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Lou Reed October 28, 2013
Filed under: music news — NVMP @ 6:16 PM
Tags: David Bowie, Heroin, Hudson River Wind Meditations, John Cale, Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music, Street Hassle, The Raven, The Velvet Underground, Transformer, Venus in Furs, Walk on the Wild Side
by Jon Warhol
Rock legend Lou Reed died on Sunday Oct 27, 2013. I remember where I am and what I’m doing at the moment I found out one of my heroes passed – first George Carlin, then Christopher Hitchens, now Lou. Today, I’ll never forget how I opened my facebook tab to check for notifications and the first thing on my news feed, posted only seconds ago by the page “I bet I can’t find 100,000 people who know John Cale!”, announced the passing of an icon who not only had an enormous effect on the world of music, but my life and musical taste.
I’ll also never forget how scared I felt the first time I heard “Walk on the Wild Side” on the radio driving to high school one morning. It is by no means a “scary song,” but let me give some perspective: I was a young and impressionable high schooler with innocent ears, whose music taste was mainly classic rock influenced by my dad and surf music. There was something about Reed’s anti-singing that left me awestruck and unable to turn the dial. Lou’s signature cooler-than-cool NYC deadpan voice spoke of blowjobs, transvestites, drugs, colored girls and things I was too young to totally get and characters years before my time. As soon as I got home, I did research and found he was in a band called The Velvet Underground and decided to give them a listen. If “Walk on the Wild Side” scared me, you can only imagine what sort of madness was going through my head as I sat through “Heroin.” Like the effect of the drug Lou sang about, after just one listen, I was hooked.
Throughout his half-century career, Lou has had personal and musical high high’s and low low’s. No matter what direction he took himself and his music, he did so in a unique and artistic way. From the commercial glam rock of Transformer to the hour-long white noise of Metal Machine Music to the spoken word of The Raven to ambient meditation music from Hudson River Wind Meditations, Lou produced an incredibly long and diverse body of work. As the Velvet Underground’s principal songwriter, he created four studio albums, two bootleg albums and four live albums worth of material. As a solo artist, he made 22 solo records, 12 live albums and 44 singles. I own a good amount of his work, but still have a lot to go if I want to complete my collection. Whether or not you enjoy every single piece of his work, there is no denying he has been one of Rock’s most prolific and prominent composers.
He is one of very few, if not the only, to have made it onto both Rolling Stone’s lists of greatest singers and greatest guitarists of all time. It could be argued that without Lou Reed, David Bowie’s career would not have taken off the way it did, glam rock would not have happened and there would be no industrial music. However he is critically remembered, it is important to remember that historically speaking, Reed furthered Rock as being taken as a serious art form. He sung about topics considered risqué and taboo for his time but continually insisted that no one would find it weird if his lyrics were printed in a novel or a film script.
Reed’s artsy and non-radio-friendly songs have had the greatest impact on me. Even today you may never hear “Heroin,” “Venus in Furs,” “Street Hassle” or any number of his best works on the radio, but the noisier and more profane his compositions can be, the more beautiful I find them. I can’t even begin to think about amount of time, from the first time I heard “Walk on the Wild Side” to the present, how many hours/days/weeks I have spent listening to, buying, thinking about, talking about, reading about, researching, playing and enjoying Lou’s music. In the midst of all the “RIP LOU!” messages, tweets and whatevers by fans and celebrities, perhaps the short yet moving message by Reed’s life-long friend and band mate, John Cale, holds the greatest impact: “The world has lost a fine songwriter and poet…I’ve lost my ‘school-yard buddy’”.
Although I did not know him anywhere near the level John Cale did, I feel in a way, I too have lost a friend – a friend who left me more than 50 years’ of music to discover and further impact my life. A great regret will be that I can never see Lou perform live. His legacy and songs will not just live on in my heart, but in the heart of anyone who has ever picked up a guitar.
Long live Lou Reed, and long live Rock n Roll.
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Jack Fleck, 1955 U.S. Open Champion, Dies at 92 March 20, 2014 By USGA
FAR HILLS, N.J. – Jack Fleck, the winner of the 1955 U.S. Open Championship in a playoff over Ben Hogan, died Friday in Fort Smith, Ark., of natural causes. He was 92 years old. Fleck is survived by his wife, Carmen, and his son, Craig.
“Jack Fleck’s U.S. Open victory at The Olympic Club was one of the most significant in the history of the championship,” said USGA President Thomas J. O’Toole Jr. “We were delighted to welcome him back to Olympic for the 2012 U.S. Open and also to see him last year at Merion Golf Club. All of us at the USGA are saddened by this loss and deeply appreciative of Jack’s contributions to the game.”
Fleck was born into a farming family on Nov. 7, 1921, in Bettendorf, Iowa. He played on the golf team at Davenport (Iowa) High School, and caddied at a local course in the mid-1930s. He turned professional in 1939, and worked as an assistant golf professional at Des Moines Country Club.
Like many young men of the era, Fleck’s professional career was put on hold by World War II. Fleck enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942, and he was assigned to a British vessel that provided support at Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion in 1944.
Fleck left the Navy in 1946, and within two weeks, he was attempting to qualify for the PGA’s winter tour events. After toiling as a journeyman for several years, the 33-year-old Fleck finally decided to give full-time golf a try in 1955.
That decision immediately proved fruitful. At the 1955 U.S. Open, the relatively unknown Fleck overcame a three-stroke deficit in the final round at The Olympic Club in San Francisco to force a playoff with his idol, Ben Hogan. Fleck displayed nerves of steel on the Lake Course, converting birdies at two of the last four holes, including a 7-footer at No. 18, to tie Hogan and force an 18-hole playoff.
The next day, Fleck led by one stroke heading to the final hole. At the 18th tee, Hogan’s foot slipped and he drove the ball deep into the left-side rough. He needed three shots to reach the fairway and converted a 25-foot double bogey. Fleck’s comfortable par provided him with a three-stroke victory and one of the greatest upsets in golf history, denying Hogan the opportunity to win a record fifth U.S. Open. Fleck won using clubs made by Hogan’s equipment company, provided to him for free by Hogan himself.
That victory proved to be the pinnacle of Fleck’s career. He captured the 1960 Phoenix Open Invitational, and a few months later, he tied for third behind champion Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus at the 1960 U.S. Open. His final PGA Tour win came at the 1961 Bakersfield Open. In an interesting twist, all three of his victories came in extra holes. Fleck played in 13 U.S. Opens, lastly in 1977. He also played in 12 U.S. Senior Opens, with a best finish of seventh in 1985.
Fleck captured two senior victories prior to the institution of the Champions Tour, including the 1979 PGA Seniors Championship. He retired to his beloved Arkansas, where he opened the Lil’ Bit a Heaven Golf Club in 1992. The club closed in 2003. He authored three books: Be a Golf Tour Champion, The Mental Secret to Better Golf and his autobiography, The Jack Fleck Story.
A memorial service for Jack Fleck will be held on Tuesday, March 25, at the First United Methodist Church of Fort Smith, Ark.
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A JPMorgan analyst's love story
Gers, where Antollini is now based
In two months, it will be a year since Isabella Antollini left JPMorgan. She wasn't there long - Antollini joined JPM as an equity research analyst in the summer of 2017 and left a year later. Now aged just 24 she's running a business employing 16 people. With her 23 year-old fiancé. In rural France.
"We are young," says Antollini. "And we're some of the youngest people to take over a company like this....It was always my partner's goal to come back to his native place and take over a business. It just happened very early on."
Antolllini's fiancé is Henry Soulhol, a former associate at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. The two met during their Masters course at the London School of Economics in 2017 and lived apart while they worked in finance in Singapore and London. Now they're together all the time, in a picturesque town called Condom in Southern France.
Antollini and Soulhol's new business is Aurian, a maker of fortified wines and spirits. Soulhol, whose family own a farm in region, is CEO. Antollini is a director focused on provisioning and exports. She plans to bring Aurian's artisanal liquors to the rest of Europe and Asia.
"When I went into banking, I thought I'd spent at least five years there," says Antollini. "My plan was to go into the buy-side or at least to become an associate. Everyone was surprised that I was leaving very early on, but my time at the bank was crucial to what I'm doing now. - I learned what a financial statement is and how it links to the underlying company and how the two financial statements work with each other."
Aurian has been in existence for over 40 years. - Soulhol's family helped buy the company from the founder when he retired late last year. Most of the employees are older than Antollini and Soulhol, but she says they keep a "respectful distance," and that winning over the trust and confidence of the existing staff might be perceived as a challenge.
Given the well-documented difficulties finding and sustaining a relationship when you're a junior finance professional, Antollini and Soulhol seem to be living the dream. Antollini says former colleagues from the JPMorgan analyst class have come to Condom and expressed a mixture of "jealousy and astonishment": "The lifestyle here is very different. The quality of life is different and the pace is different."
This doesn't mean it's easy. Antollini and Soulhol now run a large factory. "I am probably putting it in more hours now than I did in banking," says Antollini. "But every minute we put into this is really for the good of the company."
And despite the hard work, Antollini says staying in banking wasn't really an option. "I joined right at the time when MiFID II came into place and was seeing people leave in the morning and not come back in the afternoon because they'd been let go.
"I was very much aware of where equity research was going and of the risks I might encounter one or two years into the future."
"My banking technology job was all about innovating through bureaucracy"
COMMENT: Why hedge fund managers make dreadful dinner guests
European Private Equity
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Home / 2012 / June / 14 / Education professor creates endowment for future students
Education professor creates endowment for future students
By Jody Jacob on June 14, 2012
Ben Louis, a master of education student, with Vicki Green, associate professor of education.
Ben Louis is first student to receive Vicki Green Graduate Award
Fly fishing was a source of inspiration for Vicki Green, associate professor of education, in her decision to give a $50,000 endowment to UBC's Okanagan campus. The endowment will create an annual scholarship for a Faculty of Education graduate student conducting research in social, cultural, political, environmental, or economic sustainability.
"The endowment was inspired by my passion for the outdoors and was created to advance an integrated understanding of our place in nature," says Green. "I want it to go to students who understand what it means to get in touch with that wild place in your soul. For me, when I fly fish, I come to that place. And when you are in that place, you are your most creative self."
Candidates of the Vicki Green Graduate Award are selected based on how their research will encourage contemplative, transformational, imaginative and/or creative interdisciplinary understandings in sustainability for children, youth or teachers. An essential component of the award is research that goes beyond the classroom to engage students in projects around sustainability and demonstrate the significant impacts that experiential learning will have on students.
"It was the right timing for this award, and it is important for the faculty of education and our graduate program," says Green. "There is a circle of life you come to understand as a teacher -- when a student comes to university he or she belongs to your present and you become part of their past. And the cycle of life is all within this sort of permanence of UBC. There is a sense of stability tied to this institution, and it inspires you to start thinking about the future. I wanted to create something to support students that would continue far into the future.
"Our campus has been though an amazing transformation over the last few years, and it's very exciting to imagine where it will be 10, 20, or even 50 years from now."
This year, the Vicki Green Graduate Award was presented to Ben Louis, a master of education student.
"I would like to thank the Green family and the Faculty of Education Graduate Studies for honouring me with this award," says Louis, whose research primarily focuses on Indigenous language teaching and learning. "I would also like to thank my family, especially my wife and children, for they have been so very supportive over the last two years."
In addition to the award, Louis will receive an outdoor fly fishing adventure. Savas Koutsantonis and Nick Pace, owners of Trout Waters Fly & Tackle, have donated a guided fly fishing package to one of the many still water lakes in the region, and Joe Gardner, manager of Douglas Lake Ranch, is providing one night's stay at Stoney Lake, including meals, fishing, a boat and a ranch tour. Scott Boswell, development officer with the Development and Alumni Engagement Office at UBC's Okanagan campus, has given a fly rod, reel, and line to Louis.
"Ben's work is transformational, thoughtful, creative and innovative," says Green. "He is the perfect first recipient of this award. And, although it certainly isn't a requirement of the award, Ben just so happens to be a fly fisherman, too."
Posted in Media Releases | Tagged Faculty of Education, Learning
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Shasha Seminar 2018: Suicide and Resilience: Finding the Words
by Cynthia Rockwell • August 20, 2018
Professor Emeritus of Psychology Karl Scheibe and Director of Counseling and Psychological Services Jennifer D’Andrea PhD are codirectors of this year’s Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns, Sept. 14–15.
This year’s Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns, “Suicide and Resilience: Finding the Words,” will be held Sept. 14–15. It will begin with opening remarks by Leslie Shasha ’82, PhD, in Memorial Chapel at 4 p.m., followed by the keynote address by author and suicide loss survivor Eric Marcus on “Resilience in the Aftermath of Suicide.”
The Shasha Seminar, an annual educational forum for Wesleyan alumni, parents, and friends, explores issues of global concern in a small seminar environment. Endowed by James Shasha ’50, P’82, the Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns supports lifelong learning and encourages participants to expand their knowledge and perspectives on significant issues. Last year’s seminar for example focused on Guns in American Society.
Karl Scheibe
This year’s codirector, Professor Emeritus of Psychology Karl Scheibe, spoke with the Connection about the preparation, the program, and his hopes for what this might bring to the campus.
Q: How did you come to be codirector of the Shasha Seminar this year?
A: It came to me as an invitation. It’s like a lot of things; it grows out of your history. Having been at Wesleyan a long time, I taught a lot of students, and many of them have gone on in psychology. Occasionally, one of those former students will have an assignment for me that, as a teacher, makes sense. Leslie Shasha ’82 is a psychologist, and she wanted to have a Shasha program focus on suicide: suicide awareness, suicide prevention, treatment for people who are suffering from loss, and a whole host of related problems.
She suggested to the Office of Academic Affairs that they get in touch with me to help put together the program. They had the foresight to give me a partner, Jennifer D’Andrea PhD, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, a clinical psychologist.
I accepted with great pleasure because I admire and like Leslie, and I think the topic is a terrific one. I remember suicides that have occurred on campus over my decades here. They are difficult to deal with when they occur.
Q: How have you dealt with this topic in your own academic work?
A: The whole question of suicide is one that I have thought of for quite a while because of my concern with the problems of human identity. For a while, the theoretical meanderings that I’ve allowed myself around problems of self and identity have produced some formulations about why people would think to kill themselves.
One of the classical paradoxes in psychology and social science derives from Emile Durkheim and his classical work on suicide, where it becomes clear that suicide is not simply a result of a difficulty in one’s life. That is to say, you find certain paradoxical things, like the more successful nations and groups of people tended to be more suicide-prone rather than less. It’s a problem that resists any simple explanation.
The paradoxes around suicide struck me as a challenging issue to address in designing a program that will be of genuine interest to, and perhaps even of benefit to, the Wesleyan community.
Q: Do you expect that many of those who attend will have been affected by suicide?
A: Yes. The sense I have is that people don’t voluntarily want to talk about suicide. That is to say: certainly when one occurs, you have to talk about it. In the meantime, it’s a suppressed conversation. Because of my engagement in this program, I have taken the occasion to ask friends, acquaintances, family members, and others, “Tell me about your experiences with suicide in your life. Have you had any association?” Surprisingly, just about everybody has.
Q: Please tell us about the phrase in the title: “Finding the Words.”
A: I’ve been privy to some of the sufferings that come in this community, and after a suicide, people often feel bewildered and at a loss for fruitful ways to deal with or react to what is obviously an extraordinarily shocking event. That led me to this phrase that is used now in the title of the program: “Suicide and Resilience—Finding the Words.” It seems to me that, for a community, the real challenge is to find words that can be articulated as a way of reacting in a humane and compassionate way to this kind of difficulty when it happens, and not to back away from the challenge of finding the words. I think of it as a poetic challenge, not a scientific one.
Q: And what is your hope for this program?
A: What Jennifer D’Andrea does is to try not just to treat individuals on this campus who have psychological difficulties, but also to help create a set of conditions on-campus that will make living here better, more satisfactory, and somehow more authentic.
The hope is that this seminar might be preventative. People worry about doing a program on suicide awareness because there’s apprehension about triggering. I think, “Okay, be apprehensive if you want to, but I believe that the guiding motivations here are compassionate.”
Our hope is that this increased awareness will be productive of a greater understanding and a more generally compassionate attitude to people who may be on the fringes of some kind of suicidal event. Our hope is that an enlightened understanding will be preventative.
To see the scheduled program and to register click here.
Tags:campus faculty Psychology Department
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Posts Tagged ‘Court Square’
strange oceans
Over on Davis Street in LIC.
Early for an appointment, one recently had some time to kill around the Court Square section of LIC, and I decided to visit “used to be 5Ptz” to see what was doing there. Funnily enough, the site is now referred to as the Brownfield Cleanup Program’s “Former Neptune Meter (NYS DEC # C25=41138)” site now, which hearkens one back to the industrial days of yesteryear.
“Transform the Past… Build for the Future.” It says that on the sign.
As you’ll recall, for many years this site was the home of 5ptz, NYC’s premier gallery for street art. The owners of the structure decided not too long ago that it was time to evict the institution and replace it with luxury apartments. Not to worry though, there will be an “affordable” component to the builds, so if you want to live alongside the 7 train’s elevated track and the Sunnyside Yard – it’ll be in reach starting at $2,200 – 2,500 a month for a one bedroom before too long.
As I’ve stated in the past, one does not condemn the owners of the land for seeking the greatest value out of it. It’s their property, and in many ways they should be lauded for maintaining the Neptune Meter building for as long as they did and allowing 5Ptz its long residency. The thing that just smacks one in the face, however, is the fact that their residential development is going to be called 5Pointz Towers.
That just stinks, its bad branding, and rubs the community’s face in the mud for no reason.
Not sure what’s going on in this shot. My first instinct is that there is some sort of prehistoric beast that has been trapped beneath the Neptune Building all of these years, and that a substantial weight must be used in the name of keeping it imprisoned until the new towers rise and permanently cage it once again. I am, of course, an idiot.
Unfortunately, my upstairs neighbor who works in the construction field and would be able to instantly recognize this technique and tell me all about it isn’t at home as this post is being prepared. He’s taking his niece to see Cinderella, I’m told.
Posted in Construction, Long Island City, Long Island City, NY 11101, Pickman, Queens
Tagged with 5ptz, Court Square, Long Island City, New York City, photowalk, Pickman, queens
must each dwarf
“They rob, kill and plunder all under the deceiving name of Roman Rule. They make a desert and call it peace” – Tacitus
Moving through lower Manhattan, the long time New Yorker cannot help but notice the changes to the area beneath the FDR drive. One remembers a day when this area was used for parking, and also served as a camp for homeless folks. My mental picture of this spot – a dank, dark, dripping waterfront mess infested with dangerous, and often addled or demented, primates – was forged in the 1980’s, so admittedly – it’s thirty years out of date. I also remember a day when Carvel Ice Cream shops were ubiquitous.
What you’ve got down here in modernity is a very well used “sort of” park or public space. There’s “model chicks” jogging around in yoga pants, “stock broker” guys leading tiny dogs around on leads, and lots of people lounging about. Pier 11 has become a sort of commuter hub these days, and there are hot dog carts and other vendors set up under the highway who charge $4 or more for a bottle of Snapple Iced Tea. CitiBike has one of its bike share racks in the area, and South Street has accordingly had bike lanes deducted from it. Al Smith would hardly recognize the street he grew up on.
In contrast, there’s Queens. This is the 7 elevated subway pictured above, as it leaves Court Square toward Hunters Point in LIC. Now, this is the same block which 5ptz once occupied, and one wonders if – when the luxury condos which will replace the art institution open – some future version of myself will say that they remember an earlier iteration of reality. Of course, many have told me that I watch too many movies, but I’d really love to be able to see the future as well as the past.
Upcoming Walking Tours-
Saturday, October 25th, Glittering Realms
Walking Tour with Atlas Obscura, click here for tickets and more info.
Posted in Court Square, Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, Photowalks, Queens, Subway
Tagged with Court Square, FDR Drive, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, queens
damnably irregular
A curious bird, spotted in this dirty old part of the city, where the sun refuse to shine.
Just the other day, a squamous thing wrapped in a dirty black raincoat was sashaying down sturdy Jackson Avenue and enjoying the glamorous environs of the Court Square section while anticipating, with palpitant heart, entering Queens Plaza when an odd avian seized all attentions. That squamous travesty, your humble narrator and faithful chronicler of all things odd here in the “Borough that Time Forgot,” accordingly stopped dead in his tracks and reached for the camera.
What, exactly, is up with those red and yellow feathers?
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird clade Columbidae, that includes about 310 species. They are stout-bodied birds with short necks, and have short, slender bills with fleshy ceres. Doves feed on seeds, fruits, and plants. This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones.
It all started when a path was being negotiated through a herd of these so called ferals. Birds know that no ill will is borne for their kind from one such as myself, and they seldom scatter when my path carries me through their chaotic gatherings on the pavement. This is an issue, as great effort is expended in the attempt not to crush or kick them while in mid step.
Whilst picking my way amongst them, one bird stood out from the pack.
Feral pigeons (Columba livia), also called city doves, city pigeons, or street pigeons, are derived from domestic pigeons that have returned to the wild. The domestic pigeon was originally bred from the wild Rock Dove, which naturally inhabits sea-cliffs and mountains. Rock (i.e., ‘wild’), domestic, and feral pigeons are all the same species and will readily interbreed. Feral pigeons find the ledges of buildings to be a substitute for sea cliffs, have become adapted to urban life, and are abundant in towns and cities throughout much of the world.
Disturbingly heterogenous, Pigeons exhibit multitudes of colorations naturally, something the normal urban observer would readily acknowledge. Never has a bird of this speciation displayed anything like what’s depicted in these shots in my presence. A Pigeon with red and yellow wings is something new, to me at least.
from phys.org
Various forms of a gene named Tyrp1 make pigeons either blue-black (the grayish color of common city pigeons), red or brown. Mutations of a second gene, named Sox10, makes pigeons red no matter what the first gene does. And different forms of a third gene, named Slc45a2, make the pigeons’ colors either intense or washed out.
It didn’t seem to be paint or dye, it should be mentioned, which would betray itself by causing the appearance of the feathers to be matted. This ain’t “photoshop” either, lords and ladies, as a note for the jaded or suspicious amongst you.
That’s a wild NYC Pigeon, with wings and a tail which are red and yellow, spotted on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City on the 9th of March in 2014 – just for the record.
from feralpigeonproject.com
Scientists have long wondered why feral pigeon populations show such plumage diversity compared to other feral animals. Generally, feral animals revert to the wild or ancestral type (in this case a blue-bar colouration), yet towns and cities are full of pigeons of a wide variety of colours. The question is, what causes this variation? Is it that female pigeons are choosing particular coloured males or vice versa? Are particular coloured pigeons more or less vulnerable to predation?
Posted in animals, birds, Court Square, Long Island City, Photowalks, Pickman, Queens
Tagged with Birds, Court Square, Long Island City, photowalk, Pickman, pigeon, queens, weirdness
ever permitted
Pulsing and pallid, that corpulent jelly which comprises my physical domain and imprisons my conscious mind was carrying me down Jackson Avenue in Long Island City and past the fabled Court Square Diner, whereupon a face melting realization of a recent vehicular disaster confronted me. It would seem that the MTA department of the municipality has one less truck in its fleet roster.
As painful as it would be for them to encounter a creature such as myself, contact was made with the MTA employees who were vouchsafing the wreck while awaiting a tow vehicle which would secure its disposition.
Note: It isn’t fair to inflict my nauseous presence on the unsuspecting innocents who surround me, nor is it alright to ask them to endure the many disgusting qualities of what might be described as my “vocalizations.” Selfishly, I elected to attempt contact with one of the humans, in an attempt to find out what happened. Apologies offered to all offended parties. Don’t hurt me.
Queries as to the well being of the driver were answered by assurances of continuing good health, but adherence to an institutional policy which required visiting a hospital to professionally confirm and assess said status was obeyed and that was where the driver found himself.
A smell of refined petroleum derivates hung in the air, and once contact with this clearly shaken employee of the great human hive was reliably completed, my camera found itself employed. Indications offered by that stalwart representative opined that the municipal truck was operated in accordance with traffic regulation, but that another large vehicle was not, which resulted in a collision.
The area is well patrolled by security cameras, one would presume this will be an easy supposition to corroborate thusly.
The reportage continued that the MTA truck had careened off the second vehicle and the driver lost control of the heavy vehicle. The truck’s wild course carried it away from the equator of the street and in the process it eliminated a metal lamp post and crashed up on the pedestrian lane, known colloquially and conventionally as the sidewalk.
Nervous anticipation nagged at me, as wild paranoid wonderings about sparks falling from the elevated subway tracks mixing with… the petroleum vapors… no… such things do not happen… At this moment, my headphones were back in place and playing through a long list of songs- thats when this random ditty started piping directly into my auditory orifices.
I spun around and started walking toward Astoria in a loose dog trot.
Posted in Court Square, Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, NY 11101, Queens
Tagged with Accident, Court Square, Danger Look Out for Trucks, Long Island City, New York City, photowalk, Pickman, queens, Vehicle Accident
incalculable profusion
The dizzying display of industrial and architectural might on display above distracts the eye from the subject of this post. Empire State, Chrysler, the entire shield wall of Manhattan… even that sapphire Megalith which distinguishes modern Long Island City is screaming for attention. At its base is a white building which is a former printing plant, later an Eagle Electric factory, which has been converted over to luxury condominiums known as the Arris Lofts. At the bottom of the shot is Skillman Avenue and the north side of the Sunnyside Yard with a train transiting along the tracks. In the midst of all this manifest wealth and ambition, it is easy to overlook Thomson Avenue The lower right hand corner of the shot depicts a viaduct structure which allows trains to pass beneath a vehicular roadway which it carries.
An enormous concrete and steel bridge, 500 feet long and 100 feet wide, and it is hidden in plain sight.
That’s Thomson Avenue.
from 1877’s “Long Island and where to go!!: A descriptive work compiled for the Long R.R. Co.“, courtesy google books:
Long Island City is the concentrating point upon the East river, of all the main avenues of travel from the back districts of Long Island to the city of New York. The great arteries of travel leading from New York are Thomson avenue, macadamized, 100 feet wide, leading directly to Newtown, Jamaica and the middle and southern roads on Long Island, and Jackson avenue, also 100 feet wide, and leading directly to Flushing, Whitestone and the northerly roads.
Long Island City is also the concentrating point upon the East river, of the railway system of Long Island.
The railways, upon reaching the city, pass under the main avenues of travel and traffic, and not upon or across their surface.
To begin with, lets start with the end. Thomson disappears into the modern street grid when it is rudely interrupted by Queens Boulevard. This is the actual slam bang intersection where the “automobile city” of the 20th century meets the “locomotive city” of the 19th. Thomson avenue is centered on the other side of this tripartite intersection, where it meets Queens Boulevard and Van Dam Street.
The “Great Machine” slithers past Thomson, and hurtles eastward along the more modern thoroughfare.
Queens Boulevard was built in the early 20th century to connect the new Queensboro Bridge to central Queens, thereby offering an easy outlet from Manhattan. It was created by linking and expanding already-existing streets, such as Thomson Avenue and Hoffman Boulevard, stubs of which still exist. It was widened along with the digging of the IND Queens Boulevard Line subway tunnels in the 1920s and 1930s, and in 1941, the city proposed converting it into a freeway, as was done with the Van Wyck Expressway, but with the onset of World War II, the plan was never completed.
Thomson adjoins Jackson Avenue on the other side of its run, where their junction forms the so called “Court Square”, which is where the Megalith squats squamously. There used to be a hospital where the colossus now stands.
One Court Square, also known as the Citigroup Building, is a 50-story (209.1 meters or 686 feet) office tower in Long Island City, Queens just outside of Manhattan in New York City. It was completed in 1990 by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP for Citigroup. The tower is tallest in New York City outside Manhattan, and the tallest building on Long Island. WNYZ-LP, also known as Pulse87.7 broadcasts from the top of this building.
Overwhelming and out of character with its surroundings, the Megalith is the tallest structure on Long Island, and 53rd highest building in New York City- if you’re impressed by that sort of thing.
The building, designed by Raul de Armas of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is handsome, even somewhat refined; its pale blue-green glass and transparent windows are obviously intended to reduce the impact of the vast tower on Long Island City, and to a considerable extent they succeed. This building would be a lot more overpowering still if it had been sheathed in reflective glass, or garnished with ornament from top to bottom. And the shape – a tower with stepped-back corners that rises straight up for most of its height, with small setbacks at the very top to create a hint of a pyramid where the building meets the sky – helps a bit more in reducing the apparent bulk.
Across the street from the Megalith is why they call it Court Square, the Long Island City Courthouse. Famously, this is where master criminal Willie Sutton was supposedly asked “Why do you rob banks?” and the master criminal supposedly replied “Because that’s where the money is”. According to Sutton, an urban legend. Funnily enough, the Megalith houses some of the offices of Citigroup, one of the world’s largest banks.
They don’t keep money here, though.
from nyc.gov
The Long Island City Courthouse is located near the corner of Thomson Avenue and Court Square.
In 1870, before the 1898 consolidation with New York City, the Queens county seat moved from Jamaica to the newly-formed township of Long Island City, which was near all of the train lines. Long Island City was made up of the towns of Astoria and Newtown. Abram Ditmars, the first mayor, had the streets surveyed and paved, brought in a pure water supply and established equitable tax assessments and a regular police force.
The Long Island City Courthouse was built between 1872 and 1876, with delays, scandals and cost overruns. At two-and-a-half stories, built of brick and granite in the French Second Empire style, it became one of the most important buildings in Queens. It was designed by Massachusetts architect George Hathorne. (Hathorne designed Walker Hall at Amherst College, the largest building on campus when it was built in 1870. That building was rebuilt after a fire in 1882 and was torn down 80 years later in 1962.)
The Long Island City Courthouse was gutted by a fire in 1904 and Peter M. Coco was selected to redesign it. A prominent Long Island City architect who trained at the Cooper Institute, Coco designed churches, residences and commercial buildings in the area. Using the foundations and original walls, he added two stories and stripped the building of its then-outmoded ornament, transforming it into a neoclassical style courthouse. He added projected paired Ionic columns to each side of the entrance, which support small balconies. Each has a small helmeted head between the scrolls at the top of the column. The two-story-high entrance is arched, with two dates in the spandrels: ‘1874’ and ‘1908.
Moving in an easterly direction from Court Square, Thomson finds another connection to the automobile city, as one of the off ramps for the upper level of the Blackwell’s Island… Queensboro… Ed Koch… Bridge, allowing tens of thousands of vehicles to vomit onto Thomson’s parabola every day.
The change in grade is quite noticeable to the inveterate pedestrian, it should be mentioned.
from “Bulletin, Volumes 9-10 By Building Trades Employers’ Association“, courtesy google books
The rapid progress being made in the grading of Sunnyside yard in Long Island City, the future great terminal of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in New York, and the rapid construction of the eight massive viaducts to provide for the highway and railroad crossings, insure the completion of that section of the great undertaking early next fall.
The most massive of the overhead highway crossings is the Thomson Ave. steel viaduct, 100 feet in width and 500 feet in length, passing over the network of tracks of the Long Island and Pennsylvania Railroads at a height of 30 feet. The Queensboro Bridge extension viaduct, crossing diagonally to the street system of Long Island City, but at right angles to the railroad, is 80 feet in width, and has massive steel girders. The Thomson Ave. crossing, which will be completed next month, and the bridge extension will provide for the traffic over the main arteries of travel, extending through the borough from north to south.
Scuttling around on the side streets which dead end off of Northern Blvd., like Dutch Kills or Queens or Purves streets, one can gain an appreciation for the height of the Thomson Avenue Viaduct. These roadway artifacts used to proceed through what is now the rail yard, and the historical record is full of lawsuits brought against the Pennsylvania Rail Road or Long Island Railroad companies for damages based on the grade situation.
These law suits detail and define the complicated questions of who owns what around and above the yards.
from 1913’s “2 years transportation progress, Volume 140“, courtesy google books
“perpetual easement or easements for the rights to continue and maintain the said viaducts or bridges over the following streets or avenues as nowlaid out or proposed: and will thereby grant to the city a perpetual easement or easements sufficient for the use and control by the city of the said viaducts and bridges for the purpose of police regulation and other control contemplated by the city ordinances for the care of streets or highways, excepting and reserving, however, to the said companies the right to construct and maintain, at its or their own expense, such connections between the said viaducts or bridges, or any of them, and the property of the said companies, as shall not interfere with the use of the said viaduets or bridges for street purposes.”
Then are specified several viaducts, and as to the one over Thomson avenue it is said:
“The said viaduct or bridge over the proposed Sunnyside Yard on the line of Thomson avenue, hereinbefore in paragraph 1C, set forth, including the right to the city to increase, at its own expense and without interfering with the operation of the said Sunnyside Yard, the width of said viaduct to beone hundred feet”
The intention of the companies was to enlarge the terminal laterally by acquiring from! the city title to the land in the closed streets wherever necessary, and by acquiring the lands abutting thereon from private owners. To do this it was necessary to close the streets across the right of way as broadened, so that the companies could have the fee and possession thereof for railroad purposes. But in some instances, and among them at Thomson avenue, in the place of the portion of the street closed and agreed to be sold a viaduct over the yard was provided and built, and it was necessarily so high over the tracks that the grade of the avenue at either end was necessarily raised to meet it. In other words, over the space where the avenue was obliterated and its bed agreed to be sold a bridge was built, and the abandoned portion made a part of the terminal facilities.
The Sunnyside Yard tends to insulate Long Island City from the rest of western Queens, forcing its residents and businesses to pass through narrow or crowded choke points when leaving or entering the locale. The landward passages along the East River are defined by the Queensboro, while the southern ridge that overlooks the yard leads to Sunnyside. The other viaducts which cross the yards- Hunters Point Avenue, Thomson Avenue, Queens Blvd. are all orientated in a mostly easterly direction, while the the 35th street or Honeywell Bridge, and the 39th street or Harold Avenue bridge at Steinway Street offer rare and spread out pinchpoints of north south egress across the facility.
The businesses which set up shop around Sunnyside Yard in the early 20th century didn’t much care, they were part of the locomotive city.
Pictured above, one might observe the traffic barrier and pedestrian shed which manifests itself at roughly the 50% mark on the Thomson Avenue viaduct.
from 1913’s “Greater New York: bulletin of the Merchants’ Association of New York, Volume 2” courtesy google books
After luncheon, which was held in the cosy quarters of the Queens Chamber of Commerce on the Bridge Plaza, Long Island City, the party were taken on an automobile drive of about fifty miles, covering the principal points of Industrial interest in Queens.
Great Industries Established
The first stop was made on Diagonal Street which crosses the Long Island Railroad yards. From this point it is possible to see all the features of the industrial development in that part of Queens, especially the development of the Degnon Terminal Company and the new factory of the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company.
The party then proceeded along Thompson Avenue to Newtown Creek, passing some of the largest factories in Queens, and also the most important industries in New York City, such as the Nichols Copper Company, the General Chemical Company, the National Enameling and Stamping Company, the General Vehicle Company, which is just erecting a large new building, and the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company.
– photo by Mitch Waxman (note: for the entire post on this burning Amtrak train, click here)
The tracks which Thomson Avenue forms a bridge over are used by Long Island Railroad, Amtrak, and New Jersey Transit (which stores some of its extra daytime capacity in Sunnyside Yards between rush hours). The shot above, which was originally presented in the post Sinister Exultation, depicts an Amtrak engine having a bit of immolation trouble. The section of the yard between Hunters Point and Thomson is (or at least used to be) referred to as “Yard A”.
From Skillman Avenue, the structure of the Thomson Avenue viaduct is visible as it’s begins to roughly slouch back to the grade level of the surrounding streets. The Sunnyside Yard allows locomotive access to the New York Connecting Railroad, which connects Long Island to the rest of the continent via the Hell Gate Bridge. Sunnyside Yard continues all the way to Woodside, and sits on an astounding 8,500 feet footprint which consumes 192 acres and offers an unbelievable 25.7 miles of track. Historical records discuss the gargantuan task of reclaiming this swampy land for use as a rail yard, as seen in the snippet below.
from 1910’s “New York tunnel extension, the Pennsylvania railroad: description of the work and facilities, Volume 2“, courtesy google books
Originally, a swamp of 40 acres extended from the present location of Honeywell Street and Jackson Avenue to Thomson Avenue, and comprised a portion of the required Yard area; the remaining 168 acres within that area was rolling ground from 10 to 70 ft. above the swamp. Upon this high ground there were 246 buildings of all kinds, and these were purchased and torn down or removed. A view of the swamp in the early stages of the work is shown by Fig. 1, Plate XLV. A vegetable growth, of the nature of peat, from 1 to 4 ft. in thickness, formed the surface of the swamp, except in the bed of Dutch Kills Creek; beneath this there was a layer of mud, and in the bed of the stream a blue-black clay of the consistency of putty. As this muck and clay would move under the pressure of the filling over it, and produce waves of considerable height, it was specified in the contract that a blanket of earth about 4 ft. thick should be first placed over this part of the Yard area, in order to prevent this wave formation. This proved efficacious, except in one or two places, where, owing to unusual depth of filling, the wave formation broke through this covering and rose to such a height as to require excavation of the peat, muck, and mud, in order to secure proper track foundations. In the bed of Meadow Street, where the embankment was very high, the crest of one of the mud waves rose to an elevation of 28 ft. above the swamp.
The naming of Thomson avenue has always been a bit of a mystery for your humble narrator. Skillman, for instance, was named for a farmer that supported the British during the American Revolution whose lands were confiscated by the victorious rebels (much like DeLancey over in Manhattan). Apparently, there were one or two LIRR and or Pennsylvania RR executives named Thompson- and certain older documents refer to this road as “Thompson Avenue” but this is a common typographic error which favors the more widespread surname.
There was a Thomson that was an important member of the Queens Chamber of Commerce during the 1920’s but the street dates back to the beginnings of Long Island City and must be named for someone earlier.
HISTORY OF QUEENS BOULEVARD: Originally called Hoffman Boulevard, Queens Boulevard dates back to the early years of the twentieth century, when the road was constructed as a connecting route between the new Queensboro (59th Street) Bridge and central Queens. In 1913, a trolley line was constructed from 59th Street in Manhattan east along the new boulevard.
During the 1920′s and 1930′s, New York City began a program to widen Queens Boulevard. The project, which was conducted in conjunction with the building of the IND Queens Boulevard subway line, widened the boulevard to 12 lanes in some locations, and required a right-of-way of up to 200 feet. Once completed, local and express traffic flows were provided separate carriageways.
Posted in AMTRAK, Citi Building Megalith, Court Square, Long Island City, Photowalks, Pickman, Queens, railroad, Walking Tour
Tagged with Court Square, Long Island City, Long Island City Courthouse, Megalith, New York City, photowalk, Pickman, queens, Thomson Avenue
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McMurry University adding softball
By Dave Hines
Category: NCAA III News
ABILENE, Texas — McMurry University announced today that the sport of softball would be added to its women's intercollegiate programs, beginning in 2018. The addition of softball will bring to 20 the number of sports sponsored by the War Hawks.
"This is another example of McMurry momentum," Director of Athletics Sam Ferguson said. "The University is growing in students, in programs, and now also in athletics opportunities.
"Softball is one of the most popular sports in the state of Texas. In fact, nearly 34,000 girls are competing at the high school level. It's a great fit at McMurry, because we know that there is an abundance of talent right here in our backyard. We are also excited about the type of scholar-athlete softball will attract. According to NCAA data, softball players are some of the most academically successful. Finally, the addition of this important program will help us take another step in the right direction from a Title IX standpoint. This addition is long overdue."
The plan is to hire a head coach by this coming January 2017 to begin recruiting for the following school year and build a schedule. The War Hawks will – initially – play their home games on a local city of Abilene facility and, by the third year, build an on-campus field. Beyond that, upgrade projects will include press box facilities, permanent seating and team areas/offices.
"The American Southwest Conference congratulates McMurry University on bringing softball to its intercollegiate athletics program," said Amy Carlton, ASC commissioner. "The War Hawks' addition provides women an avenue to continue academic pursuits while participating in a sport they enjoy within one of the top NCAA Division III softball conferences."
Softball sponsorship in the ASC will grow to 13 teams and becomes the seventh conference championship sport to be supported at every member institution. Women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, and baseball are ASC sports sponsored by all ASC members. By conference rule and with full member sponsorship of softball, the ASC Softball Championship Tournament format will shift to eight-team double-elimination with the 2018 tournament.
When it begins play in 2017-18, game versus McMurry will count toward ASC standings and the War Hawks will be eligible for the regular-season conference title in addition to individual awards. McMurry will remain ineligible for the conference tournament until it reaches NCAA Division III active member status (expected in 2018-19). The 2018 season will also celebrate the 20th year of ASC softball and the conference tournament.
In its first season in 2018, in addition to the regular season ASC conference crown, McM softball would be eligible to compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association's regional and national championships. Currently, McMurry holds dual affiliation with the NCCAA and NCAA Division III.
In the state of Texas there are 33,920 high school girls competing in softball at the UIL level. It is one of the most popular high school sports in the state. It is also one of the most popular intercollegiate sports in this region at the Division III level. Further, there are 364,103 girls competing in softball in the United States. Only basketball, track & field, and volleyball have more female participants than softball in Texas.
McMurry was the last Division III program in the state of Texas that didn't offer softball. Between the American Southwest Conference and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference there are 19 of 21 institutions that sponsor softball. Expanding on softball's presence in Division III, it is also worth noting that there are only 27 of 443 DIII institutions nationwide that do not participate in softball. In most cases, climate is the deterring factor.
"It's exciting to think about building a program from the ground up," Ferguson said. "Those opportunities do not come often in the life of a university. We are blessed to have tremendous supporters in the form of donors, alumni, and University administrators who allow us to dream big and enjoy growth."
— Courtesy McMurry Sports Information
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Tag: cross cultural
The Last People on Earth – The Gentle People
It was official now, the language of the New Earth would be French. As the people of the village sat around the kitchen table, they were relieved that the 2 hour discussion was over. Each of them felt good about it, including Jeremiah, even though the only French word he knew was “merci”. Well that wasn’t entirely true, Miriam had taught him a few words, but that cannot be discussed here.
As Jeremiah served everyone pound cake with blueberries, he privately worried about English becoming extinct. But the sounds of French, were so much more beautiful, and he knew it was the right decision to make. Jennifer had taken four years of French, and Cathy had learned some of the language from her mother. The Inuit, and Roger and Monique were fluent in it, so it was only Jeremiah that needed to start from the beginning. He was even willing to put his lessons in Amharic on hold. Could he learn two languages at once?
The crisp fall days were shorter now. The hills of Pennsylvania were alive with fall colors. After filling 6 freezers full of food, and canning more than three hundred jars of fruits and vegetables, the village and people were beginning to slow down, ready for the promise of rest. Firewood was collected though, just in case the electricity went out. Anuniaq and Jeremiah were busy loading the mangled pickup truck several times a day, with all the loose wood they could find. According to satellite images, several large cities had gone dark, as power grids began to fail. The cities included New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
Something good was taking place within Cathy. She was drawn to Anhah and they would often spend hours together, walking, warming themselves by the fire, and speaking in French (Cathy was trying at least). Anhah treated her as a daughter, and loved teaching Cathy about herbs, and traditional medicine.
And Cathy was beginning to notice Anuniaq. She had never met a more gentle man. She felt safe around him, and even though he was quiet, she was beginning to know him as a source of strength and gentleness. Could a man be strong and gentle at the same time? Anuniaq was. She was not in love, but she was considering it for the first time, in a very long time.
Writing and Image © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree
“If you love nature, you will love people.”
Author Ancient SkiesCategories UncategorizedPosted on October 11, 2015 October 11, 2015 10 Comments
The Last People XXXV – Anhah
At the end of the Sabbath meal, Anhah leaned over, and spoke to Anuniaq in her Inuit dialect. The dialect was slightly different than his own, so he needed to listen carefully. She said, “She is here, she is the one, and I know it now for sure.” She was looking at Cathy at the time. Anuniaq wasn’t surprised, but he wanted to make sure he understood, so he asked in Inuit, “You mean Cathy?” The word Cathy did not translate, so at this, everyone looked up, especially Cathy, who wondered what they were saying.
Embarrassed, Anuniaq looked down at his plate, and stabbed a piece of potato, with his fork. But Anhah continued in Inuit, “Yes…..she will bring strength and light to our people.” She smiled gently at both Cathy and Cory now.
Jeremiah headed for the refrigerator, and started placing small bowls of fruit on the table, when suddenly Anhah grabbed her chest, in obvious pain. “Ohhh!” she yelled. Anuniaq began speaking very loud (because of fear) in Inuit, “She needs more medicine! I brought her here so you could help her!!” Everyone looked at him with blank faces, but as Jeremiah came over, Anuniaq repeated the same thing to Miriam in French.
Within seconds Miriam spread the word about Anhah needing heart medication, and Jennifer and Cathy sprang into action, breaking out their laptops. Jennifer searched for different medications, while Cathy looked for medical centers close by, that had cardiac departments. Miriam and Jeremiah helped Anhah to Jennifer’s room which was closest, and into bed. Miriam was busy translating to Jeremiah, all about Anhah’s heart condition, and what she had been taking. Anuniaq produced an empty pill bottle, which was in French. Miriam tossed it to Jennifer to look up, after telling her what it was in English.
Jeremiah was talking to Anhah, through Miriam interpreting, when he heard Cathy yell in the next room, “Memorial Hospital has a cardiac department!” “They are only 21 miles away – I’m printing directions now!”
As Jeremiah began taking Anhah’s blood pressure, Anhah motioned for Anuniaq to come closer. He did, and she pulled on his shirt so that his ear was next to her. In Inuit she said, “Listen, you must hear this, in case I die tonight!” “You must be very, very gentle with Cathy……take time and teach her our ways……you must be very gentle, because she has been wounded.” Anuniaq did not ask how she knew this, he just listened. She was after all, a seer. “And consider moving the people to southern Quebec, perhaps near Ottawa…..it would be better for all of us.”
Jeremiah did not like the looks of Anhah’s blood pressure, it was sky high. He heard Jennifer yell, “I have the list of medications you need, and they will not conflict with each other!” “I’m printing it out now!” In less than ten minutes, from Anhah’s first sign of pain, Jeremiah and Anuniaq were headed out the door to Memorial Hospital. They would be picking up any medical equipment they could find, including, an EKG machine, that would help monitor her heart, as well as the lifesaving drugs, Anhah so badly needed.
Miriam gave Jeremiah a kiss on the way out the door, and called him, “My Prince”, this time in English, which put a smile, on everyone’s face.
Author Ancient SkiesCategories UncategorizedPosted on September 27, 2015 September 27, 2015 6 Comments
The Last People on Earth XXVII – Love and Hope
Jennifer could not find the goat’s milk anywhere. It had been three weeks now since Jacob was born, and she was starting to mix in a little of the goat’s milk for him. But then, she could not find Miriam and Jeremiah either. She searched the house and looked outside, but there was no trace of them. They were often in the lab building, working on testing soil and plant life, so she headed there.
But she was surprised, when she opened the door, and they weren’t there either. She looked around, was that a noise upstairs? She walked over to the door that led to the second floor, knocked, but then opened it without waiting. She didn’t really pay attention to the noises she heard, “Oh no! Shhhh! Lift your arm – quick! Ouch! Shhhh! Move your head!” Jennifer did get one foot on the bottom step, but heard Jeremiah yell, “Don’t come up here!” It was then that she understood, and she was horrified. She said, “I’m sorry!” I am soooo sorry!”, and she began backing up, with her hand over her mouth, and turning ten shades of red. Fortunately, she did not see anything.
Then she heard Miriam’s voice. “What do you need, Jennifer?” Still embarrassed, Jennifer stumbled over her words, but managed to ask about the goat’s milk. “It’s in the freezer, you have to thaw it first.” Without replying, Jennifer left in a hurry, and closed the door. It wasn’t until later that she thought the whole thing was funny. It took a while for the young couple to recover, but eventually their lips started searching again. He buried his face in her neck, and her nails………well……… the rest of it is not to be told about here……
Later that evening Roger called from England, and Jeremiah was in the kitchen cooking dinner, so he reached for the phone. Jeremiah had spoken to Roger a number of times now, and he enjoyed their conversations immensely. Roger had been a Professor of British Literature, before the wars, and he could tell you anything you wanted to know, about the great poets that had once walked the British Isles.
“Jeremiah!” Roger was obviously exited, “Jeremiah, you were right!” “I found someone, and she is in Croatia!” “I was using that software you gave me, and I was able to look her up, and I called her Jeremiah!” “She sounds amazing.” Jeremiah was excited for him, and said, “Roger, that’s wonderful!”
Roger went on to say it was not a romance, they were just two people, so alone they were going insane, and now suddenly, the future seemed bright again. Roger continued, “Even if we are just friends forever Jeremiah, it is one of the happiest moments of my life.” Jeremiah had tears in his eyes, and asked, “What’s her name?” “Monique! Isn’t that beautiful?” It was beautiful. The two men talked for almost an hour, (that’s a long time for men). Roger shared all about their plans, to meet in France, in fact Bordeaux.
But the good news was not over yet. The next morning, after breakfast, Miriam was in the lab building, while Jeremiah was still in the house shaving. She just happened to check her email, in case, like they did once a week usually. When she saw her inbox, she screamed. “Oh God!” she said, as she printed it out quickly. She was screaming with joy as soon as she had it in her hands. She ran towards the house, screaming, “Jeremiah!” “Jeremiah!”
They all came running, and met her in front of the house. As tears streamed down her face, she yelled, “There are seven more people alive!” “They are in Northern Canada, and they are Inuit people!” Chills ran up and down their spines.
Author Ancient SkiesCategories UncategorizedPosted on September 14, 2015 12 Comments
A Few Thoughts on Writing Fiction
Fiction is a hard sell. In other words, poetry, photography, and art, are going to do much better in the blogging world, than a piece of fiction, but there is a simple, and wonderful reason for that. There are so many incredible blogs, with such outstanding work, that we long to take it all in. So if you do like I do, I go through the reader, just amazed, and I go on to the next post quickly.
Fiction takes a lot of time to read, and when we post it, we are asking the reader to invest time in us, and our work. So with that in mind, I try to keep my segments short. I would like them to be a little over four hundred words, but they always go over it. I cringe when I start hitting six hundred words, because I know I need to make it worth the investment the reader is making.
But I love, love, writing fiction. Several of you have asked me to continue with the Last People series, and that is a huge thrill for me. I am enjoying this series more than any other series I have written. The two main characters are so different from one another, and yet they love each other in amazing ways. I wanted it to be that way. It also gives me a wonderful opportunity to explore culture. If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you know how I love other cultures and people!
By the way, Robert and Belinda, from the Escape series, wanted me to tell you hello. They are still down in the Dominican Republic, and working on getting married. Don’t expect to get a postcard from them though, they are going to be busy!
Commentary © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree
image from beauty.allwomenstalk.com via google
Blessings to everyone.
Author Ancient SkiesCategories UncategorizedPosted on August 28, 2015 August 28, 2015 21 Comments
The Last People on Earth XIII – 10?
Looking around the truck, the trailers were still attached, but the trailer hitch for the lab was slightly bent. He thought he could maybe bend it back into shape, with a hammer. It was the truck that was the worst. All the damage was on the front, driver’s side. The tire was flat and the rim was bent. The fender was like crumpled paper. He placed his foot on the front bumper, which was hanging, pushed on it, and it fell with a crash.
He felt awful, because he had been reckless, trying to avoid a drone that did nothing. He looked at Miriam, straight in the eyes, and said, “I’m sorry Miriam……you were right, maybe they were just gathering data”. She looked down, said nothing, but shook her head, saying ok.
More than two hours later, they were ready to travel again. They had unhitched the trailers, unloaded all of the contents from the back of the truck, and changed the tire, with a spare already mounted on a rim. Then they loaded everything back into the truck, and hitched up the trailers again. It was a painful lesson, he thought, about when to listen to the one you love.
He had wanted to make her a nice salad when they got to their new home. Now it would be dark when they arrived, so that was out. Before they drove off he got one of the coolers, and placed it in the front seat. It had fresh fruit, and in another bag they had granola. With a forced smile he offered her some fruit. She said, “Let’s just drive Jeremiah…” His spirits dropped. It was not like her to turn down fresh fruit. Her look said, “I’m not happy right now”.
So the tired couple drove quietly, in their mangled truck, and the transmission was worse now, lurching them forward once in a while. They hoped they would make it there in one piece. Thirty minutes later Miriam reached for some granola and started crunching. “There’re some blueberries in the cooler”, he said quietly. She went for some of those too. She looked at him, knew he was hurting and she said, “Jeremiah, I’m ok, and we are ok…….” “Don’t worry….” Thank God she was talking now, he thought. He smiled at her.
Twenty minutes later Miriam was beginning to perk up, and asked Jeremiah an unusual question. She said in her wonderful French African accent, “Have you ever thought of how many children we should have?”. She had a serious look on her face, so he said, “Well….yes but I don’t think we’ve ever talked about it.” He continued with, “I was thinking 4….. maybe 5.” “What about you?” he asked, as he took a drink of water. “Well I was thinking…….I think…….well…….10!
He choked, coughed, sprayed and spurted water all over the steering wheel! He coughed some more, and she reached over to rub his back. She was giggling now, having great fun with this. He pulled over, and put the truck in park. He looked at her disbelieving. “You want 10 children???!” He couldn’t believe it. She was laughing out loud now, at his reaction. She was trying not to be too loud, so she began stomping her foot, and holding a hand to her mouth. He decided to play this out some more, and go along with it. He said, “What do I look like a machine??” She howled with laughter, and her foot stomped even more.
After he wiped down the steering wheel, he kept mumbling “10 children!!”, he was really enjoying her laughter, and hysterics. In between her howls of laughter, she said, “But Jeremiah…….we need to…….we need to…….. repopulate!!!” She howled once again, and he laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. They could not stop laughing. “Very funny!” he said. But he loved every minute of it…….he had never laughed so hard in his life……..
P.S. I had some problems with wordpress today and the butterfly poem was deleted. Sorry!
The Last People on Earth XII – The Accident
After they drove into Pennsylvania, Miriam woke up from her nap with a smile on her face. “I was dreaming again of our baby”, she said. “You mean Sofia?” he asked. “Yes! Wait until you see her Jeremiah!” “She will be so beautiful.” Miriam was mixing in Amharic, with her English, which was good, because it helped him to learn. He looked at her and smiled, realizing how much he loved her beautiful, brown skin. He was grinning and silently telling God, “You know how much I love her……..”
After a quick stop, at a rest stop, they jumped back in the Ford F-250. Jeremiah had noticed how the engine was straining, and the transmission was having a tough time. He wished he had found a bigger vehicle to haul everything. They put the windows down, because it was a cool, late summer morning.
Less than an hour later, they were talking about how much further, and Miriam was looking at maps, when they heard an all too familiar humming sound. “Where is it?” Miriam said. They were both looking, when Jeremiah spotted the drone to his left, on the driver’s side. “Miriam get down!!” “You son of a …..” He was yelling at the drone, but stopped himself from cursing, realizing how much it upset his wife.
He slammed the accelerator to the floor. Miriam ducked down but then popped back up, alarmed. “Slow down Jeremiah!!” He yelled back as the engine roared, and the transmission jerked and slipped, “The drone is keeping pace with us!!”, “Get down Miriam!” She refused, “Maybe it is just gathering more data…….please slow down Jeremiah!!” “There’s a curve coming…..”
“Oh God”, he mumbled. He saw it, but too late, there was too much weight behind him, for him to stop normally. He tried to brake without slamming the pedal, because otherwise the trailers would become detached, or they would flip over, and everything would be all over the road, including them. He frantically turned the wheel to the right, to the left, and to the right again, forcing the brake pedal as far as it would go. Then they were suddenly off the road, he yelled, “Hang on Miriam!!” He couldn’t control the wheel.
Miriam screamed, “God send angels!!” A tire exploded, and there was a huge crash on the driver’s side, with the truck finally coming to a stop. They were dazed. “Miriam……are you alright??” “Yes….I think so”, she said. Jeremiah noticed she had held the seatbelt, above her stomach, and around her chest, in order to protect the baby. He was banged up on his left side, especially his shoulder, and knee. He said, “My door won’t open…” So they got out on Miriam’s side to survey the damage. But first they held each other, and checked each other over. They weren’t sure about his shoulder.
She was weeping, and they kissed, but it was not a kiss of passion. It was a kiss that said, “I’m so thankful, you’re alive! And they meant it. She hugged him, but he winced, because of the pain.
Author Ancient SkiesCategories UncategorizedPosted on August 25, 2015 August 25, 2015 4 Comments
The Last People on Earth XI – Journey to Healing
In the morning there was no sign of the drone. Miriam convinced Jeremiah to not get a gun, but he was not happy about it. Privately he thought her reasoning was sound though. She told him that if the drone had meant to destroy them, it would have. A rocket being launched into the house would have put an end to everything. Could it be they (whoever they were) were just watching them?
He made them some eggs and turkey bacon, with toast, in the morning. Miriam was not a big meat eater, so she had just the eggs and toast. She admired his wanting to take care of her, and it showed at every mealtime. He didn’t say much as they ate, because he kept thinking, that he was supposed to take care of the family – wasn’t he? Was it just his male instinct causing him to want a gun to protect them? He wasn’t sure but it felt right. It wasn’t until later that Jeremiah better understood, her fear of guns.
They spent half the day packing up the lab. As they worked packing up boxes, Miriam explained about East Africa, and the conflict in Somalia often spilling over into other countries. The kidnappings, and killings were horrible. It was always with guns. However it wasn’t until they emigrated to Europe that she experienced the hatred of white people. The white racists hated them, and wanted nothing to do with Muslims, Jews, or anyone else different than they were.
Miriam, broke down in tears, as she retold the story of how she and her father, were kidnapped, raped, and severely beaten. They were left for dead, in the middle of the night, while a black car went speeding off into the darkness. Jeremiah held her, wanting to erase every hurt of her traumatized emotions. It took a while for Miriam’s grief to subside, and she finished with, “It wasn’t until we made our way to France, that we were safe.” She wouldn’t tell him though what country they were in, when the kidnapping took place in, “In case we meet survivors from there…” she said. She did not want Jeremiah to hate.
Six months after the kidnapping, Miriam’s father became very sick, and eventually died. Miriam was convinced it was from the beatings, maybe brain damage. “I have a lot of forgiving to do still”, she said, in her heavy French African accent. They both wept.
When they did work on the packing some more, Miriam realized it was Jeremiah’s love that was bringing so much healing. He never judged, never criticized, but he did give of himself so completely. At the end of the day, Jeremiah could see that she was tired, and said she should go in to rest. She did go in, and fell asleep almost immediately, on the couch. She dreamt of holding a beautiful baby girl, and her name was Sofia.
The next morning they left early. They had a large pickup now, a Ford F-250. He hated leaving the Mercedes, but they had to. The back of the truck was loaded with food, canned goods, and cold food, packed in coolers, with ice. Next there was the large trailer with the laboratory inside. And finally there was a small trailer, with their suitcases filled with clothing, and some kitchen items. Jeremiah was concerned about the weight they were hauling, and thought for sure the transmission would give out, but they only needed to drive 6 hours.
As they drove away from their first home, they knew they would miss it, but they both knew they were on the greatest journey of their lives, drones, or no drones. She smiled at her strength, this man of love, and took his hand.
He looked down at their bracelets, and said in perfect Amharic, “My Queen……I love you…….I will always love you…….(he had been practicing)…….. It was one of the greatest moments of her life……….she closed her eyes to take it all in.
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What’s rehab like? Ali tells her rehab story
After hearing Artie Lange announce his rehab Monday, I spent all day Tuesday wondering what it's like to come to the point where you realize it's time to seek help.
I asked the question Tuesday night and heard from Ali who's in her twenties from Farmingdale and has been struggling with a heroin addiction over the past ten years. She also lost her sister to an overdose in April and it was her passing that caused her to seek rehab. Ali is in a 12 step fellowship as well.
What's it like in rehab?
"It's nerve racking at first, you're walking into a completely different place than you're used to. On a daily basis, you have a lot of structure, lots of meetings, you learn a lot about yourself and feelings get brought up that you didn't even know you had, but it's helpful, it makes you grow and learn about yourself, you get to take 30-90 days away from life to work on yourself. Sometimes the repetition can get to you but you have to just kind of like rewind and remember that it's time for you to figure out why and what's going on in life and kind of fix yourself."
What did Ali learn about herself? "I had a struggling childhood and I was never really able to ask for help and the one thing I really learned in there was self confidence."
I asked Ali if she could talk to her sister what would she say. "I would just love to tell her where I'm at in life now and every time I walk up in a meeting and celebrate another month clean, I wish I could tell her that and show her the keytag."
More form New Jersey 101.5:
Filed Under: drug addiction in NJ, drug rehabilitation, Opioid Epidemic
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Alan Roberts
Alan Roberts, 98, of Boca Raton, Fla., died June 2, 2017.
Mr. Roberts was the cofounder of Roberts, Walsh & Company and the Roberts-Walsh Business School, and partner to John Walsh. Both men were well-known court reporters throughout the state before forming the school in Newark in 1950. The school trained and supplied court reporters for the New Jersey court system for many years. They also authored the Roberts-Walsh Court Reporting Course published by Prentice-Hall of Upper Saddle River, which remains on the National Court Reporters Association’s recommended list.
He was a two-term president of the NJ Court Reporters Association and was named its Man of the Year in 1965. He was similarly honored by being named a Fellow of the National Court Reporters Association.
He served in the armed forces during World War II as a Warrant Officer with the Inspector General’s Department of the Ninth Army Headquarters throughout the European Theater of Operations. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal while stationed in Germany.
He was a founder of Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim of Linden, now in Cranford.
Predeceased by his wife of 53 years, Elaine G., in 1995, he is survived by his wife, Grace; his daughter, Susan E. (Theodore Waite) of San Francisco; his son, James P. (Mary Ellen) of Warren; and a granddaughter.
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My heart goes out to the wounded and to the families and friends of those who were killed today.
Latest Article Hits the Spoof
My latest article to hit the Internet is about an old topic: King Richard III. Called "Fit for a King," the article takes a look at newly released research findings about the king, and the fact that the historians seemed to have overlooked the sort of questions that interest the rest of us.
For example, "the findings indicated that Richard III wasn't a hunchback, as Shakespeare depicted him, but suffered from scoliosis. That alone requires a reconsideration of Richard III (along with an updated, more PC-version of Victor Hugo's 'The Scoliosis Patient of Notre-Dame')."
Other questions include:
What was Richard III's favorite cuisine? Medieval Leicester probably did not offer a range of cuisines - it would help if researchers found a 15th century equivalent of Yelp - but it's hard to imagine a time when England did not have great Indian food.
Where did Richard III eat? If he dined out in the homes of friends, did Richard III bring a hostess gift? If he ate at a tavern, did he pick up the tab? Or did he try get out of it by asking: "Can you pay this time - I must have left my wallet in my other pantaloons"?
Richard III killed many friends and family members on his path to the throne, he made a lot of enemies - so did anyone want to be seated next to the king or were they forced to? Were certain subjects - topics, not people - known to be off-limits? Like, "Don't mention snow or he'll talk your ear off about that 'winter of his discontent'"?
This is the first of two articles I've written about historic figures who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries. I know that's hardly topical humor but I'm sure my history teachers would appreciate these. (Perhaps not.) I'm still developing the second one in my attempt to be one of the best medieval-times humorists working today.
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Great Patriotic Quotes
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
- Thomas Jefferson
“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.”
- Abraham Lincoln
“We gain strength and courage and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot.”
- John F. Kennedy
“Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulder of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we’ve ever known.”
- Ronald Reagan
“Those haters out there, they don’t understand that it invigorates me, it wants me to get out there and defend the innocent. It makes me want to work so hard for justice in this country. So, hey the more they’re pouring on, the more I’m going to bug the crap out of them by being out there with a voice, with the message, hopefully running for office in the future, too.”
- Sarah Palin
Latest Article Appears on The Higgs Weldon
One of my children likes to tell me that I know nothing about fashion. But among techies, I may know a thing or too about fashion.
My latest article, appearing on a cool site called The Higgs Weldon, is called "Five Tips to Help Techies Embrace Fashion." My wife suggested framing things this way: "Think Ashton Kutcher, not Jon Cryer."
I have another two humorous articles about tech and fashion, and are now looking to find the right homes for them.
By the way, check out The Higgs Weldon, a humor website founded by LA comics Robin Higgins and Paige Weldon in January of 2013. It features everything from columns to letters to cartoons to lists of things. Many of the Higgs Weldon’s writers are LA comics, but the site publishes writing and cartoons by anyone and everyone.
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Norton Children's / Norton Children’s Services / Norton Children’s Cancer Institute / Patient Resources at Norton Children’s Cancer Institute / Children’s Network Cancer Registry
The Network Cancer Registry manages the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute Registry. In 2017, 94 new cancer cases were entered into the Norton Children’s Hospital database. Since 1995, the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute Registry has collected data on 1,728 cancer cases. Beginning in 2004, the registry began collecting data on benign/borderline brain and central nervous system tumors, as required by law.
In addition to entering information on new cancer diagnoses, the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute Registry also follows all pediatric cancer and benign/borderline brain and central nervous system tumor patients until they reach age 27. Currently, the registry follows 1,199 pediatric patients, maintaining a five-year follow-up rate of 90 percent and a reference date (1995) follow-up rate of 60 percent.
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Does Size Matter? (Part 1)
On Posted on April 28, 2010 by Rob Hahn to Brokers & Agents, Real Estate, Technology
Pocket Hercules (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Aaaaand I can hear the tee-hee’ing going on in Costa Mesa from here. While I’m not above making cheap jokes in order to erect a logical argument about brokerage performance, business dysfunction, and customer satisfaction, this post is actually about serious issues in real estate, technology, and marketing. So stop giggling.
We begin with a question: does the size of a brokerage matter in real estate?
I have argued in the past that the Big Broker holds the key to the future of the real estate industry, and that small independents and boutiques will end up surviving on the good graces of the various titans in their markets. Of course, that argument was counter-factual at the time I made it (over a year ago now) and I conceded that as the industry was then, big brokerages were boned. What I argued then, and still believe to some extent, is that the Big Brokerage with the will to change has the resources to do so. But in the almost year and a full quarter since I wrote that post, I don’t know that I’ve seen too many examples of such visionary brokerages.
Meanwhile, technology continues its remorseless march.
Then comes this paper by one of the pioneers of the blogosphere: Glenn Reynolds, aka, Instapundit, the Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee. If you’re at all interested in the impact of technology and of the Web (and its offspring, social media) on the real estate industry, I urge you to read it in full. While it is a scholarly paper published in a law review, it’s written in plain English for the layman, and does not deal with legal issues as much as it does with business and social issues.
The implications are profound, and the questions Reynolds raise are significant. And insofar as law is the epitome of professional services, and one that many realtors look to as an example of client-driven professional services, changes in the legal business model are something we should pay close attention to.
This will be a multi-part post, as the topic is large enough and complex enough to warrant breaking up into bite-size pieces. This first part focuses on understanding Reynolds’s argument as it applies to law firms, then extrapolating similarities to real estate brokerages.
The Reynolds Argument in Brief
Much of what Reynolds published in the Hofstra Law Review article comes from his book, An Army of Davids. He posits that advances in technology, particularly computing, telecommunications, and the Internet, create efficiencies for small companies or even individuals that allow them to beat much larger competitors in the marketplace. This, we’ve heard, ever since the first PC was shipped to the first customer.
What few of us have thought about is where Reynolds goes next:
This observation is commonplace now, of course, but its implications for Galbraith-era economics have gotten somewhat less attention. It‟s not just that fewer people can do the same work; it’s that they don’t need a big company to provide the infrastructure to do the work, and, perhaps even more importantly, they may be far more efficient without the big company and all the inefficiencies and stumbling blocks that its bureaucracy and “technostructure” tend to produce.
Those inefficiencies were present in Galbraith’s day, too, of course. People have been making jokes about office politics and bureaucratic idiocies since long before Dilbert. But in the old days, you had to put up with those problems because you needed the big organization to do the job. Now, increasingly, you don’t. Goliath’s clumsiness used to be made up for by the fact that he was strong. But now the Davids are muscling up without bulking up. So why be a Goliath? (p.105 in the PDF article; emphasis in original)
He points out that at the dawn and the height of the Industrial Age, size equaled efficiency: “You can’t run a railroad as a family business” (p. 103) But he also points out that the age of Big Companies was a departure from the historical norm:
Big organizations doing big things: it’s the story of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In fact, it was so much the theme of those centuries that it’s easy to forget what a departure this was from the rest of human history. But it was a huge departure, brought about by the confluence of some unusual technological and social developments.
The advances in technology, and the shift away from an industrial manufacturing-based economy to a knowledge information-based economy, brings things back to the pre-industrial era of artisans, cottage industry, and small businesses.
Size and the Law Firm
Home of Cravath, Swaine & Moore
In the second part of his paper, Reynolds argues that the efficiencies that the big law firms brought to the table in the 19th and 20th centuries (the height of industrial economies) no longer exist:
Like the clients, law firms were taking advantage of economies of scale and scope. A large firm could spread the costs of big investments—at first, a law library, later things like secretarial pools, duplication equipment, and expensive computerized research services—across a large number of attorneys. And, because of its size, it could maintain in-house expertise on a large number of subjects, allowing it to meet clients’ needs for advice on subjects ranging from bankruptcy to intellectual property to labor and employment, without the client having to search out these experts on its own. Big clients and big law firms went together because both were taking advantage of the efficiencies brought about through bigness—efficiencies that outweighed the undeniable costs that bigness also brought.
But in looking at big law firms today, it’s worth asking whether technology has eroded the advantages that once accrued to size. What, exactly, do big law firms bring to the table?
In essence, it seems to me, they bring two things: reputation and resources.
Reputation (or brand) is simply a way by which clients can rely on a big established prestigious firm’s screening processes to hire competent attorneys. It’s the same reason why big law firms tend to hire at the top ranked law schools: it makes the search for smart competent lawyers more efficient. (Although I could question the logic of relying on credentials alone….)
Resources refers to things like a large support staff (paralegals, typists, messengers, etc.) that perhaps makes an attorney’s work more efficient. The less time your expensive attorney spends filling out form letters, the better off you are as the client (or so the theory goes).
Reynolds then goes on to theorize that other institutions, such as law schools, could provide the branding service that big law firms currently provide. For example, an online directory of Yale Law School graduates broken down by practice area, years of experience, and so on, would make it easier for clients to find attorneys who carry the reputation/brand of their alma mater rather than of their firm. Combined with advances in information technology like Lexis and Westlaw that render the big libraries of the big firms irrelevant, and telecommunications technology like email that renders the fleet of messengers of the big firms nonessential, it is now entirely possible that a solo practitioner working out of his home could produce legal work on par with the best of the big law firms at a fraction of the price.
Sound familiar yet?
Size and the Real Estate Brokerage
I’m struck by the parallels between the description of the big law firms in the Industrial Age and the big brokerages in the same period. There was a time when size drove efficiency in both. For example, when information technology was expensive, the larger firms had the resources to deploy things like databases, computers, and local area networks while the small boutiques simply couldn’t afford to do so.
Even in areas where real estate differs from lawyers, such as advertising (most attorney advertising is sharply restricted by law), in the Industrial era, there was a significant advantage to the purchasing power of a big real estate company. For example, when newspaper advertising was the primary was to advertise a home for sale to consumers, the ability for a large firm to negotiate a 30-40% volume discount off of standard rates constituted a major competitive advantage.
All of these advantages, like the law firms’ one-time advantage of a fully staffed large in-house library, have become significantly less important with the advent of technology. Even today, there may be discounts available to the large brokers (or large franchise networks) for online advertising; but the advantage, if any, tends to be small enough to be outweighed by the cost of the bureaucracy and the overhead that size tends to incur.
Furthermore, inherent in the practice of real estate brokerage is a lack of economies of scale that goes beyond even what other professional services like law possesses. As Reynolds says, big organizations do big things. But residential real estate is inherently small: it’s usually one family buying or selling one home. The advantage of bigness was tenuous to begin with, and changes to business realities have driven that point home.
Note that “big real estate” still achieves efficiency from big real estate firms. For example, for very large commercial real estate projects, a boutique is not likely to be able to match up to the capabilities of a CBRE. For very large homebuilders, such as Pulte or Lennar, it may be more efficient to find a single big real estate company who can bring a legion of agents, support staff, and so on to take on a project like selling 4,000 units across multiple states.
But for the most part, residential real estate is a one-to-one, small scale transaction where the size of the firm never added much in the way of efficiency. In the post-industrial world, that problem is magnified.
It used to be — and there may still be some evidence of life in this — that the big brokerages could spend more money on branding and brand advertising such that when a consumer gets around to wanting to buy or sell a house, the name that would pop into his head is that of the big brand. But the general sentiment around the industry is that the brand of the brokerage doesn’t matter one bit. Of course, that post (and the NAR study quoted in it) conflicts with studies like this one from Century 21 that suggests that brand awareness does matter.
What one could say with a degree of certainty, however, is that whether brand does or does not matter, the branding advantage that bigness might have conferred is no longer as large as it once may have been. (In a sense, as we’ll see in the next part, the hoopla around real estate brand is entirely misplaced. It would be more accurate to say that whether brand matters or not to the consumer is almost entirely incidental.)
And the parallels continue even in possible solutions.
Reynolds thinks that perhaps Bar Associations or law schools might provide the kind of reputational filtering that big law firms provide today to help clients find quality lawyers. A fairly significant number of people in real estate believe that it is the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), or consumer rating websites, or Associations such as NAR, that could provide reputational filtering. Houston Association of REALTORS recently decided to put realtor performance metrics online, drawing heavy praise from the guys at 1000watt (and yours truly as well).
Whether HAR’s move is good or not is secondary; the interesting thing is that both Reynolds and Boero both believe that the solution to the problem of reputational filtering should come from outside the law firm or brokerages. Neither believes, I think, that law should disappear as a profession, or that realtors be disintermediated. They both believe that the attorney and the realtor provide value to the consumer. It’s just that they don’t think that big law firms and big brokerages do.
Real Estate is Ahead of Law
The post-industrial, post-big, post-Goliath vision that Reynolds has for the legal profession is starting to be the norm within real estate. As much as realtors look to lawyers for things like client service philosophy, fiduciary responsibility, respectability, and the like… in this one case, lawyers could learn a lot from realtors. Many realtors are already free agents in all but name. Even if they are affiliated with a big real estate brokerage, they don’t report into the office, they don’t rely on the big infrastructure advantage, and have returned to the pre-industrial, artisanal way of doing things.
Such independence brings challenges and problems of its own, of course, and as lawyers might be looking over the horizon at what the future of the law firm looks like, they might look at real estate companies very carefully.
In the next part, we’ll examine some fundamental ways in which Big Law and Big Real Estate differ from each other, and the consequences of that difference.
TagsAdventures in Marketingbig law firmsBrokers & AgentslawyersManagementMarketingReal Estate
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Michael McClure says:
Another great, provocative post.
You've brought several key points to light in this post that I've not read anywhere else before. And I absolutely agree that the “law firm/real estate” comparison is intellectually and logically valid.
I look forward to the rest of your series on this topic. This “size” issue is central and fundamental to the future of the real estate industry.
To me, the key metric of “real estate 1.0” was “agent count.” All other measures be damned. The answer to every problem? Recruit more warm bodies!
The key metric of “real estate 2.0” will be “revenue per agent.”
I see the optimal future brokerage model as a small or virtual office with 20 agents selling $5M per year each. As opposed to the traditional model of massive overhead, with 100 agents averaging $1M each.
The ROI of the 2.0 model will be dramatically higher because of the reduced overhead alone. Technology makes this realistically achievable. And as agent awareness that “big branding” truly WAS an illusion becomes more widespread – and I think that reality is finally gaining some traction – this will increase the momentum away from the big boxes.
With fewer people to manage (and, by logical extension, a lot less “HR inefficiency”), the broker of the future can truly focus on aiding and abetting his agents to make more money.
Suddenly, agent and broker might kinda/sorta…can I say this out loud?…be on the same page?
I have some additional thoughts specific to the “does size matter” issue in the blog posts I wrote at http://p1fran.com/2010/02/rtb-bigger-is-worserer/ and http://p1fran.com/2010/03/big-box-brouhaha/.
Tehane Wurdeman says:
This is an excellent post! Great insight. I look forward to the subsequent parts.
Tehane
Ken Brand says:
Nice work. I'll have to do some reading and thinking.
What pops into my head is that there's no doubt technology empowers the more entrepreneurial brokers and agents to fly solo or in compact packs of efficiency and excellence.
I think that it doesn't matter if you're a big broker or a tiny broker or in-between, if you suck, and you head's in the sand, you're gonna go bye-bye. Technology or not, it's simply too competitive.
I think any size broker who delivers the goods and um, er, pleases their clients and agents, will succeed. There are legions of very good agents, good as in honest, trustworthy, effective and knowledgeable, who don't sell millions or dozens of properties in year, they don't win any Top Producer Awards, but their clients love them. I believe that while the vast majority of these people are semi-entrepeneurial, or they wouldn't be in the real estate business, but they aren't extremely entrepreneurial. These fine folks don't want to own their own brokerage of 1 or dozen. I believe they feel they find security, safety and the support they perceive they need in a larger, professionally managed, well led firm. There is room for all well run operations.
The size of the brokerage doesn't matter and the brand doesn't matter, leadership, commitment, imagination and execution matter. If you're a loser, size and brand won't help you, it's the same if you're solo or small. How often do you see a Brand dominate in one market and scorned in another. It all depends on talent.
The flip side to technology empowering small tribes of real estate agent is that it's empowered a growing army of, it's all online, work unsupervised, pay your subscription fees, do what you want, just don't kill anyone or otherwise break the law. It's embarrassing, their is an odd upside, it's easier to shine like a diamond when you're standing next to dirt clod.
Having said all that, hopefully I will keep my eyes, ears and mind open and observant. Any way you cut it, it's a loud Jungle out there.
SusieBlackmon says:
Realtors and law firms and Michael's real estate 2.0 comment … to me, from what I have witnessed, translate to “revenue and liability per agent.” As well it should. 😉
mauirealestatesearch says:
Two points. 1- Yes, big brokerages have the funds/resources to implement wide-ranging plans to adjust as technology advances. However, 2- smaller/boutique brokers have a much easier time in maneuvering/adapting to changes in the market and the role of technology. It's the same principles as to why guerilla warfare is so effective when you have a smaller force: you can move and adapt much easier than a big army.
Jim Duncan says:
As we continue this evolution, I remain (selfishly so) convinced that big is not just “not better” but worse for the productive, forward-thinking agents/realtors.
– Brand and reputation management is *much* more efficient with ~25 or fewer agents
– (R)Evoluton is easier with a smaller brand; getting buy-in to test, change, move is easier.
– Essentially, those of us in the independent contractor world are all competitors with each other; this makes creates tension when towards a common goal – building a successful brand. But … if the agents were employees …
…if a big brand could implement effective and responsive systems management and a process for listing homes, I believe that the next step for bigger brands is the employee model. By choosing to hire great people who are less entrepreneurial (notthattheresanythingwrongwiththat) the big brands could guide and direct their people in the best manner possible … and the employees would have to listen.
Further contradicting myself … big brands *can* and should matter. The fact is that they don't and I don't think the legacy ones can. The only way I see a big brand mattering is to start one fresh without the legacy leadership/culture/baggage. And when I say fresh, I mean from scratch, not re-branding/buying into a brokerage or brokerage model, I mean from blood, sweat and tears so that the brand matters from Day One.
Lastly, I think that segmenting residential real estate from the rest is key, because it is relationship- and skill-driven. If this were just about numbers and data, bigger might be better due to their potentially greater resources.
Joe Sheehan says:
Very interesting article, Rob. It seems to me that the majority of big brand real estate firms that I am aware of are really very small, independently owned franchise operations. There are very few big real estate shops. Most of the largest of these franchises probably “employ” less than 200 people.
Furthermore, while technology offers the leverage for real estate professionals to provide extraordinary services to their clients, the vast majority seem to have no interest or idea on how to implement and use it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts,
Joe Sheehan
Nithi Vivatrat says:
Nice post as usual. On a tangentially-related point, I'm sure you're amused by the issues the big law firms are having with work in the financial services sector because of rules governing conflicts of interest: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527023…. These rules result in the scale of a large firm to be a surprising impediment in these cases.
NITHI
MattGentile says:
Rob, as always you bring deep, thoughtful content to the surface for the rest of us who depend on you to do it. Obviously, it would be preferable if you would utilize the http://www.century21.com media center version links http://www.century21.com/aboutus/news.jsp?id=81 when referencing our survey work, but thank you just the same for including it.
I think the exploration of what the real estate model of the future looks like is fascinating. I understand all the arguments with regard to agents depending on the “big brand” for legal, office and administrative support; however, to put out a blanket statement like “But the general sentiment around the industry is that the brand of the brokerage doesn’t matter one bit,” is just not backed up by any facts.
I get the sense that the entire piece centers on how technology has leveled he playing field in service / knowledge based industries to the point where the qualified individual doesn't need any brand or branding to be successful. I think the executives on Madison Ave. would disagree. The piece seems to hint that brands and brand value in general are quickly becoming a thing of the past. I just don't agree with this sentiment. As the franchisor of the world’s largest residential real estate sales organization, Century 21 Real Estate continues to provide advantages of scale when it comes to online marketing and technology platforms.
In my opinion the brand and the agent work hand in hand to provide the consumer with the best possible experience. The brand continues to attract consumers to visit offices, pick up the phone, complete an online contact form or send an email and the performance of the broker and agent fulfill the brand value proposition.
I applaud HAR for their efforts to espouse transparency for agent performance.
robhahn says:
Hey Matt — thanks for the comment. You know, I could have sworn I wrote something like, “such sentiments are unfair and not grounded in provable facts” referring to the general statement. I think I must have deleted that in editing that part down a bit….
You're right; as yet, no one really knows whether brands do or don't matter. More importantly, it is unclear if we're even talking about the same thing when we say that a brand “matters”. This is something I'd like to get into more in the next two parts.
Give Rick my best regards. 🙂
True, what you say about franchisees. I was thinking more of the actual Big Brokerages like a Long & Foster or Weichert, and less of the franchise brands like Coldwell Banker and Century 21.
As for realtors who have no interest or idea on how to use it… well, they'd be in the same boat no matter what size the brokerage firm is. 🙂
jeff corbett says:
Couple quick thoughts…
1. I agree with the general premise of your post…with the industrial age now firmly in the past and the information age tearing at conventional real estate practices across the board, especially at 'Big Real Estate'…disintermediation and the term (from the book of the same name) Blown To Bits rings loud and clear.
2. Really, my only contention with what you have written here, Rob, is your choice of photos, which I don't think plays to the points of your post. You have one Maurice Jones Drew, a small running back by NFL standards, indeed. But he's running against the Buffalo Bills not so vaunted defense. So surely you could have found a picture of MJD running against say the Ravens or even your dear Jersey/2, err, I mean Jets defense to better illustrate your point.
**Disclaimer: I'm a Buffalo Bills fan. And I have this feeling Rob was sitting back laughing when he chose this photo. Thanks Rob.
Dude, that's Posluzny and Stroud that MJD is running past… the Bills defense might be meh, but those two guys are rock-solid.
I'll trade you Vernon Gholston and Matt Kroul for Pos and Stroud every day of the week, and twice on weekends….
Thats Pos and Aaron Schobel, the latter of which is still no slouch. Point taken, like castor oil…*sigh*
You can keep Ghost-on and who ever Matt Kroul is, we're trying to upgrade to respectability my man…
csread says:
This is an awesome article! I agree with the points you make here. One thing I think you could explore a bit more is the effect of “big brands” on the quality of agents. In other words, if well known big brokerages are attracting more of the top talent, does that fact – in combination with the brand recognition itself – come into play in garnering more of the market share? Where do the most skilled and productive agents choose to hang their license? Large brokerages have relied, from my observation, on high body counts of new and low producing agents and retaining an aging agent population that have long term relationships that produce repeat business and referrals.
I do agree that all of this is changing – quickly. There is less and less advantage to being large, and the staggering operational overhead means turning to sources outside the transaction itself for company dollar. If there is an advantage at all to large brokerage, it's their spin-off of affiliated services in mortgage, title, insurance, etc. for the profit margins. Small brokerages and independents are literally living off the dollar generated on the transaction itself. Big brokerage has developed additional streams of revenue. Just thought I would toss that out for consideration.
The Red Dot, November 2018: Shape of Regulatory Action – Tech
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Cuadernos Colombianos
Cuadernos Colombianos brings into focus the political economy of the Colombian armed conflict and its intersection with economics, organized crime, and the country’s internally displaced population. It provides a critical reading of, together with a context of, the most recent events and their wider impact. This blog also explores the changing role that Colombia plays in the Andean region, its position in the global and regional division of labor, and relationships with the United States, Europe, and China.
The Peace Dividend and Post-Conflict Criminalization in Colombia
Peace in Colombia is in a precarious position—says the literature on post-conflict countries. A 2003 report states that on average, 44% of countries emerging from civil war return to conflict within the first five years.
The Crisis of the National State: How Will Colombia Weigh In?
There is a crisis in the "national state" formations in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, increasing due to the declining hegemonic power of U.S. imperialism. Within this complex panorama of the deepening crisis of the national state, we might ask: what about Colombia after 50 years of civil war?
The U.S. Multibillion “Black Budget” War in Colombia
In a report published on December 21, the Washington Post brought the U.S. role in the Colombian conflict into sharper focus when it revealed the role of the CIA and the NSA in the assassination of the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) commander Raul Reyes in March of 2008. According to the report, the U.S. covert military operations were funded by a multibillion dollar “black budget.”
Santos in the White House Today: Will Obama Derail the Quest for Peace?
President Juan Manuel Santos meets today with President Barak Obama in the White House. The United States is not only the major trading partner and major market of Colombia’s exports, but also an active participant party in Colombia's 50-years long civil war.
Partial Accord: FARC’s Christmas Gift to Juan Manuel Santos
A few days ago the Juan Manuel Santos government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed off on the second item of their five-point negotiation program: that of political participation. This agreement, alongside the preceding agreement on the agrarian question, elevates the positive expectations that the peace process is moving in the right direction, and that prospects of a final agreement are closer than ever before.
The Costs of the War System and the Economic Predicament of Colombia
The specter of the increasing public debt in Colombia is expected to generate a deep economic crisis if not addressed.
U.S. “Cowboy” Foreign Policy From Libya to Colombia
U.S. imperialist policy is shifting toward surgical military operations, a shift that tends to perpetuate violence without addressing its root causes. This has become apparent in Colombia, a country that is attempting to negotiate a peaceful end to its almost 50 years of civil war.
FARC Leader “Timochenko” Expresses Frustration with Santos’s Negotiating Strategy
FARC negotiators Iván Marquez and Pablo Catatumbo have both been unsatisfied with the adamant refusal of the Santos government to tackle tough points in the peace negotiations. This is especially the case with disagreements having to do with the agrarian question.
Colombia´s Agrarian National Strike Enters its Fourth Week
To contain Colombia´s spreading rural crisis, the government of Juan Manuel Santos, facing peasant strikers who have blocked several crucial highways, has followed a three-pronged strategy of co-optation, coercion (some of it violent) and a surface re-shuffling of government officials. Up to this point, nothing has worked as the strike enters its fourth week.
With a “Mea Culpa," the Arrogant Santos Government Relents
The government of Colombia has been forced to negotiate with peasants' organizations in the wake of the peasants' strong show of force. The rural workers who have mounted Colombia's national agrarian strike are staying the course after four peasants and one policeman were killed and scores more detained. Hundred of thousands of peasants and small farmers are participating in this historic mobilization whose scope and magnitude have not been seen for decades.
The Rural General Strike and the Crisis of the Rentier Economy
Today Monday, August 19, Colombia is witnessing a general rural strike involving most of its population—a strike revealing the deep crisis of the rentier-economic model.
Are the Peace Negotiations in Havana between the FARC and the Colombian Government Deadlocked?
The on-going peace talks in Havana between the rebels and the government are deadlocked.
Peasants and Miners Strikes Expand from Catatumbo to other Regions
The national strikes that have been going on for the last month are now increasing in rural Colombia as peasants protest the economic crisis resulting from the failure of the neoliberal economic model.
Colombia's Peasant Rebellion in Catatumbo Illustrates Economic Shortcomings
The rebellion in Catatumbo, North Santander, reveals the ills of Colombia's economic model of development.
Colombian Peace Talks Move to FARC's Political Participation and a Constituent Assembly
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are calling for a constituent assembly to lay the foundation for a democratic system.
The Peace Process in Colombia and U.S. Foreign Policy: Plan Colombia II
The United States has historically played a critical role in Colombia's civil war due to its special links with its military that were cemented through Plan Colombia.
Colombian Peace Talks Revisit Land Reform
An agreement on the agrarian question is emerging from the peace talks between the FARC and the Colombian government which could usher in a revolution in land tenure.
Potato Growers Strike in Colombia as Peace Talks Continue
While negotiations continue between the Santos government and the FARC, potato farmers in the countryside went on strike. This comes in the wake of the widespread protest movement staged by the small coffee growers some weeks ago.
Colombia to Resume Peace Talks with the FARC Amidst U.S. and Colombian Military "Saber-Rattling"
The progress and a successful conclusion of the current peace talks in Colombia largely depends on a change in U.S. policy toward the Andean subregion and in Latin America at large.
The “War of the Emeralds”: The Story of a Foretold "Green War"
Colombia's “Green War” over the emerald trade is another example of the precarious path of state building that Colombia has had to undergo since its independence in the 19th century. It is a process that is still unfolding.
SOUTHCOM General John Kelly and the War in Colombia
This blog addresses the U.S. posture toward the peace process in Colombia, as seen by the commander of the South Command, General John Kelly.
Peasant Reserve Zones in Colombia: Between Magical Realism and Revolutionary Praxis
The three thousand peasants that participated in the third encounter of the National Association of Peasant Reserve Zones, which took place last Friday, were an important impetus to the FARC’s proposal of expanding agricultural reserve zones in Colombia.
The Latest FARC Proposal Brings Progress to the Peace Process in Colombia
White smoke is rising in Havana, Cuba where the negotiators of the Juan Manuel Santos and the insurgents of the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been negotiating since early last year. The two sides have almost agreed on the most important issue on the agenda: the agrarian question.
The "Dutch Disease" and Violence in Colombia
Colombia's rentier-based economy constitutes the main threat to development and peace.
The "Dutch Disease" Hits Juan Valdez in Colombia: Coffee Growers on Strike
Small and medium-sized coffee growers are on strike protesting the declining prices of the coffee beans and the lack of government support.
Negotiating Peace Amidst the War in Colombia
The peace talks between the Santos government and the FARC in Havana are subject to conflict and politics that could undermine the process.
Striking Coal Miners in Colombia and the Vulnerabilities of a Rentier Based Economy
More than 5,000 workers at coal multinational corporation began a strike demanding higher salaries, better working conditions, and effective measures to protect the environment. This strike reveals yet a much larger problem with the extractive resource industry in Colombia.
Santos Negotiating Formula and its Risks in Colombia
The peace process hit a snag last week after FARC resumed its military operations following the expiration of its 60-day unilateral cease fire.
A “Sufficient Consensus” is Emerging in the Peace Talks in Colombia
The negotiations between the FARC and the Santos government have advanced, and last week they established a benchmark for the first item on their discussion of the agrarian question.
Shift in the FARC Position Regarding the Land Problem: A Social Democratic Program in the Making
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has modified its position regarding Colombia's latifundios. This is its first change on the latifundio question since its inception in 1964.
Colombian Peace Talks Resume Between the Santos Government and the FARC
Peace talks between representatives of the Juan Manuel Santos government and the FARC delegates resume today in Havana, Cuba.
Peace Talks Between FARC and the Santos Government: “Meterle más Pueblo”
The peace talks in Colombia are in recess and will resume in January 14 when the parties will continue their discussion of the agrarian question.
The United States and the Future Security Role of Colombia
This week a U.S. delegation is to meet with the Colombian Minister of Defense Juan Carlos Pinzón and the Minister of Foreign Affairs María Ángela Holguín. This is the most important U.S. delegation to visit Colombia since the inception of Plan Colombia in 2000 and demonstrates what is to come for Colombia within the U.S. regional security regime and global strategy.
The Military's Human Rights Record and the Peace Process in Colombia
The peace process in Colombia faces several challenges. One of which is a recalcitrant military institution preoccupied about its future—considering its dismal human rights record—if an accord is reached.
Santos's End Game and the Prospects of a Durable Peace in Colombia
In light of the initiation of the peace process in Colombia, the country faces a stark choice between durable peace or continous war.
Talks in Colombia: The FARC Negotiating Team and the Critical Role of Venezuela
Both the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are preparing for their meeting in the Norwegian Capital, Oslo, on October 17. The composition of the facilitators and observers reflect a balancing act between the Santos government and the FARC.
Government Negotiators and the Prospects for Peace in Colombia
The composition of any negotiating team reveals facts about the importance of the negotiations, the nature of those negotiations, and their prospects for success. Drawing on this understanding, we can make some educated guesses about what to expect from the upcoming negotiations between the Colombian state and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The Long Journey From War System to a Possible Peace in Colombia
One of the core reasons why the civil war in Colombia has endured for so long is because the costs of peace for the dominant classes and the United States is more than the costs of war. Nevertheless, there are several issues that can assess the possibility of success of the process of a possible peace in Colombia.
Hope in the Colombian Peace Talks
The secret peace talks between the Santos government and the FARC are now out in the open. It is premature to anticipate the prospects, however they are the first talks since the collapse of the last peace negotiations in 2002. I believe that the chance for success is higher now than in the 1998–2002 round. Success is by no means guaranteed, but there may be some hope.
The Colombian Paradox: Capital Mobility, Land, and Power
Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe's recent verbal attacks against President Juan Manuel Santos are perhaps most important for where they were made—Sincelejo, a powerful stronghold of Colombian landed elite. Across the country, this group has disproportionate political power that far exceeds its economic weight due to its success in political engineering and its employment of brutal force.
Striking Rail Workers Affect Coal Production in Colombia
Since July 23, workers have been on strike at Colombia's private railway company FENOCO demanding better salaries, improved work conditions, and more social investments in areas of coal production. The strike may have serious implications on coal supply and prices in international markets, considering that Colombia is among the world’s largest coal exporters.
The War System Dynamics in Colombia : A 2012 Assessment
The state is not winning the civil war in Colombia thanks to the limitations of its behemoth military and the capacities of the insurgency to adjust to changing war conditions.
The Resurrection of Uribe in Colombia
Former president Alvaro Uribe Velez has built a coaltion of reactionary political forces and social groups to challenge president Santos's peaceful overtures and his attempt to return lands to those dispossessed by right-wing groups and the landed elite.
Judicial Reform in Colombia?
The Colombian congress recently passed a bill that will lead to impunity if President Juan Manuel Santos approves.
Land Restitution in Colombia: Failure, Rising Expectations, and Armed Opposition
Land restitution in Colombia is moving toward failure because the Santos government is committed to the neo liberal orthodoxy of agrarian development based on large scale agriculture. A law passed last year granting compensation to victims who lost their land in the conflict has given rise to opposition between activists and paramilitary groups.
A Civil War in Mexico?
Considering that the human toll now tops 50,000 fatalities, Mexico's War on Drugs could more accurately be described as a civil war. Nor is it an accident that Colombia’s new Patriotic March in Colombia echoes the voice of the Movement for Peace With Justice and Dignity in Mexico, identifying peace and social justice as the only rational approach to settling its own civil war.
A Rejuvenated Grassroots Movement in Colombia
The birth of the Patriotic March movement in Colombia may usher in a new phase in the country's quest for peace and social justice. But can it harness the potential and push the country to a tipping point for peace?
Exporting Security: Israeli and U.S. Defense Chiefs Visit Colombia
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta visited Colombia on Monday as part of a regional tour that includes Brazil and Chile. Panetta's visit came on the heels of Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak's trip to Colombia and may be planned to bless the growing Colombian-Israeli collaboration, which Colombia believes can help it position itself as a major exporter of security in the region.
Sovereignty For Sale: Corporate Land Grab in Colombia
According to a recent report, about 40% of Colombian land "has been licensed to, or is being solicited by, multinational corporations in order to develop mineral and crude oil mining projects." The extractive development is at the expense of food production, a profound shift in land use that puts the future of Colombia’s food security in jeopardy.
The Increasing ‘Americanization’ of the Colombian Conflict
Last week, U.S. Army general Martin Dempsey visited Colombia, which may be on the road to becoming the third theater of U.S. military operations after Afghanistan and Iraq. Dempsey revealed that U.S. colonels with combat experience will be sharing their experiences with the Colombian military in the coming weeks.
Deconstructing the Colombian Government’s Latest Offensive Against the FARC
During the last week and yesterday the Colombian government carried out a pair of bombing raids on camps of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), killing over 60 guerrillas. The government offensive is strategically significant. The production of the country’s oil is largely concentrated in the region of the raids, where big interests are at stake.
The FARC and its Peace Initiative in Colombia
The FARC is taking the political initiative and increasing the pressure on the government of Juan Manuel Santos to initiate peace talks. It remains unclear, however, if Santos will engage the FARC and seek a peaceful end to hostilities before the 2014 presidential election.
United States Intervention in Colombia (Part II)
The United States is changing its "high value target" military strategy against the FARC in Colombia to focus on mid-level commanders and units that are critical to the organization's financial support.
The Rise of a New Faction Against the Restitution of Land in Colombia
President Juan Manuel Santos is on a collision course with a growing faction of powerful economic groups that oppose the land restitution Law 1448. The outcome of this dispute will show whether Colombia's democracy could stand up to the influence of the richest classes.
President Santos and the Question of Land Reform in Colombia (Part II)
Last Saturday Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos celebrated a media blitz in Necocli, Antioquia, when he launched his plan to return some of the lands that were forcefully taken from millions of peasants over the course of the last twenty years. The question is: Can this government withstand the resistance of the formidable forces that benefited from this land grab?
Show Time in Necocli, Colombia
Reactionary forces in Colombia are challenging President Juan Manuel Santos's plans to implement Law 1448, which calls for land restitution to the victims of Colombia's conflict. The Colombian Banana Growers Association (AUGURA) warns against possible violence that could be unleashed by Santos's demonstration in Necocli, Antioquia, this upcoming Saturday.
President Santos and the Question of Land Reform in Colombia
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos recently declared that his government was committed to implementing the recently passed Victims’ Law, which calls for the restitution of lands that were usurped during the last two decades to their legitimate owners. There are many obstacles, however, and it is unclear if Santos is willing to stand up to the large land owners that have caused so much suffering.
Foreign Direct Investment in Colombia: A Critical View
Colombia has recently become very attractive to multinational corporations, particularly in the mining and oil sectors. Over the last three years foreign direct investment in these Colombian sectors has more than doubled. With this rise in investments land conflicts are only expected to increase, violating ever more human, cultural, labor and environmental rights.
The White Elephant, U.S. Elections, and the Elusive Peace in Colombia
The new leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Timoleón Jiménez has reiterated the call for the urgent resumption of peace talks. However, to get there, the United States must change its position toward favoring a peaceful solution. This is the white elephant whose role has been omnipresent yet underappreciated by analysts of war and peace in Colombia.
Demobilized? Understanding the Urabeños Paramilitary Show of Force in Colombia
On January 1, the Colombian government killed Juan de Dios Úsuga, the leader of the Urabeños, one of the most powerful groups formed out of the demobilized Colombian paramilitary. In response to the killing, the Urabeños unleashed a wave of violence and threats over the last week, demonstrating the intimidating power of this criminal group.
The Dangers Behind the Proposed Judicial Reform in Colombia
The judicial reform bill, currently being debated in the Colombian congress, threatens to compromise the relative independence that the country’s courts have enjoyed since the passage of the 1991 Constitution. This independence has allowed Colombia to investigate more than 60 members of congress for charges of collaborating with narco-traffickers and paramilitaries.
Colombia Loses Álvaro Camacho Guizado
Yesterday morning Colombia and Latin America lost one of its most influential intellectuals and social scientists: Álvaro Camacho Guizado, a colleague, mentor, and, above all, a very dear friend. Camacho dedicated his life and energy to the study of narco-trafficking. He was also an early critical voice against U.S. anti-drug policy in Colombia.
U.S. Drug War Policy: Eroding Good Governance
Over the weekend, it was reported that U.S. government agencies are laundering money on behalf of narco-traffickers, and helping them to smuggle weapons across the U.S.-Mexico border. With these policies, the U.S. government is increasingly participating in a war that that is killing hundreds of thousands and eroding the prerequisites for good governance.
Hostage Deaths in Colombia Highlight the Need for More Cautious Policy
Last Saturday, Colombian government troops attacked a FARC encampment, leading to the death of four FARC prisoners. The deaths are at least partially due to the government's willingness to take riskier missions, which threaten more lives. In the absence of a peace negotiation, a more cautious policy is badly needed.
The World Bank Development Report and the Colombian Conflict
In May, the World Bank published its 2011 World Development Report, in which it considered civil wars and organized crime to be obstacles to economic development. However, without properly examining the problem of unequal land distribution, the recommended policies in the report will not be enough to end violence in many countries, including Colombia.
An Open Letter to President Juan Manuel Santos
On November 4, FARC leader Alfonso Cano was killed by the Colombian army, raising questions about the country’s on-going conflict. The core question is whether President Santos will capitalize on his victory to push for a negotiated peace agreement, or squander the opportunity and prolong this very costly conflict.
Paramilitary Ties in Colombian Local Elections
Regional elections were held across Colombia yesterday. However, at least 25% of the newly elected governors are alleged to have ties to right-wing paramilitaries. This reveals a deep-rooted problem in Colombian electoral politics in the midst of the on-going armed conflict
Is the FARC Retaking the Military Offensive in Colombia?
In just 48 hours, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia delivered two strong blows against the Colombian military, killing 20 soldiers and wounding many others. The timing of the attacks is significant, occurring less than 10 days before the October 30 Colombian local and legislative elections.
Uncovering the U.S. War in Colombia
Among the wide spectrum of U.S. international conflicts is the U.S. war in Colombia. This war has been often understated and almost forgotten, but thanks to recently-released WikiLeaks documents the U.S. involvement in Colombia is increasingly coming to light.
Reflections on the U.S.-Colombia FTA Agreement Approved Yesterday by Congress
Yesterday the U.S. Congress approved the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia. While it is still too early to assess the full magnitude of the FTA, there are already obvious losers and winners.
Congress Prepares for U.S.-Colombia FTA Vote: Producers Expect the Worst
The U.S. congress is expected to approve the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Colombia this Wednesday. The alarms are already sounding among many sectors in Colombia, especially the producers of rice, corn, wheat, and dairy products. 350,000 Colombian small farmers are expected to be among the first to be hit.
Colombia's Military Expenditure and Its Impact
Each year, including pensions and other benefits to military personnel, the Colombian government spends as much as 25% of it's GDP on defense. But this already huge figure only accounts for the immediate costs of the continuation of the war system and does not tell us much about the hidden and more important longer-term effects of the war on the country’s economic and political development.
Latest UNDP Report on Colombia: 'It's the Rural Economy, Stupid.'
The United Nations Development Programme’s latest report on Colombia, released last week, reaffirmed what experts have claimed for a very long time: that the core of Colombia’s problems lies in its rural economy.
Measuring the Poor in Colombia or a Poor Measurement?
The controversy over the new Colombian methodology to calculate the number of poor is far from settled. The problem is, regardless of the “methodological rigor,” there are many doubts over whether the new methodology actually captures the magnitude and scope of Colombian poverty.
Colombian Statistics of Poverty and the Poor
Colombia recently changed the method it uses calculate poverty. Consequently the numbers of the poor were reduced significantly. But how accurate are these statistics? And how are the chosen variables measured?
The Santos Government Revises Military Strategy
The government of Juan Manuel Santos is adjusting its military strategy to concentrate on special operations rather than on sustained large scale operations such as Plan Patriota. The move is another step in the shifting dynamics of the Colombian conflict in recent years.
Multinational Incentives and the Rentier Predatory State
In this post, I provide the reader with some additional context to the workers' mobilization in Puerto Gaitan and the problems that multinational investments bring to bear on the country’s political economy of war.
Puerto Gaitan: On the Move Again
Colombian oil workers resumed their protests in Puerto Gaitan last week, once again confronting security forces. The new protests come after the Colombian government and the Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales failed to fulfill promises made during last month’s oil workers’ strike.
The Obstacles to Peace in Colombia
Over the weekend thousands of campesinos, indigenous, and Afro-descendants gathered in the city of Barrancabermeja to call on the Colombian government and the insurgency to begin peace negotiations. The insurgency has expressed their willingness to talk, but the Santos government has yet to even explore the possibility. In order to understand why, we have to analyze the core obstacles that have confronted government peace negotiations with the FARC and the ELN since the mid-1980s.
The Showdown Between the Judiciary and the Santos Government
During the government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Colombian courts defended their independence and the separation of power by holding the executive and the legislative branches accountable to the rule of law. This position sparked a power struggle in the Colombian government that is far from over. Now, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos is attempting to trim the power of the Supreme Court alongside the other courts.
Colombian Narcotraffickers Court U.S. Extradition
During the 1980s, Colombian narcotraffickers fought ferociously against being extradited to the United States. But lately in an unprecedented shift, narcotraffickers are changing their attitudes, and courting extradition—the sooner the better.
Behind the Oil Workers’ Strike in Colombia
Last week, in perhaps the largest recent strike in Colombia, 10,000 workers walked out of several multinational oil companies in the Department of Meta. The strikes came in response to recent layoffs and the dismal working conditions in Meta, which over the last few years has become the epicenter of the country’s oil production.
Israel Enlists Colombian Support Against Palestinian Statehood
Colombia cultivated a special relationship with the Israeli military during the 2000s, increasing the intervention of foreign forces in its internal conflict. Now, the Israeli government is attempting to cash in by enlisting Colombia’s UN vote against Palestinian statehood in September.
The Colombian Military Strategy of "High Value Targets" and the War System
In Colombia the hyper security state is committed to continuing its war in spite of several recent good will gestures by the insurgency. Instead, the Santos government is still following the U.S.-Israeli designed military strategy of “high value targets” (HVTs). In other words, to assassinate the insurgency’s leadership and mid-level commanders in order to disrupt their command and control the structure of the organization.
Food Security and the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia
Over the last decade, several studies have warned that agricultural production is one of the most vulnerable sectors in the global economy, particularly for subsistence and small farmers, who are the main food producers in the world. The upcoming U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is nothing more than the continuation of a policy that promises an economic disaster to small producers, and further opens the door to a global food crisis.
The Changing Political Economy of the War System in Colombia
Over the last decade, several changes occurred in the political economy of the war system in Colombia that may lead to the prolongation of the civil conflict.
Santos, Is It Time For a Peacful Settlement?
For almost a century the dominant classes of Colombia have refused to accept a meaningful land reform as a way to end the civil war. What the Santos government needs is a change of course based on the acknowledgment that this protracted war has damaged enough Colombia’s social fabric.
Colombia’s Catch 22: Undermining the Victims’ Law
State-sponsored crime is neither unique nor exceptional. In fact, as the prominent sociologist Charles Tilly pointed out, the history of the nation state has been violent. This violence has been harnessed over time to serve the interests of capital—as was the case of Europe. Colombia is no exception.
Multinational Corporations in Colombia: Land Grab!
In 2009 the foreign direct investment (FDI) in Colombia amounted to $7.2 billion, which was a significant increase from the $2.4 billion recorded in 2000. The FDI is expected to reach $45 billion by 2015. Close to 75% of these investments are in the oil, gas and mineral sectors. The increasing flow of capital investment is causing havoc in the economy, affecting almost all exports including cut...
The Comfortable Impasse and the Hyper Security State in Colombia
In 1997, I explained that the emergence of a comfortable impasse is one of the major reasons why some civil wars protract. This is a condition in which belligerent parties adjust to a low intensity war as a result of their incapacity to secure an outright military victory. Case in point is Colombia. But since then many important developments have taken place, of which the most critical has been...
The Never-Ending Paramilitaries
When the government of Colombian president Álvaro Uribe (2002–10) started demobilizing the paramilitary umbrella group the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) in 2005, some thought that this would at least eliminate one actor from the system of war. Now more than six years later, Colombia has about 6,000 well-armed paramilitaries that, according to the Colombian Institute for Development...
The Colombian War System's New Cash Crop: Mercenaries!
In the age of hyper-capitalism coined as “globalization” the export of mercenaries and private security armies has become an integral part of the international political economy. But when a country like Colombia, in a state of civil war since 1964, sends men to fight in a foreign nation like the United Arab Emirates it does not only raise eyebrows, but questions the global spill-over effects of a...
Finally There Is an 'Armed Conflict' in Colombia!
After almost ten years of President Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010) and his advisor José Obdulio Gaviria declaring that there was "no armed conflict" in Colombia, a bill (the War Victims' Bill) is being considered by the Colombian Congress that would recognize that there is a conflict after all. This is to the chagrin of Uribe and his right wing associates. Uribe has consistently claimed that what the...
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Reading Gramsci in Latin America
Some 80 years after his death, Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci’s relevance for social movements and the Left in Latin America persists.
Nicolas Allen and Hernán Ouviña
Buenos Aires commemorated the 80th anniversary of Antonio Gramsci’s passing on April 27, 1937, with a week of lectures and cultural events paying homage to the Italian revolutionary. The proceedings, which will continue into the following months, had an air of veneration customarily reserved for independence leaders like Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín. Indeed, few intellectual figures have proven as important as Gramsci in addressing questions of power and state formation in the Latin American context. To borrow the title of Peter Thomas’s 2013 study, Argentina and Latin America have been living their own “Gramscian moment” for the last half century.
How, and why, has Gramsci’s thinking remained so relevant in Latin America? History provides several clues—among them the fact that the first non-Italian edition of his Quaderni del Carcere (Prison Notebooks) was published in Spanish in Buenos Aires in 1950.
The Quaderni presented a reinvention of traditional Marxism, taking national history as its central point of reference. Before Gramsci, Latin American communist parties largely ignored the specificity of national and regional histories, deferring to the Communist International’s (Comintern) interpretation of history, which deemphasized the particularities of individual nation-states. Gramsci’s writings encouraged Marxists to engage directly with a set of regional realities that local communist parties had programmatically ignored, such as peasant-based and plebian societies, a feeble bourgeoisie with little vocation for national leadership, and entrenched authoritarian state structures. These factors became the basis for a Latin America-specific line of Marxist analysis.
Gramsci’s ties to Latin America go back nearly a century. As early as 1921, the Italian theorist’s work was introduced on the South American continent, thanks to the writings of José Carlos Mariátegui, a profoundly original Peruvian Marxist who in many respects was Gramsci’s intellectual contemporary. Since then, Gramsci has been enlisted into a larger intellectual project that has sought to adapt Marxist theory to the social reality of a region largely ignored by orthodox Marxism.
Nowhere was this adaptation more apparent than with Gramsci’s concept of the “organic intellectual.” Transposed to the Latin American scene, the organic intellectual was directly involved in political and social struggles against imperialism and capitalism, a figure that would provide intellectual guidance, but just as importantly, a moral example. In other words: a Che Guevara, a Camilo Torres, a Luis de la Puente, a Miguel Enríquez.
Latin American Gramscians first looked to create common cause among diverse political sectors—political parties, social movements, trade unions, and at times even guerilla groups—in a period rife with revolutionary potential. Looking back from 1988 on the tumultuous 1960s and 70s, the Argentine scholar José María Árico writes in his La cola del Diablo [The Devil’s Tail] that “Gramsci allowed us to imagine a political opening where we could be more than just the flighty and unreliable ‘fellow travellers’ of the proletariat.” As Arico puts it, “It may seem today like a chimerical idea, but how else can we understand Latin America’s experience with guerrilla violence in the 60s and 70s except as a resolute attempt by leftwing, radical intellectuals to steer the course of politics?”
Arico’s words speak to a particular understanding of the Gramscian intellectual in Latin America, which would be adapted and interpreted in various ways over the last half-century. In every historical moment, Gramsci has been appropriated apace with the region’s shifting politics. In the 1960s and 70s, Aricó’s Pasado y Presente (Past and Present) group read Gramsci in a Leninist-Guevarist spirit as a guide for how to seize power. During democratic transitions in the 1980s, prominent Marxists employed a reformist version of Gramsci to imagine themselves as stewards of what Gramsci called “moral and intellectual leadership” in Brazil, Argentina, and elsewhere.
Starting in the 1990s and continuing through the present, Gramscian theory has been deployed by autonomous Indigenous political movements in Bolivia and Mexico, while state leaders such as the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and Bolivian vice president Álvaro García Linera have also adapted and publicly invoked Gramsci’s ideas. For both figures, Gramsci was key in making sense of the construction of “21st century socialism” in South America, a process that implied not only seizing state power, but also building a hegemonic bloc where, in the words of García Linera, “there exists a social, political and moral leadership that allows for a sense of belonging and being represented within the State’s administrative structure, […] an alliance that unites the people around a common project”.
1950s to 1970s: From Italy to Argentina, Adapting Gramsci to the Local Context
Hectór Agosti, the first in an important line of “Argentine Gramscians,” acted as the catalyzing force behind Gramsci’s early reception among Argentina’s communist intelligentsia. His first systematic deployment of Gramsci, a 1951 history of Argentina’s creole liberal elite, drew parallels between Italy and Argentina. Both societies were effectively born of failed bourgeois revolutions, resulting in a disarticulated class structure and a residual oligarchy, he argued. According to Agosti, this could help explain the rise of fascism and the similar emergence of the populist project of Juan Domingo Perón.
José María “Pancho” Aricó was the first to understand that Gramsci’s reception on the continent could have implications not only for Latin American Marxism, but for Marxism in general. After being kicked out of the Argentine Communist Party, he charted an independent political course that would put him in the company of Guevarist revolutionaries, left-Peronists, Maoists, and other political radicals. Most significantly, Aricó embarked in the early 1960’s on a life-long endeavor to disseminate Gramsci and other critical Marxists through his Pasado y Presente publishing house.
Beyond translating the works themselves, Aricó and company sought to graft Gramsci onto the national political consciousness, adapting his works to local conditions. One prominent example of this “translation” was Aricó’s comrade Juan Carlos Portantiero’s decision to take Gramsci’s idea of the “peripheral condition,” an idea that initially referred to the geopolitical situation of Italy vis a vis Europe, and transform it into a universal category applicable to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and other Latin American nations. In his classic Los usos de Gramsci [The Uses of Gramsci], Portantiero underlines this analogy between the periphery of Europe and the global periphery, writing that “Latin America is only ‘third world’ in the vaguest sense,’ given that it is composed of “societies with a century and a half of political autonomy, complex social structures, major nationalist and populist political movements, and a longstanding tradition of highly organized subaltern classes.”
Thus, Gramscian terms such as hegemony and domination, coercion and consensus, assumed new connotations as they descended from theory to describe the material production and reproduction of social life in Latin American societies.
1980s: Gramsci and the Democratic Restorations
The defeat of Salvador Allende’s socialist project in Chile and the rise of military dictatorships throughout the Southern Cone—followed in short order in Central America—forced a reassessment of counterhegemonic ambitions in the region. The democratic restorations in South America during the 1980s saw the emergence of a new chapter in Gramscian thought, a period that was similar to Europe’s experience with Eurocommunism. In the best of cases, this era involved a frank theoretical discussion of the relationship between socialism and democracy, although the prevailing tendency was to recast Gramsci as an ideologue of social-reformism and to deemphasize the Marxist character of his thought.
In 1983, the Pasado y Presente group returned from exile in Mexico to Argentina. Members believed that the political climate in Argentina would be more receptive to the kind of intervention they had intended in the ‘60s and ‘70s, when their hopes had been frustrated by the Peronist’s monopoly of working-class politics, and were ultimately cut short by military dictatorship. That renewed hope proved to be misplaced. Raúl Alfonsin’s government began with a popular mandate to carry out a far-reaching democratization of Argentine society, effectively attempting to simply restart the political culture of a nation undermined by a century of authoritarian destabilization. Juan Carlos Portantiero and other members of the Pasado y Presente group even occupied important advisory roles during the period. However, the “war of positions” they planned to wage never came to fruition, and the amorphous ambitions of a “democratic rebirth” slowly bled into the intellectual passivity of neoliberalism in the 1990s.
Brazil forms an interesting counterpoint to the general historical trajectory in Argentina. In Brazil, a Gramscian-style war of positions had already been underway for several years before the democratic restoration in 1985. Since 1980, the Workers’ Party (PT) had been incubating a confluence of Liberation Theology-influenced groups alongside the labor movement, concentrated in Saõ Paulo’s “ABC” industrial sector. Gramsci, already canonized among the Brazilian left, had provided the blueprint for a protracted process in which a trade-union-turned-political-party would attempt to create a new hegemony, led by Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva.
Brazil’s leading Gramscian, Carlos Nelson Coutinho, helps us to understand the remarkable success and ultimate downfall of one of the largest left-wing parties in recent history. Coutinho, who along with other prominent Brazilian leftists had supported the PT from its inception, employs Gramsci to understand the unique qualities of Brazil’s bourgeois state. The “passive revolution” is a term Coutinho uses somewhat interchangeably with “dictatorship without hegemony” to describe the bourgeoisie’s failure to impose its leadership role on Brazilian society. Failing to constitute its hegemony, the bourgeoisie is maintained on life support by the state, which tends to rule through repressive measures because it lacks the ability to reach a governing consensus over different sectors in society.
Brazil’s military government (1964-1985), a “revolution from above,” which managed to modernize sectors of the Brazilian economy while pacifying any dissent, exemplifies such a process. Counterintuitive as it may seem, the ruling elite’s heavy-handedness, together with its lack of hegemony among Brazil’s popular classes, was fertile ground for the PT to embark on its 20-year-long path to power that ended in 2002 with the Lula presidency.
Gramsci in the 21st Century: Social Movements and the Pink Tide
Coutinho and other high-profile intellectuals eventually broke with the PT during Lula’s first term. A reform-minded Marxist, Coutinho had initially pronounced his support for the party’s increasing political moderation, stating that the business of socialism could be dealt with after democracy had been safely secured. Shortly into the Lula presidency, however, he did an about-face, stating that no kind of democracy would be possible in Brazil until the socialist horizon was put back on the agenda.
Under the Lula government, the “passive revolution” continued unabated, albeit in a progressive guise. The popular energies galvanized by the PT, rather than transforming the relationship between civil society and the state, had simply been assimilated and pacified by the state apparatus.
Bolivia also presents an interesting case, where, as far back as the 1990s and particularly since the election of Evo Morales in 2006, Gramsci’s thought has shed light on processes of state formation. Bolivian scholar René Zavaleta proposes the term “motley society” [sociedad abigarrada] in an attempt to isolate the unique dynamics of Bolivian society: a social totality more complex than most Western capitalist states, characterized, Zavaleta argues, by uneven social formations and embedded colonial forms existing alongside modern capitalist structures.
Bolivia’s Water War of 2000 and the Gas War of 2003 are landmark moments when a new critical reception of Gramsci became the urgent task of those trying to interpret and influence the Indigenous and popular insurrection that would ultimately carry Evo Morales into power. Varied and frequently antagonistic interpretations of that political cycle have drawn on Gramsci. Current Vice President García Linera has argued that under Morales and the MAS party, Bolivia has become a true “integral state”, as opposed to the “apparent state” that only simulates representation of the people. On the other hand, Marxist intellectual Luis Tapia describes a “passive revolution” in Bolivia that has created what he calls a “negative hegemony,” in which subaltern and Indigenous movements have been fragmented and coopted.
Gramsci Today: Continued Relevance?
Presiding over last month’s honorary Gramsci conference in Buenos Aires was a sense of urgency: a need to redress certain aspects of Gramsci’s thinking in light of a reactionary uptick throughout the continent. The ability of right-wing movements—in Venezuela, Brazil, and elsewhere—to mobilize mass demonstrations against progressive governments has led several commentators to orient themselves through a rereading of Gramsci’s writings on fascism. Indeed, elements of the new “golpismo” show that, in addition to authoritarian tendencies concentrated in the state, civil society has also become a site of rightwing energies.
Argentina currently stands at the vanguard of an emergent “right turn.” The late Argentine intellectual Ernesto Laclau, speaking before that country’s presidential elections, erred in claiming that he had a better chance of becoming the emperor of Japan than current president Mauricio Macri had of taking office. Since before Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, the disaffected majority of workers throughout Brazil have found little on offer in the left agenda. The left, in short, has become disoriented. These are classic Gramscian dilemmas with no easy solution.
The consensus seems to be that a forthcoming analysis should center on the structural weaknesses and policies that have eroded the base of popular support for the region’s progressive governments. Here too the Gramscian concept of “passive revolution” is being re-engaged: debates are growing about whether any substantive transformation of productive sectors have taken place in the last decade and a half. The answer seems to be no; during the so-called pink tide, the prevailing model of accumulation not only emerged unscathed but even intensified in key areas, such as extractive industries.
Even in the midst of a historical downturn, the Latin American left could still show signs of rebound. While progressive governments adapt to shifting landscapes, the region’s social movements continue to fulfill the role of a “collective intellectual,” as proposed by Gramsci, waging local struggles that seek to create a new culture and worldview. Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), a prime example of a movement where Gramsci enjoys near-saint status, will hope to play a prominent role in the resistance to Brazil’s right turn. Social movements, be they indigenous, feminist, syndicalist, student, or peasant-based, will continue to resist on the terms that Gramsci had imagined, incorporating the cultural struggles and subjective conditions that he understood as forming an essential part of the revolutionary process towards socialism.
Nicolas Allen is a translator living in Buenos Aires. His doctoral research at the University of Buenos Aires focuses on the cultural history of the Communist Party of Argentina.
Hernán Ouviña holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Buenos Aires, where he is also a professor. He is a researcher at the Institute for Studies of Latin America and the Caribbean and coordinates the research group “Latin American States: Ruptures and Restorations,” housed within the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO).
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Chapter 933 Chapter 932 Chapter 931 Chapter 930 Chapter 929 Chapter 928 LIST CHAPTER
Chen Xiang fell asleep inside the dragon pearl, and mysteriously, perfectly fused with the dragon pearl. When he woke up, he discovered that he had appeared on the dragon's mouth, and his dragon head had moved, facing the sky.
Just as he was aware that something bad was about to happen, a surge of power gushed out from the dragon vein and pierced through the ground, forming a white light beam. Chen Xiang was sent flying into the sky by the power.
"G.o.d d.a.m.n, why did so many people come here?" Chen Xiang arrived at a high place in the sky and saw that it was densely packed with people. He could not help but scold them.
"Let's go down first!" Chen Xiang followed the white light and slowly descended. From a one meter wide hole, he stood between the two dragon horns on his dragon's head.
Chen Xiang stood at the center of the dragon's horn and still felt that the two dragon horns were two strange shaped huge mountains. With a light leap, he flew towards Tie Li who was running over.
"The dragon fountain has truly been born. That was the signal the dragon fountain gave to the heavens and earth!" Chen Xiang was their savior, and now they could easily dig out the Spar s.
Chen Xiang nodded his head: "The seal's power below has been removed, but we have to keep it on top, if not someone will come in soon."
"So you can control the even more powerful barrier?" Tie Li asked.
The center of the Evil Dragon barrier is empty. If you guys get tired of staying down there, you can go up and take a breather at any time. If you want to leave, then we can act after the group of people outside has left.
Tie Li shook his head: "It's not like we won't migrate, you were able to gain the approval of the dragon vein and save us, our Earth's Core Race will only serve you in the future!"
There were a large number of Spar here, which was enough for Earth's Core Race to eat here for many years. Every time they moved, it was extremely dangerous, and many clan members would die along the way.
Chen Xiang sighed, and said: "Alright then, I also need your help. In the future, we will be friends, and help each other!"
Tie Li smiled and nodded: "Now, we will establish a Transmission array that will lead to the ground level, and let our clansmen go up to take a look."
Chen Xiang said, "Clan Leader Tie, can you help me build some houses on the top of the mountains?"
"No problem, leave this to us. We are the ones doing these things the most!" Our Earth's Core Race only wants Spar for food. We will give you all the Spar we mine for you, we will go straight for a portion of what we need. " Tie Li said.
Although it was an oral agreement, Chen Xiang trusted them a lot.
What made Chen Xiang depressed was that the Evil Dragon Graveyard was being watched by a group of people.
"Then I'll leave first. I might come back later." Chen Xiang flew out from the hole that was pierced by the energy just now.
This was enough to build a city here. From the outside and the high alt.i.tude, he could see that this place was surrounded by the body of a black dragon, but the sunlight was able to shine in and he could see the dark blue sky.
However, the surroundings were surrounded by a black energy. Chen Xiang closed his eyes, allowing himself and the underground dragon vein to sense the light, and then, he controlled the black mist to block out the sunlight. This was because the Earth's Core Race was afraid of the sunlight, so they could only come out at night to build a house.
Chen Xiang stepped on the Shrinking step, and rushed into the black mist, he was un.o.bstructed, and if it was anyone else, they would be bounced back the moment they touched the black mist, and if they were to come in contact with it from the outside, even if they didn't die, they would be heavily injured.
"It's good that so many people have come. I'll let them know that this place has been taken over by the Dragon Subduing School!" Chen Xiang calculated in his heart. He wanted to let the people guarding outside know of the existence of the Dragon Subduing School.
With the real killing G.o.d, White Tiger, accompanying him, even the strongest dragon would be annihilated. He was still hoping that someone would make a move against the White Tiger, and at that time, he would be able to enjoy the show.
The Demon Empress, who originally wanted to leave, was no longer leaving. She no longer dared to have any ideas about the dragon fountain. That one strike just now had almost taken her life.
Someone had appeared in the Evil Dragon Graveyard, causing many big shots of great powers to lose their cool. They were worried that a new Ten Heavens Supreme Lord would be born.
"Who the h.e.l.l is this guy?" He had actually acquired the dragon fountain. Chen Xiang is such a pity! It's all White Sea Imperial Land's and Feng Clan's fault for chasing him to the Ten Heavenly Sacred Mountain. Their whereabouts are unknown. " Duan Sanchang muttered.
"Didn't someone use a secret method to calculate that he was still alive? Those traitors are even more worried about being able to survive in the Ten Heavenly Holy Mountain. " Duan Kong laughed.
The Ten Heavenly Sacred Mountain was the Ten Heavens Supreme Lord's tomb, many people thought that, if Chen Xiang could obtain the true inheritance from the Ten Heavens Supreme Lord, it would be the same as gaining the dragon's vein.
Upon hearing Duan Kong's words, all the old fellows glared at him, wishing that they could annihilate the people from the Duan Clan.
"Chen Xiang being attacked by the Ten Heavenly Holy Mountain is not a good thing at all. The Green dragon demon-slain broadsword he controls is a huge threat to us. I hope he really tells the Super Martial School that he will not kill the innocent." As long as they were fiendish demons, there was no one who was not afraid of the divine blade that could slay demons.
"The Demon Empress can be at ease, I have come into contact with Chen Xiang before. He isn't an evil person, it's just that the evil person would provoke him and make him do many things that seem like he's guilty of. Furthermore, some of them used their sinister intentions to discredit Chen Xiang's image and killed him justifiably. " Duan Kong sneered at the group of elders.
"No matter what, the Green dragon demon-slain broadsword cannot fall into his hands!" of the Ancient Wasteland Devil Sect, Jiang Tianlu said while gnashing his teeth.
This guy was lucky enough to soar, but in order to take revenge on Chen Xiang, he chose to stay behind.
"Let's talk about this Three Realms Talk." The patriarch of the Devil Race said.
"Hmph, Three Realms Talk? In short, I warn all those who did not offend Chen Xiang for the time being, you all better not be dragged into the water by others. It's not like you all do not know the outcome of being retaliated against by this little demon, Ancient Wasteland Devil Sect and the Blood Wolf Demonic Clan are good examples. " Duan Kong sneered.
The Blood Wolf Monster Clan was in the most miserable state. All of their members with the purest bloodlines died because they had accidentally entered the Ten Heavenly Sacred Mountain to chase after Chen Xiang and killed him.
Chen Xiang could hear the conversation outside from inside. Furthermore, the voices of the big figures were very loud, so much so that everyone in the world would want to hear it.
"What kind of background does the Demon Empress have? She seems to be injured. The little beauty's appearance is really pitiful, I really want to love and love her. " Chen Xiang looked through the black mist and glanced at the Spirit Demon in the Demon Charming a.s.sociation. He was standing at the edge of the Evil Dragon Graveyard.
"Isn't your good brother over there? Use your G.o.d Power to ask him. " Long Xueyi said.
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1 dead, 17 injured in massive North Carolina gas explosion
By Chris Perez
April 10, 2019 | 6:32pm | Updated April 10, 2019 | 7:42pm
Firefighters battle a fire at the scene of an explosion in Durham, NC.
Smoke billows from the scene of an explosion and fire in downtown Durham, N.C.
Firefighters help injured people after a building exploded in Durham, N.C.
Firefighters and emergency personnel work the scene of a building fire in downtown Durham, N.C.
Emergency personnel search the scene of a building fire in downtown Durham, N.C.
'Double Shot' stars Vinny and Pauly D reveal their top dating red flags
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Natural gas explosion levels California home, killing 1
Car bursts into flames during gender reveal joyride fail
iPhone battery explodes, destroying Oklahoma mom's car
Multiple injuries reported in gas explosion at Florida shopping center
A gas explosion leveled an entire building in Durham, North Carolina, on Wednesday — leaving one person dead and more than a dozen others injured, according to officials.
“It looks like the front of the Pentagon on 9/11 — but on a very, very small scale,” Durham Fire Chief Robert Zoldos told reporters during a press briefing, noting how he was a first responder that day in Washington following the terrorist attacks.
“Half the block is destroyed,” said witness Jim Rogalski, speaking to CNN.
“Lots of injuries,” he explained. “Our office across the street was blown out. It was terrifying. Glass and debris everywhere.”
Paramedics rushed 17 people to local hospitals after the 10 a.m. explosion — six in critical condition and one to a burn center, officials said.
At least one person was reported dead at the scene. They were said to have been trapped in the debris. Officials said no one else is unaccounted for.
Firefighters had been evacuating the destroyed two-story building on Wednesday due to a gas leak when the blast occurred.
“I just heard a boom, and didn’t know what it was with all the construction around here,” witness Dottie Flake told the Raleigh News & Observer.
“It sounded like nothing I had ever heard before,” added Will Hunt, who works a block away. “Our roof moved. It sounded like something extremely heavy was dropped on top of our building.”
The building that got leveled is reportedly home to a coffee shop called Kaffeinate and an engineering company called Prescient, which recently moved its headquarters.
“Please do not come to the shop or the area around it,” Kaffeinate wrote on Instagram after the explosion. “We are ok. We will update when we can.”
The city of Durham was supposed to celebrate its 150th birthday on Wednesday — with council members and others gathering at City Hall.
“This is a challenging and dark day,” said council member Mark-Anthony Middleton. “We are saddened and heartbroken over the loss of life.”
Durham Mayor Steve Schewel praised the efforts of first responders at the earlier press briefing, saying they’d been “absolutely incredible.”
“Our firefighters standing there with their hoses, not knowing if there would be another explosion, “ he said.
While no one is unaccounted for, authorities plan to use listening devices and cadaver dogs to make sure no one is trapped in the rubble.
Police said that the gas leak that led to the explosion was ultimately caused by a contractor who hit a 2-inch gas line while boring under a sidewalk.
“We’re working closely with local emergency response & county officials,” tweeted Dominion Energy, which is in charge of the gas in the area. “Our thoughts & prayers are with those impacted by this tragic event as well as their families.”
Filed under explosions , gas , gas leaks , north carolina
QAnon-believing candidate wants to ‘decapitate DC's swam...
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Date: Fri 02 August
BOOK TICKETS HERE By: Jordi Casanovas
Translated by: Tim Gutteridge
When Oscar invites his old friend, Ernesto, over for the evening, they soon get to reminiscing about the old days, when they hosted a comedy programme on the university radio station, playing pranks on their listeners. Ernesto has gone on to have a successful TV career while Oscar has abandoned his dreams of becoming a foreign correspondent for the more mundane task of earning a living as a newspaper journalist in an industry that is being engulfed by the internet.
When Oscar’s wife, Anna, comes home, the two men decide to play a practical joke on her. But things soon spiral out of control, and we are no longer sure who is playing a joke on whom, what is real and what has been invented, and where the line between humour and cruelty can be drawn.
Bad Joke asks if any subjects are off limits for humour, and takes an uncomfortable look at the way that humour can be used as a foil for psychological abuse. There’s a saying that we hurt the ones we love the most, but if we are so willing to hurt someone, can we really call it love?
· About the author Jordi Casanovas
·About the translator Tim Gutteridge
Director: Dadiow Lin
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Primate Torture in the US, UK, China, Malaysia and Elsewhere
Hanuman Shakti | 19.06.2010 17:13 | Animal Liberation | Bio-technology | Health | Oxford
Recent deaths of primates in the US exposed to freezing and baking temperatures
in San Antonio Texas and in Nevada have brought renewed attention to the
unseen torture.
Primate Torture In the US, UK
When Indira Gandhi was prime minister of India she found out that the US Navy had violated the US treaty with India that no primates would be used in military research. She banned primate export to the US. Now China and Malaysia are 2 of the largest breeders of captive primates for research. One Indian company is invested in Malaysia because of an Indian government ban.
1 Primate freezes to death at the Southwest Foundation in San Antonio Texas
http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/press-20100421.html
http://www.sfbr.org[/url] the facility guilty
2 Primates Baked Alive At Charles River Facility In Nevada
http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/media-20100317.html
Charles River has 2 facilities there, one in Reno, one in Sparks. Neither Senator Reid nor his ludicrous
3 Squirrel Monkeys are being irradiated by NASA at McLean Hospital in Belmont Massachusetts many years after Barnes Air Force Base discontinued the barbaric practice. NASA has shot primates and other animals into space. Some have died slowly circling alone in the void. Others were blown apart with astronauts on the shuttle. Their presence had been hidden by executives at NASA Glenn. http://www.pcrm.org
4 Hundreds of Animals are Dismembered at a facility in Yemassee, South Carolina[
http://www.all-creatures.org/saen
5 a. Harvard receives more animal torture money than any other university.. at least 300 million a year … primates are crucified in underground labs at Southborough and other places http://www.massanimalrights.org Mass. Animal Rights Coalition
5b. More Violations at Boston's Brigham and Women's
Ft Detrick gave Battelle of Tennessee many thousand primates, 4000 of whom
were killed in just 1 of the weaponized anthrax experiments funded by 1 billion dollars
from the CIA.
7. The San Diego Zoo used to give primates to UC Davis for torture. Public outcry stopped it. Now the torture continues. In the guise of helping after the tsunami, UC Davis vets went to India to capture more primates. Source: Henry Heymann of IPPL http://www.ippl.org
http://www.all-creatures.org/wlalw/fact-primate-ucd.html
8. Oxford and Cambridge are 2 schools of several in the UK which torture primates. http://indymedia.org.uk http://www.buav.org
9. The Edinburgh Zoo breeds captive primates. http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/psychology/research/sprg/
10. Columbia University’s primate cruelty. http://www.columbiacruelty.com
11. The University of Oregon tortures primates. http://portland.indymedia.org
From SAEN
The 12 States with the Largest Populations of Primates within Laboratories
Major Primate Labs within the State
Louisiana 11,673 Tulane Primate Center & New Iberia Lab
California 8,841 UC Davis Primate Center
Texas 8,307 Southwest Foundation Primate Center
Maryland 7,593 NIH Labs
New Jersey 7,572
Massachusetts 6,007 New England Primate Center
Georgia 5,227 Yerkes Primate Center
South Carolina 5,092
Virginia 4,549 LABS of Virginia
Wisconsin 4,543 Wisconsin Primate Center
Washington 4,116 Washington Primate Center
Oregon 3,335 Oregon Primate Center
http://www.stopanimaltests.com
http://www.buav.org
http://www.aavs.org
http://www.primatefreedomtour.com
http://www.navs.org
Republican opponent have done anything for these animals. 26 or more corporations are licensed to import primates to the US for lab torture. Another one of these is Covance. It is difficult to get the list of the licensed facilities.
Yerkes in Atlanta with CDC faculty, Regional Primate Centers at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Oregon etc. Covance, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, Ohio State, University of Texas, Kent State are additional facilities torturing primates.
International Directory of Primatology
Primate Centers, Labs and Research Programs
This section includes: Organizations with primate-focused research programs.
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• Aaron Diamond AIDS Animal Models Laboratory, Tuxedo, New York, UNITED STATES
• Aging in the Nervous System, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, UNITED STATES
• Alamogordo Primate Facility, NIH, Holloman AFB, New Mexico, UNITED STATES
• Alpha Genesis, Inc., Yemassee, South Carolina, UNITED STATES
• Asher Center for Depression, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, UNITED STATES
• Australian National Baboon Colony, Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
• Australian National Macaque Facility, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
• Baboon Research Resources, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, UNITED STATES
• Barbados Primate Research Center and Wildlife Reserve, St. Peter, BARBADOS
• Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), 2280 GH Rijswijk, NETHERLANDS
• Branch Konarovice, Research Institute for Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Konarovice, CZECH REPUBLIC
• Brigham Young University, Psychology Department, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, UNITED STATES
• C.H.I.M.P.P. Group (The Chemo-ethology of Hominoid Interactionsbetween Medicinal Plants and Parasites), Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, JAPAN
• California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), Davis, California, UNITED STATES
• Callitrichid Research Center, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska, UNITED STATES
• Capital Primate Research Center, Beijing, Beijing, CHINA
• Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, UNITED STATES
• Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto, Kyoto, JAPAN
• Center for Neotropical Primate Research and Resources, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, UNITED STATES
• Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA
• Central Institute for Experimental Animals, Kawasaki, JAPAN
• Centre de Primatologie, Franceville, GABON
• Centre de Primatologie (CdP), Universite de Strasbourg, Niederhausbergen, FRANCE
• Centre de Primatologie de l'Institut Pasteur de la Guyane (CP-IPG), Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Cayenne, FRENCH GUIANA
• Centre for Human Biology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA
• Centre for Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour, University of New England, Amidale, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
• Centre for Reproductive Biology, Medical Research Council, Edinburgh, Scotland, UNITED KINGDOM
• Centro de Biologica da Reproducao, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, BRAZIL
• Centro de Investigacion en Reproduction Humana y Experimental - CIRHE, Instituto Universitario CEMIC - Centro de Educacion Medica e Investigaciones Clinicas - CEMIC, Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA
• Centro de Primatologia do Rio de Janeiro - CPRJ, Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
• Centro de Reproducción y Conservación de Primates No Humanos, Iquitos, Iquitos, PERU
• Centro di Primatologia HSR, Milan, ITALY
• Centro Nacional de Primatas, Ananindeua, Para, BRAZIL
• Chilean Primate Center, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, CHILE
• Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington, UNITED STATES
• Cuban Section of Primatology, Havana City, Havana, CUBA
• Departamento de Etología, Instituto Mexicano de Psiquiatría, Mexico, Distrito Federal, MEXICO
• Département Ecologie, Physiologie & Ethologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universite de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, FRANCE
• Department of Cellular Biology, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, SPAIN
• Deutsches Primatenzentrum GmbH - German Primate Centre - DPZ, Goettingen, Lower Saxony, GERMANY
• Division of Lab Animal Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, UNITED STATES
• Duke Lemur Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, UNITED STATES
• Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation Group, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, Karnataka, INDIA
• Ethologie & Socio-ecologie, Behavioral Biology, Utrecht, NETHERLANDS
• Ethologische Station Sennickerode, University of Goettingen, Gleichen, GERMANY
• Gibbon Conservation Center, Santa Clarita, California, UNITED STATES
• Gorilla Foundation, Woodside, California, UNITED STATES
• Great Ape Trust of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, UNITED STATES
• Guangdong Primate Experimental Center, Shunde, Guangdong P.R., CHINA
• Harlow Center For Biological Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, UNITED STATES
• Herpes B-Virus Diagnosis: National Resource Laboratory, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, UNITED STATES
• Institut für Zoologie (Primatological Section), D-30559 Hannover, GERMANY
• Institute for Research in Reproduction, Parel, Bombay, INDIA
• Institute of Biomedical Problems, Moscow, RUSSIA
• Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitis, Moscow, RUSSIA
• Institute of Primate Research, Karen, Nairobi, KENYA
• Institute of Reproductive Medicine of the University, Munster, GERMANY
• Institute of Zoology, London, England, UNITED KINGDOM
• Instituto Nacional de Salud-Bioterio Central, Santafe de Bogota, COLOMBIA
• Istituto di Neurobiologia e Medicina Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Rome, ITALY
• Istituto di Psicologia - Reparto di Psicologia Comparata, Rome, ITALY
• King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
• Kunming Primate Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, CHINA
• Laboratorio Tropical de Primatologia (LTP), Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, BRAZIL
• Laboratory for Comparative Cognition, Lehman College, Bronx, New York, UNITED STATES
• Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Poolesville, Maryland, UNITED STATES
• Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, UNITED STATES
• Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois, UNITED STATES
• Living Links, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, UNITED STATES
• Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, UNITED STATES
• New England Primate Research Center, Southborough, Massachusetts, UNITED STATES
• New Iberia Research Center, New Iberia, Louisiana, UNITED STATES
• Núcleo de Primatologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Natal, BRAZIL
• Obesity and Diabetes Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, UNITED STATES
• Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, Oregon, UNITED STATES
• Primate Behavior Laboratory, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, UNITED STATES
• Primate Brain Bank, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NETHERLANDS
• Primate Center of the Rare Animals Breeding Experimental Farm, Guangzhou, CHINA
• Primate Foundation of Arizona, Queen Valley, Arizona, UNITED STATES
• Primate Genetics Typing Laboratory, San Antonio, Texas, UNITED STATES
• Primate Laboratory, Beijing, CHINA
• Primate Research Facility, New Delhi, INDIA
• Primate Research Group at UAM, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, SPAIN
• Primate Research Institute, Inuyama, Aichi, JAPAN
• Primate Research Institute of Anhui University, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, CHINA
• Primate Research Laboratory, Bangalore, Karnataka, INDIA
• Primate Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Bangkok, THAILAND
• Primate Station, Hessen, Kassel, GERMANY
• Primate Unit and Delft Animal Centre, Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Province, SOUTH AFRICA
• Pró-Muriqui Association, Muriqui Eco-Park & Pro-Muriqui Association, Sao Miguel Arcanjo, SP, BRAZIL
• Programa Nacional Colombiano de Primatologia, Bogota, COLOMBIA
• Psychological Laboratory, Radboud University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, NETHERLANDS
• Pusat Studi Satwa Primata, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor, West Java, INDONESIA
• Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Ohtsu, Shiga, JAPAN
• Research Institute of Medical Primatology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Sochi-Adler, Krasnodar region, RUSSIA
• Russian Academy of Sciences, I.M.Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry; I.P.Pavlov Institute of Physiology, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA
• Simian Retrovirus Laboratory, Davis, California, UNITED STATES
• South China Primate Research & Developmental Center, South China Institution of Endangered Animals Research, Guangzhou, Guangdong, CHINA
• Southwest National Primate Research Center, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, Texas, UNITED STATES
• St. Petersburg Primate Center, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA
• Tsukuba Primate Center for Medical Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, JAPAN
• Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University, Covington, Louisiana, UNITED STATES
• Unit of Primate Research, Shanghai, CHINA
• University of Miami Perrine Primate Center, Miami, Florida, UNITED STATES
• Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, UNITED STATES
• Wake Forest University Primate Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, UNITED STATES
• Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, UNITED STATES
• Wilson Hall Animal Facility, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, UNITED STATES
• Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, UNITED STATES
• Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia, UNITED STATES
• Yunnan National Laboratory Primate Center of China, Yunnan, CHINA
• Zoologix, Inc., Chatsworth, California, UNITED STATES
Corrupted media includes the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6161317.stm
Hanuman Shakti
Homepage: http://www.all-creatures.org/saen
Academic links, not just abuse but conservation, 'zoos' etc
http://brown.edu/Research/Primate/
Laboratory Primate Newsletter
http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/
Rogue Primatologist
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Frank J. Chaloupka
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
Associate Professor of Economics
m/c 144 601 South Morgan St., Room 2103
The Economics of Smoking
Frank J. Chaloupka and Kenneth E. Warner
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - School of Public Health
Cannabis Decriminalization: A Study of Recent Policy Change in Five U.S. States
Richard Grucza, Mike Vuolo, Melissa Krauss, Andrew Plunk, Arpana Agrawal, Frank J. Chaloupka and Laura Bierut
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Psychiatry, Ohio State University (OSU) - Department of Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Psychiatry, Eastern Virginia Medical School - Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Psychiatry
arrest, cannabis, decriminalization, drug, policy
The Demand for Illicit Drugs
Number of pages: 22 Posted: 27 Jun 2000 Last Revised: 19 Mar 2008
Henry Saffer and Frank J. Chaloupka
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - NY Office and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
Price, Tobacco Control Policies and Youth Smoking
Frank J. Chaloupka and Michael Grossman
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office
Alcohol Control Policies and Motor Vehicle Fatalities
Frank J. Chaloupka, Henry Saffer and Michael Grossman
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - NY Office and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office
Tobacco Advertising: Economic Theory and International Evidence
The Impact of Tobacco Control Program Expenditures on Aggregate Cigarette Sales: 1981-1998
Matthew C. Farrelly, Frank J. Chaloupka and Terry F. Pechacek
RTI International, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Government of the United States of America - Office on Smoking and Health
Rational Addictive Behavior and Cigarette Smoking
Number of pages: 49 Posted: 14 Jul 2000 Last Revised: 10 Jun 2008
A Survey of Economic Models of Addictive Behavior
Journal of Drug Issues 28(3), pp. 631-643, (1998)
Michael Grossman, Frank J. Chaloupka and Richard Anderson
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Stevens Institute of Technology, Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management
Addictions, drug abuse
Price, Tobacco Control Policies and Smoking Among Young Adults
Number of pages: 48 Posted: 17 Jul 2000 Last Revised: 20 Sep 2010
Frank J. Chaloupka and Henry Wechsler
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Harvard University - T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The Influence of Geography and Measurement in Estimating Cigarette Price Responsiveness
Kilts Center for Marketing at Chicago Booth – Nielsen Dataset Paper Series 2-044
Michael Pesko, John A. Tauras, Jidong Huang and Frank J. Chaloupka
Georgia State University - Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, School of Public Health, Georgia State University and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
tobacco use, cigarette excise taxes, price responsiveness, elasticities
Determinants of Smoking Cessation: an Analysis of Young Adult Men and Women
Number of pages: 31 Posted: 13 Feb 2000 Last Revised: 16 Mar 2010
John A. Tauras and Frank J. Chaloupka
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
Alcohol and Marijuana Use Among College Students: Economic Complements or Substitutes?
Number of pages: 39 Posted: 29 Jul 2001 Last Revised: 05 Oct 2011
Jenny Williams, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Frank J. Chaloupka and Henry Wechsler
University of Melbourne - Department of Economics, Health Economics, Finance and Organization, RAND Corporation, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Harvard University - T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The Demand for Nicotine Replacement Therapies
Number of pages: 22 Posted: 16 Jun 2001 Last Revised: 17 Jan 2010
The Impact of Price, Availability, and Alcohol Control Policies on Binge Drinking in College
Do Higher Cigarette Prices Encourage Youth to Use Marijuana?
Number of pages: 27 Posted: 18 Feb 1999 Last Revised: 08 May 2000
Frank J. Chaloupka, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Matthew C. Farrelly, Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O'Malley and Jeremy W. Bray
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, Health Economics, Finance and Organization, RAND Corporation, RTI International, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Institute for Social Research (ISR), University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Institute for Social Research (ISR) and Research Triangle Institute
Price, Clean Indoor Air, and Cigarette Smoking: Evidence from the Longitudinal Data for Young Adults
Risks and Prices: The Role of User Sanctions in Marijuana Markets
Number of pages: 36 Posted: 18 Sep 2007 Last Revised: 29 Aug 2010
Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Beau Kilmer, Michael Grossman and Frank J. Chaloupka
Health Economics, Finance and Organization, RAND Corporation, RAND Corporation, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
Do Youths Substitute Alcohol and Marijuana? Some Econometric Evidence
Number of pages: 55 Posted: 16 May 2000 Last Revised: 30 Sep 2010
Frank J. Chaloupka and Adit Laixuthai
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Chulalongkorn University
Marijuana and Youth
Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Michael Grossman, Frank J. Chaloupka, Patrick M. O'Malley, Lloyd D. Johnston and Matthew C. Farrelly
Health Economics, Finance and Organization, RAND Corporation, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Institute for Social Research (ISR), University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Institute for Social Research (ISR) and RTI International
State Drug Control and Illicit Drug Participation
The Demand for Cocaine and Marijuana by Youth
Frank J. Chaloupka, Michael Grossman and John A. Tauras
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
An Examination of Gender and Race Differences in Youth Smoking Responsiveness to Price and Tobacco Control Policies
Number of pages: 18 Posted: 13 Jul 2000 Last Revised: 24 Mar 2010
Frank J. Chaloupka and Rosalie Liccardo Pacula
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Health Economics, Finance and Organization, RAND Corporation
The Effect of Cigarette Prices on Cigarette Sales: Exploring Heterogeneity in Price Elasticities at High and Low Prices
John A. Tauras, Michael Pesko, Jidong Huang, Frank J. Chaloupka and Matthew C. Farrelly
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, Georgia State University - Department of Economics, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and RTI International
Are There Differential Effects of Price and Policy on College Students' Drinking Intensity?
Jenny Williams, Frank J. Chaloupka and Henry Wechsler
University of Melbourne - Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Harvard University - T.H. Chan School of Public Health
U.S. Trade Policy and Cigarette Smoking in Asia
Youth Alcohol Use and Public Policy
Number of pages: 27 Posted: 25 Oct 2000 Last Revised: 13 Sep 2010
Adit Laixuthai and Frank J. Chaloupka
Chulalongkorn University and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
Cigarette Excise Taxation: The Impact of Tax Structure on Prices, Revenues, and Cigarette Smoking
Frank J. Chaloupka, Richard M. Peck, John A. Tauras, Xin Xu and Ayda A. Yurekli
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago and World Health Organization
Effects of Alcohol Price Policy on Youth
Number of pages: 34 Posted: 12 Apr 2004 Last Revised: 27 Jun 2010
Michael Grossman, Frank J. Chaloupka, Henry Saffer and Adit Laixuthai
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - NY Office and Chulalongkorn University
The Demand for Cocaine by Young Adults: A Rational Addiction Approach
Michael Grossman, Frank J. Chaloupka and Charles Brown
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and University of Michigan
Public Policy and Youth Smokeless Tobacco Use
Number of pages: 28 Posted: 01 Feb 1998 Last Revised: 01 Oct 2010
Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 64, No. 2 (October 1997)
Frank J. Chaloupka, John A. Tauras and Michael Grossman
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office
Men, Women, and Addiction: The Case of Cigarette Smoking
Number of pages: 37 Posted: 18 Jun 2004 Last Revised: 01 Apr 2010
The Demand for Cigarettes and Restrictions on Smoking in the Workplace
Frank J. Chaloupka and Henry Saffer
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - NY Office
Demographic Differentials in the Demand for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs
Number of pages: 28 Posted: 07 Aug 2000 Last Revised: 08 Oct 2010
An Empirical Analysis of Alcohol Addiction: Results from the Monitoring the Future Panels
Michael Grossman, Frank J. Chaloupka and Ismail Sirtalan
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), NY Office, University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Greater New York Hospital Association
Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXVI, No. 1 (January 1998)
Do State Expenditures on Tobacco Control Programs Decrease Use of Tobacco Products Among College Students?
Number of pages: 36 Posted: 25 Sep 2006 Last Revised: 30 Dec 2006
Christina Ciecierski, Pinka Chatterji, Frank J. Chaloupka and Henry Wechsler
University of Illinois at Chicago - School of Public Health, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and Harvard University - T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Breath Testing and the Demand for Drunk Driving
A Multinominal Logistic Approach to the Labor Force Behavior of Japanesemarried Women
Tadashi Yamada, Tetsuji Yamada and Frank J. Chaloupka
University of Tsukuba - Institute of Socio-Economic Planning, Rutgers University, Camden, Camden College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
Socioeconomic Differences in the Impact of Smoking Tobacco and Alcohol Prices on Smoking in India
G. Emmanuel Guindon, Arindam Nandi, Frank J. Chaloupka and Prabhat Jha
McMaster University - Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA), The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics and University of Toronto - St. Michael's Hospital
Relative Tax Rates, Proximity and Cigarette Tax Noncompliance: Evidence from a National Sample of Littered Cigarette Packs
Shu Wang, David Merriman and Frank J. Chaloupka
Michigan State University - Department of Political Science, University of Illinois at Chicago - Institute of Government and Public Affairs and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
The Impact of the 2009 Federal Tobacco Excise Tax Increase on Youth Tobacco Use
Jidong Huang and Frank J. Chaloupka
School of Public Health, Georgia State University and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
Nutrition and Infant Health in Japan
Tadashi Yamada and Frank J. Chaloupka
University of Tsukuba - Institute of Socio-Economic Planning and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
Economic Contextual Factors and Child Body Mass Index
Lisa M. Powell and Frank J. Chaloupka
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Health Policy and Administration (HPA) and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics
The Use of Excise Taxes to Reduce Tobacco, Alcohol, and Sugary Beverage Consumption
Annual Review of Public Health, Vol. 40, pp. 187-201, 2019
Frank J. Chaloupka, Kenneth E. Warner and Lisa M. Powell
University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Economics, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - School of Public Health and University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Health Policy and Administration (HPA)
Binge Drinking in College: The Impact of Price, Availability, and Alcohol Control Policies
CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY (October 1996)
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Kristine Garcia
Video: Bat-swinging man damages security cameras in Bronx building
FOXHURST, the Bronx — Cops are searching for the bat-wielding man who damaged several security cameras at a Bronx building earlier this month. Surveillance video shows a man inside a building along Kelly Street near East 163rd Street in Foxhurst on July 3, swinging at several of the building’s security cameras with a baseball bat. The suspected vandal is then seen removing what appears to be a ski mask. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), […]
Expect extensive delays on No. 7 line after work train has mechanical issues
NEW YORK — Service on the No. 7 line is resuming with delays following earlier suspension. MTA crews moved a work train with mechanical problems at Grand Central-42 St. Service is still severely impacted, with extensive delays expected, the MTA tweeted. For service into Midtown, commuters are advised to transfer to the E/F/M/R trains at 74 St-Broadway or the N/W trains at Queensboro Plaza. 7 train service is beginning to resume in both directions after we moved a work train […]
Ed Sheeran announces ‘No. 6 Collaborations’ pop-up shops across US
NEW YORK — As Ed Sheeran’s new album “No. 6 Collaborations Project,” arrived Friday, a series of pop-up shops are set to open across the United States. The shops are available for one day only from 3:06 p.m. to 9:06 p.m. local time in locations such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, Seattle, and Philadelphia. A pop-up location will be set up in SoHo Friday afternoon at 138 Wooster St. Similar events will also take place around the world. […]
8 injured when taxi crashes into Manhattan restaurant: FDNY
HELL’S KITCHEN, Manhattan — Eight civilians were injured when a vehicle crashed into a restaurant in Manhattan Thursday afternoon, fire officials said. The yellow cab is seen over the sidewalk on the storefront of the Westville Restaurant on Ninth Avenue and West 54th Street in Hell’s Kitchen during the peak of lunchtime, Citizen video shows. BREAKING: An out of control taxi jumped a curb outside a restaurant on 9th Avenue. It happened at the peak of lunchtime at around 12:40p. […]
7-Eleven offers free Slurpees on Thursday: How to get yours
NEW YORK — It’s that time of the year again! 7-Eleven is giving out free Slurpees. The convenience store is offering free small Slurpees on Thursday (7/11) when the calendar day coincides with 7-Eleven’s name. The offer goes on from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., or until supplies last. Happy 7-Eleven Day, Slurpeeps! Follow your tongue heart and come get a free small Slurpee, today only! 11am to 7pm. #slurplife #7ElevenDayhttps://t.co/oSwVQgcLJk pic.twitter.com/JSemYrABDb — 7-Eleven (@7eleven) July 11, 2019 They’re also […]
Martin Charnin, lyricist and original director of ‘Annie,’ dead at 84
NEW YORK — Martin Charnin, lyricist and original director of “Annie,” died at 84, days after suffering a minor heart attack. His daughter announced his death on Instagram Sunday, remembering his strength and “very full life.” “He loved and lived his best! He was the best father we could have ever imagined,” she wrote. View this post on Instagram Our father passed away. Martin Charnin lived a very full life. He was watching Family Feud at the end, laughing with […]
2 dead, 2 injured in Hackensack crash
HACKENSACK, N.J. — Two people were killed and two others were injured when vehicles collided in New Jersey Saturday. Two vehicles collided in the vicinity of Hackensack Avenue at Terhune Place in Hackensack around 7 p.m., Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said. The crash killed the driver of one vehicle and the passenger of the other vehicle, authorities said. Their identities were not immediately released. Two others were injured and taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for their injuries. The cause […]
Man, woman injured in drive-by shooting on Long Island
SHIRLEY, N.Y. — Two people were injured in a drive-by shooting on Long Island Saturday night. A large group of people attended a party in the vicinity of Parkview and Grandview drives in Shirley. As partygoers were on both the front lawn and the roadway in front of the residence, a vehicle driving by fired shots in their direction around 11:30 p.m., police said. A 41-year-old woman was shot in the leg and a 32-year-old man was shot in the […]
Landlord allegedly attacks tenant, wraps bungee cord around her neck on Long Island
WANTAGH, N.Y. — A woman is accused of assaulting her tenant on Long Island Friday night. Police responded to an assault at a home along Hunt Road in Wantagh just before 11:30 p.m. According to authorities, Natalie Lapolosa grabbed her 30-year-old tenant from behind and wrapped a bungee cord around her neck before repeatedly punching her in the head and face. Lapolosa fled the scene on foot, and the victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment, police said. A […]
HOLLISWOOD, Queens — Police are looking for the man who allegedly assaulted a construction worker while he was on the job. The 48-year-old man was working at a construction site along Palermo and 193 streets in Holliswood Monday afternoon when he was punched in the face. The alleged attacker took the victim’s phone and fled the scene, police said. The victim sustained minor injuries, but refused medical attention, police said. Video surveillance shows the alleged attacker at the scene. Submit […]
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Clueless Left-Wing Protesters Disgrace Themselves Outside of Ben Shapiro Event at Ohio State
Left-wing agitators were out in full force Tuesday night to protest conservative commentator Ben Shapiro at Ohio State University, but most of them had trouble articulating exactly what they were were protesting. That lack of purpose, however, didn't stop them from chanting slogans like “F-ck Ben Shapiro," "Reagan is dead," and "John McCain is dead."
According to the Young America Foundation (YAF), the sponsor of Shapiro’s campus tour, protesters also began chanting “Bush Senior’s dead” until they realized their mistake.
Video footage captured by Austin Fletcher, a YouTuber who covers left-wing protests, shows the mostly white students chanting, "Black lives matter," "Abortion is healthcare, healthcare is our right," "No borders, no nation, stop the deportations!" and "Brick by brick, wall by wall, we will make your system fall." Messages on signs held by the protesters included "Free abortion on demand" and "Healthcare is a human right."
The students also held up posters of President Reagan with his eyes x'ed out.
Although the hapless protesters made it into the building where Shapiro was speaking, they did not manage to disrupt the event, YAF said.
When Fletcher asked two female protesters if Shapiro should be allowed to speak, they replied, "Not at all."
"What about free speech and the Constitution?" Fletcher pressed.
"That's a good point, but he shouldn't be allowed to have free speech if he's gonna preach the kinds of things that he preaches," the protester said.
"What are some of the things you're talking about...specifically?" Fletcher asked.
"I don't know what he said specifically," the woman replied. Her friend didn't seem to have a clue either, saying: "I don't know what he said specifically but I just don't agree with his platform -- his party platform."
A masked antifa wannabe told Fletcher he was protesting because Shapiro is "a transphobe, a racist, and ... a douche."
Students were alerted to the Shapiro event by an email earlier on Tuesday, YAF member Emily Jashinsky reported at The Federalist. The infantilizing email asserted that Shapiro’s “rhetoric has the potential to threaten the emotional and mental safety of much of the campus community.”
The message, signed by the program’s student advisory council, also noted anyone without a “safe space” or who didn’t “want to be alone” was welcome to gather with other students and staff from 5 to 8 p.m.
YAF owns the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, which likely explains protesters’ chants about the 40th president’s death. What prompted the group to chant about the recent passing of a U.S. senator remains unclear, although it should be noted McCain fought and was a prisoner of war overseas to preserve their freedom to do so. For OSU’s senseless demonstrators, that might be worth dwelling on.
Fletcher's video neatly captures the upside-down, bizarro world views of the misguided lefty protesters.
One man carrying a giant red flag, for instance, claimed that Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew, somehow inspired the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre.
Another agitator accused a Trump supporter of being inbred, saying his parents were brother and sister, further demonstrating the protest's complete lack of substance.
A conservative attendee tried to have a conversation with a belligerent man who looked like Karl Marx, but to no avail.
"What we want to do is have a conversation. Everybody here just wants to talk," he said.
"Do I look like Santa Claus?!" the hostile man bellowed.
"No, you look like Karl Marx!" the attendee cried. He continued to argue that all the Shapiro supporters wanted was the freedom to have a conversation, but the Karl Marx look-alike wanted no part of that.
"You're gonna fail!" he barked.
"Why won't you have a civil conversation with me?" the conservative asked plaintively.
"I'm working," the bearded man replied, prompting the conservative to cry: "They're paying you!"
"Breaking news, he's being paid to be here," Fletcher said.
At one point, a black protester asked Fletcher if he's "pro-police."
When the journalist replied that he is, the protester called him a fascist and lunged at him.
"Hey, I'm not here to fight," Fletcher said. "We can disagree, but I'm not here to get violent with anybody," he added.
"That makes one of us!" the Marx double cried.
"So you're here to get violent with people? Fletcher asked.
"I've been punching Klansmen since before your parents met," the man spat.
"I listen to him every day. Am I a Klansman?" an attendee asked him.
"If you get away from these cops, I will end you," the Marx double threatened.
"What?!" the attendee asked, shocked.
"Wow!" Fletcher exclaimed. "What an aggressive statement."
Another attendee complained that he tried to engage the protesters, but every time he said anything, "they just come back with a chant." The man further explained that his father immigrated to the United States from Russia to escape the very Communist system the protesters were advocating.
"In this country where you see all these people that are out here protesting for this Communist idea again -- it scares the crap out of my dad because my dad left that," he said.
https://pjmedia.com/video/clueless-left-wing-protesters-disgrace-themselves-outside-of-ben-shapiro-event-at-ohio-state/
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Mauresmo withdraws as Davis Cup captain to coach Pouille
AFP News 6 December 2018
Amelie Mauresmo at a press conference in June after being appointed France's Davis Cup captain
Amelie Mauresmo announced on Thursday that she has decided not to captain France's Davis Cup team and will coach Lucas Pouille instead.
Mauresmo, who would have been the first women's captain of France's men's tennis team, was appointed in June to take over from Yannick Noah in 2019, when the Cup will be played under a new single-week format in Madrid.
Noah led France to three Davis Cup victories ended his third spell as captain in November with defeat to Croatia in the final.
Mauresmo, a former World No.1 and double Grand Slam winner, led France's women's team to the final of the Fed Cup in 2016. She has also coached Andy Murray.
The 24-year-old Pouille reached No. 10 in the world in March but the French player has since fallen back to 32nd.
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Friedman on Capitalism and Freedom Essay
Milton Friedman succinctly explores the relationship between political freedom and capitalist economy, more so in regards to whether indeed freedom is related to capitalism. One thing that comes to the attention of any reader of Milton’s piece is whether capitalism paves ways of freedom. In his mind, Milton believes that a country that ratifies political freedom automatically promotes economic freedom. The government has a role in developing the country’s economy through different means such as taxation, minimum wage and the provision of essential services to the general public.
His book inspires the thought to reduce the government’s involvement in economic matters. He argues that the involvement of the government in economic affairs leads to the concentration of wealth in the hands of a small group of people. It would limit the abilities of the less affluent to access economic opportunities, which makes the market unstable for business.
We will write a custom essay sample on Friedman on Capitalism and Freedom Essay
According to Friedman, it is fluid to believe that equal distribution of wealth in the society is the measure of freedom but rather wants the political freedom to be measured by the degree in which people access opportunities equally. He believes that it is only possible to attain that when the participation of the government in economic affairs is limited. For instance, when the government is given the full mandate of providing housing to its citizens, people would have limited options to do otherwise, which implies lack of freedom than its presence.
The more involvement of the government in determining taxes imposed on goods makes them expensive for the low earners, hence giving wider opportunities to the few affluent. In this milieu, political freedom implies economic freedom. An individual is only free when he or he can make economic choices without any hindrance whatsoever.
However, it is important to note that Friedman’s thought can be dangerous on the other end. Even though there is a need for economic freedom to achieve political freedom, having the government out of it totally is dangerous for the security and growth of the society. Despite the efforts of the government to establish a minimum wage in the united states to elevate the status of the African-blacks, the rate of unemployment has remained high in the country. The level of insecurity in the world is greatly attributed to the high rate of unemployment among the youths who are radicalized to engage in unhealthy practices.
Also, taking the government out of the equation would brace division, which would greatly paralyze unity in the society. It is even more hazardous to support Friedman’s argument that people should be allowed to attain freedom, then decide on what to do with it. The existence of law is to control the affairs of the public, which can go overboard when not checked. Any behavior that is not universally checked creates an opportunity for recalcitrance. Therefore, even though his argument opens the eyes of the government to empower its citizens to become economically dependent, the thought of unchecked freedom would threaten its peace.
Even though Friedman was an economist, his argument is on moral standards, not an economic argument. He defines liberty, which he ties to economic freedom associated with free markets where a seller is not dictated by the way he or she sells his products. Friedman identifies two types of freedom, which include personal, civil and political. However, he spends a greater part of his time delving into personal freedom and states that politics is bad since it limits the less affluent. However, it does not imply that the money an individual has can expose him or her to freedom. He thinks that rich people access a greater amount of freedom than the poor people.
The argument seems to give more attention to the degree of spending power. However, the notion of freedom is an elaborate subject that cannot only be confined to wealth alone. Being free is to dwell in a more secure environment, which can only be done by the government. Therefore, the exclusion of the government in the establishment of economic policies would be a risky affair, since even when people have the needed power to save, other needs would prevail, which would make them boisterous.
In conclusion, Friedman’s thoughts make sense in the need to empower people to have sufficient access to opportunities, more so the less affluent. It makes a greater sense to note that when the wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few individuals, they dominate the society an make it a harsh environment for the less affluent. However, the thought to have the government out of it would be harmful.
People need to be guided by the rule of law, and to perfect this, there should be a body that observes when the laws are adhered to. The government must set economic policies that guide people on the way they manage their economic affairs. Therefore, in the pursuit of economic freedom, the government is needed at the center to guide its practices and affairs.
Friedman on Capitalism and Freedom Essay. (2019, May 08). Retrieved July 19, 2019, from https://phdessay.com/friedman-on-capitalism-and-freedom-essay/.
Arendt And Freedman: Political Freedom
Junior Research Paper Notecards
Capitalism and Freedom Book Review
We the People Supreme Court Cases
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Episode 25: The Bill Paxton Episode Welcome To The Party Pal: The Mind-Bending Film & Television Podcast You Didn't Know You Needed!
The Welcome To The Party Pal team invites you to join in on a celebration of the career of one of the most gifted character actors in modern times, Bill Paxton. With 97 acting credits to his name, including films such as The Terminator, Weird Science, Aliens, Near Dark, Tombstone, True Lies, Apollo 13, Twister, Titanic, Edge of Tomorrow, and Nightcrawler, and also starring in the HBO drama series Big Love, Paxton’s mark on the film and television landscape was profound. To celebrate such a mammoth and nuanced talent, WTTPP secured help from comedian and host of the Amigos Podcast, Mike Finoia, and the host of the Grateful Dead-centric Brokedown Podcast, Jonathan Hart, who aid in providing insight and dramatically enliven a tribute to the only actor to play characters killed by a Terminator, a Predator and an Alien (xenomorph)!
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Greetings from the Ponte Vedra Community Association. As a community resident, you have the opportunity to become part of a dynamic association, which benefits all who live here.
The Ponte Vedra Community Association, known as the PVCA, remains one of the oldest and most successful associations in our area. The primary goal of this Association is to build a sense of community and preserve the unique qualities that make Pont Vedra Beach such a great place to live.
We build a sense of community through social events included in your membership:
The annual Lighting of the Christmas Tree and Toy Drive on Lake Vedra at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. This attracts both young and old enjoying food and drink, a bon fire, and our local firefighters providing a fire engine for Santa to sit in while the children sit on his lap and chat with him.
The February Sweetheart dinner and dance at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.
The Annual PVCA meeting in late spring at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club followed by hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.
In addition, the PVCA works diligently to promote the well-being and lifestyle of the neighborhood, and preserve the traditions and customs of the community. Security and Safety; Preservation of Green Spaces; Environmental Issues; Sanitation; and Community Relations are among the priorities and benefits of membership.
The PVCA protects the interests of the community through gaining consensus of its members and spearheading the presentation of the community viewpoint to our elected and appointed District, County, State and Federal Legislators.
Membership in the PVCA also provides each family with a directory, which is updated annually. Besides a listing of members, it has valuable information including utilities, schools, services, government offices and frequently called local number.
The PVCA keeps its members abreast of current community happenings and related County hearings and meetings through our ever-evolving Web Page. The Web Page also provides links to the County Commissioners and County and State offices.
Please consider joining the PONTE VEDRA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION. Meet your neighbors and become part of the lifestyle, fun and voice of Ponte Vedra Beach.
Fill out and make payment at renew membership
or email Devon Witt at devonwitt@att.net.
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Rising of the Ancient
Image: tvtropes.org
Adam and Sarah Hartley cautiously began their descent into the tomb. The illumination from their flashlights revealed the ancient stone steps leading down into the darkness and into history. They also believed they were being led downward into the ultimate enlightenment.
The Hartleys were the world’s most famous married Biblical Archeology team. Well regarded by both other archeologists and Christian researchers, they were credited with several important finds between 2020 and 2045, including the true burial-place of the Apostle Mark. It was long supposed that his body was stolen from Alexandria in a barrel of pork and was put to rest in the city of Venice, but the Hartleys discovered a codex that revealed this to be a ruse. The following year, they located the remains of Mark in his original tomb on the outskirts of the modern Egyptian city of Alexandria.
Now, Adam and Sarah are in Egypt again, this time investigating what could be the most important find of their careers. If the scroll they had discovered and translated last year was right, it would be the most significant discovery of the last two-thousand years: the true final resting place of Jesus Christ.
They couldn’t reveal what they hoped to discover to the world, not yet. If they were right, if the scroll secretly written and hidden by one of Christ’s disciples, supposedly an eye-witness to the event, was correct, it would mean chaos in the Christian world. The Christ had not bodily risen from the tomb and ascended into Heaven, but instead, the corpse had been carried away secretly by Jesus’s closest apostles and transported to Egypt.
The Hartley’s had secured permission from the Egyptian government to excavate a site outside of the village of Dalga in Minya, Upper Egypt, a tomb that supposedly hadn’t been opened to the light of day for over twenty centuries. If it was true, if they found the body of Christ and could prove his identity, then the entire Christian world would be turned upside down.
Adam and Sarah weren’t religious. For them, Biblical Archeology was an investigation into history, not faith. For them, ultimate illumination was whatever the evidence pointed to, not theology and doctrine.
The textual information regarding the tomb and its occupant was vague, but it described a god who was also flesh, who died and rose and awaited a second coming. Who but the Christ could it be describing?
The tomb was a simple affair. Stairs leading down into a tunnel, and the tunnel leading into a single chamber. For a find of this magnitude and controversy, Adam and Sarah had chosen to go down alone, leaving the rest of their team outside.
“The inner chamber is sealed. The scroll of Boaz the Lesser didn’t describe this.”
“Take it easy, Sarah. It’s not sealed.” Adam shined his light over the edges of the stone blocking the entrance. “I can get a pry bar in there and move it.”
In spite of being in his early 50s, Adam was in excellent shape. A lifetime of physical labor as an archeologist, a veteran of dozens of digs, had served him well. He took the pry bar from his back pack and inserted it in the space between the stone block and the wall.
“Shouldn’t we call some of the men from above to help, Adam?” Sarah always had a tendency to worry.
“I’ve got this one. Just give me some time.” Adam grunted with each movement of the block.
It took several minutes for him to move the stone sufficiently for him and Sarah to be able to squeeze through.
“There!” Adam put the bar on the ground and bent forward placing his hands on his thighs. “Just give me a second to catch my breath.”
Sarah picked up the pry bar and replaced it in her husband’s pack. Once he’d recovered, she handed him his flashlight and then she preceded him into the inner tomb.
When Adam followed Sarah in, he saw her shining her light on the only object in the chamber, a rectangular stone container slightly larger than a man. The top was sealed, not ajar like the stone blocking the entrance.
“Damn. No inscription on the outside.” As Sarah circled the plain sarcophagus, she was hoping some markings or labels would identify the occupant.
“The scroll indicated there would be positive identification of the body.”
“Maybe it’s inside. Let’s open it together.” Sarah set her backpack down and retrieved an electric lantern. She activated it and set it to one side, providing better illumination.
The pair each took their pry bars out of their packs and set to work, gently attempting to tease the top off without causing any damage.
As the seal broke, a foul gas hissed and belched from within the sarcophagus, forcing them both to stagger back several feet.
When they recovered and looked again and they saw the stone top continue to move.
“What the…” Adam was stunned and Sarah swallowed a cry.
Something was pushing the stone lid off from within!
“Could Christ be rising again? But that’s impossible.” Nothing in Sarah’s reading of the scroll prepared her or Adam for this.
The lid slid off the back side of the container and crashed to the floor. The light captured something slowly rising from the inside, the most beautiful male face either had ever seen.
“He’s remarkable. I never suspected…” Sarah stopped as the eyes of the Adonis-like visage stared at her. She started to walk toward him without realizing it.
“Wait!” Adam grabbed her shoulder, and suddenly realizing she’d been walking, stopped.
The face rose higher but what supported it wasn’t human. The head was the most perfect human head witnessed by man, but the body was enormous and serpentine. A human head and the body of a snake.
“Thank you for releasing me. Yes, I am knowledgable of your tongue.” The voice was malevolent, arrogant, dangerous.
“Who…who…” Adam and Sarah were both paralyzed with terror. It never even occurred to them to run.
Coil by coil, the ancient serpent emerged from its burial-place.
“I am not the god you were seeking. I am the embodiment of chaos and the nemesis of light. Look upon me in terror, for you have released me on an unsuspecting and unprepared world.”
It didn’t matter to Adam and Sarah Hartley that they were the victims of a hoax, although a very old one. The document they relied upon was written by a thrall of the Lord of Chaos posing as a disciple of Christ. The Egyptian god who had fallen asleep was destined to be awakened in a far, future era. Once that future arrived, those who discovered the document of falsehood fulfilled prophesy and triggered the reawakening.
Adam and Sarah Hartley died in horror and blood and they released the god Apophis to author a new Dark Ages upon the Earth.
I’m trying my hand at horror again. What do you think?
September 14, 2016 James Pyles #amwriting, archeology, biblical fiction, fantasy, fiction, gods, horror
← A Bright Light in the Darkness
Life After Resurrection →
15 thoughts on “Rising of the Ancient”
Marleen says:
It’s a little bit like the scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” — I don’t read horror, James.
This one isn’t too horrible, Marleen. No gore involved. It’s more like terror than horror. Actually, this story has multiple influences.
I find it scary.
I once watched a horror movie,
not knowing what I was getting into.
I had just seen a very good film on the same
station. Was past midnight, and I wasn’t sleeping.
“Ginger” was in it (the actress you chose for a depiction).
I told an abridged version to my grandson and he didn’t find it scary at all. But then again, it was abridged.
Something being very strange in comparison to normal (such as what a human is) is meant to be scary. Add to that a personal connection to who Jesus IS, and the actual outcome for these archaeologists…
At least in writing, or descriptive words rather than movie form (missing some senses), we got a warning of a foul smell. So that decreased the shock of what was next.
Any number of fictional stories about Archeologists and Egypt speak of bad endings, including the original film The Mummy (1932) starring Boris Karloff. There’s an inherent danger in seeking out the unknown.
[ Just a little clarity on my 4:05PM (Sep. 18): “a very good film” means the station wasn’t one that normally runs the kind of thing that came next (when the next movie started, I didn’t have a clue). ]
I’ve heard of Boris Karloff, and seen clips of his mummy movie in historical or documentary contexts. But I haven’t seen the full movie. The newer “The Mummy” I have seen. Yeah, that wouldn’t be called horror.
But it’s scary (not too very). I once saw (later, at home) “Horror” on the box for a movie I’d rented from Blockbuster. How could that make sense? I wondered. Turned out it was “The Matrix.” Miscategorized, I think.
We usually rented more than one title at a time, and I tried to think how such a think had gotten into our stuff. But I had intended to rent that one. I don’t know if the store owner was being very careful, or what.
You’ve never heard of Boris Karloff? Wow. He’s pretty famous. Probably the role he’s most famous for is Frankenstein (1931) in which he played the Creature. His filmography is extensive. Even if you aren’t into those old Universal studio horror films, he did narrate the 1966 animated film How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
“I’ve heard of Boris….” [have seen bits] “… haven’t seen the full movie.”
That’s what I said. Now for a correction, though,
to something a couple paragraphs later:
“… how such a thinG [NOT such a
thinK] had gotten into our stuff.”
The Blockbuster store owner
might have been trying to
cut down on how many
kids were likely to see
“The Matrix” due to him.
I’m going to have to doubt that (my postulation that if you call a movie horror, then fewer people will pick it up for their children). What Blockbuster owner would think that way? Maybe, but not very likely; what they want to do is rent out as many movies as possible. Right? Another theory then.
In one of the other two, the sequels, there were werewolves and that kind of thing (not very noticeable, but part of the story line). So maybe the writers or somebody else more familiar with what would be coming out in those movies made a decision on what category to put the first one in because of it.
In any case, once I opened the plastic case, I realized it was something I had intentionally picked out. I don’t remember whether or not I inspected the video surface to see if it said “horror” on there. But I thought it was weird the blockbuster case actually had the name of the movie and the category of horror.
Another reason labeling the box horror might not make much of a difference in terms of what parents rent (and make available to their children) is that some parents want to introduce their children to horror. It’s almost an evangelistic endeavor. Or, they have so little control of their own interests, they expose the children.
What makes it into horror films today is pretty gross and modern horror movies aren’t to my taste.
That said, I am a fan of the old Universal Studio horror movies. My favorites, that is, the ones I own, are the “Creature of the Black Lagoon” series from the 1950s, the last of the classic horror movies they made, and “The Invisible Man” series, although only the first two movies were at all credible. I also enjoy the “Frankenstein” and “Wolf Man” movies and only the first “Mummy” movie starring Karloff. I remember watching all these on TV when I was a kid. Not particularly scary by today’s standards. Kids see more violence in cartoons today than in those old Universal films.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/matrix
Rating:R (for sci-fi violence and brief language)
Genre: Action & Adventure , Science Fiction & Fantasy
http://horrornews.net/65603/film-review-the-matrix-1999/
http://horror.about.com/od/horrortoppicklists/tp/familyfriendlyhorror.htm
The Matrix isn’t on this list. And I would steer clear of all this stuff. The Blob mostly sounds
boring. But, when I was younger I would be very scared by anything that purported to be scary.
Haven’t seen the one about spiders, but that probably wouldn’t bother me with fear or philosophy.
I have actually seen Disturbia. How on earth is that recommended for families, even if it isn’t trashy?
Let’s see. I’ve seen “The Birds” on multiple occasions. It’s a Hitchcock classic and even for 1963, it has some disturbing images.
I probably saw “The Blob once. Its only noteworthy feature is that is stars a young Steve McQueen.
“Ghost” is more of a supernatural romance than a horror film. I saw it once. No need to repeat.
The original “Ghostbusters” is just plain fun. Not scary at all and I don’t think it was meant to be.
I saw “Gremlins” once back when it was released. No need to repeat.
I’ve actually heard that “Maggie” is good and displays some of Schwarzenegger’s beset acting. Zombie movies aren’t real attraction though, so pass.
I saw “Poltergeist” back when it was released. Again, no need to repeat.
I’ve heard of “The Sixth Sense” but no need to scare myself by watching it.
I saw the “Twilight Zone” move when it was released, but it was just like several amplified episodes of the old TV show.
I don’t consider “The Matrix” to be horror. It’s more science fiction/fantasy. Not particularly scary. Suspenseful though if you don’t know what’s about to happen.
Not much scares me anymore. But I think some things (that apparently some people actually delight in) are pretty ridiculous inclusions in society. My main criteria has to do with the message being put across. There was one movie on the list that was said to have a positive message for faith (“The Conjuring”). I’m not sure I believe that or think it’s worth finding out. One reason I don’t participate in Halloween is that gory and icky things are promoted. How is that fun, edifying, or something to teach your kids?
http://www.latimes.com/local/orangecounty/tn-dpt-me-wozniak-20160923-story.html
Here, gory movie life meets horrible real life.
Not much scares me anymore. There’s being scared… and being scared.
And there’s being disgusted.
Your story above, James, is in a lane that can be interesting.
Leave a Reply to Marleen Cancel reply
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Cambridge University Profile
The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209, making it one of the world’s oldest universities. Although age does not necessarily imply quality, Cambridge has aged like a fine wine, and is to this day still among the absolute best institutions of education in the world. The university is world renowned for its state-of-the art research and teaching, as well as for its beautiful architecture and mythic traditions. When people think of Cambridge University, they often associate it with rigorous academics – and not without reason! The institution is among the world’s absolute best within many fields, and throughout history, 91 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with the university – a European record! Check out the impressive list here.
In this article, we’ll give you an insight into the teaching at Cambridge, but also into the many marvellous opportunities that the university supplies beyond just academics.
Academics- the supervision system
As a student at Cambridge, one of the greatest educational perks is the supervision system. Supervisions are weekly sessions of personalised teaching. At a supervision, you sit down with a supervisor to discuss your essays and topics within your course. Sometimes you’ll be joined by one or two other students, but other times it will just be you and a world expert within your field, discussing your favourite subjects in depth! This style of teaching is an amazing opportunity to grasp foreign concepts, but it also sets certain requirements for you as a student: It’s kind of hard to hide in the back the class playing Tetris, when you are the class. If you want to get an impression of what supervisions are like, take a look at this video by the vlogger Jake Wright, a previous Cambridge student. Although Computer Science might be a foreign language to some, it does give an insight into the value and quality of supervisions as a way of educating. The supervisions are not just generic revisions of subject material, they’re actually focused on your personal work as well. Before supervisions, you will be assigned to write essays, which will be the basis of your discussion with the supervisor, your fellow students and you. If you’re curious as to what kind of super-genius you can become through a Cambridge education, check out this University Challenge match between Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and Magdalen College, Oxford. Besides all this, there are two very important elements of the Cambridge educational system that characterises studying there: The first is the length of the terms. Terms are 8 weeks, which is much shorter than at most other universities. These short terms mean that there are very frequent and very long breaks, but they also heavily increase the workload during term. Fiercely studying your dream subject will hopefully be very enjoyable, but it is worth noting that Cambridge terms can be truly intense. Secondly, your efforts are only assessed by handwritten examinations by the end of each year. For this reason, it’s a pretty good idea to buy yourself a comfortable pen!
Living at Cambridge – the collegiate system:
When you’re a student at Cambridge, you’re not just part of the university, you’re also part of a college. Colleges are the places you live and spend most of your time, but they’re more than just accommodation. Think of them like the houses at Hogwarts, only there’s 31 instead of 4. Don’t worry about ending up at Slytherin, since everyone ends up being really happy about their specific college. The colleges have their own rules, traditions and societies, and they develop a great sense of community in their students. You will still study and hang out with people from all the other colleges, but your college is a great place to find a family away from home. Cambridge even has a “college-marriage” system, where students are “married”, and take care of two freshers together – their “children”. Since the colleges are fairly autonomous with regards to many logistical arrangements, the styles of accommodation vary greatly between the various colleges. Some places might have you live with a roommate, while other colleges generally arrange for solo accommodation.
When choosing a college, you have to decide: Do I want to live at a place that looks like it’s Hogwarts, or do I want heated floors and modern facilities?
Life beyond academics:
Cambridge is obviously a great place to study, but any student will tell you that you’re doing it wrong if that’s all you came to do. The university holds countless activities and a seriously impressive selection of student societies – in fact there are more than 700 of them! One of them is the Cambridge Union, a 200 year old debating society, where speakers like the Dalai Lama, president Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill have spoken. It’s hardly an overstatement to say that there’s a society at Cambridge for every imaginable activity, but in the unlikely case that you find that a society is missing, the resources and enthusiastic students are yours to seize!
Sports at Cambridge:
Among all the bookworms and geniuses at Cambridge, there are of course plenty of people who enjoy sports and athletics. At the university, it’s possible to do all sorts of sports, and at various levels of skill. You can of course play casually with friends, but there’s also the option to compete with the other colleges. Once a year, however, the entire university comes together for the most intense sports events at Cambridge: The varsity matches against Oxford. The stakes are high, and the Oxbridge rivalry is at its very best during these matches. Check out these two videos if you want to learn more about sports at Cambridge University.
Traditions:
– Formals: Formal halls or formal meals are dinner that take place in the college’s gorgeous dining halls. Each college have their own traditions and norms related to the formals, including various dress codes and frequencies. While some colleges may have dinners much more frequently than others, they in turn have “Superhalls”, which are occasional excuses to dress up in black tie and enjoy a delightful meal with fellow members of college. Under different circumstances, it is allowed to invite friends from other colleges to join your college’s formal, and it is a widely held goal to attend a formal at least once at each possible college, although not everyone get to cross of every college from the list. For the pre-arranged meals, the colleges do of course consider various dietary requirements such as vegetarianism or food allergies.
– Relations to Oxford (aka “The other place”): Cambridge University was originally founded by a group of scholars who were seeking refuge from hostile townsmen in Oxford. Ever since, there has been an ongoing rivalry between England’s two most famous universities, although there is also a sense of mutual respect between the two institutions – most of the time! Many Cambridge students insist to refer to Oxford as “The Other Place”, kind of like in Harry Potter, where it is forbidden to mention Voldemo… I mean, “You-know-who” by his name. Many of the university’s traditions, norms and internal jokes refer to this age-old British rivalry.
– May balls: A highlight at the Cambridge colleges are the May Balls. (Ball as in a fancy dance party, not a round object used for play) Ironically held in the month of June, the May Balls are extravagant parties with strict dress codes and fabulous entertainment. While the parties vary a great deal from college to college, they’re all known to be incredible fun.
– http://www.applytocambridge.com – Insiders’ view at life at Cambridge, written by students.. Prospectus’ for specific colleges can also be found online.
– http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses – Undergraduate courses
– http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses – Graduate courses
– http://www.becambridge.com – a more informal source of impressions of Cambridge
– Jake Wright youtube channel – Vlogs of the life as a Cambridge student. (British Computer Science student)
Joshua Teperowski Monrad, 18 May 2016
UK UniveristiesGeorge Harris 20 December 2017 University Profiles, Cambridge
Oxford University Profile
UK UniveristiesGeorge Harris 20 December 2017 University Profiles, Oxford
University College London Profile
UK UniveristiesGeorge Harris 20 December 2017 How To Choose The Right University, UK, University Profiles
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Fire Effects and Management in Riparian Ecosystems of the Southwestern United States and Mexico
azu_etd_15790_sip1_m.pdf
Webb, Amanda D.
Falk, Donald A.
Fisher, Larry A.
Lowland riparian ecosystems constitute a tiny fraction of total land area in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, yet they are extremely important to human livelihoods and biotic communities. Facing ongoing projected climate change toward hotter and drier conditions, riparian ecosystems are both vulnerable to changes in climate and increasingly critical to the well-being of humans and wildlife. Due to the dynamic nature of these ecosystems and their abundance of resources, riparian areas have been modified in various ways and to a large extent through human endeavor. These alterations often interfere with multiple and complex ecological processes, making riparian areas more vulnerable to disturbance and change. Few naturally functioning riparian areas remain, and those that do are imperiled by climate change, groundwater pumping, land use, and other factors. A small but growing body of literature suggests that wildfires may be increasing in frequency and severity in southwestern riparian zones. This literature review summarizes and synthesizes the state of the knowledge of wildfire and prescribed fire effects on abiotic processes and vegetation, and post-fire rehabilitation. Results suggest that in lowland riparian ecosystems, fire regimes and fire effects are influenced primarily by streamflow and groundwater regimes. Thus, increasing fire frequency and severity may be attributed to drought, land use, water use, and their subsequent effects on the spread of non-native plant species, as well as a history of fire suppression and increasing anthropogenic ignitions in areas with a growing human presence. Changing fire regimes are likely to have drastic and potentially irreversible effects on regional biodiversity and ecosystem function. However, there are options for managing riparian ecosystems that will be more resilient to fire and climate change, such as implementing environmental flows, prescribed fire, fuel reduction treatments, floodplain restoration, and promoting gene flow. This study is intended to inform management decisions, and identify gaps in systematically reviewed literature.
Electronic Thesis
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Journal of Terrorism Research
Understanding political influence in modern-era conflict: a qualitative historical analysis of Hassan Nasrallah’s speeches
382-941-1-PB.pdf (552.4Kb)
Abu-Lughod, Reem
Warkentin, Samuel
Politics of government
This research examines and closely analyzes speeches delivered by Hezbollah’s secretary general and spokesman, Hassan Nasrallah, from a content analysis perspective. We reveal that several significant political phenomena that have occurred in Lebanon were impacted by the intensity of speeches delivered by Nasrallah; these three events being the 2006 War, the Doha Agreement, and the 2008 prisoner exchange. Data has been collected from transcribed speeches and analyzed using a qualitative historical analysis. Furthermore, we use latent analysis to assess Nasrallah’s underlying implications of his speeches and identify the themes he uses to influence his audience.
Abu-Lughod, R., & Warkentin, S. (2012). Understanding political influence in modern-era conflict: a qualitative historical analysis of Hassan Nasrallah’s speeches. Journal of Terrorism Research, 3(2), pp. 32-47.
http://doi.org/10.15664/jtr.382
This is an open access article published in Journal of Terrorism Research. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
http://ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/jtr/article/view/382
Except where otherwise noted within the work, this item's license for re-use is described as This is an open access article published in Journal of Terrorism Research. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
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Tax protester
(Redirected from Tax protest)
A typical tax protester, yesterday.
I fought the law
and the law won
Pseudolaw
To convolute
and distort
Errol Denton
Freeman on the land
Gold standard (economics)
Ikclaimmijnnaam.nl
Malcolm Roberts
Militia movement
Originalism
Posse Comitatus
Tom Cryer
“”The hatred Americans have for their own government is pathological, if understandable. At one level it is simply thwarted greed: since our religion is making a buck, giving a part of that buck to any government is an act against nature."
—Gore Vidal[1]
Tax protester (less commonly, tax protestor) is a general category to describe anyone who does not believe they are required to pay various taxes. The most commonly disputed tax (in the United States) is the income tax. In the US, tax protesters tend to be fucking morons who think that the government runs on Jesus largely middle-class conservatives with a libertarian bent.
The term "tax protester," while the preferred nomenclature, is somewhat misleading. In more common parlance they might be called tax deniers—and in practice tax evaders. Individuals who protest taxes for one reason or another, while not denying the legal government's right to tax (although they may deny it morally), are called tax resisters. Individuals who don't like the idea of taxes, but buckle down and pay them anyway, are called normal people.
Anti-war protesters throughout American history, from Henry David Thoreau to Emma Goldman to Noam Chomsky, at various times have refused to pay any taxes, under the threat of acknowledged laws, because they opposed America acting like assholes in other parts of the world. The big difference between these types of anti-war tax protests and the goons profiled below is the level of intellectual argument. When Thoreau refused to pay taxes because America was basically murdering brown people for shits and giggles, he welcomed the Taxman and turned his trial into a showcase for his anti-war views, like John Brown did during his trial for the Harper's Ferry Raid, making a common courtroom into a platform for abolishing slavery. By contrast, these people have no such ethical position, and are usually a bit more obsessed with guns and Obama's birth certificate than is really necessary. In other words, their objections are pseudolegal rather than moral in nature.
2 Claims
2.1 Constitutional arguments
2.2 Statutory arguments
2.3 Miscellaneous
3 Cases
4 Exceptions to the rule
5 Prohibition on use of term "tax protestor"
6 Legitimate arguments
7 British tax protesters in 2010
Methodology[edit]
Tax protesters use pseudolaw and follow many of the same methods as creationists and other denialists in advocating their ideas, including: cherry picking data, pseudohistory, quote mining, and deception. Not a single argument ever presented by a tax protester has ever been accepted by a court of law as valid.
There are interesting links between tax protesting and creationist movements, as well as the birthers, militia movement and some white supremacy groups.[2] In November 2006 Kent Hovind, an infamous peddler of creationism, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for not paying income tax.[3] Hovind was relying on schemes pushed by "tax advisor" Glenn Stoll. Many people have made a lot of [[money selling various schemes for avoiding having to pay taxes. Thousands of videos, books and conferences are offered every year that promise to cure you of a tax burden for a price. One example is that of Irwin Schiff and his site paynoincometax.com. Schiff was convicted of various tax-related offenses in 2005.[4]
Tax protesters should be distinguished from tax resisters, who do not deny the government's right to levy taxes, but refuse to pay as a matter of principle, due to their opposition to specific government policies (opposition to public schooling or defense spending are common tropes). Of course both groups are very likely to end up in prison. Such protesters are rather less likely to espouse right-libertarian politics; some are, indeed, extreme liberals, pacifists, or left-wing anarchists.[note 1] Tax resistance is a form of civil disobedience, at least when such people are willing to go to jail for the principle. One example of a tax resister is Thoreau, who coined the above term in his book Civil Disobedience and refused to pay his poll tax because it supported the Mexican War, which he considered an immoral land grab that he feared would expand slavery into new territories. In his book Thoreau stated his view that "an unjust law is no law at all" and that when law was unjust, "the place for a just man is in prison." He inspired Tolstoy and Gandhi, who inspired Martin Luther King, Jr. in turn.
Claims[edit]
The claims of these groups will appear in italics, refutations in regular text. [5]
Constitutional arguments[edit]
That the 16th Amendment was not ratified because Ohio wasn't a state, and thus didn't get the requisite number of states to approve of it.
This argument relies on a false technicality that Congress forgot to pass a resolution declaring Ohio a state in 1803 and that Ohio only became a state in 1953. If this were true, then why did Ohioans have Senators and Congressmen? Also it would not have mattered since 41 other states ratified it anyway with the minimum being 36.
Even if the 16th Amendment hadn't been ratified, Federal income taxes had existed — and been ruled Constitutional by the courts — since the Civil War. The 16th Amendment was proposed because the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in Pollock v. Farmer's Loan and Trust (1894) made it extremely messy to pass income tax laws where property was involved.
It violates the 13th Amendment's prohibition of "involuntary servitude."
"Involuntary servitude" is actually a euphemism for slavery. Needless to say the equivalence between sending a portion of your income to fund the government and being the legal property of another person is not recognized by the courts. And even if paying taxes were involuntary servitude, this passage would be superseded by the 16th Amendment. Simply put, a Constitutional amendment cannot violate the Constitution, as it supersedes the original Constitution and any prior amendments.
Statutory arguments[edit]
Variants on claims like there is no law for an income tax or that the Internal Revenue Code does not actually say "income".
There are in fact several laws saying what is and is not taxable (26 U.S.C. Sections 1, 61, 63, 6012(a), 6072, and 6151, among others, for anyone interested).
Miscellaneous[edit]
Variations on the theme that America's Founding Fathers did not believe that governments had taxation powers.
Not true. The issue at stake was the Crown's ability to levy taxes on American colonies with no representation in that government, not, say, Richmond's ability to tax Virginians. The federal government's ability to tax was specifically defended in The Federalist Papers.
Indeed, one of Congress's very first acts under the Constitution was to pass a tax on whiskey. When the Whiskey Rebellion broke out as a result, George Washington himself called for the militia to put down the rebellion and enforce the tax.
Whether or not the Founding Fathers would have approved of an income tax is legally irrelevant. The Founding Fathers wrote into the Constitution a process to amend the Constitution, and the Constitution was legally amended (with the 16th Amendment) to allow for an income tax. Citing the Founding Fathers' opinions might be a compelling political argument for changing the law, but, in this case, it has no bearing on what the law actually is.
Filing an income tax return is voluntary.
This stems from the misreading of a case (Flora v. United States, 362 U.S. 145) where somebody did not file his 1040, but then demanded his full refund. Voluntary in this case actually means that the person has to go and calculate it him or herself, otherwise, no refund, or massive audit.
Paying income taxes is voluntary.
Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code clearly imposes a requirement to pay federal income tax. This was addressed most recently in 2007 in United States v. Schulz, (529 F.Supp.2d 341) where the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York enjoined Robert Schulz from selling a scheme based on the premise that withholding tax was voluntary. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the injunction (517 F.3d 606), and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case (555 U.S. 946).
Wages are not taxable because they are an equal exchange for the value of labor provided. Typically this claim is made by filing a "zero return", showing no income, and a "corrected" Form W-2, where the wages paid by the taxpayer's employer are reduced to $0.
Courts have rejected this argument (see Sisemore v. United States, 6th Cir., 797 F.2d 268, 270-71 (1986)), as well as attempts by taxpayers to offset wages by taking an equal deduction as a "cost of labor" (Olson v. United States, 9th Cir., 760 F.2d 1003, 1005 (1985)).
Taxation is theft
A complaint becoming common in libertarian circles, with the linked suggestion that it should be replaced by "voluntary donations". Note that there are still large numbers of people who tend not to donate anything to society to a degree that allows modern society to function, especially if the government did not use force to take it. Additionally, the rich donate even less of a portion of their income as they get richer.[6]
Complaints about taxation being theft should also be paired with complaints about using stuff that hasn't been paid for. Basic roads being the simplest of devices, which facilitate transport but cannot be maintained unless a toll or tax is collected.
Cases[edit]
According to the National Post, Ontario, Canada has seen such a deluge of tax protesting cases that judges are overwhelmed.
“”The National Post has identified 385 pending tax cases — most using florid and arcane language and claiming bizarre laws that supersede or nullify Canada's regulations and laws; it prompted the Tax Court to adopt a triage approach to cope with the deluge, grouping cases and directing them to specific judges.[7]
None of these cases have succeeded, but that hasn't stopped more from being filed.
Gordon Kahl was a tax protester associated with the Posse Comitatus movement who died in a 1983 shootout with Arkansas police. Law enforcement had attempted to arrest him outside of his hometown of Medina, North Dakota but he (or two others with him) shot two U.S. marshals and he fled in a stolen Medina police car to Arkansas, where he died four months later in another shootout with law enforcement. Kahl had failed to pay income taxes for several years and had previously (1977) spent eight months in prison on tax evasion charges; the attempted 1983 arrest was for violation of his parole by continuing to fail to file his federal taxes. The exact order of events during the Medina shootout is hotly disputed with Medina's local police officers offering a different version than federal marshals, and Medina police and federal marshals each blaming the other for botching the arrest.[8]
Aaron Russo (d. 27 August 2007), an "independent" filmmaker who owed taxes in three states, and had been the Libertarian Party candidate for President, released a documentary called America: Freedom to Fascism,[9] which has become a rallying cry for many tax protesters. Russo unquestioningly regurgitated all of the classic arguments, misconceptions and lies.
In 2007 a major standoff occurred in the town of Plainfield, New Hampshire, between convicted tax evaders Ed and Elaine Brown and the federal government. The Browns sealed themselves up in their fortified compound of a home and promised the "next Waco" if the government tried to arrest them. Tax protesters and other anti-government cranks, including Randy Weaver of Ruby Ridge fame, flocked to the Browns' residence to bring guns and supplies.[10] The Browns were taken into custody without incident on 4 October 2007 by US Marshals posing as supporters.
Formerly-successful businessman, WND shareholder and increasingly gibbering crank Robert Beale had his head turned by the works of Irwin Schiff and concocted elaborate schemes to just… stop paying income tax. This didn't work for him, either, even after his followers tried to scare the judge off the case.
Self-proclaimed psychic Sean David Morton filed various false tax returns over the years, claiming that he did not have to obey the law because he "is not a 14th Amendment citizen." The government did not agree, and neither did the jury in Federal Court, Los Angeles. On 7 April 2017 Morton and his wife Melissa were found guilty on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, two counts of filing false claims against the United States, and various counts of passing false or fictitious financial instruments.[11] Morton did not appear for his 19 June 2017 sentencing, and was a fugitive until re-arrested, along with his wife Melissa, on 21 August. One might have thought that a psychic could have seen all this coming.
Exceptions to the rule[edit]
Tax protesters are occasionally acquitted; for example, the June 2007 not guilty verdict against Louisiana attorney Tommy Cryer, which became something of a rallying point for the movement. Cryer did not attempt to argue there is no law making him liable for income tax. Instead, he used what has come to be known as the "cheek defense" (from Cheek v. United States, 498 U.S. 192), essentially claiming that he did not know that he had to file and could not have willfully failed to file. The opinion of tax experts is that Cryer was acquitted based on an incompetent prosecution that failed to demonstrate that Cryer was aware of the need to file. Civilly, Cryer was still found to be liable for back taxes, fees, and interest and is currently raising money to pay off his taxes.
A similar case, U.S. v. Lloyd R. Long (U.S.D.C. E.D. Tenn. 10/15/1993), ended the same way, with the jury deciding that Mr. Long's failure to file tax returns wasn't willful. Like Cryer, he still had to cough up back taxes, interest, and tax penalties.
All acquittals have come from jury trials for criminal conduct. These acquittals range from Cheek defenses like Cryer to jury nullification in cases where it seems defendants have convinced a few jury members of their arguments. The important point is that "not guilty" verdicts by juries do not have anything to do with the status of the law nor are they precedent setting. No matter of law has ever been decided in favor of a tax protester and even with an acquittal for criminal conduct the civil liability of taxes has always been met. Thus, even acquittals cannot be said to be victories for the Tax Protester movement, since an acquittal does not get them out of paying their taxes. The best result a tax protester can hope for is to be no worse off than if he'd payed his damn taxes to begin with.
Prohibition on use of term "tax protestor"[edit]
In the spirit of the Indiana Pi Bill, the U.S. Congress has prohibited the IRS from calling individuals as "tax protestors." The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Section 3707 was supposed to prevent the IRS from using the designation tax protestor in taxpayers' case narratives. Congress felt that calling tax protestors "tax protestors" would bias IRS employees in future contacts with these individuals. Euphemisms like "constitutionally challenged" were also prohibited. However, as of 2010, IRS employees were still using those terms, despite attempts to prevent this by altering software used to maintain the files.[12]
Legitimate arguments[edit]
Occasionally, tax protesters will have a legitimate point. In the 1860s, suffragette Sarah Wall of Massachusetts cited the founding principle of "No Taxation Without Representation" and refused to pay her taxes unless women were given the right to vote. The case went all the way to the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which ordered Wall to pay taxes anyway. When she still refused, authorities seized and sold her property to pay for the unpaid taxes. More recently, similar arguments have been made by residents of the District of Columbia, which has no voting representation in Congress, though there is no record of anyone outright refusing to pay taxes. However, the slogan "Taxation Without Representation" has become a rallying cry for the D.C. Statehood movement and even appears on license plates issued by the District. These cases are very different from the conventional tax protester arguments in that the point of the protest is the lack of representation in the legislative body that sets tax rates, not the requirement to pay taxes in and of itself.
The attempt by Margaret Thatcher to tax everyone equally for local services, without regard to income, wealth or consumption, was resisted by campaigns of tax refusal from both left- and right-wing parts of society. This form of taxation was officially known as the "Community Charge," but was widely referred to as the "Poll Tax". (Named after the tax that led to the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, "Poll" was an archaic term for "Head".) Attempts to collect arrears using bailiffs were often met with physical resistance, and several, often elderly, protestors went to jail for their refusal to pay the tax.[citation needed] Ultimately, a major riot in London's Trafalgar Square over the issue, and Thatcher's refusal to change her mind, were among the reasons that led to her own party removing her from office.
The Poll Tax was not a replacement for income tax: it was a tax used to fund services at a local level, and has been replaced by the current Council Tax based on the value of one's home. This is also quite unpopular[note 2] as the valuation bands are rarely updated, the Valuation Office Agency frequently incorrectly classifies property values, it takes no account of the difference between renting and owning, and punishments range from draconian to absurd. But it's nowhere near as unpopular as the Poll Tax.
However, the cases in this section are more similar to tax resisters than tax protesters as that term is used elsewhere in the article.
British tax protesters in 2010[edit]
An entirely different type of "tax protester" movement began in the UK in 2010 under the name 'UK Uncut'. In this case the protest was about organisations (specifically large companies like the mobile phone network Vodafone or the retail chain Arcadia Group) not paying enough (or evading/avoiding) taxes and the object of the movement was to find ways to make them pay.[13] Again, this more aligns with tax resisting.
Tea Party movement: Greedy government, using our hard-earned gas money on roads and infrastructure.
The IRS response to the most common arguments
Quatloos, which has forums tracking high-profile tax protesters
The Tax Protester FAQ, considered the definitive online reference (outside the US income tax law of course) on legal arguments used by US tax protesters
Tax Protester Dossiers: Gurus and Other Big Fish
↑ The last of which does deny the government's right to levy taxes, but tends to emphasize other issues such as anti-capitalism. Since they want to redistribute wealth, only without the government's help, and many want to abolish money entirely, they tend to regard tax resistance/tax protest as of minor and symbolic importance at best.
↑ Unless you're a grubby student and don't have to pay it.
↑ "The State of the Union", Esquire (May 1975)
↑ http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/sovereign-citizens-movement
↑ Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts (retrieved February 2009)
↑ USDOJ on Schiff
↑ You can learn more about bullshit at this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_arguments
↑ Noam Scheiber and Patricia Cohen, "For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions", The New York Times 12.29.15.
↑ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/06/judges-losing-patience-as-anti-government-tax-deniers-clogging-courts-with-absurd-claims/
↑ See It's All About Power by Darrell Graf and Steve Schnabel (ISBN 0-942323-31-9) for the Medina police version
↑ The video can be viewed in its entirety at YouTube video.
↑ Union leader article on the Browns
↑ "Hermosa Beach couple convicted in federal tax fraud case," Daily Breeze (Torrance, Calif.) April 7, 2017
↑ Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) Report: Fiscal Year 2010 Statutory Audit of Compliance With Legal Guidelines Prohibiting the Use of Illegal Tax Protester and Similar Designations (Reference Number: 2010-30-073).
↑ British tax protesters being monitored by police - the Guardian
Retrieved from "https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Tax_protester&oldid=2087671"
Right-wing activists
Tax protesters
Articles with unsourced statements
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Explaining Beauty in Mathematics: An Aesthetic Theory of Mathematics
Explaining Beauty in Mathematics: An Aesthetic Theory of Mathematics pp 45-56 | Cite as
Problems of the Aesthetic Induction
Ulianov Montano
First Online: 27 November 2014
Part of the Synthese Library book series (SYLI, volume 370)
This chapter explores problems of the mechanism of aesthetic induction. The aesthetic induction has conceptual problems as wells as significant explanatory anomalies. In particular, historical evidence supports the existence of historical constants—properties whose preferences remain relatively unchanged throughout history, fact which contradicts the aesthetic induction.
Track Record Aesthetic Property Aesthetic Judgement Empirical Adequacy Empirical Success
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First Online 27 November 2014
eBook Packages Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
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Endorsements:
Un-put-down-able…one of those one-off unpredictable things … an absolute masterwork.
―Stephen Gray
The relationship between truth and art in this novel is fascinating. Hassim’s marvellous, engrossing work held me from chapter to chapter, fuelling my interest in meta-fiction and the role of the writer as a historian.
―Tim Huisamen
An award-winning literary epic that tells the tale of three generations of South African Indians. We are taken into the labyrinthine world of Durban’s Grey Street, as important in the literary-political imagination of South Africa as Soweto or District Six.
― Mail & Guardian
Trim size: 230 x 150mm
Imagery: tbc
Cost: R300.00
Date of publication: August 2003
Hassim’s debut novel represents not only one family’s journey from India to South Africa, but also a valuable source of information about the experiences, struggles, feelings and thoughts of the SA Indian community – a history from the inside. This masterpiece of realism is set in Durban’s Casbah, with its underworld of gangsters, political activists, merchants, and the everyday struggle of poor urban life. The language is beautifully nuanced and richly poetic. It blends history, fiction, romance, politics and the idiom of the street in a potent manner.
Aziz Hassim
The late Aziz Hassim was a retired accountant in Durban. His debut novel, The Lotus People won the 2001 Sanlam award for an unpublished novel and was short-listed for the 2004 Sunday Times Literary Award. Spanning the events and moods of over a century, The Lotus People served as a form of catharsis for Hassim. While he called the cleansing process his ‘personal TRC’, he also wished to record a past he is convinced has disappeared forever.
Durban, and particularly the Casbah area, had a kind of ‘romance’ and bittersweet lifestyle during the 50s and 60s which, in spite of the apartheid laws (or because of them), lives on only in the minds of those who inhabited it at the time. The younger generations thought he was ‘making up stories’ when he told them about that area.
‘I also like to say to myself that we, all of us, need to know where we come from before we can know where we are going. This effort was a small step in that direction.’ Although he carried the novel within himself, it is not autobiographical by any means. Instead, he calls it a product of the environment he lived in during those days. This book is now in its second printing.
Hassim launched his next novel – the second in the trilogy –on 21 July 2009 in Durban. He was working on the third novel, Song of Shoba, and had nearly finished it when he passed away. Before his death, he published the story of Valliamma, the Tamil child martyr.
Copyright © 2019 Real African Publishers | Johannesburg, South Africa | Website by Riaan Wilmans Art & Design.
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50 Cent Offers ‘Jersey Shore’s’ Pauly D a G-Unit Deal
by Nicholas Robinson
Being the successful business man that he is, music mogul 50 Cent knows a hot item when he sees one. And after launching the rap careers of emcees like Game and Lloyd Banks, 50 is now looking to reality TV for his next big rap star, offering a deal to MTV’s “Jersey Shore” star DJ Pauly D.
According to XXL, Pauly D, who is currently opening up for Britney Spears’ “Femme Fatale Tour” alongside hip-hop powerhouse Nicki Minaj, says that by the end of the year, he’ll sign a three-album deal with G-Unit Records, which will also release a line of Pauly D-branded headphones.
According to Pauly D, 50 Cent has always been a source of inspiration for him and explains that he’s excited about his future with G-Unit.
“50 cent has also been somebody I look up to,” said Pauly D. “We ended up linking up and we just clicked. We hit it off immediately with the music and everything like that. So, I’m definitely gonna be working with him. There’s been talks about the album and the headphones. I’m looking forward to working with that as well.”
Fans of the reality show star will likely see Pauly D working with 50 Cent and his new G-Unit family on his upcoming spinoff reality show, which is expected to premiere on MTV in the near future.
Hopefully, this won’t result in record deals for Pauly D’s fellow fame-loving cast members Snooki and The Situation.
–nicholas robinson
Tags: 50 Cent, Britney Spears, DJ Pauly D, g-unit, Headphones, jersey shore, MTV, Nicki Minaj, record deal
I'm a lover of quirks and writing compelling pieces for my readers.
Nicholas Robinson August 12, 2011
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« October 2011 | Main | December 2011 »
O.C. Catholic diocese to buy bankrupt Crystal Cathedral
A bankruptcy judge sides with the Crystal Cathedral's board in ruling that Orange County's Roman Catholic Diocese can buy the campus for $57.5 million.
By Nicole Santa Cruz, Ruben Vives and Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times
In the end, 2,000 years of tradition carried the day.
An Orange County bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday that the Crystal Cathedral, a monument to modernism in faith and architecture, will be sold for $57.5 million to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, which plans to consecrate it as a Catholic cathedral.
The ruling was a blow to Chapman University, which had fought bitterly down to the final moments of the bankruptcy case for the right to buy the property as a satellite campus.
It also marked the end of a remarkable chapter in the history of American Christianity, one that was written in glass and steel by the Crystal Cathedral's founder and guiding light, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller.
In a day filled with drama and deep emotion, Chapman had pressed its case with a newly escalated bid of $59 million, only to complain that it had been blindsided by the Crystal Cathedral board, which came down firmly on the side of the Catholic Church.
In the end, Schuller himself gave his blessing to what once would have seemed unthinkable: the conversion of his sleekly modern masterpiece in Garden Grove, a place where fresh breezes blow through open walls and church services feature talk-show-style interviews, into a Catholic cathedral redolent of incense and ancient ritual.
In a letter to the court, the 85-year-old minister said he could not abide the thought that Chapman might someday use the cathedral for nonreligious purposes. Catholic leaders assured him, he said, that they would "take on your calling of proclaiming Christ's message to humanity" and "care for this campus like the treasure it is."
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Kwan issued his ruling shortly after 7 p.m. to the tears of members of the cathedral's congregation, who had sat through the long day in court.
"I only have one word to say and that's 'devastated,' " said the Rev. James Richards, who has volunteered at the Crystal Cathedral for 10 years. He said congregants want to continue to worship in their church.
Congregant Bob Canfield said he felt "thrown under the bus."
Under terms of the bid, the diocese will let the church lease back core buildings for three years, but then it has to find a new home. One possibility is St. Callistus Catholic Church nearby. Chapman had been willing to let the church stay on most of the property for as many as 20 years.
Bishop Tod D. Brown, who has been campaigning for years to build a cathedral, said he was moved, "painfully so," by testimony from congregants.
"I'm kind of drained," he said. "This is a bittersweet experience. I say this because I have the deepest respect for the Crystal Cathedral ministry."
Brown also said, without elaborating, that the inside of the cathedral will be renovated to accommodate Catholic worship.
He said that the diocese will pay for the cathedral with loans and the sale of other property, and that the diocese had met all of its obligations from sexual abuse cases. "I don't think we are neglecting victims or victim's claims," he said.
James L. Doti, president of Chapman University, said he was disappointed but thought the judge's decision was fair. "Oftentimes it's not the way you want it to go," he said, adding that there are no plans to appeal.
Among the questions is what will happen to the Crystal Cathedral ministry now led by Schuller's daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman. The church has been in a downward slide for years, culminating in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October 2010, when it cited more than $50 million in debt.
The ensuing months saw a lot of on-again, off-again plans by which the church would sell to a real estate developer, the Catholic Church or Chapman, or dig itself out with a "miracle" fundraising campaign. The campaign raised only $173,000 by the end of September.
It didn't help that the Schullers appeared tone deaf at times to their own lives of apparent privilege, as when the church recently asked for food donations for Schuller's ailing wife — and said the items would be delivered to her in a limousine.
The reporters obviously don"t know Bishop Brown well when they write:
"the Crystal Cathedral, a monument to modernism in faith and architecture"
- the new cathedral may be a monument to "modernism" but it won't be the architectural style but rather the Modernism condemned in the "Syllabus of Errors!"
likewise when they write:
"the conversion of his sleekly modern masterpiece in Garden Grove, a place where fresh breezes blow through open walls and church services feature talk-show-style interviews, into a Catholic cathedral redolent of incense and ancient ritual."
Is any liturgy Bishop Brown controls "redolent of incense and ancient ritual?"
Posted by Loyolalaw98 on Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
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Seth wins Harbourfront Festival Prize
Organizers at the International Festival of Authors have named cartoonist and graphic novelist Seth the winner of the 2011 Harbourfront Festival Prize. The $10,000 prize honours an individual whose work has substantially contributed to the state of literature and books.
According to a press release issued by the Harbourfront Centre, the jury — John van Driel, vice-president of programming and operations at Classical 96.3FM; Denise Donlon, former executive director at CBC Radio; and Geoffrey Taylor, director at IFOA — selected Seth based on the “diversity and range of his illustrations and designs” throughout his career.
In the statement, Seth says a few decades ago he couldn’t have envisioned the acceptance of comics in the literary world, that “the idea of winning something like this was not within the realm of possibilities,” and so “it goes without saying that I am deeply honoured.” Past winners of the prize include Dionne Brand, Wayson Choy, Paul Quarrington, Jane Urquhart, and recent Q&Q cover profile Guy Vanderhaeghe.
Seth will receive the prize at an IFOA event in Toronto on Oct. 29.
Margaret MacMillan to receive $10,000 Harbourfront Festival Prize
By Natalie Samson
Category: Awards, Book news
Tagged with: Authors at Harbourfront, Awards, CBC, CLA, comics and graphica, design, Dionne Brand, Geoffrey Taylor, Harbourfront Festival Prize, IFOA, Jane Urquhart, Paul Quarrington, Seth, Toronto, Wayson Choy
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Nostalgia for an Unknown Land
I Am My Family
Rafael Goldchain
Rafael Goldchain is a well-respected Canadian photographer. His photographs are included in the collections of major museums including the National Gallery of Canada, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, the Museum of Modern Art, the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y Las Artes (México), and the Biblioteca Nacional de Chile.
Goldchain was born in 1953 of Polish-Jewish heritage in Santiago, Chile and educated in Jerusalem, Israel before moving to Toronto. He earned a Master of Arts in Art History (University of Toronto, 2017), a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts (York University, 2000) and a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Photographic Studies (Ryerson University 1980).
Goldchain’s roots in Chile and México drew him to work in México and Central America in the 1980s and 1990s. This prolific period yielded works that enlisted portraiture and personal documentary to stage a vision-from-exile of diverse lands and cultures convulsed by conflict and rapid change. Nostalgia for an Unknown Land, as the work came to be known, received praise from critics, curators and collectors and was exhibited across Canada, in the US, México, Cuba, and Chile. Photographs from this body of work were purchased and exhibited by the Museum of Modern Art, NY, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Canada Council Art Bank, and by corporate and private collections. A limited-edition monograph of the same title was published in 1989 by Lumiere Press (Toronto).
In the late 1990s and early 2000s Goldchain moved into the studio to stage a series of self-portraits of himself as his ancestors, many lost in the Holocaust, and many who spread out over South and Central America in the early 20th century. Collected in a book entitled I Am My Family: Photographic Memories and Fictions (Princeton Architectural Press 2008) these performative images suggest an intimate link between identity, memory, history and photographic portraiture. Images from this body of work have been published in several books including Ho Tam, Frontline (Beijing: Modern Press, 2011), Robert Hirsch, Light and Lens: Photography in the Digital Age (UK, Focal Press, 2012), William Ewing, Face: The New Photographic Portrait (London: Thames and Hudson, 2007) and exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (Toronto), Le Mois de la Photo a Montréal, and the Martin Gropius Bau (Berlin) amongst other Canadian and international galleries.
In recent bodies of work (Beautifully Broken, 2011, and later) Goldchain resorts to architectural and natural subject matter. Conceived as a form of self-portraiture, images of crumbling pillars and tangled shrubs are meditations on aging, beauty, complexity and mortality that seek a balance between vulnerability and strength.
Rafael Goldchain’s distinctions include the Leopold Godowsky Prize in Photography (Photographic Resource Centre at Boston University,1989) and the Duke and Duchess of York Prize in Photography (The Canada Council, 1989). In 2001 Goldchain traveled to Chile and Argentina with Governor General Adrienne Clarkson as part of a Canadian cultural delegation.
Goldchain’s life and work are the subject of a documentary film entitled “Beautifully Broken: The Life and Times of Rafael Goldchain” (TVO, Willing Mind Productions, Vladimir Kabelik, Director 2013). Goldchain is represented by Carole Tanenbaum (Toronto) and Galerie Claude Samuel (Paris).
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Keyword Search This Document
Cover Page ..................................................... (I)
Staff Page ..................................................... (II)
[Opening Remarks] .............................................. [1]
Statements of:
Admiral Stansfield Turner, Director, Central Intelligence Agency;
accompanied by; Frank Laubinger, Office of Technical Services,
Central Intelligence Agency; Al Brody, Office of Inspector
General, Central Intelligence Agency; Ernest Mayerfield, Office
of General Counsel, Central Intelligence Agency, and George
Cary, Legislative Counsel, Central Intelligence Agency......... 8
Philip Goldman, former employee, Central Intelligence Agency..... 50
John Gittinger, former employee, Central Intelligence Agency..... 51
Appendix A.--XVII. Testing and Use of Chemical and
Biological Agents by the Intelligence Community................ 65
Appendix B.--Documents Referring to Discovery of Additional MKULTRA Material...................................... 103
Appendix C.--Documents Referring to Subprojects................ 109
Materials Submitted for the Record:
Psychological Assessments.................................... 17
"Truth" Drugs in Interrogation............................... 25
Construction of Gorman Annex................................. 39
Subproject 54................................................ 41
Drug Testing in Foreign Countries............................ 43
MKSEARCH, OFTEN/CHICKWIT..................................... 169
Employees Terminated Because of Their Participation
in MKULTRA Subproject 3.................................... 170
QKHILLTOP Definition......................................... 171
(III)Keyword Search This Document
More MKULTRA Documents
Documents Archive
ParaScope: Something Strange is Happening!
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You are here: Home / 2017 / Sex Crimes & Human Trafficking
Investigators 6
Paralegals 4
Support Staff 3
The Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Division is comprised of a highly-trained and specialized team of Deputy District Attorneys, District Attorney Investigators, paralegals and secretaries who are all dedicated to the just prosecution of perpetrators of sexual assault and human trafficking crimes. Guided by Division Chief Patrick Espinoza and Assistant Chief Kate Flaherty, the division strives to treat the victims of sexual assaults with compassion, dignity and respect.
Attorneys and staff in this division handled a number of significant cases including prosecutions for sexually-motivated homicide, sexual assaults by strangers, acquaintances or family members, lewd acts with children, non-domestic violence stalking, human trafficking, pimping, pandering, failing to properly register as sexual offenders, indecent exposure and civil commitments of sexually-violent predators.
Human trafficking prosecutions are onfiled primarily in conjunction with pimping and pandering charges. Felons, intent on profiting from this illicit business, seduce vulnerable young women and minors into prostitution throughout San Diego County. In addition to prosecuting offenders, the division works with law enforcement and community-based organizations, which try to rehabilitate victims and re-integrate them back into society. The division has one Deputy District Attorney and two District Attorney Investigators assigned full-time to the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, a multi-agency organization which seeks to disrupt and dismantle human trafficking in the county through a comprehensive, collaborative and regional response.
The division is committed to protecting the community from sexually-violent predators through the pursuing civil commitment petitions resulting in hospitalization and treatment of offenders found to be a substantial danger to the public. The division works to keep the public safe and informed as sexually-violent predators reach the community treatment phase through community notification and public meetings.
Significant cases in 2017 included:
People v. Eduardo Torres
A 74-year old woman was attacked inside her son’s Del Cerro home by a knife-wielding intruder, who gained entry by smashing through the glass doors. The defendant, Eduardo Torres, dragged the elderly woman into a bedroom with the knife to her throat. The defendant then demanded that another woman in the home perform a sexual act while he stabbed the elderly female, severing her carotid artery. Eduardo Torres pleaded guilty to murder with special circumstances and oral copulation and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
People v. John David Sanchez
On February 26, 2016, a 27-year old woman took an Uber home after a night of drinking. The Uber driver, John David Sanchez, raped the victim in the backseat of his car when she passed out during the ride home. During the assault, the victim regained consciousness, pushed the driver off of her, walked home and immediately called police.
During the investigation, the detective discovered that the defendant had sexually-assaulted numerous young girls and saved the video recording of the sexual assaults on his computer. Some of his victims were as young as 12-years-old. The young teens were previously unaware they had been sexually-assaulted because the defendant had rendered them unconscious by providing them Xanax and alcohol. On the day of trial, the defendant pleaded guilty to all 34 charged counts. The judge sentenced the defendant to more than 80 years in state prison.
People v. Jacob Skorniak
On New Year’s Eve 2015, a 21-year old German exchange student was celebrating with friends in Mission Beach. After the group of friends took an Uber to another bar, the victim decided to walk home because she realized she had drank too much. Her next memory after exiting the Uber was being in the passenger seat of a different vehicle where the driver was holding a knife to her. The driver, Jacob Skorniak, drove her to an isolated dark location where he cut off her clothing. Skorniak raped the victim while she cried and begged him not to hurt her. During the assault, her phone inadvertently dialed her father in Germany who heard his daughter being assaulted.
When the case moved forward, the victim went home to Germany and declined to return to the United States for court proceedings. The case proceeded without the victim’s testimony. The defendant was convicted after a jury trial and sentenced to 81 years-to-life in state prison.
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You are here: Home / 2018 / Family Protection
Investigators 15
Paralegals 13
Support Staff 18
The Family Protection Division prosecutes crimes of physical and sexual domestic violence, physical and financial elder abuse, physical and sexual child abuse of children under 14 years of age, animal cruelty, Internet crimes involving children and child abduction. Early intervention is the primary goal of this division in the forms of holding perpetrators accountable with prosecution, protecting victims and the public with a combination of punishment and rehabilitation of offenders, and preventing crime altogether with community outreach, awareness and education. Chief Tracy Prior led the division in 2018 with the help of Assistant Chief Kurt Mechals.
In 2018, the Family Protection Division received and reviewed cases involving 9,242 defendants.
Number of Defendants Charged
Internet Crimes Against Children
Today’s misdemeanor can be tomorrow’s homicide. That’s why the District Attorney’s Office has specially-trained Deputy District Attorneys across the county, handling felony and misdemeanor domestic violence cases from the earliest stages. Having the same prosecutor handle domestic violence cases from beginning to end ensures better courtroom efficiency, increased perpetrator accountability, and superior victim support.
The District Attorney’s Office launched the Preventing Repeat Domestic Violence Initiative, which received funding in late 2017 from the United States Department of Justice. This initiative allows a team of prosecutors, investigators, crime analysts and researchers to work together to develop and evaluate data-driven interventions for high risk and repeat domestic violence offenders.
Additionally, the Family Protection Division continues to fine-tune the ongoing implementation of the Countywide Domestic Violence Strangulation Protocol, which was implemented in 2017. As noted in the 2017 Annual Report, this vital protocol raises criminal justice system awareness of the seriousness and dangers surrounding strangulation and promotes more effective investigation and prosecution of strangulation and suffocation cases. The District Attorney’s office has already seen a marked increase in quality strangulation case investigations and a spike in the issuance rate of these potentially lethal cases.
In 2018, the District Attorney’s Office continued its leadership in multiple “High Risk Teams” across the county. These teams were created in 2011 to collaboratively respond to the needs of individuals and their dependents experiencing intimate partner violence that are at high risk for lethality. These multi-disciplinary teams, led by the DA’s Office, consist of local police agencies, Department of Probation, SART nurses, the City Attorney’s Office and community based social service agencies that meet regularly to assist victims with safety planning, resource and support.
The Domestic Violence Stalking and Homicide Prevention Team continued its important efforts now it its third year since the team’s inception. The team consists of a prosecutor, District Attorney Investigator, Paralegal and Victim Advocate. They work with law enforcement to build stalking cases and work with victims to provide resources and safety planning. The team meets bi-monthly and discusses cases suited for stalking investigation and focused prosecutorial efforts.
In 2018, the Elder Abuse Unit transitioned after renowned elder abuse expert and Unit Chief Paul Greenwood announced his retirement after 25 years with the District Attorney’s Office. Nevertheless, the unit continues its commitment to elder abuse victims as well as improving the overall quality of life of our county’s senior citizens under the leadership of Deputy District Attorney Scott Pirrello. On March 1, 2018, the District Attorney’s Office held the San Diego County Summit on Elder Abuse and Neglect, which brought together a wide variety of partners in the criminal justice field and the community. During the Summit, the “San Diego County Elder and Dependent Adult Blueprint” was launched. This groundbreaking blueprint is a comprehensive document that commits San Diego County to a coordinated community response to Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse by outlining best practices for law enforcement response, investigation, and prosecution of elder abuse cases.
Additionally, the District Attorney’s Office worked with our partners in San Diego County Health and Human Services as well as the private sector to create the Elder Protection Council, a new multi-disciplinary team of local, state and federal partners who work towards combatting all issues related to elder abuse within San Diego County.
The Elder Abuse Unit continued its commitment to community outreach and responded to the continued requests for outreach at events around the region and in facilities serving our seniors. These numerous speaking engagements allowed the unit to continue educating the public and specifically, our elder population to prevent them from becoming the next victim of elder abuse.
Child abuse, whether physical or sexual, is one of the most insidious of crimes. From a prosecution standpoint, proving child abuse is often complicated by the fact victims are often non-verbal or have limited communication skills. Babies cannot explain their bruises. Young children often do not report sexual abuse whether because they do not know it is wrong, they do not think adults will believe them over the abuser, they blame themselves, or because they do not want to upset their loved ones. This is precisely why the Family Protection Division is staffed with well-trained prosecutors who are versed in child abuse case dynamics, and possess the full range of skills needed to communicate with young children, when possible, and understand physical and medical evidence to find ways this type of evidence, often using it to speak for the children.
The District Attorney’s Office fights for children in a variety of ways. In addition to child abuse, the Family Protection Division assists in locating children who have been abducted by a parent. The District Attorney’s Child Abduction Unit finds and recovers children who go missing as a result of a parental abduction, and helps ensure that child custody court orders are enforced. The unit handles both domestic and international cases, helping to recover children taken from and wrongfully brought to San Diego County.
In 2018, the Child Abduction Unit opened 113 new cases and successfully recovered a total of 71 children, handling both domestic and international matters, including 17 cases subject to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The District Attorney’s Office is committed to aggressively prosecuting cases of child exploitation on the Internet. Several Deputy District Attorneys are assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a dedicated group of local, state, and federal law-enforcement officers and prosecutors dedicated in combating this exploitation. The joint effort by this group of dedicated professionals ensures those committing internet crimes against children are held accountable.
One example of the type of cases this task force prosecutes is People v. Andrew Desoto. In this case, a 30-year-old defendant directly messaged a 13-year-old victim via Facebook Messenger. Within a matter of days, the defendant asked to meet with the victim, engaged in sexual explicit conversations and sent sexually explicit photos of himself. The victim’s older brother discovered the conversations and told their mother, who reported it to law enforcement. The detective on the case assumed the victim’s online persona and arranged a meeting with the defendant. When the defendant showed up at the designated meeting spot, he was placed under arrest. The defendant ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in state prison.
In addition to investigating and prosecuting Internet predators and offenders, this task force actively participates in outreach to schools and parents, educating the community on Internet safety.
Animal Cruelty Unit
Recognizing the significant connection between animal abuse and other violent crimes, in May of 2018 the District Attorney’s Office created the Animal Cruelty Unit to provide a streamlined and consistent approach to animal abuse cases. This unit works closely with law enforcement and animal advocacy groups to investigate these crimes.
Cruelty to animals can be horrific and may also be an early indicator of a batterer increasing his or her power and control over a victim. It is estimated that 70 percent of people who are prosecuted for other crimes have a record of animal cruelty, with an especially strong link to those who commit child abuse and domestic violence.
Significant cases in 2018 include:
People v. Uriel Leon – Domestic Violence Murder
Leon and the victim had an on and off romantic relationship for seven years and shared two toddler sons. The couple separated and the defendant went to live with his parents. On date of the crime, the victim dropped off the children with the defendant and went to work. When she returned to pick them up, Leon met her outside and placed their two-year-old son in her car. He then confronted the victim about her seeing another man. In his rage, he got into the back seat of the car and strangled the mother of his children to death with a nylon cord in front of their son. The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 26 years to life in state prison.
People v. Brett Brown – Physical Child Abuse Murder
This case involves the murder of a little boy – just 20 months old, who was found unresponsive and taken to Rady Children’s Hospital. Despite intense lifesaving measures, the child died at the hospital. During the autopsy, forensic pathologists discovered multiple skull fractures, massive hemorrhages inside his head, neck and eyes as well as fractures to his left arm and right leg. The defendant, who was the mother’s boyfriend, was the only adult home with the child at the time of injury and provided varying explanations as to what occurred to the little boy. At the trial, he claimed he accidentally dropped the child and fell on top of him. Medical experts testified that none of the defendant’s proposed explanations were possible given the child’s injuries. A jury convicted Brown of murder and assault of a child under the age of 8 resulting in death. The defendant is now serving 25 years to life in state prison.
People v. Damon Edwarda – Domestic Violence Murder
The defendant and the victim had been in a relationship and living together for four years. One morning, the victim prepared breakfast for her two young children and then took food upstairs to her bedroom for the Edwarda. Shortly thereafter, he rushed out of the apartment and told the children not to go upstairs. But they did and they found their mother face down and covered in blood. By the time paramedics responded, the victim was dead. She suffered five stab wounds, a broken arm, a depressed skull fracture and a brain bleed. A jury convicted the defendant of second-degree murder and child abuse. He is currently serving a sentence of 16 years to life in prison.
People v. Victor Mendez – Sexual Child Abuse
The defendant molested his three granddaughters for six years. The abuse came to light when the 12-year-old girl disclosed the abuse to her friend at recess. The school was then notified and a social worker followed up. Soon thereafter, it was discovered that the defendant had been molesting two other granddaughters as well. The jury convicted the defendant of 16 counts of child molestation and he is now serving 45 years to life in prison.
People v. Matthew Tague – Sexual Child Abuse
This defendant was a popular pastor at a Carlsbad church. He was married for 20 years, had three grown children and adopted three foster children with his wife. One day, the defendant’s wife walked into their 13-year-old daughter’s room and saw the defendant getting up off of the bed and their daughter in bed with her shirt up with her stomach exposed. Subsequently, the defendant admitted to his wife and to law enforcement that he had been molesting his daughter for over a year. The defendant ultimately pleaded guilty to committing forcible lewd acts on his daughter. He is now serving 15 years in state prison.
People v. Theodore Guenther – Physical Elder Abuse Murder
The defendant, a diagnosed schizophrenic who was not taking his medication, attacked his 69-year-old mother by nearly bludgeoning her to death with a metal rod. The defendant pleaded guilty to attempted murder among other charges prior to trial. He was sentenced to state prison for 19 years and four months.
People v. Leona Parsons – Financial Elder Abuse
This case involved the ultimate violation of trust by a personal banker working for a major international bank. The defendant ingratiated herself to several elderly clients who came into the bank. Over the course of several years, she stole nearly $300,000 from these elderly victims by fraudulently inflating their withdrawal slips and pocketing the difference in over 100 transactions. Parsons pleaded guilty to multiple counts of theft from an elder adult and was sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison.
People v. William Sutton – Physical Elder Abuse Murder
William Sutton befriended a lonely 92-year-old woman while at McDonald’s. Within a few months, he moved in with her and began to work as her unofficial caregiver in exchange for free room and board. The victim in this case, a close friend of the elderly woman, saw through defendant’s sham as a caregiver and did not get along with him. On April 16, 2016, the victim left the defendant and her friend’s house after a visit. When she realized she had left her sunglasses on the kitchen counter, she returned to her friend’s house and encountered the defendant who was in a foul mood. He slammed the door on the victim’s face, grabbed her through the screen door as she struggled to hang on to the railing outside and yanked her into the kitchen. He then hurled her backward, head first, through the screen door onto the concrete porch, a few feet below. The victim managed to pick herself up and stagger down the hill back to her home. Unfortunately, due to her injuries, the victim’s condition declined quickly and two years later she died from the assault. Sutton was found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder and elder abuse causing death. He was sentenced to 15-years-to life in state prison.
Prevention and Community Awareness
The Family Protection Division is dedicated to crime prevention and increased community awareness. The District Attorney’s Office collaborated with the San Diego Domestic Violence Council and other partners to conduct trainings throughout the year on a variety of domestic violence topics. The District Attorney’s’ Office continued its community outreach programs in partnership with the County Department of Health and Human Services with grant funding from the California Office of Emergency Services. Under this grant, the programs serve victims of human trafficking, child abuse, elder and dependent adult abuse, domestic violence, sexual assaults and other crimes.
In October 2018, in conjunction with national Domestic Violence Awareness month, the District Attorney’s Office launched the Now is the Time domestic violence awareness campaign in partnership with the San Diego Domestic Violence Counsel. The campaign, funded by a grant from the California Office of Emergency Services, provided the community with a better understanding of how to recognize domestic violence and possible responses therefrom. More than 60 billboards were displayed across San Diego County directed at domestic violence victims, offenders and those witnesses of domestic violence. Additionally, wallet cards and postcards, in English and Spanish, were provided to community organizations for distribution.
The District Attorney’s Office also worked closely with the County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team. This team tracks and reviews domestic violence related homicides in order to identify system improvements and make recommendations for needed programs, awareness efforts, training and policy updates in San Diego. The goal is to ultimately eradicate domestic violence related murders.
Finally in September of 2018, the District Attorney’s Office conducted outreach on mandated reporting targeted at school districts throughout San Diego County. This outreach helps ensure that some of our most vulnerable victims are being heard and supported by educating on how the reporting of these sensitive cases be done in an appropriate and timely manner.
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Papers of Abraham Lincoln Digital Library
State Bank of Indiana
The Indiana General Assembly chartered the State Bank of Indiana on January 28, 1834 in response to the state's shortage of capital caused by President Andrew Jackson's war on the Second Bank of the United States. Modelled after the Bank of the United States, the bank was to consist of one parent bank in Indianapolis and ten branches. The parent bank would have no capital under its immediate authority. Each branch had an initial capitalization of $160,000, the money to be raised by selling of stock at $50 per share. The state would purchase half the shares and the public half. The charter was to run for twenty-five years, with no other bank or financial institution to be chartered or allowed in the state during that time. In February 1834, the directors established branches in Indianapolis, Lawrenceburg, Richmond, Madison, New Albany, Vincennes, Bedford, Terre Haute, and Lafayette. In November 1834, the bank opened for business. The directors added branches in Fort Wayne in 1835, and in South Bend and Michigan City in 1836. Until its closure in 1859, the bank allowed the state to finance internal improvements, stabilize its currency, and promote private economic growth and development.
Jacob Piatt Dunn, Indiana and Indianians (Chicago and New York: American Historical Society, 1919), 1:412-19; Horace White, Money and Banking: Illustrated by American History, 3rd ed. (Boston: Ginn, 1908), 333-38; "An Act Establishing a State Bank," 28 January 1834, Charter of the State Bank of Indiana, with its Amendments, and Other Laws Affecting the Bank; and the Laws on the Subject of the Sinking Fund (Indianapolis: Chapmans and Spann, 1849), 3-34; "An Act Amendatory of an Act, Entitled 'An Act Establishing a State Bank,' Approved January 28, 1834," 25 January 1836, Charter of the State Bank of Indiana, 35-38.
Museum Links
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Administration and Staff Directory Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation Library Webmaster: [email protected]
State Phone Directory
Illinois privacy Info
Bruce Rauner, Governor © 2018 State of Illinois
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Resolution on Commitment to Safe and Equitable Work and Educational Conditions
Recent attention to gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the sciences, including the social sciences, reminds us of the importance of adhering to standards of ethical and professional behavior. Our Code of Ethics specifically states that:
To our social colleagues we have the responsibility to not engage in actions that impede their reasonable professional activities.
To our students, interns, or trainees, we owe nondiscriminatory access to our training services.
These responsibilities are inclusive of a commitment to providing safe and equitable environments for anthropological, and more broadly social scientific, inquiry and work. Experts in the fields of gender discrimination and sexual harassment offer presentations at the Society’s annual meetings and publish in the Society’s journals. We encourage members who are interested in learning more about ways of promoting safe and equitable work and educational conditions to reach out to other Society members for information, consultation, and referrals. The Society sponsors a Topic Interest Group devoted to the study of gender-based violence, and Society members are encouraged to contact the Gender-Based Violence Topical Interest Group for 1) scholarship related to gender discrimination and sexual harassment and/or 2) instructional material to support accessible work and educational settings for all.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Society for Applied Anthropology is committed to supporting and encouraging safe and equitable work and educational conditions for our members.
SfAA Statement on Concealed Carry Laws
The SfAA is deeply concerned about the impact of recent Concealed Carry laws on freedom of expression in university classrooms and other settings. These laws allow licensed handgun carriers to bring concealed handguns into buildings on campuses. Our society is concerned that Concealed Carry laws undermine academic freedom and the teaching and research missions of universities, and that they introduce serious safety threats on college campuses with a resulting harmful effect on students, faculty and staff.
Please tell us what you think about "concealed carry" on college and university campuses. http://community.sfaa.net/profiles/blogs/sfaa-resolution-on-concealed-weapons
SfAA Statement on Diversity and Respect
We as members of the Board of the Society for Applied Anthropology affirm our ongoing commitment to value human diversity in all its myriad forms and to encourage all of our members to provide safety and basic human rights for everyone.
Anthropological perspective and practice are grounded in respect for all persons, civility, and thoughtful examination of ideas and policies. It is especially critical at times of uncertainty and change.
We recognize a common responsibility to support community members who may feel threatened and to counter hostility toward immigrants and other marginalized groups.
We pledge to continue to exercise and guard academic freedoms to examine and address such issues as perpetuation of inequalities and policies that oppress or degrade.
We urge involvement of everyone in learning and working together to create positive social change, promote humane understandings, and encourage a variety of shared actions to further these goals.
Statement on Violence in Charlottesville, Virginia
The Society for Applied Anthropology strongly condemns the violence generated by racist hate groups in Charlottesville, VA. The values of SfAA include dignity, integrity, and worth of all peoples. We reaffirm our ongoing commitment to value human diversity in all its myriad forms, and we endorse the strong statement below issued by Ken Kimmell, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists:
“The racist rallies and bloodshed in Charlottesville this weekend are an echo of the darkest moments in American history. Extremists took to the streets in support of a racist and authoritarian ideology. Now, we have a duty to speak out against that ideology and its consequences. The bigotry and violence that threatened Charlottesville is unacceptable.
The torches, the chants, the weapons and the violence on display by these white supremacists were meant to send a message. They say to black and Latino communities, to immigrants and to religious minorities: you are not safe here, you do not belong here. Our leaders, and all of civil society, need to be loud and clear as they reject that message. We must stand in solidarity with those targeted by the forces of bigotry that rose in Charlottesville. We need to be on the side of equity, inclusion and justice, not racism and terror. …”
According to its founding principles of using social science knowledge and methods for the well-being for all of humanity in its diversity and fostering cross-cultural and racial understanding, the Society for Applied Anthropology strongly condemns the violent demonstrations held in Charllotteville, Virginia, USA. Such hate filled rhetoric and action directed against minorities in American Society should not be tolerated and we as social scientists will continue in our work to combat it.
Alexander (Sandy) Ervin
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From Site Selection magazine, July 2019
Some Kettle of Fish
RAS Aquaculture promises seafood for a hungry world. It also invites public scrutiny.
by GARY DAUGHTERS
Already the largest producer of America’s favorite fish, Maine’s annual output of 35 million pounds of salmon could more than triple in the coming years, if two land-based aquaculture ventures now in the works deliver what they promise. Together, Norway’s Nordic Aquafarms and Maine-based Whole Oceans, expect one day to account for more than 15% of the domestic U.S. salmon supply.
The aquaculture projects represent a combined half-billion dollars in capital investment in two nearby towns on Penobscot Bay, about 100 miles (160 km.) northeast of Portland. Belfast and Bucksport, 23 miles (37 km.) apart and largely abandoned by heavy industry, find themselves at the leading edge of a food technology that could provide huge amounts of protein, sustainably, to a hungry planet.
“We really do think that this is transformative not only for the region, not only for the state, but just in the way we feed people,” says Peter DelGreco, president and CEO of Maine & Company, a privately funded statewide economic development organization.
DelGreco adds that the advanced RAS (recirculating aquaculture systems) technology underpinning both projects will produce healthy salmon that, unlike those raised in ocean pens, will not have been exposed to mercury, plastics or antibiotics. Indoor farming could preserve wild fish. It could reduce the industry’s carbon footprint by blunting imports, now 90% percent of America’s salmon supply.
Quite a lot, say opponents in one of the two towns.
Big Ambitions
Nordic Aquafarms, headquartered in Fredrikstad, Norway, announced plans last year to spend up to $500 million in the coastal Maine town of Belfast to build a three-tank indoor salmon farm measuring three times the size of an Olympic pool. By investment, it’s Maine’s biggest private project in memory.
At full production, Nordic expects to raise 66 million pounds of salmon a year. RAS, never deployed at such scale, operates by a complex process of recirculating water through a purification system. With a projected 100 full-time workers, Nordic would become one of the top 10 employers in Belfast.
Marianne Naess, commercial director for Nordic Farms, Inc. says the company already raises salmon using RAS technology at an indoor location in Fredrikstad and at another in Denmark. As they develop in a completely controlled, indoor environment, RAS-raised salmon can go from eggs to mature product in two years, about half the time required for pen-raised salmon.
“This is high-quality fish,” says Naess. “They exercise 24/7 in the tank and develop great firmness and texture. No medications, no antibiotics, no GMO.”
Naess tells Site Selection that Nordic looked to the U.S. because it wanted to get closer to its customers. She says plentiful water supplies were crucial to site selection.
“We need access to clean seawater and clean freshwater,” says Naess. “So, we have to be close to the ocean, and it has to be free of pollution. It has to be a constructable site of sufficient size and access. And we have to be in a place,” Naess say, “where we can recruit people. That brought us to Maine. There’s a great fishing tradition here, and Maine is a great brand in the seafood world.”
While Nordic plans to build its facility from the ground up, on 50 acres (20 hectares) about 300 feet (90 m.) across a road from Penobscot Bay, Whole Oceans was drawn to a structure already standing: Bucksport’s former Verso paper mill, which closed in 2014 with the loss of 570 jobs.
Jennifer Fortier, outreach and development associate at Whole Oceans, Inc., says the company’s long-term plans include expanding into other locations that, combined, could produce up to 50 million pounds of salmon a year, with 20 million pounds coming from Bucksport.
“Our goal over the next 15 to 20 years,” Fortier tells Site Selection, “is 10% of the U.S. market. It’s not just all at the Bucksport site. We would consider other sites in the region whether it’s Maine or somewhere else, as well as the West Coast.”
One of the Bucksport site’s key benefits is its pre-existing water intake system, which spares Whole Oceans hefty construction costs, and, importantly, permitting issues. Whole Oceans says it can draw up to 72 million gallons of brackish water a day from the Penobscot River and 18 million gallons of freshwater from a nearby lake. The Bucksport site, not insignificantly, was passed over by Nordic.
In May, Whole Oceans completed its purchase of the former Verso property, a significant step forward that marked the culmination of months of negotiations and the extensive permitting process. The company hopes to break ground later this year.
“The progress on the Whole Oceans project in Bucksport, Maine, is exceeding expectations," Jason Mitchell, president of Whole Oceans, said in a released statement. “It’s amazing what can be achieved when the community, local business and government collaborate toward common goals. Advances in permitting, site diligence, design and construction planning really highlight the opportunity that this project delivers.”
Mitchell continued, “Bucksport is an optimal location for this type of operation, and we are looking forward to a long-term relationship with the town of Bucksport, and to making this community a world leader in our industry.”
A Rocky Reception
For Nordic Aquafarms in Belfast, things have not proceeded as smoothly. Facing unexpected opposition, the project is well behind schedule and potentially in doubt. Now hoping to break ground in 2020, Nordic has had to hunker down on the defensive.
“We’ve put so much investment and effort into it that I don’t thinks it’s time to give up right now,” says Naess. “But, you know, I certainly wish some of the dialogue had been different.”
The first hint of trouble came in April 2018, when several dozen citizens turned up for 5-0 city council vote in favor of Nordic’s request to re-zone its selected property for industrial use. The locals came with questions about the size of the project, the technology and the effects on Penobscot Bay. At increasingly tense, New England-style town hall meetings, some attended by Nordic President Erik Heim, opposition appeared to gel as questions became more pointed: What about water and energy usage? Waste discharge? Fish food? Smell? What about traffic, chemicals, jobs and aesthetics?
Naess says 90% of Belfast supports the Nordic project. She and others point to the fact that three city council candidates, all of whom ran to block the farm, were roundly defeated in November. But opponents have proved to be persistent, well-funded and social media savvy. They’ve gummed up the permitting process, including repeatedly challenging Nordic’s application to pipe fish waste into Penobscot Bay. A lawsuit alleging that the city cut corners in re-zoning the Nordic site has cost Belfast tens of thousands of dollars. The Penobscot Pilot reported in late June that that evidence submitted in the case, which still is in discovery, has come to fill two two-inch binders.
“I had expected some opposition, but not this much,” Thomas Kittredge, Belfast economic development director, tells Site Selection. “I certainly didn’t expect us to get sued. ”
Asked about the contrast to the welcome mat extended to Whole Oceans in Bucksport, Kittredge notes that the site of the former Verso mill was zoned industrial already, and people are long accustomed to seeing it. The Nordic site, by contrast, sits on greenspace owned by the Belfast Water District that some residents treat as parkland.
“It’s going to look different than it currently does,” Kittredge says.
Elizabeth Ransom is principal, senior project manager and senior geologist for Ransom Consulting Engineers and Scientists, which aided Nordic in the site selection process. Ransom says her team was engaged by Nordic spring 2017 after the company, using its own market research, had narrowed its site search from both U.S. coasts to the East Coast region stretching from Virginia to Canada. Using geographic information systems and databases, Ransom says the team looked at “thousands” of sites before eventually narrowing in on Maine. Among a dozen or so potential sites there, Nordic officials briefly considered the former Verso Mill in Bucksport, where Whole Oceans is off to a far smoother start.
“At the time,” says Ransom, “their feeling was that it wasn’t matching some of their site needs. We kind of did a drive-by, but it wasn’t something that was walked around.”
People close to the project say that, had Nordic selected property that was privately owned, the process might have gotten off the ground more smoothly. They say that with the Water District being a quasi-public entity, the deal was subject to public scrutiny from the beginning.
“The moment you start saying I want to negotiate a potential purchase and sale agreement, you are in the public element,” says Ransom. “You may not have completed all your studies, and yet the public is involved because there’s a review process. You’re having to engage with the public, who very much want to know what your plans are, before you necessarily have that defined."
Gary Daughters
Gary Daughters is a Peabody Award winning journalist who began with Site Selection in 2016. Gary has worked as a writer and producer for CNN covering US politics and international affairs. His work has included lengthy stints in Washington, DC and western Europe. Gary is a 1981 graduate of the University of Georgia, where he majored in Journalism and Mass Communications. He lives in Atlanta with his teenage daughter, and in his spare time plays guitar, teaches golf and mentors young people.
U.S.-Mexico Border: Biggest Energy Park. Ever.
Food & Beverage: Some Kettle of Fish
Departments: World Reports
ONLINE INSIDER: Almost, But Not Quite (Apr 25, 2019)
CALLING ALL CHEFS: The City of Fishers, Indiana, has launched a search for chefs who will become the first occupants of its restaurant accelerator, the Fishers Test Kitchen. (Apr 24, 2019)
IDAHO: No Small Potatoes (Aug 23, 2018)
FOOD AND BEVERAGE: When You Say Bud (Jul 16, 2018)
CRAFT BEER: Coming of Age (Jan 9, 2018)
NORTHWEST OHIO: What's for Dinner? (Dec 21, 2017)
FOOD & BEVERAGE: Fresh Approaches (Jul 27, 2017)
OKLAHOMA'S FOOD TRUCK SCENE: Food on the Move (Jan 8, 2016)
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Editorial | Open | Published: 03 September 2004
Mohmmar Qadaffi, Open Access, and Retrovirology
Kuan-Teh Jeang1
Retrovirology has been publishing as an Open Access online journal for approximately six months. In this editorial, I review the reasons for and the advantages of Open Access publishing, update our progress to date, and summarize where we intend to go with this journal.
Qadaffi's lesson
Thirty-five years ago, on September 1st, 1969, I was an eleven year old boy living with my family in Benghazi, Libya. That morning, I awoke to an eerie silence. The normally bustling traffic outside of our apartment in a busy suburb of Benghazi was not to be heard. In fact, there was to be little or no traffic for the next several days. History will recount that day as the first day of Mohmmar Qadaffi's bloodless coup d'etat, seizing power in Libya.
What I learned that September week in 1969 was that access to and distribution of information tipped the fate of a state. On that September day, there were in fact two groups of army officers vying to overthrow the then enfeebled Libyan King Idris. Qadaffi, at the time only twenty-seven years old, headed a small group of very junior officers. He, however, had a bold and swift strategy. His first targets were not the dams, the power stations, the police stations...; but the radio stations (in 1969 television had a very minor penetrance in Libya) and newspapers. By dint of controlling the airwaves and printing presses and by freely distributing his information during time of chaos, Qadaffi held sway over the minds and the sentiments of the populace. He was thus able to pre-empt the efforts of a larger competing group of more senior army officers.
What does Qadaffi's story have to do with Open Access publishing? Imagine how the outcome might have been different in 1969 if broadcast radio was not freely and openly accessible by the masses but was an expensive subscription service limited to a few. In that setting, and perhaps in all settings, information that reaches a little audience at a steep cost is information with little effect.
Retrovirology, freely and openly accessible by all
Curiously, the force that drives a coup d'etat is the same that motivates scientists to publish (although I am not suggesting that scientists are like Qadaffi). As scientists, we want everyone who is interested to read what we have done; and ideally we want that information to get to the widest audience in the fastest, most informative, and least expensive manner. Until now, ideal and reality were two entirely different matters. Traditional publishing in print journals reaches a limited audience, is slow, bulky, and expensive. By its very nature (i.e. pages of paper are heavy to mail and expensive to print), there is a real impetus on the part of print publishers to restrict the space available to authors. We are all too familiar with the results: abbreviated presentation of methods and text, the necessity to "inadvertently" not cite many colleagues' publications, and the ubiquitous use of microscopic figure panels that provoke blurred vision and headaches. I daresay that many after having read a short "letter" or a "brief definitive" report have been left scratching heads and wondering how the experiments were done, where did the vectors come from, and why many controls were definitely missing.
For the retrovirology community, Retrovirology aims to change such "reality". Retrovirology is published by BioMed Central, an independent publisher committed to ensuring immediate free access to peer-reviewed biomedical research. Retrovirology is Open Access which means that it is universally and freely available online to everyone. You as the author retain copyright, and your paper is guaranteed to be archived in at least one internationally recognised repository [1]. More importantly, publishing in Retrovirology is rapid. For example, a full research article was reviewed and published in less than 20 days [2]; and a review article was similarly processed in 8 days [3]. Retrovirology will also give you all the space and all the colored prints (at no extra charge) to present your findings informatively and attractively. If we don't publish your paper, we will tell you honestly what is scientifically deficient about your work. I promise not to obfuscate myself using annoyingly belittling mantra that my editorial decision was guided by "intense competition for space".
Judge a book by its cover?
This is my second editorial for Retrovirology readers [4]. Retrovirology has been publishing on-line now for 6 months. While a first editorial can speak of dreams and aspirations, the burden of a second editorial is to demonstrate results and progress. Aided by an international cohort of extremely capable editors (Monsef Benkirane, Ben Berkhout, Masahiro Fujii, Michael Lairmore, Andrew Lever, and Mark Wainberg) and sixty editorial board members [5], I am indeed encouraged and gratified by Retrovirology's initial achievements. As of this writing, we have published 22 papers. These are good papers; and importantly, these papers are being widely-read. I can say with some pride that half (11 out of 22; see Table 1) of our published papers have been read more than 1,000 times each. The remaining papers are not far behind; our most recently published paper, barely 1 week on-line, has already had more than 200 readers. Given that retrovirology is a relatively small community of researchers, my personal experience of twenty years in this field tells me that these are very respectable numbers.
Table 1 Access statistics for the top 11 Retrovirology articles.
Despite that many of you would argue to me that you would rather publish in Cell, Science, and Nature rather than Retrovirology. I wouldn't dispute you on that point. On the other hand, I would ask you to pause and think about a refrain that I am sure all of you have taught your children, "Don't judge a book by its cover!" Please, don't sell your own work short; and please don't belittle the objectivity of your colleagues. If you have a wonderful piece of work, do you truly need the cover of Cell to establish that point? On the other hand, if you have a horrible study, do you think that hiding it behind the cover of Nature would fool many of your colleagues for long? There was a time in the print age when display space on reading room shelves was limited and perhaps justifiably dominated by "the big three". Today, Retrovirology will get your paper listed in PubMed within 48 hours of acceptance for publication. Anyone in this electronic era whose reading habits are not guided by PubMed in one way or another is probably someone who you may not care to read your study. In short, Retrovirology will promise your immediacy of publication and visibility for your work. Your papers will be well-read by your colleagues. Beyond that, I believe, and I think you do too, the impact of your work should rest on its merits and not on our or any other journal's cover.
Open Access is not free lunch
Besides teaching about book covers, I think the other concept that we teach our children is that "There is no free lunch!" At the end of the day, anything worth doing has a price tag. I, my colleague editors, and all the editorial board members at Retrovirology work for free for the journal. We can do this because we collect a salary elsewhere doing research. On the other hand, we do have a dedicated staff based at the publisher in London. No one would question that the salaries for these professionals as well as other publication costs must be borne. To fund these costs, from October 1, 2004, authors of articles accepted for publication will be asked to pay a single all-inclusive article-processing charge (APC) of US$600; there are no additional charges beyond this sum. Retrovirology will not levy additional page or colour charges on top of this fee. You are free to publish any number of colour figures and photographs, at no extra cost.
I support the need for APC, because without this Retrovirology cannot be published. I think most of you will agree based on your experience with other publishers that US$600 is more than modest and reasonable. As a point of comparison, the Public Library of Science has set up two new Open Access journals, and has set their APCs at US$1500, fully two and one-half times our charge, for each accepted article [6]. Nonetheless, I realize that any APC fee can present an unacceptable financial hardship for some authors. These authors should feel free to contact me in confidence, and I will consider fee-waiver requests on a case-by-case basis.
In closing, let me thank those of you who have read, submitted and reviewed papers for Retrovirology. More than anything else, Retrovirology is not my journal as much as it is your journal. I welcome your advice, and I look forward to hearing from you.
APC:
article-processing charge.
BioMed Central Open Access Charter. [http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/about/charter]
Zhou J, Chen C, Christopher Aiken C: The sequence of the CA-SP1 junction accounts for the differential sensitivity of HIV-1 and SIV to the small molecule maturation inhibitor 3-O-{3',3'-dimethylsuccinyl}-betulinic acid. Retrovirology. 2004, 1: 15-10.1186/1742-4690-1-15.
Greatorex JS: The retroviral RNA dimer linkage: different structures may reflect different roles. Retrovirology. 2004, 1: 22-10.1186/1742-4690-1-22.
Jeang KT: Retrovirology and young Turks... Retrovirology. 2004, 1: 1-10.1186/1742-4690-1-1.
Retrovirology Editorial Board. [http://www.retrovirology.com/edboard/]
Public Library of Science to launch new free-access biomedical journals with $9 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. [http://www.plos.org/news/announce_moore.html]
The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Kuan-Teh Jeang
Search for Kuan-Teh Jeang in:
Correspondence to Kuan-Teh Jeang.
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Tracy Yu-Ping Wang
Associate Professor of Medicine
Associate Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Cardiology, Medicine 2016
Member in the Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Institutes and Centers 2008
Director of Health Services & Outcomes Research, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Institutes and Centers 2018
Duke Box 3850, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC 27710
Duke Clinical Research Institu, 2400 Pratt Street, Durham, NC 27705
tracy.wang@duke.edu (919) 668-8907
M.H.S., Duke University 2008
Fellow in Cardiology, Medicine, Duke University 2004 - 2007
Medical Resident, Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital 2001 - 2004
M.D., Harvard University 2001
M.S., Yale University 1997
Associate Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Cardiology, Medicine 2013 - 2016
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Cardiology, Medicine 2008 - 2013
MAR 12, 2018 Duke Health News
Eliminating Cost Barriers Helps Heart Patients Comply with Drug Regimens
Denmark (Country)
Postdoctoral Training in Cardiovascular Clinical Research awarded by National Institutes of Health 2003 - 2024
Methods for the Design and Conduct of Subgroup Analysis in Observational Studies awarded by Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute 2019 - 2022
Cangrelor in Acute MI: Effectiveness and Outcomes (CAMEO) Registry awarded by Chiesi Farmaceutici SPA 2019 - 2022
Dissemination and Implementation Science in Cardiovascular Outcomes (DISCO) awarded by National Institutes of Health 2017 - 2022
Optimizing anticoagulation dosing and adherence for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (ARISTA) 2018 - 2020
AZ_CLiPPeR: Medication Changes Early after a Myocardial Infarction: Can Patients be Discharged with a 90-day Prescription 2017 - 2019
AZ_CLiPPeR: Association of Net Worth with Cardiovascular Outcomes and Medication Adherence in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction 2017 - 2019
NCDR-ACTION Patient Navigator 2018
ARTEMIS 2015 - 2018
ACC Championing Care Registry 2015 - 2016
Topic Refinement, Task order 8 PCSK9 awarded by Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute 2016
Centers for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research awarded by National Institutes of Health 2010 - 2016
Palm 2015 - 2016
NCDR-ACTION 2008 - 2015
Assessment of Outcomes and Bleeding Complications Following Implantation of DES and DAPT awarded by Food and Drug Administration 2010 - 2013
Duke Cardiovascular CERTs awarded by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2007 - 2012
Ibrahim, Homam, Lisa A. Kaltenbach, Connie N. Hess, Tammy Recchia, Mark B. Effron, Gregg W. Stone, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor use in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing PCI: Insights from the TRANSLATE ACS study..” Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 93, no. 4 (March 1, 2019): E204–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/ccd.27816.
Guimarães, Patrícia O., Pearl Zakroysky, Abhinav Goyal, Renato D. Lopes, Lisa A. Kaltenbach, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Usefulness of Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Acute Myocardial Infarction..” Am J Cardiol 123, no. 1 (January 1, 2019): 12–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2018.09.031.
Navar, Ann Marie, Tracy Y. Wang, Xiaojuan Mi, Jennifer G. Robinson, Salim S. Virani, Veronique L. Roger, Peter W. F. Wilson, Anne C. Goldberg, and Eric D. Peterson. “Influence of Cardiovascular Risk Communication Tools and Presentation Formats on Patient Perceptions and Preferences..” Jama Cardiol, November 7, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2018.3680.
Pagidipati, Neha J., Anne S. Hellkamp, Puza P. Sharma, Tracy Y. Wang, Gregg C. Fonarow, and Michael Pencina. “High-sensitivity C-reactive protein elevation in patients with prior myocardial infarction in the United States..” Am Heart J 204 (October 2018): 151–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2018.07.014.
Verma, Sanam, Padma Kaul, Meng Lin, Justin A. Ezekowitz, David A. Zygun, Christopher B. Fordyce, Tracy Y. Wang, Finlay A. McAlister, and Sean van Diepen. “Acute Coronary Syndromes and Heart Failure Critical Care Units Utilization and Outcomes in Teaching and Community Hospitals: A National Population-Based Analysis..” Can J Cardiol 34, no. 10 (October 2018): 1365–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2018.07.419.
Shavadia, Jay S., Matthew T. Roe, Anita Y. Chen, Joseph Lucas, Alexander C. Fanaroff, Ajar Kochar, Christopher B. Fordyce, et al. “Association Between Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Pre-Activation and Reperfusion Timing Metrics and Outcomes in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Report From the ACTION Registry..” Jacc Cardiovasc Interv 11, no. 18 (September 24, 2018): 1837–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcin.2018.07.020.
Lowenstern, Angela M., Shuang Li, Ann Marie Navar, Veronique L. Roger, Jennifer G. Robinson, Anne C. Goldberg, Salim S. Virani, et al. “Measurement of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels in Primary and Secondary Prevention Patients: Insights From the PALM Registry..” J Am Heart Assoc 7, no. 18 (September 18, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.118.009251.
Rymer, Jennifer A., Anita Y. Chen, Laine Thomas, Judith Stafford, Jonathan R. Enriquez, Abhinav Goyal, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Advanced Practice Provider Versus Physician-Only Outpatient Follow-Up After Acute Myocardial Infarction..” J Am Heart Assoc 7, no. 17 (September 4, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.008481.
O’Brien, Emily C., Shuang Li, Laine Thomas, Tracy Y. Wang, Matthew T. Roe, and Eric D. Peterson. “The impact of clinical vs administrative claims coding on hospital risk-adjusted outcomes..” Clin Cardiol 41, no. 9 (September 2018): 1225–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.23059.
Hess, Connie N., R Kevin Rogers, Tracy Y. Wang, Rao Fu, Jacob Gundrum, Nancy M. Allen LaPointe, and William R. Hiatt. “Major Adverse Limb Events and 1-Year Outcomes After Peripheral Artery Revascularization..” J Am Coll Cardiol 72, no. 9 (August 28, 2018): 999–1011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2018.06.041.
Loh, Joshua P., Li-Ling Tan, Huili Zheng, Yee-How Lau, Siew-Pang Chan, Kelvin-Bryan Tan, Terrance Chua, et al. “First Medical Contact-to-Device Time and Heart Failure Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 11, no. 8 (August 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.118.004699.
Nanna, Michael G., Ann Marie Navar, Pearl Zakroysky, Qun Xiang, Anne C. Goldberg, Jennifer Robinson, Veronique L. Roger, et al. “Association of Patient Perceptions of Cardiovascular Risk and Beliefs on Statin Drugs With Racial Differences in Statin Use: Insights From the Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management Registry..” Jama Cardiol 3, no. 8 (August 1, 2018): 739–48. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2018.1511.
Rasulnia, Mazi, Billy Stephen Burton, Robert P. Ginter, Tracy Y. Wang, Roy Alton Pleasants, Cynthia L. Green, and Njira Lugogo. “Assessing the impact of a remote digital coaching engagement program on patient-reported outcomes in asthma..” J Asthma 55, no. 7 (July 2018): 795–800. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2017.1362430.
Kochar, Ajar, Anita Y. Chen, Puza P. Sharma, Neha J. Pagidipati, Gregg C. Fonarow, Patricia A. Cowper, Matthew T. Roe, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Long-Term Mortality of Older Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction Treated in US Clinical Practice..” J Am Heart Assoc 7, no. 13 (June 30, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.007230.
Basra, Sukhdeep S., Tracy Y. Wang, DaJuanicia N. Simon, Karen Chiswell, Salim S. Virani, Mahboob Alam, Vijay Nambi, et al. “Ticagrelor Use in Acute Myocardial Infarction: Insights From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry..” J Am Heart Assoc 7, no. 12 (June 9, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.008125.
Lowenstern, Angela, Shuang Li, Ann Marie Navar, Salim Virani, L Veronica Lee, Michael J. Louie, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Does clinician-reported lipid guideline adoption translate to guideline-adherent care? An evaluation of the Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management (PALM) registry..” Am Heart J 200 (June 2018): 118–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2018.03.011.
Warraich, Haider J., Lisa A. Kaltenbach, Gregg C. Fonarow, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Adverse Change in Employment Status After Acute Myocardial Infarction: Analysis From the TRANSLATE-ACS Study..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 11, no. 6 (June 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.117.004528.
Fanaroff, Alexander C., Anita Y. Chen, Laine E. Thomas, Karen S. Pieper, Kirk N. Garratt, Eric D. Peterson, L Kristin Newby, et al. “Risk Score to Predict Need for Intensive Care in Initially Hemodynamically Stable Adults With Non-ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction..” J Am Heart Assoc 7, no. 11 (May 25, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.118.008894.
Nanna, Michael G., Ann Marie Navar, Tracy Y. Wang, Xiaojuan Mi, Salim S. Virani, Michael J. Louie, L Veronica Lee, et al. “Statin Use and Adverse Effects Among Adults >75 Years of Age: Insights From the Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management (PALM) Registry..” J Am Heart Assoc 7, no. 10 (May 8, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.118.008546.
Thomas, R. J., G. Balady, G. Banka, T. M. Beckie, J. Chiu, S. Gokak, P. M. Ho, et al. “2018 ACC/AHA Clinical Performance and Quality Measures for Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Performance Measures.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology 71, no. 16 (April 24, 2018): 1814–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2018.01.004.
Fanaroff, Alexander C., Shuang Li, Laura E. Webb, Vincent Miller, Ann Marie Navar, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “An Observational Study of the Association of Video- Versus Text-Based Informed Consent With Multicenter Trial Enrollment: Lessons From the PALM Study (Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management)..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 11, no. 4 (April 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.118.004675.
Navar, Ann Marie, Eric D. Peterson, Shuang Li, Jennifer G. Robinson, Veronique L. Roger, Anne C. Goldberg, Salim Virani, et al. “Prevalence and Management of Symptoms Associated With Statin Therapy in Community Practice: Insights From the PALM (Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management) Registry..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 11, no. 3 (March 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.117.004249.
Effron, Mark B., Tracy Y. Wang, Gregg C. Fonarow, Timothy D. Henry, Marjorie E. Zettler, Brian A. Baker, Lisa A. McCoy, and Eric D. Peterson. “The safety and effectiveness of adenosine diphosphate receptor inhibitor pretreatment among acute myocardial infarction patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention in community practice: Insights from the TRANSLATE-ACS study..” Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 91, no. 2 (February 1, 2018): 242–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/ccd.27145.
Wang, William T., Anne Hellkamp, Jacob A. Doll, Laine Thomas, Ann Marie Navar, Gregg C. Fonarow, Howard M. Julien, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Lipid Testing and Statin Dosing After Acute Myocardial Infarction..” J Am Heart Assoc 7, no. 3 (January 25, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.006460.
Mody, Purav, Tracy Wang, Robert McNamara, Sandeep Das, Shuang Li, Karen Chiswell, Thomas Tsai, et al. “Association of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease with processes of care and long-term outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction..” Eur Heart J Qual Care Clin Outcomes 4, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 43–50. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjqcco/qcx020.
Desai, Nihar R., Kevin F. Kennedy, David J. Cohen, Traci Connolly, Deborah B. Diercks, Mauro Moscucci, Stephen Ramee, John Spertus, Tracy Y. Wang, and Robert L. McNamara. “Contemporary risk model for inhospital major bleeding for patients with acute myocardial infarction: The acute coronary treatment and intervention outcomes network (ACTION) registry®-Get With The Guidelines (GWTG)®..” Am Heart J 194 (December 2017): 16–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2017.08.004.
Hirji, Sameer A., Susanna R. Stevens, Linda K. Shaw, Erin C. Campbell, Christopher B. Granger, Manesh R. Patel, Michael H. Sketch, et al. “Predicting risk of cardiac events among ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients with conservatively managed non-infarct-related artery coronary artery disease: An analysis of the Duke Databank for Cardiovascular Disease..” Am Heart J 194 (December 2017): 116–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2017.08.023.
Angiolillo, Dominick J., Fabiana Rollini, Robert F. Storey, Deepak L. Bhatt, Stefan James, David J. Schneider, Dirk Sibbing, et al. “International Expert Consensus on Switching Platelet P2Y12 Receptor-Inhibiting Therapies..” Circulation 136, no. 20 (November 14, 2017): 1955–75. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.031164.
Fanaroff, Alexander C., Lisa A. Kaltenbach, Eric D. Peterson, Connie N. Hess, David J. Cohen, Gregg C. Fonarow, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Management of Persistent Angina After Myocardial Infarction Treated With Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Insights From the TRANSLATE-ACS Study..” J Am Heart Assoc 6, no. 10 (October 19, 2017). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.007007.
Ibrahim, Homam, Praneet K. Sharma, David J. Cohen, Gregg C. Fonarow, Lisa A. Kaltenbach, Mark B. Effron, Marjorie E. Zettler, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Multivessel Versus Culprit Vessel-Only Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Among Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction: Insights From the TRANSLATE-ACS Observational Study..” J Am Heart Assoc 6, no. 10 (October 5, 2017). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.006343.
Tisminetzky, Mayra, Tracy Y. Wang, Jerry Gurwitz, Lisa A. Kaltenbach, David McManus, Joel Gore, Eric Peterson, and Robert J. Goldberg. “Magnitude and Characteristics of Patients Who Survived an Acute Myocardial Infarction..” J Am Heart Assoc 6, no. 9 (September 25, 2017). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.006373.
Badri, Marwan, Amr Abdelbaky, Shuang Li, Karen Chiswell, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Precatheterization Use of P2Y12 Inhibitors in Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients Undergoing Early Cardiac Catheterization and In-Hospital Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Insights From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry®..” J Am Heart Assoc 6, no. 9 (September 22, 2017). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.006508.
Pagidipati, Neha J., Anne Hellkamp, Laine Thomas, Martha Gulati, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Use of Prescription Smoking Cessation Medications After Myocardial Infarction Among Older Patients in Community Practice..” Jama Cardiol 2, no. 9 (September 1, 2017): 1040–42. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2017.2369.
Vora, Amit N., Tracy Y. Wang, Shuang Li, Karen Chiswell, Connie Hess, Renato D. Lopes, Sunil V. Rao, and Eric D. Peterson. “Selection of Stent Type in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Presenting With Acute Myocardial Infarction: An Analysis From the ACTION (Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network) Registry-Get With the Guidelines..” J Am Heart Assoc 6, no. 8 (August 21, 2017). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.116.005280.
Guimarães, Patricia O., Arun Krishnamoorthy, Lisa A. Kaltenbach, Kevin J. Anstrom, Mark B. Effron, Daniel B. Mark, Patrick L. McCollam, Linda Davidson-Ray, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Accuracy of Medical Claims for Identifying Cardiovascular and Bleeding Events After Myocardial Infarction : A Secondary Analysis of the TRANSLATE-ACS Study..” Jama Cardiol 2, no. 7 (July 1, 2017): 750–57. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2017.1460.
Khazanie, Prateeti, Harlan M. Krumholz, Catarina I. Kiefe, Nancy R. Kressin, Barbara Wells, Tracy Y. Wang, and Eric D. Peterson. “Priorities for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research: A Report of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Centers for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Working Group..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 10, no. 7 (July 2017). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.115.001967.
Neeland, Ian J., Sandeep R. Das, DaJuanicia N. Simon, Deborah B. Diercks, Karen P. Alexander, Tracy Y. Wang, and James A. de Lemos. “The obesity paradox, extreme obesity, and long-term outcomes in older adults with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: results from the NCDR..” Eur Heart J Qual Care Clin Outcomes 3, no. 3 (July 1, 2017): 183–91. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjqcco/qcx010.
Pandey, Ambarish, Harsh Golwala, Hurst M. Hall, Tracy Y. Wang, Di Lu, Ying Xian, Karen Chiswell, et al. “Association of US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital 30-Day Risk-Standardized Readmission Metric With Care Quality and Outcomes After Acute Myocardial Infarction: Findings From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry/Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network Registry-Get With the Guidelines..” Jama Cardiol 2, no. 7 (July 1, 2017): 723–31. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2017.1143.
Fanaroff, Alexander C., Pearl Zakroysky, David Dai, Daniel Wojdyla, Matthew W. Sherwood, Matthew T. Roe, Tracy Y. Wang, et al. “Outcomes of PCI in Relation to Procedural Characteristics and Operator Volumes in the United States..” J Am Coll Cardiol 69, no. 24 (June 20, 2017): 2913–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2017.04.032.
Goldberg, R. J., J. M. Gore, D. D. McManus, R. McManus, M. Tisminetzky, D. Lessard, J. H. Gurwitz, et al. “Race and place differences in patients hospitalized with an acute coronary syndrome: Is there double jeopardy? Findings from TRACE-CORE.” Preventive Medicine Reports 6 (June 1, 2017): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.01.010.
Bagai, Akshay, Eric D. Peterson, Lisa A. McCoy, Mark B. Effron, Marjorie E. Zettler, Gregg W. Stone, Timothy D. Henry, et al. “Association of measured platelet reactivity with changes in P2Y12 receptor inhibitor therapy and outcomes after myocardial infarction: Insights into routine clinical practice from the TReatment with ADP receptor iNhibitorS: Longitudinal Assessment of Treatment Patterns and Events after Acute Coronary Syndrome (TRANSLATE-ACS) study..” Am Heart J 187 (May 2017): 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2017.02.003.
Doll, Jacob A., Dadi Dai, Matthew T. Roe, John C. Messenger, Matthew W. Sherwood, Abhiram Prasad, Ehtisham Mahmud, et al. “Assessment of Operator Variability in Risk-Standardized Mortality Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Report From the NCDR..” Jacc Cardiovasc Interv 10, no. 7 (April 10, 2017): 672–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcin.2016.12.019.
Hess, Connie N., Lisa A. Kaltenbach, Jacob A. Doll, David J. Cohen, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Race and Sex Differences in Post-Myocardial Infarction Angina Frequency and Risk of 1-Year Unplanned Rehospitalization..” Circulation 135, no. 6 (February 7, 2017): 532–43. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.024406.
Bagai, Akshay, Tracy Y. Wang, Shaun G. Goodman, Harold N. Fisher, Robert C. Welsh, Jean-Pierre Dery, Xiang Zhang, et al. “Longitudinal treatment patterns with ADP receptor inhibitors after myocardial infarction: Insights from the Canadian Observational AntiPlatelet sTudy..” Int J Cardiol 228 (February 1, 2017): 459–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.11.240.
Waldron, Nathan H., Torijaun Dallas, Loretta Erhunmwunsee, Tracy Y. Wang, Mark F. Berry, and Ian J. Welsby. “Bleeding risk associated with eptifibatide (Integrilin) bridging in thoracic surgery patients..” J Thromb Thrombolysis 43, no. 2 (February 2017): 194–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11239-016-1441-5.
Wang, William T., Stefan K. James, and Tracy Y. Wang. “A review of sex-specific benefits and risks of antithrombotic therapy in acute coronary syndrome..” Eur Heart J 38, no. 3 (January 14, 2017): 165–71. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehv758.
Pokorney, Sean D., Amy L. Miller, Anita Y. Chen, Laine Thomas, Gregg C. Fonarow, James A. de Lemos, Sana M. Al-Khatib, Eric J. Velazquez, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Reassessment of Cardiac Function and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Use Among Medicare Patients With Low Ejection Fraction After Myocardial Infarction..” Circulation 135, no. 1 (January 3, 2017): 38–47. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.022359.
Fanaroff, Alexander C., Eric D. Peterson, Anita Y. Chen, Laine Thomas, Jacob A. Doll, Christopher B. Fordyce, L Kristin Newby, et al. “Intensive Care Unit Utilization and Mortality Among Medicare Patients Hospitalized With Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction..” Jama Cardiol 2, no. 1 (January 1, 2017): 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2016.3855.
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Sherwood, Matthew W., Stephen D. Wiviott, S Andrew Peng, Matthew T. Roe, James Delemos, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Early clopidogrel versus prasugrel use among contemporary STEMI and NSTEMI patients in the US: insights from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry..” J Am Heart Assoc 3, no. 2 (April 14, 2014). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.114.000849.
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Hess, Connie N., Lisa A. McCoy, Hesha J. Duggirala, Dale R. Tavris, Kathryn O’Callaghan, Pamela S. Douglas, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Sex-based differences in outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction: a report from TRANSLATE-ACS..” J Am Heart Assoc 3, no. 1 (February 7, 2014). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.113.000523.
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Shen, Lan, Eric D. Peterson, Shuang Li, Laine Thomas, Karen Alexander, Ying Xian, Tracy Y. Wang, Matthew T. Roe, Ben He, and Bimal R. Shah. “The association between smoking and long-term outcomes after non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in older patients..” Am Heart J 166, no. 6 (December 2013): 1056–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2013.09.011.
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Anderson, Monique L., Eric D. Peterson, S Andrew Peng, Tracy Y. Wang, E Magnus Ohman, Deepak L. Bhatt, Jorge F. Saucedo, and Matthew T. Roe. “Differences in the profile, treatment, and prognosis of patients with cardiogenic shock by myocardial infarction classification: A report from NCDR..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 6, no. 6 (November 2013): 708–15. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.113.000262.
Fosbol, Emil L., Tracy Y. Wang, Shuang Li, Jonathan Piccini, Renato D. Lopes, Roger M. Mills, Winslow Klaskala, Laine Thomas, Matthew T. Roe, and Eric D. Peterson. “Warfarin use among older atrial fibrillation patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction managed with coronary stenting and dual antiplatelet therapy..” Am Heart J 166, no. 5 (November 2013): 864–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2013.08.005.
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Danford, Christopher P., Ann Marie Navar-Boggan, Judy Stafford, Catherine McCarver, Eric D. Peterson, and Tracy Y. Wang. “The feasibility and accuracy of evaluating lipid management performance metrics using an electronic health record..” Am Heart J 166, no. 4 (October 2013): 701–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2013.07.024.
Miller, Amy Leigh, Kensey Gosch, Stacie L. Daugherty, Saif Rathore, Pamela N. Peterson, Eric D. Peterson, P Michael Ho, et al. “Failure to reassess ejection fraction after acute myocardial infarction in potential implantable cardioverter/defibrillator candidates: insights from the Translational Research Investigating Underlying disparities in acute Myocardial infarction Patients' Health Status (TRIUMPH) registry..” Am Heart J 166, no. 4 (October 2013): 737–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2013.07.019.
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Mogabgab, Owen, Stephen D. Wiviott, Elliot M. Antman, Joanne M. Foody, Tracy Y. Wang, Marc S. Sabatine, Christopher P. Cannon, Shuang Li, and Robert P. Giugliano. “Relation between time of symptom onset of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and patient baseline characteristics: from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry..” Clinical Cardiology 36, no. 4 (April 2013): 222–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.12101.
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Fosbøl, Emil L., Eric D. Peterson, Peter Weeke, Tracy Y. Wang, Robin Mathews, Lars Kober, Laine Thomas, Gunnar H. Gislason, and Christian Torp-Pedersen. “Spousal depression, anxiety, and suicide after myocardial infarction..” Eur Heart J 34, no. 9 (March 2013): 649–56. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehs242.
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Harrison, Robert W., Atul Aggarwal, Fang-shu Ou, Lloyd W. Klein, John S. Rumsfeld, Matthew T. Roe, Tracy Y. Wang, and Tracy Y. American College of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Data Registry. “Incidence and outcomes of no-reflow phenomenon during percutaneous coronary intervention among patients with acute myocardial infarction..” Am J Cardiol 111, no. 2 (January 15, 2013): 178–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2012.09.015.
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Chin, Chee Tang, Tracy Y. Wang, Shuang Li, Stephen D. Wiviott, James A. deLemos, Michael C. Kontos, Eric D. Peterson, and Matthew T. Roe. “Comparison of the prognostic value of peak creatine kinase-MB and troponin levels among patients with acute myocardial infarction: a report from the Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network Registry-get with the guidelines..” Clin Cardiol 35, no. 7 (2012): 424–29. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.21980.
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Salisbury, Adam C., Amit P. Amin, Kimberly J. Reid, Tracy Y. Wang, Frederick A. Masoudi, Paul S. Chan, Karen P. Alexander, Richard G. Bach, John A. Spertus, and Mikhail Kosiborod. “Hospital-acquired anemia and in-hospital mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction..” Am Heart J 162, no. 2 (August 2011): 300-309.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2011.05.021.
Mathews, Robin, Eric D. Peterson, Shuang Li, Matthew T. Roe, Seth W. Glickman, Stephen D. Wiviott, Jorge F. Saucedo, Elliott M. Antman, Alice K. Jacobs, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Use of emergency medical service transport among patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction: findings from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry Acute Coronary Treatment Intervention Outcomes Network Registry-Get With The Guidelines..” Circulation 124, no. 2 (July 12, 2011): 154–63. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.002345.
Xu, Weixian, Tracy Y. Wang, and Richard C. Becker. “[Hematologic diseases: from within the heart]..” Rev Esp Cardiol 64, no. 7 (July 2011): 606–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.recesp.2011.02.018.
Wang, Tracy Y., Brahmajee K. Nallamothu, Harlan M. Krumholz, Shuang Li, Matthew T. Roe, James G. Jollis, Alice K. Jacobs, David R. Holmes, Eric D. Peterson, and Henry H. Ting. “Association of door-in to door-out time with reperfusion delays and outcomes among patients transferred for primary percutaneous coronary intervention..” Jama 305, no. 24 (June 22, 2011): 2540–47. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2011.862.
Coalition to Reduce Disparities in CV Outcomes Advisory Group, Kapildeo, Keith C. Ferdinand, Clyde W. Yancy, and Tracy Y. Wang. “Letter by Ferdinand et al regarding article, "Does black ethnicity influence the development of stent thrombosis in the drug-eluting stent era?"..” Circulation 123, no. 22 (June 2011). https://doi.org/10.1161/circulationaha.110.003822.
Kontos, Michael C., Debra B. Diercks, P Michael Ho, Tracy Y. Wang, Anita Y. Chen, and Matthew T. Roe. “Treatment and outcomes in patients with myocardial infarction treated with acute β-blocker therapy: results from the American College of Cardiology's NCDR(®)..” Am Heart J 161, no. 5 (May 2011): 864–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2011.01.006.
Mathews, Robin, Eric D. Peterson, Anita Y. Chen, Tracy Y. Wang, Chee Tang Chin, Gregg C. Fonarow, Christopher P. Cannon, John S. Rumsfeld, Matthew T. Roe, and Karen P. Alexander. “In-hospital major bleeding during ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction care: derivation and validation of a model from the ACTION Registry®-GWTG™..” Am J Cardiol 107, no. 8 (April 15, 2011): 1136–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2010.12.009.
Wang, Tracy Y., Jennifer A. White, Pierluigi Tricoci, Robert P. Giugliano, Uwe Zeymer, Robert A. Harrington, Gilles Montalescot, et al. “Upstream clopidogrel use and the efficacy and safety of early eptifibatide treatment in patients with acute coronary syndrome: an analysis from the Early Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibition in Patients with Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome (EARLY ACS) trial..” Circulation 123, no. 7 (February 22, 2011): 722–30. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.958041.
Sherwood, Matthew W., Tracy Y. Wang, and Richard C. Becker. “How Should Patients Requiring Dual Antiplatelet Therapy be Managed When Undergoing Elective Endoscopic Gastrointestinal Procedures?.” Curr Treat Options Cardiovasc Med 13, no. 1 (February 2011): 46–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11936-010-0107-4.
Wang, Tracy Y., Antonio Gutierrez, and Eric D. Peterson. “Percutaneous coronary intervention in the elderly..” Nat Rev Cardiol 8, no. 2 (February 2011): 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2010.184.
Alexander, Karen P., Tracy Y. Wang, Shuang Li, Barbara L. Lytle, Lara E. Slattery, Sarah Calhoun, Jennifer Poteat, et al. “Randomized trial of targeted performance feedback to facilitate quality improvement in acute myocardial infarction care..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 4, no. 1 (January 1, 2011): 129–35. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.110.958470.
Chin, Chee Tang, Anita Y. Chen, Tracy Y. Wang, Karen P. Alexander, Robin Mathews, John S. Rumsfeld, Christopher P. Cannon, Gregg C. Fonarow, Eric D. Peterson, and Matthew T. Roe. “Risk adjustment for in-hospital mortality of contemporary patients with acute myocardial infarction: the acute coronary treatment and intervention outcomes network (ACTION) registry-get with the guidelines (GWTG) acute myocardial infarction mortality model and risk score..” Am Heart J 161, no. 1 (January 2011): 113-122.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2010.10.004.
Wang, Tracy Y., Eric D. Peterson, Fang-Shu Ou, Brahmajee K. Nallamothu, John S. Rumsfeld, and Matthew T. Roe. “Door-to-balloon times for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction requiring interhospital transfer for primary percutaneous coronary intervention: a report from the national cardiovascular data registry..” Am Heart J 161, no. 1 (January 2011): 76-83.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2010.10.001.
Yancy, Clyde W., Tracy Y. Wang, Hector O. Ventura, Ileana L. Piña, Krishnaswami Vijayaraghavan, Keith C. Ferdinand, Laura Lee Hall, and Laura Lee credo Advisory Group. “The coalition to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease outcomes (credo): why credo matters to cardiologists..” Journal of the American College of Cardiology 57, no. 3 (January 2011): 245–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2010.09.027.
Chan, Mark Y., Jie L. Sun, Tracy Y. Wang, Renato D. Lopes, Marc E. Jolicoeur, Karen S. Pieper, Sunil V. Rao, et al. “Patterns of discharge antiplatelet therapy and late outcomes among 8,582 patients with bleeding during acute coronary syndrome: a pooled analysis from PURSUIT, PARAGON-A, PARAGON-B, and SYNERGY..” Am Heart J 160, no. 6 (December 2010): 1056-1064.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2010.09.001.
Forman, Daniel E., Anita Y. Chen, Stephen D. Wiviott, Tracy Y. Wang, David J. Magid, and Karen P. Alexander. “Comparison of outcomes in patients aged <75, 75 to 84, and ≥ 85 years with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (from the ACTION Registry-GWTG)..” Am J Cardiol 106, no. 10 (November 15, 2010): 1382–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2010.07.008.
Kim, Michael S., Tracy Y. Wang, Fang-Shu Ou, Andrew J. Klein, Paul A. Hudson, John C. Messenger, Frederick A. Masoudi, John S. Rumsfeld, and P Michael Ho. “Association of prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery with quality of care of patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a report from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network Registry-Get With the Guidelines..” American Heart Journal 160, no. 5 (November 2010): 951–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2010.07.025.
Brilakis, Emmanouil S., Tracy Y. Wang, Sunil V. Rao, Subhash Banerjee, Steven Goldman, Kendrick Shunk, Biswajit Kar, et al. “Frequency and predictors of drug-eluting stent use in saphenous vein bypass graft percutaneous coronary interventions: a report from the American College of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Data CathPCI registry..” Jacc Cardiovasc Interv 3, no. 10 (October 2010): 1068–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcin.2010.07.009.
Salisbury, Adam C., Karen P. Alexander, Kimberly J. Reid, Frederick A. Masoudi, Saif S. Rathore, Tracy Y. Wang, Richard G. Bach, Steven P. Marso, John A. Spertus, and Mikhail Kosiborod. “Incidence, correlates, and outcomes of acute, hospital-acquired anemia in patients with acute myocardial infarction..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 3, no. 4 (July 2010): 337–46. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.110.957050.
Lopes, Renato D., Eric D. Peterson, Anita Y. Chen, Matthew T. Roe, Tracy Y. Wang, E Magnus Ohman, David J. Magid, et al. “Antithrombotic strategy in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the ACTION (Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network) Registry..” Jacc Cardiovasc Interv 3, no. 6 (June 2010): 669–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcin.2010.03.015.
Gharacholou, Shahyar Michael, Karen P. Alexander, Anita Y. Chen, Tracy Y. Wang, Chiara Melloni, W Brian Gibler, Charles V. Pollack, E Magnus Ohman, Eric D. Peterson, and Matthew T. Roe. “Implications and reasons for the lack of use of reperfusion therapy in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: findings from the CRUSADE initiative..” Am Heart J 159, no. 5 (May 2010): 757–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2010.02.009.
Ho, P Michael, Thomas T. Tsai, Tracy Y. Wang, Susan M. Shetterly, Christina L. Clarke, Alan S. Go, Art Sedrakyan, John S. Rumsfeld, Eric D. Peterson, and David J. Magid. “Adverse events after stopping clopidogrel in post-acute coronary syndrome patients: Insights from a large integrated healthcare delivery system..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 3, no. 3 (May 2010): 303–8. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.109.890707.
Parikh, Shailja V., James A. de Lemos, Michael E. Jessen, Emmanouil S. Brilakis, E Magnus Ohman, Anita Y. Chen, Tracy Y. Wang, et al. “Timing of in-hospital coronary artery bypass graft surgery for non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients results from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry ACTION Registry-GWTG (Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network Registry-Get With The Guidelines)..” Jacc Cardiovasc Interv 3, no. 4 (April 2010): 419–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcin.2010.01.012.
Melloni, Chiara, Jeffrey S. Berger, Tracy Y. Wang, Funda Gunes, Amanda Stebbins, Karen S. Pieper, Rowena J. Dolor, Pamela S. Douglas, Daniel B. Mark, and L Kristin Newby. “Representation of women in randomized clinical trials of cardiovascular disease prevention..” Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 3, no. 2 (March 2010): 135–42. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.110.868307.
Campbell, C. L., K. A. Skelding, and T. Y. Wang. “Commentary and analysis on recent key papers.” Acute Coronary Syndromes 9, no. 3 (December 1, 2009): 102–15.
Skelding, K. A., and T. Y. Wang. “Commentary and analysis on recent key papers.” Acute Coronary Syndromes 9, no. 4 (December 1, 2009): 154–63.
Tempelhof, M. W., and T. Y. Wang. “Use of clinical risk stratification systems in patients with ACS.” Acute Coronary Syndromes 9, no. 4 (December 1, 2009): 148–53.
Berger, Jeffrey S., Chiara Melloni, Tracy Y. Wang, Rowena J. Dolor, Camille G. Frazier, Zainab Samad, Eric D. Peterson, Daniel B. Mark, and L Kristin Newby. “Reporting and representation of race/ethnicity in published randomized trials..” Am Heart J 158, no. 5 (November 2009): 742–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2009.08.018.
Wang, Tracy Y., L Kristin Newby, Anita Y. Chen, Jyotsna Mulgund, Matthew T. Roe, Ali F. Sonel, Deepak L. Bhatt, et al. “Hypercholesterolemia paradox in relation to mortality in acute coronary syndrome..” Clin Cardiol 32, no. 9 (September 2009): E22–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.20518.
Wang, Tracy Y., Gregg C. Fonarow, Adrian F. Hernandez, Li Liang, Gray Ellrodt, Brahmajee K. Nallamothu, Bimal R. Shah, Christopher P. Cannon, and Eric D. Peterson. “The dissociation between door-to-balloon time improvement and improvements in other acute myocardial infarction care processes and patient outcomes..” Arch Intern Med 169, no. 15 (August 10, 2009): 1411–19. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2009.223.
Wang, Tracy Y., Fang-Shu Ou, Matthew T. Roe, Robert A. Harrington, E Magnus Ohman, W Brian Gibler, and Eric D. Peterson. “Incidence and prognostic significance of thrombocytopenia developed during acute coronary syndrome in contemporary clinical practice..” Circulation 119, no. 18 (May 12, 2009): 2454–62. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.827162.
Subherwal, Sumeet, Richard G. Bach, Anita Y. Chen, Brian F. Gage, Sunil V. Rao, L Kristin Newby, Tracy Y. Wang, et al. “Baseline risk of major bleeding in non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction: the CRUSADE (Can Rapid risk stratification of Unstable angina patients Suppress ADverse outcomes with Early implementation of the ACC/AHA Guidelines) Bleeding Score..” Circulation 119, no. 14 (April 14, 2009): 1873–82. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.828541.
Wang, Tracy Y., Min Zhang, Yuling Fu, Paul W. Armstrong, L Kristin Newby, C Michael Gibson, David J. Moliterno, et al. “Incidence, distribution, and prognostic impact of occluded culprit arteries among patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes undergoing diagnostic angiography..” Am Heart J 157, no. 4 (April 2009): 716–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2009.01.004.
Wang, Tracy Y., Lan Xiao, Karen P. Alexander, Sunil V. Rao, Mikhail N. Kosiborod, John S. Rumsfeld, John A. Spertus, and Eric D. Peterson. “Antiplatelet therapy use after discharge among acute myocardial infarction patients with in-hospital bleeding..” Circulation 118, no. 21 (November 18, 2008): 2139–45. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.787143.
Kim, Michael S., Tracy Y. Wang, David Dai, Andrew J. Klein, Eric D. Peterson, John S. Rumsfeld, and John C. Messenger. “Association of previous coronary artery bypass graft surgery with door-to-balloon time and in-hospital outcomes: a report from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR)..” J Am Coll Cardiol 52, no. 20 (November 11, 2008): 1665–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2008.08.017.
Samad, Zainab, Tracy Y. Wang, Camille G. Frazier, Svati H. Shah, Rowena J. Dolor, and L Kristin Newby. “Closing the gap: treating hypertension in women..” Cardiol Rev 16, no. 6 (November 2008): 305–13. https://doi.org/10.1097/CRD.0b013e31817f9350.
Reeves, Gordon R., Tracy Y. Wang, Kimberly J. Reid, Karen P. Alexander, Carole Decker, Homaa Ahmad, John A. Spertus, and Eric D. Peterson. “Dissociation between hospital performance of the smoking cessation counseling quality metric and cessation outcomes after myocardial infarction..” Arch Intern Med 168, no. 19 (October 27, 2008): 2111–17. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.168.19.2111.
Dixon, William C., Tracy Y. Wang, David Dai, Kendrick A. Shunk, Eric D. Peterson, Matthew T. Roe, and Matthew T. National Cardiovascular Data Registry. “Anatomic distribution of the culprit lesion in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: findings from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry..” J Am Coll Cardiol 52, no. 16 (October 14, 2008): 1347–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2008.07.029.
Wang, Tracy Y., Anita Y. Chen, Karen P. Alexander, E Magnus Ohman, W Brian Gibler, Eric D. Peterson, and Matthew T. Roe. “Excess heparin dosing among fibrinolytic-treated patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction..” Am J Med 121, no. 9 (September 2008): 805–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2008.04.023.
Rao, Sunil V., Fang-Shu Ou, Tracy Y. Wang, Matthew T. Roe, Ralph Brindis, John S. Rumsfeld, and Eric D. Peterson. “Trends in the prevalence and outcomes of radial and femoral approaches to percutaneous coronary intervention: a report from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry..” Jacc Cardiovasc Interv 1, no. 4 (August 2008): 379–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcin.2008.05.007.
Alexander, Karen P., Anita Y. Chen, Tracy Y. Wang, Sunil V. Rao, L Kristin Newby, Nancy M Allen LaPointe, E Magnus Ohman, et al. “Transfusion practice and outcomes in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes..” Am Heart J 155, no. 6 (June 2008): 1047–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2008.01.009.
Wang, Tracy Y., Eric D. Peterson, David Dai, H Vernon Anderson, Sunil V. Rao, Ralph G. Brindis, Matthew T. Roe, and Matthew T. National Cardiovascular Data Registry. “Patterns of cardiac marker surveillance after elective percutaneous coronary intervention and implications for the use of periprocedural myocardial infarction as a quality metric: a report from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR)..” J Am Coll Cardiol 51, no. 21 (May 27, 2008): 2068–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2008.01.054.
Wang, Tracy Y., Anita Y. Chen, Eric D. Peterson, Richard C. Becker, W Brian Gibler, E Magnus Ohman, and Matthew T. Roe. “Impact of home warfarin use on treatment patterns and bleeding complications for patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes: observations from the CRUSADE quality improvement initiative..” Eur Heart J 29, no. 9 (May 2008): 1103–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehn126.
Connelly, Jessica J., Svati H. Shah, Jennifer F. Doss, Shera Gadson, Sarah Nelson, David R. Crosslin, A Brent Hale, et al. “Genetic and functional association of FAM5C with myocardial infarction..” Bmc Med Genet 9 (April 22, 2008). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2350-9-33.
Wang, T. Y., J. M. Castor, and L. K. Newby. “Therapeutic Implications of Cardiac Troponins in ST-Segment Elevation and Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction,” April 15, 2008, 27–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470691984.ch3.
Peterson, Eric D., and Tracy Y. Wang. “The great debate of 2008--how low to go in preventive cardiology?.” Jama 299, no. 14 (April 9, 2008): 1718–20. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.299.14.1718.
Wang, Tracy Y., Lee A. Robinson, Fang-Shu Ou, Matthew T. Roe, E Magnus Ohman, W Brian Gibler, Sidney C. Smith, Eric D. Peterson, and Richard C. Becker. “Discharge antithrombotic strategies among patients with acute coronary syndrome previously on warfarin anticoagulation: physician practice in the CRUSADE registry..” Am Heart J 155, no. 2 (February 2008): 361–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2007.09.003.
Jolicoeur, E Marc, Tracy Wang, Renato D. Lopes, and E Magnus Ohman. “Percutaneous coronary interventions in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia..” Curr Cardiol Rep 9, no. 5 (September 2007): 396–405.
Adams, George L., James S. Mills, Chiara Melloni, Larry A. Allen, E Marc Jolicoeur, Tracy Wang, Mark Chan, Mohamed Majidi, and Renato D. Lopes. “Highlights from the 56th annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology: March 25 to 27, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia..” Am Heart J 154, no. 2 (August 2007): 247–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2007.05.005.
Wang, Tracy Y., Anita Y. Chen, Matthew T. Roe, Karen P. Alexander, L Kristin Newby, Sidney C. Smith, Sripal Bangalore, W Brian Gibler, E Magnus Ohman, and Eric D. Peterson. “Comparison of baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and in-hospital outcomes of Asian versus non-Asian white Americans with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes from the CRUSADE quality improvement initiative..” Am J Cardiol 100, no. 3 (August 1, 2007): 391–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2007.03.035.
Wang, Tracy Y., Vic Hasselblad, John L. Peterson, William Wijns, Azin Parhizgar, Dean J. Kereiakes, and Mitchell W. Krucoff. “The Cobalt chromium STent with Antiproliferative for Restenosis II (COSTAR II) trial study design: advancing the active-control evaluation of second-generation drug-eluting stents..” Am Heart J 153, no. 5 (May 2007): 743–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2007.02.015.
Mills, J. S., G. L. Adams, P. Tricoci, C. Melloni, E. M. Joliceur, T. W. Wang, and K. L. Thomas. “Highlights from the 20th Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association: November 12 to 15, 2006, Chicago, Illinois.” American Heart Journal 153, no. 2 (February 1, 2007): 213–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2006.12.001.
Wang, Tracy Y., and Sunil V. Rao. “Anemia in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: current issues and future directions..” Am J Cardiovasc Drugs 7, no. 4 (2007): 225–33. https://doi.org/10.2165/00129784-200707040-00001.
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Tag Archives: Societal Norm
The Debut of “The Late Late Show”
The Late Late Show, the Irish talk show, airs on RTÉ One for the first time on July 6, 1962. It is the world’s second longest-running late-night talk show, following The Tonight Show in the United States. Perceived as the official flagship television programme of Ireland’s public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), it is regarded as an Irish television institution and is broadcast live across two hours plus in front of a studio audience on Friday nights between September and May.
Having maintained the same name and format continuously, The Late Late Show is first broadcast on Friday, July 6, 1962 and in colour from 1976. Originating as temporary summer filler for a niche Saturday night audience, it later moves to its current home on Friday night schedules. The format has remained largely the same throughout — dialogue, sketch comedy, musical performances, discourse on topical issues. It has influenced attitudes of the populace towards approval or disapproval of its chosen topics, directed social change and helped shape Irish societal norms. It averages 650,000 viewers per episode and has consistently achieved RTÉ’s highest ratings.
For much of its early life, RTÉ Television Centre‘s Studio 1 in Donnybrook, Dublin is its home. This original studio accommodates a small audience of about 120. In 1995, The Late Late Show transfers to the more spacious Studio 4, adapted specifically to cater for this and Kenny Live. Three external broadcasts have aired, most recently from the Wexford Opera House on September 5, 2008.
Original host Gay Byrne presents the show until May 21, 1999. Pat Kenny is Byrne’s successor hosting the show for 10 years between 1999 and 2009. Ryan Tubridy is the current presenter, having succeeded Kenny in September 2009. Under Tubridy, first QUINN Group and then Sky Broadband add sponsorship deals. Tubridy’s arrival coincides with a marked increase in audience ratings with some early statistics comparing him to the Byrne era. On February 1, 2013, Pat Kenny returns to host that night’s edition following the death of Tubridy’s father.
Categories: Film, Radio, & Television, Irish History | Tags: Dialogue, Donnybrook, Dublin, Gay Byrne, Kenny Live, Late-Night Talk Show, Musical Performance, Pat Kenny, QUINN Group, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, RTÉ One, RTÉ Television Centre, Ryan Tubridy, Sketch Comedy, Sky Broadband, Social Change, Societal Norm, The Late Late Show, The Tonight Show, United States, Wexford Opera House | Permalink.
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Sabres host Maple Leafs in game of top NHL teams
STATS/TSX December 4, 2018, 6:43 AM UTC
The Buffalo Sabres are facing a new reality, and it is a good one.
They have become so good that they are not going to take anyone by surprise anymore, not after a 10-game winning streak that ended with 5-4 road loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
"I don't think we're going to sneak up on anybody anymore and that's OK," Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton said. "The days of taking the Buffalo Sabres lightly have come and gone."
The Sabres ended a winless three-game trip Monday with a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators Monday night. They also lost 3-2 in overtime Friday to the Florida Panthers.
The Sabres (17-8-3) return home Tuesday night to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are quite aware of the Sabres if for no other reason than the teams play in cities about a 90-hour drive apart.
The Maple Leafs (19-8-0) will go to the KeyBank Center having won four in a row and eight of their past 10, including a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. They are 10-3-0 on the road.
With the re-signing of right winger William Nylander after a hold out to open the season and the return from injury of center Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs became stronger as well.
Matthews has scored three goals and added an assist in his two games since returning from a shoulder injury suffered on Oct. 27 that cost him 15 games.
"I think being able to get engaged in the game early, "Matthews said of his early success on his return. "I mean, I'm still not feeling completely like myself but it's just two games in so I think I'll continue to play, get my legs back under me and my wind back and just hope to continue to play better and better."
Nylander is not expected to play in Buffalo but could return to the lineup for his season debut Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
"We'll get him into action as fast we can," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said Monday. "It's going to be hard for him. The one thing about Willie is he has unbelievable edges, a real good skater, I think that really helps you. He is a fitness guy, works anyway, so ideally that will help him. But it's still a competitive pace."
Frederik Gauthier, who has not played since the return of Matthews could play in Buffalo.
Nylander's return meant the Maple Leafs had to do some shuffling. As a result, left winger Josh Leivo was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Michael Carcone, who is expected to report to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Leivo had four goals and two assists in 27 games for the Maple Leafs this season.
Defenseman Travis Dermott had been assigned to the Marlies over the weekend to make room on the roster for Nylander, but he was recalled Monday after the trade.
Carcone, 22, has appeared in 20 games with the Utica Comets of the AHL this season and has six goals and 11 assists.
The Maple Leafs had some breaks against Minnesota with three goals scored on deflections, two by the Wild defense.
"We're going to end up as a team with lots of depth and we're going to become a real good hockey club," Babcock said. "I didn't think we had our A-game at all in the second half of the game and, yet, we found a way to win. That's the sign of a good team."
The Sabres could have Jason Pominville back for the game Tuesday. He skated an extra 30 minutes Monday morning but missed his first game this season. He was hit from behind into the boards Friday night by Florida defenseman Alex Petrovic.
"I was a little stiff the last couple days, but I woke up (Monday) and felt much better," Pominville told the Buffalo News. "I honestly didn't think I was going to skate (Monday), but I felt good enough and they decided to let me go out there. I obviously wasn't opposed to it. ... I'm hopeful it keeps progressing the way it has because it's been a good couple days after how stiff it was the first night."
Sam Reinhart tied the game Monday for the Sabres on a goal early in the second period that bounced in off a Nashville defenseman. Kevin Fiala scored the game winner for the Predators at 16:34 of the second.
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Download Genetic Engineering Notes
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Name: _________________________________Period:____Date:____________
I. OVERVIEW OF GENETIC ENGINEERING:
Biotechnology refers to technology used to ___________________DNA.
The procedures are often referred to as______________________________.
_________is the genetic material of all living organisms.
o All organisms use the ___________genetic code (A, T, C, G).
__________________________: organisms that contain functional recombinant DNA
___________________________refers to the DNA from the two DIFFERENT organisms.
o Can be used for creating transgenic organisms, gene therapy, cloning and gene
splicing.
A. 3 Steps to Creating Recombinant DNA:
1. ________________________________________________________
DNA is cut into small pieces using _______________________(RE).
o Restriction enzymes were discovered in__________________.
Bacteria use them as a defense mechanism to cut up the __________of
viruses or other bacteria
Hundreds of different ______________________have been isolated
Each restriction enzyme or RE cuts DNA at a SPECIFIC
_____________________________.
For example, EcoRI always cuts DNA at GAATTC as indicated below
The sequence GAATTC appear three time in the below strand of DNA, so it is cut
into four pieces.
Fragments of DNA that has been cut with restriction enzymes have unpaired nucleotides
at the ends called___________________. Sticky ends have complimentary bases, so
they____________________.
______________: carries foreign DNA into host cell
o A vector must be _________________________________________inside a
cell.
o Two types of vectors:
1. __________________________: pipette or ______________
2. __________________________: plasmid or ___________
o A __________________is small ring of DNA in a bacterium.
_____________________& __________________are the most commonly used vectors
3. _______________________________________________________. When the host’s
cells reproduce, the desired protein or enzyme is also reproduced.
Diagram: Showing Recombinant DNA Technology.
II. GENETIC ENGINEERING: What Can We Do With
Genes?
1. _______________________: A "normal" gene is inserted into the genome to replace an
"abnormal," disease-causing gene.
o A carrier molecule called a _____________must be used to deliver the
therapeutic gene to the patient's target cells.
o The most common vector is a ___________that has been genetically altered to
carry normal human DNA.
o Ex: To reverse disease caused by genetic damage, researchers isolate normal
DNA and package it into a vector, a molecular delivery truck usually made from
a disabled virus. Doctors then infect a target cell —usually from a tissue
affected by the illness, such as liver or lung cells—with the vector. The vector
unloads its DNA cargo, which then begins producing the missing protein and
restores the cell to normal.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has __________yet approved any human
gene therapy product for__________. Current gene therapy is experimental and has
not proven very successful in clinical trials.
A. What factors have kept gene therapy from becoming an
effective treatment for genetic disease?
_____________________________________- DNA introduced into target
cells must remain functional and the cells containing the therapeutic DNA must be
long-lived and stable. Patients will have to undergo multiple rounds of gene therapy.
________________________________- human’s immune systems could
attach the therapeutic DNA and destroy it.
_____________________________________- viruses can present a variety of
potential problems to the patient --toxicity, immune and inflammatory responses, and
gene control and targeting issues.
___________________________________- Disorders that are caused by the
combined effect of many genes are very difficult to treat effectively.
2. ________________________: Rejoining cut fragments of DNA
Done chemically via __________________________(RE) that cut the DNA.
Each RE cuts a specific base pair, then scientists can add any genetic sequences they
wish into the DNA.
_________________ is used to produce ________________for diabetics:
o In the past, insulin was only obtainable from the pancreas of cadavers (and it
required 50 cadavers to yield one dose!).
o The insulin-producing genes from human DNA are spliced into plasmid DNA;
the plasmids are then allowed to infect________________, and, as the
bacteria multiply, large amounts of harvestable insulin are produced.
3. ____________________________: Creating genetically IDENTICAL copies
3 types of cloning technologies: recombinant DNA technology or DNA cloning,
reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning.
_____________________________________or __________________= the transfer
of a DNA fragment of interest from one organism to a self-replicating genetic element
such as a bacterial plasmid. The DNA of interest can then be multiplied in a foreign
host cell.
___________________________________= generates an animal that has the same
nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal.
Ex:__________: scientists transfer genetic material from the nucleus of a
donor adult cell to an egg whose nucleus, and thus its genetic material, has
been removed. The reconstructed egg containing the DNA from a donor cell
must be treated with chemicals or electric current in order to stimulate cell
division. Once the ________________ reaches a suitable stage, it is
transferred to the uterus of a female host where it continues to develop until
birth.
Celebrity Sheep Has Died at Age 6
Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned from adult DNA, was put down by lethal
injection Feb. 14, 2003. Prior to her death, Dolly had been suffering from lung
cancer and crippling arthritis. Although most Finn Dorset sheep live to be 11 to
12 years of age, postmortem examination of Dolly seemed to indicate that,
other than her cancer and arthritis, she appeared to be quite normal. The
unnamed sheep from which Dolly was cloned had died several years prior to her
creation. Dolly was a mother to six lambs, bred the old-fashioned way.
Image credit: Roslin Institute Image Library, http://www.roslin.ac.uk/imagelibrary/
_________________________________= also called "embryo cloning," is the
production of human embryos for use in research.
The goal of this process is to harvest stem cells that can be used to study
human development and to treat disease.
_______________________can be used to generate virtually any type of
specialized cell in the human body.
Stem cells are extracted from the egg after it has divided for 5 days.
The extraction process destroys the embryo, which raises a
variety__________________________________.
Many researchers hope that one day stem cells can be used to serve as
replacement cells to treat heart disease, Alzheimer's, cancer, and other
diseases.
4. ___________________________________: Genetically modified organisms are organisms
with artificially altered DNA. They can be created by:
________________________________: Organisms that are altered in this way are
known as transgenic organisms.
____________________________________________: (Gene therapy)
_____________________________________________: (so they don't produce their
protein).
o Ex: deactivating the gene responsible for the ripening of tomatoes. This new
gene can then be inserted into tomato DNA to give them a longer shelf life.
III. APPLICATIONS OF GENETIC ENGINEERING:
Incorporating bacterial genes for resistance to _________________, so a crop plant is
not killed by weed killer (herbicide).
• Incorporating bacterial genes, which produce their own _____________________into corn
plants. Herbivorous insects are thus prevented from eating such plants.
• Strawberry plants ________________to frost
• Bovine growth hormone – increases milk production in cow by 10%
• Goats - produce milk containing high levels of a human protein that dissolves blood clots
• B.T. cotton – Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria make a toxin against insects –
• ___________________zebra fish- inserted the protein for glowing from a jelly fish.
• Bacteria ___________________oil in oil spills- Some bacteria thrive on toxic waste. The
genes allowing breakdown of the toxic substance can be added to other more numerous
bacteria and then applied to toxic spills for cleanup (bioremediation).
• Bacteria ____________________minerals from ores
• _______________of Human Growth hormone, Human insulin, Interferon (treats cancer)
• Recombinant DNA techniques are used in __________________________
• Gene therapy can be used to help cure a genetic disease by replacing the defective one.
IV. SAFETY AND ETHICAL ISSUES:
____________________________________may be accidentally produced
Organisms that are intended to be released in the environment may be engineered with
genes that will eventually kill them.
There is ______________________on the use of genetic screening and information
produced by screening
The _________________________is increasing the ability to diagnose genetic diseases
prenatally, adding new complexity to the abortion controversy.
Ethical questions have been raised over whether we should _______________________
Genetic screening and gene therapy are __________________________and may be
unavailable to the middle class and low socioeconomic citizens.
______________________________could be created using biotechnology.
DNA - University of Dayton
Exam 3 - Major Concepts
Heredity: Notes When organisms , genetic information is passed on
TEK 6C
Biotechnology Need To Know List
Genetic Engineering/Recombinant DNA
What Is Gene cloning and How Is It Used? 1. Explain what is meant
studyres.com © 2019
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Tag Archives: Women’s Equality Day
News Notes include Woodstock, NY exhibit of women artists & People’s Town Hall in NYC
Equality Celebrations and Women’s Suffrage News Notes on Vimeo.
It’s the countdown for August 26th, Women’s Equality Day, The People’s Town Hall, cosponsored by Women on 20s, Women You Should Know, Unite Women New York, and the Department of Records and Information Services/WomensActivism.NYC. A panel of speakers includes Liz Abzug (moderator) – consultant, professor, attorney/lobbyist; Rosemonde Pierre-Louis – Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, attorney, and advocate; Amy Paulin – Assemblywoman serving the 88th Assembly District of New York State; Laurie Cumbo – Democratic New York City Councilwoman serving the 35th District and Chair of Committee on Women’s Issues; and Nicholas Ferroni – educator and historian. The Town Hall runs from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. Space is limited. RSVP to: http://www.nyc.gov/cgi-bin/exit.pl?url=https://www.greenvelope.com/event/PeoplesTownHall.
Woodstock, New York is in the news with its town board resolution honoring its women’s history AND the announcement by the Woodstock School of Art about a new exhibit: “Overlooked: Woodstock Women Artists: Rediscovering Lesser-Known Painters.” The exhibit opens September 12 and runs throughOctober 31, 2015 with a reception on Saturday, September 12, 3-5 p.m.
Women’s suffrage newsletter is on the stands! on Vimeo.
Follow the Suffrage Wagon.
Suffrage Wagon News Channel is on Facebook and Twitter. Quarterly newsletters just by signing up. Suffrage Wagon News Channel has a video platform on Vimeo.
Meet your friends at the Suffrage Wagon Cafe. Follow SuffrageCentennials.com for news and views about upcoming suffrage centennials. “Choose it and Use it” is a video reminding us of how the past is linked to what we do today and its impact on the future.
Tagged activism, August 26, equality, suffrage movement, Suffrage Wagon, Suffrage Wagon News Channel, Town Hall, women artists, Women's Equality Day, Woodstock
Suffrage Wagon Cafe’s special August 26th program today!
95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on Vimeo.
Honor Bella Abzug. She made sure the U.S. Congress designated August 26th to commemorate the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. August 26th is the 4th of July for American women. That’s why we’re celebrating it at Suffrage Wagon Cafe during August.
WATCH FOR UPCOMING AUGUST 26TH EVENTS & CELEBRATIONS!
This year, 2015, has been a remarkable year for women’s history. The trend started about two years ago with storytelling about suffrage activists. Then the Womenon20s campaign blew the subject wide open with all the discussions about which women should be nominated to appear on U.S. currency.
So many women who’ve been invisible in American history previously are now household words. And the number of books telling the stories about votes for women are enough to make your head spin. Who would have believed it? This August 26th is the 95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That means five more years until the big national suffrage centennial in 2020. This year is a test run, so join in!
NEWS NOTES: Suffrage movement historic sites and community organizations have been planning special events for Women’s Equality Day on August 26th and the 95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Watch for announcements about an upcoming live feed for a national event.
Celebrate women’s freedom to vote during August with a party, reception, fundraiser, or a cookout. Suffrage Wagon News Channel has resources, videos, audio and more about the women’s suffrage movement.
(1.) August 26th in song. The table in the audio image is the freedom table where the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments was drafted in 1848 not far from Seneca Falls, NY. Cross your fingers that it will be on public display as 2020 approaches. We’ll keep you posted.
(2.) Rapping and Rolling about August 26th on video. Sound track by T. Fowler.
Rap and Roll to celebrate August 26th, Women’s Equality Day on Vimeo.
“Standing on the Shoulders” by Earth Mama is a reminder of why we do this work! This was the official theme song of the 75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 20 years ago, and we’re still singing!
The National Women’s History Project gift shop has a 95th anniversary button and sticker to add to your women’s suffrage collection. Wear it. Order some for your August 26th event. The National Women’s History Project is celebrating its 35th year in 2015.
Follow Suffrage Wagon News Channel on Facebook and Twitter. Quarterly newsletters just by signing up. Suffrage Wagon News Channel has a video platform on Vimeo. Check out SuffrageCentennials.com for news and views about upcoming women’s suffrage centennial events and celebrations.
“Choose it and Use it” is a video reminding us of how the past is linked to what we do today and its impact on the future. Celebrate women’s freedom to vote.
Tagged 19th amendment, August 26, suffrage centennial, suffrage movement, Suffrage Wagon Cafe, Suffrage Wagon News Channel, Votes for Women, Women's Equality Day, Women's History, Womenon20s
Celebrate women’s 4th of July on August 8th at Suffrage Wagon Cafe!
Posted on August 5, 2015 | 1 comment
Suffrage Wagon Cafe is the go-to place! on Vimeo.
Suffrage Wagon Cafe opens its doors on August 8th for a special celebration of August 26th, Women’s Equality Day. August 26th is the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. What does this mean? That American women have been citizens for 95 years, and 1920 is the year voting rights were finally won after a 72-year struggle. This voting rights observance isn’t an occasion to pass without some sort of recognition. It’s a perfect occasion for a party, whether it’s for friends and family, or your organization. With 2016 a big election year, community groups are staging events. There’s evidence of this around the nation. Still vague about August 26th? Need a refresher? Consult Wikipedia and other resources. And have fun!
Follow Suffrage Wagon News Channel on Facebook and Twitter. Quarterly newsletters just by signing up. Suffrage Wagon News Channel has a video platform on Vimeo.
Follow SuffrageCentennials.com for news and views about upcoming suffrage centennials. “Choose it and Use it” is a video reminding us of how the past is linked to what we do today and its impact on the future.
Tagged 2020 suffrage centennial, August 26, suffrage movement, Suffrage Wagon Cafe, Suffrage Wagon News Channel, Women's Equality Day
Get ready for Women’s Equality Day, plus more: Suffrage Wagon News Notes
Have you set plans in motion to celebrate August 26th, Women’s Equality Day? Fun gifts and other products available to inform your event are available from the National Women’s History Project.
Are you following the audio podcasts from Seneca Falls? Five of the total series of seven podcasts, “Trouble Brewing in Seneca Falls,” have been published. If you haven’t had a chance to hear the words of Elizabeth Cady Stanton reflect on the 1848 women’s rights convention, here’s your chance. Podcasts #1. #2. #3 #4 #5 . Watch for the remaining two podcasts, coming soon.
On Tuesday, August 26, at 7 p.m. at the William G. McGowan Theater in Washington, DC there will be a special program, Women’s History on the Horizon: The Centennial of Woman Suffrage in 2020. In commemoration of Women’s Equality Day and the 94th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, this discussion considers how nearly one hundred years of voting rights have impacted present-day political, social, and economic roles for women. Presented in partnership with the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum.
The updates on the Harriet Tubman national park include a video and several articles for background. Video from LetsRockTheCradle.com
Make your voice heard on the proposed Tubman national park!
Follow the Suffrage Wagon with email, Twitter and Facebook, as well as a special newsletter published four times a year by email. Visit Suffrage Wagon News Channel with updates twice a week.
Tagged Harriet Tubman, National Women's History Project, suffrage movement, suffrage news, Suffrage Wagon, Women's Equality Day
New Video: “Rap and Roll” about Women’s Equality Day
Video and audio about August 26th or Women’s Equality Day, available now. Plus an audio reading of the 1971 resolution that passed Congress.
Video: “Rap and Roll the Suffrage Wagon” celebrates August 26th.
Audio: Amelia Bowen reads the text of the Women’s Equality Day resolution that passed the US Congress in 1971.
Audio: T. Fowler’s rap about Women’s Equality Day.
Each year the United States President announces the commemoration of the granting of the vote to women throughout the country on an equal basis with men on August 26th. US women were granted the right to vote on August 26, 1920 when the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution became official. The amendment was first introduced in 1878. Every president has published a proclamation for Women’s Equality Day since 1971 when Bella Abzug introduced the legislation in Congress.
Reminder: It’s still summer, and the first session of the Suffrage Wagon Cooking School is underway. Buy corn on the cob, especially if you can get it fresh at a farmers market or grocery. Even better if you grow it yourself. Chef Cutting can guide you through its roasting that will have everyone demanding more. Include corn on the menu, whether it’s in your oven or on a grill or campfire. Visit Suffrage Wagon Cooking School for the first session with Chef Cutting.
Posted in Suffrage Video
Tagged suffrage movement, Suffrage Wagon, suffragists, voting rights, Women's Equality Day, women's suffrage
August 26th is Women’s Equality Day!
First, there’s the preparation for the celebration you’re going to have on or about August 26th, Women’s Equality Day. The National Women’s History Project has all sorts of cool things to buy to make things easy.
Balloons, posters, buttons. Guests love take home items and prancing around wearing buttons. You add the invitations, the goodies, and a place. And then see what happens!
Watch Suffrage Wagon for an August 26th video and audio. Check us out on Twitter and Facebook. Our YouTube channel gets attention. Join us!
Posted in Suffrage Wagon Highlights
Tagged August 26th, suffrage movement, Votes for Women, Women's Equality Day, women's suffrage
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Projects in Sunnyvale
Corn Palace
Proposed Project
The 8.8 acre-project site, commonly known as the “Corn Palace” is a former cornfield that has a produce stand, farm structures and a house on-site. The site is located west of Lawrence Expressway and is bordered by Lily, Toyon and Dahlia avenues. The project by Trumark Homes includes developing the land with 58 single-family homes and a 2-acre public park.
Shétal Divatia, Senior Planner, 408-730-7637
The project was approved, subject to modified conditions of approval, by the Planning Commission on March 11, 2019. The staff report and meeting minutes are available below:
Planning Commission Report and Minutes, March 11, 2019
Approved Project
The approved project includes 58 single-family homes and land for a 2-acre public park. The Planning Commission required modifications to the project that are not yet reflected in the project plans. The required modifications require revised site and architectural plans, which will be considered by the Planning Commission at a public hearing prior to submittal of a building permit application.
The required modifications are as follows:
Specify that the houses' rear setbacks be increased to an average of 15 feet,
Specify that the sound wall will match the look and height, with a minimum of 8 feet in height, to the sound wall along Lawrence Expressway directly across from the proposed project; and
Specify that the houses along the perimeter of the park are oriented so that their front entrances face the park.
Environmental Review
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that all state and local government agencies consider the environmental consequences of projects for which they have discretionary authority. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared and certified by the Planning Commission. The certified EIR is comprised of the Draft EIR and Final EIR below.
The Draft EIR was available for public review and comment for 45 days, from Nov. 2 to Dec. 17, 2018. A Planning Commission public hearing to accept public comments on the Draft EIR was held on Dec. 10, 2018. The Final EIR includes the Draft EIR document, the formal Response to Comments and corrections to the Draft EIR as noted below.
Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) (15 MB PDF)
Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) (30 MB PDF)
Planning Commission Minutes, Dec. 10, 2018 (PDF Download)
The proposed project by Trumark Homes includes developing the land with 58 single-family homes (9.5 dwelling units per acre) and a 2-acre public park. The project application requires a Tentative Subdivision Map for 60 lots (58 homes, one private street and a public park), and a Special Development Permit to construct the two-story homes.
Notice of Preparation
The site is located west of Lawrence Expressway and is bounded by Lily, Toyon and Dahlia avenues. The 8.8 acre-project site, commonly known as the “Corn Palace,” is a former cornfield that has a produce stand, farm structures and a house on site. The site is currently zoned R-1.5/PD (Low-Medium Density Residential/Planned Development) and has a General Plan designation of Residential Low Medium Density (RLM).
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A FLOURISHING GREEN COMMUNITY
— In collaboration with Saudi Airlines Real Estate Development (SARED), Hitachi has helped redesign the city’s sewage treatment plant.
Saudi City, Jeddah is home to 9000 Saudi Airline employees.
The compound maintains a lush green oasis by recycling and reusing water from the various accommodations, offices and shops within its borders. After twenty five years of use, the sewage treatment facility had become outdated and inefficient. Hitachi’s engineers and construction team were able to work around existing plumbing and mechanics to create a new facility capable of recycling 6000 m3 of water per day, keeping trees, flowers and sports fields thriving.
The major challenges of this project were to design an enclosed system to eliminate the issues of smell, mosquito infestation and poor water quality. Further, the new build had to be done on a smaller physical footprint without interruption to the city’s current functioning.
To remedy the problems of old, Hitachi’s design centers around Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) units. They are enclosed structures that eradicate the issues of mosquitos and smell. The units consumes one fifth the amount of land the old system required, and provides filtration down to 0.1 micron, removing bacteria and suspended solids.
Hitachi continues working on solutions for the better management of our precious resource water. This is being done through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with RemixWater™ systems for seawater desalination and sewage treatment, where Hitachi sees sustainable production of clean drinking water and water recycling for irrigation purposes.
* “RemixWater” is a registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. in Japan, Australia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other countries.
Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of compact Hitachi sewage treatment plant
From the beginning Saudi Real Estate and Development (SARED) was very clear about what needed to be done. The dated plant and settling pond covered a considerable amount of land. The pond created a breeding ground for mosquitos and the general openness of plant equipment lead to bad smells contaminating the surrounding areas. Water quality was also a concern and the design developed with the client would have to be built while the old plant continued to run.
Managing all aspects of engineering, procurement and construction, Hitachi also had to ensure several contingency plans where emplace. Contingency plans needed to address any momentary interruptions to sewages services as construction called for the moving of various pipes and fittings, but did not have to execute any of them as they were able to schedule new assemblies with pipe movement of the old operation.
Creative thinking and smarter technology solved design challenges
Together Hitachi and SARED chose the MBR units for there enclosed operation, compact size and transportability. The collaborative design can be moved if city planning dictates the facility grounds need to be reconstituted for other uses.
The system built ensures water quality through intense filtration of grit, grease and heavy solids down to 1 to 2 millimeters in dynamiter. From there reclaimed water is aerated and oxidized to remove microorganisms. In the aeration tanks the water passes through the MBR units with a pore size of 0.1 micron. This process removes the last of the suspended solids, along with bacteria such as coliform. Water is then dosed with disinfectant sodium hypochlorite (NaOCI) before being pumped into one of the two holding tanks. The two enclosed holding tanks replace the settling pond which eliminates insect reproduction and smell.
During the construction phases one unknown problem presented itself. The design called for two 3,000m3 treated water storage tanks. The land would not support the weight of these tanks when full. Hitachi’s team studied the problem and remedied it by digging 3.5 meter holes which would be back filled with rammed earth and topped with MAT foundations. The tanks where then built upon these fortified footings.
Hitachi’s team worked in co-creation with the client through all aspects of the process, solving past problems and delivering a product that can continue to grow and evolve with the city it serves.
A creation that will continue to grow and change the world
Over a year ago the new plant was delivered to the customer and put into operation. Even with this success, Hitachi continues to look for ways to improve this project through the implementation of its Social Innovation business. Currently the company is looking to solve network leakage issues within the irrigation system, and to better manage preventative maintenance.
Further into the future, Hitachi and SARED will study better ways to utilize the solid waste produced by the city. Currently, dewatering the sludge is the safest and most effective way for the facility to handle this by-product. Dewatering creates a cake that is disposed of in local landfill. Considerations will be given to processing the sludge into a viable fertilizer, or soil additive.
We look forward to working with other companies globally in the methodology of co-creation. Hitachi believes that bringing stakeholders directly in the development process will generate swift and effective results.
Solutions By: Hitachi, Ltd., Water Business Unit
Hitachi develops technology capable of estimating demographic attributes by measuring human behavior through analysis of 3D imaging data
An INCREDIBLE DISPLAY OF SUSTAINABILITY
Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City: Making smart use of local energy sources to build the communities of the future
Hitachi data-processing technology yields 100-fold improvement in data analytics speeds
Train operation control systems: Supporting the smooth transit of 7.42 million passengers a day
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Social Entrepreneurship in Africa
Ray Dinning’s Background
Structuring Social Ventures by Ray Dinning
Tag Archives: us attorney
Article IX: Conclusion: What’s at Stake with Social Ventures in Africa? The Lives of 400 Million People Living on Less than $1.25 per Day by Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM and social venture lawyer
Article IX: Conclusion: What’s at Stake with Social Ventures in Africa:
The Lives of 400 Million People Living on Less than $1.25 per Day
By: Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM and Social Venture Lawyer
How many people in this world live on less than $2.50 per day? A staggering 3,000,000,000 (3 billion people) or roughly half of the world’s population lives in desperate poverty according to the World Bank.[1] In Africa alone, there are 400 million people living on less than $1.25 per day according to the United Nations. And, even more shocking, over 21,000 children under the age of five die everyday from malnutrition and starvation according to UNICEF.[2] In a given year, that’s 7.6 million children dying from preventable things such as lack of food, water or basic medicine. Finally, the BBC reports that 200,000 children are sold into slavery and the sex trade each year in Africa.[3]
Many people ask me “why do you still work on social ventures after all that has happened?” At the same time, I continue to ask myself and others “why aren’t more people working on social ventures to help the poor?” The world’s population cannot sit by and let the preventable deaths of 7.6 million children occur each and every year without doing more. I, for one, know that I cannot sit by without doing everything I can to help the poor and dying children of Africa.
Life is too short. Material possessions and the comforts of life are fleeting. The years of hard work at a job to simply receive a paycheck does not ultimately provide satisfaction for me and many other people – especially when our recent economic downturn shows us that it can all be taken away in a flash. My family and my children give me a great sense of happiness and satisfaction in life as does my relationship with God. It is because of my family and my belief in God that I am committed to helping others in need. The Bible (along with most religions) teaches us that:
“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”[4]
What does it take to care for and help children and the poor? One of two things: your time or your money. There are many people who have dedicated their lives to serving in charities, churches, missions organizations and even doctors without borders who give of their time to help those in need. Yes, most of these people are paid – but they still give of their time and of themselves to help others. Most of the world can help by giving money to help those in need. Now, how much money is needed to help those children dying of starvation and the other three billion people living around the world in poverty. A LOT! But, each of us can help by donating to UNICEF, World Vision and organizations that feed and help needy children around the world. Companies, individuals and organizations can also become financial partners by investing into social venture projects – which seek to help the poor and do even more – provide for jobs and a future for these children while also hopefully providing a financial return to the partners.
It is not an easy task! In trying to help children and those in need in Africa, there are and will be many ups and downs: children will still die, businesses and social venture projects will fail, people will do crazy things and pirates, dictators and rebel armies will still terrorize Africa and the rest of the world. However, the real success is this: some children will live by being helped by me or the many others who are working in Africa and around the world; some social venture projects will succeed; and more and more people will be given jobs and hope for a better future for themselves and their children. In fact, if I can only help one child from starving then I believe that all my work in this life has been a success.[5]
I am truly proud to say that our social venture projects employed up to 60 full-time workers – which, in turn, fed 60 families or typically 300 people![6] Now, how many more people could we help and jobs could we create when the social venture projects succeed? A LOT! Liz Hamburg in an article for The Huffington Post reported a 30:1 ratio for job creation from micro enterprise and social venture job creation at Women’s Initiative for Self Employment in San Francisco. Meaning, for each of 30 jobs created, those employed women paid taxes and helped others with employment or other assistance thereby helping up to 900 total people.[7] Ms. Hamburg reported,
“There’s a 30:1 return on investment as women create businesses, pay taxes, employ others and come off of public assistance. That means for every one invested in the program, 30 go back into the community through clients paying taxes, hiring others and leaving the welfare system.”[8]
Thus, one successful social venture project in a rural community in Africa will change that community forever – and the lives of hundreds of people. It was estimated by the Development Bank of South Africa that the Hole in the Wall project would have employed 23 people. If the project succeeds, it will create up to 57 full-time jobs in the local community feeding up to 285 people. If you use the Women’s Initiative job multiplier as reported by The Huffington Post, then you could ultimately create up to 1500 jobs through a successful social venture project in one community in Africa.
You may be asking – what are these social venture projects? What is it like at a community project in Africa? What is the value of this property to the local community? How about $98,818,000 of the most sought-after beautiful, untouched oceanfront land on the Indian Ocean in South Africa? This is the value of the raw, undeveloped land held by the social venture between the community and Pure Africa as determined by a South African property expert and a real estate developer.[9] For these rural communities in Africa, this land is their future and a means to lift their entire communities out of poverty. The local impoverished community should and must benefit substantially from the sustainable development of their land – it is their right and heritage. Even if our social venture partners and I cannot finish the task, someone must help these communities benefit from the heritage, culture and land that they have had for generations. It is a moral imperative and a social responsibility!
In order for you to fully understand the above statements, I will share a bit of our project vision for the local people in Africa with you and why the community land is so special. The local Xhosa people are very poor – most live on less than $1.00 per day, on average. They are impoverished in a worldly sense but they are blessed with tremendous natural resources – their oceanfront land. The average tribal leader has less than a sixth grade education, so while they have amazing land – they do not have the tools, skills or education to know how to maximize the value of the land. This is where our social venture partners bring in the education, know-how, a professional team of lawyers and real estate companies and the finances to help the local community sustainably develop a real estate project to create jobs, job skills training and hopefully profits. Don’t get me wrong – social venture projects are for-profit – so our goal was to maximize the value of the community land so that the community, our social venture partners and financial partners can all benefit.
Hole in the Wall is a cultural[10] and National icon in South Africa. It is a large rock mountain in the Indian Ocean that boasts beautiful scenery and ocean views. In 2004, the Development Bank of South Africa “DBSA” and the South African Government funded a study on creating a tourism project at Hole in the Wall. In 2004, DBSA, the government and Incopho created a project summary for several projects including Hole in the Wall.[11] In 2005, our social venture partners received a Lease from the South African National Government to develop the community project at Hole in the Wall[12] and a Record of Decision (building permit and authorization) was issued in late 2005.[13]
Now, it is well-known that nothing happens in Africa without a meeting: we literally had hundreds of hours of meetings with the local chiefs, the tribal counsel, the community trust and the local people to show them the business plan and the proposed benefits to the local community. In Africa, everyone has a right to speak so the meetings were attended by hundreds of people – both young and old. Once everyone had a chance to voice their opinions and concerns, then we would finalize our social venture project plan. Finally, after our projects were approved by the local community, we then sought approvals from the National, Provincial and local government. Once everyone was happy with and had approved the business plan at a social venture like Hole in the Wall, then we would begin. This initial process takes from 18 months to several years for each project!
At Hole in the Wall, after three years of meetings, the approved plan was to build a tourism site with 50 oceanfront rental homes and a boutique hotel[14] which would create a minimum of 57 jobs for the local community and the potential for hundreds of micro business jobs such as beadwork, tours, sea shell jewelry and other tourism souvenirs and hopefully profits from the development (the community owned 45% of the Hole in the Wall development as our partner).
Our professional team provided great endorsements of the projects. We agreed to approach Sotheby’s International Realty to market the Hole in the Wall project.[15] On May 6, 2008, Lofty Nel, a Principal with the firm of Sotheby’s International Realty provided a letter to the project, which reads:
“Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty are extremely proud and honoured to be granted the exclusive mandate to market Pure Africa Development LLC Hole in the Wall project on the Wild Coast in South Africa. Marketing of the project has commenced by word of mouth with the official launch of the project scheduled for the end of May, 2008.
The development comprises 51 Ocean front homes in a gated estate at the Hole in the Wall, a national landmark in South Africa. Earth Conservancy have also been appointed to manage approximately 5000 acres of pristine land adjacent to the project as part of a conservancy. This will ensure that the amazing views and natural beauty of Hole in the Wall will remain intact for guests and owners at the Hole in the Wall development.”[16]
The 50 lots plus a hotel site were priced for long term lease at an average price of $120,000 per lot for total projected revenue to the social venture project of $6 million.[17] The engineering firm prepared a lot layout for the Hole in the Wall and architects, engineers, and home builders were appointed to get the project ready to market.[18]
In addition to community and government approval, we also sought the approval of specialized real estate legal counsel. On September 1, 2008, the law firm of Smith Tabata provided Pure Africa with a legal opinion letter:
“We act on behalf of the aforesaid Pure Africa, LLC as majority shareholder of Incopho Wild Coast Development Projects (Pty) Ltd. Incopho, in turn, is the majority shareholder of the project company, The Reserve at Hole in the Wall (Pty) Ltd. Our firm has represented The Reserve at Hole in the Wall project on behalf of Pure Africa since 2007 as legal counsel. We also assisted in the referral of the project auditor, Charteris & Barnes, auditors.
Based upon a review of the documentation, The Reserve at Hole in the Wall is an oceanfront and oceanview real estate development consisting of 50 stands and a small hotel. The Reserve at Hole in the Wall is being marketed by Lofty Nel of Sotheby’s International Realty in East London, South Africa.
The original documentation for this project dates back to September, 2004. For this letter, I have reviewed the following:
The Final Scoping Report dated September, 2004;
The Review of Documents relating to proposed Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall developments by East Cape Development Corporation and the Development Bank of South Africa;
The Ground Lease by and between the Kwa Tshezi Community and Earth Conservancy dated February 6, 2006;
The Lease Agreement between The Government of the Republic of South Africa through the Department of Land Affairs, the Kwa Tshezi Community and Incopho dated February 2, 2006;
The Record of Decision from the Department of Affairs, Environment and Tourism dated August 10, 2005 authorizing Incopho “to construct 50 single storey chalets, a central restaurant, a curio shop and amenities and association infrastructure at Hole in the Wall, KSD Municipal Area.
The Lease Agreement between The Government of the Republic of South Africa through the Department of Land Affairs, the Kwa Tshezi Community and Incopho dated June 21, 2008 which is a 30 year renewable lease at the option of Incopho for up to 90 years and continuing thereafter.
It is also my understanding that Title Deed to the land comprising the Hole in the Wall development is forthcoming to the Community in the next 6 months or longer from the Government of South Africa and the Department of Land Affairs.
Based upon a review of this documentation, Incopho has a valid lease with the Government of South Africa and the Kwa Tshezi Community for up to 90 years or more. Under South African law, Incopho through The Reserve at Hole in the Wall (Pty) Ltd. can sublease the 50 stands to interested sublessees for rental payments over the term of the lease or the rent and lease may be prepaid. It is my understanding that sublessees can “purchase” or sublease one or more of the 50 stands for an up-front payment of rent or with 10% downpayment of rent and the balance of the rent payments over 10 years at 12% interest.
It is my understanding that Sotheby’s International Realty will be acting as estate agent in the “sale” of the 50 subleased stands to the general public. A separate company, Villager Homes, will be constructing homes on the 50 subleased stands under separate written agreement between Villager Homes and the stand “purchasers” or sublessees.
Finally, when Title Deed is ultimately vested with the Kwa Tshezi Community, it is planned that the 50 stand sublessees may have the opportunity to convert their lease to Title Deed ownership of their stand.”[19]
By May, 2008, all architectural designs, engineering, lot layout, utilities and infrastructure plans were completed and a contract to install all utilities, roads and services to The Reserve at Hole in the Wall were completed. These crucial steps made it possible for marketing of long term leases for the 50 lots by Sotheby’s International Realty.
In May, 2008, Sotheby’s began to issue marketing materials for Hole in the Wall[20] and in September, 2008, Hole in the Wall was listed as a “hot property” in Conde Nast Home in South Africa and Media Press Releases were issued.[21] Sotheby’s also went to great expense to create glossy brochures to begin marketing and they also launched a marketing website for the Hole in the Wall project.[22] Pure Africa and the social venture partners put up a marketing Sign Board at the Hole in the Wall project.[23] Everyone was excited because Sotheby’s and their marketing experts were certain that the property would lease quickly and that meant up to $6 million of projected revenue for the social venture project and the local community.
However, just as the marketing campaign was beginning, the aggressive bad press campaign team of Batte, Stiner and others jumped in to actively interfere with and destroy the marketing efforts at the Hole in the Wall project. This was the most damaging tortious interference that resulted from the aggressive bad press campaign – anonymous phone calls from this coordinated group to our real estate professional team and social venture partners.[24] At the launch of the Hole in the Wall project and at other projects, Sotheby’s International Realty, government officials and others received several anonymous phone calls from Virginia and from South Africa stating that the projects were false, that we were trying to sell (versus lease) community land and that I was not someone to be trusted. The callers also threatened to and did take the matter to the newspapers to discredit Sotheby’s and the social venture projects. In discussions with Sotheby’s and other real estate firms, we were told that a new development, especially a social venture development, is a delicate matter and you only want positive information for the general public to view when seeking to spend money on a new oceanfront resort. The decision was made to halt the marketing campaign at Hole in the Wall and try to regroup later. This was devastating to us because it meant that years of time, effort, money and relationships were wasted.
Each time a project was halted by the malicious and negative actions of Batte and his coordinated bad press campaign, we had to stop everything and try to work on a new project that hadn’t yet been attacked by this group. However, each time the task grew harder and everyone on the social venture team was tired of the negative attacks and the disappointment and damage that resulted from the negative attacks.
As I have said before, I am still working on social ventures in Africa and will continue to do so. Each day that I work in trying to help create jobs for the needy in Africa will hopefully help save one or more of those 21,000 children dying everyday. Does it take money to help save the needy in Africa and elsewhere? Yes, a lot of money. Does it take time and hard work? Yes, a lot of time, effort and thankless hours. Will this work get done by itself? No – people have to get involved and do it.
Can you be paid to do this work? Yes, you can be paid – just like I was paid and millions of others in the public and nonprofit sectors are paid. And, that pay comes from donations, taxes and investment dollars – just like my consulting compensation.[25] How does President Obama get paid? He gets paid from our voluntarily contributed tax dollars. The fact is public service and charity work is paid for by people contributing money to get a job or a project or a public service done. If getting paid for social venture work or public service was wrong, then millions of people are guilty of the same thing on a daily basis in the United States. Did you know that your tax dollars went to pay an abortion doctor to perform abortions or for a soldier to fight in Afghanistan or for a social worker to help inner city children learn to read – probably not but perhaps indirectly you were aware of it.
In our social venture projects, donors and financial partners were given hundreds of pages of legal documents, business plans and other project-related information to review, study and provide to their lawyers and accountants. Each of these financial partners or donors then chose to donate or invest pursuant to those legal documents and business plans. In donating funds, there is no return other than the charitable donation deduction you receive for donating. In becoming a financial partner, it was abundantly disclosed that like most businesses in the world, the social venture projects can fail. The financial partners were informed that they could lose all of their investment and they were advised of the risks.[26] While I hope that the social venture projects can be completed, even despite all of the obstacles and interference and crazy actions of others, it will still take a lot of time, money and hard work to get it done. However, the rewards of completing the social venture projects and helping to create jobs, feed families and save as many lives as possible in Africa make it all worthwhile.
God Bless you all.
[1] http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
[2] http://www.unicef.org/media/files/Child_Mortality_Report_2011_Final.pdf
[3] BBC 5 October, 2001 & Anti-Slavery Society. See http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Sold-into-Slavery/
[4] James 1:27 New Living Translation (2007).
[5] Like many other people, I sponsor a little girl in Zambia through World Vision by providing enough money – roughly $1 per day – so that she has food, clothing and school supplies. While this is clearly not enough – it is something invaluable to her and frankly, it means the world to me. To help a child in need, see www.worldvision.org.
[6] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-hamburg/microenterprise-an-exciti_b_813738.html. Liz Hamburg reports that each job created fed a family of five from the income from that job.
[7] For a report on the multiplication effect from job creation in social ventures, see http://www.fieldus.org/Microtest/SROI.pdf
[8] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-hamburg/microenterprise-an-exciti_b_813738.html
[9] See Wild Coast Property Valuation. This valuation was prepared by real estate expert Alan Bell and real estate developer David Stefano based upon comparable property values on existing real estate for sale on the Wild Coast of South Africa.
[10] Known in Xhosa tradition as the place of The Great Cattle Killing, Hole in the Wall is steeped in cultural fokelore and significance for the Xhosa people. For a short version of the legend, see http://www.southafrica-travel.net/eastcape/wildcoast.htm
[11] See DBSA – Incopho Project Overview as Article 6 FN 4.
[12] See National Government Lease to Incopho. There are dozens of leases between the local community partners and the social venture partners, which document the projects and the hopeful social benefit to the local community partners. For years, the social venture projects paid lease payments to the various communities, paid local workers and paid development costs.
[13] See Record of Decision to Incopho.
[14] See Site Plan at Article 6 FN 7.
[15] See Pure Africa letter to Sotheby’s at Article 6 FN 10.
[16] See Letter from Lofty Nel of Sotheby’s International Realty at Article 6 FN 11.
[17] See Plot and Plan Pricing at Article 6 FN 12.
[18] See Model Home specifications by Villager Homes at Article 6 FN 13.
[19] See Opinion Letter of Smith Tabata Law Firm at Article 6 FN 14.
[20] Sotheby’s Booklet showing Hole in the Wall Development at Article 6 FN 15.
[21] See Conde Nast Home article naming Hole in the Wall a “Hot Property” at Article 6 FN 16.
[22] See Sotheby’s website layout at Article 6 FN 17.
[23] See Pure Africa Hole in the Wall signboard at Article 6 FN 18.
[24] See Pam Golding Properties Letter.
[25] My consulting compensation was paid pursuant to signed agreements on an hourly rate basis and payment of costs and expenses and it was acknowledged by the managers and boards of the various companies that agreed to hire me as a consultant. See William Brown Letter.
[26] See Private Placement Memorandum of the Fund and the signed Subscription Agreement of Dr. Allan Stiner.
Tagged as africa, aid, allan stiner, attorney, b ray, brian dinning, brian r. dinning, brian ray dinning, children, community, dinning, energy, entrepreneurship, fbi, george bowles, granville batte, hole in the wall, jason roper, joint venture, law, lawyer, legal, LLC, malnutrition, mdumbi, murrill, norfolk, ray dinning, social, social entrepreneurship, social venture, south africa, starvation, starving, unicef, us attorney, usaid, virginia beach, washington, wild coast, william granville batte, World Bank, xhosa
Article VIII: The Lawyers: Lying, False Claims, Threats and Insanity: Social Ventures in Africa? by Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM and social venture lawyer
Article VIII: The Lawyers: Lying, False Claims, Threats and Insanity
By: Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM and Social Venture Lawyer[1]
What does a lawyer who was suspended from practicing law for three years for making false claims against me and others and not being truthful with a court and other unprofessional and tortious behavior with a history of insanity have to do with this story? A LOT! He is one of the lawyers for the bad press collaborators (see Articles III through VII at www.socialentrepreneurshipinafrica.com). Jason Christopher Roper and his close friend and former law partner, George Bowles are the lawyers for the aggressive bad press campaign collaborators. These two lawyers not only participated in most, if not all, of the aggressive bad press campaign, they are the two people who have profited substantially by representing this group – earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
George Bowles was the lawyer for Batte and Stiner. Bowles contacted business associates of Pure Africa, Earth Conservancy and me in an effort to damage and discredit the social venture projects in South Africa and me and to support his claims. On at least two occasions, Bowles contacted our business partners (general contractors and builders from Virginia who were overseeing the development work on the Wild Coast of South Africa) to discredit me and to engage in a fishing expedition to solicit them as clients in a possible legal action against me. Interfering with and damaging existing business relationships, providing false and inflammatory information and then seeking to represent these people is wrong – it is illegal and actionable (tortious interference) but it is also against a lawyer’s code of ethics.
These actions by Bowles are not only unprofessional and unethical but they cost the projects hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost investment and the loss of two or more business relationships. Our business relationships with general contractors a year or more to develop since the projects are in Africa and generally included one or more due diligence trips to South Africa. Each time one of these relationships was destroyed by Bowles, it cost the social venture projects in time, money and valuable resources. Bowles and his clients also sent confidential and privileged information to Bossie Bosman, which was used to discredit us in South Africa with the government, our professional team, our local community partners and our business partners.[2] He also admittedly shared confidential and privileged information with his good friend and former partner Roper. It is unclear whether Bowles’ law firm, Williams Mullen is aware of the tortious, interfering and damaging conduct.[3]
Jason Christopher Roper was actively involved in the aggressive negative press campaign in an illegal and actionable way as well. He openly advertised for new clients on the blog of Jeff Brown and he admitted to contacting the South African government and others in an effort to damage and discredit the projects and me. He also admitted to working in concert with and sharing confidential and protected information with his good friend, Bowles. Together, these two worked hard to damage and discredit the projects and me and they profited handsomely from their efforts through the payment of legal fees by Batte, Stiner and the other bad press campaign collaborators.[4]
The contact by Roper and Bowles to the government of South Africa, to Sotheby’s International Realty, to Pam Golding Properties and others stopped our projects on at least three specific instances directly: at Mdumbi Bay with Fresh Properties,[5] at Hole in the Wall with Sotheby’s International Realty,[6] and with Pam Golding Properties.[7] Each time this occurred, it stopped the marketing campaign and cost the social venture projects millions of dollars in revenue. This revenue would have been used to repay our financial partners and to provide for a financial return to the local community and the social venture partners. It is unclear how many indirect opportunities were lost to the bad press campaign but I know of several instances where business relationships ended due to the blog of Jeff Brown and others.
Many times, we tried to stop them from interfering by sending letters of support and seeking endorsements from all of our professional team members.[8] We also sought and received endorsement letters and support from the Government of South Africa including South African President Jacob Zuma, National Cabinet Members and National and local government.[9]
Roper and Bowles coordinated the legal attack on me and the social venture projects to line their pockets with legal fees. Instead of simply asking the social venture projects for a return of their money, they sued first using a generic fraud complaint. Since the only way to get to an individual personally instead of the business is by alleging fraud, they started off by using a general allegation of fraud to file a lawsuit against me personally as well as against the social venture companies. In the first three cases, the social venture partners and myself settled three lawsuits by paying back the investors in full with interest and attorneys’ fees. The next legal battle was with the Stiners. The social venture companies would have eventually paid them back as well when funding was available to settle the lawsuit but the damage that they did to the social venture projects through the aggressive bad press campaign plus the death threats against me led us to agree that settling the lawsuit was not appropriate and a countersuit was filed. It was then that the Stiners dismissed their lawsuit forever. The final lawsuit (other than the $30 million lawsuit pending against the bad press campaign club filed by me) was a lawsuit filed by Roper. This suit cost Jason Christopher Roper his job because my legal counsel and I were present when the senior partners of his firm at McKenry Dancigars said to him that “there is no case.” Roper continued with the lawsuit contrary to his firm’s advice and was fired. Strangely, he then reportedly attempted to commit suicide, was hospitalized and then continued to practice law until his recent suspension.[10]
I was finally able to achieve a small victory with Roper through the Virginia State Bar. Judge Karen Burrell documented Roper’s negative, unprofessional and attacking behavior against me in both correspondence and court order.[11] On February 17, 2012, Jason Christopher Roper was suspended from practicing law for three years by the Virginia State Bar. The announcement from the Virginia State Bar reads:
“Jason Christopher Roper, 702 Lakeview Court, Mars, PA 16046
VSB Docket Nos. 09-021-080040, 10-021-080199, 10-021-080602
On February 17, 2012, the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board suspended Jason Christopher Roper’s license to practice law for three years for violating rules governing candor toward the tribunal; fairness to opposing party or counsel; respect for rights of third persons; confidentiality of information; conflict of interest: general rule; conflict of interest: former client; declining or terminating representation; meritorious claims and contentions; ; communication with persons represented by counsel; bar admission and disciplinary matters; and misconduct.”
This, in turn, gave me the necessary evidence to prepare and file the current $30 million lawsuit including claims for federal civil RICO against Jason Christopher Roper, George Bowles and the bad press campaign collaborators. My goal with the lawsuit is to fight for the rights of the social venture partners, the investors and donors, the local poor communities in Africa and me against this negative and actionable conduct by a small group of people. These people cost us millions of dollars in potential profit, millions of dollars of costs and expenses and years of hard work and effort for the people of Africa.
Just to highlight the attacking, unprofessional and unbalanced thinking of this group, Roper sent this scary and threatening email to me:
“Mr. Dinning:
Good morning and congratulations on your indictment! May you enjoy the next twenty to thirty years in a nice federal peneteniary without the comforts of your bimbo wife, your kids, or the finer things in life . . . Don’t worry about your wife. If she appears at your trial, I will make sure to inform her that if she needs a good serving, she can always give me a call.
Laughing still.
Jason C. Roper”
My legal counsel responded with:
“Mr. Roper –
I was just forwarded your communication with Mr. Dinning. Note that your communication itself, as well as the content, are not only violative of PA ethical rules, but are unlawful in and of themselves. Besides being disgusting and offensive.
Given your history of unstable and violent behavior, I must take your statements, especially as to threatened sexual assault on Mrs. Dinning, as real threats to her well being and report the same as well as insist that you never, in any manner, communicate with my client again. If you do so, appropriate legal action will be taken in Pennsylvania.
I’m not saying this to argue with you, and I will not respond to any response or argument that you make in return. You either comply or don’t. If you don’t, I will take appropriate action.”
After sending this to my lawyer, misconduct bar complaints were filed by my legal counsel and me in both Virginia and Pennsylvania for this shocking and threatening behavior.
This is not the conduct of rational people. What I have shared with you is the actual, documented conduct of some of our financial partners and their legal counsel in social ventures in Africa. It is also the conduct of the principle instigators behind the current charges pending against me in the United States as a final blow in their aggressive bad press campaign.
While I am happy to face them in court, I wanted to tell my side of the story and to share with you my heart for the people of Africa. While no one is perfect, all of my consulting fees, expenses, personal expenses and draw compensation was documented in consulting agreements and authorized by the social venture companies. You do not have to take my word for it though, as I have attached a letter from one of our social venture partners, Dr. William Brown, Ph.D Professor and Fulbright Scholar to Assistant US Attorney Steve Haynie in February, 2012. In this letter, Dr. Brown (which can be supported and corroborated by “dozens of people” according to Dr. Brown) openly discusses the aggressive bad press campaign and the fact that my consulting fees and expenses were all authorized and approved by the Board of Directors and by my consulting agreements.[12]
While I am happy to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in court, I can tell you that my reputation, family and over 16 years of work on social ventures has been irreparably damaged by this unjust process. The truly sad thing is that the real impact of this will be against the local people in Africa, who were and are counting on us for help not to mention the wildlife that is counting on us for safety and protection.[13] I can only hope that others will take up the cause of social ventures in Africa (despite the risks I have described) and help the local people of Africa to help preserve and conserve their land and natural resources for future generations to enjoy.
[1] My background is at http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/23321-va-brian-dinning-629141.html
[2] George Bowles, for his part in the aggressive bad press campaign, is listed as one of the defendants in the pending $30 million lawsuit by me and Pure Africa to reclaim some of the damage caused by their reckless and intentional actions in damaging me and the social venture projects. Our goal is to ensure that the projects move forward for the benefit of the local communities in Africa.
[3] See http://www.williamsmullen.com/gbowles/
[4] Jason Christopher Roper has already been suspended for three years from practicing law for his unprofessional and attacking conduct against me by the Virginia State Bar as documented by Judge Karen Burrell in both correspondence and court order. Jason Roper, for his part in the aggressive bad press campaign, is listed as one of the defendants in the pending $30 million lawsuit by me and Pure Africa to reclaim some of the damage caused by their reckless and intentional actions in damaging me and the social venture projects. For his background, see http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/15219-pa-jason-roper-537025/reviews.html
[5] Fresh emails. Fresh Cash Buyers for 39 lots
[6] Sotheby’s emails.
[7] See PGP Emails. Article 8 FN PGP Explorer Club Anonymous Calls and Article 8 FN Umidi to PGP on Attack and Article 8 FN Vandeventer Black About Disruption
[8] See Endorsement Letters. WCEC T&B Log Homes 15.04.2009 See also ACI Roper Letter p 1 and ACI Roper Letter p 2 and Article 8 FN XC Letter to Roper p 1 and Article 8 FN XC Letter to Roper p 2
[9] See letters from the South African Government. Article 8 FN Letter from President Jacob Zuma and see also Article 8 FN National Minister Letter Ningta or Tambo ltr.
[10] It should also be noted that Jason Christopher Roper was fired from his last two law firms (Blumling & Gusky and McKenry Dancigars) and it is reported to me by other attorneys that he was fired from two previous law firms for similarly bizarre and unprofessional behavior.
[11] See Letter from Judge Karen Burrell. Article 8 FN Judge Burrell Letter re Roper
[12] See Letter of Dr. William Brown to Steve Haynie, Asst. US Attorney Article 1 FN 1 Letter from William Brown to Mr. Haynie
[13] Letter from Xolile at Mdumbi Bay Community Trust. Article 8 FN Xolile 2012 Letter
Tagged as actionable, africa, aid, attorney, b ray, bowles, brian dinning, brian r. dinning, brian ray dinning, dc, dinning, energy, entrepreneurship, george bowles, green power, indictment, innocent, interference, jacob zuma, jason christopher roper, jason roper, joint venture, lawsuit, legal, malpractice, micro enterprise, misconduct, national minister, ntinga, pam golding properteis, pam golding properties, pennsylvania, pennsylvania state bar, president, ray dinning, RICO, roper, social, social entrepreneurship, social entreprenuer, social venture, sotheby's, south africa, tax, tortious, trevor manuel, us attorney, virginia, virginia state bar, walmart, washington, wild coast, williams mullen, xhosa
Article VII: On the Ground in Africa: Not Much Better by Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM and social venture lawyer
Article VII: On the Ground in Africa: Not Much Better.
With social venture projects in Africa, there is generally a team of social venture partners on the ground who are responsible for managing the project and the day-to-day operations. For example, I’m currently working with an organic farmer in community farming projects in Africa, where there is a local non-profit organization with six full-time workers (providing free seeds and education to the local community), a for-profit farm manager (providing oversight and management to the community farmers) and the local community providing land and workers. These are the project managers and workers who run the project on the ground. Every organization, including the United Nations, USAID and the World Bank work with local partners on projects in Africa.[1]
With the initial farming social venture, the mining project and the tourism project, our local project manager was Michael van der Merwe and his brother, Pieter van der Merwe. Whenever funding is needed on the ground in Africa for the social venture projects, there is a team of people who become financial partners and others who generally work on the projects. In our projects, the funding partners were part of limited liability companies in the United States or a United States non-profit corporation. The funding project company was managed by Pure Africa and funds were loaned to the social venture project in South Africa. Those loan funds were then managed by the social venture project manager and invested into the project or used to pay project fees and expenses. Finally, the financial partners would receive loan documentation and social venture project ownership for their loan to the social venture project or, in the case of funding provided by a US non-profit corporation, like Earth Conservancy, the funding was sent in the form of a grant.
The loan funds would then be under the control of the local social venture project manager, who had the responsibility of managing those funds to complete the projects and then repay the loan. At Hole in the Wall and on the Wild Coast of South Africa, our local partner was Bossie Bosman, who was one of the founders of the social venture work at Hole in the Wall and other projects. Like with Michael van der Merwe, funding for the Hole in the Wall project was generally wired from the United States to Bossie Bosman, who had responsibility of managing those funds, completing the project and repaying the loan.
Although we had sent considerable funding to Michael van der Merwe to secure rights to the three projects and to conduct due diligence, purchase reclamation bonding for the mining project and scoping and other costs, the Pure Africa Sustainable Development Fund and Pure Africa along with our nonprofit social venture partner, Earth Conservancy, did not want to do any projects with Michael van der Merwe. There was a lack of business reporting, a lack of accounting and most of all, Michael van der Merwe maintained close ties with Wextrust Capital. As stated before, a private investigation report was later ordered for Michael van der Merwe, which confirmed that he was not a man to trust[2] as he owned seven or more luxury homes in Pretoria, Waterkloof, Waterkloof Ridge, Midrand and East London, an office building in Midrand, a dozen or more luxury automobiles, motorcycles and other toys and his brother, Pieter, built a 20,000 square foot mansion. This list doesn’t include the assets, which were given to the girlfriends of van der Merwe and Shereshevsky. The Fund and Pure Africa did not want to risk any further involvement with Michael van der Merwe. Despite his claims of profitability and viability of these projects, the decision was made to drop them and it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in loan capital sent to him that will likely never be recovered.
In 2009, after a lengthy private investigation to locate loan funds sent to Michael van der Merwe on behalf of our financial partners, my brother and I confronted Michael van der Merwe at his luxury oceanfront home in East London, South Africa. I asked Michael van der Merwe,
“what did you do with our financial partner’s loan capital and my money?” A nervous van der Merwe said, “I am in the process of selling the tourism project and I will repay all of your loan money to you and your financial partners.” In blaming Wextrust Capital, he said, “Joe [Shereshevsky] was a thief and we all lost money.” When asked directly about his luxury cars, luxury homes and his brother’s mansion that were all paid for with cash, he said that he “bought them with money given to him by Joe Shereshevsky and Wextrust Capital.” With promises of repayment from van der Merwe, we left after an hour-long meeting. Of course, we all waited for years for a promised repayment from Michael van der Merwe that never came. Naturally, when I was asked by our financial partners about the repayment of our loans, I could only pass along what van der Merwe told us many times: that the projects were being sold and that he would repay all of loan money to us. This – we found out – was one of many lies told to us by Michael van der Merwe and his brother – Pieter. The fact is – they stole the loan money of our financial partners (and of Wextrust Capital’s investors) and used it to buy an estimated ten million dollars of luxury homes, cars and other items for cash.[3]
Again, this was another significant negative action that made us change our entire business strategy and move on to other projects. Thus, Hole in the Wall and the Wild Coast projects became our principle focus.[4]
The Fund managers, Rick, Lou and John, along with Pure Africa, wanted to have someone “on the ground” in Africa and since my brother, Steve, has a passion for missions work, I suggested that he go to Africa to watch over the developments. Steve traveled to Africa in the summer of 2006 with promises of an annual salary plus living expenses. With all of the interruptions, bizarre and criminal conduct and the aggressive bad press campaign, it was very difficult to locate funding partners. Everyone was turned off by the negative press campaign.
One of the first issues Steve encountered was with our local social venture project manager, Bossie Bosman. Shortly after arriving in South Africa, Steve soon discovered that Bossie Bosman has misappropriated funds designated for the Hole in the Wall project to buy a new Landrover LR3 for cash in his personal name at a cost of $100,000 – a devastating blow – as the funds that he misappropriated were supposed to be used to pay the contractual wages for the local community workers, for my brother and the project managers.[5] It was six months worth of budgeted expenses stolen by Bosman to purchase a Landrover for himself. Ultimately, Bossie Bosman was reported to the police in South Africa and he was voted off the Board of Directors of the social venture project.[6] Angry, Bossie Bosman then became the ally of Dr. Batte and Dr. Stiner and they corresponding regularly in their bad press campaign and coup attempt, which commenced in April, 2007.
The beautiful oceanfront and riverfront project at Mdumbi Bay
As our projects on the Wild Coast were moving closer to launching, they had great potential and we received many assurances that the Hole in the Wall and Mdumbi Bay projects would lease out in quickly. This meant millions of potential dollars of revenue for the social venture projects and for the local community. With these funds, all investors could be repaid and the local community would receive a large windfall of profits that they could use to build schools, medical clinics and other needed facilities.
However, despite great potential projects, the intentional damage and interference by Batte, Stiner, Bosman and others killed the project at Mdumbi Bay (see photo above). In June, 2007, the project at Mdumbi Bay was ready to commence marketing by Fresh Properties in East London, South Africa.[7] There were multiple meetings and conference calls between the marketing company, the financial partners and Pure Africa. The project would entail the long-term lease of 46 home sites and a small tourism lodge. On or about June 14, 2007, Fresh Properties set a meeting to discuss the current status of the Mdumbi Bay Marketing Plan. In this correspondence, Mark Trow of Fresh Properties lists “definite potential cash buyers” for 39 of the 46 lots, with names of the buyers listed next to the lot they had chosen, which represented over $6 million in social venture project revenue.[8] However, several anonymous phone calls were made to the South African government claiming that we were trying to “sell” the land instead of “lease” the land to potential buyers. This immediately stopped the marketing effort and in November, 2007, we switched real estate sale companies to Sotheby’s International Realty. Once again, we were so close to a social venture project success before the proverbial rug was pulled out from under us by Bossie Bosman, Batte and others.[9]
Bosman, Batte, Stiner and others then began to utilize the blog of Jeff Brown, a hotel owner and opponent of any development (other than his) at Hole in the Wall. Jeff Brown told my brother that he will do anything he can to stop the development at Hole in the Wall and he became the bulletin board for all of the aggressive bad press, libel, slander and false information against the social venture projects and me. They coordinated with Jeff Brown because he could post all of their information anonymously and he has sent it by automatically generated email to our investors, donors and the general public to discredit the social venture projects and me. They have even utilized the blog to post supposed messages from my children and others – of course – all anonymously. The unfortunate consequence of the Internet is that it is practically impossible to stop someone overseas from posting false and defamatory articles about you.
Hole in the Wall was another social venture project with great potential. Our professional team provided great endorsements of the project. On May 6, 2008, Lofty Nel, a Principal with the firm of Sotheby’s International Realty provided a letter to the project, which reads:
The 51 lots were priced for long term lease at an average price of $120,000 for a total projected revenue to the social venture project of $6 million. The project was on the verge of success.
On September 1, 2008, Russell Linde, South African real estate attorney of the law firm of Smith Tabata provided Dinning and Pure Africa, LLC with a legal opinion letter which states:
By June 2008, all architectural designs, engineering, lot layout, utilities and infrastructure plans were completed and a contract to install all utilities, roads and services to The Reserve at Hole in the Wall were completed. These steps made it possible for marketing of long term leases for the 51 lots by Sotheby’s International Realty.
In May, 2008, Sotheby’s began to issue marketing materials for Hole in the Wall and in September, 2008, Hole in the Wall was listed as a “hot property” in Conde Nast Home in South Africa and Media Press Releases were issued. Sotheby’s also went to great expense to create glossy brochures to begin marketing and they also launched a marketing website for the Hole in the Wall project.
Then, the aggressive bad press campaign team started their bad press campaign in South Africa. This was the most difficult interference that resulted from the aggressive bad press campaign was the anonymous phone calls from this coordinated group to our real estate professional team. At the launch of the Hole in the Wall project and then at the second marketing launch of the project at Mdumbi Bay, Sotheby’s International Realty received several anonymous phone calls from Virginia in the United States and from one or more individuals in South Africa stating that the projects were false, that they did not exist and that I was not someone to be trusted. The callers also threatened to take the matter to the newspapers to discredit Sotheby’s and the social venture projects. In discussions with Sotheby’s, we were told that a new development, especially a social venture development, is a delicate matter and you only want positive information for the general public to view when seeking to spend money on a new oceanfront resort. The decision was made to halt the marketing campaigns and try to regroup under a new development company.[12] This interference also cost us R25,000,000 or $4M from The Development Bank of South Africa.[13]
When another marketing project called The Wild Coast Explorer Club was preparing to launch in the Fall of 2009, similar anonymous phone calls were made to Pam Golding Properties, the real estate company handling the development and launch of this new project. The callers again threatened to take the matter to the newspapers and to tarnish the name of Pam Golding Properties if they continued to represent the project.[14] Sadly, again, this malicious, bad press campaign had succeeded in stopping a very promising project. The Wild Coast Explorer Club had received endorsements from our law firm, accounting firm, real estate professionals, home builders and many others but marketing a new project cannot stand up to bad press – even if it is false.[15]
Each time a project was halted by the malicious and negative actions of Batte and his coordinated bad press campaign, we had to stop everything and try to work on a new project that hadn’t yet been attacked by this group. However, each time the task grew harder and everyone on the social venture team was tired of the negative attacks and the disappointment and damage that resulted from the negative attacks. In 2010, my brother had to return home penniless as he too was paid only a small fraction of the salary and living expenses he was promised by the social venture projects.
With regard to the negative attacks, there are emails, correspondence and witnesses to corroborate and confirm everything that I have said here today. Additionally, in February, 2012, I filed a $30 million civil RICO lawsuit against Batte, Stiner and the group responsible for the aggressive bad press campaign in Suffolk Circuit Court in Virginia. The goal is to recoup the social venture revenue lost to their libel, slander and interference and to complete one or more of the social venture projects, repay the financial partners and provide jobs and profits to the local Xhosa community. It is no wonder that they have filed false reports and charges against me because they have to try to justify their negative actions and cover up their own wrongs.
Finally, many of you may say, the government is accusing you of using funds to buy a luxury home and cars. In 2006, with my consulting contracts in hand from Pure Africa and Earth Conservancy, I was able to put a down payment on a nice home (along with significant financial help from my family) with a large mortgage. In 2008, after learning that all of our money was stolen by Michael van der Merwe and Bosman and the interference by Batte and others, Pure Africa and Earth Conservancy were unable to pay me and my home was sold in a short sale per an agreement with the bank so that we could avoid foreclosure. I sold or had two cars repossessed to pay the car loans. The real difference between my compensation and van der Merwe’s and Bosman’s theft is that I was paid a fraction of the consulting fees promised to me by written consulting agreements and my home and cars were bought with bank financing like most people – not with stolen cash like the van der Merwes and Bosman.[16]
The next and final article in the series is: The Malicious Lawyers: Lying, False Claims, Threats and Insa
[1] See http://www.standardnewswire.com/news/483504557.html and http://web.undp.org/africa/
[2] In the Investigation Report of Michael van der Merwe dated April, 2008, it is noted that the Lion’s Walk project was sold but the funds never went into the company nor were taxes paid. We are still trying to recover our loan funds from Michael van der Merwe.
[3] There are many more sordid and salacious details to the stories about Joe Shereshevsky, Wextrust Capital and Michael van der Merwe and their rampant thievery and fraud but those stories will have to be told in another Article or series of Articles. The real question is: where are the Volvo loaders, trucks, excavators and other moveable equipment from all those mining projects? Each mining project had approximately $5M of equipment and in my last conversation with van der Merwe – he said he and Wextrust Capital had seven mining projects. That is perhaps $35M of moveable equipment that may be unaccounted for and likely liquidated by the van der Merwes at or about the time of the Wextrust Capital scandal.
[4] See Status Report of Fund dated July 2007 and September 2007. Article 7 FN 4 Fund Status Report July 2007
[5] See Minutes voting Bossie off the Board and Bossie Crimes letter.
[6] We were also told later by local community and governmental leaders that Bosman was a hated man in the local black communities because it was widely known that he was a mean and malicious police officer in the Apartheid era and treated the local people very harshly. It was also rumored that Bosman was present and participated in the beating death of black student peace advocate Stephen Biko in Port Elizabeth. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko
[7] See Fresh Letter. Fresh Purchasers are Waiting
[8] See Fresh 39 Cash Buyers email. Fresh Cash Buyers for 39 lots
[9] The $6 million of revenue from the sale of the lease lots at Mdumbi Bay would have paid all project costs, paid back the financial partners of Mdumbi Bay project and generated a significant profit for the local community and our social and financial partners.
[10] See Letter from Lofty Nel of Sotheby’s International Realty. Article 7 FN 10 Sotheby’s Endorsement Letter copy
[11] See Opinion Letter of Smith Tabata Law Firm. Article 7 FN 11 Pure Africa (Opinion Letter for Hole in the Wall
[12] Sotheby’s Correspondence Bill Brown Letter to Land Affairs Mtata Ltr Oct08 re false information from Bosman Stiner
[13] See DBSA Correspondence. Article 7 FN 13 and Article 7 FN 13.1
[14] PGP Email
[15] Endorsement Letters White and Case and Grant Thornton Endorsement
[16] The completely false and slanderous news articles written about me state that our financial partners invested or donated $2.9M and I kept $2M. Actually, most of the financial partners were recruited by Dr. John O’Neil, Rick Lally, Lou Dommer, Granville Batte and Dr. McTavish. Of the $2.9M, approximately $800,000 was sent to Michael van der Merwe, Bosman and our project managers as loans and was managed and spent by them presumably on project expenses, $900,000 to the law firm trust account of attorney Gerhard Dreyer for his mining projects with Granville Batte, approximately $250,000 was used to repay loans and settle disputes by financial partners and the balance was used to pay company expenses such as rent, consulting fees for me and others, travel, repayment of loans and other business costs and expenses. From 2005 to 2010, I was paid less than half of the consulting income I was contractually promised by the social venture projects. In 2011 and 2012, I continue to work with social venture community projects in Africa on a volunteer basis without any compensation. I live off consulting income from tax consulting with energy companies, teaching them to utilize tax incentives to become more environmentally-friendly and emitting less pollution.
Tagged as africa, aid, allan stiner, attorney, b ray, bossie bosman, brian dinning, brian r. dinning, brian ray dinning, coffee bay, dbsa, dc, defamatory, development bank of south africa, dinning, energy, entrepreneurship, false, fbi, fraud, grant thornton, granville batte, hole in the wall, indictment, joint venture, law, lawyer, legal, libel, LLC, loan, low income limited liability company, michael van der merwe, micro enterprise, micro finance, pieter van der merwe, ray, ray dinning, RICO, slander, social, social entrepreneurship, social venture, south africa, tax, us attorney, washington, wextrust capital, white and case, wild coast, xhosa
Article VI: What’s at Stake with the Social Ventures in Africa: The Community’s Heritage and Prized Treasures by Brian Ray Dinning, social venture lawyer
Article 6: What’s at Stake with the Social Ventures in Africa:
The Community’s Heritage and Prized Treasures
You may be asking – what are these social venture projects? What is it like at Hole in the Wall? Why would people like Granville Batte, Jeff Brown (White South African hotel owner at Hole in the Wall and slanderous blogger) and Allan Stiner want to steal projects from the community, our social venture partners and me? How about $98,818,000 of the most sought-after beautiful, untouched oceanfront land on the Indian Ocean in South Africa? This is the value of the raw, undeveloped land held by the social venture between the community and Pure Africa as determined by a South African property expert and a real estate developer.[1] To those trying to steal our social venture projects, this is like hitting the lottery – to the local community, it is their future and a means to lift their entire communities out of poverty. My vision is to stop the cycle of Apartheid and the exploitation of the local community at the hands of people like Batte, Stiner and Brown, to a social venture structure where the community owns 25% to 45% of every project. The local impoverished community should and must benefit substantially from the sustainable development of their land – it is their right and heritage.
In order for you to fully understand the above statements, I will share a bit of our project vision for the local people in Africa with you and why the community land is so special. The local Xhosa people live on less than $1.00 per day, on average. They are very poor in a worldly sense but they are blessed with tremendous natural resources – their oceanfront land. The average tribal leader has less than a sixth grade education, so while they have amazing land – they do not have the tools, skills or education to know how to maximize the value of the land. This is where our social venture partners bring in the education, know-how, a professional team of lawyers and real estate companies and the finances to help the local community sustainably develop a real estate project to create jobs, job skills training and hopefully profits. Don’t get me wrong – social venture projects are for-profit – so our goal was to maximize the value of the community land so that the community, our social venture partners and financial partners can all benefit.
Hole in the Wall is a cultural[2] and National icon in South Africa (see photo below). It is a large rock mountain in the Indian Ocean that boasts beautiful scenery and ocean views. In 2004, the Development Bank of South Africa “DBSA” and the South African Government funded a study on creating a tourism project at Hole in the Wall.[3] Our social venture project company was called Incopho, headed up by Bossie Bosman. In 2004, DBSA, the government and Incopho created a project summary for several projects including: Hole in the Wall and the Golf Course at Coffee Bay.[4] In 2005, our social venture partners received a Lease from the South African National Government to develop the community project at Hole in the Wall[5] and a Record of Decision (building permit and authorization) was issued in late 2005.[6]
Views of Hole in the Wall from Development Site
At Hole in the Wall, after three years of meetings, the approved plan was to build a tourism site with 50 oceanfront rental homes and a boutique hotel[7] which would create a minimum of 57 jobs for the local community and the potential for hundreds of micro business jobs such as beadwork, tours, sea shell jewelry and other tourism souvenirs and hopefully profits from the development (the community owned 45% of the Hole in the Wall development as our partner).
Architect’s Rendering of Proposed Lodging at Hole in the Wall
In order to help fund the social venture project, Earth Conservancy and The Pure Africa Sustainable Development Fund provided initial funding of $563,000 to pay for engineering fees, architects, plans and approvals and initial project consulting and development costs. However, funding for construction costs and utilities installation was still needed. The Development Bank of South Africa expressed initial interest in providing funding to Incopho as early as 2006.[8] The Development Bank of South Africa then told me that they submitted the social venture project at Hole in the Wall for approval for funding of R25,000,000 or $4,000,000 to put in utilities and facilities.[9] One of the conditions of DBSA funding is matching funds from the social venture partners so we needed financial partners to assist in funding the project at Hole in the Wall.
In addition to community and government approval, we also sought the approval of specialized real estate legal counsel. On September 1, 2008, Russell Linde, South African real estate attorney of the law firm of Smith Tabata provided Pure Africa with a legal opinion letter:
While the social venture projects on the Wild Coast in partnership with the Xhosa community have great potential, many people want to take them over for their own personal gain. Why does it seem to be so difficult to help the poor in Africa? I know that Oprah Winfrey had a very hard time starting up her social venture project in Africa[20] and the Washington Post and others have reported on the United Nations aid workers sexual abuse of children[21] and also on billions in stolen aid money[22] and corrupt practices by US companies.[23] In fact, this must be commonplace because I was on the phone with two other social venture project managers in Africa who have had similar experiences to mine.
The next Article describes how Batte, Stiner and others started coordinating with people in Africa in an organized “Wonga-style” coup attempt to either take the social venture projects for themselves or destroy them and me. The next Article is entitled: On the Ground in South Africa: Not Much Better – Social Ventures in Africa.
[1] See Wild Coast Property Valuation at Article 6 FN 1. This valuation was prepared by real estate expert Alan Bell and real estate developer David Stefano based upon comparable property values on existing real estate for sale on the Wild Coast of South Africa.
[2] Known in Xhosa tradition as the place of The Great Cattle Killing, Hole in the Wall is steeped in cultural fokelore and significance for the Xhosa people. For a short version of the legend, see http://www.southafrica-travel.net/eastcape/wildcoast.htm
[3] DBSA Scoping Report is attached hereto as Article 6 FN 3.
[4] See DBSA – Incopho Project Overview as Article 6 FN 4.
[5] See National Government Lease to Incopho as Article 6 FN 5.
[6] See Record of Decision to Incopho as Article 6 FN 6.
[7] See Hole in the Wall Aerial Lot Layout and Site Plan at Article 6 FN 7.
[8] See Development Bank of South Africa letter to Incopho at Article 6 FN 8.
[9] See Development Bank of South Africa email to me at Article 6 FN 9
[19] See Letter from Dr. Brown to South Africa Department of Land Affairs at Article 6 FN 19.
[20] For an overview of the sexual abuse and other scandals at Oprah’s social venture projects, see http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1939460_1939452_1939416,00.html
[21] See United Nations Sex Scandal at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30286-2005Mar12.html
[22] See http://seunfakze.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/the-smart-way-to-fight-corruption-part-i-by-ayittey/
[23] See http://humanosphere.kplu.org/2012/05/corruption-investigation-of-key-player-in-obamas-plan-to-fight-african-hunger/ and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44147002/ns/world_news-africa/t/somalia-famine-aid-stolen-sold-markets/
FOOTNOTE ATTACHMENTS:
Article 6 FN 1 Land Valuation
Article 6 FN 3 DBSA HITW Scoping Report
Article 6 FN 4 DBSA Overview of Projects
Article 6 FN 5 South African National Government Lease for HITW
Article 6 FN 6 Record of Decision
Article 6 FN 8 Development Bank of South Africa initial letter
Article 6 FN 9 Development Bank of South Africa R25 Million email
Article 6 FN 10 Pure Africa letter to Sotheby’s
Article 6 FN 11 Sotheby’s Endorsement Letter copy
Article 6 FN 13 Villager Home design for Hole in the Wall
Article 6 FN 14 Pure Africa (Opinion Letter for Hole in the Wall
Article 6 FN 15 Hole in the Wall Listing in Sotheby’s
Article 6 FN 19 William Brown Letter to Land Affairs Mtata Ltr Oct08 re false information from Bosman Stiner
Tagged as africa, aid, allan stiner, attorney, bossie bosman, brian dinning, brian ray dinning, coffee bay, community, dbsa, development bank of south africa, dinning, energy, entrepreneurship, golf course, granville batte, hole in the wall, jeff brown, joint venture, kruger, law, lawyer, legal, ray dinning, social, social entrepreneurship, social entreprenuer, social venture, sotheby's, tax, us attorney, washington, wild coast, xhosa
Article V: Murder for Hire, Aggressive Bad Press Campaign and other Distasteful Actions: Social Ventures in Africa? by Brian Ray Dinning, social venture lawyer
Article V: Murder for Hire, Aggressive Bad Press Campaign and other Distasteful Actions: Social Ventures in Africa?
I know that some of these stories are hard to believe, and my reason for telling them is not out of revenge, hatred or bitterness, but rather to simply tell truth and the reason for why it has been a great challenge to accomplish the goals, vision and mission I have had for Africa. I am sure most of you reading this have had obstacles standing between you and your dreams. For the social venture partners and me, it was not just one person or one thing standing in the way, it was a mixture of people, many of whom I thought were my friends and business partners. Unfortunately, many of these people demonstrated a lack of integrity, honesty and professionalism. While I along with others have lost a great deal trying to help the people of Africa, one thing that I still have is the heart and passion to help the needy communities and hopefully make a positive change for future generations.
So up to this point, my vision for the social venture projects in Africa was slowed down or hindered by the fraud of Wextrust Capital and then by the drug-using financial partners. Can you see why changes had to be made to the entire business structure and social venture projects so that the projects could continue to move forward? I thought the situation with Rick, Lou and John described in the “Article IV: Cocaine, Ecstasy and Swingers: Social Ventures in Africa?” was inconceivable,[1] however, the next situation is one that I never thought would ever happen, especially from doctors like Granville Batte and Allan Stiner.
Upon our return to the United States in January, 2006 from the crazy trip to South Africa with Rick, Lou and John, I was shaken and unsure about the reliability of the Pure Africa Management funding sources and the new management team. As our South African social venture partners asked me to “not allow those guys (John, Rick and Lou) to come back to the local community” based upon their drug use, partying and overall unprofessional behavior, I was unsure of what to do. Many of you might ask, why did you continue to work at these social venture projects with so many interruptions, bad behavior and illegal actions by our financial partners? Because I, along with my social venture partners in Africa, believe that we were called into this ministry to help the poor in Africa become more sustainable and self-sufficient and to help them maximize their resources to create income and jobs for them and for us. In fact, the entire world was beginning to take notice of social ventures because of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Oprah Winfrey and the Grameen Bank. Furthermore, a number of us had already donated or invested money to start these projects and we wanted to work hard to try to save that investment of money along with years of hard work.
I had to begin making plans to slowly distance myself from my new partners and yet at the same time, I had accepted a new job with them and I needed the consulting income until I could find new financial partners. Additionally, the four of us had already started setting up a new fund, The Pure Africa Sustainable Development Fund that would be operated by Pure Africa Management. John had invited friends and colleagues to meet for a presentation on the Fund on several occasions in late 2005 and early 2006 and several people were interested in investing into the social ventures.
Rick, Lou and John offered me a consulting job from the Fund at an annual consulting salary of $250,000 pursuant to a written Consulting Agreement with the Fund. As funding for my position was not regular and would only be available when funding was available, I was offered a draw salary with use of debit cards and bank accounts as money was available. As I was the only full-time consultant, I was also told that my consulting income was first priority over payment of all other expenses. As I was (and still am) entirely committed to our African projects, I offered to pay back my draw compensation if the projects didn’t succeed within ten years.
By mid-2006, the Fund had five investors who invested a total of $545,000, one of whom was John and the others were his friends and colleagues, whom he invited and recruited into the Fund. Lou prepared financial statements and Rick prepared status reports for the investors. I provided needed help from the business plan writing and draft legal documents. However, the Fund was dysfunctional because of the prior drug use and unprofessional behavior by John and others and the inherent mistrust caused by their partying lifestyle and criminal actions. I was forced to adapt and change the projects already underway and restructure midway through or lose everything. At my request, we all agreed that the Fund would stop raising money for the foreseeable future, in my mind, to protect others against any further potential loss or negative actions and to secure a management team that the local community and social venture partners would accept.
One of the first investors into the Fund was a long time friend of John and also a friend of Rick and Lou. His name was Dr. Allan Stiner of Norfolk, Virginia.[2] Pure Africa Management agreed to allow Dr. Stiner to invest his $250,000 into the Fund in February, 2006. In February, 2006, in a meeting with Dr. Stiner at his home, he reviewed the legal documents a final time and signed the Subscription Agreement. However, in making his investment, he had one other request: he would only invest his money if Rick, Lou and John had no access to his funds as he was aware of the bad behavior of the group in South Africa the month before.
As the Fund was intentionally winding down in the Summer of 2006, two of John’s colleagues, Dr. Jeff McTavish and Dr. Granville Batte[3] approached me. We began to discuss the establishment of a new consulting company called Pure Africa, LLC to take over management of the social venture projects as they agreed that the social venture projects should disassociate from Rick, Lou and John. Batte had recently lost his job and he had time to spend on the projects. Dr. McTavish said he could devote his spare time to helping manage the projects. This opportunity seemed like it had the potential to replace the failed management team from Pure Africa Management. I discussed openly the past failures of the prior financial partners with both McTavish and Batte as it is always wise to provide full disclosure to everyone involved.
Like all other financial partners, Batte and Dr. McTavish were interested in taking a due diligence trip to view the projects for themselves. In October, 2006, Dr. Batte and I took a trip to South Africa to visit the project at Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall. The trip went well and everything seemed ok. At the conclusion of the trip, however, Batte decided to stay on in South Africa and travel with some male companions of very ill repute[4] he had just met – they were going for a month or so to Coffee Bay and then to Lake Kariba for a fishing trip. I warned Batte that he should not go on this trip as he had just met these nefarious companions and that many places in remote Africa can be very dangerous. Oddly enough, Batte stayed on with the travel companions for a month or so in Africa and I returned back to the United States.
In January, 2007, Dr. McTavish, Batte, Stiner and others went on a trip to the Wild Coast of South Africa. Everyone had agreed to focus on the projects on the Wild Coast of South Africa because of the sheer beauty and market potential of these social ventures. Furthermore, no one seemed to trust the social venture partner, Michael van der Merwe, who was one of the founders of the farm, tourism lodge and diamond mine projects.[5]
The trip was generally good and everyone was excited about the projects. We met with our legal team, Sotheby’s, and other professional team members as well as our social venture partners and the local community. However, toward the end of the trip I began to grow concerned about Stiner’s behavior. He seemed kind of withdrawn and emotional, erratic, as if in the throes of a personal crisis. Commenting about Stiner’s emotional behavior, a fellow traveller on our trip said Stiner “seemed fine at the beginning of our trip, but the last few days of our time in Africa he was acting odd: not making eye contact, crying, and distancing himself from the group.”
During this time, Stiner gave me a book called “The Wonga Coup” and he stated that I should read it because it was going to happen to me.[6] I immediately read the book about a group of wealthy men and mercenaries who organized a plot to overthrow a country in Africa to take over the oil and other riches of the country for themselves. I did not understand what he meant at that time but over the next few months and up to the present time, I now have a much better understanding of what he meant. He meant that from that time forward, Batte, Dirk Uys and others began to think about how they could either take over the projects for themselves and assume management control or discredit me and destroy the projects.[7] After our experience with Wextrust Capital, this was unfortunately not a novel concept.
At the end of our trip, an acquaintance, Gerhard Dreyer, a minerals and mining attorney from South Africa came to visit me with Batte in the lobby of my hotel in Pretoria. Dreyer pitched two new mining projects to me, but I wasn’t interested as I already had too much work on my plate. Batte stepped in and agreed to do the financing for the new mining projects, while I would remain separate concentrating on the Wild Coast social venture projects.
Upon our return to the United States, Batte, McTavish and I began to solidify the Pure Africa consulting company to allow us to keep track of our time and expenses. Dr. Batte wanted to have a salary of $350,000 per year as he lost from his job as a doctor in 2006. I signed my consulting agreement with Pure Africa and we all began to track our time and expenses as they related to specific projects through an Excel spreadsheet program created by Dr. McTavish.[8]
Just a few weeks later, Batte became increasingly dictatorial, making an aggressive push to control Pure Africa and her social venture projects, especially the new mining projects. He told both Dr. McTavish and I that he wanted to manage and control the projects of Pure Africa as the primary person in charge. It was surprising that he did this as Pure Africa was a collaborative, communal venture and not one that was singularly directed. In addition to Batte’s misunderstanding of our mission, he also had zero business experience and we just learned that Batte and his travel companions were reviled by the tribal leaders for some terrible behavior. So, of course, we refused his request.
Word of the conduct of Batte’s travel companions and, by implication Batte, was making the rounds and it was worse than we ever could have imagined. The tribal leaders reported that members of his party were paying young boys in the local community for sex. We were shocked. The economic inequities that we were trying to address between America and Africa are staggering, and to take advantage of that gap in wealth to pressure children with little opportunity into prostituting themselves is appalling. It turns out that the month-long trip that Batte took, that seemed so risky and puzzling to me at the time, was reportedly a male-only sex party, which later carried over into the Hole in the Wall and Coffee Bay area causing us to have to take immediate action to protect the local children and the social venture projects. I had the unfortunate difficulty of carefully documenting this in an email to Batte in April, 2007.[9] I was asked by our social venture partners and the community tribal leaders to not allow Batte and his companions to come back to Hole in the Wall and Coffee Bay.[10]
Again, terrible conduct by others made us have to restructure our entire business model and work toward insulating the local community and the projects from any further harm from people with bad intentions. Dr. McTavish and I immediately demanded that Batte leave Pure Africa. However, Batte did not go gracefully, but implemented every bullying tactic in the book “The Wonga Coup” by launching a planned and coordinated attack on my character and the social venture projects. Through this slanderous and calculated attack, Batte not only took over the mining projects but he also permanently damaged business relationships and projects.
Batte began an aggressive bad press campaign against me by sending emails to our social venture partners and financial partners. Steve Geller, a golf course renovator who was working with Earth Conservancy on the golf course project in Coffee Bay, received one of these emails from Batte. In forwarding the email, Geller said about Batte, “I can usually tell when someone is “different”, very different!!!” In the email, Batte states:
“my suggestion is to start an AGGRESSIVE ‘bad press’ campain, and I will happy to pitch in as well . . . I also know of others who are very unhappy and might be willing to coordinate as well. The most important thing is to ‘DO IT’ and not just talk about wanting to do it . . . I don’t know exactly how much help I can be, but we can surely share stories and information. Yes, I’m pissed-off too, and like many others, have my own ax to grind.”[11]
This was the first real evidence I had of the coordinated and planned attack on my character and the attempted “coup” or take-over of our projects. One of the “others” that Dr. Batte began his coordinated his aggressive bad press campaign with was Stiner. On February 17, 2007, shortly after our trip to South Africa, Stiner asked me to meet him at the Pure Africa office in Norfolk Virginia. At this meeting, Stiner clearly wanted out of the projects. He was in the midst of a failed real estate venture with his brother and no longer wanted to participate in our African projects, demanding that we return his money. Stiner said to me, “we can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Stiner laid out six notecards in front of me. On the note cards were written names and addresses “of friends and fraternity brothers in high places who can bring you a world of pain” Stiner stated. He named the individuals on the cards as a litigation attorney, a journalist, a US attorney, an FBI agent, a Federal Judge and lastly, an organized crime person from Philadelphia. Stiner said, if he did not get his money back by April 15, 2007 that he would ask all of “his friends in high places” to come after me. Referring to the organized crime contact, Stiner ominously said, “if you want to spend the rest of your life with your children and family, you better get my money back.”
Since Stiner’s money had already been used to pay consulting fees, business expenses and project expenses, the companies did not have the money to give him. Trying to stop him from hurting me or anyone else, the companies offered him a promissory note and company shares to placate him. On April 12, 2007, Stiner again asked me to meet him. I stated that it had to be in a public place like Starbucks. Speaking loudly and aggressively at this lengthy meeting, Stiner stated that he had hired some sort of mobster from Philadelphia who would “fuck me up,” and “that the days of your life are numbered.”
I wrote Stiner on April 24, 2007 by certified mail to remind him that he’d threatened my life and those of my family, and that he was recklessly heading down a very dangerous path.[12] His response was chilling and simple, he said “the sand in the hourglass is almost empty.”[13]
Stiner, having seemingly come unhinged, called Dr. McTavish and told him of his plot. Dr. McTavish recounted to me that Stiner calmly and deliberately described his plan to hurt or kill me. Stiner informed McTavish about his mafia friends in Philadelphia and the fact that he had hired or was about to hire someone from Philadelphia to travel to Virginia for the purpose of hurting or killing me. Dr. McTavish’s wife urged McTavish to call me immediately and to warn me of Dr. Stiner’s plan. Upon hearing of the plan from McTavish, I immediately called my wife to warn her of Stiner’s threat. I also called my children’s school to warn them as well.
I contacted the local police to tell them of Stiner’s threats against me, my wife and my children and the officer gave me a police report number and assured me that they would dispatch police to patrol the area around my home. I was also referred to the police in Norfolk, Virginia because Stiner’s threats occurred in Norfolk. I visited the Norfolk Police Department and informed the Norfolk Police of Stiner’s threats. An Emergency Protective Order was entered against Stiner prohibiting him from any contact with me or my family and he was later arrested for stalking and threats to my life. The Emergency Protective Order issued by a Judge reads:
“Mr. Dinning works for Earth Conservancy and received a cash donation from Dr. Stiner earlier this year. Since that time Dr. Stiner has requested the return of his donation. Mr. Dinning alleges that Dr. Stiner has been extremely aggressive and hostile in his attempts to get the money returned. Accordingly, Dr. Stiner has made numerous phone calls and met with Mr. Dinning in person making threats to his person and his family. He is in fear for his life and that of his family.” [14]
Stiner, however, was not finished. Calling my church, Stiner told my church leaders that the social venture projects are not real and that I should not be allowed to lead a Bible study (which my wife and I did for three years). Stiner also contacted Professor Dr. William Brown, Fulbright Scholar, Church Deacon and Board Member at Earth Conservancy and Dr. Brown’s employer at Regent University to discredit me and the social venture projects as part of the aggressive bad press campaign. Dr. Brown told me that he interpreted these actions by Dr. Stiner as “aggressive and threatening”. In an email, Brown states that Dr. Stiner’s statements were “untrue” and “slanderous.”[15] Stiner also contacted Professor Joseph Umidi, a Senior Pastor and Board Member at Earth Conservancy at his place of employment at Regent University to discredit me and the social venture projects. In an email confirming Stiner’s negative call, Dr. Umidi states that Stiner’s statements were “bothersome and bordering on intimidation.”[16]
This aggressive bad press campaign by Batte, Stiner and others was a planned and coordinated coup attempt to take over the projects for themselves. In departing from Pure Africa, Batte filed a lawsuit through his father against me. As part of this lawsuit, Batte demanded the rights to two mining projects in exchange for agreeing to stay away from the community and projects at Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall. It is my understanding that Batte ruined the two mining projects shortly thereafter by threats and intimidation against Attorney Gerhard Dreyer.
Even to this day, Batte, Stiner and others have continued to harass me, slander me and try to harm me and my family. This current action is the work of Batte and Stiner starting in early 2007 as part of the negative bad press campaign. When enough negative information (even if false) is spoken, written and reported by people, it begins to look like the truth. The truth is: I look forward to the opportunity to face these men in court and see them testify on the witness stand about their aggressive bad press campaign and more importantly – the murder-for-hire plot of Stiner and the reckless and damaging actions of Batte and his travel companions in Hole in the Wall and Coffee Bay. These two people, more than any other, have delayed, damaged and even halted the beautiful community projects on the Wild Coast of South Africa.
So, the social venture partners, Dr. McTavish and I began to reorganize, regroup and continue to move forward in our vision to help the people of Africa. Many times I have questioned whether it is worth it – is helping others worth the loss of reputation, the loss of liberty and freedom and even the loss of life. I am comforted by the words of so many business pioneers who state that perseverance is the key to success. Like President Nelson Mandela states: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
NELSON MANDELA, Autobiography
[1] See www.socialentrepreneurshipinafrica.com for the full series of Articles.
[2] Dr. Allan Stiner’s background is at http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Allan_Stiner.html
[3] Dr. Granville Batte’s background is at http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_William_Batte.html
[4] Dirk Uys and his friends are South African professional hunters and anti-poaching mercenaries that frequent a bar named “At the Asshole” (in English). Dirk told many stories about poachers and “kaffirs” he had killed over the years and he bragged about a collection of knives, spears and other possessions he had taken from his victims. Our social venture partner, Bossie Bosman, and a game ranger warned me about their past background and bad reputation in January, 2007.
[5] An investigation of Michael van der Merwe was conducted in 2008 and our concerns about his character, his projects and the loss of our investment were confirmed by the investigator.
[6] See http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/books/review/Elkins.t.html
[7] According to Sotheby’s International Realty and many others, the project at Hole in the Wall and other breath-taking sites were some of the finest oceanfront real estate in South Africa. In fact, the social venture project at Hole in the Wall was written up on Conde Nast Home “Hot Properties” in 2008 and the projects had the potential of making millions of dollars for the the local communities in Africa, the social venture partners and the financial partners.
[8] Dr. McTavish created an Excel spreadsheet so that all of our consulting time, business expenses and personal expenses could be tracked and allocated on a project by project basis.
[9] See attached email dated April 22, 2007 from me to Dr. Batte.
[10] Child trafficking and pedophilia is a major problem in Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall. In addressing this problem, our church-based missions teams and I organized two full-time orphan care missionaries to work in Coffee Bay and we built a church/community center and orphanage playground. Most of the child sex trade centered around a local Shabeen or bar in Coffee Bay. To the joy of the local community and the church missions teams, the owner of the bar was subsequently charged with 104 counts of sexual assault of children. We all agreed that Batte and his travel companions had to leave Pure Africa and the social venture projects. For more information on the child trafficking problem on the Wild Coast, see http://ufh.netd.ac.za/bitstream/10353/364/1/Ngwira%20(M%20Sc)%20Geography.pdf
[11] See email from Dr. Batte to Steve Geller. To this day, Dr. Batte and his coordinated group have maliciously attacked me, my family and the social venture projects in South Africa and they are the principle motivators of the current charges pending against me.
[12] See Certified Letter to Stiner dated April 24, 2007.
[13] See Email from Stiner. I interpreted Dr. Stiner’s statement to mean that I did not have many days of his life remaining, because Stiner was going to carry out one of his threats to kill me. Based on this statement, I truly feared for my life and the lives of my wife and children.
[14] See Emergency Protective Order against Dr. Allan Stiner.
[15] See Email from Dr. William Brown, Ph.D regarding Stiner.
[16] See Email by Professor and Senior Pastor Joseph Umidi regarding Stiner.
Article 5 FN 9 Granville and Dirk
Article 5 FN 11 Granville Batte Aggressive %22bad press%22 Campaign
Article 5 FN 12 Stiner Certified Letter dated April 24, 2007
Article 5 FN 13
Article 5 FN 14 Emergency Protective Order
Article 5 FN 15 Dr. William Brown on slander by Stiner
Article 5 FN 16 Pastor Joseph Umidi on intimidation by Stiner
Tagged as africa, aid, allan stiner, attorney, bodily harm, bossie bosman, brian dinning, brian r. dinning, brian ray dinning, dinning, Dr. McTavish, dr. william batte, energy, entrepreneurship, extortion, granville batte, harm, john, joint venture, law, lawyer, legal, lou, pedophile, ray dinning, rick, sex, social entrepreneurship, social entreprenuer, social venture, tax, threats, tribe, us attorney, violence, washington, wild coast, william, william batte, william g. batte, william granville batte, xhosa
Article IV: Cocaine, Ecstasy and Swingers: Social Ventures in Africa by Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM and social venture lawyer
Article 4: Cocaine, Ecstasy and Swingers: Social Ventures in Africa?
As you have read in the prior Articles in this Series, for years my goal, vision and passion was, and still is very much so, to help dozens of needy communities in Africa by helping them to create jobs, hope and a better future. But, as you have also read, unpredictable and unfortunate situations, such as the fraud of Wextrust Capital, created obstacles and roadblocks, which necessitated a change in partners or strategy or the direction of the project to ultimately accomplish what I have hoped for and worked toward for many years. Each new change of direction however added a year or more onto each project as it took time to locate new partners, rebuild relationships and hold community and governmental meetings in Africa to communicate the new strategy with our social venture partners.
What do you do when people who you thought you could rely on for professionalism, honesty and integrity demonstrate the complete opposite and instead get in the way of the goal of helping others or your dreams? Think about it – do you just give up on that dream? Does it just become a thing of the past? Or, do you pick yourself up and know that you can overcome any challenge (big or small) by making some changes so you can ultimately fulfill that dream and vision? What you are about to read is one of the many challenging obstacles that created a course for change in the goal of helping the people of Africa.
Since I no longer had a job after quitting Wextrust Captial, having witnessed Joe Shereshevsky reveal himself as a man only too eager to sexually harass women, commit all manner of fraud and indulge himself with prostitutes, I needed to find a new job. Furthermore, I wasn’t the only person hurt by Wextrust Capital – many of us had lost time, effort, money and ownership in the three social venture projects. While I had to find a job, we all wanted to continue to move forward with our vision, not willing to give up on the people and projects we’d invested so much in. We all wanted to continue to move forward with our vision of helping the local people of Africa with social venture projects and we all immediately started over – not willing to give up on people in need and on social venture projects that we had all worked so diligently on.
I was hired by a company in Fairfax, Virginia in March 2005 at an annual salary of $250,000 plus bonuses. All of my spare time went toward working on social ventures in Africa. Earth Conservancy, a non-profit that I consulted with over the years, opened an office in Alexandria, Virginia and employed four full-time consultants and several web designers and grant writers. I was asked to coordinate the office in my spare time and to oversee the launch of a fundraising and social venture campaign for Earth Conservancy and Sunpoints Southern Africa to help rebuild the social venture projects. Based upon the hard work of these consultants, I was asked to draft a treatise and power point presentation for the United States Department of State on the subject of for-profit/non-profit ventures entitled “Beyond Micro Enterprise,” and was invited by the State Department to speak at the World Africa Growth Opportunity Act Conference in Dakar, Senegal and Washington, DC in 2005 and 2006.
After losing projects to Wextrust Capital, the social venture partners still had the opportunity to resurrect portions of the first three projects as Wextrust Capital’s main pursuit was diamond mining. So, once again, we were in need of other financial partners. Having two venture capital firms fail to provide the agreed upon help to the local communities and fail to live up to the promises and agreements made to Sunpoints and the social venture partners, the group discussed raising the needed funds through friends and family to avoid the problems and shortcomings of the Wall Street Investment Banking world. Unfortunately, as you will see, the friends and family option can also be full of challenges and perils.
In 2005, I was discussing my social venture work with Dr. John O, a doctor and former client (“John”). He was fascinated with the social venture work and wanted me to meet two of his friends, Richard L. and Louis D (“Rick” and “Lou”). Both MBAs, Rick was a Business MBA and Lou was a Finance MBA – both very valuable skill sets for any business or social venture project and they operated a successful business. They seemed like the perfect fit and they truly embraced the idea of helping the local communities in Africa. At that time, the social venture partners were seeking to resurrect several community projects including: Honingklip II, a mining project adjacent to the one taken from us by Wextrust Capital, Sunpoints Farm, a farm project, and Lion’s Walk Lodge a planned tourism lodge. These projects were controlled by Michael van der Merwe and his brother, Pieter van der Merwe, as the social venture partners. Other social venture projects including amazingly beautiful properties on the Wild Coast of South Africa, which were started by Bossie Bosman as the social venture partner.
After discussing the non-profit and for-profit model of social ventures, Rick, Lou and John said that we should form a company to develop these projects and raise the necessary funding, which they calculated was approximately $10 million. In helping to conduct due diligence, enter into contracts and scope out these potential the projects in 2005, the three men donated money to Earth Conservancy as charitable donations. The donations were used to pay due diligence costs, development expenses, operating expenses for Earth Conservancy, consulting fees, business expenses, travel and entertainment expenses and personal expenses pursuant to written Consulting Agreements and Business Plans.[1] All funds that were wired to South Africa in 2005 for the scoping of these potential projects were sent to two South African social venture partners: Michael van der Merwe and Bossie Bosman.
On the for-profit side, Rick, Lou, John and I agreed to form a company called Pure Africa Management so that the four of us could all keep track of our consulting time and expenses and be reimbursed for that time and expenses as money became available from investors or from the potential project cash flow. This was all documented in the voluminous Private Placement Memorandum and other documentation of the newly-forming Pure Africa Sustainable Development Fund, managed by Pure Africa Management. I was asked to work full-time on the documentation, business plans and power point presentations. John said that he would set up meetings at his home or at the office of Rick and Lou and they would invite their friends and colleagues to explain the projects to them so that they could raise the $10 million of necessary funding. Rick would handle business administration and community relations in the Hampton Roads area and Lou would be the Chief Financial Officer and manage the funds and books of the business including the preparation of financial statements.
Before taking any outside investment, all four of us agreed that a due diligence trip to verify the existence of the projects, review the documentation, meet the South African social venture partners, meet the professional team including Sotheby’s International Realty and Smith Tabata Law Firm was necessary and prudent. In January, 2006, we traveled to South Africa to view all projects and determine which projects to focus on. In taking this trip, I was again asked to work full-time as a consultant for Pure Africa Management and the Pure Africa Sustainable Development Fund, LLC starting in February, 2006 by Rick, Lou and John. In accepting this position, a Consulting Agreement documenting my consulting compensation was agreed to and signed. Like everyone, I had bills to pay and personal obligations like child support, housing, food, car payments and more plus I would be leaving a lucrative job to focus on more risky social ventures start-up projects as a consultant.
The three men assured me that they would raise the necessary funds to pay my consulting fees of $250,000 plus all expenses for me to work full-time. My employer did not want me working on African projects and instead wanted all my time and effort devoted to their company. When I went on the due diligence trip in January, 2006 and committed to full-time work with these three men at Pure Africa Sustainable Development Fund, LLC, I would be leaving a good job. However, I was excited by the new consulting work and the help from Rick, Lou and John on the social ventures and with this newly forming endeavor, we headed out for South Africa.
The trip was truly amazing at first and we visited the tourism site at Lion’s Walk Lodge, where Sunpoints Southern Africa had secured a contract to purchase this farm in 2004 and a financial partner was needed to help build a tourism lodge there. We also visited a possible diamond mine claim at the Farm Rugalatte named Honingklip II[2] and the Sunpoints Farms, large operating farms in the Free State of South Africa.[3] We then flew to the Wild Coast of South Africa to view the project at Hole in the Wall and other sites.[4] Hole in the Wall is a National Heritage Site for South Africa and it is truly beautiful.[5] The trip was going very well and Rick, Lou and John seemed to be excellent business and financial partners to grow these social ventures for the people of Africa and provide the necessary funding.
But, as always, circumstances change and the entire project would have to be radically altered by what I and two other trip participants refer to as “The Trip from Hell.” Once we were at the Wild Coast, we set up camp in Jeffreys Bay, a world-renowned surfing town located a few hours from the Wild Coast. The first night, we ate at a local Mexican restaurant, as it was the only restaurant that was open. When we were getting ready to leave after dinner, I noticed that John was gone. I asked Rick and Lou “What happened to John?” They replied, “he went with a guy he met at the bar to get some party supplies.” “What party supplies? – Africa is a dangerous place at night and he left with a total stranger,” I said. I was genuinely worried and concerned for John’s safety.
Later that night, I went to the room of Rick, Lou and John to check if John had returned. On the glass dining room table, I witnessed several bags of white powder and lots of pills. I asked “what is this?” John said he “bought eight grams of cocaine and 100 ecstasy pills to make the trip more fun.” Shocked by this, I said to John and the other guys: “this is so wrong – first, because you bought drugs, second, because this is Africa and you could go to prison and third, we are on a business trip to help represent our social venture partners and this is not the way to help others in need.” Laughing off my comments, John asked after he snorted a long line of white powder, “do you guys want to do some coke with us?” Disgusted and dismayed by John, three of us declined and went back to our own rooms leaving John, Rick, Lou and one of our companions in their room with their newly-acquired drug cache.
Back at my room, we all discussed what we had just seen. I worried most of the night and the rest of the trip. I did not even want to be in he same vehicle or lodging with these guys. Thoughts of Rick, Lou and John going to jail in South Africa for illegal drug possession, harming the other members on our business trip, going to the hospital for a drug overdose and other concerns about their conduct plagued me for the rest of the trip. I was awoken later that same night by sounds outside my third floor balcony so I jumped out of bed and ran to the balcony door. There was Rick and Lou trying to break into my room by climbing from balcony to balcony some twenty feet or more above the ground. I said, “what in the world are you guys doing?” In an excited and intoxicated state, they said, “we want the car keys to go get some food and drinks.” “At two o’clock in the morning?” I asked. I told them to “go back to bed because we have a schedule to keep tomorrow morning” and with that the men laughed, took the car keys and left.
The next morning we were late for our scheduled activities so three of us went to check on John and the others. John and a travel companion came out to open the door and we went into the kitchen and sat down – trying to get everyone up and moving. Scantily clad and with white powder and crusty snot outlining their noses, the travel companion told us that “we stayed up most of the night partying” as this person drank directly out of a two liter bottle of coca cola and burped loudly. John just seemed groggy and out-of-it. Needless to say, the three of them and a companion proceeded to party for a week straight, while being late to most of the scheduled meetings. They stayed up all night and slept most of the day. Their partying and behavior was so obvious and embarrassing that Bossie Bosman and our local partners asked me to never bring them to the local community projects again. The embarrassment was only heightened when one of the men, apparently too intoxicated to get up, simply went to the bathroom in his bed, which cost us $500 in damages from the lodge owner. I also received bar bills for thousands of dollars of drinks from the places we stayed from their late night drinking and partying binges that they simply did not pay.
Do these seem like the type of people you would want working with you to you help you accomplish your goals and vision?
Because the local people are working with us on a trust relationship, I was told that we cannot have Rick, Lou and John representing the social venture partners in front of the local chiefs, the tribal council, the community and the government. I was shocked and embarrassed and I did not know what to do at that point. What would you do if you were working with a poor community in Africa who is counting on you and the social venture partners to help them with their most valuable assets and you find out that some of the people on your team were using drugs and acting inappropriately?
Furthermore, unbeknownst to me, John and his wife were swingers and near the end of the trip, he said, “I think my wife would like you and your wife, so would you be interested in swapping wives when we get home?” Stunned by this question, I said to him that my wife and I loved each other and we were not interested in that lifestyle. However, I was stunned and amazed at this turn of events: I just left my job to start a new company with these three men and now I am in the middle of a complete mess. This is one aspect of social ventures that I did not expect to encounter: cocaine, ecstasy and swingers.
Upon our return to the United States, I had to begin making plans to slowly distance myself from my new partners and yet at the same time, we were already setting up a new fund, The Pure Africa Sustainable Development Fund that would be operated by Pure Africa Management with project ownership to be held by Pure Africa Holdings. John had already invited friends and colleagues to meet for presentations on the Fund on several occasions in late 2005 and early 2006. One of the first investors into the Fund was a long time friend of John and also a friend of Rick and Lou. His name was Dr. Allan Stiner of Norfolk, Virginia. After one of these informal gatherings organized by John, Dr. Stiner told the Fund that he wanted to invest in the social ventures because he had just inherited millions of dollars from his father and had money to invest. At Dr. Stiner’s request, a Private Placement Memorandum documenting the potential projects and the risks inherent in investing in projects in Africa, a Subscription Agreement and other legal documents were provided to Dr. Stiner for he and his legal counsel to review.
Pure Africa Management agreed to allow Dr. Stiner to invest his $250,000 into the Fund in February, 2006. In February, 2006, in a meeting with Dr. Stiner at his home, he reviewed the legal documents one final time and signed the Subscription Agreement. However, in making his investment, he had one other request: he would only invest his money if Rick, Lou and John had no access to it as he was aware of the bad behavior of the group in South Africa the month before. Dr. Stiner read the substantial Private Placement Memorandum of the Fund and he signed his Subscription Agreement (both legal documents which detail the risks of the project along with background information). Dr. Stiner then gave me a check written out to me personally as the Fund had not yet set up its bank accounts. The $250,000 was deposited into the Sunpoints Southern Africa bank account as the Fund had acquired all of the Sunpoints Southern Africa projects in South Africa including its bank account. With these funds, my outstanding invoices were paid for the time and effort I had put into the social venture projects and necessary project and business expenses were paid.
Based upon the strange events of The Trip from Hell in January, 2006 and my recent departure from my paying job, I was paid as a consultant pursuant to a written Consulting Agreement with the Fund through its bank account in Sunpoints Southern Africa for a large portion of my 2006 pay because I was feeling very uncertain about my future with Rick, Lou and John. Furthermore, since I was the only person working full-time, the Fund managers knew that I was relying on my consulting pay to relocate from Washington, DC to the Virginia Beach area. With my consulting pay and funds loaned to me by my family, I was able to purchase a home in Suffolk, Virginia. With my two children and the hopes of having additional children and/or adopting children, my wife and I bought a five-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood where my children had many friends and an area that was very safe and close to my children’s school. [6]
By mid-2006, the Fund had five investors who invested a total of $545,000, one of whom was John and the others were his friends and colleagues, whom he invited and recruited into the Fund. Lou prepared financial statements and balance sheets and Rick prepared status reports for the Fund investors. I provided needed help from the business plan writing and coordinating with South Africa and US legal counsel. However, the Fund was dysfunctional because of the prior serious actions by John and others and the inherent mistrust caused by their potentially criminal actions. Furthermore, the drug use, partying and lack of professionalism had ruined their reputation with the social venture partners. I was forced to adapt and change the projects already underway and restructure midway or have all of us lose everything to financial partners once again. At my request, we all agreed that the Fund would stop raising money for the foreseeable future, in my mind, to protect other financial partners against any further potential loss or negative actions.
Once again, I had just left a high-paying job to work full-time on social venture projects as a consultant for Pure Africa Management and the Fund and now, I was faced with an uncertain future: a new home and social venture projects that did not have a reliable funding source or a reliable management team.
While the events of this story seem outlandish or unbelievable, there were seven witnesses to the cocaine, ecstasy and swinger Trip from Hell (including John, Rick and Lou). One witness stated, “it was the worst trip I have ever taken in my life.” Another witness said that, “I was initially excited to see three professional men like Rick, Lou and John getting involved to help the needy in Africa but I was deeply saddened and disturbed when I saw this unethical behavior by three professional men who were husbands and who had families acting in such a reckless manner by taking drugs and partying in an out-of-control way. While on the trip, I was scared to be anywhere near them because they were carrying such a large amount of drugs and acting so childishly and unprofessional. Later, I was hurt that these men not only let down the poor people in Africa and potentially ruined the vision of the company because they misrepresented the company, the projects and they gave the people of Africa a negative impression of Americans. In meeting with government officials, Sotheby’s, the local chiefs and the community, it was embarrassing to have them in meetings because they looked hung over and unprofessional.”
If you do not believe me, then perhaps legal counsel will ask them on the witness stand under penalty of perjury to tell the truth. If they do not do so, then there are four witnesses who can testify to their actions. Once again, the social venture projects needed a funding partner and a management team and, unfortunately, the next partners were equally as challenging in their behavior and more devastating to the projects than anyone else.
Again I will ask, what would you do in a situation like this? Give up your dream? Give up the opportunity to help thousands of people have a better life? Or, do you pick yourself up and know that you can overcome any challenge (big or small) by restructuring and making some changes so you can ultimately fulfill that dream and vision and protect others from the negative actions of a few.
The next article in the series is: Murder-for-Hire, Aggressive Bad Press Campaign and Other Distasteful Actions: Social Ventures in Africa?
[1] See Letter from William Brown, Ph.D to Asst. United States Attorney, Stephen Haynie acknowledging my consulting agreement at Earth Conservancy and payment of consulting fees, and personal and business expenses.
[2] See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDRhTrs7PyM&feature=channel&list=UL Social venture partners, Michael van der Merwe and his brother Pieter van der Merwe, take us on a tour of the Honingklip I Diamond Mine and show us the adjacent site of The Farm Rugalatte named Honingklip II. Funds were sent to Michael van der Merwe in 2005 to secure the mining claim and necessary bonding so that due diligence could be done on the potential mining project.
[3] See Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxE7zjXsgTo&feature=channel&list=UL Social venture partners Pieter van der Merwe along with the farm manager take us on a tour of the Sunpoints Farms in the Free State Province of South Africa. As working farms, the goal of this social venture projects was to educate the local people in modern farming methods and to operate profitable farms. Funds were sent to Michael van der Merwe in 2005 and 2006 to sign contracts to become a social venture partner in this existing farming operation.
[4] See Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OysOjCVKXB0&feature=channel&list=UL After the local leaders and our Xhosa community social venture partners greeted us with traditional dancing, Rick, Lou, John and I were escorted around The Cliffs at Coffee Bay golf course by social venture partner, Bossie Bosman. The golf course is owned by the local community and they leased it to Earth Conservancy and Pure Africa so that the golf course could be renovated. World renowned golf architects and other golf experts were flown in to prepare a plan to renovate the golf course in 2006 and 2007. Ault Clark and other golf experts commented that The Cliffs at Coffee Bay was similar to Pebble Beach with cliffs and sweeping ocean views.
[5] See Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-9E-8qtpW0&feature=channel&list=UL Social venture partner, Bossie Bosman takes us on a tour of the Hole in the Wall project. Hole in the Wall is a National Heritage Site for South Africa and it holds significant cultural value for the Xhosa community. As one of the premier natural tourist sites in South Africa, Hole in the Wall is regarded by Sotheby’s and other professionals as a major tourism lodging site. Funds were sent to Bossie Bosman in 2005 and continuing to allow for Earth Conservancy and Pure Africa to become social venture partners at the Hole in the Wall project. With 50 oceanfront lodge sites and a hotel site, the plans at Hole in the Wall would allow for up to $6M of lodge lease income and continuing revenues from the hotel site. The project is structured with 45% ownership by the local Xhosa community.
[6] When Rick, Lou and John first set up investor presentations in 2005 and early 2006, I was working full-time for Trident Systems, Inc. for $250,000 plus bonuses and I was also working as a consultant for several social venture companies. In February, 2006, I was hired as a consultant by the Pure Africa Sustainable Development Fund and I was also a consultant for Earth Conservancy and other projects. My combined consulting contracts were designed to provide me with $350,000 or more of income as and when funding was available.
Article 4 FN 1 Letter from William Brown to Mr. Haynie
Tagged as africa, aid, allan stiner, attorney, bossie bosman, brian dinning, brian r. dinning, brian ray dinning, cocaine, coffee bay, community, diamond mine, dinning, ecstasy, entrepreneurship, farm, golf course, hole in the wall, honingklip, joint venture, law, lawyer, legal, michael van der merwe, micro finance, pieter van der merwe, social venture, sotheby, south africa, sunpoints, swingers, us attorney, washington, wild coast, xhosa, zambia
July 2, 2012 · 7:17 pm
Article III: Wextrust Capital and Social Ventures: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Brian Ray Dinning, Social Venture Lawyer
Article 3: Social Ventures: Wextrust Capital – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
My aunt and uncle were Christian missionaries in Africa and my family performed missions work in South Africa for over 35 years. Brought up in a dynamic faith-based household, I was always taught that we must care for orphans, widows and the poor – and that everyone is born with a purpose in life. As unlikely as it might sound, by the age of 10, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, and I also knew that one of my purposes in life was to help people in Africa. It wasn’t until much later in life that I understood how I might combine those two ambitions.
I’ve been a practicing lawyer for 22 years and, up until recently, I’ve had a spotless record, full of accomplishments and commendations that have brought me and my family a great deal of pride. I have had the privilege of traveling to Africa over 60 times, and in 1992 through 1994, I helped my professor write a legal textbook on how nonprofit organizations can do for-profit social ventures, which is the foundation of the modern day social venture or social entrepreneurship project. This work resulted in the legal treatise entitled, “Michael I. Sanders, Partnerships and Joint Ventures Involving Tax Exempt Organizations” (Wiley & Sons 1994).
I started doing work for clients in Africa in 1994 and have been working on social venture projects in Africa ever since then. These were missions-type projects where we would help build a church or community center, help with clean water, renewable energy, organic food and more. In this work, I realized that the local people of Africa had dreams to become something more, to be connected to the world that existed beyond the boundaries they were confronted by – to also ensure that their children had a future.
So, I believe that I was blessed with the talents, ability and vision to look for innovative ways to help the local people in Africa to create jobs, income and a future. This was – plainly stated – to look at their natural resources (land, water, wildlife, mineral rights etc.) and help them locate the tools (people, money and education) to help them maximize those resources – by building a tourism lodge, starting a micro business or starting a minerals project. This way, the local people could achieve sustainability – meaning they could feed their families, afford to send their children to school and have clean water. More importantly, they could provide a future for their children.
In 2003 and 2004, Dr. William Brown, a Fulbright Scholar and Ph.D Professor, brought an innovative film crew to work with Earth Conservancy to produce two award winning HIV/AIDS education films with local actors in the local African language for audiences in Kenya and Tanzania. This was done in conjunction with the United States Department of Defense. The films focused on the true-life stories of soccer stars who helped promote the message of education, testing and awareness of HIV/AIDS. Traveling by jeep, from village to village throughout Kenya and Tanzania, these award-winning films were touchingly, often projected on bedsheets that had been sewn together by those eager to help. The films won awards at the Houston WorldFest flim festival and, more importantly, the films achieved the goal of education young people about HIV/AIDS.
The local people we were trying to reach in Africa were intelligent and kind, but also very isolated from the more sophisticated abstractions we’re accustomed to. At one point when the film was being shown to a Maasai community in Tanzania, there was a scene where a lion appeared on screen. The lion is the mortal enemy of the Maasai people who traditionally raise cattle. The crowd screamed in terror and one Maasai warrior jumped up and threw his spear through the screen in order to save his people from the lion, simultaneously comic and courageous. Earth Conservancy stills works in Tanzania and I am working on the establishment of proposed social ventures with Dr. Steven Kiruswa, Ph.D – a Maasai warrior himself.
In 2002, my law firm was sponsoring The Shakespeare Theatre season of productions in Washington, DC. I was asked to represent the firm at a gala banquet for the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC. There I dined with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Justice Rehnquist and the newly-appointed Head of Africa at USAID, Constance Newman, now Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. Ms. Newman was fascinated by the social venture model of partnering for-profit and non-profit companies together to promote community-based projects in Africa. Ms. Newman asked that I meet with her staff at USAID and provide power point presentations and keep her updated with any progress. This was exciting, important people were interested in our work in Africa and I felt like I was making progress.
In 2003 and 2004, I was practicing law and working as a consultant for social ventures in Africa. Working in this capacity, helping the local people of Africa in stewarding their natural resources and talents for job creation is immensely fulfilling, indeed, a life-altering vocation. My job as a consultant for social ventures in Africa was similar to the work I did at law firms but I would be helping destitute people in Africa by helping to locate community projects, drafting business plans, helping find social venture partners, and assembling management teams to help implement projects. It was a big undertaking, but I was happy to take it on, and even now, I’m still happy I took it on.
Over the years, with Earth Conservancy, I met and worked with a hard-working group of people in South Africa who had three projects: a mining project, a farming project and a beautiful nature reserve. All three projects were structured as social ventures to provide jobs and a minimum of 10% of the income to the local community according to the business plans. All three social venture projects had great potential. The projects were organized under the social venture name of Sunpoints Southern Africa. The challenge was to find a financial partner who had similar values and charitable inclinations toward the local community who would be interested in funding these social venture projects. However, this was in the early stages of the social venture movement so venture capitalists and bankers did not necessarily have the best interests, or even any of the interests of Africans in mind – they would be looking purely at the profit-making potential of these social ventures.
In 2003, these three projects were presented to a venture capital firm based in New York and Colorado. After a short power point presentation, the venture capital firm agreed to fund the three projects for a total of $3.5 million. With this funding commitment and an excellent team of people working on the three social venture projects, the projects were started in January, 2004. Starting the projects meant that the South African social venture team had to sign contracts to purchase and develop the projects based upon the funding commitment, conduct due diligence, expend funds to acquire rights such as bonding of the mining project or a downpayment on the game reserve real estate, create business plans and start the operations and management of the projects. This was an exciting time as these projects were designed to create hundreds of jobs and 10% of the potential profits of these three projects were designated for the local people.
Because circumstances generally change, by March, 2004, the venture capital firm told Sunpoints Southern Africa and the social venture project partners that they were delayed in their funding commitment, which was potentially disasterous because funds had already been committed and contracts signed. Sunpoints then began to search for a replacement financial partner and in April, 2004, Sunpoints and the social venture partners were introduced by a lawyer to Joe Shereshevsky, COO of Wextrust Capital.
Wextrust Capital was, at that time, a company that claimed to have approximately $1 billion of real estate and assets and it purportedly owned and/or managed large office buildings around the United States. After discussing the funding predicament, Joe Shereshevsky stated that Wextrust was interested in becoming the funding partner for the social venture projects after a due diligence trip to see the projects firsthand. After visiting the projects and meeting the South African social venture partners, Wextrust Capital committed to providing bridging capital to fulfill the failed funding commitment from the first venture capital firm. At that time, on or about June, 2004, I was asked to work in the office of Wextrust Capital to help oversee these three initial social venture projects as the liaison between Wextrust Capital and the social venture partners in Africa. The social venture partners and I were happy because the projects were saved and could now proceed with a new funding partner.
Unfortunately, our celebration was short-lived. By the end of 2004, I had witnessed enough of Wextrust Capital to know that they were not the appropriate financial partner for the social ventures and I had to separate myself completely from them. When I told the Board of Directors of Wextrust Capital that I was not going to work with them anymore, Joe Shereshevsky was furious and he began to bad-mouth me to my business contacts and the social venture partners in Africa. I asked Joe Shereshevsky if Wextrust Capital was going to honor their commitment to the local community and Joe Shereshevsky stated, “No, we are the major shareholder and we do not agree with giving 10% to the local community.” Devastated, I said, “the 10% to the local communities is in all of the written business plans, financial projections and was discussed in all of our meetings.” I was told, “Wextrust has millions of dollars in the bank and you can try and sue us but you will lose.” Because of the significant financial, tax, legal and social transgressions I witnessed by Wextrust Capital, I told all of the South African social venture partners that it was better to give up everything including all ownership rights and projects to Wextrust Capital because you do not want to be in business with them now or in the future.
In March, 2005, after resigning from Wextrust Capital at the end of 2004, I was asked to fly to Chicago to meet with the Board of Directors. At that meeting, they offered me a seat on the Board of Directors, up to 10% ownership in Wextrust Capital and increased compensation and benefits. I immediately refused. I sent my feelings on this debacle to Joe Shereshevsky via email. [1] Although I very much wanted to share my reasoning with the world, I was obligated not to disclose this information, even though it hurt me dearly not do so, through attorney-client confidentiality rules.
After the Wextrust Capital scandal erupted, I asked the Virginia State Bar if I could disclose the information so that the investors could possibly recoup some of their investment. I was told that I could only disclose the information if requested pursuant to a court order. I would have gladly given the information to the government but I was never asked to testify or provide any information or documents. Most of the social venture partners in South Africa including myself and many other innocent parties lost everything in those three projects including our time, money and ownership. The local community was also robbed of their benefits of the three projects.
It was an immensely difficult and often acrimonious time, and after being ridiculed by Joe Shereshevsky, losing three social ventures that were near to my heart, and in which I had staked my time, reputation, effort and money, my parting words to Joe Shereshevsky were: “I expect to see you in five years on trial for $100M of fraud.” Joe Shereshevsky laughed at me and insulted my capacity as a lawyer. He also likened the South African social venture partners to “stupid monkeys” and the local community as “useless and deserving of their station in life.” It could hardly have been an uglier situation. Later, I would learn that thousands of other people would lose up to $255 million to the fraud and malicious actions of Joe Shereshevsky and Wextrust Capital.
It is well documented that the substantial fraud of Wextrust Capital occurred from mid-2005 to 2010 or so – thankfully after my departure. In reflecting on that time, I wish that someone would have asked me about those times as my testimony along with the good social venture partners in South Africa may have been able to help in the Wextrust Capital investigation. Furthermore, I may have been able to shed some light on where or with whom some of the assets were held as a group of us hired a private investigator to follow up on the fraud committed by Wextrust Capital against us in April, 2008. However, I was never asked to provide any information and I could not offer the information under the guidance of The Virginia State Bar and attorney client confidentiality rules.
In order for social ventures to work properly, the financial partners must have some social motivation for helping the local communities wherein they work. Furthermore, social venture policies, procedures and goals for helping the local people should be agreed upon and documented by all social venture parties. Social responsibility is not only good business but it is an absolute must if we are to help the 400 million poverty-stricken people of Africa who live on less than $1.25 per day.
In my experience, the social venture partners and the local community are the “good,” Wextrust Capital and Joe Shereshevsky were the “bad” and the terrible acts of fraud, deceit and thievery done to the general public by Wextrust Capital are the “ugly.” I wish I could say that this was the only bad experience I had with financial partners for social ventures in Africa but that is, unfortunately, not the end of the story.
Article 4 is entitled, “Cocaine, Ecstasy and Swingers, Oh My: Social Ventures in Africa.”
As a footnote, the name “Pure Africa” was created by the first venture capital firm and me. It was taken by Joe Shereshevsky and used without our permission. The “Pure Africa” entities that were established by me and others in 2006 and beyond have no affiliation or relation in any way to Joe Shereshe
[1] See email dated March 27, 2005 from me to Joe Shereshevsky, COO, Wextrust Capital detailed my basic reasons for separating myself from them, which is attached hereto at the link below.
Article 3 Wextrust Departure Reasons
Tagged as africa, african, aid, attorney, b ray, brian dinning, brian r. dinning, brian ray dinning, community, dc, dinning, energy, false, fraud, indictment, jobs, joint venture, law, lawyer, legal, low income limited liability company, micro finance, missions, ray dinning, social entrepreneurship, social entreprenuer, social ventures, sommer dinning, south africa, tax, us attorney, wextrust, wextrust capital, wrong, zambia
Article II: Social Ventures in Africa: What Can Go Wrong? By Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM
Introduction to my Social Venture Work in Africa by Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM and Social Venture Lawyer
Forward to Articles: A New Business Model in a Blossoming Continent by Brian Ray Dinning, JD, Social Venture Lawyer
Ray Dinning BrandYourself profile
Social Entrepreneurship in Africa by Ray Dinning
Social Entrepreneurship in Africa · Social Ventures that Create Long Term Change
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One of the earliest social media networks that really took off was MySpace, created in August 2003 (Shah, “The History of Social Networking”). MySpace could be compared to as the grandfather of social media because it was one of the first social media networks on the Internet. MySpace truly took off, with 75.9 million members on the website at its peak. (Smith, “By The Numbers: 17 MySpace Stats and Facts Then and Now”). MySpace truly set a standard for social media for its successors. However, many problems also arose when the Internet became more used by the world through social media.
One of the problems with the rising use of social media is how easy it now is to provide information to others online. There are now more cases of identity theft and other privacy breaches now in society. A more recent privacy concern is ‘catfishing’, the act of using a fake picture and pretending you are that person, which can sometimes lead to sexual assault or other crimes. By using social media, it became quite easy to provide personal information to others online and it has now led to all these concerns over privacy. While social media may have been intended to be a tool to connect with others, it has given way to all these issues. Social media, however, continues to grow with usage estimated to be at about 65% for adults in America (Perrin, "Social Media Usage: 2005-2015”).
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The 5 Things That Happened in Classic Rock Culture in 2019
via MaRio RiMa/YouTube
Despite what so many people have said, rock ‘n roll will never die. And the proof? Well, we have plenty. Over the decades, this genre has had its highs and lows but one thing’s for sure, it was NEVER on the brink of extinction. It’s not just fans who lived in the ’60s or ’70s – there’s also a resurgence in popularity because with the internet and social media, the younger generation are rediscovering a plethora of musical gems.
Here are some of the things that happened in classic rock this year:
5. We lost some legends.
The Monkees’ Peter Tork, Dick “King of the Surf Guitar” Dale, Phil McCormack, and Dave Bartholomew were just some influential and important figures in rock ‘n roll that we lost.
4. Classic rock bands and artists who hit the road again.
Is there anything better than watching your favorite group perform live and take you back in time their with their songs? Queen + Adam Lambert, Iron Maiden, Styx, Judas Priest, KISS, The Who, Paul McCartney, Steve Miller Band, Slayer, Peter Frampton, The Rolling Stones, Smashing Pumpkins, Def Leppard, ZZ Top, Sammy Hagar & The Circle, Sebastian Bach, and Crimson – there are so many others busy with touring. And the best part is? A lot of these have sold out tickets!
3. Aerosmith and their Las Vegas residency.
https://youtu.be/1igPdRIf5y4
Somehow we just knew Aerosmith wasn’t the type to simply ride off into the sunset and retire. Their Deuces are Wild shows are, not surprisingly, a huge success. Steven Tyler has always been a flat-out amazing frontman and entertainer and anyone who saw their concerts didn’t leave disappointed.
2. New albums and re-releases from our favorite artists.
Though we’re still waiting for Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC to drop their much-talked about upcoming albums, there were still plenty of other releases that made us nostalgic. From The Doors’ expanded edition of “Waiting for the Sun” to Linda Ronstadt’s reissue of “Live in Hollywood” – there’s so much to love. There may not be a lot of new material from classic rock artists but hey, we’d take what we can get.
1. Classic rock is back – sort of.
Younger bands like Greta Van Fleet have incorporated ’60s and ’70s style into their music. And though they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, it’s surely refreshing to hear this kind of “old new” songs on MTV or on YouTube. There are several other groups who found inspiration from other icons like Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. Love ’em or hate ’em, they’re definitely helping keep rock alive.
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How to get Andorra back in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Posted: October 25, 2011 | Author: TK | Filed under: Andorra, Editorial, Luxembourg | Tags: Ainhoa, Antoine Clamaran, Chenoa, Christophe Willem, David Bustamante, Eurovision 2012, Jonatan Cerrada, Lordi, Lorie, Natasha St-Pier, Patrick Fiori, Ricky Martin, Sergio Dalma | Leave a comment
News, rumours, gossip and scandals are flying thick and fast in the run-up to the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. One piece of news that caught my eye is the lamentable decision by Andorra to not return to the Contest. Andorra of course has a special place in the hearts of those in the Eurovision community, after their shocking exit in the epic Semi-Final of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest with Salvem El Món. The country was forced to withdraw in 2010 and in 2011 due to financial restrictions. It is this same reason that they cannot return in 2012, despite strong local interest in the Contest.
However, RTVA has stated that should they find a suitable sponsor, Andorra would most certainly participate. Now let’s consider the facts. The Eurovision Song Contest is a huge, unique platform with some 125 million viewers plus thousands of journalists and participants come under intense media and national scrutiny. You simply cannot buy the kind of publicity a Eurovision participation can award you. And if your song is exceptional, it will increase hundred fold. So using this as an enticement, who would be the best to court as a sponsor? A sponsor who would benefit, and take advantage of, this exposure and would have no trouble procuring talented singers and songwriters for Andorra? My answer: record companies.
Imagine, if Andorra could get a major record label such as Sony Music France or Universal Spain to sponsor them, it will be very benefical to both parties. The record company now gets access to an exciting, unusual platform upon which it can promote or launch an artist on their roster. It will be economical as well, for the return in the degree of exposure and media attention would far outweigh the costs of procurring the same. And Andorra gets their participation funded, their flag flown as well as be represented by a professional, talented artist. In short, one can almost say that this strategy calls for turning Andorra into this generation’s Luxembourg. Luxembourg was of course notorious for importing their singers from abroad, having done so throughout their participation. So in some way, Andorra will be fulfilling a rather bizarre Eurovision tradition.
Could a partnership with a record company bring Andorra back?
Plus, I believe Sony Music France and Universal Spain would be the best two to approach about this possible venture. This is because these record companies are located in two of (well actually all of) Andorra’s neighbors and there is alot of shared culture so Andorra’s representatives would be much closer to home. Furthermore, these two record companies have the most Eurovision-friendly stable of acts. For example, Sony Music France has Lorie, Jonatan Cerrada, Antoine Clamaran, Christophe Willem, Natasha St-Pier, Patrick Fiori, Ricky Martin and even Lordi. Universal Spain’s got David Bustamante, Sergio Dalma, Ainhoa, & Chenoa. And these are just the ones I’m familiar with. I’d imagine there some talented artists amongst their ranks who would benefit enormously from representing Andorra at the Eurovision Song Contest. You just can’t buy this kind of publicity.
All in all, I believe that Operation Luxembourg could very well be a win-win for Andorra and which ever cognizant record company. I’m sure a semblance of this plan was bandied about, but as the name of the endeavor states, Andorra will need to go big and shamelessly take up the mantle left vacant by Luxembourg.
Artists who should give it another go: Part 2
Posted: September 28, 2011 | Author: TK | Filed under: Austria, Editorial, Estonia, France, Hungary, Israel | Tags: Ines, Jonatan Cerrada, Manuel Ortega, NOX, Shiri Maimon | Leave a comment
Continuing on from Part 1, I’m listing out really great singers that, for one reason or another, either didn’t get the result they were hoping for, or were more deserving of a better score in the Eurovision Song Contest. Here are some artists that I’d really love to see back on the Eurovision stage:
Ines (Estonia, 2000)
Ines was the hot favourite to win the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Once In A Lifetime. It was a catchy, uplifting number but nerves and bad styling quickly stifled any chances of victory. Fast forward to the present day and Ines has now become one of Estonia’s most popular singers and is just plain stunning. Here’s a recent video of her performing Once In A Lifetime:
Manuel Ortega (Austria, 2002)
Widely touted as Austria’s very own Ricky Martin, Manuel Ortega took to the stage in Tallin and gave a spirited performance of his song Say A Word. While it was definetly a crowd pleaser, I thought the song failed to excite with the chorus being rather repetitive. I’d really like to see Manuel back with a fiery ethno/Latin-inspired number. Given the success that has been granted to this genre on the scoreboard, I think Austria could definetly pull off a Top 10 placing.
Jonatan Cerrada (France, 2004)
France had one of the best songs in 2004. A Chaque Pas was beautiful, wonderfully performed and continued the great tradition of French balladry at the Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, it also fell into another tradition of gimmicks. Using ‘Le Petit Prince’ as inspiration, France had a contortionist atop a pair of stilts. Suffice it to say, people paid more attention to the lofty gyrating antics. Next time Jonatan, please come solo. With feet planted firmly on the stage.
Shiri Maimon (Israel, 2005)
Shiri’s breathtaking performance of Hasheket Shenish’ar (The Silence That Remains) is Eurovision at its best. A talented songstress in a gorgeous dress singing a beautiful ballad. Give the girl another ballad, throw her in an evening gown and let her do her thing again Israel! This was, in my opinion, was one of Israel’s more finer entries this decade and never fails to remind me of Contests of decades past.
NOX (Hungary, 2005)
Hungary got everyone’s feet tapping with their entry Forogj, világ!, featuring tap dancing and powerful vocals in the mystical Hungarian language. The song is really catchy and it was a pity that they were drawn first, for had they performed in the second half, I’m sure they would have done better in the scoring. NOX ought to enter again with the same formula but they should do what Kati Wolf did this year and keep the song mainly in English with a verse in Hungarian.
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The Silent Oligarch, Christopher Morgan Jones (Penguin Press, 2012 {Penguin Audio, Narrator: Jason Culp})
Posted on February 16, 2012 by Thomas Evans
Grade: Β — Fantastic book within the genre, probably worth reading regardless of which genre’s you like, but has a setting or style that may not appeal to individuals who are not fans of a given genre.
The Silent Oligarch is the debut novel by Christopher Morgan Jones. Loosely based on events that occurred to him and his colleagues while working in the world of corporate intelligence, it is a fascinating tale of espionage and money laundering. The book is neither a Spy Thriller, nor a Mystery, but an Espionage novel of the highest caliber that I recommend without reservation.
Modern Europe (1998-2009 and after), with some scenes in some of the Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union and one scene in the Caymans (considering the topic, there had to be really).
One never knows what to expect when one is sent a book by a new author, and I started with a skeptical eye. This inherent skepticism was added to when I read its blip-vert and saw it defined as Espionage novel. Most of so-called Espionage Novels are really just mundane Spy-Thrillers. This book, however, was anything but. It was a grippingly tense tale of money laundering which was neither a Mystery[1] nor Thriller[2], but a true character driven story about modern espionage.
To that end, one should be prepared for a slow steady pace that builds in intrigue and empathy until one cannot put it down. The book starts with a prologue in the third person present tense, which is a bold move for a first novel. Most novels in English are told in the third person past tense, and as a result, books in the present tense often sound odd to the reader (or in this case, listener). Jones manages to pull it off, however, partially because by the beginning of the first chapter, the book returns to the standard third person past tense and sticks to it throughout.
Beyond that, the story systematically switches between two points-of-view throughout: that of Ben Webster (the investigator), and that of Richard Lock (the money launderer). These characters are strong and fascinating, and Jones’ writing shines as he gradually builds sympathy for even the most un sympathetic of characters. It takes a lot of skill to build compassion with a corporate spy and a money launderer, but by a third of the way through the novel one is totally invested in them.
Penguin's Press Paage Including Interview with Christopher Morgan Jones
What is more, Jones manages to build tension despite the fact that there is a near-complete reveal throughout the story. The two POV characters are on opposite sides of the conflict, so one has pretty clear idea of what is going on behind the scenes throughout. Even so, the details of how the different schemes work, how the plot will tie it together, and how the characters will face the growing conflict is the core of the tale keeps one turning pages throughout.
What is more, Jones manages to avoid any of the cheap tricks that ruin so many mysteries, spy novels and espionage tales.[3] In fact, quite the opposite, you as the reader know more than either POV characters.
Perhaps best of all, is the element of realism in the conclusion that is perfectly balanced with a sense of closure. One does not get a total reveal of all questions raised through the book, but at the end of the novel one feels a sense of satisfaction. At the end, the story is done, the character arcs complete and reader content at having read a well crafted book.
I highly recommend this to anyone who likes tales of espionage of the John LeCarré school, and eagerly anticipate Jones’ next book.
I must admit that I was initially confused by Penguin Audio’s use of Jason Culp as a narrator for this story. He has a good voice, and a does a superb job, but he is very American. This is a British Book, by a British Author about an Englishman and a Dutchman who grew up in England. So with so many fine British actors out there… why a Yank?
By midway through the novel, however, Culp’s skill in accents had shown through. He is the rare American who can actually do a realistic British accent,[4] and what is more, he can do it well enough that different characters actually sound like different characters, with subtlety in their voices rather than regional accents making them stand out. His Russian and other accents aren’t bad either and in short order one forgets about the nationality of the reader and is intent on the content of the book.
Indeed, Culp manages to do that most crucial of things while narrating a novel: he lets the text speak for itself. His style is subdued and while he clearly gives individual identity to each character he reads in the book, he does not let his inner thespian take over. As a result, one has an excellent “read” as one listens to his narration.
[1] One immediately knows who is doing what, and while there are some mysteries to be answered, it is in no way a who-dunnit type of tale.
[2] While there is action that occurs in this book, there are no car chases, gun battles, etc. It tells a tense tale ala LeCarré or Church, not an action packed adventure of the Flemming or Ludlum school.
[3] E.g. The hero (whose Point-of-view you’ve been in the whole time) looks at a piece of paper that tells you the answer of the mystery, or looks behind a hedge and sees the solution but you as the reader are not told what they learn except at the end of the story.
My favorite of these agonizing elements is in Tom Clancy‘s The Hunt for Red October where Jack Ryan is talking to someone (the SSN Commander, the head of the CIA… I can’t remember, someone) and comes up with a plan of action, and rather than telling it to them, he writes it down on a piece of paper which we are not shown as the reader. That’s bad enough in a movie, but in a book? REALLY? In any case, that NEVER happens in this book.
[4] Oh there are lots of Americans who think they can do a British accent, and visa versa, but very very few can.
Guest Review: The Silent Oligarch (bookingmama.net)
Book Review: The Silent Oligarch (walkingwithnora.com)
Malcolm Berko: Money laundering: A delicate, dangerous art (goerie.com)
Argentina Targets Money Laundering in Soccer (nytimes.com)
WeComply Announces Anti-Money Laundering Course for Money Service Businesses (MSBs) (prweb.com)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Is it time to get over my fear of espionage novels? (kimbofo.typepad.com)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review at Archaeologist’s Guide to the Galaxy
This entry was posted in Espionage, Stand Alone Novel, Strong Characters, Thoughtful, Thoughtful Espionage Tale, Uncategorized and tagged Ben Webster, Espionage, Hunt for Red October, Jack Ryan, John le Carré, Jones, Money laundering, Narrative mode, Richard Lock, Silent Oligarch, Spy fiction, Tom Clancy. Bookmark the permalink.
2 Responses to The Silent Oligarch, Christopher Morgan Jones (Penguin Press, 2012 {Penguin Audio, Narrator: Jason Culp})
Alex Domschot says:
My next read; looking forward.
Do so. If you like the more thoughtful, reflective LeCarresque book, this is a good one
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Posts Tagged ‘persecuted religious minorities’
Democrat Dick Durbin: ‘Give Me My Pork Or Else I’ll Murder Persecuted Religious Minorities All Over The Planet!’
When I say Democrats are genuinely vile, when I say that this is God damn America, please understand I’m not joking.
It’s really that bad:
Federal Panel on Religious Freedom at Risk of Losing Funding at Hands of Dems
By Molly Henneberg
Published December 08, 2011 | FoxNews.com
Staff at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have been told to start winding down operations.
Chairman Leonard Leo says the commission will have to “close the offices at the end of the day on the 16th (of December).”
That’s if Congress does not approve $4 million in annual funding for the independent bipartisan commission, as well as re-authorize its mission, which is to advocate for persecuted religious minorities around the world and advise the U.S. government on related policy positions.
But Leo says Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin has put a hold on funding for the commission until Congress sets aside money for something unrelated.
Durbin wants the U.S. government to buy a little-used state prison in Thomson Illinois and turn it into a federal lock-up. Durbin has said it will bring 1,100 jobs to the area and over $1 billion to the region. Republicans have opposed funding for the prison because the Obama administration initially considered sending Gitmo detainees there.
Leo says the uncertainty of the situation is frustrating and that his commission “is a sort of a hostage in this political fight.”
Democratic sources strongly deny a connection between money for the commission and money for the prison. They say there is legislation moving that will keep the agency open, but Democrats will want some unspecified reforms.
Since Durbin’s name is connected to the matter, it will get lawmakers’ attention, according to Bob Cusack, managing editor of The Hill newspaper. Durbin “is (Majority Leader) Harry Reid’s direct deputy. He’s the No. 2 Senate Democrat. He’s got a lot of power, so when he wants something people have to listen because he controls what happens on the Senate floor.”
The commission sent a letter last month to President Obama, asking him to come out in support of the group and “expeditiously communicate this support to the Senate.”
Late Thursday, the Obama administration told Fox News it’s working with Congress to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and “believes that a robust commission is critical to advancing religious freedom around the globe.”
Blah, blah, blah, Obama, you worthless, self-righteous, posturing punk. When will you quit flapping your lips for once in your life and actually DO something here?
It was just a couple of days ago that I learned that Barack Obama was trying to take the Bible away from families visiting Walter Reed military hospital. While simultaneously trying to force the militant homosexual agenda onto the rest of the world.
It shouldn’t be all that astounding that the party of 54 million abortions – and that is NINE murdered human beings for every ONE Jew that Hitler murdered during WWII – would be like this. And here’s another way to think about that reality as we approach Christmas: this is the political party that would have strongly encouraged the teenage Virgin Mary to abort her baby and murder Christianity in her womb once for all if they had the chance.
This is God damn America. And the beast is coming.
Tags:dick durbin, hold, persecuted religious minorities, prison, religion, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Posted in abortion, Barack Obama, first Jeremiah Wright term, morality, Religion and Culture | Leave a Comment »
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A Mother’s Lasting Influence
Published By Beth Lueders on May 10, 2018
While 1970s television mothers Carol Brady (“The Brady Bunch”) and Shirley Partridge (“The Partridge Family”) worked to corral their TV kids, Judy Nowak was investing her weekends with her teen son, Steve, cleaning, repairing and painting homes to sell or rent. Raised with humble beginnings as a child of Irish immigrants, Judy married and raised Steve and daughter, Susan, while building her career as a property investor and realtor, and eventually a broker and owner of a real estate company.
“Even though my mom was financially successful, she still wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty,” Steve Nowak recalls. “We had a nice car and house, but her motto was, ‘Kmart—if they don’t have it, you don’t need it.’ No shopping malls for us.’”
But in the early 1980s, life swerved in another direction for the Nowaks. Judy stepped away from her career to care for her husband during his last year of battling colon cancer. “Mom never regretted giving it all up for her husband and family,” Steve says of his compassionate and determined mother. After her husband passed at age 51, Judy worked to rebuild her business when another blow assailed the family. In December 1986, Judy was also diagnosed with colon cancer.
Steve was a sophomore in college living at home in Canton, Ohio, and Susan was a sophomore in high school. An in-home caregiver stepped in to help, and Steve remembers how the caregiver readily assisted his family through their time of holding onto life, yet letting go as Judy was failing quickly. Steve fondly remembers the caregiver for the comfort-food meals and conversation she dished up.
Caregiver Extending Kindness and Stability
“My sister and I would come home from school and were so appreciative of a hot meal where we could eat together and talk,” Steve says. “The meal I remember the most was the caregiver’s tuna casserole she made with elbow macaroni. We had conversations about Mom’s sickness to conversations about everyday stuff like fast-food restaurants. I remember the caregiver crying and saying she was happy she could care for my mom. Our caregiver brought kindness and stability to my sister and me, as well.”
Judy died at age 47, four months after her cancer diagnosis, but her resiliency and work ethic live on in Steve, who in 2008 with his wife, Wendy, opened the Right at Home senior care business for the Stark County region around Canton.
As Mother’s Day approaches, Steve looks back on his care for his mother, who during the night would need bathroom assistance and would buzz Steve on their home intercom system. He relates to other family caregivers who sleep with one eye open, waiting to respond to the next care need. For the young business major, juggling college and his mom’s declining health got to be too much. He was attending classes, studying, paying bills, running the house, mowing the yard, and as Steve explains, “It didn’t take long before I got burned out.”
Taking Care of Families, Too
From his own experience of caregiving for his mother, Steve emphasizes the importance of helping families through the rigors and realities of caring well for a loved one at home. “I tell people we do two things with Right at Home,” Steve explains. “We take care of seniors and we take care of the people who are trying to take care of the seniors. To me, that is never more evident than in a hospice situation.
“Some of the most burned-out people we have seen in our 10 years with Right at Home are people who are trying to take care of a dying relative,” Steve continues. “It’s not just two or three hard days. It’s good days, bad days, hospital stays, nonhospital stays. It’s making the hard decisions like I did at age 20 signing ‘do not resuscitate’ papers.”
Steve’s caring for his mother has influenced how his own team of caregivers and office staff go beyond caring just for seniors and adults with disabilities. “We help out families,” Steve says. “People think they can do the caregiving alone, but it’s the most emotionally taxing thing they will come across.”
A Mother’s Day Tribute
In tune with the practical and emotional needs of his clients and their families, Steve reflects on the strength, faith and compassion of his own mom, who was also a go-getter in her career. Now that he’s a business entrepreneur himself, Steve wishes he could talk shop with his mom.
“If my mom were here, I’d love to talk about my business with her more than anyone else in the world,” says Steve. “She’d be able to give me advice, and she’d be the most excited when we have a good week of business. She’d be that coach to really help and encourage. I turned 51 this past year, and I’ve outlived both of my parents, so it really makes you appreciate how we are all on borrowed time and we are to make the most of life.”
An award-winning journalist who has documented stories in nearly 20 countries, Beth Lueders is an author, writer and speaker who frequently reports on diverse topics, including aging and health issues for both U.S. and international corporations.
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Home / East Sussex / Eastbourne / Eastbourne – St Saviour, South Street
Eastbourne – St Saviour, South Street
St Saviour is the only Victorian church in Eastbourne to stand comparison with the greatest ones in Brighton or Hove. It replaced an iron church opened in 1863 (1 p25), which was intended to reduce the overcrowded congregation of Holy Trinity. The architect of the permanent church was G E Street (B 23 p788) and it is his only complete church in Sussex. The foundation stone was laid in November 1865 and though the church was consecrated in 1867, the spire was not finished until 1872 (Brown). By 1875, £16000 had been spent (PP125).
Red brick is used throughout and the roof retains its original patterned slates. There are large, three-light traceried clerestory windows, separated by small roundels; the low, narrow aisles have paired lancets, thus reversing the usual proportions. The east end is also novel, as the nave is canted inwards with a proportionately small chancel, more a sanctuary, in the form of a vaulted four-sided apse. The easternmost point is thus an angle, not a flat wall. According to Street’s son, there was no compelling reason and this arrangement was ‘a matter of choice’ (A E Street p110). However, a report in Building News for 1871 (19 p41) states that the aim was to make the altar and choir easily visible from all parts.
The exterior, dominated by the north west tower and spire, is typical of Street. The tower stands by the north aisle, with an ornate doorway in its vaulted base leading to an inner doorway, decorated with marble shafts, dogtooth and fleurons. The upper stages of the tower have blank arcading below tall two-light bell-openings, flanked by single blank arches. The broach spire of East Midlands pattern has lucarnes and pinnacles. The exaggeratedly long windows of the west front, contained in a single arch, emphasise the strong verticals, offset by the horizontal bands of light stone between the heads of the windows.
One disadvantage of Street’s novel plan for the eastern parts was the inadequate space for clergy and choir in the chancel, which is vaulted. As early as 1871, before the tower was completed, he incorporated the area west of the chancel arch in the sanctuary. This was paved with Godwin’s tiles (B 25 p175) to match the chancel and surrounded by a low alabaster and black granite wall (B 29 p773). However, much of this has gone in one of the remodellings of the sanctuary area, the most recent of which was in 1993, as an inscription records. Street also introduced wall-arcading within the chancel proper, incorporating onyx and other exotic marble shafting.
Though later alterations have not seriously compromised Street’s concept, some were not beneficial. A hexagonal vestry of 1888 by H Spurrell was intended to match the original (CDK 1888 pt 2 p140 as ‘R Spurrell’, which is clearly an error); he also added in 1896 the low west porches with a baptistery (WSRO Ep/II/27/127a). ‘Mr Murray’ (almost certainly W H Murray, who was Spurrell’s partner) designed a vaulted chapel (Brown) in 1903, separated from the south aisle by an arcade, filled with ironwork screens. The wider eastern part of this comprises a double arch, cusped on the chapel side, within which is the tomb of the first vicar, the Rev H R Whelpton (d1902), whose father paid for much of the church, in the form of a brass. On the south side of the altar behind an iron gate is a recess used for the reserved sacrament.
The chapel was the final addition to the church, which fared less well for the next 90 years. Street’s reredos was removed in 1928 (Faber Guide p38) and war damage obliterated most of the glass by Clayton and Bell and damaged the chancel and south chapel. In 1946 W H R Blacking remedied this, but painted out most of the mosaics and paintings throughout the church (see below). Most of these are now once more visible, to the great benefit of the interior, although Blacking’s pastel shades in the sanctuary and west organ gallery remain.
Carving: (Altar of south chapel) Oak relief of the Burial of Christ, G Jack (Watney p44).
Font: Though the bowl is not especially large, it is made of a piece of onyx and is said to have been designed by Street (Watney ibid). It was obviously relocated when the baptistery was added.
1. (South aisle and south east clerestory) Two lancets in the aisle and some larger figures of saints in the clerestory remain from the original glass by Clayton and Bell, otherwise destroyed. More of their work has been reset in the west windows of the south chapel.
2. A window of 1884 by J Powell and Sons (designed by J W Brown) near the baptistery (CDK 1886 pt 2 p44)) was destroyed by the bombing, as was other glass by the company, one possibly designed by by F Mann.
3. (North east clerestory windows) Clayton and Bell, 1868. These figures of saints, presumably without their backgrounds, were removed here from Gloucester cathedral in 2006 after a re-ordering there, as a memorial to Ian Gow MP and Paul Crook (CT 22 Sept 2006).
4. (Apse) Four lights, C Webb, 1953 (www.stainedglassrecords.org retrieved on 11/2/2013).
5. (South chapel sacrament recess – small light) G L Whelpton, undated (ibid).
6. (South chapel, four south and four north windows) Shrigley and Hunt, c1903 (ibid).
7. (‘Two-light nave west window’) R de Montmorency, c1961 (DSGW 1961). In spite of this statement, no window of this description is to be seen in the church, where all west windows are of clear glass.
Lectern: Double-sided brass and designed by Street in 1875 (BN 29 p656 as ‘St Saviour, Hastings’ – an obvious error).
Mosaics and other decoration: Clayton and Bell and started before 1877 (CDK 1877 pt 2 p87). Until 1991, much was darkened or smothered in paint except for some single figures, but a painted Christ in Majesty, surrounded by saints and angels, has been revealed covering the whole area above the chancel arch. In the aisles are mosaic panels, some donated as late as 1907, but clearly conforming to the original scheme. Those in the chancel were the earliest and were made by Salviati of Venice. The chancel mosaics and painted figures are subordinated to the rich tiling and marble cladding, but the effect must be close to what was intended and is a remarkable feat of restoration. Further mosaics by J Powell and Sons (designed by J W Brown) were added in 1906 (in 1903 he had also designed a decorative scheme for the baptistery) (Hadley list).
Reredos: Carved and painted, W H R Blacking, 1937 (Watney p43).
Pulpit: Massive and round, made of stone with nailhead and foliage capitals. It looks to be designed by Street and was carved by T Earp. The steps up to it are recessed into the adjacent pier of the arcade.
Statue: (North east corner of nave) Virgin and Child by L Grossé, 1928 (1 p18).
War memorial: (Outside west end) C H Murray, 1920-21 (WWA 1923).
1. M Hodgin and F Reeve: The Parish Church of St Saviour and St Peter, Eastbourne, 2000
My thanks to Nick Wiseman for the photographs of St Saviour’s and for clarifying the position about the de Montmorency glass.
Categories: East Sussex, Eastbourne
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ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE Sustainability Report 2017
Sustainability at ProSiebenSat.1
Corporate Strategy and Sustainability
Foreword by Conrad Albert
Employees and Diversity
Development of Employee Numbers
Recruiting and Employer Branding
Work-Life Package
Parliamentary Elections
Marketing and Product Labeling
Anti-Corruption and Antitrust Law
Environment and Climate Protection
Limited Assurance Report of the Independent Auditor
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In the public value reporting, scopes are categories that classify emissions regarding their type and their relation to the value chain. The scopes are distinguished in direct emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions (Scope 2) and emissions in the upstream and downstream value creation stages (Scope 3).
The full group of entities to be included in the consolidated financial statements.
Entity or individual that can reasonably be expected to be significantly affected by the reporting organization’s activities, products and services, or whose actions can reasonably be expected to affect the ability of the organization to successfully implement its strategies and achieve its objectives. Stakeholders include entities or individuals whose rights under law or international conventions provide them with legitimate claims vis-à-vis the organization. Stakeholders can include those who are invested in the organization (such as employees and shareholders), as well as those who have other relationships to the organization (such as other workers who are not employees, suppliers, vulnerable groups, local communities, and NGOs or other civil society organizations, among others).
Sustainable Development/Sustainability
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development encompasses three dimensions: economic, environmental and social. Sustainable development refers to broader environmental and societal interests, rather than to the interests of specific organizations. In the GRI Standards, the terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ are used interchangeably.
17 goals for sustainable development of the United Nations that are intended to help secure sustainable development on the economic, social, and ecological level.
Turnover Rate
For the calculation of the turnover rate is the number of former employees who left in the reporting period divided by the number of employees at effective date. Reasons for leaving are cancellations or termination agreements. Resignations due to temporal limitations of employment contracts, end of apprenticeship, retirement or death are not considered.
Organization of states founded in 1945 with 193 members (as of March 2018) that are committed to maintaining peace through international cooperation and collective security.
An organization’s value chain encompasses the activities that convert input into output by adding value. It includes entities with which the organization has a direct or indirect business relationship and which either (a) supply products or services that contribute to the organization’s own products or services, or (b) receive products or services from the organization. This definition is based on United Nations (UN), The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Interpretive Guide, 2012. The value chain covers the full range of an organization’s upstream and downstream activities, which encompass the full life cycle of a product or service, from its conception to its end use.
Download Sustainability Report
(PDF:) PDF (3.4MB)
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Procurement Terms
nexxar - digital reporting evolved - Online Report
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Poetry Friday: Charles Simic
Posted on August 3, 2007 under poetry friday
In honor of our boy Simic being named poet laureate, I’ve decided to inaugurate (historically-inclined) Poetry Friday here at PH.
I’m still thinking about historians, museums, and the productive, creative, life-affirming work we do and can do in the face of catastrophes. More on that later. But expect to see more of the literary imagination around history featured here, in particular a review of John Crowley’s new book. Can a writer of historical fiction be called a public historian?
Simic’s poems are absurd and weary, tolerant of folly, but joyous in a feast or a moment caught in the light of the end of the world. Here’s a Simic prose poem, from his 1989 book The World Doesn’t End:
A century of gathering clouds. Ghost ships arriving and leaving. The sea deeper, vaster. The parrot in the bamboo cage spoke several languages. The captain in the daguerrotype had his cheeks painted red. He brought a half-naked girl from the tropics whom they kept chained in the attic even after his death. At night she made sounds that might have been singing. The captain told of a race of men without mouths who subsisted only on the scents of flowers. This made his wife and mother say a prayer for salvation of all unbaptized souls. Once, however, we caught the captain taking off his beard. It was false! Under it he had another beard, equally absurd-looking.
It was the age of busy widow’s walks. The dead languages of love were still in use, but also much silence, much soundless screaming at the top of the lungs.
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Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)
“He looks like he’s gonna walk it off.”
The horror-comedy Tucker and Dale vs Evil takes one of the quintessential tropes of horror cinema – a group of pretty college students chased and terrorised by blood thirsty hillbillies – and neatly turns it on its head. Tucker and Dale, charmingly played by Alan Tudyk (Firefly) and Tyler Labine (Reaper), are kind-hearted and innocent red-neck friends who travel to the Appalachian Mountains to work on Tuckers new holiday residence, a proverbial cabin in the woods. Along the way they encounter a group of college students who, thanks to the influence of countless horror films, believe the two friends to be pitiless, blood-thirsty killers. The misunderstandings mount as several of the students, through their own stupidity, accidentally kill themselves and the rest of the group blame the hapless friends who are then forced to defend themselves when the students attack. Throw in a rather dim sheriff and a neat twist on the ‘dumb blond’ character and you have a film that pays homage to the horror genre while gently poking fun at it.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead’s 1 and 2 and The Hills Have Eyes, amongst others, are all referenced to marvellous effect. The scene where Tucker accidentally cuts through a beehive with a chainsaw mimics one of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s most memorable scenes and is genuinely very funny. As is the scene towards the finale were Dale armours-up, clearly a nod towards the ‘groovy’ scene from Evil Dead 2. (Sharp eyed viewers will also spot that the duo’s favourite beer is Pabst Blue Ribbon, the drink of choice for Blue Velvet villain Frank Booth).
The film-makers are clearly fans of the genre so even though the comedy is deferential the film doesn’t shy away from the gore – as the film progress the clueless students kill themselves, and each other, in increasingly more gruesome ways. The scene were one unfortunate student throws himself into a wood chipper is both bloody and hilarious. What really holds the film together though is the relationship between the two friends: Tucker and Dale have grown up together and their friendship is very believable – you care about these characters which makes their jeopardy all the more real.
Although the film was made on a modest budget it really doesn’t show on screen. The outdoor woods scenes, shot with the ubiquitous eerie mist, are beautifully photographed and although the movie clearly pays homage to it’s B-Movie roots that doesn’t mean it’s cheap or tacky. Although the film didn’t fare well at the box-office, due mainly to its limited theatrical release, it has subsequently become a fan favourite on DVD and Blu-ray.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil may not have the larger budget of Cabin in the Woods or sport a clever genre-busting Joss Whedon script, but it does succeed as both a send-up and celebration of horror/slasher films and it’s a great deal of fun.
Buy Tucker and Dale vs Evil from AMAZON
Previous PostPower ComicsNext PostSuperman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero by Larry Tye
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WATCH: Michael Flynn Arrives At Federal Courthouse In D.C.
Sipa USA via AP
By Nicole Lafond
December 1, 2017 10:35 am
Former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. just before 10:30 a.m. EST Friday.
Special counsel Robert Mueller has charged Flynn with one count of making a false statement to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.
Watch his arrival below:
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Tech Roose
RISC-V Workshop Episode Generator Spike Multicore Linux on Spike Eduroam on Raspberry Pi with Kodi
Privacy Trusted System Design Surrey: Trusted Computing
Chess Resources News Candidates Tournament 2018 Puzzle: lichess 68369 Puzzle: lichess 65644
World Chess Candidates Tournament Berlin 2018
The world chess candidates tournament was played in Berlin, Germany from 10 March to 28 March. The purpose of the candidates tournament is to determine who plays Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship from 8-28 November 2018. I want to share my views of the candidates tournament as I watched it online for the first few rounds and in person for the last few. Just before entering the building you were confronted with this quote:
The players fighting for the right to be Carlsen's challenger were Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Grischuk, Sergey Karjakin, Vladimir Kramnik, Ding Liren, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Wesley So. Caruana won with a full point ahead of the rest and won the right to face Magnus Carlsen in the World Championship!
To show you how crazy this tournament was I have prepared a graph showing the standings as the rounds progressed. The y-axis is the aggregate games won, so if someone wins a game their score goes up by 1 and if they lose then their score goes down by 1.
After the first three rounds, Kramnik was on +2 and it seemed plausible that we would have a former world champion challenging Magnus Carlsen. However, he had a horrible 6 rounds after that before stabilizing in the end.
Aronian had one of the most horrible tournaments you can imagine, ending on -5. I went to see the players in Berlin and after round 11 he looked distraught at the board. It really is a shame to see such a great player buckle under the pressure.
Karjakin had a horrible start scoring -2 in the first 4 rounds, but he came back and even defeated Caruana in round 12 making him tied for first place going into round 13. However, it was not meant to be as Caruana had a very strong finish with two wins and never having given up first sport after round 4.
Mamedyarov was the rating favorite going into this tournament and he had a good tournament, but simply not enough wins to actually claim the prize. He had 10 draws, which is the most draws except for Ding Liren who had 13 draws.
In the end, Caruana prevailed and deservedly so, because of his great results.
Playing Venue
The tournament was played in the Kulhaus Berlin. It was an interesting concept where spectators could watch the games from above. This is quite different from the other top tournaments that I've watched, where you usually have to look at a screen that have the moves shown on them. The idea is quite interesting; however, I think that they should not have tried it out on the candidates tournament for a couple of reasons.
Although the idea is interesting, the execution was less than perfect. Because of the industrial nature of the venue, the acoustics were quite bad. This means that any cough or movement from the audience disturbed the players. Also, the staircase was right next to the playing hall and any time the door was opened, the noise from the staircase propagated into the playing hall. Somewhat hilarious is that the acoustics also amplified the squeaky shoes of Vladimir Kramnik.
Some other annoyances for the players were the bad hotel (Karjakin complained about it) and that there was only one toilet for the players. They had even made the effort of providing a portable toilet, so it shouldn't have been too hard to provide another one.
For now we can look forward to the World Chess Championship in November!
If you have any comments or corrections please send an email to contribute at techroose. Feel free to use any of the content on my website with a citation.
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Sting gives Toronto a taste of The Last Ship...
In a media preview held on Thursday at the Princess of Wales Theatre for The Last Ship, Sting is earnest and honest.
“I’m a little nervous, because I got liquefied last night,” he says, before breaking out into song to settle himself.
“Blame Shaggy,” he says later, of his current tourmate, the reggae icon with whom he recently recorded an album.
The former Police frontman has long been at the stage of his career where he can pretty much do whatever he wants, and these two recent projects are perfect examples. The Last Ship, coming to town early next year, is a musical he wrote and created the music for about his hometown of Newcastle, which was devastated after its shipbuilding industry dried up. And then there’s 44/876, that new record with the famous “It Wasn’t Me” singer.
“I like to be out of my comfort zone, so I can learn something,” he says of choosing these seemingly disparate projects at this stage of his career.
During the preview, he explained how he grew in the shadow of these massive ships, and after leaving to becoming a musician, he felt he was in the perfect position to tell the story against that backdrop, suggesting he had a “debt” to the place and a “responsibility” to tell the story. It’s a tale, he says, that has universal themes that speak to any place that has ties to manufacturing.
All that said, in the name of investigative journalism, we suggest to Mr. Sumner that it was his burning desire for EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner) status that really drove him toward creating this musical.
“None. None whatsoever,” he says with a hearty laugh. “It’s a crapshoot, that whole thing. The Oscars, and Emmys and that whole blah blah blah.”
We counter that he was nominated for a Tony for original score The Last Ship in 2015, and more recently, he was nominated for an Oscar in 2017 for Best Original Song, for “The Empty Chair,” for the documentary Jim: The James Foley Story.
“I’ve been up for it (Oscar) four times — and lost four times. No, I don’t think about that at all.”
Sting also reveals that he feels he owes Ontario for kicking off his music career in the first place.
“My uncle John emigrated in the ’50s to Toronto. And he couldn’t take his guitar with him, so he left it to me. That was the beginning. I was 7 years old. That was my friend for life, and made my career. Made my life,” he says “So I’m grateful for Ontario for attracting my uncle.”
The Last Ship is clearly a passion project for Sting, and while it did OK on Broadway — particularly when the singer performed in it, as he’ll do in Toronto. (He plays the shipyard foreman because, he admits, “I am too old to play the young lead.”) He thinks the story might resonate even more with Canadians, who he figures are a little closer to the Brits in their sensibilities. He almost recoils when I ask if he’s ever considered creating a jukebox musical of his tunes.
“I’ve avoided that like the plague, because it’s too easy in many ways. This is the most difficult thing to do, an original musical, with original songs and an original story. It is not the easy route at all. Most musicals are based on an existing property, a fairy tale, Disney cartoon or something that people know,” he says. “So I took the most difficult route, but that’s very me.”
He also says he’s ready for the Canadian winter, even as the assembled media try to warn of what is in store here in during the run next year.
“You know, I’ve been hear in February, I know how cold it is. I have boots and socks and a hat,” he says. “I’ll be fine.”
(c) Toronto Star by Raju Mudhar
Billboard review Sting & Shaggy's New York show...
Following the release of their well-received collaborative album, 44/876, Sting and Shaggy took their unlikely partnership on the road. Wednesday (Sept. 26) night, the duo hit the Pier 17 Rooftop in New York City for an energetic and timely performance. Midway through "Dreaming in the USA," an ode to America and a commentary on immigration, Shaggy stepped to the front of the stage, earnestly addressing the audience. "This song is for all the Dreamers, no matter where you're from, whether you're black or white, Christian or Buddhist, it doesn't matter; we have a saying in Jamaica, 'out of many one people,' and tonight we're all brothers and sisters here."
Lionel Loueke's new album 'The Journey' out September 28...
Lionel Loueke has been described by Downbeat magazine as "a true original", the New York Times as "one of the most striking jazz artists to emerge in some time", and by Sting as "one of the most original, essential and inspiring musicians on our planet today." Lionel Loueke's new album 'The Journey' is released on September 28 and is highly recommended. Check out https://youtu.be/rI3S_CkJCMo
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Common Knowledge
Zero-L, a new online course, is meant to help all incoming students, including those who don’t have any pre-law background. Featuring an array of Harvard Law School professors, it covers topics ranging from the separation of powers to how to speak in class in response to a cold call. Continue Reading
Collecting on Dreams
As a 2L, Toby Merrill ’11 was enrolled in a Harvard Law School consumer clinic, litigating against predatory lenders of subprime mortgages. Her new mission is no less urgent: fighting for people affected by the predatory lending practices of some for-profit colleges, alleged to provide worthless degrees in exchange for thousands of dollars in government-backed loans. Continue Reading
Particular moments in history and strategic breaks with unwritten rules have helped many U.S. presidents expand their powers incrementally, leading some to wonder how wide-ranging presidential powers can be. Continue Reading
Are Americans Getting Enough Fiber?
Fiber optic technology, which results in dazzlingly fast and reliable internet connectivity, should be available at a low price to everyone in the U.S., as it is in other countries, argues Susan Crawford. Because of a series of telecom policy decisions, the U.S. is falling further and further behind other nations. On the national level, almost no one is paying attention, says Crawford. And she is out to change that.
Love at Langdell
By Linda Grant, June 21, 2019
Credit: Martha Stewart
As Anna Alriksson LL.M. ’14 and Kristian Persson walked down the front steps of Langdell library during Spring Reunions weekend, passersby couldn’t help but notice the couple showing off an engagement ring.
A lover of reading and books, Alriksson spent many hours in Langdell in 2014 while working on her LL.M. degree. It became her second home. During reunions, she couldn’t wait to show Persson her favorite study spot on campus. To her surprise, during their stroll through the reading room, Persson got down on one knee and proposed.
For Alriksson, the moment could not have been more perfect. She grew up above the Arctic Circle in the small town of Malmberget, in the northern part of Swedish Lapland, where she says it was rare for anyone to attend a university. Getting a degree at Harvard Law School had been a childhood dream. She beat the odds after working and studying hard for many years and now practices law in Stockholm. Getting engaged to Persson at the school that she loves brought the story full circle. “I am so excited for what the future holds for us,” she said.
Tags: Graduate Program, Langdell Library
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Tombstone Tuesday
In memory of those who have gone before us….
Tombstone Tuesday – July 9, 2019 – Robert Allen Hart
Robert Allen Hart was born on December 31, 1898. He was the son of Robert Richard and Etta May (Haines) Hart. He was born in Mount Carmel, Illinois. In the 1900 Federal Census, Robert Allen (1898) and his sister Katherine(1896)are listed with their parents in Mount Carmel, Illinois. The elder, Robert R. Hart, is working for the Railroad in Mt Carmel, Illinois. In the 1910 Federal Census, Robert lives with his parents and seven siblings; Robert (1898), Rolla (1901), Elner (1902), Maude (1904), Zura (1905), Bessie (1907), James (1908), Etta (1910).
Robert Allen Hart enlisted with the 16th Illinois Infantry on May 13, 1917. He served during World War I and was honorably discharged on May 12, 1919.
Robert Allen married Grace Goodson on November 19, 1919 in Princeton, Indiana. In the 1920 Federal Census, Robert is 21 years old and he is listed with his 20 year old wife, Grace. He lists his occupation as laborer in a button factory. They live on West Fifth Street in Mt Carmel, Illinois. Findagrave seems to indicate that Grace and Robert had a daughter born in 1920. Her name was Madeline Kristine Hart. She died in 1927. It seems that Grace and Robert split sometime after their child’s death. I am unable to find a divorce record for Grace and Robert, I do find that Grace Goodman Hart marries a Wallace McCarthy in 1928 in Illinois.
Robert Allen married Estella May Weaver on May 10, 1930 in Muscatine, Iowa.
On December 17, 1935, Robert Allen became a Prison Guard at the Iowa State Penitentiary at Fort Madison in Iowa.
In the 1940 Federal Census, taken on April 25, 1940, Robert and Estella are living at Fort Madison, Lee County Iowa.
Seventy nine years ago today, Robert Allen died at the Sacred Heart hospital the day after he received a gunshot wound in the neck while attempting to thwart a prison escape. The following is a newspaper article detailing the event.
Mason City Globe Gazette (Mason City, Iowa) July 25, 1940
2 Men Confess Guard’s Murder in Penitentiary
“Haenze and Sullivan Sign Statements in the Killing of Robert Hart”
Des Moines, (AP) R. W. Nebergall, chief of the Iowa bureau of criminal investigation, announced Thursday that Lowell Haenze, 27, and Ivan Sullivan, 28, have confessed to the murder of Fort Madison penitentiary Guard Robert Hart, killed when the pair made an aborted attempt to free another convict several weeks after their own escape.
Haenze, Sullivan and another convict, Estes, broke thru the electric fence at the rear of the prison on June 22.
Hart was fatally shot on July 8 when two or three men came to the prison fence, threw over a shotgun and a pair bolt cutters and attempted to free another convict, William Cunningham. Cunningham committed suicide by firing a shotgun charge into his head when he was thwarted in an attempt to break through the fence. Hart was patrolling the high prison fence and fired on Cunningham and the other men before he was felled by a bullet in the neck. Nebergall said that both Sullivan and Haenze had signed statements admitting they were a party that attempted to free Cunningham and that they fired at the guard.
Nebergall said the statement was obtained by prison officials at Fort Madison working with State Agents Delbert Murray and Robert Gregson, the Lee County Sheriff and County Attorney. He declared that officers were not yet satisfied with what part that Estes may have played in the second escape attempt. He is currently still at large. A woman who figured both in the escape of Haenze, Sullivan and Estes and in the second attempt has been arrested in Missouri, but Nebergall said that he had no details on her arrest. “
Robert Allen Hart was buried at the Oakland Cemetery on July 11, 1940 with full military honors.
Rest in peace, Robert!
Love, Jan
Robert Allen Hart is my third cousin two times removed.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on July 9, 2019 by needlesinahaystackblog.
Tombstone Tuesday – July 2, 2019 – Madge Louise Hainer Buchner
Madge was born on March 21, 1894 in Maquoketa, Iowa. She was the daughter of Charles Edward and Harriet Louiza (Griffin) Hainer. Charles and Harriet had seven children; Zora Meryl (1888), Verva Irene (1890), Madge Louise (1894), Helen Hannah (1899), Ford Albert (1902), Sybil Elizabeth (1904), Maxine Claire (1908). In the 1900 Federal Census, Madge is 6 years old and attending school. Charles, Harriet and four of their children are living in Fairfield, Iowa. Charles is a farmer. Allen Fowler is also living with the family and is listed as a servant. In the 1920 Federal Census, the Hainers are listed in Waterford, Iowa. Madge is sixteen. Charles and Harriet have six children living with them. They also list Henry Lockey who also lives with them. He is listed as a servant.
Madge married Harold G Buchner on August 26, 1914 in Clinton, Iowa. In the 1915, Iowa Census, Harold lists his occupation as furniture salesman. And both Madge and Harold list that they are married and live in Maquoketa, Iowa. Harold lists his total earnings for 1914 as 720.00. Madge is a housewife. Each of them filed an individual census card with the State of Iowa.
She and Harold are found in the 1920 Federal Census in Maquoketa, South Fork Township, Iowa on Niagara Street. They have two children; George (1915) and Betty(1916). They also list Rosanna Schafer who lives with them and is working as a servant. She is twenty years old. Harold is selling insurance. In a 1922 death record, Harold and Madge lost a daughter who was born prematurely on January 4, 1922 and lived just a few hours.
Death Certificate of a daughter born on January 4, 1922 to Harold and Madge Buchner
Madge, George and Betty about 1924
In the 1925 Iowa Census, Harold and Madge are listed in Maquoketa, Iowa. The have three children; George, Betty and Ann (1920) who must have been born after the 1920 Census was taken. They have Bertha Schay living with them and is listed as a servant. Ann died in 1926 at the age of six.
In the 1930 Census, they live in Maquoketa, Iowa on Niagara Street. Harold and Madge have two children listed George and Betty who are now teenagers. Harold is an undertaker. In the 1940 Census, Madge is divorced. Madge remains in the Niagara Street residence. She and her son George are living there with two boarders; John Johnson and Joiner Fredricks.
Madge Louise Buchner died sixty nine years ago on July 2, 1950. She was fifty six years old. She is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Maquoketa, Iowa.
Rest in peace, Madge!
Madge is my third cousin two times removed.
Tombstone Tuesday – June 25, 2019 – Sarah McAllister Walker
Sarah McAllister was the daughter of Fulton and Anna (LeFlair) McAllister. She was born in Lisbon, New York on June 8, 1919. Fulton and Anna had eleven children; John (1908), Ida (1910), Richard (1912), Eurette (1914), William (1916), Edward (1917), Sarah (1919), Fulton (1921), Lawrence (1921), Anna (1923), Robert (1925). In the 1920 Federal Census, Sarah is seven months old and listed with her parents and seven of her siblings in Lisbon, New York. Her father, Fulton, is a farmer. In the 1930 Federal Census, the McAllister family including Sarah, remain in Lisbon, New York. Sarah is now ten years old. In the 1940 Federal Census, Sarah is a 21 year old living in Rensselaer Falls, New York. She is working in a Rockland State Mental Hospital as an attendant. She has been working there for 26 weeks.
She married Arlington Walker. He died in 1981. I have found no information about children at this time but it is likely due to the fact that this information is relatively recent in nature and as a result remains private. I did look for an obit but did not locate one.
This photo is on the tombstone of Fulton and Anna McAllister. The photo was taken prior to the 1970 death of Anna LeFlair McAllister. I found it on the Findagrave.com Website. Thanks to Anne Cady for creating the memorials of this family and posting these photos. Sarah, the subject of our post today is standing directly behind and between her parents.
Sarah died just eleven years ago at the age of eighty-nine years old. She is buried with the McAllister family members in Flackville Cemetery in Lisbon, New York.
Rest in Peace, Sarah!
Sarah McAllister is my third cousin one times removed.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on June 25, 2019 by needlesinahaystackblog.
Tombstone Tuesday – June 18, 2019 – Mary Catherine Pocock
Mary Catherine was the daughter of Elisha and Nancy (Middaugh) Pocock. She was born in 1845 in Ohio. Elisha and Nancy had eight children; Milton, Mary Catherine (1845), John H (1850), Emeline (1852) , Elias (1856) , Margaret (1858) , Nancy (1861) , Charles (1868).
In the 1850 Census, Elisha and Nancy are found in Wayne Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They have three children; Milton, Mary and John and Andrew Middaugh living with them. Andrew is 42 years old and since Nancy’s maiden name is Middaugh he is likely a brother or cousin. Elisha is a Carpenter and Andrew is a farmer.
On December 31, 1867, Mary Catherine married Joseph Smith in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. In 1869, Mary and Joseph had twin sons names Ashley and Ashland. In the 1870 Federal Census, Joseph, Catherine and their two sons are living with Susanna Smith, Joseph’s mother. By the 1880 Federal Census, Catherine and Joseph have two more children, Ira D and Emma F.
One hundred and twenty nine years ago today, Mary Catherine Pocock Smith died at the age of forty- five. She is buried in the Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne, Indiana with her son, Ira, who died in 1882.
Rest in peace, Mary Catherine!
Mary Catherine was the wife of my Great Grand Uncle Joseph Smith
Tombstone Tuesday – June 11, 2019 – Mary Platt Dutterer
Mary L Platt was the daughter of George F. and Sarah L (Crites) Platt, she was born on December 12, 1904 in Markle, Wells County, Indiana. George and Sarah had five children; Merton (1893), Cletus (1897), Weston (1898), Donald (1899), Mary (1904).
In the 1910 Federal Census, Mary is found with her parents and brothers in Union Township, Wells County, Indiana. George Platt, Mary’s father, is a farmer. In the 1920 Federal Census, Mary is fourteen years old and attending school.
Mary married Rex J Dutterer on May 18, 1929 in Markle, Indiana. By the 1930 Federal Census, Rex and Mary have moved to Toledo, Ohio, They are running a boarding house with five boarders, none of whom seem to be related to Rex and Mary. Rex is an engineer.
By the time of the 1940 Census, Rex and Mary now have two daughters; Corrine Alice (1932) and Margaret Joan (1933). They remained living in Toledo until some time after the 1940 Federal Census, Rex and Mary moved to Hastings, Michigan. In 1950 Rex and Mary are listed in a local address registry for Hastings, Michigan. Rex is employed by the Hastings Manufacturing Company as an engineer.
There is a public record for Mary Dutterer in 1989 in Mesa, Arizona I assume that this maybe related to her husbands death in 1986. She is also found in Mesa in a phone and address directory for the year 1995- 1996. Her social security record seems to indicate that she was living in Lisle, Illinois when she died on June 11, 1997. I do not find a burial record for her or her husband who preceded her.
Rest in peace, Mary!
Mary is my first cousin three times removed.
Tombstone Tuesday – June 4, 2019 – Margaret Kitzer Wall
Margaret was born on September 29,1894 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of William Walter and Anna (Trollinger) Kitzer. William and Anna had twelve children; Anna (1886), Estella (1887), Rebecca (1889), William Walter (1891), Harry Eugene (1893), Margaret Louise (1894), Jacob (1896), Martha (1898-1899), John Doleman (1900), Roy Gilmore (1903), Blanche Edith (1905), Charles Alfred (1910).
In the 1900 Federal Census, William Walter and his wife Anna are found in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with seven of their children. William Walter lists his occupation as Farm Laborer. Margaret is five years old. In the 1910 Federal Census, the Kitzer family is found in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. William is a farmer and they have eight children. The oldest three children are grown and no longer live at home. Margaret is now 15 years old.
Margaret Louise married John Wall on December 29,1919 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. In the 1920 Federal Census, Margaret is still living at home with her parents but she does indicate that she is married. John and Margaret had one son, Ralph Ernst , who was born on September 3, 1920. John Wall died in 1925, leaving Margaret a widow. In the 1930 Federal Census, Margaret and Ralph are living with her parents, William Walter and Anna Kitzer.
Eighty-two years ago today, Margaret died. It appears that she had Epilepsy but her cause of death was listed as Acute Encephalitis. She died in Rochester, Pennsylvania. She was buried in Plum Creek Cemetery in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. She was forty two when she died.
Rest in peace, Margaret.
Margaret is the sister to my Great Aunt’s Husband.
Tombstone Tuesday – May 28, 2019 – Russell Robert Bradley
Russell Robert is the son of Russell Hayner and Mabel Elinore (Johnson) Bradley. He was born in December 26, 1918 in Livingston Montana. According to his Birth Certificate, Russell Hayner is a Lieutenant in the Army serving on a base in Montana. This would be during the WWI time period. Russell and Mabel had six children ; Russell (1919), Lyle (1920), Wellington (1922), Gloria (1924), Betty (1927), Richard (1931).
Russell Robert – (approximating – 1921-1922) provided by Paula Bradley
In the 1930 Federal Census, the Bradley family, including an eleven year old, Russell Robert, are found in Romulus, Michigan. Nine years later, Russell Robert enlisted in the Army on June 29, 1939 according to information found on Findagrave.com post by Paula Bradley. His enlistment record appears to indicate that he may have been married, that his young wife had died and that he had no dependents. He listed his occupation as Police Officer. He lived in Wayne County, Michigan.
In the 1940 Federal Census, Russell Robert in listed in Green County, Ohio at Patterson Field in Fairfield Village. Russell served as a Staff Sergeant & Togglier (Bombardier) on B-26 #40-1467 in 33rd Bomber Squadron, 22nd Bomber Group, Medium, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. Four of the B-26 planes including B-26 #40-1467 from the the 33rd Bomber Squandron, took off from the 7-Mile Drome near Port Moresby on a bombing mission over Lae Airfield, Morobe Province Papua New Guinea. Over the target they were attacked and shot down by Japanese Zeros and crashed into the Huon Gulf.
Russell was declared Missing in Action and eventually declared deceased in this formal letter from the War Department.
“This is a transcription of the article written in a Detroit area newspaper in 1942 at the time that Russell Robert Bradley was missing in action. I have transcribed it due to the poor quality of the pictures of the article.
RUSSELL H. BRADLEY
By REX G. WHITE
Russell R. Bradley, the first lad to enlist from Romulus, Mich., is “missing”. He was a bombardier and one purple twilight his plane took off and out across seas that were soon to be moonlit and beautiful. The plane did not come back.
He may be somewhere on this earth. He may be sitting beside the wreckage of a plane where palm trees thrust up from coral sands and the world is so lovely to look upon that the human heart grows weary with longing that things might be so filled with peace and beauty. Who knows?
The War Department does not know. It merely listed his name today among a group of United States soldiers “missing in action in the Far Eastern Theater, including Australia and the South Pacific.”
Out in Romulus live his father and his two brothers and three sisters and mother. It is a pretty good example of an American family. Dad – Russell H. Bradley – knew 18 months on the firing line in France, a lieutenant with the 337th Machine Gun Battalion. Grandpa Bradley fought all through the Civil War.
TRAINING IN MIAMI
Lyle Bradley, brother of the missing man, is an officer in training in Miami. Wellington, a younger brother, is having fits because an Army doctor and a Marine doctor said he had a punctured ear drum and couldn’t join.
“Don’t worry”, he says. I’ll get in some way. There are a lot of outfits I haven’t tried yet.”
Mother – well, mother is working.
“She’s a soldier, too.” explained Dad. She’s raised six swell kids, had 13 operations and she’s getting old beautifully – I mean her hair is silver gray and – and – she’s taken Russell’s not coming back with her chin up.
“A fortune teller said the boy was coming back and she sort of likes to cling to that – although we know it’s just nonsense. Gloria, our oldest girl, is married. Her husband is in the Army and she’s working.
“I’m trying to get in. I’m 49, but I had a good overseas record. Mother says she can get along all right if I go. We own this house and I’ve got three acres down south of here. She’s got a good job over at Eloise – and I’d be a captain at least. I’m in good shape physically. Yes, sir. I’m trying mighty hard and I have hopes.
LOVED THE ARMY
“Guess this yard looks sort of ragged, huh? I had the finest lawn you ever saw but the kids liked to play ball and they had dogs, so I said – “Well, it’s either a good lawn and the kids in the streets – or it’s a scuff lawn and the kids at home.
“They stayed home. Russell went to school here in Romulus. He was on the track team in high school. He loved the army. Gosh. I was overseas when he was born.
“He was a good soldier. He was a bombardier. He enlisted four years ago and had a year’s special training and then he re-enlisted. I was mighty proud of Russell.”
Over his head the breeze set swaying a service flag with its two blue stars in a field of white. Some springer pups whined for affection and he lifted them up into his lap.
“Like dogs, mister? I’ve got 25 – cockers and springers. We all kind of like dogs.”
“You’ve got 25? And six kids?”
Yep. I sort of raise dogs as a hobby. Good pedigreed pups. This old house isn’t so much – but we have been comfortable – and we’ve eaten well – and my kids are grand boys and girls.
“I’ve got no regrets – not even if my oldest boy – well, he did what any of us will do – if we have to – he’s proved he’s a good American.” (Thanks to Paula Bradley for sharing this Family information on Ancestry.com)
Russell was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Russell’s name is honored on the Memorial at Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
On this Memorial Day we salute you, Russel Robert Bradley, as a brave America soldier who gave his life so that we maybe free.
Russell Robert Bradley is my third cousin one times removed.
A special Thanks to Paula Bradley for sharing these family photo and historical family document which allowed us to remember Russell Bradley today
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on June 4, 2019 by needlesinahaystackblog.
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Companies and Products
6 Teams With the Most Super Bowl Wins
Featured, Soccer, Sports,
by Tante Namit February 7, 2016, 23:21 435 Views
6. New York Giants (tied with 4)
The New York Giants are a professional American football team located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team plays its home games at MetLife Stadium, which it shares with the New York Jets in a unique arrangement.
The Giants were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, and is the only one of that group still existing, as well as the league’s longest-established team in the Northeastern United States. The team ranks third among all NFL franchises with eight NFL titles: four in the pre–Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and four since the advent of the Super Bowl, along with more championship appearances than any other team, with 19 overall appearances.
Their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers (13) and Chicago Bears (9). During their history, the Giants have featured 28 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor.
The New York Giants have won the Super Bowl four times (1986, 1990, 2007 and 2011).
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Meet the Mayor and Town Council.
Councils and Boards
Meet the Mayor
Mayor Karl T. Pernell has been a lifelong resident of Louisburg. Having retired from the US Postal Service as Superintendent of Postal Operations after 25 years of service, Mr. Pernell was elected Mayor of Louisburg. Having served for 14 years as a Councilmember, Mayor Pernell is currently serving his 5th Term as Mayor of Louisburg. Mayor Pernell has been active in community for many years, including:
Louisburg Fire Chief – 16 years, working to establish the NC Fireman’s Pension Fund and to lower the Department of Insurance Fire Rating for Louisburg from a class 8 to class 5. This rate change resulted in savings to property owners in the Fire District and an increase in full time fire staffing from 3 engineers to 5.
Instrumental in establishing the Central Franklin Fire District and all such districts to provide a revenue source for all fire departments in Franklin County
Franklin County Fireman’s Association – President, 3 consecutive terms
Region K Council of Governments Rural Planning Organization (RPO -A Regional Transportation Planning entity) – Chairman
Rural Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC) of the Region K council of Governments – Chairman and member
Louisburg Baptist Church – currently a Deacon, Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, Past President of the Brotherhood: 4 terms, and Chairman of Long Range Planning Committee.
Karl T. Pernell,
Council Member,
Mr. Christopher Neal
Council member Christopher Neal is in his first term on the Louisburg town council and is currently serving as Mayor Pro Tem. Mr. Neal is retired after being employed in both the public and private sector. A graduate of Elizabeth State University and an advocate for domestic violence victims and homelessness. He believes it is all the citizens of Louisburg that make it a charming, small town.
Mayor Pro Tem,
Mrs.Betty Wright
Council Member Betty Keith Wright,
newly elected on November 2017, born in Franklin County and moved to Grant Street in Louisburg City at the age of 2 years old. She attended Riverside High school from grades 1 through 11 and completed grade 12 at Louisburg High School. She attended Louisburg College, Vance Granville Community College and Shaw University. With a Degree in Applied Science in Early Childhood Edu.
Mrs. Wright is the Mother of 3 fantastic children and grandmother of 4.
Worked for 4 years with the USDA-Farm Service Agency and over 30 years with the Franklin County School System. While with the school system, she served in the classroom and with the support staff.
Served positions such as PTA President, member of the Educational Support Personnel for the Superintendent’s Board for the merger of Franklin City and County Schools, NC-ESPA District Director and was a NCAE Delegate to the National Education Association. Betty was recognized as Franklin County Schools Employee of the Quarter in 2008. A member of South Main Street Missionary Baptist Church. Serving on various auxiliaries including: Church Clerk, LACER Camp Director, Relay For life Team Leader, Deaconess Board Chair, and Member of the Senior Choir.
I am committed to help bring excellence to the community because “We’re in this thing together!”
Mr. Boyd Sturges
Council Member Boyd Sturges has been on the Louisburg Town Council for 8 years, currently serving his third term. During this period he has served as Mayor Pro Tem for two terms and has taken the lead on behalf of the Council on several high profile and highly important issues affecting the citizens of Louisburg. Council Member Sturges is a Partner in the Law Firm of Davis, Sturges, and Tomlinson, located in Louisburg.
Mr. Bill Williamson
Council Member Bill Williamson is in his third term on the Louisburg Town Council. He has served for ten years, two of which he served as the Mayor Pro Tem. Council Member Williamson served on the Louisburg ABC Commission for many years before getting elected to the Town Council. Council Member Williamson is retired after 30 years with the State Attorney’s Office. He is currently a private practice attorney. Council Member Williamson enjoys spending time with his wife, his four kids and six grandchildren.
Mr. Tom Clancy
Council member Tom Clancy has been a resident of Louisburg since 2001. He is the owner of Strickland Funeral Home & Crematory and Granny’s Drive In. Tom has served on the Louisburg Town Council since 2014, and is privileged to be of service to the citizens of Louisburg.
Mrs. Emma B. Stewart
Mrs. Emma Stewart has served on the Louisburg Town Council for 16 years, having first been elected in 1993. Having grown up in Louisburg and returning to town after her college education, Mrs. Stewart has seen the many changes that have occurred in the community. Having served as an English teacher in the public schools, Mrs. Stewart has great interest in the local schools as well as other civic interests. Mrs. Stewart is presently or has had past involvement with many state and national associations, Including:
NC League of Municipalities – Board of Directors, 2 terms
NC League of Municipalities – 2007 & 2008 Planning and Services Legislative Action Committee
National League of Cities – Finance, Administration, and Intergovernmental Relations Steering Committee
Alliance of NC Dental Society – Past President
Person Place Preservation Society – Past President
Franklin County Library Board – Past Chairman
Louisburg Baptist Church – member and variety of committees
Various other committees serving Louisburg and Franklin County
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the dallas herald
The Dallas Herald - 9 Matching Results
Decades 2 Years 9
Collection: The Dallas Herald Title: The Dallas Daily Herald Type: Newspaper Month: August Day: 20th Clear All Filters
The Dallas Daily Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 164, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 20, 1873
Description: Daily newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.
Creator: McCaler, D. & Bartholow, J. N.
Partner: UNT Libraries
The Dallas Daily Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 163, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 20, 1874
Creator: McLure, E. C. & Bartholow, J. N.
The Dallas Daily Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 161, Ed. 1 Friday, August 20, 1875
The Dallas Daily Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 4, No. 165, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 20, 1876
The Dallas Daily Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 235, Ed. 1 Friday, August 20, 1880
The Dallas Daily Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. XXIVII, No. 228, Ed. 1 Saturday, August 20, 1881
The Dallas Daily Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 276, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 20, 1884
The Dallas Daily Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 279, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 20, 1885
The Dallas Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 186, Ed. 1 Saturday, August 20, 1887
Creator: Gilbert, C. E.
1880-1889 5 5 1870-1879 4 4
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SpaceChain opens operation in the United Kingdom to explore opportunities in Europe’s commercial space ecosystem
Singapore-based SpaceChain has expanded its operations to the United Kingdom to leverage Europe’s advanced space technologies and to drive economic development through SpaceChain’s satellite infrastructure and blockchain technology.
SpaceChain UK Limited will be based in Harwell, Oxfordshire at the Satellite Applications Catapult (SAC), an independent innovation and technology company created by Innovate UK.
To kick off its new business venture, SpaceChain collaborated with SAC to host a workshop that explored the benefits of blockchain technologies and its applications for the commercial space industry. Attended by more than 60 professionals from all over the UK, the workshop introduced the potential of a community-based space platform.
“Last year, I travelled to the UK about six to seven times. During those visits, I met a lot of potential partners from various UK-based space companies and learned more about the ecosystem there. From tracking satellites to building new rockets, the UK has played a vital role in the development of the space industry and we see more opportunities on the horizon,” said Zee Zheng, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of SpaceChain.
SpaceChain has already partnered with several UK-based companies, including: Open Cosmos, a microsatellite platform designed to manage the process of bringing satellite services to businesses; NanoAvionics, a nanosatellite mission integrator that delivers new generation satellite buses and propulsion systems; and Alba Orbital, a pioneer in the development of PocketQube satellites.
Heading the new UK office as Director is SpaceChain’s Chief Commercial Officer Nick Trudgen. A native of the UK, Trudgen speaks fluent Mandarin and specializes in UK-China trade and investment, with a focus on space, satellite, and telecommunications.
“We are very excited to explore the UK space ecosystem and bring the next generation of institutional grade blockchain services to existing and future satellite infrastructure. We have also received positive feedback from the entities we have met and we’re looking forward to working more closely with our partners in the UK,” said Trudgen.
SOURCE SpaceChain
Traditional Chinese music on trend with song featuring a 5-note scale, “Engagement”
Argus appoints David Fyfe as chief economist
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Ready, Set, Woah 5.0
Iain Sellers
Saying goodbye to the Emerald Isle. Illustration: Alina Wang.
It has been over seven months since I first arrived in Ireland and began writing this Ready, Set, Woah column. In some ways it feels like this timeline can’t be right, that I must have only arrived a few weeks ago, and yet, in other ways, it feels like I’ve been here for years.
When I first arrived in Galway in those long-gone early days, the Irish day-to-day culture really shocked me. Ireland seemed like it was stuck in a more interpersonal time, as if the age of social media, texting, and the internet hadn’t ripped the social aspects of everyday life from the Emerald Isle.
On most days, strangers might start a friendly conversation in the streets with me, locals might show up at my place for some craic without announcing it, or I might go for a walk and get to meet dogs running around without leashes whose owners eagerly waited to tell me their life story. All in all, it was a really cool way to live life and get to know people on an exchange.
One of the downsides of this lifestyle was that alone time could be hard to come by. I had some very introverted Canadian friends in Galway who couldn’t enjoy this constant barrage of conversation and mostly avoided mingling with the locals so that they didn’t have to adjust the way that they went about their daily lives.
So I know this lifestyle wasn’t for everyone, but I really enjoyed it and that’s what I think is most important for anyone studying abroad. Time is short, so you don’t necessarily have to do what others say you should do, but what you enjoy most.
One of the weirdest parts of any exchange is leaving this new home after one or two semesters. The more time you spend in a place, the more that it feels like it’s a part of your identity and the harder it will be to break the connections and friendships that you’ve made.
It’s a bittersweet feeling. On one hand, studying abroad means that you can make friends and build relationships all across the world, but on the other hand it also means that you have go back to the University of Ottawa and leave all those new friendships behind.
Don’t get me wrong, you can still keep those relationships and connections going after you leave your visiting university, but it does mean that you’ll have to come to terms with the idea that you won’t see those people as much as you once did.
Overall, I’m certain that I’ll miss the random conversations that I have had with Irish people on the street, or the sound of intrepid Galway buskers trying to make their big break, but I’ll admit it’s probably time for my next adventure.
Life is short and full of possibilities. In the end, whether it feels like I’ve been here for a few weeks or a few years, I wouldn’t change a second of it.
Arts & CultureexchangeIain SellersIrelandReady Set Woahstudent exchange
Shad returns to Ottawa
Moussa Sangaré-Ponce
Rapper performs at Ritual on Flying Colours tour Photo by Tara Mahoney Canadian rapper Shad was happy to be back in Ottawa. “It has a good hip-hop scene and a good shawarma scene,” he said. Returning only two months after performing at the Ottawa Folk Festival, Shad played Ritual Nightclub on Nov. 8 as part of his …
Popular drag queen Peppermint performs at U of O
Alex Szigeti
Peppermint, the first openly trans contestant on RuPaul, appeared on the ninth season of the show, and finished as the first runner up. It was the show’s most watched season in its history.
Godspell musical comes to Ottawa’s Centrepointe Theatre
Ryan Pepper
The music of Godspell is a major selling point, with a mix of traditional musical theatre, vaudeville, gospel music, and 70s-style pop and rock.
Movies You Should Have Seen
It's Lit in the Library
Campus Creations
Catch me in the Club
Ready Set Woah
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What’s the issue with writing about sex?
Tori Dudys
2014/02/16, 9:44 pm
Ontario’s outdated sex ed curriculum is silencing us on a topic that needs to be discussed
Photo by Tina Wallace
“Can I use a fake name?” or “no.”
These were the responses to my proposition: “You should write for the Fulcrum’s sex supplement.”
Though these replies made me a little disappointed, I tried to put myself in their shoes. Similar to a tattoo, writing about sex seems like it would stick with you forever. Once it’s been published, it’s out there for the world to see. You’re not going to get a government job or be in a position of the utmost political importance if you have a tattoo across your forehead. It’s the same assumption for writing something a little sexy. You’re not going to hold down an esteemed professional position if articles with the words “penis” and “vagina” surface with your name on them.
Then there’s the distinct possibility that your family will see the article. “What would Granny say if she saw my piece about the art of BDSM?”
I would like to clarify that it’s not the volunteers and staff members declining to write or wanting to use a pseudonym that makes me disappointed. It’s the fact that too many people are afraid to have an open discussion about something that almost every human and their mother does.
The main reason most Canadians are so afraid to write about or openly discuss sex is the type of sexual education taught in most schools throughout the country, and Ontarians have it the worst.
According to an article published in the Toronto Star in December, the Ontario sexual education curriculum hasn’t been updated in 15 years. To me that makes absolutely no sense. Fifteen years ago, kids didn’t have thousands of ways to access porn, or watch Rihanna hog-tied in a video on Much Music during the day. Sex is so prevalent in our culture, but we’re not properly taught how to embrace it, and more importantly, how to talk about it.
In an article published by the CBC in June 2013, it’s cited that nine in 10 parents polled said they were comfortable with their children receiving sexual education in school. But it’s these parents that need to begin sexual education with their kids at home at a young age.
When I learned about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and contraception, I learned about them once, in ninth grade, and we never even grazed topics like sexual orientation, healthy relationships, or talking about sex with our partners. It’s not enough to have a couple days worth of discussion about something so fundamental to human existence and something so complex. It requires years and years of learning, which is why the Ontario government should be implementing comprehensive sex education regimes in every school — Catholic, public, or otherwise.
On its website, Planned Parenthood defines comprehensive sex education as a tool to cover a wide variety of topics that affect sexual health. Teachers don’t just show you how to put a condom on a banana. As early as kindergarten, kids would be taught how to properly communicate about sex, and the ins and outs of anatomy, STIs, and even sexual pleasure. The idea is if kids are exposed to all things sex-related as they mature, sex won’t be a scary, foreign thing once they reach an age when it becomes the norm to participate in intercourse.
The CBC also reported on a comprehensive sex ed plan proposed in 2010 that was thwarted because of backlash from influential religious leaders and other politicians in disagreement. The new curriculum would have started kids learning proper anatomical terminology in first grade and continue to teach different aspects of sex and sexuality each school year through Grade 12.
Since then, there have been no proposed updates to Ontario’s majorly out dated sex ed curriculum. Whatever the reason behind tossing out the 2010 curriculum changes, this debacle proves what the sex ed changes were trying to negate: the fear of discussing a natural part of being human.
If you’re ever approached by anyone — parent, friend, enemy, partner, granny — with questions about sex, think about how much easier life would be if you just outright answered them. “Mum, there is porn in the history of your computer because I was curious.” “Granny, don’t worry. I always use condoms.” “Tori, I would love to write about my first experience masturbating since I know almost everyone in the world has touched themselves before.” When we start to be open and honest with each other about every aspect of the sexual experience, discussing seemingly difficult topics like sexual health and contraception will be as simple as talking about the weather.
That’s the kind of world I want to live in.
featuresOntario sexual education curriculumsexsexual educationTori DudysVictoria Dudys
20-year-old female university student: BUY MY WET GOODS
Emerson King
Selling your underwear to strangers isn’t the ideal way to make extra money. It’s not something your mother would like.
When FOMO strikes
Journalists and psychologists have started talking about FOMO as a new type of social disorder—a consequence of the social media age.
The Fulcrum’s Annual Gift Guide
Let us do the shopping for you
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Washington brought in $70M in taxes on legal pot in one year
By Mark Hensch - 07/04/15 02:28 PM EDT
Washington’s first year of legal marijuana sales has generated $70 million in tax revenue, a new report says.
That total follows the Evergreen State’s first stores selling the drug opening in July 2014, according to The Associated Press.
The AP said Washington now boasts 160 marijuana stores and sales topping $1.4 million daily.
The state netted $250 million in sales of the plant during its first year of legal transactions. About $65 million of that haul stems from marijuana excise taxes.
The $70 million total in taxes for the state’s first year of sales includes all state and local sales and other taxes, the AP reported.
Washington initially predicted a windfall of $36 million in taxes for its debut year of sales.
The actual total still represents a major harvest in profits despite constituting only a fraction of Washington’s $38 billion budget for the next two years.
It also shows the potential windfall for legalized marijuana markets at the state level elsewhere.
Alaska, Colorado and Oregon are the only other states allowing the practice.
Colorado has so far reaped $44 million in taxes one year after implementing legal marijuana sales beginning on Jan. 1, 2014.
Washington, for its part, first legalized marijuana purchases for adults over 21 years old in 2012.
The state is now tweaking its regulatory and tax burdens for the controversial crop.
Washington currently has three excise-level taxes on marijuana. This month it is cutting that number down to one – a 37 percent tax on the plant.
Another law will tax and regulate medical marijuana separately for recreational purchases.
The new marijuana excise law shifts the burden of marijuana taxes from retailers to consumers.
Marijuana customers will now add the 37 percent fee to their purchases, while vendors will no longer have to report that money as income on their federal tax filings.
The AP said 25 percent of the crop is currently taxed as it moves between growers, producers and retailers in Washington.
Washington’s Liquor Control Board is next transforming into the Liquor and Cannabis Board for its new role regulating the drug.
It has already implemented background checks and financial inquiries into potential pot-license applicants.
Washington currently forbids the marketing of marijuana products that would expressly appeal to children, including cotton candy and gummi bears.
It also requires labeling and packaging requirements meant to keep youth from acquiring any marijuana-related products.
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You are here: Home / Extreme Makeover: Home Edition / Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Rebooted – HGTV Status & Release Date
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Rebooted – HGTV Status & Release Date
20th June 2019 by TVReboots Leave a Comment
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition rebooted? Extreme Makeover: Home Edition rebooting in 2019-20 or beyond? Here’s the latest on the reboot status of cancelled TV series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition TV show about to join the list of TV shows rebooted? Find out below:
More and more cancelled TV shows are being rebooted, revived or getting spinoffs, since such shows have existing fan-bases, and are often cheaper than creating brand new shows. Has Extreme Makeover: Home Edition joined this seemingly never-ending list of rebooted shows? Bookmark this dedicated page to find out.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Reboot Status
Official Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Reboot Status: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition officially rebooted by HGTV!
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Reboot Release Date
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition reboot premiere date – Early 2020
HGTV SIGNS JESSE TYLER FERGUSON AS HOST OF 10 NEW EPISODES OF 'EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION'
New York [June 19, 2019] HGTV's spin on 10 new episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will come with a "modern" twist: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, known for his Emmy(R)-nominated role on the ABC sitcom Modern Family, has signed on as host and will take over the bullhorn to mobilize community volunteers and inspire the build/design teams for each mind-blowing renovation. Jesse, a four-time Screen Actors Guild Award(R) winner who has a cameo in Taylor Swift's newest music video "You Need to Calm Down," will bring his signature optimism, humor, energy and giving spirit to surprise families with whole-home renovations. Produced by Endemol Shine North America, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - television's highest-rated home renovation series of all time - will air on HGTV in 2020.
"I was so inspired by the original series and now I can't wait to help families as the new host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," said Jesse.
Each episode of the series spotlights local heroes and those who give back to their communities despite personal challenges. The home overhauls will include interior, exterior and landscaping - all completed within seven days while the family is sent away for the week. The series will showcase builders, designers and landscapers who race against the clock to completely renovate each home before the family returns from their time away.
"Jesse's participation as host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is one of the ways that HGTV will put its own creative lens on the series," said Jane Latman, who assumed her position as president, HGTV, in April. "We'll make some variations to creative aspects of the show, but it will always deliver the great storytelling that made it one of the most iconic and successful properties in television. Jesse's a funny guy, with a warm, caring nature who will help us find the humor and joy in every situation, so that will make this a unique viewing experience for everyone."
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition originally aired on ABC for nine successful seasons from 2003-2012. At its peak during the 2004/05 season, the series averaged nearly 16 million viewers on Sunday nights. The HGTV episodes will be available on demand across all platforms and on the HGTV app.
The new episodes will be produced by Endemol Shine North America with Sharon Levy, DJ Nurre, Michael Heyerman and Brady Connell serving as executive producers. The company also produced the original version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for ABC.
Television’s highest-rated home renovation series of all time—Extreme Makeover: Home Edition—is coming to HGTV, with the network planning to produce 10 fresh episodes. While it has not yet revealed the cast for the new episodes, HGTV will showcase its own superstar experts in the weekly race to complete a custom, whole home renovation for one deserving family. The new episodes are expected to premiere in early 2020. HGTV also secured the rights to air 100 existing episodes of the original series that ran on The ABC Television Network for nine successful seasons from 2003-2012. At its peak during the 2004/05 season, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition averaged nearly 16 million viewers on Sunday nights.
“This is a big win for HGTV and we can’t wait to put our stamp on it,” said Kathleen Finch, chief lifestyle brands officer, Discovery Inc., the parent company of HGTV. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was must-see viewing for years because it combined moving stories of families and communities with life-changing home renovations. It’s the type of program that taps into every emotion and it’s the reason it was so popular with everyone in America.”
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will be available on demand across all authenticated platforms and on the HGTV app.
The HGTV episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will be produced by Endemol Shine North America with Sharon Levy and DJ Nurre serving as executive producers. The company also produced the original version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for ABC.
FAMILY CASTING FOR HGTV EPISODES OF ‘EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION’ BEGINS
New York [April 1, 2019] Family casting for 10 new episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that will air on HGTV in 2020 started today, with an all-out search for people who deserve a new place to live and who have uplifting, inspirational stories that must be told. The iconic home renovation series spotlights those who give back to their communities despite personal challenges. In a new twist, the series is expanding its search beyond current homeowners—encouraging renters and people interested in relocation to apply at www.emhe.tv.
Visitors to the website will find information on how to apply or nominate a family for consideration. Submissions must include photos of the family, as well as photos of their current residence. Applicants also can upload a two-minute video that tells the family’s story.
The new season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on HGTV will showcase superstar experts in a weekly race to complete a custom, extensive renovation for one deserving family. The series originally aired on The ABC Television Network for nine successful seasons from 2003-2012. At its peak during the 2004/05 season, the series averaged nearly 16 million viewers on Sunday nights. The HGTV episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will be available on demand across all authenticated platforms and on the HGTV app.
Filed Under: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, TV Show Reboots Tagged With: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition TV Show Reboot?
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Apple, Microsoft, RIM pay out $4.5B for Nortel patents, Google sits alone in the corner
Sean Ludwig July 1, 2011 9:15 AM
Bankrupt telecom company Nortel Networks announced on Friday that it had sold its juggernaut patent portfolio to a consortium made up of the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and RIM for a hefty sum of $4.5 billion cash.
“The size and dollar value for this transaction is unprecedented, as was the significant interest in the portfolio among major companies around the world,” said George Riedel, Chief Strategy Officer and President of Business Units at Nortel, in a statement.
The consortium—which also includes Sony, Ericsson, and EMC—will now have access to more than 6,000 patents that relate to all manner of technologies, including 4G LTE wireless capabilities, Wi-Fi, semiconductors, and social networking. The six companies beat out Google and Intel, which were both also bidding.
The exact breakdown of which company paid what price in the agreement is unclear at this time. But at the very least, we do know that RIM ponied up $770 million, while Ericsson paid $340 million.
Apple, Microsoft, and RIM will likely be able to use to the patents to shore up their reserves and protect themselves from other lawsuits. Apple, for example, has been in a bitter infringement suit with Samsung since April.
Google is the biggest loser in the sale, as it wanted the patents to help fend off lawsuits and infringement cases associated with its Android mobile OS. Google was even the first bidder on the patents with a $900 million bid. Intel also lost, but the stakes for the company were far less than Google’s.
“No major industry player is as needy in terms of patents as Google,” wrote Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents. “There are already 45 patent infringement lawsuits surrounding Android and makers of Android-based devices have to pay royalties to dozens of right holders.”
Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009, and since then it has been selling off its assets. The $4.5 billion deal will be official as long as it receives approval from Canadian and U.S. courts, which have scheduled a joint hearing for July 11.
Update: Google sent us an official statement concerning the purchase of the Nortel patents by Apple, Microsoft, RIM, and company:
“This outcome is disappointing for anyone who believes that open innovation benefits users and promotes creativity and competition. We will keep working to reduce the current flood of patent litigation that hurts both innovators and consumers.”
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Peiffer, Henrike (1)
Schmidt, Isabelle (1)
Schmidt, Isabelle; Brunner, Martin; Keller, Lena; Scherrer, Vsevolod; Wollschläger, Rachel; u. a. (1)
Selbstbild (3) (remove)
Self-Concept of Students in Childhood and Adolescence:Structural and Developmental Issues (2018)
Schmidt, Isabelle
Fostering positive and realistic self-concepts of individuals is a major goal in education worldwide (Trautwein & Möller, 2016). Individuals spend most of their childhood and adolescence in school. Thus, schools are important contexts for individuals to develop positive self-perceptions such as self-concepts. In order to enhance positive self-concepts in educational settings and in general, it is indispensable to have a comprehensive knowledge about the development and structure of self-concepts and their determinants. To date, extensive empirical and theoretical work on antecedents and change processes of self-concept has been conducted. However, several research gaps still exist, and several of these are the focus of the present dissertation. Specifically, these research gaps encompass (a) the development of multiple self-concepts from multiple perspectives regarding stability and change, (b) the direction of longitudinal interplay between self-concept facets over the entire time period from childhood to late adolescence, and (c) the evidence that a recently developed structural model of academic self-concept (nested Marsh/Shavelson model [Brunner et al., 2010]) fits the data in elementary school students, (d) the investigation of structural changes in academic self-concept profile formation within this model, (e) the investigation of dimensional comparison processes as determinants of academic self-concept profile formation in elementary school students within the internal/external frame of reference model (I/E model; Marsh, 1986), (f) the test of moderating variables for dimensional comparison processes in elementary school, (g) the test of the key assumptions of the I/E model that effects of dimensional comparisons depend to a large degree on the existence of achievement differences between subjects, and (h) the generalizability of the findings regarding the I/E model over different statistical analytic methods. Thus, the aim of the present dissertation is to contribute to close these gaps with three studies. Thereby, data from German students enrolled in elementary school to secondary school education were gathered in three projects comprising the developmental time span from childhood to adolescence (ages 6 to 20). Three vital self-concept areas in childhood and adolescence were in-vestigated: general self-concept (i.e., self-esteem), academic self-concepts (general, math, reading, writing, native language), and social self-concepts (of acceptance and assertion). In all studies, data were analyzed within a latent variable framework. Findings are discussed with respect to the research aims of acquiring more comprehensive knowledge on the structure and development of significant self-concept in childhood and adolescence and their determinants. In addition, theoretical and practical implications derived from the findings of the present studies are outlined. Strengths and limitations of the present dissertation are discussed. Finally, an outlook for future research on self-concepts is given.
Competence-related self-perceptions of psychology students:Structure, measurement, correlates, and differentiation (2017)
Peiffer, Henrike
Educational researchers have intensively investigated students" academic self-concept (ASC) and self-efficacy (SE). Both constructs are part of the competence-related self-perceptions of students and are considered to support students" academic success and their career development in a positive manner (e.g., Abele-Brehm & Stief, 2004; Richardson, Abraham, & Bond, 2012; Schneider & Preckel, 2017). However, there is a lack of basic research on ASC and SE in higher education in general, and in undergraduate psychology courses in particular. Therefore, according to the within-network and between-network approaches of construct validation (Byrne, 1984), the present dissertation comprises three empirical studies examining the structure (research question 1), measurement (research question 2), correlates (research question 3), and differentiation (research question 4) of ASC and SE in a total sample of N = 1243 psychology students. Concerning research question 1, results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFAs) implied that students" ASC and SE are domain-specific in the sense of multidimensionality, but they are also hierarchically structured, with a general factor at the apex according to the nested Marsh/Shavelson model (NMS model, Brunner et al., 2010). Additionally, psychology students" SE to master specific psychological tasks in different areas of psychological application could be described by a 2-dimensional model with six factors according to the Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM)-approach (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). With regard to research question 2, results revealed that the internal structure of ASC and SE could be validly assessed. However, the assessment of psychology students" SE should follow a task-specific measurement strategy. Results of research question 3 further showed that both constructs of psychology students" competence-related self-perceptions were positively correlated to achievement in undergraduate psychology courses if predictor (ASC, SE) corresponded to measurement specificity of the criterion (achievement). Overall, ASC provided substantially stronger relations to achievement compared to SE. Moreover, there was evidence for negative paths (contrast effects) from achievement in one psychological domain on ASC of another psychological domain as postulated by the internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model (Marsh, 1986). Finally, building on research questions 1 to 3 (structure, measurement, and correlates of ASC and SE), psychology students" ASC and SE were be differentiated on an empirical level (research question 4). Implications for future research practices are discussed. Furthermore, practical implications for enhancing ASC and SE in higher education are proposed to support academic achievement and the career development of psychology students.
Profile formation of academic self-concept in elementary school students in grades 1 to 4 (2017)
Schmidt, Isabelle; Brunner, Martin; Keller, Lena; Scherrer, Vsevolod; Wollschläger, Rachel; u. a.
Academic self-concept (ASC) is comprised of individual perceptions of one- own academic ability. In a cross-sectional quasi-representative sample of 3,779 German elementary school children in grades 1 to 4, we investigated (a) the structure of ASC, (b) ASC profile formation, an aspect of differentiation that is reflected in lower correlations between domain-specific ASCs with increasing grade level, (c) the impact of (internal) dimensional comparisons of one- own ability in different school subjects for profile formation of ASC, and (d) the role played by differences in school grades between subjects for these dimensional comparisons. The nested Marsh/Shavelson model, with general ASC at the apex and math, writing, and reading ASC as specific factors nested under general ASC fitted the data at all grade levels. A first-order factor model with math, writing, reading, and general ASCs as correlated factors provided a good fit, too. ASC profile formation became apparent during the first two to three years of school. Dimensional comparisons across subjects contributed to ASC profile formation. School grades enhanced these comparisons, especially when achievement profiles were uneven. In part, findings depended on the assumed structural model of ASCs. Implications for further research are discussed with special regard to factors influencing and moderating dimensional comparisons.
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Amazon's 'The Grand Tour' most pirated TV show ever
Stan announces new shows but fails to secure The Grand Tour ... - com.au
The much hyped racing show from Amazon has been setting records for piracy
by Abel Diaz
12 December 2016 14:34 Mon 12 Dec 2016 14:34:03 GMT
Amazon's highly promoted and anticipated car enthusiast-adventure programme 'The Grand Tour' has been breaking records, both legal and illegal. According to leading piracy tracking firm Muso, the pilot has been illegally downloaded 7.9 million times since it debuted on November 18, making it the most illegally downloaded series in history. The next two episodes showed a steady decline, with the second downloaded 6.4 million times, and then the third 4.6 million
What is the damage for Amazon?
While official figures for the series have yet to be revealed by Amazon, current estimates say that they have lost a potential £3.2 ($4)million in revenue in Britain alone on episode one.
No surprise, as British viewers ranked among the worst offenders, making up 13.7 per cent of the overall number. This is especially problematic, as 'The Grand Tour' is currently one of the most expensive television series ever made, costing over $200 million (£160 million) to produce and market, $13 million of which is Jeremy Clarkson's salary, and was meant to be a flagship series for the streaming service.
Calling the download numbers 'off the scale', Muso's chief commercial officer, Chris Elkins, said the figures surpassed other major programmes, including 'Game of Thrones'.
How did Amazon's show start out?
'The Grand Tour' came about as a byproduct of Jeremy Clarkson being dismissed from the highly popular BBC racing and car show, 'Top Gear'. This was following allegations of bullying some of the crew and a history of other acts of poor/insensitive conduct.
He was followed by his co-hosts, Richard Hammond and James May, leading to a controversial and unpopular change in presenters for 'Top Gear'. 'The Grand Tour was intended to be a draw for the $88/£79 price tag of the yearly subscription to Amazon Prime Video. However, when asked further about the effect of the downloads, Amazon seemed very candid. They said it was the biggest premiere ever on Amazon Prime Video, and that the series was 'breaking records around the world.'
Abel Diaz
Lover of film, aspiring author and observer of society.
Follow Abel on Facebook
Read more on the same topic from Abel Diaz:
'The Veiled Detective' review: Sherlock inverted 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' review -- Jack is back 'Outlaws' review: 'Lord Of The Rings' veteran tries Catholic epic
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Home Air Royal Navy officers control US Air Force 48th Fighter Wing aircraft in...
Royal Navy officers control US Air Force 48th Fighter Wing aircraft in training exercise
Members of the Royal Navy visited the US 48th Fighter Wing at Lakenheath where they gained experience in controlling different types of aircraft.
The trip presented the opportunity for the Royal Navy lieutenants, who are in the process of becoming fighter controllers and air warfare officers, to see an F-15E Strike Eagle, learn about its capabilities and the capabilities of the base say the US Air Force.
Royal Navy fighter controller Lt. Jo Peacock said:
“It’s good to know what types of aircraft are out there, particularly for us as fighter controllers, as we are going to be sitting in a ship deployed and we won’t always know what kind of aircraft is going to call up and ask for assistance, help with an emergency or for a tasking.”
According to a press release, a pilot assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron saod:
“Their flight commander is a US Navy exchange officer, providing integration, standardisation and continuity between our nations’ navies.
That integration concept mirrors our efforts in the DoD to strive for seamless integration between the United States’ military branches, but takes it further by combining members of two different services from two different countries.”
The release concludes:
“This visit emphasises the close relationship U.S. and U.K. forces maintain and serves as a reminder that interoperability plays a key role in modern warfare.
The Royal Navy fighter controllers and air warfare officers are slated to finish their training and head out to their new assignments this autumm.”
HMS Sutherland fires new self defence missile system
HMS Argyll monitors Russian vessels passing through the Channel
First British P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft flies for the first time
Russia unveils yet another new aircraft carrier design
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Wed Jul 12 7:30 PM • Staples Center • 21+
In support of his sophomore album Illuminate (out September 23rd on Island Records), multi-platinum singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes announces his first-ever headlining arena world tour for 2017. The 44 announcedIlluminate World Tour dates will kick off in the U.K. on April 27th, running through August 23rd. The North American leg of the arena tour will begin July 6th and will make stops in major cities across the U.S. and Canada, including a night at Los Angeles’ legendary STAPLES Center on July 12th.
For fan club presale info, head to ShawnAccess.com. American Express® Card Members will have access to purchase tickets in advance beginning Monday, September 12th*.
The upcoming album Illuminate features Shawn’s hit lead single “Treat You Better,” which has entered the Top 10 on both Billboard’s Hot 100 and Radio Songs charts. This is Shawn’s second Top 10 single on the Hot 100 after “Stitches” reached #4 last year. Following the success of “Treat You Better,” Shawn released three additional songs fromIlluminate including “Mercy,” “Ruin,” and “Three Empty Words,” which are available immediately upon pre-ordering the album. Shawn has recently come off of his sold-out Shawn Mendes World Tour surrounding the success of his platinum #1 debut album Handwritten.
1111 S Figueroa
Downtown LA, CA
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54 Proceedings Spring 2016 www.uscg.mil/proceedings maintenance of order and good safety conditions aboard a vessel, governing the conduct of the crew, is precisely the kind of rule that does establish standards for the invocation of the 'misconduct' provision [for S&R proceedings]." 9 In addition to misconduct charges, possible S&R enforce- ment could also be triggered for negligence, as the SMS may establish a standard of care that a prudent mariner is expected to follow — a breach of which, even without a casualty, could result in allegations being issued. Getting It Right In summary, the SMS is a set of company policies and rules, and the policies are a good norm for judging misconduct. To trigger negligence for S&R action, the Coast Guard must only show that the mariner had a duty and that he or she breached the duty. 10 All this may cause some mariners angst. Safety manage- ment systems can be vast, with so many rules and proce- dures that it may seem impossible to remain compliant to all provisions. The thought of S&R action stemming from such a broad set of rules is daunting. The Coast Guard is limited, however; it can't tie just any SMS violation to a suspension and revocation action. Each situation is dependent upon the policy violated and whether it was directly related to safety aboard the ship in the par- ticular situation investigated. Additionally, the Coast Guard doesn't take its S&R responsibilities lightly — action upon the license could mean a potential loss of livelihood. To a mariner who depends upon supporting a career and earn- ing a paycheck while working at sea, losing a credential has a serious impact, even if only on hold for a short while. But, just as it's important that the Coast Guard gets these cases right, due to the impact on mariners' livelihoods, it's also important for the credentialed feet to know the bounds of the Coast Guard's authority. To steer clear of possible S&R enforcement, a credentialed mariner should do his or her part to ensure a safely functioning vessel by staying up- to-date on either the company's safety management sys- tem rules (if there is a formal SMS) or on the company's policies (if no formal SMS exists), especially as they pertain to safety aboard the ship. Violations of SMS rules and shipboard regulations can invoke jurisdiction over their Coast Guard- issued credential. About the author: CDR Christopher F. Coutu is the chief of the Suspension and Revocation National Center of Expertise. He is a 1993 graduate of the University of Rhode Island and a 2001 graduate of Suffolk University Law School. He has served for 14 years in the Coast Guard in legal and prevention positions. Bibliography: Statistics courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard Suspension and Revocation National Center of Expertise. Endnotes: 1. See generally 46 U.S.C. Subtitle II, Part E. 2. U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service & the History of Merchant Vessel Inspection. See www.uscg.mil/history/articles/Steamboat_Inspection_Service.asp. 3. 16 Stat. 447 (1871). See also "Improving Competence in the Merchant Marine: Sus- pension and Revocation Proceedings," Eugene R. Fidell, Missouri Law Review, Vol. 45, Winter 1980 referencing H. Bloomfeld, Compact History of the United States Coast Guard 263–65 (1966). 4. 5 U.S.C. §§ 551-557. See also 46 U.S.C. § 7702(a). 5. See 46 U.S.C. § 7701. 6. For a more detailed article on this subject, please see "Mariners Can Lose Creden- tials for What?," Proceedings, Winter 2015-16, p. 53-56, at http://uscgproceedings. epubxp.com/t/11313-proceedings-of-the-marine/55. 7. Appeal Decision 1567 (CASTRO) (1966). 8. See Appeal Decision 2539 (HARRISON) citing Commandant v. Wardell, NTSB Order EM-149. 9. Appeal Decision 1567 (CASTRO) (1966). 10. See Appeal Decision 2539 (HARRISON) citing Commandant v. Wardell, NTSB Order EM-149.
http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/Steamboat_Inspection_Service.asp
http://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/t/11313-proceedings-of-the-marine/55
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NewsIn History
On this day, November 1
By Ray Kaiser
The artwork painted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was exhibited to the public for the first time.
At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, was performed for the first time.
Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange set out with a group of English Parliamentarians to seize the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland from King James II of England.
Between 60,000 and 90,000 people died in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon due to a massive earthquake and tsunami.
Irish author, Edmund Burke, published a political pamphlet titled “Reflections on the Revolution in France,” in which he predicted that the French Revolution would end in disaster.
John Adams became the first President of the United States to live in the White House, then referred to as the Executive Mansion.
The Boston Female Medical School, the first medical school for women, opened in Boston, Massachusetts.
Nicholas II became the new and last Tsar of Russia after the death of his father, Alexander III.
The first Library of Congress building in the United States opened to the public.
The worst rapid transit accident in US history, the Malbone Street Wreck, occurred under the intersection of Malbone Street and Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, leaving at least 102 people dead.
Mehmed VI, the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, abdicated.
A picture of the moonrise over the New Mexico town of Hernandez was taken by American photographer, Ansel Adams, and would go on to be one of the most famous pictures in the history of photography.
The Vietnam War began.
The Motion Picture Association of America’s film rating system was officially introduced. Its original ratings were G, M, R and X.
The Maastricht Treaty took effect, establishing the European Union.
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In History
On this day, April 20
Jessenya Guerra - April 18, 2019
April 20 has become widely known as a day for people to smoke, eat or partake in marijuana recreationally. Here are some events that...
On this day, February 21
Ray Kaiser - February 21, 2019
Feb. 21 is a big day for Russia, as well as International Mother Language day and the birthdays of actors Alan Rickman and Ellen...
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“DON’T PANIC, COBRA JUMPS IN…”
An elderly lady in York suffered heavy burns when the fire started in her kitchen where she was decanting petrol for her daughter’s car. The lady had just been following the advice by a Government official to stockpile some extra fuel in view of a possible tanker drivers’ strike. The Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude had said the proposed strike meant that “a bit of extra fuel in a jerry can in the garage is a sensible precaution to take”. The strike hadn’t even been announced. It looks like the Tories, by instigating panic, decided to divert attention from some recent political events which are arousing widespread discontent: the budget, or dinners at No 10 for big backers of the Tory party. There’s much of “there’s-no-need-to-be-panicky” ado in the British media – contrasted by long queues at petrol stations. Our son’s family lives in Britain. Talking via Skype yesterday, our daughter-in-law ironically remarked that to avoid panic, the government should at least have re-named their secure facility that co-ordinates action during an emergency – Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, popularly known as COBRA – into something else, like RABBIT, or SQUIRREL, for instance.
Tags:Cobra, fuel panic
SELECTIVE TRIALS, SELECTIVE REPORTING…
The presidents of the US and Ukraine Mr. Obama and Mr. Yanukovych met at a two-day summit on nuclear security in the capital of South Korea, Seoul. It was interesting to see readers’ comments on the meeting. The meeting lasted about 4 minutes. It looks like the presidents didn’t sit down to discuss things. One of the readers sarcastically writes that the meeting might have taken place near a men’s room – implying that during President Yanukovych’s visit to Strasbourg about a year ago Yanukovych’s bodyguards didn’t let Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Torbjørn Jagland into the men’s room because at that moment the Ukrainian president was there.
Another reader says that he has got a shorthand record of this meeting: YANUKOVYCH: “I am is a profffesor.” OBAMA: “Ok, ok…” (another implication: Yanukovich doesn’t speak English or any other foreign language besides Russian, and he is notoriously famous for spelling his scholarly rank “professor” with double “f”).
On a serious note, though: the presidents discussed the nuclear security and the U.S. President expressed gratitude for Ukraine’s cooperation in this matter. But he also drew Yanukovych’s attention to the fact that trials in Ukraine are being held selectively, the political opposition is persecuted and the opposition leaders are imprisoned. Obama’s observation about the trials and the opposition was not mentioned in the Ukrainian official report about the meeting.
Tags:Obama, opposition, persecution, politics, Ukraine, Yanukovych
ATTEMPTED MURDERS
On March 9 a Ukrainian girl from the southern town of Mykolayiv was invited by three men she knew to an apartment of one of them, where she was gang-raped, strangled, wrapped in a blanket, thrown in a ditch and set alight. For all that she survived. Trying to save her life, the doctors amputated her arm and both feet. Two of the rapists were sons of ex-government officials, so they were released. A third one, who was less connected, was arrested and spoke rather calmly at the police office about how the crime had been committed. The interrogation was posted on YouTube and thousands of people in the town rallied in protest against the atrocity and the sloppy investigation. President Yanukovych ordered the arrest of those two who had been initially released.
I read a lot of comments on the Internet. A comment from a reader in Britain was: “The Ukrainian President appears to have more guts than David Cameron.” It was funny for me to read this comment because the fact that the Ukrainian law-enforcing system is serving only the interests of local barons lies at the Ukrainian President’s door. Our judicial bodies will do anything to find favor in the eyes of their political superiors. There have been reported dozens of cases when “rich kids” committed heavy offences (mostly while driving) and got away with their crimes. Nowadays an atmosphere of lawlessness is reigning in the country. But how can it be otherwise if the President himself ascended his post not from a university chair but from a prison cell in which he had been doing his time for robbery? Besides, his “university professorship” was clearly bought: he can’t even spell the word “professor” without a mistake.
During his visit to Russia these days, President Yanukovych promised his counterpart Putin that the Russian language will shortly receive the status of an official language in Ukraine (at the moment the only official language is Ukrainian). If materialized, this promise will be the final stab in the heart of Ukrainian. The legal oneliness of Ukrainian as an official language is a kind of affirmative action to revive it. Without this status Ukrainian will gradually be driven out of usage by the Russian language.
There were no rallies of protest after President Yanukovych’s statement. A second murderous assault was just overlooked.
Tags:murder, official language, Ukrainian language
TOO EARLY… TOO LATE
Mykola Plavyuk, age 87, the last president of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (Ukr. abbreviation: UNR) in exile, died on March 10 this year. As an independent state, the UNR was proclaimed after the Bolshevik coup in Petrograd in November, 1917 and was eventually crushed by the Russian army in 1920. The UNR government emigrated and had been functioning as a “government without territory” till Mykola Plavyuk gave the UNR powers over to then-president of the newly independent Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk in 1992. I was present at the ceremonial meeting in Kyiv when President Kravchuk accepted all the due papers from Mykola Plavyuk. My neighbor, a Ukrainian journalist and writer, mumbled in an undertone: “Isn’t it too early?”
“Too early” it wasn’t. The first reason was that the UNR-in-exile was only a symbolic state, but with Leonid Kravchuk agreeing to accept the powers of the UNR, Ukraine became a legal successor of the UNR, which had far-reaching ideological implications. The implications were: independence of Ukraine is the basis for the development of the Ukrainian nation; modern Ukraine views its existence as a chain of historical events from the times of Kyiv Rus (IX century); the current foreign and domestic policy of the Ukrainian government is pursued in the interests of the Ukrainian people, etc.
However, August 22, 1992 was probably the last finest hour for Mykola Plavyuk. I saw him and heard him speak several times after that memorable meeting. He always produced a most favorable impression as a person – well-mannered, knowledgeable, very intelligent. For all those qualities, he didn’t “belong.” He was a man of the past, the past which was irrevocably gone. Or maybe he belonged to the future? Ironically, no one knew how far ahead that future was.
In January 2010, on behalf of his party, Mykola Plavyuk stated that they would support neither Yulia Tymoshenko, nor Viktor Yanukovych in the runoff election because of the allegedly anti-Ukrainian orientation of both candidates. With the Ukrainian nationalists abstaining from the elections, the result was in favor of Yanukovych. The final result, as seen now, after two years have elapsed, is that the present-day undemocratic and corrupted Ukraine is a pariah in the eyes of the civilized world and its very existence as a state is threatened.
I don’t feel I have a right to criticize Mykola Plavyuk. He and his generation may have done for Ukraine more than any of us. I just think …that a politician may lose a sense of times changing, thus losing everything they have gained. They step down too late.
Tags:independence of Ukraine, Mykola Plavyuk, times changing
TOP-LEVEL HYPOCRISY
International Women’s Day is differently celebrated in different countries. In some of them the celebration is done in the form of a protest. In others women simply draw public attention to their problems. In Ukraine this day is a cross between Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day being actually devoid of any ideological or political load.
The Ukrainian government has greeted women on ‘their day’, which causes raised eyebrows, to say the least. I can understand the Ukrainian men who use the chance given to them by the German socialist Klara Zetkin when they tell those of the opposite sex, who are their dear, own and close, how much they love them (see the snapshots of Kyiv streets today). But I cannot understand the top officials who send their warm greetings to women, when there is not a single woman in the government, when the President of the country keeps his spouse under factual house-arrest never letting her appear in his presence, when women’s pension will be considerably reduced in the future should they decide on a maternity leave now , when the Ukrainian No 1 woman- politician is serving her 7-year sentence in jail where she got in for no reason at all.
Tags:government, hypocrisy, Women's Day
RUSSIAN ELECTION-FRAUD TACTICS
The article that follows was written by Claire Bigg and it has been taken from Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty. The fraud tactics are identical both in Russia and Ukraine, so that’s what later this year may be expected during the Ukrainian parliamentary elections. I may only add that elections aren’t limited to one day only: they begin long before the voters go to the polling stations and include the creation of equal opportunities for oppositional and governmental parties, transparency about the current status of the ruling party and of oppositional leaders, fulfilment of pre-election promises given to the public before the latest elections, etc
Ballot Stuffing And Vote-Count Fraud
This is the most traditional example of electoral fraud, which consists of “stuffing” multiple ballots into the ballot box. This can be done by individual voters or by polling station officials who “pad” the ballot box either before or after the vote.
Russian polling station officials also have a long history of fudging the numbers on election protocols after election monitors leave the station at the end of the day. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the vote count in the March 4 election was faulty in almost one-third of polling stations observed.
“Carousels” And Absentee Votes
In so-called “carousel” voting, people cast multiple ballots at different polling stations. Fleets of buses packed with suspected “carousel” voters were seen in Moscow on March 4. Activists from the pro-Kremlin group Nashi, among others, appeared to have been bused en masse from different cities to Moscow polling stations. The busing was so intense (the scale of “carousel” voting was “absolutely unprecedented,” according to Russian anticorruption blogger and opposition activist Aleksei Navalny) that the head of the Moscow Election Committee felt obliged to issue a clarification saying the Nashi activists were merely giving voters rides to polling stations.
This year, the “carousel” used a new technology — people used absentee certificates to obtain ballots at polling stations while hanging on to their absentee documents, enabling them to vote again at other locations. It is virtually impossible for monitors to prove such voters cast ballots several times.
The Central Electoral Commission ran out of absentee certificates (there were more than 2 million) before voting even began.
Fake Monitors
Another innovation tested out on March 4: Fake election observers were deployed at polling stations, preventing real volunteer monitors from observing the voting (polling stations have quotas for observers). Such frauds were reported in large numbers in St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod.
“Additional Lists,” Or Corporate Voting
Under electoral law, people employed in companies that operate around the clock can cast their ballots at polling stations closest to their workplace. On March 4, such companies — who were required to submit “additional lists” of prospective voters several days before the election — ended up massively busing their employees to polling stations. This tactic enables employers to put electoral pressure on their staff and, in some instances, “carousel” them to several polling stations.
Some opposition monitors claim that 20 percent of ballots — or almost 14 million voter — were cast by voters on “additional lists” in this election.
Interestingly, a number of companies and institutions, including universities and hotels, declared March 4 a working day in order to enroll their staff on “additional lists.”
Vote Theft
A relatively new scheme that appears to have been used heavily in this election. Voters turn up at a polling station to find out that someone else has already voted for them. In one instance reported by the Russian media, a victim of such fraud in Moscow received a threatening call on her mobile phone minutes after alerting polling station officials of the irregularity.
Webcam Scams
In a bid to quell the wave of protests sparked by the fraud-marred parliamentary elections in December, Vladimir Putin had web cameras installed in more than 90,000 polling stations to ensure transparency. But the stunt failed to impress monitors as most of the cameras offered only fuzzy images of the ballot boxes.
In the city of Magadan, Internet users even claimed they were receiving “live” footage of sunlit polling stations although night had already fallen in the city.
Written by Claire Bigg
Tags:fraud, Russian elections
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
Had I taken this picture at a closer distance, one could see the words “FC Dynamo Kyiv.” on the scarf hanging from the elderly man’s shoulders. A minute before I took the picture, the seat next to the man had been made vacant and he made a step in that direction to sit down. But then he noticed a woman standing at the opposite door, looked at her over the frame of his glasses, stopped short and, with a polite smile, pointed to the seat with his open hand. There were not so many people in the metro car and they watched the woman walking a few steps across the aisle to the seat offered. Her walk was queen-like, there was a shadow of a smile on her face, and the big plastic bag in her hands was no burden at all. I’m happy to have captured this moment: the gentlemen of a football fan standing and the Ukrainian lady with the plastic bag sitting next to him. Let all feminists of the world get furious at the way the woman was “humiliated”, but I would insist that at that time there was nothing more beautiful in the metro than the feel of “chivalric” times.
After a few stations I managed to catch the title of the book the man was reading. It was a volume of the 200-volume Library of World Literature published in the USSR in the 1970s. Just now, when I began writing about the book, my first impulse was to start with “Incidentally, the man was reading…” But then I thought that was no incident at all.
Finally: until the episode in the metro I hadn’t been a particular supporter of FC Dynamo Kyiv. Until that moment…
Tags:chivalry, Dynamo Kyiv, feminism, football, literature, manners, politeness
THE COLOUR OF BUCKWHEAT
I dreamed I organized a revolution against the present-day regime in Ukraine. The people came from the whole of the country to the central square in Kyiv. They were wearing orange hats. Those who didn’t have orange hats, put orange scarves round their necks. However, my political opponents brought lots of buckwheat to Maidan (the name of the central square) and started handing it out to the orange revolutionaries for free. As the buckwheat was being dispensed, the revolutionaries’ orange color started being transformed into blue, and soon the square was blue all over. Understanding that my attempt had failed, I plunged into the metro, took the Blue Line to Vernadsky Library and began writing a dissertation there. The supplement to the dissertation was a glossary of cross-cultural terms. Here are definitions of some key words:
Orange: the color symbolizing the 2004-protest against the authoritarian rule of the pro-Soviet “old guard”;
Blue: the color of the counter-revolution, which, as a rule, is pro-Soviet, pro-Russian, pro-oligarch.
Maidan: the name of the central square in Kyiv which every other decade serves as the Ukrainian Parliament, Cabinet of Ministers, Supreme Court and Constitutional Court – all in one;
Buckwheat: political currency, usually served to voters before elections at no cost. A kilo of buckwheat to a thankful voter gives the buckwheat-giver the right to rob the country for another five years. You may find it different in encyclopedias, but in Ukraine the color of buckwheat seeds is blue. Those who insist it’s brown, are political daltonians.
Tags:bribary, elections, moral, politics
STABILITY IN INVERTED COMMAS
The city of Zaporizhzhya in Central Ukraine is filled with election billboards of the Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Putin. Earlier Zaporizhzhya hit the headlines with the erection of the monument to Joseph Stalin. The advertisement on billboards is far from being cheap either, but the undersigned (and little-known) “Slavonic Guard” seems to be not particularly poor. Only they know where the money comes from – the rest may only guess.
The motto on the billboard “Stability in Russia Means Stability in Ukraine” exploits the key word of Putin’s election campaign “stability.” However, it looks like Putin’s “stability” and stability in Ukraine exclude each other. On the one hand Putin’s presidential campaign on the territory of Ukraine is a sign of the Ukrainian government’s servile mentality. Next could be their helping to re-elect the Byelorussian dictator Lukashenka or a bunch of khans from Central Asia, or Fidel Castro from Cuba… On the other hand, the election of Putin for Russian presidency means the election of the person who, addressing George Bush at a NATO meeting in Bucharest in 2008, said “”You don’t understand, George, that Ukraine is not even a state. What is Ukraine? Part of its territories is Eastern Europe, but the greater part is a gift from us.” Putin sympathetically quoted diaries of Anton Denikin, a bitter enemy of independent Ukraine and a commander of the White Army which fought the Bolsheviks after the revolution in 1917: “”He (Denikin) has a discussion there about Big Russia and Little Russia — Ukraine…He says that no one should be allowed to interfere in relations between us; they have always been the business of Russia itself.” The name “Little Russia” is a chauvinist-speak, which only a hardcore anti-Ukrainian can use. Putin considers the country firmly within the Russian sphere of interests.
A couple of years ago, while answering a question asked by one of Ukrainian sycophants, whether he really thought that ‘if we were divided, then we wouldn’t have won the war’ , Putin said “No.” “We would have won either way… That’s because we’re a country of winners,” he said in a lecturing tone. I just imagine how diehard proponents of closer ties with Russia (usually, communists and war veterans) might have felt after the words of their idol.
As for political advertisement on the territory of a foreign country, I suggest that billboards with the text “YES” TO UKRAINE’S NATO MEMBERSHIP be put up all over Moscow. A kind of balanced response, so to speak…
Tags:anton denikin, election, independent ukraine, national chauvinism, Putin, Russia, stability, Ukraine
You are currently browsing the BLOGGING IS LIVING blog archives for March, 2012.
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VotewinnerUK
In Search of Common Sense
Tag Archives: immigration
BREXIT – OUR INDEPENDENT FUTURE
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people…” Abraham Lincoln, President of the USA.
Government of the British people, by the unelected Brussels people, for the Washington people – Barack Hussein Obama, President of the USA
“We will create more wealth and more jobs by being outside the EU. We will be in control of our destiny. And control, I think is the most important thing in life and business” James Dyson, entrepreneur and inventor (Dyson is the No 1 brand leader in the German vacuum cleaner market)
As EU referendum day approaches, many voters are still undecided and feel there is little impartial information available to help them decide whether to vote Leave or Remain. With less than one week to go, the debate has come down to a few key issues and the Remain campaign sees our future as either keeping the status quo or “a leap in the dark”. The overview below provides an at-a-glance summary of the issues and factual commentary on them.
IMMIGRATION – The Remain camp is silent on immigration although 250,000 EU immigrants arrive here every year. David Cameron cannot explain how he reconciles his promise to cut immigration with his support of the EU’s freedom of movement zone. Mr.Cameron has committed himself to the acceleration of Turkey’s membership of the EU as well as visa-free access to the EU for all Turkish nationals from the end of June. Based on previous experience following the accession of new EU members, Britain can expect an influx of millions arriving in this country, the impact of which seems unimportant to Remain supporters
DEMOCRACY – Again, the Remain camp is silent on this fundamental issue. The stated objective of the EU (as per the Five Presidents Report) is ever closer union. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government” but the government of the EU as a whole has never been submitted to the will of the people. For the euro to survive, its users must become one country with a single economic, fiscal and legal framework determined by its government in Brussels. The minority non-euro countries such as Britain will either have to abandon their currencies or be completely sidelined. “There can be no democratic choice against the European treaties” Jean-Claude Junker, EU Commission President.
TRADE & JOBS – Remain states that EU membership means a stronger economy with 3 million jobs linked to our trade with the EU and this would be put at risk if we vote Leave. But why should it? The free market, cosmopolitan, pro-globalisation economic case for leaving is stronger than ever. Research shows that nearly 70% of small and medium sized businesses feel that the EU is a hindrance rather than a help. The Adam Smith institute says “leaving would be a journey, not a big bang. In the short term a Brexit would almost certainly mean the UK remaining in the European Economic Area (EEA), like Norway.” Over a subsequent period, the UK would negotiate a more appropriate British free trade agreement. Britain imports nearly £300 billion of goods and services from Europe each year therefore it is imperative for Europe to reach a satisfactory trade deal with the UK to safeguard millions of mainland Europe jobs. It can be argued that in fact, the EU as a free trade entity is passed its sell-by date as global traders can operate under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation, the ILO (labour regs),the UN (standards) and the WHO (health).
SAFER – Remain claims that the UK is safer by being a member of the EU, essentially because of the existence of the European Arrest Warrant (which can be used to deport people) and because there’s strength in numbers. The evidence on the ground confirms the opposite is the case. “The greatest threat to our social stability at the moment is the fact that we have weakened our border controls at a time when they should have been strengthened. As a result, much more serious organised crime, controlled from abroad, is operating in the UK. And as the EU increases its membership, the situation can only worsen.” Anthony Stansfield, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner. The EU is also intent on forming its own army and foreign policy (as declared in Article 42 of the Lisbon Treaty). Nato is the most successful military alliance in history because of the deterrent effect of US membership but the EU is planning to revert to the uncertainties of the pre-Nato era; look no further than the Ukraine situation. “If the Euro-oligarchs get their way, sooner or later we shall find we no longer have the freedom to deploy our Armed Forces as we choose” Major General Julian Thompson, Royal Marines.
As 23rd June Referendum Day approaches, it becomes increasingly clear that the status quo is not an option. The EU is facing an ongoing economic and social crisis and is desperate to accelerate it total political integration agenda. The disastrous misgovernment of the eurozone has resulted in a huge economic downturn which shows no signs of ending. Southern Europe and Italy in particular are on the verge of social and financial meltdown which will necessitate further gigantic bailout contributions from all the northern EU membership. No-one can predict the future, so how best to deal with the inevitable uncertainties of our ongoing relationship with the EU and protect the interests of the British people? Is it to remain in the EU and let Brussels carry on with its United States of Europe mission, its political experiment aimed at creating an empire whilst ignoring the destructive consequences of its actions? Or is it to vote Leave and return self government to Britain thereby saving the British people billions of pounds which can be used to to focus on what’s best for the future of Britain? Brexit is not a leap in the dark, it’s a logical and necessary step for Britain to realise its full potential in the global economy – VOTE LEAVE for a bright future.
This entry was posted in European Union, Government Policy, UK Economy, Uncategorized and tagged border control, British Economy, EU, European Commission, Free Trade Associations, government, immigration on June 10, 2016 by silentmaj.
SCOTLAND – BE INDEPENDENT IN THE UK
“It’s easy to be fooled when you want to believe” – Ferdinand Mount
In the run up to the Scottish independence referendum there’s been a lot of talk about voters being driven by sentiment – and why not? The vast majority of people in the UK want Scotland to remain in the Union. Perhaps not enough of the general public (i.e. non-politicians) have spoken out to express their genuine belief that Scotland is a vital part of our great nation and we want it to remain as such.
The practical issues associated with separation have been well publicised although no-one seems to have focused on the timetable of specific action following a “Yes” vote. The list of matters to be addressed is massive and will directly impact us all. Just consider passports, border control, defence, public sector employment, pensions, currency, the relocation of HBoS and Royal Bank of Scotland, public debt, the BBC and a legion of other consequences arising from Scotland severing links with the rest of the UK.
The perplexing thing is that those seeking for it to leave the UK hope that Scotland can become a member of the European Union. In other words the plan is to replace Westminster (where Scotland is represented) with Brussels (where Scotland or indeed anyone else is not democratically represented).
Far better to remain part of the UK “family” and press for continuing autonomy from within – definitely a nationwide vote winner.
This entry was posted in Government Policy, Scotland and tagged border control, EU, European Commission, immigration on September 6, 2014 by silentmaj.
UKIP’S MESSAGE TO TORIES – “Listen and CHANGE”
” I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians ” Charles de Gaulle, French President 1959 – 1969.
The need for an early referendum on Europe is now urgent. Douglas Carswell, the well respected Conservative member for Clacton has resigned his seat and now hopes to be re-elected as the UK Independence Party’s first MP in Westminster. The inevitable Tory response, “Vote Nigel [Farage] : get Ed [Miliband]”. But increasingly, people are ceasing to be fazed by this threat given the lack of tangible action by David Cameron’s government on matters of serious public concern. And firing well respected members of the cabinet such as Owen Paterson and Michael Gove has increased negative sentiment.
The priority action for any government to regain the public’s confidence as set out below is well rehearsed but the key word is action – specifically on immigration.
Strict and effective border control – this means restricting the overall number of immigrants permitted to enter the UK annually and the immediate deportation of illegal immigrants. Appeals against deportation must be conducted from outside the UK. Many people in Britain feel that their customs, traditions and even their safety are under increasing threat – a situation recently highlighted by the appalling child abuse case in Rotherham.
Better internal security – with the escalating threat to British citizens’ safety especially from Muslim extremists and eastern European crime rings, more effective deterrents need to be put in place coupled with appropriate emergency powers to weed out the aggressors. The police should receive all necessary support to enforce the law and not be encumbered by gratuitous accusations of racism driven by officialdom and political opportunists.
Leave the European Union after the General Election in 2015 – there can be no competent border control and immigration quota policy until Britain exits the EU. The General Election next year represents the ideal opportunity for the British nation to decide on its future relationship with Europe and regain sovereignty.
The electorate has become disillusioned with the main political parties with many finding it hard to differentiate between David Cameron, Ed Milband and Nick Clegg. The old tribal differences which determined party support are no longer clear cut and people are much more concerned about the massive demographic change which the country is currently experiencing – hence the interest in UKIP.
The party which sets down concrete proposals for effective border control, better security for British citizens and makes EU exit a manifesto pledge will definitely be THE vote winner.
This entry was posted in Government Policy and tagged border control, EU, immigration, UKIP on September 4, 2014 by silentmaj.
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This image released by Universal Pictures shows Lupita Nyong'o in a scene from "Us," written, produced and directed by Jordan Peele. (Claudette Barius/Universal Pictures via AP)
Jordan Peele's 'Us' scares up $70.3M debut
NEW YORK (AP) — Jordan Peele has done it again. Two years after the filmmaker's "Get Out" became a box-office sensation, his frightening follow-up, "Us," debuted with $70.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The opening, well above forecasts, had few parallels. It was the largest debut for an original horror film (only the "It" remake and last year's "Halloween" have surpassed it in the genre) and one of the highest openings for a live-action original film since "Avatar" was released 10 years ago.
In today's franchise-driven movie world, seldom has a young director been such a draw. But moviegoers turned out in droves to see what kind of freak-out Peele could muster in his sophomore release.
"Peele has really crafted an extraordinary story that I think once again is going to capture the cultural zeitgeist," said Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal. "He is recognized as just an amazing talent. He crafts films that make you think, that are extraordinarily well-acted, well-written and are amazingly entertaining."
"Us" took over the top spot at the box office from "Captain Marvel," which had reigned for two weeks. The Marvel Studios superhero release slid to second place with $35 million in its third week. In three weeks of release, it's made $910 million worldwide, and will soon become the first $1 billion release of 2019.
Other holdovers — the animated amusement "Wonder Park" and the cystic fibrosis teen romance "Five Feet Apart"— trailed in third and fourth with about $9 million each in their second week.
But the weekend belonged overwhelming to "Us," which more than doubled the $33.4 million domestic debut of 2017's Oscar-winning "Get Out." The former "Key & Peele" star's first film as writer-director, "Get Out" ultimately grossed $255.4 million on a $4.5 million budget.
"Us" cost $20 million to make, meaning it's already a huge hit for Peele and Universal Pictures, which notched its third No. 1 release of the year following "Glass" and "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World."
It's also, as Peele has said, more thoroughly a horror film. While "Us" has drawn very good reviews (94 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it a relatively low "B'' CinemaScore. Paul Dergarabedian chalked that up mainly to moviegoers feeling shell-shocked when they emerged from the theater.
"Us" stars Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke as vacationing parents whose family is faced with eerie doppelgangers of themselves. The film added $16.7 million from 47 international territories.
While "Us" was propelled by a number of things, including Nyong'o and buzz out of its SXSW premiere, the main selling point was Peele. The 40-year-old director already has an imprimatur matched only by veteran filmmakers like Clint Eastwood.
"It's really difficult for a director to become a superstar whose name gets people in theater, and Jordan Peele has done just that," said Dergarabedian. "He's a superstar director with a brand all his own, and that's with two feature films under his belt. That's pretty astonishing. That just doesn't happen."
After a sluggish January and February, the overall box office has rebounded thanks to "Captain Marvel" and "Us." The weekend was up 15.3 percent from last year, according to Comscore.
The weekend followed an especially tumultuous week in Hollywood. On Monday, Warner Bros. chief Kevin Tsujihara stepped down following a sex scandal. On Wednesday, the Walt Disney Co. completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
In absorbing one of the six major studios in 20th Century Fox, Disney quickly made many layoffs and shuttered Fox 2000, the Fox label behind hit book adaptations like "Hidden Figures" and "Life of Pi."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
1. "Us," $70.3 million ($16.7 million international).
2. "Captain Marvel," $35 million.
3. "Wonder Park," $9 million.
4. "Five Feet Apart," $8.8 million.
5. "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," $6.5 million.
6. "A Madea Family Funeral," $4.5 million.
7. "Gloria Bell," $1.8 million.
8. "No Manches Frida," $1.8 million.
9. "Lego Movie 2: The Second Part," $1.1 million.
10. "Alita: Battle Angel," $1 million.
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Box office receipts
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NTT Security launches Women in Cybersecurity Awards in Europe
|In Tech Articles, WeAreTechWomen News
NTT Security, the specialised security company and centre of excellence in security for NTT Group, has launched its inaugural Women in Cybersecurity Awards as part of an initiative to recognise and inspire talented female professionals and newcomers in the cybersecurity industry.
The new awards, developed in partnership with Global Digital Women (GDW), will recognise the voices of women in cybersecurity across Europe and change perceptions of them as well as inspire young women to consider a career in the sector. With women representing 26 per cent of NTT Security workforce in Europe, the project also forms part of NTT Security’s long-term drive to improve upon the gender gap.
Applicants can apply themselves or nominate female experts in the cybersecurity industry. There are two categories: ‘Newcomer’, which celebrates women who have been working in the cybersecurity sector for under 5 years or who have recently completed a cybersecurity-based degree and ‘Professional’ for women who have been managing a cybersecurity team or been involved with the industry for five or more years.
The awards are open for entries from now until 16th August in the DACH region: Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and until 13th September in Northern Europe: UK, Benelux and Nordics. Finalists will be chosen by a panel of independent experts, with the winners announced at Information Security World (ISW), a series of established industry events held by NTT Security in Vienna on 17th September and London on 15th October 2019.
Speaking about the awards, Kai Grunwitz, SVP NTT Security EMEA, said, “For as long as anyone can remember, the industry has suffered from a major gender imbalance problem.”
“When viewed in the context of the global cyber skills shortages, it’s clear we are reaching crisis point.”
“With the new Women in Cybersecurity Awards, we have made it our mission to give talented women in our industry the visibility they deserve and thank them for the work they do every day in this field.”
“We also want to encourage more women to make a name for themselves in cybersecurity.”
“There are already a lot more female role models out there today, but there is still a long way to go.”
“We still don’t have enough women working in the industry and recruiters are failing to deliver on diversity promises.”
The latest figures from (ISC)² last year put the global cybersecurity skills shortfall at 2.9m professionals, with women occupying just under a quarter (24 per cent) of roles. This is an improvement on the 11 per cent previously estimated. Furthermore, men still dominate the industry all the way to the top, occupying a large majority (87 per cent) of CISO roles at Fortune 500 firms.
Kai concluded, “Our industry needs to continue pushing for more women in cybersecurity and, while the gender diversity problem won’t change overnight, we hope NTT Security’s new awards will help increase the visibility of the profession among females.”
To learn more about the Women in Cybersecurity Awards, visit www.women-in-cybersecurity-awards.com/en/
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A BOY NAMED KAREN
karen khachanov
Karen Khachanov has now arrived. His win at a big tournament like the Rolex Paris Masters has given him a major step to being one of the best players in the world.
I remember two years ago at the Chengdu Open when the Russian of Armenian heritage won his first career title from out of the blue. Sure, there had been some talk about him in tennis circles with much of that talk centring around how big he is physically and the fact that he had the talent to do well but it was still all talk.
I remember interviewing him on video for wearetennis.com and jokingly I asked him why he had a girl’s name … Karen. In a deep voice he replied: “Is not girl’s name. It’s Armenian name.” It amusingly reminded me of that old Johnny Cash song “A Boy Named Sue”. Here we have a tennis player named Karen.
Chengdu saw his ranking start to move and he ended the 2016 season at 53, 99 places higher than the year before. In 2017 he finished the season at 45 and in 2018 things have really serrated to fall into place. He won Marseille and then became the first Russian in a decade to win the Moscow title and by winning Paris, he is the first Russian since Nikolay Davydenko to win there since 2006 and becomes the first Russian also since Mr. Davydenko to win a Masters 1000 since 2009 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
His victory over Novak Djokovic at Bercy took his world ranking up to eleven and made him the second alternate at the season-ending championship in London. During the week he accounted for four top ten players – John Isner, Alexander Zverev (who he punished) and Dominic Thiem before stopping Novak.
Mr. Khachanov, who has been married for two years, is just 22 and shows plenty of maturity on and off the court. There is a strong focus in whatever he does. This is no party dude and more than likely for someone like his that grounding he has from married life is what has led to 2018 being his break-through season.
“It's not normal, of course,” he said. “It's one of my biggest titles so far, biggest achievement. And in general, it's a breakthrough season. And this title, it's a good year-end, like this I would say. And maybe I'm not crying, but still I'm really happy.
“I’m happy with the way I'm playing,” he said. “After some tough loses against top guys like Rafa, you know, in New York, I think they push me to the limit and, like, even to work more harder. And I saw that my level is there. I could play and compete on this level. So it was a matter of just a few points.
“And if I continue to do the same things what I was doing and the way I was playing with the guys like Rafa, okay, before, I mean, Novak also, against top guys, it would bring me at one point and it will turn around on my side. So, I was really believing in this, and actually that's what I've got.”
Karen Khachanov could be termed a “reserved giant”. His progress has been steady without being flashy like say Alexander Zverev but to see the Russian making a move, along with another exciting young player in Stefanos Tsitsipas can only be good for the progression of the game.
“I want to talk about how well he played all week and, you know, absolutely deserved to win the match,” Novak Djokovic said respectfully of Mr. Khachanov in defeat despite the fact that he had not quite recovered enough form the mentally and physically draining matches he played against Roger Federer in the semis.
“So all the credit to him. He deserves it. He's a young player up and coming. But already established player, top player. And he showed great quality and he showed why we're going to see a lot of him in the future.”
Of course, there is still a long way to go in Karen Khachanov’s career. There is so much for him to do and while there are bound to be those down days when the results are not happening as people expect, it will be important to take a step back but at the same time appreciate his ability and potential.
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What's New: March 8 to March 10, 2013
What's New? March 8 to March 10, 2013
Adenovirus infection < Worldwide >
Amoebiasis Ethiopia, Macao, Yemen
Anaplasmosis Japan
Anisakiasis Republic of Korea
Anthrax < Worldwide >, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe
Ascariasis Ethiopia, Yemen
Bacterial vaginosis Australia
Blastocystis hominis infection Yemen
Botulism < Worldwide >, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia
Brucellosis Bulgaria, China, Iran, Malaysia
Campylobacteriosis Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Taiwan, United States
Chikungunya < Worldwide >, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Chlamydia infections, misc. < Worldwide >
Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection Niger, Nigeria
Cholera Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Lithuania, Macao, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia
Chromomycosis Cuba, Morocco
Clostridial food poisoning Norway
Coccidioidomycosis United States
Cryptosporidiosis < Worldwide >, Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Yemen
Cyclosporiasis Yemen
Cysticercosis Clinical Notes
Dengue < Worldwide >, Argentina, Austria, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Lithuania, Macao, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Virgin Islands, U.S.
Diphtheria < Worldwide >, Macao
Dirofilariasis Russian Federation
Echinococcosis - multilocular Denmark
Echinococcosis - unilocular Bulgaria, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia
Enterobiasis Republic of Korea
Enterovirus infection Macao
Erysipeloid Czech Republic
Escherichia coli diarrhea < Worldwide >, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Macao, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Fascioliasis Argentina
Fungal infection - invasive < Worldwide >, United States
Gastroenteritis - viral Denmark, Macao, Spain
Giardiasis < Worldwide >, Austria, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, Yemen
Gonococcal infection Macao, Uganda
HIV infection - initial illness Macao
HIV/AIDS Ethiopia, Italy, Macao, Tanzania
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome Uruguay
Hantaviruses - Old World < Worldwide >, Malta, United Kingdom
Hepatitis A < Worldwide >, Hungary, Macao, Mexico, Slovakia, Spain
Hepatitis B < Worldwide >, Macao, Tanzania
Hepatitis C < Worldwide >, Austria, Italy, Macao
Hepatitis D Macao, United Kingdom
Hepatitis E Macao, Sudan, United Kingdom
Herpes simplex infection < Worldwide >, Macao, United States
Histoplasmosis < Worldwide >, Uganda
Hymenolepis nana infection Yemen
Influenza < Worldwide >, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Rep. of Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Marianas, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peoples Dem. Rep. Korea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Reunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, U.S., Wallis and Futuna Islands, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Japanese encephalitis India, Macao, Malaysia
Japanese spotted fever Japan
Kawasaki disease Clinical Notes
Legionellosis < Worldwide >, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Macao, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Leishmaniasis - cutaneous Czech Republic, Libya
Leishmaniasis - visceral Czech Republic, India, Paraguay
Leprosy Macao
Leptospirosis < Worldwide >, Belize, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Spain
Listeriosis < Worldwide >, Czech Republic
Lyme disease Clinical Notes, < Worldwide >
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis United States
Malaria < Worldwide >, Ghana, Macao, Myanmar (Burma), Portugal, Slovakia, Thailand, Zambia
Measles < Worldwide >, Canada, Macao, Mexico
Melioidosis < Worldwide >
Meningitis - aseptic (viral) Macao
Meningitis - bacterial < Worldwide >, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Macao, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom, United States
Mumps < Worldwide >, Austria, Macao
Mycetoma < Worldwide >, India
Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection Iran
Myiasis Republic of Korea
Orbital and eye infection Brazil
Pertussis < Worldwide >, Macao
Phleboviruses - Old World Tunisia
Plague Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macao, Malta, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Poliomyelitis and acute flaccid paralysis < Worldwide >, Macao
Q-fever < Worldwide >, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Luxembourg
Rabies Iraq, Malawi, Sweden
Rickettsia sibirica mongolotimonae infection France
Rift Valley fever Mozambique
Rotavirus infection Macao
Rubella < Worldwide >, Macao
Salmonellosis Belize, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Macao, Malaysia, San Marino
Sarcocystosis < Worldwide >, Canada, France, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland
Scarlet fever Macao
Schistosomiasis - mekongi Vietnam
Shigellosis < Worldwide >, Hungary, Macao, Romania, Slovakia, United States
Small intestinal trematodes Laos
Spotted fevers - Old World France
Streptococcus suis infection Philippines, United States
Strongyloidiasis Yemen
Syphilis < Worldwide >, Italy, Macao, New Zealand
Taeniasis Republic of Korea, Thailand
Tetanus Clinical Notes, < Worldwide >, Macao
Tick-borne encephalitis Macao
Toxic shock syndrome < Worldwide >
Toxocariasis Clinical Notes, < Worldwide >
Toxoplasmosis Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, Spain
Trachoma < Worldwide >, Macao
Trichinosis Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Serbia and Montenegro
Trichomoniasis Macao
Tuberculosis < Worldwide >, France, Macao, Sweden
Tularemia Czech Republic
Typhoid and enteric fever < Worldwide >, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Macao, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Taiwan
Varicella Macao
Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection Morocco
West Nile fever < Worldwide >, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom
Yersiniosis < Worldwide >
Zika Marshall Islands
New Bacteria Added Peptoniphilus coxii
Peptoniphilus tyrrelliae
Bacteria - Phenotypic tests Cholesterol needed for growth
Microbes - New Cruoricaptor ignavus
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Olympia, Wash. -- Washington state has become the first in the country to break down historic access barriers and adopt an automatic enrollment policy for advanced math, English, and science classes in all high schools. The policy, also known as Academic Acceleration, is designed to increase access for all students to dual credit and advanced class enrollment, especially underrepresented students who were often left behind even when they were talented enough to progress to the next level. School districts have until the 2021-22 school year to implement the policy and the law also allows families to opt their student out of the advanced classes if desired.
The policy is part of HB 1599 (section 502, page 49), passed by the state legislature on April 22 and signed by Governor Jay Inslee (WA-D) on Tuesday, May 7.This legislation was championed by Stand For Children Washington, a non-profit education advocacy organization.
“Stand for Children and our tireless advocates will continue to strengthen programs that work to lift more kids toward bright, successful futures. If students are qualified for advanced coursework, we expect to see them challenged and ultimately surpassing every indicator of student success,” said Libuse Binder, Executive Director at Stand for Children Washington, a longtime champion of the policy and legislation.
Through Academic Acceleration, students who meet standard on state-level exams are automatically placed into the next more rigorous course in the matching content area(s). As of 2018, at least 50 school districts in Washington have already implemented the policy and a majority have improved the equity of access for historically underserved students enrolled in advanced classes (Stand for Children analysis of OSPI data, 2018). The program seeks to rectify historic bias that has limited access for students of color and other disadvantaged groups to advanced education options.
Research on Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate, and dual enrollment programs (partnerships between high schools and colleges) show that participation in these advanced, college-credit earning programs increase students’ likelihood to graduate from high school, enroll in college, and to perform better in college. There is also evidence that these effects are particularly strong for low-income students and students of color.
The 2019-2021 biennium budget passed by the Washington State Legislature includes funding to provide for dual credit programs including subsidized Advanced Placement exam fees and International Baccalaureate class fees and exam fees for low-income students.
The commitment to ensuring equitable opportunities in advanced coursework was pioneered by Federal Way Public Schools - the state’s 9th largest district - when its school board implemented the policy in 2010-11. The district saw a dramatic rise in enrollment of advanced classes and a notable increase among students of color. According to 2019 data, passing rates for advanced classes at Federal Way are now at 92% and all racial subgroups are passing at rates of 87% or higher.
Inspired by the success in Federal Way, in 2013 the Washington State Legislature passed HB 1642, championed by Stand for Children Washington, which established the Academic Acceleration Incentive Program to encourage adoption of the policy with grants for school districts. As recently as 2016-17, school districts who received the grant and implemented the policy saw significant gains in enrollment by students of historically underrepresented populations (OSPI, 2018).
Other school districts in Washington have implemented these policies and also experienced success. Since implementing a program similar to that of Federal Way, in Tacoma Public Schools enrollment in advanced classes has increased from 27.5% to 71.1% for all students since 2013 and tripled for historically underserved students of color from 19.5% to 60%.
“We’ve seen huge results in Tacoma with more kids taking these classes and these exams. And that corresponds with more kids graduating. And as those numbers go up, we have to remember that each one of those numbers is a kid,” said Josh Garcia, Deputy Superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools and one of the original architects of the policy in Federal Way.
Washington’s success is being mirrored in legislation in at least two other states in the nation including North Carolina and Colorado. Last year, North Carolina passed a law (H986), requiring the automatic enrollment of qualified students into math courses in high school. Meanwhile, the Colorado General Assembly passed legislation in April launching a grant program similar to the one established in Washington in 2013 (SB19-059). While other states do not automatically enroll students, states like Delaware and Kentucky, require schools to notify parents that their student’s test scores signal they are ready for advanced work.
States around the country have been implementing efforts to increase the diversity of students of color and low-income students in advanced classes and college-credit earning classes. According to the College Board, in 2018 only 50% of Black, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander students who qualified for advanced classes were enrolled in them (College Board), equating to about 750,000 students nationwide (EOS). In fact, data from the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection, show white students are twice as likely to take dual credit courses as Black or Latino students (Columbia University Teachers College).
U.S. Department of Education Finds ESEA Restriction on Religious Organizations Unconstitutional, Will No Longer Enforce
Arkansas Passes Law Allowing Students to Possess and Use Sunscreen
Secretary DeVos: "Supplement, not Supplant" Proposal Helps Promote Effective Spending, Flexibility
Not a Lot of Coverage
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Washington Senators (1891–1899)
For the 1884 team known as the Statesmen, see Washington Nationals (AA). For the other 19th century National League team known as the Nationals, see Washington Nationals (1886–1889). For the 20th century Washington Senators, see History of the Washington Senators (1901–1960).
Years 1891–1899
Based in Washington, D.C.
National League (1892–99)
American Association (1891)
Boundary Field
Past names
Washington Senators (1892–99)
Washington Statesmen (1891)
Team was also periodically referred to as the Washington Nationals
J. Earl Wagner (1892–99)
Arthur Irwin (1898-1899)
Deacon McGuire (1898)
Jack Doyle (1898)
Tom Brown (1897-1898)
Gus Schmelz (1894-1897)
Jim O'Rourke (1893)
Danny Richardson (1892)
Arthur Irwin (1892)
Billy Barnie (1892)
Sandy Griffin (1891)
Dan Shannon (1891)
Pop Snyder (1891)
Sam Trott (1891)
Major league titles
National League pennants 0
American Association pennants 0
The Washington Senators were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was also known as the Washington Statesmen and the Washington Nationals. The team played at Boundary Field.
The team started out in the American Association as the Washington Statesmen in 1891. The American Association folded after that season, and the team was purchased by J. Earl Wagner, who would own the team for the remainder of its existence. The Statesmen moved to the National League for the 1892 season, becoming the Senators. When the NL contracted from twelve teams to eight after the 1899 season, the Senators were one of the teams eliminated.
The Senators did not fare well in their nine years as a franchise, which might have been the reason they were contracted. Washington never had a winning season and compiled a winning percentage of 0.366. Among their more famous players were Deacon McGuire and Hall of Famer Jim O'Rourke.
After a one-year hiatus, the Senators returned, but they were no longer the same franchise that played at Boundary Field. In fact the Original Senators were the first of three teams, all called the Washington Senators, and were in the Capital continuously until the third Senators franchise left to become the Texas Rangers. The second had left the city in 1960 becoming the Minnesota Twins and were followed immediately by a new expansion team of the same name, ultimately leaving for Texas in 1971. Baseball returned to the Capital in 2005 when the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals. The "Washington Senators" name was still owned by the Texas Rangers, so organizers sought other options. Washington, D.C., mayor Anthony A. Williams supported the name "Washington Grays," in honor of the Negro-league team the Homestead Grays (1929-1950), which had been based in Pittsburgh, but played many of their home games in Washington. In the end, the team owners chose the name "Washington Nationals," which had been the official name of the American League's Washington Senators from 1905 to 1955.
List of Washington Senators (1891–99) managers
Washington Senators (1891–99) all-time roster
Team index page at Baseball Reference
Washington Senators
Folded in 1899
Based in Washington, D.C., (1891–1899)
Washington Senators (1891–1899)
National League (1892–1899)
All articles
Histories of teams in Major League Baseball
Baltimore Orioles • Boston Red Sox • New York Yankees • Tampa Bay Rays • Toronto Blue Jays
Chicago White Sox • Cleveland Indians • Detroit Tigers • Kansas City Royals • Minnesota Twins
Houston Astros • Los Angeles Angels • Oakland Athletics • Seattle Mariners • Texas Rangers
Atlanta Braves • Miami Marlins • New York Mets • Philadelphia Phillies • Washington Nationals
Chicago Cubs • Cincinnati Reds • Milwaukee Brewers • Pittsburgh Pirates • St. Louis Cardinals (Part I · II · III · IV)
Arizona Diamondbacks • Colorado Rockies • Los Angeles Dodgers • San Diego Padres • San Francisco Giants
Relocated
Milwaukee Brewers (1901) • Baltimore Orioles (1901–02) • Boston Braves (1870–1953) • St. Louis Browns (1902–1953) • Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1954) • New York Giants (1883–1957) • Brooklyn Dodgers (1883–1957) • Washington Senators (1901–1960) • Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965) • Kansas City Athletics (1955–1967) • Seattle Pilots (1969) • Washington Senators (1961–1971) • Montreal Expos (1969–2004)
New York Mutuals (1876) • Athletic of Philadelphia (1876) • Hartford Dark Blues (1875–76) • St. Louis Brown Stockings (1876–77) • Louisville Grays (1876–77) • Indianapolis Blues (1878) • Milwaukee Grays (1878) • Syracuse Stars (1878) • Cincinnati Red Stockings (1876–1879) • Cincinnati Stars (1880) • Worcester Worcesters (1880–1882) • Providence Grays (1878–1885) • Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885) • Cleveland Blues (1879–1884) • Troy Trojans (1879–1882) • St. Louis Maroons (1885–86) • Kansas City Cowboys (1886) • Detroit Wolverines (1881–1888) • Indianapolis Hoosiers (1887–1889) • Washington Nationals (1886–1889) • Cleveland Spiders (1887–1899) • Baltimore Orioles (1892–1899) • Louisville Colonels (1892–1899) • Washington Senators (1891–1899)
This page was last edited on 26 February 2019, at 02:14
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Hundreds arrested in Paris as 'yellow vest' protests turn violent
At least 287 people arrested and 110 injured, including 17 policemen, in the worst riots in Paris in more than a decade.
French President Emmanuel Macron has denounced protesters in Paris as chaos-seekers, after they torched cars, smashed windows, looted shops and tagged the Arc de Triomphe with multi-coloured graffiti.
"I will never accept violence," Macron said at a press conference, before leaving the G20 summit in Argentina to deal with the domestic crisis.
"No cause justifies that authorities are attacked, that businesses are plundered, that passers-by or journalists are threatened or that the Arc de Triomphe is defiled," he said.
The "yellow vest" demonstrations, which were first triggered weeks ago by planned fuel price hikes, turned chaotic in the French capital on Saturday, which saw its worst riots in more than a decade.
French police officers responded with tear gas, after demonstrators hurled stones and projectiles towards them, on the third weekend of demonstrations that have morphed into a broader rebuke of Macron.
President Macron will discuss the situation at a Sunday meeting [Thibault Camus/AP Photo]
Authorities said that at least 287 people were arrested and 110 injured, including 17 policemen.
Interior Minister Castaner attributed the violence to "specialists in sowing conflict, specialists in destruction".
He did not rule out imposing a state of emergency - a demand made by the police union Alliance - declaring: "Nothing is taboo for me. I am prepared to examine everything."
Six buildings were set ablaze, and nearly 190 fires were put out, the interior ministry said.
'They want chaos'
An estimated 75,000 protesters, the majority of them peaceful, were counted across France on Saturday afternoon, according to the interior ministry.
That number was well below the total on the first day of protests on November 17, when 282,000 people took part across the country. Last Saturday, 106,000 took to the streets.
But the vast plumes of smoke and tear gas that clouded the capital on Saturday were a testament to the escalation of violence in Paris.
"Those guilty of this violence don't want change, they don't want improvements, they want chaos. They betray the causes that they pretend to serve and which they manipulate," Macron said on Saturday.
"They will be identified and brought to justice for their actions," he said.
Macron said he would convene a meeting on the situation with his prime minister and interior minister on Sunday morning in Paris.
"I will always respect debate and I will always listen to the opposition but I will never accept violence," Macron said.
Reporting from Paris, Al Jazeera's David Chater said the movement could become "a real threat politically to President Macron's administration".
"The protests were even more violent than last week's demonstrations. There were more arrests and more injuries. There seems little chance of reconciliation any time soon."
The "yellow vest" movement erupted on social media in October and has since become a wider protest against Macron, who is accused of failing to recognise the rising cost of living that has left many people struggling.
The countrywide protests have included many pensioners and have been most active in small urban and rural areas where demonstrators have blocked roads, closed motorway toll booths, and even walled up the entrance to tax offices.
Two people have died and dozens have been injured in the rallies, which opinion polls suggest still attract the support of two out of three French people.
Attempts by the government to negotiate with the grassroots movement have failed, in large part because representatives have insisted on public talks broadcast on TV.
Macron has sought to douse the anger by promising three months of nationwide talks on how best to transform France into a low-carbon economy without penalising the poor.
He also vowed to slow the rate of increase in fuel taxes if international oil prices rise too rapidly but only after a tax rise due in January.
WATCH: Will Macron bow to the demands of 'Yellow Vest' protesters? (24:00)
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
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AIDS PATIENTS WILL GET COVERAGE UNDER MEDISHIELD LIFE
MediShield Life to cover HIV patients
WHEN it comes to health insurance, people with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) often find themselves in a dilemma.
The uninsured find it hard to get coverage, while those who are already insured fear that their policies may be voided if they make a claim.
But MediShield Life, which will start by the end of this year, will provide many in this group with proper insurance coverage for the first time.
"Most of us feel very trapped, because we're not sure how to go about making claims," said 29-year-old Avin Tan, who has gone public about his HIV status.
"Some (insurers) will tell you that as long as you have been diagnosed with HIV, you will not be able to make any claims at all."
He has known of people with HIV who made successful claims, but also of others who had their policies voided, although the illness for which they were claiming was unrelated to HIV.
Most HIV-positive people keep their condition a secret, worried that insurance agents, who are often family friends, may alert others to their condition.
Health Ministry statistics from 2013 show that there are around 6,200 Singapore residents with HIV. About 450 new cases were diagnosed that year.
Typically, the disease is managed with medication that helps to control its spread. It takes between eight and 10 years for HIV to become acquired immune deficiency syndrome (Aids).
At this stage, many develop complications that require hospitalisation, said infectious diseases specialist Adrian Ong of Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
With proper treatment, however, most can expect to lead "long, normal and healthy lives".
Yet, none of the five Integrated Shield Plan (IP) providers - whose IPs cover two-thirds of Singaporeans and permanent residents - will cover HIV, even at higher premiums. The exceptions are if the virus was acquired through a blood transfusion or in the course of one's work as a medical professional, for example.
Currently, MediShield - the Government's basic health insurance scheme - excludes the treatment of any condition caused by HIV or Aids.
This means that if someone with HIV/Aids develops cancer as a result of his condition, he will be on his own, even though chemotherapy is covered by MediShield.
But MediShield Life will lift this restriction.
Those with HIV/Aids can make claims, although they will have to pay premiums that are 30 per cent higher for 10 years.
"This will go a long way to alleviate the burden experienced by infected persons, as well as the stigmatisation of HIV infection in the country," said a spokesman for advocacy group Action for Aids.
Added Mr Tan, who is a manager with the group: "This is quite a big step for the Government. Hopefully, this will get private insurers to also come on board."
Straits Times 16 Feb 2015
medishield life
straits times
LOWER NUMBER OF NEW HIV CASES, BUT HOMOSEXUALS FORM BULK OF NEW INFECTIONS
PPL AGAINST PINKDOT ARE NOT OLD-FASHIONED, LGBTS ARE THE INTOLERANT ONES!
HIV+ AMERICAN JAILED 2 YEARS FOR USING GAY LOVER'S BLOOD TO PASS HEALTH CHECK
NEEDLES STUCK UNDER TOILET PAPER DISPENSERS TO SPREAD INFECTIOUS DISEASES
FT CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST LIES ABOUT HIV STATUS TO GET EP IN S'PORE
MINISTRY OF HEALTH LIFTS BAN ON HIV-POSITIVE TOURISTS QUIETLY
ROY NGERNG: MINISTRY OF HEALTH THREATENED TO CUT TTSH'S HIV FUNDING IF THEY DID NOT SACK ME
HOMOSEXUAL MAN JAILED FOR DONATING HIV-TAINTED BLOOD
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Torture Accountability in Canada: After Payments to Three Men Tortured in Syria, Former Guantánamo Prisoner Djamel Ameziane Also Seeks Damages
There was some very welcome news from Canada last week, when three Canadian citizens — Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin — were paid $31.25 million (around $25m US dollars, or £18.7m) by the Canadian government as compensation for the government’s key role, via the spy agency CSIS (the Canadian Security Intelligence Service) and RCMP (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), in arranging for them to be imprisoned and tortured in Syria between 2001 and 2003, when they were wrongly suspected of having some involvement with terrorism.
As the Toronto Star explained on October 26, “The payout was kept secret until this month and is part of a legal settlement that was first reported by the Star in February and announced by the Liberal government weeks later.”
The Star added, “The resolution and accompanying government apology put an end to a nine-year court battle for compensation that has been demanded since 2008,” when then-Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci concluded, in a report on their cases, that “Canadian agents labelled the men Islamic extremists and shared information with other countries without proper precautions about its unreliability.” Read the rest of this entry »
Algerians in Guantanamo, American torture, Extraordinary rendition and secret prisons, Guantanamo, Guantanamo media, Life after Guantanamo, Maher Arar, Omar Khadr, UN and Secret Detention
Canada Agrees to Pay $10m Compensation to Brutalized Former Child Prisoner Omar Khadr, Held at Guantánamo for Ten Years
Good news from Canada, as the Canadian government has agreed to pay $10.5m (about $9m in US currency) to former Guantánamo prisoner — and former child prisoner — Omar Khadr, who launched his suit against the Canadian government in 2014, after his return to Canada (in September 2012, after ten years in Guantánamo), but before he was freed on bail — in May 2015.
Disgracefully, the news has been greeted with a tirade of abuse — a deplorable state of affairs that I first noticed ten years ago, when I first starting publishing articles about Khadr (nearly 100 published to date), and that particularly came to my notice in the summer of 2008, after videotapes were released of Khadr, then 16, breaking down when interrogated by Canadian agents who visited him at Guantánamo, and who, he mistakenly thought, would help him. Check out some of the comments under my article if you want to see the kind of disgraceful comments that were being made at the time, and that continue to this day.
And yet the critics have absolutely no basis for their complaints, as Khadr was not only shamefully abused by the US authorities; he also had his rights violated by his own government, as Canada’s Supreme Court established in 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
Children in Guantanamo, Guantanamo, Life after Guantanamo, Omar Khadr
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Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan | Apr 16, 2019
Assistance to Uganda in Developing a Strategic Anti-Poaching Outpost for Elephants
The elephant population has been increasing steadily over the last twenty years, since being reduced by poaching to below 400 elephants in 1988
Japan places great importance on supporting elephant range states in the fight against elephant poaching
TOKYO, Japan, April 16, 2019/APO Group/ --
On Thursday, April 12, Handover Ceremony of a Strategic Anti-Poaching Outpost for Elephants was held in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. This project was funded by the Government of Japan in cooperation with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Uganda, Mr. Mizumoto Horii commissioned the Lions Bay ranger post.
The new outpost is part of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)’s larger Recovery of Queen Elizabeth National Park programme and provide a base for field rangers conducting operations in important wildlife and tourism sector, and will significantly strengthen UWA’s capacity to address current and emerging threats impacting this important site of the CITES Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme. The project was led on-the-ground on behalf of CITES by the Uganda Conservation Foundation in close collaboration with UWA.
Queen Elizabeth National Park provides protection for 95 species of mammal, including buffaloes, hippopotami, crocodiles, elephants, leopards, lions and chimpanzees, and over 620 species of birds. The park forms part of an extensive transboundary ecosystem that covers forest reserves and the adjacent Virunga National Park World Heritage Site, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The elephant population in the Queen Elizabeth National Park was recently reported by UWA as young and healthy, numbering over 3000 individuals, which is by far the largest elephant population in Uganda, but still below levels the park can sustain. The elephant population has been increasing steadily over the last twenty years, since being reduced by poaching to below 400 elephants in 1988.
“The illegal wildlife trade is an urgent global issue. Japan is deeply committed to the cause of protecting elephants and their natural habitat. Japan places great importance on supporting elephant range states in the fight against elephant poaching,” said Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Uganda, Mr. Mizumoto Horii, he continued to add that “Japan continues to make great efforts in implementing the trade control of ivory under CITES and working together with our partners to tackle the problem of elephant poaching and the illegal elephant trade.”
The Honourable Minister Godfrey Kiwanda highlighted that “Having a well-built, dry and clean facility, with clean water, solar power lighting and an ablution block, makes rangers feel respected and motivated.”
“The recovery of wildlife and tourism in Queen Elizabeth National Park depends on the motivation of our frontline staff and tangible support such as this. This support also provides a solid foundation for growing tourism in Uganda which is already recognised as the countries strongest contributor to the regional and national regional economy,” said Uganda Wildlife Authority, Executive Director, Sam Mwandha.
“The funding provided by the Government of Japan for the development of essential infrastructure needed to support management operations is invaluable. The investment and attention given to the area has had a significant impact on the overall morale of the staff based in the Lions Bay and Katore Sectors and enhanced their capacity to effectively protect the area,” added Thea Carroll, CITES MIKE Programme Coordinator.
The Government of Japan contributed 55,000 US$ to CITES’s Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
Wood/Forest
Assistance to Uganda in Developing a Strategic Anti-Poaching Outpost for Elephants The elephant population has been increasing steadily over the last twenty years, since being reduced by poaching to below 400 elephants in 1988 TOKYO, Japan, April 16, 2019/APO Group/ -- On Thursday, April 12, Handover Ceremony of a Strategic Anti-Poaching Outpost for Elephants was held in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. This project was funded by the Government of Japan in cooperation with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Uganda, Mr. Mizumoto Horii commissioned the Lions Bay ranger post. The new outpost is part of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)’s larger Recovery of Queen Elizabeth National Park programme and provide a base for field rangers conducting operations in important wildlife and tourism sector, and will significantly strengthen UWA’s capacity to address current and emerging threats impacting this important site of the CITES Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme. The project was led on-the-ground on behalf of CITES by the Uganda Conservation Foundation in close collaboration with UWA. Queen Elizabeth National Park provides protection for 95 species of mammal, including buffaloes, hippopotami, crocodiles, elephants, leopards, lions and chimpanzees, and over 620 species of birds. The park forms part of an extensive transboundary ecosystem that covers forest reserves and the adjacent Virunga National Park World Heritage Site, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The elephant population in the Queen Elizabeth National Park was recently reported by UWA as young and healthy, numbering over 3000 individuals, which is by far the largest elephant population in Uganda, but still below levels the park can sustain. The elephant population has been increasing steadily over the last twenty years, since being reduced by poaching to below 400 elephants in 1988. “The illegal wildlife trade is an urgent global issue. Japan is deeply committed to the cause of protecting elephants and their natural habitat. Japan places great importance on supporting elephant range states in the fight against elephant poaching,” said Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Uganda, Mr. Mizumoto Horii, he continued to add that “Japan continues to make great efforts in implementing the trade control of ivory under CITES and working together with our partners to tackle the problem of elephant poaching and the illegal elephant trade.” The Honourable Minister Godfrey Kiwanda highlighted that “Having a well-built, dry and clean facility, with clean water, solar power lighting and an ablution block, makes rangers feel respected and motivated.” “The recovery of wildlife and tourism in Queen Elizabeth National Park depends on the motivation of our frontline staff and tangible support such as this. This support also provides a solid foundation for growing tourism in Uganda which is already recognised as the countries strongest contributor to the regional and national regional economy,” said Uganda Wildlife Authority, Executive Director, Sam Mwandha. “The funding provided by the Government of Japan for the development of essential infrastructure needed to support management operations is invaluable. The investment and attention given to the area has had a significant impact on the overall morale of the staff based in the Lions Bay and Katore Sectors and enhanced their capacity to effectively protect the area,” added Thea Carroll, CITES MIKE Programme Coordinator. The Government of Japan contributed 55,000 US$ to CITES’s Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
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Pro-European Scots protest result of Brexit referendum
Hundreds of pro-European Scots on Friday staged a demonstration outside the country’s parliament to protest the outcome of Brexit vote.
Thursday’s referendum by Britain to leave the European Union after 43 years of membership ended in a resounding 52 to 48 percent victory for the leave campaign.
The West Midlands had the highest share of leave votes (59.3%) while Scotland, with a population of about five million, had the highest remain votes of 62 percent.
The result of Thursday’s referendum has caused shocked waves across the world with the pound falling to a 30-year low and the markets reacting negatively to the news.
Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon on Friday said a second referendum for Scottish independence is on the table since Scotland was in favour of remaining in the European Union.
“Basically what’s going to happen is that we’re going to get the worst of the worst” one of the protesters at Friday’s demonstration told the crowd outside the parliament building.
Prior to the referendum, the Remain campaign had warned of uncertainty for the UK’s future if the public voted to leave the EU.
A vote for Scottish independence would end the 300-year-old union between Scotland and England.
Independence is however the only way out for Scotland to become a member of the European Union.
Some analysts say Northern Ireland which also voted to remain in the EU could also break away from the United Kingdom.
The result of the referendum has led to talks of possible exits from the European Union by France and Sweden among others.
Liverpool makes record-breaking millions from broadcasting rights
Nigeria's Iwobi praised despite Arsenal loss to Chelsea in Europa League final
UK Prime Minister Theresa May resigns, to leave office on June 7
Hong Kong extradition bill total failure
100 foreigners arrested in Mauritania following disputed polls
Sudan protest leaders call for marches on June 30
Sudan protesters happy with boycott, junta warns of criminal tactics
Sudan protest death toll at 60, military ready to resume talks
Sudan's opposition accuses military over security failure
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Home » NEWS » AAUP UPDATES
Dangerous Times for Alaskans
Following is a July 9, 2019, open letter to Alaska’s legislators from Rudy Fichtenbaum, president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and Abel Bult-Ito, president of United Academics of the University of Alaska, AAUP/AFT.
This week, Alaska’s legislators are working to make many difficult decisions about the future of the state. One of those decisions involves dramatic cuts to the budget for Alaska’s public university system. The governor may view these cuts as a means to balance the budget. But as university faculty and higher education advocates, we believe the budget cuts would mean the end of Alaska’s public university system.
Despite its small size, Alaska’s public university system plays a big role in educating Alaskans. Rural and lower-income communities depend on the University of Alaska system for improving their job skills and providing accessible degrees beyond a high school diploma, ranging from certificates to PhD degrees. Students earning degrees at Alaska’s public universities are more likely to invest their 21st century skills into the state’s economy.
The governor’s 41 percent reduction in state funding to Alaska’s public university system would mean closing campuses across the state and endangering the university’s accreditation. Alaskan students would have fewer options for continuing their education, and those options would be poorer in quality.
These cuts would be so damaging that degrees from Alaska’s public universities--should those universities still exist--will no longer be comparable with other institutions of higher learning in the United States.
Alaska’s people need Alaska’s public university system. The governor’s budget cut sacrifices the future of the state’s citizens, its economy, and its contributions to the world for the sake of short-term savings. This sacrifice is one we cannot allow when this is a manufactured budget crisis that could be easily fixed by a moderate reduction in the Permanent Fund dividend check and abolishing of unnecessary tax credits for the multinational oil companies. We call on the lawmakers of Alaska to override the governor’s 41 percent budget cut to the University of Alaska system.
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The Status of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty
The report which follows was approved by the Association’s Committee on Part-Time and Non-Tenure-Track Appointments and adopted by the Association’s Council in June 1993.
Non-tenure-track faculty account for about half of all faculty appointments in American higher education. The nontenure track consists of two major groups: those who teach part time and those who teach full time but are not on tenure-track lines. Part-time faculty now hold 38 percent of faculty appointments, and non-tenure-track, full-time faculty hold 20 percent.1 The variety of persons and kinds of appointments within these two broad categories was discussed at some length in the 1980 AAUP report on part-time faculty and the 1986 report on full-time non-tenure-track faculty.2 Since those reports the variety within non-tenure-track, full-time faculty has expanded, as many faculty members who were once on the tenure track have been moved to term contracts. Together these two categories of faculty constitute a growing and critical problem for higher education. The impact of a long-term fiscal crisis that has produced fluctuating funding patterns has exacerbated the problem. Many institutions increasingly relied upon non-tenure-track faculty as a way to staff classes without having to make long-range commitments to faculty. Most of the relative growth in the numbers of part-time faculty occurred during the period from 1972 to 1977, a period often characterized as one of sharply reduced financial strength for both private and public institutions, and increased institutional interest in alternatives to the tenure system. If those events are important causes of the growth of part-time faculty, then the fact that the supposedly temporary situation did not improve after the economic recovery suggests a growing administrative desire for budgetary discretion. The pressure for flexibility also translates as a need to control the size and density of the tenured faculty. In addition to increased use of part-time faculty, administrative strategies to contain tenure have included extending the probationary period until the full seven years for most faculty, moving numerous faculty off the tenure track, and issuing more term contracts to the growing number of full-time non-tenure-track professors.
Public universities, wary of committing themselves to a long-range budget which the state legislature might not sustain, use non-tenure-track faculty members to buffer the strain between fluctuating student demand, on the one hand, and funding constraints for hiring permanent faculty, on the other. Non-tenure-track researchers who can be supported by grants directly or through overhead payments allow institutions to augment resources beyond their budgets. Institutions that find themselves in an increasingly competitive market for funding may reward research over teaching and use non-tenure-track faculty members in lower-division courses to fund release time from teaching for senior faculty.
The increase in non-tenure-track appointments affects the quality of education as a whole and the stability of the profession in particular. The growth of non-tenure-track faculty erodes the size and influence of the tenured faculty and undermines the stability of the tenure system. The large numbers of faculty who now work without tenure leave academic freedom more vulnerable to manipulation and suppression. The professional status of faculty suffers when so many are subject to economic exploitation and demeaning working conditions inconsistent with professional standards. And the quality of education is at risk when the curriculum, advising, and instruction are not in the control of faculty to whom the institution has made the kinds of commitments that ensure scholarly development and recognition of performance.
The term “nontenure track” is sometimes used narrowly to refer only to those full-time faculty members who hold positions off the tenure track at institutions with a system of academic tenure. To assess the full scope of the number of faculty who work outside the tenure system, one must combine several categories. Some part-time faculty members never work full time, and some non-tenure-track faculty members are never part time, but for many others, their appointments may vary from full time to part time from semester to semester or year to year, depending on fluctuations in funding and enrollment. Some faculty members in each category are employed exclusively in the classroom, the laboratory, or the clinic. We also eschew the customary term “temporary” faculty, because the data demonstrate that typically such appointments are not temporary but rather continue indefinitely.
The growth of part-time faculty has often come at the cost of stable employment for those who seek full-time careers. Institutions which assign a significant percentage of instruction to faculty members in whom they make a minimal professional investment undercut their own commitment to quality. Academic programs and a tenure system are not stable when institutions rely heavily on non-tenure-track faculty who receive few, if any, opportunities for professional advancement, whose performance may not be regularly reviewed or rewarded, and who may be shut out of the governing structures of the departments and institutions that appoint them. The tendency to use more part-time faculty to meet enrollment pressures in basic courses also makes the academy more vulnerable to critics who charge that universities pursue research at the expense of teaching.
Some community colleges depend on poorly paid, non-tenure-track faculty members to remain in existence. Many of these institutions have no tenure system and appoint only a few full-time faculty members to organize and supervise a large department of part-time faculty. In four-year colleges and universities, large departments that teach many sections of required freshman courses, for example, in mathematics, English, and foreign languages, often have the highest density of non-tenure-track faculty. In some departments, more than half of the course sections are taught by non-tenure-track faculty members and teaching assistants. While graduate-student teaching is increasingly supervised and evaluated, the performance of non-tenure-track faculty members teaching basic courses may not be monitored or reviewed before reappointment.
As the academic programs in community colleges increasingly move toward offering credits transferable to four-year institutions, the need for a wider adoption of the tenure system in these institutions becomes more apparent. Tenure would support a stable faculty and an improved academic reputation. Faculty in these institutions need professional conditions, academic protections, and curricular control similar to those afforded tenure-track faculty in four-year institutions. The continuing increase in the number of students and faculty members in community colleges means that the overall quality of higher education and the profession will be significantly affected by the professional standards that prevail within these institutions. The high percentage of non-tenure-track faculty in community colleges underscores the importance of enhancing conditions for faculty in these institutions for their own benefit as well as for that of the profession as a whole.
The large number of community colleges is indicative of the diverse developments in contemporary American higher education. The range of institutions and the diversity of student needs have resulted in increasingly diverse kinds of faculty positions. Higher education today includes community colleges which offer a mix of vocational training and transferable college credits; private liberal arts colleges; comprehensive colleges and state universities which may have several campuses offering different kinds of degree programs; and the fifty-eight Association of American Universities institutions which comprise the major research universities. Within these institutions individual faculty members may combine teaching and research, do only one or the other, combine one or both with part-time administrative duties, staff clinics, libraries, or laboratories. Given the variety of needs and assignments, institutions should develop more than one model of the tenurable professor. Multiple models for faculty, developed around the kinds of work they do for their institutions, will better serve both the profession and the institutions. The profession and the public need to recognize and reward valued work on its own terms rather than measure faculty against a dominant model of the traditional professor that may be inconsistent with the institution’s own mission for instruction, research, and service to a region or local community.
Growth and Distribution of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty
A 1980 study by the National Center for Education Statistics reported that “part-time faculty members now comprise 32 percent of the total teaching force in higher education [excluding graduate students].” In 1986, the AAUP study, On Full-Time Non-Tenure-Track Appointments, reported that “between 10.6 and 12.6 percent of full-time faculty were not on a tenure track,” that “between 25 percent and 40 percent of all first-time junior faculty appointments in 1981 were to non-tenure-eligible positions,” and that “between 40 and 45 percent of all non-tenure-track positions were filled by women. . . .”3 The above-cited 1988 NSOPF survey, which included more two-year faculty and faculty at institutions without tenure, found 20 percent of full-time faculty were off the tenure track. This increases the urgency of the warning in the 1986 report that the substantial increase of non-tenure-track faculty has created a two-tier system that could alter “the outside world’s perception of academe” and undermine the tenure system. The survey results again affirmed the AAUP’s position that with few exceptions there should be only two kinds of appointments for full-time faculty: those that are probationary for tenure and those with tenure.
The average of 38 percent of all faculty who are part time reaches 52 percent of the faculty in community colleges. Less than 5 percent of faculty who are part time are on the tenure track. Seventy-nine percent are classified below assistant professor, for example, instructor, lecturer, or reader. About 90 percent of all full-time lecturers and nearly 50 percent of all full-time instructors are non-tenure-track faculty. Less than 20 percent of the total number of part-time faculty apparently seek full-time positions, though two-thirds of recent Ph.D.’s seek such positions.
Perhaps the key factor in the growth of part-time faculty is the economic advantage for institutions that pay them substantially less than the prorated equivalent paid for comparable work by full-time faculty. Three out of eight part-time faculty members, or nearly 38 percent, earned less than $20,000 from all sources in 1987; and fewer than half earned as much as $30,000 in 1987. (At the same time, it should be noted that nearly one-third of part-time faculty earned $40,000 or more from all sources, while more than 20,000 earned at least $75,000.) As a point of reference, the average salary for full-time faculty was $37,000 for the 1987–88 academic year.4 Some part-time faculty members who combine two or more jobs do so to earn a total salary of two-thirds that of full-time faculty members, but others combine part-time teaching with well-paid careers in other fields. Non-tenure-track faculty are found among the lowest paid and lowest in total earnings of full-time faculty. No survey exists of the stipend paid per course, but the basic academic salary of part-time faculty members is $6,302 of a total income from all sources of $34,275. Our informal soundings found that stipends per course ranged from $900 to $3,500, with $1,500 per course the most common figure.
On the average, part-time faculty members spent 6.5 years at the same institution in comparison with 11.6 years for full-time faculty. Still, more than 62 percent of part-time faculty reported that their appointments did not last beyond the current term. More than half (52 percent) of part-time faculty had other full-time employment. Part-time faculty averaged fourteen hours per week for the academic institution but had a combined workload of forty-four hours from all jobs compared to fifty-three hours per week averaged by regular, full-time faculty.
Although part-time faculty are employed at institutions of all types, the greater the emphasis the institution places on research, the smaller the percentage of part-time faculty it is likely to employ. These figures conceal within them, however, the reliance of research institutions on graduate student assistants to teach introductory courses. About 17 percent of the total faculty in the prestigious research universities are part-time faculty. At doctoral and comprehensive universities combined, the percentage of part-time faculty goes up to 26.4; at comprehensive institutions alone, part-time teachers constitute 29.8 percent of the entire faculty.5 At liberal arts colleges, the part-time figure rises to 32.6 percent. At the two-year institutions, the percentage of part-time faculty reaches 52.1 percent of the total faculty. Public research universities employ proportionately fewer part-time faculty than private research universities, though the actual numbers are greater in the public than in the private universities, because the public universities are so much larger. Of the 119,000 faculty members at public research universities, only 14.4 percent are part time; of the 53,000 faculty members at private research universities, 21.7 percent are part time. Although university faculties may have lighter teaching loads and a heavier research emphasis, the data indicate that an institution’s commitment to graduate programs and research is likely to reduce the institution’s reliance on non-tenure-track faculty. These universities utilize graduate students as teachers, but the ratio of tenure-track to non-tenure-track faculty suggests that public research universities are more likely to have a stable faculty of full-time professors than are institutions in other categories.
The distribution of full-time non-tenure-track appointments also varies significantly by type of institution. Private research and comprehensive universities lead with about 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in full-time positions classified as nontenure track or for which tenure is not available. Public doctoral and comprehensive universities are close behind with 10.4 and 10 percent, respectively.
Liberal arts colleges, a category that includes most of the four-year institutions that lack tenure systems, have 11.4 percent of faculty in full-time non-tenure-track appointments. Almost 13 percent of liberal arts faculty are at institutions that do not have systems of tenure; 25 percent of the public two-year faculty and 71 percent of the relatively small number of private two-year faculty are at colleges that do not offer tenure. Almost 90 percent of all faculty members are at institutions that have tenure policies.
Almost all non-tenure-track faculty are in the lowest ranks. About 90 percent of all full-time lecturers and nearly 50 percent of all full-time instructors are nontenure track. Among part-time faculty, slightly more than half (52.7 percent) are employed at the instructor rank, while another quarter (27.6 percent) are employed either as lecturers or with miscellaneous titles or none at all. More than 27,000 part-time faculty members are employed at the senior ranks of associate or full professor, and almost 10 percent are full professors.
Part-time faculty are disproportionately female. Although men are the majority of part-time faculty in all categories of institutions, women constitute about 42 percent of the part-time faculty compared to 27 percent of full-time faculty. Viewed from another perspective, 43.2 percent of women faculty members work on a part-time basis, while just under 30 percent of male faculty do so.6 Between 1975 and 1985 the percentage of women on the tenure track went from 18.3 to 20.7 percent, while the percentage of women in non-tenure-track positions rose from 33.6 to 40.3 percent.7 The gender disparity is greater, fully two to one, for non-tenure-track positions, where 29.4 percent of female full-time faculty members hold positions off the tenure track compared to only 14.7 percent of men. The number of male part-time faculty rose 10.3 percent between 1975 and 1985; the number of female part-time faculty rose by 54.1 percent during that same period.8 The rapid growth in non-tenure-track appointments of women has had little if any effect on the number of full-time women on the tenure track. It is also disturbing to find that, although similar proportions of white and African-American faculty members are found at institutions without tenure systems (9.1 and 10.2 percent, respectively), the proportion of African-Americans in non-tenure-track positions (15.2 percent) is more than 50 percent greater than that of whites (9.6 percent).
Degree status is an important factor in part-time employment. Overall, part-time faculty are much less likely than full-time faculty to hold doctoral degrees (29 percent vs. 67 percent). In four-year institutions, 55 percent of part-time faculty hold a doctorate in comparison to 89 percent of the full-time faculty. Similarly, fewer than 25 percent of those faculty off the tenure track hold Ph.D.’s compared to 60 percent of tenure-track faculty. Doctoral or professional degrees are held by 28.6 percent of the part-time faculty, while 48.9 percent either have master’s degrees or have taken other graduate study. In public two-year institutions, fewer than 20 percent of either full- or part-time faculty have a doctorate or comparable professional degree.
Full-time and tenure-track faculty are also substantially more likely to have published in the two years preceding the survey. Some 21 percent of part-time faculty and 53 percent of full-time faculty reported publishing at least one refereed article, chapter, or book over the preceding two years. The difference in expectations regarding publication and publication rates is substantial between research and doctoral institutions, where publication may be a professional expectation, and two-year colleges, where it may not be.
Recent trends indicate that some tenure-track faculty are being moved to non-tenure-track positions. This shift is especially prevalent in medical colleges and other areas in which clinical and research faculty are employed.9 Numerous institutions have moved toward the use of five-year renewable contracts to replace tenure-track appointments for faculty members who are not primarily classroom teachers, such as researchers, clinicians, laboratory managers, and librarians. The growth of outside grants to fund research has also produced an increasingly large number of faculty members whose appointments are tied to the duration of the grant and who are not eligible for tenure in their institutions.
Appointing nonteaching clinical and research faculty to non-tenure-track positions is often justified by an institution on the grounds that nonclassroom personnel do not need academic freedom. The AAUP’s Special Committee on Academic Personnel Ineligible for Tenure considered this matter and determined that all full- and part-time faculty who are employed by the institution (in contrast to those doing contract work sponsored by an outside agency), including those whose responsibilities include only research and not instruction, have academic freedom and should receive the protection of the Association. Only researchers housed in universities but funded by outside agencies may fall outside the protections of tenure. The growing trend to place research and clinical faculty of the institution on temporary contracts weakens academic freedom. The public suffers accordingly.
Job security, benefits, and opportunity to advance are the three working conditions that most divide non-tenure-track faculty from their tenure-track colleagues. Fully half of the full-time non-tenure-track faculty expressed dissatisfaction with their job security, compared to 34 percent of tenure-track and 3.5 percent of tenured faculty. Satisfaction with job security fell to 43 percent for part-time faculty. Almost 80 percent of part-time faculty were satisfied with their assigned workload in comparison to 73 percent of full-time faculty. Only 24 percent of part-time faculty were satisfied with their opportunities to advance as compared to 58 percent of full-time faculty. Women were less satisfied than men in all categories, and markedly more dissatisfied in their sense of the opportunity to advance (38 percent and 51 percent, respectively). Lomperis’s study found that among recent Ph.D.’s (those received between 1981 and 1986) in the 1987 labor market, two-thirds were seeking full-time work. Her study indicates that new Ph.D.’s are much less satisfied to be part time than is the group as a whole, which includes all age brackets and types of degrees.
Many institutions prorate benefits for faculty members who have, at least, half-time (twenty hours) appointments. Forty-two percent of part-time faculty who worked more than twenty hours a week reported that the benefits surveyed were available to them, compared to only 11 percent of those who worked fewer than twenty hours a week.10 The figure fell from the overall average of 42 percent for faculty members working more than twenty hours a week in two-year public institutions. Only 16 percent of faculty members working more than twenty hours a week at two-year public institutions have access to medical insurance, and only 12 percent have access to life insurance.
Many non-tenure-track faculty members labor under conditions that hinder the professional quality of their work. Lack of office space or basic equipment is a common problem that plagues their efforts to prepare course materials and meet with students. Non-tenure-track faculty are typically ineligible for research or travel funds, and those who are part time substantially more so. Many institutions that require regular evaluation of tenure-track faculty lack any process for reviewing the performance of part-time and full-time non-tenure-track faculty members. This absence of incentives or rewards for performance speaks bluntly to the marginal status of non-tenure-track faculty within these institutions.
To be off the tenure track in an institution that has a tenure system also usually means being outside the structure of faculty governance and, for most part-time faculty, outside the bargaining unit in those institutions where there are faculty unions. Only 10 percent of part-time faculty are protected by collective bargaining, as opposed to 23 percent of full-time faculty. The majority of faculty union contracts cover only full-time faculty.11 Not surprisingly, the exclusion of non-tenure-track faculty members from the rewards system and the governance structure leaves non-tenure-track faculty powerless and isolated. Since their attainments and abilities do not accrue toward promotion or tenure, non-tenure-track faculty are often invisible within their departments.
There is little evidence to support those who hope that their accomplishments off the tenure track will result in consideration for a tenure-eligible appointment. Part-time positions are not regularly converted to full time, and non-tenure-track faculty seldom receive any priority consideration when their positions are upgraded. Typically, when a non-tenure-track position is converted to the tenure track, the department advertises nationally. The teaching experience of non-tenure-track faculty members in the pool of local applicants may be interpreted as evidence of failed promise when measured against new Ph.D.’s who are just entering the market. Indeed, some part-time faculty who continue to teach in an effort to sustain a professional life while seeking full-time employment are bitterly disappointed to find that the fact of working part time may be taken as a sign that they are not serious about their careers.
It is essential that the extent and nature of non-tenure-track instruction be a central consideration in reviews by accrediting bodies. Some accrediting agencies do recognize the connection between the professional conditions for faculty members and the quality of education offered by the institution. The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools now urges that “criteria for the appointment of part-time or adjunct faculty and their supervision should be comparable as far as possible to the full-time faculty,” and that “provisions for review of teaching and opportunities for professional development should be available.”12 The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) requires “a core of full-time faculty to support each program.”13 The influence of accrediting agencies, professional associations, and collective bargaining agreements can strengthen efforts to improve the stability and professional development of part-time faculty.
The AAUP is concerned about institutions which persist in practices that undermine or destroy the stability of tenure and academic freedom, including practices that exploit non-tenure-track faculty. Institutions that rely heavily on non-tenure-track faculty members to teach undergraduate students undermine the institution’s respect for teaching and the reputation of higher education in the larger society. Institutions exploit faculty members when they appoint numerous part-time faculty in a single department or renew “temporary” faculty members year after year without offering them raises in pay, access to benefits, opportunities for promotion, or eligibility for tenure.
There are legitimate uses of part-time appointments, for example, to meet unexpected increases in enrollment or faculty vacancies, to provide service in a specialized field, or to develop a new academic program. However, the extensive use of part-time positions or extended “temporary” appointments has become habitual in too many institutions. Basic instructional responsibilities should never depend on faculty who are denied professional consideration and who are exempted from the evaluations that are essential for maintaining academic standards.
Guidelines for Improvement
Improving the professional status of the growing number of non-tenure-track faculty members is difficult in financially hard times and unpopular with most administrations and many faculty members. Still, the AAUP believes that the long-range health of higher education requires that institutions greatly reduce their reliance upon non-tenure-track faculty members, and that faculty members who are appointed to part-time positions should be extended the benefits and privileges of the academic profession. The AAUP’s position about full-time faculty is clear: “With the exception of special appointments clearly limited to a brief association with the institution, and reappointments of retired faculty members on special conditions, all full-time faculty appointments are of two kinds: (1) probationary appointments; (2) appointments with continuous tenure.”14 The possibility of tenure for part-time faculty should also be an option when the need for less-than-full-time work extends indefinitely. Administrators often oppose tenure for part-time faculty because it constrains the budgetary flexibility that makes non-tenure-track appointments attractive to them. Some part-time faculty members oppose tenure for part-time faculty because they fear it would eventually result in the termination of their own services. Non-tenure-track faculty members who usually lack research support often worry about standards of judgment that measure them against tenure-track faculty members who engage in research.
The 1980 AAUP report on part-time faculty recommended: (1) that some part-time faculty members should be eligible for tenure; (2) that security of employment for part-time faculty include regularized appointment practices, reasonable notice, and access to the institution’s regular grievance procedure; (3) that part-time faculty should participate in academic governance; and (4) that the compensation and fringe benefits of part-time faculty should be equitable, perhaps including prorated compensation and equal access to benefits. The report’s recommendation, that “those individuals who, as their professional career, share the teaching, research, and administrative duties customary for faculty at their institution, but who for whatever reason do so less than full-time . . . should have the opportunity to achieve tenure and the rights it confers,”15 echoes that of the 1973 report of the Commission on Academic Tenure in Higher Education, a study jointly sponsored by the AAUP and the Association of American Colleges.
Although some institutions have moved in the direction of tenure for part-time faculty, and several are negotiating tenure eligibility as part of collective bargaining agreements, others have developed long-term contract arrangements. Extended term appointments or seniority-based security gives part-time faculty members greater appointment stability. Stability of appointment opens the way for the fuller integration of part-time faculty into the academic profession. Only 6 percent of institutions offer tenure to any part-time faculty, but 22 percent of research universities and 17 percent of doctoral universities report having some tenured part-time faculty. Institutions need continuity in their faculty, and contract arrangements that provide security to part-time faculty ameliorate the problems inherent in an unstable work force.
Institutions which habitually employ many part-time and “temporary” full-time faculty members should calculate how many full-time faculty equivalents they routinely need and begin converting their non-tenure-track positions to full-time tenure-track lines. Whenever possible, the regular academic instruction of students should be the responsibility of faculty members who are responsible for the curriculum and participate in the governance of the institution, and to whom the institution is willing to make the commitment of tenure.
In order to address the growing use of non-tenure-track faculty, the AAUP calls on institutions to work toward achieving the following goals:
Institutions should limit reliance on non-tenure-track faculty. We recommend as guidelines that institutions limit the use of special appointments and part-time non-tenure-track faculty to no more than 15 percent of the total instruction within the institution, and no more than 25 percent of the total instruction within any given department.
In circumstances in which an institution has legitimate needs for a specialized class of faculty in part-time or fractional-time positions, the institution should have policies that provide for their long-term contract stability and for tenure.
The consolidation of non-tenure-track faculty, full and part time, into full-time tenure-track positions requires a long-term commitment of institutional dollars, but failure to make such a commitment will perpetuate the steady erosion of the quality of education in our colleges and universities. Institutions that fail to preserve and advance the quality of education, especially undergraduate education, undermine public confidence in higher education. Accreditation agencies should also regard the growing use of non-tenure-track faculty as a sign of weakness in the health of academic programs. An immediate commitment to equitable professional treatment of non-tenure-track faculty combined with a reduced reliance on part-time faculty is necessary to halt the deleterious effects on the profession that this report identifies.
The alarming extent to which many colleges and universities rely on non-tenure-track faculty means that even institutions which make an immediate commitment to curtail their use of part-time faculty may face an extended period of transition. Institutions should develop plans for a period of transition that project a timetable and numbers for consolidating part-time assignments into full-time tenure-track lines.
Institutions may also need to assess more carefully the cost efficiency of part-time faculty members when their status is subject to change from semester to semester. Institutions face “the growing cost of unemployment benefits for part-time faculty who file and receive these benefits when their services are no longer needed.”16 Nance and Culverhouse found that “at a few urban institutions the money being paid out in unemployment benefits is beginning to approach the total money being paid in compensation for part-time faculty who are teaching. Part-time faculty members have to be employed for only one quarter to be eligible for unemployment checks for up to twenty-six weeks of the rest of the year.” Many institutions are likely to be better served economically by long-term appointments that reduce frequent turnover in their faculty.
Reasonable assurance of continued employment, following successful completion of a probationary period, makes the profession more attractive to men and women of ability and provides for a better-qualified professoriate. Above all, security of employment for qualified faculty safeguards the academic freedom essential to the integrity of teaching and scholarship. The best way to achieve these protections in institutions that rely heavily on part-time faculty is to combine part-time non-tenure-track positions to form full-time tenure-track positions.
To the limited extent that part-time positions cannot be replaced with full-time ones because of the need for part-time expertise or because of unexpected fluctuations in enrollment or funding, the institution should provide continued employment to those remaining part-time faculty found qualified for recurrent appointment. Such assurance may include lengthening the term of appointment and the notice required for nonreappointment, and offering continuing part-time appointments. Such continuing appointments would protect part-time faculty members except from demonstrable declines in enrollment and funding that necessitated reductions in courses and sections offered, and would help to stabilize the faculty, protect academic freedom, and enhance the status of those who work part time.
Many non-tenure-track faculty, especially those who work part time, express uncertainty about what rights and privileges they are due as faculty members. The AAUP seeks to ensure academic freedom and professional protection for all faculty whether full or part time, tenured or nontenured. To that end we offer the following additional recommendations in an effort to set minimum standards designed to protect the professional standing of all faculty:
All appointments, including part-time appointments, should have a description of the specific professional duties required. Complex institutions may require multiple models of faculty appointments consistent with the diverse contributions appropriate to the institution’s needs.
The performance of faculty members on renewable term appointments, full time and part time, should be regularly evaluated with established criteria appropriate to their positions. Failure to evaluate professional appointments diminishes the institution and the professional standing of the faculty. Evaluation of performance provides essential information for sound and fair institutional decisions regarding compensation, promotion, and tenure. Each institution should define the credentials and the quality of scholarship it requires of faculty members in different academic positions and then should make appointments and decisions regarding compensation and advancement based on the criteria specific to the position. Institutions faced with emergency appointments sometimes employ faculty members whose qualifications fall short of those normally required for tenure-track appointments. In general, institutions should avoid appointing, and should certainly not reappoint, faculty members whose qualifications or performance are so far below the prevailing institutional standard as to make tenure eligibility an impossibility. Any lesser standard shortchanges the students and erodes support for academic standards in the institution and the wider community.
Decisions on compensation, promotion, and tenure should be based on the specified duties of the position. Faculty members appointed to teach entry-level courses should have the opportunity to enhance their professional status and receive rewards based on performance of their defined responsibilities and should not be held to expectations which may prevail for other positions.
Compensation for part-time employment should be the corresponding fraction for a full-time position having qualitatively similar responsibilities and qualifications. Compensation should include such essential fringe benefits as health insurance, life insurance, and retirement contributions.
Timely notice of nonreappointment should be extended to all faculty regardless of length of service. The AAUP’s 1980 report on part-time faculty recommends that part-time faculty “who have been employed for six or more terms, or consecutively for three or more terms,” should receive at least a full term’s notice of nonreappointment. Although it may be impossible to give a full term of notice to faculty members employed for less than three terms, we recommend that every effort be made to notify faculty at the earliest possible opportunity, but in no case later than four weeks prior to the commencement of the next term. Similarly, all faculty members should have reasonable advance notice of course assignments to allow adequate preparation.
Institutions should provide the conditions necessary to perform assigned duties in a professional manner, including such things as appropriate office space and necessary supplies, support services, and equipment.
Non-tenure-track faculty should be included in the departmental and institutional structures of faculty governance.
Part-time faculty should be given fair consideration when part-time positions are converted to full-time positions. The evidence suggests that part-time employment often works as a disadvantage on the job market when applicants are considered for full-time tenure-track positions. Departments should be as scrupulous to avoid this type of discrimination as they are required to be in avoiding other forms of discrimination.
As the number of non-tenure-track faculty appointments grows, the base of the tenure system erodes. The treatment of non-tenure-track faculty appointments is the barometer whereby the general status of the profession may be measured. While the colleague whose performance is undervalued or whose potential is blighted by underemployment bears the personal brunt of the situation, the status of all faculty is undermined by the degree of exploitation the profession allows of its members. Institutions that rely heavily on part-time faculty marginalize the faculty as a whole. Failure to extend to all faculty reasonable professional commitments compromises quality and risks the stability of the profession and the integrity of our standing with the public.
1. The data in this report are from the survey of institutions as part of the 1988 National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics of the Department of Education. The discussion of part-time faculty in this report excludes graduate teaching assistants. Back to text
2. A nationwide survey of part-time faculty sponsored by the AAUP in 1977 provided the data for several landmark studies by Barbara H. and Howard P. Tuckman. The Tuckman studies defined seven groups of part-time faculty, each with different career objectives and conditions. They were “full mooners” (part-time faculty who held a full-time job); “hopeful full-timers” (part-time faculty who held two or more jobs that totaled less than a full-time equivalent); “students” (part-time teachers employed in a different department from the one in which they were pursuing a degree); “homeworkers” (those who chose part-time positions in order to have time for home and child care); “semi-retired” (part time because partly retired); and “part-unknowners” (those who do not fit in any of the above categories). See Tuckman and Tuckman, “Who Are the Part-Timers and What Are Colleges Doing for Them?” Current Issues in Higher Education (1981), for a summary. These categories, though some objected to their labels, were instrumental in recognizing the complexity of a work force that had radically different ways of defining itself. Back to text
3. Academe: Bulletin of the AAUP 72 (July–August 1986): 14a. Back to text
4. Academe 74 (March–April 1988): 16. Total professional earnings of full-time faculty members are about 20 to 22 percent more than their base salary, but many part-time faculty members do not have access to benefits. Back to text
5. The categories of institutions used in the 1988 NSOPF survey include “the 100 leading universities in federal research funds” awarding “substantial numbers of doctorates across many fields”; all other doctoral-granting institutions; comprehensive colleges and universities offering the M.A. degree as the highest degree in liberal arts and professional programs; liberal arts colleges which are “smaller and generally more selective than comprehensive colleges and universities” and offer primarily the bachelor’s degree; and two-year institutions. Back to text
6. The increase in the number of part-time faculty members and the disproportionate number who are women are similar in Great Britain. Temporary and part-time faculty are now 42 percent of the academic work force. Fifty-three percent of part-time faculty members are female, although only 20 percent of full-time academics are women. The relationship of the growth of part-time and temporary faculty to declining full-time permanent positions is evident in the Universities’ Statistical Records (USR). USR figures show that since 1980 British universities have lost one in ten full-time academic staff. See Amanda Hart and Tom Wilson, “The Politics of Part-Time Staff,” AUT Bulletin 116 (January 1992): 8–9, and Amanda Hart, “The Changing Profile of University Staff,” ibid., 115 (October 1991): 4–5. The AUT Bulletin is the publication of the Association of University Teachers, which includes members from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Back to text
7. Ana María Turner Lomperis, “Are Women Changing the Nature of the Academic Profession?” Journal of Higher Education 61 (1990): 669. Back to text
8. This may understate the growth in both male and female part-time faculty, since 132 fewer institutions responded in 1985 than in 1975. Back to text
9. The case of the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati seems typical of the pattern. According to Howard Tolley, Jr., “The Medical Center makes five-year renewable faculty appointments in both a ‘Clinical Practice’ and a ‘Research’ track while maintaining a traditional tenure-track system for others” (“‘Qualified’ and Non-Tenurable at U.C.: The AAUP’s Second-Class Members,” Focus 1 [autumn 1990]. Publication of University of Cincinnati AAUP). Back to text
10. The NSOPF selected for its survey medical and life insurance, retirement plans to which the employer made contributions, tuition remission plans, and institutional funds for professional association memberships and travel (p. 199). Only 60 percent of full-time faculty had tuition remission benefits, however, and only 34 percent of full-time faculty could obtain institutional funds for membership in professional associations. Back to text
11. The exceptions are most often found in community college systems, especially in California and Washington. On many of these campuses, the part-time faculty outnumber the full-time faculty in the unit. (See Directory of Faculty Contracts and Bargaining Agents in Institutions of Higher Education 14 [January 1988] for complete listings.) Back to text
12. Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education Standards for Accreditation (Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 1989), 25. Back to text
13. Letter from Stephen S. Weiner, Executive Director, WASC, to Ernst Benjamin (July 9, 1991). Back to text
14. “Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure,” Regulation 1(b), AAUP, Policy Documents and Reports, 9th ed. (Washington, D.C., 2001), 21. Back to text
15. “The Status of Part-Time Faculty,” ibid., 61. Back to text
16. Guinevera Nance and Renee Culverhouse, “The Hidden Costs of Part-Time Faculty,” Planning for Higher Education 20 (winter 1991–92): 30, 31. Institutions with adverse experience with unemployment benefits must pay higher payroll taxes on all employees. Back to text
Contingent Faculty
Committee on Part-Time and Non-Tenure-Track Appointments
Academic Freedom and Tenure Investigative Reports
College and University Governance Reports
Back to Reports and Publications
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Ask the Artist: Questions for Tracey Thorn?
(UPDATE: Unfortunately, I can accept any more questions at this time. Thanks for understanding!)
Tracey Thorn has released a sublime new album and she wants to talk about it with YOU!
I'm thrilled that Tracey Thorn has agreed to do an exclusive interview with Arjanwrites.com. Instead of me coming up with questions, I'd like to give you the opportunity to submit questions for Tracey. Let's get the entire Arjanwrites.com reader community involved!
Email me or write up your questions in the comments section before Wednesday, April 4.
I can't guarantee I will able to include all of your questions in the interview, but I'll do my best. Of course, I will print the entire chat with the singer on Arjanwrites.com. If this works out well, I want to go ahead and do similar "Ask The Artist" reader interviews in the future and give you a little bit more access to artists you are listening to.
Tracey is very picky about granting interviews, so make sure to take advantage of this opportunity. While you are coming up with your clever, fun and intelligent questions, listen to her brand-new album "Out Of The Woods." It's fingerlicking good!
Listen to Tracey Thorn "It's All True" [real]
March 30, 2007 in Ask the Artist, Interviews | Permalink | Comments (33)
Video Premiere: MOTOR "Bleep #1"
You either going to love or hate MOTOR's new single "Bleep #1." To some this adrenaline-fueled techno crunch will be a perfect soundtrack to a wild night out while others might experience it as a violent kick in the stomach. But whether you are a lover or a hater, the song has a very cool, artsy video that was released this week. The video flickers so insanely fast that it makes you wonder if there's some hidden subliminal advertising message.
"The song is a modern homage to the early '90s techno bleep sound made popular by LFO, Sweet Exorcise and Tricky Disco," MOTOR's Bryan Black tells Arjanwrites.com in an interview. "We purposely sped up the tempo and created a more maximal sound to match the tone on our new album, 'Unhuman.'" The duo's new disc will be available on May 22.
The video for "Bleep #1" is an experimental piece of art without a particular storyline, but its distorted graphical approach perfectly fits the music of Bryan Black and Mr. No.
The video was directed by Woody Batts who previously worked on the group's "Sweatbox." "We felt the song was best captured visually, at about 4 a.m. in the basement of a Berlin club," Black explains. "The subject should be oblivious to anything other than the music. We decided to shoot a single model on a clean background and have fun with post production, using graphical masks and shapes to hide and reveal her motion at different speeds." (Click here to purchase the "Bleep #1" EP with remixes on iTunes.)
Watch MOTOR "Bleep #1" [high quality]
March 30, 2007 in Interviews, Video Premieres | Permalink | Comments (2)
Free Download: Kaiser Chiefs "Ruby"
Kaiser Chiefs have a knack for writing songs that burst with melody but still have a crunchy edge. Their latest single, "Ruby," is a good example of that. It is a fresh slice of guitar-driven Britpop that even includes a subtle synth riff that will help their appeal to the mainstream. It is a straight up tune about falling in love and the stir of emotions that goes along with that. "Let the clocks be reset and the pendulums held. 'Cos there's nothing at all 'cept the space in between us," sings Ricky Wilson. It is nothing genial, it is just darn catchy. The single is taken from the band's much-anticipated second album "Your Truly, Angry Mob" that was released in the U.S. earlier this week. (Thanks to Robbie M. for allowing me share this link. Click here to purchase "Your Truly, Angry Mob" at iTunes.)
Download Kaiser Chiefs "Ruby" [MP3]
March 30, 2007 in MP3 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Second Chance for Chris Sligh
And the circus continues. Curly-haired crooner Chris Sligh was axed from American Idol last night. Voters weren't too impressed with his rendition of The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" on Tuesday.
But don't you worry about a thing. He may still have a second chance at a recording deal. Sligh's "former" band, Half Past Forever, recently submitted the music video "Know" in the online video music competition, Music Nation, where artists compete for a recording contract with Epic Records.
You might be in for a surprise. It starts out as a bland acoustic session, but wait until the the full thing kicks in around the 0:48 second mark. It is a decent pop rock tune with a peppy chorus, a dramatic string section and sugar sweet harmonies that sound a lot more polised than what Slight has been belting out on American Idol.
March 29, 2007 in American Idol, Video Streams | Permalink | Comments (0)
Stream The Cliks "Cry Me A River" (Justin Timberlake Cover)
The Cliks look as fierce as they sound. This Toronto based rock quartet makes music that is equally raw, bold and still very melodic. The group is currently touring North America to promote their upcoming album "Snakehouse" that will be out on April 24. The disc will be released on Tommy Boys' Silver Label that focuses exclusively on developing and marketing gay and lesbian projects.
The group is the brainchild of singer Lucas Silveira, a transgendered male, who started to write songs in 2005. After multiple personal crises, Silveira climbed back up and started to come to terms with his individuality. "They say when it rains, it pours, and that essentially happened to me before the creation of this album,” Silveira says in a press statement. "I went through a complete lineup change after having made a name for the band in Toronto. While this was happening, a relationship that I’d been in for nearly seven years fell apart, my father suffered a stroke and I had a nervous breakdown—all this crazy shit at once." Much of the lyrical intensity and powerful sound on "Snakehouse" was inspired by this time in Silveira's life.
Things started to look up for Silveira when he met drummer Morgan Doctor and bass player Jen Benton at a local watering hole in Toronto. They immediately struck a musical connection that led to the formation of The Cliks. The group went into the studio with producer Moe Berg to begin work on "Snakehouse." The trio also added guitarist Nina Martinez to their line up.
"This is music that seems to emanate from a parallel universe, one where fundamental distinctions are blurred," boasts a press release about "Snakehouse." It poignantly sums up the group's genre-crossing sound and androgynous appearance that makes them stand out from the pack.
One of highlights on "Snakehouse" is The Cliks' cover of the Justin Timberlake smash "Cry Me A River." The group has turned the pop singer's original into a hooky pop rock anthem with a throbbing reggae beat that will surely be a crowd favorite. (A big hug for Rosie for allowing me to stream this track on Arjanwrites.com. Click here to pre-order "Snakehouse" at Amazon.com)
Stream "Cry Me A River" by The Cliks:
March 29, 2007 in Audio Streams, GLBT Artists, Heads Up | Permalink | Comments (18)
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Ayodhya and India
Ayodhya and India- Ayodhya is considered one of the oldest cities in the world. It had a lot of relevance in the ancient world and it has a lot of relevance in present day India. It is the birthplace of Lord Rama. These series of books will give a detailed perspective into Ayodhya, the combo includes books like Ayodhya War and Peace, Historical Rama and Ramayana in Lanka which will make you know everything about Ayodhya and Rama.
Ayodhya War and Peace- The book "Ayodhya War and Peace", traces the history of Ayodhya, one of the oldest cities of the world, continuously lived in, for 7100 years and more.
Historical Rama- Discover the antiquity and historicity of the legendary hero Rama and events of Ramayana, along with one of the oldest surviving man-made structure of this world - THE NALA SETU.
Ramayana in Lanka- Just as Rama was a great king of India, Ravana was a great king of Lanka. This work looks at the events of Ramayana from the land of Lanka. It takes us on a geographical and historical trail across Sri Lanka, to understand Ravana, his qualities, His kingdom and his people better.
Product Dimension: 8.5X5.5"
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