As recorded in this analysis, seven out of ten people who requested treatment were male. “The median age of these people was 47 years old, which places them in the middle and senior aged category.”
It should be noted that there were people aged between 18 and 74 year old among those who sought treatment.
The report also refers to the findings of the latest survey on alcohol consumption rates in Cyprus.
Specifically, with regard to the general population and in comparison to the results of previous surveys, the following was observed:
It was estimated that about 10% of the population has been drunk in the last 12 months and about 3% said it had been drunk in the last month. However, in comparison to previous years, there is a reduction in drunkenness. Additionally, one in about five people (22.6%) reported excessive consumption during the last month.
During the last few years of the survey (2012-2016) a decrease in the percentage of people who had driven after alcohol consumption was recorded.
It also appeared that the older people were, the smaller the percentage of those who proceeded to this behavior.
Using the ‘Brief Detection of Alcohol Abuse’ tool, it was estimated that at least 2.5% of the population is dependent on alcohol.
With regard to Cypriots’ perception of alcohol and relevant policies, people were generally prepared to support restrictive policies that have to do with more stringent traffic measures. Nevertheless, Cyprus is among the countries with the highest percentage of citizens who do not consider the risk of driving after the consumption of two or more drinks.
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Manchester revels in its reputation as one of England's coolest, most cosmopolitan cities. It's a vibrant cultural melting pot, with a colourful Chinatown, a mind-blowing Indian dining scene, and one of the UK's largest LGBT communities. The neo-Gothic grandeur of Manchester Town Hall offers a reminder of the city's illustrious industrial past, and serves as a striking counterpoint to recent additions to the skyline, like the dazzlingly futuristic Beetham Tower.
The nightlife is thrillingly eclectic, with all manner of trend-setting live music venues, chic cocktail bars and pulsing dance clubs to scope out. And football fans flock here in their droves to witness their idols in action at Old Trafford and the Etihad stadium.
Trending now in Manchester
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UNMISS: Troops deploy to stop communal violence in Sudan
Free Press Journal 3 December 2019
Juba: The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said Tuesday it had re-deployed 75 troops to halt a cycle of communal attacks and revenge killings that have left 79 dead.
The Nepalese troops based in the town of Rumbek were flown by helicopter, after heavy rains rendered roads impassable, to Maper 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the north to provide a "protective presence" in the area.
The deployment "follows reports from local authorities that as many as 79 people have been killed and a further 101 injured in a series of communal clashes and revenge attacks between the Gak and Manuer communities," UNMISS said in a statement.
The mission noted that while political violence had largely subsided in South Sudan due to the signing of a peace deal in September 2018 "intercommunal clashes continue to result in the killing and injuring of civilians, cattle raiding and the looting of property." Cattle raiding, a generations-old phenomenon in South Sudan, has grown increasingly deadly as cowherds arm themselves with automatic rifles, leading to vicious cycles of revenge killings.
Many herder communities nurse long-standing grievances unrelated to the national tug of war for power and the breakdown of law and order has only complicated such local conflicts. "This fighting must stop," said United Nations special envoy David Shearer.
"We are urging the communities involved and their leaders to put an end to the violence and to come together in reconciliation and peace for the good of their people." South Sudan plunged into war in December 2013 after a falling out between President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar. The latest peace deal has led to the longest ceasefire of the war, but plans to reunite the two men in a power-sharing government have been repeatedly delayed.
Also Read: Sudan rebels insist new parliament to be formed after peace deal
Acting In Concert
One in three poorest girls across the world has never been to school
New Yorkers to Join Global Day of Protest to Stop 5G on Earth and in Space, Saturday, January 25, 2020
On MLK Day, a Busy Week Expected
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Ore. residents help Native icon pay her rent
By Mandy Valencia
Medford, Oregon (AP) September 2012
On Tuesday, Sept. 11, Agnes Baker Pilgrim turned 88. Grandma Aggie, as many know her, is the oldest living descendant of the Takelma people and serves as a Native American spiritual elder and indigenous stateswoman.
She has been written about or videotaped for countless local stories. It’s her likeness, along with an eagle and a bear, in “We Are Here,” a 20-foot-tall wooden totem-like sculpture that greets visitors in downtown Ashland.
But while she may be widely known in the region, few know that she struggles to pay her rent and bills each month. So friends and acquaintances have banded together to help her. “We started the Agnes Baker Pilgrim Fund,” said Alice DiMicele.
“A group of people in Southern Oregon and other places help to pay Grandma’s bills and rent every month, but now her bills and rent have gone up in the last few years, and the amount of people who donate has dwindled because the economy is bad.”
As September approached, there were no funds in the account, so DiMicele decided to create a “virtual birthday party” for Baker Pilgrim on Facebook as an event, to try to raise money for the elder for her birthday.
“So many people love her and appreciate the work she does, but a lot of people don’t realize she doesn’t have a way to pay her bills and rent,” said DiMicele, “She’s going to be 88, she doesn’t need to be worried about paying her rent and bills.”
The seventh of nine children, Baker Pilgrim was born on Sept. 11, 1924, in Logsdon, on a tribal allotment near the headwaters of Oregon’s Siletz River. According to the biography on her website, www.agnesbakerpilgrim.org, she explored a variety of careers in her lifetime before following a more spiritual path in 1970.
“It’s ironic that we are raising rent money for someone while we’re occupying her land,” said Mary Dodd, a supporter of Baker Pilgrim. “Maybe we should be paying rent to her? It was her land to begin with, in a real way.”
In her earlier years she worked as a bouncer at a nightclub, a barber in a jail, a scrub nurse at a hospital, raced stock cars and managed a restaurant, all of which no doubt prepared her for her role as mother of three sons and three daughters, having married three times in her life. She is now the real-life grandmother of 18, great-grandmother of 27 and great-great-grandmother of one.
Baker Pilgrim was not available for comment as she was traveling to Pendleton to give offerings of berries and buffalo meat to prisoners in the state correctional facility there.
“If we can pay her rent for a while, then we can do fundraising to support her projects she wants to do, like the Salmon Ceremony,” said DiMicele. “The money that goes into the fund only goes to support her needs like rent and bills, or if she has a health emergency.”
After Baker Pilgrim decided to shift her life in the early `70s, she took on the medicine name of her Takelma great-grandmother, “Taowhyee,” or Morningstar. From 1974 to 1989 she worked as a manager and counselor at the United Indian Lodge in Crescent City, Calif. There she focused on alcohol-related problems, prevention, intervention and rehabilitation. Baker Pilgrim also dedicated her time to helping children of poverty-stricken families. In 1985 she graduated from Southern Oregon State College with an degree in psychology and a minor in Native American studies.
“It’s not like a charity thing, it’s a duty for all of us, not only because of what she teaches but because of what we took,” said Dodd. “That’s part of the teaching is knowing what we took. It’s not something to be defensive about – just wanted to throw that out there as someone with blonde hair and blue eyes.”
Donations to the Agnes Baker Pilgrim Fund can made at Rogue Federal Credit Union, or by mail to Agnes Baker Fund, C/O Julie Norman, 596 Helman St., Ashland, or by donating online at www.agnesbakerpilgrim.org.
“I want to send her a list of everyone who donated like a big virtual birthday card,” said DiMicele, “Julie and I will make sure she sees everyone’s name, but we want her to know that these are beautiful people that support her.”
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Sanders Beats Clinton in January Fundraising
The latest campaign financial reports for Bernie Sanders have revealed that he outraised Hillary Clinton in January.
Throughout January, Sanders managed to raise $20 million, while Clinton only brought in $15 million.
“We invested early in organizing and that investment has already paid off with a Hillary Clinton victory in Iowa,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement.
“Now, thanks to the support of more than 670,000 people across the country, we have the resources we need to take the fight to to New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and beyond. We are also continuing to work on the important goal of strengthening the Democratic Party to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot in November.”
The Clinton campaign also used Sanders’s January lead as part of a fundraising pitch, hoping to motivate supporters.
“If you’ve believed that Hillary Clinton is going to win this election because other people are going to step up and take care of it, this should be a very loud wake-up call,” campaign finance director Dennis Cheng wrote in an email to supporters Thursday.
“There’s no cavalry coming — it’s just people like you who are going to decide whether or not to step up to elect the first woman president our country has ever had.”
The two campaigns have both seen success while relying on very different fundraising strategies. Sanders has raised the bulk of his funds through small-dollar donations of $200 or less. He often boasts that the average donation is just $27.
Clinton’s operation, on the other hand, has been driven by donors who contribute the max amount of $2,700 per cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog.
The latest figure brings the total Clinton fundraising haul to over $130 million in the race. Added to that, a super-PAC, Priorities USA, raised over $41 million on her behalf in 2015.
Despite lagging behind Sanders for the month of January, Clinton has by far the most successful fundraising operation of any 2016 presidential campaign.
Of all the candidates, Sanders comes closest with $105 million.
Photo credit: Marc Nozell/Flickr.
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RT @dodo: This girl figured out exactly how to make her dog happy again 💛 https://t.co/lhNsE571BD 57 minutes ago
William A. Graham, first director on The FBI, dies
An end titles from the first season of The FBI
William A. Graham, who directed six of the first 11 episodes of The FBI, including the pilot and first broadcast episode, has died, according to obituaries at the Los Angeles Times, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER and DEADLINE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS WEB SITE.
The various obituaries referenced other Graham credits including the final Elvis Presley movie, Change of Habit, and episodes of The X-Files.
In 1965, producer Quinn Martin tapped Graham to helm the pilot for The FBI (which was the fourth broadcast episode) and the first episode to be shown on ABC. Graham had a variety of television directing credits, according to his his IMDB.com entry.
Filed under: The Other Spies | Tagged: Elvis Presley, Los Angeles Times, Nikki Finke's Deadline Web site, Quinn Martin, The FBI, The Hollywood Reporter, The Other Spies, William A. Graham | Leave a comment »
David Picker discloses some 007 tidbits
David Picker
David V. Picker, the former United Artists executive, provides some interesting behind-the-scenes 007 background in his memoir about his long film career.
Among them: Robert Shaw’s name surfaced in the earliest stages of casting Bond; Dr. No really cost $1.35 million, not the $1.1 million it had been budgeted for; and producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman started clamoring to renegotiate their deal with UA shortly after From Russia With Love was released.
That’s all part of the James Bond chapter in MUSTS, MAYBES AND NEVERS.
“Much has been written about Bond,” Picker writes. “Until now, no one has written in detail exactly what happened, how it happened and why it happened for one simple reason: they weren’t there.” The Bond series “would not have happened had it not been for this author’s belief in their potential.”
Picker, 82, was in his early 30s and head of production for UA when it negotiated a deal with Broccoli and Saltzman in 1961. He was the only one on the UA side who had read the Ian Fleming novels. The Bond chapter in the memoir expands on comments he has made in documentaries such as Inside Dr. No and Everything Or Nothing.
Picker doesn’t provide much in the way of details about Shaw, who played Red Grant in From Russia With Love, as a potential Bond. Broccoli and Saltzman were conducting the search and UA gave the producers a lot of a leeway. UA didn’t see anything in detail until Sean Connery was presented, according to Picker’s account.
The former executive has more to say about the budget. Columbia Pictures, which had released a number of Broccoli’s U.K.-produced films in the ’50s, wasn’t enthusiastic but was willing to provide a budget of $300,000 to $400,000, according to Picker. UA agreed to the $1.1 million.
Just before the start of filming on Dr. No, the final budget from Broccoli and Saltzman was for $250,000 more. “In today’s world that may not seem like a lot of money, but then it was a very big deal,” Picker writes. The author describes some subterfuge, enlisting the help of his uncle, Arnold Picker, one of the UA partners, to get the higher budget implemented.
As the series succeeded, Broccoli and Saltzman wanted their deals re-done. UA, however, wasn’t aware of Connery’s growing unhappiness until You Only Live Twice. “United Artists relied on our producers to deal with problems on their films.”
Picker describes how he took the lead at UA to get Connery back for Diamonds Are Forever, a film he credits with saving the franchise.
Picker does make one factual error in the chapter, listing Guy Hamilton as the director of From Russia With Love, instead of Terence Young. That aside, the chapter is an interesting read. The UA side of the Bond story often doesn’t get told and Picker’s viewpoint is worth checking out.
You can CLICK HERE to check out the memoir on Amazon.com
UPDATE: Non-007 reasons to read Picker’s memoir: anecdotes about how Stanley Kramer’s first cut of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World was 4:01 and the director vowed not to cut one frame; the backstory behind the movies The Beatles made for UA; how UA passed on movies such as The Graduate and American Graffiti. And much, much more.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Albert R. Broccoli, Arnold PIcker, David Picker, Diamonds Are Forever, Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Harry Saltzman, James Bond Films, Musts Maybes and Nevers, Terence Young, United Artists, You Only Live Twice | 5 Comments »
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Feature Article: Multi-Building Home Networks
simonmackay 28/11/2008 Feature Article, Network Management 2 Comments
What is a multi-building home network
A multi-building home network is a home or other small network where network devices are used in at least two buildings on the one property. The idea is for the whole logical network to be pervasive in all or some of the buildings that are on that same property.
The network will end up comprising of multiple segments (physical network connections) that cover each building where network presence is desired. Then there are segments that exist to create a bridge for data to move between buildings.
What properties and situations is this kind of network relevant to
The situation where this network comes in to its own is where it is desirable to have the home office in another building such as a detached garage or barn, but also the same Internet bandwidth needs to be available in the home and the detached building. This is more prevalent with farms where the “office” is the barn and none of the farm business is transacted in the homestead.
The same situation can exist with properties where there is at least one cabin, bungalow or static caravan that is used for extra guests or older children. Here, it may be desirable to provide the same Internet access as what exists in the main house to these locations. This is important with older children who use these buildings as their private space for activities including playing online games. In a similar vein, the same situation may extend to the use of a cabana that is located by the pool or in the garden as a place to benefit from Internet access through the use of a portable computer.
Now that various manufacturers are making network appliances like Internet CCTV cameras or Internet-enabled games consoles that benefit from being part of a network, this concept of multi-building home networks is becoming a lot more relevant. Imagine being able to keep an eye on the valuables in the garage or livestock in the barn from a PC in the house; or the older son playing an on-line game on the Xbox 360 using XboxLive in the bungalow.
How does this kind of network operate
This kind of network consists of many different segments that exist to cover the areas being served as well as segments that exist to transfer data out to the area-specific segments. All the segments are joined using media-specific bridge devices like wireless access points, Ethernet switches, HomePlug-Ethernet bridges or simply the local-network connections of the typical wireless router.
This means that all network devices that are part of this network setup are on the same logical network or subnet. This means that if they ask for IP addresses, they will get their IP addresses from the same DHCP server that is in the network-Internet “edge” router. They will also benefit from that router’s Internet gateway functionality and from resources made available to them by other network devices.
Dedicated wire run
The buildings may be linked by a direct wire, usually Category 5 / 6 twisted-pair copper Ethernet cable or fibre-optic cable. The fibre-optic cable is more expensive than copper-wire cabling, especially for smaller runs, but would suit installations where the buildings are a very long distance (3 kilometres) apart or there could be excessive electrical noise. On the other hand, copper-cable twisted-pair Ethernet can suit inter-building runs of up to 100 metres.
Both cables will need a dedicated run, which will typically require a trench to be dug between the buildings and the cable to be run in a conduit for best results. This work can be affordably done if you are running low-voltage communications cable like a telephone line between the buildings.
Each end of the cable run would need to have an Ethernet switch in the case of a copper-cable run or media converters in the case of a fibre-optic run. The Ethernet switches are just about a “dime a dozen” for a five-port or eight-port unmanaged 10/100Mbps unit suitable for small networks and a bit extra for Gigabit units. An existing switch that is part of your home network, such as the one built in to your router or used as a “hub” in your Ethernet-based home network can do the job equally as well as a dedicated switch.
This method uses a radio link as the means for data-transfer between the buildings. It is based on the use of 802.11a/g/n equipment, commonly known as WiFi equipment, which works at a theoretical raw data speed of 54Mbps for 802.11a/g and 248Mbps for 802.11n. The range where the speed will be maintained will depend on the wireless equipment used and the antennas (aerials) used with the equipment. Typically the bandwidth will taper off as the distance between the equipment increases.
Inter-building applications have typically used equipment that is capable of working with higher-gain directional antennas than what is typically supplied with the equipment and such equipment is typically installed outdoors with an Ethernet cable used for bringing data in to the buildings.
It can involve the use of “shared WiFi” where remote buildings are equipped with wireless client bridges that are pointed towards the wireless access point installed in the main building. This same method permits WiFi use by portable devices used in or near the main access point, but requires different SSIDs for access points used in remote buildings.
Another method is to use a dedicated wireless link for building-building data flow. This can be achieved through the use of multi-function access points that are set up as “wireless bridges”. This wireless link wouldn’t be able to be used by portable devices for wireless network access.
Yet another method that works with some wireless access points and wireless routers is to use Wireless Distribution System. It allows the member devices to become wireless-segment repeaters, thus expanding wireless segment coverage and becoming an Ethernet bridge for the data. Portable devices can roam amongst the stations as if they are moving around an “extended service set” collection of access points with a wired backbone. At the moment, the setup doesn’t permit true fault-tolerant signal meshing without bandwidth starvation, but can do a fair “hands-off” job of extending the “extended service set”.
Non-dedicated wire run
This method uses wires that are used to provide an existing service to the building rather than a dedicated wire run. It avoids the need to spend money on costs associated with running that dedicated wire, such as trenching and conduit runs, while avoiding the need to dig up established landscape.
There used to be two methods based around this concept but the most common one would be the HomePlug system which uses the infrastructure that is used to provide AC power to appliances that are used on the property. It is often marketed as a “no-new-wires” backbone for establishing new networks but can be used as a supplementary segment for existing networks. This is typically promoted through the small “infill” access points like the Netcomm NP290W which plug in to the wall and provide extra coverage for an existing wireless network.
It can work effectively in most residential, small-office and rural properties because they are often wired to the one general-purpose electricity service from the head transformer. This is typically exemplified with the property having one “common-tariff” electricity meter accounting for all the “common-tariff” electricity used on the property. It may not work if any building, like a bungalow, has been metered separately because, in most situations, the different services may have been derived from different phases.
Some sites may, because of inter-building wiring distance, require the HomePlug segment to be pushed out further. This situation is typical of buildings that are used as a “go-between” wire point for other buildings or static caravabs. This involves the creation of extra HomePlug segments for the remote buildings.
This is achieved by the use of 2 HomePlug-Ethernet bridges connected to each other by an Ethernet patch cord or Ethernet switch and installed close to the building’s AC switch board or fuse box.
One of the bridges is configured to use the Network Password (segment identification name for a HomePlug network, equivalent to an SSID for a WiFi wireless network segment) of main segment, while the other uses a new Network Password representative of the new segment. Remote HomePlug devices use new Network Password.
The appropriate method
Working From Scratch
You may be building the outbuilding from scratch or doing extensive renovations to an existing building, which involves work with the electrical circuits in the building. This includes running AC wiring to and establishing AC circuits in an existing building that has no AC power. In this case, you may want to “cover all your bases”, especially if you are dealing with a garage, barn, bungalow or cabin where the building is going to be a point of activity. This means running a dedicated wire run between the main building and the outbuilding. The materials that you use may depend on your budget that you allocate for the project.
This option can work very well in making maximum value from your tradesmen who are doing any cabling work on the project. If cost is an issue, you may have to use HomePlug as your inter-building link.
For existing buildings, especially on properties where there is established landscape, you will need to use either a wireless or HomePlug link.
If you prefer to run a wireless link, it may be preferable to use wireless infrastructure hardware which works with third-party antennas and is capable of working outdoors.
HomePlug can also and has been known to do a more reliable job as a building-building link in this context than wireless. This is more true of buildings that are made out of metal such as the “quick-assemble” garages and sheds because the metal frame and / or walls do block or limit the transmission of radio waves.
Typically these vehicles are capable of being moved around the property at a moment’s notice. Most of the time, these vehicles are hooked up to the nearest power outlet on the property using a long high-current low-resistance extension cord. This is often to enable use of interior lights and appliances that are plugged into power outlets that are installed in the vehicle. Also, this practice allows one to use the gas-electric fridge that is built in to the vehicle with it running off AC power rather than gas or the vehicle’s 12 volt battery.
A highly-reliable method of bringing the home network to these vehicles would be the HomePlug power-line link. This technology would be suited to the job because of the metal-based construction of the typical post-1950s caravan or campervan which can interfere with wireless inter-building links. The HomePlug access points like the Netcomm NP290W can work effectively in this situation by providing a strong wireless signal within the metal walls of these vans while using the power link as the data run.
As governments and Internet service providers make an effort to provide less-dense communities like the country and outer-urban areas with broadband Internet access, the idea of extending the home network beyond the main house on a large property will be very real. This article has explained how this idea can be achieved with the existing technology.
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robert garrett 07/01/2013
thanks for addressing this issue i have a shared phone line at buildiwng 2 would my dsl with a wireless modem act as an access point ?
simonmackay 07/01/2013
There used to be the HomePNA technology for phone-wire LAN setups but this has disappeared as a technology. One way I would go would be to have an Ethernet cable run between the main building and building 2 or use HomePlug AV power-line if both buildings are from the same electricity meter.
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