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Voice of the Caribbean Radio
Times Caribbean
Not even the Sun covers the Caribbean better
BBC Top News
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St.Vincent-Grenadines
July 18, 2019 in St.Kitts-Nevis: St.Kitts-Nevis Accountant General Department Disassociates itself from Opposition SKN Labour Party circulated document. Describes the Opposition Efforts as “Morally Repugnant”
July 17, 2019 in ST.Lucia: 16-year-old female charged for killing 26 year old man in St.Lucia
July 17, 2019 in International: Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman sentenced to life in prison
July 17, 2019 in St.Kitts-Nevis: Taiwanese President Tsai hosts luncheon At Brimstone Hill, St.Kitts
July 17, 2019 in International: St.Kitts-Nevis represented at FINA worlds for 1st time
Home » St.Kitts-Nevis » St. Kitts-Nevis Governor-General in Taiwan for National Day celebrations
St. Kitts-Nevis Governor-General in Taiwan for National Day celebrations
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Posted on October 9, 2018 in St.Kitts-Nevis, Taiwan // 0 Comments
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Maria Liu (right) greets St. Kitts and Nevis Governor-General Sir Tapley Seaton at the airport.
Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) Sir Tapley Seaton, governor-general of the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, arrived in Taiwan on Monday to attend the Republic of China (Taiwan) National Day celebrations on Wednesday.
During Seaton’s five-day visit, he will attend banquets hosted by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), respectively, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
Seaton is also scheduled to visit the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) in Taipei, a government-funded agency responsible for national foreign aid programs.
Apart from his official visits, Seaton will also engage in cultural activities, including tours of the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101 Building, and National Taichung Theater, among other places of interest, MOFA said in a statement.
Taiwan and St. Kitts and Nevis established diplomatic relations in October 1983, less than a month after the Caribbean country gained independence from Britain, according to MOFA.
(By Joseph Yeh)
Enditem/pc
News Pictures
St.Kitts-Nevis Accountant General Department Disassociates itself from Opposition SKN Labour Party circulated document. Describes the Opposition Efforts as “Morally Repugnant”
16-year-old female charged for killing 26 year old man in St.Lucia
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Vacation in the Beautiful Paradise of St.Kitts-Nevis
January 1, 2016 // 31 Comments
File Photo: Trudeau making sandcastle on one of his recent vacations by Times Caribbean Online Staff Writer, The very popular recently elected Prime Minister of Canada [...]
Top 20 Caribbean Islands where Women have the Biggest Bottoms
Carl Lewis raises doubts over Usain Bolt’s record-setting performances
Copyright © 2019 | TIMES CARIBBEAN | Not even the Sun covers the Caribbean better
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Resurrection Tour
posted by Minot - Jun 4, 2018
Spectra Venue Management is pleased to announce that The Resurrection Tour 2018 will make a stop at Alerus Center on Wednesday, August 8. Puddle of Mudd and Saliva headline The Resurrection Tour 2018 along with special guests Soil, Tantric, and Shallow Side.
Puddle of Mudd is an American post-grunge band from Kansas City, Missouri. The band has sold over 7 million albums and has a string of number one mainstream rock singles in the U.S. Their major label debut ‘Come Clean’ has sold over 5 million copies.
After acquiring frontman Bobby Amaru in 2011, Saliva became infused with new blood, energy, and spirit. The same energy launched Saliva’s career in 2001 with the release, Every Six Seconds – a certified Double Platinum-selling album, containing the hits, “Click Click Boom” and 2002 Grammy nominated, “Your Disease.” Saliva’s in-your-face, anthemic writing style continued with a certified Gold-selling album Back into Your System with hits: “Always,” “Raise Up,” and the Nikki Sixx co-wrote, “Rest In Pieces.”
Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 AM and will be available at the Alerus Center Box Office, Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000. All tickets are general admission. Tickets are $38 plus applicable fees. There will also be an option to upgrade to a VIP ticket for an additional $30. The VIP ticket includes two free drink tickets, food, reserved space along the stage, and exclusive access to the VIP bar. There is a limited quantity of VIP tickets and will be available until supplies last. Both a show ticket and VIP ticket must be purchased to enjoy this experience.
Tickets can be found here!
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The spread of the internet has not let up completely
The internet continues to spread to more and more Swedes, and it is believed that Sweden is already one of the countries with the highest number of internet users. In 2014, nine out of ten Swedes have access to both the internet and a computer. In total, we spend 21.6 hours per week on the internet. Access to smartphones and tablets are also increasing, however they have not replaced the computer but work as a complement.
Next: The mobile boom continues
Sweden in the world 2014
Large global digital divide
World Economic Forum’s Network readiness index
The internet continues to spread in Sweden
Everyone who has a smartphone has access to a computer
Use of the internet
Increased use of the internet several times a day
Largest increase among children and younger pensioners
More daily users
Increased time with the internet
Where is the internet used the most? At home or at work/school?
Average values conceal a wide variation among internet users
Increasing use of mobile technology: smartphones and tablets
Increasing share of internet time devoted to the mobile phone
How many do not use the internet?
Non-users are skeptical of new technology
What is the motive of non-users?
Disability causes problems
Sweden was not the country where the internet spread the quickest during the 1990s. Countries like the U.S., where the internet was created and developed were initially far ahead. The rapid spread of the internet during the end of the 1990s tapered off in all countries, including Sweden. But while the spreading curve leveled off in many places, it has continued to rise in Sweden and some other countries. In the EU’s statistics (Eurostat June 2014), Sweden is at the top of the list together with Iceland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland with the highest internet usage at just over 90 percent of users in the population . If we go outside Europe, we find, for example, New Zealand with a similar proportion of users, while the number of internet users in the U.S. has leveled out at a lower level.
The average for EU countries is now around 79 percent of internet users in the population (16-74 years), which means that half of the population in some EU countries do not have internet. The variation is thus high in Europe as well as in the world.
1. EU statitics are based on the population up to 74 years of age. Older people are not included. This explains the somewhat higher number of internet usage than in ”Swedes and the internet” where there is no upper age limit.
Internet distrubitionInternet use
OECD countries
The least developed countries
1995 3% 0% 0%
1997 10% 2% 1%
2007 59% 12% 2%
Diagram 1.1. Percent of individuals who use the internet in OECD (the industrial countries), the developing countrues, for example China and India, and in the least developed countries (35), for example many African countries. Source: ITU (2012, 2013 and 2014). Show as table Download
If we look at the global spread, it differs greatly between developed countries (OECD countries), developing countries, and the least developed countries. This is a classification based on the countries’ gross domestic products (GDP) among other things. In the rich OECD countries, around three-quarters (77%) of the population use the internet. In developing countries, one-third (31%), and in the least developed countries only a few percent of the population uses the internet (ITU 2014). The differences during the eighteen years since 1995 have constantly increased.
In 2014, Sweden remains in third place in the World Economic Forum’s Network readiness index after Finland and Singapore, but before the Netherlands and Norway. Sweden ranks high in terms of internet use, both among individuals and companies, but lower when it comes to internet costs such as subscriptions, and very low in people’s e-participation as measured in an ”e-participation” index.
Despite more than twenty years with the internet, it continues to spread more and more. This applies to both access and use. The increase is not large because many age groups have already reached the ceiling where almost everyone is already using the internet. But not all are internet users among the older and among the youngest. And it is here, especially among younger pensioners, that the increase during the past year has been the largest. The increase is also significant among pre-school children and this is due to the tablet’s popularity in families with children, who are behind the increasing number of younger children starting to use the internet regularly.
tillgång i hemmet
Computer Internet Broadband
1995 25% 2%
1997 30% 10%
2002 67% 56% 15%
Diagram 1.2. Access to computer, internet and broadband 1995–2014 in the population over 18 years. Show as table Download
If we first look at the access, today there are just as many who have access to the internet that have access to a computer. In 2014, 91 percent of the population over the age of 18 has access to a computer (92% of those 12 years and older) and 91 percent have access to the internet. 88 percent have access to broadband at home.
Diagram 1.3. Access to computer, internet and broadband 2010–2014 in the population over 18 years. Show as table Download
Nothing 10%
Only smartphone 1%
Computer + smartphone 25%
Only computer 13%
Computer + mobile phone + tablet 45%
Computer + tablet 5%
Tablet + smartphone 1%
Diagram 1.4. Number of the population (12+ years) who have access to a computer, smartphone, tablet or combination of these. Show as table Download
Over the years, there have been many more people having a computer than there have with access to the internet. But now it is tantamount to also have access to the internet if you have a computer. One could even perhaps expect that there would be more people who had access to the internet than to a computer, when we now have smartphones and tablets. There are also people who do not have a computer while still using the internet, but they are not many – only a small percentage is found in all ages. 98 percent of those who use the internet have access to a computer even if they also have access to a smartphone or tablet. One cannot therefore say that the smartphone has replaced the computer, but it is a complement for those who already have a computer. The tablet is a complement for those who already have a computer and a smartphone.
AccessComputerSmartphoneTablet
3-5 yrs 79% 32%
9-11 yrs 98% 77%
12-15 yrs 99% 93%
76- yrs 34% 24%
Total (12+) 88% 76%
Diagram 1.5. Number of different age groups who use the internet at home at least sometime or daily. Show as table Download
In the ages of 6 to 65, at least 90 percent use the internet, at least sometimes. In the ages of 12 to 55 it is close to 100 percent. Among pre-school children and younger pensioners, the number is around 80 percent and among the oldest, who are over 75 years, it is around 30 percent.
When it comes to more frequent and regular usage, we can see that 90 percent in the ages of 12 – 45 are daily users, around 75 percent in the ages of 9 to 11 and in the ages of 46 to 65. Half of the younger pensioners and the youngest pre-school children are also daily users, a third of the younger pre-school children and a quarter of the oldest over 75.
Many times a day 6% 18% 24% 26% 28% 31% 33% 40%
Daily 46% 40% 40% 40% 42% 41% 41% 36%
Every week 16% 14% 15% 14% 13% 11% 10% 10%
Sometimes 3% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3%
Diagram 1.6. Number of the population (12+ years) who use the internet at home sometimes, every week, daily or many times a day. Show as table Download
Today, it’s not just that more people have access to the internet, but also that more people use the internet and more use the internet daily. If we look back over the past seven years, daily use has increased 52 to 76 percent and the largest changes have occurred in this group. Many have started to use the internet several times a day at home. In 2007, few used the internet at home several times a day. Today, almost half (40%) do this. The increase has been especially large in the last year from 33 percent of users several times a day in 2013 to 40 percent in 2014. This is a trend towards more frequent use of the internet, which can be largely attributed to the smartphone and tablet.
3-5 yrs 42% 64% 61% 79%
9-11 yrs 97% 98% 99% 98%
12-15 yrs 97% 96% 100% 99%
16-25 yrs 96% 98% 97% 94%
76- yrs 19% 34% 34% 34%
Total (12+) 79% 86% 87% 88%
Diagram 1.7. Number of different age groups who sometimes use the internet at home. Show as table Download
If we look at the development during the last few years in different age groups, we can see that the number of people who use the internet sometimes has not changed very much during the last five years in the ages of 6 to 55. Most of these internet users were already at this point five years ago. However, the changes have been large among pre-school children with almost a doubling during the last five years (42%-79%), and the changes have also been big among younger pensioners (53%-79%). There have also been changes in the age group of 56 to 65 and among the oldest over 75, but these levels have remained unchanged over the past three years.
Daily 2009
3-5 yrs 3% 13% 27% 32%
Diagram 1.8. Number in different age groups who use the internet at home daily. Show as table Download
If we look at the intensity in use, it has changed more in the past five years, with the exception of those in ages of 16 to 35, where the daily use was already quite prevalent five years ago. In other age groups, the proportion of daily use has increased each year, which is especially noticeable among small children, where five years ago there were few daily users. Now every third pre-school child (3-5 years) uses the internet daily, almost half of the slightly older (6-8 years), and three out of four among school children (9-11 years). The increasing availability of tablets in families with children has contributed to an increase in daily internet use. More on this in Chapter 7 about children.
Hour/week
Diagram 1.9. Average time (hour/week) that internet users (12+ years) spend on the internet at home. Show as table Download
The average time that users spend on the internet at home during the past four years has been about 11.5 hours per week, or more than 1.5 hours per day. Over the past year, there has been an increase of one hour a week. This increase is due to the growing use of smartphones and tablets. It is not only the computer, but also mobile devices being used largely in the home connected to one’s own wireless network. More on this in the chapter on mobile applications. The increase in internet time has been most evident among older adolescents (16-25) and in the parental generation (36-45). In the elderly, the differences are small. They spend about as much time on the internet as before.
12-15 yrs 13,8 17,0 17,3
45-55 yrs 10,1 9,1 10,4
55-65 yrs 7,8 7,6 8,5
76+- yrs 6,9 6,2 6,8
Total 11,6 11,1 12,9
Diagram 1.10. Average time (hour/week) for internet in the home in different ages in different years. Show as table Download
In other places
2011 11,6 4,5 0,7 0,9 1,5
Diagram 1.11. Total internet time (12+ years) between different places. Show as table Download
Home is the place where people spend the most time on the internet. For those who are employed, time is distributed fairly evenly between work and home. The increase for those who study and work has in recent years mainly taken place in the home.
During the last year, the time spent on the internet has increased overall with the exception of pensioners where the use of smartphones and tablets are limited. Both the employed and students have put in more time on the internet at home as well as at work or school.
Work/School
On the move and other places
Employed 2013 9,4 11,4 3,1
Employed 2014 11,2 12,0 3,0
Studying 2013 16,4 6,7 3,8
Pensioner 2013 8,5 0,0 2,0
Diagram 1.12. Average time (hour/week) that employed, studying (12+) and pensioners spend with the internet in different places. Show as table Download
≤1 hr 10%
2 hrs 7%
7-8 hrs 13%
9-10 hrs 11%
11-15 hrs 13%
16-20 hrs 8%
40+ hrs 5%
Diagram 1.13. Number of users (12+ years) who use the internet at home during different lengths during the week. Show as table Download
Behind the average times, a significant difference is concealed in the length of time one spends on the internet. Some people use the internet a little, maybe a few hours a week, while others devote an entire work week, 40 hours or more online.
At home, the emphasis lies on the third that spend between 7–15 hours on the internet in a week. At the same time, 10 percent use the internet at home less than one hour a week and 9 percent use it more than 30 hours.
2 hrs 12%
5-6 hrs 9%
Diagram 1.14. Number of users with smartphones (12+ years) who use the internet in their phones during lengths per week. Show as table Download
Andel smartphoneanvändare
Diagram 1.15. Number of the population (12+ years) who have access to a smartphone. Show as table Download
The spreading curve for smart phones has risen sharply until last year, but has now begun to slow down. The sharpest increase occurred in 2012.
In contrast, the tablet continues to spread quickly with the largest increase so far during the past year. Here, there is no slowdown. The spreading curve continues to go up.
Access to tablet
2010 2%
Diagram 1.16. Number of the population (12+ years) that have access to a tablet. Show as table Download
The increasing mobile usage is reflected in increased internet time at home and in school as a large portion of mobile phone usage takes place in the home and at school via wireless networks.
At home 11,7 11,1 12,9
At work 11,8 11,4 12
In school 6,3 6,7 7,1
On the move and other places 1,7 3,3 3,2
With the mobile phone 5,6 6,4 7,9
Diagram 1.17. Average interet time among users at home, at work, in school, on the move and in the mobile phone. Show as table Download
Internet useTablet use
The increasing use of smartphones also puts its mark on the amount of internet time spent on the mobile phone. In 2011, when the use of smartphones had just taken off, smartphones occupied 8 percent of total internet time. Today that figure is at 29 percent, and is the highest is in the ages of 12 to 35 where one uses their mobile phone for over a third (33%) of their total internet time. See more about mobile phone use in the chapter on ”The mobile boom.”
Share of mobile phones on total internet time:
Internet useSmartphone
It took a few years after the internet began to spread in 1995 to the general public before it took off, but during the last years of the 1990s, millions of Swedes started to use the internet. In the year 2000, half of the Swedish people had access to the internet. In subsequent years, the spread leveled out but picked up again in the context of broadband deployment. Since then the spread has continued to a larger part of the population even though it seemed that in some years that spread might stall. Still, after twenty years, new internet users are still arriving. Over the past year, there have been around a hundred thousand new users1. But it is believed that around 1 million Swedes still do not use the internet 2.
How many do not use the internet at home?
2010 1,5 million
1. The network Digidel, which started in 2010 and was supported by .SE, libraries and public educational associations, aimed to get at least another 500,000 people to use the internet before the end of 2013. The number of non-users would be reduced from 1.5 million to 1 million. We can now see that the goal was reached. How much is due to Digidel is hard to say.
2. See Findahl 2013, A million Swedes do not want to use the internet
Non-users who have a mobile phone but do not send sms
Do not have mobile phone 21%
Have mobile phone but do not send SMS 48%
Have mobile phone and send SMS 31%
Diagram 1.18. Number of non-users who have a mobile phone and number who have a mobile phone and send SMS. Show as table Download
When asked the question, of those who do not use the internet, if they like to try new technological devices and gadgets, 8 percent of non-users answered YES (the average among internet users is 41 percent), while 74 percent said NO, they do not like to try new technology.
Eight out of ten (79%) of those who do not use the internet have access to a mobile phone. A smaller proportion (12%) has a smartphone without using the internet. The mobile phone is most often used to call with. Only 31 percent send a text message sometime.
Why not internet?
Not interested 63%
Complicated technology 23%
Too expensive 4%
No time 5%
No connection 3%
Disability 2%
Diagram 1.19. The reasons that non-users of the Internet give for not using the internet. Show as table Download
Those who do not use the internet mention a wide range of subjects regarding why they are not online: There is no connection where they live, they do not have time or cannot afford it. More commonly, they feel remote from computers and think that the technology is complicated and difficult. The most common reason, mentioned by two out of three, is just that they are simply not interested. It is a response that has always been the most common among non-users.
disabilities135 people (4.8%) av 2808 (16+ yrs)
Problems with sight 33
Dyslexia 20
Motor problems 19
Back and neck problems 14
Stroke, dementia 11
Diagram 1.20. Percentage of people who report disabilities that mention various problems that complicate their use of the internet. Show as table Download
Disabilities can also be a problem that makes it difficult to use the computer and internet. The older one is, the more common it is with various disabilities. Among the elderly, vision problems make it difficult to read the screen and problems with motor skills complicate the use of the mouse and keyboard. Difficulties in reading and writing, dyslexia, are found in all age groups. Among younger people, this is an aggravating circumstance but that does not stop their internet use. In total, 5 percent of the population say they have disabilities that impede their use of the internet. Half of them, especially among the elderly, indicate that this is the reason they do not use the internet. 10 percent of pensioners (65+) state disabilities that hinder use, and in the oldest over 75 years, we see 16 percent who report such problems.
DisabilitiesInternet use
More use tablets
Families with children are the driving force
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Top Selling Products From Each State
By Michael B. Sauter, Thomas C. Frohlich and Samuel Stebbins September 1, 2015 4:29 pm EDT
26. Montana
> Largest export: Coal
> 2014 coal value: $223 million
> Pct. change in coal export value (2013-2014): 1.9%
> Coal as share of total state exports: 14.6%
Montana shipped $223 million worth of coal overseas last year — the state’s largest export as it was the previous three years. Montana is one of the nation’s largest producers of coal, and the largely Asia-bound coal exports accounted for roughly one-fourth of coal produced in the state. Another quarter was consumed in Montana, mainly to generate electricity. The remainder — about half — was shipped by rail to other states and therefore not counted as export.
27. Nebraska
> Largest export: Beef
> 2014 beef value: $1.10 billion
> Pct. change in beef export value (2013-2014): 20.8%
> Beef as share of total state exports: 14.0%
Beef is Nebraska’s most valuable export, with more than a billion dollars worth of beef shipped abroad in 2014. Omaha Steaks, a multimillion dollar manufacturer and distributor of beef products is headquartered in, and named after, the state’s largest city. Cattle outnumber people in Nebraska by about 4.5 million, and hides are Nebraska’s second biggest export, accounting for nearly 8% of the state’s total export value.
28. Nevada
> Largest export: Gold
> 2014 gold value: $2.84 billion
> Pct. change in gold export value (2013-2014): -27.2%
> Gold as share of total state exports: 36.9%
Mining is one of Nevada’s core industries. Though silver, copper, and iron are all mined in the state, gold is by far the most valuable export. Exceeding a value of $2.8 billion, gold accounted for more than a third of the state’s total value of exports in 2014. Gold ore mining employed over 11,000 people in Nevada last year.
29. New Hampshire
> Largest export: Cell phones
> 2014 cell phones value: $0.50 billion
> Pct. change in cell phones export value (2013-2014): 180.1%
> Cell phones as share of total state exports: 11.4%
While the greatest export in the state usually is consistent year after year, there are exceptions. Cell phones only became New Hampshire’s largest export last year. In 2013, cell phones exports accounted for slightly more than 4% of the state’s total export value. By 2014, cell phones exports accounted for 11.4% of the state’s total export value, overtaking petroleum as the state’s largest export.
24/7 Wall St.
The Richest and Poorest Countries
30. New Jersey
> Largest export: Petroleum
> 2014 petroleum value: $3.32 billion
> Pct. change in petroleum export value (2013-2014): -18.5%
> Petroleum as share of total state exports: 9.0%
Because of New Jersey’s geographic location — access to the Delaware River and the New York Harbor — it has become home to the largest petroleum product hub in the Northeast. Though the state does not produce any crude oil, it has three operating oil refineries that produce gasoline, diesel, and heating oil. While the value of petroleum exports has declined since a recent high of nearly $6 billion in 2012, petroleum is still the state’s most valuable export, worth about $3.3 billion in 2014.
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Missoula Treatment Courts Got Jenks’d
Last December, Kathleen Jenks replaced Donald Let ‘Em Go Louden as head judge for Missoula’s Municipal Court. Now, instead of a judge with an appropriate street handle for being notoriously lenient, we have a judge with a last name that’s become a sort of verb to those facing a more vigorous degree of accountability for their actions—getting Jenks’d.
More accountability for repeat offenders is welcomed by some, and not necessarily seen by this blogger as being a net negative.
But not every repeat offender is effectively dealt with through purely punitive measures.
Fortunately, Missoula has been at the innovative forefront with treatment courts, or co-occurring courts.
Unfortunately, that effort got recently Jenks’d.
Missoula Municipal Court no longer refers offenders to treatment courts designed to help people with substance abuse and mental health issues get their lives back on track before their behavior gets too out of control.
Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Jenks said she made the decision a couple of months ago after realizing that only a single person from Municipal Court was assigned to the last session of the treatment court, formally known as Missoula Co-Occurring Treatment Court.
Among other issues, Jenks said, the city just doesn’t have the resources to devote that much time and money to one person.
“It’s like the Cadillac” of court systems, she said, lauding the goals of treatment courts. “But I don’t know that we can right now, given our volume, afford the Cadillac.”
In response, a recent Missoulian editorial put it like this:
Calling the Missoula Co-Occurring Treatment Court a “Cadillac” option, Jenks explained in a Missoulian news story last Sunday that the city doesn’t have the resources to devote to such a small number of offenders.
These are for the most part non-violent offenders who have agreed to follow a detailed plan to receive a reduced or deferred sentence. These are people whose run-ins with the law stem from their struggles with substance abuse or mental illness. These are people who, given the right kind of help regaining control over their lives, will not commit the same offenses again.
So it’s a matter of devoting sufficient resources now to prevent recurring offenses – or devoting them on an exponential scale in the future. Drug courts, veterans courts and mental health courts will not be the best option for every offender – that doesn’t mean they should be eliminated as options altogether.
I whole-heartedly agree. And so does Theresa Conley, who coordinated the treatment courts until this year. Yesterday, her op-ed was published in the Missoulian. You can read it in full, below the fold. Continue Reading »
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Gas Prices in Texas Drop for the First Time Since March 2018
Jacob Estrada
The statewide gas price average in Texas is now $2.76 per gallon, two cents less on average than last week, the week of May 28.
Lubbock drivers should now see an average of $2.71 per gallon, just one cent less than the average last week. For the first time in three months, the national gas price average went down week-to-week. It is now $2.94 a gallon.
News that OPEC could possibly reverse its supply reduction agreement with its partners, which has been in place since the beginning of 2017, has had an impact on oil prices. Although most market analysts, according to AAA Texas, say its unlikely prices will drop enough to have a major impact this summer.
OPEC's agreement, which includes production from Russia, is set to expire at the end of this year.
Get Our Free App for More Texas News
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Home » World News » USA » USA: Trump Claims Vet Supporters – First They Heard
USA: Trump Claims Vet Supporters – First They Heard
By Adam Gabbatt, (July 25, 2015). The Guardian
Richards said he had neither pledged his support to Trump in the primary – as Trump’s campaign had claimed – nor would he be “advocating” for the presidential hopeful.
Veterans for Trump’ group formed after comments on John McCain. Spokeswoman cites ‘written confirmation of support’ from each name listed
Trump’s campaign announced the formation of the New Hampshire-based group in response to criticism of the business mogul’s labeling of McCain, who spent five and a half years in a North Vietnamese jail, where he was tortured, as “not a war hero”.
A number of people were named as members of “Veterans for Trump” on Trump’s election website. “These veterans have pledged their support to Mr Trump in the primary, and they will be advocating for him,” a press release said.
But when the Guardian contacted several claimed Veterans for Trump members on Friday, three said they had never heard of the organisation and had not signed up as members.
“I don’t know anything about it,” said Ernie Fusi, an 88-year-old second world war veteran from Atkinson, New Hampshire.
His name was among 51 “Veterans for Trump” whose details were sent out to the media and listed on Trump’s website.
“I haven’t told anyone I want to get in on that,” Fusi said. “I’m not going to do any campaigning.”
On Saturday, the Trump campaign disputed the accounts of those interviewed by the Guardian.
In an email, a spokeswoman said: “The campaign has written confirmation of support from each of the individuals listed as part of the New Hampshire Veterans Coalition, including those quoted in this story. We are extremely proud to have their support.”
Several people listed as part of the “Veterans for Trump coalition” formed by Donald Trump following his incendiary comments about John McCain’s war record have denied they are part of the group, the Guardian has learned.
The Guardian: Veterans named as Donald Trump supporters say they were not consulted.
American Presidential Candidates
Donald Trump for President
Donald Trump Is
United States of America USA
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Morning Report: Pending Home Sales fall 4/27/17
Posted on April 27, 2017 by Brent Nyitray
Eurostoxx Index 387.6 -1.2
Stocks are mixed this morning as markets digest the ECB non-move. Bonds and MBS are down small.
Pending Home Sales fell 0.8% in March as tight inventory reduced transactions. On a YOY basis, they are up 0.8%, as February was an unusually strong number. NAR chief economist, says sparse inventory levels caused a pullback in pending sales in March, but activity was still strong enough to be the third best in the past year. “Home shoppers are coming out in droves this spring and competing with each other for the meager amount of listings in the affordable price range,” he said. “In most areas, the lower the price of a home for sale, the more competition there is for it. That’s the reason why first-time buyers have yet to make up a larger share of the market this year, despite there being more sales overall.”
Durable Goods orders rose 0.7% in March, lower than the 1.1% estimate. Ex transportation and defense, they rose 0.1%. Capital Goods orders, which is a good proxy for business capital investment, rose 1.2%. Yet another data point where the hard data isn’t confirming the buoyant soft data.
Initial Jobless Claims rose slightly to 257k last week, while retail inventories rose 0.4% and wholesale inventories fell 0.1%. The consumer comfort index edged up as well.
Regular readers of this blog know I have been discussing the post-Trump interest rate sell-off for months. I lay out the full case in the latest issue of the Scotsman Guide: Finding Comfort in History. I discuss why the Fed might not move 3 times this year (because they have invariably been high in their GDP estimates), why a 75 basis point move in the Fed Funds rate won’t necessarily translate into a 75 basis point hike in mortgage rates (because the yield curve usually flattens), and why the end of QE reinvestment won’t have a dramatic effect on mortgage rates.
Trump’s tax plan which was unveiled yesterday was really more of a guidance to Congress than an actual plan. FWIW, legislation originates in Congress, not the White House, so it is unrealistic to expect a detailed, CBO-scoreable plan. That said, we know that the basis plan will be to reduce the number of tax brackets, lower the rates, increase the standard deduction, and to limit itemized deductions. What does that mean for real estate? Nobody knows for sure, but the National Association of Realtors is weighing in already, urging the government to maintain the mortgage interest deduction and the state / local tax deductions. Trump’s plan will probably ding upper middle class homeowners in high tax states the hardest.
« Morning Report: Is the Trump Reflation Trade dead? 4/26/17 Morning Report: Q1 GDP weakest in 3 years 4/28/17 »
Brent Nyitray, on April 27, 2017 at 12:25 pm said:
More left-wing media navel gazing. Why can’t they just accept that they are partisan liberals and be done with it? The Guardian makes no bones about its leftism. Why shouldn’t the NYT?
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2017/04/the_media_s_bubble_problem_is_really_a_diversity_problem.html
Let the mutherfuker burn!, on April 27, 2017 at 12:45 pm said:
Because then they lose the role of Gatekeeper.
Brent Nyitray, on April 27, 2017 at 2:11 pm said:
that horse left the barn when Matt Drudge unveiled Monica Lewinsky..
jnc4p, on April 27, 2017 at 12:51 pm said:
Interesting read, once you get past the obvious “white people only due this sort of thing due to racism” bias.
“Porter turned Sandy Springs into a kind of free-market Disneyland, outsourcing every possible municipal service he could to private industry in both the United States and abroad. Aside from its police and fire departments, Sandy Springs has only eight public employees—half of whom oversee the city’s relationships with the private companies that provide its services. (Georgia state law requires that schools be run at the county level.) At one point, a company from San Francisco collected the trash, a company in England gave out business licenses, and a business based out of Pasadena, California, ran the city’s court system.
No longer so beholden to the rest of Fulton County, Sandy Springs has dramatically improved its services without raising taxes. Visitors to the city can even take a tour of its municipal ingenuity, which features a stop at the city’s high-tech traffic-control center. In 2010, Sandy Springs was named a runner-up in the “Better Government Competition” held annually by the Pioneer Institute, an influential free-market think tank. Sandy Springs is now home to the headquarters of more Fortune 500 companies than the city of Atlanta, despite being, by population, less than a quarter of its size.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/the-border-battles-of-atlanta/523884/
It is amazing the left cannot divine the intentions of someone yelling Allahu Akbar and mowing down shoppers at a mall, but is 100% confident that racism motivates all other policies.
jnc4p, on April 27, 2017 at 1:05 pm said:
They can divine the intentions. Which is why they don’t quote it directly, but instead quote the translation, “God is Great” in the news accounts.
They aren’t stupid. They are just lying.
ScottC, on April 27, 2017 at 1:57 pm said:
jnc:
just a big virtue – signalling exercise?
“The Man Who Outsourced the Government
https://fee.org/articles/the-man-who-outsourced-the-government/
And people wonder why some thing the media is biased:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/04/12/i-was-wrong-about-jeff-sessions/
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/no-jeff-sessions-did-not-call-immigrants-filth/article/2620003
It never dawns on these people that if something sounds too god to be true, it probably is…
They want it to be true. It validates them.
The best part is Yglesias refusing to walk it back. Even if it’s factually wrong, for him, it’s still true.
That’s what the larger public and especially Trump voters perceive about the media, the facts are secondary to the greater truth of the narrative.
It’s been there even in “objective” pieces ever since they started grading news writing as literature in the Pulizers. I.e. long form pieces that are Dickensian and judging it on public impact of the writing. But the pure political bias has accelerated.
Let the mutherfuker burn!, on April 27, 2017 at 5:03 pm said:
I always hear journalists (or aspiring journalists) say they got into to “have and impact” or “change things”. That right there is a HUGE problem.
Baby, why you make me hit you?
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/04/berkeley-mayor-vows-crackdown-alt-right-antifa-ann-coulter
and trolling political opponents with bigoted rhetoric.
but he also said she has had a hand in stoking possible violence around the issue.
How? By having unapproved thoughts?
jnc4p, on April 28, 2017 at 10:16 am said:
“We are seeing people that are coming into our city to commit violence and vandalism”
Next he’ll be calling them “outside agitators”.
Baby, why you make me hit you? Part II
http://hotair.com/archives/2017/04/27/__trashed-9/
What if we told a rape victim that she was asking for it by wearing such a short skirt?
Noam Chomsky on why the Republican Party is the most 'dangerous organisation in human history' https://t.co/TH4QOE8HbD pic.twitter.com/8U7koN8wcy
— The Independent (@Independent) April 27, 2017
“‘Has there ever been an organization in human history that is dedicated, with such commitment, to the destruction of organised human life on Earth?'”
Except that they can’t even pass a spending bill at this point.
Brent Nyitray, on April 28, 2017 at 11:39 am said:
“‘Has there ever been an organization in human history that is dedicated, with such commitment, to the destruction of organised human life on Earth?’”
The Communists were just well-intentioned people who went a little overboard.
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Murat Yagan (1915 – 2013)
Murat [Murray] Yagan (December 16, 1915 – December 19, 2013).
Born to a prominent family whose ancestors immigrated from Abkhazia to Turkey, he later attended the prestigious Galatasaray School and while still in his youth was taken into spiritual training by his tribal Elders.
Denis Tsargush
Denís Tsargúsh (Abkhazian: Дени́с Царгәы́ш, born 1 September 1987 in Gudauta, Abkhazia), is a Abkhaz freestyle wrestler of Abkhaz descent. He is a 3 time European Champion, 3 time World Champion and also won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games 2012. Grand Master of Sports in Freestyle Wrestling.
Stanislav Lakoba
Stanislav Lakoba (born 1953) is an Abkhaz academic and politician. Lakoba was Sergei Bagapsh's Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2004 Presidential election and from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2011 to 2013 he served as Secretary of the Security Council. He is Professor in Archeology, Ethnology and History at the Abkhazian State University.
Samson Chanba (1886–1937)
Samson Kuagu-ipa Chanba (Abkhaz: Самсон Кәагә-иҧа Ҷанба; born June 18, 1886 —died 1937), Abkhazian educator, poet, and dramatist, best known for his contribution to the development of Abkhazian drama.
Samson Chanba trained as a teacher in Abkhazia. He taught for several decades in Abkhazian villages and later in Sukhum, the capital of Abkhazia, before his first major publication, the long poem Daughter of the Mountains, appeared in 1919. An enthusiastic supporter of the Bolshevik Revolution, he joined the Communist Party in 1921, the year that he took on joint editorship (with M. Khashba) of the Abkhaz-language newspaper Red Abkhazia.
Sergei Bagapsh (1949-2011)
Sergei Wasil-ipa Bagapsh (Abkhaz: Сергеи Уасыл-иҧа Багаҧшь; 4 March 1949 – 29 May 2011) was the second President of the Republic of Abkhazia. He was Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and was later elected as President in 2005. He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election. He died on 29 May 2011, at the age of 62, from complications of surgery.
Neli Tarba (1934-2014)
Süleyman Seba (1926-2014)
Hibla Gerzmava
Nestor Lakoba (1893-1936)
The Stalin-Beria Terror in Abkhazia, 1936-1953, by Stephen D. Shenfield
'Absence of Will': A commentary, prepared by Metin Sönmez
Origins and Evolutions of the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict, by Stephen D. Shenfield
A history erased - Abkhazia's archive: fire of war, ashes of history - Video
History: 18th Century-1917, by Stanislav Lakoba
The International Legal Status of the Republic of Abkhazia In the Light of International Law, by Viacheslav Chirikba
Kosovo or Abkhazia: Contrasts and Comparisons
Ethno-demographic history of Abkhazia, 1886 - 1989, by Daniel Müller
Abkhazia, from conflict to statehood, by George Hewitt
Report of a UNPO mission to Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Northern Caucasus
Military Aspects of the War. The Battle for Gagra (The Turning-point), by Dodge Billingsley
Why Independence For Abkhazia Is The Best Solution, by George Hewitt
Abkhazia by John Colarusso
Demographic change in Abkhazia 1897–1989
Abkhazia: Cultural Tragedy Revisited, by Thomas de Waal
Why Can Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Not Emulate Willi Brandt? by Liz Fuller
A Short Chronicle of Events of the 1992-93 Georgian-Abkhazian War
Eugen Krammig: Life after death, by Vitaly Sharia
Summary of Historical Events in Abkhazian History, 1810-1993
Autonomous Republic: what was the political background of Putin's visit to Abkhazia, by Sergey Markedonov
History: Ist-XVIIIth Century, by Oleg Bgazhba
Abkhazia, Georgia and the Caucasus Confederation, by Stanislav Lakoba
Documents from the KGB archive in Sukhum. Abkhazia in the Stalin years, by Rachel Clogg
Abkhazian futures, by Andrew Mueller
Elsewhere on the AW
Sukhum
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Open Access Working Group
What is Open Access?
Definition of Budapest compliant open access
BBB defintion
Sharing the results of publicly funded research
The Impact Factor: Past its Expiry Date
June 22, 2012 in Uncategorized
Until very recently the one way to measure the quality of a scientific article was by pre-publication peer-review and post-publication citation rates.
Citation rates are still commonly used for the assessment of the quality of individual scientists and for the assessment of the quality of individual scientific journals. In the latter case the measuring tool, the impact factor (IF) is thought to represent the chance for high citation rates when publishing your work in High Impact journals. High citation rates for articles are thus taken to mean high quality for the underlying science. In reality the impact factor has been shown to correlate poorly with actual citation rates (http://arxiv.org/abs/1205.4328, http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2012/06/08/demise-impact-factor-relationship-citation-1970s/). In fact, it correlates rather well with recorded rejection rates for submitted papers (http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2011/12/19/impact-factor-citations-retractions/).
This effectively undermines the assumed relationship between impact factor and the quality of science.
The use of the impact factor also had another side-effect, because it has led to the preservation of a publishing system where authors sustain existing high impact Toll Access journals by publishing their work there, only because these journals are labeled high impact. For these reasons and more (see below) I will argue that the impact factor is long past its (imaginary) expiry date and should urgently be replaced by a new system consisting of a combination of altmetrics and citation rates. To distinguish this system from the old one I would like to suggest a completely new name: the Relevance Index.
Open access publishing has been instrumental in the imminent demise of the Toll-access high impact journals.
Today many high quality open access journals are publishing an increasing number of highly cited and high quality scientific articles.
Although open access has been shown to increase citation rates, we should not make the mistake of wanting to continue using the impact factor.The reason for this is simple: open access opens ways for far better methods for the assessment of scientific quality.
For starters many more people will be able to read scientific articles, and therefore post-publication peer-review can replace the bi’ased pre-publication peer-review system. In addition to actual citation rates, the relevance of the articles in an open access system can be measured by monitoring social media usage, download statistics, quality of accompanying data, external links to articles etc. In contrast with the system measuring a journal impact factor, this system called altmetrics focuses on the article level. The field of altmetrics is under heavy development and has raised much interest during the past few years. So much so, that this years altmetrics12 conference (#altmetrics12) taking place in Chicago this month has attracted a record number of visitors. The conference can be followed by a live stream on Twitter (#altmetrics12, @altmetrics12).
Apart from the fact that open access is enabling the development of better quality assessment tools than the impact and citatation factors, open access in itself leads to better quality science by at least three separate mechanisms:
1)by counter-acting the publication bias in the current publication system, 2) by discouraging selective publishing on the part of the author, 3) by minimizing scientific fraud by the publication of underlying data. Let me explain.
1) Counter-acting the publication bias in the current publication system. The current publication system has evolved in such a way that the more spectacular or unusual the results are, the more the chance is that they will be accepted for publication in leading scientific journals . The same goes for publications confirming these findings. Negative findings tend to be dismissed. In the case of efficacy studies for a new drug two positive studies are sufficient for registration with the FDA while cases are reported where the number of submitted negative studies can be as high as 18 (see: selective publication of anti-depressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy). This publication bias is a real problem when validating scientific findings. Published results are very often unrepresentative of the true outcome of many similar experiments that were not selected for publication. For example, an empirical evaluation of the 49 most-cited papers on the effectiveness of medical interventions, published in highly visible journals in1990–2004, showed that a quarter of the randomized trials and five of six non-randomized studies had already been contradicted or found to have been exaggerated by 2005 (see: why current publication practices may distort science and references therein). The strategy of publishers to preferentially publish the most exciting stories and stories in support of a new finding is linked to creating a status based on selectivity. This selectivity then is defended with the argument of limited print space. But selectivity is in fact used for something else entirely. In terms of economics it is a way for publishers to turn a commodity (scientific information) of which the value for the future is unsure into a scarce product. This in itself is the well-known commercial process of ‘branding’ where a product with no clear intrinsic value gains value through restricted access and artificial exclusivity. In the case of scientific publications this value then translates into status for the journal and for the scientist publishing in that journal. The most astonishing part of the story however is, that publishers get their product (scientific information) which has been largely produced using public funding, for free, and succeed in selling it back to the public with the aid of commercial ‘ branding’. Seen in this light publication bias is the by-product of commercial branding. Open Access would put an end to these practices. It would give free access to information to the people who already paid for it. At the same time implementation of open access publishing would counteract the publication bias imposed by the publishers and possibly also stakeholders like pharmaceutical companies, because the grand total of papers published in this system would be more representative of the actual work done in the field. For the field of malaria research for example, the effect would be amplified through an increase in the number of relevant publications from researchers in the developing world. All this would lead to better science.
2) Discouraging selective publishing on the part of the author. The post-publication peer-review made possible by open access (discussed in another post click here) would also contribute to better science, because it would provide a control mechanism against selective publishing on the part of the author of a scientific publication.
3) minimizing scientific fraud by the publication of underlying data. An important but often overlooked aspect of scientific publishing is the availability of the original data behind the actual science. For Open Access to really work, access should not be restricted to the mere content of published articles in scientific journals. Access to the raw data behind the articles is equally important, because validation of a publication is not easy without access to the real data. In spite of the fact that 44/50 journals had a policy put in place for the sharing of data, a recent survey in PLoSONE (Public availability of published research data in high-impact journals) concluded that for only 47/500 scientific publications that had appeared in these journals in 2009, research data had been made available online. Implementation of an Open Access publication system inclusive of Full Access to raw research data would offer a further advantage of minimizing the possibilities for scientific fraud, which can be anything from biased presentation to the fabrication of data.
Open Access is the future of scientific publishing, and as this future is near, the impact factor and Toll Access journals will soon become relics of the past.
In my view the impact factor has been flawed from the beginning, and the sooner we make the transition to open access and new forms of metrics, the better; better for science, better for citizens, better for companies, better for businesses, better for countries and better for society as a whole.
← Open Access: Not just a matter for scientists
Open Access: a remedy against bad science →
6 responses to “The Impact Factor: Past its Expiry Date”
Jon Tennant says:
While I fully approve of the RI, and think it’s a step in the right direction, it still appears to me too confined to it’s bibliometric routes.
One of the main arguments for Open Access was that society as a whole deserves to be able to access research with which they have contributed through taxes. When discussing RI, it still appears largely confined to the scholarly communication sphere, and doesn’t take into account social or societal impact, which is an altogether different and much larger realm. I think this is what we need to aim for when assessing the true value and impact of research – how do we measure it’s impact on all facets of society? Altmetrics and the Relevance Index, to me, seem like a great step in the right direction over the anachronistic IF, but there’s still a long way to go yet to develop metrics that assess ‘true’ impact.
Tom Olijhoek says:
Jon, I fully agree with your remarks. A relevance index will not be the ultimate answer, but when you would include a wide cast net of post-pub peer-review this could add to the assessment of a true relevance, the same way that the system for software ranking does. And Yes, an eventual Relevance Index would be a big leap towards a useful metrics, I think
Are High Impact Journals Obsolete? | Planet3.0 says:
[…] Impact Journals Obsolete? Posted on June 22, 2012 by Michael Tobis • 0 CommentsTom Olijhoek notes that Citation rates are still commonly used for the assessment of the quality of individual […]
☆ The Story of an Article « Mostly physics says:
[…] in the field with an impact factor of 11.4. Although the dismerits of journal impact factors are well-known and widely decried, I won’t be a hypocrite: since my aim is to succeed in the academic rat […]
Altmetrics — Replacing the Impact Factor Is Not the Only Point « The Scholarly Kitchen says:
[…] the traditional metrics, i.e., the impact factor. Some elements of our industry are trying to break the monopoly that the impact factor has held on metrics in our community so that newer publications might more easily flourish. Perhaps […]
Stick to Your Ribs: Altmetrics — Replacing the Impact Factor Is Not the Only Point | The Scholarly Kitchen says:
Tom Olijhoek
Check out the latest activity in the group, introduce yourself and get connected:
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PASTEUR4OA Briefing Paper on the disciplinary differences in opening research data
New Open Access Book – ‘Knowledge Unbound: Selected Writings on Open Access, 2002–2011’ by Peter Suber
PASTEUR4OA Briefing Paper on Open Access to Research Data
Celebrating Open Access Week with PASTEUR4OA Advocacy Resources
PASTEUR4OA Data Visualisations
Can Open Access transform global health?
Panel discussion. Video found here »
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'I can coach Souths and Queensland': Wayne Bennett open to State of Origin return
Wayne Bennett insists he could coach Queensland and South Sydney at the same time as speculation about Kevin Walters' future continues to mount.
Walters was adamant that he would see out the remainder of his Maroons contract next year, declaring "I'll be back next year" following Queensland's loss in the State of Origin decider on Wednesday.
However, he continues to be linked to the Gold Coast, with Titans coach Garth Brennan's position uncertain as part of a review of the club's football department conducted by Mal Meninga.
Wayne Bennett (pictured left) and Kevin Walters (pictured right). (Getty Images)
Walters has made no secret of his desire to be an NRL coach having missed out to Anthony Seibold following Bennett's exit from the Broncos at the end of last year.
Should Walters, who has two series wins but lost back-to-back titles, move on from the Maroons, Bennett and Justin Hodges have been mentioned as possible replacements.
QRL chairman Bruce Hatcher said Bennett was his preferred option should Walters depart.
While Bennett said he wasn't lobbying for the job, he said he was open to returning having been Maroons coach in three stints.
"None of that was my doing, the Queensland chairman made a statement, he's never spoken to me," Bennett said.
"No one has ever spoken to me about that. To his credit, Bruce rang me and said 'look I said this, I didn't mean to say it'. I've got no doubt about that.
"Kevin (is on contract) for next year, it just didn't make sense.
"My point of view is it had nothing to do with me and if someone came knocking on my door at a later stage in my life, I'd make a decision."
The QRL's preference in recent years has been to employ coaches who are not with NRL clubs, but they may need to change tact given the lack of depths in their ranks.
"I did it seven times during my coaching career so if I had to do (coach an NRL club and Origin) again, and I wanted to do it again, and everyone was onside, it's doable," Bennett said.
"The challenge they've got with their rule is who's available.
"If Kevin does get an opportunity somewhere else and can't coach Origin again, in his first year of (NRL) coaching, (Queensland) wouldn't be his priority.
"Then you can't pick NRL coaches, you can only pick coaches who are unemployed. There aren't many that are unemployed that are Queenslanders. It's a difficult one."
Bennett said he was no certainty to continue as England Test coach next year, which could potentially open the door for him to return to the Maroons.
"My contract is up at the end of this year," Bennett said.
"So I've got to renegotiate if I want to be there and they want me."
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Click to copyhttps://apnews.com/b61158f599d24817bca8d1737d5e23bd
Alabama Sen. Doug Jones calls new abortion ban ‘shameful’
By KIM CHANDLER and BLAKE PATERSONMay 16, 2019
FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2019, file photo, Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., questions at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Jones condemned Alabama's new abortion ban as "extreme" and "irresponsible" Thursday, May 16, a day after the state's Republican governor signed the most restrictive abortion measure in the country into law. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones condemned Alabama’s new abortion ban as “extreme” and “irresponsible” Thursday, a day after the state’s Republican governor signed the most restrictive abortion measure in the country into law.
“I think this bill, frankly, is shameful. It is callous,” Jones told reporters. “This bill uses rape victims and victims of incest at all ages, even minors, as political pawns.”
The legislation signed by Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday would make performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases and contains no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Supporters hope to launch a challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made the procedure legal.
“To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God,” Ivey said in a statement after signing the bill.
Jones, the lone Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, said he thought the debate was focused on the “most extreme voices on both sides.”
“I just don’t think that it is representative of what most people in Alabama think or what they want from the government,” he said.
But the law’s sponsor, Rep. Terri Collins, said she believes a majority of Alabamians support it: 59% of state voters in November agreed to write anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, saying the state recognizes the rights of the “unborn.”
“It’s to address the issue that Roe. v. Wade was decided on: Is that baby in the womb a person?” Collins said.
The Alabama abortion ban is the most far-reaching measure as some conservative states push new abortion restrictions in the hopes of getting a case before the conservative Supreme Court majority.
The abortion ban would go into effect in six months if it isn’t blocked by legal challenges, which Jones anticipates costing millions of dollars.
“This bill is unconstitutional as it stands right now and, I believe, irresponsible,” he said.
Abortion rights advocates have vowed swift legal action.
“We haven’t lost a case in Alabama yet and we don’t plan to start now. We will see Governor Ivey in court,” said Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast.
The legislation Alabama senators passed Tuesday would make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by 10 to 99 years or life in prison for the provider. The only exception would be when the woman’s health is at serious risk. Women seeking or undergoing abortions wouldn’t be punished.
“It just completely disregards women and the value of women and their voice. We have once again silenced women on a very personal issue,” said Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, a Birmingham Democrat.
Kentucky , Mississippi , Ohio and Georgia recently approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy. Missouri’s Republican-led Senate voted early Thursday to ban abortions at eight weeks, with no rape or incest exceptions. Louisiana lawmakers have been speeding toward passing a six-week ban.
Dr. Yashica Robinson, who provides abortions in Huntsville, said her clinic fielded calls from frightened patients Wednesday.
“This is a really sad day for women in Alabama and all across the nation,” she said. “It’s like we have just taken three steps backwards as far as women’s rights and being able to make decisions that are best for them and best for their families.”
But Robinson said the bill is also having an energizing effect. With phone lines jammed, she said messages came streaming across their fax machine.
“We had letters coming across the fax just asking what they can do to help and telling us they are sending us their love and support our way,” Robinson said.
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<a href="http://archive.today/anV71"> <img style="width:300px;height:200px;background-color:white" src="https://archive.fo/anV71/3ec59db98e0a8d0bbacb3f02d736d1cc19c65146/scr.png"><br> Bohuslav Martinů - Wikipedia<br> archived 5 Jan 2018 01:28:48 UTC </a>
{{cite web | title = Bohuslav Martinů - Wikipedia | url = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohuslav_Martinů | date = 2018-01-05 | archiveurl = http://archive.today/anV71 | archivedate = 2018-01-05 }}
Bohuslav Martinů (New York City, 1945)
Bohuslav Jan Martinů (Czech: [ˈboɦuslaf ˈmarcɪnuː] ( listen); December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. Martinů wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and taught music in his home town. In 1923 Martinů left Czechoslovakia for Paris, and deliberately withdrew from the Romantic style in which he had been trained. In the 1930s he experimented with expressionism and constructivism, and became an admirer of current European technical developments, exemplified by his orchestral works Half-time and La Bagarre. He also adopted jazz idioms, for instance in his La revue de cuisine ("Kitchen Revue").
In the early 1930s he found his main fount for compositional style, the neoclassicism as developed by Stravinsky. With this, he expanded to become a prolific composer, quickly composing chamber, orchestral, choral and instrumental works. His use of the piano obbligato became his signature. His Concerto Grosso and the Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani are among his best known works from this period. Among his operas, Julietta and The Greek Passion are considered the finest. He is compared with Prokofiev and Bartók in his innovative incorporation of Central European ethnomusicology into his music. He continued to use Bohemian and Moravian folk melodies throughout his oeuvre, usually nursery rhymes—for instance in Otvírání studánek ("The Opening of the Wells").
His symphonic career began when he emigrated to the United States in 1941, fleeing the German invasion of France, to compose his six symphonies, which were performed by all the major US orchestras. Eventually Bohuslav Martinů returned to live in Europe for two years starting in 1953, then was back in New York until returning to Europe for good in May 1956. He died in Switzerland in August 1959.
1.1 1890–1923: Polička and Prague
1.2 1923–40: Paris
1.3 1941–53: US
1.4 1953–59: Europe
3 Personality and Asperger syndrome
1890–1923: Polička and Prague[edit]
Martinů as a child playing the violin (c. 1896)
Martinů had an unusual birth setting. He was born in the tower of the St. Jakub Church in Polička, a town in Bohemia, close to the Moravian border. His father Ferdinand, a shoemaker, also worked as the church sexton and town fire watchman. For this he and his family were allowed to live in the tower apartment. As a small boy, Bohuslav was sickly and frequently had to be carried up the 143 steps to the tower on the back of his father or his older sister. In school he was known to be very shy, and did not participate in the plays or pageants with his classmates. In his language, he was slow to answer. As a young adolescent, he could not play ball with other boys because he lacked the coordination to run. But as violinist, he excelled and developed a strong reputation, giving his first public concert in his hometown in 1905. The townspeople raised enough money to fund his schooling, and in 1906 he left the countryside to begin studies at the Prague Conservatory. While there, he fared poorly as a student, showing little interest in the rigid pedagogy, nor the hours of violin practice required. He was far more interested in exploring Prague and learning on his own, attending concerts and reading books on many subjects. This was in contrast to his roommate, Stanislav Novak, who was an excellent student and a brilliant violinist. They frequently attended concerts together at which Martinů became engrossed in analysing new music, particularly French impressionist works. He could memorize much of it, so back in their room, he could write out large parts of the score almost perfectly. Novak became astonished at how meticulously Martinů could do this. He became convinced that his roommate, while lacking in other subjects, possessed an incredible brain for analysing and memorizing music.[1] They became friends for life. Dropped from the violin program, Martinů was moved to the organ department that taught composition, but he was finally dismissed in 1910 for "incorrigible negligence".[2]
Martinů spent the next several years living back home in Polička, attempting to gain some standing in the musical world. He had written several compositions by this time, including the Elegie for violin and piano, and the symphonic poems Anděl smrti and La Mort de Tintagiles, and submitted samples of his work to Josef Suk, a leading Czech composer. Suk encouraged him to pursue formal composition training, but this would not be possible until years later. In the meantime, he passed the state teaching examination and maintained a studio in Polička throughout World War I, while continuing to compose and study on his own. It was during this time that he studied the ancient choral hymns of the Bohemian Brethren, which would influence his style and musical scope.
As World War I drew to a close, and Czechoslovakia declared an independent republic, Martinů composed the celebratory cantata Česká rapsodie ("Czech Rhapsody"), which was premiered in 1919 to great acclaim. As a violinist, he toured Europe with the National Theatre Orchestra, and became a full member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1920 that was led by the inspired young conductor Václav Talich, who was the first major conductor to promote Martinu. He also began formal composition study under Suk. He admired Suk, but his old school style failed to capture Martinu, who couldn't get Paris out of his mind. During these last years in Prague he completed his first string quartet, and two ballets: Who is the Most Powerful in the World? and Istar.
1923–40: Paris[edit]
Martinů finally departed for Paris in 1923, having received a small scholarship from the Ministry of Education. He sought out Albert Roussel, whose individualistic style he respected, and began a series of informal lessons with him. Roussel would teach Martinů until his death in 1937 by helping him focus and bring order to his compositions, rather than instructing him in a specific style. During his first years in Paris, Martinů incorporated many of the trends at the time, including jazz, neoclassicism, and surrealism. He was particularly attracted to Stravinsky whose novel, angular, propulsive rhythms and sonorities reflected the industrial revolution, sports events and motorised transportation.[3] Ballets were his favorite medium for experimentation, including The Revolt (1925), The Butterfly That Stamped (1926), Le raid merveilleux (1927), La revue de cuisine (1927), and Les larmes du couteau (1928). Martinů found friends in the Czechoslovak artistic community and would always retain close ties to his homeland, frequently returning during the summer. He continued to look to his Bohemian and Moravian roots for musical ideas. The best known during this time is the ballet Špalíček (1932–33), which incorporates Czech folk tunes and nursery rhymes.
The prime leader of new symphonic music in Paris at this time was Serge Koussevitzsky, who presented the biannual Concerts Koussevitzsky (1921–29). In 1924, he became the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but he still returned to Paris each summer to conduct his Concerts. In 1927, when Martinů happened to see him at a café, he introduced himself, and gave him the score of his symphonic triptych, La bagarre, that was inspired by Lindbergh's recent landing. The maestro was impressed, and scheduled its premiere with the Boston Symphony in November 1927.[4]
In 1926, Martinů met Charlotte Quennehen (1894–1978), a French seamstress from Picardy. She was employed at a large garment factory and, after their romance began, she moved into his small flat and helped to support him. She would become an important force in his life, handling the cuisine and business matters that he found trying. They married in 1931. Culturally, however, the two were quite different, a fact that would cause problems in their marriage over the years.[5]
By 1930, Martinů had withdrawn from his seven years of experimentation to settle on a neo-classical style. In 1932, he won the Coolidge prize for the best of 145 chamber music works for his String Sextet with Orchestra. This was performed by Koussevitzsky with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1932.[6] In 1936, Martinu finished his opera, Julietta, that was based upon a surrealistic play by Georges Neveux that he had seen in 1927. Its premiere was given in Prague under Václav Talich on 14 March 1938.
In 1937, Martinů became acquainted with a young Czech woman, Vítězslava Kaprálová. Born in Brno in 1915, she was already a highly accomplished musician when she arrived in Paris, supported by a small Czech government grant to study conducting with Charles Munch and composition with Martinů. Their relationship soon developed beyond that of student-teacher as he fell madly in love with her. After she returned to Czechoslovakia, Martinů became obsessive about her, writing her many long, passionate letters. In one of these, he proposed that he would divorce Charlotte and then take her to America. It was while he was in this distraught, frenzied state that Martinů composed one of his greatest works, the Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Tympani. It was finished just a few days before the Munich Agreement was sealed between Hitler and Chamberlain (30 September 1938).[7]
After the Munich Agreement, President Beneš began to form a Czechoslovak government in exile set up in France and England. As a significant number of troops became organized into a Czech resistance force, Martinů tried to join them but was rejected because of his age. However, in 1939, he composed a tribute to this force, the Field Mass for baritone, chorus and orchestra. It was broadcast from England and was picked up in occupied Czechoslovakia. For this Martinů was blacklisted by the Nazis and sentenced in absentia. In 1940, as the German army approached Paris, the Martinůs fled. They were sheltered by Charles Munch who had a place near Limoges. Soon, they journeyed on to Aix-en-Provence, where they stayed for six months while trying to find transit out of Vichy France. He was helped by the Czech artistic community, particularly Rudolf Kundera, along with Edmonde Charles-Roux and the Countess Lily Pastré. Despite the harsh conditions, he found inspiration in Aix and composed several works, notably the Sinfonietta giocosa. Charlotte wrote: "We fell in love with Aix: the delicate murmur of its fountains calmed our agitated feelings and later Bohus was inspired by them."[8] Finally, on 8 January 1941, they left Marseilles for Madrid and Portugal, eventually reaching the United States in 1941 with the help of his friend, the diplomat Miloš Šafránek, and especially from his Swiss benefactor, Paul Sacher, who arranged and paid for their passages.[9]
1941–53: US[edit]
Life in the United States was difficult for him initially, just as it was for many other artist émigrés in similar circumstances. Lack of knowledge of English, of funds, and of opportunities to use their talents were common to them. When they first arrived in New York, the Martinůs rented a studio apartment at the Great Northern Hotel on 57th St. They were helped by several musician friends who included the pianist Rudolf Firkušný, the violinist Samuel Dushkin, the cellist Frank Rybka, the diplomat Milos Safranek and the multi-lingual lawyer Jan Lowenbach. Martinů soon found that he was unable to resume composing in noisy Manhattan so, for the following season, they leased a small apartment in Jamaica Estates, Queens, close to the Rybkas. This leafy, residential neighborhood was conducive for him to take long, solitary walks at night during which he would work out music scores in his head. On several occasions, he would "zone out" in deep concentration about the music, becoming oblivious of his surroundings and become lost and would call a friend with a car to come find him and take him back home.[10] Thereafter, he began to compose actively. When he contacted Serge Koussevitzsky, the conductor told him that his Concerto Grosso would receive its premiere in Boston the following season. One of the first compositions we wrote in New York was the Concerto da Camera for violin and small orchestra, in fulfillment of a commission he had been awarded before the War by Paul Sacher, the conductor of the Basel Chamber Orchestra.[11] The following year, they moved back to Manhattan into an apartment in a brownstone on 58th St, across from the Hotel Plaza. That was where they lived for the rest of their years in America. Composer David Diamond, who sub-leased this apartment in 1954, has described it in an interview.[12]
As the War was coming to an end, the Martinůs encountered marital difficulties. Charlotte, who never did like America, wanted strongly to return to France. He did not, so when he accepted Koussevitzky's offer to teach at the Berkshire Music School for the summer of 1946, she went to France alone for a prolonged visit. In Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he was lodged with the students in Searles Castle, and his magnificent master bedroom opened onto a rooftop veranda. One night, Martinů took his customary walk on the roof, a section of which had no railing, and he fell off, landing on concrete, and was hospitalized with a fractured skull and concussion. He drifted in and out of a coma, but he did survive. After several weeks, he was released to recuperate with friends. By this time, Roe Barstow had entered his life. She was an attractive divorcee of independent means, who lived alone in Greenwich Village. With Charlotte away in France, she was at Martinů's side, assisting in his recovery, during which their relationship deepened. After Charlotte returned in the late fall, she found that her husband was a different man—gaunt, irritable, crippled and in pain from the accident.[13] It required a few years before he was able to return to his former state as a solid composer.
Apart from his domestic problems, Martinů was unsure about which country he would live in. He had considered returning to Czechoslovakia as a teacher, despite having a powerful enemy there in the communist cultural politician Zdeněk Nejedlý. Any plans to return were further mangled in March 1948 when the Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Masaryk, was murdered, which eliminated the last resistance to the communist regime. With the communists' seizure of power now complete, music, along with the other arts, became an instrument of propaganda along Soviet ideological lines. Martinů was branded as a formalist and émigré traitor, and he chose wisely not to pursue any kind of professional engagement in his native land from this time forward.[14]
Martinů was indeed reluctant to leave America which had been very supportive of him. He taught at the Mannes College of Music for most of the period from 1948 to 1956. He also taught at Princeton University[15] and the Berkshire Music School (Tanglewood). At Princeton he was warmly received by faculty and students. His six symphonies were written in the eleven-year period 1942–1953, the first five being produced between 1942 and 1946. In addition, he composed the Violin Concerto No. 2, Memorial to Lidice for orchestra, Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Piano Concerto No. 3, Concerto da Camera for violin and small orchestra, Sinfonietta La Jolla for piano and small orchestra, Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3 for cello and piano, many chamber compositions, and a television opera, The Marriage. His symphonic scores were performed by most of the major orchestras: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and he generally received fine reviews from the leading critics. "His standing was... one of the very few subjects on which Olin Downes and Virgil Thomson, the warring critics of The New York Times and The New York Herald-Tribune could agree.[16]
Because of the extraordinary volume of Martinů's oeuvre, some critics who never knew the man have stated that he composed too much, too fast, and therefore must have been careless in quality. However, he has been defended strongly by musicians and critics who did know him. Olin Downes knew Martinů more depth fully. For his interviews of Martinů he had the benefit of having Jan Lowenbach, a friend of both men, present as an interpreter. Downes' defense of the composer came out in an article, "Martinu at 60".[17] "Martinu […] is incapable of an unthorough or conscienceless job. He works very hard, systematically, scrupulously, modestly. He produces so much music because in the first place, his nature necessitates this. He has to write music. In the second place, he knows his business and loves it." [18] The composer David Diamond knew Martinů both in Paris and New York. In an interview years later, he expressed amazement at how extraordinary Martinů's mind was in developing a whole orchestral score while taking a walk.[19]
Martinů's notable students include Alan Hovhaness, H. Owen Reed, Jan Novák, Vitezslava Kapralova, Howard Shanet, Chou Wen-chung, Burt Bacharach, Zadie Parkinson, and Louis Lane.
1953–59: Europe[edit]
In 1953, Martinů left the United States for France and settled in Nice, returning in 1955. In 1956, he took up an appointment as composer-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome. He died at a clinic in Liestal, Switzerland, on 28 August 1959. His remains were moved and buried in Polička, Czechoslovakia, in 1979.[20]
For a comprehensive list, see List of compositions by Bohuslav Martinů
Martinů was a prolific composer who wrote almost 400 pieces. Many of his works are regularly performed or recorded, among them his choral work The Epic of Gilgamesh (1955); his six symphonies; his concertos, including those for violoncello, viola, violin, oboe and five for the piano; his anti-war opera Comedy on the Bridge; his chamber music, including eight string quartets,[21] three piano quintets[22] a piano quartet,[23] a flute sonata, a clarinet sonatina and another for trumpet, both from his 1956.[24]
Bohuslav Martinů in New York, around 1942, at the piano working on his second symphony
A characteristic feature of his orchestral writing is the near-omnipresent piano; many of his orchestral works include a prominent part for piano, including his small Concerto for harpsichord and chamber orchestra. The bulk of his writing from the 1930s into the 1950s was in a neoclassical vein, but with his last works he opened up his style to include more rhapsodic gestures and a looser, more spontaneous sense of form. This is easiest to hear by comparing his sixth symphony, titled "Fantaisies symphoniques", with its five predecessors, all from the 1940s.[citation needed]
One of Martinů's lesser known works features the theremin. Martinů started working on his Fantasia for theremin, oboe, string quartet and piano in the summer of 1944 and finished it on October 1.[citation needed] He dedicated it to Lucie Bigelow Rosen, who had commissioned it and was the theremin soloist at its premiere at New York's Town Hall on 3 November 1945, joined by the Koutzen Quartet, Robert Bloom (oboe), and Carlos Salzedo (piano).[25][26]
His opera The Greek Passion is based on the novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis, and his orchestral work Memorial to Lidice (Památník Lidicím) was written in remembrance of the village of Lidice that was destroyed by the Nazis in reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in the late spring of 1942. It was completed in August 1943 whilst he was in New York and premiered there in October of that year.[27]
Personality and Asperger syndrome[edit]
Martinů was quiet, introverted, and emotionally stolid when meeting persons he did not know well. He typically answered questions very slowly, even when conversing in his native Czech. He might fail to reciprocate socially when people would compliment his music, or do favors for him.[28] Close friends found him to be a kind, gentle, self-effacing, unbiased person. In 2009, F. James Rybka MD, who had known Martinů, launched a retrospective study of the composer's unusual personality, based upon interviews of persons who knew him, as well as a study of many letters he had written to his family and friends. Evidence of his having an autistic spectrum disorder was compiled and evaluated, using the established criteria found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disease (DSM-IV). This evidence was reviewed by a well-known autism neuroscientist who concurred that the composer had good evidence of having had an autistic spectrum disorder, most likely Asperger syndrome. This was described in their publication.[29] In 2011, Rybka published a Martinů biography, in which such traits are reviewed, such as his failure of social reciprocity,[30] his flat affect and stolidity,[31] his phobias and extreme stage fright, his strict adherence to a ritualized schedule, and his zoning out into an aura, while walking with his mind deeply engrossed in composing.[32] This last trait proved to be a very dangerous one. While teaching at Tanglewood in 1946, one night when, in deep thought about music, he became oblivious to his surroundings, and toppled off an unguarded, second floor veranda. He suffered a severe concussion, a fractured skull, and nearly died.[33] The biography concludes that there were both positive and negative ways how Asperger's affected his life. It seems to have facilitated his extraordinary memory for music, and his ability to compose prolifically and skilfully. But it also left him unable to promote or showcase his music in public.[34]
^ Rybka, F. James, p 22.
^ Jan Smaczny, "Martinů, Bohuslav", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001), vol. 15, 939.
^ Martinu, Bohuslav, 1924 Texts on Stravinsky, Lucie Berna, editor, Martinu Revue, May–August 2013, vol XIII, No 2.
^ Safranek, Milos,Bohuslav Martinů, The Man and his Music, pp. 32–33.
^ Rybka, pp.62–63
^ Safranek, M. p. 43.
^ Rybka, FJ pp. 82–83.
^ Charlotte Martinů, My Life with Bohuslav Martinů, Prague: Orbis, 1978.
^ Rybka, FJ p 93
^ Rybka, FJ p. 110p
^ Rybka, FJ pp. 59, 105
^ Rybka, FJ pp. 126–127.
^ Rybka, FJ pp 151–154, 157, 161–165.
^ Svatos, Thomas, "Sovietizing Czechoslovak Music: The "Hatchet Man" Miroslav Barvik and his Speech,The Composers Go with the People Music and Politics vol IV/1 (2010) 1–35
^ Rybka, FJ pp 182–87
^ Steinberg, Michael p367.
^ The New York Times January 7, 1951.
^ Rybka, FJ, pp. 321–22.
^ Rybka, FJ pp. 134–35.
^ Kapusta, Jan (2014). Neuveřitelná kauza Martinů. Arbor vitae. ISBN 978-80-7467-043-5.
^ Martinů is usually credited with seven string quartets, but his String Quartet in E♭ major of 1917 (Halbreich No. 103) was premiered in 1994. There is also believed to be a string quartet from 1912, given H.60 but missing, and several other missing works from 1912 for quartet (H.62–4) likewise; the composer's first known work, H.1, Tři jezdci (ca.1902), is also for string quartet (Simon, pp.35–6.)
^ from 1911 (premiered 2012) (H.35), 1933 (premiered 1934) (H.229) and 1944 (premiered 1945) (H.298). See Simon, pp. 36–38.
^ and one other quartet with piano, one with oboe, violin and cello from 1947
^ Simon, p.39
^ Downes, Olin (4 November 1945). "Lucie Rosen Plays Theremin Program". New York Times. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
^ Simon, pp.22, 197–98, and sources summarised especially Döge, Klaus. "Das entsetzliche Grauen zum Ausdruck gebracht: Anmerkungen zu Martinůs Memorial to Lidice, in Bohuslav Martinů (ed. by Ulrich Tadday), Munich: Text und Kritik, 2009. pp.78–91. ISBN 9783869160177.
^ Rybka and Osonoff, p. 42.
^ Martinu's Impressive Quiet, Czech Music, 23 (2009), 31–50
^ Rybka, FJ p 293
^ Rybka, FJ. pp.198–200
^ Rybka, FJ pp 315–23.
Hartl, Karla, and Erik Entwistle (eds.). The Kaprálová Companion. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7391-6723-6 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-7391-6724-3 (electronic).
Martinů, Charlotta. Můj život s Bohuslavem Martinů. Prague: Editio Baerenreiter, 2003.
Rybka, F. James. Bohuslav Martinů: The Compulsion to Compose. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8108-7761-0.
Rybka, F. James, and Sally Osonoff. "Martinu's Impressive Quiet". "Czech Music" 23 (2009), 31–50.
Simon, Robert C. (compiler). Bohuslav Martinů: a research and information guide. New York, Abingdon: Routledge, 2014. ISBN 978-0-415-74194-1.
Beckerman, Michael Brim, and Michael Henderson (eds.). Martinů's Mysterious Accident: Essays in Honor of Michael Henderson. Hillsdale, N.Y.: Pendragon Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-57647-111-1 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-57647-003-9 (pbk).
Červinková, Blanka (ed.). Bohuslav Martinů, 8.12.1890–28.8.1959: bibliografický katalog. Prague: Panton, 1990. ISBN 978-80-7039-068-9.
Halbreich, Harry. Bohuslav Martinů: Werkverzeichnis, Dokumentation und Biographie. Zürich, Freiburg i. Br.: Atlantis-Verlag, 1968.
Halbreich, Harry. Bohuslav Martinů: Werkverzeichnis und Biographie. Zweite, revidierte Ausgabe. Mainz: Schott Music, 2007. ISBN 978-3-7957-0565-7.
Large, Brian. Martinů. London: Duckworth, 1975. ISBN 978-0-7156-0770-1.
Mihule, Jaroslav. Bohuslav Martinů: Osud skladatele. Prague: Nakladatelství Karolinum Univerzity Karlovy, 2002. ISBN 978-80-246-0426-8.
Šafránek, Miloš. Bohuslav Martinů: His Life and Works. Translated by Roberta Finlayson-Samsourová. London: A. Wingate, 1962.
Svatos, Thomas D. "Reasserting the Centrality of Musical Craft: Martinů and His American Diaries." The Musical Times 150, no. 1907 (Summer 2009): 55–70.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bohuslav Martinů.
Works by or about Bohuslav Martinů at Internet Archive
Bohuslav Martinu: Biography & list of works (in English and French)
Bohuslav Martinů Foundation in Prague
Catalogue of Works (in Czech)
Bohuslav Martinu Centre in Policka
The OREL Foundation: Bohuslav Martinů's biography and links to bibliography, discography and media
The Kapralova Society Journal
Two-year international project "revisits" great Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů: Radio Prague
Meet … Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů
Free scores by Bohuslav Martinů at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Comedy on the Bridge (1937) ·
Alexandre bis (1937) ·
Julietta (1938) ·
What Men Live By (1953) ·
The Marriage (1953) ·
Mirandolina (1959) ·
Ariane (1961) ·
The Greek Passion (1961) ·
La Revue de cuisine ·
Špalíček ·
Symphony No. 1 ·
The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca ·
Concertante
Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Timpani ·
Violin Concerto No. 2 ·
Oboe Concerto ·
String Quartet No. 1 ·
Flute Sonata ·
Clarinet Sonatina ·
Three Czech Dances ·
Piano Sonata ·
Field Mass ·
The Epic of Gilgamesh ·
The Opening of the Wells ·
Homage to Paderewski ·
Named for Martinů
Martinů Quartet ·
Music of the Czech Lands ·
List of compositions by Bohuslav Martinů Category:Compositions by Bohuslav Martinů
L'École de Paris (Les Constructeurs)
Conrad Beck ·
Tibor Harsányi ·
Bohuslav Martinů ·
Marcel Mihalovici ·
Alexandre Tansman ·
Alexander Tcherepnin ·
Neoclassical music
Georges Auric ·
Béla Bartók ·
Alfredo Casella ·
Carlos Chávez ·
Aaron Copland ·
Louis Durey ·
George Enescu ·
Manuel de Falla ·
Radamés Gnattali ·
Camargo Guarnieri ·
Paul Hindemith ·
Arthur Honegger ·
Zoltán Kodály ·
Darius Milhaud ·
Francis Poulenc ·
Maurice Ravel ·
Igor Stravinsky ·
Germaine Tailleferre ·
Heitor Villa-Lobos ·
Antiche arie e danze ·
Apollo ·
Le bourgeois gentilhomme ·
Concert champêtre ·
Concerto in D ·
Concerto in E-flat (Dumbarton Oaks) ·
Divertimento for chamber orchestra after keyboard pieces by Couperin ·
Harpsichord Concerto ·
Mathis der Maler ·
Mavra ·
Octet for winds ·
Oedipus rex ·
Orpheus ·
Premier Menuet ·
Pulcinella ·
The Rake's Progress ·
El retablo de maese Pedro ·
Piano Sonata No. 1 (Enescu) ·
Piano Sonata No. 3 (Chávez) ·
Piano Suite No. 2 (Enescu) ·
Sonatine bureaucratique ·
Symphony in C ·
Symphony in Three Movements ·
Symphony of Psalms ·
Tanzsuite aus Klavierstücken von François Couperin ·
Le tombeau de Couperin ·
Gli uccelli ·
Neoclassical ballet ·
Neoromanticism (music) ·
Neotonality ·
Modernism (music) ·
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MusicBrainz: a81e92aa-7580-4201-a0c3-d66b420695c4 ·
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ELVIS PRESLEY R.I.P. ROCK IN PERPETUITY!
ELVIS PRESLEY 1/8/35 – 8/16/77
“On August 16, 1977, Elvis passes away at Graceland and the world mourns, but I feel guilty about crying over him. I was laughed at in my neighborhood, back in the Bronx, for liking and trying to emulate him. It angered the Black community that he allegedly said, “The only thing “Colored” people can do for me is shine my shoes and buy my records.” That afternoon my friend, DJ, Scott Shannon comes over to the house, and gives me a large picture book on Elvis and his life. I thank him with tears in my eyes and apologize for being so emotional. Then I tell him why I feel so badly. Then Scott says, “Artie, How could anybody who loved the blues, R&B and gospel music as much as Elvis did, ever say such a horrible thing. Isn’t listening to “In The Ghetto”, enough to convince you where his heart was really at?” I realize Scott’s right, and let go of those negative thoughts. I put on a cut by Elvis from the first album I ever had, a present from Mother 20 years ago.”
by Elvis Presley from 1957 Ed Sullivan Show. “Peace In The Valley” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAJLB9IhrI4
Then Scott and I sat around all afternoon and listened to Elvis’ best songs.including “Heartbreak Hotel” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_1K6h1WFC0
Alan O’Day (Rock And Roll Heaven, Undercover Angel) recalls, “I remember my high school innocence, my passionate love affairs that existed purely in fantasy, and the exquisite pain at being rejected by a girl I worshiped. It was probably the same week that I had bought the 45 of “Heartbreak Hotel”. But when I discovered the breakup ballad “I Was The One” on the “B” side, it reached right through to my heart. The lyric spoke to exactly what I was feeling, and made it poetry. Elvis was so real to me because he knew my suffering. It was a very personal experience, and helped shape me as a songwriter.”
“Don’t Be Cruel” A clip from Ed Sullivan Show 1956. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6D206o0Hws&feature=related
from Milton Berle “Texaco Star Theater” show 1956. “Hound Dog” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5JALwwaASg
“In the summer of 1956, I went to visit some relatives in Portsmouth Ohio. I knew somehow it was going to be a special Sunday. I went to my first bar-b-que, had my first beer, and stole my first kiss. When we got back to my aunt and uncle’s house, everyone was hovering around the TV set mesmerized by some singer who’s on the Steve Allen TV show.
He’s a cool looking guy with a pompadour, sideburns and a guitar who is singing to a hound dog. When I see my cousins and their friends screaming and crying, this electrifying moment changes my life forever! I’m 14 years old and up until now, I wanted to be either a Nuclear Physicist, or a Clown. Now I want to be a Rock and Roll Star…a Rock and Roll Star, just like Elvis Presley!”
Ed Sullivan show with clips from Elvis’ first movie “Love Me Tender”! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZBUb0ElnNY&feature=related
Title song from the Hal Wallis 1957 movie “Jailhouse Rock”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpzV_0l5ILI&feature=related
“Baby I Don’t Care” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SovkqRVsim8
Publicist, Bobbi Cowan recalls, “As a teen, I saw him at the old Pan Pacific Auditorium…I used to hang at a hot dog stand on Beverly Blvd, near the entrance to Pan Pacific…it was called the Kosher Puppy…They had a jukebox that had all of Elvis’ early hits, and I went broke feeding nickels into that box, to hear “Teddy Bear,”
“Teddy Bear” from “Loving You” 1957.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhdUucs8AlY&feature=related
Ms. Cowan continues, “I must have been 17, or 18, when I was introduced to one of Elvis’ guys, and struck up a friendship with him. I think his name was James, and he invited me to come up to the house on Perugia Way in Bel Air. I would hang out, learned to shoot pool, but mostly just hang out. I’d watch Elvis, his entourage, the starlet- de- jour, all draped over a huge L-shaped couch, watching TV with the sound off, with Elvis’ music playing. He’d put a cigarette to his lips, and 10 guys would be there with lighters… An indelible image, this lanky, gorgeous, larger than life person, holding court night after night, while someone named Priscilla waited for him at something called Graceland…and yet, he was very sweet, very polite, very nice to me and the other young girls who were lucky enough to get an invitation to Perugia.”
From “King Creole” 1958 “Trouble”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrzPmUASBho
“I’m excited when my uncle Mick tells me that a famous songwriter Sid Wyche (“Whole Lotta’ Shakin’ Goin’ On”), has just renteds the second story of his two-family house. As I start to walk upstairs to play Sid a few of my songs, he runs down the stairs nearly knocking me and my uncle over. He apologizes, and excitedly says, that he just got a $10,000 check from Hill and Range Music, as an advance against royalties for a song that Elvis Presley just recorded, “Big Hunk Of Love”. Sid momentarily forgets that his wife is waiting for him in the car to go cash the check and takes us upstairs to play us Elvis’ record.
I’m screaming in hysterics, “Louder, Louder!” Sid’s jumping up and down and we ignore the horn frantically beeping outside as we play Elvis’ record over and over!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f78tRmbike8&feature=related
From “Blue Hawaii” 1961.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdYHivTvQCU&feature=related
“After being a staff writer at Aldon Music (Carole King, Barry Mann, Neil Sedaka, etc.), and working with songwriter/producer Paul Vance (“Itsy, Bitsy, Teenie, Weenie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”, “Catch A Falling Star”), I went independent.
I started writing with music vet, Ben Raleigh (“Wonderful, Wonderful”, “Tell Laura I Love Her”), and as Ben and I start to place songs all over town, one of my dreams comes true. Ben takes me up to Hill and Range Music, to meet Freddy Bienstock, who runs Elvis Presley’s publishing companies. He asks us if we’d like to write a song for Elvis’ next movie, “It Happened At The World’s Fair”
I know this is my big chance, as Ben and I reach for the stars. We write a song for Elvis to sing on top of the Space Needle in Seattle, called “Where Do You Want The World Delivered?”
Although Col. Parker, calls and tell Ben and Me, that Elvis loves the song, and we’re definitely going to be in the film, we’re knocked out at the last minute by a beautiful songwriter, who is on the set and has Elvis’ ear (among other things).
Ben and I continue for the next year and a half to work on Elvis movies. Writing for, “Kid Galahad”, “Fun In Acapulco”, and “Kissin’ Cousins”. Unfortunately, none of our songs are used, but I treasure the advance checks we would receive from Gladys Music, which had Elvis’ picture on them! I swear I’ll never cash them unless I really need the money, which is usually an hour or so after I have the check in my hand.
“It Happened At The World’s Fair” 1963 “Return to Sender”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z54-QHEZN6E
Singer/actor, Eddie Hodges, says, “Elvis was a quiet man when I met him. I had a very small role in his movie, “Live A Little, Love A Little,” but he was very kind to me. He didn’t mind when I had to do 5 or 6 takes of a very simple scene. He was at home on the movie set and very attentive. I guess I had expected him to be kind of wild and boisterous, but that was not the case. He ran lines with me, worked out a realistic way I was to knock him down in one scene and was friendly every day. He liked jokes and told some good ones. I was smoking a Dutch cigar one day and, when he asked about them, I gave a few to Elvis. The next day, there was a whole pack of those cigars on my chair on the set. We talked about karate and he showed me some moves – even had the prop man set up a brick for him to break. He liked my square-toed boots and asked me where I got them – I heard he bought a half-dozen pair like them in all available colors. We also talked about things we did back home in Mississippi, like squirrel hunting. His boys were around him all the time – I talked a lot with Charlie Hodge, Elvis was a great person, but kind of sad. I think he was getting a divorce from Priscilla about that time, and I felt sad for him. It was a memorable time. I never had any contact with Elvis after that. I could not help but be impressed with how down-to-earth and laid back he was.”
“Elvis, ‘68 Comeback Special! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tthEpLS69fo
“I visit Hollywood, for the first time , about a month after the Comeback Special airs, and meet the producer/director Steve Binder and musical director, Bones Howe (the 5th Dimension, the Turtles, the Association), at a screening. I congratulate Bones for being the first producer ever to get a production credit on an Elvis Presley record with, “I Can Dream”. Then Steve shared a couple of stories with me, that happened during the taping…I wanted to hear more but then the movie started.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lonK5kcWKKo&feature=related
“In The Ghetto”, Live 1970 performance…”In The Ghetto” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ox1Tore9nw
Live Performance M-G-M Grand Hotel “Suspicious Minds” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBmAPYkPeYU&feature=related
Live + Elvis and Pricilla Home Movies…”You Were Always On My Mind” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI94AsuvUUA&feature=related
‘Live In Hawaii” Special… “My Way” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlKJ-0bnxdA
“Even though Elvis has left the building…his spirit is alive in everyone who hears his music, sees his movies, or watch his videos!…”
Scott Shannon adds… “Elvis was more than just a performer, he impacted modern culture in so many ways, he changed the way people sang, dressed and behaved, both in America and around the world. To this day, you can go just about anywhere on this earth and say the one name: “Elvis”, and its pretty damn likely that you will get a response from someone.and probably even a smile!”
May you Rock In Perpetuity!
EXTRA! EXTRA! NOW YOU CAN BUY MY BOOK ,“I DID IT FOR A SONG” AT AMAZON or Barnes & Noble or from Smashwords
Special thanks to Scott Shannon, Eddie Hodges, Bobbi Cowan , Alan O’Day, and Steve Binder, for their contributions to this tribute.
BACK TO THE R.I.P. ROCK N PERPETUITY ARCHIVES https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/rip-rock-in-perpetuity-archives/
Tags: American Trilogy Elvis Video, Baby I Don't Care Elvis video, BEST ELVIS "HOUND DOG" Milton Berle show, Best Suspicious Minds, Big Hunk of Love Elvis video, Bones Howe first producer get production credit on ELVI, Can't Help Falling In Love from Blue Hawaii, DJ SCOTT SHANNON REMEMBERS ELVIS, Don't Be Cruel Elvis video, Ed Sullivan ELVIS performances, Eddie Hodges and ELVIS, Eddie Hodges Remembers Elvis!, Eddie Hodges remembers Elvis! Steve Binder The Making o, Elvis Movie Outakes, ELVIS ROCK IN PERPETUITY, ELVIS Sings to a hound dog on Steve Allen, Forgotten ELVIS Kinescopes, Heartbreak Hotel Elvis video, I was the One Elvis Video, If I Can Dream Elvis video, In The Ghetto Elvis video, Jailhouse Rock Elvis video, Little Less Conversation Elvis Original video, Lost ELVIS TV PERFORMANCES FOUND!, Love Me Tender Elvis video, MAKING OF THE ELVIS '68 COMEBACK SPECIAL!, My Way Elvis video, Original Jailhouse Rock Elvis video, Original movie clips, Peace In The Valley Elvis Video, Rare Hound Dog Elvis Video, Restored Elvis TV performances, Reurn To Sender original clip Elvis video, Steve Binder new book ELVIS 68 At 40!, Steve Binder remembers ELVIS, Teddy Bear, THE DAY THAT ELVIS DIED!, TOP 20 MUSIC VIDEOS OF ALL TIME!, Treat Me Nice Elvis video, Trouble Elvis Comeback Special '68, Trouble Elvis video, Unedited clips from "Elvis '68 Comeback Special!, Unreleased ELVIS HOME MOVIES!, Viva Las Vegas original clip Elvis, What I Say Elvis Ann Margaret video, You Were Always On My Mind Elvis Video
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Explain the causes/reasons for the disagreement between the cash book
cashbook-passbook
Explain the causes/reasons for the disagreement between the cash book balance and the passbook balance.
Reasons: Difference between Balances as per Cash Book and Bank Pass Book
i. Difference due to timing
There is always a difference in the time gap between recording the transactions in the books of account and those recorded by the bank.
• Cheques issued but not yet presented for payment
In a cash book, the cheques issued for payment are recorded without any delay. But the bank records the entry only when the cheque is presented to them for payment. Hence, there is a time gap between the entry made in the cash book and the one made in the bank passbook. While preparing the bank reconciliation statement, the date of issue of cheque and presentation of the cheque to the bank for payment will vary. For example, a cheque of Rs.10,000 was issued on 4th June 2016 and presented to the bank on 12th July 2016. This information will be recorded in the cash book on 4th June while the bank will record it on 12th July 2016. Hence, the cash book balance will be lesser by Rs.10,000 on 30th June 2016.
• Cheques deposited in the bank but not yet cleared
Cheques deposited in the bank are entered on the debit side of the bank column of the cash book on the date of deposit. But the bank credits the account holder’s account only when it receives the payment from the other bank. Hence, there is a time gap between the deposit of cheques and the credit given by the bank. The bank balances will differ on a particular date as per the cash book and the bank passbook. For example, a cheque of Rs.10,000 deposited in the bank on 4th June 2016 and presented to the bank on 12th July 2016. This information will be recorded in the cash book on 4th June while the bank will record the cheque collected on 12th July 2016. Hence, the cash book balance will be higher by Rs.10,000 on 30th June 2016.
ii. Transactions recorded by the bank
• Interest credited by the bank but not recorded in the cash book
Bank allows interest on the amount deposited by the account holder and credits the account holder’s account. Thus, the balance of her/his account will increase in the books of the bank. But the account holder will record it only when she/he is realized about the interest allowed by the bank. Hence, the balance as per bank passbook will be higher than the balance as per cash book on a particular date for the time being.
• Interest and dividends collected by the bank
On behalf of the account holder, bank collects interest and dividends and credits the account holder’s account. But the account holder will come to know only when she/he receives the bank statement. Hence, the balance as per bank passbook will be higher than the balance as per cash book for the time being.
• Bank charges and interest charged by the bank are not recorded in the cash book
Bank renders certain services to its customers for which it charges an amount known as bank charges or service charges. Also, bank charges interest for providing overdraft facilities. Bank debits the account holder’s account in its book for the amount being charged. But the account holder will realise it only when she/he receives the bank statement. Hence, the balance as per bank passbook will be lesser than the balance as per cash book for the time being.
• Direct payments by the bank
Sometimes bank may receive standard instruction from an account holder to pay the insurance premium periodically. The bank will then debit the account holder’s account for making payments on his/her behalf. But the account holder will realise it only when she/he receives the bank statement. Hence, the balance as per bank passbook will be lesser than the balance as per cash book for time being.
• Direct deposit into bank by a customer
Bank may sometimes receive payment directly from a customer to credit an account holder’s account. But the account holder will come to know only when she/he receives the bank statement. Hence, the balance as per bank passbook will be higher than the balance as per cash book for the time being.
• Dishonour of a bill discounted with the bank
Sometimes, the bank may not receive payment against bills of exchange or promissory notes discount by it. Bank will debit the account holder’s account along with the charges incurred by it. But the account holder will come to know only when she/he receives the bank statement. Hence, the balance as per cash book will be higher than the balance as per bank passbook for the time being.
• Bills collected by the bank on behalf of the customer
Bank collects the amount for sale of goods on behalf of the account holder and credits the account holder’s account. But the account holder will increase her/his cash balance only when the bank sends her/him the bank statement. Hence, the balance as per bank pass book will be higher than the balance as per cash book for the time being.
iii. Errors and Omissions
There may be some errors or omissions in the cash book or bank passbook. For example, a cheque of Rs.30,000 deposited in the bank is recorded as Rs.3,000 in the cash book i.e. over or under casted the amount in the bank column of the cash book. This is an error committed in the cash book. Similarly, when a cheque of Rs.10,000 collected by bank on behalf of the account holder, say, Mr. Arun, is entered in the account of Mr. Varun. This is an error committed in the bank passbook. In this way, there is a difference in the balances of cash book and that of the bank passbook.
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Home Reviews Album Reviews Natalie Prass: The Future And The Past
Natalie Prass: The Future And The Past
“Everybody’s talking but there’s nothing to say,” Prass complains in one standout track, but her music speaks up profoundly throughout.
Written By Jim Beviglia // June 7, 2018
The Future And The Past
Count Natalie Prass among the artists so affected by the events of 2016 that she changed artistic course in mid-stream. It was a risky move for Prass, considering the impressive nature of her 2015 self-titled debut, an old-school soul collection of heartbreak songs. She also changed up the musical tenor for her new album, The Future And The Past, adding more uptempo material and modern R&B rhythmic touches to the mix.
Luckily, the changes simply prove Prass’ versatility and don’t dim her rising star one bit. She wisely doesn’t get too specific with any political concerns, instead just making oblique, ominous references to the obfuscation of truth and threats on the horizon (like the “wolf in wolf’s clothing” mentioned in “Ship Go Down.”) But you can hear the agitation in the music, from the icy Prince-like funk of opening track “Oh My” to the swirling anguish of “Ship Go Down.” “Everybody’s talking but there’s nothing to say,” Prass complains in one standout track, but her music speaks up profoundly throughout.
Her most overt lyrical statements offer support instead of criticism, especially in “Sisters,” which runs through the ways that women are marginalized by society and then offers a rallying cry: “I want to say it loud/ For all the ones held down.” There is resilience and empowerment at every turn in these songs, all the way through to the thumping closer “Ain’t Nobody.”
Prass saves the wallowing for more personal concerns. In the brooding mid-tempo “The Fire” and the showstopping ballad “Lost,” she dives headlong into tempestuous relationships. And the heart-rending “Far From You” features a melody that wends ever upward as if to follow the path of the performer whose loss she laments in the song. With increasingly assured songwriting, Natalie Prass demonstrates that she is on top of her game in the here and now.
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Idina Menzel to play The Lyric
By Jon Gallo · June 4, 2017 · No comments
More than 20 years ago, Idina Menzel introduced herself to the world by playing performing artist Maureen in 1994’s Broadway smash hit “Rent,” which won a Pulitzer Prize and continues to be a Broadway mainstay. In 2003, she won a Tony for playing the lead role of Elphaba Thropp in “Wicked,” which continues to make millions as it tours internationally.
Idina Menzel will play The Lyric on July 18. (Idina Menzel)
But while those performances were geared to an older audience, she turned back the clock in 2013. She became the voice of perhaps the most famous Queen in movie history as Elsa from “Frozen,” which became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, raking in more the $1.2 billion at the box office.
If you haven’t heard her hit Oscar-winning song from the film, “Let It Go,” then please stop reading. You probably have no desire to see the 45-year-old when she plays The Lyric on July 18 at 8 p.m. as part of her international tour to support her self-titled album.
“I’m a woman in her 40s, so in order to remain true to myself and authentic, I can’t completely cater to a young crowd,” Menzel told reporters. “The demographic at my shows are pretty broad, so I usually just kind of give a disclaimer to moms that there might be a few ear muff moments and to just cut me a break and remember that I’m in my 40s. I hope I don’t offend people too much.”
Menzel mixes her own songs, such as “Queen of Swords,” “Small World,” “I Do” and “Everybody Knows,” with some covers, including “Led zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” Stephen Schwartz’s “Defying Gravity” and Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady,” during her show.
Idina Menzel has an Oscar and a Tony Award to her credit. (Idina Menzel)
“Songs like ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘Let it Go’ resonate so strongly with young people. I have a responsibility and a pride on stage — how many people get songs like that in their lifetime?” she told reporters. “It’s a nice reminder on stage to know that things are going well and how lucky I am.”
Menzel draws much of her creativity from her personal life, which hasn’t been nearly as glamorous as her stellar career on stage. A few years ago, Menzel and Taye Diggs, with whom she starred with in the Broadway version of “Rent,” divorced after a decade of marriage. The two have a son together.
Menzel become engaged to Aaron Lohr – a fellow cast member in the movie “Rent” that came out after the show appeared on Broadway – this past September.
“It’s just the personal stuff that’s different each time and what story you’re telling. This particular time there were some big dueling forces. My professional life was booming and exciting. I was on Broadway, and ‘Frozen’ was a huge success, and I was singing at the Oscars and the Super Bowl,” she told reporters. “And simultaneously I was going through a divorce and dealing with lawyers and mediation and all that stuff. It was a lot of contradicting forces. It gave me a lot to write about.”
Jon Gallo is an award-winning journalist and editor with 19 years of experience, including stints as a staff writer at The Washington Post and sports editor at The Baltimore Examiner. He also believes the government should declare federal holidays in honor of the following: the Round of 64 of the NCAA men's basketball tournament; the Friday of the Sweet 16; the Monday after the Super Bowl; and of course, the day after the release of the latest Madden NFL video game. Contact the author.
Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson rock Royal Farms Arena
Call it a match made in heaven, or in the case of Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, a match made
MECU Pavilion Becomes Summer Jam Band Central
July 9, 2019 · No comments
It’s pavilion season friends, and MECU Pavilion has stacked up three of the Jam Band scene’s big guns to heat
‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’: A disjointed plot sends the film to the dogs
June 7, 2019 · No comments
2 out of 4 stars The biggest problem with “The Secret Life of Pets 2” is its name. It’s misleading — it
‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ lives up to its name
June 3, 2019 · 1 Comment
3 ½ out of 4 stars Somewhere, in the deep blue sea, Godzilla is smiling: Hollywood, after years of lackluster efforts,
Dispatches from Delfest: Part 1
CUMBERLAND, MD — Welcome to Dispatches from Delfest, a continuing series chronicling Western Maryland’s four-day celebration of all things bluegrass,
← Cavaliers and Warriors get after it in Game 2 of the NBA Finals
Grand Jury action needed in unsolved murders, sexual abuse of Keough students and its cover-up →
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Neil Jenkins
In 2008 Neil Jenkins, internationally known tenor, recording artist and musical director was elected President of the Basildon Choral Society. Neil has performed on many occasions with Basildon Choral Society and with its partner choirs in the Sussex Festival Chorus. One of the founding members of the King’s Singers, he has had a long and illustrious musical career as a performer, conductor, musicologist and recording artist.
In 2004 his contribution to music was celebrated by the Worshipful Company of Musicians with the presentation of the ‘Sir Charles Santley Memorial Award’ for his singing and his work on producing new and scholarly Bach editions for the Novello Choral Series.
In 2007 Neil celebrated the fortieth anniversary of his London debut. It is a considerable honour to have Neil as our president and we look forward to working with him regularly in future.
You can read Neil Jenkins full biography here.
Geoffrey Mitchell
Geoffrey Mitchell retired as President of Basildon Choral Society in 2008. His career in music began at the age of 8 as a chorister at Exeter Cathedral and at the age of only 18 he gained a place as a counter-tenor in the Renaissance Singers, soon after the start of his National Service in the Royal Navy. Immediately afterwards he was appointed a lay clerk at Ely Cathedral, whence he took up posts successively at Westminster and St. Paul’s Cathedrals. A past-Chairman, he is now Vice-President of the National Federation of Cathedral Old Choristers’ Associations whose main objective is to help secure the continuation of the great heritage of Cathedral choirs and their music.
His singing both as a soloist and with numerous ensembles – the Purcell Singers, The Schütz Choir, Cantores in Ecclesia, Pro Cantione Antiqua and the John Alldis Choir – gave him the opportunity for worldwide travel, and conducting of several of those groups from time to time projected him into more concentrated conducting, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s early recordings of Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita and concerts with Pink Floyd. Under his direction the New London Singers won major overseas awards as well as the title of ‘Outstanding UK choir” in the BBC’s Let the Peoples Sing competition. He is now Chief Guest Conductor of Carillon, a St Albans-based chamber choir, and Director of the London Festival Singers.
For the past 30 years the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir has made numerous recordings and broadcasts, to international acclaim. 19th century Italian operas, hitherto unrecorded, have been the focus of the choir’s attention under the aegis of Opera Rara, in concert and recording studio, and a new association with Chandos Records guarantees a continuing place in the record market.
Whilst Professor of Counter-Tenor at the Royal Academy of Music he established its Chamber Choir to national press acclaim, and received both an honorary Diploma from the Academy and the licentiate of Trinity College of Music for his choral work.
He spent fifteen years managing the BBC Singers and Symphony Chorus, and in 1990 was appointed Guest Conductor of the Camerata Antigua of Curitiba, Southern Brazil.
Basildon Choral Society was honoured, nearly 20 years ago, when Geoffrey agreed to become its president. He has attended many of its performances over the years and has given of his time to support its work in workshops and rehearsals.
Our heartfelt thanks to Geoffrey for all he has done for Basildon Choral Society.
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Baybars Altuntas Notes
for global entrepreneurs
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HomeSkopje Notes 2
Invited by Ilija Vuckov, president of Emkice and one of the founders of the COSSME Regional Network, I attended the second Business Innovation Forum 2015 in Skopje to make a keynote speech in my capacity of president of the TBAA (Business Angels Association of Turkey) and Ambassador of the World Entrepreneurship Forum to the Balkans. On the 2nd of January I was on the opening panel with the Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia and later in the day I gave a speech at the South East European University entitled ‘How to make your first million’. I also attended the COSSME Network Board meeting and sat on a panel at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Forum.
www.business-innovation-forum.com
My best-seller book will be published shortly in Macedonia
On this trip I also tried to develop a co-investment structure for investing in Macedonian start-ups, because in May I will organise a TBAA investment delegation to Macedonia, where the Business Angels of Turkey will invest in start-ups and high-growths in that country. This cross-border investment will of course be organised in co-operation with local Macedonian angel investors in such a way that Macedonian angel investors will match the funds of the Turkish angels, and the Macedonian government will match the amount co-invested by the Turkish and Macedonian investors. It is very important to see local angel investors and governments believing in their own start-ups and entrepreneurs in a cross-border investment system. If we are able to achieve this, I am sure it will become a model for best practice in the global angel investment market, where a foreign angel investor, for example, puts up 100K and a local angel investor puts up 100k and the government matches this co-investment by putting 200k in start-ups and high-growths.
While at the forum, I was interviewed by National TV and several Macedonian newspapers, and I also met with a number of start-ups. But the most enjoyable part of this trip was meeting new people from Macedonia, the UK, Ireland and Spain. I also made an agreement for my best-selling book to be published in the Macedonian language, for the benefit of entrepreneurs and start-ups in this lovely country.
Ranked in 2009 by the World Bank as the fourth ‘best reformatory state’ of 178 countries, Macedonia has undergone considerable economic reform since its independence. The country has developed an open economy with trade, accounting for more than 90% of GDP in recent years. Since 1996 Macedonia has witnessed steady, though slow, economic growth with the GDP growing by 3.1% in 2005. This figure was projected to rise to an average of 5.2% in the 2006–2010 period. The government has been successful in its efforts to combat inflation, with an inflation rate of only 3% in 2006 and 2% in 2007, and has implemented policies focused on attracting foreign investment and promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The current government introduced a flat tax system with the intention of making the country more attractive to foreign investment. The 2007 12% flat tax rate was lowered to 10% in 2008.
Despite these reforms, Macedonia’s unemployment rate was 37.2% in 2005, and in 2006 the poverty rate was 22%. Macedonia’s has one of the highest percentages of citizens struggling financially, with 72% stating that they could manage on their household’s income only ‘with difficulty’ or ‘with great difficulty’, though Macedonia, along with Croatia, was the only country in the Western Balkans not to report an increase in this statistic. Corruption and a relatively ineffective legal system also act as significant restraints on successful economic development. Macedonia still has one of the lowest per capita GDPs in Europe. Furthermore, the country’s grey market is estimated at close to 20% of GDP.
To address economic challenges, the city relies on integration in preferred economic areas. It is focused on the clean-up of factories, education, the development of tourism programs, and the use of tax-free economic zones such as Bunardzik just outside Skopje. In addition to services, Skopje has many factories. The most important industrial activities are metal processing, chemicals, textiles, and printing. Notable companies based in Skopje include Arcelor Mittal Skopje, an oil refinery, Alkaloid, Titan cement plant, and the Skovin Winery, among others.
The Macedonian Stock Exchange, the principal stock exchange in the Republic of Macedonia, is located in Skopje. It was established in 1995.
Tetovo
Tetovo is a city in the north-western part of Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of 1,080 sq. km. (417 sq. mi.) at 468 meters (1,535 ft.) above sea level, with a population of 52,915. The city of Tetovo is the seat of the Tetovo municipality.
The home of multiple ethnic Albanian political parties and a population where Albanians form a relative majority, Tetovo has become the unofficial capital and centre of a predominantly Albanian region which extends in an arc from Tetovo to Struga. The city also has a multi-ethnic background consisting of Albanian, Macedonian
and Turkish elements.
Just outside of Tetovo is South East European University, Macedonia’s third largest university after Skopje University and Bitola University. Tetovo is also home to the State University of Tetovo.
During the Ottoman period, the town was known as Kalkandelen, which means Shield Penetrator, in honor of the local weapon-smiths. Their superior craftsmanship extended to the advent of small firearms and cannons, which were traded all across the Balkans.
In economic terms Tetovo is one of the most rapidly-developing cities in Macedonia, with several multinational companies (for example, Ecolog International, Renova, and Zikoprom). Despite the interest of private companies in Tetovo, the city is neglected by the government. Tetovo suffers from urban sprawl. Due to the lack of government regulations and no system for building permits, many houses and buildings have been built in unsafe ways and are built in random parts of the city, i.e. on the footpaths, roads and parks.
Tetovo is one of the educational centres in Macedonia, hosting two universities: South East European University (a public/private non-profit institution) and the State University of Tetovo (a public university). The former has educational leadership in the region, and the Bologna Process has been applied since its establishment. It has the best campus in the region of South East Europe. More than 20,000 students pursue higher education in this town.
Gazi Baba
Gazi Baba is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. The name of the municipality comes from the nickname of the Ottoman poet Aṣik Celebi. In Turkish, Gazi means ‘war veteran’ and baba means ‘father’.
South East European University (SEEU)
South East European University (SEEU) is located in Tetovo, with a branch campus in Skopje. It is the first private/public not-for-profit university in Macedonia, founded in October 2001 and is a member of the Balkan Universities Network and an associate member of the European University Association. SEEU is a recognized and accredited autonomous higher education institution which was established by an agreement between international donors, the government of the Republic of Macedonia and the local academic community. Its principal aim was to offer for the first time in Macedonia the opportunity for speakers of the Albanian language to participate in accredited higher education in their own language, while being open to all. The president of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov, awarded ‘The Order of Merit for Macedonia’ to South East European University on Friday, 18 November 2011 in a solemn ceremony.
On this occasion President Ivanov said that SEEU had become a strong promoter of tolerance, respect for multilingual and cultural diversity in teaching and research, developing curricula with an international perspective, and that it contributes significantly to the progress of scientific thought and inter-ethnic understanding. SEEU today concentrates on offering high quality higher education and research opportunities in three languages (Albanian, Macedonian and English), with increasing concentration on subjects taught in English at both the first (BA/BSc) and second (MA/MSc/LLM) cycles.
Moreover, in the first national ranking of universities in the Republic of Macedonia in February 2012, SEEU was ranked second out of nineteen higher education institutions, according to a ranking system conducted by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in collaboration with the country’s Ministry of Education and Science. This ranking supports SEEU’s objective of pursuing excellence and equality in higher education.
SEEU is the largest private/public not-for-profit university, with the highest student population in Macedonia. It has established links with many universities in Europe, the United States and elsewhere.
EMKICE – The Euro Macedonian Knowledge Innovation Center
The Euro Macedonian Knowledge Innovation Center (EMKICE) is a non-profit organization with the goal of supporting and accelerating the process where industry engages in economic development and innovation, using best practice, knowledge sharing and education for the (re)placement of new products and services on the EU market.
EMKICE has three main objectives:
To encourage and support innovation and commercialization of innovations (inventions) as well as the development of new products and services through an entrepreneurial approach and innovative technology
To support access to finance for innovation, applied research, technology development (I + R + T + D) from available EU funds and business angelinvestors;
To support national, regional and transnational cooperation and knowledge sharing and learning of new skills for creative entrepreneurship, leading innovation and change, especially among youth.
www.emkice.com
COSSME Regional Network (COSSME = Cooperation for Support of SMEs)
The stakeholders are:
Municipality of Gazi Baba
Municipality of Tetovo
APRZ – State Agency for Support of Agriculture
CRM – Central Register of Macedonia
South East European University – Tetovo
SEEU Technology Park – Tetovo
EIH – Institute for Environment and Health
EMKICE – Center for EU Funding and Innovations
Ilumine – Center for ICT Development in Education
OFF Macedonia – Open Fun Football Schools Macedonia
www.cossme.mk
INVEST IN MACEDONIA
Invest Macedonia is the government institution in charge of attracting new foreign investments to the country and supporting the expansion of foreign companies with already-established operations. In addition to the investment function, Invest Macedonia is also engaged in promoting Macedonian companies in foreign markets and supporting them in increasing exports.
They help both foreign and Macedonian companies by creating and adding value for them by virtue of their broad knowledge and experience of the business environment. In addition, they identify opportunities in Macedonia and foster close collaboration with various partner institutions and organizations.
Invest Macedonia aims to be recognized by companies and all other partners not only as a government institution but also as a professional and proactive service organization oriented towards addressing the needs of the business community.
http://www.investinmacedonia.com
As soon as it was established in 2012 , the board of directors started working on programme structure and rulebooks. It had difficulties in the beginning, with no experts in the area and a low quality programme copied partially from the Serbian InnoFund and partly informed by the experience of neighboring countries. These borrowed innovation funds were not particularly successful.
Intervention by experts brought improvements to the programme, including operating regulations. An international committee of experts was selected, and the internal structure of the innovation fund was defined. The government with the loan from WB is aiming to create success stories in the economy and real opportunities for entrepreneurs and companies.
There are several calls predicted in the programme, grants for start-ups, grants for technology transfer and accelerators.
Day 1: 21st of January, Wednesday
Landing in Istanbul after a long flight from Bahrain, I continued my journey to Skopje the same day. After a short flight of 90 minutes from Istanbul, I was in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia — one of the nicest cities in South East Europe.
Ilıiya Vuckov, president of EMIKE, and Sasho Trajkov, Head of Sector for Economic Development, Information and Communication Development of the Gazi Baba Municipality, were waiting for me at the airport. After a short wait at the passport section, I was in the car with Ilija and Sasho on our way to the Bushi Resort Hotel. Juan Manuel Revuelta Prez, Director General of Finnovaregio, was on the same flight as me. He too was one of the keynote speakers of the Business Innovation Forum and had flown to Skopje from Brussels via Istanbul.
Prof Perez is also a professor of entrepreneurship at Spain’s IESE, one of Europe’s leading universities in innovation. Prof Prez’s Finnovaregio and EBAN are located in the same building in Brussels, so when you visit Finnovaregio, you can also visit EBAN in the same building.
www.finnovaregio.eu
Around 8pm we were at five-star Bushi Resort Hotel in the Skopje city center, just at the entrance of the Old Bazaar (Ottoman Bazaar). I enjoyed the hotel restaurant’s view over the city. The menu is not particularly authentic, however. On the other hand, the swimming pool and the Turkish hamam of the hotel are marvellous. I highly recommend this hotel for an enjoyable stay in Skopje.
http://bushiresort.com
After leaving our bags in our rooms, four of us made our way to a nice restaurant in the city center.
Trend Lounge Bar
http://www.caffetrend.mk/
On our way, we saw the independence square of Macedonia with a replica of Paris Square.
I posted this photo on my Facebook page and challenged my friends to guess where I was. Some of them, not surprisingly, answered ‘Paris’. J
After a nice chat, we walked back to the hotel through the beautiful streets of Skopje.
Day 2: 22nd of January, Thursday
Ilija and Sasho collected us from the hotel around 10am to go to South East European University’s Skopje campus. As I mentioned before, SEEU’s main campus is in Tetova.
Prof Prez gave his speech in the main auditorium of the university. It was titled ‘How to Write Good Projects for Horizon 2020’.
After his speech, I gave a very short talk (a chat, not actually a speech) on the differences between invention and innovation.
After my talk, Klaudija Lutovska from Bitova made a presentation on a social responsibility project. Bitola is known as Ataturk’s city because Ataturk, the Founder of the Republic of Turkey, had studied at the military school in Bitolo. Ms Lutovska had prepared an Ataturk project, which she has sent me by email.
Later, the four of us went to the Extension Agency of Macedonia. You may know this agency from the commercials of Invest Macedonia campaigns on CNN International. Invest Macedonia is an Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion of the Republic of Macedonia. We held a fruitful meeting with Clement Sekerovski, the Deputy CEO of the agency. My proposal to hold an Invest in Macedonia Event at the Istanbul Stock Exchange to attract the Turkish investors for Macedonia was well received by Mr Sekerovski. I also informed him about the TBAA delegation’s May visit to Macedonia to invest in start-ups in co-operation with local Macedonian business angels.
By the time this meeting finished around 5pm, we were a bit hungry since we hadn’t had time for lunch, so now was the time to go to a nice Turkish restaurant in the Old Bazaar to have our köftes – authentic Turkish meatballs.
Destan Barbecue Restaurant
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g295110-d1105058-Reviews-Destan-Skopje_Skopje_Region.html
We then returned to the hotel. I was really tired after the long Bahrain-Istanbul-Skopje flights and a long day full of speeches. I couldn’t join the group that evening because of extreme fatigue.
I was enjoying the swimming pool of the hotel, where I met with a TV producer from Kosovo who was there for the Business Innovation Forum. After spending a few hours in the sauna (a Turkish hamam) and having a massage, I was in bed by 10pm.
Day 3: 23rd of January, Friday
Ilija took us from the hotel around 9am and 10 minutes later we were at the Skopje Fair’s Conference Room for the opening ceremony of the Business Innovation Forum 2015.
I was able to chat with some of the participants until 10am, and I met with Joe Greaney, emeritus president of EBN – European Business Innovation Network and Director of WestBIC of Ireland, and David Tee, the Head of Membership Services of EBN of Belgium.
EBN is the European Innovation Network supporting the global innovation ecosystems with the standards, certifications and trainings. I encourage you to visit the website of EBN to learn more about this important institution in Brussels.
www.ebn.eu
While chatting with Joe and David, Mr Toni Trajkovski, the mayor of the Gazi Baba unicipality, joined us. A few minutes later, Mr Vladimir Pesevski, Vice Prime Minister of Macedonia, arrived and we all welcomed him.
Then we were invited to give our messages to the media one by one, starting from the Vice Prime Minister, the mayor, and so on. After the press meeting, we went to the conference room and enjoyed the opening speeches of the Vice Prime Minister, the mayor, and Sasho Trajkov.
After the speeches, panel sessions started. I was on the panel on International Collaborations. Other speakers on my panel were:
Mr Nikola Vetadzokoski, VITALIA
Ms Marts Naumovska Grncarova, ZAVAR
Mr Bogoslav Angeleski, ARILJE METAL
After the panel, a journalist interviewed me on the subject of innovation.
You can find my interview here:
http://www.inovativnost.mk/?p=478
There were many professors from technical departments of Macedonian universities on other panels. What was interesting for me was to hear the speeches of these professors on innovation. Having focused so much during the communist times on teaching the importance of ‘invention’, they are now they talking about the importance of ‘innovation’. Discussions about innovation have the following underlying concept: If you cannot sell your invention, then what you invented is not important. You have to find a marketer/entrepreneur to commercialize the invention. Otherwise, nobody will benefit from your invention. You will simply have showed that you are intelligent, nothing more. The government will not be able to collect tax from an invention if nobody buys it.
It was rewarding to see that there is a consensus on the importance of innovation in the academic arena of Macedonia.
Another interesting thing was the name of the Forum: Business Innovation Forum. I think it should become simply ‘Innovation Forum’, because if there is an innovation, business follows naturally. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be innovation — just invention. The ‘business’ word may not cover ‘innovation’ every time, but the ‘innovation’ word always includes the concept of ‘business’.
Around 2pm, I was taken to the hotel, where I had my lunch in the restaurant of the hotel. I had to be at the SEEU by 3.30pm to give my ‘How to make your first million’ speech for Macedonian entrepreneurs.
Having lost my way in the rain of Skopje, I arrived a bit late, so I wasn’t able to start my speech until 4pm. The whole auditorium was full. University students, academicians, government officials, entrepreneurs — everyone was there.
My session ended with a Q&A session at 6pm. After letting participants take photos with me, it was time to participate in the COSSME Board Meeting with the participation of the Tetovo mayor, the EBAN president, the SEEU president and other friends. The Board Meeting was moderated by Ilija Vuckov, the EMIKE president. We engaged in an excellent brainstorming session on how each member could contribute to the development of the Macedonian entrepreneurship ecosystem.
After the board meeting, we dined at an excellent restaurant in a Viking ship next to the river. It was a wonderful night, with the participation of representatives of chambers of commerce, the Tetovo mayor, the EBAN president, the EBN emeritus president, the EBN membership director and many other friends.
The most enjoyable part of the evening was the moment I was appointed by Candace Johnson, EBAN president, as the mentor of the first Women Angel Investors Network of Macedonia. After Ms Johnson’s excellent speech announcing the foundation of MWAIN, I committed to doing my best for women entrepreneurs and angel investors in Macedonia.
We enjoyed the meal and lots of Macedonian and Turkish songs that night. It was a truly unforgettable evening — even our Irish and British friends started singing in Macedonian and Turkish.
Rojal Macedonia, Ship in Vardar River
http://www.rojalmakedonija.mk/
We left the restaurant about half past midnight and I was in bed around 1.30am. It was really a tiring day J. I felt that I really had done my best to foster the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Macedonia by speaking on the panel, giving a speech, and speaking at the board meeting — and singing in the restaurantJ.
Day 4: 24th of January, Saturday
We all met at the lobby, ready for our trip to Tetovo for the other panels of the Business Innovation Forum. It was a 32-minute drive in a shuttle bus with the same team of speakersJ. Those 32 minutes were valuable for me because Candace and I were able to hold a mini-board meeting of EBAN in this time period.
The panels were to be held on the main campus of SEEU, South East European University. The event started with an opening speech by Prof Teuta Arifi, mayor of Tetovo. Following her speech, we made statements to the media explaining what we were doing in Tetovo.
Tetovo is an interesting place. Starting from the mayor, everybody spoke perfect Turkish. I was really surprised by this when I was welcomed to the university in Turkish.
After addressing the media, the main panel started with the moderation of the mayor. My speech was on how to develop an entrepreneurship ecosystem in Macedonia.
I really enjoyed participating in the next panel, was on Women’s Entrepreneurship, where I was the only male speaker, alongside 7 women speakers.
The third panel was on the roles of the International Collaboration and the Business Innovation Center.
the same room with Turkish Prime Minister
the same room with EBAN & EBN delegation
Following the third panel, we headed to our meeting with Mr Vladimir Pesevski, Vice Prime Minister, and his cabinet. After half an hour’s drive, we were in the meeting room of the minister at 3pm. The meeting lasted about 75 minutes. Because the minister was a former angel investor, it wasn’t difficult for us to discuss an angel investment model that would best suit the needs of the Macedonian economy.
Here is the official documents we were given at the end of this mmeting:
Declaration_signed-1
WB EDIF info
WB EDIF information
WBRIS Strategy10-21-13 web
After the minister left the meeting at 4.15pm, we carried on with his cabinet, Ms Romela Popovic-Trajkova and Mr Martin Stosic.
It was around 5pm when we left the ministry. The mayor of Tetovo had invited us for dinner, so we went to the hotel first to for lunchJ at 5.30pm. Joe, Candace and I went directly to the restaurant and ordered a salad since we would be dining just a few hours later. Half an hour later Joe left for his room, and Candace and I chatted until 7pm.
Ilija collected us from the hotel around 7.30pm and we were at the restaurant, at a place between Skopje and Tetovo, a few minutes later. The mayor arrived at the dinner with her team.
t was a lovely night with an excellent menu of fish and meat. At the end of the evening, the mayor presented each guest with beautiful hand-made butterflies of different colours. Each had the main colour of the flag of the guest’s home country. Mine was red, for example.
Restoran Balkanika Rustikana, newly opened
http://www.skopjeinfo.mk/uslugi/2117450756/ova-e-noviot-restoran-balkanika-rustikana-vo-gradski-park-foto
The mayor also invited me to Tetovo for a book signing day at the municipality for the Albanian version of my best-selling book in that country. Because there are so many Albanians living in Tetovo, organising this kind of event in Tetovo was a good idea.
We left about 10pm and went directly to the hotel because everybody was so tired. Candace, Juan and Joe were going to leave early the next morning, so everybody wanted to get to sleep early.
Day 5: 25th of January, Sunday
Around 10am, Ilija and Prof Boris collected David Tee and me from the hotel for the B2B meetings at South East European
University. B2B meetings were well organised, so David and I were able to listen to entrepreneurs and investors directly and one-on-one.
After the B2B meetings, National TV of Macedonia interviewed us about angel investment and innovation.
Here you can enjoy the interview, also posted on the webpage of the channel.
http://kanal5.com.mk/vesti_detail.asp?ID=59847
After the B2B meetings ended Ilija, Prof Boris and Saşa took David and me to a nice restaurant for a farewell lunch. After a few hours in the restaurant, Sasho drove David to the airport and Prof Boris took me back to the hotel.
The Hunters Lounge Bar
http://www.kamnik.com.mk/
After a few hours’ rest, Ilija and his team came for coffee at 6.30pm and after half an hour we went to the Skopje airport for my return flight to Istanbul at 9.15pm. We had a nice chat on the way to the airport, covering all aspects of the trip.
But the most important agreement was dropped into my lap in the car. Ilija had prepared the agreement for a translation of my book into the Macedonian language, to be published in May, so I am looking forward to signing my book for Macedonian entrepreneurs at the Skopje Book Expo to be held 3-11 May. Thanks to Ilija, I will be able to share my know-how and advice with Macedonian start-ups in their own language.
On this trip, I was very happy to have made many new friends from all over the world. Ilija has a very positive personality, and he chooses positive people as friends. Juan from Spain, David from the UK, Joe from Ireland (our new EBAN member) were really pleasant people to be with. Prof Arifi and her lovely team from the Tetovo Municipality are extremely hospitable people. Sasho and Boris are truly nice friends. Ceno Aleksadrovski has dedicated himself to teaching football to children and is a lovely person who you have to meet when you are in Skopje.
Dear Ilija, thank you very much for inviting me to Macedonia, for introducing me to these lovely people, and for publishing my book for Macedonian entrepreneurs. And I want to congratulate you and Boris and Sasho for this wonderful and professional organisation.
On my return to Istanbul, I received an email from CEED Macedonia proposing an interview online. It was a pleasure for me to answer their questions, and you can find the interview here:
http://bi.mk/izvorot-na-uspehot-vo-pretpriemnishtvoto-e-vo-vnatreshniot-duh/
Zambia Notes
Gerhard Burian on Hangzhou Notes
World Entrepreneurship Forum
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Benefits Advisor (Recent Grad)
PW-16-BNY-EBSA-57
Employee Benefits Security Administration
One year appointment. May be converted to a term or permanent appointment.
Eligible recent graduates from qualifying educational institutions . Refer to “Qualifications and Evaluations” section for more information.
DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees’ differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. These positions are located in the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), New York Regional Office. These positions are inside the bargaining unit. This is an appointment under the DOL Recent Graduates program. The program duration is one year. Upon successful completion of the program and at the agency’s discretion, the appointee may be converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service. Appointee must sign a DOL Pathways Recent Graduate Program Participant Agreement. The entire duration of the Recent Graduate Appointment constitutes a trial period. Appointee must be a U.S. citizen in order to be eligible for conversion to a permanent position in the competitive service upon completion of the program.
Recent Graduate – Economist or Statistician (Economics)
PW-16-PHIL-BLS-0002
Eligible recent graduates from qualifying educational institutions . Refer to “Qualifications and Evaluations” section for more information. Note: Students who are expected to graduate within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement may apply.
*** THIS IS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY POSITION AND MAY BE FILLED EITHER AS AN ECONOMICS OR STATISTICIAN (ECONOMICS)*** DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. This position is located in the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Field Operations, Region Office, Division of Compensation Programs , Philadelphia, PA Region. The mission of the Office of Field Operations is to provide collection expertise and feedback to the development of Bureau survey programs, to effectively and efficiently execute survey activities both directly and through grantees, and to conduct an active program of information and outreach for Bureau products. This is an appointment under the DOL Recent Graduates program. The program duration is one year. Upon successful completion of the program and at the agency’s discretion, the appointee may be converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service. Appointee must sign a DOL Pathways Recent Graduate Program Participant Agreement. The entire duration of the Recent Graduate Appointment constitutes a trial period. Appointee must be a U.S. citizen in order to be eligible for conversion to a permanent position in the competitive service upon completion of the program. This position has promotion potential to GS-12. Promotion Potential: There is no obligation to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and supervisory approval. This position is inside the bargaining unit. Relocation costs will not be paid. Additional selections may be made from this announcement.
Information Technology Specialist (Applications Software)
DE-16-BLS-OT-082
U.S. Citizens; ICTAP and CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area. Also being advertised as Vacancy Announcement# MS-16-BLS-OT-081 for status applicants and Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) applicants. To be considered for each, apply to BOTH jobs.
The Department of Labor (DOL) seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. This position is located in the DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Office of Technology and Survey Processing (OTSP), Directorate of Survey Processing, Division of Business Establishment Systems. BLS is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision-making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities by providing products and services that are objective, timely, accurate, and relevant. OTSP provides IT support to all aspects of BLS data development initiatives. – This position is at full performance level. – This position is inside the bargaining unit. – A writing sample may be required at time of interview. – This announcement may be used to fill additional like vacancies. – This position will not be filled until the Department’s Placement Assistance Programs have been fully utilized. – Applications for this announcement will be accepted online only by clicking the “Apply Online” button.
Apprenticeship and Training Representative
DE-16-BNY-OA-42
Iselin, New Jersey
$55,327.00 to $104,304.00 / Per Year
U.S. Citizens; ICTAP and CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area; Eligible current/former land management agency employees initially appointed under open competitive examination. Also advertised as job announcement # MS -16-BNY-OA-41 for non-status applicants; to be considered for EACH , apply for BOTH announcements.
This position is located in the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Office of Apprenticeship (OA), Iselin, NJ.Region. ETA/OA provides technical assistance to States which provide workforce development services to various adult and youth populations. Incumbent will be assigned to the New Jersey office, but may be responsible for Federal programs in Region 1. This position has promotion potential to the grade of GS-12. Promotion Potential: There is no obligation to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and supervisory approval. This position is inside the bargaining unit. Special Employment Consideration: DOL encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e. intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more.
Supervisory Immigration Program Analyst
DE-16-ETA-OFLC-015
U.S. Citizens; ICTAP and CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area. Also being advertised as job announcement #MS-16-ETA-OFLC-021 for status applicants, Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) applicants & persons eligible under these non-competitive authorities: 30% or more compensably disabled veterans; persons w/disabilities (Schedule A); present/former Peace Corps (PC) personnel & former PC volunteers. To be considered for each, apply to BOTH jobs.
This position is located in the Chicago IL Office of the United States Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), Chicago National Processing Center(CNPC). Temporary Labor Certification Program. OFLC provides national leadership and policy guidance to carry out the responsibilities of the Secretary of Labor under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, concerning foreign workers seeking admission to United States in order to work. OFLC issues labor certifications for permanent and temporary employment that permits U.S. employers to herie foreign workers, temporarily and permanently to fill jobs essential to the U.S. economy when there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able. willing, qualified and available to perorm the job. This position is the supervisor of the Temporary Labor Certification Unit functioning as an expert in various aspects Immigration law to include possissing a working knowlede of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the permanent immigrant and temporary nonimmigrant employment-based programs administered by OFLC. This position is at the full performance level. This position is outside the bargaining unit. **A recruitment incentive may be offered in accordance with the Department of Labor’s Personnel Regulations (DPR) Chapter 575**
Workers’ Compensation Claims Examiner
Denver, Colorado; Washington DC, District of Columbia; Jacksonville, Florida; Cleveland, Ohio; Seattle, Washington
U.S. Citizens; ICTAP and CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area. Also being advertised as job announcement MS-16-HRC-OW-084 for status applicants and Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) applicants. To be considered for each, apply to BOTH jobs.
One position will be filled from this announcement at any of the following locations: Washington, DC; Denver, CO; Jacksonville, FL; Seattle, WA; or Cleveland, OH. DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. This position is located in the Department of Labor, Office of Workers Compensation Programs, Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC), Final Adjudication Branch (FAB). The mission of DEEOIC is to administer the benefits and provisions of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). The program offers benefits to employees who suffer from any of a broad range of illnesses and who worked in a broad range of occupations and professions at once or more of the facilities identified as atomic weapons employers, beryllium vendors and uranium mines or mills. This position is responsible for reviewing recommended decisions issued by the district office and drafting final agency decisions, which are subject to federal court review. This position has promotion potential to GS-12. This position is inside the bargaining unit.
Wage and Hour Investigator (Spanish)
DE-16-SF-WHD-021
DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees’ differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. The mission of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is to protect the rights of the nation’s workers through enforcement of several Acts: the Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act; the Employee Polygraph Protection Act; field sanitation and housing standards in the Occupational Safety and Health Act; and a number of employment standards and worker protections provided in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Additionally, the WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services. This position is located in the DOL, WHD, Boise Area Office, in Boise, ID. The full performance level of this position is GS-12. Promotion Potential: There is no obligation to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and supervisory approval. This position is inside the bargaining unit.
DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees’ differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. The mission of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is to protect the rights of the nation’s workers through enforcement of several Acts: the Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act; the Employee Polygraph Protection Act; field sanitation and housing standards in the Occupational Safety and Health Act; and a number of employment standards and worker protections provided in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Additionally, the WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services. This position is located in the DOL, WHD, Reno Field Office, in Reno, NV. The full performance level of this position is GS-12. Promotion Potential: There is no obligation to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and supervisory approval. This position is inside the bargaining unit.
Supervisory Equal Opportunity Specialist (Director of Regional Operations)
DE-16-SF-OFCCP-031
Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; Orange, California; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
U.S. Citizens; ICTAP and CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area. Also being advertised as job announcement #MS-16-SF-OFCCP-038 for status applicants, Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) applicants. To be considered for each, apply to BOTH jobs.
This position is located in the DOL, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Regional Office within in the Pacific Region. This position serves as the Director of Regional Operations. The incumbent exercises the Deputy Regional Director’s regional responsibility and authority for ensuring that area/field offices understand and implement the provisions of Executive Order 11246, as amended; Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (38 USC 2012). The position is at the full performance level. This position is outside the bargaining unit. One (1) vacancy may be filled through this announcement. Duty station is any office within the Pacific Region. Salary ranges: San Francisco/San Jose, CA: $118,460 to $154,000; Honolulu, HI: $101,932 to $132,514; Los Angeles/Orange, CA: $111,391 to $144,811; Portland, OR: $105,318 to $136,916; Seattle: $106,688 to $138,697.
Medical Officer (Occupational Medicine)
DE-16-OSHA-17
U.S. Citizens; ICTAP and CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area. Also being advertised as job announcement MS-16-OSHA-17 for status applicants, Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) applicants & persons eligible under these non-competitive authorities: Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment (VRA); 30% or more compensably disabled veterans; persons w/disabilities (Schedule A). To be considered for each, apply to BOTH jobs.
DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. This position is located in the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management (DTSEM), Office of Occupational Medicine (OOM). OOM is responsible for providing medical, toxicological and epidemiological expertise to the Director, DTSEM and the Assistant Secretary, OSHA National Office and Regional personnel, and others as appropriate. In addition, OOM serves as the Agency’s representative in activities such as academic and scientific gatherings, health-related conferences, legal proceedings/hearings, and other functions requiring occupational and/or preventative medicine expertise in matters concerning work-related illnesses and injuries. This position is inside the bargaining unit. Physician’s Comparability Allowance (PCA) will be offered.
DE-16-ATL-WHD-0008
DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential. This position is located in the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Atlanta, GA. This position has promotion potential to GS-6. Promotion Potential: There is no obligation to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and supervisory approval. This position is inside the bargaining unit.
FEMA-16-FF-93226-DE
Emmitsburg, Maryland
All U.S. citizens Status candidates may also apply under FEMA-16-TM-93226-MP View common definitions of terms found in this announcement This announcement will close on the closing date OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first.
When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. The incumbent is responsible for secretarial and administrative duties. This position starts at a salary of $43,684 (GS-07) with promotion potential to $62,888 (GS-08). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Emergency Management institute, Office of the Superintendent team within FEMA. Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
Staff Scheduling Analyst
FEMA-16-FK-81875-CORE
Temporary – Not to Exceed 2 Years
All U.S. citizens This announcement will close on Thursday February 18, 2016 OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first. For definitions of terms found in this announcement, please click here
When disaster strikes, America looks to FEMA. Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. This position is located in the Texas National Processing Servicing Center (NPSC), Individual Assistance Branch, Recovery Division, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In this position you will ensure the NPSC has adequate levels of staffing to provide high quality service to survivors of declared incidents/disasters. This position starts at a salary of $51,833 (IC-9). Apply today for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Recovery Team within FEMA! Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions. This position is being announced under FEMA’s CORE Program (Cadre of On-call Response/Recovery employees). These positions are authorized under P.L. 93-288 to perform temporary disaster work and are funded from the Disaster Relief Fund. Appointments are excepted service, temporary appointments. This is a 2 year temporary appointment in the Excepted Service.
Financial Management Specialist
All U.S. citizens This announcement will close on February 18, 2016, OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first. For definitions of terms found in this announcement, please click here
When disaster strikes, America looks to FEMA. Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. In this position, you will provide financial and administrative support to the Recovery Directorate. This position starts at a salary of $51,833 (GS-09 ), or $62,712 (GS-11). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the National Processing Servicing Center Recovery team within FEMA. Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions. This position is being announced under FEMA’s CORE Program (Cadre of On-call Response/Recovery employees). These positions are authorized under P.L. 93-288 to perform temporary disaster work and are funded from the Disaster Relief Fund. Appointments are excepted service, temporary appointments. This is a 2 year temporary appointment in the Excepted Service.
Emergency Management Specialist (Recovery)
FEMA-16-SVH-75246-DEU
All U.S. citizens Status candidates may also apply under FEMA-16-SVH-75246-MP View common definitions of terms found in this announcement This announcement will close on Monday, February 29, 2016 OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first.
When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. The ideal candidate has experience in disaster mass care service delivery, mass care and emergency assistance components. This position starts at a salary of $62,712 (GS-11) with promotion potential to the $75,167 (GS-12). Apply for this exciting opportunity within FEMA’s Region 6 Recovery Division. Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist
FEMA-16-AC-82503-DE1
All U.S. citizens Status candidates may also apply under FEMA-16-RJ-82503-MP1 View common definitions of terms found in this announcement This announcement will close on February 26, 2016 OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first.
When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. This position will serve as Supervisory Senior Leader in the Disaster Operations Division. This position starts at a salary of $108,887 (GS-14). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Office of the External Affairs team within FEMA. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
General Engineer
FEMA-16-LAB-83020-DEU
All U.S. citizens Status candidates may also apply under FEMA-16-LAB-83020-MP View common definitions of terms found in this announcement This announcement will close on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first.
When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. The ideal candidate should have experience in applying engineering principles, concepts,techniques and reviewing statements of work. This position starts at a salary of $ 92,145 (GS-13). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Logistics Management Directorate team within FEMA. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
Supervisory Grants Management Specialist
FEMA-16-PAD-93751-DE
All U.S. citizens Status candidates may also apply under FEMA-16-PAD-93751-MP View common definitions of terms found in this announcement This announcement will close on Monday, February 22, 2016 OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first.
When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. This position is located in the Grants Management Division and Business Branch, the work involves technical guidance and supervisory oversight for a staff responsible for implementing and managing Federal grants and cooperative agreements. This position starts at a salary of $104,349.00 (GS-14). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Grants Business Branch team within FEMA. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
Training Specialist
FEMA-16-MJ-93786-DE
All U.S. citizens Status candidates may also apply under FEMA-16-SB-93786 View common definitions of terms found in this announcement This announcement will close on Monday, February 22, 2016 OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first.
When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. This position starts at a salary of $92,145 (GS-13). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) team within FEMA. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
Emergency Management Specialist (Response)
FEMA-16-SEG-80556-DEU
All U.S. citizens Status candidates may also apply under FEMA-16-SEG-80556-MP View common definitions of terms found in this announcement This announcement will close on Monday, February 22, 2016 OR the date the 200 th application is received, whichever comes first.
When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit http://www.fema.gov for additional information. This position starts at a salary of $75,925 (GS-12). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Region 10 team within FEMA. EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
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Empire Abroad. Empire at Home.
Posted on April 26, 2017 by Richard Moser
This article also appeared in CounterPunch.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Americans are taught to revel in our power and supremacy. Over 650 major military bases span the whole world. We wage endless wars. American corporations are the most powerful economic organizations in history. The fusion of economic and military power makes our empire unlike any the world has ever seen.
We may be “#1” but it is to this great empire that we have lost our souls and our democracy with it.[1]
The New Paradigm
No great wall separates U.S. foreign policy from domestic policy. The Manhattan Institute is an influential think tank founded in 1978 by William Casey, former head of all U.S. intelligence and Director of the CIA. In a 2006 report “Merging Law Enforcement and Counterterrorism Strategies,” they describe “The New Paradigm:”
We know too that globalization is a permanent fact. The international economy is the engine of our nation and the source of our wealth. It means that all the physical and conceptual walls associated with the modern, sovereign state—the walls that divide domestic from international, the police from the military, intelligence from law enforcement, war from peace, and crime from war—are coming down.
The institutions and ideas U.S. elites used to project “full spectrum dominance” onto the global stage have eventually become part of the political order in the U.S. The “full spectrum” includes us.
It is empire — most of all — that dooms democracy and constitutional republics. As corporations have an insatiable drive for profit, empires have an insatiable drive for power. And that makes imperial actors hostile to the limits on authority, checks and balances, separation of powers and basic rights that the U.S. republic at least aspired to. As the institutions of representative democracy become weaker and weaker — devoted only to serving the corporate power and global empire — the need for social control of the people becomes greater and greater.
Targeting Dissent in the USA
The “McCarthyism” of the 1950s was the first modern wave of coordinated social control. Truman stoked the fear and hatred of communism to serve foreign policy, but soon, in the hands of the FBI and unscrupulous politicians, it was turned against domestic dissent. The establishment decided that some ideas were so dangerous that American citizens did not have the right or capacity to think through them for themselves. The government would do the thinking for us.[2]
Dissent was equated with treason, and it was not until the hard fought battles of the civil rights movement that dissent was once again seen as legitimate. It’s worth remembering that Martin Luther King was widely accused of being a communist.
Starting in the mid-50s, the FBI’s COINTELPRO program attacked dissenters. While the civil rights and black power movements were the primary targets of violent repression, almost all social movements were surveilled and disrupted. Today, protestors face escalating penalties, police violence, surveillance, and intimidation. Particularly since Trump’s election there have been a host of proposed laws that aim to criminalize first amendment rights of free speech and assembly.
Nixon turned to the “War on Drugs” to create the domestic equivalent of war and suppress the political movements. The War on Drugs — waged by Democrats and Republicans alike — went after hippies, the young and the black community as a way of penalizing the populations on which the movements depended.
Now we know the outcome of the War on Drugs.
Over the past few decades the American people have created a vast militarized penal system that is now the most powerful institutionalized racism in the US. And like the forms of institutionalized racism that preceded it, the penal system functions as an effective form of social control. Discriminatory and militarized policing, on-the-spot executions, slave-like prison labor, mass incarceration, school-to-prison pipeline, restriction of trial by jury, lengthy and mandatory sentencing, predatory fine, fee and debt traps, and its gigantic sweep and size constitutes nothing short of a preemptive war against the most potentially rebellious parts of the population: the young, people of color, the poor.[3]
Mandatory sentencing laws passed by Congress and signed by Bill Clinton shifted the power from judges to prosecutors. By tilting power away from the judiciary and toward the executive, a highly “efficient” system of incarceration took shape.
Police often get military training appropriate to an occupation force. Training that emphasizing weapons rather than conflict resolution. The “oil cops” at Standing Rock were employees of a private firm with ties to Blackwater, the corporation that provided the mercenaries used by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The use of facial recognition software, the recording and monitoring of electronic and phone communications and the commercialization of internet browsing data — all without consent or indictments — are part of the most sophisticated system of electronic surveillance ever created. Mass surveillance is a profound attack on the First Amendment. Knowing big brother is always listening chills free speech, dissent and free association.
The penal system chipped away other key provisions of the Bill of Rights including the protection from unwarranted search and seizure, the right to a trial, and the most fundamental rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
With 2 million behind bars, a million of which slave away for big corporations and the military, the penal system is the main example of how the empire’s increasing reliance on force and violence to solve political problems turned inward toward the American people.
But, as intimidating and brutal as the penal system is — it also a last resort. The use of force is evidence that the empire is losing control over the hearts and minds of increasing numbers of its subjects.
The NDAA on the Homefront
The line between empire abroad and empire at home was further eroded by provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The 1990 NDAA, passed by Congress and signed by President and former director of the CIA George Bush, allowed for the transfer of military weapons to domestic police forces accelerating the militarization of the penal system.
President Obama signed the 2012 NDAA which extended the rules of war worldwide — in effect making the US. homeland a theatre of war — by allowing indefinite detention without trial or justification, in violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right of Habeas Corpus.
The NDAA also included provisions that allowed the “US government to broadcast American produced foreign propaganda in the U.S.” And that is a lot of propaganda. In 2009, $580 million was spend in Iraq and Afghanistan on the information war. Another $500 million was spent by the Pentagon to produce fake Al-Qaeda videos. The NDAA essentially legalized the propaganda efforts of the CIA that were revealed as far back as 1975.
The first amendment is precise and sweeping: ‘Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” The Bill of Rights is designed to protect the people from the power of government not to protect government from the people.
In the last weeks of his term, Obama signed off on a bi-partisan effort to amend the 2016 NDAA and establish a “counter-propaganda” program, once again placing government in a position to determine what is propaganda and what is not. In a free country, that is the job of the people.
The chilling logic behind Obama’s record prosecution of whistleblowers under the Espionage Act and the intense Russian-baiting unleashed by the Clinton machine was taken to it’s extreme conclusion when Trump’s CIA director Mike Pompeo targeted Wikileaks as “a non-state, hostile intelligence service,” in a direct threat to free speech, free press and public access to information. Yet, in the last days of his term Obama insured that the 17 secret police forces would be able to freely share raw data and information gathered on millions of American citizens.
They can know all about us but we cannot know about them.
If the elites trusted the old forms of social order and enculturation— the media, educational system, family, military, church, or even the Constitution itself — to maintain order, would they need to create a system of mass surveillance, incarceration, and propaganda?
What a strange moment we live in!
The revolutionary vision of the Declaration of Independence, the checks on tyranny that structure the U.S. Constitution and the limits on government power listed in the Bill of Rights — though they be flawed, two and a half centuries old and obstructed direct democracy— are far more advanced than the form of government we now have. There is no democratic representation in the U.S. today We, the unrepresented people, are taxed and the represented corporations rule us. The U.S. empire and the corporate power have done what the old British empire could not.
Only massive and disruptive social movements can unmask the abuses of power to truly test the limits of our rights. The most important question: how do we organize the social movements necessary to restore democracy?
Next: As corrosive as empire is to democracy, another set of institutions joined the assault on republican forms of representation: the Corporate Power.
See the work of The American Empire Project, “Empire, long considered an offense against America’s democratic heritage, now threatens to define the relationship between our country and the rest of the world. The American Empire Project publishes books that question this development, examine the origins of U.S. imperial aspirations, analyze their ramifications at home and abroad, and discuss alternatives to this dangerous trend.” Also see Andrew Bacevich many articles and books such as The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War.
Ellen Schrecker, Many Are The Crimes: McCarthyism in America
https://befreedom.co/2017/03/04/organize-the-white-working-class/
About Richard Moser
Richard Moser has over 40 years experience as an organizer and activist in the labor, student, peace, and community movements. Moser is author of "New Winter Soldiers: GI and Veteran Dissent During the Vietnam Era," and co-editor with Van Gosse of "The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America." Moser lives in Colorado.
View all posts by Richard Moser →
This entry was posted in American Culture, Corporate Power, History, Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.
3 Responses to Empire Abroad. Empire at Home.
onceagain489 says:
Great article. Read it on CP, then came to your site. Your statement of purpose (About) is straightforward, non-dictatorial.
Reblogged the article to mine. While you’ll probably get some comments on the value of The Declaration and The Bill of Rights as being revolutionary, taken in context I agree the spirit is much more revolutionary/democratic than what we have now.
I live overseas, and have for a good part of my life. One of the most discouraging things I encountered was American style consumption. And if there’s one thing anyone can do, anywhere, it’s to consider what one is consuming, what one buys. Who and what is one supporting with one’s purchases ? Why feed the beast ? Let it wander off on its own, discover solitude.
Be checking back. Thanks for your work. As the late Joe Bageant says, In Work and Art
Steve Church
Richard Moser says:
Steve, thanks and thanks for reblogging the post. The social movements have a complicated relationship to the first American revolution but one worth exploring. My view is in the page https://befreedom.co/how-do-we-organize-a-hundred-million/ check out the post on “transformation.” I totally agree on the questions of consumption and infact I embrace all “prefigurative” politics. I have a short series on that I need to finish someday soon. Also see Victory Tiffany’s rap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIFh8vWi7aE
Steve, thanks and thanks for reblogging the post. The social movements have a complicated relationship to the first American revolution but one worth exploring. My view is in the page https://befreedom.co/how-do-we-organize-a-hundred-million/ check out the post on “transformation.” I totally agree on the questions of consumption and infact I embrace all “prefigurative” politics. I have a short series on that I need to finish someday soon. Also see Victory Tiffany’s video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIFh8vWi7aE
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How to Win in Australia
In Some Cricket Matches.. by Bill Ricquier 06/10/17
It’s not easy. Fred Trueman, Brian Statham, Frank Tyson, Jim Laker and Tony Lock. Not a bad attack, most people would agree. How did they get on in Australia in 1958-59? Well, the result was four-nil. To Australia.
Or there are Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Ashley Giles, four of the famous five who helped England win The Ashes in 2005, for the first time in eighteen years. How did they do Down Under a mere eighteen months later? Not quite so well: this time it was five-nil to the hosts.
Sri Lanka, with Test cricket’s leading wicket- taker, and the leading slow left arm wicket taker, plus two batsmen with over eleven thousand Test match runs? Not only have they yet to win a Test series, they haven’t won a single match; they have managed two draws in thirteen attempts
That’s the thing about Australia. It’s no respecter of persons, or of reputations. Alastair Cook and James Anderson, on whom so many hopes are pinned as England, prepare to travel there in just a few weeks time, have both performed heroic feats in Australia. But the last time they were there, in 2013-14, Cook averaged 24 with the bat and Anderson 43 with the ball. The other way round would have been great; as it was the numbers had “Ashes losers” all over them, reflected in another five- nil whitewash.
Ask the highly vaunted Indians how to win a Test series in Australia? Ask away. They’ve been trying since 1947-48 and have yet to win a single one. To be fair, they have come close, particularly in 2003-04. But overall, they’ve won just five Tests out of forty-four played there.
Pakistan have likewise failed to win a series in Australia. They too have come close. In 1976-77 they squared a three match series in Sydney after losing the second Test, at Melbourne by 348 runs. There is a bit of a clue here as to when Australia are vulnerable: Ian Chappell, Ian Redpath and Ashley Mallett had all retired; Jeff Thomson suffered a severe injury while fielding in the first Test, and missed the rest of the series. For Pakistan, in that victory at Sydney, one of the all-time greats, Imran Khan, took twelve wickets.
Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have each toured once, playing two Tests and losing both.
In every respect the relationship between Australia and New Zealand is a special one. In cricketing terms this was exemplified by the fact that for many years Australia simply refused to play their antipodean neighbours. In 1945-46 Bill Brown took a second-string Australian side to New Zealand and won the sole Test. New Zealand had to wait till 1972-73 for their first proper series. Their only series victory in Australia came in 1985-86. Again, the omens were in the visitors’ favour. Allan Border’s Australia were at genuine low ebb.
They had just lost The Ashes and their various playing elevens have a distinctly underwhelming look about them with , apart from Border , only Craig McDermott and Geoff Lawson offering much promise for the future. New Zealand, on the other hand, were probably as strong as they have ever been, with two genuinely world-class players in Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe. The visitors won the first Test at Brisbane and the third at Perth. At Brisbane, Hadlee took nine for 52 and six for 71; Crowe made 188. At Perth, Hadlee took five for 54 and six for 90; Crowe scored 71 and 42 not out. This is not to say that nobody else did anything. Far from it. But to beat Australia in Australia, your top performers have to stand up.
Between 1979 and about 1993 the West Indies were unchallenged as the best Test team . During that era they toured Australia five times, drawing the series in 1981-82 and winning the four others. But they have won no other series in Australia, not even during Gary Sobers’ long career.
That leaves the oldest rivals South Africa and England. Before Graeme Smith’s side arrived to face Ricky Ponting’s men in 2008-09, South Africa had played nine series in Australia and had won none of them, although they had secured some domineering wins at home over the years. But they won that series and two more since, most recently in 2016-17.
How did South Africa do it? A key factor is the captain. Smith was probably the best of his era, tough, insightful and tactically astute. There were batsmen prepared to fight it out and play long innings – Smith himself, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Faf du Plessis. Just occasionally, with a winning side, there will be an unexpected contribution, involving a touch of something like genius – J P Duminy’s wonderful innings of 166 at Melbourne in 2008-09. Above all, perhaps, there has been the pace attack. South Africa have been blessed with a succession of outstanding fast bowlers, from Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn through Morne Morkel, to Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander and Kyle Abbott (now sadly lost to international cricket) . Spinners are an optional extra.
Three wins all came after Australia’s own period of dominance, which lasted roughly from 1993 to 2007. This does not mean that Australia are now a poor side – as they have, very occasionally, been in the past. Every team is entitled to go through what is politely referred to as a period of transition. No, Australia are not a bad team. They are just like the other top sides- some days they are really good and some days they are really bad.
Now, England. Let’s forget the early days when it was all rather different . Starting with the period beginning after the Great War ( well , yes, I suppose that was a while ago…) England won in 1928-29, 1932-33, 1954-55, 1970-71, 1978-79, 1986-87 and 2010-11.
One thing is immediately clear from this list. There are no periods of extensive dominance, of the type enjoyed by Australia at various points. This, of course, ignores the fact that England have actually – unprecedentedly – won four successive home Ashes series. But that serves simply to emphasise how hard it is to win in Australia. England have only once won two successive series in Australia, in 1928-29 and 1932-33 – and the latter was a special case.
The importance of a strong pace attack was stressed earlier. 1932-33 was perhaps the extreme example of that. This was the notorious “Bodyline” series when England devised a strategy, around the fast, short-pitched bowling of Harold Larwood and Bill Voce, to counter the otherwise apparently invincible run-scoring powers of Don Bradman. Larwood in particular was exceptionally fast and he was almost lovingly handled by one of the greatest but most controversial of Test captains, the austere and ruthless Douglas Jardine.
Bodyline was swiftly outlawed and we have seen nothing quite like it since. But England’s next win, in 1954-55, had certain features in common with that earlier series. There was another highly resolute captain, the Yorkshire professional Len Hutton. There was a good blend of youth and experience. Above all, there was Tyson, for no more than seemingly a few months both freakishly quick and amazingly accurate. Paired with the skilful and persevering Statham, he proved irresistible against an Australian line up that was slightly short of the highest class.
There were comparisons in 1970-71 too. Another crafty Yorkshire man, Ray Illingworth, was in charge. England were probably the best team in the world right then. Illingworth had five players who could have walked into an England team of any era. – Geoff Boycott, John Edrich, Alan Knott, John Snow and Derek Underwood. The key performers, though, were Boycott and Snow. Boycott had the sheer bloody- mindedness that a batsman needs to get big runs in Australia: Cook, though a different sort of player, showed something similar in 2010-11. Snow was a great fast bowler at his absolute peak. Australia were, well, yes, in a transitional phase. Graham Mackenzie was at the end of his career. Ian Chappell took over as captain from Bill Lawry in the final Test of the series. They were about to turn the corner.
Not much needs to be said about 1978-79. Australia suffered more than England from the Packer saga and were no match for Mike Brearley’s highly competent tourists. 1986-87 was interesting. The truth is that neither side was especially good, but Australia were definitely worse. Ian Botham had enough in the locker to make a difference and David Gower had a good series too. Everything was about to change though. Australia started picking on character, rather than achievements in domestic cricket – Steve Waugh, Ian Healy – much as Duncan Fletcher was later to do for England. – and the long- suffering Border slowly built a team of world beaters.
It was a different world, though, in 2010-11. England again had a captain with a touch of steel, the unflappable Andrew Strauss. Ponting, such a great player for so long, was past his best and his Australian side seemed strangely tentative. England had the one great batsman, Kevin Pietersen (remember him?) and the highest scoring one, Cook. Despite the loss of Stuart Broad after the second Test, England’s attack was more than adequate for the job.
What about Australia. ? How do they go about winning at home? Captaincy is usually crucial; think of Warwick Armstrong, Bradman, Richie Benaud, Ian Chappell, Border, Mark Taylor, Waugh. It is this, combined with the bowling attack (the runs will take care of themselves). Usually that means pace, sometimes extreme pace and ideally in pairs. Gregory and MacDonald, Lindwall and Miller, Lillee and Thomson, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson. Of course in their period of ascendancy they had Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Combinations like that, skilfully led, will demolish an inferior team. They will seek out weaknesses and prey on them; if they can’t immediately find any they will nominate imaginary weaknesses and prey on them instead. Someone like Johnson can effectively win a series with just a few incisive spells.
So what chance for England now? Well, it’s far from hopeless. The uncertainty surrounding pivotal all-rounder Ben Stokes is deeply unhelpful and potentially a decisive blow to England’s hopes. That said, Australia are far from being a great side, and that seems to be a condition precedent to beating them , a fairly obvious point admittedly.
There is a lot of uncertainty about England’s top order and that is a real worry. The selectors are taking a punt on Mark Stoneman; there is no reserve opener. In Australia you really do need a few batsmen to do very well. Michael Vaughan had a fantastic series in 2002-03 but the team lost three-one.
It’s a shame they couldn’t find a flat out fast
bowler, even a relatively untried one. One can’t help feeling that the attack may struggle in Australian conditions.
We can’t expect Moeen Ali to work another of his miracles – can we? Usman Khawaja might turn out to be his rabbit. Finger spinners have tended to have a limited impact Down Under, though Graeme Swann did his bit in 2010-11, and Nathan Lyon has become a key component of Australia’s attack.
If Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins stay fit one would expect Australia to win but Joe Root’s team will not be a pushover.
Bill Ricquier. 6/10/2017. This article was published in Scoreline Asia: https://scoreline.asia/how-to-win-in-australia/
Featured Image: Melbourne Cricket Stand by Mugley, image licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic.
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How Does Corporate Sponsorship Work?
By: Angela Stringfellow
Difference Between Sponsors & Donors
The Basics of Corporate Sponsorship
Corporate sponsorship can take many forms, but generally involves a company or organization attaching its name to a charity, event, or other promotion in exchange for providing funds or paying a sponsorship fee. Corporate sponsorship is an effective means of advertising for many organizations, because it promotes goodwill. Companies are more likely to spend large amounts of money sponsoring highly publicized events due to the amount of publicity that can be generated and the opportunity to be affiliated with a good cause or popular event.
Making the Contact
Typically a director of development from a charitable organization initiates the contact. They begin by approaching marketing directors of different companies to solicit funding. Rather than solicit straight donations, the charity makes the offer sweeter for the company by offering sponsorship opportunities in exchange for monetary donations. The company is more likely to donate money to a charitable cause when they have the ability to gain publicity as a result.
Outlining the Terms
The specific terms of the agreement are then outlined in a written contract. For example, a company is sponsoring a charity golf tournament. The terms of the agreement state that the company's name and logo will be used on all marketing and promotional materials leading up to and on the day of the event. The company will be credited as the headline sponsor for the event in all radio and television advertising leading up to the event, and the company's logo will appear on event t-shirts.
The company making the donation typically becomes actively involved in the charity after the relationship has been established. For example, the president or other representative of the sponsoring company may sit on the board of directors for the charitable organization, or a representative from the sponsoring company takes an active role in helping to plan and organize the charitable event. For events, it is very common for the sponsoring organization to participate in the event itself. This is seen most frequently with charity walks to support a cause such as Alzheimer's disease. A company sponsoring this event will most likely form a team and participate on the day of the walk.
Ongoing Relationships
Often these agreements can lead to ongoing relationships, where a company pledges to donate an agreed upon sum of monetary support each year. In exchange, the company receives recognition of some sort, in the form of press releases announcing the sponsorship, an engraved plaque that hangs proudly on the wall of the office, and the ability of the company to announce in its marketing messages that it proudly supports the event or charity.
How to Get Sponsorship for Your Concert or Event
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The Disadvantages of Sponsorship
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How to Get a Coke Sponsorship
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New Milford, CT Hospital Malpractice Lawyer
New Milford, CT Hospital Malpractice Attorneys
The malpractice lawyers at Berkowitz Hanna represent individuals and families who believe they were mistreated while under the care of hospitals such as New Milford Hospital. If you believe you’ve been treated negligently, contact us today.
New Milford not-for-profit hospital is an 85-bed facility serving patients in 80 communities in northern Fairfield and Litchfield counties in Connecticut, and Putnam and Dutchess counties in New York. It is a full-service community hospital that joined with Danbury Hospital in 2010 to create the Western Connecticut Health Network.
Built in 1921, the hospital prides itself on services in:
Family birthing
Emergency room care
One-day surgery
New Milford Hospital, according to its literature, ranks consistently among the top 10 percent of hospitals in patient satisfaction across the nation. In its regional cancer center, the hospital was one of the first in Connecticut to provide modulated radiation therapy in addition to other treatment modalities, including:
High dose radiation
Cancer genetic counseling
The chance to be a part of clinical trials to study cancer treatment
Most recent hospital statistics show patients make more than 6,500 medical oncology visits and more than 2,800 radiation therapy visits to the facility each year.
One-day surgery visits are provided to patients for general and vascular surgery, orthopedics, spinal surgery, ophthalmology, urology, gynecology, endoscopy, cosmetic surgery, radiology, podiatry, and ear, nose and throat surgery.
Treatments for sleep disorders, which affect up to a third of the population, are offered for patients with obstructive sleep apnea, snoring and drowsiness caused by insomnia. The sleep center conducts overnight sleep studies on patients in hospital rooms set up to resemble comfortable hotel rooms. The studies measure, among other parameters, breathing patterns, oxygen levels, heart rate and muscle tone.
Lawsuits filed Against New Milford Hospital
When a doctor, nurse or other healthcare provider’s negligence causes harm to a patient, he or she and the hospital itself can be held accountable. Patients who believe they are mistreated while under the care of a Connecticut hospital such as New Milford Hospital can file a lawsuit against the hospital to pursue compensation for damages.
An example of a recent lawsuit against New Milford Hospital involves a woman who filed a lawsuit on behalf of her husband. According to an article published by The News Times, Diane D’Amato, the widow of a New Milford man, filed a lawsuit against his radiologist and co-defendants New Milford Hospital and Radiological Associates of New Milford.
The lawsuit claims that while Dr. Michael Waldman was performing a radiological procedure at New Milford Hospital in April 2010 Thomas D’Amato, 74, he perforated his spleen.
The News Times reported that medical examiners from the Department of Public Health found that Waldman “recognized that he had perforated the spleen,” but sent D’Amato home without saying anything. Department of Public Health documents also said Waldman failed to properly monitor D’Amato.
The patient returned to the hospital six hours after surgery with complications and then was transferred to Danbury Hospital. He died three days later.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed on May 18 in state Superior Court in Litchfield, the mistake caused D’Amato to suffer “blood loss, pain, anxiety, shortness of breath, pain and anguish, all of which caused his death on or about April 29, 2010.”
On April 17, Waldman was sanctioned by the State Medical Examining Board. The sanction required a reprimand be placed on his license to practice as a physician and surgeon in Connecticut. The sanction also required Waldman’s work to be monitored by a licensed radiologist for one year at his own expense.
“The lawsuit came to mind,” D’Amato’s widow reported, “when I found out that Dr. Waldman knew what he’d done and didn’t say anything.”
Even though the Department of Public Health sanctioned Waldman, that action was between the state and the doctor, explained D’Amato’s attorney. “No action they took or can take compensates Diane D’Amato for her loss,” he said.
Waldman resigned from New Milford Hospital and left Radiological Associates of New Milford. He is now unemployed, according to the news report.
Source: The News Times
Contact a skilled New Milford, CT Hospital Malpractice Attorney Today
If you believe that your loved ones injuries or death was caused by negligence, you may be eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to pursue damages. To find out if you qualify to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, contact our New Milford, CT Hospital Malpractice Lawyers at Berkowitz Hanna.
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Structural Theory
Jan 25, 2018 in Economics
The structural theory of economic development is based on changing the economic structures of the developing countries from subsistence grounded economy to an industrialized and urban-based one (Bitar 43). The developing countries mostly practice subsistence production for their own consumption. In support of this theory, Sir William Arthur Lewis argues that the traditional agrarian system has a lot of idle labor that can be utilized in the industrial sector and be more productive. If the labor that is idle in the subsistence production sector could be utilized in a more productive manner in the industrial sector, then a country stands a chance of growth and economic development (Coleman, and Nixon 36). Hollis Burnley Chenery, also in support of this model, argues that the route that a state will follow in developing its economy depends on its resources, size, as well as its current income level and virtual advantage proportional to other countries.
Hollis advocates that for a country to advance its economy, it must work from its level upwards. This means that a country must work to improve its current economic conditions to record an economic growth in the long run (Kalecki 78). Therefore, since most developing countries have high levels of illiteracy, high levels of mortality rate, and high level of food shortages, they need to work on eradicating these problems. For a country to industrialize it must have enough work force to supply the industries with labor; therefore, the levels of education have to be improved. In the industrialization process, the number of industries to be constructed at a time depends on the country size and its capital capacity. According to the structuralism, economic development is gradual and is achieved through the accomplishment of numerous smaller strategies (Kalecki 78). This theory has faced a lot of criticism because of its incompetence.
The theory puts its emphasis on the shift from an agrarian system to an industrialized one. According to the critics, this shift would lead to heavy inequalities between the urban areas and the rural areas (Coleman, and Nixson 38). The urban areas would develop inevitably while the rural areas would be demising down. The assumption that there is a surplus labor in the agrarian sector is criticized since this labor is just seasonal and, if it were transferred to the industrial sector, the agriculture sector would collapse. The critics of this model point out that the model does not have a framework. That is, the model does not outline clearly what should be done to achieve economic development in the developing countries.
Theories of Trade
The Mercantilism theory argues that a nation may accumulate economic wealth through encouraging exports and dispiriting imports. The reality of this theory was achieved through government intervention, colonization, and trade surpluses. The colonizers are a good example of the reality of this model; they ensured trade surplus through exporting raw materials from the colonies to their home countries. They then exported finished goods to other countries and made it hard and almost impossible to import to their countries. Government intervention is realized through the imposition of tariffs or sanctions on imports and giving subsidies for expanding their exports (Bitar 43).
The absolute advantage theory argues that a nation may accumulate economic wealth through producing goods more cheaply than another country, using equal or fewer resources. This theory implies that a country should produce what it can best produce. This model advocates that trade should be allowed to flow freely as driven by the market forces of demand and supply. That is, trade should not be restricted through imposing of tariffs, sanctions, or subsidies. It also points out that the main goal should be making cheap products available to the nationals in abundance, as well as ensuring that the living standards of the nationals are improved (Kalecki 79). Through this model, national wealth is measured by considering the living standards of the people but not the money the country has in store.
The Importance of Trade
Trade enables countries to learn new ideas from each other. When countries are trading with each other, every country learns from the other and receives mutual benefits. Each country has its field of specialty, different from that of the trading partner’s one (Coleman, and Nixson 37). There is transfer of economic ideas, which help countries grow and advance economically. For example, developing countries borrow construction ideas from the developed ones. Most developing countries have no infrastructure; therefore, in case of infrastructure construction, they borrow the ideas that were used to construct such a piece of infrastructure in the developed countries (Bitar 43). Secondly, through trade, countries are able to access and consume what it does not produce. Countries need to consume products, which they do not produce, or services not available in their country. In such cases, trade plays a major role in making these products, goods, and services available. For instance, the developing countries have shortages of skilled labor force; therefore, they have to import professional labor from the developed countries. Third, trade creates a balance amongst economies and reduces the risk of collapsing. If an economy was independent, and collapsed, it would be hard to revive it (Kalecki 78). With trade, countries are dependent; therefore, even if an economy threatens to collapse, corrective measures are employed early enough to remedy. Trade is important in the world economy since there is no single country that can make the world economy on its own. It is only through trade that any country realizes its economic wealth.
Rolls-Royce is a company that specializes on engines and has its branches located in Germany, the US, England, Asia, Singapore, and Alesund. Rolls is a thriving company in its operations and it is making remarkable profits through basing its operations on niche markets. Contrary to the other companies, Rolls is making investments in the high-wage countries. It decided to invest here because, in the high wage countries, it is getting government support and property protection of high intellectual property and information. It is facing stiff competition from renowned companies and governments. For example, as said in the article, China and India are eradicating thousands of engineers to boost their home industries. The major problem that Rolls is facing is the deficiency of skilled labor. The company is lacking technical skills that it is looking for in engineers. As a result, it is suffering from labor shortage. The shortage in staffs has cost the company millions of dollars since the company is forced to decline contracts.
Rolls invest in Norway because of the support the government provides
As stated in the article, government’s support is vital if a company wants to do quality engineering. The government plays a significant role in protecting a company’s intellectual property and providing an environment conducive for investment. Another reason for Rolls to move its plant to Norway; is that Norway is leading in improved shipping building in the world. With this withstanding, then it has better workforce skilled in shipbuilding. Although there is a shortage in staffing as compared to other countries, Norway is far much better. The third reason is that there is a great demand for marine engines in Norway because of its operation in the rough Arctic and the North Sea. Because of many breakages in the ocean, there is a great demand for marine engines today. With the increased water travel, there is a rise in demand for more ships and other marines. Therefore, this existed as a market niche, and it was a good opportunity for Rolls to utilize.
Norway emphasizes on efficiency and knowhow over labor cost; therefore, the workers need to be skillful and educated. The Western countries seek to produce quality products; thus, they require train workforce that is rich in skills. In addition, the legal requirements for industry laborers demand skilled workers to reduce risks, as well as to produce standard products. In Norway, the wages are high as well as the living standards; for workers to be paid lavishly, they need to be satisfactorily skilled. There is the existence of the security system that is concerned with the welfare of workers, which governs the hiring standards. Through this system, Norway is able to ensure that employees the companies hire are qualified; hence, they can reduce the firing rates. In an attempt to satisfy the regulations of the security system, the companies do not hire employees who are not satisfactorily qualified to avoid the need to fire them soon after the hiring.
China, on the other hand emphasizes on labor cost cut down and mass production over efficiency and knowhow. With the increased demand of the China made products both locally and internationally, skills in production have been less a concern. The China government is working towards improving the market of its local products in the local market. To achieve this objective, there has been a loose hand on the production regulations and requirements. Less skilled workers are paid cheaply; thus, the labor cost of production is cutting down greatly. This results in low prices products thus raising their demand internationally, although they are rather substandard one. The production requirements of China are favorable when compared to those of the Western countries; this gives a loophole for producers to be reckless and, eventually, unskilled workers get into the system.
China’s government does not give sufficient support for a business to thrive. Rishton, quoted in the article, asserts that, for a company to do quality engineering, government support is vital. Therefore, being an essential, it becomes hard for a company that deals with fundamental engineering to thrive in China. According to the researches outlined in the critique, most foreign investors in China are complaining of intellectual property security. China does not protect the proprietary information of foreign investors. The researches showed that investors lost millions of money because of leakage of their proprietary information to competitors. In addition, China is committed to training workforce to improve the value of its products; thus, this objective contradicts helping or even safeguarding the welfare of foreign investors. The government cannot protect the foreign investors since it is working towards improving the market of their local products.
These intellectual properties are not secondary but basic ones
Since these concerns have contributed to Rolls decision of not investing in China, they must have been basic to the company’s operations. Having noted that staff shortages are a problem to the company, China’s objective of training works to help improve its local products will complicate the shortage problem. Finally, leakage of a company’s proprietary information to its competitors would cause great damages resulting in huge losses. The information of any company is its power and its advantage over its competitors. The leakage of this information is a huge blow to the company.
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Narrative (17)
Informative (71)
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The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. The similarity between the orange-red coloring of its breast to that of the smaller and unrelated European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) led to its common name. The American Robin is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The American Robin is 23–28 cm (10–11 in) long, averaging about 77 g (2.7 oz), with a wingspan ranging from 119 to 137 millimeters. In the wild, the longest known lifespan of an American Robin is 14 years, but the average lifespan is about 2 years. It has a brown back with a reddish-orange breast. It is white underneath the tail feathers and on the lower belly. The throat is white with black streaks, and males are generally brighter than females. It has a small yellow beak and distinctive crescents around the eyes. There are seven sub-species, but only T. m. confinus in the southwest is particularly distinctive, with pale gray-brown underparts. Juveniles are paler in color than adult males and have dark spots on their breasts.
During the breeding season, the adult males grow distinctive black feathers on their heads; after the breeding season, they lose this eye-catching plumage.
This bird breeds throughout most of North America, from Alaska and Canada southward to northern Florida and Mexico. While Robins occasionally overwinter in the northern part of the United States and southern Canada, most winter south of Canada from Florida and the Gulf Coast to central Mexico, as well as along the Pacific Coast. Most depart south by the end of August and begin to return north in February and March (exact dates vary with latitude and climate). This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
However, in autumn 2003, migration was displaced eastwards leading to massive movements through the eastern USA. Presumably, this is what led to no fewer than three American Robins being found in Great Britain, with two attempting to overwinter in 2003–2004, one of which was taken by a Eurasian Sparrowhawk, and one sighted in Britain in January 2007 in Gilstead, West Yorkshire, England.
The American Robin’s habitat is woodland and more open farmland and urban areas.
The American Robin is active mostly during the day, assembling in large flocks at night, roosting in trees in secluded swamps or dense vegetation. In the winter, they gather in large numbers on their winter grounds, breaking up during the day to feed on fruits and berries in smaller flocks. During the summer, American Robins defend breeding territories and are less social during that time.
Robins are frequently seen running across lawns, picking up earthworms by sight. In fact, running and stopping the behavior is a distinguishing characteristic. When stopping, they are actually looking for prey, not listening.
A robin with wormsAmerican Robin diet generally consists of around 40 percent invertebrates, such as beetle grubs, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, and 60 percent fruits and berries.[3] It feeds on a mixture of both wild and cultivated fruits and berries. It forages primarily on the ground for soft-bodied invertebrates, and finds worms by sight, pouncing on them and then pulling them up.
Juvenile robins and eggs are preyed upon by squirrels, snakes, and some birds, such as Blue Jays, Common Grackles, American Crows, and Common Ravens. Adults are primarily taken by hawks, cats, and larger snakes, although when feeding in flocks, the American Robin is able to remain vigilant and watch other flock members for reactions to predators.
The American Robin begins to breed shortly after returning to its summer range from their winter range. It is one of the first bird species to lay eggs, and normally has two to three broods per breeding season. The breeding season lasts from April to July.
Nests are most commonly located five to fifteen feet above the ground in a dense bush or in a fork between two tree branches and are built by the female. The outer foundation consists of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers, lined with smeared mud and cushioned with fine grass or other soft materials. New nests are built for each brood, and in northern areas, the first clutch is usually placed in an evergreen tree or shrub while later broods are placed in deciduous trees.
A clutch consists of three to five light blue eggs and is incubated by the female. Eggs hatch after 14 days and chicks leave the nest two weeks later. All chicks in a brood leave the nest within two days of each other. While the chicks are still young, the mother broods them continuously but will brood them only at night or during bad weather when they are older. Even after leaving the nest, the juveniles will follow their parents around and beg food from them. Juveniles become capable of sustained flight two weeks after fledging.
The eyes of the pink featherless nestlings are closed for the first five days. Both parents feed the nestlings a diet of earthworms, insects, and berries.
The adult male and female both are active in protecting and feeding the fledged chicks until they learn to forage on their own. The adult Robins give alarm calls and dive-bomb predators, including domestic cats, dogs, and humans, that come near the young birds. The fledglings are able to fly short distances after leaving the nest. The wings of juvenile birds develop rapidly and it only takes a couple of weeks for them to become proficient at flying. The cryptic young birds perch in bushes or trees for protection from predators. Bird banders have found that only 25% of young robins survive the first year. The American Robins are not shy about nesting close to human habitation.
Vocalization
The male American Robin, as with many thrushes, has a beautiful, complex and almost continuous song. Its song is commonly described as a cheerily carol, made up of discrete units, often repeated, and spliced together into a string with brief pauses in between. The song varies regionally, and its style varies by time of day. American Robins will often be among the first songbirds singing as dawn rises, and last as evening sets in.
The text within the green border is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. To see the full article with more information, visit the Wikipedia article “American Robin“. All content outside the green border is copyrighted by McBryde Website Design.
For more information from the USGS (United States Geological Survey)
on the American Robin, click here.
Back to Birds / Waterfowl
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https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/02/01/is-xi-jinping-a-reformer-wrong-question/
Is Xi Jinping a Reformer? Wrong Question.
Feb 1, 2013 11:30 am HKT
Zuma Press
By Yiyi Lu
Much has been said and written on the prospects for reform in China since the 18th Communist Party Congress last November, but few analyses offer anything that is truly original or illuminating. This is hardly surprising, given that most commentaries try to address questions such as “Are the new leaders reformers or conservatives?” “Does Xi Jinping have enough power to push though reforms?” or “What must the new leadership do if it is serious about reform?” While such questions are not completely invalid, they inevitably lead to highly subjective and speculative conclusions that are of very limited value.
Better questions are needed in order to produce more useful analyses and forecasts of China’s political development. Such analyses should start by recognizing two facts: First, the new leadership’s various initiatives and pronouncements after taking office indicate that it fully accepts the need for change. Second to quote the American political scientist Samuel Huntington, the leadership is clearly aiming at “some change but not total change, gradual change but not convulsive change.” In short, the leadership wants controlled reform, not revolution or regime change.
Huntington has argued that implementing reform is far more difficult than staging revolution. The methods, timing, sequencing and pace of changes all need to be carefully managed. If not handled well, reform will lead not to stability but to greater instability and may serve as a catalyst of revolution. China’s experience with reform and revolution through history, especially its modern history, certainly lends support to this argument.
In this context, instead of asking if Xi Jinping and his colleagues have the desire and power to launch substantial reforms, it might be more useful to examine this question: To what extent is the new leadership alert to the risks and pitfalls of reform and how does it intend to deal with them?
From the new Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Qishan’s recommendation to a group of Chinese scholars -- whose advice on anticorruption measures he had sought -- that they read de Tocqueville’s book “The Old Regime and the French Revolution,” to various speeches by Xi Jinping in which he often stresses that reform requires great political courage and wisdom, there are plenty of signs that the leaders are highly aware of the risks of reform.
How do they attempt to manage the risks then?
First, in all his major speeches since becoming party leader, Xi Jinping has repeatedly and unequivocally stated that China must adhere to Marxism and the socialist path and carry out reform under the Communist Party’s leadership (in Chinese). While these speeches are bound to disappoint liberals and many foreign China watchers, they fulfill two crucial purposes: reassuring conservatives who worry that reform would lead to Soviet-style collapse of the party and the state, and sending a clear message to liberals to discourage them from agitating for radical change.
Second, recognizing the importance of finding the right methods, the new leadership has refrained from drawing a detailed roadmap for reform, opting instead for an approach that combines “top-level design” and “crossing the river by feeling the stones” (in Chinese). This approach leaves room for adjustments and corrections should any reform measure go awry. It favors phased reform over shock therapy. It also ensures that the leadership does not have to show its hand too early, which could serve to alert and galvanize the potential opposition.
Third, the leadership stresses that in deciding how fast and vigorously to push through reform measures, the main consideration is that stability should not be jeopardized. In Xi Jinping’s words, the degree of intensity of reform and the speed of development must match the level of social tolerance for them (in Chinese).
Finally, after taking office, the leadership quickly launched new initiatives aimed at fighting corruption, curtailing the privileges of officials and curing bureaucratic malaise. In contrast, it has proceeded cautiously on the issues of media censorship, freedom of speech or freedom of information. This shows that the leadership has prioritized reform measures that have the broadest popular support and that promise concrete benefits to the populace over reforms that appeal most to liberal intellectuals and that tend to raise expectations and foment discontent rather than increase satisfaction with the government’s performance.
While China’s new leaders have given clear signals that they are mindful of the challenges and risks of reform and will work hard to maintain a steady course, they have not articulated the goals of the reform they have vowed to pursue. We do not know how much change Xi Jinping wishes to bring out. Xi’s holding back from outlining a reform program will inevitably fuel the charge that he is not a genuine reformer, but Xi already has an answer to the skeptics. “Reform and opening up only have progressive tense and no perfect tense,” he said at the Politburo collective study session on Dec. 31 (in Chinese) on how to “deepen reform.”
In other words, there is no point in asking how far reform will go under Xi’s leadership, since in his vision it will never stop. Whether they believe Xi’s promise of unending reform, given the difficulties of implementing reform in China’s present condition, pundits should give Xi and his colleagues some more time before drawing conclusions on their commitment to reform and their chances of success.
Yiyi Lu, an expert on Chinese civil society, is currently working on a project to promote open government information in China. She is the author of “Non-Governmental Organisations in China: The Rise of Dependent Autonomy” (Routledge 2008).
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Yiyi Lu
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BMC Public Health
Research article | Open | Open Peer Review | Published: 22 April 2008
Promoting prevention with economic arguments – The case of Finnish occupational health services
Eila Kankaanpää1,2,
Aki Suhonen1 &
Hannu Valtonen2
BMC Public Healthvolume 8, Article number: 130 (2008) | Download Citation
Both social and ethical arguments have been used to support preventive occupational health services (OHS). During the 1990s it became more common to support political argumentation for occupational health and safety by converting the consequences of ill health at work into monetary units. In addition, OHS has been promoted as a profitable investment for companies, and this aspect has been used by OHS providers in their marketing.
Our intention was to study whether preventive occupational health services positively influence a company's economic performance.
We combined the financial statements provided by Statistics Finland and employers' reimbursement applications for occupational health services (OHS) costs to the Social Insurance Institution. The data covered the years 1997, 1999 and 2001 and over 6000 companies. We applied linear regression analysis to assess whether preventive OHS had had a positive influence on the companies' economic performance after two or four years.
Resources invested in preventive OHS were not positively related to a company's economic performance. In fact, the total cost of preventive OHS per turnover was negatively correlated to economic performance.
Even if OHS has no effect on the economic performance of companies, it may have other effects more specific to OHS. Therefore, we recommend that the evaluation of prevention in OHS should move towards outcome measures, such as sickness absence, disability pension and productivity, when applicable, both in occupational health service research and in practice at workplaces.
Open Peer Review reports
Both social and ethical arguments have been used to support preventive occupational health services (OHS). It has been regarded as a fundamental right of each worker to reach the highest attainable standard of health, and workers' health at work should be protected [1, 2]. Prevention was perceived as valuable, at any rate better and cheaper than a cure [3], and therefore economic analyses were not required.
During the 1990s it became more common to reinforce political argumentation for occupational health and safety by converting the consequences of ill health at work into monetary units [4–6]. Moreover, OHS has been promoted as a profitable investment for companies [7, 8], a viewpoint that has been used by OHS providers in their marketing.
Occupational health personnel have a role in assessing the health risks at the workplace – both environmental risks and problems in the functioning of the working community. They offer guidance on how to carry out interventions to improve working conditions and well-being at work and assist employees in maintaining their health. They also carry out interventions themselves, organize groups e.g. for persons with neck problems or obesity, participate in the planning and implementation of return-to-work policies, and act as facilitators in organizational development projects [9, 10].
The interventions also have an economic dimension. Through improvement of working conditions, the costs of occupational accidents and diseases can be lowered. More importantly, these improvements can also lead to increased productivity [8, 11]. If employees are motivated and committed to their work, they are willing to improve the services and products, which leads to higher customer satisfaction and faster payment of invoices. This reduces receivable accounts and thus provides higher return on capital employed. Employees' initiatives also concern internal processes. The result will be less rework and smooth processes that lower operating expenses [12]. The costs of sickness absence and disability pensions can be lowered with health related interventions [13], which has immediate positive financial effects for a company. In the long run, this will mean reductions in the company's health and insurance pension premiums due to lowered social security costs [8].
We study the assumption that if a company invests more in preventive occupational health services this would mean more interventions and, consequently, more favourable outcomes. Finally, there would be an impact on the profitability of the company.
We wanted to study the above described previously unexplored relationship between a company's economic performance and its investment in preventive occupational health services. The small amount of research in this area may be due to insufficient data. The circumstances in Finland, however, enable examination of this relationship, as it has been obligatory for employers to arrange preventive occupational health services for their employees since 1979. Preventive services include both individual and workplace activities. Employers can voluntarily organize GP level medical services, and they are entitled to reimbursement for the costs of preventive and medical services. Because of the reimbursement system, there is an employer-based register of the contents and costs of OHS. In this study, we combined this register with the firms' financial statements gained from Statistics Finland. Firm-specific identification codes were used in the processing of the financial statement data.
Our objective was to determine whether preventive occupational health services positively influence a company's economic performance.
We examined the relationship between companies' investment in preventive OHS in 1997 and 1999 and the companies' economic performance four or two years later in 2001. We had the opportunity to use micro-level data from the companies.
Statistics Finland collects the financial statements of all Finnish firms from tax authorities. The register also contains data such as number of persons employed by the company, year of establishment, registered office, and industry.
The Social Insurance Institution (SII) registers employers' reimbursement applications for OHS. This register contains data on the service mix and the costs incurred. We chose to use registers from the years 1997, 1999 and 2001. In 1997, the reformed reimbursement system for the promotion of activities supporting work ability had been in force for two years. As this project was launched, 2001 was the last year for which all reimbursement applications had been processed. Companies apply for reimbursement within six months of closing their accounts, after which it takes over a year to process all the applications at the SII. We then merged this register with the Statistics Finland data, using firm-specific identification codes.
Finnish firms are a heterogeneous group. Table 1 presents the exclusion criteria. In 2001, 40% of a total of 226,000 firms were actually self-employed private persons and 15% had limited or unlimited liabilities. These and all other juridical forms except companies were excluded. Companies are defined as clearly for-profit organizations, and the legislation on bookkeeping and financial statements guarantees high quality of economic performance data. To enable assessment of whether the preceding investment in preventive OHS has had an impact on the company's economic performance, the companies had to have been in business continually through 1997–2001 (financial statements were available for this period).
Table 1 Exclusion criteria and number of companies in study
Statistics Finland has graded the quality of the financial statements into three categories. It only uses financial statements from firms when the quality of the data is graded excellent or good in its own publications and analysis. We used the same criteria, as in the third category many of the rows in the income statements have to be estimated.
The Act on Occupational Health Services applies only to firms that have employees. We assumed that a company's turnover had to exceed a certain level in order for it to be able to employ someone. With this in mind, we excluded companies with a turnover of less than €50,000 p.a. The number of employees in the Statistics Finland register also includes all short-term contracts, which might have been valid for a couple of hours only. Thus we left out companies with less than ten employees in 2001. By trimming both tails of all key ratios we were left with 6271 companies for the analysis.
After the exclusions, the number of companies fell from almost 100,000 to 6271. However, with view to average Finnish companies in 2001, the companies included in the study were rather typical in their location in terms of region and type of municipality. Regionally, the companies were mainly located in the south: 37% in Uusimaa, the region around the capital city of Helsinki, 36% in Southern Finland, 8% in Eastern Finland, 12% in Central Finland, 7% in Northern Finland, and less than 1% in Åland. Most of the companies were situated in urban municipalities (74%), and the rest were split between semi-urban (14%) and rural municipalities (12%).
The size distribution of the companies in the study naturally differed from that of all Finnish companies as those with less than ten employees were excluded.
The industry distribution of the included companies differed from that of total Finnish companies in three industries: the share of companies in real estate, renting, and business activities was smaller in the study population than in all Finnish companies (28%). These companies were small: 92% employed less than ten persons and were therefore excluded from the study. The financial intermediation industry disappeared completely, as this industry has special regulations concerning financial statements and cannot be compared with companies from other industries. The share of companies from the combined industry group of mining and quarrying plus manufacturing was higher than in all Finnish companies (14%). The size and industry distribution of the companies included in the study is presented in Additional file 1.
The average turnover of the companies in the study was about €24 million, and the average age of a company was 18 years.
Statistics Finland calculated the key ratios for all companies (Table 2). They are all derived from financial statements and commonly used in assessing companies' economic performance. We used the five key indicators for profitability as an outcome measure for company economic performance. Key indicators for industries differ [14], and there are also geographical and regional differences, mainly due to differences in competitiveness [15]. The size of the company is also a factor in economic performance [16].
Table 2 Key ratios of companies in 2001 (N = 6 271)
In Finland preventive occupational health services cover almost all employed persons; only in micro firms with less than 10 employees the employers has not always organized OHS services for the workplace. According to a population survey conducted in 2006, two out of three employees had attended an occupational health examination in the past three years, and around half of them had had occupational health personnel assessing their workplace in the past three years. Although organizing medical services is voluntary for employers, over 90% of employees can obtain GP level services from their OHS unit. Around half of the primary care level GP visits of these employees take place within OHS [17].
To be able to compare investment in preventive OHS between companies, we chose two different points of view: resources per employee and OHS's share of total costs per turnover (importance compared to other uses of resources in the company, comparable e.g. to costs of prevention per gross national product, GNP).
Because of the specific features of the Finnish reimbursement system, we measured the company's investment in OHS per employee both in monetary and temporal terms. Until 1995, the prices in municipal health centres were set by the State Council and did not cover the costs of providing these services [18]. Many municipal units have been slow in changing their pricing policy: in 2000 one in three were still using the regulated prices from 1994. In the companies' own OHS units, the costs of preventive and medical services in reimbursement applications are often divided according to the shares of maximum reimbursement (40% for prevention and 60% for medical services) and not according to the resources used.
The time variable was calculated from the SII register data. Workplace and group activities had originally been registered in hours. We converted the number of health examinations into minutes based on information from previous studies or an expert assessment of the contents of OH personnel's work in different provider models. All activities were summed up into the variable Occupational Health (OH) Personnel's Time per Employee. The time resource and costs correlated strongly in all other provider models (0.6–0.8), but not in the companies' own units. The price level in municipal OHS units was about 40% lower than in other provider models (euros per OH personnel minute). Thus time resource is a better measure for investment in preventive OHS for both the companies' own units and municipal OHS units. Therefore, the decision was made to leave the costs per employee out of the analysis.
On average, the 6721 companies invested in preventive OHS €39.50 per employee in 1997 and €46.00 in 1999. This sum bought the companies some 22 minutes of OH personnel time per employee for each of the two years. Among the companies who had applied for reimbursement, the costs were the highest in the companies' own OHS units (€91 for prevention and €138 for medical services per employee) and lowest in municipal health centres (prevention €62 and medical services €42 per employee).
The average share of total costs for preventive OHS per turnover was 0.04%.
We assumed that the provider model could have an impact on company performance. The companies' own units are generally believed to be able to integrate their activities more efficiently into the company than other providers. However, in this study, the OHS provider model had no effect on the key ratios and was thus excluded from the models.
The connection between investment in OHS and the companies' economic performance was analyzed using linear regression analysis. The investment in preventive occupational health services was not dependent on the company's previous economic success. The correlations between the investment in 2001 and the key ratios in 1997 or 1997 were all small (absolute values were less than 0.1).
We tested the models using the regression specification error test (RESET test). It can be used for testing the functional form of a model, especially to detect non-linearities and omitted variables [19]. RESET test revealed that the relationship between dependent and some independent variables was logarithmic rather than linear. The models were also tested for multicollinearity.
We used two different software packages in the analysis. The SAS software package was used in excluding and recoding and the STATA for the analysis.
The five key indicators of the profitability of the company were the dependent variables, each in its turn. The independent variables in the model were investment in preventive OHS either in minutes per employee (log) or as the total cost of prevention per turnover (%), all in 1997 or in 1999. Therefore, we conducted twenty regression analyses to study the connection between investment in preventive OHS and company profitability.
The other independent variables were the company's past economic performance (equity ratio in 1999, with higher equity ratio indicating greater opportunity to make profitable investments), size of the company (log number of employees in 2001, log turnover in 1999), and age of the company.
Some of the confounding variables were dummies, and the coefficients are meaningful only when compared to the reference group. Industry was included in the model because key ratios differ according to industry; in this study the reference group was wholesale and retail trade. Geographical regions were included to represent booming or declining regional economies (6 counties in Finland, reference region Uusimaa). The type of municipality is an indicator of the size of the local market, for both the company's products and for OHS. Municipalities were classified into three groups: city, semi-urban, and rural.
We checked the correlations between independent variables (see Additional file 2), and found no multicollinearity.
Company's economic performance
Operating profit represents here the economic performance of the company in 2001. Table 3 includes two different models for operating profit, one for each indicator of the company's investment in preventive occupational health services in 1997.
Table 3 Regression models for operating profit in 2001, investment in preventive OHS measured with two variables
The preceding investment in preventive OHS measured as OH personnel time per employee in 1997 had a negative coefficient which was statistically non-significant.
When the share of total preventive OHS costs per turnover represented investment, the coefficient was negative and statistically significant.
The results of the models for other key indicators were very similar to those presented in Table 3. All coefficients for time per employee variables were non-significant, and negative in 9 out of 10 models. For the costs per turnover variable, the coefficient was negative in all ten models, and statistically significant in nine out of ten models.
Success seems to follow success: a higher equity ratio in 1999 was connected with better key indicators for profitability in 2001. The age of the company and turnover were negatively related to profitability but no correlation was found between profitability and the geographical or regional location of the company.
The adjusted R2s were low in general, highest in the models for operating margin (18%), and about 12% for other key indicators of profitability.
In this study, we could not find support for the hypothesis that a company's investment in preventive OHS would have a positive effect on the company's profitability after two or four years. The coefficients for the variables representing preceding investment in preventive OHS in the regression models were negative in almost all models. Those for OH personnel time per employee variable were always non-significant. When the investment was measured as the total costs of preventive OHS as a share of turnover, the coefficients were all negative, and statistically significant in nine out of ten models.
The power of the study and the follow-up time were sufficient to yield significant relevant results. In Finland, we had the unique opportunity of combining economic indicators from companies with data on OHS.
Economic performance of a company is a complex phenomenon, and difficult to decipher exhaustively with this kind of data. The explanatory power of the regression model for the economic performance of the company was low, but not deviant from other studies with similar design explaining a firm's economic performance [20, 21]. Some independent variables that might affect economic performance were lacking, which was also shown in the RESET tests. Had we had information on matters such as management, marketing and research and development, the explanatory power of the models would have been higher. However, if these omitted variables are uncorrelated with our key variables (as tested by RESET test, in fact), the results relevant for our study questions are unaffected by these omitted variables.
From a company's point of view and compared to other investments in intangibles (16% of the turnover), such as R&D and marketing, and investments in tangibles (13% of the turnover), such as equipment, the investment in OHS is minimal, less than 0.5% of turnover on average [22]. The economic performance of a company is much more dependent on other factors than preventive occupational services, and as an outcome measure economic performance is too distant to actually correlate with preventive OHS. If one wants to show that occupational health services are profitable for the company cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis should be used. Good examples of such studies are Tompa et al. and Taimela et al. [13, 23]. In addition, occupational health services units can be an economical way to provide medical curative care [24].
A line of argumentation based on a viewpoint quite separate from profitability for the company could also be used to advocate the importance of prevention. Sometimes prevention can be valuable from the viewpoint of society even though it would not be profitable for the company. Legislation [25] is one way to impose obligations for employers to avoid negative externalities to the society and the employees, i.e. the costs of ill health due to work. To promote the consumption of preventive services, the society can subsidize employers: the reimbursement system in Finland is one example of this.
The conclusion of our study is that there is no evidence to support the positive effect of investment in preventive OHS on the economic performance of a company.
However, it cannot be concluded that preventive OHS has no positive effects. We would rather recommend that all prevention would be judged on it success in achieving its specific objectives that are related to its core activities. The discussion as to whether OHS is beneficial should move towards more specific outcomes, such as sickness absence, disability pension and productivity, when applicable, both in occupational health service research and in practice at workplaces. What is not effective cannot be profitable for the company either.
In general, it might be quite difficult to prove that prevention has some impact on the economy (see [3], p. 13–23). This means the discussion about the relationship between health and productivity, or the wealth of a nation, will continue [26] within occupational health. However the first step, the link between prevention and health should be given priority when planning new research on the area.
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Kankaanpää E, Peurala M, Räsänen K, Notkola V: Väestövastuisen työterveyshuollon kustannukset. Väestövastuu Ja Työterveyshuolto. Työ Ja Ihminen Tutkimusraportti 11. Edited by: Notkola V. 1997, Helsinki: Työterveyslaitos, 122-147. (The costs of occupational health services)
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The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/130/prepub
The project was supported by the Finnish Work Environmental Fund (grant no. 104100), and would not have succeeded without the excellent collaboration of the personnel both at Statistics Finland and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. We thank Ms. Hanna Liikala, MA, for language editing.
Research and Development in OHS, Institute of Occupational Health, POB 93, FIN-70701, Kuopio, Finland
Eila Kankaanpää
& Aki Suhonen
Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Kuopio, POB 1627, FIN-70211, Kuopio, Finland
& Hannu Valtonen
Search for Eila Kankaanpää in:
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Correspondence to Eila Kankaanpää.
EK and HV planned the study. AK carried out the analysis under supervision by HV and EK. EK drafted the manuscript, and the other authors have read and approved it.
Additional file 1: Companies by number of employees and industry in 2001. (PDF 6 KB)
Additional file 2: Correlations of variables. (PDF 4 KB)
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-130
Occupational Health Service
Social Insurance Institution
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Touching the fire: fifteen poets of today's Latino renaissance
Anchor Books,
811.5408 T722 1998
1998. 1st Anchor Books ed. Anchor Books, x, 304 p. ; 24 cm. English
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American poetry -- 20th century
American poetry -- Hispanic American authors
Hispanic American authors
Hispanic Americans -- Poetry
González, Ray.
910502c0-a8ca-587b-1996-a94aa353674e
touching the fire fifteen poets of todays latino renaissance
edited and with an introduction by ray gonzález
Central, Southgate
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Adult Book Non-Fiction
ils:.b10464074|Book|Books|1st Anchor Books ed.|English|Anchor Books,|1998.|x, 304 p. ; 24 cm.
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American poetry -- 20th century, American poetry -- Hispanic American authors, Hispanic Americans -- Poetry
Touching the fire : fifteen poets of today's Latino renaissance
Touching the fire : fifteen poets of today's Latino renaissance / edited and with an introduction by Ray González
Touching the fire :
fifteen poets of today's Latino renaissance
American poetry, Hispanic American authors, Hispanic Americans
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TAMU-CC Professor uses LiDAR for Study
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A laser beam is being used by researchers at the Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science (CBI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to monitor sea level rise impact and elevation of important coastal marshes. Serving as fisheries habitat for commercially viable species, such as blue crabs and sportfish, as well as providing nutrient filtration and erosion buffering, any change in sea level in coastal marshes has the possibility of impacting these delicate habitats.
Dr. Michael Starek, a CBI researcher and Assistant Professor of Geospatial Engineering and Geographic Information Science (GISc) at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, specializes in the use of LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging.
“LiDAR is a laser-based technology that pulses a laser, hundreds of thousands of times per second,” explained Starek. “A scanner then bounces the laser pulse off a surface, like a laser pointer, and measures the time it takes for the light to hit a target and reflect back.”
The research team is exploring LiDAR’s capability for measurement to help improve their ability to monitor marshes. The team has conducted baseline LiDAR surveys of marshes locally and at other marsh sites along the Gulf of Mexico in Mississippi and Florida. By conducting repeat surveys of these areas, subtle changes in marsh elevation over time can be resolved.
“To conduct these surveys, the scanner is mounted on top of a tripod and it scans an area in a 360-degree field of view,” said Starek. “We then move to another spot, scan again, and merge the scans to create a dense 3D model of the area scanned.”
Starek and his researchers are currently working on mobile LiDAR technology to increase the ease of scanning and enable mapping of wider areas.
“The scanner we are using for this project is specifically designed for high accuracy 3D terrestrial surveying,” said Starek. “LiDAR scanners have the ability to be mounted on vehicles, airplanes and even unmanned aircraft systems.”
The data obtained from LiDAR scanning can be downloaded onto a computer program that allows researchers access to valuable and accurate topographic information. This data can be used for multiple projects such as beach erosion monitoring.
The University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are some of the institutions and stakeholders currently in partnership with CBI using advanced technology including LiDAR to study other coastal issues such as elevation and flooding.
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by Kristi York
Star Wars Goes For Girl Power
I admit it: I’m a Star Wars nerd. The franchise and I were born in the same year, so I’ve never known a world without Star Wars. The opening fanfare music gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I had a Hoth System play set as a kid. I own a Yoda key chain.
Back in the day, being a girl and a Star Wars fan was fairly rare, since it was mostly boys playing with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo action figures. Today, it’s a different story – literally. Star Wars returned to the big screen in 2015 and 2016 with Episode VII: The Force Awakens and the spin-off Rogue One, both starring female protagonists. You don’t have to be a Jedi to sense that there is an effort being made to attract young female fans to a galaxy far, far away. Consider the following:
Rey is the new Luke
The Force Awakens represented the start of a new Star Wars trilogy, and its main character is Rey (played by Daisy Ridley). The next instalment, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, continues to follow Rey in a plot line that begins with her receiving training from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). My generation knows Luke as the central figure from Episodes IV to VI, but now he’s in a supporting role to his 20-something female counterpart.
I wanted to know if the Rey character was connecting with girls in a positive way, so I asked two of my nieces (who have seen all the movies) about it. In describing Rey, nine-year-old Ella said: “I like that it’s not like in fairy tales, where the girl finds a prince and they live happily ever after. I like that she can do this by herself.” Older sister Julia agreed, calling Rey “fearless” and “a hero.”
That’s clearly the intent, as The Force Awakens goes out of its way to portray Rey as independent and self-reliant. In the scene where Rey first meets Finn (John Boyega), she repeatedly brushes off his gallant attempts to show protectiveness, saying through gritted teeth: “I know how to run without you holding my hand!”
New, improved female characters
Rey wasn’t the only female character in The Force Awakens. Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), the high-ranking silver stormtrooper, was introduced and will be back for The Last Jedi. The iconic Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) appears in both movies as well.
Julia, who’s 11, said she likes Princess Leia because “she is brave and fierce. She’s not afraid to do anything.” Ella seemed to resent the fact that Leia was the only female character of any real importance in the original movies from the late 70s and early 80s. Here’s how that conversation went:
Ella: “That kind of annoyed me. I was like, ‘why aren’t there any other girls?’”
Me: “Why did it annoy you?”
Ella: “Because it’s sexist.”
Me: “And what does that mean?”
Ella: “It means they’re saying boys are better than girls. And she’s the only girl that you even see in the movie. All the backup characters are boys, too.”
Help is on the way, Ella. According to pre-release publicity for The Last Jedi, there will be several new female supporting characters, including Resistance crew member Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) and her sister Paige (Veronica Ngo). Well-known actress Laura Dern joins the cast as a prominent Resistance officer named Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo.
It’s worth noting that some of the real-life people in charge of steering the Star Wars ship are female. Kathleen Kennedy has been the President of Lucasfilm (founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas) for the last five years. Lucasfilm’s Executive VP and General Manager is also a woman, Lynwen Brennan.
Porgs and other toys
A new creature called a porg is seen alongside Chewbacca in the trailer for The Last Jedi. These cutesy beings – which to me look like a cross between a penguin and a hamster – are likely intended to appeal to kids, especially girls. On starwars.com, porgs are described as “small, flat-muzzled avians that flock about the rocks and roost in the cliffs of Luke Skywalker’s secluded island.” Return of the Jedi had walking teddy bears known as Ewoks; The Last Jedi has porgs.
It would be naive to think that the presence of female characters and big-eyed cuddly creatures has only the most genuine purpose, to serve the story. This is also about marketing. More characters mean more faces to feature on action figures and backpacks, while furry sidekicks lend themselves to mass-production stuffed toys. The Star Wars licensing empire is now owned by Disney, a corporation that may be trying to Force (pun intended) its way into the hearts, minds and wallets of young girls.
This year, the Disney Channel launched a new animated series called Forces of Destiny, which features female characters and seems strategically targeted at girls. The show has a related line of Star Wars dolls, similar to Barbies. If you don’t believe me, check your nearest toy aisle to see the new versions of Rey, Princess Leia, Rogue One’s Jyn Erso and others.
It’s hard to know if the recent emergence of female Star Wars characters and products is a promising sign of the times or a marketing strategy to boost sales. When I asked my niece Ella for her theory, she said: “In the beginning, it was probably supposed to be a movie that boys watched, but since it got really big, girls have also started watching it. And then people are like, ‘why aren’t there very many girl characters?’”
It’s a great question – and I hope her generation continues to ask it.
Author: Kristi York
Kristi York is a freelance writer and mom of two sports-loving boys. Her work has been published by ParentsCanada, Running Room, ParticipACTION and The Costco Connection.
View all posts by Kristi York
Posted in Mom Moments Tagged Mom Moments
Kindness Elves
The Season of Giving
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AP source: It's not just audio, Manigault Newman has video
DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press August 18, 2018
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just audiotapes.
Omarosa Manigault Newman has a stash of video, emails, text messages and other documentation supporting the claims in her tell-all book about her time in the Trump White House, a person with direct knowledge of the records told The Associated Press Friday.
Manigault Newman has made clear that she plans to continue selectively releasing the pieces of evidence if President Donald Trump and his associates continue to attack her credibility and challenge the claims in her book, "Unhinged." She's already dribbled out audio recordings of conversations, and video clips, texts or email could follow, according to the person who described what Manigault Newman has called a multimedia "treasure trove." The person was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and asked for anonymity.
"I will not be silenced. I will not be intimidated. I'm not going to be bullied by Donald Trump," the former Trump aide told The Associated Press this week as she seemed to dismiss a threat from Trump's campaign. She spoke to the AP hours after Trump's campaign announced it was filing an arbitration action against her alleging she'd violated a signed agreement with the campaign that prohibits her from disclosing confidential information.
She told PBS in a separate interview this week: "I have a significant amount, in fact, a treasure trove, of multimedia backup for everything that's not only in "Unhinged," but everything that I assert about Donald Trump."
Manigault Newman claims Trump officials offered her a job on the campaign as a way of silencing her, after she was fired from the White House. She's accused Trump of being racist and suffering from a mental decline.
The White House has countered by branding Manigault Newman as a disgruntled former staffer with credibility issues who is now trying to profit from a book based on false attacks against an individual she has called a mentor and has admired for more than a decade.
Trump has also lashed out at Manigault Newman, calling her a "lowlife," ''wacky and deranged" and a "dog."
Simon & Schuster this week also dismissed threatened legal action from Trump's campaign. A campaign attorney told Simon & Schuster in a letter that "Unhinged" violated Manigault Newman's confidentiality agreement, but the publisher responded that it was acting "well within" its rights.
"Unhinged" has spent the past few days at No. 2 on Amazon.com's best-seller list, trailing only Rachel Hollis' lifestyle book "Girl, Wash Your Face."
Manigault Newman was director of communications for a White House office that networks with various constituency groups until she was fired last December by chief of staff John Kelly, citing "significant integrity issues." Before joining the administration, Manigault Newman handled African-American outreach for Trump's presidential campaign. She has known Trump since 2003, when she became a contestant on Trump's TV show, "The Apprentice."
She has already released several secret audio recordings, including of the meeting in which she was fired by Kelly.
In another recording, Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is heard offering Manigault Newman $15,000 a month - after she was fired from the White House - for a campaign job requiring her to be "positive." Lara Trump is a senior adviser on Trump's re-election campaign.
Manigault Newman also alleges that tape exists of Trump using a racial slur while working on "The Apprentice." Trump has denied this, saying on Twitter that "I don't have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. She made it up."
AP National Writer Hillel Italie in New York contributed to this report.
Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap
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Legends of Summer League: Zero pay, a year-round grind and elusive NBA dreams
Chris Mannix
Yahoo Sports July 17, 2018
Jack Cooley, 27, graduated from Notre Dame with a business finance degree, but he’s still shooting his shot in the NBA Summer League and G League. (Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS – They come to see the stars, fans in record numbers pouring into the Thomas & Mack Center and the adjacent Cox Pavilion this month to get a first look at the NBA’s next generation. But Summer League isn’t for DeAndre Ayton, Marvin Bagley or Trae Young, blue-chip prospects who will come to training camp in the fall armed with multiyear contracts. It’s for Jack Cooley, Scott Machado and Cory Jefferson, who almost certainly will not.
These are the real boys of summer, the grinders using the 12-day audition in the desert to impress NBA executives enough to earn the honor of an invitation to training camp. Take Cooley, 27, the unofficial dean of NBA Summer League stars. This is Cooley’s sixth stint in Vegas. He’s a member of the Phoenix Suns now, a teammate of Ayton’s. Before that he was a Sacramento King, setting screens for De’Aaron Fox, and before that a Cleveland Cavalier, throwing outlet passes to Andrew Wiggins.
For Cooley, this was never a dream. In 2009, he chose Notre Dame, not for a springboard to the NBA, but because it had a top business school.
“I used basketball to get the best education,” Cooley said.
But when he graduated, NBA teams called. Some 18 brought him in for pre-draft workouts. When he went undrafted, he started getting invitations to Summer League.
“I remember my first year I was struggling to remember all the plays,” Cooley said. “Now my sixth year, this is the most complicated offense I’ve had, but it’s second nature, basic easy stuff. It’s a lot easier to understand.”
Cooley is a realist. He’s not a stretch five — he made one three-pointer in four years with the Fighting Irish. He’s not an athletic freak like Ayton, either. He’s a banger, a grinder, and he chose to join the Suns Summer League team for that reason.
“The Suns have scorers,” Cooley said. “They have Devin Booker. They need guys who can make Devin Booker’s job easier. I can be a guy that does that.”
For every Ayton, there are half a dozen Cooleys. There’s Justin Harper, with the New York Knicks. Casper Ware, with the Portland Trail Blazers. Brady Heslip with the Memphis Grizzlies. There are no paychecks for playing in Summer League. There’s per diem, around $100 per day. There’s a hotel room, two-hour practices, daily bus rides and no guarantee of playing time.
“It’s a grind, man,” Machado said. “Every time you come out to Summer League, everyone is trying to prove themselves. Me, trying to facilitate, sometimes you overthink it. Every time you come back, you think, ‘Man I did this already.’ It’s a constant grind and constant pressure you put on yourself.”
Scott Machado is another Summer League and G League journeyman. (Getty Images)
For most, Summer League leads to very little. Cooley has barnstormed through the G League with a couple of pit stops overseas. Machado, 28, has made the G League rounds, too, punching his passport in Estonia, Germany, France and Spain along the way. The lifestyle comes with a cost.
“You’re basically living out of a suitcase,” Machado said.
Holidays are spent in cheap hotels. Machado was overseas for his mother’s 60th birthday. Basketball becomes your life.
“I used to have a best friend, but things fell out because of travel,” Cooley said. “I have good friends, but no best friends. It’s hard. Players can make a lot of money but you miss out on a lot, too.”
Yet when an NBA team calls with a summer offer, few turn it down. Cooley could. He graduated with a degree in business finance. He could have earned $90,000 a year working a desk job. He’s had offers to join NBA teams’ front office. Instead, he’s played for less than $30,000 in the G League. Machado, too. He has a degree from Iona, and admits he’s thought about getting into coaching or player development.
The NBA dream still fuels them. All of them. In 2015, Cooley was putting up monster rebounding numbers for the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s G League affiliate. The Jazz noticed, awarded Cooley with a pair of 10-day contracts and eventually signed him for the rest of the season.
“I was sobbing uncontrollably,” Cooley said. “I remember, I had just broken the G League record for rebounding. And I said to my agent, ‘If this doesn’t get me called up, I give up.’ A few days later, I got the [second] call-up. Even now it gets me a little choked up.”
As Summer League winds down, most of the boys of summer will disperse. Some will sign on with G League teams, to maximize exposure. Others will ink European contracts, where the money is better. They will ride buses to small towns in the U.S. or live in isolation in far-flung cities around the world. They will do it, and they will hope for an invitation back to Las Vegas next summer, for the opportunity to impress once again.
“There’s only about 1% of me that thinks about not playing,” Cooley said. “This life is pretty intense. But I love it, I’m glad it’s not easy. Not playing would be a terrible itch that I wouldn’t be able to scratch. I know once the time comes, I will definitely be a part of the game, because I’ll go crazy if I go cold-turkey out of basketball. But right now, I’m a player. The body of work I have put together has caused a pretty good stir here. I believe I’m an NBA player. I believe I can play in the league for a long time.”
• The Instagram account that pokes fun at the reality of Minor League life
• Of course LaVar Ball says he could’ve beat LeBron James one-on-one in his prime
• Ben McAdoo ‘at peace’ about decision to bench Eli Manning last year
• Poker player Tony Miles apologizes for ‘slow roll’ comment about champ John Cynn
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August 19, 2014 · 12:06 pm
Dark Fantasy, Dystopia, Optimism, and Generational Shifts
For some time now — although I believe (and hope) that the trend is reversing — science fiction and fantasy storytelling have trended towards darkness. Dystopia, post-apocalyptic visions, and fantasy featuring anti-heroes and non-heroes have predominated. These stories run the gamut in terms of subject matter and science fictional or fantasy elements, but all of them have something in common, and that’s the fact that no characters are to be wholly admired. That’s especially true if the character is an authority figure or someone who, in conventional thinking, is supposed to be admirable. Another common element is that pessimism is universal and optimism decried. A vision of the future must be bleak, with matters getting steadily worse, and any progress made either illusory or a temporary reprieve of the overall slide into awfulness. This is regarded as “realism” (never mind that, in view of actual history, it is completely counter-factual).
Dark fiction features no sharp moral lines. There are no good guys and either there are no bad guys or everyone is a bad guy. The best such stories have protagonists who at least have some redeeming features, but we are offered no one who could serve as a role model, no one whom we can admire without reservation, or only with the reservation that everyone has at least some flaws. There can be (and usually are) double-died villains, but the “heroes” must be no better, or only marginally better, so that the reader is inclined to say, “They’re awful, but the alternative is even worse.” This is fiction for cynics, for those who have believed in someone or something in the past, been disillusioned, and reached a determination never to get fooled again.
And in so doing, they fool themselves. But never mind that; fiction isn’t necessarily supposed to reflect the real world. But it does give us what we imagine that we want.
If I were to define “dark fiction,” I would say that it is fiction characterized by three essential characteristics:
1. Pessimism. The world inhabited by the characters in a dark story (whether fantasy or non-fantasy) is one that is bad and likely to get worse. Whatever social problems characterize it — income gaps and class differences, corrupt government, racism, environmental callousness, declining liberty, whatever — they cannot be solved and they’re going to get worse in the future, or at least never get better. The characters’ own personal problems may be solvable (although at least in part they’ll be just as intractable), but the world is plain screwed.
2. A dearth of heroes. The characters in a dark story aren’t just flawed (all good characters in any fiction have flaws), but they’re so flawed that we can’t admire them much, even when we identify with them. If the Star Wars story were rewritten as dark fantasy, Yoda and Obi-Wan would be revealed as opportunistic posers, self-seeking con artists, or self-righteous and judgmental pricks, as bad as the Emperor and Darth Vader (or at least nearly so). Dark fiction can have completely villainous and evil characters (although it need not do so and the best examples arguably don’t), but it can never have characters that the reader wants to admire, emulate, and feel confident about. Nobody wears a white hat. The protagonists are, at best, clad in gray.
3. Moral ambiguity. This may need some explanation, because moral ambiguity can take a number of forms and not all of these are properly considered “dark.” Confusion about the right action to take, or moral convictions on the part of characters that reflect poor vision and understanding or dogmatic thinking, are not in themselves “dark” qualities. The type of moral ambiguity that characterizes dark fiction is not just moral uncertainty on the part of the characters, but a situation in which there really is no clear moral difference between choices, so that characters can act on selfish and self-centered impulses without remorse, and never end up feeling good about themselves, no matter what they do.
I tend not to write dark fantasy at all, and although I have put out one dark science fiction novella (Robin), it’s not my preference. Dystopia serves a purpose in that it highlights a danger that may be arising and so gives us an opportunity to prevent it from happening, but there’s a difference between a story that says, “Watch out, we’re in danger of something bad happening if we don’t reverse course,” and one that says, “We’re just plain fucked and all we can do is survive.” There’s a difference between stories with realistic characters suffering from the usual array of human flaws, and one in which nobody is admirable at all. There’s a difference between stories in which the protagonists are faced with difficult moral choices calling for sacrifice on their part, and stories in which they are never called upon to do the right thing, because there is no right thing. I can enjoy a story like that once in a blue moon, but it will never make my favorites list. In this, I differ from some other readers, particularly those somewhat — but not too much — younger than myself.
What’s occurred to me recently is that the trend toward and away from dark fantasy may be driven by generations. Specifically, the rise in dark fantasy’s popularity is driven by Generation X, and the decline in dark fiction recently (as one can see from a perusal of the Amazon Kindle Store’s fantasy and science fiction best sellers, most of which are at this point not dark) to the maturation into their main reading years of the Millennial generation. Earlier periods in which dark fiction rose to prominence and then declined (because the current phenomenon is certainly not the first time it’s happened) were, I believe, possibly driven by the emergence of previous Reactive generations followed by Civic generations (according to the generational cycle theory presented by the late William Strauss and Neil Howe in their books Generations, The Fourth Turning, 13th Gen, and Millennials Rising).
My personal experience as an author reflects this. I’ve received my worst reviews from Xers and my best ones from Millennials. (As noted, most of my writing is distinctly non-dark.) Mostly, when I’m taken to task in a really serious way, and always when it’s in a way that annoys me, it’s because my writing is distinctly non-dark. There’s plenty of conflict, but it’s optimistic. The protagonists in my stories, at least some of them, are genuine heroes, people the reader is expected to admire and look up to. And moral choices are often clear. One person recently expressed a “sinking feeling” that the Andol (the “good guy” aliens in my Refuge series) won’t be revealed as secretly nasty and evil in future books. Now, I’m not going to give spoilers, so I won’t say whether he’s factually right about that, but I will say that if this causes a “sinking feeling,” then perhaps he’s not really in my target audience.
This sort of critique, in which I’m taken to task for writing stories that are exactly what I intended to write, infuriates me. I don’t mind legitimate criticism, and Gods know my work is not without flaws. I have written stories with too many characters that confused the reader. My dialogue, although I think it’s generally good, sometimes drifts away from believable speech into dissertations. I have trouble depicting romantic relationships that are deep and credible. I know all of this and deeply appreciate any critical help in improving all of these and other genuine problems in my writing, because that will help me to make it better — and I want to be the best I can.
But that my fiction isn’t dark fiction is not a flaw. When someone tells me that I need to write dark fiction as if that were the only kind of fiction that is any good, my answer is to simply say, “No. I won’t. I don’t want to, and I don’t have to, and that’s that.” If that means I’m writing for Millennials more than for Xers — so be it.
Now, I’m not saying that anyone who likes dark fantasy or any other dark fiction should’t read that stuff, or that people who want to write it shouldn’t be writing it. I’m against arbitrary limits on the arts — that’s the main point of this post, after all.
I’m just saying that we shouldn’t see darkness as synonymous with quality. And that consequently, the decline in the dark fantasy fad is a good thing.
Tagged as dark fantasy, dark fiction, dystopia, fantasy, fantasy storytelling, Gen-X, Generation X, generations, heroes, Millennial generation, Millennials, moral ambiguity, science fiction, villains
Book Review: Beastheads by Mike Reeves-McMillan
Genre: Fantasy/Steampunk
Blurb: When the old shaman took Berry away from her home and family, she expected to become a shaman in turn. But after her oath shatters, she finds a new place as a Gryphon Clerk, helping negotiate a treaty with the beasthead people.
A beasthead shaman stands against her, fearing the loss of his people’s way of life and the corruption of their youth. As the Human Purity movement gains power in a nearby realm, though, the beasthead and the clerk must find a way through their differences before war destroys everything they value.
The author calls Beastheads Volume 0 in his Gryphon Clerks series. Other books in the series include Realmgolds, Hope and the Clever Man, and Hope and the Patient Man. All these stories are set in a fantasy world where human slaves rebelled against a tyrannical elvish empire in the past, and today the human nations live with the cultural and magical residue left behind by the elves. As with other stories in the series, Beastheads addresses a theme of racial bias and intolerance, as well as the tension between progress and conservatism.
A disclaimer before proceeding: I was a beta reader for Beastheads and know Mike Reeves-McMillan via social media. He also beta reads for me.
As with all of Mike’s work, Beastheads is strongly character driven. The plot grows organically from the interaction of the characters like vines twisting about one another as they emerge from the soil. In Beastheads, the twisting vines include Berry’s shamanic destiny, interrupted and sidelined into the Gryphon Clerks; Breeze and Wave, each with an animal soul merged into a human body, but different animals (wolf and seal, respectively), their love seen as odd from the outside for this reason; Rain, orphaned and struggling to survive her childhood on the gang-dominated streets; Stone, gay in a sharply homophobic world; Grass Badger, irritated and irritating cattlehead shaman who fears any and all change; in each case a note struck of difference, alienation, difficulty fitting in. The beastheads themselves, who are the result of a weird elven experiment (humans with cattle, dog, or cat heads and some characteristics from the animals) sound the same note on a larger scale.
The team of misfit Gryphon Clerks is sent to negotiate a treaty with the beastheads, and must deal with their suspicions of outsiders and, eventually, the outside world’s suspicions of them, as well as its exploitation of their weaknesses. So many harmonic notes are sounded regarding the interaction of the alien that the end result is almost symphonic, and it is this rather than any conventional plotting lines that make Beastheads the story that it is. The conflict between Berry and Grass Badger, which encompasses her failed apprenticeship as well as his resistance to anything threatening to change the beasthead way of life, is particularly poignant.
For above-average writing and superb character development, along with detailed exploration of the theme of racism and intolerance in a fantasy setting, I’ll give this book four stars. The plotting and story line could have been tighter and more gripping, hence the lack of the fifth star. Beastheads is still well worth taking a look in my opinion.
Beastheads is available from Amazon Kindle Store for $2.99.
Filed under Book Review
Tagged as Beastheads, book review, fantasy, fantasy storytelling, Gryphon Clerks, racism, shamanism, steampunk
Christianity Versus Jesus
Every religion emerges from two distinct and conflicting motivations: love and power. Love (and enlightenment, from which spiritual love arises) is, in my view, the legitimate element in religion. It’s the genuinely spiritual element. In service to it, a person approaches union and communion with God/the Cosmos, and through Its influence and the revelations that this union and communion bring, love grows ever stronger and spreads to embrace ever more of creation.
But because people understand these things only dimly at best — because people want guidance from a parent figure in these matters that are so inherently confusing — because that powerful motivation combined with that poor understanding creates an opportunity for those who wish to rule — religion is also about power, and has been since the first organized religion arose at the dawn of civilization. And so the two exist side by side, intertwined like corrupted lovers, in every body of religious doctrine and teaching. In no other religion is this more dramatically displayed than it is in Christianity.
Sometimes the two motivations are commingled in the religion’s founder, as is the case in Islam for example. Muhammad began as the Prophet of God and his message was all about love. But as events unfolded, he also became a political leader, a general, a diplomat, and in effect a king, and so out of necessity had to pay attention to power as well. But that isn’t the case in Christianity, whose ostensible founder, Jesus of Nazareth, was a homeless preacher until he was condemned to death and executed. Jesus’ teachings, or at least the presentation of them in the Gospels (which are not reliable historically but at this point that matters only to historians), were all about love, and in fact highly impractical. Sell all you own and give the money to the poor? Take no thought for the future, trusting God to provide the necessities of life? Yeah, right.
Despite this, the element of power in Christian doctrine is very strong. The claim that Christianity alone possesses the truth, and that Christians will be rewarded with eternal bliss while followers of other religions or of none will spend eternity in torment, is a claim of power, not of love. It offers a reward for obedience and threatens a punishment for disobedience, and that is the essence of power. (That neither the reward nor the punishment is real matters no more than the historical accuracy of the Gospels. Rewards and punishments are effective to the extent that they are believed to be real, not to the extent they actually are.)
In fact, the essential structure of Christian doctrine and the Christian model of salvation have no support in the teachings of Jesus at all, and in some particulars are directly contradicted by those teachings. We may, therefore, speak of a conflict between Jesus and Christianity.
Let’s take a look at that structure of Christian doctrine.
The Narrative of Christian Doctrine
The essential points of Christian doctrine, greatly simplified, are as follows.
1. All human beings are condemned by God to Hell, either for Adam’s original sin, or for sins inevitably committed by the individual in life (the standard being set so high that no one can possibly meet it), or both.
2. God became human in the person of Jesus, who was God in a human body.
3. By allowing himself to be tortured and put to death, Jesus/God took the punishment on himself that he had decreed for mankind. By rising again from the grave, he proclaimed that God would no longer condemn mankind to death and Hell, but would forgive sins.
4. Each person may avail himself or herself of this benefit, this stay of execution, by devotion to the religion founded in Jesus’ name, and by sincere repentance of any sins that (inevitably) still are committed. Those who do not do this, however, are still condemned to Hell.
Other interpretations of the significance of the Crucifixion and Resurrection may be found (mostly presented by Christians who are understandably appalled by the cruelty and crudity of the traditional model of salvation), but this is the standard version, accepted as revealed truth by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and most Protestant denominations. Nuances and minor additions may be found in various churches (for example, the Roman Catholic Church insists on the importance of performing the sacraments, while Protestants usually deny the necessity of intercession by human agents and see the whole process as between the believer and god), but these four points are common to almost all versions of Christian doctrine.
The first thing to observe is that all of this flows from the motivation of power, not of love. Defenders of Christian orthodoxy say it’s about love, and to do this focus on the third point, quoting the author of the Gospel of John: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life.” (John 3:16.) But this ostensible great act of divine love and sacrifice was necessary or even possible only because of the first point: that the same God condemned everyone to perish and suffer forever in the first place. Simply put, the sacrifice of Jesus for mankind would be an act of love, if and only if the condemnation of man to death and Hell had been decreed by someone other than God. But that, according to Christian doctrine, is not so. For that reason, the entire business becomes an assertion of power: “I condemn you to suffer forever, but I’ll make you a deal. Worship me, do what I say, and I’ll let you off the hook and throw in an eternity in paradise. What do you say?” A plea-bargaining deal offered by a prosecutor to an accused criminal is not an act of love, and neither is this.
Now let’s take a look at the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels and their relation to these four points of doctrine.
Jesus’ Teachings and Christian Doctrine
On the first point, the condemnation of man to Hell for sin, we find no support or even mention in any word of Jesus quoted in the Gospels. He does mention Hell a few times, or at least that’s a possible interpretation of several parable elements, and it comes out in “And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.” (Mark 9:47.) But this translated term can be misleading. Jesus was Jewish, and was dealing with Jewish conceptions of Hell or Gehenna, not Christian ones. Certainly there is nothing in any of the Gospels that suggests Hell as a universal fate for all mankind. It isn’t even clear that Jesus was referring to either Hell or the Kingdom of Heaven as post-mortem states; in many cases what he said about the Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God implied that one entered this place or state while still alive, and so the same must be true of Hell, in the context of this quote anyway.
On the second point, the divinity of Christ, the Gospels are even more clearly in the negative. Jesus is described in several passages as being neither omniscient nor omnipotent. A good example is the time he took two tries to heal a blind man, as described in Mark 8:22-26. Another example is presented by the woman with vaginal bleeding, who healed herself by touching Jesus’ robe as he walked in a crowded street, without Jesus’ knowing who had touched him (Mark 5:24-34). What’s more, Jesus implicitly denied being God in Mark 16:18 and in Luke 18:19, when he answered the person who called him “good master” with, “Why do you call me good? There is no one good, save God alone.” Clearly, the authors of the Gospels did not believe that Jesus was God incarnate and so did not try to present him as such, however great a prophet and holy man they did present in their narratives. The Gospels were probably written some time in the late first or early second century, and so obviously the doctrine of the Incarnation arose later than that. God’s son, yes — they called him that, but that was common currency for great men in the Roman world of the time (Augustus Caesar also claimed to be the son of a god), and God’s son is not necessarily or intuitively the same as God himself.
On the third point, the Gospels contain many passages in which Jesus foretold his death and resurrection, but none in which he gave them the significance that they hold in Christian doctrine. Not once is he presented as claiming that his death was a sacrifice appeasing God’s condemnation of man to Hell. In fact, he never clearly stated why he was condemned to die, and regarding the Resurrection presented it only as proof of the impermanence of death and the power of God to triumph over death. He called for repentance repeatedly and often, but in a decidedly different context than is implied in Christian doctrine.
And as the fourth point rests logically on the first three, there is no support for that in Jesus’ teachings, either. (Also, there is no indication that he ever intended his teachings to be the basis for a new religion. He was a Jew, and however unorthodox and unconventional his teachings were in the view of the defenders of Jewish orthodoxy of the time, he presented them in a Jewish context as what he considered a true interpretation of Judaism.)
In short, there is no support for, and on some key points clear denial of, Christian doctrine in the teachings of Jesus. The two are in clear conflict.
Where Did Christian Doctrine Come From?
If Christian doctrine regarding sin, Hell, and redemption didn’t come from Jesus’ teachings, where did they come from?
Christian doctrine emerged over the centuries between the time of Jesus and that of Constantine, so that by the early fourth century the essential points were in place, and the Council of Nicaea in 325 had only to iron out a few disagreements and issue official proclamations regarding them. During the same period, a structure of Church authority also emerged in the form of “bishops” who exerted theoretical authority over Christians in particular cities, with the bishops of the really important cities of the Empire (Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Carthage, and later Constantinople) eventually being proclaimed patriarchs or archbishops. However, not all Christians recognized the bishops’ authority, and they had no way to enforce that authority as long as Christianity remained an illegal religion.
The doctrine of the Trinity, of which the concept of the divinity of Christ is a part, emerged in the second century, but was quite controversial. One may find the arguments in the writings of many of the Church fathers before 325, such as Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, and Origen. All of these men, however, were of the orthodox and authoritarian division within the church, and their positions reflected this; in fact, Irenaeus is most famous for his polemic against what he regarded as heretical views, especially those of the Gnostics. Thus, they represent only one view of Christianity among the many that contended during the post-Apostolic period.
Although they held no real temporal power and were particularly endangered whenever an Emperor or a local official decided to institute an anti-Christian persecution (this happened a lot less often in the pagan Roman Empire than many Christians believe, but it did happen), the “bishops” were, naturally enough, those men who were particularly motivated by power within the Christian community. Those who were not, did not seek to become bishops. The scholars whose writings they supported were, therefore, those whose views supported them and their desire for power, which rested on an authoritarian version of Christian doctrine. This version is the one that scholars today call “proto-orthodox,” and with a few tweaks is essentially the same as the “orthodox” version which emerged from the Council of Nicaea, and which I have outlined above.
During the period when Christianity was illegal, the only way the bishops had to enforce their rule was through words and influence over people’s beliefs. They could (and sometimes did) “excommunicate” heretics from the church, but this held no more temporal significance than it does today, in contrast to the dire consequences that prevailed under the Christian Roman Empire or during the Middle Ages. Once it became allied with the state, the church could impose temporal penalties for disobedience, up to and including the torture and slaughter of “heretics” in the thousands, but in the post-Apostolic period that was impossible, and so a structure of belief that imposed non-falsifiable penalties for disobedience developed. The most important elements of Christian doctrine, from the perspective of power, are the promise of Heaven for orthodoxy and obedience, and the threat of Hell for the contrary. It is from this source — the power structure of “bishops” within the church, and their desire to rule — that Christian doctrine comes — not from the teachings of Christ.
Christian doctrine is in service to power.
The teachings of Jesus are in service to love.
The two are in sharp disagreement and conflict.
Anyone who wishes to follow the latter must, therefore, reject the former.
Tagged as Christ, Christian doctrine, Christianity, heresy, Jesus, love, orthodoxy, power, teachings of Jesus
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Tag Archives: Michigan
Posted on July 12, 2019 by Amy
As of 1900, Hannah and Joseph Benedict’s three sons were all adults, and Joseph had retired from his rag and paper business. Their two older sons, Jacob and Herschel, were still living with their parents in Pittsburgh, and the youngest son, C. Harry, was living in Michigan and working as an engineer after graduating from Cornell University. Soon all three would be married.
Joseph Benedict, 1900 US census, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 11, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 0142; FHL microfilm: 1241359
Not long after the 1900 census was taken, the middle brother, Herschel, married Mary Ullman on August 7, 1900, in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Mary was born on December 25, 1876, in Titusville to Jacob Ullman and Henrietta Rothschild.1 Jacob was born in the Alsace region of France, and Henrietta in Wurttemberg, Germany. Jacob was in the dry goods business.2
Herschel Benedict and Mary Ullman marriage record, Film Number: 000878594
Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1852-1968
A year after Herschel’s marriage, the youngest Benedict brother, C. Harry, was engaged to Lena Manson:
Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 21 Jul 1901, Sun • Page 15
As the article reports, Lena was from Syracuse, New York, where she was born on July 21, 1876.3 Her parents, Lewis and Jennie Manson, were immigrants from Russia-Poland, and her father was in the jewelry business in Syracuse.4 Lena, like Harry, had studied at Cornell, she for two years as a special student of English literature, and in 1897 she was working as a teacher in Syracuse. She also taught for three years at a high school in Erie, Pennsylvania.5
Harry and Lena were married on February 7, 1902, in Syracuse, New York.6
The last of the three sons of Hannah and Joseph to marry was their oldest son, Jacob or Jake. He married Clara R. Kaufman on February 14, 1905, in Pittsburgh. Like Jacob, Clara was a native of Pittsburgh, born on September 13, 1874, to Solomon Kaufman and Helena Marks, who were German immigrants. Clara’s father was a livestock dealer.7
Jacob Benedict and Clara Kaufman marriage record, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania County Marriages, 1852-1973; County: Allegheny; Year Range: 1905; Roll Number: 549855, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, County Marriage Records, 1845-1963
In 1910, Hannah and Joseph were living with their son, Herschel and his wife Mary. Joseph was retired, and Herschel was in the wholesale liquor business. By 1912, Herschel had formed his own liquor distribution business, Benedict & Eberle, of which he was the president.8
Herschel Benedict and family, 1910 US census, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 14, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1304; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0465; FHL microfilm: 1375317
By that time, Hannah and Joseph had four grandchildren, but all were living quite a distance from Pittsburgh where Hannah and Joseph continued to live. The first was Jacob and Clara’s daughter, Helen, who was born on January 18, 1907, in Paducah, Kentucky,9 where Jacob and Clara had relocated from Pittsburgh sometime in the prior year and where Jacob was working for Dreyfuss Weil, a liquor distributor.10 Jacob and Clara’s second child, Marian, was also born in Paducah; she was born April 14, 1908.11
Meanwhile, Jacob’s brother C. Harry and his wife Lena also had two children during these years. Their first child, Manson, was born on October 9, 1907, in Lake Linden, Michigan,12 with a second son, William, arriving on July 4, 1909, also in Lake Linden. 13 C. Harry continued to work as a metallurgical engineer in Michigan for a company called Calumet & Hecla, a copper mining company.14
Sometime after the 1910 census, Hannah and Joseph must have decided that they did not want to live so far from all their grandchildren because by December 1912, they had left Pittsburgh and were living in Lake Linden, Michigan, where Harry and his family were residing.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 14 Dec 1912, Page 12
Then just two years after Hannah and Joseph left Pittsburgh, their son Jacob returned to Pittsburgh with his family after the company where Jacob worked in Paducah, Kentucky was sold, as reported in the February 4, 1914, edition of the Paducah Sun-Democrat (p. 5):
“Jacob Benedict Leaves for His New Home,” The Paducah Sun-Democrat, 04 Feb 1914, Page 5
Sadly, just three years after their move to Pittsburgh, Jacob suffered a terrible loss when his wife Clara died on September 17, 1917, from left parotid gland cancer. She had turned 43 just three days earlier, and she left behind her two young daughters, Helen (10) and Marian (9), as well as her husband Jacob.
Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1967; Certificate Number Range: 101201-104500
Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967
The family was soon dealt another blow when Joseph Benedict died on December 23, 1917, at Harry’s home in Lake Linden, Michigan. Joseph was 83 and died from fibroid myocarditis. He was buried back in Pittsburgh, his long-time home.
Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records
Ancestry.com. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952
Hannah remained in Lake Linden, Michigan, and was living with her son Harry and his family in 1920, where Harry continued to work for Calumet & Hecla as a metallurgical engineer.15
Hannah’s other two sons were living in Pittsburgh in 1920. Jacob was living with his daughters as well as a live-in caretaker for the children; he was employed as a salesman for a food company, though just two years earlier he’d been working for a bottling company.16 Herschel was living with his wife Mary as well as a servant, and he had no employment listed on the 1920 census record.17
At first I was puzzled by the changes in both Jacob’s and Herschel’s occupations, but then the lightbulb went on.
Both Jacob and Herschel had been in the liquor business. By 1920, liquor sales were prohibited throughout the US after the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment on January 29, 1919. In fact, liquor sales had been under severe restrictions even earlier, as discussed on this website:
In 1917, after the United States entered World War I, President Woodrow Wilson instituted a temporary wartime prohibition in order to save grain for producing food. That same year, Congress submitted the 18th Amendment, which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors, for state ratification. Though Congress had stipulated a seven-year time limit for the process, the amendment received the support of the necessary three-quarters of U.S. states in just 11 months. Ratified on January 29, 1919, the 18th Amendment went into effect a year later, by which time no fewer than 33 states had already enacted their own prohibition legislation.
The_Pittsburgh_Press, January 16, 1919, p. 1
So Herschel was forced out of business and Jacob had to change industries as a result of Prohibition. That must have been a difficult transition for both of them.
The first two decades of the 20th century were thus exciting and challenging ones for Hannah and her family. There were marriages and children but also deaths as well as the business challenges created by Prohibition.
Film Number: 000878594, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1852-1968; Year: 1928; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 4263; Line: 13; Page Number: 29, Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957; Jacob Ullman and family, 1880 US census, Census Place: Titusville, Crawford, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1121; Page: 220D; Enumeration District: 122, Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census; Marriage Registers, Extracts from Manhattan (1869-1880) and Brooklyn (1895-1897), Publisher: Dept. of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, New York, Ancestry.com. New York City, Compiled Marriage Index, 1600s-1800s. ↩
Flora Ullman death certificate, Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1967; Certificate Number Range: 103201-105750, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967. Jacob Ullman and family, 1880 US census, Census Place: Titusville, Crawford, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1121; Page: 220D; Enumeration District: 122, Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census. ↩
The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: U.S. Citizen Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Miami, Florida; NAI Number: 2774842; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85, Ancestry.com. Florida, Passenger Lists, 1898-1963 ↩
Lewis Manson and family, 1880 US census, Census Place: Syracuse, Onondaga, New York; Roll: 908; Page: 439A; Enumeration District: 219, Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census ↩
“U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012”; Yearbook Title: Cornellian; Year: 1902,
Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990. Lena Manson Benedict obituary,
The Post-Standard, Syracuse, New York, 04 Oct 1965, Page 23. ↩
New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index, Ancestry.com. New York State, Marriage Index, 1881-1967 ↩
Clara Kaufman Benedict death certificate, Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1967; Certificate Number Range: 101201-104500, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967. Solomon Kaufman and family, 1880 US census, Census Place: Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1086; Page: 158A; Enumeration District: 006,
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census ↩
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1912, Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 ↩
Year: 1927; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 4101; Line: 1; Page Number: 187, Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957; SSN: 182329199, Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 ↩
Paducah, Kentucky, City Directory, 1906, Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 ↩
Marian Benedict death certificate, Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1967; Box Number: 2424; Certificate Number Range: 020251-023100, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967; Year: 1927; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 4101; Line: 1; Page Number: 187, Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 ↩
“Michigan, County Births, 1867-1917,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBZD-ZS1?cc=1923472&wc=4VWM-MT6%3A218907401%2C219048301 : 8 June 2018), Houghton > Births 1906-1908 > image 229 of 493; various county courts, Michigan. ↩
“Michigan, County Births, 1867-1917,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-LBZC-55L?cc=1923472&wc=4VWM-MT1%3A218907401%2C219072901 : 7 September 2018), Houghton > Births 1908-1910 > image 169 of 438; various county courts, Michigan. ↩
C Harry Benedict and family, 1910 US census, Census Place: Torch Lake, Houghton, Michigan; Roll: T624_647;Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 0135;FHL microfilm: 1374660, Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census. Title: Calumet, Michigan, City Directory, 1912, Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 ↩
C. Harry Benedict, 1920 US census, Census Place: Torch Lake, Houghton, Michigan; Roll: T625_769; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 173, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census. I found it interesting that Hannah chose to stay in Michigan rather than return to Pittsburgh. Joseph was buried there, and two of her sons, Jacob and Herschel, were living there, and Jacob must have needed extra help with his daughters. But Hannah must have been very happy where she was living in Michigan and thus stayed put rather than going back to Pittsburgh. She remained in Lake Linden, Michigan, for the rest of her life. ↩
Jacob Benedict, 1920 US census, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 14, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1522; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 550,
Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census ↩
Herschel Benedict, 1920 US census, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 14, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1522; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 546, Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census ↩
Posted in Genealogy, Goldschmidt/Goldsmith, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh | Tagged Benedict, Goldsmith, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, prohibition | 19 Replies
The youngest of Simon Goldsmith’s children was his daughter Hannah; she was born to Simon’s second wife, Fradchen Schoenthal, my three-times great-aunt, making Hannah, like her brother Henry, my double cousin. Hannah was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 5, 1848. Since I have not written about Hannah in quite a while, let me recap what I’ve already written about her.
In 1850, Simon and Fradchen were living in Pittsburgh with Henry and Hannah as well Simon’s two daughters from his first marriage, Lena and Eva. Fradchen died later that year, leaving Hannah motherless when she was just two years old.
Simon Goldsmith and family, 1850 US census, Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 3, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: M432_745; Page: 135A; Image: 274 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census
Simon then moved to Washington, Pennsylvania, to live with his oldest child Jacob, presumably so that he would have support to raise his two youngest children.
Simon Goldsmith and family 1860 US census, Census Place: Washington, Washington, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1192; Page: 1188; Image: 627; Family History Library Film: 805192
In 1867, Hannah married Joseph Benedict. She was only nineteen, and he was 33. Joseph was born July 3, 1834, in Germany and had immigrated in 1857, according to the 1900 census. Hannah and Joseph settled in Pittsburgh after marrying. The 1870 Pittsburgh directory lists Joseph as a junk dealer. By the time the 1870 census was enumerated Joseph and Hannah had a five-month-old son named Jacob, born January 24, 1870, in Pittsburgh. Also living with them in 1870 were Hannah’s father, Simon Goldsmith, now a retired tailor, and Amelia Schoenthal, who was Hannah’s first cousin, her mother Fradchen’s niece and the older sister of my great-grandfather Isidore Schoenthal.
Joseph and Hannah Benedict, 1870 US census, ensus Place: Pittsburgh Ward 5, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: M593_1295; Page: 567A; Family History Library Film: 552794
On June 6, 1871, Hannah gave birth to a second child, Herschel Newton Benedict, in Pittsburgh. Five years later, Hannah gave birth to her third son, Centennial Harry Benedict, born on September 24, 1876, in Pittsburgh (named for the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence).1 Hannah and her husband Joseph Benedict continued to live in Pittsburgh where Joseph is listed on the 1880 census as a rag dealer.
Joseph and Hannah Benedict and family, 1880 US census, Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1092; Page: 508D; Enumeration District: 122, Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census
Unfortunately, the 1880s presented some difficult issues for Joseph Benedict and thus his family. In 1882 he became embroiled in litigation against the Antietam Paper Company. Joseph sold this company $813.03 worth of rags for which they had refused to pay, alleging that the rags were infected with the smallpox virus. The company argued that as a result of the infected rags, many people both in the paper company’s employ and in the surrounding area became ill and even died, causing the company to shut down its operations. The lower court rejected the paper company’s defense, and judgment in favor of Joseph was upheld on appeal.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5 Sep 1882, Tue, Page 1
[To my former Contracts students—why do you think Joseph won this case?]
Just two years later in September 1884, the warehouse where Joseph’s rag and paper business was located was severely damaged by fire. Not only was there serious property damage, two firefighters were injured while trying to control the fire. The newspaper reports differed on their coverage of the fire. The Pittsburgh Daily Post wrote:
Pittsburgh Daily Post, 10 Sep 1884, Page 4
According to this article, the owners of the building were fully insured for the $5000 loss, though the aggregate loss (including the property of the tenants) was more like $40,000.
But an article from the same date published by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a very different report on the insurance coverage for damages:
“Rags and Tea,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
10 Sep 1884, Page 2
So did the owners have insurance or not? Which paper had a more accurate report of the facts?
Joseph’s loss was partially covered by insurance, at least according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he nevertheless suffered a very significant loss. The Post-Gazette account noted that the fire was presumed to have started by spontaneous combustion of Joseph’s rags.
That was not the last time Joseph’s business was damaged by fire. In 1892, Joseph was now the owner of the building that housed his rag and paper business. A fire started when a gas stove overheated in the space in his building that was being used by a cigar business. Joseph’s business suffered only minor damage, according to the paper, because the fire did not reach the cellar where his business was located and thus only suffered water damage. The paper noted, however, that this was the third fire at this building within eighteen months.
“Fire in Allegheny,” The Pittsburgh Press – 23 Nov 1892 – Page 1
But Joseph was still operating his paper business at that location in 1894.2
Meanwhile, Hannah and Joseph’s sons were growing up in these years. In 1889, Jacob, the oldest son who was then nineteen, was working as a bookkeeper. The following year both Jacob and his brother Herschel were listed as bookkeepers in the Pittsburgh directory. Both were still listed as bookkeepers in 1898.3
At that time the youngest brother, C. Harry Benedict, was a student at Cornell University.
U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012; Yearbook Title: Cornell Class Book; Year: 1897
Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990
In 1900, Hannah and Joseph and their two older sons were living in Pittsburgh, where Joseph, now 65, was retired, Jacob was working as a bookkeeper, and Herschel was a salesman.
C. Harry was living in Lake Linden, Michigan in 1900, working as a mechanical engineer, according to the census record. But “chemical” was crossed out, and later records indicate that Harry was a metallurgical engineer, so I think either the enumerator or the person reporting to the enumerator was confused.
C Harry Benedict, 1900 US census, Census Place: Schoolcraft, Houghton, Michigan; Page: 19; Enumeration District: 0196; FHL microfilm: 1240715, Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census
Thus, by 1900, all three of Hannah and Joseph Benedict’s sons were adults, and their father had retired from his fire-prone business. Soon there would be weddings and grandchildren.
J.-M. Flaud, C. Camy-Peyret, R. A. Toth, Water Vapour Line Parameters from Microwave to Medium Infrared: An Atlas of H216O, H217O and H218O Line Positions and Intensities between 0 and 4350 cm-1, Pergamon, 1981 (dedication). ↩
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1889, 1890, 1898, Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 ↩
Posted in Genealogy, Goldschmidt/Goldsmith, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh | Tagged Benedict, cornell, Goldsmith, metallurgy, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh | 18 Replies
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Hannah Goldsmith Part III: Her Grandsons July 16, 2019
Hannah Goldsmith Benedict 1900-1920: Gains, Losses, and Laws July 12, 2019
Hannah Goldsmith Benedict, 1848-1900: Litigation and Fires Beleaguer The Family July 9, 2019
Henry Goldsmith, The Final Chapter: Walter, Florence, and Helen July 5, 2019
Nothing Is Better Than Getting First Hand Information about Relatives from One Who Knew Them Well July 2, 2019
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Find BTN On Your TV System
Find BTN football on your TV systems with the BTN GameFinder.
Are you a resident of Canada? If so, please use this form below.
The Big Ten Network is available to up to 73 million homes nationwide. The Big Ten Network is available across North America on satellite providers such as DIRECTV, DISH Network and Shaw Direct (Canada), telco companies such as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse, and on cable in 22 of America’s top 25 media markets.
The network has cable distribution agreements with Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox (Cleveland), Insight Communications, Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, RCN, Service Electric, Shaw (Canada) and more than 250 additional cable operators across North America. Customers of DIRECTV and DISH Network have access to the network regardless of where they live. Verizon FiOS and AT&T’s U-Verse are rolling out the network across the country.
Cable subscribers inside the eight Big Ten states receive the network on either an expanded basic or digital basic level of service. Outside the eight states, excluding St. Louis, Omaha and Louisville, cable operators who carry the network make it available on a variety of packages. Select markets where the network is available are listed below. If you do not see your city listed here, contact your local system office to see if there are plans to add the network.
See our Big Ten Network FAQ page for more information.
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Superintendent's cabinet marked by shuffling, absence of top aide
Buffalo School Board members meet at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts in January 2015. (Mark Mulville/News file photo)
By Jay Rey|Published Sun, Aug 19, 2018 |Updated Sun, Aug 19, 2018
The new school year will bring changes among the top-level administration in the Buffalo Public Schools.
One member of the superintendent’s cabinet retired.
One left for a superintendent’s job downstate.
Two others were promoted to fill those positions.
And another has been on leave for much of the summer and his status remains unclear.
Kevin Eberle, the district’s chief operations officer, has been noticeably absent from City Hall and recent School Board meetings, and those who have inquired have been told he is on administrative leave.
Kevin Eberle. (John Hickey/News file photo)
A former principal, Eberle was one of the candidates for superintendent before the School Board hired Kriner Cash. Cash ended up appointing Eberle as a cabinet member, responsible for school construction, transportation, food serve and facilities.
When The Buffalo News inquired about his status last week, the superintendent’s office would say only that it is a personnel matter.
Meanwhile, David Mauricio left his position with the district as chief of strategic alignment and innovation to take the job as school superintendent in Peekskill, a small city school district with more than 3,000 students.
Anibal Soler, the principal at North Park Middle Academy, was tapped to oversee many of Mauricio’s former duties, which included athletics, community schools, adult education and the My Brother’s Keeper initiative. Soler will serve as an associate superintendent at a salary of $120,000.
Soler, 41, has been principal at North Park since 2016. He was recruited from the Rochester City School District, where he spent 16 years as a teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal and principal. He graduated from Daemen College, where he was on the basketball team.
Also leaving Cash’s 17-member cabinet was Margaret Boorady, who served as an associate superintendent for elementary school leadership before retiring at the end of the school year.
Promoted to her position was Darlene Jesonowski, the principal at Southside Elementary School in South Buffalo. She will oversee 12 to 15 elementary schools as an associate superintendent earning $135,000.
Jesonowski, 53, a Buffalo native, started in the district in 1991 as a special education teacher. She taught at Lorraine Academy for 12 years before moving to School 33 on Elk Street, where she served as an assistant principal and later as principal.
Jesonowski has been the principal at Southside since 2009 and most recently has served as a principal coach for beginning principals in the district.
Jay Rey – Jay Rey covers education and Buffalo Public Schools for The Buffalo News. He has been a reporter at The News since 1993.
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Scott Nagy hired at Wright State
campussportswriter | Apr 4, 2016 3:00 pm
South Dakota State men’s basketball coach Scott Nagy has been hired to serve in the same position at Wright State, according to an AP report.
Nagy, 49, had coached the Jackrabbits since 1995 and guided the team to an overall record of 404-239 in both Division II and Division I. The man turned South Dakota State into a Big Sky Conference and three conference titles to go with three NCAA Tournament appearances, the most recent one being this year.
And Nagy is now headed to the Horizon League to coach the Raiders, who went 109-93 (53-49 Horizon) with no NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons under the recently fired Billy Donlon. Wright State has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2007, when current Clemson coach Brad Brownell coached the Raiders, and has only ever been to the big dance twice in its Division I history.
Nagy’s fast pace should be a solid fit in the Horizon League, a mid-major conference that is getting more and more attention with each passing year, so here’s hoping he can turn Wright State into a regular contender!
BasketballHorizon League
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Assistant Department Manager (Design) in Moorestown, New Jersey.
First Name af9e1f25
Last Name b675d120
Email 561f98eb
783910d7 Email me about jobs like this
Assistant Department Manager (Design)
Moorestown | New Jersey | United States
We work to ensure that each customer that shops with us has a unique experience. As an Assistant Department Manager at Floor & Decor, your love for the product and great customer service will help create a lasting experience for our customers.
You will be responsible for training and developing Retail Sales Associates and ensuring every customer has a positive shopping experience while maintaining a safe work environment. You will demonstrate the ability to drive and teach company philosophy and completing all product training certification courses. You will create a lasting experience for our customers by helping them to the correct merchandise for them to complete their project.
Ensure the department meets standards (merchandise, in stock position)
Assist associates in the department with questions and training needs and ensure everyone is supporting the customer
Stand for long periods of time
Understand merchandising, pricing and organization of assigned department
Assistant Department Manager
Levittown Pennsylvania United States Levittown, Pennsylvania, United States, 19056 Store Sales Store Sales
It’s great being part of a culture where entrepreneurship and team spirit are not just buzzwords. If you love working with a great group of people and desire the opportunity to grow, this is the place for you. What You’ll DoWe work to ensure that...
Moorestown New Jersey United States Moorestown, New Jersey, United States Store Sales Store Sales
It’s great being part of a culture where entrepreneurship and team spirit are not just buzzwords. If you love working with a great group of people and desire the opportunity to grow, this is the place for you. What You’ll Do We work to ensure tha...
Moorestown New Jersey United States Moorestown, New Jersey, United States Store Sales Specialist Store Sales Specialist
NE Commercial Sales Account Manager
Paramus New Jersey United States Paramus, New Jersey, United States, 07652 Pro Services Pro Services
It’s great being part of a culture where entrepreneurship and team spirit are not just buzzwords. If you love working with a great group of people and desire the opportunity to grow, this is the place for you. Purpose:Purpose This position is res...
Merchandise Specialist
Moorestown New Jersey United States Moorestown, New Jersey, United States Store Operations Specialist Store Operations Specialist
It’s great being part of a culture where entrepreneurship and team spirit are not just buzzwords. If you love working with a great group of people and desire the opportunity to grow, this is the place for you. PurposeThis position will maintain t...
Paramus New Jersey United States Paramus, New Jersey, United States, 07652 Store Sales Specialist Store Sales Specialist
First Name a603226f
Last Name edba3349
Email fed656a5
Department and Location 2b0e449b
Departments fe3739dc Departments 469387c0 Accounts Payable Admin Customer Care Operations Customer Care Services Customer Service Design Services Distribution Operations Distribution Operations Leadership Distribution Warehouse Ecommerce Inventory Merchandising Leadership Merchandising Operations Operations Pro Services Product Review Store Operations Store Operations Leadership Store Operations Specialist Store Sales Store Sales Specialist Supply Chain Systems Support & Enhancements Technology Warehouse
Locations 0ca83b90 Locations ad72b3a3 Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Alexandria, Virginia, United States Arlington, Texas, United States Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States Arvada, Colorado, United States Atlanta, Georgia, United States Aurora, Illinois, United States Austin, Texas, United States Avon, Massachusetts, United States Birmingham, Alabama, United States Bloomingdale, Georgia, United States Boynton Beach, Florida, United States Bridgeton, Missouri, United States Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States Buford, Georgia, United States Burlingame, California, United States Carson, California, United States Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Chicago, Illinois, United States Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Clearwater, Florida, United States Concord, North Carolina, United States Countryside, Illinois, United States Dallas, Texas, United States Denver, Colorado, United States Devon, Pennsylvania, United States Downey, California, United States Draper, Utah, United States Edgemere, Maryland, United States El Paso, Texas, United States Everett, Washington, United States Farmingdale, New York, United States Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States Fort Myers, Florida, United States Fort Worth, Texas, United States Fountain Valley, California, United States Fullerton, California, United States Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States Glendale, Arizona, United States Greensboro, North Carolina, United States Gretna, Louisiana, United States Gurnee, Illinois, United States Hampton, Virginia, United States Henderson, Nevada, United States Henrico, Virginia, United States Hialeah, Florida, United States Hilliard, Ohio, United States Hollywood, Florida, United States Houston, Texas, United States Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Jacksonville, Florida, United States Katy, Texas, United States Kennesaw, Georgia, United States Knoxville, Tennessee, United States Lakeland, Florida, United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Levittown, Pennsylvania, United States Littleton, Colorado, United States Lombard, Illinois, United States Louisville, Kentucky, United States Marietta, Georgia, United States McDonough, Georgia, United States Memphis, Tennessee, United States Mesa, Arizona, United States Mesquite, Texas, United States Miami, Florida, United States Milpitas, California, United States Mission Viejo, California, United States Moorestown, New Jersey, United States Moreno Valley, California, United States Morrow, Georgia, United States Nashville, Tennessee, United States New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Norco, California, United States North Charleston, South Carolina, United States North Richland Hills, Texas, United States Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States Orlando, Florida, United States Overland Park, Kansas, United States Paramus, New Jersey, United States Pasadena, Texas, United States Phoenix, Arizona, United States Plano, Texas, United States Pompano Beach, Florida, United States Port St. Lucie, Florida, United States Reno, Nevada, United States Reynoldsburg, Ohio, United States Riverdale, Utah, United States Rocklin, California, United States Roswell, Georgia, United States Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States San Antonio, Texas, United States San Diego, California, United States Sanford, Florida, United States Santa Ana, California, United States Sarasota, Florida, United States Saugus, Massachusetts, United States Savannah, Georgia, United States Seattle, Washington, United States Skokie, Illinois, United States Smyrna, Georgia, United States St. Louis, Missouri, United States Sugar Land, Texas, United States Tampa, Florida, United States Tempe, Arizona, United States The Colony, Texas, United States Thornton, Colorado, United States Tucson, Arizona, United States Utica, Michigan, United States Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States Wayne, New Jersey, United States West Palm Beach, Florida, United States Wichita, Kansas, United States Woodbridge, Virginia, United States Woodland Hills, California, United States
First Name 48e61cd7
Last Name 77c0481c
Email 77d6dec4
4730ddd1 Email me about jobs like this
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Emperor of Japan Contact Details, Office Address, Email Address, and More
Politics / By Admin
Emperor of Japan Contact Details, Office Address, Email Address, and More details given here. The current and 125th Emperor of Japan is Akihito. He was born on 23 December, 1933 at Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan. He married to Michiko Shōda on 1959. After the death of his father Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa) on 7 January, …
Emperor of Japan Contact Details, Office Address, Email Address, and More Read More »
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Tag Archives: First Age
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…
I read a lot; I have done since I was a kid. Brian Jacques, JK Rowling, Caroline Lawrence and dozens of other authors’ work sped through my young mind, throwing off ideas, philosophies, and any other random stuff I found interesting in all directions. However, as any committed reader will tell you, after a while flicking through any genre all the ‘low hanging fruit’, the good books everyone’s heard of, will soon be absorbed, and it is often quite a task to find reliable sources of good reading material. It was for partly this reason that I, some years ago, turned to the fantasy genre because, like it or loathe it, it is impossible to deny the sheer volume of stuff, and good stuff too, that is there. Mountains of books have been written for it, many of which are truly huge (I refer to volumes 11 and 12 of Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’, which I have yet to pluck up the courage to actually read, if anyone doubts this fact), and the presence of so many different subgenres (who can compare George RR Martin, creator of A Game of Thrones, with Terry Pratchett, of Discworld fame) and different ideas gives it a nice level of innovation within a relatively safe, predictable sphere of existence.
This sheer volume of work does create one or two issues, most notably the fact that it can be often hard to consult with other fans about ‘epic sagas’ you picked up in the library that they may never have even heard of (hands up how many of you have heard of Raymond E Feist, who really got me started in this genre)- there’s just so much stuff, and not much of it can be said to be standard reading material for fantasy fans. However, there is one point of consistency, one author everyone’s read, and who can always be used as a reliable, if high, benchmark. I speak, of course, of the work of JRR Tolkein.
As has been well documented, John Ronald Reuel Tolkein was not an author by trade or any especial inclination; he was an academic, a professor of first Anglo-Saxon and later English Language & Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford, for 34 years no less. He first rose to real academic prominence in 1936, when he gave (and later published) a seminal lecture entitled Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics. Beowulf is one of the oldest surviving works of English literature, an Anglo-Saxon epic poem from around the 8th century AD detailing the adventures of a warrior/king named Beowulf, and Tolkein’s lecture defined many contemporary thoughts about it as a work of literature.
However, there was something about Beowulf that was desperately sad to Tolkein; it was just about the only surviving piece of Old English mythology, and certainly the only one with any degree of public knowledge. Tolkein was a keen student of Germanic mythology and that of other nations, and it always pained him that his home nation had no such traditional mythology to be called upon, all the Saxon stories having been effectively wiped out with the coming of the Normans in 1066. Even our most famous ‘myths’, those of King Arthur, came from a couple of mentions in 8th century texts, and were only formalised by Normans- Sir Thomas Malory didn’t write Le Morte d’Arthur, the first full set of the Arthurian legends, until 1485, and there is plenty of evidence that he made most of it up. It never struck Tolkein as being how a myth should be; ancient, passed down father to son over innumerable generations until it became so ingrained as to be considered true. Tolkein’s response to what he saw as a lamentable gap in our heritage was decidedly pragmatic- he began building his own mythological world.
Since he was a linguistic scholar, Tolkein began by working with what he new; languages. His primary efforts were concerned with elvish, which he invented his own alphabet and grammar for and eventually developed into as deep and fully-fleshed a tongue as you could imagine. He then began experimenting with writing mythology based around the language- building a world of the Dark Ages and before that was as special, fantastical and magical as a story should be to become a fully-fledged myth (you will notice that at the start of The Lord Of The Rings, Tolkein refers to how we don’t see much of hobbits any more, implying that his world was set in the past rather than the alternate universe).
His first work in this field was the Quenta Silmarillion, a title that translates (from elvish) as “the Tale of the Silmarils”. It is a collection of stories and legends supposedly originating from the First Age of his world, although compiled by an Englishman during the Dark Ages from tales edited during the Fourth Age, after the passing of the elves. Tolkein started this work multiple times without ever finishing, and it wasn’t until long after his death that his son published The Silmarillion as a finished article.
However, Tolkein also had a family with young children, and took delight in writing stories for them. Every Christmas (he was, incidentally, a devout Catholic) he wrote letters to them from Father Christmas that took the form of short stories (again, not published until after his death), and wrote numerous other tales for them. A few of these, such as The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, either drew inspiration from or became part of his world (or ‘legendarium’, as it is also known), but he never expected any of them to become popular. And they weren’t- until he, bored out of his mind marking exam papers one day in around 1930, found a blank back page and began writing another, longer story for them, beginning with the immortal lines: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
This work, what would later become The Hobbit (or There and Back Again), was set in the Third Age of his legendarium and is soon to be made into a series of three films (don’t ask me how that works, given that it’s shorter than each one of the books making up The Lord Of The Rings that each got a film to themselves, but whatever). Like his other stories, he never intended it to be much more than a diverting adventure for his children, and for 4 years after its completion in 1932 it was just that. However, Tolkein was a generous soul who would frequently lend his stories to friends, and one of those, a student named Elaine Griffiths, showed it to another friend called Susan Dagnall. Dagnall worked at the publishing company Allen & Unwin, and she was so impressed upon reading it that she showed it to Stanley Unwin. Unwin lent the book to his son Rayner to review (this was his way of earning pocket money), who described it as ‘suitable for children between the ages of 6 and 12’ (kids were clearly a lot more formal and eloquent where he grew up). Unwin published the book, and everyone loved it. It recieved many glowing reviews in an almost universally positive critical reception, and one of the first reviews came from Tolkein’s friend CS Lewis in The Times, who wrote:
The truth is that in this book a number of good things, never before united, have come together: a fund of humour, an understanding of children, and a happy fusion of the scholar’s with the poet’s grasp of mythology… The professor has the air of inventing nothing. He has studied trolls and dragons at first hand and describes them with that fidelity that is worth oceans of glib “originality.”
In many ways, that quote describes all that was great about Tolkein’s writing; an almost childish, gleeful imagination combined with the brute seriousness of his academic work, that made it feel like a very, very real fantasy world. However, this was most definitely not the end of JRR Tolkein, and since I am rapidly going over length, the rest of the story will have to wait until next time…
Standard | | Tagged 1066, A Game Of Thrones, academic, academic prominence, academic work, adventure, Allen & Unwin, alphabet, alternate universe, ancient, Anglo-Saxon, Arthurian legends, author, authors, back page, benchmark, Beowulf, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, books, Brian Jacques, Caroline Lawrence, Catholic, child, childish, Christmas, consistency, CS Lewis, Dark Ages, deep, devout, Discworld, diverting, Elaine Griffiths, eloquent, elves, elvish, English Language & Literature, epic poem, epic sagas, exam papers, fantastical, fantasy, fantasy genre, fantasy literature, fantasy world, Father Christmas, father to son, films, First Age, formal, formalised, Fourth Age, fusion, generous, genre, George RR Martin, Germanic mythology, gleeful, good book, good reading material, grammar, Harry Potter, heritage, humour, ideas, imagination, In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit, inclination, ingrained, innovation, JK Rowling, John Ronald Reuel Tolkein, JRR Tolkein, kid, King Arthur, languages, Le Morte d'Arthur, lecture, legendarium, legends, lend, linguistic scholar, linguistics, low hanging fruit, magical, marking, mind, mountains, mythological world, mythology, myths, next time, Normans, Old English, Oxford, Oxford University, passed down, past, Pembroke College, Peter Jackson, philosophies, pocket money, popular, pragmatic, predictable, professor, prominence, public knowledge, publishers, Quenta Silmarillion, Raymond E Feist, Rayner Unwin, read, reading, real, Redwall, reliable source, reviews, Robert Jordan, sad, safe, Saxon, seriousness, short stories, Sir Thomas Malory, standard reading material, Stanley Unwin, stories, study, stuff, subgenres, Susan Dagnall, Tale of the Silmarils, Terry Pratchett, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, The Hobbit, The Lord Of The Rings, The Silmarillion, The Times, There and Back Again, Third Age, trade, understanding of children, volume, Wheel of Time | 0 comments
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Paquin, Jeanne, born 1869 - died 1936
Paquin, Jeanne
Paquin Ltd
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E
Paris (made)
early 1901 (made)
Paquin, Jeanne, born 1869 - died 1936 (designer)
Paquin Ltd (designed for)
Pencil and watercolour drawing
Given by the House of Worth
E.367-1957
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E, case 96, shelf C, box 7
This is one of a group of 29 sketches for dresses bound in a volume entitled Été 1901 (Summer 1901) from the Paris fashion house of Paquin. Founded by Jeanne Paquin (1869-1936) in 1891, Paquin was one of the most successful couture establishments at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The 29 gowns in this volume were all designed specially for actresses and singers of the time, including Juanita de Frezia and Carolina Otero, stars of the Folies-Bergère; and the musical theatre star Jeanne Granier.
This dress was designed for "Orlandy", the actress Suzanne Orlandi. Suzanne Orlandi is now mainly remembered for being one of the first women, in 1912-13, to wear one of her friend Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel's little black dresses, a stark black velvet gown with a white petal collar. Chanel often criticised the elaborately constructed, tightly corseted, and luxuriously ornamented fashions of the early twentieth century. Her simple, easy-to-wear cardigan suits and dresses were created in reaction to the beautiful yet impractical designs that established couturiers such as Paquin presented. This sketch, of an yellow silk afternoon dress and matching hat, both lavishly trimmed with Venetian lace and masses of white and black artificial daisies, is an example of the luxurious fashions that so offended Chanel.
Afternoon dress for Suzanne Orlandi. Pale yellow overskirt and bodice lavishly trimmed with Venetian lace and masses of white and black daisies, hat trimmed to match. One of a group of 29 fashion designs bound in a volume of Paquin designs for Summer 1901. Most in pencil with some ink and watercolour, some with names, details, and fabric swatches attached.
Height: 32.5 cm, Width: 22 cm
This is one of a set of 29 designs (numbers E.351 to 379-1957) in a bound volume titled Été 1901 (Summer 1901). These designs appear to have been grouped together because they were originally created for actresses and performers. Almost all the sketches have a client name noted on them, although in many instances the handwriting is tricky to decipher and very much open to interpretation. However, preliminary research has identified seven of the clients as follows:
Mme de Frezia was Juanita de Frezia, a performer at the Folies-Bergère whose career ran from the 1890s into the 1920s. She was featured on a 1899 poster for the Folies-Bergère drawn by 'Lem', and later appeared in silent films during the 1910s and 1920s, including Maud Jenkins(1912), La Femme Qui Assassina (1912), La prole (1921), La vivante épingle (1921), La joueuse d'orgue (1924) and Chouchou poids plume (1927).
Yvonne Garrick was a young French comedy actress, born Marie-Berthe Yvonne Garrick, who made her acting debut in 1900. Her last performances appear to have been in 1921.
Jeanne Granier (1852-1939) was a successful French musical theatre star and opera singer who made her debut in 1873, and enjoyed significant success during the 1880s-1900s.
Manon Loti was an extremely beautiful opera singer and actress who was renowned for her elegance in early 20th century Paris. She enjoyed a certain notoriety, being reported in 1911 to have surrounded herself with deformed servants in order to emphasise her own good looks.
'Orlandy' (sic) was the actress and socialite Suzanne Orlandi, who is mainly remembered now for being one of the first women (in 1912-13) to wear one of her friend Coco Chanel's original "little black dresses".
'Otero' was Carolina Otero (1868-1965), also known as La Belle Otero. Whilst she was one of the star performers at the Folies-Bergère, Otero is best known as an extremely successful courtesan who counted Edward VII, Prince Albert I of Monaco, and royalty from Russia, Serbia and Spain amongst her conquests.
Mme Terry was probably Ellen Terry (1847-1928), the most famous English actress of her day, who was renowned for her Shakespeare performances.
The other names, as yet unidentified, but presumably also actresses and performers, are:
Inulie Gredin (possibly Grandin; first name open to interpretation)
M. Laurent
M. Robinson
Marcelle Rochet (This client's name is particulary difficult to pinpoint, despite appearing on a number of designs in the volume. The name can be read alternatively as Robet, Robert, Rosbit, Rouet, etc. Rochet seems to be the most consistent reading, though.)
- Daniel Milford-Cottam, March 2012.
Jeanne Paquin. Été, 1901. Afternoon dress for Suzanne Orlandi. Pale yellow overskirt and bodice lavishly trimmed with Venetian lace and masses of white and black daisies, hat trimmed to match.
Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings Accessions 1957-1958 London: HMSO, 1964
Pencil; Watercolour
Fashion; Designs; Women's clothes; Clothing; Drawings
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Law Office of Tim Leary
Need to Support Your Law School Education? Part-Time Paid Legal Assistant Position Now Open
August 17, 2015 August 10, 2015 uwcpsl
Seattle Metro Chamber and Women’s Funding Alliance Seeking Director for 100% Talent, Position Open Until Filled
The Seattle Metro Chamber and Women’s Funding Alliance have joined forces to launch 100% Talent, a voluntary, employer-led gender equity initiative designed to create a more inclusive economy and vibrant King County for all. We’re now hiring a director who will be primarily responsible for developing, implementing, and managing this five-year initiative.
The position reports to the Senior Vice President of Programs and Partnerships and is primarily responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the Chamber’s 100% Talent Initiative. This five-year initiative, a joint project of the Chamber and Women’s Funding Alliance, is a voluntary, employer-led gender equity initiative designed to create a more inclusive economy and vibrant King County for all.
Health Care Authority’s Office of Legal Affairs Seeking PEB Hearings & Policy Coordinator, Position Open Until Filled
The Health Care Authority’s Office of Legal Affairs is seeking an applicant to fill a hearings and policy coordinator position on a team that supports the Public Employees Benefits Division. Your rewarding work will include impacting the medical, dental, life, and long-term disability insurance benefits for many public employees, retirees, and their dependents throughout the state.
The PEB Hearing Representative represents HCA in complex cases at quasi-judicial administrative hearings before an HCA Presiding Officer or Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) in a wide variety of case types ranging from public employee appeals of health benefit plans, self-insurance plans, COBRA, ERISA, and self-insurance health plans.
Human Rights First Seeking Legal Intern for Refugee Representation, Position Open Until Filled
Human Rights First’s Refugee Representation team welcomes law students to apply for its Fall 2015 legal internship in its Washington, D.C. office. This internship will provide qualified applicants with in-depth knowledge of the U.S. asylum system, as well as practical experience in interviewing, case preparation, and direct client service skills. Applicants must be currently enrolled in law school, have a strong interest and commitment to legal representation of asylum seekers, and wish to work directly with asylum seeking clients. Those selected for the internship will preferably be fluent in a relevant second language, but this is not a requirement for the position. This internship is unpaid and is part-time (minimum commitment of 2 days per week).
Law Office of Tim Leary, Criminal Defense Attorney Seeking Part-Time Legal Assistant/Paralegal, Position Open Until Filled
This is a part-time position with flexible hours in a small, fast-paced, criminal defense law office. The ideal candidate will have an exceptional telephone presence, strong organizational and computer skills, the ability to multi-task, and some writing experience in a professional environment. The successful applicant will serve as the initial and primary point of contact for existing and potential clients as well as the lead in communications with court staff and other attorneys, so a mix of professionalism and empathy are a must. We are looking for someone with a positive outlook, initiative and a desire to partner with the attorney.
Customer service and/or office experience is required. A paralegal certificate would be nice, but don’t worry – we’ll train the right candidate. To apply, please provide a resume with an e-mail denoting your interest to office@learydefense.com.
Compensation: DOE & Competitive
Monthly paid vacation and/or sick leave
Potential Bonuses depending on performance
City of Seattle Seeking Deputy Director of SPD Office of Professional Accountability, Position Open Until Filled
The City of Seattle is recruiting a Deputy Director for the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA). OPA, for employment purposes is considered within the Police Department, but is an independent office. This position reports to the OPA Director who reports directly to the Mayor. In the absence of the OPA Director, the Deputy will represent OPA. The Deputy will help manage the overall mission of the OPA and therefore is essential to its success. The Deputy will play a key role in the operational effectiveness of OPA, with responsibility for helping to meet OPA’s timeliness and transparency goals, including data input and collection, analysis of trends and timelines, compilation of information for public reports, social media presence, public presentation materials and responsiveness to participants. The Deputy will have primary responsibility for implementation of new programs. In collaboration with the OPA Director, the Deputy will play a highly visible and integral role in expanding the OPA community outreach programs and in the research, development and implementation of best practices in police accountability. The OPA Deputy will review case files in collaboration with the Director and serve as Civilian Acting Director as necessary.
Seattle Community Law Center Seeking Volunteer Student Advocate, Position Open Until Filled
SCLC’s mission is to provided accessible legal advocacy to people living with physical and mental disabilities so that they may obtain the resources necessary to overcome barriers to financial and medical stability.
The position will provide opportunity to engage with clients of diverse backgrounds through the intake process and varying levels of involvement in direct representation of clients under the supervision of a staff attorney. Staff and setting provide a fantastic place to further your education while impacting the community. Interns may engage in client interviews and counseling, problem solving, legal and factual research, discovery, and written and oral client centered advocacy.
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) of Seattle Seeking Supervising Attorney for Pro Bono Programs, Position Open Until Filled
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) is an innovative partnership among the Microsoft Corporation, Angelina Jolie and other interested philanthropists, law firms and corporate supporters. KIND is dedicated to providing both pro bono representation and positive systemic changes in law and policy to benefit unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children.
KIND seeks a Supervising Attorney for Pro Bono Programs to manage and oversee the provision of pro bono legal representation to unaccompanied children through KIND’s network of major law firms and corporate partners in Seattle.
Immigration Center for Women and Children Seeking Staff Attorney, Due 8/31
The Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC) seeks a full-time staff attorney in our Oakland office. ICWC is a non-profit legal organization providing affordable immigration services to underrepresented women and children in California.
The attorney will work with other attorneys and legal assistants. The attorney will be responsible for providing direct immigration legal services, outreach and education to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other violent crimes.
Homebase Center for Common Concerns Seeking Staff Attorney, Due 8/31
HomeBase, a non-profit public policy law firm focused on homelessness, seeks a full-time attorney to join our San Francisco-based team. HomeBase seeks an experienced individual who will work closely on site with staff in the San Francisco Bay Area and nationally to support efforts to prevent and address homelessness.
Responsibilities will include:
Supporting implementation of federal, state, and local programs to address homelessness, housing, and poverty.
Identifying the local gaps and assessing the needs of the homeless response system, and providing tailored content and processes to build the capacity of community-based organizations.
Guiding implementation of data-driven systems to measure performance, evaluate outcomes, identify cross-system usage trends, and develop policy solutions to address homelessness.
Training key stakeholders about best practices, program models, and regulations to educate and inform community-based decision-making processes.
Facilitating community-based strategic planning processes and engaging key stakeholders in efforts to prevent and end homelessness.
Creating tools for local and national audiences, including curricula, manuals, user guides, and other training and resource materials.
Joseph & Kirschenbaum LLP Seeking Junior Associate at Employment Litigation Firm, Due 8/31
We have an immediate opening for a highly qualified junior associate to join our plaintiffs’ employment practice. The associate will be responsible for managing individual plaintiff’s cases and will participate in local and national worker’s rights class actions. Between working together with our attorneys, managing cases with federal and state agencies and collaborating with top plaintiffs’ employment firms around the country, the associate will gain experience in the full scope of employment law.
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Veep Mike Pence Travels To Texas To Step In As Consoler-In-Chief
Julian Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama, gave Vice President Mike Pence a gold star for today’s visit to hurricane ravaged areas of Texas.
Immediately after landing in Corpus Christi, Pence headed to Rockport to address a crowd at the damaged First Baptist Church, saying, “We promise you, we’re going to stay with you every step until we bring Southeast Texas back bigger and better than ever before.”
Pence delivered a a message he’d been instructed to send by President Donald Trump. “Just tell ’em we love Texas,” he relayed.
“We love Trump!” shouted back someone in the crowd.
“You’ve inspired the nation by your resilience and by your courage,” Pence said, returning the compliment.
Pence then turned the microphone over to his wife Karen, so she could pray. After that, Pence, in blue jeans, was photographed pitching in to clear hurricane debris.
After that photo op, Castro appeared on CNN and said Pence is more comfortable in that environment than is President Trump, who had visited the state earlier in the week.
Pence, having served as governor of Indiana, “knows there is a human touch” needed, Castro explained. In addition to making sure the federal government is deploying assets correctly to get done the job of rescue and recovery, “also, you need to be Consoler-in-Chief.”
“And we’ve seen now, on several occasions, whether it’s this or Charlottesville, President Trump just cannot find it within himself to be centered around others, to be a true public servant. It’s always about him,” Castro said.
Trump had traveled to Corpus Christi and Austin earlier this week, where he boasted about crowd size and joked to the state’s governor about not congratulating themselves yet on a job well done.
“The mistake [Trump] made the other day was showing up and talking about the size of the crowd that was there for him, not mentioning any of the victims that have passed away because of the storm, and then saying he had seen [hurricane damage] firsthand when clearly he hasn’t,” Castro said. “I’m glad the Vice President is there, because he’s doing a little bit of a better job in that role.”
This article was printed from https://deadline.com/2017/08/mike-pence-donald-trump-texas-consoler-in-chief-julian-castro-1202159040/
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[Insert Clever Blog Title]
The Bloggings of Mike Dicillo
About Me - Click Here!
My Demo Reel - What I Do
“Keeping Score” series on PBS…
I luckily stumbled across by far one of the most creative, informative and absolutely satisfying programs on television that I’ve seen in a very long time. Presented by Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, this series not only explores and reveals the many intricacies of some of the most popular symphonies, but truly and passionately portrays every note for its real meaning. The episode I saw was exploring Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, The Eroica. This Symphony is arguable just as popular as his 5th and 9th purely for its revolutionary sound. By the time those two were written, audiences were much more accustomed to Beethoven’s expressive style. I had been waiting for a series of this magnitude and credibility for quite a while. Mr. Thomas and various other members of the San Francisco Symphony maticulously explore ever major portion of all four movements and go well beyond basic interpretation and into an incredibly intelligent and philisophical take on the piece as a whole. For an example of the level of detail involved in this production, visit KeepingScore.org to view their interactive site. Again, this program is truly incredible and should be enjoyed by people of all ages and musical backgrounds.
« “You know that one song from that one commercial?” Get heard… »
Date : November 6, 2006
Categories : Music
About Me – Click Here!
My Demo Reel – What I Do
Men’s Health finally writes a decent article…
Apple finally announces the new iPhone!
I am SO making this…
Mike’s Really Busy
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UK publishers are banding together to get clarity on GroupM’s GDPR policy
The GDPR Impact
April 10, 2018 by Jessica Davies
The Association of Online Publishers and some of its members will meet with GroupM at the end of this month to discuss the terms of the data protection contract the agency group has asked its suppliers to sign in preparation for the General Data Protection Regulation. The AOP and GroupM both confirmed the meeting.
Some publishers have concerns about what they regard as ambiguous terms in GroupM’s Data Protection Addendum, plus the agency group’s warning that it would likely cease trading with them if they didn’t sign the contract, in order to protect GroupM’s GDPR compliance.
The aim of the AOP-led meeting with GroupM is to iron out gray areas in the contract, so publishers can fully understand what it requires and then decide if they are willing to sign it, according to Richard Reeves, managing director of the AOP.
GroupM has been open to the discussion. “We are continuously engaged in positive dialogue with the AOP, and we’re pleased they’ve reached out about our approach to the GDPR,” said Bethan Crockett, senior director of brand safety and digital risk for GroupM in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We are looking forward to meeting with them in the coming weeks, which presents us all with a great opportunity to discuss questions, share perspectives and work together on best practices.”
The decision to engage directly with GroupM came after a recent meeting of AOP board members, according to the AOP. The Telegraph, Dennis, ESI Media, the Guardian, News UK, Centaur Media and Incisive Media are among the board members, though the AOP wouldn’t confirm which ones attended the meeting.
“It is in the interest of the entire industry that we understand what the motivations and values are [of all publisher partners] around pivotal moments like GDPR and the ePrivacy Regulation,” said Reeves. “Our approach is entirely driven by a recognition of responsibility and a desire to continue to retain and respect consumer trust.”
A bone of contention in the DPA for some publishers Digiday spoke to has been legal loopholes, which they believe would make them vulnerable under the GDPR, should they sign the contract. The idea is to address all concerns in the meeting.
The question of who should shoulder liability under the GDPR has become seriously blurred over the last few months, with companies trying to pass liability up and down the supply chain for months. Publishers are classified as data controllers under the GDPR because they are the source of audience data and therefore have a direct relationship with users, meaning they are in a strong position to ask for users’ consent to track their online behavior.
Publishers must also ensure they have consent in order to work with their advertising partners and that all their ad partners are compliant in turn. It’s harder to gain consent for companies like agencies and independent ad tech vendors, which are classified as data processors under the GDPR, as their brands aren’t known to consumers. That’s meant that publishers are in some ways having to act as vehicles to gain consent on behalf of their partners.
However, some publishers believe they have allowed advertising intermediaries to make money from their own site data, with little or no benefit to themselves, for too long, sources said. Issues such as the rise of ad blocking in 2016 shed light on how user experience has become secondary to programmatic ad revenue. Now, many publishers feel the GDPR is the moment to fully course-correct, ensuring they are firmly back in control of their digital ad supply chain and guaranteeing consumer trust.
“We have, as an industry, commoditized users [with practices like bad retargeting] and alienated them from the ad experience,” said Reeves. “That has undermined their confidence and trust. But premium publishers genuinely respect the relationship they have with their consumers and understand the importance of maintaining that trust. So we won’t be endorsing actions that have the potential to contravene the legal position of GDPR and further undermine consumer confidence.”
The GroupM DPA came soon after Google reportedly asked publishers to gain consent on its behalf for third-party websites and apps that use Google’s ad technology to sell ads, according to The Wall Street Journal.
At the request of its publisher members, the AOP is working with its legal counsel to gain clarity on Google’s GDPR consent plan, according to Reeves. He said the U.K. trade body has been speaking with U.S. publisher trade body Digital Content Next to ensure their findings align.
DCN’s CEO Jason Kint has vehemently disagreed with any notion that Google can assume a co-controller role. “We [DCN] intend to raise the bar on consumer and advertiser trust globally,” he said. “It’s high time Google and Facebook step up as leaders to ensure this is happening rather than playing legal games to protect their duopoly.”
Download Digiday’s guide to GDPR for checklists, research, a GDPR dictionary and more.
GroupM’s preparing for GDPR by requiring publishers sign a data-protection contract
March 26, 2018 by Jessica Davies
Google’s GDPR consent plan could be a template for other tech giants
March 27, 2018 by Tim Peterson
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Fidel calls Forbes Magazine and US "slanderers and liars"
Campaign News | Thursday, 25 May 2006
They must apologise for what they have said, says Cuban leader
Havana 24 May: Cuban President Fidel Castro has branded the US government and Forbes magazine as "liars and slanderers," and demanded an apology for saying he had amassed a personal wealth of $900 million.
"They have to ask for an apology of the world public opinion for their lies against the Cuban revolution. They cannot remain silent. They must speak up," Castro told a live radio and television broadcast on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Forbes said Castro after 47 years in power had become the seventh wealthiest ruler in the world, claiming he had stashed away $900 million by skimming profits from a Havana convention center, retail conglomerate Cimex and vaccine and pharmaceutical products firm Medicuba.
In response Castro, who turns 80 in August, a day later vowed to resign from office "if they prove that I have an account abroad."
"We are waiting for the liars and slanderers to respond," he said late on Wednesday.
"But weeks have gone by and they haven't uttered a word.
"They've painted themselves into a corner," he said, adding that world opinion at least required an explanation for "having been duped for so long."
Appearing with Castro on television, British MP George Galloway said that Cubans were the only people in the entire world whose leader was penniless.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1705627,00050001.htm
Fidel's fortune: Seeing through the lies
Please, Not Fidel Castro’s Fortune Again!
By Pascual Serrano.
Once again Forbes magazine has included the Cuban president in the list of what they call the richest “kings, queens and dictators." Of course, all the media enthusiastically echoed this information, released every year.
If we search in Google News, we’ll see that more than a hundred websites report, not on the list of millionaire rulers, but on Fidel Castro’s presence in the list, despite his position is not the first one, but the seventh. One can presume that if the Cuban president would not be in this inventory, the wealth of these people wouldn’t be breaking news.
The magazine reports that Castro’s fortune reached 900 million dollars this year, almost double the 550 millions in 2005. But the most important is to see how Forbes calculated Castro's money. In the website they explained: "For another controversial dictator, Fidel Castro, we assume he has economic control over a web of state-owned companies, including El Palacio de Convenciones, a convention center near Havana; Cimex, retail conglomerate; and Medicuba, which sells vaccines and other pharmaceuticals produced in Cuba.".[1] Of course the president of Cuba has the control of the governmental companies, just like in every other country. But this time Forbes has varied its last year thesis, when they claimed that the companies were owned by Castro.
It continues: "Former Cuban officials insist Castro, who travels exclusively in a fleet of black Mercedes, has skimmed profits from these outfits for years." All the Cubans know that Castro rides in a twenty-year-old black Mercedes, accompanied by cars of his guard, like the rest of the presidents, especially those that the US has attempted to assassinate. In most of the countries all the ministers and many managers have a Mercedes, and quite less old than Castro’s.
The reasoning about former officials saying that he "has skimmed profits from these outfits" as evidence of his wealth, is a worthless empty argument. His “fortune” certainly doesn’t come from the profits of the Palacio de Convenciones, a centre where public acts are held, and where the single money circulating is the Cuban peso, in case one wants to buy a one peso [2] coffee in the bar. As for Medicuba and Cimex -as I pointed out last year replying the same Forbes? argument-, both are public companies that market national products. There is not any registration or document establishing that these companies belong to the president, all the countries have public companies.
And here comes Forbes’ real challenge, How much has the president kept for himself? This is the way they calculated it: "To come up with a net worth figure, we use a discounted cash flow method to value these companies and then assume a portion of that profit stream goes to Castro." That way, instead of 900 millions they could have found twice as much; after all, it was just about imagining the "portion of that profit stream" which they believe “goes to Castro." If they will do the same next year, they’ll probably be able to report that his fortune has doubled.
The report goes on: "To be conservative, we don’t try to estimate any past profits he may have pocketed, though we have heard rumors of large stashes in Swiss bank accounts. Castro, for the record disagrees, insisting his personal net worth is zero." In fact, to prove the existence of his fortune they should have detected money in a bank account in his name, or title deeds accrediting him as owner or usufructuary. Strange millionaire this one, whose jewels, yachts, mansions and holidays skiing or in the beach are invisible.
After analyzing Forbes’ calculation method, it is obvious that they don’t have evidence of money in any bank account, nor properties in his name. Nonetheless, they continue to say that he has 900 million dollars. In 2003, the magazine established Fidel Castro's wealth was about 110 million dollars. They have said before that it was very complicated to estimate these fortunes, so they calculated the Cuban president's personal treasure assuming that a percentage of Cuba's gross domestic product (GDP) was going to his pocket. So simple like that.
The news coverage on the issue was contradictory. Reuters began its report saying that “the Cuban President Fidel Castro got furious when Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at 550 million dollars last year". Several paragraphs later on, the same note said that "Castro had stated that he was considering to suit Forbes after the publication of the list in 2005, and he laughed at the fact that his fortune was very similar to that of the queen of England.” He got furious and laughed at the same time? He made those comments at the Palacio de Convenciones -the same one making him rich- before thousands of Cubans. Indeed, -I was there- he amusedly highlighted that the fortune attributed to him was similar to that of the British Queen, and he added that to take or not any actions against the magazine was up to him.
It looked like Castro was going to overcome Queen Elizabeth this year. But according to the media, neither the Buckingham Palace, nor the crown jewels were considered part of her fortune. On the other hand, Fidel Castro gets 900 millions with the yields of Palacio de Convenciones where only official events are held and the entrance is free of charge.
http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_21994.shtml
Fidel challenges US to prove his alleged fortune
HAVANA 15 May - Fidel Castro said on Monday that this month's Forbes Magazine report calling him one of the world's wealthiest rulers was "rubbish" and said he would resign if George Bush could prove that he actually had even a single dollar in a bank account.
The Cuban president made the challange during a special television appearance devoted to knocking down the story.
Fidel spoke live on the island's daily public affairs program Mesa Redonda, or Round Table, which served as an official rebuttal of the Forbes report by the Cuban president and several top officials.
"I've been listening to this wickedness for nearly half a century - I don't pay much attention," Fidel said. "Neither lies nor slander are worth anything."
The Cuban president characterized the accusations as another lie against him and were part of Washington's obsession to destroy the Cuban revolutionary process.
Fidel said that when the new era of ideological struggle began in December of 1999, with the battle for the return of the Elian Gonzalez to his father on the island, right wing sectors in the US tightened Washington's blockade and have done everything possible since then to destabilize Cuba and bring about a US intervention.
He referred to the measures that prohibited banks abroad from handling Cuba money, even if it is destined for humanitarian programmes.
In its May 5 article, Forbes included Fidel in a group of 10 leaders with "lofty positions and vast fortunes." The magazine estimated Castro's personal fortune to be $900 million - nearly double that of the $500 million of Queen Elizabeth II and just under Prince Albert II of Monaco's estimated $1 billion.
The article also refers to rumours of Castro's "large stashes in Swiss bank accounts."
"Why should I defend myself against this rubbish?" Castro said he asked himself before the appearance. Burt it was necessary to illustate the ways in which the US is using the media in an atempt to undermine the Cuban revolution.
The Cuban leader gave the floor to government officials including Central Bank President Francisco Soberon and Culture Minister Abel Prieto, who proceeded to defend Fidel.
"It is absolutely impossible that someone in the upper levels of government - and especially not a leader [like Castro] . . . who is recognized by the Cuban people as an example of humility and self-discipline - could maintain personal accounts abroad," Soberon said.
The bank official called the Forbes article "grotesque slander," and blamed an American press he said is "controlled by the Empire," and the CIA. He said he couldn't think of anything more "vulgar and ridiculous" than the magazine's claims.
In explaining its calculations, Forbes said it assumed Castro has economic control over a web of state-owned companies including a convention center, a retail conglomerate and an enterprise selling vaccines and other pharmaceuticals produced in Cuba.
Soberon, however, said all the money made from those companies is pumped back into the island's economy, in sectors including health, education, science, internal security, national defense and solidarity projects with other countries.
In the article, Forbes acknowledged that the estimates for all the leaders are "more art than science."
Soberon explained how Washington maintains its ties with the owner of the magazine, Steve Forbes, who has a long list of services in favour of the warmongering and reactionary policies of the George W. Bush administration.
The Central Bank chief added that amid a chaotic world, the Cuban Revolution and its leader Fidel Castro were prime examples of honesty.
Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto spoke about the hundreds of examples of flagrant lies against Cuba that are found in the most reactionary circles in the United States.
The head of Cuba's Ministry of Culture quoted cases of the media campaign against the island and referred to articles written by US intellectual Noam Chomsky, who denounced the events in Grenada over 20 years ago where lies became the weapon to make the world believe that Cuba had military intentions against that Caribbean nation.
Another example, said Abel Prieto, is how Washington turned Cuban born terrorist Armando Valladares - who placed bombs in movie theatres - into a so-called political prisoner, later turning the terrorist into the US representative before the UN Human Rights Commission.
Cuba's minister of culture said that Steve Forbes is the owner of the magazine and is one of the magnates who has control over public opinion and is "linked to the fascist group in power in the US and the CIA."
Abel Prieto explained that it is difficult to deceive the world nowadays because many people know the truth about the Cuban Revolution - and few people can be mislead and manipulated against Cuba and its leader Fidel Castro.
http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_cuba/lies051506.htm
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Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Index)
The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 23, Part 1
Submitted by William Finck on Sat, 12/22/2012 - 01:25
CHR20121221-Luke23-1.mp3 — Downloaded 1396 times
The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 23 - Christogenea on Talkshoe 12-21-2012
We saw Luke chapter 22 end with the mock trial of Yahshua Christ in the court of the high priests. That trial was not a real trial, but probably only served so that the Judaeans could draw up the charges which they would present to Pilate, since in Judaea at the time only the Roman authority had the lawful power to try capital offenses. The first Herod had that power, when Judaea was a kingdom. However under Herod Archelaus Judaea was reduced to the status of an imperial province and the local rulers lost that authority.
All four gospels offer quite different perspectives on the mock trial of Yahshua before the high priests. It must be noted that the four quite different perspectives of the events of both trials and the crucifixion of Christ was probably the result of the disciples being scattered after Christ was seized in the garden, which is seen at Mark 14:50. One thing that is apparent in all four gospels, however, is that there were really no charges of substance worthy of a capital or even a minor offense which could have been brought, except that the high priests and scribes cared not for justice but for expediency, so they merely invented charges. As Mark wrote in his version of the account, “56...many had testified falsely against Him, and the testimonies were not the same. 57 And some arising gave false testimony against Him saying 58 that: “We heard Him saying that ‘I shall destroy this temple made by hand and after three days I shall build another not made by hand!’” 59 Yet not even thusly was their testimony the same.” Matthew said “59 Then the high priests and the entire council sought false testimony against Yahshua, that they may kill Him, 60 yet they found not many false witnesses coming forth. But later two having come forth 61 said 'He said this: ‘I am able to destroy the temple of Yahweh and in three days I will build it!’” While on the surface the accounts seem to conflict because of the differing perspectives, in many ways they compliment and corroborate one another. Luke did not record the matters concerning the temple, but all three gospels generally agree where Luke records the high priests as having asked “67 'If You are the Christ, tell us!' And He said to them: 'If I should tell you, you shall not believe it, 68 and if I shall ask, by no means will you answer. 69 But from this time the Son of Man shall be sitting at the right hand of the power of Yahweh.'” The apostle John in his gospel did not record any of the charges which the high priests and their followers had contrived before bringing Yahshua before Pilate.
1 And rising, the whole multitude of them brought Him before Pilatos. 2 Then they began accusing Him saying “We have found Him perverting our nation and preventing giving tribute tax to Caesar, and saying of Himself to be the anointed king.”
Here it is evident from the context that even the leaders of the Judaeans knew that the destiny for the prophesied Christ was to be King of Israel, yet they denied its having materialized in their own time.
The word διαστρέφω, to pervert here, is literally to twist. The word χριστός (5547) is primarily an adjective, meaning anointed, and that is how it is used in this passage. It is not - as the King James and other versions have it - a Substantive in this passage, which is a noun, used to designate the Christ. If it were a Substantive it would have appeared with the article. Yet neither of the Greek words for anointed or king appear with the article here, and therefore χριστός is an adjective modifying the indefinite noun for king. On many occasions the King James and other versions render χριστός as Christ when it should have been rendered as anointed, as an adjective or sometimes even as a noun.
The high priests in Judaea at this time had the authority to try and punish criminals in all but capital offenses, which they were required to send to the Roman authorities. If the jews desired to have Christ tried by Pilate, then it would be for a capital offense and they would need charges worthy of such an offense. Therefore they contrived two false charges: for Christ never taught people not to pay taxes, and He never explicitly claimed for Himself to be King, in spite of the fact that others made that claim for Him.
Matthew chapter 27, Mark chapter 15, and Luke chapter 23 all begin in the same place in the general narrative, with Christ being taken before Pilate. John's record of this event begins at verse 28 of chapter 18 in his gospel, as it was later numbered. Note that the charges contrived in the court of the high priest must have been brushed aside and substituted for these charges which amount to tax revolt and insurrection which are recorded here by Luke. None of the other gospels record the charges as Luke did, however all three of the other gospels corroborate Luke's records where we see at Matthew27:, Mark 15:, and John 18:33 that when Pilate first addresses Christ, he asks Him “Are You the King of the Judaeans?”. Therefore Pilate is recorded by all as if he was responding to these charges which only Luke records.
3 Then Pilatos asked Him, saying “Are You the King of the Judaeans?” And replying He said to him “So you say.” 4 Then Pilatos said to the high priests and the crowds “I find not any guilt in this man.”
The gospel of Matthew supplies further dialog between Pilate and Christ at this point, where it says at 27:12-14: “12 And to that which had been brought as an accusation against Him by the high priests and the elders He answered nothing. 13 Then Pilatos says to Him: “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” 14 And He did not reply to him with even one word, so for the governor to wonder exceedingly.” The passage at Mark 15:4-5 corroborates this exchange which Luke did not record.
5 But they were more strongly saying that “He agitates the people teaching throughout all of Judaea, even beginning from Galilaia as far as here.” 6 Then Pilatos hearing inquired whether the man is a Galilaian. 7 And discovering that He is from the jurisdiction of Herodas, he sent Him to Herodas, he also being in Jerusalem in those days.
The Codices Alexandrinus (A), Bezae (D), Washingtonensis (W) and the Majority Text have “Then Pilatos hearing ‘Galilaia’ inquired”; the text follows the 3rd century papyrus P75 and the Codices Sinaiticus (א), Vaticanus (B), and Borgianus (T).
The word ἐξουσία (1849) is usually power or authority but here in this context it is jurisdiction, for which see Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament at ἐξουσία, 4. c. "., where he cites both Luke 4:6 and this passage.
In Luke alone, we learn that Pilate had sent Christ to Herod, and did not surrender Him to the desires of the Judaeans until Herod had sent Him back again. So from each writer we see differing aspects of the events of that day, and surely because no writer recorded those events completely, and each had different perspectives on the events formed from the things that they both saw for themselves, and that they heard from others. None of the accounts necessarily conflict, and none of them can be proven to be false. They are all merely different, because each writer had a different knowledge or placed a different emphasis on the various things which occurred that day. In retrospect, it is fortuitous that the disciples were scattered at this time, because in that manner we have these different accounts from different aspects, and each of them helps to fill in the gaps that a single account from a single perspective would not have been able to provide.
The gospel of John seems to indirectly corroborate Luke in regard to the account of Pilate sending Yahshua to Herod, however John does not actually describe such an event. Rather, John says of Pilate's initial address to the Judaeans as he first encountered them at the Praetorium: “29 Therefore Pilatos came outside to them and declared: 'What charge do you bring against this man?' 30 They replied and said to him 'If this man was not doing evil, we would not have delivered Him to you!' 31 Therefore Pilatos said to them: 'You take Him and judge Him according to your law.' The Judaeans said to him: 'It is not lawful for us to slay anyone', 32 that the word of Yahshua would be fulfilled which He spoke indicating by what sort of death He was going to die.”
Here several things may be discussed. First, this may be where the Judaeans realized that the charges they had contrived in the courtyard were not sufficient for a capital offense, although that is not supported according to the manner in which Luke presents the account. Secondly, where John has Pilate saying merely “You take Him and judge Him according to your law”, that may be the point where Luke has Christ being brought from Pilate to Herod, but which John did not fully record for one reason or another. Third, John's account elucidates for us the fact that lawfully only the Roman authorities could try capital offenses, a fact which the high priests are recorded as having recognized. If indeed the Judaeans had the ability to execute Christ, the method would have been stoning. There is an unlawful stoning of the martyr Stephen recorded in the book of Acts. However since only the Romans could lawfully execute Christ, and the Judaeans acceded to that in bringing Him to Pilate, the method would be crucifixion, and therefore John wrote “that the word of Yahshua would be fulfilled which He spoke indicating by what sort of death He was going to die.” The Romans used crucifixion as a method of execution, and forty years later crucified many who were captured during the siege of Jerusalem under Titus. The practice of crucifixion among the Persians was mentioned several times in the pages of the Greek historian Herodotus, who wrote five centuries before the time of Christ, and whose words in that matter are confirmed by inscriptions such as the famous Behistun Rock.
8 Then Herodas seeing Yahshua rejoiced exceedingly, for he was for a considerable time wishing to see Him on account of that which is heard concerning Him, and he hoped to see some sign coming from Him.
The Codex Alexandrinus and the Majority Text both want the word rendered “time”, and order a few other words differently, and so the text of those manuscripts would be read in part: “...for he was at length wishing to see Him”. Later in the sentence those same codices have “...on account of the many things being heard”. The the text of the Christogenea New Testament follows the third century papyrus P75 and the Codices Sinaiticus (א), Vaticanus (B), Bezae (D) and Borgianus (T). The Codex Washingtonensis follows the Codex Alexandrinus in this later part of the verse, but the other manuscripts at the beginning. I note these things because it is quite evident that in many places the King James Version follows the Codex Alexandrinus contrary to the several older manuscripts, and because I have encountered many advocates of the King James Version who have hypocritically criticized the so-called Alexandrian tradition, of which the Codex Alexandrinus is the leading example. The Christogenea New Testament usually follows the Codices Sinaiticus or Vaticanus wherever they depart from the Alexandrinus.
9 And he questioned Him with many statements, but He answered him nothing. 10 Then the high priests and the scribes had stood vigorously accusing Him. 11 And belittling Him, Herodas with his soldiers then mocking Him, wrapping Him in a splendid garment returned Him to Pilatos. 12 And Herodas and Pilatos became friends with each other on that day. For formerly they were at enmity between themselves.
There was much contention between Pilate and the Judaeans, first over his plan to place the effigies of Caesar in the temple at Jerusalem, and then over the construction of an aqueduct into the city, where many Judaeans protested its being built and they were killed. While there is not much other evidence to provide a reason, many attribute these things as the cause of the enmity between Pilate and Herod the tetrarch.
While Christ would not answer charges against Him which were leveled by the high priests, as it is also described in Mark 14:60-61 of the events in the court of the priest, Christ also made no reply before Pilate concerning the charges made against Him by the Judaeans, as the passage at Matthew 27:12-14 attests, in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7. Here Christ uttered not a word to Herod, who for a considerable time had been anxious to see Him and who in the end must have been quite disappointed at the outcome of the meeting. Herod was, as Josephus often attests, from a family of Edomite jews. Such is how Christians should treat jews, not even respecting them as persons. Yet Christ did converse with Pilate himself, as especially the gospel of John describes, when Pilate took him away from His accusers into the Praetorium and held a conversation with Him.
Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
13 Then Pilatos convening with the high priests and the leaders and the people 14 said to them: “You have brought to me this man as if He has been turning away the people, and behold, I before you inquiring found nothing with this man guilty of that which you make accusation against Him.
Earlier in the chapter the word διαστρέφω, literally to twist, was rendered as pervert. Here the King James Version renders ἀποστρέφω as pervert. Where διαστρέφω is literally to turn through or by, ἀποστρέφω is literally to turn back or from, and is therefore to turn away here. While either word may metaphorically be pervert, I chose not to render them the same.
While it is evident that none of the Gospel accounts are complete, it is also evident from all of them that the high priests had charged Christ without any evidence of substance by which to support their claims, which Pilate had realized. The dialog of Pilate continues:
15 Yet not even Herodas, for he had sent Him back to you, and behold, there is nothing worthy of death done by Him. 16 Therefore chastising Him I shall release Him.”
Herod evidently sent Christ back to Pilate without charges, and Pilate attempted to use that as a reason to free Him.
The Codices Alexandrinus (A), Bezae (D), Washingtonensis (W) and the Majority Text have “Yet not even Herodas, for I had sent you to him”; the text follows the 3rd century papyrus P75 and the Codices Sinaiticus (א), Vaticanus (B), and Borgianus (T).
Verse 17 is wanting in the Christogenea New Testament. It is found in the Codices Sinaiticus (א), Washingtonensis (W), and in the Majority Text. It is also found in the Codex Bezae (D) but does not appear until after the text of verse 19. It is wanting in the 3rd century papyrus P75 and the Codices Alexandrinus (A), Vaticanus (B), and Borgianus (T). Found in the King James Version in parentheses, which indicates a parenthetical statement and not an interpolation as many casual readers may wrongly assume, it is translated there: “(For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)” Surely this seems to be a marginal note which made its way into the text of some manuscripts, and thus is the reason for the division among the earliest of the manuscripts. Verse 19 is also a parenthetical statement, and it is found in all of the manuscripts. Making the Christogenea New Testament the text of verse 17 was not considered to be a parenthetical statement of Matthew's, but rather an explanatory statement added by a later scribe, and therefore it is omitted from the translation.
Both Matthew and Mark seem to describe only a one-time encounter between Christ and Pilate, before they describe the release of Barabbas. Here in Luke we see that Christ was presented to Pilate twice, once before being sent to Herod and again upon His return. While the account of John is from a quite different perspective, and it seems to support the account of Luke, where Pilate questions Christ and his accusers initially, and then speaks to Christ alone in the Praetorium before addressing His accusers once again. However language at Matthew 27:17 also seems to corroborate the account of Luke here. In that verse where he is describing the release of Barabbas, Matthew has the words “upon their convening Pilate said to them”, indicating that the events of the day were much more protracted than Matthew's short description of them seems to imply. The King James Version has at Matthew 27:17 “Therefore when they were gathered together” yet they were already gathered together and were never described as having adjourned. So why did Matthew again write “therefore when they were gathered together”? Because there was a break in the narrative which was not fully related, and it was during this break that Pilate had his private conversation with Christ in the Praetorium which is recorded by John, and it was also during this break that Christ had been sent to Herod, who only returned him to Pilate. After these things, which neither Matthew nor Mark recorded, there was this second gathering of the Judaeans, the accused Christ, and Pilate, and therefore Matthew writes “therefore upon their convening”, or as the King James Version has it “therefore when they were gathered together”.
18 But the whole multitude cried out saying “Kill Him! And release Barabbas for us!” 19 (Whom was because of a certain sedition which happened in the city, and a murder, cast into prison.)
The word αἴρω (142) is primarily to take up, raise, lift up, but is also to lift and take away, to remove, to take off, and in that sense to kill according to the Liddell & Scott Greek-English Lexicon, and so it is kill here, yet its use while there are many other verbs which literally mean kill also seems to infer that crucifixion is the expected method.
There was a fascinating story told by Wesley Swift in relation to this Barabbas, which must be addressed here. The story is found under the title of The Blue Tunic Army Of Christ and it is found in most of the archives of Swift's papers, including the one at Christogenea. I do not know if Swift originated the story or not, however I do know this: there is absolutely not one shred of Biblical or historical evidence in support of that story. In the story, Swift claims that Barabbas was the leader of an organized resistance movement which had the blessings of Christ and which served to protect Him, sort of like the National-Socialist Brownshirts of the 1920's. However Luke states rather clearly that Barabbas “was because of a certain sedition which happened in the city, and a murder, cast into prison”, Matthew states merely that Barabbas was “a notorious prisoner”, and Mark states that he was “bound with those rebels who in the sedition committed a murder.” However John tells us rather bluntly that Barabbas was a robber. There is no reason to doubt the Gospel accounts, and there is no indication that Barabbas was anything more than a common robber involved in sedition and murder, none of which Christ had anything to do with. Wesley Swift pointed out many good things concerning Scripture, and for that reason his work is worth preserving. However his many innovations, and additionally his tendency towards syncretism, allow for the propagation of a lot of error if his work is not treated with care.
20 Then again Pilatos addressed them, desiring to release Yahshua. 21 But they shouted out saying “You must crucify! You must crucify Him!”
The Codex Alexandrinus and the Majority Text have a Participle “Crucify! Crucify Him!” The Codex Washingtonensis has only “Crucify Him!” The text follows the 3rd century papyrus P75 and the Codices Sinaiticus (א), Vaticanus (B), and Bezae (D), all of which have the 2nd person Present Imperative form of the verb.
Matthew supplies us with a more complete account, where he recorded Pilate's having expressed that Yahshua was “called Christ”, and that the leaders of the Judaeans were demanding his execution because they were jealous of Him. Mark's account differs somewhat where at 15:9-10 he wrote “9 Then Pilatos replied to them saying: 'Do you desire that I shall release for you the King of the Judaeans?' 10 For he knew that on account of envy the high priests handed Him over.”
22 Then a third time he said to them “Why, what evil has He done? I found in Him nothing guilty for death. Therefore chastising Him I shall release Him!” 23 But they were pressing on with great voices demanding for Him to be crucified, and their voices prevailed.
Not apparent in Luke's account, in the gospels of both Matthew and Mark it is stated that the high priests persuaded, and even agitated, the crowd into demanding the execution of Yahshua and the release of Barabbas. Matthew 27:20 states “But the high priests and the elders persuaded the crowds that they should request Barabbas, and that they should destroy Yahshua.” Here in Luke the Codices Alexandrinus (A), Bezae (D), Washingtonensis (W) and the Majority Text all have the end of verse 23 to say “and their voices and those of the high priests prevailed.” The text follows the 3rd century papyrus P75 and the Codices Sinaiticus (א) and Vaticanus (B). It is evident that many of the differences among the earliest manuscripts are due to clarifications made by scribes, for better or worse, and for good or for bad.
24 And Pilatos decided to meet their demands.
The phrase is literally to produce or to make happen their demands.
25 So he released he whom because of a sedition and a murder was cast into prison, whom they demanded, and Yahshua he handed over to their desires.
The words of Luke here are very similar to those recorded in Mark (Mark 15:15). Matthew provides a fuller account: “24 And Pilatos, seeing that nothing helps, but rather a tumult arises, taking water washed the hands before the crowd, saying “I am innocent from the blood of this man! You see to it!” 25 And responding all the people said: “His blood is upon us, and upon our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas for them, but having scourged Yahshua he handed Him over in order that He would be crucified.” (Matthew 27:24-26)
The account of Pilate's having given the Judaeans a choice between Barabbas and Yahshua is described by John quite differently, where John focuses on exchanges between Pilate and Yahshua which the other gospel writers did not record. John relates that Pilate sought to release Christ, and that he was threatened by the Judaeans if he did not relent to their desires. John 19:12 states that “From this point Pilatos sought to release Him. But the Judaeans cried out, saying 'If you should release this man, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone making Himself king speaks in opposition to Caesar!'” If Pilate had not relented, and if a riot had happened in the city where tens of thousands of outsiders were also gathered for the feast, then he himself would have had to answer to Caesar against all of the accusations of the Judaeans. That would have been a situation he could not have won, since the life of one man – a man who was not a Roman – was simply not esteemed in contrast to the peace imposed by Roman tyranny.
At this point both Matthew and Mark record the abuse of Christ by the Roman soldiers which neither Luke nor John reported. Matthew's account reads: “27 Then the soldiers of the governor taking Yahshua into the Praetorium, the whole cohort gathered upon Him 28 and clothing Him they wrapped around Him a scarlet cloak, 29 and braiding a crown out of thorns they set it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand, and falling to the knees before Him they had mocked Him, saying 'Hail! King of the Judaeans!' 30 And spitting at Him they took the reed and beat it on His head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the cloak and clothed Him in His garments and led Him off for which to be crucified.”
26 And as they led Him away, they seized upon one Simon, a Kurenaian who was coming from the field, and placed upon him the cross to bear behind Yahshua.
Many commentators have asserted that this Simon was some sort of brown arab, or even a negro, simply because he was from Cyrene, which was in Africa. It is incredible, the lengths some people go to, and the lies they repeat without question, in order to make excuses for universalism. First, while Simon was a name found among the Greeks, it was mostly and originally a popular Hebrew name. Here Mark even mentions the names of his sons, as if they were expected to be known by his readers, and we see that they have common Greek names. Cyrene was a famous Greek settlement, on that part of the African coast adjacent to Egypt. The settlement is described by Greek historians as far back as Herodotus, and probably dates to at least the 7th century BC, prior to the start of the Persian period. Simon was with all certainty an Israelite Judaean from Cyrene, fulfilling his Scriptural obligation to appear in Jerusalem for the Passover feast.
Here Matthew and Mark both record the fulfillment of Psalm 69:21: “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” where Mark (15:23) says “And they had given to Him wine flavored with myrrh, but which He did not take.”
27 And there followed Him a great multitude of people and of women mourning and lamenting Him. 28 Then turning to them Yahshua said: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children, 29 because behold, the days are coming in which they shall say ‘Blessed are the sterile and the wombs which have not brought forth and breasts which have not nursed!’ 30 Then they shall go on to say to the mountains ‘fall on us!’ and to the hills ‘cover us!’ 31 because if they do these things to the moist wood, what happens to the dry?”
The sayings of Christ recorded here in verses 27 through 31 are only attested by Luke. The words “they shall go on” are from a form of the Greek word ἄρχω (757) is literally “to begin”, Thayer says at ἄρχω 2., “having begun from some person or thing (and continued or continuing) to some person or thing”, where he cites Matthew 20:8, John 8:9, Acts 1:22, and I Peter 4:17 as examples. So in this context ἄρχω to continue, where the Christogenea New Testament has rendered it to go on. The word is used similarly at 18:3 and Acts 1:1.
Language appearing in verse 30 here is similarly found at Isaiah 2:19, Hosea 10:8, and Revelation 6:16, although the contexts are different and the passages not at all related. Revelation 6:15-16, from the King James Version: “15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:” While that passage was a prophecy concerning the fall of Rome, history surely repeats itself because men fail to accept its lessons.
Concerning verse 31 where it says “because if they do these things to the moist wood, what happens to the dry?” In the 9th edition of the Liddell & Scott Greek-English Lexicon it is found under the adjective ὑγρός (5200), which literally means moist, that it can also mean “of persons or their tempers, facile, pliant, easy”. The word ξηρός (3584) is its antonym and literally means dry but also of persons or things may mean “withered...austere...harsh” in certain contexts.
32 And they also brought two other criminals with Him to be killed. 33 And when they came to a place called the Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.
All four gospel writers agree on the place of the crucifixion, although only Matthew and Mark give both the Hebrew name Golgotha and the Greek meaning supplied here by Luke. The word κρανίον (2898) is skull. The name Calvary in the King James Version is a word created from the Latin calva, which is a skull. Golgotha (Γολγοθᾶ, 1115) is from a Hebrew word (found at Strong’s Hebrew #1538), gulgoleth, meaning skull. All four gospel writers also attest that Christ was crucified with two others, men who were robbers, one on His right and one on His left.
34 And casting lots they divided His garments.
Here there is another major early departure among the manuscripts. The Codices Sinaiticus (א), Ephraemi Syri (C), and the Majority Text, and also the Codex Alexandrinus (A) which varies slightly, all insert a sentence before verse 34 as it appears here. The subject of the sentence is obviously the Roman soldiers who were assigned the actual execution of the task at hand, and the sentence reads: “And Yahshua said ‘Father, forgive them. For they do not know what they do.’” The 3rd century papyrus P75 and the Codices Vaticanus (B), Bezae (D) and Washingtonensis (W) do not have the sentence. The oldest manuscripts here are the papyrus P75(3rd c.), the Codex Sinaiticus (4th c.), and the Codex Vaticanus (4th c.). Here in the Christogenea New Testament translation of Luke the Codex Vaticanus has been the most consistently followed of the group, and is deviated from on only a few occasions where the evidence is consistent with all or most of the others and where combined with other factors it is outweighed, for no one manuscript should be considered to be perfect. Yet in this passage support for the reading of the Codex Vaticanus is plentiful among manuscripts nearly as old, and the one older papyrus. The Codices Alexandrinus and Washingtonensis, which so often agree elsewhere, are divided here. The Codex Sinaiticus seems also to be victim of several other lengthy interpolations in Luke, such as those which appear in the King James Version as 22:43-44 and 23:17. The Novum Testamentum Graece (NA27) also includes the passage concerning the Roman soldiers here in its text, but marks it as doubtful. Like the questionable passage found in Luke at 22:43-44, this passage does not appear in the other gospels.
John describes the parting of Yahshua's garments at length, where he states “23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Yahshua, took His garments and they made four parts, a part for each soldier, and the shirt. Now the shirt was seamless, woven altogether from the top. 24 Therefore they said to one another: 'We shouldn’t tear it, but we should cast lots for it, whose it shall be', that the writing would be fulfilled: 'They divided My garments among themselves and cast lots for My clothing'. So therefore the soldiers did these things.”
CHR20121221-Luke23-1.odt — Downloaded 540 times
‹ The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 22, Part 2 up The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 23, Part 2 ›
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Review: ‘Some Like It Hot’
May 9, 2011 June 26, 2012 / cyrakitty
Billy Wilder’s 1959 classic comedy Some Like It Hot
starts out with a typical in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time scenario. His story follows two musicians as they struggle to find work in 1929 Chicago.
Trying to pick up a borrowed car to make it to a gig, Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) witness an incident parallel to the St Valentine’s Day Massacre, this time committed by Spats Colombo (George Raft) as opposed to Al Capone. The Massacre involved a gang war spilling over into a parking garage, with seven people lined up against a wall and shot. The central comedy of ‘Some Like It Hot’ is a stark contrast to this serious event in American history.
So what would you do if you were on the run from the mob? You pretend to be a member of the opposite sex and get an all expenses paid trip to Florida in an all girl Jazz band, of course, complete with heels and wigs.
Lemmon and Curtis turn in Oscar worthy performances (Lemmon was nominated) as Joe and Jerry and then as “Josephine” and “Daphne”. Once they meet Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), the band’s singer and ukulele player, Curtis creates yet another persona, the billionaire “Junior”, to woo her.
One of the greatest comedic moments in cinema is when Curtis returns to the hotel room after his date with Sugar. He finds Lemmon euphoric and dancing with maracas after his “date” with Joe E. Brown’s character, Osgood Fielding III. Lemmon and Brown spent hours learning how to tango for their date scene, but they had an excellent teacher – none other than Spats Colombo himself – George Raft!
There are two major flaws, in my opinion. The first is Joe’s treatment of Jerry throughout the film. The character of Joe seems to walk all over Jerry and undermine him whenever possible, from losing his overcoat on a bet at the dog track, to taking “Daphne’s” bracelet and giving it away. It can be difficult watching such things and tends to impart ill feeling towards a main character. The second flaw comes in the form of musical numbers. It appears that one or two could have been cut with no ill effect on the movie itself. As it is, all action – but most importantly, comedy – comes to a stand still for these numbers.
There is no doubt in my mind how this film came to be a classic. It has elements of comedy, romance and suspense. It keeps the viewer engaged. What of my objections? Well, I borrow my reply from Osgood – “nobody’s perfect.”
billy wilder, jack lemmon, marilyn monroe, movie, review, some like it hot, tony curtis
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3:34 pm India successfully test fires Nirbhay missile
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Home News Editor's Picks India ranked 7th among countries most hit by terror
India ranked 7th among countries most hit by terror
New Delhi: India was ranked 7th in the list of countries most impacted by terrorism in 2015, according to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), 2016, released by the Institute for Economics & Peace, a Sydney-based think-tank. India is one of six Asian countries ranked in the top 10 nations most impacted by terrorism. The Heart of Asia conference adopted the Amritsar declaration on December 4, 2016, which recognises “terrorism, violent extremism, radicalization, separatism, and sectarianism and linkages among them” as the gravest challenges facing the region. The declaration voiced particular concern about the “high level of violence” by ISIS and its affiliates, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan – all based in South Asia. India recorded 289 terrorism-related deaths in 2015, a 45 per cent decline over 2014.
However, the number of Indian Army and paramilitary soldiers killed this year is at an eight-year high, IndiaSpend reported on November 29, 2016. As many as 797 terrorist attacks were recorded in India in 2015, up 4 per cent since 2014, the report said. While the 2015 attacks were the highest since 2000, 80 per cent were non-lethal. Overall, 49 different terrorist groups were engaged in attacks but 31 of these failed to kill anyone. “This suggests that groups are seeking to remind governments of their presence without provoking significant military reactions,” the report said. India experienced 7 per cent of all terrorist attacks around the world, the fourth highest after Iraq (20 per cent), Afghanistan (14 per cent) and Pakistan (8 per cent). India, in 2015, had fewer terror attacks (797) than only Iraq (2,415), Afghanistan (1,715) and Pakistan (1,008).
India suffered twice as many attacks as Syria (384). Deaths from terror attacks globally declined 10 per cent from the highest recorded level of 32,765 in 2014 to 29,376 in 2015, the GTI report said. The GTI score for a country is calculated based on weightage assigned to the total number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries and property damage sustained in the year in question. The index also takes into consideration attacks which took place in the four previous years. A 32 per cent reduction in terror deaths in Iraq and Nigeria led to a global decline in deaths by 41 per cent in 2015. Both countries accounted for 53 per cent of all terrorism-related deaths across the world in 2014. Economic loss from terrorism $635 billion over 16 years The global economic impact of terrorism has been $635 billion over 16 years, from 2000 to 2015. That is an amount equivalent to the annual gross domestic product (GDP) of Egypt and Malaysia. Since 2014, the loss has declined from a 16-year high of $106 billion to the second-highest level of $90 billion, at constant 2015 prices. The GTI report said the decline related to the decrease in terror deaths from 2014 to 2015.
The economic impact of terrorism, as a proportion of a country’s GDP, is highest in Iraq at 17.3 per cent, followed by Afghanistan (16.8 per cent) and Syria (8.3 per cent). Violent conflict, as a whole, caused $13.6 trillion loss to the global economy in 2015 (in purchasing parity terms), or 13.3 of global GDP. OECD countries see 650 per cent rise in terror-related deaths The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries – the world’s most developed – witnessed a 650 per cent increase in terrorism deaths, from 77 in 2014 to 577 in 2015, the worst year for the 35-nation bloc since the 2001 September 11 attacks. Turkey, a part of OECD, witnessed 337 deaths in 2015, the highest among OECD countries.
Terrorist violence in Turkey rose from attacks by the separatist Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) and ISIS in 2015. The report notes that for 14 years until the start of 2015, France had averaged one terrorism-related death per annum. In 2015, France recorded 161 deaths, making it the second biggest victim of terrorism in the developed world. This includes the November 2015 Paris attacks that killed 136 and the Charlie Hebdo attack in January. Over half of all attacks in the OECD countries were by or inspired by ISIS, a trend which has continued in 2016 with attacks in Brussels, Istanbul, Nice and Orlando, which have killed 211 people. Iraq worst hit by terrorism Iraq was the worst hit by terror in 2015 with 6,960 dead and 11,900 injured in 2,415 incidents. Afghanistan and Nigeria were ranked second and third with 5,312 and 4,940 deaths, respectively.
The GTI score is based on the relative impact of terrorist incidents by accounting for the number of incidents, fatalities, injuries and total property damage. Pakistan is ranked fourth with 1,086 deaths in 2015, a 38 per cent decline since 2014. The report notes that terrorism in Pakistan “has moved from the border region with Afghanistan” to other parts of the country, “especially in the Punjab province” that borders India. Terrorism has cost Pakistan $118 billion over the last 15 years in direct and indirect costs, according to Pakistan’s Economic Survey 2015-16, IndiaSpend reported in August 2016. ISIS world’s deadliest group ISIS overtook its African affiliate Boko Haram as the world’s deadliest terrorist group in 2015, with attacks causing 6,141 deaths. ISIS expanded the number of countries where it conducted attacks from six in 2014 to 11 in 2015.
A staggering 4,502 people were killed in terrorist attacks by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2015, a 29 per cent increase since 2014. The year 2015 was also the deadliest for terrorism in Afghanistan, even as the Afghan security forces struggle to contain a resurgent Taliban and the United States draws down its troop presence in the country. The increased violence in Afghanistan threatens the $2 billion worth of Indian aid to the country in a bid to stabilise Afghanistan’s civilian leadership, IndiaSpend reported in July 2015. (In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform. Abheet Singh Sethi is a Mumbai-based freelance writer and defence analyst. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. Feedback at respond@indiaspend.org) –IANS/
TAGcountries most hit India ranked 7th among terror.
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Dana Foundation
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Tag Archives: Elizabeth M.C. Hillman
Brainbows and the Hungry Brain
October 7, 2011 By Dana Foundation in Events, Grants Tags: Brain, brain imaging, Brainbow, Elizabeth M.C. Hillman, in-vivo optical imaging, neuroscience, Research Leave a comment
When you look at an image of the brain, it is hard to imagine that such an alien-looking form no bigger than a cantaloupe facilitates our breathing, moving, and even our ability to contemplate difficult philosophical questions like “chocolate or vanilla?” I am fascinated by the extensive and incredibly efficient communication network I have underneath my skull.
Brain imaging is starting to tell us more about the various brain areas and how they communicate with one another to accomplish tasks from picking up a pencil to processing complex calculus. I hadn’t thought of it as an eating machine, though, until I heard about a lecture entitled “Imaging the Hungry Brain.” I had to find out what that meant, so on Monday night I went to the lecture, given by Elizabeth M.C. Hillman of Columbia, hosted by that university’s neuroscience department and the Mind Brain Behavior Initiative and sponsored by the Dana Foundation.
Hillman is a professor in biomedical engineering and radiology and director of the Laboratory for Functional Optical Imaging. She is a perfect blend of an engineer and a brain enthusiast. After listening to her enthusiasm and excitement about the future of brain imaging, I couldn’t help but be excited myself.
Currently, human brain imaging relies on observing how it consumes energy—as the lecture’s title implied, imaging the hungry brain. Techniques like positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allow researchers to view the brain as it eats up glucose and the oxygen in blood. With these scans, we can see which areas of the brain are active or inactive in terms of energy consumption during different activities. But, Hillman pointed out, energy consumption doesn’t tell us everything about the brain.
Hillman’s hope is that imaging can help us figure out how the brain’s energy consumption actually translates into the neural activity. Much of neurovascular control is still a mystery to scientists, she said, and a clearer understanding of it may lead to a greater understanding of many neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.
Hillman sees a bright future ahead for brain imaging, including work she is doing using in-vivo optical imaging, which uses light to detect functional changes in the animal brain.
One of the most exciting brain imaging techniques she discussed is the Brainbow, which uses fluorescent proteins to label each individual neuron a different color. This way, scientists can get a detailed image of individual neurons as they fire during different activities. Hillman described how researchers can use the image provided by the Brainbow to create a 3-D model of the brain’s neurons in action. While such a technique has only been used with animal brains, Hillman said it’s likely to a play a major role in future neuroscience research, including wathing how pharmaceutical drugs affect different brain areas. If we could label a drug in a way similar to the way neurons are labeled with fluorescent proteins, we could follow it through the brain in order understand exactly where it is going and what it is doing, she said.
Image courtesy of Jeff Lichtman/Harvard University. See more images here.
The lecture was part of series of speakers from Columbia promoting the forthcoming Jerome L. Greene Science Center in Manhattanville that will host Columbia’s Mind Brain Behavior Initiative. One of the initiative’s goals is to understand the inner workings of the brain and apply that knowledge to improved methods of brain disease prevention and treatment. Scientists like Dr. Hillman, who embody the relationship between neuroscience and engineering, may be key to this process.
The next speaker in the series will be Dana Alliance member Thomas M. Jessell, on Nov. 16 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Carlyle (35 East 76th Street at Madison Avenue). He will be discussing “Measured Motion: The Science and Syndromes of Motor Control.”
–Simon Fischweicher
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Heavens’ Coming to the Bay: An Interview with Miguel Gutierrez
By Jesse Hewit
Arriving on the West Coast in June, as part of a teaching/performing tour, Miguel Gutierrez will present his newest work, HEAVENS WHAT HAVE I DONE; the piece has been performed in many contexts and will present it’s newest permutation at the Garage (SF) in June. Gutierrez will also be participating in VERGE, a festival at the Garage in San Francisco, for international and national artists. Interested in enduring philosophical questions about desire, longing, and the search for meaning, Gutierrez’s work sits inside a legacy of process-focused experimental dance while drawing on far-reaching influences such as endurance based performance art work, noise music, ecstatic experience in social and religious rituals, the study of mind/body modalities like Body-Mind Centering, Alexander Technique and the Feldenkrais Method, and various histories of spectacle including Broadway, Vegas, and queer performance in alternative clubs from the 80’s until now. His pieces are notable for the interplay of movement, text, sound and light, which creates, for the performers and the audience, an immersive state of immediacy and attention.
Jesse Hewit: Miguel! Hi. On behalf of the Bay Area dance universe, we’re glad you’re coming to town! I’m looking forward to you interacting with some of the steady buzzing energy around queer dance and performance that’s floating around. Have you heard much about this?
Miguel Gutierrez: Yes, of course! I’ve been hearing a lot through you and Keith [Hennessy] and a bit through Abby [Crain], though I don’t know a lot about the specifics of it and I hope to get clued in when I come.
JH: Will you speak about your relationship to living/dancing/making art in San Francisco?
MG: I’m excited to come to San Francisco to perform. I’m also grateful that Joe Landini invited me, because I’ve been really disappointed that no one out there invited us to bring Last Meadow, the last piece that we’ve been touring, so I guess lo-tech solos are the way to maintain a relationship to the city. As for living and working there, the multiple times that I’ve lived in San Francisco affected me in such profound ways, that it feels sort of crazy to try to parse it out. It was in San Francisco that I came into the first fully realized version of my “self” as a young queer person and where I first saw performance [of Contraband, Ricky Darnell and the High Risk Group, Joe Goode, and others] that re-formed everything I had ever been taught about dance or performance, and which convinced me that there was no other path for me to follow. It was also where I was exposed to the politics of diversity–gender, sexuality, race, class, that whole shebang–which changed the way that I looked at the world, forever.
Repeatedly, it was a sanctuary for me, in my sister’s home, or in the bedrooms of tons o’ guys, or on the streets of the Mission, Castro, SOMA, or in the clubs I went to when I was 19. It was where I began to explore my own work, and it was where I developed my identity and skills as a teacher. It was where I learned that quality of life shouldn’t get cast to the side–although I seem to have a problem remembering that these days. Jesus, I have a tattoo on my arm that says “siempre contigo” [always with you], so that I’d “never forget” what I learned from living there. It was basically my first real home. For years I kept thinking that I would move back, but at some point I realized I didn’t feel that way any more, and that what I needed from it, I got, and that I now wanted different things. But I’m really excited about going there.
JH: You’ll be teaching for a few days after performing HEAVENS WHAT HAVE I DONE at the Garage. For those of us who don’t know, what is HEAVENS, and why did you make it?
MG: Well, I actually made it because I was asked to do something in a festival, and they couldn’t present any of my other pieces, so I went ahead and made something new. This is one of the main reasons I ever make anything–because I’m asked to. Beyond that, well, I’d rather let you see it and see for yourself, but I guess I’ll just say that it’s a piece that I only expected to do once for a very specific context but then I kept getting chances to perform it, and so I kept developing it and it turned into “something.” In that sense, it’s been a piece that’s reminded me to keep my practice alive, regardless of whether I’m making an “official” piece (the ones you write the grants for, or the ones that get advertised with postcards). I love doing it.
JH: Recently I was really taken with Ralph Lemon’s idea of “anti-dance.” What do you think is still interesting and/or important about dance? Is thinking through modes of dance and movement still generative for you?
MG: First, I’ll say “absolutely,” in response to that last
question. It is still very generative.
The “anti-dance” thing is a huge topic. I understand that thing of wanting to talk about it–the “anti-dance” idea. That’s actually been a huge driver in a lot of my work. However, in my “research” (hateful word) lately, I’ve been interested in embracing the long (often fraught, yes), but ultimately intimate and now sophisticated (if I can dare to use that word) relationship to dance that doesn’t always need to point a finger at it first. As such, I’ve been interested in approaches to movement/dance that consider it as a mode of perception that (potentially) unifies a vast array of primary and esoteric senses, and that in itself, proposes a way into non-verbal, non-rationalistic or dualistic approaches to intelligence and poetics. Well, ok, maybe not “unifies,” because I’m not looking for a grand design, but rather dance is the container that allows me to look at this. I am interested in dance’s (and the body’s) archetypal link with the “feminine” (a tremendously reductive way of putting it) in opposition to a patriarchal approach to talking or thinking about the body or art-making. I’m interested in early 20th century developments of aesthetic and somatic understanding that put gestalt or an awareness of a total “situation” at the forefront of sensory experience and how dance (and dance-based performance) can be a really great modality to frame questions that emerge from that perspective.
I have this idea of late that dance’s ability to confound is one of the trademarks of its power, and one of the things that feels most interesting and vital about it. I know that, for sure these days, I feel the need to see things that I don’t understand. I like that dance continues to be my “home form” (the long marriage, so to speak) that I can place these different frames onto.
JH: I feel like you’re someone whose work is very much about transmission and is rather responsive to your audiences. How are you feeling about the role of audience these days? Do you feel like you have any responsibilities there?
MG: I’m aware of many different audiences. First of all, there’s the audience at a show, and they feel really different every night, regardless of where the performance is. Inside that audience, I experience many subsets of audiences. There are the people who you know, and there are the strangers. There are the “V.I.P.’s” (presenters, local artists, etc); there are the haters who walk out or who stay, give you the evil eye or gross energy the whole time, or who are seething with envy disguised as criticism; and then there are the people who are super obviously into it. There are also those who are everything in between or beyond those previous categories. There are the hotties who you catch a glimpse of who you hope think you’re hot, too. There are the people who you think are sort of there by accident–in a good way (like their friend brought them, or for some freak reason, they saw an ad for the show and just decided to come check it out)–and the ones who are there by accident in a bad way. I guess that mostly what I’m saying is that I have a real distrust of the notion of “audience” as anything that is monolithic or truthfully perceivable by me. I know that I still, despite myself and despite the direction of my work, often find myself wanting more from the audience than I could ever hope to get. At the same time, I have noticed that I am heading in a direction where I don’t “need” them as much in the old way of “please look at me….” Something is shifting around that. Last Meadow was a pretty big shift for me about that. So was/is HEAVENS.
JH: Perhaps because the position of being a performance-maker can be so financially precarious, we often cast ourselves as being at the mercy of our audiences in ways that go a little too deep and become unhelpful. I also like your identifications of all the different types and permutations of audience; monolithic notions of audience definitely don’t seem to exist.
MG: Yes, and the other major experience I have of “audience” now is the imaginary one in the studio with me when I’m working; the audience of expectations, judgment, historical categorization, critics, etc. And of course, there’s a lot of experience of audience in me perceiving myself dealing with all of these questions.
As for responsibilities, I give a lot in my work. I am generous. I am generous in my performing as are the other folks in my work, for sure, but I am also generous in that I deal with big stuff in my work: big heart stuff, existential stuff, etc. Some people don’t want to go there, or don’t buy it, or, who knows? I believe in making the show as good as the show demands itself to be, which is a very personal process, and which really only reveals itself slowly and methodically through working. Sometimes it is responsible to keep people in the dark. Sometimes it is responsible to make them work a bit. But (and I think that this was a gift that Joe Goode gave me) I believe in creating points or resources for entering into the work: “invitations.” Granted, one person’s invitation is another person’s, um, non-invitation.
I also believe though, in making work where the work itself is a frame that encompasses presentation, pedagogy, and experience. At its best, the work almost “teaches” you how to experience it. I don’t know if that makes sense, but that is how I think about it. I think that there is a sort of invisible value that I hold while I’m making work that just gets in there.
JH: In general, how are you feeling about dance these days?
MG: Great! Confused. Happy. Thrilled. Convinced it is the most perfect thing. Convinced of its irrelevancy. Subjugated by it. Liberated through it. Completely bored by it. Moved to tears a lot by it. Knowing, and sage-like even, at times in my viewing of it. Surprised by finding something new in it still. Frustrated that I don’t allow myself to do it more. Secretly convinced that it’s the best way to just figure it out. Content to walk arm in arm with its weirdness, its smallness, its privacy and naivete. Intrigued by everything I still don’t understand about it. Constantly gauging when I’m going to stop doing it.
JH: What are you looking forward to most in coming to San Francisco?
MG: I look forward to the drive to the city from the airport, which I really love. I’m excited to see my sister’s family. I’m excited to put my work in front of people there, and I’m really excited about teaching there, because I feel like I’m really working at something that I want to share and explore with others. I want to get some good food, meet folks, I don’t know, and see old friends. And, I want to go to the top of Dolores Park.
JH: Sounds pretty solid. Thanks for chatting, Miguel, see you this summer.
Jesse Hewit makes and shares dance and performance work, teaches and curates, and writes about the things he sees and thinks. He lives in San Francisco with human and animal companions, and works as a cook.
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Radical Trust and Radical Patience
Subhuti said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, in the future will there be living beings, who, when they hear such phrases spoken will truly believe?"
The Buddha told Subhuti, "Do not speak in such a way! After the Tathagata's extinction, in the last five hundred years, there will be those who hold the precepts and cultivate blessings who will believe such phrases and accept them as true.
"You should know that such people will have planted good roots with not just one Buddha, two Buddhas, three, four or five Buddhas, but will have planted good roots with measureless millions of Buddhas. All who hear such phrases and produce even one thought of pure faith are completely known and completely seen by the Tathagata. Such living beings thus obtain measureless blessings and virtue.
From Chapter 6 of the Diamond Sutra
I read these lines this morning to open a seven hour board retreat for our zen center. In terms of working with issues of institutional sustainability, these words spoke deeply to me. However, looking at them now, what stands out is the emphasis on having faith.
Faith doesn't seem, on the surface, to be a heavy teaching in Buddhism. Partly, it's the word, faith, which is probably associated (in many North American minds anyway) with monotheistic traditions. However, I think if you replace "faith" with languaging like "radical trust," then you can certainly find the Buddha lurking about.
I think it's really hard, in this high paced, violent, heavily materialistic world of ours to develop radical trust. All that talk we do about everything having Buddha-nature and how everything is dynamically functioning together sounds great, but often feels like just nice talk when you spend any time reflecting on the relative world of our everyday lives.
The selection above from the Diamond Sutra above points to, among other things, a quality of time beyond the regular notions of time we have. In others words, it's calling for us to develop a radical patience along with that radical trust, while at the same time doing the work to "plant good roots."
At our retreat today, I felt we did a bit of root planting. And I feel like our sangha is at a point now where we can place some sustained work into enhancing and refining our organization for the long term (instead of simply the year to year way we've functioned for the past several years). A wonderful place, filled with potential.
At the same time, the largeness of some of the topics, and the level of effort required to bring about fruition of some of the projects discussed, is calling for us (I believe) to develop both a radical trust and radical patience. Radical trust that we will find the ways we need to go and be able to come together to do what needs to be done. And radical patience in that we need to renounce completely any attachments to outcome.
I must admit that towards the end of the meeting, taking in the whole of what had been proposed, I, as board chair, felt a deep panic. Just an hour earlier, our guiding teacher experienced something similar, and we both had a little laugh about our shared experience there. Together, we resolved to let it go for the evening - to not fixate on what needed to be done next. I didn't completely drop it, as this post probably shows, but I don't feel panic or anxiety at all right now - only interest (curiousness) in the process unfolding as a whole.
Posted by Nathan at 5:09 PM 7 comments
Backwards Buddhist Mantra
Have noticed more than a few comments on a comedy routine Bill Maher recently did about Tiger Woods and Buddhism. Rod, over at The Worst Horse blog dug into the content more than most, but others have had various things to say as well. I honestly didn't plan to wade in on the whole thing because keeping up with the viral mainstream media is like trying to dig a well with a spoon. However, the following line from Maher caught my attention, and made me pause.
Craving for things outside ourselves is what makes life life — I don’t want to learn to not want, that’s what people in prison have to do.
Isn't this what we think most of the time, even us Buddhists? There were plenty of boneheaded jokes in Maher's routine, but this particular line points to one of the major fallacies that humans struggle with in life. Even the prison comment is an accurate view of the way most of us think of renunciation and letting go of all the things we want. Giving up whatever it is that needs to be given up feels like our freedom is being taken away, doesn't it? Don't lie - you know you've felt this before, maybe often. So, I think Maher is doing us a service by summing up in a single line a false view that many of us have a ton of trouble with.
There's great value, in my opinion, in having something clearly pointed out for you that you want to cease believing in. Too often, I think we walk around talking about compassion, helping others, and not being driven by the three poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance. But how much of the time does this occur in a kind of sweet, hazy daze?
Maher's conclusion, if this indeed is his conclusion and not just another joke, is completely wrong. But it's dead on clear, and as such, a way to mark the craving that occurs on the path.
When you feel like you need something outside yourself to "be alive," or that giving up something is like being in prison, just remember Maher's line, a backwards Buddhist mantra of sorts.
Chile Earthquake
I've been offline for the last 24 hours, and have no TV, so I didn't hear until now about the earthquake in Chile. A few hundred have died - nothing like what happened in Haiti - but still plenty of damage and suffering to go around. John over at Sweep the Dirt, Push the dust has some links, as does Richard over at My Buddha is Pink. And now there are also tsunami warnings out for Hawaii. Metta and peace to everyone in Chile and in Hawaii.
Thanks to Paul Lynch over at his blog Zen Mirror for this little commentary from a book introduction Robert Aitken wrote for Zen Master Seung Sahn.
Sŏnsa-nim begins his letters by asking “How are you?”, and his students take up the question too. “How are you?” they ask in turn in their letters to their teacher. We begin to notice this most routine of American greetings as though for the first time.
Does Sŏnsa-nim’s “How are you?” differ from his students’ “How are you?” Is their “How are you?” just an echo? Are they being imitation Sŏnsa-nims? If so, that won’t do. Sŏnsa-nim stands on his own feet, you stand on yours, I stand on mine.
If you stand on your own feet, then what do you say? “Fine!” might be all right, or maybe you are just temporizing. “Temporizing” there’s an interesting word. It means you are gaining time, but gaining time for what? The next question and the next temporizing? When will you come to terms?
“How are you?” “Fine!” That’s more like it. There are other questions like this in this book. Please pay attention.
I don't know about you, but the "How are you?" often feels like a throw away question. Polite. Trite. Slightly curious. Filler. These are a few of the ways I see it, even when I'm saying it often. Not always, but often.
And answering it, especially when I'm either in a lousy mood or feeling like I have nothing new to say, is equally throw away. "Fine" is often a lie, even if in the ultimate sense, it is exactly true. "Good" is a wildly inaccurate judgment, as is "Bad." And beyond those three words, most responses seem to be an effort to fixate on something that might draw some interest, or at least offer some satisfaction. "Oh, I'm happy because the weather is warmer." "Oh, I'm not so good because work is stressful." "Oh, my writing is doing well. How about you?"
Yesterday, during my ESL class, we studied using "How about you?" An interesting phrase. I can show care for another, or can simply be a way to pass the buck to another. I really don't want to talk about the intense suffering I'm feeling about X or Y, so lets just stick to pleasantries. Or, I really don't think you will understand the joy I'm experiencing about learning something new about the medicinal properties of Rosemary plants, so let's just stick to pleasantries. That kind of passing the buck.
I often don't really know how to become intimate with another, and I can imagine neither do you. Lots of fumbling about, judgments, defensiveness, and confusion - not as much actual liberated interaction. Even though people say a lot of things when it comes to why they started practicing meditation, the precepts, and the Eight Fold Path, I'm starting to think that the misery of failed relationships - all relationships, from the slightly off stranger on the street to your parents - is one of the main reasons people start all this.
Yesterday, there was a televised forum on health care reform here in the U.S. Lots to yawn at in my opinion, but one thing that came out very clearly was that these people - representing people like me and some of you - aren't very good at relationships. Listening without snap judgment is at a minimum. Curiousity is almost out the door, as is openness to new ideas. These supposed leaders are like many of us, stuck in auto pilot, firmly convinced we have everything under control, when in fact we haven't a clue what's really going on.
"How are you? Can you ask it, and/or answer it with heart? To hell with knowing for sure, can you answer it from your heart? Far from being some soft request, this, to me, is becoming the gateway question for liberation.
Posted by Nathan at 9:42 AM 3 comments
"It Sucks Everywhere!" Speaking in Accord with Reality
Subhuti, the Tathagata is one who speaks of things as they are, speaks what is true, and speaks in accord with reality. He/she does not speak deceptively or to please people. Subhuti, if we say that the Tathagata has realized a teaching, that teaching is neither graspable nor deceptive.
Diamond Sutra, Chapter 14
Being a wisdom teaching heavy on lessons about the emptiness, or no independent existence of all things, The Diamond Sutra is filled with passages designed to wear down human conceptualizing and clinging to ideas and views. It's a challenging teaching, filled with little sword-bearers waiting to slice apart any sense of "I've got it!" that might crop up.
Yesterday, I felt slightly sick and fairly cranky. It's spilled into today, which led me to start reflecting on crankiness itself. There were two or three exchanges I had with others about my job yesterday that quickly slide into sourness. At one point, I told a former co-worker who now just volunteers once a week: "You got out at the right time." She said something back, and then I responded "Yeah, well, around here, it's more work, and less pay." Later, I wanted to add "And no respect."
She responded, "That's seems to be happening all over the place." Which is true, but I didn't want to hear it.
And why not? Because I wanted to be heard as unique, that the issues I and the other teachers at my workplace were experiencing shouldn't just be lumped in with everyone else in this recession-era economy.
Truth telling is an interesting activity. I wonder how many business leaders, non-profit leaders, government leaders, etc. around the country are walking into meetings and telling their employees: "It sucks everywhere. That's a bummer. You'll just have to suck it up." Certainly, there's a lot of truth to that statement, and yet is it also deceptive?
Somewhere recently, I read the statement that objects and experiences are just triggers for your responses - they don't actually produce those responses. This is something I have long seen as valid, and yet it's so easy to forget. Nearly every time I hear someone in a position of power say something like it sucks everywhere economically right now, there's a bristling inside that arises. And sometimes, this even leads to acting out.
After work, I was asked by an acquaintance how work was going. I said "I haven't killed anyone yet." Not the most skillful statement, and the "yet" implies a rage that just isn't present, so it wasn't a very accurate statement either.
Later on, I got to thinking how often we rely on dramatic language that isn't a clear reflection of reality. Partly, it seems that in this media saturated, multi-tasking, overworked society of ours, just saying "Oh, I'm irritated about work today" isn't interesting enough to keep many people's attention. However, the dramatic statements like the one I made above either slide into terrible, life sucking gossip or they shut down things all together. In my case, the woman I was speaking to quickly saw her way out of the conversation.
If you take a look at crankiness, it's pretty easy to see that it's made up of non-cranky elements. In my case, there is sadness, disappointment, and a tinge of outrage at the very least. And the triggers of today, like that overly equalizing statement about the economy, are simply tapping into older wounds, including a fixation on injustice that, when it gets like this, doesn't benefit anyone.
But this isn't all about me and my reactions. That's too simple, too easy. Failing to see how Buddhist teachings like the Diamond Sutra are all about relationships is a pretty common mistake I think. How does one speak in accord with reality anyway?
Truth, What truth?
Check out my latest post on the web-magazine Life as a Human. I take a rare - for me - dive into a popular movie as a metaphor for an aspect of our minds. Some of you may have seen an earlier version of this post several months ago, but for others it's brand new. Enjoy!
Fools, Metta, and Skillful Means
Found an interesting post over at the Insight Meditation Community website about relationship dynamics, anxiety, and other issues. What particularly piqued my interest was the following comments by Paul Waters, who was responding to the original post:
Now I'm at a stage, where I don't have any problem interacting with people (i.e. no shyness or fear or meeting new people) but I do find myself having negative feelings (ranging from boredom to contempt) for people in my extended social circle. This is mostly towards some of my wife's friends and family members. These people are harmless enough but don't have much in common with me and I tend to judge them as "unskillful" in their conversation and actions.
I don't enjoy spending time with these people but am obliged to every now and again. I realize that it's not very skillful of me to judge these people but it's generating a lot of anxiety for me.
I feel like there's two directions I can go with this:
1) I think the Buddha said something about not associating with foolish people. This seems like the easy way out for me though and I'm not sure if it really applies here as these people aren't exactly war criminals, they're just muddling through life like the rest of us. Also, this judgment call ("Fools!") tends to feed my Dukkha and throws me off my practice a little.
2) Apply Metta. I first got interested in the Dharma while trying to resolve some of these issues and in one particular case applied the idea of seeing my "enemy" when the were a defenseless child and imagining their fears and hopes throughout their life. I saw that in Stephen Batchelor's book "Buddhism Without Beliefs" and it caused a breakthrough in my relationships with my "enemies" (who were actually members of my extended family).
Now that I've written this I think I've answered my own question - #2 above: I need to start seeing these people as they actually are and not characters (the "bad guys!") in my personal movie. I also need to relax a little bit about how I perceive my time being "wasted" on these people.
I have to say I have similar reactions to Paul when interacting (or avoiding interacting) with some people. In fact, just sitting here in this coffee shop this evening, I attempted to avoid a pair of conversations with aquaintances who I just ddidn't feel like engaging. I had some work to do, but mostly I just felt like not engaging.
Other situations, like certain folks at work for example, are different. There are underlying issues, patterns of behavior and decision making on both my part and theirs that have led us to struggle to interact in healthy ways. I think Paul is dead on when it comes suggesting that applying metta is a skillful means of working with tangled relationships. I've seen how, in very surprising and curious ways, that doing lovingkindness meditations and including those I'm having great conflict with has broken down barriers that previously were there. The internal hangups ceased, or lessened, even if the relationship itself never went anywhere else. Gripes over old co-workers disappeared. Grievances about past girlfriends faded away. Old family issues dissolved. So it makes a lot of sense to approach difficult relationships with metta.
But I have to say, I also believe there are times when the Dammapada commentary about not associating with fools is the absolute right path to take, even if someone's feelings are temporarily hurt in the process.
Verse 61 from the Dhammapada
If a wayfarer fails to find
one better or equal,
steadfast he should fare alone
for a fool offers no fellowship.
Of course, like most everything along the Buddha path, it's not so black and white as just cutting out "fools."
Check out Verse 63
Conceiving so his foolishness
the fool is thereby wise,
while ‘fool’ is called that fool
conceited that he’s wise.
The reality is, no matter what, you are going to encounter and need to interact with people who are doing foolish destructive things sometimes. And maybe something, even just your presence, might be of benefit if you are able to maintain some level of detachment when it comes to whatever is being done unskillfully.
But I sometimes notice that there's a certain bending over backwards mentality amongst spiritual types who sincerely want to support and embody a more peaceful, loving existance, but who also confuse being nice with basic respect for each other.
In the case of the two people who came up to me in the coffee shop, I made the effort to drop off the irritation, engage in a short conversation, and then made it clear I had work to do. Maybe this was easy enough because they didn't reach the level of "enemy" in my mind, as Paul spoke of above. I didn't get into the storyline that they were interrupting me and I wanted them to go away, which surely could have happened if I hadn't caught the irritation in time.
Certainly being Buddhist, or being a compassionate person in the world, doesn't mean that we hand over our entire lives to whomever stumbles into our path. Just because some friend of a friend or family member is rattling on and on about celebrity gossip, doesn't mean you are obliged to engage that person. Just because you work together doesn't mean you are obliged to listen to every opinion that person has, or soothe every "negative" feeling that arises as a result of workplace conflicts.
I think this is one of the reasons why having some sort of sangha is of great benefit. You can choose to spend time and energy with people who are doing their best to remain upright and deeply examime their lives. It's an excellent counterbalance to the times when you just have to deal with sloppy, unskillful behavior, including your own.
But beyond sangha, I think one of the best ways to respect people is to let them take care of their own thoughts and reactions. Maybe someone feels a little hurt that you don't want to spend time with them. Or maybe they could care less. Maybe someone is terribly unskillful in their speech, for example, and you can see that nothing you say will help shift that, so you remain silent or walk away. Or maybe you say what you need to say, and then let it go. The way I see it, the way of the bodhisattva includes knowing when to intervene (not so often) and when to just be.
Rejecting Winter-Rejecting Life
Was out with a good friend and her family yesterday, basking in the warm, February sun that was melting snow piles along the Mississippi River. That feeling of the coming spring was very evident, enough to make the messy, half frozen puddles and slush piles we stepped in almost enjoyable.
Winter in Minnesota is a long slog, so every moment that breaks through it's grip on us is a moment worth celebrating. But I got to thinking that the many ways in which we Minnesotans mostly reject the dark, harshly cold days of January for example, are similar to how humans choose to reject experiences and emotions they don't wish to experience.
I remember a story about Katagiri Roshi, during the early days of Hokyoji, a retreat center in southern Minnesota. He was doing zazen outside with a small group of students and it was cold, very cold. Someone asked Roshi how he was taking it, the cold I mean, and he responded something like "When it's cold, just be cold. When it's hot, just be hot." I can imagine this guy sitting in his robes with his teeth chattering as he said this. It's a pretty funny image if you ask me, and yet, it's a quality example of not adding on to one's experience.
Yesterday, one of the children with us said her feet were wet and cold. Accurate enough. And then someone said something about wishing the snow was gone, which is exactly what most of us do when faced with anything we don't want to face.
I walked into class this morning and did my best to face my least favorite student and say "good morning" to her, recently recognizing how much energy I had been wasting trying to avoid her in such situations. It's a lot of work trying skip out on your life, just as it's a lot of work to bitch about the weather. It requires energy and enough thought to come up with something that someone might respond to if you are with someone. Because you want a conversation, right? So, you have to say something kind of provocative. The weather is a bit unpleasant. probably won't spark much interest. But Man, this weather fucking sucks! probably will do the trick.
And yet, what good does getting into a long, drawn out bitchfest about how cold it is, or how much snow there is? Does it change anything? The same might be asked of a lot of complaining we do.
But maybe not all of it. Contrary to what this post might suggest, I believe it's possible for complaints to be a source a wisdom, and worthwhile pursuing in certain cases. In fact, one may stumble into a bitch session, become aware of it as such, and then use that as a pivot point to turn the conversation towards a more beneficial place.
You might say, why not drop the bitching all together, and part of me agrees. However, it strikes me that some circumstances call for slogging through slush piles for a bit before drying out under the sun. I can't think of a good example right now - maybe someone out there can give one - but it seems to me that the seeming purity and perfect clarity of Katagiri's comments that cold, winter day were what was appropriate to that moment. They're still teaching us, and yet clinging to them as the only way to act is rejecting anything that doesn't fit their expression.
Sometimes pure and clear. Sometimes dirty and sloppy. This is how it is while we are longing for something else.
Reiki Ban: Catholic Bishops Taking One More Step into Oblivion
*photo from The State Journal-Register | Springfield, IL
Sometimes, I wonder if the Catholic Church is attempting suicide in slow-motion. There was Pope Benedict's recent call to disgruntled Anglicans to "come home" - i.e. return to the Catholic fold, which of course, assumes these people actually left them at some point in recent history (best be careful in assuming that the 16th century is recent history). There have been the repeated efforts to diminish, minimize, and punish the GLBT community, especially those who actually practice within the Church. Even though sex scandals and attrition have significantly decreased the number of men interested in priesthood and Catholic monastic communities, Church leadership continues to hold on to the view that only celibate men can become leaders in the church. Women continue to be second-class citizens in many facets of church life, and there has been an on-going "investigation" - read as "witch-hunt" - occurring amongst communities of liberal and progressive nuns who are, in my experience, actually doing their best to truly live Jesus' teachings of love, compassion, and justice. And now, this little gem, from Paul Lynch's Zen Mirror blog:
The U.S. bishops have issued guidelines that call Reiki therapy, an alternative medicine originating in Japan, unscientific and inappropriate for Catholic institutions. They outlined the position in "Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy." The guidelines were developed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine, chaired by Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut. They were approved by the USCCB Administrative Committee, March 24, during its spring meeting in Washington. The Administrative Committee is the authoritative body of the USCCB to approve committee statements.
Where to begin. First, there is the intervention of a religious institution into the health matters of it's members. Second, there is the laughable use of science as a defense from an institution that spent centuries historically damning scientific endeavors. Finally, there is the deliberate focus to discredit a healing method that has attracted a large number of Catholic nuns. A coincidence: I think not.
As far as I'm concerned, this is another example of patriarchal oppression. Why such strong language? Because think about it. Women in the church have learned something that is giving them the power to heal others. People in Catholic communities struggling with all kinds of issues are going to these women, instead of the priests in their churches. Jealous, the male church leadership condemns Reiki as unscientific and superstitious, fearing that it's continued spread will undermine their authority. This probably isn't the whole story, but I'm almost positive it's a large part of the story.
I suppose people out in Buddha-land are happy to not have to deal with such issues, and happy to be part of a religion that isn't so controlling. Of course, that's simply a false happiness, when you look under the surface. We've got out own baggage around these kinds of issues, from sexism in sutras, to male dominated leadership systems. And the way I see it, the longer these issues go on being poked at and massaged, but not really being addressed in an upright and honest manner, the more likely it is that the probable future of Buddhist institutions will be similar to the probable future of the Catholic Church. Everything crumbles to dust eventually, even well fortified, powerful systems.
What's Terrorism Got to Do, Got to Do With it?
Richard over at My Buddha is Pink made some very interesting observations about the man who crashed a plane into the side of the IRS building in Austin, Texas.
Joseph Stack was a troubled man; that is not too difficult for anyone to see. His despair must have been profound. Yet, when you read his manifesto, it becomes very clear that he accepted no personal responsibility for his actions. He quite plainly took significant time to justify in his mind what he intended to do (remember, kamma is based on intent): “I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are. Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer.”
What a desperate and deluded mind to reach such an ominous conclusion. And we learned that it wasn’t just the people in that building in Austin who were being targeted by his delusion. Prior to his fateful flight, the night before, he had a terrible argument with his wife, who fled with their daughter to spend the night elsewhere. Thank goodness for that. For the next day, Stack set fire to his home before he fled to attempt mass murder.
Excellent points. And they lead directly to one of my points: namely, the way the whole story was framed. Both the act of crashing the plane, as well as burning the house and even probably, the fight with his wife, were all acts of terrorism. You heard me, terrorism.
One of the many reasons, in my opinion, that there is so much violence in the United States, especially the dramatic stuff like mass murders, is that we collectively fail to call a spade a spade.
When the young Nigerian man failed to blow up a plane heading to Detroit, he was almost immediately declared a terrorist by the U.S. government, the media, and most of the population in the United States. Why? He was black and Muslim. Period. Instant recipe for having your violent act called terrorism.
Meanwhile, the middle aged, white computer techy whose rage at the IRS and others nearly turned deadly was declared not a terrorist by the U.S. government, and is widely being framed as a man who flipped, went too far, etc.
The reality is that both men committed acts of terrorism. And the same can be said of Professor Amy Bishop, who recently murdered three of her colleagues on a campus in Alabama. The same also, though, can be said of most people who kill others, those who commit rape, those who beat their spouses, those who create a pattern of verbal abuse and threats that keep others under their control - the list can go on and on. These kinds of actions can occur within the context of a family or other group of intimately linked people. And these kinds of actions can also occur within communities, even entire nations (Burma and North Korea come to mind currently). Along these lines, no matter how seemingly "noble," every act of warfare is an act of terrorism.
One of the many problems with the terrorist label is that it's a fixed identity, one that has become affixed to certain groups of people, and is almost never used anywhere else. When you consider from a Buddhist perspective anyone who is labeled a "terrorist," they are completely made up of non-terrorist elements. In fact, the vast majority of their lives would probably be considered non-terroristic, even for the worst of offenders. No one is able to maintain a single mode of behavior over the course of even a single day, let alone a lifetime. The label, in other words, fails completely to give an accurate picture of reality.
It would be more accurate to focus on the actions themselves. The origin of the word "terror" is from the Latin for "to frighten." A deliberate act of trying to instill fear in another, or group of others. As such, everything I spoke of above fits into the category of terror.
Why does any of this matter? Why am I rambling on and on yet again about "terrorism"? Well, consider the line Richard pulled from the Five Recollections:
I am the owner of my kamma, born of my kamma, related to my kamma, abide support in my kamma – whatever kamma I do, skillful or unskillful, to that I fall heir.
When we label one person's actions, or one group's actions as terrorism and spend countless amounts of energy,time, and resources pursuing these people in an effort
to eradicate them, out of a fear that they will eradicate us - and at the same time, label other people's actions as simply the deeds of a loner, lunatic, or fringe group, we fail, both individually, and collectively, to see the full impact of the kamma created by all such actions. In other words, we create a skewed image that we then attach to as "the truth," and then allow it to guide our thoughts, responses, and actions. Pretty unskillful if you ask me.
What would it look like if we routinely and pervasively labeled warfare as terrorism? What if every act of rape, mass murder, pattern of coercive speech was publicly declared terrorism? And what if we we put as much time, energy, and resources into preventing such acts, as we do chasing rouge Muslims across deserts and investing in tanks, bombs, and other weapons of mass destruction?
Perhaps things would be different. Don't you think?
Buddhist TV Circuit
Over at the website The Worst Horse, I just learned that the Dalai Lama will be on the Larry King show on Monday.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be on Larry King Live this coming Monday night. The LKL site says he will talk “about China, human rights and Haiti in his only interview after his controversial meeting with President Obama.”
This, just days after Thich Nhat Hanh was interviewed on Oprah.
You may be waiting for the hard hitting analysis on pop culture, television, and the fluffy nature of TV programming these days. I could certainly do that. I haven't owned a TV since 2003, and almost never consider anything on TV worth dropping whatever I am doing to watch when I am in places with a TV. However, I think it's just fine that these two powerful teachers and peacemakers are doing these shows. In fact, it might help make a dent in the flawed perceptions that arrived, or were enhanced, during the whole Fox News, Brit Hume kerfuffle.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods appeared in public for the first time in several weeks and had the following to say:
“I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it. Part of following this path, for me, is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. People probably don’t realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years. Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint."
Interesting that Woods chose to use the word "faith" to describe Buddhism. I wonder if he deliberately used the term out of hope that it might bridge him with Americans of monotheistic traditions, especially Christians. Or maybe the devotional aspect of practice was most prominent in his childhood home, and thus Buddhism does really feel like a faith to him. In any event, it's easy to see how fame and fortune could sway someone like Tiger away from his spiritual path. Any of us could have been like him, and in our own ways, are exactly like him. Maybe his easy to understand statement about craving and the search for security will awaken others to question the ways they've investing in fleeting things, hoping for a happiness that will never come.
"Spiritual Realism"
Over at one of my new favorite blogs, Katie wrote the following:
Having used the literary concept of “magical realism” on a few occasions to describe my experience at Goddard, I’ve lately begun exploring an idea of “spiritual realism.” It’s a phrase that speaks to many of my experiences in the last two years, and to my spiritual philosophy in general. I’m interested in the spirituality of everyday life, in the most mundane places — ugly, resplendent, boring, and everything in between. I’m especially drawn to spiritual practices that address the suffering inherent in social oppression. That’s why I practice Vipassana meditation at donation-based centers; that’s why I sit with a sangha led by and for people of color and queer folks (also on a donation basis); that’s why I live and work with the Faithful Fools, a street ministry in the Tenderloin of San Francisco.
I love her term "spiritual realism." Buddhism has a lot to say about those ugly, boring, or difficult internal places, and a lot of us were drawn to the practice precisely because of that. Learning how to work with, be aware of, and simply accept the muck within one's self is a core part of any spiritual path, but I think it's especially emphasized in Buddhism. However, what's so refreshing to me about Katie's view is that both the "internal" places, as well as the "external" causes and conditions that impact us are considered important.
In my yoga class this evening, we did some breath work that cued me in on this point. Doing a set of balanced breaths, where you gently make the inhalation and exhalation the same length reminds me now of how important it is to balance inner work with outer action. This is true not only for social justice work, but really anything one does in life. Unless you are a monastic with few responsibilities (how many of those are there really?), or are ill or otherwise not needing to do a lot, too much inward focus isn't such a great idea. The same is true the opposite way.
Doing a breath that focused on the exhalation reminded me of how it's important to act in the world with quality, not quantity, with confidence, but not aggression.
And while in corpse pose, where it's easy to fully feel one's inhalation, (and exhalation for that matter), reminded me of how refreshing and healing giving yourself time for contemplation and inner work is. I sometimes push too much, do too much, and find it hard to settle down. Even with all these years of yoga and meditation, I still can fall into shallow breathing patterns that reflect my external scatteredness and rushing.
Going back to the breath and the body is an easy, and always available way, to return to deeper awareness. It may seem obvious, but most of us forget our bodies and our breath more often than we care to admit. Part of "spiritual realism" is being deeply honest about everything in life, be it the impact of racism on a nation or the four hours that you rushed around overworking and forgetting your bodily home in the process.
Winter Hell in Mongolia
The Montana Buddhist Badger, not to be confused with the east coast Buddhist squirrel, has a new post on the deteriorating conditions in Mongolia. Extreme temperatures and piles of snow have led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of domestic animals, perhaps even millions of animals. People are stranded and isolated behind snow drifts, and medical access is limited in many areas due to the weather conditions. The Badger has some excellent links on his post, as well as on a few earlier posts on his blog. Here is an excerpt from Badger's current post:
More heavy snow across the country this week is isolatin communities, killin thousands more head a livestock, leavin the Mongol herders even more desperate. Here’s how Ms. Flowers wraps up the spot, after detailin all the countries that are ponyin up aid except the US:
But I think at this point what’s needed now is very much a humanitarian focus looking at getting the food, the fuel, the warm clothing, blankets out to affected populations and also the medical equipment and medicines, but also moving trained people in or finding ways of getting the vulnerable population, the elderly, the children and the pregnant women out.”
This is because we’re at the point where children, for example, are startin to die from treatable illnesses, not being able to get through the snow to the nearest clinic.
Extreme weather is part of the output of climate change. This isn't to say every incident of extremity was caused by human damage to the environment, but it's foolish to think we have had no hand in some of this.
In addition to finding ways to support those in Mongolia right now, we may be intelligent to take this as another sign that the greed and fear driven over-consumption of rich nations needs to be transformed dramatically. It's easy enough to dismiss Mongolia as some remote place where Ghengis Khan once lived, but weather doesn't pick and choose, and climates aren't static.
The Super Bowl and Human Longing
Please head over to Life as a Human to view my new post on the Super Bowl and Human Longing.
Here's a teaser for you from the post:
Stillman Brown speaks of the Super Bowl as a “hungry ghost situation on a massive scale” and I’d have to agree. I say this as a more-than-casual fan who knows many of the players on many of the teams by name and stats. The wall-to-wall, week-long coverage and advertisement wagon attached to it, as well as the game itself, are loaded with unfulfilled desires. Longings to be successful, or connected in some way to success. Longings for relationship and community, especially when it comes to “fitting in” and group membership. Longings for happiness, as well as longings to escape everyday sufferings. For some, the Super Bowl even offers an avenue to release unfilled aggressions, dreams of battlefield glory, and other such unsavory feelings and ideas.
"Self-Existence"
All this talk about race and class has led me back to the Diamond Sutra, which my sangha is studying for our winter practice period. Here's a few lines worth contemplating that somehow seem related to this who discussion.
From Chapter 10: "'self-existence is said by the Tathagata to be no existence. Thus it is called 'self-existence.' Because Bhagavan, it is neither existence nor no existence. Thus it is called 'self-existence."
The desire to erase the very real impact of racial constructs within our world is like living in the well of emptiness.
And placing all of one's emphasis on racisms, discriminations, and racial identities is a failure to touch the deeper truths of life, i.e. our buddhanature.
We have to learn to hang with both of these ends, because there is no way to be an authentic, awakened human being without doing so. Dwelling too hard in either the absolute or the relative is just a recipe for misery.
Valentines Day Post on Life as a Human
If you want to read a little bit of commentary about single people on Valentines Day, go over to my new post at Life as a Human journal. Or just take a romp over there for the fun of it because it's full of interesting articles on all sorts of subjects.
More on Race Talk and Buddhism
I had a few misgivings for awhile about the post I made yesterday, but then realized that even a somewhat flawed, incomplete commentary about race that gets people talking is better than nothing. And really, like anyone else, anything I can offer will be incomplete.
One of the commenters, Flying Pig (gotta love that name), brought up some issues I would like to address further.
First off, I'm not at all interested in spearheading a diversity campaign or acting as if I have all the answers. Because I don't. One thing I am interested in is getting more white practitioners to talk about issues of race, and/or reflect on how race does, indeed, impact their lives, even if they don't desire to see it. I am also interested in sharing perspectives of practitioners of color, out of the belief that in doing so, other practitioners of color might find themselves feeling less alone or have some new way to speak about their experiences, and so that white practitioners might have something new to consider. Maybe these intentions are flawed, or misguided - I don't honestly know. I only know that they keep coming up for me, as a sangha leader, dharma practitioner, ESL teacher, and member of a society filled with racialized institutions.
Flying Pig brings up class, and says that the dharma is open to everyone. Yes, I agree, And yet, think about the cost of classes, retreats, etc. at any North American dharma center with a decent sized membership. It's out of reach for many people, including that single mother barely able to feed her children Kyle speaks of in his comment. Sure, almost all centers offer some free services, but there often ends up being a "price" to access working deeper with the dharma in North America. It's one of the reasons, I suspect, that there are more people doing online practice. As the board president of my sangha, I continue to reflect on how best to balance the financial needs of running an institution with making what's offered financially accessible to as many people as possible. There aren't any easy answers, but if we never ask how what we are doing is effecting people, including ways in which we are possibly excluding people, then we're failing to handle the grains of rice as if they are our eye balls, to paraphrase a line from Dogen's "Instructions for the Zen Cook."
Flying Pig asks: "Are we just creating an issue and is our drive to integrate Buddhism evidence of some racist assumption that everyone's practice should look the same?"
A fair question. I think there is some truth to this, especially when narratives about race are solely about "inclusion." I'm trying my best to come at this from a different angle, to not just say we need more people of color in our sanghas. What does that prove anyway? Even if our sanghas remain segregated, our everyday lives are not always so. Many of us walk into work, into the grocery store, into schools, and struggle to relate to each other, in great part because of race. This is increasingly true in suburbs and even in some small towns with factories employing recent immigrants - racial diversity is not just a city thing anymore.
Buddhism, it seems to me, keeps pointing us back to relationships, to how we interact with each other on a moment by moment basis. If you can't communicate effectively with your child's teacher because he or she is of another race, that's kind of a problem don't you think? If you struggle to relate to your boss or your co-workers because of their racial backgrounds, it's hard to get the job done well, don't you think?
Race is political. Race is personal. Race is relational. Even as race is an empty social construct, it still impacts almost everything, from bank lending practices to elementary school test scores. It seems like the perfect dharma topic, because it demonstrates so clearly both the emptiness of forms, as well as the power of forms in everyday life.
As for "creating an issue" from the question above, I've had sangha members of color speak very personally and honestly, both in public and in private about their frustrations with the unexamined assumptions of the white majority in our sangha. And our sangha has made efforts to be more upfront about race, which maybe is why these folks felt ok enough to speak about their experiences. So, this isn't an issue I made up. In fact, our sangha, like some others, have supported people of color practice groups that specifically focus on the intersections of race and dharma - so I don't think this has to be about making everyone's practice the same.
Flying Pig writes: "the women of S.F.Z.C worked hard to make their presence known. No one else could have done it for them." Yes, it's very true that the women of SFZC had to do the work to become leaders. The men of SFZC could not have led the charge to develop and institute female leadership.
But the men there, certainly, didn't remain static in their views. How could they have? My guess is that those men who wanted to maintain a male-dominant practice either left, or have ceased to be in the majority. It was probably a gradual shift, one that's still going on, but there had to be a shift of some sort for conditions to be right enough for women leaders to actually succeed.
As for the correlation between women and practitioners of color Flying Pig made, it remains to be seen. There are far more white women in North American "convert" sanghas than people of color of any gender. And there aren't all that many white people, or non-Asian people for that matter, landing in sanghas that were started by Asian immigrants and Asian-Americans in the U.S. and Canada. Spiritual segregation remains the name of the game for the most part.
Race Talk and White Dharma Practitioners
In response to a dharma talk she listened to by Noah Levine on MLK day, Lori Pierce over at Urban Refuge had an excellent, and challenging post about white Buddhist teachers and discussions of race. It seems to me this could easily apply to blogging, and I have personally experienced how difficult it is to blog about race and religion effectively and honestly. Just the mention of phrases like "white privilege" can set people off in hard to handle ways.
I personally feel that Buddhist practice isn't worth too much if it doesn't help us address deeply damaging social issues. Clearly, anyone who reads my blog regularly can see that. We have to address the personal and the collective, even if in the end, it's only in tiny ways.
As a white male - the double privileged class - I find it's difficult to travel the path of attempting to be a deliberately anti-racist ally. How often I have found myself in conversations that tread into "dangerous" territory, only to find that my lips can't find a way to word what it is I'm feeling and thinking about the situation at hand.
An example: during a break from a weekend workshop, a visiting white teacher at our center broke into a story about impoverished, young black males who fell into drug dealing. I don't recall why this story even came up, only that it slid quickly into what felt like pity, and that everyone in the room seemed to get increasing uncomfortable. I wanted to say something, but couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly that I was reacting to so strongly. Finally, the only person of color in the room spoke up, saying she was tired of hearing white people endlessly retelling these poor, sorry black people narratives. The rest of us sat in stunned silence as the visiting teacher struggled to apologize, while clearly ignorant of what she was actually doing. Although some of us went up to woman who responded later on, the whole situation felt all to familiar, and I was disappointed that none of us white practitioners had added anything during the actual conversation, or had been the first to interrupt the story in the first place.
I choose to remain focused on issues of race and class. That's the first lesson any white, middle or upper class practitioner must learn. We get to choose; people of color and those in poverty, regardless of race, don't get to choose. It's in their face every day. My choices of careers, as well as who I have made friendships with, definitely have shaped this desire to remain racially conscious, and willing to examine how I live and act within structures that are "raced" in all sorts of troubling ways. However, even with that experience, it's still only been because I have repeatedly made myself keep looking, keep reflecting, keep putting myself on the line in conversations and actions that has brought me to where I am today. It's so easy for us white folks to turn away, to forget, to deny, to blame, or any other number of things rather that simply sit with the uncomfortableness of it all, and try to act as best we can to make some kind of dent in the daily injustices occurring not only nationally and globally, but right on our streets in our own neighborhoods.
One of the criticisms other religious groups in North America have made of Buddhism here is that it's too individualistic, and doesn't seem to have much to say about social issues. Even if it isn't completely accurate, this criticism falls upon all of North American practitioners, whether we are white or practitioners of color. Part of the reason I started this blog was to make a tiny dent in that perception, to be an example of a practitioner who is trying to balance the introspective and socially active elements. And yet, when it comes to race and Buddhism, other than a small spurt last summer, I haven't seen a whole lot of deep examination in the Buddhist blogosphere, especially from white Buddhist bloggers. There are definitely exceptions to this statement, but generally race talk about Buddhist talk seem curiously all too separate.
My guess is that this will be taken as a guilt trip by some - that's not my intent. First off, guilt is a self-focused emotion as far as I'm concerned, and the kind of action it promotes, especially when it comes to things like race, is not very helpful. Secondly, if you never write about race on your blog, that's fine with me. Everyone blogs for different reasons, and maybe stepping into such a sensitive issue in such a public forum isn't your goal.
Regardless of if you are a white or a person of color blogger, it's your choice as to what to write about. But in daily life, only one side of the equation gets to choose when it comes to race. If you are white, and especially if you are white and surrounded by white people in your daily life, you never have to wade into the morass that is race in North America. The dharma brothers and sisters of color in the audience, and in our sanghas, don't get that choice.
So I choose to stand with them as best as I can, and to encourage others to find ways to stand with them as well. It doesn't have to be on a blog, but if you're not reflecting on race and society on a regular basis, you might want to ask yourself why.
Here is a list from Lori Pierce's blog post that are worth reflecting on no matter who you are. May we all have the courage to face our lives as they are, moment after moment.
Five things NOT to do when you’re a White dharma teacher and you want to give a talk on race:
1. Don’t do this on MLK day. Don’t do it in February. Don’t save it for some special occasion or when disaster has struck or when a Black guy gets elected. Doing this suggests that you, like most White people, don’t think of this as a daily reality that effects non-White people who might be listening to you or trying to figure out how the dharma can help us survive. For us, race isn’t like a holiday sentiment that rolls around once a year. We live here all the time and would appreciate the occasional acknowledgment of this struggle as an on-going part of our existence.
2. Stop globalizing. It’s a common strategy for Americans to externalize a problem by globalizing it. White Americans can relate to the oppression of the Chinese in Tibet, for example, because it is miles away and they don’t have to experience the guilt of the oppressor OR the suffering of the oppressed. As the cliché goes, think globally, act locally. When you talk about race, talk about the experiences we live with here, too.
3. Talk to everyone, even if you can’t see them. We’re here in your audience and some of us are genuinely moved and touched by your teaching. But we’re also angered and alienated when your perspective is so clearly delimited. A talk about race on MLK day that is not a serious engagement with the legacy of White privilege and how White Buddhists can become allies for POC is disappointing, to say the least.
4. Stop being abstract. I’ve heard dharma teachers speak with great passion, humor an humility about their own experiences and limitations and use their lives as a means to help us understand what it means to “go against the stream.” But this invariably breaks down when it comes to “the race talk.” Is this because they don’t have any non White friends with whom they can engage in a discussion about the daily violence of personal prejudice? Do they not know anyone who lives with the threat, the fear, the doubt that comes from living with the cultural legacy of discrimination, privilege and racism? There’s a lot to do without taking on more problems, I’m sure. But in my mind, the power of the dharma in an American contexts is that it has the potential to shed light on this most intractable of issues. If American Buddhism is going to contribute anything to the spiritual evolution of the world, I would hope it would be to engage the dharma and practice in a sustained discussion of these issues.
5. Help us. I find that when I listen to dharma talks I myself have to push the lesson to the edge. I stop the podcast or put down the book and think – how does this help me address the problem of prejudice? How can awareness help me deal with a kind of abstract anger that comes when you see the depth, breadth and scope of racialized social injustice? How can meditation help me see stereotypes? Is “right livelihood” really an appropriate teaching for people with NO livelihood How do I really live the message “don’t take it personally” when someone slams the door in my face, or almost runs me down because I’m invisible? How long do I do this before my mental health breaks down?
Frost Meditation
Early morning wake up,
the frosted needles
piercing every last thought.
Posted by Nathan at 10:00 AM 1 comments
Haiti and "Poor People Frames"
One month later, Haiti still lands on the front pages of newspapers and news reports, but the flood of the focus is moving on and soon Haiti will be just another place in the world dealing with devastation. This article on the blog Racialicious asks us in wealthy nations to not only not forget about Haiti, but to use the situation there as a spring board for reconsidering the whole structure of globalization itself.
Shannon Joyce Prince, the author of the article, writes:
My former Ghanian boyfriend once asked, “How is it possible for the formerly colonized nations to be in debt to the colonizers? How can we owe those who stole resources from us?”
It's clear that one of the major problems for poor nations around the world is debt to world powers like the U.S., China, France, and Britain. But beyond debt is the ways in which people in wealthy nations view those from economically poor nations.
Imagine if, after the Holocaust, the victims who were used as slave labor in concentration camps had been forced to pay reparations to the Nazis – that the Nazis had convinced the world that they were legitimately owed because they had lost their human property. Imagine if those victims’ peoples were impoverished for the next century and a half paying back those who had enslaved and killed them. Then imagine if their maimed and miserable communities were trapped in an endless cycle of debt and poverty as a result. No one would tolerate such a crime – the punishment of slaves and their descendants for being enslaved and the continued enrichment of their enslavers and their descendants – when the majority of the victims are white. But for Haiti and throughout the “Third World,” such crimes are perfectly acceptable. I believe that Holocaust victims deserve all the respect and compassion in the world – so, too, do other victims of slavery and genocide.
I will add that colonization hasn't been only a white over brown/black people issue. Powerhouse Asian nations like China and Japan, where much of the Buddhist practice in the Americans originated, have histories of colonizing and victimizing other Asian peoples - and one might consider China's current corporate "ventures" in Africa to be a continuation of colonization in a modern, globalized fashion. But there is no denying the white over black/brown narrative and the centuries of damage tied to it.
When non-white individuals in non-white countries force other individuals into “debt bondage,” the practice is recognized as an ethically indefensible form of slavery. When First World governments, banks, and organizations do the same thing – on an even greater scale – to poor nations, the practice is considered acceptable – and is even construed as “aid.”
This paragraph might piss some people off, and I'm fine with that. I can imagine there are counter examples out there, but really, who gives a damn about defensive posturing? Wouldn't it be more helpful to see that there's truth hanging out in the above statement, and that truth implicates what many of us in wealthy nations view as "the way to help." Indeed, what we often say is "compassion."
As I mentioned in my previous essay, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are each loaning Haiti 100 million dollars, so despite all the talk going on about debt forgiveness, the cycle of debt is just continuing. It took Haiti a century and a half to pay 60 million francs in reparations to France. How many centuries will it take Haiti to pay back 200 million dollars?
This isn't just about history, it's about now. Right now.
I remember in 2000, there was a campaign to suspend this kind of debt production. I also remember that same year that Catholic Pope John Paul made a famous in which he apologized for all kinds of misdeeds done by the Church throughout it's history. It was a big, breezy affair, complete with pangs of guilt for mistreatment of Jewish people in several centuries, and heartfelt sadness for violating "the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and [for showing] contempt for their cultures and religious traditions." Even though I knew the Church itself wasn't going to change anytime soon, I was moved by John Paul's willingness to admit to some of the wrongs done historically, and to offer to world an olive branch at a time when religious conflict was terribly, terribly high.
However, one of the problems with offers coming from the Catholic Church in Rome is the same problem with offers coming wealthy nations and their apendages: the view of superiority, as well as the mechanisms that maintain that view, are never overturned and abandoned. Just as the Catholic Church still pronounces it's teachings as the only highest truth, so to do wealthy nations and their apendages (World Bank, IMF, etc.) still consider themselves the best and only determiners of economic, and global policy in general.
Too often the media shows us images of children starving until they’re merely skin and bones or corrupt Third World dictators without showing us the First World’s hand in the creation of both. That an earthquake broke the country of Haiti is a terrible tragedy. If that earthquake doesn’t also shatter the way we think of the First and Third Worlds, that tragedy will be redoubled.
I challenge you to look beyond the horror-filled images and quick and easy commentaries. Haiti isn't that far away really. It's right inside of you and I, just as we are right inside of every Haitian. There's no way, in this tiny world, to not be connected deeply.
And one final note from Ms. Prince:
P.S. Please consider donating to Partners in Health’s “Stand with Haiti” campaign http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti. The organization has been serving Haiti since the 1980s, and their commitment and skill in extending healthcare as well as justice and dignity to Haitians is unparalleled.
For those of us who have a few dollars and are rightfully eschewing the obvious "aid groups, here's an alternative.
Going with the Flow, Screw the Flow
I was called into a meeting a few days ago at work to be held accountable for comments I made at another meeting the previous week.
To make a long story short, the adult basic education field, which ESL teachers are a part of, is experiencing a top-down "professionalization" effort and I'm resisting.
The specifics during the meeting the other day had to do with why I said I wouldn't do the continuing education hours that suddenly appeared on our plate from government agency X. And maybe you, too, are wondering. It's simple, really - it's another unfunded mandate that came from people who have no idea of it's impact on those of us actually doing the work. Sound familiar? I imagine it does, and I can also imagine plenty of folks out there saying "Oh, shut up - injustice is everywhere. Suck it up. Move on. Don't waste your energy. Go with the flow."
Go with the flow more. This is exactly what one of the directors at work told me I needed to do. It's an interesting statement, don't you think? There's buckets and buckets of commentaries on "not attaching" and "not grasping" in Buddhism. Endless energy is expended by teachers and dharma peers on these issues, pointing to us the struggles that occur when we cling to anything, even the truth.
I'll admit there is clinging to the truth going on when it comes to my workplace, and my current field's slide into standardization and faux accountability. I'll also admit that I'm absolutely fed up with people defending these changes, and suggesting that people like me, who disagree, need to shut up and go with the flow. Taoist teachers like Lao Tzu may have advocated doing exactly what I'm resisting, but it feels like nothing more than a hollow platitude designed to keep the sheep as sheep.
As far as I'm concerned, there's no liberation to be found in being a sheep - if you always follow along, you never learn a damned thing about who you are.
I also see, however, that the attachment present in my life about the injustice of the situation is probably keeping me in this workplace, when it's probably past time to move on. In an ideal Buddhist wonderland, I'd be fully able to dance with this situation, instead of the sloppy, awkward steps of reality. Sometimes free, something terribly stuck in the three poisons (greed, hatred, and ignorance). Or maybe another ideal would be to just walk away, which many people in my life have suggested on a frequent basis.
One of the sticking points for me is that this isn't just any old job. I care deeply about adult education and feel that lifelong learning is not only of value, but should actually be at the core of our experience. And the people I work with, and that my colleagues work with, are at the margins of society, and often the last people to be given a chance in most areas of their lives. My students struggle with feeling inferior because of their struggles with English, as well as the fact that most of them had their education curtailed in their homelands by oppressive governments, warfare, and other conflicts. Other colleagues of mine work with people who grew up in the U.S., but failed to gain a high school diploma or any kind of post secondary education and are trapped in a cycle of poverty they want to break free from, but just can't quite break free from. These are the people politicians love to demonize as system welchers, as they hand out millions to corporation X, bank Y, and defense contractor Z. It's such a cosmic joke, I sometimes want to throw my hands up and say "fuck it, why bother!" But then I go to work the next day and look my stuents in the eyes, and "fuck it" just isn't in the cards.
I've been considering other options for doing this work outside of the beast of a system known as Adult Basic Education. I know it's possible to work on the outside, but I have some resistence to that as well. Why? Because it's a hell of a lot of work, and there's a distinct possibility that you'll end up broke and crawling back to some system in the future. I suppose that's not the worst thing in the world, but I feel tired, and want a break from the hard work.
Which is really the crux of the issue - wanting a break. I think we all want a break sometimes, and probably need it. I'm fully convinced that the way we are supposed to live in a capitalist society like the U.S. is killing most of us. It's inhumane. It's absolutely insane. And yet, the vast majority just "go with the flow" and view it as "common sense."
I can't do that. It's just too much to give up this life to "fit in" and "get along."
But I also know that the resistence I'm experiencing is both a teacher and a hinderance. What to do? What to do?
I sat in zazen last night during our Diamond Sutra class, with muck running around in my head, but no need to go anywhere, or do anything about the muck.
That's a good start - a way of going with the flow you might say. But there has to be a return to life, to the world of action, with that sitting. Otherwise, you're just fooling yourself, and slowling becoming a sheep of some sort. And don't be fooled by appearences - even serene monks can be sheep to the form of being a monk.
Posted by Nathan at 7:58 AM 13 comments
Escalation along the Burma/Thailand Border
There has been an escalation of the situation for the Karen people along the Burma/Thailand border.
At 9:00 am on February 8, 2010, 200 soldiers of the regime (from Light Infantry Battalions No. 362 and 367, under No. 10 Military Operational Command) attackedTee Mu Ta Village in Nyang Lay Bin District, destroying a mobile health clinic and 38 homes of internally displaced families. Following this, at 6:00 pm on the same day, the regime soldiers continued on to K’Dee Mu Der village and burned the village of 15 homes, a middle school, and a nursery school. In total, because of these attacks, 50 families from Tee Mu Ta and 30 families from K’Dee Mu Der villages have been forced to flee and are now hiding in the jungle.
You can read the whole report over at Rev. Danny Fisher's blog. Please send these people some lovingkindness during your meditation and prayers.
Killing the Buddha May be Bad For Your Health
In one of the myriad of commentaries Red Pine scoured through to put together his book on the Diamond Sutra, there was this from late 4th century Chinese monk Seng-chao:
"When your practice and understanding meet, you will see the Buddha."
An interesting line, don't you think? One that immediately sparks for me thoughts of time, and steps made in one's life. Ultimately, we are told, there isn't any time in the way we humans understand time. What we regularly view as time is just a construction. So, when is this "when" being spoken about?
Zen tends to toss out developmental approaches to practice, pointing it's students back to the now, to your breath, to your life in this moment. And yet, even to speak of a "moment," or of "now," is a construction. So, what now? There's not even a single square inch of earth upon which to stand, said Dogen, in a commentary on the Ten Grave precepts.
This kind of talk tends to upset most of us if we actually take time (laugh, laugh) to let it sink in. Hearing it, intellectualizing it feels good - maybe even dead on. But when you actually start to experience groundlessness, it's kind of scary, don't you think?
It could be said that in this moment, as I type these words, practice and understanding are meeting. Or now, as I type and watch the snow fall outside. Or now, as the car passes. Or ...
At the same time, if you don't do the work of meditation, chanting, applying teachings to your everyday life, then any appearance of the Buddha in your life will prompt you to commit murder before its time.
White South Africans Declare Buddhism is too "Intellectual" for Black People
Having an interest in Buddhisms cropping up in sometimes surprising places, I was interested to see what John had to say over at Sweep the Dust, Push the Dirt about Buddhism in Africa. The first half of the post considers the challenges of setting up sanghas in South Africa. Interesting stuff which might sound familiar to many of you. The second half of the post, however, brings up the presumed racial composition of Buddhism in South African sanghas, using some really unfortunate stereotypes. John is not the author of these comments; he's just reporting them because he found them compelling, and probably provocative, which they certainly are.
On a different note, Buddhism and Africa by Michel Clasquin and Kobus Kruger has mentioned that majority of Buddhist practitioners in South Africa are largely middle-class and white with one commentor in the book stating that
Buddhism does not fit all that naturally into the present black social or religious mentality
As well as it being…
too foreign to their accustomed ways of thinking: too intellectual, philosophical and introspective.
This is classic coded racism in action if you ask me. Instead of saying black South Africans are intellectually inferior, the author of these comments framed the argument using what appears to be neutral languaging, but actually accomplishes the same thing.
Clearly, sanghas like the Nichiren one pictured above were never considered, or maybe simply didn't exist at the time these comments were made. However, I cannot help but think of a talk given at our zen center a few years ago by Professor john a. powell (he uses lower case letters for his name; i'm not sure why). Professor powell spoke a lot about "white space," and how many convert sanghas in the U.S., were developed primarily by middle class whites in a way that catered to their assumptions about what constitutes Buddhist practice. Now, clearly the same might be said of black dominant U.S. Christian churches, but the difference is that there is often little awareness within white convert Buddhist communities about how race impacts the make up of their communities. Specifically, there's often no correlation made between the racial composition of the leadership of these groups, and the composition of the community as a whole. Lots of hand wringing might occur about the "lack of diversity," but because white Americans struggle as a whole to first see themselves as a racial group, and then second see the ways in which power and race are intertwined, the steps necessary to create a truly racially diverse community rarely, if ever, occur.
South Africa has a markedly different history from the U.S. in terms of race, but there are some parallels, especially when it comes to whites in both groups using their own characteristics as defaults. The author of the comments reported by John made assumptions about both whites and blacks in South Africa as a whole that probably don't hold up very well. What does is mean to be "introspective" for example? Does it always look the same, or is the author missing the diversity of forms introspection can take? The same questions might be asked of the term "intellectual," although I would also add that the associations I have with the word - college educated, for example - suggest that privilege (racial and class) is often tied to this term in unexamined ways.
Using the racial composition of certain Buddhist communities as a template for speaking about Buddhism's appeal, or lack of appeal, to anyone else is totally problematic. If the above fails to show that, I don't know what will.
Buddhist Prayer
We had a ceremony this morning at zen center commemorating the Parinirvana, or physical death day, of the Buddha. It was a short ceremony, attached to our regular children's precept ceremony, but I noticed that, at one point, the doan (basically a chanting leader), spoke in language that could be called a prayer. He said something to the effect of "May Shakyamuni Buddha continue to support and lead us through our lives." Now, it's important to note that there isn't a belief here of a deity hovering over our world, determining what is happening and what will happen in the future. If anything, a statement like this is calling forth the buddhanature - enlightened energy - within each of us to continue to manifest in our lives.
About a week ago, there was a post over at Barbara's Buddhism Blog about prayer in Buddhism. She basically takes the stance that we Buddhists do not pray because prayer assumes a petitionary stance towards some outward deity or spirit. In the comments section that follows the post, there's a fascinating set of exchanges between Barbara and a commenter named Jeff Wilson. Wilson brings up that many Japanese Zen practitioners, in everyday life, make petitionary prayers in daily life to such figures as Kwan Yin, Jizo, and other bodhisattvas, while at the same time, believing in the core Buddhist doctrine of interdependence. He parses this activity out as an example of working within the relative or practical world, while at the same time, maintaining the ultimate view that there is nothing separate in this world. Barbara was having none of that, and defended her position, getting snotty at the end in my opinion.
All of this, though, raises the question for me of why such unconfortability with the word "prayer" and activities that would fall under it's domain? I don't get it. Possibly it's tied up the definition Barbara seems to give, that prayer is basically done towards the outside, suggesting a belief in a supernatural being having an ability to control some aspect of your life. Well, maybe. But does it have to be? Can one not pray, even petition for something or some quality, but from within?
I'd answer a resounding yes! Look at the old Sufi poets, who spoke constantly of God, but were often, if not exclusively "praying" to wake up what was already within them. I "pray" to Jizo fairly frequently, especially to call from within me that equanimity that seems to disappear when I am biking in traffic.
The fuss I have seen when it comes to prayer - and I've seen it in people in my own sangha, as well as people writing online - seems curiously limiting to me. Because those monotheistic folks do prayer, we Buddhists better eschew it. Or because it sounds like a petition to a deity, we better say we don't do it. Or because Buddhists are about meditation, we don't pray. Honestly, I can only guess at the myriad of reasons for eschewing prayer in all forms, but it all seems like a reaction to other traditions, an act of separating Buddhism from other spiritualities, which seems like a waste of time and energy to me.
In her post, Barbara suggests that Zen folks don't pray, but we do "invoke." The main definitions of invoke are "to petition for help or support," or "to appeal to or cite as authority." Sounds like prayer if you ask me. And I see no issue with it at all. My petitions to Jizo do not change my view that there is no separate God out there. And I can imagine that plenty of Buddhists around the world can invoke, or pray, to any number of deities and still maintain a similar understanding. And maybe some do think there are separate bodhisattvas floating around out there, protecting and helping people. I guess I'm not all that interested in judging these folks as "wrong practitioners" for believing in such things.
*Jizo image from the Michigan Aikido blog.
Deportations to Burma; Connections Half Way Across the World
Maia over at the Jizo Chronicles posted the following article about Thai government efforts to deport Karen refugees back to Burma. This is just the latest for the Karen, an ethnic minority group that has been long been persecuted in their native Burma. Their story, as well as the stories of other ethnic minorities of Burma, tend to get lost in all the general coverage about the Burmese dictatorship's crackdown on Buddhist monks, as well as the nearly two decades long house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Karen communities, for example, were hard hit during a cyclone that hit in spring 2008. That cyclone killed over 200,000 overall, and left over 1 million people homeless. And the Burmese dictatorship's efforts to keep out international aid was a horror for all those involved, but especially for ethnic minority groups already living under layers of oppression and threats to their lives few of us living in countries like the U.S. have any concept of.
I have a deeply personal connection to the Karen. Over the past three years, the majority of my English as a Second Language students have been Karen. I have had the privilege of learning about their lives, attending their New Years' celebrations, meeting their families, and making fumbling efforts at learning their language. A group of women in my classroom have taken to feeding me nearly everyday, as I have written about on this blog in the past. And for various reasons, I have found myself more touched, more connected, and more drawn to these people and their lives, personal stories, and history than any other group I have worked with over the years. I can think of students from countries all over the world that have been amazing members of my classroom, and who have entered my life and become teachers to me, as I have been a teacher for them.
But for some reason, my connection with the Karen has gone beyond individuals, even as it has been individuals who have made that connection possible. Kind of an interesting paradox. You only truly learn about any group through individuals of that group.
I still remember the day we had a discussion about religion in class. Although a mixed group in terms of spiritual beliefs, including indigenous traditions, Buddhists, and Christians, the vast majority of my Karen students have been Baptists (most 3rd to 5th generation of the original converts). Their perceptions, as I was to come to find out, were that white Americans were mostly Christian, so my "coming out" as a practicing Buddhist was something of a surprise to them. It might have been especially a surprise given that the majority of my co-workers are Christian, including have a dozen School Sisters of Notre Dame who speak freely about their faith.
We had an interesting discussion that day, one which reminded me religion and spirituality differences need not be the roadblocks we often make them into to. In fact, one of the women who seemed to be most surprised by my Buddhist practice later looked me straight in the eyes and told me, when I said I meditate almost everyday, "You meditate everyday. Everyday! Ok?" She'd be a good Zen teacher, don't you think?
I wish there were an easy solution for the remaining Karen refugees in Thailand, but I don't think there is. And the Thai government, over the past decade, has made it increasingly clear that their goals are in favor of ending refugee camps, and sending people on their way. Moving beyond refugee camps is probably something most people, in principle, can agree on. But what that looks like, and what it means for those who live in them currently, is a completely different issue.
Forced repatriation to countries where ethnic cleansing and terrorist campaigns are going on certainly isn't the answer, and this is unfortunately what the Thai government has started to do, both with the Karen and Hmong refugees in camps on the other side of Thailand.
May enough hearts and minds shift to bring about a compassionate solution for all.
*The photo above is from the birthday party my class gave me last year. The Karen woman in the photo, Mi Mi, is a long standing student of mine. She's short, sweet, and sometimes really giggly. She was a medical lab technician in her refugee camp in Thailand, and someday hopes to get back into the health field here in Minnesota.
New Buddhist Online Communities
Thanks to Arun and Danny. Check out the links to a new Queer Buddhist community, and a community for Buddhists of color and allies. Seems there are new groups popping up all the time. I've given up trying to keep up - a good thing :) - but it's great to see such activity.
Rebirth Can't Possibly Be True Based on What I know Scientifically!
We've been studying the Diamond Sutra for the past few weeks, and will continue to do so as a sangha for the next several weeks. It's a sometimes confounding teaching, filled with efforts to undercut just about every idea you have about your life and the world. Personally, I'm enjoying wrestling with it again, and plan on writing a few posts about it in the coming weeks.
One thing I'll say now, though, is that this is one of those Buddhist texts that is easily irritating to anyone who works with it too rigidly or literally. I can imagine it's probably been tossed out of consideration by more than a few people who have come across it, saying that it has nothing to do with their everyday experience. And maybe that's true, but like the easy rejections of rebirth and other aspects of Buddhism I sometimes see and hear, I question any quick tossing out of the Diamond Sutra.
It's not terribly often that I agree with The Zennist, but his post this morning resonates in a way that surprised me. Seeing the title, "Rejecting Buddhism based on Personal Knowledge," got my juices going for some reason, and I was, (laughing now), ready to reject his post before I even read it. Instead, I opened it up and found this:
It has become accepted in modern circles of Buddhism, particularly in the West, that the doctrines and teachings of the Buddha shouldn't be accepted just on the basis of belief; rather one should follow one’s own personal knowledge when deciding which doctrines are to be accepted and which ones are to be rejected.
All this sounds great. But is it? Not to mince words, and cutting to the chase, it is a flawed methodology that decides which doctrines and teachings of the Buddha should be observed and which should be rejected based on one’s personal knowledge.
Now, I'm a bit tired of his heavily negative commentary on "modern, Western Buddhists," but that's not the point of this post, so let's move on. What's important to note is that it's not about accepting teachings with blind faith - I don't think even The Zennist would say that. It's more about the way in which we place our personal experience and perceptions ahead of teachings that have functioned in the lives of millions of people for centuries. The kind of thinking that says, Based on what I know scientifically, rebirth can't possibly be true. Or all these teachings about renunciation don't apply to me because I live in the "real" world, not in a monastery.
Here's The Zennist doing what he seems to do best, writing a line that is similtaneously insulting and worthy of considering.
"In fact, the huge majority of people that populate this planet live most of their lives without accepting or rejecting things or ideas based on any degree of personal knowledge."
One the one hand, the stench of elitism is like a rotting corpse in the midday August sun here.
On the otherhand, if you shift it a little bit - say instead of the "huge majority of people," you say "nearly all of us spend a lot of our lives" it's probably fairly accurate. Think about it. How often are you running on auto pilot, accepting common views of things without examination, and letting others (government officials, spiritual leaders, parents, cultural norms) guide your life? How often are you "too busy" to examine anything that's going on? How much of your Buddhist practice is confined to your sitting, chanting, and/or sutra studies?
I think most of us think we know enough to pick and choose what to "believe in," when the reality is that we barely even know ourselves, let alone the world around us.
"Who" is it that knows, for example, that rebirth is a false teaching from a superstitous past? Who is it? And where did such an understanding come from?
My experience (snicker, snicker) is that a lot of what I think I know ends up being full of holes, like the telephone pole above. Lately, I'm putting much more faith in the questions that appear in my life than any definitive answers. And maybe The Zennist, in his own, overly confidently way is pointing us back to the questions as well. What do you think?
"It Sucks Everywhere!" Speaking in Accord with Rea...
Reiki Ban: Catholic Bishops Taking One More Step i...
White South Africans Declare Buddhism is too "Inte...
Deportations to Burma; Connections Half Way Across...
Rebirth Can't Possibly Be True Based on What I kno...
The "Problem" with Good Habits
A Little More on Children and Buddhist Teachings
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Home > Select Indicators > Parental involvement and alcohol use > Tables
Delaware change
Reported their parents asked parents hosting a party if alcohol would be served.
Reported parents asked parents hosting the party if they would be present at party.
Reported parents called other parents to check up on student.
Reported parents offered to pick them up if they needed a safe ride home.
Reported parents told them to call to let them know where they were
Binge drinkers reported they had been to a party where parents bought alcohol for the kid
Heavy Binge drinkers reported they had been to a party where parents bought alcohol for the kid
Non-drinkers reported they had been to a party where parents bought alcohol for the kid
KIDS COUNT in Delaware
Delaware Locationchange
Parental involvement and alcohol use in Delaware
Why This Indicator Matters
The health and well-being of adolescents and teenagers in communities nationwide is endangered by alcohol , tobacco and other drug use. Common social and environmental risk factors such as poor education, family-related stress and exposure to drugs and drug-abusing peers have been shown to contribute significantly to use of drugs and alcohol. Periods of transition, and the new challenges and environments that often come with these transitional times in young people's lives, are considered especially high risk periods for drug use.
Every young person in danger of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use has different needs, and drug abuse prevention strategies should be targeted to accommodate the specific needs of the individuals involved. Strategies may focus on psychological and emotional support, drug and alcohol education initiatives or comprehensive intervention.
Definitions: Parent behavior toward teen linked to likelihood of teen drinking, Delaware, past year.
Data Source: Delaware School Survey. Center for Drug and Health Studies, University of Delaware
In this section, non-drinkers are reported as students who did not drink.
Since 1995, the Center for Drug and Health Studies at the University of Delaware has administered an annual survey to public school students about alcohol, tobacco and drug use. The Delaware School Survey is an annual survey of 5th, 8th and 11th grade public school student in Delaware. This study is the continuation of a survey that was first administered to Delaware students in Spring, 1989. Since 2004, the Delaware School Survey has been jointly sponsored by the Delaware Legislature through the Delaware Health Fund and Prevention Block Grant funding. It has become a valuable tool in assessing trends of questions on school behavior, health habits and parental interaction. In recent years, the study has shown an increased interest in safety, parental involvement, educational needs and healthy lifestyles.
*Data last updated 03/2019
Biden School of Public Policy & Administration
Center for Community Research & Service
298 K Graham Hall
kids-count@udel.edu
http://www.dekidscount.org
Janice Barlow, Project Director
KIDS COUNT in Delaware is housed in the Center for Community Research and Service at the University of Delaware and led by a board of committed and concerned child and family advocates from the public and private sectors. Our mission is to provide high-quality data about the well-being of children, youth, and families, and advocate for positive changes in policies, priorities, and programs.
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You are here: Home / Cooling / Emerson Network Power Becomes Vertiv, Eyes New Opportunities
Emerson Network Power Becomes Vertiv, Eyes New Opportunities
By Rich Miller - December 14, 2016 Leave a Comment
Enzo Greco, VP and General Manager of Data Center Solutions at Vertiv, with the company's new branding at the Gartner data center conference. (Photo: Rich Miller)
LAS VEGAS – As it relaunches as a private company with a new brand, Vertiv confronts a changing landscape in its core niche of data center power and cooling products. Vertiv is the new name for Emerson Network Power, which was acquired by the private equity firm Platinum Equity Group in a $4 billion transaction. The deal closed Dec. 1, and last week’s Gartner Data Center Conference provided a first look at the new Vertiv.
Like all parts of the data center industry, the power and cooling sector is adapting to the growth of cloud computing, which is concentrating IT workloads in hyperscale facilities. Vertiv executives say the new company is better positioned to respond to the shift to web-scale infrastructure.
“There’s lots of great things about being a private company, and that’s exciting,” said Enzo Greco, Vice President and General Manager, Software for Vertiv. “We’ve seen how quickly the market is changing. One of the biggest advantages is that it allows us to invest on a long-term basis, rather than focusing on a quarterly return. This will let us look at the business holistically and strategically.”
Emerson Electric created Emerson Network Power (ENP) in 2000, forming a data center unit around its powerful Liebert brand of computer room air conditioner (CRAC) units, which supply perimeter cooling for raised-floor data centers. The ENP business grew through M&A, including the acquisition of software firms Avocent and Aperture and UK-based Chloride, which specialized in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units.
One of the challenges facing Emerson and its competitors is the emergence of cloud computing and its impact on infrastructure. Hyperscale players build large facilities focused on energy efficiency, including reduced reliance on mechanical air conditioning. In these cloud campuses, CRACs and raised floors have mostly been replaced by slab floors and cooling systems using direct or indirect fresh air cooling.
‘A Cornerstone in Our Portfolio’
In June 2015, Emerson announced plans to spin off Network Power as a separate public company through an IPO. Suitors emerged, and in August Emerson announced that it would sell ENP to Platinum Equity, with Emerson retaining a minority stake in the business. Platinum has been interested in the data center industry for years, dating to its 2004 bid for assets of Cable & Wireless.
“This is an important investment in a business that will be a cornerstone in our portfolio,” said Platinum Chairman and CEO Tom Gores in announcing the deal. “It plays to our core strengths. In addition to our capital resources, we will deploy our global operations skills to build on the foundation Emerson created and take this business to another level.”
To run the Vertiv business, Platinum brought in new CEO Rob Johnson, a partner in private equity firm Kleiner Perkins. Johnson is well known in the data center industry from his tenure as President and CEO of American Power Conversion, which for many years was the primary rival for Emerson Network Power in the power and cooling market.
“It’s a fresh start for a business that already has so much going for it,” said Johnson. “As an independent company, Vertiv will operate with great freedom to make business strategy and investment decisions, move more quickly like a startup, and focus on innovative solutions for our customers, including those in the growing cloud computing, mobile and IoT networks.”
Opportunities in IoT, Edge Computing
At Gartner, Greco cited the Internet of Things (IoT) as a particularly promising opportunity.
Regulations Determining Computer Room Cooling Selection
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“The data center has been doing IoT for a long time,” said Greco, whose background includes stints at AT&T Bell Labs and IBM in addition to entrepreneurial ventures. “The more data these disparate sensors and devices offer up, the better the data center can operate.
The Internet of Things is exactly the same thing,” he said. “We know how to do IoT very well. We just need to package it up. The opportunity for us is in standardization, and helping organize that.”[clickToTweet tweet=”Enzo Greco of Vertiv: The data center has been doing IoT for a long time. We know how to do IoT very well. ” quote=”Enzo Greco of Vertiv: The data center has been doing IoT for a long time. We know how to do IoT very well. “]
Greco also sees opportunities for Vertiv in edge computing.
“With edge computing, you’re trying to move compute, access and storage as close to the end user as possible,” said Greco, who said edge requirements could be encapsulated in an “intelligent rack” with integrated power, located close to the user, often outside a traditional data center.
“For some customers, it’s a smaller data center,” he said. “There will be different form factors for power and cooling. A rooftop could be ideal in many scenarios, others might require a rack for smaller spaces.”
A Market in Transition
Vertiv’s core market of data center power and cooling is in transition. New research from IHS Markit finds that the data center cooling market declined slightly in 2015, but will likely return to single digit growth in 2016. The shift toward cloud is giving clout to a more concentrated group of cloud and service provider buyers, according to Sarah McElroy, Senior Research Analyst, Cloud and Data Centers at IHS.
“Because colocation and cloud companies are absorbing parts of what was once the enterprise data center market, they account for an increasing share of the total data center market and now hold a lot of negotiating power when purchasing data center infrastructure,” writes McElroy. “They can often negotiate lower pricing on things like cooling equipment, negatively affecting revenue (for vendors).”
Although the enterprise data center is changing, Greco says there are some interesting business opportunities with service providers. That’s especially true in software, as colocation providers look to add services. “This is a rapidly changing part of the market,” he said. “What’s happening is that some colos are starting to add much more value.”
Opportunities for Vertiv include equipping providers in “data center as a business” services such as tracking third-party equipment, security, and managing performance against SLAs (service level agreements). For colo customers, services could include visualizations through portals, analytics and remote management.
Looking Beyond the Data Center
Greco thinks Vertiv can find additional opportunities by looking beyond its traditional verticals.
“As part of Emerson, we were the data center division,” said Greco. “That was our focus. There are many similar markets that can benefit, if we put it all together. There are many adjacent markets that have qualities similar to a data center. They may need precision cooling and quality power and have devices that need orchestration. There are many industries where we can quickly extend our software, hardware and services.”
Like its predecessor Emerson Network Power, Vertiv will likely look to expand through acquisitions, according to Platinum Equity Partner Jacob Kotzubei.
“We will support Vertiv’s growth and product innovation every step of the way, both organically and through prospective add-on acquisitions,” said Kotzubei.
Tagged With: Emerson Network Power, Vertiv
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Drug War • Gun Laws • Policy & Law
The endgame for American civic responsibility Pt. III
Note: These essays were, of course, written before St. Louis County prosecutors and Ferguson police relented and revealed the identity of the officer sho shot and killed Mr. Brown. Both the cost to their credibility in the delay inherent in their delay and to the civil peace of that town remains relevant, however. Moreover, the problem with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies nationally trying to maintain anonymity in such incidents is on the rise. So the essays stand as argument, regardless. – DS
Mr. Thomas Jackson
Ferguson, Missouri
Chief Jackson:
Regard this as an open letter in light of your department’s unwillingness to properly identify the officer involved in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in your jurisdiction this last week.
Understand that I am someone with a high regard for good police work. I covered a large municipal department for a dozen years and spent that time writing in detail on extraordinary efforts by professional detectives and officers, and, too, on systemic and individual failures within that same agency. I am not unsympathetic to the complex truths of practical policing.
To that effect, I’m offering no judgment as to the legitimacy of the police action in the death of Mr. Brown, nor am I critiquing your department’s militarized performance with regard to the resulting civil disturbances in your municipality. I leave the former for the more careful assessments of prosecutors and, presumably, a grand jury; the latter, I am sure, will be a subject of continued discussion within your community, in Missouri as a whole, and elsewhere in the country.
But for now, let’s simply focus on the notion that you, as head of a police department accountable to the citizens of your jurisdiction, actually seem to believe — along with local prosecutors — that it is plausible for a sworn and armed officer to kill a citizen and do so in anonymity.
Regrettably, I know that you are not alone in this astonishing breach of trust. More than a decade ago, some of our most authoritative federal agencies began a tragic retreat from basic accountability, shielding their agents from any scrutiny for their use of the most signficant power that a law officer can possess — the taking of a human life as an act of personal deliberation. Following the lead of the FBI, other large urban departments have since followed suit, or attempted to do so at points.
But the cost to our society is not abstract — and the currency in which that cost is paid is trust. Your department has shown that you do not trust the public with the basic information about who specifically has, in the performance of his or her duties, been required to take a human life in Ferguson. And that same public is now in the street demonstrating that they do not believe that Ferguson law enforcement can therefore be relied upon for anything remotely resembling justice. How could it be otherwise?
If you cannot see the contempt inherent in your policy, then you, sir, may need to reconsider both your own role and the premise of law enforcement in a democratic society. You may need to yield your position to someone who retains the basic notion that your officers, armed with the extraordinary authority of using state-sanctioned lethal force on fellow citizens, are equally burdened by a responsibility for standing by their actions in full. You, your department, and the prosecutors in your jurisdiction are now running from that responsibility. In doing so, you lose the trust and respect of your citizens, your state and the nation.
I know that you wish to claim that the individual officer, if identified, would be somehow vulnerable. But this is dishonest and dishonorable, sir. Having covered a police department in a jurisdiction even more troubled than your suburban community, I am well aware of the resources available to your department to protect one of its own against retribution. Your officers are the ones with legal authority. They are all armed. And they can maintain a presence anywhere in your jurisdiction. Moreover, they have, if necessary, the support of your county’s prosecutors and judiciary, and all of the law itself to ensure the safety of a solitary officer. They are, as police in Baltimore were accustomed to saying, the biggest, toughest gang out there — so much so that the claim of violent retribution against this officer is embarrassing hyperbole. The same claim was offered by a police commissioner here in Baltimore five years ago, in an abortive effort to hide the identities of officers who took life in the course of their duties. When examined in detail, the claim of any serious threat against any officer evaporated into a series of half-baked crank calls and unsubstantiated rumor. Fears of retribution were not the issue; accountability was the real target. As it is now in Ferguson.
At this point, let’s be frank about the advantages offered to any officer in a legal examination of any use of lethal force. We both understand, I am sure, that in presenting the facts of any police shooting to a grand jury, your prosecutors will be able to offer your officer the protection of legal standards that do not in any way address whether a given shooting was justified in a moral sense, or as a measure of good and careful police work. No, the standard for justifying a police shooting anywhere in these United States has come down to this: Did the officer have a reasonable belief that in using lethal force he was protecting himself or others from serious injury. That is hole enough for a pretty big truck, sir, and it allows all but the most egregious and unjustifiable police violence to remain free of criminal prosecution, if not administrative sanction.
This may be the necessary legal standard for a world in which individual officers — even well-trained and well-meaning officers — must make life-and-death decisions in an instant. Even the best officer can give you a bad shooting; we both know this to be true. And it may be that any stricter legal standard would result in officers unwilling to risk their careers or freedom in cases where the use of lethal force was indeed necessary to save the lives of themselves, their fellow officers or other citizens. I grant you all of that.
But you must concede as well that the legal standard allows for the prosecutorial justification of all but the most outrageous misuses of police force — that the dynamic is already carefully protective of your individual officers. The game is already rigged against a legal lynching. And similarly, as already noted, anyone seeking to harm one of your officers in an extra-legal manner confronts not only a lone individual, but the combined authority and force of all of your officers, of the county and state police agencies, of your jurisdiction’s prosecutors and judges. In and out of court, no police officer ever stands alone and vulnerable — not in the manner of the average citizen. Say, Mr. Brown, for example.
Yet incredibly, you continue to hide from any accountability by speaking of retribution against an officer. But such retribution is wholly imagined on your part; the damage to accountability and transparency is actual and of the moment: Without knowing the identity of the officer involved in this incident, the citizens of Ferguson cannot measure that officer against his record. They cannot know if this is the first time he has taken human life, or the tenth. They cannot look to his overall performance as a law officer and know if he was inclined to brutality or insult in his dealings with the citizenry, or if he conducted himself with valor and respect for those he served. He is hidden not from potential retribution, as you claim. He is hidden from accountability and from the discerning assessment of the citizens you serve.
In Baltimore, I covered many police shootings, most of them necessary, if tragic, and a few that were indeed questionable or dubious, if equally tragic. But in all of those incidents, a police department that remained fully accountable to its citizenry never failed to do one basic thing when a life had been taken: It stood by the body. All of those officers who took a life owned both their authority and their responsibility. They were identified before their public, and the sunlight of public knowledge was never denied to any moment when an agent of the state, as a matter of personal deliberation and presumed professional necessity, ended the life of a fellow citizen. This was elemental, and democratic to its core. If our country is to cease its drift toward a militarized police state, it is elemental still.
And beyond the democratic imperative, one other practical cost to Ferguson of your professional failure has yet to be tallied, but is certain and fixed: Your department, in order to solve crimes and maintain order, is dependent on the cooperation of witnesses — fellow citizens willing to trust in the process of arrest and prosecution, and in their own personal safety should they properly contribute to that process. Yet by offering up the dishonorable claim that your department, and all the authority of the supporting law enforcement and judicial communities of Missouri, cannot protect a single officer from a series of unsubstantiated threats, or that the officer might be more vulnerable to public ridicule than, say, Mr. Brown was vulnerable to actual police gunfire, you have made this question entirely relevant:
If Ferguson police can’t protect one of their own — a fellow officer who is armed, who is allied with an entire department of armed comrades, who are themselves buttressed by their jurisdiction’s prosecutorial arm, who have the full weight of the law at hand in support of that officer — then how in hell are they going to protect me when I go down to the courthouse and testify? How can they ask me, an ordinary citizen with no armament, alliance or authority, to stand up in open court and be identified?
The answer is you can’t.
The decision of a police agency to hide the identities of its officers behind a veil of secrecy, while asking the public at large to risk all in open court, is not mere hypocrisy. It is cowardice. It is an abdication of your professional role and your basic integrity. Your actions, sir, stand not merely in support of your rank-and-file, or in defiance of a mob; that’s how you wish to be seen, and likely, it is how many will view you within the cloistered culture of the roll-call room. But to the greater public that you serve, your decision is, again, void of all honor or courage. You have done your uniform, your department and your city a great disservice. Some reflection and a change in policy is required before anyone in Ferguson, Missouri can be assured that you, Chief Jackson, actually remain in service of law and order in your city.
Police Reporter
Baltimore Sun, 1982-1995
David, I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on one specific part of what’s happened in New York in the wake of the two officers who were murdered in their cars: the blame being assigned by police leadership and some political types to the post Eric Garner, Ferguson, protests.
It seems that the head of the NYPD union has made this argument: if you, as private citizens, are willing to question police behavior and subsequent investigation/prosecution in the wake of watching a cop choke an unarmed man to death… if you have the temerity to ask questions and raise your voice to demand answers in that most extreme situation, then you are somehow responsible for any act of unconscionable violence against police everywhere.
Even in the current climate of what we’ve seen recently, this seems extraordinary and appalling to me, and I’m having trouble processing it.
Not even worth much of a reply, is it?
Don’t dare dissent because if you do so you might be tarred by the insane actions of any extremist? Is that actually an argument?
Why would anyone have felt comfortable opposing the Vietnam War on moral grounds, knowing they were thereby embracing the Weathermen? Why make peace with the Palestinians and legitimate Palestinian self-governance when doing so allies you with Hamas? Why make peace with the Israelis when doing so might leave you accused of accepting the right-wing settlers on the West Bank?
Why ask for justifiable change when someone somewhere will behave in a vile manner and render your most basic and legitimate aspirations amoral in the eyes of people who always wanted your justifiable dissent marginalized to begin with?
Right, and I guess I should expect it coming from likes of Pataki and Graham, but what about Patrick Lynch, the NYPD union president? Given your experience in police departments, did that one surprise you? I’ve been under the impression that plenty of good cops have been been disgusted about Michael Brown and Eric Garner, for professional reasons as well as the rest of it, so I wouldn’t expect this absurd conflation of protest and extremism to come from them, or their spokesman.
I’m curious about your feelings to release the officers name in the new shooting just outside St. Louis? Surely you can see now that there are dangerous, irrational, low life scum losers hell bent on getting “revenge” anytime a black person.is killed by a policeman, even when justified, release his name and that blood is in your hands, Mr. Simon. All because you have this civic ego about yourself. Times are different. Insane people can find out everything about a person – friends, family, kids school hack their emails – and you want to force a department to release a potentially innocent man’s name? So you can feel less guilty about yourself? Why??
Civic ego? WTF? Can you address the argument without personalizing it?
That officer and his family in Missouri are the most protected individuals in that jurisdiction right now, sheltered as they are within the full authority and force of the entire law enforcement community and the legal system itself. As with any other agent of the state who uses governmental authority to take human life, he needs to be identified to the community he serves and from which he draws that extraordinary authority. With such individual authority comes commensurate individual responsibility. Unless we live in a police state, where policing is always easy.
My belief in this fundamental works as well for good shootings as well as bad, and for those cases in which there is community acceptance or civic upheaval. This isn’t a tactical argument, and it isn’t susceptible to anecdotal, case-by-case debate for me. It is a moral essential in a republic. If the government gives men the authority to kill other citizens, then it requires that they stand by the act and that the act itself be monitored in the full light of open governance.
First off, I would like to apologize for the civic ego comment. I phrased it very poorly, to make it seem like a personal attack on you, and that really wasn’t my intention. It added nothing to the conversation, and I admire the fact that you never personalize your opinions or dissent when replying to posts, so it’s only fair that you expect and receive the same from your commenters.
Regarding the actual issue and response, I disagree that this officer and his family are the most protected individuals in that jurisdiction. Perhaps they are protected from someone wanting to walk up to their house and shoot them, but as I said in my original post, it’s a different day and age. The hacking group Anonymous could easily release this officer’s personal information, emails, family pictures (if they are saved electronically), address of extended family, etc. When I first read your opinion on this subject back when it was first posted, you actually persuaded me to agree with you for the most part. However, after seeing what has happened in this country, with the complete lack of regard for rule of law and inappropriate dissent by a large number of people – coupled with the ease in which hackers can access basically anything they want – I just don’t feel that same way anymore. I absolutely support releasing the officer’s name, but only after all facts are gathered and a press release is given, but to release his/her name immediately after such an incident opens up a dangerous situation for all officers involved in that district. I think that if the people who were rioting last night in St. Louis had the name and address to the officers house, they would have marched there as well. And as we saw with the first violent acts of protest in St. Louis after the grand jury cleared the officer in Michael Brown’s death, police and the national guard were unable to control the crowds from committing brazen acts of terrorism and crime right in plain view. Can you imagine if the police would have enforced our laws that night? The liberal media would have had A FIELD DAY!
Also, you seem to imply that the authority given to police officers is something they have asked for. I feel that it is something we, as a nation wanting to be protected from crime and lawlessness, have GIVEN to them, and asked them to bear that extreme responsibility. Are there some trigger happy cops? Obviously. Racist cops? Absolutely. However, we the people have asked them to deal with dangerous situations, and we have authorized them to use deadly force when need be. I think we should not put them in a dangerous situation immediately following their judgment to use that authority that we have given them. I think we should support and protect them until facts are gathered.
I really do respect your opinions, and obviously you have a great amount of respect and admiration and support for police work. That’s why I am so perplexed as to why this is such a black and white issue for you. And I understand what you are saying when you say “It is a moral essential in a republic”, but I feel that this statement also applies to protecting police and their family members during the initial period after an incident such as the one we are discussing.
Thank you, and happy holidays.
Whether police officers ask for the authority to take human life as an act of personal deliberation, or whether it is given to them, is simply moot. They have that authority, uniquely so among civil servants. With that authority comes a corresponding responsibility. They must stand by their actions as their actions constitute perhaps the ultimate public act in service of governance — the taking of the life of a fellow citizen.
This is unequivocal for me. To do so in private is simply Stalinist. To do so in the shadows is to prevent civilian authority from determining the service history and disciplinary history of the officer involved, his experience, etc. And in fact, I believe that it is this growing anonymity on the part of police agencies that is leading to some of the cynicism and alienation that provokes rioting and civil disturbance — in Ferguson and now again elsewhere in the St. Louis area. The refusal to stand by the body and account for the act in full view of the public leads to conspiratorial claims and disinformation, rather than assuring the public that nothing is being hidden.
As to the violations of privacy that can occur in our modern age, yes, this is a potential cost of public governance under the bright sunshine of open, democratic governance. If it occurs to the detriment of a given officer or his family, then it is regrettable, and of course punishable should those who have published or posted truly private information be tracked and identified. But of course those killed by police officers have, de facto, relinquished more than their personal privacy. They are dead. And further, their privacy becomes expendable as a matter of routine once police agencies set about to do their best to defame and marginalize them in the public view. Criminal histories, criminal associations, all manner of police intelligence and hyperbole are offered to the media, openly and on a sourced basis, in order that those shot to death by officers may be thought the less of in the public eye. It is hard for me to equivocate on my fundamental belief about the importance of public information because of what such information might cause an officer to endure. The suspect killed by police gunfire endures all of that, and further, the lose of his or her existence.
I appreciate your response, and have a more solid understanding of where you are coming from. I had started to write a lenthy reply, but found I was getting too off topic from the original subject. You hit the nail on the head in your first reply to the original commenter, about not allowing yourself to react based on the actions of the extremists on either side of the issue (rogue, racist, classist police vs lawless, moronic, ignorant protesters who don’t even know why they are protesting).
I do have to say that we certainly disagree with your thought that if the police would stand by the body and allow themselves to be held accountable, that people would all of a sudden understand why this took place. I find that to be idealistic. Do you think it is the norm these days for departments to not release the police officers name that is involved in a fatal shooting? (serious question, not a rhetorical or flippant one) I am led to believe that the majority of the time, police do stand by their actions, and carry the weight of taking another human life with them for the rest of their existance. An easy response would be “at least they have a continued existance”, but let’s not kid ourselves, sometimes these police have acted correctly in firing a fatal shot. They have accepted a civic duty, acted bravely and appropriately and with the mindset that they are protecting the community which will possibly vilify them afterwards, and then have to deal with the aftermath. But that gets lost in all of this national debate, at least from my perspective.
I hope you write an article sometime in the future with your thoughts on the best way to improve police relations in this country. You have a great deal of insight on this subject. I feel that you have grown weary of Wire references, but you made it a huge theme of the show that police MUST have a good relationship with the community in order to truly be good police. And that makes so much sense. Aside from that, I’d be interested to hear some suggested solutions to the current state of affairs in a future post. (ok, it ended up being kind of a lengthy reply, anyway. I’m stuck at work on Christmas and have nothing better to do)
Migelito says:
I, and I’m sure many others, would be very keen to hear your thoughts on the Grand Jury decision and events thereafter including media coverage and the role of social media.
Apologies for badgering you and thanks in advance!
I’d be interested too, but I think it would be tough for him to speak on it. He did say upfront in this letter that he was commenting solely on the decision of the department not to reveal information about the shooting, not on the aftermath and how it was handled.
I think if we are expecting a big anti-police screed we are going to be disappointed. HOMICIDE and THE WIRE are not anti-police pieces, although they do acknowledge that police may do many wrong or corrupt things. But they are also sympathetic to the police and the difficulty of the work, and they were written with the input of police and ex-police.
The other tough thing for me is that as a Baltimorean, I have to be honest; I do not think this is a situation which would bring charges in Baltimore, relative to the few recent situations I can think of wherein a BPD cop has in fact been indicted on criminal charges. It is very, very difficult to indict a cop, and Mr. Simon knows that, so I don’t know how satisfying his opinion on it would be.
I think that’s part of the point. The authorities in Missouri know that too. The system is ALREADY biased in cops’ favor. They did not have to withhold information, plant false rumors, or provoke the populace with a militarized response to peaceful protest; they could have appointed a special prosecutor. The legal risk to the officer was minimal regardless. When considering why this particular case has so galvanized the public, when questionable police shootings happen all the time, I have to conclude that it is specifically because the authorities’ handling of every aspect of the aftermath has been so disrespectful to Brown’s family and the community, and so indicative of pervasive, systemic racism, that it could not help but cause long-standing tensions to explode.
Like I said, I think a shooting like this could happen in Baltimore, and the officer would probably not be charged. But I also think the department would handle it with more sensitivity, and it helps a lot that the racial demographics of the BPD are much more in keeping with those of the city it serves.
I know you’re looking for Mr. Simon’s opinion and not mine, sorry, but there’s my take nonetheless…
Just swamped with filming is all.
Mark Gately says:
Being swamped with filming is a good thing!
That’s cool too. Maybe you’ve got a less cynical opinion than mine, which would be heartening. Sadly, I don’t think police brutality in America is going anywhere anytime soon so we can wait until you get a break.
What’s up with the avatar, though?
Ferguson | readthisfool says:
[…] surmise, is that in America, many black-men do not trust the police. David Simon’s blog about Michael Brown’s death has a great comment […]
There’s no respect for the rule of law in Ferguson because the government destroyed it | Rare says:
[…] the street for four hours throughout this ordeal, law enforcement officials have lied, leaked, and obfuscated at seemingly every opportunity. The release of the shoplifting video under false pretense and […]
Mr. Bones says:
Came across this today, and thought you might enjoy it. You can at least use it for some posters.
http://www.yourlogicalfallacyis.com
Long time lurker first time poster.I am a criminal defence lawyer based in the irish republic.While the average cop on the street in ireland is unarmed and the level of gun ownership is very low – there are special organised SWAT type units called the emergency response unit (ERU) and the armed response unit (ARU) and over the years they have shot and killed a considerable number of people.Noone from these units has ever been killed in the line of duty and the only member ever shot was in fact shot by his own colleagues by mistake.It is Irish police policy (and the irish police are the most secretive in the democratic world as they also operate as the primary national security agency as well as a policing body) to NEVER reveal the names of ANY officer in ANY shooting.In the history of the state none has ever been revealed and in fact it is a criminal offence for the press (whose crime correspondents act as a cheerleading squad for the police anyway) to do so.The level of accountablity in US policing in relation to police shootings far outstrips the irish force.
Sounds appalling. And an affront to basic accountability in any republic.
Bryan C says:
As a lifelong Royals, we are going to get an essay from you on the upcoming O’s-Royals ALCS series right? Also, maybe a hint as to why you made Templeton wear a KC star shirt?
I love Arthur Bryant’s. I’ll say that much for ya.
Stephen Round says:
The underprivileged classes of this world are being farmed by their peers as a blue collar Englishman I know that they always have been exploitedsystematically but now the science of exploitation is refined and maximised.to make the biggest return. The cause …. I know the cause it comes from where I live I have come to the realisation that there is something wrong with what was once ….. our …Language our verbalism is prostituted to depress demean disguise and deprive.
Where did that mechanical and …undemocratic word “Employee” come from it turns us into objects to be quantified. Why do so few of us recognise that we all of The Human Race? The word Race is being used as a cover for a polity which manufactures social inequalities to maximise screwball returns on …”investments?” which are obscene and morbidly ….psychopathic!
The race to the bottom is the race we should be fighting against that and the corrupt centralist perverted democracy abusing governments which comply to an agenda demanding our systematic denigration hiding behind the bastion of a fundamentally perverted highly militarised econoscientific separatist community. It has happened before their Mansions Castles and Cathedrals still dominate my own landscape history repeats itself.exponentially .
Joe A says:
David-
I tell you this in complete ass-kissing truthfulness and sincerity…
I was asked recently by one of my students to list my all-time favorite writers. My list included (among others):
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tim O’Brien, Hunter S. Thompson, Mark Twain…and David Simon.
Your pieces on Ferguson are just some of the many, many reasons why you belong on that list. The best writers not only tell the best stories; they also grab the world by the hair and say “Look at the big picture, folks…”
Thank you for refusing to let the shit that matters get drowned out by the shit that doesn’t.
Each year Cops shoot 100 yet 5000 die from b on b crime.
Nobody talks about that. MLK would be appalled.
Melba,
This is one of the most specious rhetorical offerings that we encounter when trying to address ourselves to any specific issues. To wit, it is possible to be concerned about two important things — and often many more — in the same lifetime. I’ve spent a good portion of my professional writing life addressing black-and-black crime, the drug war and the root causes that produce economic disparity and social deprivation. Can you see how it is intellectually dishonest to suggest that by also being concerned about undue police violence and the decline in police accountability and transparency, I am somehow ignorant of or indifferent to the former issue? The human heart is large enough so that it is offensive to imply that a concern over one societal problem neglects concern over another.
Or, to put this another way:
The people we pay to protect and serve us are only responsible for a small percentage of deaths in this country, so we shouldn’t talk about it. Once they start killing more people, I’ll pay attention.
See how ridiculous that is? Or do you truly believe that this is an acceptable cost of being American? Sure, the police might kill you, but it’s only a small chance, so that’s ok.
Utter moral bankruptcy.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, then are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
You may find this interesting:
http://m.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/04/why-dont-black-people-protest-black-on-black-violence/255329/
This is the issue that stuck out for me the most too. If I were to kill someone, my name, address and names of family members would immediately be published, whether the shooting was justified or not. I wouldn’t have the protection of a police department.
I have no idea what happened in the shooting, an it is not the issue of my comment or David’s letter. The issue is that the a government run agency, in this case, the Ferguson police department decided to put the public on a “need to know” basis on the identity of someone, justified or not, who killed a fellow citizen. Then, smugly acted as if they had the right to do so and we were just being silly in crying foul. As if they were a tier above us in class, intelligence and importance. “There there, children, we’ll decide if, how, and when you can handle it. But if you’d like to know the names and addresses of any other non-government employed people who killed fellow citizens, whether they are homicides, accidental or self defense, please talk to the nice lady by my side and she’ll give you all the details.”
From "The Wire" to Ferguson | Old Life Theological Society says:
[…] of police, the burdens they bear, and the value to a democratic society. For the full letter go here (which is the most recent of three missives — thanks to our Hillsdale […]
Runnin’ From Da Polease. | The Concrete Margin says:
[…] if the public doesn’t trust them or respect them to do their job. As longtime police reporter David Simon so pointed out in his letter to Ferguson police chief Thomas […]
Ryan O'Malley says:
Wow its like a guilty white liberal convention in here . Its easy to see who has never had to live in or even near a ghetto. How is the view from ivory towers?!
When your ready to get realistic about crime stats and not sweep it under the rug with a politically correct broom, gimme a call.
My favorite obliviousness of the week.
Do you know whose blog this is? Do you know where I live? Do you you know what neighborhoods I covered daily for a dozen years? Do you know where I camped out to report and write The Corner, every day for three years? Do you know that I can count the distance between that corner and my home in blocks?
Where do you live, Mr. O’Malley? On what block of West Baltimore or East St. Louis have you spent time gleaning all of your hard-won insight? This is of course, me arguing back at the man rather than his argument. But wait, you don’t have an argument. You came here with ad hominem only, so back at you, Goofus.
Of course I know you covered those areas , and I’m sure you managed to convince your self there was some greater force responsible for the independent actions of all those criminals for all those years. Like those 4 youths who stabbed and robbed that kid Sal the other day in Baltimore , they are not responsible lets blame a system that forces them to stab Sal who would have started Grad school in a month. They don’t come from a culture that praises gangsters and embraces the no snitch policy no its all all of our faults, meaning everyone but the people who committed the crime. I can write my article deflect responsibility because thats how I sleep at night and feel superior.
And speaking of the no snitch game, thats exactly what the Ferguson community would do if Michael Brown’s killer was black and not a cop. Clam up and not say a word , and America never would have learned his name.
Did you write about Detective Joseph Walker a black cop who killed an unarmed white motorist and was acquitted of any wrong doing? Never heard of him? The whole world would know his name and be screaming for his head had he been white and the motorist black. Don’t pretend like this would not be the case.
Michael Brown assaulted a cop and tried to take his gun, 10 times out of 10 you should get shot in the head if you do this. No matter what color , this is the world we live in. I’m sorry all those years on the beat in Bmore did not teach you this.
Mr. O’Malley,
If “of course” you know that I am entirely familiar with West Baltimore and that my work isn’t from an ivory tower — and you have no clue as to the histories of others who post here — then an honest effort by you would not be denigrate or falsify the backgrounds of those who disagree with you. That’s weakass rhetorical fallacy. It falls apart just as soon as you stack it. Which everyone here, accustomed to a better class of argument, recognized immediately.
Instead, make an actual argument using actual facts — something you failed to do in your original post. Content matters. Here, your argument seems to be that 1) You know, clairvoyantly, what happened in the Ferguson shooting and what the outcome should have been. This is remarkable since a grand jury hasn’t even been convened, nor the federal investigation completed. Indeed, the local department has not even issued a narrative or incident report. So your certitude and predisposition to make a specific judgment based on your racial distaste is obvious.
Go back to my essay. Note that it actually makes no claim as to what happened in the shooting. I don’t know what happened yet. Neither do you. One of us has summoned the honesty required to acknowledge this. The essay is not about what Michael Brown or the officer who shot him did or didn’t do. Not a word. The essay is about institutional accountability REGARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCE OF THE SHOOTING. Accountability whether the cop is black or white. Whether the victim is black or white. You are the only one bringing the ugly racial tangle that is in you head to the table here. Not me.
In fact, my next posting will be a detailed accounting of an FBI Agent who shot two unarmed people in separate incidents. And the efforts that the FBI went to hide the details of both incidents, and why knowing the Agent’s identity and the circumstances of the first shooting could have prevented the second. And, oh yeah, the Agent is white. His first victim was black and a felon and no one cared a whit how bad the shooting was. So he got a second chance, and the second victim was white. And then the world took some notice. But see, that’s me just citing an anecdotal racial configuration. As irrelevant as you running around citing the anecdotes that please you and validate your racial predisposition.
The anecdotal can’t prove much, other than that it can provide insight into process. The essay is interested in process and accountability. I say that society is better served when every law officer who shoots at or shoots a citizen is properly identified, as all citizens are when they use lethal force and become known to authorities for doing so. Do you have any interest in the actual issue here. Or did you arrive merely to vent your racial anger and fear?
Dude. There is so much wrong with what you’ve written here. A few off the top of my head:
– That you seem to think you can tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t write about.
– The idea that unless you write about every crime that happens every day, you don’t have the legitimacy to write about any single crime at all
– That anyone is excusing personal responsibility.
– That there are no institutional and systemic forces at work in society.
– That what you think might or might not happen in a different set of circumstances is relevant to anything or anyone.
– That Brown assaulted a cop, when no report has been filed.
I guess we can stop there for now, but this list is by no means exhaustive.
Ryan, I would attempt to coherently respond to any of this, but I feel like I have been doused with racism and can barely open my eyes to read the details of your ridiculous argument. I don’t even know where to begin other than to point out that you are not a prophet or a mindreader, and you do not know what Mike Brown did (none of us do, since again, we do not have the incident report or video of the shooting itself), what the Ferguson community would do, what the whole world would do, who the readers/posters on this blog are, or where they live.
If you do, how about you just wave your magic wand and get rid of all brutality in the world since apparently you are God?
As for Joseph Walker, you’re using *that* as an example of egregious police violence? Really, that’s your cry for the poor oppressed white man in America? A cop that identified himself as police, showed his badge, gave a warning, and fired on a hostile aggressor (who had been driving with a blood alcohol level verging on the legal limit, I might add) advancing on him, in defense of himself, his wife and his children? A case in which the police union — including many, many white law enforcement officers — stood steadfast behind him and raised money for his defense? Kinda contradicting your whole “gotta respect the police! Can’t bum-rush ’em!” angle there. But I get that you are desperate for an example to support your bigotry. Try questioning your prejudices instead.
Way to know your audience, Ryan.
Master of research that he is?
His tower ain’t ivory, and his head ain’t in the clouds. But it’s somewhere, alright.
James Elson says:
This isn’t the first time somebody has pulled the “ivory tower” card here. Those who do so here all seem to have one thing in common which is that they are not interested in debate so much as calling you and others out with those tiresome cliches surrounding what I feel is a ridiculously polarized modern political landscape. It’s almost as if they don’t want to think hard about the issues surrounding the United States (or the world for that matter) in modern times. I often wonder just what they are really hoping to achieve even though I have a pretty good idea. It’s very sad to see how low people are willing to set the bar for debate these days, though it really does seem to be a cover for their own personal fears. I’m not saying I’ve never been guilty of that sort of thing myself (as I have occasionally let my emotions control my choice of words) but I’d like to think that if I could learn from such mistakes so could a whole lot of others as well.
Here on this website regarding those who have taken such cheap shots at you and others: Their absences thereafter tell their own story, don’t you think?
Love this comment, Ryan. Next time I don’t have an argument, I’ll just pull rank like you’ve demonstrated here.
Roy Boythorn says:
Yeah. What a real smart plan that is.
Drew says:
Why don’t you hold the media accountable too? The Ferguson Cops have made this situation 1 million times worse by arresting journalists, using tear gas and riot gear, and basically acting like wanna be soldiers playing with new gear. But the media should be accountable for their mistakes too.
At first he was shot in the back. Wrong. 2nd he was a saint. Wrong, that same day he had done a robbery and assaulted the store clerk. Now those aren’t capital offenses, but they aren’t something that should be over looked. What else are they going to be wrong about?
Holding the media accountable isn’t siding with horrible police practices, but pointing out how they have made everything much worse should also be done.
Anything that is reported incorrectly is a signal failure on the part of news organizations. At the same time, please acknowledge that AS WE ARE A WEEK INTO THIS SITUATION AND THE POLICE AND PROSECUTORS HAVE NOT EVEN RELEASED AN INCIDENT REPORT ON THE SHOOTING, which is public record, the media is operating in what is known as a news blackout. Information is being released selectively and at a time and place of the government’s choosing, and in that vaccuum, the chance that the media will be led astray by less definitive facts is compounded.
When the authorities abdicate on their responsible to provide accurate information in a timely and unbiased fashion, the less viable claims of other witnesses and claimants will of course fill the void. Complaining about the results and blaming the media for operating in this vaccuum is real cart-before-the-horse criticism.
Oh, and given that he apparently had no weapon in robbing some cigars from a store, I don’t see how his sins are at all relevant to his being shot to death on the street at some later point. He could’ve robbed the Glendale train with the James and Younger brothers at some earlier point, and if he wasn’t armed when doing it, and he wasn’t armed in the street — what sort of insightful revelation is it? Nothing that has any bearing whatsoever on his death by police gunfire.
To the gentleman who posted the question about the media. Is the question the media’s reporting or you not liking what the media has reported and the balance, or lack thereof, in which they are reporting? Correct me if I am wrong, but as I just turned on the television 30 seconds ago, a national network, aka the media, re-broadcasted an interview from a show on the radio, aka the media, in which a woman described what happened from a third person account. Something about a kid being high and crazy enough to reach for a cop’s gun, say fuck it change his mind and run away, and then say fuck it again and change his mind and run towards bullets being sprayed at him.
I don’t think you are that dumb to believe that. I doubt you think anyone else is that dumb to believe that. I think by you being in the powerful majority, emboldened by a rich history of doing and getting away with whatever the hell you want, arrogantly put forth Chicago-black on black crime-what about the media red herrings and let your friendly media, or laws, or police or whatever allow things to stand.
Wait, what are we defining as “the media” here? Blogs? I’ve read all kinds of stuff on blogs — I read on several blogs that Mike Brown may have actually paid for the cigars he allegedly stole (thus explaining why the store owners did not file any report). But I don’t know if any of that is true, yet.
You can’t believe everything you read online. I don’t think you need to lecture Mr. Simon on that.
The mainstream media — legitimate newspapers and magazines and their online counterparts (I am not including TV here, since it is sensationalistic at best), conversely, have not really reported much in terms of Mike Brown’s shooting. How can they without the incident report? All they can report on is what witnesses tell them or what they hear from other media sources.
But in any case I object to your entire argument here. A story ALWAYS changes as more facts are revealed. It is your duty as a citizen to seek out reputable sources of information (not blogs, not unsubstantiated social media, not gossip) and to pay attention as the story unfolds. The original headline in the Watergate scandal was something along the lines of “two random guys caught burglarizing a hotel”. That changed a lot too.
Keep paying attention.
Funny how folks get all up in arms about media accountability when there’s a furor over black lives, or the taking of, or the anguish and outrage of those who care about such things, yet some of these same folks are silent when their government outright lies to them, and when the same media peddles those same lies on their respective front pages. Or when in the interest of being “fair and balanced”, media gives the same attention to crack pots as it does to experts.
Yellow cake? WMDs? Death panels? Swift boats? Fast and Furious? Obamaphones? Welfare queens? Global climate change isn’t real? Pretty much anything Paul Ryan says about poverty? Am I the only one who remembers these things, at best, reported without refute, and at worst, reported as fact?
Oh, but yes, by all means, let’s start holding media accountable for 100% accuracy 100% of the time with the facts surrounding Mike Brown, because the standard for reporting on the case of a black kid shot to death by a cop is so much higher than that of the case for a war with a six figure death toll, or impending environmental events that could end us as a species.
Media reporting should be accurate, period. And if something is incorrectly stated, it should be corrected posthaste. But as more facts are released, then the reporting will change. Welcome to the 24/7 news cycle.
Well said Monica.
Ferguson and Other Links | The Hyperarchival Parallax says:
[…] An open letter from David Simon. […]
So, our governor called in the National Guard. I did not greet this news with relief or joy. Instead it sent shivers down my spine. I was young when Kent State happened. Today, I’m a lot older and a lot more pessimistic about this country and this world of ours.
Somehow, I just can’t believe that arming the police with military equipment is well meant. Taken together with what is happening to the U.S. Constitution, I fear the worst.
As a middle class white American, I can say with assurance that I will never vote for a tax increase for “public safety” again. When the police have random drug tests and have to have bake sales to buy kevlar, then I may rethink.
What we must remember after Ferguson | Of Means and Ends says:
[…] Simon, who brought a lot of these issues to life vividly in The Wire, wrote about the problems with the initial refusal to identify the officer who shot Brown and what it says about how the police force relates to the […]
Mr. Simon:
The criminality of black men….the dirty go to trick it seems in all of these incidents of black kids being murdered is the doubt created by insinuating their menacing and criminal intent. Michael Brown, a kid, attempted to take a gun…from a cop. Trayvon Martin, a kid, whom after being followed and criminally (and racially) profiled, attacked…a grown ass man…who had a gun. Jordan Davis, a kid, while blasting loud music in a car with his friends pointed a gun out the window…at a grown ass man. Forget believing those racist narratives, why are they even entertained? Is this America?!??!?
While pondering that question and trying to detox from everything Ferguson related, my born in the 80s, wet behind the ears self turned on HBO and watched their recently released Nixon in his own words documentary. GODDAAAAMMMN!!! Blame it on my public school education, I never been floored and gut punched by what I saw and heard, and Im not even talking about the Watergate stuff. His level of criminality and immorality is off the chart.
I don’t know if I could connect Ferguson or other cases with Nixon, but the basic question is, is this America? Look, im the furthest thing from being an angry black guy….but today, I am more inclined to be so. I watch the Ferguson stuff and see people being put forth to present a narrative of “if black people care about this, why not Chicago?” (Sorry, even if that was true, I hold cops and adults who kill kids to a higher standard of serving and protecting). I get worn tired with the ever lucrative political punditry hustlers from all directions. I even find myself saying to myself stuff like, “if we cant change anything after a congresswoman and hella kids in Newtown, black people are fucked.”
But as a non angry and threatening black guy (you’re welcome) with a united nation level of loved ones and interests, hope always wins out. Until this Nixon shit. I watch the film and every black people conspiracy theory, according to Nixon’s own racist, sexist, homophobic words, I could now say I cant discount those theories on drugs, HIV/AIDS, and others. Every motherfucker in that film went on and some continue to have lucrative careers, book deals, tv shows, other things that made their actions profitable in the long run.
Not to sound like the sky is falling, but not only is this America but has this always been our country?
NOTES » Erwacht says:
[…] Tom Clark has been honourably illustrating the current lunacies. Simply considering Ferguson, there’s THIS, and David Simon’s reasonable letter […]
I understand your sentiments, and I’m familiar with your history and experience. But with all due respect, I disagree with you.
No public needed to know the name of this officer, at least not at the current time. His name was not a secret to the FBI investigating the incident. And I have no doubt that he would’ve been identified eventually.
Perhaps the worst offense by the FPD was not releasing the officers name immediately. I think if they would have done that (which seems to be reasonable to me) then there wouldn’t have been a big deal about the whole thing, and chances are the violence that followed would have been greatly reduced.
But does the public really need to know? I don’t think so. They’re just being nosy I didn’t need to know his name. You didn’t need to know his name. The only ones that deserved to know his name were MIchael Brown’s parents and family.
Your understanding of how law enforcement investigates its own with regard to the shooting of civilians leaves a lot to be desired, I have to say. Suggesting that the public does not have a right to know the name of those who shoot and kill civilians under sanction and authority of the state does not take the following into account: Until an officer is named and his history, credibility and reputation are reported,there is no way to know if he has exercised respect and restrained in his use of his authority, or if he has failed to do so.
Your suggestion that the FBI is likely to be an impartial arbiter of police who use lethal force is entirely oblivious to the actual performance of that agency with regard to police actions and civil rights violations. Indeed, the FBI itself is among the very worst agencies at transparency and self-discipline with regard to the use of lethal force.
I can’t do all your research for you. But you can be more aware by googling the NYT series last year on the FBI’s whitewashing of its own sad performance with regard to the shootings of civilians. Then google the name of FBI Special Agent Christopher Braga in my home state of Maryland. Two unarmed people have been shot by the same agent for no good reason, years apart, because the FBI kept his identity and the details of his performance quiet from the public. And know, further, that in April three FBI agents shot a citizen on a mall parking lot outside Baltimore — and four months later the public still doesn’t know if that suspect was armed, if his actions justified the shooting, the identities of those who fired their weapons and whether they have killed five other citizens, or twenty, or just this one. We don’t know anything. For you to be comfortable with the FBI, operating in darkness, without transparency, makes me sure that you know very little about that agency and its practices.
I was a police reporter too long to trust in law enforcement deciding best what the public should know. That is a recipe for a police state. And we are well on the way to cooking such a thing up in this nation.
Marc Erickson says:
I think this is the NYT story Mr. Simon is referring to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/us/in-150-shootings-the-fbi-deemed-agents-faultless.html
Yup. Thx.
If you know the tale of Christopher Braga’s two shootings alone, in detail, you will never again feel comfort at the idea of the FBI policing such things.
Henri Helvetica says:
What farce. You don’t want to be accountable to the public, do not go for a publicly funded jobs. It’s that simple. Tax payers pay your remuneration, you answer to tax payers.
What David has written here is something I’ve been saying all week: a small town chief w/ some town chief values and procedures, has been exposed when seasoned national journalists – already angered by the imprisonment of 2 of their own – swooped in and essentially questioned him seeking factual evidence – none he could ever provide. Where are the pics/shots of the so called facial injuries Officer Wilson contests receiving? But did provide a video and prints of a teenager stealing from a corner store – or what the chief has called a strong arm.
Most jobs i’ve known of, you can get fired for being late. Why has the chief yet to fall on the sword?
The name is important. The name is everything. Let me attempt to demonstrate.
In Part II of this series of posts, Mr. Simon detailed a situation in which a city officer shot a citizen 15 times. Below that, in the comments, I detailed a situation that took place the following year, in which a city officer shot a citizen 13 times.
On the surface these situations would seem to have little to no difference between them. And yet in the second circumstance the officer was charged and convicted with voluntary manslaughter and the first (to the best of my knowledge) the officer was cleared of any wrong-doing. Lacking any other information, can you tell me why?
Is it important to know that the first officer was a physically diminutive female with only 5 years of force experience, in fear of losing her service weapon, who had lost her weapon in a previous altercation?
Likewise, is it important to know that the second officer refused a breathalyzer on the scene, had been previously censured for shooting a suspect in the foot while under the influence of alcohol, and been involved in at least one other questionable shooting?
The conclusions that I, as a city resident, have drawn from this and other details of recent police shootings and violent incidents, which I only learn about from the press, are that the city police department is overworked, understaffed, accordingly unselective about who they accept for and keep on duty, enacting unsustainable policies regarding officer service terms, and sorely in need of both mental health care resources and better mediation and weapons training.
I want to point out that it is not at all to the detriment of the department that I, as a member of the public, have come to these conclusions. I may very well be more likely to pick up the phone and dial 311 to report potential criminal activity if I think I am dealing with an entity that is struggling and needs help, as opposed to one that is perfectly healthy as well as powerful, and yet still regularly empties chambers into citizens willy-nilly. I’m certainly more likely to advocate, at the ballot box and elsewhere, for them to get the funding and resources they need.
But I could not come to any of these conclusions if reporters had not acquired the names of these officers and thereby, been able to access their service records, descriptions and other information.
The Crisis in Ferguson and Other Fascinating News on the Web - The Morning News says:
[…] because it took so long to share the information. Here’s The Wire’s David Simon with an open letter to the Ferguson police chief: “The decision of a police agency to hide the identities of its officers behind a veil of […]
Wire 106: S01E02 “The Detail” | bavatuesdays says:
[…] Watters pointed me to an open letter David Simon wrote to the Police captain in Ferguson titled “The Endgame for Civic Responsibility Part iii” that frame the loss of accountability and closing ranks that is what follows this scene when […]
“Dont matter who did what to who at this point. Fact is we went to war and now there aint no going back. I mean, shit, its what war is you know. Once you in it, YOU IN IT! If its a lie, then we fight on that lie. But we gotta fight. ”
I take solace and comfort in the words of Slim Charles. Because that mindset for which he and his comrades adhere to, it shows that they may be keeping the gangster and mob culture alive, it is still a culture that was invented by the police. The behavior of the Ferguson police is that of a mob and the actions of their police chief is that of a gangster, who like Slim Charles, is fighting on a lie.
A strong arm robbery?? Get the fuck outta here. The entire video I saw shows what appears to be a dispute. According to the store owner, they didn’t even call the police. To release such video in pieces and to characterize it in the worst possible way was clearly meant to demonize that young man and create cover and protection for that cop, a cop of whom we still know little about, specifically his actions that led to the killing of that kid. That’s some true gangster shit right there.
And now that we know that the DOJ A) asked that the video not be released because it was inflammatory and B) DOJ opined that it was not actually a part of any FOIA act requests…this is a 1964 playbook, plain and simple. Bull Connor’s 2014 counterpart Thomas Jackson is just more media savvy; no need to rail against “outside agitators”, etc., when you can simply release video stills and edited pieces to create a twisted narrative. To continue the Slim Charles theme – “Game ain’t changed, just got more fierce.”
They had already stated that Michael Brown was not stopped in connection with any crime. It is completely irrelevant, even if there is any credibility to it, and Chief Jackson has already demonstrated that he has not earned any credibility.
The Crisis in Ferguson and Other Fascinating News on the Web - TIME says:
Yojimbo says:
Hi David ~
Thought you might be interested in this.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/johnson-reassured-teens-at-his-alma-mater-before-stepping-in/article_d4cd021e-11fc-5111-9d69-259bb39cec4a.html
Thanks for your ongoing work.
@BobbyGvegas says:
My $0.02.
http://bgladd.com/FergusonPDthugs2.jpg
We have gone crazy.
» Blog Archive » David Simon writes a letter says:
[…] To the Ferguson police chief. […]
Friday Links! | Gerry Canavan says:
[…] * Ferguson, Missouri, is still the most important story in the country right now; I put up a bunch of links related to the crisis there last night. A letter from David Simon. […]
Mr. Simon, did you happen to hear today’s StoryCorps episode on NPR’s Morning Edition? Another story of police brutality and fortunately the kid survived. Excruciating listen.
http://www.npr.org/2014/08/15/340419821/after-a-traffic-stop-teen-was-almost-another-dead-black-male
Un document fuité montre que les Etats-Unis se préparent à des révoltes anti-gouvernement violentes | OpeNews says:
[…] Lettre de l’auteur de la série TheWire, David Simon, au chef de la police de Ferguson : Th… […]
Derrick Fogle says:
Here’s a tweet I saw that sums up the utter farce of this “officer safety” issue rather succinctly:
“they won’t release name of the cop who shot Michael Brown, for fear of his safety. but, ya know, assault rifles pointed at the rest of you.”
Open Letter to Chief Thomas Jackson, the officers of the Ferguson and St. Louis County Police Departments and Governor Jay Nixon
RE: Ferguson, Missouri
Instead of stepping aside, the time has come to step forward. For the past several days, I (and many others) have questioned your actions in Ferguson, Missouri. What you are doing is not a miscarriage of justice; rather it is a complete abortion of the notion of justice at all. If you seek peace in your community, then you must admit to your mishandlings and wrongdoings. Your citizens have questions that are reverberating internationally, but you cannot even hear them in your own front yard. The only way to proceed from this point is with complete transparency. Due to the nature of dissemination of news covering this event and the following demonstrations many more questions have arisen through the proliferation of conjecture, primarily via Twitter. These questions need answers before the truth becomes any more muddled. Your citizens are not terrorists or thugs. You can and should negotiate with them. Releasing the name of Darren Wilson a week after the event while simultaneously releasing footage and an incident report of an irrelevant robbery (yes, the robbery is irrelevant to the question of whether Michael Brown was murdered while surrendering with his hands raised) shows that on some level Chief Jackson acknowledges what the citizens want while deliberately and maliciously trying to change the narrative to suit those with authority and power.
You cannot and will not find the road to peace using a map of war. Your actions and reactions provoke more anger and questions, and the tension has bubbled over beyond your jurisdiction. The road to peace is honest dialogue with community leaders such as Alderman Antonio French, Brother Shahid, and the many other citizens willing to meet in the middle. You must respect the citizens’ constitutional rights to assemble, to film and photograph, and to ask you hard questions. You must act from this point forward with honesty and transparency. If you find yourselves unable to do so, then the most ethical and high-grounded thing to do would be to resign your positions in favor of those who are actually willing and ready to affect positive, non-militaristic change.
Forget everything else for one minute. You are fathers and mothers. Has your child ever misbehaved or made a mistake? Did they die because of it? If your child died on their way to grandma’s, what questions would you have? What would you ask if you knew your teen’s life ended at the hands of another human, justified or not? Imagine the last person you know who died. How was their body handled after death? How long did you wait for an autopsy? How long did you wait for a funeral? If you find yourself unable to empathize with the citizens of your community, then what are you doing there at all?
You will not be allowed to make Michael Brown’s death an inconvenience to the force, like the deaths of Eric Garner, John Crawford, and so many other men whose cause of death was skin color. Your citizens will not simmer down and go away. You cannot squash them; they have a country of patriots and a world of support to raise them even higher. Give your brave, proud, admirable American citizens the justice they deserve.
-A Concerned Supporter of Ferguson, civil rights, and the Constitution of the United States of America (which includes Missouri)
Jonah Paritzky says:
Isn’t the failure to identify the officer just symptomatic of a society that’s increasingly more comfortable with,as you said, drifting towards a militarized police state? All across the country condemned men are being injected with untested, experimental combinations of chemicals and subsequently experiencing deaths that could be considered anything but rapid and humane. Drugs most commonly used in executions are now in short supply because drug manufacturers refuse to supply state governments with their products for the purpose of state-sanctioned murder. States now must resort to sourcing these drugs from unlicensed drug manufacturers (compounding pharmacies) . In fact, the State of Missouri is using the unsubstantiated threat of retribution against these suppliers to maintain the secrecy of their identity. Not only does this, once again, violate freedom of information laws, but what’s even more alarming is the complete absence of public outcry. The more cruel and unusual the punishment, the better. In some states, it seems it has become beneficial to a politician’s approval ratings to express support for botched executions. I know we all want to blame the police, but aren’t people of privilege to blame? Aren’t the police just a reflection of what they want? After all, what happened to Michael Brown isn’t something that could ever occur to them
It’s systemic, I agree. And it’s only getting uglier.
This is a really great letter and I would hope eye opening to all the closed minded LEOs in Ferguson right now.
Kevin – Those are a lot of good suggestions on procedural changes that could be made. A lot of them just seem like a combination of comment sense and fairness.
According to CNN, they plan on releasing the name tomorrow. Couple that with how vastly different the police response to protests have been tonight and I can only assume that a bunch of people got replaced and/or got wise to the national narrative in the past 24 hours.
Yes, and look hw quickly and dramatictically it altered and improved thestuatin the streets. A bit of simlecommon sense and putting the right people in the right place can make a tremendous difference.
Yeah, the immediate de-escalation lends some credence to the allegation that maybe, just MAYBE, that county police department has in fact been exercising unnecessary force as a standard policy for some time now.
As I heard it succinctly put elsewhere, “now that we’ve all met the St. Louis county police, do we really believe they politely asked Mike Brown and his friend to stop?”
Sadly, it is very difficult to avoid that conclusion
That’s a terrific letter, but I fear you should have dumbed it down. The Chief probably fell asleep after the first paragraph. “Janice! Bring me some donuts! And what does crit-i-king mean?”
How horrible is it that we have so little faith in the intelligence of the people that have been given the legal power of life and death over us?
I suppose now that we have come to that realization there is only one option — well, there are two, if we’d like to consider the jackboots on our necks and the concentration camps & all of that. Otherwise, there’s only one — we the people, their employers, take their power away.
The people of Ferguson, and by extension the governor of Missouri, have taken away that power from the St Louis county police tonight. We’ll see what difference that makes. I have high hopes because the people aren’t the problem. We’re all motivated by love. It may be that we’ve just got to fire the middle managers.
Very balanced and fairly argued. Well done. Thank you.
Please note, as you may know, that any person, not just a police officer, has the legal right to use deadly force to defend themselves against the threat of death or serious bodily harm.
State-sanctioned. They are unique in that they act as agents of the government and are so armed and trained to take life as an act of personal deliberation.
Agree. The legal right is the same, but the State sanction, significantly the reality that they are armed, certainly
alters the overview in a most real and potentially deadly way
another difference is that a police officer can confuse a wallet for a gun and get away with it; a private citizen probably isn’t afforded the same margin of error
Jdm8 says:
I’ve heard of a case where a Wii controller was confused for a gun. It seems it’s time to tighten the realm of plausibly belief of danger when that entails excessive paranoia to justify what the police get away with.
As a black man who has never been arrested or been in any legal trouble whatsoever, I hate the police with a passion. And I am a guy from a city recently voted one of the top 10 places in America to raise a family, a quiet suburb where everything shuts down at 10pm every night, AuntBeaVille basically.
The reason I hate the police with a passion is not because they tend to stop me for no reason. I am a black man living in the American south, I’ve come to grips a long time ago with the consequences of being black. I hate cops because in all the 30 or so times they have stopped me for no reason, they put the burden on reassurance on me…..in other words, I must reassure the cop to a ridiculous level of submission pretty much, that I wont do anything to harm HIM!
The benefits of being from AuntBeaVille and having a great upbringing with responsible parents, siblings and all others out in the community is that not only am I afforded opportunities and experiences that allow me to see the big picture and have much more to live for (than proving a racist cop wrong) but it has taught me in a white man’s world the very important skill of conflict resolution or basically how to make white people feel comfortable with you. A cop pull me over, even if he and I both know he is in the wrong, I have NO problem with being extremely gracious, giving him my best behavior and warmest pleasantries and complying with his directives even before he gives them: let all windows down, turn the light on in the car, stick hands out the window, exit slowly, keep hands up at all times, answer all intrusive questions he asks. Take my black ass home alive.
Unfortunately, every negro isn’t from AuntBeaVille. Everyone doesn’t have a great job or family to go home. Nor great friends. Nor great education to rely upon. Nor an overall jolly happy-go-lucky overall life. That doesn’t excuse any potential illegal activity they may or may not have been involved in. But everyone just isn’t equipped for whatever reason to not just comply with cops but to make them comfortable enough to where dying isn’t an option. Damn I miss the days when cops just beat the shit out of you.
Possible solutions: In all encounters, cops MUST identify themselves with full name, rank and badge number. In a technological age, cops must notify the person they are encountering that they are recording the encounter and allow that person to record it as well. They must be given the option of having another cop appear on the scene. They must clearly notify the person why they are being stopped and they must not exceed the purpose for which they are pulling them over; if you pull over for a speeding infraction, you aren’t allowed to run his information to see if he has outstanding warrants, or search his vehicle or invent some probable cause to extend the encounter beyond the speeding infraction.
Eloquent and frank – thank you.
As KT suggests, the people who need to ‘hear’ this the most won’t get it; they see the communities they police as ‘Other’, or as one officer in Ferguson was caught saying on camera, “I’ve got 4000 animals here…” Trust and accountability? Jackson, and the department he leads, must first see the citizens they serve as human beings worthy of basic respect.
Howard Marks says:
I just wanted to add that the police in order to have any moral authority in enforcing the law need to scrupulously OBEY the law. Telling the media to shut down cameras before firing tear gas, arresting reporters without charge for working in a nearby fast food establishment and the like are clear 1st amendment violations.
Even worse withholding the officer’s name is a clear violation of the MO open records law. The Chief should be charged and perp walked for that alone.
A beautifully written letter, and really one that every police chief in the country should take to heart as though it were addressed to them.
If only I had any confidence that this particular individual had the intelligence, common sense or personal integrity to read or understand any of it.
Until we get justice…not just for Mike Brown but for Eric Garner and Trayvon…and hell, for MLK Jr. and Fred Hampton…and all the rest…see y’all in the streets.
Kevin Stevens says:
Thank you for so eloquently expressing the need for accountability.
“He is hidden not from retribution, as you claim. He is hidden from accountability and from the discerning assessment of your citizens.”
Exactly. Thank you for using your influence in this way.
This brings to mind your oh-so-controversial post last year about the possibility of an ordinary citizen picking up a brick.
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Home»All Films»Art
What’s the enduring appeal of the “road movie” all about? Whom better to ask than “Easy Rider” star Dennis Hopper? Hopper is joined by a star-studded cast of filmmakers that includes Peter Bogdanovich, Monte Hellman, Sam Shepard, Wim Wenders, Barry Levinson, and Allison Anders.
The film reflects on the genre’s continuing popularity as well as on some cinematic masterworks such as “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Sullivan’s Travels,” “Thelma & Louise,” and others.
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This film delves into the lives of women who spend large amounts of money on life-like baby dolls.
F for Fake is the last major film completed by Orson Welles, who directed, co-wrote, and starred in the film. Initially released in 1974, it...
This film series gives us a unique insight into the tattoo styling of tattoo artist Grime. Grime gives us a little back-story on how he...
A controversial documentary that has never been aired to the public in fear it would paint executives in a negative light.
A short documentary film about a one-time graphic artist who started creating in Microsoft Paint when he lost his eyesight.
He's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound - but do Superman's...
Helvetica examines the stream of visual information we exposed to daily by mass media and how the typography that shapes these visual messages can affect...
Go inside the glittering world of the super-rich as art critic Alastair Sooke tracks down the ten most expensive paintings to sell at auction. The...
Sixteen French pastry chefs gathered in Lyon for three intense days of mixing, piping and sculpting everything from delicate chocolates to six-foot sugar sculptures in...
This film explores the art of documentary and the challenges of capturing reality on film.
A documentary about 4 year old Marla Olmstead from Binghamton, NY who became the sensation of the art world for her abstract artwork, that have...
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Items Robert E. Lee engineering notebook
Robert E. Lee engineering notebook
Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870
Image ID 57366167
Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870 (Creator)
Fortification -- New York (N.Y.) -- New York
Military engineering
Surveying -- New York (N.Y.) -- New York
United States. Army. Corps of Engineers
Biographical/historical: Robert Edward Lee (1807-1870) served as General of the Confederate Army in the U.S. Civil War and was president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia from 1865 to 1870.
Extent: .15 linear foot (1 v.)
Robert Edward Lee (1807-1870) served as General of the Confederate Army in the U.S. Civil War and was president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia from 1865 to 1870. Notebook was kept by Lee when he was an army engineer stationed at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York. Notebook consists of 53 leaves containing structural and technical sketches, mensural data, mathematical calculations, and architectural, engineering and surveying notes relating to Forts Hamilton, Morton, Richmond, Lafayette and Battery Hudson.
Archives collections id: archives_collections_1719
Photo Order: 58220
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 71fc0920-7560-0135-d072-07f451794ebc
1807: Creator Born
1870: Creator Died
Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "Robert E. Lee engineering notebook" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1841 - 1842. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/09ca9c50-9589-0135-f945-61daf7b4d4bb
Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "Robert E. Lee engineering notebook" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed July 18, 2019. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/09ca9c50-9589-0135-f945-61daf7b4d4bb
Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. (1841 - 1842). Robert E. Lee engineering notebook Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/09ca9c50-9589-0135-f945-61daf7b4d4bb
<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/09ca9c50-9589-0135-f945-61daf7b4d4bb | title= (text) Robert E. Lee engineering notebook, (1841 - 1842) }} |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=July 18, 2019 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lennox, and Tilden Foundation}}</ref>
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Items General View in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
General View in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Place: Detroit
Publisher: Detroit Publishing Company
Date Issued: 1913-1918, re- issued through 1930
Shelf locator: MFY 95-29
Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Rock formations -- Colorado
Content: 1913-1918, issued through 1930. Began the 'contract' issues, cards produced for museums and other organizations.
Offset photomechanical prints
RLIN/OCLC: NYPG95-F24
Postcard series number: DPC# 71153
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 6afb2270-c631-012f-23b1-58d385a7bc34
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "General View in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1898 - 1931. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-3f46-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "General View in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed July 18, 2019. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-3f46-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. (1898 - 1931). General View in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-3f46-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-3f46-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 | title= (still image) General View in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado, (1898 - 1931) }} |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=July 18, 2019 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lennox, and Tilden Foundation}}</ref>
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Home > LAW > Pace Law Faculty > 849
Pace Law Faculty Publications
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: The Search for Solutions That are Just Right
John R. Nolon, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace UniversityFollow
Tiffany Zezula, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace UniversityFollow
A federal False Claims Act action against Westchester County, New York launched a unique effort to explore whether zoning, subsidies, and advocacy could significantly Increase the percentage of minorities living in largely white communities. A Voluntary Cooperation Agreement entered into by Marin County, California raises a similar question. This article describes the legal background of the lawsuit brought against Westchester County, the Settlement Agreement that arose from it, and the attempt by Westchester County to carry out its obligations to affirmatively further fair housing. It traces the evolution of exclusionary zoning law in New York State courts, contrasts it to statutory approaches in New Jersey and Connecticut, and reviews the tepid efforts of the New York State legislature to tackle the problem of articulating the affordable housing obligations of local governments. The authors detail the progress made in Westchester County and explain their own initiative to use training, education, and technical assistance to further the efforts by communities to provide fair and affordable housing. The article also explains the significance of the implementation of the Settlement Agreement and that while Westchester County will probably meet most of the literal terms of the Settlement, the goal of achieving significant racial integration in largely white census tracts, and all the benefits of diversity that integration achieves, remains elusive. Finally, it considers what can be done at the state level to achieve integration goals, while still pursuing other state policies regarding smart growth, climate change mitigation, energy conservation, and housing equity in densely settled urban areas.
John R. Nolon & Tiffany Zezula, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: The Search for Solutions That are Just Right, Zoning & Plan. L. Rep., July 2012, at 1, http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawfaculty/849/.
Housing Law Commons, State and Local Government Law Commons
Pace Law School Faculty
Law Faculty Links
Pace Law Faculty Criminal Law Articles
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Jack Kirby to Be Named “Disney Legend” at D23 Expo
A month ahead of what would have been his 100th birthday, Disney and Marvel Entertainment will celebrate the career of Jack Kirby, with the announcement that he will be named a Disney Legend during July’s D23 Expo 2017 in Anaheim, California.
The recognition is an odd one; Kirby will be one of two initial Marvel honorees for the Disney award — Stan Lee being the other; both men will receive the award during the July 14 event, led by Disney CEO Bob Iger, with other honorees recognized being Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Oprah Winfrey, Julie Taylor and Garry Marshall, as well as Disney artists Manuel Gonzales and Clyde “Gerry” Geronimi — but, although he is doubtlessly a comic book legend, being responsible for the creation of much of the Marvel line, and a fair number of characters and concepts for other publishers, including DC, he’s not exactly a Disney legend.
In fact, beyond the fact that Kirby’s work for Marvel now belongs to Disney following the latter’s purchase of the comic company in 2009, Kirby’s connection to Disney amounts to little more than a comic strip adaptation of the studio’s 1979 sci-fi movie The Black Hole created for newspapers at the time of the movie’s release, facilitated by his regular collaborator Mike Royer, who at the time worked directly for Disney. His Marvel work — indeed, his entire comic book career ahead of his death in 1994 — predated any Disney connection by a number of decades.
The Disney recognition comes at a strange time for Kirby’s creative legacy within Marvel’s comic book line, as well; currently, many of the characters he created or co-created have been replaced with altered or updated versions, with some of the most iconic — the original Hulk, Iron Man and X-Men‘s Professor Xavier and Cyclops — left for dead as the result of recent storylines. His signature series at the company, Fantastic Four— the series that launched the Marvel universe as it exists today — hasn’t been published since 2015, and the character many fans most closely associate with him, Captain America, has been transformed into a fascist for the purposes of Marvel’s tentpole 2017 storyline.
It’s possible that Kirby, himself a restless innovator who preferred to come up with new ideas rather than rehash old glories, would approve of these changes. If nothing else, it should be noted that the relationship between the Kirby estate and Marvel is healthier now than it has been in some years, following the 2014 settlement of a long-running lawsuit over ownership of many Marvel characters Kirby had created or co-created for the company.
With Kirby’s 100th birthday approaching on Aug. 28, the Disney Legend award could be seen as a well-deserved tribute to the man who was instrumental in building the company that now rules the box office with movies like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Doctor Strange. (Neither based on Kirby characters, notably; this November’s Thor: Ragnarok sees a return to his contribution, however.) For others, though, the question of how deserved it is underscores the complicated relationship Marvel, and by extension, corporate parent Disney, have shared with Kirby.
From The Hollywood Reporter
Author RayPosted on June 17, 2017 June 17, 2017 Categories D23Tags D23, D23 Expo, Disney Legend, Disney Legends Awards Ceremony, Jack Kirby, Marvel
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Dallas Safari Club: It Aint just Dallas
Posted in American Outdoor News
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Dallas Safari Club’s North East Chapter Event at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville Connecticut. We were fortunate enough to speak to Kim Rappleye while attending the event. He is the Chapter Development Coordinator for Dallas Safari Club. Kim gives us some insight about the great work that Dallas Safari Club does for hunting and conservation and how they have expanded their reach not only in the the U.S but worldwide as well.
Chris: Can you tell me a little bit about Dallas Safari Club? How it came about and the growth?
Kim: Sure. DSC has been around now for over 40 years. They’re actually a break off from Safari Club International which started almost 50 years ago. DSC decided they want to be their own group and so they broke away from SCI, became their own group, started out with just a handful of guys that said we want to be our own group here in Dallas. Started from there over 40 years ago and now from that handful of members, they’ve got almost 6,000 members and a major convention, one of the largest hunting conventions in the world and the growth is going straight up.
Chris: I know it’s Dallas Safari Club but you’re not limited to Dallas?
Kim: That’s the name we’ve got, that’s where it came from was Dallas obviously, that’s our roots and we’re very proud of that, but Dallas Safari Club is actually an international organization. We have members from all of the states in the United States, Canada, South America, all over the world. They all support the mission of DSC and a mission of conservation, education, and protecting hunter’s rights which we’re very passionate about.
Chris: Now, you’re growing. How many chapters of Dallas Safari Club are there?
Kim: Well, that’s pretty interesting. They started out with no chapters. They went for the majority of their existence with none and a little over three and a half years ago, they decided they wanted to have chapters and spread their reach and their footprint throughout North America to start with. Currently now after three and a half years of doing that, we have 11 chapters and growing.
Chris: That’s fantastic. We are here in Connecticut, the Northeast chapter and this covers from New York to Maine, right?
Kim: Correct. Yeah, they take in the entire Northeast area here. There’s almost 300 members up here and growing, and they put on an annual banquet every year to raise money so that they can complete the mission that they come up with the support as a chapter.
Chris: What can we expect from Dallas Safari Club this year? I know your convention in Dallas was a tremendous success this year and I know next year they’re looking to do even better.
Kim: Yeah, we always do, that’s always the thing is what can you do for me this year that you didn’t do last year and the conventions actually been sold out vendor-wise. We tried to keep it at around 1,100 vendors which is a lot and they don’t want to get a whole lot bigger than that, although there’s about 300 or 400 on the waiting list wanting to come in and be a part of the show. So they’re trying to keep it about this area, this size and so we’ll see. I mean, there’s so much pressure though that increase. My guess is we’ll start growing a little bit from this, but they raised a lot of money, our entire year’s budget is raised in four days, so it’s a tremendous show.
Chris: And it’s non-for-profit, so everything that’s raised pretty much goes towards conservation.
Kim: It really does. I mean, we have the 501C4 aspect of it which is the protecting of the hunter’s rights. So we can actually do some lobbying, we have a lobbyist that we hire full-time that’s on the hill and helps us with those types of issues. But then, the rest of the money goes to conservation and education, really putting animals back on the ground, helping the habitat flourish, and really the conservation and education of hunting and hunting all around the world.
Chris: Right. I’m happy to be here at this chapter event. And if there’s anything that we can do to assist you, just feel free to ask.
Kim: Well, thank you. We’re happy you’re here and hope you have a good time, that this chapter will have a great event tonight. And just like our National Convention only on a smaller scale, they’ll use this night to raise funds so that they can complete the mission that they’ve set forth. It’s important to them. They’ll spend that money locally which is totally different than any of the organization. The chapters are allowed to keep the money that they raised and spend it here locally. So that’s a big deal and they they’ve got some very cool project that they support. And they wouldn’t actually happen without their support so it makes a big difference.
For More Information about Dallas Safari Club Go to their website www.biggame.org
Source: Dallas Safari Club: It Aint just Dallas
The views expressed by the editors, authors or users of this linked article are expressly theirs, and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of Dallas Safari Club, its employees, members or assigns. Any concerns about a site user’s post should be addressed appropriately to that person. Any concerns about an advertiser, a user or any content on this site should be addressed to social@dscnortheast.org
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Carbon pricing competitiveness concerns can be addressed through thoughtful policy design, says Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission
OTTAWA. November 18, 2015 — Less than 5 per cent of Canada’s economy is likely to experience significant competitive pressures from differences in jurisdictional carbon prices, according to a new paper released today by Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission in advance of the Paris climate talks.
“For 95 per cent of the Canadian economy, business competitiveness would be largely unaffected,” says commission chair Chris Ragan, an associate professor of economics at McGill University and former Special Advisor to the Governor of the Bank of Canada.
Nevertheless, while the scope is small, those industries that do face competitive challenges need targeted, transparent, and temporary support measures to ensure policy is effective from both an economic and environmental perspective, he adds.
“The few vulnerable sectors are responsible for roughly 40 per cent of Canada’s overall greenhouse gas emissions,” says Ragan. “If they shrink or relocate their activities as a consequence of paying a higher carbon price, our provinces risk economic loss with no overall environmental gain, so we must address these concerns effectively.”
The paper, titled Provincial Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness Pressures, will be followed by a more comprehensive study the Commission is scheduled to release in the first quarter of next year, and is designed to help provinces move ahead with carbon pricing policies.
“We know carbon pricing is an effective way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Still, we are a long way from a global price on carbon, which means different prices in different jurisdictions.” Provinces can move forward with confidence, Ragan says, understanding that the scope of the competitiveness challenge is small and can be addressed with smart policy.
“We know that uneven carbon prices raise concerns about competitiveness,” says Ragan. “Our paper sheds light on how governments and industries can objectively determine which industries will face genuine competitiveness pressures and how policy design can address those concerns head-on. ”
These are important questions for provinces like Alberta and Ontario, which are currently designing new climate policies, and are relevant to provinces reviewing and considering additional or new policies. The short, data-driven paper maps the carbon competitiveness “landscape” across Canada and specifically in Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.
Established in November 2014, Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission is a unique effort to advance fiscal policy reform for the benefit of Canada’s economy and environment. The commission comprises a dozen prominent economists from across Canada’s regions and 18 advisors including former political leaders and leaders from the business sector.
Over the next four years, the commission will publish and promote discussion of research and recommendations grounded in Canada’s unique and regionally diverse economic and policy context. It will focus on issues most relevant to Canadians and policy-makers including those affecting fresh water, air quality, environmental disasters, greenhouse gas emissions, transportation and road congestion.
The Commission termed these ecofiscal policies — a new word to facilitate a new conversation about solutions guided by both economic and environmental objectives. The Commission is funded by several Canadian family foundations and Canadian corporations.
For more information about the Commission and to view its reports visit: www.ecofiscal.ca
Jessie Sitnick: 416.859.8250
jsitnick@ecofiscal.ca
Jennifer Wesanko: 604.347.5988
jkwcommunications@gmail.com
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When Scottish immigrant John Gillespie established his homestead in Sarasota in 1886, he brought his passion for the emerging game of golf with him, and constructed a practice course consisting of two greens and one long fairway behind his home. This two-hole golf “course” became the origin of golfing in Florida and one of the first recorded in the nation.
Today, Florida's golf history is recognized as one of the earliest in the nation. Its growth dates back to the 1890s, when a number of courses were created for resorts along the railroad lines built by Henry Flagler on the east coast, and on the west coast by Henry Plant. The construction of Florida’s early golf courses and resorts continued through the “golden age” of golf course architecture that lasted from the 1900s through the 1930s.
The 76-page trail publication includes historical information on the more than 50 partner courses and identifies other historic public and private golf courses across the state. It also includes a background essay on the history of golf in Florida, a timeline of events, and sidebars on individuals important to the development of golf in Florida. Copies of the booklet are available to public libraries, educators, students and interested citizens throughout the state. Information about the history and current day contact information for each partner course can be found at FloridaHistoricGolfTrail.com.
Find the historic course near you and Come Play on History!
The Florida Historic Golf Trail publication was produced by the Florida Association of Museums, with historic preservation grant support provided by the Florida Department of State's Division of Historical Resources, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission. For more information about the Florida Association of Museums, visit Flamuseums.org.
Published by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources.
ISBN #978-0-942289-9-3
Read the Florida Historic Golf Trail guide online.
Download the Florida Historic Golf Trail (.pdf)
Read more about the history of golf in Florida using this bibliography , accessible through the State Library and Archives of Florida.
Discover other Florida Heritage Publications
Black Heritage Trail
British Heritage Trail
Civil War Heritage Trail
Cuban Heritage Trail
French Heritage Trail
Jewish Heritage Trail
Native American Heritage Trail
Seminole Wars Heritage Trail
Spanish Colonial Heritage Trail
Women's Heritage Trail
World War II Heritage Trail
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Peter Gatrell – Russia’s First World War
April 10, 2012 / douglasibell
Peter Gatrell’s book Russia’s First World War explores the social and economic developments that occurred in Russia during the First World War. This short overview of the war and its affects within Russia is a synthesis that combines the existing research along with selected archival documents. In examining the economic and social aspects of Russia, he explicitly focuses on “poverty, policy options and choices, and social faultlines” as “the threads that connect the narrative.” (3) Organized into a combination of chronological and thematic chapters from the outbreak of war to the summer of 1918, Gatrell explores several topics including mobilization, financing the war, food supplies, and the collapse of the tsarist regime. Yet, as one might expect from the author of studies on refugees in Russia during WWI, the tsarist economy, and the rearmament of Russia prior to the Great War, this study places significant emphasis on refugees and economics and shows how these issues played a significant role in the collapse of tsarist Russia.
During the initial chapters, Gatrell examines how mobilization and war in general created great disruption throughout Russia. The government implemented conscription without taking into account men’s professions thus famers and factory workers were drafted indiscriminately leaving holes in armaments and agricultural production which led to shortages in both munitions and foodstuffs. In order to replace factory workers, Russian industry attracted women and unskilled migrants in the workforce resulting in massive migrations from the country to the city. On the frontlines, war and military defeat dislocated thousands who travelled eastward to find food and shelter. These refugees interacted with civilians realizing that they all shared the common experiences of outrage and senseless sacrifice. Furthermore, as Gatrell contends, the rallying of Russian patriotism, the deportation of ethnic Germans, and the Kazakh’s revolt in 1916 created an economic nationalism which resulted in attacks on ethnic groups and led ethnicities within the empire to recognize their otherness and need for solidarity.
Not only did the regime receive criticism for the displacement caused by the war but also, as Gatrell stresses, it failed to implement policies to alleviate its own problems. The tsarist state chose not to introduce a nationwide rationing system fearing a lack of public support and chose not to create a nationwide economic policy at the war’s outset fearing this would give the educated elite a platform to intervene in the decision making process. The failure to create a nationwide economic policy led to bottlenecks and poor material quality as the indiscriminate conscription policy created an unskilled workforce. Moreover, to pay for the war, the Russian government borrowed significantly from France and Britain and printed money which resulted in inflation. These economic and social problems were sharpened by the war leading to social conflict and the February and October Revolutions but, while the Bolsheviks ended the war, they did not bring peace as their program remained a set of proposals without details. Instead, suggests Gatrell, they adopted the economic apparatus of the old regime in order to implement their social transformation, they sustained the idea of government intervention, and they continued to utilize the military language of the tsarist state. Most importantly, the Bolsheviks obliterated the memory of the Great War and instead emphasized the memory and experience of the Revolution and Civil War.
While the author demonstrates many of the social and economic aspects that affected Russia during the First World War he fails to discuss the political options available to decision makers and why they made certain choices. For example, it is only noted that they chose not create a nationwide rationing system for food but there is no summary of the debates for this decision only that occurred and that it contributed to the famine of 1916. By ignoring the debates and why decisions were made, Gatrell fails to fulfill one of his stated objectives – “policy options and choices.” Moreover, military leaders’ decisions are also ignored by the author. While the military is not the focus of his study, the war and military decisions must have affected the economic and social fabric of Russia life and by overlooking these problems the author fails to address the root of many of the Russia’s social and economic problems.
In a final concluding chapter, the Gatrell takes a more scholarly approach and compares Russia’s wartime experience with other European nations to suggest that Russia’s experience was not that distinctive. To make his case, Gatrell point out that armaments and manpower shortages plagued all nations, that military leaders were also influential in many nations, that industrialization advanced throughout Europe, that the private sector mobilized for arms production, and that other nations faced revolutionary and class upheavals. For Gatrell, the Russian experience was unique because it was the only nation to face a large population displacement and because the tsarist regime failed to unite the war effort with social reforms to secure political accommodation. However, while accurate, his analysis is problematic. In comparing the Russian experience with other European nations, Gatrell picks and chooses events from several European states to compare with the singular Russian state. For revolutionary upheavals, food shortages, and significant military influence on policy makers, he singles out Germany; for accumulating loans to pay for the war, he looks at France and Great Britain agreements with the United States; and for dealing with multiethnic populations, he focuses on Austria-Hungary. Thus, instead of showing that Russia’s experience was similar to other European states, the author shows that while some countries faced several of these issues, only Russia faced all of them within in three to four years emphasizing Russia’s unique experience.
First World War, Peter Gatrell, Russia, War
Armaments, Bolsheviks, Economy, Russian Revolution, Society
← Antiwarriors – Melvin Small
FL Carsten – The Rise of Fascism →
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Kate Davis (London)
Kate Davis (b. 1960, Chesham) lives and works in London. Davis studied at Hertfordshire College of Art and Design, Falmouth School of Art and the Slade, London for her MA and then went on to be the first female Stanley Picker Sculpture Fellow at Kingston University. In 2007 Davis was artist in residence at The Wordsworth Trust and in 2011 completed a DLR commission with Modus Operandi to site three permanent works at Langdon Park Station. Her work addresses issues of the heart , mortality and desire. She has received numerous awards including the Sydney Water Sculpture prize, the first Jerwood drawing prize, the Sargant fellowship at the British school of Rome, the Stanley picker fellowship at Kingston and the Young Artist of the Year award at the Whitechapel Gallery, London. Kate Davis is a tutor in sculpture and fellow at The Royal College of Art. and is currently working on the Light and Water commission at Riverlight, a St Jame’s development in London with the Scottish artist David Moore and Futurecity. Her work is in various collections here and abroad including, The British Museum Drawing Collection, British Land, The Cranford Collection, Mima, and The International Collage Center, New York. A sculpture relating to the drawing What? 2013 can be seen in the exhibition North South Divine at Platform A , Middlesbrough (17th May-20th June).
18 April – 15 May 2013 Drawing Biennial 2013
7 April – 18 May 2011 Drawing Biennial 2011
6 – 14 May 2005 Drawing Two Hundred - Biennial Fundraiser
Video: A Slice through the World - curators’ and artists’ view
Exhibition Guides: Drawing Biennial 2013
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John Basilone: The Marine Hero of Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima
Basilone's contributions to two of World War II's major battles left a larger-than-life legacy.
By Robert Walsh
For an ordinary man, ‘Manila John’ did extraordinary things. Despite a short life, Basilone accomplished great acts of heroism and patriotism. Born on November 4, 1916 in Buffalo, New York and raised in Raritan, New Jersey, Basilone would go on to become the first U.S. Marine of enlisted rank to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War II. He was also the only enlisted Marine to earn the Navy Cross posthumously.
Basilone enlisted in the U.S. Army just before his 18th birthday in 1934. He was sent to the Philippines as an infantryman from 1934 to 1937. While in the (at the time) U.S. colony, Basilone became a champion boxer and fell in love with the style of life there. Three years after his return to the United States, Basilone enlisted in the Marines, thinking he would be more likely to return to the Philippines in that service. His Marine service did take him to the Far East, but, sadly, he never saw his beloved Manila again.
Related: The Guadalcanal Battle: An Eyewitness Account of One of the Most Pivotal Offensives of World War II
After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. joined the fight against Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and Fascist Italy. America’s late entry into WWII has drawn criticism, but there was no doubt that once America joined, it came with full force. Basilone’s unit (1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division) soon found themselves in the thick of the fighting defending the island of Guadalcanal. Guadalcanal was where this ordinary man’s extraordinary courage first showed itself.
Guadalcanal was as rough a posting as any soldier could want. Situated well within Japan’s emerging empire, it was vital to the Americans–and the Japanese wanted them out. Allied forces had captured an airstrip at Henderson Field, which allowed Allied aircraft to strike Japanese forces. In response, the Japanese naval force known as the Tokyo Express regularly bombarded the airfield and American positions. The fight for Guadalcanal was long and bloody, and Basilone was smack in the middle of it.
John Basilone awarded the Medal of Honor 1943
During October 24 and 25 in 1942, the Marines faced a frontal assault from over 3,000 Japanese troops of the Sendai Division. The Japanese, probably World War II’s best jungle fighters, attacked in typical Samurai fashion. The troops regarded death in battle as something to aspire to, not fear. Commanding two machine gun sections, Basilone readily obliged their aspirations. The citation for his Congressional Medal of Honor described his efforts in the battle.
“In a fierce frontal attack with the Japanese blasting his guns with grenades and mortar fire, one of Sgt. Basilone’s sections, with its guncrews, was put out of action, leaving only two men able to carry on. Moving an extra gun into position, he placed it in action, then, under continual fire, repaired another and personally manned it, gallantly holding his line until replacements arrived.”
A brave effort indeed, but ‘Manila John’ wasn’t finished yet. His citation continues:
“A little later, with ammunition critically low and the supply lines cut off, Sgt. Basilone, at great risk of his life and in the face of continued enemy attack, battled his way through enemy lines with urgently needed shells for his gunners, thereby contributing in large measure to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment.”
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Thirty-eight bodies were left around the gun that Basilone had personally manned. His mission to collect ammunition for his gunners saw him fighting through Japanese lines on foot both ways, using a pistol. Not surprisingly, his commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis ‘Chesty’ Fuller, recommended Basilone receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. It was well deserved.
The newly-promoted Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, CMH, USMC, was sent home for publicity tours. But Basilone wasn’t happy. Like many soldiers, Basilone disliked celebrity and hero-worship. Within months, he requested re-assignment to the Pacific. The Corps refused, offering a commission and a safe posting stateside.
Related: Léo Major: The "One-Eyed Ghost" Who Single-Handedly Liberated a Dutch Town
His national war bond tour had earned him ticker-tape parades, newsreel coverage, and a spot in Life magazine, but he wanted to be in the front line with his fellow Marines. He reportedly said, “I’m just a plain soldier and want to stay one. I ain’t no officer and I ain’t no museum piece. I belong back with my outfit.”
Eventually, the Corps relented. Basilone went to Camp Pendleton to train for combat in the Pacific. There he met his wife, fellow Marine Sergeant Lena Mae Riggi, who became Mrs. Basilone in July 1944. In December, Basilone returned to the Pacific, headed for Iwo Jima. He never saw his wife again.
Basilone, right, wearing his Medal of Honor.
Iwo Jima was a bloodbath. Over 20,000 Japanese troops defended it: Only about 200 of them are known to have survived. The Marine Corps suffered nearly 26,000 casualties, of whom nearly 7,000 were killed in action. On the first day of the invasion, Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, CMH, USMC became one of the fatal casualties.
Attacking the Japanese-held Airfield One on February 19, 1945, Basilone was killed. By then he’d already risked his life pushing two bogged-down Sherman tanks out of the mud, and had killed numerous Japanese soldiers. According to his Navy Cross citation:
‘In the forefront of the assault at all times, [Basilone] pushed forward with dauntless courage and iron determination until, moving upon the edge of the airfield, he fell, instantly killed by a bursting mortar shell.’
He was 28 years old. Basilone’s actions just before his death would posthumously earn him a Navy Cross and Purple Heart. Basilone was the only Marine who was awarded these three major citations (Navy Cross, Purple Heart, and Medal of Honor) during World War II.
Related: War Bonds: True Stories of Love and Marriage During World War II
Basilone’s wife, Lena Mae, never remarried. She died 55 years after her husband, in 1999, and was buried wearing her wedding ring. Aside from numerous decorations, Basilone received other honors for his bravery. The U.S. Navy named a destroyer after him in 1945, which Lena Mae christened. Another USS John Basilone is scheduled for commission in 2019. He also appeared in the ‘Distinguished Marines’ postage stamp series and was a central character in the HBO series The Pacific.
The U.S. Marine Corps still consider him a soldier’s soldier, a Marine’s Marine. He lies beside many of America’s heroes in Arlington National Cemetery. You can find Basilone’s grave in section 12, Grave 384.
Featured photo: Alchetron
world war IImilitary history
Published on 28 Feb 2019
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Growing numbers of Druze refuse to serve in Israel’s army
Patrick O. Strickland The Electronic Intifada Ramallah 20 March 2013
Samer al-Sakleh is a Palestinian Druze who has refused to serve in the Israeli army. (Photo courtesy of Samer al-Sakleh)
The number of refuseniks is growing within the Druze religious minority in Israel, according to Samer Asakli, a 20-year-old who has refused to serve in the Israeli army.
“Around 70 percent of the Druze men in my village go to the army,” said Asakli, who hails from Meghar, a village in the Galilee. Yet he is hoping that his protest and that of other Druze will encourage more young people to become conscientious objectors.
Meghar is also home to Omar Saad, a Druze musician who received international attention last year for his decision not to undertake military service.
Like Saad, Asakli grew up in a household that rejected the notion of unshakeable Druze loyalty to a state that systematically discriminates against Palestinians. “I come from a communist family. My father studied in the Soviet Union, and we were raised in a leftist environment that rejects militarism like Israel’s,” Asakli told The Electronic Intifada. His father spent four months in an Israeli jail for refusing to serve in the army.
“I consider myself Palestinian. I am Palestinian, of course, and I am part of Palestinian culture, society and civilization, and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip are part of my people. I will not serve in a military that continuously kills them.”
“We identify as Palestinians”
Unlike many young Druze conscientious objectors, Asakli was not imprisoned. Rather, he purposely failed a mandatory recruitment test and the state afforded him an exemption on the assumption that he was mentally unfit for military service. “I pretended that I was crazy, in other words, but I did it for moral and political reasons,” he explained.
Mandatory military service for Druze men is the result of a 1956 agreement in which the community’s leaders sought to improve conditions for the tiny minority and the Israeli government sought to control Palestinians by manufacturing strife within different sections of the Palestinian minority in present-day Israel. There have always been objectors, however, who have seen it as a one-sided deal that costs more than it pays.
“For the most part, we face all the same economic and political barriers as the rest of the Palestinian minority in Israel,” Asakli said. “We are mostly poor, and our villages, often shared with Christian and Muslim Palestinians, lack sufficient infrastructure” as a result of the government’s unwillingness to invest in non-Jewish areas.
The state has subjected Druze refuseniks to harsh punishment. Nonetheless, “a growing number of us understand that we identify as Palestinians — more than five or ten years ago, for sure,” said Asakli.
This perception is shared by Samer Swaid from the Druze Initiative Committee. Established in 1978, that committee became “a home for youngsters who regretted the historical pact made with the Jewish state and in particular the obligation to join the compulsory service in the military,” the historian Ilan Pappe wrote in his book The Forgotten Palestinians: A History of the Palestinians in Israel (165).
Jail sentences
Swaid referred to a 2010 study conducted by Haifa University, which found that more than two-thirds of the Druze minority would not serve in the military if it wasn’t compulsory. “Druze refusers have been given prison terms double and more than those of other refusers,” he said.
Despite the marked increase in abstainers, many choose not to define themselves as refuseniks or to publicize their case, fearing repercussions.
“At any given moment, there are between three and five Druze refusers in prison … the vast majority [of Druze who do not serve] do not want to define themselves as refusers and don’t want to be part of public campaigns,” Swaid said. “This is due to the fact that they are a minority group, and most people think it will hurt their family and they’ll be targeted by the establishment and punished. Right now we know of at least four guys in prison.”
In Buqeia, a northern Galilee village with a 70 percent Druze majority, “the young men … spent a total of 540 years in military prison over the years,” said Swaid.
In June 2012, Omro Nafa (son of a Druze former member of Israel’s parliament Said Nafa) was imprisoned for a third time for not serving in the military (“For the third time, son of Arab MK imprisoned for refusing military service,” International Middle East Media Center, 14 June 2012).
A recent poll conducted by Mada al-Carmel Arab Center for Applied Social Research found that 71.5 percent of Palestinian citizens of Israel between 16 and 22 years of age reject national service “because it is a way to legitimize discrimination and inequality,” (“71.5 % of young Israeli Arabs oppose national service,” Haaretz, 12 February).
Few opportunities
Sahar Vardi from New Profile, an Israeli group opposed to militarization, said that the Druze and other Palestinians in Israel face “discrimination in all aspects of life: housing, budgets, land confiscations, and so on. That’s why less of the youth join the army now, and those who do simply do it as a career opportunity because there is nothing like employment equality outside [the army].”
In recent years, more organizations have sprung up to support conscientious objectors. Baladna, an organization that works on behalf of the Palestinian minority in Israel, has formed a Druze youth wing that works on military service as well as other issues.
February’s Knesset elections in Israel preserved a belligerent administration led by Benjamin Netanyahu, now backed by an even greater number of zealous politicians who regularly spout racist rhetoric and promote policies of forced population control to preserve a Jewish majority. In this political climate, more and more Druze Palestinians will question their role in a state that cynically considers them partial citizens at best.
As Asakli said, “I am against the idea of an ethnic or religious state that comes at the expense of others — whether it be exclusively Jewish, Christian, Islamic or Druze.”
Patrick O. Strickland is a freelance journalist whose writing has been published by Al-Akhbar English, SocialistWorker.org, Fair Observer, Palestine Monitor, CounterPunch and elsewhere. He is the former Israel-Palestine editor of BikyaNews.com. Find him on Twitter: @_pstrickland_.
refuseniks
Omar Saad
Samer Swaid
Druze Initiative Committee
Buqeia
Omro Nafa
Said Nafa
Baladna
Samer Asakli
conscientious objection
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Patrick O. Strickland 25 August 2015
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Patrick O. Strickland 3 June 2015
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Budour Youssef Hassan 30 October 2012
Don't let Israeli army brainwash you, warns powerful short film - watch
Maureen Clare Murphy 9 June 2014
Rights groups call on Israel to free Druze army refuser
Maureen Clare Murphy 14 May 2014
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Ties With Pakistan Set to Expand
Iran and Pakistan have always enjoyed robust political and economic ties, and considering Iran’s landmark nuclear deal with the P5+1, which will see the lifting of western sanctions, and the recent talks between the two countries’ political and economical officials, this relationship is set to rise to a new level.
The new era of Iran-Pakistan ties was marked by Pakistan’s President Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Tehran on May 11 to discuss bilateral trade and business facilitation, ISNA reported.
On August 14, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Islamabad to explore avenues for greater economic and security cooperation in the region. Zarif discussed the completion of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, also known as the Peace Pipeline—a $1.5 billion deal which was in limbo since 2013 as a result of western sanctions on Iran—and the establishment of an electricity transmission line. Both projects are aimed at alleviating Pakistan’s crippling shortages in energy.
Furthermore, the head of Pakistan’s Customs Administration, Saeed Khan Jadoon, accompanied by a trade delegation visited Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan Province on August 19, and announced that Pakistan seeks to increase annual trade with Iran from last year’s $1 billion to $5 billion.
Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi Shirazi, an economic expert, pointed to Iran-Pakistan trade potential, especially following the lifting of sanctions.
“The Pakistanis can greatly benefit by gaining access to Chabahar Port and Iran can also use Pakistan’s ports for expanding its products to new markets,” he said.
Shirazi added that Iran is able to meet Pakistan’s demand in energy and other sectors through exports.
Pakistani Minister to Visit for FTA Talks
Tehran, Islamabad Agree to Expand Port Cooperation
TCCIMA Hosts Pakistan’s Business Mission
Iran-Pakistan Trade on the Decline
2 New Border Crossings on Iran-Pakistan Border
Iran, Pakistan to Finalize Free Trade Deal by November
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HomePosts tagged 'Regulation'
The Credibility Gap Between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton
February 1, 2016 February 1, 2016 stevenmsinger Bernie Sanders, Credibility, Democrat, Education, Election, Hillary Clinton, New York, Obama, Politics, President, School Funding, Unions, voting #FeelTheBern, Bernie Sanders, Campaign finance, Contributions, corporate, Credibility, Donations, Election, election 2016, Healthcare, Hillary Clinton, Iowa, Mass Incarceration, Politics, President, Primary, Prisons, Regulation, Wall Street
I Believe Bernie Sanders. I Don’t Believe Hillary Clinton.
Really. It’s that simple.
These two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency both have things going for them. But at the end of the day one of them is much more credible than the other.
They’re both career politicians.
Sanders has been a Vermont Senator for nine years, a U.S. Representative for 16 years, and Mayor of Burlington for eight years.
Clinton was Secretary of State for four years, a New York Senator for eight years, and – most famously – First Lady of the United States for eight years and of Arkansas for 11 years.
But when they speak, only Sanders seems genuine.
I know that’s a personal value judgement. Maybe it doesn’t hit you the same way.
I just don’t know how it could hit you differently.
For instance, both candidates say they’re going to keep the banking industry in check and stop the risky practices that crashed the economy under President George W. Bush. However, that same industry is Clinton’s main financial supporter while Sanders has almost nothing to do with them.
Look at the facts.
Clinton admittedly accepts a massive amount of donations from Wall Street – $824,000 from Citigroup, $760,000 from Goldman Sachs, $696,000 from JP Morgan Chase, $636,000 from Morgan Stanley and the list goes on and on. More than 760 of Clinton’s over all donors list their occupation as CEO or another form of chief executive, according to CNBC.
Meanwhile, Sanders has accepted almost nothing from Wall Street, doesn’t have a super PAC and still raises nearly as much money in donations as Clinton. Small individual contributions make up 70% of his campaign cash. His biggest contributors are from retirees, unions and progressive political organizations – $105,000 from Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union, $93,000 from the Teamsters union, $89,000 from the National Education Association.
So when Sanders says he’s going to break up the big banks and regulate Wall Street, I believe him. Apparently, they do, too, since they aren’t giving him any money.
But when Clinton says she’s going to hold Wall Street accountable, too, it’s just laughable. Why else would they be giving her all this money? Are they paying her to get tough on THEMSELVES!? As Sanders supporter Dr. Cornell West puts it, “I was born at night but not last night.”
The same thing goes for healthcare.
Both candidates say they want to reform the system to make it more affordable and fair. However, Sanders supports a single payer Medicare for all system, while Clinton supports tweaking the existing Obamacare system.
Two decades ago, Clinton agreed with Sanders. Now she receives $13.2 million in donations from the medical and insurance industry – $11.2 million when she was a Senator and $2 million since she began her presidential campaign. From 2013-2015 she received more than $2.8 million in speaking fees alone from the industry.
It’s funny how all that cash coincided with a change in her healthcare policy. She just said recently that single payer will “never, ever” happen.
By contrast, Sanders doesn’t receive sizable donations from the industry at all. Though he voted for Obamacare, he made it clear he thought it was a first step toward the better system he still supports.
So I suppose both are credible in this regard, but Sanders seems to be holding his position more because of conviction than monetary gain. Moreover, how much tweaking of the current system would Clinton really support while still in the pay of the healthcare industry?
However, it’s not all about campaign contributions.
Sanders positions have been fairly rock solid throughout his long career. Clinton’s have changed.
Look at mass incarceration – a huge problem in the United States. We have more than 2 million people incarcerated, many for low level infractions, boosting a for-profit prison industry. By contrast, China – with four times our population – only locks up 1.6 million of its citizens. The US has only 4 percent of the world population but locks away nearly a quarter of the world prison population. Thirty Seven states have higher incarceration rates than most nations, large or small.
When she was First Lady, Clinton supported her husband’s tough on crime legislation. “We need more prisons,” she said in 1994, “to keep violent offenders for as long as it takes to keep them off the streets.” Now that the devastating results of that policy have become clear, Clinton has changed her tune. “We must end the era of mass incarceration,” she said in October of 2015.
That’s quite a switch, and its fairly new. The last time she ran for president, she criticized her rival Barack Obama for being soft on crime and not committing to opening more prisons. Now on the campaign trail she tries to convince us she hates mass incarceration MORE than Obama. In 8 years, she went from a prison booster and belittling Obama for not loving prisons to a prison skeptic.
Did she just evolve on this issue? Has she finally come around to seeing things the right way? Or is she pandering to what she thinks voters want to hear?
Sanders, on the other hand, has been against mass incarceration for most of his career. He’s been speaking about the dangers of ballooning prison populations for more than a decade. As far back as 1994, he said, “Mr. Speaker, all the jails in the world, and we already imprison more people per capita than any other country, and all the executions in the world, will not make that situation right. We can create meaningful jobs, rebuilding our society, or we can build more jails.” Compare that with his statement from July of 2015: “The result of kids not being in school and kids not having jobs is that tragically, today, we in this country have more people in jail than any other country on Earth.”
This issue has become a popular rallying cry recently receiving support from people across the political spectrum. But Sanders was championing it when no one else was paying attention. Clinton has suddenly seen the light.
But it’s not even just past policy decisions.
Clinton is guarded and only seems to make statements that will get her political points. Sanders says things that are sure to loose him votes but that he apparently believes.
For instance, he recently came out in favor of the federal government being largely responsible for public school funding. As a nation, we have drastic monetary and resource inequalities in our nations schools, but no one else is talking about ways to fix it. The trend has been to cut funding. Yet Sanders is willing to put forward a common sense solution the rest of the world has proven works. It’s not bound to get him many votes, though, even from some education advocates afraid of recent federal overreaches in school policy.
Another example is religion. No presidential candidate in recent memory – perhaps ever – has openly admitted to being irreligious. Both Democrats and Republicans usually fall all over themselves to prove how pious they are in their everyday lives. Clinton, for instance, responded during this election cycle that her favorite book is the Bible. Conversely, Sanders admitted he is not a part of any organized religion, though he considers himself Jewish.
That might not get him many votes. But it is refreshingly honest. There is no reason to say something like that unless it were true.
Moreover, Sanders seems like more of genuine person than Clinton. In 1987 when he was Mayor of Burlington, Sanders recorded a folk album. Yes, folk music! It’s called “We Shall Overcome.” The late night shows have been playing it and getting laughs at his expense, but when they bring it up to Sanders, he just laughs and admits that he wasn’t much of a singer.
Can you imagine anything like that from Clinton? Sure, Bill played the saxophone, but Hillary? There is nothing so personal that has leaked to the public. Moreover, the folk song lyrics that Sanders sings are in-line with his political ideology.
Heck! The very fact that Hillary is famous for getting a $600 haircut while Sanders often lets his grey locks fly whichever way they want! It seems like Clinton is trying too hard to convince us, while Sanders is kind of like – here I am, this is me, what you see is what you get.
Ultimately questions of credibility are very personal. People will feel differently. However, looking at the facts, I find it impossible to believe Clinton’s rhetoric and impossible not to believe a good deal of Sanders’. We’ll see how voters feel as the primary elections begin today.
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Ballincx, Cornelis (17th century)
Revision as of 03:36, 20 November 2014 by RichardThiessen (talk | contribs) (Added category.)
A checked version of this page, approved on 20 November 2014, was based on this revision.
Cornelis Ballincx (Balling, Baílings, Ballinghsz), a weaver at Rotterdam, Holland, at first a member of the Waterlander Mennonites, then a member and elder of the High German Mennonites, finally joining the Flemish church of Rotterdam, where he was an elder 1639-1644. In 1644 he moved to Haarlem, where he also was an elder, at least until 1648. He was a very quarrelsome man, who was opposed by leaders like Eduard Nabels and Hans de Ries. During his High German period he was an influential man; he was the first after Jan Cents to sign the Jan Cents confession of 1630.
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1907): 169.
Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam, 2 vols. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: v. II, 2203 f.; v. II, 2, 359-367, 428.
Vos, Karel. Geschiedenis der Doopsgezind Gemeente te Rotterdam. Reprinted 1907: 4, 13, 42.
Nanne van der Zijpp
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Ballincx, Cornelis (17th century)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 18 Jul 2019. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ballincx,_Cornelis_(17th_century)&oldid=127105.
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1959). Ballincx, Cornelis (17th century). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 July 2019, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ballincx,_Cornelis_(17th_century)&oldid=127105.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1062. All rights reserved.
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Hopeless? Or one last chance?
Opinions elicited by Richmond staff from a City-hired lawyer and by Canada Lands from a federal Treasury Board bureaucrat illustrate how the Garden City lands issue is in a mega-mess.
Disappearing contingency rights
If you have time to download 2 MB of PDF file, have a look at the agenda for the Sept. 17, 2007, 4 p.m. special meeting of Richmond Council. The 43 pages are too much to analyze here, so let’s focus on page 5, part of the lawyer’s opinion, which seems to have been provided to be helpful when an outside opinion would have taken too long. It alludes to Section 4.6(c) in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale:
Nothing contained in this Agreement will invalidate the provisions of Sections 1(22), 1(23) or 2(1) of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding, the initial Garden City lands agreement], which will continue to be binding upon the parties to the MOU, including the parties to this Agreement.
Those sections in the MOU, under the headings “Contingencies” and “Dispute Resolution,” are obviously designed to resolve anything that goes wrong with core aspects of the agreement. Get a quick sense of the entirety of 1(22) first. (Note: In this blog, square brackets [like these] are used around words that are added to quotations for clarity.)
In the event that the City does not:
a) recommend that the Joint Venture Lands [Musqueam-CLC lands] be removed from the ALR;
b) approve a rezoning for the Joint Venture Lands that is consistent with this MOU;
c) approve FAR that is greater than 2.0 on the Development Lands; or
d) approve an OCP amendment that will apply to the Joint Venture Lands that is consistent with the understandings set out in this MOU;
Musqueam CLC and the City will meet to discuss the renegotiations of the understandings, arrangements or agreements between them with respect to the Garden City Property in order to give effect to the spirit of this MOU, to the extent possible, in the changed circumstances. If Musqueam and CLC are not satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations, Musqueam and CLC will have the option of terminating this MOU and, as appropriate, the JVA [joint venture]. However, before any of the understandings in this MOU are terminated, the Parties will utilize the dispute resolution process described below. If any misunderstandings in this MOU are terminated, all costs incurred to that stage of the process will be equitably shared by the Parties where applicable, and in accordance with Attachment 1, and the Parties will cooperate in making whatever arrangements are necessary to restore each Party to the position it was in prior to entering into this MOU.
That seems clear enough. However, this is what the lawyer writes on page 5:
In our view, the obligation to renegotiate under these Sections [1(22) and the similar 1(23)] only arises when the City has refused to act in rezoning, increasing the FAR or approving the OCP.
Where the PSA [the lawyer’s new term for the agreements] is terminated as a result of the failure to have the Lands removed from the ALR because of the actions of the ALC, Sections 1(22) and 1(23) are not relevant and the MOU is expired.
Well, maybe the words “does not” in “In the event the City does not” mean “refuses to” in some dialect of Legalese, but “does not” certainly does not mean that in English. (It doesn’t even refuse to mean that.) In fact, the English words “does” and “does not” tend to be remarkably free of connotations.
On the basis of the Legalese-dialect meaning of MOU 1(22), it seems that the City has to refuse to follow the MOU agreement in order to retain its rights under the agreement. However, refusing to co-operate in the spirit of the agreement would be acting in bad faith. Predictably, the City would lose its rights for acting in bad faith, and there are even provisions in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale that are fairly explicit about that. Whatever the City does or doesn’t do, it loses its rights. Or so it seems so far.
(An aside: Did the City really sign an agreement that ensured that its apparent rights in this crucial matter would actually not exist. And, if so, what were people thinking of?)
Or maybe not disappearing?
People who are merely expert in English, rather than in dialects of Legalese, would think something like this:
If the lands are not removed from the ALR, the City will have no reason to proceed with rezoning, a FAR increase, and an OCP amendment and will therefore not proceed. In that event, Contingency 1(22) will apply, and the City will meet with the Musqueam and CLC to see if they can together find a way to still give effect to the spirit of the MOU despite the major change in circumstances. Ultimately, if any of the understandings or all of them (the whole agreement) are terminated, the four original parties (including the federal government) go back to their pre-MOU positions.
Actually, the lawyer may see that too. The lawyer’s opinion goes on like this:
We do not, at this point, have an opinion on how a court would decide this issue if there was ever a challenge of this interpretation.
The MOU is drafted in such a way that there are different positions possible.
So the bottom line is that it’s anybody’s guess.
Disappearing right of first refusal
Before leaving the lawyer’s opinion, we might also look at the end of page 3 and top of page 4:
If it is determined that the lands will not be removed from the ALR, it is entirely possible that at that time CLC could sell the lands to MIB [Musqueam Indian Band]. . . .
That’s odd. The City has a seemingly clear right of first refusal if Canada Lands decides to sell any part of the land during the course of the agreements. It is stated in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, Terms of Instrument – Part 2, it’s in Section 1.2, Right of First Refusal:
(a) If, at any time from time to time after the Effective Date [Dec. 15, 2005] and prior to the Discharge Date [the end of the agreements], CLC proposes to sell or convey any interest in any portion of the Lands (an “Offered Interest”), CLC shall, prior to offering or agreeing to sell an Offered Interest to any other party, provide to the City written notice (an “Offering Notice”) of CLC’s intention to sell the Offered interest. [Section 1.2 goes on to explain the details, which appear to describe a strong right of first refusal.]
It’s important to be aware that the “Discharge Date” definition in the document indicates that discharge can be hastened by “breaches” or “failure” by the City. However, if things get held up by an ALC decision, that doesn’t seem to result in an immediate discharge, so one would expect there to be a period between the ALC decision and the deadline for ALR-removal in which Canada Lands could offer the land for sale and the City could exercise its right of first refusal. Is that right meaningless too? It’s hard to know, since it’s not addressed in the lawyer’s opinion.
(An aside: If the right of first refusal is meaningless, again one has to wonder who was looking out for the rights of the City and its people when the Agreement of Purchase and Sale was entered into.)
Disappearing federal responsibility?
Finally, right after the lawyer’s opinion, at the bottom of page 5 of the PDF, there is this note:
In addition, recent information in the form of a letter from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat clarifying its policy position regarding the future of the Garden City Lands site has been attached (Attachment 3). The Secretariat noted that, if the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) exclusion is unsuccessful “the lands are owned by Canada Lands Company (CLC), not the Federal Government, so it will be up to the CLC to develop appropriate management and/or disposal strategies. There is no automatic reversion of these lands to the Federal Government.”
However, it is evident from the bureaucrat’s letter that it was written after a discussion with Canada Lands, which would naturally want to be able to retain ownership of the lands so as to make money from them. There is no indication whatsoever of any discussion of the federal government’s obligation under the MOU. One would infer that the bureaucrat was unaware of that obligation. Although there is not exactly an “automatic reversion” under the MOU, there is (in the English interpretation) a requirement for the federal government, along with the other three parties, to “cooperate in making whatever arrangements are necessary to restore each Party to the position it was in prior to entering into this MOU.”
(Again, who’s watching out for the rights of the City and people of Richmond?)
Other aspects
The following are just three of the many other points that could be addressed:
The resolution to use the Garden City lands to enhance and showcase community wellness, healthy lifestyles, and urban agriculture is commendable.
Major misconceptions are still being promoted. The most obvious example is that the City is still acting as though it would get half the Garden City lands, whereas in fact it would split 30% of its 50% with the venture partners. The effect would be that the Venture Partners would get 57.5%, with the City getting 42.5%.
Another major point that continues to be ignored is new schools. At least two elementary schools would be needed on the Garden City lands, and that could increase to three elementary and one secondary if the recent school enrolment decline is only temporary. Either the school board would have to buy land from the venture partners at mega-density-residential prices or the City would need to provide it from its 42.5% of the lands.
Any way out of the quicksand?
In view of the mega-mess, there are actually some benefits for the City if Canada Lands extends the deadline for the ALR-removal Condition Precedent.
We need someone with the skills of an ombudsman to take a month or so to clear up the mess, salvaging whatever rights can be salvaged for the City.
It is important to know the salvage results before the City gives further consideration to giving up its bargaining chip, its crucial role in the proposed application to the Agricultural Land Commission (if the deadline for ALR-removal gets extended).
If the development agreements go ahead, the good effects of salvaging whatever can be salvaged will also be very helpful for all future councils and residents of Richmond.
While the Garden City lands should be kept in the ALR, that must be accompanied by the City raising its performance to the level of Canada Lands and the Musqueam.
Posted by kewljim on December 17, 2007 at 2:15 am
Filed under Digging Deep | Leave a comment | Trackback URI
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Future Classics: How Singer-Songwriter Zsela Found Her Voice & Her Style
by NatCampbell
@NatCampbell
by eshelt1
@eshelt1
Referenced Artists
Zsela
Referenced Songs
We spent a day with the rising artist as she preps her first EP.
Unless you run in the right art and fashion circles, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard the name Zsela Thompson before. No matter, the Brooklyn born rising singer and songwriter has already won praise from outlets like the New York Times and Vogue for her moody vocals. At only 24-years-old, her voice has been compared to the likes of Joni Mitchell and Joan Armatrading.
She grew up around music thanks to her father, Marc Anthony Thompson, a funk and rock musician who performed as Chocolate Genius Inc. With industry and family support behind her, Zsela is posed to make a real splash when she drops her debut EP later this year.
We caught up with Zsela at her recording studio in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City to talk about growing up in a musical household, her first single “Noise,” and her personal style.
As told to Stacy Aguilar. This interview has been edited for clarity.
Photography by Zora Sicher
Growing Up In A Musical Household
Zsela: “I grew up around music because my dad’s a musician. I remember the first time I ever recorded something was on a little tape recorder when I was living in Brooklyn. I was maybe eight or nine. I would just write songs that I think were from dreams and just ramble on for a really long time. There would be these five minutes songs that I’d come to my parents with.”
“My mom is a photographer—she’s an artist. My dad’s a musician. They’ve always just been really supportive, and I think that’s not always the way. To have that in my life, especially now when I’m starting out, and to have my dad, and to have gotten much closer to him in this time in my life, it’s really important to me and feels really special.”
Zsela: “I grew up listening to all kinds of people. When I was with my mom, we’d blast Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and OutKast. Then with my dad, it was all kinds of stuff too. He had a lot of friends that I also really liked their music. Chris Whitley was a friend of his, and I got really obsessed with his music, and Martha Wainwright, Ween, Tricky and Martina Topley-Bird.”
Zsela: “I’ve been writing songs for awhile, but it took me a long time to share them with people. I’m always thinking of melodies, and I am always trying to write more because I really care about lyrics, and if I have a lot of words to work from, it’s easier for me to pair down with someone and make a song.”
“I wrote this song [‘Noise’] a minute ago, and then completely reworked it with my friend, my dear friend Daniel Aged, who also produced my EP that’s going to come out soon too. ‘Noise’ was the first thing I released, it was really scary, but I also took my time with it. I’m thankful I took the time to take a pause and make sure I had something that I was ready to release and felt like was really me.”
Zsela: “My personal style—I’d describe it as resourceful. It’s scrappy, on the go, always changing. I can’t leave the house if I don’t feel comfortable. And sometimes that means being in a baggy little homie outfit, and sometimes it means coming out with a look that I surprise myself with.”
“Recently, like playing shows and stuff has been really fun to express myself. I’ve been playing places that are maybe untraditional or smaller, intimate spaces. And so it’s been fun to think about how my music can live in that space and performing it, and then also expressing myself through what I’m going to wear and how that will enhance that.”
What It Means To Be "Classic"
Zsela: “Classic to me means timeless. Something that stands out throughout different generations. It’s not only something you know is good but it has influenced something that can last.”
Read the lyrics to Zsela’s single “Noise” on Genius and shop the adidas Home Of Classics collection here.
A History Of Adidas Lyrics In Hip-Hop
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FERNANDO TORRES RETURNS TO ATLÉTICO WITH AN IMPRESSIVE TRACK RECORD
A conqueror of titles
The international forward, winner of a World Cup, two European Cups, a Champions League title, a European League, and an FA Cup, returns to a Club that has established itself among the best of Europe after winning seven titles in the last four years.
A lot has changed since Fernando Torres and Atlético de Madrid went their separate ways seven and a half years ago. Both have grown and consolidated among the greatest thanks to achieving many titles and now, have reunited with the objective to increase their respective success lists. The forward returns with a World Cup and two European Cups under his belt, conquered with the Spanish national team and with the direct participation of the striker to obtain the three titles. To those trophies with the national team, he adds the titles earned with Chelsea: a Champions League title, a European League title and an FA Cup. With all this experience, Torres comes to add his effort to a team that has won seven titles in the last four and a half years: a League title, a King's Cup, two European League titles, two European Super Cups and a Spanish Super Cup.
Fernando Torres left Atlético de Madrid in the summer of 2007 for the Premier League, where he landed in Liverpool, a team that was coached by Rafa Benitez. His arrival to England was spectacular, being chosen as the Best newcomer of the Premier League and the Best Player of 2008 thanks to his 24 goals in 33 matches in the English championship, which he completed with 9 more goals in other competitions. The striker from Madrid would finish his exceptional year with a great performance at the European Cup in Austria and Vienna, where he scored the goal that gave Spain the title against Germany. All of this helped him be a part of the FIFPro World XI and UEFA Team of the Year and win the Bronze Ball.
The Spanish international maintained his high level for the following three seasons he played for Liverpool, scoring a total of 48 more goals throughout those three seasons. He was included again in the 2009 FIFPro World XI and the 2009 Premier League Best 11.
In 2009, he played with the Spanish national team in the Confederations Cup in South Africa, where the national team finished third and the striker from Fuenlabrada was the second top scorer with three goals. A year later, he participated with Spain in the World Cup after overcoming a serious injury, playing seven championship games and winning the first world title for our country.
Chelsea signs the Liverpool star
His great performances in Liverpool had not gone unnoticed to one of the most powerful clubs in the Premier League, Chelsea, which in the winter period of 2011, obtained his services. After a few months adapting to his new team, Fernando Torres started to win titles and became crucial.
First, he decided the pass to the Champions League final with a goal against Barcelona at the Camp Nou and then conquered the FA Cup. Two weeks later, he contributed to achieve the Champions League title against Bayern Munich, causing the corner kick that would lead to the final tie, the extra time and the penalty shootouts where the Blues would win the championship.
During that summer, Torres would complete a fantastic year with the conquest of the 2012 European Cup in Ukraine and Poland with the Spanish national team, scoring one of the goals at the final in Kiev against Italy (4-0). Besides adding his third title with Spain, the Madrid native was proclaimed the Golden Boot with three goals in five games and was included in the ideal Eleven of the Tournament. A finishing touch for a 2012 to frame.
In the following season, Fernando Torres would be decisive in Chelsea winning the UEFA Europa League. An old acquaintance from the player, Rafa Benitez, took the coaching over midway through the season and would take advantage of the talent of the Spanish striker to win the title, since his six goals helped to eliminate Steaua, Rubin Kazan and Basel while overcoming Benfica in the final.
And again during that summer, he showed his potential with the Spanish national team winning the Golden Boot in the Confederations Cup in Brazil with five goals in a tournament where Spain was runner-up. He was also included in the ideal eleven of the competition.
Last season, in a twist of fate, Torres finally went up against Atlético de Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, a feat he had failed to do four times in his time with Liverpool when the teams were placed in the same group in the 2008 Champions League or when both teams faced each other in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals and Fernando missed those four matches due to injury. He was the best 'Blue' player in the 0-0 first-leg, where the Vicente Calderon gave him an affectionate welcome which the player thanked with an applause, and scored the first goal at Stamford Bridge, apologising to the Atlético fans while celebrating such an important goal for the London club.
Last summer in Brazil, the striker from Madrid took part in his third World Cup, achieving a goal in the three games in which he played with the national team, which was eliminated in the group stage.
This season, Fernando Torres would be loaned and subsequently transferred to Milan, a club with which our team has reached an agreement for a loan until the 30th of June, 2016.
etiquetas: Fernando Torres
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The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the early Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with Mammuthus subplanifrons in the early Pliocene. The woolly mammoth diverged from the steppe mammoth about 400,000 years ago in East Asia. Its closest extant relative is the Asian elephant. The appearance and behaviour of this species are among the best studied of any prehistoric animal because of the discovery of frozen carcasses in Siberia and Alaska, as well as skeletons, teeth, stomach contents, dung, and depiction from life in prehistoric cave paintings. Mammoth remains had long been known in Asia before they became known to Europeans in the 17th century. The origin of these remains was long a matter of debate, and often explained as being remains of legendary creatures. The mammoth was identified as an extinct species of elephant by Georges Cuvier in 1796.
Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene[1] - Early Holocene[1] 0.40–0.004 Ma
Largest European specimen, a male at Südostbayerisches Naturkunde- und Mammut-Museum Siegsdorf
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Genus: †Mammuthus
†M. primigenius
†Mammuthus primigenius
(Blumenbach, 1799)
Dymaxion map showing the Late Pleistocene distribution of M. primigenius in blue (light blue was land at the time), inferred from fossil finds
Elephas primigenius Blumenbach, 1799
Elephas mammonteus Cuvier, 1799
Mammuthus boreus Brookes, 1828
Mammonteus primigenius Osborn, 1924
Elephas boreus Hay, 1924
The woolly mammoth was roughly the same size as modern African elephants. Males reached shoulder heights between 2.7 and 3.4 m (8.9 and 11.2 ft) and weighed up to 6 metric tons (6.6 short tons). Females reached 2.6–2.9 m (8.5–9.5 ft) in shoulder heights and weighed up to 4 metric tons (4.4 short tons). A newborn calf weighed about 90 kg (200 lb). The woolly mammoth was well adapted to the cold environment during the last ice age. It was covered in fur, with an outer covering of long guard hairs and a shorter undercoat. The colour of the coat varied from dark to light. The ears and tail were short to minimise frostbite and heat loss. It had long, curved tusks and four molars, which were replaced six times during the lifetime of an individual. Its behaviour was similar to that of modern elephants, and it used its tusks and trunk for manipulating objects, fighting, and foraging. The diet of the woolly mammoth was mainly grasses and sedges. Individuals could probably reach the age of 60. Its habitat was the mammoth steppe, which stretched across northern Eurasia and North America.
The woolly mammoth coexisted with early humans, who used its bones and tusks for making art, tools, and dwellings, and the species was also hunted for food. It disappeared from its mainland range at the end of the Pleistocene 10,000 years ago, most likely through climate change and consequent shrinkage of its habitat, hunting by humans, or a combination of the two. Isolated populations survived on St. Paul Island until 5,600 years ago and on Wrangel Island until 4,000 years ago. After its extinction, humans continued using its ivory as a raw material, a tradition that continues today. With a genome project for the mammoth completed in 2015,[2] it has been proposed the species could be recreated through various means, but none of these is yet feasible.
TaxonomyEdit
Copy of an interpretation of the "Adams mammoth" carcass from around 1800, with Johann Friedrich Blumenbach's handwriting
Remains of various extinct elephants were known by Europeans for centuries, but were generally interpreted, based on biblical accounts, as the remains of legendary creatures such as behemoths or giants. They were thought to be remains of modern elephants that had been brought to Europe during the Roman Republic, for example the war elephants of Hannibal and Pyrrhus of Epirus, or animals that had wandered north.[3] The first woolly mammoth remains studied by European scientists were examined by Hans Sloane in 1728 and consisted of fossilised teeth and tusks from Siberia. Sloane was the first to recognise that the remains belonged to elephants.[4] Sloane turned to another biblical explanation for the presence of elephants in the Arctic, asserting that they had been buried during the Great Flood, and that Siberia had previously been tropical before a drastic climate change.[5] Others interpreted Sloane's conclusion slightly differently, arguing the flood had carried elephants from the tropics to the Arctic. Sloane's paper was based on travellers' descriptions and a few scattered bones collected in Siberia and Britain. He discussed the question of whether or not the remains were from elephants, but drew no conclusions.[6] In 1738, the German zoologist Johann Philipp Breyne argued that mammoth fossils represented some kind of elephant. He could not explain why a tropical animal would be found in such a cold area as Siberia, and suggested that they might have been transported there by the Great Flood.[7] In 1796, French anatomist Georges Cuvier was the first to identify the woolly mammoth remains not as modern elephants transported to the Arctic, but as an entirely new species. He argued this species had gone extinct and no longer existed, a concept that was not widely accepted at the time.[3][8]
Following Cuvier's identification, German naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach gave the woolly mammoth its scientific name, Elephas primigenius, in 1799, placing it in the same genus as the Asian elephant. This name is Latin for "first elephant". Cuvier coined the name Elephas mammonteus a few months later, but the former name was subsequently used.[9] In 1828, the British naturalist Joshua Brookes used the name Mammuthus borealis for woolly mammoth fossils in his collection that he put up for sale, thereby coining a new genus name.[10] Where and how the word "mammoth" originated is unclear. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it comes from an old Vogul word mēmoŋt, "earth-horn".[11] It may be a version of mehemot, the Arabic version of the biblical word "behemoth". Another possible origin is Estonian, where maa means "earth", and mutt means "mole". The word was first used in Europe during the early 17th century, when referring to maimanto tusks discovered in Siberia.[12] American president Thomas Jefferson, who had a keen interest in palaeontology, was partially responsible for transforming the word "mammoth" from a noun describing the prehistoric elephant to an adjective describing anything of surprisingly large size. The first recorded use of the word as an adjective was in a description of a wheel of cheese (the "Cheshire Mammoth Cheese") given to Jefferson in 1802.[13]
1930s illustration of the lectotype molars by Henry Fairfield Osborn: The left one is now lost.
By the early 20th century, the taxonomy of extinct elephants was complex. In 1942, American palaoentologist Henry Fairfield Osborn's posthumous monograph on the Proboscidea was published, wherein he used various taxon names that had previously been proposed for mammoth species, including replacing Mammuthus with Mammonteus, as he believed the former name to be invalidly published.[14] Mammoth taxonomy was simplified by various researchers from the 1970s onwards, all species were retained in the genus Mammuthus, and many proposed differences between species were instead interpreted as intraspecific variation.[15] Osborn chose two molars (found in Siberia and Osterode) from Blumenbach's collection at Göttingen University as the lectotype specimens for the woolly mammoth, since holotype designation was not practised in Blumenbach's time. Russian palaeontologist Vera Gromova further proposed the former should be considered the lectotype with the latter as paralectotype. Both molars were thought lost by the 1980s, and the more complete "Taimyr mammoth" found in Siberia in 1948 was therefore proposed as the neotype specimen in 1990. Resolutions to historical issues about the validity of the genus name Mammuthus and the type species designation of E. primigenius were also proposed.[16] The paralectotype molar (specimen GZG.V.010.018) has since been located in the Göttingen University collection, identified by comparing it with Osborn's illustration of a cast.[9][17]
EvolutionEdit
The earliest known members of the Proboscidea, the clade which contains modern elephants, existed about 55 million years ago around the Tethys Sea. The closest known relatives of the Proboscidea are the sirenians (dugongs and manatees) and the hyraxes (an order of small, herbivorous mammals). The family Elephantidae existed 6 million years ago in Africa and includes the modern elephants and the mammoths. Among many now extinct clades, the mastodon (Mammut) is only a distant relative of the mammoths, and part of the separate family Mammutidae, which diverged 25 million years before the mammoths evolved.[18] The following cladogram shows the placement of the genus Mammuthus among other proboscideans, based on characteristics of the hyoid bone in the neck:[19]
Georges Cuvier's 1796 comparison between the mandible of a woolly mammoth (bottom left and top right) and an Indian elephant (top left and bottom right)
Elephantimorpha
†Mammutidae (Mastodons)
Elephantida
†Gomphotheriidae (Gomphotheres)
Elephantoidea
†Stegodontidae (Stegodontids)
Elephantidae
Loxodonta (African elephants)
Elephantini
†Palaeoloxodon (Straight-tusked elephants)
Elephantina
Elephas (Asian elephants)
†Mammuthus (Mammoths)
Comparison between a woolly mammoth (left) and an American mastodon (right)
In 2005, researchers assembled a complete mitochondrial genome profile of the woolly mammoth, which allowed them to trace the close evolutionary relationship between mammoths and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus).[20] A 2015 DNA review confirmed Asian elephants as the closest living relative of the woolly mammoth.[21] African elephants (Loxodonta africana) branched away from this clade around 6 million years ago, close to the time of the similar split between chimpanzees and humans. Before the publication of the Neanderthal genome, many researchers expected the first fully sequenced nuclear genome of an extinct species would be that of the mammoth.[22] A 2010 study confirmed these relationships, and suggested the mammoth and Asian elephant lineages diverged 5.8–7.8 million years ago, while African elephants diverged from an earlier common ancestor 6.6–8.8 million years ago.[23] In 2008, much of the woolly mammoth's chromosomal DNA was mapped. The analysis showed that the woolly mammoth and the African elephant are 98.55% to 99.40% identical.[24] The team mapped the woolly mammoth's nuclear genome sequence by extracting DNA from the hair follicles of both a 20,000-year-old mammoth retrieved from permafrost and another that died 60,000 years ago.[25] In 2012, proteins were confidently identified for the first time, collected from a 43,000-year-old woolly mammoth.[26]
Since many remains of each species of mammoth are known from several localities, reconstructing the evolutionary history of the genus through morphological studies is possible. Mammoth species can be identified from the number of enamel ridges (or lamellar plates) on their molars; primitive species had few ridges, and the number increased gradually as new species evolved to feed on more abrasive food items. The crowns of the teeth became deeper in height and the skulls became taller to accommodate this. At the same time, the skulls became shorter from front to back to minimise the weight of the head.[1][27] The short and tall skulls of woolly and Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) were the culmination of this process.[28]
Cast of an intermediate form between M. trogontherii and M. primigenius; M. p. fraasi, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart
The first known members of the genus Mammuthus are the African species Mammuthus subplanifrons from the Pliocene, and M. africanavus from the Pleistocene. The former is thought to be the ancestor of later forms. Mammoths entered Europe around 3 million years ago. The earliest European mammoth has been named M. rumanus; it spread across Europe and China. Only its molars are known, which show that it had 8–10 enamel ridges. A population evolved 12–14 ridges, splitting off from and replacing the earlier type, becoming M. meridionalis about 2–1.7 million years ago. In turn, this species was replaced by the steppe mammoth (M. trogontherii) with 18–20 ridges, which evolved in eastern Asia around 1 million years ago.[1] The Columbian mammoth evolved from a population of M. trogontherii that had crossed the Bering Strait and entered North America about 1.5 million years ago; it retained a similar number of molar ridges. Mammoths derived from M. trogontherii evolved molars with 26 ridges 400,000 years ago in Siberia and became the woolly mammoth.[1] Woolly mammoths entered North America about 100,000 years ago.[28] Asian elephants have a variable number of enamel ridges that is intermediate between those of the Columbian/steppe mammoth and the woolly mammoth.[29]
Individuals and populations showing transitional morphologies between each of the mammoth species are known, and primitive and derived species coexisted, as well, until the former disappeared. The different species and their intermediate forms have therefore been termed "chronospecies". Many taxa intermediate between M. primigenius and other mammoths have also been proposed, but their validity is uncertain; depending on author, they are either considered primitive forms of an advanced species or advanced forms of a primitive species.[1] Distinguishing and determining these intermediate forms has been called one of the most long-lasting and complicated problems in Quaternary palaeontology. Regional and intermediate species and subspecies such as M. intermedius, M. chosaricus, M. p. primigenius, M. p. jatzkovi, M. p. sibiricus, M. p. fraasi, M. p. leith-adamsi, M. p. hydruntinus, M. p. astensis, M. p. americanus, M. p. compressus, and M. p. alaskensis have been proposed.[14][30][31]
A 2011 genetic study showed that two examined specimens of the Columbian mammoth were grouped within a subclade of woolly mammoths. This suggests that the two populations interbred and produced fertile offspring. A North American type formerly referred to as M. jeffersonii may be a hybrid between the two species.[32] A 2015 study suggested that the animals in the range where M. columbi and M. primigenius overlapped formed a metapopulation of hybrids with varying morphology. It also suggested that Eurasian M. primigenius had a similar relationship with M. trogontherii in areas where their range overlapped.[33]
DescriptionEdit
Size (red) compared to a human and other mammoths
The appearance of the woolly mammoth is probably the best known of any prehistoric animal due to the many frozen specimens with preserved soft tissue and depictions by contemporary humans in their art. Fully grown males reached shoulder heights between 2.7 and 3.4 m (8.9 and 11.2 ft) and weighed up to 6 tonnes (6.6 short tons). This is almost as large as extant male African elephants, which commonly reach a shoulder height of 3–3.4 m (9.8–11.2 ft), and is less than the size of the earlier mammoth species M. meridionalis and M. trogontherii, and the contemporary M. columbi. The reason for the smaller size is unknown. Female woolly mammoths reached 2.6–2.9 m (8.5–9.5 ft) in shoulder heights and were built more lightly than males, weighing up to 4 tonnes (4.4 short tons). A newborn calf would have weighed about 90 kg (200 lb). These sizes are deduced from comparison with modern elephants of similar size.[34] Few frozen specimens have preserved genitals, so the gender is usually determined through examination of the skeleton. The best indication of sex is the size of the pelvic girdle, since the opening that functions as the birth canal is always wider in females than in males.[35] Though the mammoths on Wrangel Island were smaller than those of the mainland, their size varied, and they were not small enough to be considered "dwarves".[36] The last woolly mammoth populations are claimed to have decreased in size and increased their sexual dimorphism, but this was dismissed in a 2012 study.[37]
Cave art depicting a woolly mammoth and other animals, from the Rouffignac Cave, France
Woolly mammoths had several adaptations to the cold, most noticeably the layer of fur covering all parts of their bodies. Other adaptations to cold weather include ears that are far smaller than those of modern elephants; they were about 38 cm (15 in) long and 18–28 cm (7.1–11.0 in) across, and the ear of the 6- to 12-month-old frozen calf "Dima" was under 13 cm (5.1 in) long. The small ears reduced heat loss and frostbite, and the tail was short for the same reason, only 36 cm (14 in) long in the "Berezovka mammoth". The tail contained 21 vertebrae, whereas the tails of modern elephants contain 28–33. Their skin was no thicker than that of present-day elephants, between 1.25 and 2.5 cm (0.49 and 0.98 in). They had a layer of fat up to 10 cm (3.9 in) thick under the skin, which helped to keep them warm. Woolly mammoths had broad flaps of skin under their tails which covered the anus; this is also seen in modern elephants.[38]
Model at the Royal BC Museum
Other characteristic features depicted in cave paintings include a large, high, single-domed head and a sloping back with a high shoulder hump; this shape resulted from the spinous processes of the back vertebrae decreasing in length from front to rear. These features were not present in juveniles, which had convex backs like Asian elephants. Another feature shown in cave paintings was confirmed by the discovery of a frozen specimen in 1924, an adult nicknamed the "Middle Kolyma mammoth", which was preserved with a complete trunk tip. Unlike the trunk lobes of modern elephants, the upper "finger" at the tip of the trunk had a long pointed lobe and was 10 cm (3.9 in) long, while the lower "thumb" was 5 cm (2.0 in) and was broader. The trunk of "Dima" was 76 cm (2.49 ft) long, whereas the trunk of the adult "Liakhov mammoth" was 2 metres (6.6 ft) long.[38] The well-preserved trunk of a juvenile specimen nicknamed "Yuka" was described in 2015, and it was shown to possess a fleshy expansion a third above the tip. Rather than oval as the rest of the trunk, this part was ellipsoidal in cross section, and double the size in diameter. The feature was also shown to be present in two other specimens, of different sexes and ages.[39]
CoatEdit
Fur in Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna
The coat consisted of an outer layer of long, coarse "guard hair", which was 30 cm (12 in) on the upper part of the body, up to 90 cm (35 in) in length on the flanks and underside, and 0.5 mm (0.020 in) in diameter, and a denser inner layer of shorter, slightly curly under-wool, up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long and 0.05 mm (0.0020 in) in diameter. The hairs on the upper leg were up to 38 cm (15 in) long, and those of the feet were 15 cm (5.9 in) long, reaching the toes. The hairs on the head were relatively short, but longer on the underside and the sides of the trunk. The tail was extended by coarse hairs up to 60 cm (24 in) long, which were thicker than the guard hairs. The woolly mammoth likely moulted seasonally, and the heaviest fur was shed during spring. Since mammoth carcasses were more likely to be preserved, possibly only the winter coat has been preserved in frozen specimens. Modern elephants have much less hair, though juveniles have a more extensive covering of hair than adults.[40] Comparison between the over-hairs of woolly mammoths and extant elephants show that they did not differ much in overall morphology.[41] Woolly mammoths had numerous sebaceous glands in their skin, which secreted oils into their hair; this would have improved the wool's insulation, repelled water, and given the fur a glossy sheen.[42]
Preserved woolly mammoth fur is orange-brown, but this is believed to be an artefact from the bleaching of pigment during burial. The amount of pigmentation varied from hair to hair and also within each hair.[38] A 2006 study sequenced the Mc1r gene (which influences hair colour in mammals) from woolly mammoth bones. Two alleles were found: a dominant (fully active) and a recessive (partially active) one. In mammals, recessive Mc1r alleles result in light hair. Mammoths born with at least one copy of the dominant allele would have had dark coats, while those with two copies of the recessive allele would have had light coats.[43] A 2011 study showed that light individuals would have been rare.[44] A 2014 study instead indicated that the colouration of an individual varied from nonpigmented on the overhairs, bicoloured, nonpigmented and mixed red-brown guard hairs, and nonpigmented underhairs, which would give a light overall appearance.[45]
DentitionEdit
Tusk of the adult male "Yukagir mammoth"
Woolly mammoths had very long tusks (modified incisor teeth), which were more curved than those of modern elephants. The largest known male tusk is 4.2 m (14 ft) long and weighs 91 kg (201 lb), but 2.4–2.7 m (7.9–8.9 ft) and 45 kg (99 lb) was a more typical size. Female tusks were smaller and thinner, 1.5–1.8 m (4.9–5.9 ft) and weighing 9 kg (20 lb). The sheaths of the tusks were parallel and spaced closely. About a quarter of the length was inside the sockets. The tusks grew spirally in opposite directions from the base and continued in a curve until the tips pointed towards each other, sometimes crossing. In this way, most of the weight would have been close to the skull, and less torque would occur than with straight tusks. The tusks were usually asymmetrical and showed considerable variation, with some tusks curving down instead of outwards and some being shorter due to breakage. Calves developed small milk tusks a few centimetres long at six months old, which were replaced by permanent tusks a year later. Tusk growth continued throughout life, but became slower as the animal reached adulthood. The tusks grew by 2.5–15 cm (0.98–5.91 in) each year. Some cave paintings show woolly mammoths with small or no tusks, but whether this reflected reality or was artistic license is unknown. Female Asian elephants have no tusks, but no fossil evidence indicates that any adult woolly mammoths lacked them.[46][47]
Molar from Font de Champdamoy, France, Musée Georges-Garret
Woolly mammoths had four functional molar teeth at a time, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. About 23 cm (9.1 in) of the crown was within the jaw, and 2.5 cm (1 in) was above. The crown was continually pushed forwards and up as it wore down, comparable to a conveyor belt. The teeth had up to 26 separated ridges of enamel, which were themselves covered in "prisms" that were directed towards the chewing surface. These were quite wear-resistant and kept together by cementum and dentine. A mammoth had six sets of molars throughout a lifetime, which were replaced five times, though a few specimens with a seventh set are known. The latter condition could extend the lifespan of the individual, unless the tooth consisted of only a few plates. The first molars were about the size of those of a human, 1.3 cm (0.51 in), the third were 15 cm (6 in) 15 cm (5.9 in) long, and the sixth were about 30 cm (1 ft) long and weighed 1.8 kg (4 lb). The molars grew larger and contained more ridges with each replacement.[48] The woolly mammoth is considered to have had the most complex molars of any elephant.[47]
Distortion in the molars is the most common health problem found in woolly mammoth fossils. Sometimes, the replacement was disrupted, and the molars were pushed into abnormal positions, but some animals are known to have survived this. Teeth from Britain showed that 2% of specimens had periodontal disease, with half of these containing caries. The teeth also sometimes had cancerous growths.[49]
PalaeobiologyEdit
Life restoration of fauna during the Pleistocene epoch in northern Spain, by Mauricio Antón, 2004
Adult woolly mammoths could effectively defend themselves from predators with their tusks, trunks and size, but juveniles and weakened adults were vulnerable to pack hunters such as wolves, cave hyenas and large felines. The tusks may also have been used in intraspecies fighting, such as fights over territory or mates. Display of the large tusks of males could also have been used to attract females, and to intimidate rivals. Because of their curvature, the tusks were not suitable for stabbing, but may have been used for hitting, as indicated by injuries to some fossil shoulder blades. The very long hairs on the tail probably compensated for the shortness of the tail, enabling its use as a flyswatter, similar to the tail on modern elephants. As in modern elephants, the sensitive and muscular trunk worked as a limb-like organ with many functions. It was used for manipulating objects, and in social interactions.[50] The well-preserved foot of the adult male "Yukagir mammoth" shows that the soles of the feet contained many cracks that would have helped in gripping surfaces during locomotion. Like modern elephants, woolly mammoths walked on their toes and had large, fleshy pads behind the toes.[38]
Like modern elephants, woolly mammoths were likely very social and lived in matriarchal (female-led) family groups. This is supported by fossil assemblages and cave paintings showing groups. So, most of their other social behaviours probably were similar to those of modern elephants. How many mammoths lived at one location at a time is unknown, as fossil deposits are often accumulations of individuals that died over long periods of time. The numbers likely varied by season and lifecycle events. Modern elephants can form large herds, sometimes consisting of multiple family groups, and these herds can include thousands of animals migrating together. Mammoths may have formed large herds more often, since animals that live in open areas are more likely to do this than those in forested areas.[51] Trackways made by a woolly mammoth herd 11,300–11,000 years ago have been found in the St. Mary Reservoir in Canada, showing that in this case almost equal numbers of adults, subadults, and juveniles were found. The adults had a stride of 2 m (6.6 ft), and the juveniles ran to keep up.[52]
Adaptations to coldEdit
SEM image of a woolly mammoth overhair, 250X magnification
The woolly mammoth was probably the most specialised member of the family Elephantidae. They had lipopexia (fat storage) in their neck and withers, for times when food availability was insufficient during winter, and their first three molars grew more quickly than in the calves of modern elephants. The expansion identified on the trunk of "Yuka" and other specimens was suggested to function as a "fur mitten"; the trunk tip was not covered in fur, but was used for foraging during winter, and could have been heated by curling it into the expansion. The expansion could be used to melt snow if a shortage of water to drink existed, as melting it directly inside the mouth could disturb the thermal balance of the animal.[39] As in reindeer and musk oxen, the haemoglobin of the woolly mammoth was adapted to the cold, with three mutations to improve oxygen delivery around the body and prevent freezing. This feature may have helped the mammoths to live at high latitudes.[53]
In a 2015 study, high-quality genome sequences from three Asian elephants and two woolly mammoths were compared. About 1.4 million DNA nucleotide differences were found between mammoths and elephants, which affect the sequence of more than 1,600 proteins. Differences were noted in genes for a number of aspects of physiology and biology that would be relevant to Arctic survival, including development of skin and hair, storage and metabolism of adipose tissue, and perceiving temperature. Genes related to both sensing temperature and transmitting that sensation to the brain were altered. One of the heat-sensing genes encodes a protein, TRPV3, found in skin, which also affects hair growth. When inserted into human cells, the mammoth's version of the protein was found to be less sensitive to heat than the elephant's. This is consistent with a previous observation that mice lacking active TRPV3 are likely to spend more time in cooler cage locations than wild-type mice, and have wavier hair. Also, several alterations in circadian clock genes were found, perhaps needed to cope with the extreme polar variation in length of daylight. Similar mutations are known in other Arctic mammals, such as reindeer.[54][55]
DietEdit
The frozen calf "Lyuba" which still had food in its stomach, Royal BC Museum
Food at various stages of digestion has been found in the intestines of several woolly mammoths, giving a good picture of their diet. Woolly mammoths sustained themselves on plant food, mainly grasses and sedges, which were supplemented with herbaceous plants, flowering plants, shrubs, mosses, and tree matter. The composition and exact varieties differed from location to location. Woolly mammoths needed a varied diet to support their growth, like modern elephants. An adult of 6 tons would need to eat 180 kg (397 lb) daily, and may have foraged as long as 20 hours every day. The two-fingered tip of the trunk was probably adapted for picking up the short grasses of the last ice age (Quaternary glaciation, 2.58 million years ago to present) by wrapping around them, whereas modern elephants curl their trunks around the longer grass of their tropical environments. The trunk could also be used for pulling off large grass tufts, delicately picking buds and flowers, and tearing off leaves and branches where trees and shrubs were present. The "Yukagir mammoth" had ingested plant matter that contained spores of dung fungus.[56] Isotope analysis shows that woolly mammoths fed mainly on C3 plants, unlike horses and rhinos.[57]
Mandibles and lower molars, Barcelona
Scientists identified milk in the stomach and faecal matter in the intestines of the mammoth calf "Lyuba".[58] The faecal matter may have been eaten by "Lyuba" to promote development of the intestinal microbes necessary for digestion of vegetation, as is the case in modern elephants.[59] An isotope analysis of woolly mammoths from Yukon showed that the young nursed for at least 3 years, and were weaned and gradually changed to a diet of plants when they were 2–3 years old. This is later than in modern elephants and may be due to a higher risk of predator attack or difficulty in obtaining food during the long periods of winter darkness at high latitudes.[60]
The molars were adapted to their diet of coarse tundra grasses, with more enamel plates and a higher crown than their earlier, southern relatives. The woolly mammoth chewed its food by using its powerful jaw muscles to move the mandible forwards and close the mouth, then backwards while opening; the sharp enamel ridges thereby cut across each other, grinding the food. The ridges were wear-resistant to enable the animal to chew large quantities of food, which often contained grit. Woolly mammoths may have used their tusks as shovels to clear snow from the ground and reach the vegetation buried below, and to break ice to drink. This is indicated on many preserved tusks by flat, polished sections up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long on the part of the surface that would have reached the ground. The tusks were also used for obtaining food in other ways, such as digging up plants and stripping off bark.[61]
Life historyEdit
Cross sectioned tusk with growth rings, which can be used to determine the age of specimens
The lifespan of mammals is related to their size, and since modern elephants can reach the age of 60 years, the same is thought to be true for woolly mammoths, which were of a similar size. The age of a mammoth can be roughly determined by counting the growth rings of its tusks when viewed in cross section, but this does not account for its early years, as these are represented by the tips of the tusks, which are usually worn away. In the remaining part of the tusk, each major line represents a year, and weekly and daily ones can be found in between. Dark bands correspond to summers, so determining the season in which a mammoth died is possible. The growth of the tusks slowed when foraging became harder, for example during winter, during disease, or when a male was banished from the herd (male elephants live with their herds until about the age of 10). Mammoth tusks dating to the harshest period of the last glaciation 25–20,000 years ago show slower growth rates. Woolly mammoths continued growing past adulthood, like other elephants. Unfused limb bones show that males grew until they reached the age of 40, and females grew until they were 25. The frozen calf "Dima" was 90 cm (35 in) tall when it died at the age of 6–12 months. At this age, the second set of molars would be in the process of erupting, and the first set would be worn out at 18 months of age. The third set of molars lasted for 10 years, and this process was repeated until the final, sixth set emerged when the animal was 30 years old. When the last set of molars was worn out, the animal would be unable to chew and feed, and it would die of starvation. A study of North American mammoths found that they often died during winter or spring, the hardest times for northern animals to survive.[62][63]
Head of the adult male "Yukagir mammoth"; the trunk is not preserved
The best-preserved head of a frozen adult specimen, that of a male nicknamed the "Yukagir mammoth", shows that woolly mammoths had temporal glands between the ear and the eye.[64] This feature indicates that, like bull elephants, male woolly mammoths also entered "musth", a period of heightened aggressiveness. The glands are used especially by males to produce an oily substance with a strong smell called temporin. Their fur may have helped in spreading the scent further.[65]
Examination of preserved calves shows that they were all born during spring and summer, and since modern elephants have gestation periods of 21–22 months, the mating season probably was from summer to autumn.[66] δ15N isotopic analysis of the teeth of "Lyuba" has demonstrated their prenatal development, and indicates its gestation period was similar to that of a modern elephant, and that it was born in spring.[67]
Evidence of several different bone diseases has been found in woolly mammoths. The most common of these was osteoarthritis, found in 2% of specimens. One specimen from Switzerland had several fused vertebrae as a result of this condition. The "Yukagir mammoth" had suffered from spondylitis in two vertebrae, and osteomyelitis is also known from some specimens. Several specimens have healed bone fractures, showing that the animals had survived these injuries.[68] An abnormal number of cervical vertebrae has been found in 33% of specimens from the North Sea region, probably due to inbreeding in a declining population.[69] Parasitic flies and protozoa were identified in the gut of the calf "Dima".[70]
Distribution and habitatEdit
Mounted "family group" from Tomsk
The habitat of the woolly mammoth is known as "mammoth steppe" or "tundra steppe". This environment stretched across northern Asia, many parts of Europe, and the northern part of North America during the last ice age. It was similar to the grassy steppes of modern Russia, but the flora was more diverse, abundant, and grew faster. Grasses, sedges, shrubs, and herbaceous plants were present, and scattered trees were mainly found in southern regions. This habitat was not dominated by ice and snow, as is popularly believed, since these regions are thought to have been high-pressure areas at the time. The habitat of the woolly mammoth also supported other grazing herbivores such as the woolly rhinoceros, wild horses, and bison.[71] A 2014 study concluded that forbs (a group of herbaceous plants) were more important in the steppe-tundra than previously acknowledged, and that it was a primary food source for the ice-age megafauna.[72]
Mural depicting a herd walking near the Somme River in France, by Charles R. Knight, 1916
The southernmost woolly mammoth specimen known is from the Shandong province of China, and is 33,000 years old.[73] The southernmost European remains are from the Depression of Granada in Spain and are of roughly the same age.[74][75] DNA studies have helped determine the phylogeography of the woolly mammoth. A 2008 DNA study showed two distinct groups of woolly mammoths: one that became extinct 45,000 years ago and another one that became extinct 12,000 years ago. The two groups are speculated to be divergent enough to be characterised as subspecies. The group that became extinct earlier stayed in the middle of the high Arctic, while the group with the later extinction had a much wider range.[76] Recent stable isotope studies of Siberian and New World mammoths have shown there were also differences in climatic conditions on either side of the Bering land bridge, with Siberia being more uniformly cold and dry throughout the Late Pleistocene.[77] During the Younger Dryas age, woolly mammoths briefly expanded into north-east Europe, whereafter the mainland populations became extinct.[78]
A 2008 genetic study showed that some of the woolly mammoths that entered North America through the Bering land bridge from Asia migrated back about 300,000 years ago and had replaced the previous Asian population by about 40,000 years ago, not long before the entire species became extinct.[79] Fossils of woolly mammoths and Columbian mammoths have been found together in a few localities of North America, including the Hot Springs sinkhole of South Dakota where their regions overlapped. It is unknown whether the two species were sympatric and lived there simultaneously, or if the woolly mammoths may have entered these southern areas during times when Columbian mammoth populations were absent there.[71]
Relationship with humansEdit
Woolly mammoth engraved on ivory, discovered by Édouard Lartet in 1864
Modern humans coexisted with woolly mammoths during the Upper Palaeolithic period when the humans entered Europe from Africa between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. Before this, Neanderthals had coexisted with mammoths during the Middle Palaeolithic, and already used mammoth bones for tool-making and building materials. Woolly mammoths were very important to ice-age humans, and human survival may have depended on the mammoth in some areas. Evidence for such coexistence was not recognised until the 19th century. William Buckland published his discovery of the Red Lady of Paviland skeleton in 1823, which was found in a cave alongside woolly mammoth bones, but he mistakenly denied that these were contemporaries. In 1864, Édouard Lartet found an engraving of a woolly mammoth on a piece of mammoth ivory in the Abri de la Madeleine cave in Dordogne, France. The engraving was the first widely accepted evidence for the coexistence of humans with prehistoric extinct animals and is the first contemporary depiction of such a creature known to modern science.[80]
Replica of a roughly 26,000-year-old ivory carving depicting a mammoth, Krahuletz-Museum
The woolly mammoth is the third-most depicted animal in ice-age art, after horses and bison, and these images were produced between 35,000 and 11,500 years ago. Today, more than 500 depictions of woolly mammoths are known, in media ranging from cave paintings and engravings on the walls of 46 caves in Russia, France, and Spain to engravings and sculptures (termed "portable art") made from ivory, antler, stone and bone. Cave paintings of woolly mammoths exist in several styles and sizes. The French Rouffignac Cave has the most depictions, 159, and some of the drawings are more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length. Other notable caves with mammoth depictions are the Chauvet Cave, Les Combarelles Cave, and Font-de-Gaume.[81] A depiction in the Cave of El Castillo may instead show Palaeoloxodon, the "straight-tusked elephant".[82]
"Portable art" can be more accurately dated than cave art since it is found in the same deposits as tools and other ice-age artefacts. The largest collection of portable mammoth art, consisting of 62 depictions on 47 plaques, was found in the 1960s at an excavated open-air camp near Gönnersdorf in Germany. A correlation between the number of mammoths depicted and the species that were most often hunted does not seem to exist, since reindeer bones are the most frequently found animal remains at the site. Two spear throwers shaped as woolly mammoths have also been found in France.[81] Some portable mammoth depictions may not have been produced where they were discovered, but could have moved around by ancient trading.[82]
ExploitationEdit
Reconstructed bone hut based on finds in Mezhyrich, exhibited in Japan
Woolly mammoth bones were used as construction material for dwellings by both Neanderthals and modern humans during the ice age.[83] More than 70 such dwellings are known, mainly from the Russian Plain. The bases of the huts were circular, and ranged from 8 to 24 square metres (86 to 258 sq ft). The arrangement of dwellings varied, and ranged from 1 to 20 m (3.3 to 65.6 ft) apart, depending on location. Large bones were used as foundations for the huts, tusks for the entrances, and the roofs were probably skins held in place by bones or tusks. Some huts had floors that extended 40 cm (16 in) below ground. Some huts included fireplaces, which used bones as fuel, probably because wood was scarce. Some of the bones used for materials may have come from mammoths killed by humans, but the state of the bones, and the fact that bones used to build a single dwelling varied by several thousands of years in age, suggests that they were collected remains of long-dead animals. Woolly mammoth bones were also made into various tools, furniture, and musical instruments. Large bones, such as shoulder blades, were also used to cover dead human bodies during burial.[84]
The Venus of Brassempouy, made from woolly mammoth ivory, National Archaeological Museum, France
Woolly mammoth ivory was used to create art objects. Several Venus figurines, including the Venus of Brassempouy and the Venus of Lespugue, were made from this material. Weapons made from ivory, such as daggers, spears, and a boomerang, are also known. To be able to process the ivory, the large tusks had to be chopped, chiseled, and split into smaller, more manageable pieces. Some ivory artefacts show that tusks had been straightened, and how this was achieved is unknown.[85]
Several woolly mammoth specimens show evidence of being butchered by humans, which is indicated by breaks, cut marks, and associated stone tools. How much prehistoric humans relied on woolly mammoth meat is unknown, since many other large herbivores were available. Many mammoth carcasses may have been scavenged by humans rather than hunted. Some cave paintings show woolly mammoths in structures interpreted as pitfall traps. Few specimens show direct, unambiguous evidence of having been hunted by humans. A Siberian specimen with a spearhead embedded in its shoulder blade shows that a spear had been thrown at it with great force.[86] A specimen from the Mousterian age of Italy shows evidence of spear hunting by Neanderthals.[87] The juvenile specimen nicknamed "Yuka" is the first frozen mammoth with evidence of human interaction. It shows evidence of having been killed by a large predator, and of having been scavenged by humans shortly after. Some of its bones had been removed, and were found nearby.[88] A site near the Yana River in Siberia has revealed several specimens with evidence of human hunting, but the finds were interpreted to show that the animals were not hunted intensively, but perhaps mainly when ivory was needed.[89] Two woolly mammoths from Wisconsin, the "Schaefer" and "Hebior mammoths", show evidence of having been butchered by Palaeoamericans.[90][91]
ExtinctionEdit
Map showing climatic suitability for woolly mammoths in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene of Eurasia: red is increasing suitability, green is decreasing suitability. Black points are records of mammoths, black lines are the northern limit of humans
Most woolly mammoth populations disappeared during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, alongside most of the Pleistocene megafauna (including the Columbian mammoth). This extinction formed part of the Quaternary extinction event, which began 40,000 years ago and peaked between 14,000 and 11,500 years ago. Scientists are divided over whether hunting or climate change, which led to the shrinkage of its habitat, was the main factor that contributed to the extinction of the woolly mammoth, or whether it was due to a combination of the two. Whatever the cause, large mammals are generally more vulnerable than smaller ones due to their smaller population size and low reproduction rates. Different woolly mammoth populations did not die out simultaneously across their range, but gradually became extinct over time. Most populations disappeared between 14,000 and 10,000 years ago. The last mainland population existed in the Kyttyk Peninsula of Siberia 9,650 years ago.[92][93] A small population of woolly mammoths survived on St. Paul Island, Alaska, well into the Holocene[94][95][96] with the most recently published date of extinction being 5,600 years B.P.[97] The last known population remained on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean until 4,000 years ago, well into the start of human civilization and concurrent with the construction of the Great Pyramid of ancient Egypt.[98][99][100][101]
DNA sequencing of remains of two mammoths, one from Siberia 44,800 years BP and one from Wrangel Island 4,300 years BP, indicates two major population crashes: one around 280,000 years ago from which the population recovered, and a second about 12,000 years ago, near the ice age's end, from which it did not.[102] The Wrangel Island mammoths were isolated for 5000 years, and due to the small population present when the island was isolated by rising post-ice-age sea level, about 300 to 1000 individuals[103] experienced a 20%[104] to 30%[101] loss of heterozygosity, and a 65% loss in mitochondrial DNA diversity.[101] The population seems to have subsequently been stable, without suffering further significant loss of genetic diversity.[101][105] Genetic evidence thus implies the extinction of this final population was sudden, rather than the culmination of a gradual decline.[101]
Skull and jaw of the calf "Yuka", which may have been extracted from the carcass by prehistoric humans
Before their extinction, the Wrangel Island mammoths had accumulated numerous genetic defects due to their small population, consistent with the concept of genomic meltdown; in particular, a number of genes for olfactory receptors and urinary proteins became nonfunctional, possibly because they had lost their selective value on the island environment.[106] It is not clear whether these genetic changes contributed to their extinction.[107] The disappearance coincides roughly in time with the first evidence for humans on the island.[108] The woolly mammoths of eastern Beringia (modern Alaska and Yukon) had similarly died out about 13,300 years ago, soon (roughly 1000 years) after the first appearance of humans in the area, which parallels the fate of all the other late Pleistocene proboscids (mammoths, gomphotheres, and mastodons), as well as most of the rest of the megafauna, of the Americas.[109] In contrast, the St. Paul Island mammoth population apparently died out before human arrival because of habitat shrinkage resulting from the post-ice age sea-level rise,[109] perhaps in large measure as a result of a consequent reduction in the freshwater supply.[97]
Changes in climate shrank suitable mammoth habitat from 7,700,000 km2 (3,000,000 sq mi) 42,000 years ago to 800,000 km2 (310,000 sq mi) 6,000 years ago.[110][111] Woolly mammoths survived an even greater loss of habitat at the end of the Saale glaciation 125,000 years ago, and humans likely hunted the remaining populations to extinction at the end of the last glacial period.[112][113] Studies of an 11,300–11,000-year-old trackway in south-western Canada showed that M. primigenius was in decline while coexisting with humans, since far fewer tracks of juveniles were identified than would be expected in a normal herd.[52]
The decline of the woolly mammoth could have increased temperatures by up to 0.2 °C (0.36 °F) at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Mammoths frequently ate birch trees, creating a grassland habitat. With the disappearance of mammoths, birch forests, which absorb more sunlight than grasslands, expanded, leading to regional warming.[114]
Fossil specimensEdit
Skull discovered by fishermen in the North Sea ("Doggerland"), at Celtic and Prehistoric Museum, Ireland
Woolly mammoth fossils have been found in many different types of deposits, including former rivers and lakes, and also in "Doggerland" in the North Sea, which was dry at times during the ice age. Such fossils are usually fragmentary and contain no soft tissue. Accumulations of modern elephant remains have been termed "elephants' graveyards", as these sites were erroneously thought to be where old elephants went to die. Similar accumulations of woolly mammoth bones have been found; these are thought to be the result of individuals dying near or in the rivers over thousands of years, and their bones eventually being brought together by the streams. Some accumulations are also thought to be the remains of herds that died together at the same time, perhaps due to flooding. Natural traps, such as kettle holes, sink holes, and mud, have also trapped mammoths in separate events over time.[115]
Apart from frozen remains, the only soft tissue known is from a specimen that was preserved in a petroleum seep in Starunia, Poland. Frozen remains of woolly mammoths have been found in the northern parts of Siberia and Alaska, with far fewer finds in the latter. Such remains are mostly found above the Arctic Circle, in permafrost. Soft tissue apparently was less likely to be preserved between 30,000 and 15,000 years ago, perhaps because the climate was milder during that period. Most specimens have partially degraded before discovery, due to exposure or to being scavenged. This "natural mummification" required the animal to have been buried rapidly in liquid or semisolids such as silt, mud, and icy water, which then froze.[116]
The presence of undigested food in the stomach and seed pods still in the mouth of many of the specimens suggests neither starvation nor exposure is likely. The maturity of this ingested vegetation places the time of death in autumn rather than in spring, when flowers would be expected.[117] The animals may have fallen through ice into small ponds or potholes, entombing them. Many are certainly known to have been killed in rivers, perhaps through being swept away by floods. In one location, by the Berelekh River in Yakutia in Siberia, more than 8,000 bones from at least 140 mammoths have been found in a single spot, apparently having been swept there by the current.[118]
Frozen specimensEdit
The "Adams mammoth" on exhibit in Vienna; skin can be seen on its head and feet.
Between 1692 and 1806, only four descriptions of frozen mammoths were published in Europe. None of the remains of those five were preserved, and no complete skeletons were recovered during that time.[119] While frozen woolly mammoth carcasses had been excavated by Europeans as early as 1728, the first fully documented specimen was discovered near the delta of the Lena River in 1799 by Ossip Schumachov, a Siberian hunter.[120] Schumachov let it thaw until he could retrieve the tusks for sale to the ivory trade. While in Yakutsk in 1806, Michael Friedrich Adams heard about the frozen mammoth. Upon arrival at the location, Adams discovered that wild animals had eaten most of the organs and flesh of the mammoth, including the trunk. He examined the carcass and realised what was left would still be the most complete mammoth recovered by that time. Adams recovered the entire skeleton, apart from the tusks, which Shumachov had already sold, and one foreleg, most of the skin, and nearly 18 kg (40 lb) of hair. During his return voyage, he purchased a pair of tusks that he believed were the ones that Shumachov had sold. Adams brought all to the Zoological Museum of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the task of mounting the skeleton was given to Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius.[6] The Kunstkamera, the museum established by Peter the Great, contained the skeleton of an Indian elephant that could be used as reference.[121] This was one of the first attempts at reconstructing the skeleton of an extinct animal. Most of the reconstruction is correct, but Tilesius placed each tusk in the opposite socket, so that they curved outward instead of inward. The error was not corrected until 1899, and the correct placement of mammoth tusks was still a matter of debate into the 20th century.[122][123]
A third of this model is covered with the skin of the "Berezovka mammoth". Museum of Zoology, St. Petersburg
The 1901 excavation of the "Berezovka mammoth" is the best documented of the early finds. It was discovered at the Siberian Berezovka River (after a dog had noticed its smell), and the Russian authorities financed its excavation. The entire expedition took 10 months, and the specimen had to be cut to pieces before it could be transported to St. Petersburg. Most of the skin on the head as well as the trunk had been scavenged by predators, and most of the internal organs had rotted away. It was identified as a 35- to 40-year-old male, which had died 35,000 years ago. The animal still had grass between its teeth and on the tongue, showing that it had died suddenly. One of its shoulder blades was broken, which may have happened when it fell into a crevasse. It may have died of asphyxiation, as indicated by its erect penis. One third of a replica of the mammoth in the Museum of Zoology of St. Petersburg is covered in skin and hair of the "Berezovka mammoth".[117][116]
By 1929, the remains of 34 mammoths with frozen soft tissues (skin, flesh, or organs) had been documented. Only four of them were relatively complete. Since then, about that many more have been found. In most cases, the flesh showed signs of decay before its freezing and later desiccation.[124] Since 1860, Russian authorities have offered rewards of up to ₽1000 for finds of frozen woolly mammoth carcasses. Often, such finds were kept secret due to superstition. Several carcasses have been lost because they were not reported, and one was fed to dogs. In more recent years, scientific expeditions have been devoted to finding carcasses instead of relying solely on chance encounters. The most famous frozen specimen from Alaska is a calf nicknamed "Effie", which was found in 1948. It consists of the head, trunk, and a fore leg, and is about 25,000 years old.[115]
"Dima", a frozen calf about seven months old, during excavation
In 1977, the well-preserved carcass of a seven- to eight-month-old woolly mammoth calf named "Dima" was discovered. This carcass was recovered near a tributary of the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia. This specimen weighed about 100 kg (220 lb) at death and was 104 cm (41 in) high and 115 cm (45 in) long. Radiocarbon dating determined that "Dima" died about 40,000 years ago. Its internal organs are similar to those of modern elephants, but its ears are only one-tenth the size of those of an African elephant of similar age. A less complete juvenile, nicknamed "Mascha", was found on the Yamal Peninsula in 1988. It was 3–4 months old, and a laceration on its right foot may have been the cause of death. It is the westernmost frozen mammoth found.[125]
In 1997, a piece of mammoth tusk was discovered protruding from the tundra of the Taymyr Peninsula in Siberia, Russia. In 1999, this 20,380-year-old carcass and 25 tons of surrounding sediment were transported by an Mi-26 heavy lift helicopter to an ice cave in Khatanga. The specimen was nicknamed the "Jarkov mammoth". In October 2000, the careful defrosting operations in this cave began with the use of hair dryers to keep the hair and other soft tissues intact.[126][127]
In 2002, a well-preserved carcass was discovered near the Maxunuokha River in northern Yakutia, which was recovered during three excavations. This adult male specimen was called the "Yukagir mammoth", and is estimated to have lived around 18,560 years ago, and to have been 282.9 cm (9.2 ft) tall at the shoulder, and weighed between 4 and 5 tonnes. It is one of the best-preserved mammoths ever found due to the almost complete head, covered in skin, but without the trunk. Some postcranial remains were also found, some with soft tissue.[64]
Frozen calf nicknamed "Mascha"
In 2007, the carcass of a female calf nicknamed "Lyuba" was discovered near the Yuribey River, where it had been buried for 41,800 years.[59][128] By cutting a section through a molar and analysing its growth lines, they found that the animal had died at the age of one month.[67] The mummified calf weighed 50 kg (110 lb), was 85 cm (33 in) high and 130 cm (51 in) in length.[129][130] At the time of discovery, its eyes and trunk were intact and some fur remained on its body. Its organs and skin are very well preserved.[131] "Lyuba" is believed to have been suffocated by mud in a river that its herd was crossing.[59][132] After death, its body may have been colonised by bacteria that produce lactic acid, which "pickled" it, preserving the mammoth in a nearly pristine state.[59]
The frozen calf "Yuka"
In 2012, a juvenile was found in Siberia, which had man-made cut marks. Scientists estimated its age at death to be 2.5 years, and nicknamed it "Yuka". Its skull and pelvis had been removed prior to discovery, but were found nearby.[88][133] After being discovered, the skin of "Yuka" was prepared to produce a taxidermy mount.[39] In 2019, a group of researchers managed to obtain signs of biological activity after transferring nuclei of "Yuka" into mouse oocytes.[134] Another mammoth discovery was reported in October 2012, when it was excavated on the Taymyr Peninsula. It was dated to 30,000 years old. Formally known as the Sopkarga mammoth, it was nicknamed "Zhenya" after the boy who found it.[135]
In 2013, a well-preserved carcass was found on Maly Lyakhovsky Island, one of the islands in the New Siberian Islands archipelago, a female between 50 and 60 years old at the time of death. The carcass contained well-preserved muscular tissue. When it was extracted from the ice, liquid blood spilled from the abdominal cavity. The finders interpreted this as indicating woolly mammoth blood possessed antifreezing properties.[136]
Recreating the speciesEdit
Model of an adult, Naturkundemuseum Stuttgart
The existence of frozen soft tissue remains and DNA of woolly mammoths has led to the idea that the species could be recreated by scientific means. Several methods have been proposed to achieve this. Cloning would involve removal of the DNA-containing nucleus of the egg cell of a female elephant, and replacement with a nucleus from woolly mammoth tissue, a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer. For example, Akira Iritani, at the Kyoto University in Japan, reportedly planned to do this.[137][138] The cell would then be stimulated into dividing, and implanted in a female elephant. The resulting calf would have the genes of the woolly mammoth. However, nobody has yet found a viable mammoth cell, and most scientists doubt that any living cell could have survived freezing in the tundra.[139][140][141][142] Because of their conditions of preservation, the DNA of frozen mammoths has deteriorated significantly.[143][144]
A second method involves artificially inseminating an elephant egg cell with sperm cells from a frozen woolly mammoth carcass. The resulting offspring would be an elephant–mammoth hybrid, and the process would have to be repeated so more hybrids could be used in breeding. After several generations of cross-breeding these hybrids, an almost pure woolly mammoth would be produced. In one case, an Asian elephant and an African elephant produced a live calf named Motty, but it died of defects at less than two weeks old.[145] The fact that sperm cells of modern mammals are viable for 15 years at most after deep-freezing makes this method unfeasible.[144]
Model depicting the calf "Dima", Stuttgart
In April 2015, Swedish scientists published the complete genome (nuclear DNA sequence) of the woolly mammoth.[2][146] Several projects are working on gradually replacing the genes in elephant cells with mammoth genes.[2][147] One such project is that of Harvard University geneticist George M. Church—who is funded by the Long Now Foundation,[2][147] which is attempting to create a mammoth–elephant hybrid using DNA from frozen mammoth carcasses. According to the researchers, a mammoth cannot be recreated, but they will try to eventually grow a hybrid elephant with some woolly mammoth traits in an "artificial womb".[148][149] The Harvard University team is attempting to study the animals' characteristics in vitro by replacing or editing some specific mammoth genes into Asian elephant skin cells called fibroblasts that have the potential to become embryonic stem cells.[150] By March 2015 and using the new CRISPR DNA editing technique, Church's team had some woolly mammoth genes edited into the genome of an Asian elephant; focusing on cold-resistance initially,[139] the target genes are for the external ear size, subcutaneous fat, hemoglobin, and hair attributes.[150][151] By February 2017, Church's team had made 45 substitutions to the elephant genome.[148] So far his work focuses solely on single cells.
The Mammoth Genome Project at Pennsylvania State University is also researching the modification of African elephant DNA to create an elephant–mammoth hybrid.[152] If a viable hybrid embryo is obtained by gene editing procedures, implanting it into a female Asian elephant housed in a zoo may be possible,[2] but with the current knowledge and technology, whether the hybrid embryo would be carried through the two-year gestation is unknown.[153][154] If any method is ever successful, a suggestion has been made to introduce the hybrids to a wildlife reserve in Siberia called the Pleistocene Park.[137][155] Some biologists question the ethics of such recreation attempts. In addition to the technical problems, not much habitat is left that would be suitable for elephant-mammoth hybrids. Because both species are [were] social and gregarious, creating a few specimens would not be ideal. The time and resources required would be enormous, and the scientific benefits would be unclear, suggesting these resources should instead be used to preserve extant elephant species which are endangered.[144][156] The ethics of using elephants as surrogate mothers in hybridisation attempts has also been questioned, as most embryos would not survive, and knowing the exact needs of a hybrid elephant–mammoth calf would be impossible.[157]
Cultural significanceEdit
A mammoth tusk with Inuit carvings of scenes on the Yukon River, 19th century, De Young Museum
The woolly mammoth has remained culturally significant long after its extinction. Indigenous peoples of Siberia had long found what are now known to be woolly mammoth remains, collecting their tusks for the ivory trade. Native Siberians believed woolly mammoth remains to be those of giant mole-like animals that lived underground and died when burrowing to the surface.[158][159] Woolly mammoth tusks had been articles of trade in Asia long before Europeans became acquainted with them. Güyük, the 13th-century Khan of the Mongols, is reputed to have sat on a throne made from mammoth ivory.[119] Inspired by the Siberian natives' concept of the mammoth as an underground creature, it was recorded in the Chinese pharmaceutical encyclopedia, Ben Cao Gangmu, as yin shu, "the hidden rodent".[160]
Peter III of Russia carved in mammoth ivory
The indigenous peoples of North America also used woolly mammoth ivory and bone for tools and art.[161] As in Siberia, North American natives had "myths of observation" explaining the remains of woolly mammoths and other elephants; the Bering Strait Inupiat also believed the bones came from underground burrowing creatures, while other peoples associated them with primordial giants or "great beasts".[162][163][164] Observers have interpreted legends from several Native American peoples as containing folk memory of extinct elephants, though other scholars are sceptical that folk memory could survive such a long time.[162][164][165]
Siberian mammoth ivory is reported to have been exported to Russia and Europe in the 10th century. The first Siberian ivory to reach western Europe was brought to London in 1611. When Russia occupied Siberia, the ivory trade grew and it became a widely exported commodity, with huge amounts being excavated. From the 19th century and onwards, woolly mammoth ivory became a highly prized commodity, used as raw material for many products. Today, it is still in great demand as a replacement for the now-banned export of elephant ivory, and has been referred to as "white gold". Local dealers estimate that 10 million mammoths are still frozen in Siberia, and conservationists have suggested that this could help save the living species of elephants from extinction. Elephants are hunted by poachers for their ivory, but if this could instead be supplied by the already extinct mammoths, the demand could instead be met by these. Trade in elephant ivory has been forbidden in most places following the 1989 Lausanne Conference, but dealers have been known to label it as mammoth ivory to get it through customs. Mammoth ivory looks similar to elephant ivory, but the former is browner and the Schreger lines are coarser in texture.[166] In the 21st century, global warming has made access to Siberian tusks easier, since the permafrost thaws more quickly, exposing the mammoths embedded within it.[167]
La fuite devant le mammouth, Paul Jamin, 1885
Stories abound about frozen woolly mammoth meat that was consumed once defrosted, especially that of the "Berezovka mammoth", but most of these are considered dubious. The carcasses were in most cases decayed, and the stench so unbearable that only wild scavengers and the dogs accompanying the finders showed any interest in the flesh. Such meat apparently was once recommended against illness in China, and Siberian natives have occasionally cooked the meat of frozen carcasses they discovered.[168] According to one of the more famous stories, members of The Explorers Club dined on meat of a frozen mammoth from Alaska in 1951. In 2016, a group of researchers genetically examined a sample of the meal, and found it to belong to a green sea turtle (it had also been claimed to belong to Megatherium). The researchers concluded that the dinner had been a publicity stunt.[169] In 2011, the Chinese palaeontologist Lida Xing livestreamed while eating meat from a Siberian mammoth leg (thoroughly cooked and flavoured with salt), and told his audience it tasted bad and like soil. This triggered controversy and gained mixed reactions, but Xing stated he did it to promote science.[170]
Alleged survivalEdit
There have been occasional claims that the woolly mammoth is not extinct, and that small, isolated herds might survive in the vast and sparsely inhabited tundra of the Northern Hemisphere. In the 19th century, several reports of "large shaggy beasts" were passed on to the Russian authorities by Siberian tribesmen, but no scientific proof ever surfaced. A French chargé d'affaires working in Vladivostok, M. Gallon, said in 1946 that in 1920, he had met a Russian fur-trapper who claimed to have seen living giant, furry "elephants" deep into the taiga.[171] Due to the large area of Siberia, that woolly mammoths survived into more recent times cannot be completely ruled out, but all evidence indicates that they became extinct thousands of years ago. These natives likely had gained their knowledge of woolly mammoths from carcasses they encountered, and that this is the source for their legends of the animal.[172]
In the late 19th century, rumours existed about surviving mammoths in Alaska.[171] In October 1899, Henry Tukeman detailed his killing of a mammoth in Alaska and his subsequent donation of the specimen to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The museum denied the story.[173] The Swedish writer Bengt Sjögren suggested in 1962 that the myth began when the American biologist Charles Haskins Townsend travelled in Alaska, saw Eskimos trading mammoth tusks, asked if mammoths were still living in Alaska, and provided them with a drawing of the animal.[171]
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^ Mol, D. et al. (2001). "The Jarkov Mammoth: 20,000-Year-Old carcass of a Siberian woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius (Blumenbach, 1799)". The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress ( 16–20 October 2001, Rome): 305–309. Full text pdf
^ Debruyne, R. G.; Barriel, V. R.; Tassy, P. (2003). "Mitochondrial cytochrome b of the Lyakhov mammoth (Proboscidea, Mammalia): New data and phylogenetic analyses of Elephantidae". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 26 (3): 421–434. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00292-0. PMID 12644401.
^ Kosintsev, P. A.; Lapteva, E. G.; Trofimova, S. S.; Zanina, O. G.; Tikhonov, A. N.; Van Der Plicht, J. (2012). "Environmental reconstruction inferred from the intestinal contents of the Yamal baby mammoth Lyuba (Mammuthus primigenius Blumenbach, 1799)" (PDF). Quaternary International. 255: 231–238. Bibcode:2012QuInt.255..231K. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.03.027.
^ Rincon, P. (10 July 2007). "Baby mammoth discovery unveiled". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
^ Solovyov, D. (11 July 2007). "Baby mammoth find promises breakthrough". reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
^ Smith, O. (21 April 2009). "Baby mammoth Lyuba, pristinely preserved, offers scientists rare look into mysteries of Ice Age". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on 15 August 2009.
^ Fisher, Daniel C. (2014). "X-ray computed tomography of two mammoth calf mummies". Journal of Paleontology. 88 (4): 664–675. doi:10.1666/13-092.
^ Mashchenko, E. N.; Protopopov, A. V.; Plotnikov, V. V.; Pavlov, I. S. (2013). "Specific characters of the mammoth calf (Mammuthus primigenius) from the Khroma River (Yakutia)". Biology Bulletin. 40 (7): 626–641. doi:10.1134/S1062359013070042.
^ Yamagata, K.; Nagai, K.; Miyamoto, H.; Anzai, M.; Kato, H.; Miyamoto, K.; Kurosaka, S.; Azuma, R.; Kolodeznikov, I. I.; Protopopov, A. V.; Plotnikov, V. V.; Kobayashi, H.; Kawahara-Miki, R.; Kono, T.; Uchida, M.; Shibata, Y.; Handa, T.; Kimura, H.; Hosoi, Y.; Mitani, T.; Matsumoto, K.; Iritani, A. (2019). "Signs of biological activities of 28,000-year-old mammoth nuclei in mouse oocytes visualized by live-cell imaging". Scientific Reports. 9 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40546-1.
^ "Child finds 30,000 year old mammoth in North Russia". Russia Today. 4 October 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
^ Wong, K. (2013). "Can a mammoth carcass really preserve flowing blood and possibly live cells?". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2013.13103.
^ a b Kruglova, Lidia (2 May 2011). "Pleistocene Park: so far without mammoths". The Voice of Russia. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
^ Scientists trying to clone, resurrect extinct mammoth Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Brad Lendon. CNN News. 17 January 2011.
^ a b Can scientists bring mammoths back to life by cloning? Archived 8 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Jackson Landers. February 9, 2015. The Washington Post.
^ Bringing them Back to Life Archived 29 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Carl Zimmer, National Geographic. April 2013.
^ Cloning the Mammoth: A Complicated Task or Just a Dream? Archived 15 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), Pasqualino Loi , Joseph Saragusty , and Grazyna Ptak. 2014
^ Shapiro, 2015. p. 11
^ Timmons, Jeanne (7 January 2013). "Could Ancient Giants Be Cloned? Is It Possible, And Is It Wise?". Valley News. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015.
^ a b c Lister, 2007. pp. 42–43
^ Stone, R. (1999). "Cloning the Woolly Mammoth". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014.
^ Dalén, Love; Palkopoulou, Eleftheria; Mallick, Swapan; et al. (18 May 2015). "Complete Genomes Reveal Signatures of Demographic and Genetic Declines in the Woolly Mammoth". Current Biology. 25 (10): 1395–1400. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.04.007. PMC 4439331. PMID 25913407. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
^ a b The Long Now Fouldation – Revive and Restore Archived 24 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
^ a b Reviving woolly mammoth will take more than 2 years Archived 8 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News. Helen Pilcher, 22 February 2017.
^ Kaebnick, Gregory E.; Jennings, Bruce (2017). "De-extinction and Conservation". Hastings Center Report. 47: S2–S4. doi:10.1002/hast.744. PMID 28746761.
^ a b Webster, Ben (23 March 2015). "Scientist takes mammoth-cloning a step closer". The Sunday Times.
^ Sarah Fecht (24 March 2014), Woolly Mammoth DNA Successfully Spliced Into Elephant Cells, Popular Science, archived from the original on 26 March 2015
^ Scientists Hoped to Have Cloned a Living Woolly Mammoth by Now — Why Haven't We? Archived 8 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Sveta McShane. 17 August 2016. Singularity Hub.
^ The Plan to Turn Elephants Into Woolly Mammoths Is Already Underway Archived 24 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. 21 May 2014.
^ "Scientists Sequence Woolly-Mammoth Genome". Mammoth Genome Project. Pennsylvania State University. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
^ Zimov, S. A. (2005). "Essays on Science and Society: Pleistocene Park: Return of the Mammoth's Ecosystem". Science. 308 (5723): 796–798. doi:10.1126/science.1113442. PMID 15879196.
^ Griffin, A. (23 March 2015). "Woolly mammoth could be revived after scientists paste DNA into elephant's genetic code". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
^ Loi, Pasqualino; Saragusty, Joseph; Ptak, Grazyna (2014). Cloning the Mammoth: A Complicated Task or Just a Dream?. Adv Exp Med Biol. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 753. pp. 489–502. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-0820-2_19. ISBN 978-1-4939-0819-6. PMID 25091921.
^ Newcomb, Raymond Lee (1888). Our lost explorers : the narrative of the Jeannette Arctic Expedition as related by the survivors, and in the records and last journals of Lieutenant De Long Archived 17 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. p. 96
^ Patkanov, S. (1897), Die lrtysch-Ostjaken und ihre Volkspoesie, I, St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg, pp. 123–124, archived from the original on 7 November 2018 . (Here the belief is attested among the Khanty people of the Irtysh River basin).
^ Laufer, Berthold (1913), "Arabic and Chinese Trade in Walrus and Narwhal Ivory", T'oung Pao, Second Series, 14 (3): 329, JSTOR 4526349 . Bertholds's source for the Irtysh Ostyaks' belief is Patkanov 1897, pp. 123–124
^ Cohen, C. (2002). The Fate of the Mammoth: Fossils, Myth, and History. University of Chicago Press. pp. 197–198. ISBN 978-0-226-11292-3. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
^ a b Strong, W. D. (1934). "North American Indian traditions suggesting a knowledge of the mammoth". American Anthropologist. 36: 81–88. doi:10.1525/aa.1934.36.1.02a00060.
^ Lankford, G. E. (1980). "Pleistocene Animals in Folk Memory". The Journal of American Folklore. 93 (369): 294–296. doi:10.2307/540573. JSTOR 540573. {subscription required}
^ a b Mayor, A. (2005). Fossil Legends of the First Americans. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-691-11345-6.
^ Larmer, B. (April 2013). "Mammoth Tusk Hunters". nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013.
^ Glass, J. R.; Davis, M.; Walsh, T. J.; Sargis, E. J.; Caccone, A.; Fiorillo, A. (2016). "Was Frozen Mammoth or Giant Ground Sloth Served for Dinner at The Explorers Club?". PLOS ONE. 11 (2): e0146825. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0146825.
^ Weiyun, T. (2011). "'Lucky Hands' in pursuit of dinosaurs". SHINE. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
^ a b c Sjögren, B. (1962). Farliga djur och djur som inte finns (in Swedish). Prisma. p. 168.
^ Murray, M. (1960). "Henry Tukeman: Mammoth's Roar was Heard All The Way to the Smithsonian". Tacoma Public Library. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
Lister, A.; Bahn, P. (2007). Mammoths - Giants of the Ice Age (3 ed.). London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-520-26160-0. OCLC 30155747.
Shapiro, Beth (5 April 2015). How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-6548-2. OCLC 965621402.
Data related to Mammuthus primigenius at Wikispecies
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mammuthus primigenius.
Paleontology portal
Natural History Museum: "The last of the mammoths" - three-minute video about the extinction of the woolly mammoth, presented by Adrian Lister
National Geographic: "Mammoth tusk treasure hunt" - two-minute video about mammoth tusk collecting in modern Siberia
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Woolly_mammoth&oldid=906330250"
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Falkland Islands economy and Brexit…how tough will it be?
Dire state of fisheries and worsening air pollution, revealed by Environmental performance index
Tuesday, January 26th 2016 - 12:22 UTC
The 2016 Index of Environmental Performance. (Image: Yale University)
In addition, air pollution has worsened and today accounts for 10% of all deaths, compared with 2% claimed by foul water.
The number of people who lack access to clean water has been cut nearly in half since 2000, though at 550 million, or around 8% of the world’s population
The worrying state of many fisheries and worsening air pollution are some of the problems revealed by the 2016 Index of Environmental Performance (EPI), an initiative that assesses how 180 countries protect ecosystems and human health of environmental damage.
This index is produced biennially by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and with support from the Samuel Family Foundation and the McCall MacBain Foundation.
The report highlights increased access to water and sanitation stand out as a major success story. In this sense, concerted efforts to develop clean drinking water and sewage infrastructure have significantly reduced deaths from waterborne diseases.
The number of people who lack access to clean water has been cut nearly in half since 2000, though at 550 million, or around 8 percent of the world’s population, there is still much room for improvement.
The world’s nations also show strong commitments to habitat protection, and countries are now within striking distance of international targets for terrestrial and marine habitat protection.
However, in other areas, environmental progress has stalled, and some issues have shown troubling declines, such as the fact that 23% of countries lack any kind of wastewater treatment.
Regarding the world’s fisheries, they are in a dire state, with most fish stocks at risk of collapse.
Angel Hsu, lead author of the report stressed, “While many environmental problems are the result of industrialization, our findings show that both poor and wealthy nations suffer from serious air pollution.”
The index shows that focused, coordinated global efforts are essential to make progress on global goals and to save lives.
The report also sends a clear signal to policymakers on the state of their environment and equips them with the data to develop fine-tuned solutions to the pressing challenges the world faces.
Data gaps create hurdles and impasses for tracking progress towards meeting targets, including benchmarks for protecting fisheries, ensuring freshwater quality, agricultural sustainability, preventing species loss, fostering climate adaptation, and managing waste.
“Even when data exists, policymakers often struggle to apply this information appropriately,” notes Marc Levy, Deputy Director of the Centre for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University.
“The EPI works to identify and address these blind spots within existing policy goals. For instance, a new biodiversity indicator weeds out protected areas that do not intersect with species’ habitats, showing where national parks may be ineffective at protecting species,” the researcher added. (FIS)
Categories: Environment, Fisheries, International.
Tags: 2016 Index of Environmental Performance (EPI).
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For the sake of real peace: Let Israel achieve Victory
Alex Selsky | 19/03/2019 18/04/2019
Precisely now that Israel has reached an unprecedented status in the international arena, Israel must move from a policy of concessions to a clear Israeli Victory paradigm.
A reservist trains during a battalion wide exercise in the Golan Heights (Credit Photo: Matania, Wikicommons)
The term “victory” has recently emerged in the public-security discourse of the political agenda. In an interview given last year, Avigdor Lieberman, Defense Minister at the time, declared that the IDF’s central value guiding him in choosing a new chief of staff was the value of victory. In his first speech, Israel’s new Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, also stated that the IDF’s main goal is to “win the war and achieve victory”. He recently even commissioned a “victory seminar” for the General staff to assist.
In the last year and a half, the”Israel Victory” Knesset caucus headed by MK Oded Forer (Israel Beytenu), MK Avraham Neguise (Likud) and MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid). A couple of months ago, with the beginning of the election campaign, Minister of Education Naftali Bennett also adopted the term “victory” in his campaign vocabulary: he even included the slogan “Israel returns to winning” as its slogan for his brand “new right” political party, “HaYamin haChadash”.
The term “Victory”, in its military-security context, was heard as well in the slogans of Benny Gantz’s “resilience for Israel” political party (Hosen LeYisrael). Recently, President Rivlin surprisingly declared that “it was time [for Israel] to achieve victory” in the INSS conference a few weeks ago. In a campaign video of the Avoda party, Gen. (res.) Tal Russo said: “ Zionism is about entering an impossible battle and winning.”
Of course, part of is is only electoral rethorics, in which political candidates from the left and the right compete over who has the toughest reputation regarding Israel’s security and the war against terrorism. Yet, even for an election campaign, the use of the words “victory” and “winning” is quite unusual in comparison to previous elections. Moreover, as I mentioned, the discourse about victory rose before the election campaign even began, and some of it did not come from politicians but rather from the heads of the security establishment.
The use of the term “victory” in reference to our attitude towards our enemies is not that obvious. This is a discourse that has not been heard in our region for many years and is even considered as beyond the pale and unspeakable in the Israeli society. “Victory” as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was perceived as crude, aggressive, militant and unfair. On the other hand, we got accustomed to the fact that – by default – our discourse is tainted with terms of appeasement, negotiations and painful concessions.
It is time, 25 years after the Oslo accords, 13 years since the unilateral disengagement from Gaza and 8 years since the beginning of the Arab Spring, that we wake up, learn the lessons of the past and recognize the failure of the appeasement and unilateral withdrawal discourse. It is time to learn from History. Peace agreements have always been the result of victory, in a way that allows the winner to impose defined conditions on the defeated foe.
Israel’s International standing
In recent years, we witness signs of understanding from Western Europe, and even more so from the Arab countries, that Israel is not the problem of the Middle East but rather an essential and central part of the solution to said problems. Of course, the Iranian threat “helps” bring us closer, but this is mainly because Israel has become a technological, economic and military power. This is not acceptance with Israel’s justice, but an internalization that is preferable to cooperate with the State of Israel than fight it. Consequently, we must prove to our enemies that they can not continue to fight us. Now that Israel is gaining unprecedented status in the international arena and now that Israel starts cooperating with Arab states, we must stand up for ourselves and defeat our enemies. Only an unequivocal decision to achieve victory, will cause the Palestinian to internalize their defeat and their futility of armed struggle against us.
Unfortunately, past experience shows that at the very moment of truth, when our enemies have been weakened and we got strengthened – we, each time, decide to take pity of them and be compassionate and give up, instead of achieving an indisputable and definite victory. It happened 25 years ago with Oslo, just after the fall of the Soviet Union, the patron of our enemies then, and after the large and educated wave of immigration of the Jews of the Soviet Union that reinforced Israel. This happened when, after the fall of the hostile regime of Saddam Hussein (who was a generous patron of Palestinian terror), the government decided to withdraw from Gaza. This is happening again these days, despite our growing geopolitical standing and a stronger than ever alliance with the United States and the weakening of the European Union. Once again, we refrain and avoid conflict resolution.
It must not happen again. The argument that Israel is a small country that can not allow itself to stand up to the superpowers is no longer true today. Israel in 2019 is a superpower according to all the relevant criteria.
A change in thinking…
Professor Daniel Pipes, a Jewish-American historian who serves as the president of the Middle East Forum, described it well: “Peace is not made with enemies, but with former enemies. Throughout human history, the wars ended when one side was defeated and gave up.”
It has always been, and will always continue to be this way. We must understand it and act accordingly instead of dreaming of changing the way humanity operates. Therefore, it is very important that we finally put the terms of reconciliation and concessions away, and start talking and most importantly thinking in terms of victory and defeat, not only now but after the elections as well.
Alex Selsky is the CEO of the World Israel Beytenu movement, former adviser to PM Netanyahu, member of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization and the Board of Governess Of the Jewish Agency, lecturer at the school of Politics and Journalism at the Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem.
Translated to English by Rachel Touitou
[To receive updates on more in depth articles on Israel and the Middle East, join us on Facebook or Twitter]
https://en.mida.org.il/2019/03/19/for-the-sake-of-real-peace-let-israel-achieve-victory/
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Marine invertebrates of the class Anthozoa
For other uses, see Coral (disambiguation).
A coral outcrop on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically live in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Corals species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.
A coral "group" is a colony of myriad genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in length. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening. An exoskeleton is excreted near the base. Over many generations, the colony thus creates a large skeleton characteristic of the species. Individual heads grow by asexual reproduction of polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning: polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously over a period of one to several nights around a full moon.
Although some corals are able to catch small fish and plankton using stinging cells on their tentacles, most corals obtain the majority of their energy and nutrients from photosynthetic unicellular dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium that live within their tissues. These are commonly known as zooxanthellae. Such corals require sunlight and grow in clear, shallow water, typically at depths less than 60 metres (200 ft). Corals are major contributors to the physical structure of the coral reefs that develop in tropical and subtropical waters, such as the enormous Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
Other corals do not rely on zooxanthellae and can live in much deeper water, with the cold-water genus Lophelia surviving as deep as 3,300 metres (10,800 ft).[1] Some have been found as far north as the Darwin Mounds, northwest of Cape Wrath, Scotland, and others off the coast of Washington State and the Aleutian Islands.
2.1 Soft corals
2.2 Stony corals
3.1 Feeding
3.2 Intracellular symbionts
4 Reproduction
4.1 Sexual
4.1.1 Broadcasters
4.1.2 Brooders
4.1.3 Planulae
4.2 Asexual
4.3 Colony division
5 Reefs
6 Evolutionary history
7.2 Protection
8 Relation to humans
8.1 Jewelry
8.2 Medicine
8.3 Construction
8.4 Shoreline protection
8.5 Local economies
8.6 Climate research
8.6.1 Geochemistry
8.6.1.1 Strontium/calcium ratio anomaly
8.6.1.2 Oxygen isotope anomaly
8.6.1.3 Sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity
8.6.1.4 Limited climate research on current species
8.7 Aquaria
8.8 Aquaculture
Aristotle's pupil Theophrastus described the red coral, korallion, in his book on stones, implying it was a mineral, but he described it as a deep-sea plant in his Enquiries on Plants, where he also mentions large stony plants that reveal bright flowers when under water in the Gulf of Heroes.[2] Pliny the Elder stated boldly that several sea creatures including sea nettles and sponges "are neither animals nor plants, but are possessed of a third nature (tertius natura)".[3] Petrus Gyllius copied Pliny, introducing the term zoophyta for this third group in his 1535 book On the French and Latin Names of the Fishes of the Marseilles Region; it is popularly but wrongly supposed that Aristotle created the term.[3] Gyllius further noted, following Aristotle, how hard it was to define what was a plant and what was an animal.[3]
The Persian polymath Al-Biruni (d. 1048) classified sponges and corals as animals, arguing that they respond to touch.[4] Nevertheless, people believed corals to be plants until the eighteenth century, when William Herschel used a microscope to establish that coral had the characteristic thin cell membranes of an animal.[5]
Presently, corals are classified as certain species of animals within the sub-classes Hexacorallia and Octocorallia of the class Anthozoa in the phylum Cnidaria.[6] Hexacorallia includes the stony corals and these groups have polyps that generally have a 6-fold symmetry. Octocorallia includes blue coral and soft corals and species of Octocorallia have polyps with an eightfold symmetry, each polyp having eight tentacles and eight mesenteries.
Fire corals are not true corals, being in the order Anthomedusae (sometimes known as Anthoathecata) of the class Hydrozoa.[7]
Anatomy[edit]
Anatomy of a stony coral polyp
Corals are sessile animals and differ from most other cnidarians in not having a medusa stage in their life cycle. The body unit of the animal is a polyp. Most corals are colonial, the initial polyp budding to produce another and the colony gradually developing from this small start. In stony corals, also known as hard corals, the polyps produce a skeleton composed of calcium carbonate to strengthen and protect the organism. This is deposited by the polyps and by the coenosarc, the living tissue that connects them. The polyps sit in cup-shaped depressions in the skeleton known as corallites. Colonies of stony coral are very variable in appearance; a single species may adopt an encrusting, plate-like, bushy, columnar or massive solid structure, the various forms often being linked to different types of habitat, with variations in light level and water movement being significant.[8]
Soft corals[edit]
Soft corals have no solid exoskeleton per se. However, their tissues are often reinforced by small supportive elements known as "sclerites" made of calcium carbonate.
Soft corals vary considerably in form, and most are colonial. A few soft corals are stolonate, but the polyps of most are connected by sheets of coenosarc [def], and in some species these sheets are thick and the polyps deeply embedded in them. Some soft corals encrust other sea objects or form lobes. Others are tree-like or whip-like and chem a central axial skeleton embedded at its base in the matrix of the supporting branch.[9] These branches are composed either of a fibrous protein called gorgonin or of a calcified material.
In both stony and soft corals, the polyps can be retracted, with stony corals relying on their hard skeleton and cnidocytes for defence. Soft corals generally secrete terpenoid toxins to ward off predators.[8]
Stony corals[edit]
Montastraea cavernosa polyps with tentacles extended
The polyps of stony corals have six-fold symmetry while those of soft corals have eight. The mouth of each polyp is surrounded by a ring of tentacles. In stony corals these are cylindrical and taper to a point, but in soft corals they are pinnate with side branches known as pinnules. In some tropical species these are reduced to mere stubs and in some they are fused to give a paddle-like appearance.[10] In most corals, the tentacles are retracted by day and spread out at night to catch plankton and other small organisms. Shallow water species of both stony and soft corals can be zooxanthellate, the corals supplementing their plankton diet with the products of photosynthesis produced by these symbionts.[8] The polyps interconnect by a complex and well-developed system of gastrovascular canals, allowing significant sharing of nutrients and symbionts.[11]
Coral skeletons are biocomposites (mineral + organics) Ca carbonate, in the form of calcite or aragonite. In scleractinian corals, "centers of calcification" and fibers are clearly distinct structures differing with respect to both morphology and chemical compositions of the crystalline units.[12][13] The organic matrices extracted from diverse species are acidic, and comprise proteins, sulphated sugars and lipids; they are species specific. [14] The soluble organic matrices of the skeletons allow to differentiate zooxanthellae and non zooxanthellae specimens.[15]
Feeding[edit]
Polyps feed on a variety of small organisms, from microscopic zooplankton to small fish. The polyp's tentacles immobilize or kill prey using their nematocysts. These cells carry venom which they rapidly release in response to contact with another organism. A dormant nematocyst discharges in response to nearby prey touching the trigger (cnidocil). A flap (operculum) opens and its stinging apparatus fires the barb into the prey. The venom is injected through the hollow filament to immobilise the prey; the tentacles then manoeuvre the prey to the mouth.[16][17]
The tentacles then contract to bring the prey into the stomach. Once the prey is digested, the stomach reopens, allowing the elimination of waste products and the beginning of the next hunting cycle. They can scavenge drifting organic molecules and dissolved organic molecules.[18]:24
Intracellular symbionts[edit]
Many corals, as well as other cnidarian groups such as Aiptasia (a sea anemone) form a symbiotic relationship with a class of dinoflagellate algae, zooxanthellae of the genus Symbiodinium.[18]:24 Aiptasia, a familiar pest among coral reef aquarium hobbyists, serves as a valuable model organism in the study of cnidarian-algal symbiosis.[19] Typically, each polyp harbors one species of alga, and coral species show a preference for Symbiodinium.[20] Young corals are not born with zooxanthellae, but acquire the algae from the surrounding environment, including the water column and local sediment.[21] Via photosynthesis, these provide energy for the coral, and aid in calcification.[22] The main benefit of the zooxanthellae is their ability to photosynthesize. By using this technique, zooxanthellae are able to supply corals with the products of photosynthesis, including glucose, glycerol, and amino acids, which the corals can use for energy.[23] As much as 30% of the tissue of a polyp may be algal material.[18]:23 Zooxanthellae also benefit corals by aiding in waste removal.[24] In addition to the soft tissue, microbiomes are also found in the coral's mucus and (in stony corals) the skeleton, with the latter showing the greatest microbial richness.[25]
The algae benefit from a safe place to live and consume the polyp's carbon dioxide and nitrogenous waste. Due to the strain the algae can put on the polyp, stress on the coral often drives them to eject the algae. Mass ejections are known as coral bleaching, because the algae contribute to coral's brown coloration; other colors, however, are due to host coral pigments, such as green fluorescent proteins (GFPs). Ejection increases the polyp's chance of surviving short-term stress—they can regain algae, possibly of a different species at a later time. If the stressful conditions persist, the polyp eventually dies.[26] Zooxanthellae are located within the corals' cytoplasm and due to the algae's photosynthetic activity, the internal pH of the coral can be raised; this behavior indicates that the zooxanthellae are responsible to some extent for the metabolism of their host corals [27]
Reproduction[edit]
Corals can be both gonochoristic (unisexual) and hermaphroditic, each of which can reproduce sexually and asexually. Reproduction also allows coral to settle in new areas. Reproduction is coordinated by chemical communication.
Sexual[edit]
Life cycles of broadcasters and brooders
Corals predominantly reproduce sexually. About 25% of hermatypic corals (stony corals) form single sex (gonochoristic) colonies, while the rest are hermaphroditic.[28]
Broadcasters[edit]
About 75% of all hermatypic corals "broadcast spawn" by releasing gametes—eggs and sperm—into the water to spread offspring. The gametes fuse during fertilization to form a microscopic larva called a planula, typically pink and elliptical in shape. A typical coral colony forms several thousand larvae per year to overcome the odds against formation of a new colony.[29]
A male great star coral, Montastraea cavernosa, releasing sperm into the water.
Synchronous spawning is very typical on the coral reef, and often, even when multiple species are present, all corals spawn on the same night. This synchrony is essential so male and female gametes can meet. Corals rely on environmental cues, varying from species to species, to determine the proper time to release gametes into the water. The cues involve temperature change, lunar cycle, day length, and possibly chemical signalling.[28] Synchronous spawning may form hybrids and is perhaps involved in coral speciation.[30] The immediate cue is most often sunset, which cues the release.[28] The spawning event can be visually dramatic, clouding the usually clear water with gametes.
Brooders[edit]
Brooding species are most often ahermatypic (not reef-building) in areas of high current or wave action. Brooders release only sperm, which is negatively buoyant, sinking on to the waiting egg carriers who harbor unfertilized eggs for weeks. Synchronous spawning events sometimes occur even with these species.[28] After fertilization, the corals release planula that are ready to settle.[22]
Generalized life cycle of corals via sexual reproduction.
Planulae[edit]
Planula larvae exhibit positive phototaxis, swimming towards light to reach surface waters, where they drift and grow before descending to seek a hard surface to which they can attach and begin a new colony. They also exhibit positive sonotaxis, moving towards sounds that emanate from the reef and away from open water.[31] High failure rates afflict many stages of this process, and even though millions of gametes are released by each colony, few new colonies form. The time from spawning to settling is usually two to three days, but can be up to two months.[32] The larva grows into a polyp and eventually becomes a coral head by asexual budding and growth.
Asexual[edit]
Basal plates (calices) of Orbicella annularis showing multiplication by budding (small central plate) and division (large double plate)
Within a coral head, the genetically identical polyps reproduce asexually, either by budding (gemmation) or by dividing, whether longitudinally or transversely.
Budding involves splitting a smaller polyp from an adult.[29] As the new polyp grows, it forms its body parts. The distance between the new and adult polyps grows, and with it, the coenosarc (the common body of the colony). Budding can be intratentacular, from its oral discs, producing same-sized polyps within the ring of tentacles, or extratentacular, from its base, producing a smaller polyp.
Division forms two polyps that each become as large as the original. Longitudinal division begins when a polyp broadens and then divides its coelenteron (body), effectively splitting along its length. The mouth divides and new tentacles form. The two polyps thus created then generate their missing body parts and exoskeleton. Transversal division occurs when polyps and the exoskeleton divide transversally into two parts. This means one has the basal disc (bottom) and the other has the oral disc (top); the new polyps must separately generate the missing pieces.
Asexual reproduction offers the benefits of high reproductive rate, delaying senescence, and replacement of dead modules, as well as geographical distribution.[33]
Colony division[edit]
Whole colonies can reproduce asexually, forming two colonies with the same genotype. The possible mechanisms include fission, bailout and fragmentation. Fission occurs in some corals, especially among the family Fungiidae, where the colony splits into two or more colonies during early developmental stages. Bailout occurs when a single polyp abandons the colony and settles on a different substrate to create a new colony. Fragmentation involves individuals broken from the colony during storms or other disruptions. The separated individuals can start new colonies.[34]
Reefs[edit]
Main article: Coral reef
See also: Coral reef fish and List of reefs
Locations of coral reefs around the world
Many corals in the order Scleractinia are hermatypic, meaning that they are involved in building reefs. Most such corals obtain some of their energy from zooxanthellae in the genus Symbiodinium. These are symbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagellates which require sunlight; reef-forming corals are therefore found mainly in shallow water. They secrete calcium carbonate to form hard skeletons that become the framework of the reef. However, not all reef-building corals in shallow water contain zooxanthellae, and some deep water species, living at depths to which light cannot penetrate, form reefs but do not harbour the symbionts.[35]
Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) is an important hermatypic coral from the Caribbean
There are various types of shallow-water coral reef, including fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls; most occur in tropical and subtropical seas. They are very slow-growing, adding perhaps one centimetre (0.4 in) in height each year. The Great Barrier Reef is thought to have been laid down about two million years ago. Over time, corals fragment and die, sand and rubble accumulates between the corals, and the shells of clams and other molluscs decay to form a gradually evolving calcium carbonate structure.[36] Coral reefs are extremely diverse marine ecosystems hosting over 4,000 species of fish, massive numbers of cnidarians, molluscs, crustaceans, and many other animals.[37]
Evolutionary history[edit]
Solitary rugose coral (Grewingkia) in three views; Ordovician, southeastern Indiana
Although corals first appeared in the Cambrian period,[38] some 535 million years ago, fossils are extremely rare until the Ordovician period, 100 million years later, when rugose and tabulate corals became widespread. Paleozoic corals often contained numerous endobiotic symbionts.[39][40]
Tabulate coral (a syringoporid); Boone limestone (Lower Carboniferous) near Hiwasse, Arkansas, scale bar is 2.0 cm
Tabulate coral Aulopora from the Devonian era
Tabulate corals occur in limestones and calcareous shales of the Ordovician and Silurian periods, and often form low cushions or branching masses of calcite alongside rugose corals. Their numbers began to decline during the middle of the Silurian period, and they became extinct at the end of the Permian period, 250 million years ago.[41]
Rugose or horn corals became dominant by the middle of the Silurian period, and became extinct early in the Triassic period. The rugose corals existed in solitary and colonial forms, and were also composed of calcite.[42]
The scleractinian corals filled the niche vacated by the extinct rugose and tabulate species. Their fossils may be found in small numbers in rocks from the Triassic period, and became common in the Jurassic and later periods.[43] Scleractinian skeletons are composed of a form of calcium carbonate known as aragonite.[44] Although they are geologically younger than the tabulate and rugose corals, the aragonite of their skeletons is less readily preserved, and their fossil record is accordingly less complete.
Timeline of the major coral fossil record and developments from 650 m.y.a. to present.[45][46]
At certain times in the geological past, corals were very abundant. Like modern corals, these ancestors built reefs, some of which ended as great structures in sedimentary rocks. Fossils of fellow reef-dwellers algae, sponges, and the remains of many echinoids, brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, and trilobites appear along with coral fossils. This makes some corals useful index fossils.[47] Coral fossils are not restricted to reef remnants, and many solitary fossils may be found elsewhere, such as Cyclocyathus, which occurs in England's Gault clay formation.
Main article: Environmental issues with coral reefs
Threats[edit]
A healthy coral reef has a striking level of biodiversity in many forms of marine life.
Coral reefs are under stress around the world.[48] In particular, coral mining, agricultural and urban runoff, pollution (organic and inorganic), overfishing, blast fishing, disease, and the digging of canals and access into islands and bays are localized threats to coral ecosystems. Broader threats are sea temperature rise, sea level rise and pH changes from ocean acidification, all associated with greenhouse gas emissions.[49] In 1998, 16% of the world's reefs died as a result of increased water temperature.[50]
Approximately 10% of the world's coral reefs are dead.[51][52][53] About 60% of the world's reefs are at risk due to human-related activities.[54] The threat to reef health is particularly strong in Southeast Asia, where 80% of reefs are endangered.[55] Over 50% of the world's coral reefs may be destroyed by 2030; as a result, most nations protect them through environmental laws.[56]
In the Caribbean and tropical Pacific, direct contact between ~40–70% of common seaweeds and coral causes bleaching and death to the coral via transfer of lipid-soluble metabolites.[57] Seaweed and algae proliferate given adequate nutrients and limited grazing by herbivores such as parrotfish.
Water temperature changes of more than 1–2 °C (1.8–3.6 °F) or salinity changes can kill some species of coral. Under such environmental stresses, corals expel their Symbiodinium; without them coral tissues reveal the white of their skeletons, an event known as coral bleaching.[58]
Submarine springs found along the coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula produce water with a naturally low pH (relatively high acidity) providing conditions similar to those expected to become widespread as the oceans absorb carbon dioxide.[59] Surveys discovered multiple species of live coral that appeared to tolerate the acidity. The colonies were small and patchily distributed, and had not formed structurally complex reefs such as those that compose the nearby Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.[59]
Protection[edit]
Main article: Coral reef protection
Marine Protected Areas, Biosphere reserves, marine parks, national monuments world heritage status, fishery management and habitat protection can protect reefs from anthropogenic damage.[60]
Many governments now prohibit removal of coral from reefs, and inform coastal residents about reef protection and ecology. While local action such as habitat restoration and herbivore protection can reduce local damage, the longer-term threats of acidification, temperature change and sea-level rise remain a challenge.[49]
To eliminate destruction of corals in their indigenous regions, projects have been started to grow corals in non-tropical countries.[61][62]
Relation to humans[edit]
Local economies near major coral reefs benefit from an abundance of fish and other marine creatures as a food source. Reefs also provide recreational scuba diving and snorkeling tourism. These activities can damage coral but international projects such as Green Fins that encourage dive and snorkel centres to follow a Code of Conduct have been proven to mitigate these risks.[63]
Jewelry[edit]
Main article: Precious coral
6-strand necklace, Navajo (Native American), ca. 1920s, Brooklyn Museum
Corals' many colors give it appeal for necklaces and other jewelry. Intensely red coral is prized as a gemstone. Sometimes called fire coral, it is not the same as fire coral. Red coral is very rare because of overharvesting.[64] In general, it is inadvisable to give coral as gifts since they are in decline from stressors like climate change, pollution, and unsustainable fishing.
Always considered a precious mineral, "the Chinese have long associated red coral with auspiciousness and longevity because of its color and its resemblance to deer antlers (so by association, virtue, long life, and high rank".[65] It reached its height of popularity during the Manchu or Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when it was almost exclusively reserved for the emperor's use either in the form of coral beads (often combined with pearls) for court jewelry or as decorative Penjing (decorative miniature mineral trees). Coral was known as shanhu in Chinese. The "early-modern 'coral network' [began in] the Mediterranean Sea [and found its way] to Qing China via the English East India Company".[66] There were strict rules regarding its use in a code established by the Qianlong Emperor in 1759.
Medicine[edit]
Depiction of coral in the Juliana Anicia Codex, a 6th-century copy of Dioscorides' De Materia Medica. The facing page states that coral can be used to treat ulcers.[67]
In medicine, chemical compounds from corals can potentially be used to treat cancer, AIDS, pain, and for other therapeutic uses. [68][69] Coral skeletons, e.g. Isididae are also used for bone grafting in humans.[70] Coral Calx, known as Praval Bhasma in Sanskrit, is widely used in traditional system of Indian medicine as a supplement in the treatment of a variety of bone metabolic disorders associated with calcium deficiency.[71] In classical times ingestion of pulverized coral, which consists mainly of the weak base calcium carbonate, was recommended for calming stomach ulcers by Galen and Dioscorides.[72]
Coral reefs in places such as the East African coast are used as a source of building material.[73] Ancient (fossil) coral limestone, notably including the Coral Rag Formation of the hills around Oxford (England), was once used as a building stone, and can be seen in some of the oldest buildings in that city including the Saxon tower of St Michael at the Northgate, St. George's Tower of Oxford Castle, and the medieval walls of the city.[74]
Shoreline protection[edit]
Healthy coral reefs absorb 97 percent of a wave’s energy, which buffers shorelines from currents, waves, and storms, helping to prevent loss of life and property damage. Coastlines protected by coral reefs are also more stable in terms of erosion than those without.[75]
Local economies[edit]
Coastal communities near coral reefs rely heavily on them. Worldwide, more than 500 million people depend on coral reefs for food, income, coastal protection, and more.[76] The total economic value of coral reef services in the United States - including fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection - is more than $3.4 billion a year.
Climate research[edit]
Annual growth bands in some corals, such as the deep sea bamboo corals (Isididae), may be among the first signs of the effects of ocean acidification on marine life.[77] The growth rings allow geologists to construct year-by-year chronologies, a form of incremental dating, which underlie high-resolution records of past climatic and environmental changes using geochemical techniques.[78]
Certain species form communities called microatolls, which are colonies whose top is dead and mostly above the water line, but whose perimeter is mostly submerged and alive. Average tide level limits their height. By analyzing the various growth morphologies, microatolls offer a low resolution record of sea level change. Fossilized microatolls can also be dated using Radiocarbon dating. Such methods can help to reconstruct Holocene sea levels.[79]
Increasing sea temperatures in tropical regions (~1 degree C) the last century have caused major coral bleaching, death, and therefore shrinking coral populations since although they are able to adapt and acclimate, it is uncertain if this evolutionary process will happen quickly enough to prevent major reduction of their numbers.[80]
Though coral have large sexually-reproducing populations, their evolution can be slowed by abundant asexual reproduction.[81] Gene flow is variable among coral species.[81] According to the biogeography of coral species gene flow cannot be counted on as a dependable source of adaptation as they are very stationary organisms. Also, coral longevity might factor into their adaptivity.[81]
However, adaptation to climate change has been demonstrated in many cases. These are usually due to a shift in coral and zooxanthellae genotypes. These shifts in allele frequency have progressed toward more tolerant types of zooxanthellae.[82] Scientists found that a certain scleractinian zooxanthella is becoming more common where sea temperature is high.[83][84] Symbionts able to tolerate warmer water seem to photosynthesise more slowly, implying an evolutionary trade-off.[84]
In the Gulf of Mexico, where sea temperatures are rising, cold-sensitive staghorn and elkhorn coral have shifted in location.[82] Not only have the symbionts and specific species been shown to shift, but there seems to be a certain growth rate favorable to selection. Slower-growing but more heat-tolerant corals have become more common.[85] The changes in temperature and acclimation are complex. Some reefs in current shadows represent a refugium location that will help them adjust to the disparity in the environment even if eventually the temperatures may rise more quickly there than in other locations.[86] This separation of populations by climatic barriers causes a realized niche to shrink greatly in comparison to the old fundamental niche.
Geochemistry[edit]
Corals are shallow, colonial organisms that integrate δ18O and trace elements into their skeletal aragonite (polymorph of calcite) crystalline structures, as they grow. Geochemistry anomalies within the crystalline structures of corals represent functions of temperature, salinity and oxygen isotopic composition. Such geochemical analysis can help with climate modeling.[87]
Strontium/calcium ratio anomaly[edit]
Time can be attributed to coral geochemistry anomalies by correlating strontium/calcium minimums with sea surface temperature (SST) maximums to data collected from NINO 3.4 SSTA.[88]
Oxygen isotope anomaly[edit]
The comparison of coral strontium/calcium minimums with sea surface temperature maximums, data recorded from NINO 3.4 SSTA, time can be correlated to coral strontium/calcium and δ18O variations. To confirm accuracy of the annual relationship between Sr/Ca and δ18O variations, a perceptible association to annual coral growth rings confirms the age conversion. Geochronology is established by the blending of Sr/Ca data, growth rings, and stable isotope data. El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is directly related to climate fluctuations that influence coral δ18O ratio from local salinity variations associated with the position of the South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) and can be used for ENSO modeling.[88]
Sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity[edit]
Global sea surface temperature (SST)
The global moisture budget is primarily being influenced by tropical sea surface temperatures from the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).[89] The Southern Hemisphere has a unique meteorological feature positioned in the southwestern Pacific Basin called the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), which contains a perennial position within the Southern Hemisphere. During ENSO warm periods, the SPCZ reverses orientation extending from the equator down south through Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and towards the French Polynesian Islands; and due east towards South America affecting geochemistry of corals in tropical regions.[90]
Geochemical analysis of skeletal coral can be linked to sea surface salinity (SSS) and sea surface temperature (SST), from El Nino 3.4 SSTA data, of tropical oceans to seawater δ18O ratio anomalies from corals. ENSO phenomenon can be related to variations in sea surface salinity (SSS) and sea surface temperature (SST) that can help model tropical climate activities.[91]
Limited climate research on current species[edit]
Porites lutea
Climate research on live coral species is limited to a few studied species. Studying Porites coral provides a stable foundation for geochemical interpretations that is much simpler to physically extract data in comparison to Platygyra species where the complexity of Platygyra species skeletal structure creates difficulty when physically sampled, which happens to be one of the only multidecadal living coral records used for coral paleoclimate modeling.[91]
Aquaria[edit]
Main article: Reef aquarium
This dragon-eye zoanthid is a popular source of color in reef tanks.
The saltwater fishkeeping hobby has expanded, over recent years, to include reef tanks, fish tanks that include large amounts of live rock on which coral is allowed to grow and spread.[92] These tanks are either kept in a natural-like state, with algae (sometimes in the form of an algae scrubber) and a deep sand bed providing filtration,[93] or as "show tanks", with the rock kept largely bare of the algae and microfauna that would normally populate it,[94] in order to appear neat and clean.
The most popular kind of coral kept is soft coral, especially zoanthids and mushroom corals, which are especially easy to grow and propagate in a wide variety of conditions, because they originate in enclosed parts of reefs where water conditions vary and lighting may be less reliable and direct.[95] More serious fishkeepers may keep small polyp stony coral, which is from open, brightly lit reef conditions and therefore much more demanding, while large polyp stony coral is a sort of compromise between the two.
Aquaculture[edit]
Main article: Aquaculture of coral
Coral aquaculture, also known as coral farming or coral gardening, is the cultivation of corals for commercial purposes or coral reef restoration. Aquaculture is showing promise as a potentially effective tool for restoring coral reefs, which have been declining around the world.[96][97][98] The process bypasses the early growth stages of corals when they are most at risk of dying. Coral fragments known as "seeds" are grown in nurseries then replanted on the reef.[99] Coral is farmed by coral farmers who live locally to the reefs and farm for reef conservation or for income. It is also farmed by scientists for research, by businesses for the supply of the live and ornamental coral trade and by private aquarium hobbyists.
Further images: commons:Category:Coral reefs and commons:Category:Corals
Fungia sp. skeleton
Polyps of Eusmilia fastigiata
Pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindricus
Brain coral, Diploria labyrinthiformis
Brain coral spawning
Brain coral releasing eggs
Fringing coral reef off the coast of Eilat, Israel.
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^ Tun, K.; Chou, L.M.; Cabanban, A.; Tuan, V.S.; Philreefs, S.; Yeemin, T.; Suharsono; Sour, K.; Lane, D. (2004). "Status of Coral Reefs, Coral Reef Monitoring and Management in Southeast Asia, 2004". In Wilkinson, C. (ed.). Status of Coral Reefs of the world: 2004. Townsville, Queensland, Australia: Australian Institute of Marine Science. pp. 235–76. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
^ Burke, Lauretta; Reytar, K.; Spalding, M.; Perry, A. (2011). Reefs at risk revisited. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-56973-762-0.
^ Bryant, Dirk; Burke, Lauretta; McManus, John; Spalding, Mark. "Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Threats to the World's Coral Reef" (PDF). NOAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-18. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
^ Norlander (8 December 2003). "Coral crisis! Humans are killing off these bustling underwater cities. Can coral reefs be saved? (Life science: corals)". Science World.
^ Rasher DB, Hay ME (May 2010). "Chemically rich seaweeds poison corals when not controlled by herbivores". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 107 (21): 9683–88. Bibcode:2010PNAS..107.9683R. doi:10.1073/pnas.0912095107. PMC 2906836. PMID 20457927.
^ Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). "Climate change, coral bleaching and the future of the world's coral reefs" (PDF). Marine and Freshwater Research. 50 (8): 839–66. doi:10.1071/MF99078. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-26.
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^ Welch, Patricia Bjaaland, Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery. Tokyo, Rutland and Singapore: Tuttle, 2008, p. 61
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^ Folio 391, Juliana Anicia Codex
^ Copper, Edwin; Hirabayashi, K.; Strychar, K. B.; Sammarco, P. W. (2014). "Corals and their Potential Applications to Integrative Medicine". Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: 9 – via ProQuest.
^ Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu; Se-Kwon, Kim (2013). "Marine Invertebrate Natural Products for Anti-Inflammatory and Chronic Diseases". Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine – via ProQuest.
^ Ehrlich, H.; Etnoyer, P.; Litvinov, S. D.; Olennikova, M.M.; Domaschke, H.; Hanke, T.; Born, R.; Meissner, H.; Worch, H. (2006). "Biomaterial structure in deep‐sea bamboo coral (Anthozoa: Gorgonacea: Isididae): perspectives for the development of bone implants and templates for tissue engineering". Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik. 37 (6): 552–57. doi:10.1002/mawe.200600036.
^ Reddy PN, Lakshmana M, Udupa UV (December 2003). "Effect of Praval bhasma (Coral calx), a natural source of rich calcium on bone mineralization in rats". Pharmacological Research. 48 (6): 593–99. doi:10.1016/S1043-6618(03)00224-X. PMID 14527824.
^ Pedanius Dioscorides – Der Wiener Dioskurides, Codex medicus Graecus 1 der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt 1998 fol. 391 verso (Band 2), Kommentar S. 47 und 52. ISBN 3-201-01725-6
^ Pouwels, Randall L. (6 June 2002). Horn and Crescent: Cultural Change and Traditional Islam on the East African Coast, 800–1900. Cambridge University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-521-52309-7.
^ "Strategic Stone Study: A Building Stone Atlas of Oxfordshire". English Heritage. March 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
^ Ferrario, F.; Beck, M.W.; Storlazzi, C.D.; Micheli, F.; Shepard, C.C.; Airoldi, L. (2014). "The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction and adaptation". Nature Communications. 5 (3794): 3794. doi:10.1038/ncomms4794. PMC 4354160. PMID 24825660.
^ "Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004 Volume 1" (PDF). Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
^ "National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – New Deep-Sea Coral Discovered on NOAA-Supported Mission". www.noaanews.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
^ Schrag, D.P.; Linsley, B.K. (2002). "Corals, chemistry, and climate". Science. 296 (8): 277–78. doi:10.1126/science.1071561. PMID 11951026.
^ Smithers, Scott G.; Woodroffe, Colin D. (2000). "Microatolls as sea-level indicators on a mid-ocean atoll". Marine Geology. 168 (1–4): 61–78. Bibcode:2000MGeol.168...61S. doi:10.1016/S0025-3227(00)00043-8.
^ Hoegh-Guldberg O. (1999). "Climate change, coral bleaching and the future of the world's coral reefs". Marine and Freshwater Research. 50 (8): 839–99. doi:10.1071/mf99078.
^ a b c Hughes, T.; Baird, A.; Bellwood, D.; Card, M.; Connolly, S.; Folke, C.; Grosberg, R.; Hoegh-Guldberg, O.; Jackson, J.; Klepas, J.; Lough, J.; Marshall, P.; Nystrom, M.; Palumbi, S.; Pandolfi, J.; Rosen, B.; and Roughgarden, J. (2003). "Climate change, human impacts, and the resilience of coral reefs". Science. 301 (5635): 929–33. Bibcode:2003Sci...301..929H. doi:10.1126/science.1085046. PMID 12920289.
^ a b Parmesan, C. (2006). "Ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change". Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 37: 637–69. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.37.091305.110100.
^ Baker, A. (2004). "Corals' adaptive response to climate change". Nature. 430 (7001): 741. Bibcode:2004Natur.430..741B. doi:10.1038/430741a.
^ a b Donner, S.; Skirving, W.; Little, C.; Oppenheimer, M.; Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2005). "Global assessment of coral bleaching and required rates of adaptation under climate change" (PDF). Global Change Biology. 11 (12): 2251–65. Bibcode:2005GCBio..11.2251D. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.323.8134. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.01073.x.
^ Baskett, M.; Gaines, S. & Nisbet, R. (2009). "Symbiont diversity may help coral reefs survive moderate climate change". Ecological Applications. 19 (1): 3–17. doi:10.1890/08-0139.1. PMID 19323170.
^ McClanahan, T.; Ateweberhan, M.; Muhando, C.; Maina, J. & Mohammed, M. (2007). "Effects of Climate and Seawater Temperature Variation on Coral Bleaching and Morality". Ecological Monographs. 77 (4): 503–25. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.538.970. doi:10.1890/06-1182.1.
^ Kilbourne, K. Halimeda; Quinn, Terrence M.; Taylor, Frederick W.; Delcroix, Thierry; Gouriou, Yves (2004). "El Niño-Southern Oscillation-related salinity variations recorded in the skeletal geochemistry of a Porites coral from Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu". Paleoceanography. 19 (4): PA4002. Bibcode:2004PalOc..19.4002K. doi:10.1029/2004PA001033.
^ a b Ren, Lei; Linsley, Braddock K.; Wellington, Gerard M.; Schrag, Daniel P.; Hoegh-guldberg, Ove (2003). "Deconvolving the δ18O seawater component from subseasonal coral δ18O and Sr/Ca at Rarotonga in the southwestern subtropical Pacific for the period 1726 to 1997". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 67 (9): 1609–21. Bibcode:2003GeCoA..67.1609R. doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(02)00917-1.
^ Wu, Henry C.; Linsley, Braddock K.; Dassié, Emilie P.; Schiraldi, Benedetto; deMenocal, Peter B. (2013). "Oceanographic variability in the South Pacific Convergence Zone region over the last 210 years from multi-site coral Sr/Ca records". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 14 (5): 1435–53. Bibcode:2013GGG....14.1435W. doi:10.1029/2012GC004293.
^ Kiladis, George N.; von Storch, Hans; van Loon, Harry (1989). "Origin of the South Pacific Convergence Zone". Journal of Climate. 2 (10): 1185–95. doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1989)002<1185:OOTSPC>2.0.CO;2.
^ a b Lukas, Roger; Lindstrom, Eric (1991). "The mixed layer of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean". Journal of Geophysical Research. 96 (S1): 3343–58. Bibcode:1991JGR....96.3343L. doi:10.1029/90JC01951.
^ Aquarium Corals: Collection and Aquarium Husbandry of Northeast Pacific Non-Photosynthetic Cnidaria. Advancedaquarist.com (2011-01-14). Retrieved on 2016-06-13.
^ Reefkeeping 101 – Various Nutrient Control Methods. Reefkeeping.com. Retrieved on 2016-06-13.
^ Aquarium Substrate & Live Rock Clean Up Tips. Saltaquarium.about.com. Retrieved on 2016-06-13.
^ Coral Reefs Archived 2013-01-21 at the Wayback Machine. Marinebio.org. Retrieved on 2016-06-13.
^ Horoszowski-Fridman YB, Izhaki I, Rinkevich B (2011). "Engineering of coral reef larval supply through transplantation of nursery-farmed gravid colonies". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 399 (2): 162–66. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2011.01.005.
^ Pomeroy, Robert S.; Parks, John E.; Balboa, Cristina M. (2006). "Farming the reef: Is aquaculture a solution for reducing fishing pressure on coral reefs?". Marine Policy. 30 (2): 111–30. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2004.09.001.
^ Rinkevich B (2008). "Management of coral reefs: We have gone wrong when neglecting active reef restoration" (PDF). Marine Pollution Bulletin. 56 (11): 1821–24. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.08.014. PMID 18829052. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-23.
^ Ferse, Sebastian C.A. (2010). "Poor Performance of Corals Transplanted onto Substrates of Short Durability". Restoration Ecology. 18 (4): 399–407. doi:10.1111/j.1526-100X.2010.00682.x.
Allen, G.R; R. Steene (1994). Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide. ISBN 978-981-00-5687-2.
Calfo, Anthony (2007). Book of Coral Propagation. ISBN 978-0-9802365-0-7.
Colin, P.L.; C. Arneson (1995). Tropical Pacific Invertebrates. ISBN 978-0-9645625-0-9.
Fagerstrom, J.A. (1987). The Evolution of Reef Communities. ISBN 978-0-471-81528-0.
Gosliner, T.; D. Behrens; G. Williams (1996). Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific, Animals Life from Africa to Hawai'i (invertebrates). ISBN 978-0-930118-21-1.
Nybakken, J.W. (2004). Marine Biology, An Ecological Approach. ISBN 978-0-8053-4582-7.
Redhill, Surrey. Corals of the World: Biology and Field Guide.
Segaloff, Nat; Paul Erickson (1991). A Reef Comes to Life. Creating an Undersea Exhibit. ISBN 978-0-531-10994-6.
Sheppard, Charles R.C.; Davy, Simon K.; Pilling, Graham M. (25 June 2009). The Biology of Coral Reefs. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-105734-2.
Veron, J.E.N. (1993). Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. ISBN 978-0-8248-1504-2.
Wells, Susan. Coral Reefs of the World.
Wikispecies has information related to Coral
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Corals and Anthozoa.
Coral Reefs The Ocean Portal by the Smithsonian Institution
NOAA - Coral Reef Conservation Program
NOAA CoRIS – Coral Reef Biology
NOAA Office for Coastal Management - Fast Facts - Coral Reefs
NOAA Ocean Service Education – Corals
"What is a coral?". Stanford microdocs project. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
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Fry's Electronics
Find sources: "Fry's Electronics" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
This article is about the Fry's electronics stores. For the grocery store chain (founded by the same family), see Fry's Food and Drug.
Fry's Electronics, Inc.
William Randolph "Randy" Fry
Kathryn Kolder
John Fry, CEO
William Randolph "Randy" Fry, President
David Fry, CFO / CIO
Kathryn Kolder, Executive Vice President
Consumer electronics retail
$2.4 billion (2017)[1]
14,000 (2017)[1]
frys.com
Fry's Electronics is an American big-box store and retailer of software, consumer electronics, household appliances and computer hardware. Fry's has in-store computer repair and custom computer building services. The company has a chain of superstores headquartered in Silicon Valley. Starting with one store located in Sunnyvale, California, the chain posted sales of $2.4 billion and operated 34 stores in nine states by 2008.[2]
2 Criticism
3 Online sales operation
4 Domain name acquisitions
5 Store Themes
Industrial revolution themed store in the City of Industry, California.
Fry's Electronics store in Downers Grove, Illinois.
Fry's Electronics oldest operating store in Palo Alto, California.
History of Silicon Valley themed store in Sunnyvale, California.
Space Station themed store near the Johnson Space Center in Webster, Texas.
In 1972, Charles Fry sold the Fry's Supermarkets chain based in California for US$14 million to Dillons.[3]. He gave a portion of the proceeds, approximately $1 million, to each of his sons, John (who had worked as the IT manager for the supermarket chain), W. Randolph (who goes by the nickname "Randy") and David, neither of whom had much interest in grocery store retailing .[4][5] Instead, in 1985, they joined together with a fourth partner, John's former girlfriend Kathryn Kolder, to open the first Fry's Electronics store at a 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) site in Sunnyvale, California.[6] Today, Fry's Food and Drug stores are owned and operated by Kroger and are not affiliated with Fry's Electronics, although they share an almost identical logo.[7]
It was John's idea to use the model of grocery retailing, which the brothers were familiar with, to sell computer and electronics supplies.[8] The original Sunnyvale store (located near the intersection of Oakmead Parkway and Lakeside Drive) stocked numerous high-tech supplies such as integrated circuits, test and measurement equipment, and computer components, as well as software and various other types of consumer electronics. The store was and still is one of the few retail outlets in the country that sold off-the-shelf microprocessors such as the Intel 80286. The store also sold T-shirts, technical books, potato chips, and magazines, including Playboy. At first, approximately half the store was stocked with groceries including fresh produce, but the groceries section quickly diminished to displays of soft drinks and snack foods. The store billed itself as "The One-Stop Shop for the Silicon Valley Professional", as one could buy both electronics and groceries (computer chips and potato chips) at the same time.[citation needed]
As the business expanded, the original Sunnyvale store was closed[when?], and a newer, larger store was opened across Lawrence Expressway on Kern Avenue. The second Sunnyvale store was designed to look like the interior of a giant computer; the walls were adorned with simulated circuit components, and the floor resembled a giant printed circuit board. The exterior was painted to mimic a huge DIP integrated circuit, and the door handles imitated the ENTER and ESC keys on a computer keyboard; as of 2007, this store is now a Sports Basement store (which still bears some of the door handle keys). Fry's moved again[when?] to its current Sunnyvale location on the corner of Arques and Santa Trinita Ave, the former site of a facility of the Link Flight Simulation Division of the Singer Corporation. Each of the Sunnyvale store locations has been located within one mile (1.6 km) of the others.[citation needed]
In 1996, for reasons that the Fry brothers have never publicly disclosed, they transferred all their shares of Fry's Electronics to a limited liability company called RDL, LLC, and a limited partnership called The Taw, L.P. (the latter also controls the former), and since then, they have controlled Fry's Electronics indirectly through those entities. Their existence became publicly known in January 2012 because Randy Fry's ex-wife, Laurie Hammer, had attempted to challenge a post-nuptial settlement agreement under which she agreed to accept "units" of The Taw in settlement of her claims against Randy. On January 23, 2012, the California Court of Appeal for the Sixth District upheld the trial court's dismissal of her lawsuit in an unpublished opinion.[citation needed]
Because Fry's stores are enormous, often stocking dozens of variations of a single type of product, they are popular with electronics and computer hobbyists. One of the few stores to challenge Fry's in all dimensions (production selection and store-wide themes) was Incredible Universe, a series of Tandy (Radio Shack) superstores, which were established in 1992 and absorbed into Fry's in 1996. Historically, Circuit City and CompUSA were major competitors in the computer space, but they collapsed during the late-2000s recession, leaving Microcenter and Best Buy as Fry's main competitors. Unlike Best Buy, Fry's sells not only fully assembled computers, but all the individual components which consumers need to build their own from scratch.[citation needed]
As of August 2014, Fry's Electronics operated 34 brick-and-mortar stores in nine U.S. states: California (17 stores); Texas (8); Arizona (2); Georgia (2); Illinois (1); Indiana (1); Nevada (1); Oregon (1); and Washington (1).[9]
Criticism[edit]
In 1997, Forbes reported on a series of issues about Fry's customer service and unorthodox business practices. Among the allegations was that the company had an internal policy, identified as "the double H" or "hoops and hurdles", to delay or prevent customers from obtaining refunds.[10]
In 1998, USA Today reported that many customers had become frustrated with poor customer service at Fry's stores.[11]
Fry's advertising methods have also gone under heavy fire. In 2003, actors Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sued Fry's for $10 million each for posting their images on television sets on their print ads and flyers without permission.[12]
On Black Friday 2007, customers at the Renton, Washington, location complained that Fry's employees were offering to let people cut in front of a long line for a fee. After complaints in the media, Fry's management offered anyone who paid the fee their money back.[13]
In 2008, Fry's vice president of merchandising and operations, Ausuf Umar Siddiqui, was charged by federal prosecutors in an illegal kickback scheme involving Fry's vendors. The alleged scheme was designed to defraud the company in order to cover Siddiqui's gambling expenses.[14]
In September 2012, Fry's Electronics agreed to pay $2.3 million and to implement preventive measures to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The settlement was in relation to allegations that an assistant store manager at the Renton store harassed a 20-year-old sales associate by frequently sending her sexually charged text messages and inviting her to his house to drink. After her direct supervisor reported the harassment to Fry's legal department, the company allegedly fired the female salesperson and fired her supervisor for standing up for her.[15]
Online sales operation[edit]
Fry's Electronics was late in establishing an online sales presence. They began offering low-cost Internet access in 2000 through their original Web address "Frys.com".[16] The company later bought e-commerce site Cyberian Outpost in November 2001 and started online sales with a different URL (Outpost.com),[17] which confused customers who didn't associate the online name with the brick-and-mortar store.[18] For a time in the mid-2000s the Web site identified itself as "Fry's Electronics Outpost.com", using dual branding in an attempt to create a connection in visitors' minds.[19] In October 2006, a grand re-opening of Frys.com introduced the online store with the same name as the retail outlets.[20][21] The outpost.com URL now redirects to the frys.com online store.
Domain name acquisitions[edit]
The domain name frys.com was owned in 1997 by David Peter, a.k.a. David Peter Burlini,[22] who manufactured and sold French fry vending machines under the business name Frenchy Frys and who was also involved in another dispute over the domain newricochet.com with Ricochet Networks.[22] David Burlini[23] attended Santa Clara University around the same time that the Fry Brothers were attending.[24] Fry's Electronics brought suit against him that year, alleging trademark infringement, and ultimately prevailed in a default judgment.[25][26]
Since then, Fry's Electronics has aggressively tried to defend its trademark and domain names. In 2001, it threatened to sue Garret Maki for scanning and posting the company's print ads on the Web using the domain frysad.com.[27] In 2007, Fry's Electronics lost a domain dispute against Prophet Partners Inc., an online advertising company with thousands of generic and descriptive domain names. The arbitrator dismissed the complaint, which requested transfer of the Frys.us domain, ruling that Fry's Electronics did not have any more right to use the "Fry's" mark than other entities with a similar surname or commercial use of the word.[28]
Store Themes[edit]
Various Fry's locations are decorated in elaborate themes. For example, the Burbank store which opened in 1995 carries a theme of 1950s and 1970s science fiction movies, and features huge statues of popular characters such as the robot Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still and Darth Vader from the Star Wars movie series. In addition, giant ants (from the movie Them!) hang from the ceiling, and the bodies of 1957 Chevys and Buicks serve as dining tables in the cafe. A flying saucer protrudes above the entrance.[citation needed]
Since Fry's acquired the Incredible Universe chain of stores, the company has reduced the elaborateness of its themes. With the opening of the store in Fishers, Indiana, Fry's made a "race track" theme with various hanging displays, including "stop" and "go" signs, as well as many early life photos of what life looked like in late 1800s and early 1900s in Indianapolis, Indiana.[citation needed]
Phoenix Arizona Aztec temple
Tempe Arizona Golf
Anaheim California Space Shuttle
Burbank California 1950’s science fiction
Campbell California Ancient Egypt
City of Industry California Industrial Revolution / Steampunk
Fountain Valley California Ruins of Ancient Rome
Fremont California 1893 World’s Fair
Manhattan Beach California Tahiti
Oxnard California Agricultural history
Palo Alto California Wild West
Roseville California Railroads
Sacramento California Gold Rush
San Diego California Aircraft carrier
San Jose California Mayan temple (Chichen Itza)
San Marcos California Atlantis
Sunnyvale California History of Silicon Valley
Woodland Hills California Alice in Wonderland
Duluth Georgia Regional history
Milton Georgia Regional history
Downers Grove Illinois Regional history
Fishers Indiana Automobile racing
Las Vegas Nevada Las Vegas Strip
Austin Texas Live music
Dallas Texas Cattle ranch
Houston Texas Oil derricks
Irving Texas Regional history
Plano Texas Railroads
Webster Texas International Space Station
Renton Washington Regional history
^ a b "#198 Fry's Electronics". Forbes. 2017. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
^ "Fry's Electronics, Inc. Overview". Hoover's, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ "Dillon Companies Agrees to Buy Food Store Chain". news.google.com. Lawrence Journal-World. May 26, 1972. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
^ Pat Lopes Harris, "Fry's mystique: timing, focus, frugality—and lots of advertising", San Jose Business Journal 17, no. 39 (14 January 2000): 52.
^ Marsh, Ann (November 3, 2007). "The customer is always right? Not at Fry's". Forbes.
^ "Corporation Search: Fry's Electronics". California Business Portal. California Secretary of State. 2009. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ "Kroger's Corporate Home on the Web". The Kroger Co. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ "History of Fry's Electronics, Inc. – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
^ "The History of Frys Electronics". Frys. 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
^ Ann Marsh and Scott Woolley (3 November 1997). "The customer is always right? Not at Fry's". Forbes. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ Julie Schmit (11 February 1998). "Techies flock to Fry's despite its flaws". USA Today. p. 1B.
^ News wire (20 June 2003). "Arnold, Bruce, Denzel Sue Fry's". ExtremeTech. Ziff Davis Publishing. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ Bernard Choi (23 November 2007). "Fry's Shoppers Offered Chance to Cut in Line - For a Price". KING 5 News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ Jordan Robertson (8 January 2009). "Feds indict former Fry's exec accused of embezzling". The Daily Breeze. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
^ "Fry's Electronics Pays $2.3 Million to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit". The National Law Review. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 2012-09-02. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
^ "Fry's Electronics Home Page:". Fry's Electronics. 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-10-18. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ "Welcome to Fry's Outpost.com". Cyberian Outpost, Inc. 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-09-14. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ Natali T. Del Conte (27 October 2006). "Fry's Electronics (Finally) Launches Online Store". ExtremeTech. Ziff Davis Publishing. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ For example, see this archived version of the site home page from 2005: https://web.archive.org/web/20050219020414/http://www.outpost.com/
^ Greg Sandoval and Jeff Pelline (18 February 2000). "Fry's may launch ISP as part of new Net strategy". CNET News. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ Michelle Quinn (21 October 2006). "California: Fry's Electronics Steps up Web Presence". The San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ a b Arbitration and Mediation Center. "WIPO Domain Name Decision: D2002-0168". Wipo.int. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
^ "Santa Clara University, Santa clara, California (CA)". Classmates.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
^ "Business and Engineering - Notable Alumni". Santa Clara University. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
^ Mitchell Zimmerman (1998). "Securing and Protecting a Domain Name for your Web Site" (PDF). Fenwick & West LLP. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ Will Harper (19 August 1999). "Invasion of the Domain Snatchers". Metroactive. Metro Publishing Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ Greg Sandoval (23 February 2001). "Fry's accuses site owner of cybersquatting". CNET News. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
^ Steven M. Bauer, Esq. (15 February 2007). "Reward of Arbitrator: Fry's Electronics and Prophet Partners" (PDF). American Arbitration Association. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
Fry's Electronics History
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fry%27s_Electronics&oldid=903990189"
Consumer electronics retailers in the United States
Privately held companies based in California
Companies based in San Jose, California
Articles needing additional references from September 2012
All articles with vague or ambiguous time
Vague or ambiguous time from March 2014
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Doris H. Murdoch: What’s Up with The Hill of Evil Counsel?
by Energion Publications | posted in: Biblical History, Christianity, Jewish Roots, Politics | 1
by Doris H. Murdoch, teacher and author of Testify: By the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony and Constructing Your Testimony.
These pictures were taken from Goldman’s Promenade on the Hill of Evil Counsel. The Goldman’s Promenade sits amidst the Peace Forest. The junction of the Kidron, Hinnom and Azal Valleys separate the Mount of Olives and the Mount of Evil Counsel, also called (Jebel Deir) Abu Tor. From the location of the Hill of Evil Counsel, one can see: the pine trees of the Peace Forest; the Old City of Jerusalem; Mount Moriah, the site of the first and second temples; the Dome of the Rock; to the west, the Hinnom Valley and Mount Zion; and to the east, the Kidron Valley and Mount of Olives with the Garden of Gethsemane and the Tower of Ascension. What in the world is the Mount of Evil Counsel? It is the location for: the attempted overthrow of King David by his son, Absalom; the place where the high priest Caiaphas and his colleagues decided to arrest Jesus; Judas Iscariot’s final hours; making battle plans; and, today, the United Nations headquarters.
Chapters 15-18 of II Samuel tell the story of how Absalom plotted to overthrow and kill his father, King David. In this plot, Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel, saying “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then you shall say ‘Absalom is king in Hebron’ ” (II Samuel 15:10, NASB). Absalom seeks the counsel of Ahithophel, David’s mystic counselor or sage, as his wisdom and advice were of God, except he failed to give God the credit or glory for this wisdom. Ahithophel suggested that Absalom go into David’s concubines and then Ahithophel would take 12,000 men to pursue and strike down David. Absalom also sought out Hushai’s advice who suggested Absalom go himself to carry out the task. Hushai remained true to David and David knew of the plan. In conclusion, Absalom ends up dead in the Peace Forest on the Hill of Evil Council and David remains in power as king. Absalom received evil counsel that brought on his death (hung on a tree, stabbed 3 times by Joab, and then finished off by Joab’s armor bearers, II Samuel 18:14-15). Regretfully involved in the overthrow and disgraced by his ignored counsel, Ahithophel commited suicide. Here, we see “pride goes before destruction” from Proverbs 16:18. His rumored final words to his family were, “Never side against the royal Davidic family and take no part in dissensions.”
The scriptures of John 11:47-53 share the evil counsel as the Jewish leaders plan to conspire against Jesus:
Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. 48 If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” 51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. (NASB)
The council of elders decided to offer Jesus to the governor of Judah, Pontius Pilate. According to Christian tradition, Pontius Pilate agreed to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ after this gathering on the Hill of Abu-Tor at the residence of the past high priest, Ananias.
The ancient hill is also identified as the place where Judas Iscariot finalized his contract to betray Christ. The flat-top area is called the Field of Blood where Judas made the deal on the arrest of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the blood money for betraying Jesus. Acts 1:18-19 states, Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood. In this scenario of Judas betraying Jesus after his visit to the Hill of Evil Counsel, we are reminded of the betrayal of David by his counselor Ahithophel in the same location.
The view from the Hill of Evil Counsel is a panorama of Jerusalem with a most spectacular view. Most likely, those who have invaded Jerusalem have made their battle plans and drawings from this site. Saladin and other Arab leaders may have viewed Jerusalem from this hill. I would suggest that Romans, Egyptians, Assyrians, and Philistines may have all taken a good look at the city of Jerusalem before making any battle plans. Here on the Hill of Evil Counsel stands the Government House, a colonial residence when the British Crown had control of the area on behalf of the League of Nations. Today this serves as the Israel headquarters of the United Nations. Most people think of the United Nations as a world arbitrator on issues of right and wrong among nations. Where does the authority of the United Nations come from? It certainly is not the authority of God, but the authority of world governments based on the human model of democracy and voting in proportion to representation.
Recently, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) made the decision that Israel’s Jews no longer had any historical or religious connections to the Temple Mount. The U.N. agency wants to adopt a policy of the Temple Mount being sacred to Muslims only. Israel’s ancient high court of Sanhedrin has reformed and responded with, “The Jewish right to the Temple Mount was established in the Bible, and should therefore be recognized by Christianity and Islam. In fact, the Jewish claim to Jerusalem is as essential to those religions as it is to Judaism. The biblical connection between the Jews and Jerusalem led to the building of the First Temple by King Solomon, which strengthened our claim to Jerusalem even more.” The Sanhedrin have warned the U.N. that such statements and decisions encourage global terrorism and do not promote world peace, which should be the ultimate goal of the U.N. organization.
As Christians, we have a responsibility to the United Nations and other global humanistic organizations to question decisions by acknowledging and seeking out God’s authority and wisdom. We need to ask ourselves if the U.N. (UNESCO) decision is the best decision for all of mankind as it relates to the will and plans of God. The U.N. acknowledges God in its New York office building with part b of Isaiah 2:4; all of the scripture, parts a and b, need to be acknowledged. God is the Supreme Judge and anti-semitism cannot be a part of such an organization.
a And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples;
b And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. (NASB)
When we look back in history on decisions made by the U.N., we see obvious discrepancies in how the nation of Israel is being viewed by this world peace organization. The following highlights concerning Israel and UN have been made available by Steven Shamrack, independent editor of The Kings Calendar, The Shamrack Report:
Before 1990, the Security Council passed 175 resolutions, 97 were directed against Israel.
Before 1990, the UN General Assembly voted on 690 resolutions, 429 were directed against Israel.
The UN was silent when Jordanians destroyed 58 synagogues in Jerusalem.
The UN was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
The UN was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
The UN was silent while for 18 months Israel was terrorized by indiscriminate suicide bombing campaigns unleashed by PA leadership.
There are 54 Muslims countries in the UN. As well as many more are others, Arab oil dependent states.
Israel is the ONLY MEMBER OF THE UN THAT IS NOT PERMITTED MEMBERSHIP ON THE SECURITY COUNCIL.
Israel is the only country excluded from the U.N.’s regional group system. Since Israel does not belong to any group, it is the only country of 190 member states that is not eligible to serve on the numerous U.N. commissions.
In recent years, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights has annually passed five resolutions condemning Israel. This year, they passed seven. By contrast, each of the following countries/regions has been the subject of only one resolution: Afghanistan, Burundi, Congo, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Russia/Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Southeast Europe and Sudan.
Nov. 29 is the United Nations Day of International Solidarity with the Palestinian People. No other group or nation has a U.N. Day of Solidarity.
Israel is the only state to which a special investigator with “an open-ended mandate to inspect its human rights record” is assigned by the U.N.
It is the only state targeted by two special committees and special units of the U.N. Secretariat ostensibly devoted to the Palestinians but in reality dedicated to Israel-bashing worldwide, costing millions of dollars a year.
UNIFIL, the U.N. force stationed on the Israel-Lebanon border, hid a videotape of Israeli soldiers being abducted by Hezbollah in October 2000. After finally admitting to having the tape, the U.N. would only show an edited version (in which Hezbollah faces were hidden) to the Israeli government.
Does it sound like Israel has been viewed fairly as it relates to internal and global peace? According to Zechariah 14, the nations of the world need to take a sincere look at the countries they are supporting and following. The Lord will fight against all the nations that do not support Jerusalem and He will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem. “Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.” A great panic from the Lord will fall upon the nations. At some time in world history, the nations that oppose Israel may have stood on the Hill of Evil Counsel, but they will not stand in the end times. Jerusalem will dwell in security.
Constructing Your Testimony
Doris Horton Murdoch
Bruce Epperly: First Do No Harm! (Job, Anne Graham Lotz …)
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The question is: Do you approve or disapprove of President Obama’s and Governor Romney’s responses...
Doris H. Murdoch: God’s Promise Fulfilled
by Doris H. Murdoch, teacher and author of Testify: By the Blood of the Lamb and...
Energion PublicationsFebruary 8, 2017
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dutch chemical plant
Shell fined for explosions, gas leak at Dutch chemical plant
The court also held Shell liable for a leak of ethylene oxide gas that lasted from Nov.14, 2015, until Jan. 27, 2016, at the same plantAP | June 18, 2019, 15:16 IST
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: A Dutch court has fined oil giant Shell 2.5 million euros ($2.8 million) for breaching Dutch labor and environmental laws in a case linked to two explosions and a gas leak at a chemical plant south of Rotterdam.
The East Brabant court ruled Monday that Shell did not take sufficient precautions to prevent two blasts and a subsequent fire that injured two workers when the company restarted two reactors at a chemical plant in the village of Moerdjik on June 3, 2014.
The court also held Shell liable for a leak of ethylene oxide gas that lasted from Nov.14, 2015, until Jan. 27, 2016, at the same plant.
Shell did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.
Tags : Oil & Gas, Shell, Royal Dutch Shell, THE HAGUE, ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Gas Leak, dutch chemical plant
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Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Reliance Nippon
abu dhabi investment authority india
What triggered Abu Dhabi's ADIA's visit to India
A team of about 8-10 senior management executives first arrived in New Delhi two-three weeks ago exploring investment opportunities in the country.Saikat Das | ET Bureau | May 02, 2018, 14:21 IST
MUMBAI: Several top investment managers from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the world’s second-largest sovereign fund, were in India recently to examine the options of investing in local financial services firms, two people familiar with the matter told ET.
They met Uday Kotak, Asia’s richest banker, and executives at other financial institutions as part of a programme that seeks to expand ADIA investments in the world’s fastest-expanding major economy, said one of the persons cited above.
“ADIA is an existing investor in some of our alternate investment funds and a privileged customer of our other banking services. It is customary for Mr Uday Kotak and senior executives of the Kotak Group to meet the leadership team of ADIA on a regular basis during their India visits and discuss the business environment and opportunities that India offers to investors,” said Rohit Rao, spokesperson of the Uday Kotak-led Kotak Mahindra Bank.
An ADIA spokesperson declined comments.
A team of about 8-10 senior management executives first arrived in New Delhi two-three weeks ago exploring investment opportunities in the country. They also visited Mumbai later.
“They apparently also wanted to assess the country’s economic prospects,” said another person who is not authorised to talk to the media. “They find that the economy is in the right, upward trajectory – meaning that it is a good time to deploy more money in India.”
ADIA’s total investment in India could not be determined but it runs into billions of dollar across asset classes. It invests in private equity ventures, equity shares, real estate, venture capital, and fixed-income instruments.
In a 2017 business review report, ADIA had said that it was evaluating opportunities in Asia’s third-biggest economy. “The team was also active in evaluating investment opportunities from within its existing portfolio, including regular interactions with our global investment platforms to evaluate add-on opportunities,” the review report had then said.
ADIA has committed $1 billion investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), marking the start of India’s ambitious attempt to raise equity funds for the infrastructure sector like cube highways, roads and so on.
ADIA, which manages assets worth $792 billion, has mandated global recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to find a head for its Indian operations, a local financial newspaper reported in January.
Last year, ADIA purchased a significant minority stake in KKR India Financial Services. Many other small to large non-banking financial institutions are also aiming to have a share of the pie.
ADIA also owns a minority stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd, India’s third largest mutual fund manager. In real estate, ADIA earlier made a $200-million investment in Kotak’s realty fund.
Tags : Oil & Gas, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Venture Capital, Reliance Nippon, NIIF, mutual fund, ADIA, abu dhabi investment authority india
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Lockheed Martin Information Session
1202 Martin Hall
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/careers
Come here about the many exciting jobs and internships available at Lockheed Martin!
Lockheed Martin is a highly diversified $24 billion advanced technology company and the strategic leader in the aerospace industry with major positions in information systems, software development, space, launch vehicles, aeronautics, electronics, environmental services, and energy programs. The vision of the Corporation is to be the world's premier systems engineering and technology enterprise. To meet that vision, Lockheed Martin will continue to build on its history of success in identifying and capitalizing on key information systems, electronic, aerospace, and energy technologies.
The Corporation is organized into four core business areas: Aeronautics, Space Systems, Systems Integration and Technology Services. Within these four businesses are 45 major businesses with locations in most of the fifty states and around the world.
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Posts Tagged: Cold War
Russia’s Election Meddling Is Despicable, But Don’t Forget Our Own
By Tom Engelhardt, May 22, 2019
For the U.S., Russian meddling in the 2016 election was a classic case of getting a taste of one’s own medicine and not liking it one bit.
What’s Behind Bolton’s Attacks on the ‘Troika of Tyranny’?
By John Feffer, April 24, 2019
Bolton's broadsides against Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela hint at ambitions for much more dangerous geopolitical conflict — and nothing short of a new Cold War.
Central America Needs a Marshall Plan
By Ed Corcoran, January 16, 2019
U.S. policies helped create the refugee crisis in Central America. Better ones can help resolve it.
Is Korea’s Cold War About to End?
By John Feffer, November 14, 2018
The media is missing the real story on the peninsula. If that gives Koreans space to lead, maybe that's not such a bad thing.
The U.S. Air Force is Preparing for a Great Power War Against Russia and China
By Jakob Reimann, November 8, 2018
The Air Force is undergoing its biggest expansion since the end of the Cold War, and the reasons are clear.
The New Cold War Is a Lot More Dangerous Than the Old
By Michael Klare, November 1, 2018
Three superpowers now face off along multiple fronts, even as they dismantle the tools that prevented escalation in the past.
In South Africa, Trump Embraces a Global Neo-Nazi Myth
By Francis Njubi Nesbitt, August 27, 2018
White South Africans are 8 percent of the country's population and hold 70 percent of its arable land. Apparently that's not enough for a global chorus of white supremacists.
The Pentagon Is Planning a Three-Front ‘Long War’ Against China and Russia
By Michael Klare, April 4, 2018
If you thought the "global war on terror" was a significant overreach for a single power, just wait.
If We Want to Support Refugees, We Need To End the Wars That Create Them
By Azadeh Shahshahani and Maha Hilal, March 12, 2018
The sanctuary movement needs an anti-war voice.
The New, New Cold War
By John Feffer, March 7, 2018
The Cold War has been around, in various permutations, for a long time. It'll take patience, organizing, compromises, and some luck to bury it once and for all.
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Published on : September 13, 2018 Published by : Kelby Kipp
Sir Cliff Richard, Sheridan Smith and Rebecca Ferguson have recorded duets with Cilla Black using the late singer and TV presenter’s remastered vocals.
The songs will appear on a new tribute album, which has used Cilla’s original vocal recordings.
Sir Cliff will appear on a version of her 1964 number one You’re My World. Smith, who played Black in a 2014 ITV biopic, will be heard on Alfie.
The album will also feature the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Liverpudlian singer Ferguson has recorded new vocals for Anyone Who Had a Heart, which was Cilla’s first UK number one in 1964.
Cilla died in Spain following a fall in 2015.
Cilla Black was a singing star in the 1960s before finding fame as a TV presenter
The album, titled Cilla with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, will be released on 16 November.
Sir Cliff said: “I am happy to be associated with one of Britain’s greatest stars. Love you chuck.
“Cilla was a huge TV success. She and her personality, literally, filled our screens year after year. But I will always remember her as a fabulous singer.
“That is how her career started, and I am so glad that once again, with the release of this CD, we will be reminded of just how good a singer she was.”
Her son Robert Willis has overseen the album, and said it made him feel “happy” to listen to her voice again.
He said: “I think of her and it makes me smile. I’m at that stage of grieving where to hear her voice makes me happy, not sad.
“I think of the good times. I think of her in her prime, a strong personality, with a great voice. A one-off.”
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Home — Essay Samples — Philosophy — Philosophical Works — Nicomachean Ethics
Essays on Nicomachean Ethics
Concepts: Human, Nicomachean Ethics, Thought, Reason, Hominidae, Human, Nicomachean Ethics, Thought
The Connection Between Happiness, Friendship and Justice
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle examines happiness, which is the good towards which every human action is directed. Entangled in this pursuit is Aristotle’s discussion of such ideas as virtue, magnanimity, justice and friendship, as well as the relationships between all of these. Before he can...
Nicomachean Ethics 5 Pages
The Connection Between Courage and Justice Based on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, the Iliad, and the Epic of Gilgamesh
Courage and justice have been two highly discussed values throughout the semester, and in this essay I will seek to connect the two together as well as relating the ideas in accordance with Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, The Illiad, and The Epic of Gilgamesh. According to...
Aristotle Courage Iliad Nicomachean Ethics 2 Pages
The Construction of the Concept of Virtue
Aristotle devotes the first six books of his Nicomachean Ethics to a discussion of virtue. In doing so he divides virtue into two different categories: moral virtue and intellectual virtue and discusses them individually. However, in our approach to the question of the highest moral...
The Plato and Isocrates Influence on the Aristotle's Rhetorical Thought
What does it mean to be human? We are “decision-making creatures capable of overruling [their] own instincts.” It naturally follows that those tools which enable humans to exhibit these unique characteristics are the most essential to human existence and evolution. For thousands of years, Rhetoric...
Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Plato Socrates 3 Pages
The concept of Aristotle's Function Argument
In Aristotle book, Nicomachean Ethics Book 1, he makes the argument that there is the good and the ‘well’. To explain his claim he gives us an example, “the function of lyre-player is to play the lyre, and that of a good lyre-player is to...
Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics 1 Page
The Understanding Concepts of Function, Reason and Virtue
In the first two books of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle asserts that the function of humans is to practice rational activity, which completed over a lifetime makes a good life. Aristotle first explores the function and ends of all actions and things, defines the function of...
The Virtue of True Friendship
Friendship is arguably the most relevant philosophical matter expounded upon in The Nicomachean Ethics. While other virtues may not be practiced on a daily basis, friendship and the implications of such a relationship are somewhat more consistent. Living necessitates interactions and relationships with other people,...
The Concepts of Motive and Intention in Modern Political Thought
Introduction Niccolo Machiavelli’s seminal work of political science, The Prince, directed at a prince of the then-powerful Medici family of Florence, has been the subject of much debate over the centuries since it was published. Decried as a shameless and unapologetic map of despotism by...
Comparing the Plato and Aristotle's Perspectives on Human Nature and Purpose
Not all are equal in Plato’s Republic or Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics and Politics. Plato and Aristotle argue that people possess a certain natural ability that determines their role in society. The fundamental character of one’s soul, in part, determines this natural ability. As not all...
Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics Plato 5 Pages
The Understanding of Self-Love of Humans
Aristotle asks good human beings to be self-lovers, devoting special attention to virtue’s most fundamental groundwork. With all individual actions, it is the intellect which must determine the course of proper morality and strength of character; the path of right action elucidated in Nicomachean Ethics...
Allegory of The Cave Essays
Euthyphro Essays
Life Without Principle Essays
Manifesto of The Communist Party Essays
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Symposium Essays
The Apology Essays
Ethics Essays
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Self Reflection Essays
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Facebook Vows to Improve Real Name Policy. But How Far Will They Go?
Posted 5 November 2015 17:59 GMT
What's in a name? Collage by Ellery Biddle. Images by Fora do Eixo, Victor Martinez, and anonymous, all licensed for reuse.
What's in a name? It depends on who you are, where you live, and how you behave on Facebook.
In early October 2015, Advox joined forces with a handful of NGOs seeking to highlight risks associated with Facebook's “real name” policy, which requires users to create profiles under their real names. Working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Association for Progressive Communications, the American Civil Liberties Union and several other NGOs under the mantle of the Nameless Coalition, we wrote an open letter explaining the inherent cultural and socioeconomic biases in the policy, and proposing some concrete changes.
Facebook says they require users to create profiles under their “real names” because they believe this encourages people to behave better. Yet the company's only known mechanism for enforcing this policy is to ask users to report accounts that they believe are using a “fake” name. This mechanism is used by users of all kinds, to various ends. Some time ago, Facebook users with bad intentions learned that simply by reporting a fellow user for violating the real name policy, they could—at least temporarily—force that person into silence.
If the person couldn't quickly prove to the company that she was using her “real” name (by sending in a photo ID), her account would be suspended. For some users, this might be an inconvenience. For others, losing access to a Facebook account can impose an effective blackout on their primary mechanism for communication with close family, friends and allies.
In our letter, we proposed that Facebook:
1. Commit to allowing pseudonyms and non-legal names in situations where using legal names could put a user in danger
2. Require users filing real name policy abuse reports to support their claims with evidence
3. Create a compliance process through which users can confirm their identities without submitting government ID
4. Provide stronger technical security for users who do send Facebook their identification information
5. Provide a robust appeals process for users locked out of their accounts
On October 30, Facebook responded with a detailed letter signed by Alex Schultz, who identified himself as a person who “work[s] with our teams that help protect people on Facebook.” Schultz's Twitter profile and multiple news articles describe him as Facebook's “vice president of growth.” [Read the full letter – PDF.]
Schultz wrote that the company wants to reduce the number of users who are asked to verify their identity through the real name policy process. He noted that “identity and names are deeply personal matters and can vary significantly across cultures,” and emphasized that Facebook wishes to “be sensitive to these issues.”
…identity and names are deeply personal matters and can vary significantly across cultures, and we want to be sensitive to these issues.
We see these declarations as progress. We applaud Facebook's desire to be more sensitive to the complex issues around personal names and identity, and we look forward to seeing this implemented in the form of real policy changes. We will continue to press on these issues until we see these changes first hand.
Schultz pledged to take a few concrete, if small, steps in the right direction. He wrote that in December, Facebook will begin requiring users to “provide additional information about why they are reporting a profile [for violating the real name policy]” (response to request 2). We believe this may help the company better understand the various intentions of users filing these reports, and that it will create a slightly higher barrier for individuals using the reporting feature for malicious purposes.
Schultz also pledged (in response to request 5) to allow users whose accounts have been suspended to “give more information about their situation and receive more personalized help throughout the confirmation process.” Currently, users whose accounts have been suspended due to real name policy violations are offered no formal opportunity to appeal their cases in writing.
Another challenging aspect of the current process lies in Facebook's requirement that users accused of using a fake name send the company either a photo of government-issued ID, or images of two non-government (but still relatively official) forms of identification. Similar to some voter identification procedures in the United States, Facebook allows users to send pictures of things like library cards, bank statements, or magazine subscriptions in order to verify their identities. These decidedly old-school alternatives, however, do not satisfy the needs of the majority of users whom Global Voices represents. Some members of our community point out that these things simply do not exist in their countries. Others note that these forms of identification tend to be tied to government ID, and thus reflect one's legal name all the same. Facebook promised no changes to this part of the policy.
Similar to some voter identification procedures in the United States, Facebook allows users to send pictures of things like library cards, bank statements, or magazine subscriptions in order to verify their identities. These decidedly old-school alternatives, however, do not satisfy the needs of the majority of users whom Global Voices represents.
In response to our fourth request, Schultz described plans to improve technical security for the process by which users send identification information to the company. But his response left us with more questions than answers. He wrote: “going forward, IDs submitted to Facebook as part of this process will be encrypted when they are temporarily stored on our servers.” This led us to assume that these files currently are not encrypted while stored on Facebook's servers—a troubling notion. Our colleagues at the Electronic Frontier Foundation are investigating the technical details of this process and may issue specific technical recommendations on how the company can maximize its security in this area.
Overall, we were disappointed to see Facebook continuing to assert that enforcement of the real name policy is necessary to improving user behavior. Naturally, we share Facebook's desire for the platform to be a safe place where people treat each other respectfully. But we know that certain efforts intended to make the platform safer in fact make some users more vulnerable, and expose them in some instances to physical danger.
We understand Facebook's logic—in many cases, it is easier to hold a person accountable for their actions when their identity is known. But we also know that their assumption is based on correlation, not causation: using a different name does not cause one to behave badly.
using a different name does not cause one to behave badly.
Schultz wrote that users who behave badly are eight times more likely to use a fake name than others. But this number does not come from their user base as a whole—it comes from data on individuals who have been reported for using a fake name. The statistic is wrong at worst and misleading at best. Schultz's letter says that those who are reported for using a fake name are more likely to engage in abuse than those who are not. This is neither surprising nor remarkable, as users who behave badly are generally more likely to be reported for any kind of abuse than those who are not.
We believe that if Facebook really wants to reduce bad behavior, they should target bad behavior.
We believe that if Facebook really wants to reduce bad behavior, they should target bad behavior. The company should zero in on the real problems in play: harassment, hate speech, threats of physical and sexual harm, and abuse of Facebook's policies in an effort to silence others.
Facebook promised to introduce these changes in December. We look forward to seeing these in practice, and hope the company will consult with us on these changes, given the wealth of experience our coalition has in the areas concerned. And we plan to continue our dialogue on this topic, both with the company and with our growing network of allies.
Written byEllery Roberts Biddle
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brainmist
You’d think, since Facebook claims at least part of their purpose in demanding real names is to allow people to know to whom they’re connecting, they’d allow verification by established connections: something simple like “Do you know this person IRL? Have they gone by this name IRL?” We’ll see if their changes amount to a usable platform. If not…oh well, plenty of other social networks.
5 November 2015, 20:53 pm
Gloryan
If Facebook were concerned with “safety”, they would investigate the pages of those whose names they want documentation of. If someone reports a user based on name (if the reported uses a pseudonym, maybe the reporter wants to know that user’s real name for nefarious purposes), what “claim” will Facebook get evidence for? There is no claim beyond complaining about a name. I don’t necessarily believe that targeting users is solely because of others reporting them, but for Facebook to encourage that is just one small way of showing what the company really stands for. If they had any integrity, Facebook would abandon their horrible, privacy-invading, endangering and suffering-inducing policy. And if users would abandon Facebook in droves, heading to Google+, maybe Facebook would have a reason to change. Instead, users just give in as though Facebook deserves power over them and their safety.
6 November 2015, 2:12 am
Buz Deadwax
After a LOT of research on how to win by playing their game using their own rules, on August 31, 2015, I submitted a ticket at https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/1417759018475333.
On September 8th, they changed my name back and sent me an email confirming it. BUT JUST THIS MORNING FB locked me out for the SECOND time in 4 months due to my name. (excuse the caps… but I’m really pissed.)
So whatever they’re saying that they’re doing differently, they’re really not. The fact that even though they clearly accepted my previous “evidence”, yet hit me again, means that they’re not even living by their own rules, so it seems they’ve gotten worse.
Facebook’s “real name” policy is ridiculous. I don’t use my real name ANYWHERE except on legal documents. I see no reason to use it on Facebook.
I got locked out of Facebook in August 2015, and can’t give them ID documentation of any kind for security reasons. There was never anything inappropriate about my postings there; that is not what their policy is about. I still get email notifications from the account that I can’t access, and tried to unsubscribe, and could not do so because I can only reach a page that allows uploading files. So I made a note as a jpg and uploaded it, wanting to stop the emails. I also want to download my data and be done with it. This is the answer I received:
Thanks for reaching out to us, but unfortunately we can’t confirm you’re the owner of this account.
Please reply with a scan or photo of your government-issued identification that has your name and photo or name and date of birth.
If you’re unable to provide your government-issued ID, please visit the Help Center to learn about the other types of ID we accept:
https://www.facebook.com/help/159096464162185/?ref=cr
Keep in mind that the information on the ID you provide must match the information on the account.
Please cover up any personal information we don’t need to confirm your identity (ex: address, Social Security number) and save the image(s) as a JPEG.
We hope to hear from you so we can help.”
They have my email address to verify that it is my account. I think the “powers that be” there are despicable, and their answer to me is irrelevant to my desire to stop the spam and get my data.
This post is part of Advox, a Global Voices project dedicated to protecting freedom of expression online. All Posts
Read this post in Español, English
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The ISI: U.S. backers run for cover (Gateway House)
Gateway House
The 'double-dealing' of the U.S. and Pakistani army - all with the ambition of military dominance - has significantly aided various terrorist groups. After 26/11, there is no place to hide for the Mike Mullens and countless others who have been apologists for the Pakistan army and the state it controls.
M.D. Nalapat
DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF GEOPOLITICS, MANIPAL UNIVERSITY
In September, the recently-retired U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, warned of the risks to international security because of the propensity of the Pakistan army to back – sometimes covertly, but usually openly – Wahabbi extremist fighters. However, he left unsaid the name of the country that has been most responsible over six decades for causing this risk to develop.
Since the 1950s, the Pakistan army has been, in a significant way, the creation of the U.S. military and intelligence services, including its fraternisation with jihadis. Even as the former admiral was talking of the 'double-dealing' of the Pakistani military, U.S. military and intelligence officers were going through the very same ‘double-dealing’ machinery in order to gain access to elements such as the Taliban. And as before, they were using the Pakistan side to gain information about the country that has become the biggest challenger to U.S. military dominance – China.
Prior to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the U.S. had teamed up with China in encouraging the Pakistan army to weaken its Indian counterpart through non-conventional and clandestine methods. After that, Washington's policy changed to one of benign acquiescence to the ISI's operations in India – even after 9/11. It was only after the 26/11 attacks showed that Western interests were almost as much at risk as India's, that the U.S. began to actually – as distinct from formally – discourage Islamabad from using Wahabbi and other proxies to launch attacks within India. Of course, China's People’s Liberation Army has, to date, continued the policy of seeing in the ISI's antics a useful way of slowing down the progress of a country that it sees as a rival – India.
It was easy to play these games in the early days. Till 9/11, the U.S. regarded Wahabbi-based terrorism as a problem far from home. This perception was shared by many Europeans, even though other manifestations of the scourge had for decades hit the continent, such as the actions of the Basque separatists in Spain or the IRA in the UK. The latter country, in fact, prided itself on the sanctuary it afforded to any extremist who was a self-labelled 'freedom fighter.' To this day, collections are made by citizens of the UK, which are sent directly to organisations active in Kashmir or for the Naga insurgency. The latter is made possible by Anglican church groups which still have collections for ‘charities’ active in Nagaland that oppose Indian ‘domination' – without a peep from Indian authorities.
In the past, a large share of the funds used by the Khalistan movement were formed out of collections made in cities such as Los Angeles and Toronto. In fact, the latter location, together with Paris, was a prime source of funds utilised by the LTTE until its 2009 collapse at the hands of the Sri Lankan army. These days, countries that are more 'progressive' in Europe, notably Norway, have picked up some of the slack, encouraged by a state that believes it has a magic wand that can turn extremists into good citizens in any part of the globe. Flush with cash and with a taste for exotica, Norwegian-funded NGOs have blossomed in conflict locations, usually on the side of those confronting established authorities. Should the Sri Lankan or another government ask Interpol for an international arrest warrant to be issued against those funding and otherwise backing groups engaged in organised violence, it may have some effect on the volume of such 'Good Samaritan' contributions. The Government of India is, of course, far too genteel to even think of such measures, no matter what the havoc such funds collected from the 'civilised world' have done to its internal security.
While others may argue that it is better late than never that the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff realised the truth about the ISI and the broader Pakistan army, the reality is that the fusion of the military in that country with terrorists has been known across the globe. In its very first war, waged against India over Kashmir during 1947–1948, the Pakistan army relied on irregulars armed by itself to soften up resistance from the forces of the Maharaja of Kashmir. This fact was not unknown to Pakistan's backers in the UN, notably the U.S. and the UK, both of whom succeeded in making a fool out of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when the latter placed the issue of Pakistan's aggression before a UN Security Council – a body dominated by those unhappy with his anti-colonial rhetoric and impressed with the effusive promises of Pakistan to remain as loyal a follower of the superior wisdom of the Occident as Mohammad Ali Jinnah was of Winston Churchill.
Sixteen years ago, Gene Madding, an official in the Clinton administration, organised a meeting for this columnist in the innards of the Clinton administration. More than a dozen analysts and officials showed up for the inquisition, and there was a knowing cynicism about the part of the presentation that held the Pakistan military as a pro-terror force. "That's because you're an Indian (that such a point was made),” was the comment of a State Department analyst who was introduced as an expert on South Asia. Despite the first World Trade Centre attack – and its obvious link to Pakistan – the Clinton administration remained in total denial about the actual nature of the only organised military in the world that has 'jihad' as its motto. Small wonder that a year prior to the (1995) meeting, former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Robin Raphel and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, had already begun the program of facilitation that ensured the takeover of 86% of Afghanistan by the Taliban in 1996. A check of the output of journalists of that period will show the credulity of the U.S. and UK media of the actions and analysis of Raphel and other Pakophiles within the Beltway.
Faith in the Pakistan military, and in the Wahabbi elements within the ruling elites of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, comprise the hole in the ozone layer of counter-terrorism strategy – a gap through which numerous terrorist groups and individuals have escaped punishment. Till today, the U.S. hesitates to place international sanctions against even those members of the ISI that the Defense Intelligence Agency and the CIA know are aiding terror groups, in contrast to their zeal against a defanged and collaborative Muammar Gaddafi.
Until the United States accepts that the only path to success in cleansing Afghanistan of significant terror groups is to take the war to the Pashtun areas as a whole, including those located in Pakistan, the Taliban will continue as a potent threat. The former Soviet Union made the mistake of not even trying to interdict weapons and explosives supplies from Pakistan that had been flowing into Afghanistan since 1978. President Obama has been more robust in the drone program than the pro-Pakistani Defence Secretary Dick Cheney, allowed George W. Bush to be. But these attacks – like those on Mumbai – represent only a small fraction of the attention needed to be paid by the Pentagon to the Pashtun territories as a whole. And after 26/11 (which incidentally this columnist was the first to expose as being an ISI operation inUPIAsia.com), there is no place to hide for the Mike Mullens and countless others who have, throughout their careers, been apologists for the Pakistan army and the state it controls.
M.D. Nalapat is the director of the School of Geopolitics at Manipal University in Manipal, India.
http://www.gatewayhouse.in/publication/gateway-house/2611-reflections/isi-us-backers-run-cover
NATO vs Shias: A geopolitical miscalculation (Gate...
China and India: Partners, not foes (China Daily)
Can Rahul do a Narasimha Rao? (Sunday Guardian)
Animosity between PC, Swamy spans decades (Sunday ...
For China, Pakistan comes first (PO)
Sawant must get Rs 10,000 cr (Sunday Guardian)
Reserve Bank kills India growth story (PO)
The ISI: U.S. backers run for cover (Gateway House...
India’s rubber civil frame (Sunday Guardian)
Modi woos China in Mandarin (Sunday Guardian)
Will Beijing be right on Afghanistan? (PO)
No specialists, please, we’re Home and Defence (Su...
China wary as India looks East (PO)
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Bragg channels Guthrie into Occupy London
Learning how to do live TV interviewing with visionOntv is a laugh, you never know who might walk into their instant pop-up studios. I found myself interviewing the songwriter Billy Bragg this week down at the newly squatted Bank of Ideas, having dropped by to lend a hand.
Bragg is a veteran of political activism and song-writing, blending folk, punk and protest into his work over several decades. He recently reworked the lyrics to the classic “Which Side Are You On?”, a song written by Florence Reece in 1931, using ones inspired by Occupy London.
“Those who’ve been fighting for a fair and compassionate society in the 20th century feel that the wind is blowing our way now and we are very, very excited by what’s going on with the Occupy movement,” he said during a video interview at the newly squatted former offices of Swiss bank UBS.
He spoke after running a free song-writing workshop.
“What we are doing is Woody Guthrie’s work,” said Bragg, crediting the American singer-song writer as having inspired him and the work of a whole generation of other artists such as Joe Strummer of the Clash and Bob Dylan.
So what did I pick up about TV interviewing from all this? Sit still, don’t swing in your swivel chair, chill out and, most of all, switch off your damn mobile phone before the no-edit interview begins. All useful lessons learnt thanks to the fantastic platform and energy offered by the fine people of visionOntv. (The mobile phone incident is in the second featured video below)
Tagged as billybragg, democracy, journalism, media, music, occupy, occupylfs, occupylsx, politics, video, visionontv
Not the nine o’clock news
It’s not the 9 o’clock news but then that’s probably a good thing.
Below you can watch three no-edit videos I produced as part of a mobile phone training run by visionOntv for citizen journalists. It was part of a whole series of events being run at the Bank of Ideas, a building that used to house the Swiss bank UBS before being opened to the public by Occupy London.
I helped teach and learned at the same time, meaning I had some homework to do along with handful of others on the course. We were aiming for one-minute, one-shot video reports, using visionOntv’s standard template for mobile phones.
The idea is to produce short films that say where they’re located, that are shot without camera wobble and that feature a voiceover script and sign-off. The more people that get used to the technique – shooting and uploading video quickly to the internet – the more we will all get to see alternative narratives about what is happening around us. That means not having to rely on conventional media outlets, with all their shortcomings and blinkers, the core point I make in Fraudcast News.
I shot mine on November 23 at Occupy London Finsbury Square using a borrowed Samsung Galaxy Europa GT-15500, an android mobile phone. I bluetoothed the files to my laptop, from where I uploaded them to YouTube account we created for all the participants. Had I had 3G on the phone, I could have uploaded the videos directly to YouTube from there.
Tagged as democracy, journalism, media journalism democracy occupylsx occupylfs citizen, occupy, video
Occupy your smart phone
You may have guessed I’m obsessed by democracy and journalism. I’ve read a lot about both and done a lot of the second. Journalism that helps improve democracy is what really gets me going. Not fake democracy, the odd meaningless election, but real democracy. That would mean people having direct and ongoing power over their governors via radically different political structures to today’s. We need to be creative.
So I’m excited about the Occupy movements springing up around the planet, not least the ones in London. For me, they show people’s huge appetite for a step-change in the way our societies are run.
I want to do a lot more journalism that does something about our democracies, which are in crashingly poor health. That means real, practical journalism that illustrates our governance problems and explores alternatives.
Today will give me, and maybe you, a chance to do all that at a workshop with visionOntv from 3 to 5pm at Finsbury Square in London, one of the Occupy sites in the capital. I’ve volunteered to help train people to do mobile phone news reports. The aim will be to produce short, simple news, recorded and uploaded to the internet in minutes. We’ll look at storytelling skills and getting straight to the point. That means short video pieces – no wobbly shots, decent sound capture then the necessary tagging and all for effective distribution.
If it works well, no reason why not, there’ll be others on other subjects such as interviews, kit and so on.
If you’re interested, come along. Bring a fully charged phone if you have one plus external microphones and headphones. Don’t worry if you haven’t got them.
These are great skills to learn. This Guardian story explains why. It highlights video footage showing Oakland police beating Iraq war veteran and ex-marine Kayvan Sabehgi. He suffered a ruptured spleen in what looks like an unprovoked attack. The images don’t lie – we need more cameras on the ground.
Tagged as democracy, journalism, occupy, video
Hackers and hacks – dangerous liaison, lost in translation or the odd couple?
It’s not an obvious union but like all the best ones, it could be a winner for both partners. As a long-time hack journalist I have been a distant admirer of computer programmers – hackers, coders, geeks, call them what you will. Not so much for their coding skills, of which I am an enthusiastic if ignorant user, but more their mode of working and self governance.
I was first put on to it a few years ago by a computer programming friend, who pointed me towards The Cathedral and the Bazaar. I’d talked to him about my ideas on democracy and journalism and that was his response.
The book describes different software engineering methods, the top-down version of traditional, commercial software writers versus the bottom-up, free software approach. It sounds a bit techy but it’s not really.
The cathedral idea is one of building software within a constrained environment, the process overseen and controlled by a narrow elite that releases code as and when it wants. The bazaar model is the more chaotic, open-door approach involving code writing and sharing over the internet, in full view of the public and with the possibility of intervention by anyone. The possibilities and creativity released by the bazaar approach makes it infinitely more exciting, fun and flushed with potential.
The metaphor has parallels both for journalism and for democracy. For the latter, what excites me is the comparison of old-style representative democracy versus the emergence of deliberative, participatory approaches to governance. Our traditional governance models are bust, certainly in the UK but also in the United States and elsewhere, we urgently need new ones. I think hackers can teach all of us some lessons on this, as journalists, citizens or both.
A session at the Mozilla Festival 2011 gathered hacks and hackers together to talk about their relationship problems, why they didn’t necessarily know they might love to be together and why perhaps they should. It was moderated by Rich Gordon – Medill School of Journalism – Northwestern University, whose passion is to bring the two sides together.
“The future of journalism is inextricably inter-twined with the future of technology,” he said. I totally agree.
VisionOntv, for whom I volunteered throughout the festival, have exactly that in mind with a follow-up event on November 14 in London, at a venue to be announced. Their plan is to draw together coders to work on some open video challenges they think would help replace the closed-source corporate media hold on our worlds.
If that doesn’t work, there is also Hacks/Hackers London: November Meetup.
Who knows what they might produce?
Tired of the TV news? Think you could do better yourself?
If you have ever dreamed of making TV news rather than just watching it, here’s some good news: it’s not nearly as hard, or as expensive, as you think.
I am at the Mozilla Festival 2011 in London this weekend, a meeting of hacks and hackers working on media freedom and the web. Rather than just coming along as a participant, which would be great in itself, I have volunteered to work with visionOntv. So far today I have been on teams doing no-edit mobile phone reports and studio interviews with the huge variety of people here. The idea is both to do journalism and to teach other people how to do journalism.
“We are all about no edit,” says visionOntv’s Marc Barto. “When you edit, it’s extra time. What we want to do is to teach people to use the media-making tools they have, wherever they are, and to upload their stories on to the internet from wherever they are.”
That means interviewing participants about the software and journalism projects they’re working on, what they’re looking for in terms of collaborators at the festival and who they’ve found. There are great stories going on all around and we just reach out and pull participants in to tell us all about it. Catching it on video helps bring the projects alive, getting the message out and playing a part in the collaborative process. It gives a chance to those who can’t make it down to North Greenwich in East London to get a sense of it all. For those who can come, it’s a chance to make media and learn new reporting skills.
“We want to empower people in this process by showing what’s behind the cameras, to demystify the media,” adds Marc.
For mobile phone reports, that means a 3-shot sequence done in one take with an introduction, interview and closing piece to camera. The trick is to use a mike to make sure the sound quality’s up to scratch and to have enough phone battery to keep working. The first shot is an establisher, the second the content and the third the sign off. The next stage up here is the two TV studios visionOntv is running at the festival, one fixed the other mobile, each hijacking people as they move between the various great sessions going on over the weekend.
The explosion in user-generated content over the last few years is great. Unfortunately a lot of what comes out is rubbish, either too long, or shot with poor sound or a wobbly camera. visionOntv, which bills itself as an independent internet TV station, wants to help people improve their work. They try to teach people a few tricks to make their video reports so much better, with the tools they already have in their pockets. They don’t have to become professional journalists to do high quality work – some would say it would probably help produce hi
Media, freedom and the web – 2011 Mozilla Festival
I’m going to this event on Saturday and Sunday in London’s North Greenwich – looks excellent.
The aim? To assemble Open web developers, journalists and educators to reinvent media on the web. Not too ambitious then.
Rather than just consuming and participating, I also plan volunteering with the prodigious VisionOntv crowd, interviewing people and reporting on the event and some of its planned outcomes and collaborations. Should be a blast.
This is who it’s asking for:
•A reporter exploring how to better cover breaking stories?
• A teacher encouraging students to level-up their web skills?
• A filmmaker unleashing a documentary from its runtime?
• A gamer pushing the frontiers of play in the browser?
• An activist trying to counter widespread surveillance?
This event gives you the freedom to propose a radical idea, a diverse group of experts with whom to collaborate, and the resources required to make something awesome.
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Matthew Wood
Matthew Wood Biography
Updated On Feb 06, 2019 Published On Dec 29, 2016
Timeline of Matthew Wood
1975 Born in Walnut Creek
2008 Appearance in 'Robot Chicken'
2015 Nominated for Academy Award Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2016 Worked for an animation and video game Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures
1996 Worked for a movie The Rock
1998 Worked for a movie Armageddon
Facts of Matthew Wood
1972 , August-15
Birth Nation:
Birth Place/City
Walnut Creek, California
Sound Editor, Voice actor
Star Wars triology
View moreless Facts of Matthew Wood
Matthew Wood is a renown American voice-over actor and a sound editor. He is best known for voicing the character General Grievous in the Star Wars series.
Matthew Wood's early life
Matthew Wood was born as Matthew Russell Wood on the 15th of August, 1972 in Walnut Creek, California. He has not disclosed the name of his parents.
CAPTION: Matthew Wood
He holds American nationality and belongs to white ethnicity.
Matthew Wood's career
Matthew Wood (age 44) is best known for his remarkable work on 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace' (1999), 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' (2005) and 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' (1980), starring Mark Hamill, late Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford.
Moreover, he has received two Academy Award nominations in a category of Sound Editing: for Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, starring Ciarán Hinds, at the 80th Academy Awards as well as for Pixar sci-fi film WALL-E at the 81st Academy Awards.
Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, featuring Vanessa Lengies, is his animation and video games in a role of RO-GR/Roger in 2016.
Matthew Wood's personal life
There is no such news of Matthew Wood dating someone or having a wife or married. As far as his relationship is concerned he is currently single at the moment.
Matthew Wood's net worth
He hasn't even talked about his net worth and earnings to the media. Matthew Wood has worked with the cast of many blockbuster movies, some of whose earnings are enlisted below:
There Will Be Blood (2007): $76.2 million
WALL-E (2008): $533.3 million
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015): $2.068 billion
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017): $1.33 billion
It has been assumed that Matthew Wood was paid evenly for the efforts he put in the making of the film.
Matthew Wood's body measurements
Matthew stands with a height of 6 feet (182 cms) and is body weighs around 85 kgs (187 lbs).
Matthew Wood facts on timeline
Born in Walnut Creek
August 15 , 1975
Matthew Wood is an assistant sound designer of a movie 'The Rock' in 1996.An
American sound engineer as well as an employee of Skywalker, Matthew Wood born as Matthew Russell Wood puts his first step in this world on 15th August 1972 in Walnut Creek, California.
Appearance in 'Robot Chicken'
Matthew Wood made an appearance in Adult Swim's 'Robot Chicken', a stop-motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced by Seth Green in 2008.'Robot Chicken' is based on "Twisted ToyFare Theater", a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare: The Toy Magazine.
Nominated for Academy Award Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Matthew Wood has nominated for Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for a popular movie named Star Wars: The Force Awakens, an epic space opera film directed, co-produced and co-written by J. J. Abrams.
Worked for an animation and video game Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures
June 20 , 2016
Matthew Wood worked for an animation and video games entitled 'Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures', a computer-animated action comedy television series based on the 'Lego Star Wars' theme, and premiered on 'Disney XD' in a role of RO-GR/Roger.
Worked for a movie The Rock
Matthew Wood worked for a movie named 'The Rock', an action thriller film directed by Michael Bay as well as produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, written by David Weisberg and Douglas S. Cook as an assistant sound designer.
Worked for a movie Armageddon
Matthew Wood worked for a movie named 'Armageddon', a science fiction disaster film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and released by Touchstone Pictures ,he is an assistant sound designer of this movie.
Matthew Wood Net Worth
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Kaia Kater
May 09 2019 @ 20:00
More information about Kaia Kater tickets
A Montreal-born Grenadian-Canadian, Kaia Kater grew up between two worlds: one her family’s deep ties to folk music; the other the years she spent soaking up Appalachian music in West Virginia. Her old-time banjo-picking skills, deft arrangements, and songwriting abilities have landed her in the spotlight in North America and the UK, garnering critical acclaim from outlets such as NPR, CBC Radio, Rolling Stone, BBC Music, and No Depression
Kaia started her career early, crafting her first EP Old Soul (2013) when she was just out of high school. Since then, she’s gone on to release two more albums, Sorrow Bound (2015) and Nine Pin (2016). Her most recent album weaves between hard-hitting songs that touch on social issues like the Black Lives Matter movement (“Rising Down,” “Paradise Fell”) and more personal narratives speaking to life and love in the digital age (“Saint Elizabeth”). Nine Pin won a Canadian Folk Music Award, a Stingray Rising Star Award and sent Kaia on an 18-month touring journey from Ireland to Iowa, including stops at The Kennedy Center, Hillside Festival and London's O2 Shepherd's Bush. Kaia is currently working on her next album, due for release in October 2018.
"...plaintive, mesmerizing...writes and performs with the skill of a folk-circuit veteran..." -Rolling Stone
"Where bluegrass meets Nina Simone" - The Guardian
"You want some authenticity in your folk music or bluegrass – I give you Kaia Kater." -No Depression
"A star in the making..."
-Folk Alley
“...One of the most remarkable Canadian folk records in some time...Kater's music is somehow ancient and brand new at the same time.”
-Tom Power, CBC Radio 2
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News, Sport
AS Roma Signs Steven Nzonzi From Sevilla (Photos)
AS Roma have announced the signing of midfielder Steven Nzonzi from Sevilla for £23m.
The France international has signed a four-year contract deal with the club until 2022.
Nzonzi will wear the No.42 jersey for the Serie A Club.
The 29-year-old told the club’s official website: “I feel very happy to be here, and to be a new Roma player.
“I’m very happy to be here and to be an AS Roma player. I really felt that the club wanted me to come. I will give my best on the pitch, and hopefully be a very good player for this team.”
“I always want to improve – regardless of age, the most important thing is to give your best and work hard.
“I want to do that, to become a better player and help the team with my play and experience.”
AS Roma Coach Monchi said:
“Steven is a footballer with a mix of physical and technical qualities that we think will really add to the players that we already have here at AS Roma.
“With his arrival, we have even more quality and competition in midfield.”
AS Roma finished third in the Serie A last season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League before being defeated by Liverpool.
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Motivating people
Strategy as Revolution
Gary Hamel
From the July–August 1996 Issue
View more from the
July–August 1996 Issue
Let’s admit it. Corporations around the world are reaching the limits of incrementalism. Squeezing another penny out of costs, getting a product to market a few weeks earlier, responding to customers’ inquiries a little bit faster, ratcheting quality up one more notch, capturing another point of market share—those are the obsessions of managers today. But pursuing incremental improvements while rivals reinvent the industry is like fiddling while Rome burns.
Look at any industry and you will see three kinds of companies. First are the rule makers, the incumbents that built the industry. IBM, CBS, United Airlines, Merrill Lynch, Sears, Coca-Cola, and the like are the creators and protectors of industrial orthodoxy. They are the oligarchy. Next are the rule takers, the companies that pay homage to the industrial “lords.” Fujitsu, ABC, U.S. Air, Smith Barney, J.C. Penney, and numerous others are those peasants. Their life is hard. Imagine working at Fujitsu for 30 years trying to catch IBM in the mainframe business, or being McDonnell Douglas to Boeing, or Avis to Hertz. We Try Harder may be a great advertising slogan, but it’s depressingly futile as a strategy. What good will it do to work harder to follow the rules when some companies are rewriting them? IKEA, the Body Shop, Charles Schwab, Dell Computer, Swatch, Southwest Airlines, and many more are the rule breakers. Shackled neither by convention nor by respect for precedent, these companies are intent on overturning the industrial order. They are the malcontents, the radicals, the industry revolutionaries.
Never has the world been more hospitable to industry revolutionaries and more hostile to industry incumbents. The fortifications that protected the industrial oligarchy are crumbling under the weight of deregulation, technological upheaval, globalization, and social change. But it’s not just the forces of change that are overturning old industrial structures—it’s the actions of companies that harness those forces for the cause of revolution. (See the insert “Nine Routes to Industry Revolution.”)
Nine Routes to Industry Revolution
Unless you are an industry leader with an unassailable position—a status that, given the lessons of history, not even Microsoft would be wise to claim—you probably have a greater stake in staging a revolution than in preserving the status quo. The opportunities for revolution are many and mostly unexplored. How should a would-be revolutionary begin? By looking for ways to redefine products and services, market space, and even the entire structure of an industry.
Reconceiving a Product or Service
1. Radically Improving the Value Equation.
In every industry, there is a ratio that relates price to performance: X units of cash buy Y units of value. The challenge is to improve that value ratio and to do so radically—500% or 1,000%, not 10% or 20%. Such a fundamental redefinition of the value equation forces a reconception of the product or service.
Fidelity Investments, for instance, wondered why a person couldn’t invest in foreign equity markets for tens or hundreds of dollars rather than thousands. On a recent flight, I heard one flight attendant say to another, “I just moved some of my investments from the Europe Fund to the Pacific Basin Fund.” Such a comment would have been inconceivable a decade or two ago, but Fidelity and other mutual-fund revolutionaries have redefined the industry’s value equation. Hewlett-Packard’s printer business and IKEA are other value revolutionaries.
2. Separating Function and Form.
Another way to challenge the existing concept of a product or service is to separate core benefits (function) from the ways in which those benefits are currently embodied in a product or service (form). Any organization that is able to distinguish form from function and then reconceive one or both has the opportunity to create an industry revolution.
Consider credit cards, which perform two functions. First, a credit card inspires a merchant to trust that you are who the card says you are: your name is embossed on the front, your signature appears on the back, and your photo may even appear in the corner. Nevertheless, credit card fraud is a rapidly escalating problem. In what form will “trust” be delivered in the future? Probably through biometric data: a handprint, voiceprint, or retinal scan. Any credit card maker that is not investing in those technologies today may be surprised by interlopers. Second, a credit card gives you permission to charge up to your credit limit. What new opportunities appear if you distinguish permission as a general function from the particular case of permission to charge? In many hotels, a card with a magnetic stripe gives guests “permission” to enter their rooms. Did credit card makers see the opportunity to use the cards in this way? No, the card security market is owned largely by newcomers.
3. Achieving Joy of Use.
We live in a world that takes ease of use for granted. The new goal is joy of use. We want our products and services to be whimsical, tactile, informative, and just plain fun. Any company that can wrap those attributes around a mundane product or service has the chance to be an industry revolutionary.
What’s the most profitable food retailer per square foot in the United States? Probably Trader Joe’s, a cross between a gourmet deli and a discount warehouse, which its CEO, John Shields, calls a “fashion food retailer.” Essentially without competition, its 74 stores were averaging annual sales of $1,000 per square foot in 1995—twice the rate of conventional supermarkets and more than three times that of most specialty food shops. Customers shop Trader Joe’s as much for entertainment as for sustenance. The store stocks dozens of offbeat foods—jasmine fried rice, salmon burgers, and raspberry salsa—as well as carefully selected, competitively priced staples. By turning shopping from a chore into a culinary treasure hunt, Trader Joe’s has more than doubled its sales over the last five years to $605 million.
Redefining Market Space
4. Pushing the Bounds of Universality.
Every company has an implicit notion of its served market: the types of individuals and institutions that are—and are not—customers. Revolutionary companies, however, focus not just on their served market but on the total imaginable market.
A few years back, who would have considered children a likely market for 35-millimeter film? Would you have given your $500 Nikon to an eight-year-old? Probably not. Parents today, however, think nothing of giving a disposable camera to a child for a day at the beach, a birthday party, or the family’s vacation. The single-use camera has made access to photography virtually universal. In 1995, the single-use-camera market reached 50 million units, worth close to $1 billion at retail. From class to mass, adult to child, professional to consumer, and national to global, the traditional boundaries of market space are being redefined by revolutionary companies.
5. Striving for Individuality.
No one wants to be part of a mass market. We’ll all buy the same things—but only if we have to. Deep in our need to be ourselves, to be unique, are the seeds of industry revolution.
A woman who wants a perfect-fitting pair of jeans, for example, can now get measured at one of Levi Strauss’s Personal Pair outlets, and a computer will pick out exactly the right size. The woman’s specifications are sent to Levi’s by computer, and her made-to-order jeans arrive a few days later. The price? Just about $10 more than an off-the-shelf pair. Levi’s plans to introduce the Personal Pair system to nearly 200 stores in the United States by the end of the decade. The company is counting on its revolutionary approach to put a considerable dent in the growing market for private-label jeans.
6. Increasing Accessibility.
Most market spaces have temporal and geographic bounds: customers must go to a specific store at a specific location between certain hours. But market space is becoming cyberspace, and every day industry revolutionaries are resetting consumers’ expectations about accessibility.
Consider First Direct, a bank that can be reached only by telephone. The fastest-growing bank in Great Britain, First Direct was opening 10,000 new accounts per month in mid-1995—the equivalent of two or three branches. The professionals and workaholics who make up First Direct’s half million customers carry, on average, a balance that’s ten times higher than the average balance at Midland Bank, First Direct’s parent, while overall costs per client are 61% less. One of the first U.S. banks to experiment with so-called direct banking estimates that it will ultimately be able to close at least half of its branches.
Redrawing Industry Boundaries
7. Rescaling Industries.
As industry revolutionaries seek out and exploit new national and global economies of scale, industries around the world—even office cleaning and haircutting—are consolidating at a fearsome pace. Any industry that was local, such as consumer banking, is becoming national. Any industry that was national, such as the airline business, is becoming global.
Every minute and a half, Service Corporation International buries or cremates someone, somewhere in the world. Performing 320,000 funerals per year, SCI has become the world’s largest funeral operator in an industry that traditionally has been very fragmented. Most funeral operators have been family businesses. By buying up small operators, SCI has reaped economies of scale in purchasing, capital utilization (sharing hearses among operators, for example), marketing, and administration.
Of course, an industry can be scaled down as well as up. Bed-and-breakfast inns, microbreweries, local bakeries, and specialty retailers are the result of industries that have scaled down to serve narrow or local customer segments more effectively.
8. Compressing the Supply Chain.
The cognoscenti use the word disintermediation in its literal sense: the removal of intermediaries. Wal-Mart, for instance, essentially turned the warehouse into a store, thus disintermediating the traditional small-scale retailer. And Xerox hopes to reinvent the way companies distribute printed documents by disintermediating trucking companies from the printing business. Why, Xerox asks, should annual reports, user manuals, catalogs, employee handbooks, and other printed matter be hauled across the country in trucks? Why not send the information digitally and print it close to where it is needed? Xerox is working with a variety of partners to stage this revolution.
9. Driving Convergence.
Revolutionaries not only radically change the value-added structure within industries but also blur the boundaries between industries. Deregulation, the ubiquity of information, and new customer demands give revolutionaries the chance to transcend an industry’s boundaries.
For example, a consumer can now get a credit card from General Motors, a mortgage from Prudential or GE Capital, a retirement account at Fidelity Investments, and a checkbook from Charles Schwab. Innovative hospitals “capitate” lives, guaranteeing to provide an individual with a full range of health services for a fixed sum per year. Insurance companies, such as Aetna, respond by refashioning themselves into health care providers. Boston Market offers hot family-style meals for takeout, and supermarkets respond by offering an ever wider selection of prepared foods, further blurring the boundary between the grocery and fast-food industries.
Industry revolutionaries don’t ask what industry they are in. They know that an industry’s boundaries today are about as meaningful as borders in the Balkans.
What if your company is more ruling class than revolutionary? You can either surrender the future to revolutionary challengers or revolutionize the way your company creates strategy. What is required is not a little tweak to the traditional planning process but a new philosophical foundation: strategy is revolution; everything else is tactics.
The following ten principles can help a company liberate its revolutionary spirit and dramatically increase its chances of discovering truly revolutionary strategies. Companies in industries as diverse as personal care products, information services, food processing, insurance, and telecommunications have internalized and acted on these principles. Every organization, however, must interpret and apply them in its own way. These are not a set of step-by-step instructions but a way of thinking about the challenge of creating strategy—the challenge of becoming an industry revolutionary.
Principle 1: Strategic planning isn’t strategic.
Consider your company’s planning process. Which describes it best—column A or column B?
Ritualistic
Reductionist
Extrapolative
Expansive
Prescient
Demanding
Unless your company is truly exceptional, you’ve probably admitted that the words in column A are more fitting than those in column B. In the vast majority of companies, strategic planning is a calendar-driven ritual, not an exploration of the potential for revolution. The strategy-making process tends to be reductionist, based on simple rules and heuristics. It works from today forward, not from the future back, implicitly assuming, whatever the evidence to the contrary, that the future will be more or less like the present. Only a tiny percentage of an industry’s conventions are ever challenged, rendering strategy making largely extrapolative. An industry’s boundaries are taken as a given; thus the question is how to position products and services within those boundaries rather than how to invent new, uncontested competitive space. Further, the planning process is generally elitist, harnessing only a small proportion of an organization’s creative potential.
Perhaps most disturbing, strategy making is often assumed to be easy, especially in comparison with implementing strategy. But of course strategy making is easy when the process limits the scope of discovery, the breadth of involvement, and the amount of intellectual effort expended. Of course the process is easy when its goal is something far short of revolution. How often has strategic planning produced true strategic innovation? No wonder that in many organizations, corporate planning departments are being disbanded. No wonder that consulting firms are doing less and less “strategy” work and more and more “implementation” work.
Not surprisingly, strategy making seems easy when its goal is something far short of revolution.
The essential problem in organizations today is a failure to distinguish planning from strategizing.1 Planning is about programming, not discovering. Planning is for technocrats, not dreamers. Giving planners responsibility for creating strategy is like asking a bricklayer to create Michelangelo’s Pietà.
Most executives know a strategy when they see one. Wal-Mart has a clear strategy; so does Federal Express. But recognizing a strategy that already exists is not enough. Where do strategies come from? How are they created? Strategizing is not a rote procedure—it is a quest. Any company that believes that planning can yield strategy will find itself under the curse of incrementalism while freethinking newcomers lead successful insurrections.
Principle 2: Strategy making must be subversive.
Galileo challenged the centrality of Earth and man in the cosmos. The American colonists challenged the feudal dependencies and inherited privileges of European society. Picasso and other modernists challenged representational art. Einstein challenged Newtonian physics. Revolutionaries are subversive, but their goal is not subversion. What the defenders of orthodoxy see as subversiveness, the champions of new thinking see as enlightenment.
If there is to be any hope of industry revolution, the creators of strategy must cast off industrial conventions. For instance, Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop, turned Charles Revson’s hope-in-a-bottle formula on its head. Instead of assuming, as the cosmetics industry always had, that women lack self-confidence and will pay inflated prices for simple formulations if they believe that they will make them more attractive, Roddick assumed that women have self-esteem and just want lighthearted, environmentally responsible products. Roddick wasn’t kidding when she said, “I watch where the cosmetics industry is going and then walk in the opposite direction.”
Identify the 10 or 20 most fundamental beliefs that incumbents in your industry share. What new opportunities present themselves when you relax those beliefs? Consider the hotel industry’s definition of a day, which begins when you check in and ends at noon, when you must check out. But if you check in at 1 a.m. after a grueling journey, why should you have to check out at the same time or pay the same amount as the person who arrived at 5 the previous afternoon? If a rental-car company can manage a fleet of cars on a rotating 24-hour basis, why can’t a hotel do exactly the same with a fleet of rooms?
Rule makers and rule takers are the industry. Rule breakers set out to redefine the industry, to invent the new by challenging the old. Ask yourself, What are the fundamental conventions we have examined and abandoned in our company? Can you think of more than one or two? Can you think of any at all? If not, why not? As a senior executive, are you willing to embrace a subversive strategy-making process?
Principle 3: The bottleneck is at the top of the bottle.
In most companies, strategic orthodoxy has some very powerful defenders: senior managers. Imagine an organizational pyramid with senior managers at the apex. (It has become fashionable to draw the pyramid with customers at the top and senior managers at the bottom. But as long as senior managers retain their privileges—corporate aircraft, spacious suites, and so on—I prefer to leave the pointy end at the top.) Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industrial dogma? At the top. And where will you find the people responsible for creating strategy? Again, at the top.
In industry after industry, the terrain is changing so fast that experience is irrelevant and even dangerous.
The organizational pyramid is a pyramid of experience. But experience is valuable only to the extent that the future is like the past. In industry after industry, the terrain is changing so fast that experience is becoming irrelevant and even dangerous. Unless the strategy-making process is freed from the tyranny of experience, there is little chance of industry revolution. If you’re a senior executive, ask yourself these questions: Has a decade or two of experience made me more willing or less willing to challenge my industry’s conventions? Have I become more curious or less curious about what is happening beyond the traditional boundaries of my industry? Be honest. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “There are always two parties, the party of the past and the party of the future; the establishment and the movement.” To which party do you belong?
Principle 4: Revolutionaries exist in every company.
It is often said that you cannot find a pro-change constituency in a successful company. I disagree. It is more accurate to say that in a successful company you are unlikely to find a pro-change constituency among the top dozen or so officers.
Make no mistake: there are revolutionaries in your company. If you go down and out into your organization—out into the ranks of much maligned middle managers, for instance—you will find people straining against the bit of industrial orthodoxy. All too often, however, there is no process that lets those revolutionaries be heard. Their voices are muffled by the layers of cautious bureaucrats who separate them from senior managers. They are isolated and impotent, disconnected from others who share their passions. So, like economic refugees seeking greater opportunity in new lands, industry revolutionaries often abandon their employers to find more imaginative sponsors.
No one doubts that Jack Welch of General Electric, Percy Barnevik of ABB Asea Brown Boveri, and Ray Smith of Bell Atlantic are pro-change leaders. But rather than celebrating the exceptions—the few truly transformational executives who populate every tome on leadership—isn’t the greater challenge to help the pro-change constituency that exists in every company find its voice? Sure, there are some radical corporate leaders out there. But weren’t they always revolutionaries at heart? Why couldn’t they have had a much greater impact on their companies earlier in their careers? Perhaps they, too, found it difficult to challenge the combined forces of precedence, position, and power. It would be sad to conclude that a company can fully exploit the emotional and intellectual energy of a revolutionary only if he or she succeeds in navigating the tortuous route to the top. How many revolutionaries will wait patiently for such a chance?
As a corporate leader, do you know where the revolutionaries are in your own organization? Have you given them a say in the strategy-making process? One thing is certain: if you don’t let the revolutionaries challenge you from within, they will eventually challenge you from without in the marketplace.
Principle 5: Change is not the problem; engagement is.
Senior executives assume two things about change that squelch revolutionary strategies. The first assumption is that “people”—that is, middle managers and all the rest—are against change. The second assumption follows from the first: only a hero-leader can force a timid and backward-looking organization into the future. All too often, change epics portray the chief executive dragging the organization kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. Enough of top-management grandstanding. Humankind would not have accomplished what it has over the past millennium if it was ambivalent about change or if the responsibility for change was vested in the socially or politically elite.
Imagine that I coax a flatlander to the top of a snow-covered mountain. After strapping two well-waxed skis onto the flatlander’s feet, I give the nervous and unprepared nonskier a mighty push. He or she goes screaming over a precipice; I’m booked for murder. One could well understand how the novice might not appreciate the “change” I sought to engineer. Now imagine that the nonskier takes lessons for a few days. The now fledgling skier may ascend the same mountain and, though full of caution, voluntarily point the skis downhill. What has changed? Even with a bit of training, skiing is not without risks. But in the second scenario, the skier has been given a modicum of control—an ability to influence speed and direction.
All too often, when senior managers talk about change, they are talking about fear-inducing change, which they plan to impose on unprepared and unsuspecting employees. All too often, change is simply a code word for something nasty: a wrenching restructuring or reorganization. This sort of change is not about opening up new opportunities but about paying for the past mistakes of corporate leaders.
All too often, change is simply a code word for something nasty: a wrenching restructuring or reorganization.
The objective is not to get people to support change but to give them responsibility for engendering change, some control over their destiny. You must engage the revolutionaries, wherever they are in your company, in a dialogue about the future. Does your strategy-making process do this? Do you secretly believe that change is better served by a more compliant organization than by a more vociferous one? When senior managers engage their organization in a quest for revolutionary strategies, they are invariably surprised to find out just how big the pro-change constituency actually is.
Principle 6: Strategy making must be democratic.
Despite years of imploring people to bring their brains to work, to get involved in quality circles, process reengineering, and the like, senior managers have seldom urged them to participate in the process of strategy creation. But if senior managers can’t address the challenge of operational improvements by themselves—witness their reliance on quality circles, suggestion systems, and process-improvement task forces—why would they be able to take on the challenge of industry revolution? After all, what do a company’s top 40 or 50 executives have to learn from one another? They’ve been talking at one another for years. Their positions are well rehearsed, and they can finish one another’s sentences. In fact, there is often a kind of intellectual incest among the top officers of a large company.
The capacity to think creatively about strategy is distributed widely in an enterprise. It is impossible to predict exactly where a revolutionary idea is forming; thus the net must be cast wide. In many of the companies I work with, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people get involved in crafting strategy. They are asked to look deeply into potential discontinuities, help define and elaborate the company’s core competencies, ferret out corporate orthodoxies, and search for unconventional strategic options. In one company, the idea for a multimillion-dollar opportunity came from a twenty-something secretary. In another company, some of the best ideas about the organization’s core competencies came from a forklift operator.
To help revolutionary strategies emerge, senior managers must supplement the hierarchy of experience with a hierarchy of imagination. This can be done by dramatically extending the strategy franchise. Three constituencies that are usually underrepresented in the strategy-making process must have a disproportionate say. The first constituency is young people—or, more accurately, people with a youthful perspective. Of course, some 30-year-olds are “young fogies,” but most young people live closer to the future than people with gray hair. It is ironic that the group with the biggest stake in the future is the most disenfranchised from the process of strategy creation.
My definition of success in a strategy-creation process is exemplified by an executive committee spending half a day learning something new from a 25-year-old. Recently, a young technical employee in an accounting company explained the implications of virtual reality to the senior partners. His pitch went like this: “Think about a complex set of corporate accounts. How easily and quickly can you uncover the subtle relationships among the numbers that might point to a problem or opportunity? Virtual reality will allow you to ‘fly’ over a topography of corporate accounts. That big black hole over there is a revenue shortfall, and that red mountain is unsold inventory. A few small companies are already working on applying virtual reality to financial accounts. Are we going to get on board or risk getting left behind?” The partners actually learned something new that day. When was the last time a Generation-X employee in your company exchanged ideas with the executive committee?
When was the last time a Generation-X employee in your company exchanged ideas with senior managers?
The people at an organization’s geographic periphery are the second constituency that deserves a larger say in strategy making. The capacity for strategic innovation increases proportionately with each mile you move away from headquarters. For a U.S. company, the periphery might be India, Singapore, Brazil, or even the West Coast. For a Japanese company, it might be Indonesia or the United States. At the periphery of an organization, people are forced to be more creative because they usually have fewer resources, and they are exposed to ideas and developments that do not conform to the company’s orthodoxies. Remember the old Chinese defense of local exceptions to central rule: The emperor is far away and the hills are high. But again, in many companies the periphery has little say in the strategy-making process. If a company aims to generate 40% or 50% of its revenues in international markets, international voices should have a say in the strategy-making process to match.
The third constituency that deserves a disproportionate say is newcomers, people who have not yet been co-opted by an industry’s dogma. Perhaps you’ve looked outside your company or industry for senior executives with fresh perspectives. But how systematically have you sought the advice of newcomers at all levels who have not yet succumbed to the dead hand of orthodoxy? Think about last year’s strategic-planning process. How many new voices were heard? How hard did you work to create the opportunity to be surprised?
Inviting new voices into the strategy-making process, however, is not enough. Senior executives must ensure that they don’t drown out people who are overly inclined to deference. In one company, the young representative of a strategy-creation team presented the group’s findings to the management committee. When the anxious young employee showed up at the appointed place and hour, he was confronted by a daunting spectacle: 12 executives, most with more than 20 years of seniority, ensconced in high-backed leather chairs arranged around an enormous boardroom table. The brave young manager never stood a chance. Less than five minutes into the four-hour talk, he was being pelted with disbelief and skepticism. The management committee demonstrated its capacity for (unwitting) intimidation and learned little.
Inviting new voices into the strategy-making process won’t work if senior managers drown them out.
After this fiasco, the people attempting to facilitate the dialogue saw to it that the setting for the next meeting was very different. First, it was held off-site on neutral territory. Second, all 25 members of the strategy-creation team were invited; thus they outnumbered the executives. Third, the management committee sat in ordinary chairs arranged in a semicircle—they had no table behind which to hide. Finally, the management committee was asked to hold all comments during the presentation. Afterward, each member of the management committee was assigned two members of the team for a four-hour discussion that focused on how the team had arrived at its conclusions. The next morning, the executives were willing to admit that they had learned a lot, and they were able to give helpful advice to the team members about where they should deepen and expand their work.
That is strategy making as a democratic process. People should have a say in their destiny, a chance to influence the direction of the enterprise to which they devote their energy. The idea of democracy has become so enervated, and the individual’s sense of responsibility to the community so feeble, that they can both be summarized in the slogan One Person, One Vote. That notion represents not the full ideal of democracy but its minimal precondition. If one exercises the rights of citizenship only once every 1,461 days, can one claim to be a citizen in any meaningful sense? In the corporate sphere, suggestion schemes and town hall meetings are but the tender shoots of a pluralistic process. Democracy is not simply about the right to be heard; it is about the opportunity to influence opinion and action. It is about being impatient and impassioned, informed and involved. The real power of democracy is that not only the elite can shape the agenda. One’s voice can be bigger than one’s vote. Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Nader, Rush Limbaugh, and Jesse Jackson have all had an influence on political thought and action that has gone far beyond a single vote.
Democracy is not simply about the right to be heard; it is about the opportunity to influence opinion and action.
What percentage of the employees in your company have ever seen a copy of the corporate strategy, much less participated in its creation? No wonder that what passes for strategy is usually sterile and uninspiring. Saul Alinsky, one of the most effective social revolutionaries in the United States this century, wrote this about the output of top-down, elitist planning: “It is not a democratic program but a monumental testament to lack of faith in the ability and intelligence of the masses of people to think their way through to the successful solution of their problems . . .. the people will have little to do with it.” That which is imposed is seldom embraced. An elitist approach to strategy creation engenders little more than compliance.
Principle 7: Anyone can be a strategy activist.
Perhaps senior managers are reluctant to give up their monopoly on the creation of strategy. After all, how often has the monarch led the uprising? What can so-called ordinary employees do to ensure that their company becomes or remains the author of industry revolution? Plenty. They can become strategy activists. Today frontline employees and middle managers are inclined to regard themselves more as victims than as activists. They have lost confidence in their ability to shape the future of their organizations. They have forgotten that from Gandhi to Mandela, from the American patriots to the Polish shipbuilders, the makers of revolutions have not come from the top. Notwithstanding all the somber incantations that change must start at the top, is it realistic to expect that, in any reasonable percentage of cases, senior managers will start an industry revolution? No.
In one large company, a small group of middle managers who were convinced that their company was in danger of forfeiting the future to less conventional rivals established what they called a “delta team.” The managers, none of whom was a corporate officer, had no mandate to change the company and asked no one for permission to do so. Over several months, they worked quietly and persistently to convince their peers that it was time to rethink the company’s basic beliefs. This conviction gradually took root among a cross section of managers, who started asking senior executives difficult questions about whether the company was actually in control of its destiny. Did the company have a unique and compelling view of its future? Was the company ahead of or behind the industry’s change curve? Was it at the center or on the periphery of the coalitions that were reshaping the industry? Ultimately, senior managers conceded that they could not answer those questions. The result was a concerted effort, spanning several months and hundreds of employees, to find opportunities to create industry revolution. Out of this effort came a fundamental change in the company’s concept of its mission, a score of new and unconventional business opportunities, and a doubling of revenues over the next five years.
Activists are not anarchists. Their goal is not to tear down but to reform. They know that an uninvolved citizenry deserves whatever fate befalls it, as do cautious and cringing middle managers. People who care about their country—or their organization—don’t wait for permission to act. Activists don’t shape their opinions to fit the prejudices of those they serve. They are patriots intent on protecting the enterprise from mediocrity, self-interest, and mindless veneration of the past. Not every activist ends up a hero. Shortly after he became president of the Supreme Soviet, Nikita Khrushchev gave a speech to a large group of Communist Party leaders in which he denounced the excesses of Stalin. During a pause, a voice rang out from the back of the hall, “You were there. Why didn’t you stop him?” Taken aback by such impertinence, Khrushchev thundered, “Who said that?” The questioner slunk low in his seat and was silent. After a long, uncomfortable minute in which his eyes raked the audience, Khrushchev replied, “Now you know why.” It is often safer to be silent. The corporate equivalent of Lubyanka is an office without a telephone or a window. Dissenters aren’t shot for treason; they’re asked to take a “lateral career move.”
Listen to Thomas Paine: “Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul.” In a corporate context, this sounds like hyperbole. But think of the great companies that have fallen hopelessly behind the change curve because middle managers and first-level employees lacked the courage to speak up. To be an activist, one must care more for one’s community than for one’s position in the hierarchy. The goal is not to leave senior executives behind. The goal is not to stage a palace coup. But when senior managers are distracted, when planning has supplanted strategizing, and when more energy is being devoted to protecting the past than to creating the future, activists must step forward.
Principle 8: Perspective is worth 50 IQ points
2 Without enlightenment, there can be no revolution. To discover opportunities for industry revolution, one must look at the world in a new way, through a new lens. It is impossible to make people smarter, but you can help them see with new eyes. Remember when you took your first economics course? I do. It didn’t make me any smarter, but it gave me a new lens through which to look at the world. Much that had been invisible—the link between savings and investment, between interest rates and exchange rates, and between supply and demand—suddenly became visible.
A view of the corporation as a bundle of core competencies rather than a collection of business units is a new perspective. A view of discontinuities as levers for change rather than threats to the status quo is a new perspective. A view that imagination rather than investment determines an organization’s capacity to be strategic is a new perspective.
Any company intent on creating industry revolution has four tasks. First, the company must identify the unshakable beliefs that cut across the industry—the industry’s conventions. Second, the company must search for discontinuities in technology, lifestyles, working habits, or geopolitics that might create opportunities to rewrite the industry’s rules. Third, the company must achieve a deep understanding of its core competencies. Fourth, the company must use all this knowledge to identify the revolutionary ideas, the unconventional strategic options, that could be put to work in its competitive domain. What one sees from the mountaintop is quite different from what one sees from the plain. There can be no innovation in the creation of strategy without a change in perspective.
Principle 9: Top-down and bottom-up are not the alternatives.
The creation of strategy is usually characterized as either a top-down or bottom-up process. Strategy either emerges as a grand design at the top—think of Jack Welch’s famous “three circles,” which defined GE’s future business focus—or bubbles up from lone entrepreneurs, such as the man who invented Post-It Notes at 3M. But all too often, top-down strategies are dirigiste rather than visionary. And in all too many companies, the entrepreneurial spark is more likely to be doused by a flood of corporate orthodoxy than fanned by resources and the support of senior executives. In my experience, new-venture divisions, skunk works, and the musings of research fellows are no more likely to engender an industry revolution than is an annual planning process.
Just as a political activist who fails to influence those with legislative authority will make little lasting difference, a strategy activist who fails to win senior managers’ confidence will achieve nothing. Senior managers may not have a monopoly on imagination, but they do have a board-sanctioned monopoly on the allocation of resources. To bankroll the revolution, senior executives must believe, both intellectually and emotionally, in its aims. So although the revolution doesn’t need to start at the top, it must ultimately be understood and endorsed by the top. In the traditional model of strategy creation, the thinkers are assumed to be at the top and the doers down below. In reality, the thinkers often lie deep in the organization, and senior managers simply control the means of doing.
To achieve diversity of perspective and unity of purpose, the strategy-making process must involve a deep diagonal slice of the organization. A top-down process often achieves unity of purpose: the few who are involved come to share a conviction about the appropriate course of action and can secure some degree of compliance from those below. A bottom-up process can achieve diversity of perspective: many voices are heard and many options are explored. But unity without diversity leads to dogma, and diversity without unity results in competing strategy agendas and the fragmentation of resources. Only a strategy-making process that is deep and wide can achieve both diversity and unity.
Bringing the top and bottom together in the creation of strategy will help bypass the usually painful and laborious process whereby a lowly employee champions an idea up the chain of command. Managers, many of whom may be more intent on protecting their reputations for prudence than on joining the ranks of the lunatic fringe, are likely to shoot down any revolutionary idea that reaches them. There are many ways of linking those on the bottom with those in the officer corps. Senior executives can sponsor a process of deep thinking about discontinuities, core competencies, and new rules that involves a cross section of the organization. Senior managers can participate as team members—together with secretaries, sales-people, and first-level engineers—in the search for revolutionary opportunities. An executive committee can devote one week per month to keeping up to speed with the revolutionary ideas that are gestating deep in the organization.
What senior executives must not do is ask a small, elite group or the “substitute brains” of a traditional strategy-consulting firm to go away and plot the company’s future. With neither senior managers nor a substantial cross section of the organization involved, the output will likely be considered a bastard by all except those who created it.
In the quest for revolutionary strategies, a senior executive must be more student than magistrate.
Of course, senior managers must ultimately make hard choices about which revolutionary strategies to support and what resources to commit, but they must avoid the temptation to judge prematurely. In the quest for revolutionary strategies, a senior executive must be more student than magistrate. In one company, the CEO believed that the strategy-making team was responsible for convincing him that it had come up with the right answers. That is the wrong attitude. It is the CEO’s responsibility to stay close enough to the organization’s learning process that he or she can share employees’ insights and understand their emerging convictions. In the traditional planning process, outcomes are likely to cluster closely around senior managers’ prejudices; the gap between recommendations and preexisting predilections is likely to be low. But that is not the case in a more open-ended process of strategic discovery. If the goal is to ensure that the resource holders and the revolutionaries end up at the same place at the same time, senior executives must engage in a learning process alongside those at the vanguard of industry revolution.
Principle 10: You can’t see the end from the beginning.
A strategy-making process that involves a broad cross section of the company, delves deeply into discontinuities and competencies, and encourages employees to escape an industry’s conventions will almost inevitably reach surprising conclusions. At EDS, such a process convinced many in the organization that it was not enough to be a business-to-business company. As the dividing line between professional life and personal life was blurring, EDS realized that it had to become capable of serving individuals as well as businesses. After an open and creative strategy-making process, EDS installed automated teller machines in many 7-Eleven stores. Months earlier, few would have anticipated, much less credited, such a move.
Not everyone enjoys surprises. Senior managers cannot predict where an open-ended strategy-making process will lead, but they cannot go only part of the way to industry revolution. If nervous executives open up a dialogue and then ignore the outcome, they will poison the well. In one company, senior managers articulated their reluctance to staff a strategy-making team with a cohort of young, out-of-the-box employees. The CEO was convinced that he needed to set clear boundaries on the work of the eager revolutionaries. Defending his desire to impose prior restraint on the strategy-creation process, he asked, “What if the team comes back with dumb ideas?” The response: “If that is the case, you have a bigger problem—dumb managers.” Senior managers should be less worried about getting off-the-wall suggestions and more concerned about failing to unearth the ideas that will allow their company to escape the curse of incrementalism.
Though it is impossible to see the end from the beginning, an open-ended and inclusive process of strategy creation substantially lessens the challenge of implementation. Implementation is often more difficult than it need be because only a handful of people have been involved in the creation of strategy and only a few key executives share a conviction about the way forward. Too often, the planning process ends with the challenge of getting “buy-in,” of getting what is in the heads of the bosses into the heads of the worker bees. But when several hundred employees share the task of identifying and synthesizing a set of unconventional strategic options, the conclusions take on an air of inevitability. In such a process, senior managers’ task is less to “sell” the strategy than to ensure that the organization acts on the convictions that emerge. How often does the planning process start with senior executives asking what the rest of the organization can teach them about the future? Not often enough.
To invite new voices into the strategy-making process, to encourage new perspectives, to start new conversations that span organizational boundaries, and then to help synthesize unconventional options into a point of view about corporate direction—those are the challenges for senior executives who believe that strategy must be revolution.
1. Thanks to James Scholes, my colleague at Strategos, for suggesting this distinction.
2. I owe this aphorism to Alan Kay, a research fellow at Apple Computer. Kay’s point that new thinking depends more on perspective than on raw intelligence is as apropos to strategy innovation as it is to new-product innovation.
A version of this article appeared in the July–August 1996 issue of Harvard Business Review.
Gary Hamel is a visiting professor at London Business School and the founder of the Management Lab. He is a co-author of Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them (Harvard Business Review Press, forthcoming).
This article is about MOTIVATING PEOPLE
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Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Segurar"
Other questions about "Segurar"
English “Jack Hannaford heard the sound of the horse behind him. He knew that the farmer was... does this sound natural?
I do have a slight Dutch accent so take my voice recording with a grain of salt. Hope this helps your pronunciation is very good and the way you are practicing is very effective keep it up!
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Segurar
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Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Inspirada"
Translations of "Inspirada"
How do you say this in English (US)? eu estou inspirada !
I am inspired
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Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Mayoral"
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What does "emoluments" in the 2nd paragraph mean? The Democratic Attorneys General Association...
Salary or profit from employment
The new mayor of the city scattered the flowers over the mass of people after the mayoral speech. does this sound natural?
The new mayor of the city scattered/showered the flowers over the crowd following the mayoral speech.
What does "won the redo of ~" mean? Context>>>>>>>> The euro strengthened to a three-month hi...
Redo as a noun = something that is being redone, something that was done once, and is now being done again (usually, in order to fix it). So "redo of the mayoral race" = the mayoral election took place before, but now it is being done again because the previous result was somehow wrong. So "won the redo of the mayoral race" = "won the mayoral race that was held once more".
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Cystic Fibrosis Causes
Cystic fibrosis is a very serious disorder that causes respiratory issues and digestive problems. Although cystic fibrosis (CF) was once a death sentence, new medical breakthroughs allow those with the disease to live much longer, fuller lives. Here’s a look at the genetics behind the cause of cystic fibrosis and those more likely to develop it.
CF develops when two people carry a defective gene and both pass it on to a child. The result is improperly functioning secretory glands, those responsible for producing digestive juice, mucus, and other bodily secretions. Mucus is often too thick and doesn’t move through the body’s tubes and pipes the way its supposed to. For example, the lungs hold in too much mucus, which leads to coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. In the digestive system, there is a tube that delivers an enzyme produced by the pancreas to the small intestine that breaks down nutrients so it can absorb them. When too much mucus builds up, the enzyme can’t be delivered, and essential nutrients aren’t recieved, preventing growth and weight gain.
CFTR Protein Production
According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), at the root of all this is the CF gene's production of the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) protein. Properly functioning CFTR protein allows the produced secretions to move across surfaces and gets mucus out of the way. When CF is present, however, CFTR is either not produced or simply doesn’t do its job. Surfaces and tubes become dehydrated, mucus gets thick, and begins to stop up tubes and airways. In turn, all the mucus holds in bacteria and clogs the natural flow of things, damaging passageways and causing infection.
CF knows no ethnic bounds. Although it can appear in any race, it is most common among white Northern Europeans. Because of its genetic cause, this makes it most likely to develop in someone who has a family member with CF. Unfortunately, because the risk factors are purely hereditary, this makes it virtually impossible to prevent CF. It is possible, however, for prospective parents without CF to get DNA tests done to see if both of them carry the defective gene. Both parents must carry the mutated gene, of which there are more than 1800 different types. However, even if they do, there is still a chance they can have a healthy baby. Regardless, it can be helpful to be informed and prepared before conception.
What is Cystic Fibrosis?
Cystic Fibrosis Symptoms
Cystic Fibrosis Treatments
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Both Sides of the Mirror
Integrating Physics and Acoustics with Personal Experience – Helen Hall
Published in Leonardo Music Journal, MIT Press, Vol.3, (1993), pp.17-23
(© ISAST)
My essential desire as a composer is to integrate my knowledge of physics and acoustics with my subjective observations and personal experience — a process I think of as integrating ‘both sides of the mirror’. Several areas of interest have converged to influence my creative work during the past 10 years—from quantum physics, psychoacoustics, linguistics, information technology and systems theory to theatre, film and video. From the seminal influence of John Cage I inherited the understanding that music is organized sound and that the entire field of sound contains infinite possibilities for music.
In the early 1980s a huge explosion of research and technological innovation related to computers produced a revolutionary form of interdisciplinary thinking. Articles in Computer Music Journal, for example, covered a vast range of subjects, including physics, linguistics, acoustics, cognitive science and biology. The unifying theme of these disciplines at that time was general systems theory, which describes systems—such as atoms, cells, bodies, families and societies—as irreducible wholes. It describes the behavior of these systems in relation to their environment—the interactive way that biological systems adapt, repair and sustain themselves. In Vancouver, where I was living and studying music at the time, there was a lot of groundbreaking work with sound synthesis and computer music taking place at Simon Fraser University, where I had the opportunity to take a class with Walter Branchi, a composer visiting from Rome. Branchi introduced us to his approach to computer music which he called “composing within sound”, in which the frequency ratios of a tuning system formed the basis for all the parameters of the music.
Fig.1. Catharine McTavish, Night Vision #14: Stars in the Eyes – A Landscape, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 396 X 244 cm, 1983-84. (Collection: Art Gallery of Ontario) The painting consists of microscopic points of acrylic paint, all meticulously structured to create a dazzling, web-like patterning.
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President Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer in a televised meeting on Dec. 11. (Photo courtesy of ABC News)
Opinion: We need a compromise on the wall
Stephen Kim January 19, 2019
As the days go by and no end in sight for the government shutdown, we have seen no real push to end this. We see prominent Democrats such as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer unwilling to negotiate on a border wall while the President, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and his Republican colleagues demand a wall.
What we really need is a compromise. The Democrats and Republicans should both give up something in order to reach a deal. Both parties need to stop this impasse and get negotiating.
The Democrats reluctance for a border wall is amusing as these same leaders expressed that a wall/fence was needed at the border just a few years ago. For example, Schumer during a speech in 2006 at Georgetown University stated that we need significant increases in infrastructure, technology and border personnel to achieve “operational control of our borders,” according to Fox News.
At the same time, Republicans need to acknowledge the fact that they themselves need to work with Democrats in order to pass this funding bill. They must have a bipartisan deal for this to pass both the House and the Senate. The President must also realize that a compromise must be needed in order to end this shutdown.
I believe that a fair deal will be to give the President his $5.7 billion for the wall in exchange for DACA recipients a path to citizenship. I think this is a fair deal in which both sides get something they wanted while giving up some things in order for a shutdown to end.
A deal like that was actually proposed last year, but Pelosi ended up rejecting a deal that would give the President money for his wall in exchange for DACA, according to Fox News.
Many Democrat pundits say that the wall is expensive, immoral, and ineffective. However, the federal government has spent billions on walls in places such as Tunisia, Israel, and Jordan according to Tucker Carlson, a Fox News contributor, on his show. He makes a valid point. We have given money to other countries to build walls, so why can’t we spend some to protect our own border? Are those walls not expensive, immoral, or ineffective?
Walls or other border barriers have worked all across the world from Israel to Morocco to Spain, according to USA Today. Even on our own border, a wall was built on the Yuma Sector and crossings decreased 90 percent, according to Homeland Security. According to The Hill, the border patrol chief has even said that walls work and they help secure the southern border. There is certainly a crisis at the border and we must find a way to manage this ongoing issue.
The President has only wished $5.7 billion is only 0.0338 percent of the federal expenditure, according to the Washington Times. The money the President is demanding is a meager sum if we look at how much the federal government spends.
The Democrats and Republicans must come to the negotiating table and make a deal. A deal involving giving DACA recipients a chance at citizenship in exchange for $5.7 billion for border security is a smart deal for both sides as well a deal the American people want. A GOP pollster found that a majority of Americans would support such a deal that gave border wall funding in exchange for a path to citizenship for DACA recipients, according to The Hill.
It is unfair for more than 800,000 federal workers to not get paid starting last week over a dispute by Congressmen when they are getting paid according to CNBC. That is outrageous and a “slap in the face” to those federal workers.
I urge you Mr. President, Speaker of the House, Speaker of the Senate, and the rest of Congress to stop the walking out and the bickering and to get back to business. Make a deal! A compromise is only fair and we must work together. This period of stalling and calling each other out is getting of hand.
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ swings into theaters
Experiencing Lennox Academy’s first Pali Retreat
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Going Beyond Google Adword Grants: How Local Paid Search Can Support National Content & Marketing Initiatives
Many stations have leveraged a Google Adwords account with $10,000 in Google grant funds. However, due to policy changes in December 2017, restrictions were added to how grant accounts are managed. This change impacted an organization’s ability to prospect for new donors.
Since search has a relatively low barrier to entry for advertisers, over time there is an increasing competition for keywords as more organizations participate in paid search. As competition grows, Adword impression shares can decline when operating solely in a Google grant account because of the inability to bid more than $2.00 per click (a limitation of the Google grant program). The result leaves many organizations to explore how to best to expand their marketing reach by combining a grant with paid search.
Since launch of PBS Passport, stations have reported more than 75% of all donors are new to the station. And driving the growth of new members have been “bingeable” programs. Due to the changes to the Google Adword grant program, and increasing challenges associated with impression share, PBS Development Services partnered with Next Generation Fundraising and five member stations to pilot a Google Adword campaign to demonstrate the added benefit of paid advertising.
The pilot was split into two phases. The first phase had five station participants and was anchored around the much-anticipated Little Women broadcast premiere on Sunday, May 13th. All three episodes of the program were also available for immediate streaming in PBS Passport. The Little Women Adword keyword campaign ran from May 13th through May 18th and focused on acquisition of new donors with the benefit of “binging” all three episodes of the miniseries.
The five stations that participated in the test were KCPT, Nine Network, Twin Cities PBS, WHYY, and WMHT. The Geo-targeted Adword campaign for Little Women and station branded keywords were limited to the Google Search Network. Participating stations also excluded suppression files that consisted of current donors, major donors, lapsed donors, and some house file prospects.
Additionally, the multivariate test was designed for greater insight into how a premium might impact response rates. The first offer was $5 per month membership while the second was $10 per month plus a Google Chromecast premium.
Pilot Performance
The overall conversion rate was lower than anticipated at 0.4%. But in in comparison to other channels, it may be considered within an acceptable range for net-new prospects. However, the overall data set was generally small with 39k impressions, 1.7k clicks and a 4.5% CTR.
Though the test data was not statistically significant, it provided directional insight on the potential for ongoing investment with search. For instance, the volume of impressions and the healthy CTR show that there is demand for programming and further testing of message, offer, and landing page. Also key, the response showed that viewers were not necessarily motivated by the premium.
Summary & Key Takeaways
Although the campaign was short, Little Women had strong promotion which made it a good vehicle for this test. This included national, system-wide PBS promotion to capture the timing of Mother’s Day as well as an award-winning cast that included Maya Hawke, daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke.
Pilot Ad w/o Chromecast offer
However, it may not have been the perfect choice for new donor acquisition for primarily two reasons. First, the 3-part mini-series was available for a limited time. And secondly, it did not benefit from the demand other programs experienced by having prior seasons.
The relatively short window of availability may have also impacted results as the series ended on the Sunday following the May 13th premiere. Furthermore, search volume for Little Women may have been skewed by the Little Women reality program being broadcasted on Lifetime channel (Little Women: LA, Little Women: Atlanta).
During campaign setup, the team also discovered that the term “Little Women” had been trademarked by Lifetime Entertainment Services. As such, the test was unable to use the words “Little Women” in ad copy for most markets. It’s possible that this impacted click-through rates.
Similarly, the test did not compete using PBS brand keywords. And failure to do so, the marketing reach of key brand words was curtailed. The pilot results point to further testing needed for multi-season program. Expanding the test would result in more data as well as show whether concurrent modification of some of the test parameters might produce a large enough data set for results to be more than directional.
Pilot Ad with Chromecast Offer
Building on the lessons learned, PBS Development Services and Next Generation Fundraising launched the second phase of the Google Adword pilot. This leveraged the program, The Great British Baking Show, to see if the well-recognized, multi-season program could produce additional net-new sustainer conversions.
Stay tuned as final results for the Great British Baking Show Test will be published on the PBS Development Services blog.
For more information, please contact Sabina Zabell or Jonathan Sills at Next Generation Fundraising.
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