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Protected: Student Leadership Conference 2019 Potential Speakers and Sponsors
By Michael Benson | Committee Work | No Comments
IEEE-HKN Honor Society Names Top Award for Asad M. Madni, Visionary Leader and Pioneer
By Stacey Bersani | Announcement | No Comments
A professionally successful career that does not include philanthropy is an incomplete and unsatisfying one, and I never forget that achieving this privilege in my profession makes it incumbent upon me and my family to give back, and help guide the generation following us.
– Asad M. Madni
Click Here to Donate Toward the Madni Fund
IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), IEEE’s honor society, is proud to announce the creation of the IEEE-HKN Asad M. Madni Outstanding Technical Achievement and Excellence Award. Established to recognize and honor the nearly 50 years of technical and philanthropic accomplishments, and visionary leadership of Dr. Asad M. Madni (pictured at left with his son, Jamal), the Award will be presented annually beginning in 2020 to a practitioner in the IEEE technical fields of interest who has distinguished himself or herself through an invention, development or innovation that has had worldwide impact.
Dr. Madni, IEEE life fellow, IEEE-HKN Eminent member, and member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, has received numerous national and international awards and honors for his pioneering work including the IEEE-HKN Vladimir Karapetoff Outstanding Technical Award in 2017. Since his retirement in 2006 as the President/ COO/CTO of BEI Technologies Inc., he has been an independent consultant; ECE distinguished adjunct professor & distinguished scientist, and Faculty Fellow, Institute of Transportation Studies at UCLA, guiding doctoral research, mentoring students and is an active volunteer for IEEE-HKN.
“The Madni Family embodies the core principles of the IEEE-HKN: Scholarship, Character and Attitude. Their commitment to philanthropy and excellence in engineering education and inspiring young engineers is critical to continue the time-honored traditions of Eta Kappa Nu,” said Nancy Ostin, Director of the honor society.
S.K. Ramesh, 2016 IEEE-HKN President, 2018-2019 IEEE-HKN Development Committee Chair, and 2016-17 IEEE Vice President, Educational Activities noted: “It has been an honor and a privilege to get to know Asad and the family over the years. He inspires and motivates everyone around him to follow in his footsteps with his outstanding technical contributions coupled with a rich legacy of giving and philanthropy that will make a difference for years to come. We are very grateful and appreciative beyond any words can express to him, Taj, and Jamal for all that they do for our profession and the community.”
Dr. Madni believes that “A professionally successful career that does not include philanthropy is an incomplete and unsatisfying one, and I never forget that achieving this privilege in my profession makes it incumbent upon me and my family to give back, and help guide the generation following us.”
Using his beliefs as a guiding principle, Dr. Madni along with his wife Gowhartaj and son Jamal (also an IEEE-HKN member and award recipient) established the IEEE-HKN Asad, Gowhartaj and Jamal Madni Family Fund of the IEEE Foundation. The Fund provides IEEE-HKN with the financial resources it urgently needs to drive new levels of recognition and programming. We are grateful to them for their visionary leadership and investment in the future of HKN.
To make a donation in honor of Asad Madni, please click here.
Learn, Engage, Network at Pathways to Industry Workshop for Undergraduate, Graduate and Young Professionals
By Michael Benson | Uncategorized | No Comments
IEEE Technology Time Machine 2018 – Ignite with a Twist
By Michael Benson | Events | No Comments
Ignite with a Twist
Call for Participants
Are you an IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN) student currently working on a leading-edge future technology that will change business, society, or everyday life? Share your experiences and vision with peers and leading technologists at the IEEE Technology Time Machine 2018 (TTM 2018) conference.
The IEEE Technology Time Machine 2018 (TTM 2018) conference will offer attendees from research and industry innovative insights from top executives and pioneers regarding the impact of future technologies on business and industry, society and everyday life, ethics, and policy. Through interactive participation and stimulating panels, TTM 2018 will provide critical information on technological advances to help guide current and future decisions on use and implementation of these technologies Beyond Tomorrow. Speakers and attendees will network and learn from each other through synergies across technologies in industry, academia, and government, including in the areas of augmented and virtual reality, agriculture, neuroscience, robotics, technology entrepreneurism, and more.
To promote awareness of leading-edge research currently being performed in universities, IEEE-HKN is sponsoring Ignite with a Twist talks at TTM 2018.
Participation is open to conference attendees only. To participate, please send an email to ttminfo@ieee.org.
Typically, Ignite presenters use 20 slides that advance every 15 seconds to lay the foundation for a 5-minute talk. The Ignite with a Twist talks will be 5 minutes, but instead of slides, some sort of small prop(s) can be used to support the talk. One simple example, if you are working on robotics, you can show an R2-D2 figure while describing past robotic limitations then launch into the future of robotics as shown through your work. This is a chance to be creative and have fun while showcasing your great discoveries!
Typical Ignite presentations have the following ‘format’:
Call to action / Future research or plan
The goal of the Ignite with a Twist talk is to articulate a topic in a quick, insightful, and clear manner. These concise and efficient talks are intended to grab the attention of the audience, convey the salient information, and spark interest in future activities.
You are expected to provide a short abstract (250 – 400 words) on your topic. Presenters will be selected based on the following criteria in their abstract:
Topic of interest to TTM 2018 (see keywords below)
Significance of future impact
Clarity and relevance
Uniqueness of topic in the future of technology
Send your abstract to ttminfo@ieee.org with the subject “IEEE TTM 2018 Ignite with a Twist.”
Monday 1 October 2018 – Final submission of abstracts
Wednesday 17 October 2018 – Notification of acceptance
Wednesday 31 October 2018 6:30 pm – Ignite with a Twist talks
Agricultural Food Systems, Artificial Intelligence & Ethics, Autonomous Vehicles & Systems, Biological Neuroprosthetics, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Green Communications, Augmented/Virtual/Mixed Reality, Programmable Genomics, Quantum Computing, Social Implications of Technology
IEEE Technology Time Machine 2018
The IEEE Technology Time Machine 2018 (TTM 2018) conference will offer attendees from research and industry innovative insights from top executives and pioneers regarding the impact of future technologies on business and industry, society and everyday life, ethics, and policy. Through interactive participation and stimulating panels, TTM 2018 will provide critical information on technological advances to help guide current and future decisions on use and implementation of these technologies Beyond Tomorrow. Speakers and attendees will network and learn from each other through synergies across technologies in industry, academia, and government, including in the areas of augmented and virtual reality, agriculture, neuroscience, robotics, technology entrepreneurism, and more. Get ready to be inspired and innovate your future at TTM 2018.
Learn about future trends in technologies during the next 30 years focusing on:
Agricultural Food Systems
Artificial Intelligence & Ethics
Autonomous Vehicles & Systems
Biological Neuroprosthetics
Green Communications
Programmable Genomics
Social Implications of Technology
The panels will feature dynamic speakers from industry, academia, and government, including: Dolby Laboratories, AT&T, Paradromics, University of Southern California, University of Leeds, Washington & Lee University, HardTech Labs, g.tec, AgShift, Xerox, Xmark Labs, GHPi, IBM, Oracle, Tracy, Meta, Johnson & Johnson, Michigan State University, and College of Charleston.
Network with attendees from academia, government, and industry.
Be inspired by the Distinguished Experts Panel comprising experts in communications and networks, green ICT, engineering ethics and more. Other speakers at TTM 2018 are renowned in the areas of neuroscience, autonomous vehicles, engineering ethics, the agricultural industry, and more.
Spark your passion listening to innovative women role models during the Women Making the Future Panel.
Discover invaluable insight from young entrepreneurs during the Young Entrepreneurs and N3XT Panel.
Cultivate relationships with other HKN members through the Ignite with a Twist talks
Enjoy two conference days at a discount!
HKN Student Members – $75: Use code HKNSTUDENT
Take the first step towards your future career – register for IEEE Technology Time Machine 2018 today!
By IEEE-HKN | Uncategorized | No Comments
Professional Member Induction Ceremony
IEEE-HKN wants to congratulate our new professional members on their induction into the Eta Chapter of the IEEE-HKN Board of Governors.
On June 23, we held a Professional Member Induction Ceremony at the Hyatt Regency New Brunswick to welcome three new professional members.
Steve E. Watkins, 2018 IEEE-HKN President, gave the induction ceremony. In the ceremony, inductees took the IEEE-HKN pledge, signed the member induction book for the IEEE-HKN Eta Chapter, and received their certificate and pin.
Professional membership aims to recognize professional accomplishments and outstanding contributions to engineering.
Professional members are not students. They are practicing engineers with 10 years of experience in the technical fields of interest of the IEEE, or they are faculty members of an active IEEE-HKN Chapter. They have demonstrated significant leadership and service through volunteer activities throughout their professional career.
To become a professional member, candidates must be nominated by a member of IEEE and IEEE-HKN. They must also be endorsed by two current members of IEEE-HKN. A review committee then evaluates the candidate, who decides if they are qualified to be a professional member.
We are extremely proud of our professional members and are thankful for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the field. We would also like to thank all of our IEEE-HKN members who came to celebrate at the induction ceremony. To any alumni who have lost touch with HKN, we encourage you to reconnect. If you were ever inducted into HKN, you are always a part of HKN.
Leadership: Business Meetings
By Steve E. Watkins, IEEE-HKN President
Running meetings and participating in deliberative decision-making are important aspects of leadership. As student leaders in IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu, you gain practice in such leadership skills through the normal operation of the student chapter and you see these skills in practice at other IEEE business meetings as well. Formal business meetings operate according to defined rules and informal deliberative meetings or discussions generally follow the pattern of the formal rules. For professional organizations such as IEEE and many of the other organizations, formal rules are set forth in governing documents by referencing Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised or Robert’s Rules of Order (latest revision) and are known as parliamentary procedure. Our governing documents specify this source for the conduct of business “at meetings of the IEEE Board of Directors, Major Boards, Standing Committees, and other organizational units …” And, the principles behind the rules can provide effective guidance for less formal meetings.
Rules of parliamentary procedure may be intimidating to some due to unfamiliarity and specialized terminology. However, some basic knowledge of how the rules are setup can assist in learning the details, contributing during discussions, and handling leadership roles. The intent of parliamentary procedure is to provide a balance of efficiency, fairness, and deliberation for transacting business (making decisions) and governing a group. The rules must be specified in advance or meetings can easily degenerate into arguments of “how” to conduct business rather than conducting the business itself. As Henry Martyn Robert, the author of the first edition (1876) of Robert’s Rules of Order, said, “Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty.”
Three basic principles guide parliamentary practice as defined by Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised. These principles address efficiency, fairness, and deliberation and they may be expressed as follows.
• Debate, decision-making, etc. are transacted in an orderly and open manner;
• Final decisions are based on majority rules with few exceptions; and
• All participants have the right to be heard and to participate equally.
These principles are the basis of the rules for formal practice and are the basis of group expectations in informal settings. For instance, a group decision to limit debate on a proposed motion requires a supermajority vote of at least two-thirds. Minority participant’s rights to be heard are being balanced with the need to eventually reach a decision if the majority agrees. However, the adoption of the proposed motion would only require a majority vote. Again, the intent is a balance of efficiency, fairness, and deliberation.
The original version of these rules was written by Henry Martyn Robert (1837-1923). This West Point graduate served as a distinguished military engineer and retired as a brigadier general. As he traveled to different assignments, he was frequently involved in church and other civic organizations and he observed difficulties from an ad hoc approach to meeting rules. His rules system was a comprehensive, pragmatic response that was tailored for community organizations. More on his engineering background and his civic contributions are given at the Engineering and Technology History Wiki: http://ethw.org/Henry_Martyn_Robert.
The systemic approach of Robert achieved widespread success and adoption. Through a family trust and the Robert’s Rules Association, the system has been updated and a copyright maintained on a current, official version titled Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised. It is currently in its eleventh edition. The website for this version is www.robertsrules.com. A common practice is to have governing documents of a civic organization include a statement such as,
“The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the convention in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the bylaws of the Society and these standing rules.”
The organization can then keep its documents focused on issues tailored to its purposes and desires while having generic procedures specified by a well-defined and readily available source.
As you conduct your student chapter business and participate in other business settings, gain familiarity with this form of parliamentary procedure. Your education as a leader should include knowledge of these principles and rules.
Dr. Steve E. Watkins is an IEEE-HKN President for 2018.
© Copyright 2018 Steve E. Watkins.
Technology Rules!
By Karen Panetta, IEEE-HKN President Elect
Remember when cell phones first came out? Of course, you don’t. You probably were not even born yet. So, let me give you a history lesson. Phones were quite large and got so hot that you could fry a steak on them but had displays that you could actually see and keypads that were sized for human fingers. We would only use them sparingly, for emergencies for our loved ones because making calls was expensive. Cell phone numbers were protected like social security numbers and if someone gave you their phone number, you felt like you were in their inner circle of VIPs.
Ions ago, I handed down my first cell phone to my father and he immediately fell in love with it. However, whenever I would call him, the phone was either off or he would not answer. He never mastered voice mail so leaving a message was out of the question. I would ask him why he didn’t answer, and he would say, “I can’t carry the phone with me, I’d get a hernia.” He was right. The phone was so heavy and bulky that he would keep it in his trunk with his ever-present buckets of sand, that he claimed he needed for ballast in the wintertime.
When the phone finally died after 13 years, and no one would service it for him, he was forced to go search for a new phone. While we were in the phone store, other older customers noticed the dinosaur of a phone that my father held. One after another, they approached the salesman and pointed at my father, saying “I want to see that same phone with the large keys, like the one that man is holding.” The poor bewildered salesman was at a loss and begged me to put the phone away. I would have obliged, but the phone was so large that it wouldn’t fit my pocketbook.
We purchased a new phone, one with the biggest buttons we could find along with the loudest volume controls. To my dismay, my father still didn’t answer the cell phone when I called, or it would be turned off. When I questioned him about this, he came clean and gave me my first lesson in technology rules. He stated, “The phone is for me to make calls when I need too, not so people can bother me at their convenience. I rule the technology, it doesn’t rule me.”
My poor father made this statement in front of my mother who instantly chastised him for hurting my feelings. She also reminded him that I paid his cell phone bill. Needless to say, my father still complains about the microscopic keypad on his new phone and still uses it sparingly and only for emergencies, like when he needs me to pick up a sandwich and donuts for him.
Cell phone technology now makes us accessible 24 hours a day, but cell phone etiquette has not evolved as quickly. A few years ago, you wouldn’t dream of calling someone on their cell phone unless there was something critical at hand. Furthermore, you certainly wouldn’t call someone during dinner hours or on a weekend.
I went through a drive-thru and saw a sign, “No Cell Phones.” I had to ask what the sign meant. I thought maybe there was a construction project going on and they were using explosives and blasting in the area. I was wrong.
Apparently, people cause delays at drive-thru lines by keeping the servers on hold while they talk on their cell phones. I was amazed that there are few boundaries to where and when cell phones are used.
I was shocked the first time I heard people making and taking calls while in a public restroom. Imagine, taking a business call while conducting the most private of business!
A male colleague of mine told me he found it embarrassing that the fellow standing beside him was not only broadcasting bathroom sound effects to a stranger on the phone but considered this guy an invasion of his own privacy. Cell phone cameras can be activated and capture images of an innocent bystander’s “private moments.” He told me that women were lucky because at least there were stall partitions in the women’s restrooms to protect their identity, but no such privacy protection existed for men. We also both noticed that regardless of gender, these cell phone abusers were too busy talking to wash their hands before leaving the restroom. Gross and a great way to get sick.
Now, I know why all those signs reminding people to wash their hands are really posted on all the restroom doors. They really should say, “Get off the cell phone and wash your hands!”
Inevitably, the cell phone rings as soon as I sit down for dinner. I contemplate not answering, but deferring the call means that there is more work for me to follow up on later. Not answering and not having the time to respond immediately also has implications. People assume that having a cell phone as part of your anatomy means that you have no excuse for not being instantaneously available. Now that the restroom is no longer a “safe place” anymore, the only excuses we may have left to escape phone calls are in elevators, underground garages, tunnels and on airplanes. Unfortunately, since we are so technology savvy, now we are losing even these cell-phone free sanctuaries.
After years of suffering at the hands of intrusive cell phone calls, that have provided nothing more than indigestion, ruined good a mood and left a cloud over our free time with our loved ones, I have developed some simple technology rules that have helped.
1) Calls from family members should be answered. This may be painful to hear, but the infinite guilt of not answering is far worse than taking the call. If you are in a class, then leave or quickly text your family to say that you are in the middle of a class. My parents don’t have a phone that has texting capabilities, so I do the next best thing, I text my husband and make him call them back for me.
2) Do not answer cell phones during meals or during meetings/interviews. I almost fell on the floor when a visitor who wanted my advice, and help finding a job, kept interrupting our meeting to take phone calls. News Flash, doing this during an interview is a death sentence to receiving an offer!
3) Do not answer the cell phone if you are involved with a family, social outing or trying to sleep.
4) No cell phone calls in public restrooms. What you do in your own home is your own business, but remember, the person on the other side of your call would most likely be grossed out if they knew where you were and what you were doing.
5) Watch where you are walking! Too many people get hurt thinking drivers are looking at them while we are busy walking with our face in a phone. Wrong! The drivers are not looking because they are on the phone too! Furthermore, too many phone addicts are their way to earning a hunchback due to looking down at the phone. Humps and hunchbacks are not a good look on anyone.
Technology was meant to make our lives better, not to endanger us, stress us or negatively interfere with our health. Take a stand and do not allow technology to rule your life anymore!
Get off the phone and start looking at people in the face as you walk by and smile. You will be surprised how much you’ve been missing.
Confessions of a Digital Hoarder
I was cleaning out my office recently and came across the media storage that contained my Ph.D. thesis simulations. I remember how proud I was that I had successfully simulated over 2 million simulations for a digital system containing over 1 million transistors on a conventional single CPU computer. I tried my best to make the simulator portable and thought it would be an interesting project to see how it performed on a modern multi-core computer.
Alas, the simulator was stored on something called a TK50 tape made for Digital Equipment Corporation MicroVAX computers. I am sure most of you have never heard of the existence of this company, which used to be a computer giant, or the uses of “tape” as digital storage. I was told I could go to the computer museum and have it ported to a more recent form of media. I decided that the two patents and Ph.D. degree the work earned me were mementos enough, and tossed the tape into the trash, along with old ZIP disks and hundreds of 3-inch floppy disks. Again, more things you probably never heard of, which just makes me feel really old.
I also found a larger floppy disk with holes punched in it from push pins. Why on earth would I keep such a thing? This memento also had significance in my career. It came from my first internship at the Gillette Company.
I worked in the Management Information Systems department as a systems analyst. One of my responsibilities was designing custom database solutions for those individuals not skilled in using computers.
The users loved my software and thought I walked on water. That was until one day when two managers came storming into my office complaining that they had lost their data and the floppy disks I gave them no longer worked. I looked at one of the disks and noticed that it was full of holes made from a thumb tack.
I asked him, “Why are there holes in the disk?” The manager replied, “I had it pinned up on my cork board to make sure I didn’t misplace the disk.”
I tried not to laugh but recorded a mental note that I needed to update the user manual I created for my non-computer savvy users to tell them that punching holes into the disk was a no-no.
The second manager’s floppy disk looked in tact, so I asked him how and where he stored his disk. With a smile and look of confidence he replied, “I use a magnet to hold it up on the metal wall of my cubicle and I don’t use any push pins!”
I thought I would choke trying not to laugh and waited for them to tell me this was all just a joke to evoke a reaction out of the poor naïve intern.
I then gave a short tutorial on the manufacturing and operation of floppy disks and explained why magnets and poking holes in the media storage meant certain death for their data. I was returned to saint hood in their eyes when they discovered I kept a backup of everything.
As powerful as the digital age is, the loss of data through the transition to new forms of media storage makes me wonder how much valuable history and other defining characteristics of our civilization will be lost over time. We wonder how the pyramids were built and know that there had to be some incredible engineers during those ancient times. What we know comes from the few surviving parchments and records etched in stone. Data carved in stone seems to be the most fault tolerant form of media storage and can survive for thousands of years. What about our digital media? What would happen if power was lost and the knowledge of computers vanished forever? What would someone in the far-off future discovering an ancient USB thumb drive, hard drive or CD-ROM do with these ancient relics?
They might do like my mother did and make a collage picture of a giant shiny fish using the discarded CD-ROMs as the fish scales.
You may be asking what brought on this morbid train of thought on. I’ll tell you. I was trying to find a picture I took with a digital camera. I have hundreds of images with randomly assigned names provided by the camera. In the old days, I would print out my pictures and stuff them in an album.
Now, everything is on the computer or worse, the cloud. I literally kill my computers within 2 years of purchase, such that I have gone through more hard drives in my lifetime than I have new pairs of shoes.
I even bought a NAS to use as a backup system just to store my pictures so I wouldn’t lose them. It doesn’t matter. I always seem to lose something during the transition from one computer to another or to some newer current state-of-the art media storage.
I have an arsenal of USB thumb drives. I should make a necklace out of them by hanging them off a rope like shark teeth, since I can’t remember what’s stored on the drives anyway. There isn’t a search engine on the planet that can keep up with my huge quantities of disorganized media and data.
I finally gave up on retrieving the picture I was looking for. Like an ancient civilization, it was lost forever. Then, when I gave up all hope, my mother called me. I told her how I spent hours searching the computer for a specific picture, when she described with great detail the exact picture I was looking for. I asked her how she knew and she said, “Because I’m looking at the eyeball of the fish collage I made out of those shiny circles you always throw out and one of them is labeled with that exact description. I also remembered that you told me that if I glued them, I would destroy the information on them, so I tacked them to the board using push pins in the hole in the middle to secure it in case you ever wanted them back.”
I borrowed her fish’s eyeball from her collage and successfully retrieved my picture. At this time, I really don’t need to etch my data in stone to have it survive. It appears that having it stored on a fish was sufficient.
I am hoping that someday one of our young professional HKN members will lead the way for developing intelligent methods for curating all the data I hoard and that I will be able to search and retrieve things I need effortlessly. I can dream.
The Outstanding Chapter Awards 2016-17
The IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN) Board of Governors has conferred on the following IEEE-HKN Chapters the 2016-2017 IEEE-HKN Outstanding Chapter Award:
Chapter Name University
Alpha Chapter University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Beta Alpha Chapter Drexel University
Beta Chapter Purdue University
Beta Epsilon Chapter University of Michigan
Beta Kappa Chapter Kansas State University
Beta Lambda Chapter Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Beta Omega Chapter University of Connecticut
Beta Theta Chapter Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Delta Epsilon Chapter Ohio University
Delta Omega Chapter University of Hawaii at Manoa
Gamma Delta Chapter Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Gamma Tau Chapter North Dakota State University
Gamma Theta Chapter Missouri University of Science and Technology
Iota Chi Chapter Oakland University
Iota Gamma Chapter University of California, Los Angeles
Iota Zeta Chapter California State University, Chico
Kappa Psi Chapter University of California, San Diego
Lambda Sigma Chapter University of California, Riverside
Mu Alpha Chapter UCSI University
Mu Chapter University of California, Berkeley
Mu Iota Chapter Seattle University
Mu Nu Chapter Politecnico di Torino
Nu Chapter Iowa State University
Zeta Beta Chapter Texas A&M University – Kingsville
This award is presented to IEEE-HKN Chapters in recognition of excellence in their Chapter administration and programs. Service to the community and others is an expectation of IEEE-HKN Chapters.
Recipients are selected on the basis of their annual Chapter report. Winning Chapter reports showcase their Chapter’s activities in an individualized manner and provide multiple views and instances of their work, which really brings their Chapter’s activities to life. Of critical concern to the Outstanding Chapter Awards evaluation committee in judging a Chapter are activities to: improve professional development; raise instructional and institutional standards; encourage scholarship and creativity; provide a public service; and generally further the established goals of IEEE-HKN.
The awards will be presented at a special reception held on19 March 2018, in conjunction with the Annual Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association (ECEDHA) meeting; in Monterrey, California. At the Awards Dinner immediately following the reception, the 2017 Alton B. Zerby and Carl T. Koerner Outstanding Student Award will be presented to Katelyn Brinker of the IEEE-HKN Gamma Theta Chapter at Missouri University of Science & Technology, and James Smith of the IEEE-HKN Xi Chapter at Auburn University.
About IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu
Founded as Eta Kappa Nu in 1904 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, then changed to IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN) following a merger with IEEE in 2010, IEEE-HKN is the academic honor society for those studying the IEEE fields of interest, including electrical and computer engineering.
IEEE-HKN annually inducts over 3,000 students, faculty and professionals and has more than 200,000 alumni. The Society has chapters at more than 230 colleges and universities in the United States and around the world. Membership for students is by invitation only to those that possess outstanding academic achievement, character and attitude.
IEEE-HKN’s mission is to be the catalyst for the development of the “Complete Technical Professional.” Notable members include co-founder of Apple Inc. Steve Wozniak, “Father of the Internet” Vint Cerf, co-founder of Google Larry Page, and co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Intel Corporation Gordon Moore.
For more information about IEEE-HKN, please visit www.hkn.org or call 732-465-6611.
IEEE is the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.
Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.
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Chess Strategy: Understanding How to Play With a Backward Pawn
Phillip Durand
I have recently researched the O'Kelly variation in the Sicilian which goes 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6! and found that it's a good surprise weapon.
As beginners we’re taught backward pawns are generally weak because they can’t be protected by another pawn from behind (otherwise it wouldn’t be backward). This is especially a problem if the enemy forces are in a position to exert pressure on the backward pawn. If the pawn can’t be won by brute force then it’s often the case that the defender becomes tied down in its defense.
But what if the backward pawn is hard to attack.? Is it reasonable to concede what might be a long-term weakness (or a violation of a principle) for a dynamic middle game? Absolutely, and I’ll show you an example from the black side of a Sicilian. The line goes 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 (you’d be surprised how often this move comes as a surprise) 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 conceding a backward pawn, but with tempo. 6. Nb3 and Bb4 with a threat already to win the e-pawn. White parries that threat with 7. Bd3. According to the database on chess.com by far the most popular response for black is to break free with d5, thus ridding black’s backward pawn. Typical play can go 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Bd2 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Be7 and I suppose black is not mad about the opening outcome because the position is more or less equal and black has the better structure (although that counts for little with the queens still on.) This line may offer black equality, but it clarifies the position too much for my taste.
Instead of the approved 7. d5, I recommend 7. d6 simply supporting the e-pawn and opening the door for the light-squared bishop. So what happens if white simply castles on his next move? Black meets 8. O-O with Bxc3 making use of 6. Bb4 and saddling white with doubled isolated c-pawns. After 9. bxc3 O-O let’s take stock of the position. Black has a backward d-pawn and has given away the bishop pair (it was given but it wasn’t a gift!). At first glance it might seem risky especially if white plays 10. Ba3. Isn’t white close to winning the d-pawn or at least making black’s pieces passive? The answer is a resounding no! In order to win the d-pawn white has to move his bishop on d3 so white’s queen can partner with the dark-squared bishop. But currently that’s inadvisable because the e-pawn would drop. For instance, 11. Bc4 would be met with Nxe4 12. Qd3 Bf5 and the tactics work in black’s favor. I4. Bd5 is met by the surprisingly simple Nf6 and 15. Qxf5 is countered with Nxd5. 14. Rae1 is a better try, but then b5 comes as a nice shot. White can win a pawn back after 15. Bd5 Nf6 16. Bxf7 Rxf7 17. Qxf5 but it’s clear white is not coordinated and black is much better. Even swapping queens off with Qd7 would be fine. 18. Qxd7 Rxd7 19. Rd1 a5 20. Rxd6 Rxd6 21. Bxd6 Ne4!
So if immediately moving the bishop is flat-out bad, what if white prepares it with 11. Re1? 11. Re1 is met with Qc7 and after 12. Bf1 black is in time to defend with Rd8. But more importantly, what is white doing? Both bishops are unimpressive and the only break is f4, but the king’s rook is on e1. But here comes another question. What if white adds pressure with Qd2 intending Rad1? It’s too slow and black is able to demonstrate the dynamism of the position. 13. Qd2 and a5 looks good, but also Be6 meeting 14. Rad1 with d5! The move we purposefully withheld until further development and a greater increase in tension. 15. exd5 Nxd5 16. c4 Nab4 and what’s not to like? But even if 14. d5 wasn’t possible, black has the positional Ne8 just keeping everything under control. The backward pawn isn’t weak.
To improve in chess the beginner has to see past the superficial and understand that what seems to violate a principle (a backward pawn) is actually not. 7. d5 was a perfectly fine move and there’s a reason it’s the mainline, but I like to think of playing 14. d5 as the difference between pulling a rubber band back a little verses pulling a rubber band back a lot. When you pull back a rubber band a lot there’s a greater amount of tension. In other words, the release of energy is amplified and therefore more dangerous.
Now let’s go back so we can go forward. 8. O-O made black’s next move the only move because allowing Nd5 would be too much because the bishop would have to give itself up on c5. White would have the bishop pair for next to nothing. But what if white didn’t want to allow black to wreck his structure? Say with 8. Bd2? Then what? I suggest Be6 increasing central control and not allowing Nd5. 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 really illustrates my point. It’s true that black conceded the bishop pair and this time without inflicting white with doubled isolated pawns, but the position is closed enough for white’s bishops not to wreak havoc. Normal play might continue O-O 11. O-O Nbd7 12. h3 Qb6 and black has finished development and ready to play d5 if he wants.
What if white plays something more aggressive after 11. Nbd7 like 12. f4? Then Bxb3 comes strongly. The point is after 13. Bxc3 Nc5 does it all. I even have a potential endgame after 14. Qe2 Qb6 15. Kh1 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Qxb3 17. Qxd6 Nxe4 18. Qxe5 Nxc3 19. Qxc3 Qxc3 20. Bxc3 Rac8 21. Rab1 b5 and black is playing for only two results.
Now that we’ve gone through a few different lines it’s important to remember what this article is about. Hopefully I’ve shown that it’s strong play to take on what seems like a weakness if it means you’re able to attain a dynamic, strategically rich middle game. Yes. There are instances when a backward pawn is simply a liability, but in the above mentioned lines black compensated for it with active pieces and almost always having the option to play d5 at the right moment.
How many of you play the O'Kelly variation in the Sicilian?
I play it all the time.
I dabble with it.
I never play it because I think it's stupid.
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Truett’s Chick-fil-A Sports: Alabama vs. Clemson for the college football crown tonight. NFL playoffs continue push to Atlanta Feb. 3. High school basketball schedules. Local college updates.
Truett’s Chick-fil-A Sports
Truett’s Chick-fil-A, 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Mount Berry Mall, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Riverside Parkway, 6 a.m.-10 p.m.
COLLEGES/football
College Football Playoff National Championship: Alabama vs. Clemson.
Monday, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Tuesday/girls
Rome hosts Paulding Co., 6 p.m.
Armuchee at Model, 6 p.m.
Coosa at Rockmart, 6 p.m.
Pepperell vs. Chattooga, 6 p.m.
Darlington at North Cobb Christian, 6 p.m.
Unity hosts Shiloh Hills Christian, 6 p.m.
Tuesday/boys
Rome hosts Paulding Co., 7:30 p.m.
Armuchee at Model, 7:30 p.m.
Coosa at Rockmart, 7:30 p.m.
Pepperell vs. Chattooga, 7:30 p.m.
Darlington at North Cobb Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Unity hosts Shiloh Hills Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Friday/boys
Rome at Woodland, 7:30 p.m.
Friday/girls
Rome at Woodland, 6 p.m.
Saturday/boys
Rome vs. Kell, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday/girls
Rome vs. Kell, 6 p.m.
COLLEGES/basketball
Berry College: Men’s schedule / women’s schedule
Women fall to Birmingham Southern, 73-59.
Men edged at the end by Birmingham Southern, 83-79.
Shorter University: Men’s schedule / women’s schedule
Georgia Highlands: Men’s schedule / women’s schedule
The Chargers (13-2, 1-0 in conference play) at South Georgia Tech, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
The Lady Chargers return to action on Wednesday as they travel to Americus, Georgia to take on the Lady Jets of South Georgia Tech, tip off 5:30 p.m.
Georgia Northwestern: Men’s schedule / women’s schedule
Both Georgia Northwestern teams will be in action again this Tuesday hosting Barber-Scotia College, first tip off at 5 p.m.
NFL/Super Bowl in Atlanta Feb. 3.
The road to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta on Sunday, Feb. 3, sets up as follows, first starting with Wild Card Weekend. For more, click NFL Playoffs:
Divisional Round
Saturday, Jan. 12
AFC Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:35 p.m. (NBC)
NFC Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. (FOX)
AFC: Chargers at New England Patriots, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
NFC: Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints, 4:40 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Jan. 6
Los Angeles Chargers 23, Baltimore Ravens, 17.
Philadelphia Eagles 16, Chicago Bears 15.
From the Rome Braves: 2019 schedule: Rome opens on the road April 4 in Kannapolis. Schedule / Mills Fitzner’s photo gallery
Filed Under: Bartow, Gordon, Polk, Sports
← Obituaries: Mr. Bobby Frank Blackmon, Ms. Yetta Joan Carpenter, Ms. Eleanor Johnson, Mr. James Junior Townsend.
Ware Mechanical Weather Center: Two more days in the 60s and then colder weather returns; high of 44 on Thursday. →
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Featured Gig | Laurent De Wilde Trio at Moods in Zurich
Written by Andrew Read| May 28, 2018| Clubs, Featured Concerts, Featured Gigs, News
On the 5th of June French pianist Laurent De Wilde and his Trio will play at the iconic Zurich venue Moods. Laurent will be performing music from his latest award winning album “The New Monk Trio” and will be joined by his regular trio featuring Jérôme Regard bass and Donald Kontoumanou on drums.
Not only is Laurent an award winning jazz pianist, he is also a highly respected composer and an author of a number of book’s including his biography of Thelonious Monk titled simply “Monk” (Da Capo Press). In 2017 Thelonious Monk would have turned 100 years old and it was this milestone that inspired Laurent to embark on his current project “The New Monk Trio”. An extra reason for the project is the fact that 2017 is not only the centenary year of the birth of Monk but it’s also the 20th anniversary of the release of the first edition of his biography.
The album was released in France in 2017 and was awarded Best Album Of the Year (2017) by the French L’académie de jazz. February this year saw the worldwide release of the album.
The concert on the June 5th can not only be enjoyed by those in Zurich but in fact world wide as the concert will be streamed live via the Moods Digital platform. Since its beginning 25 year ago, Moods has developed into one of Zurich’s largest and most important cultural venues. At the same time, the venue has become one of Europe’s prominent Jazz clubs and enjoys a well-deserved global reputation amongst musicians and critics alike.
During summer 2016, Moods was renovated and equipped to be the first club in the world able to broadcast and stream the concerts in high definition with its own subscription video live-and-on-demand web platform. The facility features 10 full HD mobile cameras plus state-of-the-art broadcast studio.
Those that wish to enjoy the streamed concert can purchase a digital ticket via the Moods Digital website for 6.90 CHF (approx. 6.- EUR or 6.90 USD). This ticket gives you 7 day access and allow you to view the extensive archive of concerts stored on the platform. All content can be viewed in FullHD and with perfect mastered sound.
Concert Details:
Time: 8:30 (Doors open at 7:30)
Venue: Moods Jazz Club.
Address: Schiffbaustrasse 6, 8005 Zürich.
Digital Tickets are available at Moods Digital Website.
Read our Interview with Laurent here. Also you can read Jan Veldman’s review of his latest Album ” The New Monk Trio” here.
Laurent De Wilde Moods
Bill Frisell Trio – Streamed live on Jazz In Europe
Steve Coleman and the Five Elements | European Tour 2018
An Interview with French Pianist Laurent De Wilde
Wallace Roney Quintet – European concert dates.
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Melody Maker headlines the article, “Hendrix Tour Of Germany Postponed” as a result of the success the group continues to have back in America. The article goes on to state that ‘Jimi has had a massive offer to appear on further dates in September during his new American tour which starts in Dallas on July 31. Included in the US itinerary is a concert at Hollywood’s famed Bowl. Jimi is able to command $10,000 a day (over £3,000) and 60 per cent of the gate money on his American shows, which often bring him in as much as £10,000 for each date. He has only just completed an America tour, and the date at Woburn Abbey on Saturday evening is likely to be his only British appearance this year.’ The Jimi Hendrix Experience is the featured artist at Melody Maker’s Woburn Music Festival at Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire. Supporting acts include Shirley and Dolly Collins, Pentangle, Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band, T.Rex, The Family, New Formula and Little Women. The Experience’s set consists of “Foxy Lady,” “Stone Free,” “Purple Haze” and “Wild Thing” among others.
Dolly Collins Geno Washington Live Melody Maker Pentangle The Jimi Hendrix Experience
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Persecutions undergone by the Jews from the destruction of the Second Temple until 1492. The Scepter of Judah.
“988G”,”Sefer Shevet Yehudah.(Ibn Verga, Solomon) בן וירגא, שלמה 1460-1554
דער פעלקרן אז וויא ער עש האט גפונדן גשריבן אויך וואשער זעלברט גזעהן האט אונ’ פאר צילט אויך פיל דישפוטיציא וועגן דער <אמונה> : און אויך דען <סדר> וויא מן דיא <נשיאים> גימאכט האט אונ’ אויך פיל <ניסים> דז ישראל גשעהן זיינן אין מלכות ישמעאל אונ’ פאר צילט אויך וויא דאש <בית המקדש> איז גבויאט גוועזין … אונ’ איז אויך דער בייא גדרוקט דיא גרושי ביזי גזירה וואש אין פולין איז גוועזן <שנת ת”ח> אונ’ <שנת ת”ט
אמשטרדם : במצות ובהוצאת הבחור שלמה בן יוסף כ”ץ פרופס – בבית אשר אנשיל בן אליעזר חזן,
Amsterdam: Asher Anshel ben ‘Eliezer Hazan, 1700 $1,800
Octavo, 186 leaves This copy is bound in old quarter leather.
The Scepter of Judah is a compilation of accounts of the persecutions undergone by the Jews from the destruction of the Second Temple until the Author’s own day. It contains an account of 64 persecutions, besides narratives of many disputations and an account of Jewish customs in different countries. At times, the author intersperses the historical account with disputations and deliberations, by means of these, he tried to clarify the problem of the hatred against the Jews, to examine their special destiny, to offer answers to the claims of their enemies, to rebuke his people for their social and moral faults, and to voice his objection against certain philosophical opinions.
He addresses particularly the Spanish Jews, who suffered from persecutions more than any other people. He gives various reasons, among them being the superiority of the Jews (“whom the Lord loves He chastens”: Proverbs 3:12), and chiefly their separation from the Christians in matters of food; their troubles were also a punishment for their sins. In general, Ibn Verga does not endeavor to conceal the faults of the Jews; he sometimes even exaggerates them.
As this work is the compilation of three authors, it is not arranged in chronological order. There is no connection between the narratives, but the Hebrew style is clear. Ibn Verga knew Latin , and derived many narratives from Latin sources. This work contains also a treatise on the form of the Temple of Solomon. Leopold Zunz (1840) points out the importance of the work from the geographical point of view, as it contains a considerable number of names of places, as well as a description of customs.
After concluding with a description of the misfortunes which had overtaken his people in his time, Ibn Verga devoted a lengthy chapter to a description of the Temple and the service for Passover and the Day of Atonement. He had intended to complete his work at this point, but then added further chapters. His son Joseph ibn Verga, who took care of its publication, also introduced supplements. The work was first published in 1554, perhaps in Adrianople.
The author drew his historical material from Josippon, the Sefer ha-Kabbalah of R. Abraham ibn Daud, from the narrative of Nathan ha-Bavli, and from Maimonides’ letters including Iggeret Teiman. He also utilized a brief Hebrew chronicle dealing with the general expulsions and religious persecutions, probably that of Profiat Duran, which was widely known in various versions, and consulted the writings of Don Isaac Abrabanel. In addition to all these, he gathered information from sources now unknown. For his own period, he mentions some of the events which he heard of or witnessed and for which he is sometimes the only source.
The thoughts and reflections which the author interweaves in his discussions, that is in the literary and not the historical section of the work, reflect his dissatisfaction with the traditional outlook and opinions of the Middle Ages. He treats the galut in general and the problem of expulsion as natural phenomena subject to the laws of causation, is dissatisfied with traditional answers concerning the relationship between Israel and the Creator and the Will which determines history, and does not willingly accept suffering, refusing to consider it exclusively as a sign of the Jews’ superiority. He offers the opinion that hatred of the Jews is simply a popular inheritance, due principally to religious fanaticism and the jealousy of the populace, both of which stem from lack of education. His conclusion, partly explicit and partly implied, is that the Jews should remove the causes of jealousy and fanaticism by modest and humble behavior toward their non-Jewish neighbors, and try to break down some of the barriers separating them by preaching religious tolerance and similar efforts. But the author realizes in advance that all his remedies and opinions are of no avail:
“”It is in the nature of Creation that the evil exist beside the good.
The root of all this evil is in the exile itself.”
He does not believe that Redemption is near at hand and derides the “”messiahs,””
without suggesting an alternative Redemption. All he is finally left with is hope for the mercy of Heaven. The loss of simple faith leads him to seek the natural causes of the original downfall, i.e., the beginning of exile with the destruction of the Second Temple. The conclusion is that with respect to the Second Temple, faith was a negative factor. This postulate concerning the negative role of faith was an innovation of contemporary Italian political thinkers.
Ibn Verga’s critical and empirical approach to the phenomena of history makes him a herald of a new era in Jewish history. Nevertheless there is definite evidence that the author remained a loyal Jew. He thus expresses his sympathy for Jewish martyrs; when mentioning the persecutions which overtook German Jewry, he concludes:
“”They nevertheless stood firm for the sanctity of G-d and His Torah and did not abandon their honor,””
which might imply a silent criticism of Spanish Jewry which did not reach such a standard. His sympathy also goes out to those Conversos who endanger their lives in observing the Torah and its precepts. He is proud of the fact
“”that they have a heart sufficiently courageous to accept death by burning without changing their religion.”
Shevet Yehudah is one of the outstanding achievements of the Hebrew literature of the Renaissance. Ibn Verga was a Spanish-Jewish historiographer His surname is of Berber origin (related to common Berber-Jewish names like Ergas and Ergaz), which suggests that his family was native to northern Africa. In addition to his extensive rabbinical and philosophical learning, Ibn Verga had a wide knowledge of the non-Jewish literature of his time, and while in Spain also devoted himself to community affairs. After the conquest of Malaga in 1487 by Ferdinand and Isabella, Ibn Verga was sent by the Spanish communities to raise funds for ransoming the Jews taken captive there, and also received official authorization to proceed with this undertaking. On the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, Ibn Verga settled in Lisbon, Portugal. From 1497, when a large number of the Jews in Portugal were forcibly baptized, he was compelled to live as a Converso but apparently was one of those “”who did not come under the waters”” (Resp. Radbaz no. 1137). When in 1506 the Conversos were permitted to leave Portugal, he went on to Italy, evidently staying some time in Rome.
Steinschneider Catalogus Librorum, nr.; 6982,11; A.E. Cowley. A Concise Catalog … Bodleian Library; p. 664″
1700, Hebrew, The scepter of Judah, Yidesh
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Tag Archives: Angela Lansbury
The Witch’s Curse: Murder She Wrote (1992)
I love Murder She Wrote, I grew up watching the reruns on TV Land and Hallmark. The story was of widowed, retired school teacher, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) who becomes an author-published under the name J.B. Fletcher.
As she goes about life she gets pulled into all these different murder mysteries. using her intellect and observational skills to solve the crimes.
So this episode is 12 of season 8. In this we are back in Jessica’s hometown of Cabot Cove where her good friend Dr. Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) is casting people for the community play he is putting on-a historical tale about the beautiful Rachel Abbot who was falsely accused of being a witch.
In the middle of casting a storm quells up, wind and thunder and beautiful woman enters to try out for the lead.
Her name is Mariah Osborne and she is new in town, living in the old Walker home. She blows everyone out of the water-giving life to role as if she was Rachel Abbott. She gets the role while the judge is played by Judge Willard Clinton and the prosecutor by the local insurance rep, Nate Parsons.
Great choices
Sheriff Mort Metzger and Jessica aren’t impressed with the story or on how her line of the bells ringing-bells did ring. He tries to tell them how shivers ran down everyone’s spines, but the two just laugh at him.
Jessica goes to the archives to do some research when she runs into Mariah. They introduce each other as Mariah explains that she was checking out the actual court transcripts.
Mariah says that she thinks Cabot Cove has a history of ganging up on people. Hmm-wonder why she fells that way?
Mariah heads to the Winthrop mansion, to return Lydia Winthrop’s shawl she borrowed the night before at rehearsals. There she meets Lydia’s husband, Charlie Winthrop, who is recuperating in a wheelchair and suffering from muscle spasms. Again Mariah mentions standing up for wrongfully accused-hmm wonder what or who she is getting at?
Now we know Mariah is not a witch, but there is something so creepy about her-how she appears everywhere, Every word seems to be dripping with a deeper meaning.
Just so creepy
As she leaves the house she notices that Charles isn’t really injured-he’s faking it. He walks over to his safe and takes out something in it.
That night someone breaks into the safe at the Winthrop house. When the police question them, Lydia points the finger at Mariah.
Nothing appears to be missing, just rose petals everywhere-weird. But then Lydia reminds them of Mariah’s line “rose petals scattered in memory of blood spilled.”
Things get complicated. Stories of Mariah having a black cat, a cauldron, and walking around at midnight in black. Sheriff Mort talks to Jessica, and she tries to bring them all back to reality but it is hard as the stories grow and Mariah’s actions kind of feed into it.
Mariah goes to Nate to get fire insurance and question about the house-but they do not have records that far back as there was a really bad fire and the records were lost.. Lydia also is there to speak to Nate abut more insurance since their break in.
In the next scene we see Dr. Seth helping Mariah carry paint home. Jessica sees them and warns Mariah to beware of fires-the paint is highly flammable. Hmmm.
That night Nate’s shed burns down and there was a pentagram on the door. They try to question what was in it, but that is all buried under witch questions.
Everyone starts talking about how Rebecca Abbott said she would return in storm and fire and death, which is what happened since Mariah Osbourne came to town.
Things don’t get better at rehearsal. She has all her lines memorized, making people believe maybe their were no lines to memorize-maybe she knew already.
During the rehearsal Mariah adds in some lines at Lydia’s character, calling her a bitter and barren woman. Lydia becomes furious-everyone protests-but Mariah assures them she pulled it from the actual trial records.
Seth calls a break, and Mariah and Judge Willard Clinton flirt. That night he finds a note from “Rachel” to meet him at the belltower for a secret rendezvous. When he gets there, rose petals are everywhere and he is pushed out the window to his death.
SPLAT!
Sheriff Mort and JB discuss the case-Mort knowing that Mariah isn’t a witch-but just doesn’t know how to explain all the witchy stuff.
They go to question Mariah and she tries to defend herself and even gives them a writing sample. JB searches the room and finds a scrapbook on “Monica Walker” articles and one of Mariah by a boat.
JB tries to get more info-but all the records are gone from city hall and the newspaper. She turns to the only source left-Dr. Seth. Dr. Seth tells her that Monica used to work for Charles and Lydia but was accused of stealing a necklace, and served years in jail-on her release she sold her house and left, never coming back.
JB goes to question Lydia and Charles. Charles is recovering nicely from his fall on the stairs and Lydia put more insurance on he house since the break-in. JB questions what happened to her original necklace, but Lydia never received it back.
JB also sees Charles walking-sees that he is a liar. Jessica doesn’t comment on it, but asks who oversaw the Monica Walker case, it was Willard Clinton.
JB investigates the crime scene and runs into Nate who is also investigating. Jessica finds dark hairs on a nail and takes them to the police.
On the case
Meanwhile, the sheriffs have been working hard. They discover that Mary Lynn Walker was the one who broke into the Winthrop house. They go to Mariah and found out the truth-her name is Mary Lynn and she returned to Cabot Cove because she wanted to clear her mother’s name. She is searching for the necklace or other proof. She claims she did not kill Willard Clinton. She gets arrested anyway.
Jb questions Nate and is pretty sure she has it all figured our when the hairs come back as wig hair instead of real hair.
JB finally puts the screws to Lydia and she spills. Her husband was cheating on her with Monica Walker. So Lydia conspired with Nate to stage a fake robbery, and have Monica Walker framed for the murder, with Willard Clinton helping her. When he met Mariah/Mary Lynn he started to feel bad, and in order to keep her secret, she murdered him.
JB has solved another case and kept her head in the midst of it all.
For the previous post, go to You Don’t Know Which Way to Turn, There’s No Place to Hide, Nowhere to run…: The Blue Gardenia (1953)
For more Jessica Fletcher, go to With a Little Luck of the Irish: 17 More Irish Heroes
For more Angela Lansbury, go to Because I Am Mad, I Hate You. Because I Am Mad, I Have Betrayed You: Gaslight (1944)
For more witches, go to It Feels So Good to See the Bad Guys Scared for a Change: Hangman’s Curse (2003)
Posted in Horrorfest VII
Tagged Angela Lansbury, Belltower, Cabot Cove, Charlie Winthrop, Dr. Seth Hazlitt, Hallmark, J.B. Fletcher, Jessica B. Fletcher, Judge Willard Clinton, Lydia Winthrop, Mariah Osborne, Mary Lynn Walker, Monica Walker, Murder She Wrote, Nate Parsons, Pentagram, Rachel Abbot, Sheriff Mort Metzger, The Witch's Curse, TV LAND, William Windom, Witch, Witches
December 1, 2016 by Moreland
It Was a Pleasure to Burn: Fahrenheit 451
Day 1) A is for Apocalyptical: Choose a book with an apocalyptic theme
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451 is one of my absolute favorite books. I first was introduced to it at the age of 10, when I came across my parents watching the German film. I didn’t quite understand it, so my mom gave me the book to read. Since then I read it at least once a year.
Or 10th, 50th, 100th….
Every time I read this book it shocks me with how accurate it is in portraying the culture of today. I was amazed at that age, but this most recent time when I read the book, it really struck me with exactly how spot on it is.
The book was published in 1953, and is set in a Dystopian future. No year is given, although it is done after 1960. In this future reading is outlawed
Books are an illegal substance,
and the firemen’s job is to burn the offensive material.
I don’t know about you all, but a world without books sounds like a catastrophic end of the world to me. After all:
Guy Montag has always lived life the way culture dictates; has a good paying job, married, no kids as they are bothersome and their are already too many, multiple wall screens to stream TV, etc.
But then one night everything changes. He meets the daughter of his new next door neighbor, Clarisse, who doesn’t like firemen.
“And you must be-…the fireman.’ Her voice trailed off.
‘How oddly you say that.’
‘I’d- I’d have known it with my eyes shut,’ she said, slowly.
‘What- the smell of kerosene? My wife always complains,’ he laughed. ‘You never wash it off completely.’
‘No you don’t,’ she said, in awe.” [pg. 4]
She starts talking about all kinds of things, like how firemen at one time didn’t burn things but helped stop fires. She even questions whether he ever reads the books he burns.
Clarisse is completely counter to the culture of the day and a throwback to the past.
For instance, she doesn’t like this obsession with everything has to be in a hurry, driving all is blur with no one taking the time to look, examine, or have have patience. In fact her uncle was jailed for driving 40 mi/hrs, as it was far too “slow”.
Clarisse also likes to go out for walks and and look at the sky, stars, or moon. Something else everyone finds as weird or odd.
This reminds me so much of our culture today. Everything needs to be instant-instant news, fast food, all TV shows, etc. No patience, no waiting. My niece and I were watching a show on Netflix, and she asked me why they would have these moments where they pause, go to black, and then do a review of what we already seen. I actually had to explain that they used to show these episodes on TV, and there would be commercials in-between. Because you might get people who just tuned in and didn’t see the beginning, and were unable to see the beginning (unless they purchased it on VHS or DVD, they would repeat it for them. And then I had to explain that streaming is something new, prior to it you had to wait a week for the next episode; and when the season ended you had to wait 6 months to a year for the next season.
Now here is a child who has grown up on the world of streaming and the internet and never, ever experienced having to wait for something.
Just like in this.
Anyways, when Montag returns home he finds his wife, Mildred, almost dead, having sucked down a lot of pills. He calls the hospital and they don’t even bother sending an ambulance. So many people these days are trying to kill themselves and end their life with pills, they have a machine like a black snake to pump the stomach.
The next day, Mildred doesn’t remember anything about what happened that night, and all she cares about is her “family” a TV show she follows.
There are all kinds of people suffering in the world or “real issues” that need to be talked about, but are all glossed over by entertainment. All people care about is the TV screens, wanting this giant Wall to Wall circuit. And the shows they watch have no real themes or content to them. Just mindless chatter.
When I reread this, it made me think of the reality shows we have that are just the same thing again and again, no real changes or real content. Keeping Up with the Kardashians for example. Or the endless dating shows looking for love like Flav O Flav, My Fair Brady, etc. Or The X Factor, The Voice, American Idol, etc, And people care more about these shows then real things.
We are strange people.
Then Montag runs into Clarisse. She talks to him, really talks just about anything and everything. Because she isn’t “normal” they force her to o to a psychiatrist.
“They want to know what I do with all my time. I tell them that sometimes I just sit and think.” [pg. 20]
In fact that is something she and her family like to do, just sit around and talk no devices, go out and walk just talking. In this world conversation is dead, no one really talks anymore. Sound familiar?
She glanced quickly over. ‘Why are you laughing?’
‘I don’t know.’ He started to laugh again and stopped. ‘Why?’
‘You laugh when I haven’t been funny and you answer right off. You never stop to think what I’ve asked you.” [pg. 6]
It gets him thinking, and thinking is dangerous in a dystopian world.
“He felt his body divide itself into a hotness and a coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling and a not trembling, the two halves grinding upon the other.” [pg. 21]
Clarrise is a great character because she represents a type of person that is fading out. The one who is still holding on to the values of the past. A type of person who wants to think for herself instead of being spoonfeed an idea from the Internet, government, or teachers.
“I’m antisocial, they say. I don’t mix. It’s so strange. I’m very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn’t it? Social to me means talking to you about things like this…But I don’t think it is social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, do you?…We never ask questions…they just run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing…It’s a lot of funnels and a lot of water poured down the spout and out the bottom, and them telling us it’s wine when it’s not.” [pg. 27]
The other thing I love about Clarrise os that she is so easily relatable, at least to me she is. She is disconnected to her generation because she doesn’t have the same values as they do she is more old fashioned, and because of that she is an 80 year old in a 17 year old’s body. I know exactly how that feels. I love reading, creating things by hand, having things until they wear out, not getting the newest stuff. That’s how I been my whole life which makes it hard to find others who value the same thing. I mean I read Emily Post.
“You sound so old.’
‘Sometimes I’m ancient.” [pg. 27]
Clarrise hates this world of blandness and nothingness.
“People don’t talk about anything.’
‘Oh, they must!’
‘No, not anything. They name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming pools mostly and say how swell! But they all say the same things and nobody says anything different from anyone else.” [pg. 28]
Clarisse opens Montag’s mind up to the way the world is and how it should be, and before he knows it, she and her whole family are gone.
You question in a dystopian world and you are gone.
He asks Captain Beatty if it is true that fireman used to stop fires instead of creating them.
The rest if the firemen are uneasy, but Captain Beatty knows it is natural for at one pint a fireman to question things. He shows him the history of the firemen and when they were first established.
“Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the Colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin.
Answer the alarm quickly.
Start the fire swiftly.
Burn everything.
Report back to the firehouse immediately.
Stand alert for other Alarms.
Before anything else can be done, an alarm sounds and the group heads out. They reach the place and apprehend a women, demanding to know where her contraband is. She won’t tell them but quotes Hugh Latimer.
“Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”
The fireman don’t understand this, but Hugh Latimer was executed for his protestantism, under the ruling of catholic Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth’s older sister. He was burned alive for his beliefs, which is foreshadowing as to what is to come.
They find the books and are going to burn them like they always do, except this night is different. This woman, Mrs. Blake, stands their silently judging them.
Montag begins burning everything, but instead of just being things, they feel more alive, like killing animals.
They burn everything, ready to decimate the building, but Mrs. Blake won’t leave. She refuses to give up her books. The fireman leave, ready to let her die; but Montag tries to help her. She refuses as she holds in her hand a match.
Willing to die for her beliefs.
I think that is why I love this book so much, the fact that it truly explains a connection people have not just to the book but to the author’s thoughts and ideas. Destroying a book is more than destroying a physical object, it is trying to kill the person who created it.
“It’s not just the woman that died…Last night I thought about all that kerosene I’ve used in the past ten years. And I thought about books. And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of the books. A man had to think them up. A man had to take a long time to put them down on paper. And I’d never even thought that thought before…It took some man a lifetime maybe to put some of his thoughts down, looking around at the world and life and then I come along in two minutes and boom! it’s all over.” [pg. 49]
Montag returns home after the horror with a secret:
“His hands had been infected, and soon it would be his arms. He could feel the poison working up his wrists and into the elbows and his shoulders, and then the jump-over from shoulder blade to shoulder blade like a spark leaping a gap. His hands were ravenous. And his eyes were beginning to feel hunger, as if they must look at something, anything, everything…He balanced in space with the book in his sweating cold fingers.” [pg. 38]
Montag realizes how empty his life is, he married his wife ten years ago, but can’t fathom why. He doesn’t love her and she doesn’t love him. They don’t talk, they spend no time together, and all she does is watch TV or listen to her device with her little seashell headphones that go in her ears practically disappearing from view. Both people are empty, full of nothingness. There is countless walls between them through the TV shows she watches and she is more connected to those fake creations on the screen than her own husband.
All Mildred does is watch TV, yet even that is so empty that you if ask questions what is it even about Mildred doesn’t know. Mildred doesn’t know anything. It’s like she is on drugs, the way her memory and mind is so foggy.
She is like a zombie.
The next day Montag is sick, not physically but mentally, and philosophically. The death of the woman has troubled him dearly and he can’t understand it.
“You weren’t there, you didn’t see,’ he said. There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” [pg. 48]
Mildred doesn’t understand it and think that Montag is crazy for taking the death of a stupid radical this way. He should focus on work, on making more money, so they can get more things and TVs and such.
“Let me alone,’ said Mildred. ‘I didn’t do anything.’
‘Let you alone! That’s all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long has it been since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?” [pg. 49]
Then Beatty shows up as Montag has been missing from work. He figured it out that Montag has been questioning the world they live in. So he gives them the spiel he gives out to bring those on the edge back to reality.
“Once, books appealed to a few people, here, there, everywhere. They could afford to be different. The world was roomy. But then the world got full of eyes and elbows and mouths…Films and radios, magazines, books leveled down to a sort of paste pudding norm…in the twentieth century, speed up your camera. Books cut shorter. Condensations. Digests. Tabloids…Classics cut to fit fifteen-minute radio shows, then cut again to fill a two minute book column, winding up at last as a ten- or twelve line dictionary resume…
Speed up the film, Montag, quick. Click, Pic, Look, Eye, Now, Flick, Here, There, Swift, Pace, Up, Down, In, Out, Why, How, Who, What, Where, Eh? Uh! Bang! Smack! Wallop, Bing, Bong, Boom!…Whirl a man’s mind around so fast under the pumping hands of publishers, exploiters, broadcasters, that the centrifuge flings off all unnecessary, time-wasting thought.
…philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies all about after work. Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?” [pgs 51-53]
Life today. Now this part here really gets me with how PC you have to be 24/7, the littlest infraction and you are out.
“Now let’s take up the minorities in our civilization, shall we? Bigger the population, the more minorities. Don’t step on the toes of the dog-lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons, Baptists, Unitarians, second-generation Chinese, Swedes, Italians, Germans, Texans, Brooklynites, Irishmen, people from Oregon or Mexico…The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that! All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean.
Authors, full of evil thoughts, lock up your typewriters. They did. Magazines became a nice blend of vanilla tapioca…But the public, knowing what it wanted, spinning happily, let the comic books survive, And the dimensional sex magazines of course.
There you have it, Montag. It didn’t come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick…Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time…
With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word ‘intellectual’, of course became the swear word it deserved to be…
We must all be alike. Not everyone was born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man in the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, judge themselves against…”
Horrifying, yet that is the world we live in. You don’ like it, they destroy it; and that is happening now. A book about George Washington’s slave, who liked him because she saved his life from an assassination plot, making him a birthday cake was pulled because it isn’t p.c. Uncle Tom’s Cabin? No longer read because it is “cruel to blacks”, when it wasn’t. People don’t even read the book, but destroy it because it might hurt someone’s feelings. The remake of Red Dawn? Last minute had to be rewritten as it might hurt China’s feelings.
Captain Beatty lets them know they got rid of the girl as she was too crazy and out there.
Life’s better bland, nothing to worry about, pleasant life, no problems, no nothing.
He tells Montag it is okay to check out a book, just one, as there is nothing in there. He’ll read it and burn it afterward.
After Beatty left, Montag is furious, but instead of taking something to make him happy, he has 20 books hidden in the house. He has decided to read them, sharing them with Mildred.
Montag goes to see Professor Faber, a man he ran into before. Faber used to work at a liberal arts college, but they closed it down as it was no longer important. He wants to know how to understand the books, to learn and Faber is the only one he has left.
Faber tells him we need three things in life:
“Number one: Do you know why books such as these are so important? Because they have quality…This book has pores…You’d find life under the glass, streaming past infinite profusion…The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies.” [pg. 79]
And the second? Leisure. Now Montag brings up that we have plenty of leisure, but he means actual time set aside to read, not bombarded with all types of things.
“You can’t argue with a four-wall televisor. Why? The televisor is ‘real.’ It is immediate, it has dimension. It tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be right. It seems so right. It rushes you on so quickly to its own conclusions your mind hasn’t time to protest, ‘What nonsense!’
‘…You can shut [books], say ‘Hold on a moment.’ You play God to it. But who has ever torn himself away from the claw that encloses you when you drop a seed in a TV parlor? It grows you any shape it wishes! It is an environment as real as the world. It becomes and is the truth. Books can be beaten down with reason. But with all my knowledge and skepticism, I have never been able to argue with a one-hundred-piece-symphony orchestra, full color, three dimensions…” [pg. 80]
And thirdly the ability to carry out the actions learned from it.
Montag thinks they can change the world by planting books on all the firemen, to bring them down. But Faber knows it won’t help, it isn’t the fireman that created this rule but the public who wanted people to stop reading.
That’s right, we did when we stopped reading.
Montag is afraid to go out as Beatty might mix him up again. Faber gives him these devices so he can put it in his ear so that he can hear Faber. That night he goes home and sees that Mildred is having a party.
Montag is horrified by these women. One just marries, divorces, marries, divorces, no emotions whatsoever. The other has kids who are in school constantly, and never sees them as she doesn’t care. They discuss politics. voting for people based on how they look and their names, rather than what they actually say or want to do.
Montag reads to them but they don’t understand. They’ve been too distorted with TV and the culture with no substance.
Captain Beatty knows that Montag has been reading and plays with him, using the books he clings to to rebut his arguments. They leave as they have a call, and it turns out that it is Montag’s house
Mildred put in the alarm and she is heartbroken. But what saddens her the most? Losing her TV family
Yes, not her husband, home, etc.
Montag is forced to destroy his own home, and afterwards destroys the firemen. After all, his whole life he has been taught, you have a problem, burn it.
He has now become a fugitive and runs. Not knowing where, but just continuing to run.
After running, he plants the books in other firemen’s houses. Montag stops to see Faber, finds out the Hound (the firemen’s robotic assassin) is after them, and continues to take off. Never knowing where he is to go next, but running.
He runs into the country until the end of the all known. He stops when he reaches an area with men siting near a campfire and TV set. They give him a potion to change his perspiration, but it is’t really necessary. The Hound needs to find someone, as after all this is TV, the people need the answer.
They find some poor sop who looks like Montag and kill him to save face.
These men are former professors , intellectuals, etc; who have been running from the law. Each one has taken in a new life, the life of a book. These books are locked away in an area they can never be taken from. The mind.
Eventually the hope is to one day reenter society and bring the books they have been passing orally to the world.
“Do you really think they will listen then?’
‘If not then we’ll just have to wait…you can’t make people listen. They have to come around in their own time…” [pg. 146]
And what book does Montag choose to be? Ecclesiastes.
Besides this fantastic story, we have the amazing language and the great way it was written. Take the beginning:
“It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmut numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of fireflies. He wanted above all, like the old joke to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch lawn of the house. While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning.” [pgs. 1-2]
This book is only 158 pages, barely any pages, but there is so much power is in that. Amazing amounts of power. I just love this book.
Turn your TV, computer, cell phone, and any other device you have off for a while and pick up a book instead.
To read more 30 Day challenges go to 30 Day Challenge: All About Me!
For more on Fahrenheit 451, go to It’s A Fan World After All
For more Ray Bradbury, go to Baby Jane Austen
For more Dystopian futures, go to Remember, Remember The 5th of November
For more on being old-fashioned, go to Not a Hipster, But an O.F.
For more Cassandra Clare, go to Drug of Choice
So last year I posted a Christmas Carol every day in December and I really enjoyed it. I had so much fun picking out the songs, I decided to bring it back.
So with everything going on in the world, and the way people have been acting: I think we need a little Christmas in our lives. So I choose that song.
We Need a Little Christmas is from the musical Mame based on the novel Aunt Mame. In the story Mame gains guardianship of her nephew and starts to raise him. At this point in the musical, Mame has lost everything in the stock market crash of 1929. With everything practically gone, she decides to have Christmas early as she doesn’t know what will happen.
Of course that isn’t the end of the play as Mame has many more interesting antics. However, this song is great and just the right thing to put us in the mood.
This version is sung by Angela Lansbury, from the first musical cast of Aunt Mame.
For more Christmas Carols, go to We Wish You A Merry Christmas
For more on Angela Lansbury, go to Because I Am Mad, I Hate You. Because I Am Mad, I Have Betrayed You: Gaslight (1944)
Posted in 25 Carols of Christmas, 30 Day Challenge, Book Lover, Non-Austen Books
Tagged 25 Carols of Christmas, Angela Lansbury, Apocalyptical, Aunt Mame, Binge Watching, Books Are a Drug, Burn Books, Can't Stop Reading, Captain Beatty, Cassandra Clare, Clarisse, Commercials, Counterculture, Dystopian, Dystopian Future, Emily Post, End of the World, Fahrenheit 451, Films, Firemen, Guy Montag, Harper Lee, Hugh Latimer, Madeleine L'Engle, Mildred Montag, Mrs. Blake, Netflix, Old Fashioned, Old Soul, Professor Faber, Queen Mary, Radio, Ray Bradbury, Read Over and Over, Reality Show, Red Dawn, Rewrite History, Rudyard Kipling, Sin Madison, Streaming, Tries to Commit Suicide, Uncle Tom's Cabin, We Need a Little Christmas
Because I Am Mad, I Hate You. Because I Am Mad, I Have Betrayed You: Gaslight (1944)
…Because I am mad, I hate you. Because I am mad, I have betrayed you. And because I’m mad, I’m rejoicing in my heart, without a shred of pity, without a shred of regret, watching you go with glory in my heart!
So last year I reviewed the Alfred Hitchcock film Under Capricorn. In the post, I mentioned how it wasn’t widely received or enjoyed by critics and audiences, one of the reasons being its similarity to this film, and because starred two of the same actors; Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten. I personally like Under Capricorn better, but let’s take a look at this film.
So the movie is based on a play, and a remake of the film that came out four years prior to this one. It won an Oscar for best set design, best actress, and critical praise for all actors.
This is a historical fiction film, taking place at the turn of the century. The name of the film comes from the gaslights used in houses. Lights in the London house are from fixtures with gas flames, and when you light one light, it reduces gas supply to the other lights in the house that are close by, causing the lights to dim.
Renowned opera singer, Alice Alquist, is strangled to death in her London home, No. 9 Thornton square. The thief is searching for her famed emeralds, but is interrupted and flees. Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), Alice’s niece, has been living with her aunt ever since her parents died. She finds the body and becomes completely traumatized.
She moves to Italy, where she studies music, following in the footsteps of her aunt.
Ten years later, Paula confesses to her voice teacher, Maestro Guardi, that she has finally been able to move past that point and has fallen in love.
Maestro doesn’t want to lose his most talented student, but wants Paula to be happy, and encourages her to follow her heart.
She does and accepts the proposal of the handsome Gregory Anton, a pianist she has only known two weeks.
During their honeymoon, Gregory tells Paula he has always dreamed of living in a fashionable London square. Anxious to please her hubby, she suggests that they move into her aunt’s house.
Something bad is going to go down. I can just feel it.
When they move in Paula begins to have nightmares about what she saw before.
Gregory tells her that it will help is they remove everything that belonged to her aunt up into the attic, sealing it up. But then strange things start happening.
The flame keeps going down, although no other lights nearby are being used. Why is it dimming!!
Never a good sign.
And what is making that weird noise in a sealed attic. Gregory doesn’t hear anything at all, and Paula begins thinking she might be going crazy!
One day Paula discovers a note to her aunt.
It was dated two days before her murder, from a Sergius Bauer. He begged to see Paula’s aunt, very intensely. She shows it to Gregory who becomes upset over the whole thing and quickly silences Paula.
It is clear there is more to this man than his charming, suave, and handsome personality.
Meanwhile, Paula continues to hear things even though Gregory and the servants say that there is nothing. Paula starts questioning herself, and becomes more insecure every day.
To make matters worse, Gregory has hired a saucy, young maid, Nancy. She os played by Angela Lansbury in her first film role. This maid is rude and cruel to Paula, making her feel worse and even crazier. Nancy is also making a ploy for Gregory.
Nancy Oliver: Gonna work on your tunes again tonight, sir? You’re always working, aren’t you?
Gregory Anton: Yes. What are you doing with your evening out?
Nancy Oliver: Oh, I’m going to a music hall… [starts to sing ‘Up in a balloon’]
Gregory Anton: I’ve never been to an English music hall.
Nancy Oliver: Oh, you don’t know what you’ve missed, sir…
Gregory Anton: And whom are you going to the music hall with?
Nancy Oliver: A gentleman friend, sir.
Gregory Anton: Oh, now you know, Nancy, don’t you, that gentlemen friends are sometimes inclined to take liberties with young ladies.
Nancy Oliver: Oh no, sir, not with me. I can take care of myself – when I want to.
Gregory Anton: You know, Nancy, it strikes me that you’re not at all the kind of girl that your mistress should have for a housemaid.
Nancy Oliver: [flirtatiously] No, sir? She’s not the only one in the house – is she?
Paula’s life is quickly becoming worse and worse.
Three months later, Paula and Gregory are going to go to a Tower of London tour. Gregory gives her a brooch that once belonged to his grandmother. He warns her to be careful, as the clasp is broken, and not to lose it. Paula puts it in her purse, but while they are at the tour she starts to worry that she lost it. When she checks the purse, it is gone!
While looking at the crown jewels exhibit, she is approached by Brian Cameron. In the original play and film, this character was stout and elderly. However, that didn’t suit Hollywood. So instead they made him the young and very attractive Joseph Cotten.
So Brian greets her very warmly. It turns out he was a huge fan of her aunt, and momentarily mistook her for the aunt. Gregory doesn’t like Brian and questions Paula about him, but she insists that she has never met him before.
That night Paula confesses about losing the brooch, and Gregory yells at her “forgetfulness” that is running rampant. It seems that Paula is always forgetting things and hearing things that aren’t there.
That night Paula sees the gaslights dimming again, and also hears noises that sound like footprints.
Why is this happening to her? Why is she going crazy??!!
Two months later, Brian comes around Thornton Square. He is curious about Paula as he has never seen her anywhere, even though they run in the same social circles. He should have seen her at a party.
He goes to question Paula’s neighbor, when he notices Paula about to leave the house. Before she can go out, she is bullied by Nancy to stay in. It is clear who thinks they are the mistress of the house.
From The Picture of Dorian Gray
It turns out that Brian is more than a music lover, he works for Scotland Yard.
He goes to the office and starts looking into the case file on Alice Alquist’s murder. Alice was given some amazing jewels from a secret admirer, all which are missing now. Did the thief manage to get them all? Or did Alice hide them very well?
He is convinced that Paula is in danger, and assigns a detective to watch over her house.
Meanwhile, Paula is convinced that the maid is trying to get rid of her. She tries to talk about this with Gregory, but he thinks it is just an addition to her madness, there is paranoia.
Brian poses as the neighbor’s nephew. He tries to see her, when Gregory refuses. Paula is shocked at his behavior, why is he being so rude?
Her mood quickly changes when Gregory tells her that he is taking her to the theater. However, before they leave Gregory accuses Paula of taking a painting down.
Paula never did any such thing.
Gregory finds the painting on the stairs, and tells her that this is the third time she has done it. She is getting worse.
Paula reveals to him about the noises she has been hearing and Gregory tells her she is too unwell to go out. Now Paula is stuck at home and scared that she might get sent away to a mental institution.
Gregory leaves to his music studio, while Paula is home alone and hearing the strange noises.
Why is this happening?!!
Brian is invited to a piano concert at Lord and Lady Dalroy. Gregory and Paula were invited but Gregory refused, as he believes Paula is too sick. Paula is furious and tells him she wants to go and will go without him. Gregory changes his mind and agrees to accompany her.
When they get to the concert, Gregory tells Paula that his watch is missing. Paula ends up finding it in her purse, even though she knows she never put it in there, and causes a huge scene, Gregory then deciding to take her home.
When they reach the house, Paula says that all her problems began when she found that letter to her Aunt from Sergius Bauer. Gregory tells her he has no idea what she is talking about as no such letter ever existed.
Is she crazy? Or is there someone trying to make her think she is crazy?
Gregory yells at Paula, telling her she is going as crazy as her mother. He informs her that as she is going insane, he has already arranged for two doctors to examine and treat her.
Gregory leaves, and when he does Brian and another officer follow him, but lose him in the fog.
Inside, Paula hears the footsteps again and asks the cook if she hears anything. The cook says no, this just reenforces to Paula that she is crazy!
Brian has been watching the house and figured out that when Gregory leaves, he doesn’t go to his music studio but into the deserted No. 5 and crosses the roof into the attic of No. 9.
The next night, Brian waits until Gregory has left the house, and then goes in to see Paula, trying to convince her she is sane.
Upstairs, Gregory is in the attic tearing everything apart as he is searching for something.
Downstairs, Brian forces Gregory’s desk opens and finds that Gregory’s gun is missing. Paula also finds the note that Gregory told her “doesn’t exist.”
They compare the letter to Gregory’s writing, and Brian figures out that Gregory is Sergius Bauer, the man he suspected killed Paula’s aunt. He was searching for the jewels and couldn’t find them, having to leave that night, and resurfacing to marry Paula to gain access to the jewels.
Upstairs, Gregory has finally found the jewels in an opera costume. When the gaslights pick up, Brian knows it is time to get out of there. He takes off and then goes up through No. 5 to the attic.
Gregory comes downstairs and finds his desk broken.
He yells at Paula, but is interrupted by Brian who has come through the attic with the destroyed costume.
Gregory Anton: I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were dangerous to me.
Brian Cameron: I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were dangerous to her.
Gregory rushes upstairs and the two fight. A gunshot rings out!
Paula runs upstairs to see what happened. There she finds Gregory tied up in a chair.
And we have what I think is the best scene in the movie.
Brian comes to take him away.
Gregory Anton: I don’t ask you to understand me. Between us all the time were those jewels, like a fire – a fire in my brain that separated us – those jewels which I wanted all my life. I don’t know why… Goodbye, Paula.
Brian consoles Paula, telling her he will always be around if she needs him.
From Under Capricorn
I know that Ingrid Bergman actually studied people suffering from different issues, observing at a local mental hospital, but I felt her delivery in Under Capricorn was much stronger than this one.
Otherwise, it is not a bad film and a pretty good thriller.
To start Horrorfest IV from the beginning, go to You Cannot Conquer It. It Has Conquered You!: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
For the previous post, go to A Man Without a Face: The Bat (1959)
For more Ingrid Bergman, go to The Past of a Man: Under Capricorn (1949)
For more on Joseph Cotten, go to You Think You Know Something, Don’t You?: Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
For more on Angela Lansbury, go to If Only It Was the Picture Who Was To Grow Old, and I Remain Young: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
For more on husbands that are more than what they seem, go to She Cries in the Night: The Screaming Skull (1958)
For more historical fiction films, go to That Place…There’s Queer Things Goes On There: Jamaica Inn (1939)
For more remakes, go to There are Thirteen Chairs at the Table…And That’s Unlucky: Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943)
For more films based on plays, go to I Do Think You Are Confused, Mrs. Bowman: Dangerous Crossing (1953)
Posted in Horrorfest IV
Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Alice Alquist, All Kinds of Crazy, Angela Lansbury, Brian Cameron, Charles Boyer, Confucius, Emeralds, Film based on a Play, Gaslight, Gregory Anton, historical fiction, Husband Just After Money, Ingrid Bergman, Jewels, Joseph Cotten, Lady's Maid, London, Mad, Maestro Guardi, Mental Institution, Nancy Oliver, Nightmares, Opera Singer, Oscar Winning Film, Paranoid, Paula Alquist, Pianist, Remake, Scotland Yard, Sergius Bauer, Thornton Square, Tower of London, Turn of the Century, Under Capricorn (1949)
March 1, 2015 by Moreland
Please Excuse My Dear Fan Lady
Yep another Fangirl post, chock full of all the things I love. Be sure to check out a few of these as they are awesome and you are sure to enjoy them almost as much as me.
Eureka is a show that is The Twilight Zone merged with Twin Peaks. Now I know most of you are probably scratching your heads at those references, but I will be talking about them later in a future post.
I remember when SciFi, or SyFy as it is now called, first brought this show on TV. I thought it was an interesting idea and happy that they set it in Northern California as people always forget that there is a lot more in California than just San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. I wasn’t into it, but my sister would watch it. It wasn’t until Amazon put it up on Prime that I started watching it and getting into the series.
So U.S. Marshal, Jack Carter, is bringing his daughter home to Los Angeles from who knows where she had run away to. It is late and raining and the two get lost, crashing the car. They walk into the nearby town of Eureka, Oregon (I don’t know why they didn’t just use Eureka, California). With their car messed up, they have to stay in the town a few days and discover that it isn’t any regular area. It is a town full of scientists, giving them a place where they can work and create in privacy. Nearby is the company Global Dynamics that employees most of the scientists, contracting to the military. While they are there, one of the townspeople are creating a time machine that causes a huge rift in time and almost destroys the town. Jack Carter is able to come up with a plan to help over come it, and due to his efforts is promoted from U.S. Marshal to Sheriff of Eureka.
What I like about Eureka is that the Sheriff is very smart but also very much a regular guy. This makes him extremely relatable and also allows him to solve the hard cases, with help, in that he has a different way of viewing things than anyone else. Each episode revolves around a crisis involving an invention, along with giving us clues to a mystery that runs the whole season. It is a very fun and good show and I highly recommend it to anyone into science and mysteries.
I started watching this show because I loved the film Stick It and had wished, too late, to be a gymnast. If I could go back in time I think I would try it, whether or not I would compete and try for the Olympics. Anyways, this show is about four girls trying to achieve the dream of Olympic gold, while at the same time dealing with family, friends, and regular teenage girl stuff.
First we have Kaylie Cruz (Josie Loren), who is rich as both her parents used to be famous and are rich. She is secretly dating fellow gymnast Carter, which has to be a secret as dating is not allowed in the gym or by her parents. Carter ends up sleeping with Kaylie’s best friend Lauren, as Kaylie wouldn’t sleep with him. Most of the first season is Carter trying to keep it a secret, Lauren trying to win him, and Kaylie being oblivious. When she finds out she is pissed, but eventually forgives Lauren. Kaylie goes on to win the National Chap and has a better chance at getting the gold. Afterwards, Kaylie feels a lot of pressure as everyone had expected Payson to win, and feel as if Kaylie didn’t deserve her title as Payson was out with a back injury. She constantly feels as if she has to defend herself and her talents. The gym brings on Austin Tucker (Zane Holtz), who I really liked, but Kaylie dislikes. Kaylie also becomes anorexic as the pressures from the gym, her father and mother, her parent’s divorce, and a need to be in control. Now a lot of people made fun of this as abcfamily was trying too hard or something, but I thought this was done very realistically and well in regarding what it is like to be anorexic and how other issues can compound into it. Austin sees what is going on and helps her come to terms with it and seek help. While Kaylie is recuperating, she starts singing and hanging out with Damon. She eventually is ready for worlds, bringing in the gold. The third season sees Kaylie on the team in London, getting ready for the gold and Austin’s girlfriend.
Payson Keeler (Ayla Kell) is from a middle class family that is always struggling to get the money to support their daughter’s dream. Payson is extremely focused on her goals, being the best of all the girls on the team. In the first season Lauren‘s father blackmails their coach, getting rid of him. Sasha Belov is brought in, and Payson is ecstatic as he is one of her idols. When they hear of a party in the area, Payson does not want to go, but ends up coming too as she wants to make sure the other girls stay out of trouble. She has some back problems, but conceals it from everyone. She ends up damaging herself and loses her chance at worlds and messes up her back completely. In the second season she starts a relationship with Nicky Russo, played by Cody Longo. This didn’t go far as he ended up leaving the series. I was sad about this as I LOVED him. I was also sad as every guy Payson started to get with, ended up disappearing shortly after they proclaimed their feelings. Payson was the best as she worked through her trauma and disappointment to try other things, and was brave enough to try an experimental project, restoring her. When she comes back, her body isn’t exactly the same and she finds herself not being able to do the same things, changing to be one on grace. She gets involved with Max, Austin’s friend, and they start dating, but then he left to be the lead guy on Revenge. She goes on making it to London, and meeting a guy there.
Lauren Tanner (Cassie Scerbo) is the rich, spoiled, princess as she is the apple of her dad’s eye and used to getting anything she wants. She wants Carter, and his constant denying her for Kaylie makes her incredibly angry and want him more. Kaylie finds out and is angry, but the two work through their issues and become friends again. A new guy, Max, comes into the gym and is into Payson, but Lauren wants him and bad. She constantly tries to seduce him, not always getting the responses she desires. On one of their dates she gets in a car accident, she’s okay but Max is out of the competition. She eventually focuses on her gymnastics and sees herself setting off for London.
Emily Kmetko (Chelsea Hobbes) is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. She has a single mother who does nails, and later works as a waitress at a strip club to make ends meet. She also has a younger brother in a wheelchair. She has been trying for years to get into a gym, and eventually scores a scholarship. She faces the most issues out of the girls as she has money she is trying to earn to stay afloat, trying to take care of her brother, and trying to befriend girls who have been friends for years and hate her. Eventually, they all become friends, but it takes quite a while. She meets this guy, Razor at work and kind of likes him; but when he goes out of town, his best friend Damon fills in for him. Damon was the best character, and when the series got weird and too silly, he was the anchor I loved, the reason I watched.
Yep, he was awesome. He was always there for her, he helped her practice, he got her family to Nationals, he brought Radiohead, when she wanted to wait to have sex he was all for it, when she decided she wanted to be with him and ended up pregnant (the actress was pregnant in real life) he went after to her to help raise the baby. He was awesome and hot…and I love him. 🙂
For me the love of this author began with one book Jurassic Park. You see I have always loved the series, it is one of my all-time favorites, (and you can read a review here). After one of my constant viewings, my mother mentioned it was based on the novel. I decided to start reading his book, buying every one I would find in a book sale. I still have one to go, The Andromeda Strain, but besides that I have read everything he has ever written. I love all his writings as the characters are great, the plot always suspenseful, and I love the melding of science-fiction and technology with horror, history, etc. Almost every book has been turned into a film, but sadly I have yet to view how they all were done. Each one is amazing and I recommend them all.
Jurassic Park- In this book, a genetic company has decided to try to bring back dinosaurs. By using frog DNA to fill in the gaps, they have created new versions of the creatures. John Hammond, the head of the company, has asked a group of people to visit and review his island. Ready to review is paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant; paleobotanist, Dr. Ellie Slatter; Ian Malcolm; and Hammond’s two grandchildren. Of course, “life can find a way”, and these creatures do what they want to; causing havoc on the island. This has quite a few differences then the film, with the dinosaurs escaping the island; a pterodactyl fight, more deaths of the group, and no relationship between Dr. Grant and Dr. Slatter. However, I think both are done very well and could watch the movie or read the book again and again.
The Lost World- Now when I first watched the movie, I thought it was okay and denoted it as my least fav in the series. However, after I read the book, I had to agree that the movie was better. This book was okay, it moves much slower than the original and doesn’t have as many lovable characters. In this book, Hammond reveals that there is a second island of creatures that survived from the previous book. He sends in Malcolm with a crew of people, and two stowaway kids. This isn’t a horrible book, but just pales in comparison to the original.
Timeline- This is one of my mother’s absolute favorite books, and she would constantly talk about how great it was. I decided that this would be the next book that I would read of Crichton, and it was AMAZING! I love this book so much. We have group of graduate students and archeologists, all working in Medieval history. One is focused on architecture, one on technology, one on fighting, etc. They find an amazing discovery, and are immediately swept off to a secret organization that has produced a technology allowing traveling through time, right back to medieval times. The group goes to find a friend sent before, and find that living history is fun, but also incredibly dangerous. The film was also really good, starring Paul Walker and Gerard Butler, the only thing I disliked about it was that in the book each person encountered what they were studying, helping them further their research. In the movie they cut that out, sadly.
Airframe- Just an ordinary day and an ordinary flight from Hong Kong to Denver. That all changes when it crashes with a hundred injured and three killed. What happened to the flight? It’s up to investigators to discover who was at fault; the plane, the airport, or the pilot?
A Case of Need- This was Crichton’s first novel and utilizes his medical training. The book is set in a Boston Medical Center, where a patient receiving surgery is killed. Is it just an accident or murder?
Congo- Deep in the Congo, near the ancient city of Zinj, eight American geologists are brutally and mysteriously murdered. Karen Ross, the project supervisor back in America, watches video feed of the massacre. In San Francisco, primatologist Peter Elliot has been able to teach a gorilla named Amy over 600 signs, finger painting, etc. Lately, Amy has been acting strangely and painting horrible things, that Peter thinks maybe it is time to take her home. A map from the 17th century supposedly leading to Zinj matches up with Amy’s finger paintings exactly. When all three parties intersect, a strange expedition sets out to discover what holds Zinj. This was made into a less than stellar film, of which I will review in Horrorfest IV.
Disclosure- This is an interesting book, although it doesn’t seem like it in the beginning. Thomas Sander has had a bad day. He is passed over for a promotion by an old flame, and his new tech is having some glitches. When his boss asks him over for drinks, she immediately comes on to him. He refuses, and leaves. The next day she is charging him with sexual harassment and Sanders is fired. Luckily for Sanders, he accidentally recorded what happened and tries to turn the case around and sue his boss. But Sanders start wondering, why would his boss do that? Was she so upset that he turned her down? Or is there more to this case then meets the eye?
Eaters of the Dead- This is a retelling of Beowulf told from the point of an Arab courtier, who finds himself unwilling dragged along a quest to destroy the monster, Grendal. This too was turned into a film I have yet to watch, but starring Antonio Banderas.
Five Patients- This is a non-fiction volume that tells of Crichton’s experiences as an intern at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
The Great Train Robbery- This is another novel that I love. Based on the historical event, Crichton once again is able to meld the account with amazing characters. In this, the charming and persuasive Edward Pierce easily moves through society in Victorian London, all the while plotting the crime of the century…The Great Train Robbery.
Prey- This one of my all-time favorite books. The way Crichton writes it, it is so haunting and amazing. I don’t want to give too much away as you REALLY should read it.
Jack Forman lost his job and took on being the one taking care of his daughter and the home. His wife works at Xymos Corporation and has been acting weird. Other things start to seem strange, but Jack thinks it is nothing but his imagination. When his wife hires him on, he discovers that the mirco-bots that Xymos produces are not as benign as he was told. In fact, there is much more horrifying things happening than Forman could ever imagine.
Rising Sun-During the grand opening celebration of the new American headquarters of a Japanese company, the dead body of a beautiful woman is found. The investigation begins, and immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue and a violent business battle that takes no prisoners. This two was turned into a film I have yet to view.
Sphere- This book always makes me think of the film Forbidden Planet. In this a spaceship on the floor of the ocean is discovered. Scientists prepare an expedition and head down to the ship, discovering a ship over 300 years old and holding a power much stronger than any could imagine. This power gives them increased abilities and paranoia. One scientists starts using his power to attack the ship and people, but which one? I really, really loved the book and couldn’t stop reading it the first time I had it. They turned this also into a film, of which I have had problems getting my hands on it. When I do see it, you can bet it will be a part of a future Horrorfest.
State of Fear- In this book Crichton spins a tale of political conspiracy. As eco-terrorists and global warming are the biggest issues ands causing all kinds of destruction, one investigator starts wondering if whether this is just a smokescreen for something far more sinister.
The Terminal Man- Harry Benson suffers from horrible seizures that cause violent outbursts. He is experimented on and has electrodes placed deep in his brain’s pleasure centers, effectively short-circuiting Harry’s seizures with pulses of bliss. The surgery is successful, but while Benson is in recovery, he escapes and his violent impulses have grown; leaving a horror in his wake.
Travels- An account of Michael Crichton’s travels abroad and all over the world.
Next- This is his last complete novel and is an amazing story. In a world where we focus on our genes, what diseases we might carry, taking apart our genome; Crichton speaks on how such technology can get out of hand. A man going in for tests ends up having his blood and genes patented and in a sense sells his children into slavery of a company. A man who wins custody from his wife on the basis of her high possibility of becoming afflicted with deadly diseases; and an ape human born of gene splicing.
Pirate Latitudes- This was Crichton’s last book, but was unfinished. It was a “complete” manuscript, but was missing the special Crichton charm that each story has. Jamaica in 1665 is the home of people willing to go after gold and riches of the Spanish and Portuguese. If caught they are pirates, if they make it out with the wealth then England gets a cut and everyone is happy. Captain Edward Hunter is one such type and decides to go after the dangerous island of El Trinidad. A crazy scheme that will have enormous bounty if it succeeds, or incredible death if it fails; leads Captain Hunter and his team on a a swashbuckling adventure.
For more on Michael Crichton, go to Just Follow the Screams: The Lost World (1997)
So I started watching this show on accident. The episode “Red Handed” came on after something else I was watching. In the episode “Red Handed” the CBI (California Bureau of Investigations) team discovers a right hand straddling the California and Nevada state lines. After measuring it, they discover that it is inside the California boundary, and therefore the CBI’s responsibility. After that I was hooked. I caught up on the previous episodes and became a big fan.
So the series is about Patrick Jane, played by the incredibly handsome Simon Baker, who is a “psychic” consultant to the CBI.
Patrick Jane has such style. He only drinks tea, he has an Aston Martin, and always dresses amazingly sharp. Anyways, Patrick Jane isn’t really a psychic. He is extremely intelligent and observant, a sort of kind, sweet, and charming Sherlock Holmes. He never went to school, but was raised by his swindler father who touted him a psychic in his carnival show. He married a woman from a similar background and the tweo had a daughter, Charlotte. He went on to make millions off his “psychic ability”. It gained the attention of Red John, a serial killer, who murders his wife and child. This brings Jane to consulting with CBI as he does it from his guilt and in order to get a view of the official files. Red John becomes Jane’s Moriarity as in each season Jane continuously searches for him.
The team is lead by Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney), who is a no-nonsense cop. She is the perfect foil for Jane as Lisbon is tough and serious; while Jane is comedic and more fanciful. They have a platonic relationship, but like Bones and other cop shows there is something simmering under the surface.
Then we have Kimball Cho, who second to Jane is my favorite character. Cho is always reserved and speaks in a monotone.
But he is very intense as well. He is honest, straightfoward, observant, and altogeether awesome. We later find out that there is a lot more to him than meets the eye. He used to be a baseball player, gang member, and Special Forces.
Then we have Wayne Rigsby who is absolutely adorable, sweet, and charming. He was raised by a dad in motorcycle gangs and coming in and out of prison. He’s more relaxed than Cho, but more serious than Jane. He is also in love with fellow team member Grace Van Pelt. Grace Van Pelt is tough, but sweeter than Lisbon. She has a famous father, and tries to live up to his name. She is always focused on the job, but Rigsby constant infatuation starts her thinking of maybe more with him.
I used to watch this every Thursday without fail, but school got in the way and I am way behind in desperate need of catching up. The show just ended this last February, which saddens me as it was an awesome piece of TV.
So I love the library.
When I was in college I would spend hours in the library; working, reading, watching movies or TV shows. The library had a great selection of movies and TV shows that I really utilized. But that library wasn’t enough for me. I also went to the city library for books and films. Every time I went there I would see the DVDs for the show Midsomer Murders and wanted to check them out, but never felt I had the time. This summer as I would write my blog posts on my computer, I would also watch movies and TV shows on my phone. Or at least try to as I had a little screen. One day Midsomer Murders popped up in related videos and I was estatic watching them. Now youtube doesn’t have every episode and I watched them out of order, but I really, really enjoyed the show. When I got another free month on Netflix I started rewatching the episodes and loved it all over again!
This series is based off a book series and set in England. How their Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) teams works is that they have a county in which they travel all over investigating, sort of like the Sheriff’s department. Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) is head of the Midsomer unit and is extremely intelligent and excellent at his job. Unfortunately for his wife, a murder tends to occur whenever she wants to do something, causing Barnaby to miss it. He also has a daughter, Gillie, who is in college and studying to be an actress. He starts out with his assistant being Sgt. Gavin Troy, who I didn’t like as he wasn’t that bright, and same for his second assistant Sgt. Dan Scott. I really liked his third assistant Ben Jones, because he was very smart and actually helped solve the mysteries. The series is ongoing, but I don’t really like the newer episodes as Tom Barnaby retired and his nephew, John Barnaby, took over. He was good, but Tom was way better. Tom had a way of gathering information that made you not realize how intelligent he was until the end when he is the only one who has put the whole picture together. The mysteries were amazing, and often times really puzzling. The only thing that I kept questioning was, how do these small country towns survive with so many deaths? I highly recommend this for any mystery fan.
Murder She Wrote
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this show. I grew up watching it and wish they had still played it on TV as I got older as I truly love this show.
Angela Lansbury plays J.B. Fletcher, former high school teacher and now famous mystery author. Every episode Jessica (the J in J.B.) will be minding her own business working on something or visiting a friend and get caught up in a mystery. Usually she can either get someone to share info with her, or is able to have some kind of insight that solves the case. If you love mysteries, then this is a show for you!
For more Murder She Wrote, go to At the End of the Rainbow: 17 More Irish Heros
For the previous fangirl post, go to A FANtastic Voyage
Stay tuned for part 11
Posted in Life as a Fangirl
Tagged A Case of Need, Airframe, Angela Lansbury, Anorexic, Aston Martin, Austin Tucker, Ayla Kell, Ben Jones, Beowulf, Bones, California Bureau of Investigations, Carter, Cassie Scerbo, Chelsea Hobbes, Cody Longo, Congo, Damon Young, Department of Criminal Investigations, Disclosure, Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Slatter, Eaters of the Dead, Emily Kmetko, Eureka, Fangirl, Fangirls, Fangirls Have No Lives, Five Patients, Forbidden Planet, Gerald Butler, Gerard Butler, Global Dynamics, Grace Van Pelt, Grendal, Gymnastics, History, Ian Malcolm, J.B. Fletcher, Jack Carter, John Hammond, John Nettles), Jorge Luis Borges, Josie Loren, Jurassic Park, Kaylie Cruz, Kimball Cho, Lauren Tanner, Life of a Fangirl, Los Angelas, Make It or Break It, Massachusetts General Hospital, Michael Crichton, Midsomer Murders, Military, Murder She Wrote, Nationals, Netflixing, Next, Nicky Russo, Northern California, Olympics, Patrick Jane, Paul Walker, Payson Keeler, Pirate Latitudes, Prey, Psych, Psychic, Radiohead, Red Handed, Red John, Revenge, Rising Sun, Robin Tunney, San Diego, San Francisco, Sasha Belov, Scifi, Serial Killer, Sgt. Dan Scott, Sgt. Gavin Troy, Sheriff, Sherlock Holmes, Simon Baker, Sphere, State of Fear, Stick It, SyFy, Tea, Teresa Lisbon, The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, The Lost World, The Mentalist, The Terminal Man, The Twilight Zone, Time Machine, Timeline, Tom Barnaby, Travels, TV Show based on a Book, Twin Peaks, U.S. Marshal, Wayne Rigsby, Zane Holtz
February 9, 2014 by Moreland
I’ll Always Be There When You Need Me: Anastasia (1997)
Romantic Moment #9
Anastasia (1997)
So this film is based on two things, the person Anastasia and the 1956 film of the same name. Anastasia was the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II Romanov. With the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the Czars were kicked out of power and later killed. The only body to not be found was Anastasia, which lead to a rumor that she wasn’t dead, but was still out there and would return one day. There was actually a woman who claimed she was the real Anastasia, going by the name Anna, but even though she knew countless details that only a Romanov would have known; it was later determined that she wasn’t Anastasia. The 1956 film, while starring the wonderful Ingrid Bergman and the very handsome Yul Brynner; was not very good. Yul Brynner was too mean and Bergman was too hysterical, etc. It just sucked. So about twenty years later Fox remade a animated version that had more likable characters, a more adventurous plot, and a collection of wonderful songs. I love the songs in this movie; Rumor in St. Petersburg, Journey to the Past, Paris Holds the Key (To Your Heart), and (my fav) At the Beginning.
That said, there is one other little thing I want to clear up. Anastasia is not a disney movie. I REPEAT! ANASTASIA IS NOT A DISNEY MOVIE! DISNEY DID NOT MAKE THIS MOVIE!!! It was 20th Century Fox! FOX MADE IT! FOX! FOX! FOX! FOX! It just urks me how people call it a Disney movie because it IS NOT A DISNEY MOVIE!
So the film begins in 1916 Russia, where the Czar is giving a party. His mother, the Dowager Empress (Angela Lansbury) is visiting from France. She and his youngest daughter, have a close connection and the Dowager gives her a secret music box and a locket that is a key, that have the saying “Together in Paris”. The ball is interrupted by their “holy man” Rasputin (he was a real creepo) played by Christopher Lloyd. Rasputin is mad at the Romanovs for trying to banish him, and has sold his soul to brung destruction on all of them. The Dowager and Anastasia are saved by a kitchen boy, who sneaks them out through a secret passage. They run for a train, but Anastasia trips and is left behind.
Fast forward ten years, the Dowager Empress has put out notice of a heavy reward to anyone who can bring her, her granddaughter. Dimitri (John Cusack), the kitchen boy, is all grown up and has been having tryouts to find someone to play Anastasia so he can get the money and be gone from Russia forever. He and his partner, Vladimir, an ex member of the Royal Court, both have the knowhow to get it done. Dimitri also has the music box.
Meanwhile, Anya (Anastasia), played by Meg Ryan, has been living with amnesia in an orphanage. Now being of age, she is being sent out to work. Instead of following the directions given to her, she decides to follow a stray dog she found and head to St. Petersburg and ultimately, Paris.
The two meet up in the old Romanov palace as Dimitri and Vladmir have gone there to lick their wounds, no applicants worked out, and Anya wants to get papers from Dimitri to get out of Russia. They notice her similarities to Tsarina Alexandra and offers it as a potential way to find her family, not telling her about the money (you know that old cliché). They board the train and are on there way
Meanwhile, Rasputin is rotting in Purgatory, as he can’t go off to hell until all the Romonavs are dead, and can’t go topside because he lost his glass vial of evil I guess (I’m not sure what its real name is), is lost. Bartok, his pet bat has found the vial and goes down telling him about Anastasia’s “rebirth”. Rasputin goes up to kill her.
Back on the train, Anya and Dimitri feel a little something for each other but are mean to each other not wanting to admit it. They have to move to the baggage cart as things have changed under Stalin. While there, Rasputin attacks and they have to switch to a boat. Rasputin attacks them, and Dimitri saves her. They eventually reach Paris, and Anya passes all the tests, solidifying it when she answers that she was saved by a kitchen boy. Dimitri hears this and knows that she is the real deal. The only issue is, the Dowager has decreed to see no one again. They decide to surprise her at the opera, Dimitri deciding to let her go and to do everything he could to help her connect to her family. Dimitri’s scheme has reached the Dowager’s ears and she really lays into him, with Anya overhearing. Anya is pissed that Dimitri lied to her and runs off to her hotel room. Dimtri then drives the Dowager over there and the two talk and are united. They have a ball to welcome her back, with Vladmir being reinsteated and honored with medals. The Dowager offers Dimitri the money, but he refuses (sound like someone you know?) and takes off. That night, Rasputin attacks Anya, Dimitri returns, and they defeat Rasputin. The two elope and run off, Anya telling her grandmother that she will see her again soon.
Just like 10 Things I Hate About You it was hard to choose the “most romantic moment” as it was chock full, but I can only pick one.
So Dmitri has left. He could have told Anya what he did for her when she was a kid. He could tell her that he was the one who saved her as a child. He could have told her that he figured out she was Anastasia and tried to help her at the Opera to get in to see the Dowager. He could have told her that he made sure that the two had a chance to talk because he wanted to reunite her with her family. He could have told her he didn’t take the money. Instead, he wanted to make her dreams come true. She made him want to reform his conman ways.
But Dmitri has no illusions. Even if he changed his ways, he knows nothing will happen between them.
So he leaves. He leaves because he knows that she needs more than he can give, she needs someone better. (Sound like someone else we know?)
Meanwhile, back at the ball Anastasia is being attacked by Rasputin. He has her down, and just when you think its over, Dimitri comes running in to save the day.
Yes! HE CAME BACK TO BE WITH HER! Even though it doesn’t make any sense. Even though coming back might not change anything, he DOES IT ANYWAY! Even though there is no guarantee that they will get together. Even though he knows she still might be angry with him and kick him to the curb. It doesn’t matter. He loves her so much he has to tell her how he feels. That’s so romantic!
And in the case of true love, coming back always works out.
He’s always been there for her.
Posted in Romance is in the Air II
Tagged 10 Things I Hate About You, 20th Century Fox, Act, Actor, Actors, Amnesia, Anastasia, Anastasia (1956), Anastasia (1997), Angela Lansbury, Angry, Animated Film, Anya, At the Beginning, Baggage Cart, Ball, Banished, Banishment, Bartok, Bat, Boat, Body, Bolshevik Revolution, Christopher Lloyd, Close Connection, Collect the Reward, Comes Back, Conman, Couldn't Find the Body, Creepo, Czar Nicholas II Romanov, Dead, Deserve Better, Deserve More, Dimitri, Doesn't Take the Money, Doesn't Tell Them About the Money, Dowager Enpress, Dreams Come True, Elope, Find Their Family, France, Granddaughter, Has to Tell Her How He Feels, Hell, Holy Man, Honor, Honored, Hotel Room, Ingrid Bergman, John Cusack, Journey to the Past, Key, Kick Him to the Curb, Kitchen Boy, Left Behind, Let Her Go, Lick their Wounds, Lied, Lied about the Money, Like Each Other But Don't Want to Admit It, Locket, Locket is a Key, Loves Her, Medals, Meg Ryan, No Applicants, No Illusions, Not a Disney Movie, Of Age, Opera, Orphanage, Papers to Leave, Paris, Paris Holds the Key (To Your Heart), Passes all the Tests, Pretend to Be Anastasia, Pretend to Be Someone, Purgatory, Rasputin, Real Deal, Reform, Refuses the Money, Remake, Remakes, Reunited, Reward Money, Romanov Palace, Royal Court, Rumor in St. Petersburg, Russia, Save the Day, Saved, Saved from Drowning, Secret, Secret Music Box, Secret Passage, Sold His Soul, St. Petersburg, Stalin, Stray Dog, Take the Money, Together in Paris, Trips, Tsarina Alexandra, Vial of Evil, Vladimir, Welcome Back Ball, Would Return Someday, Yul Brynner
If Only It Was the Picture Who was to Grow Old, and I Remain Young: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
If only it was the picture who was to grow old, and I remain young. There’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t give for that. Yes, I would give even my soul for it.
So my roommate has been reading The Picture of Dorian Gray and I decided that it was the perfect time to include a post on this film version of the book.
So The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favorite classics novels, and this movie did a pretty good job of keeping things pretty similar only making a few changes.
So Dorian Gray is a handsome, wealthy, young man living in 19th century England. While he is an intelligent and educated young man he is very naive and easily manipulated. He is also a people pleaser, and easily changes his opinions and views to suit what others think.
He is having his portrait done by the accomplished artist Basil Hallward. One day, Basil’s friend Lord Henry Wotton stops by right before a painting appointment. Basil tries to get rid of his friend as he knows that Lord Henry’s cynicism will destry Dorian. In fact Basil has been trying to keep them apart for a long time now. However, it doesn’t work as Dorian shows up for his appointment while Lord Henry is still there.
Dorian is quickly taken with Lord Henry’s “wisdom” and “philosophy”. Lord Henry tells Dorian that the only life worth living is one dedicated entirely to pleasure. Lord Henry convinces Dorian that youth and beauty will bring him everything he desires, and that once its over his life is too.
Dorian becomes depressed at this and nothing Basil says will help him. While Dorian is being painted he wishes that his portrait could age instead of him. He makes this statement in the presence of a certain Egyptian statue, which supposedly has the power to grant wishes. (In the book, there is no mention of an Egyptian statue, in fact in the book they never explain how he stays young forever.)
Dorian’s wish is granted and his soul is transferred to the painting. Now the painting ages instead of him.
Now that Dorian is only after beauty and pleasure he goes and visits a tavern and falls in love with Sybil Vane, a singer/entertainer. (In the book she was an actress who performed wonderfully and Dorian fell in love with her acting). Dorian hasn’t told Sybil what his name is yet, she refers to him as Sir Tristan her knight. Sybil is played by Angela Lansbery. Donna Reed really wanted this part, but was given Gladys instead.
Unfortunately, when Lord Henry finds out he is none too pleased. He gives Sybil a “virtue test” which she fails. (In the book Sybil couldn’t pretend to suffer or be in love with her fellow actors as all her love and emotion for Dorian eclipsed them).
The next morning, Lord Henry informs Dorian that Sibyl killed herself. Dorian is freaked out and feels guilty but copies his mentor Lord Henry and acts indifferent. He goes to the opera right after and lives it up. That night, Dorian sees a change in the portrait. It now has a cruel look to him and Dorian hides it away, afraid that others will see it. He continues his sinful and heartless life.
Time passes by and Dorian is now entering into his 40th birthday. He still looks as young and beautiful as ever. The painting has now become atrocious and is locked away from everyone. Dorian has even gotten rid of his old servants who might see it.
Ivan Le Lorraine Albright’s famous painting of the decayed Dorian Gray – which took approximately one year to complete – is now owned by the Art Institute of Chicago, where it has been on display for many years.
I can’t reveal the rest of the film as if you haven’t read the book it will give away the ending. You should definitely read the book and check out this film.
One thing that is extremely different about this film is that they add an additional relationship. In the movie Basil has a niece, Gladys (played by Donna Reed), that has always had a crush on Dorian and now that he remains young and she has gotten older they are able to connect.
What else is really interesting is that the movie is black and white except for four times when Dorian Gray’s picture is shown in color.
Sorry to end so abruptly but I’m telling ya that you need to check the ending out for yourself. I would hate myself for ruining it for anyone out there.
Here’s a cover page I made for my facebook this year for my countdown to Halloween.
To start Horrorfest II from the beginning, go to There Are Many Strange Legends in the Amazon: The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
For the previous post, go to A River of Candy Corn Runs Through It: Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1997)
For more on Oscar Wilde, go to The Two Times to be Over
For more films based on books, go to Feast Your Eyes On My Accursed Ugliness: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Posted in Horrorfest II
Tagged 19th Century, 19th Century England, Actress, Angela Lansbury, Art Institute of Chicago, Basil Hallward, Beauty, Donna Reed, Dorian Gray, Egyptian Statue, Entertainer, Film based on a book, Gladys Hallward, Handsome, Heartless, Ivan Le Lorraine Albright, Knight, Lord Henry Wotton, Opera, Oscar Wilde, Painting, People Pleaser, Pleasure, Portrait, Sinful, Singer, Sir Tristan, Soul Transference, Suicide, Sybil Vane, Tavern, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), Virtue Test, Wealthy, Youth
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Journal of Cognitive Historiography, Vol 4, No 1 (2017)
Home > Vol 4, No 1 (2017) > Ambasciano
Leonardo Ambasciano, Nickolas P. Roubekas
Issued Date: 4 Dec 2018
DOI: 10.1558/jch.36721
Christian, David. 2010. “The Return of Universal History”. History and Theory (49)4: 6–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2303.2010.00557.x
Davies, E. Brian. 2010. Why Beliefs Matter: Reflections on the Nature of Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Eidinow, Esther, and Luther H. Martin. 2014. “Editors’ Introduction”. Journal of Cognitive Historiography 1(1): 5–9. https://doi.org/10.1558/jch.v1i1.5
Feyerabend, Paul K. 1993. Against Method. Third Edition. Originally published in 1975. London: Verso.
Frankfurt, Harry G. 2005. On Bullshit. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Larson, Jennifer. 2016. Understanding Greek Religion. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315647012
Latour, Bruno. 2004. “Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern”. Critical Inquiry 30(2): 225–48. https://doi.org/10.1086/421123
Martin, Luther H. 2014. Deep History, Secular Theory: Historical and Scientific Studies of Religion. Boston and Berlin: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614515005
Mayr, Ernst. 2004. What Makes Biology Unique? Considerations on the Autonomy of a Scientific Discipline. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511617188
Momigliano, Arnaldo. 1981. “The Rhetoric of History and the History of Rhetoric: On Hayden White’s Tropes”. In Comparative Criticism. Volume 3: A Yearbook, ed. E. S. Shaffer, 259–68. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pigliucci, Massimo. 2016. “Was Feyerabend Right in Defending Astrology? A Commentary on Kidd”. Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 5(5): 1–6. http://wp.me/p1Bfg0-2Vs (accessed: 20 May, 2018).
Sagan, Carl. 1996. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. New York: Ballantine Books.
Smail, Daniel L. 2008. On Deep History and the Brain. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press.
Sokal, Alan. 2010. Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy and Culture. Originally published in 2008. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
White, Hayden. 2014. Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe. Fortieth Anniversary Edition. Originally published in 1973. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
Wyatt, Frederick. 1961. “A Psychologist Looks at History”. Journal of Social Issues 17(1): 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1961.tb01664.x
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中級 3775 タグ追加 保存
英 日
字幕スクリプトを印刷
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Often on the news we hear the terms: "occupied territories", "67 borders"
and "illegal settlements"
And the story we usually hear sounds very simple:
“During the Six Day War, Israel captured the West Bank from the Palestinians; refused the United Nation's demand to retreat;
and illegally built settlements"
But, is that really the case?
Let's try to understand the situation a little bit better.
We'll start with a simple, but extremely important, question:
From whom did Israel capture the West Bank?
…From the Palestinians?
No.. in 1967, there was no Arab nation or state by the name of "Palestine".
…Actually, was there ever?
Israel took over the West Bank from Jordan in an act of self-defense, after Jordan joined a war launched by Egypt and Syria to destroy Israel.
Oh… by the way, destroying countries IS rather illegal.
The United Nations, back in 1967, rejected repeated Arab and Soviet attempts to declare Israel as the aggressor.
Security Council resolution 242 did not demand a unilateral Israeli withdrawal. Rather, the United Nations called for negotiating a solution which would leave Israel with “secure and recognized boundaries” in effect: defensible borders
But wait a second, what was Jordan doing in the West Bank in the first place? What was its legal justification?
Well Jordan had the... you know what? It had no legal justification!
Jordan simply occupied it during its previous attempt to destroy the newly established State of Israel in 1948, changing the commonly accepted name “Judea and Samaria” to “the West Bank".
But that did not really convince anybody; and–almost no one recognized the legality ofJordan’s occupation.
Not even any of the other Arab states.
So if Jordan had no legal claim to the land, and a "Palestine" did not exist–whose territory is it?
Let's go a little further back in time. Don't worry, not to the days of the Bible, only about 100 years.
Until 1917, the Ottoman Empire occupied the whole region.
After losing in World War One the Ottoman's relinquished their 500-year control to the Allied Forces, which decided to divide the old empire into countries.
Britain’s Foreign Minister, Lord Balfour, recognized the Jewish people's historical right to their homeland. A small area, equivalent to about half of 1% of the Middle East was designated for this purpose.
Britain received a mandate from the League of Nations to promote the establishment of a Jewish Homeland.
But, wait a second. Do you realize what happened?
The Jewish Homeland originally included not only the west bank but also the east bank of the Jordan River.
I guess you cannot say the Jewish people have not accepted some painful compromises already.
Anyway, the League of Nations' recognition of a Jewish Homeland -which includes the West Bank- was reaffirmed by the United Nations after the second World War.
With the British Mandate ending, United Nations General Assembly resolution 181 recommended the establishment of two states: one Jewish and one Arab.
The Jews accepted it and went on to create the State of Israel, while the Arabs refused the compromise and launched a war to destroy the newly established Jewish State.
Resolution 181 - a non-binding recommendation in the first place- remained with no legal standing.
At the end of the war a ceasefire line was formed where the Israeli and Arab forces stopped fighting. At the insistence of the Arab leaders, this line was defined as having no political significance.
So, although this line is commonly referred to as “the 1967 border”, it is not from 1967 and it was never an international border.
This is why a more exact legal definition for the West Bank according to International Law, is really the same as in so many other areas where there are, or were, territorial disputes but which are NOT defined as "occupied" for example:
Zubarah, the Tumbs Islands, the Western Sahara amongst many others, They are not "occupied territories" but rather "disputed territories."
So let's return for a moment to our illustration and examine the complete chain of events.
Israel's presence in the West Bank is the result of a war of self defense. The West Bank should not be considered "occupied" because there was no previous legal sovereign in the area and therefore the real definition should be "disputed territory.
The 1947 partition plan has no current legal standing, while Israel's claim to the land was clearly recognized by the international community during the 20th century.
That is why the presence and construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank should not be considered illegal.
These are not just my own opinions; they are based on conclusions made by world renowned jurists, like, Professor Eugene Rostow, Justice Arthur Goldberg, and Stephen Schwebel who headed the International Court of Justice.
So what's the solution for the dispute over the West Bank? Unfortunately, there is no magic solution.
But the only way a solution will ever be reached, is if we base our negotiations on legal and historical facts.
So please, let's stop using the terms "occupied territories", and "'67 borders"…they're simply not 'politically correct'.
イスラエル・パレスチナの対立：西岸地区についての真実 (Israel Palestinian Conflict: The Truth About the West Bank)
3775 タグ追加 保存
姚易辰 2014 年 1 月 18 日 に公開
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We greatly value the support of our Matrons. By lending their name and support, Juno matrons help to focus attention on the company’s activities, raising the profile of female theatre writers and practitioners. They also act as role models, inspiring other women to forge successful careers in the theatre.
OUR INAUGURAL JUNO MATRON IS ACTRESS BEATIE EDNEY
Beatie Edney first came to audiences’ attention as Heather in Highlander. She has had leading roles in over 50 film and TV productions including: Mis- ter Johnson, In The Name of The Father with Daniel Day Lewis, Lost Em- pires with Colin Firth, Prime Suspect, Poirot, Law and Order, Lewis, The Dark Angel with Peter O’Toole and Hard Times with Alan Bates.She starred as Louise in the Channel 4 sitcom Dressing For Breakfast for 3 series. She is currently playing Prudie in the BBC series Poldark and will soon be seen as Judith in The Coroner for the BBC.
Beatie’s most enjoys working on new writing for the theatre: She has played in the original production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses for the RSC in the West End and on Broadway, Summer Begins by David Eldridge, The Girl- friend Experience by Alecky Blythe, That Almost Unnameable Lust by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Taken by Winsome Pinnock, The Madness of George III by Alan Bennett and The Empress by Tanika Gupta for the RSC.
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For Modern Warfare, This Sure Seems Pretty Old
by Rayna Warren | Sep 6, 2011 | Humor, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
I must admit, it was with a sort of resigned sense of depressing anticipation that I pulled up this week’s release of the “Tango Down” multiplayer trailer for “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.” As a longtime fan of the franchise, I’ve felt let down in part by “Modern...
Resistance 3 DLC Release Date
by Rayna Warren | Sep 6, 2011 | News, PS3
Following the release of Resistance 3 in North America today, Insomniac has announced the release date for the first Resistance 3 DLC. The Survival pack will release on October 4th. It will include a new multiplayer mode called Invasion, multiplayer skins, and an XMB...
Twisted Metal Release Date Announced
by Rayna Warren | Aug 29, 2011 | News, PS3
Today, the Playstation Blog announced the release date for David Jaffe’s latest project, Twisted Metal. After spending the day with your loved one, you can go out to your closest games retailer and pick up Twisted Metal on Valentine’s Day 2012. The AU and UK release...
No Birth by Sleep for PSP GO?
by Rayna Warren | Aug 27, 2011 | News
I can hear the cries of all the fanboys now.If you were one of the people that bought a PSP Go thinking it was the best thing since the first Kingdom Hearts then you will be sad to know that there are no plans for the Birth by Sleep to be loaded to the PSN (which is...
Nintendo to Make Major Announcements
by Rayna Warren | Aug 24, 2011 | DS, News
Rumors are making their way around the internet that Nintendo is planning a press conference on September 13, a few days before the Tokyo Game Show. People are speculating that the Big N will make myriad announcements pertaining to the 3DS. These rumors include the...
Assassin’s Creed Revelations Announced
by Rayna Warren | May 5, 2011 | News
Today, Ubisoft announced the development of Assassin’s Creed® Revelations, the fourth installment in the critically acclaimed and immensely popular video game franchise. Developed and led by Ubisoft Montreal with the support and expertise of Ubisoft studios Annecy,...
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Moon’s interior may contain water, Brown University scientists say
Posted 8:18 pm, July 24, 2017, by CNN Wires, Updated at 08:17PM, July 24, 2017
Astronaut David Scott in a Lunar Roving Vehicle during the Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971. Samples brought back from a 1971 mission helped scientists determine there was water on the moon.
There may be water — a good bit of it — deep inside the moon, scientists at Brown University say.
By analyzing satellite images, the scientists found evidence of water trapped in “glass beads” in ancient ash and rocks that volcanoes spewed across the surface of the moon, said Ralph Milliken, lead author of the new research, published in Nature Geoscience, and an associate professor in Brown’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences.
“The fact that nearly all of them (the volcanic deposits) exhibit signatures of water suggests … that the bulk interior of the moon is wet,” he said in a news release.
This finding might be a boon for future missions to the moon because water could potentially be extracted from the volcanic deposits, Milliken told CNN.
Though the volcanic glass beads don’t contain much water — maybe a few hundred parts per million — there’s a great deal of the volcanic material to work with, Millliken told CNN. Some fields of this volcanic refuse cover thousands of square kilometers and may be several kilometers deep, he said.
“It’s more water than previously recognized,” he said.
Volcanic glass beads
Previous findings of water on the moon didn’t appear to come from indigenous sources, Milliken said.
In 2009, NASA announced it had found water on the moon. One ton of the moon’s surface might yield 32 ounces, NASA scientists said.
Scientists speculated those crystals might have been created by solar winds that interacted with hydrogen at high altitudes, Milliken said. There are also small amounts of frozen water at the moon’s poles, he said.
Scientists believed the moon was dry when the Apollo missions started in the 1960s. That thinking changed in 2008 when volcanic glass beads brought back by the Apollo 15 and 17 missions of 1971 and 1972 were found to contain tiny crystalline formations that contained water, the Brown news release said.
But nobody knew if those Apollo samples represented the whole moon or just unusual spots on an otherwise dry surface, Milliken said.
Scientists at Brown took another look at images of the moon’s surface retrieved from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, an imaging spectrometer that flew aboard India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter in 2008.
These images showed materials never examined by the Apollo missioins. After developing a “thermal correction” that separated the readings of reflected light and heat, scientists were able to collect data showing evidence of the glass beads in nearly all the volcanic deposits spread across the moon, Brown said.
“The distribution of these water-rich deposits is the key thing,” Milliken said in the news release. “They’re spread across the surface, which tells us that the water found in the Apollo samples isn’t a one-off.”
The study was funded by NASA.
“The new results from Milliken and Li show that the water is widespread, found in numerous pyroclastic deposits across the lunar surface, suggesting that the lunar mantle has significant amounts of water, not just in a couple of weird pockets,” said Sarah Noble, program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “This implies that either the moon managed to retain significant amounts of water after the giant impact, or that volatile-rich material accreted to the moon (and the Earth as well) soon after the impact.
“Although the amount of water found by the authors is significant in terms of our understanding of the moon and how we model the lunar interior, it is still a very small amount, around 0.015% of the soil.”
Is it worth the cost?
Man has not set foot on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. Milliken said the moon could serve mankind, even if we don’t want to stay there for very long.
“If we want to send people to Mars, you might consider using the moon as a stepping stone for training or testing equipment,” he said. “If you do that you’ll need water. It’s heavy and expensive to lift off earth.”
But can the water actually be extracted and would it be worth the cost? That’s one of the big questions about the discovery, he said.
And how did the water get on the moon in the first place?
Scientists think the moon was created by debris left behind when a planet-sized object slammed into the Earth, Milliken said.
“The growing evidence for water inside the moon suggest that water did somehow survive, or that it was brought in shortly after the impact by asteroids or comets before the moon had completely solidified,” Shuai Li, a co-author of the research and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hawaii, said in the news release. “The exact origin of water in the lunar interior is still a big question.”
Ashley Strickland contributed to this report.
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The life of George Washington,...
The life of George Washington, commander-in-chief of the American Army through the revolutionary war, and the first president of the United States
Bancroft, Aaron, 1755-1839.
Sabin Americana, 1500-1926
Philadelphia : Porter & Coates, [1808?]
The life of George Washington: commander in chief of the American Army through the revolutionary war; and the first president of the United States /
by: Bancroft, Aaron, 1755-1839.
The life of George Washington, commander in chief of the armies of the United States in the war which established their independence and first president of the United States /
by: Ramsay, David, 1749-1815.
Washington, commander in chief
by: Frothingham, Thomas Goddard, 1865-1937.
An essay on the life of George Washington, commander in chief of the American army, through the revolutionary war and the first president of the United States /
The life of George Washington, commander in chief of the American forces, during the war which established the independence of his country, and first president of the United States compiled under the inspection of the Honourable Bushrod Washington, from original papers ... to which is prefixed, an introduction, containing a compendious view of the colonies planted by the English on the continent of North America, from their settlement to the commencement of that war which terminated in their independence /
by: Marshall, John, 1755-1835.
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Updated by Lavinia Woolf on Sep 23, 2016
Lavinia Woolf
5 items 1 followers 0 votes 2 views
Modes of Transport in Chiang Rai; Getting Around Chiang Rai
Listly by Lavinia Woolf
Chiang Rai is the commercial hub that lies on the Golden Triangle border of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. As a tourist on vacation, here's what you need to know about getting around in the city.
Embed List
The Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai International Airport is situated about 8 kilometers away from the centre of Chiang Rai. Once you arrive at the airport, there will be a host of car rental services available for you to choose from. It will roughly cost you about 200 Baht to the city centre of Chiang Rai. You could take this taxi to your accommodation or you could ask the driver to help you find one depending on your budget. Pre-paid taxis are the best method of getting into the city as most of the meter taxis try to negotiate a fixed price instead of actually using their meter. Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Airways and Lion Air are the flights that come most often to Chiang Rai whereas China Eastern Airlines fly up to three direct flights a week back and forth from Kunming in China.
Bus – Terminal 1
There are two places where buses could be easily found in Chiang Rai known as the Old and New Bus Stations. The Old Bus Station which is also the Bus Terminal 1 is situated in the centre of the city. Various buses that come in from the towns in the Chiang Rai province will stop here. Greenbus services also operate here and stop for passengers. In case you are worried about the language, there are ample signs that are put up in English and the ticket buying process is quite simple.
The Bus Terminal 2 or the New Bus Station is positioned towards the southern part of the city about 7 kilometres away from the centre. Greenbus services operate here as well although it is highly recommended that you book your tickets in advance, especially if it is the busy season or peak times. There are a wide range of bus types that starting with A Class buses which have no onboard services, to V Class buses which comes with a toilet and other onboard services. There is also a minibus service known as the "Songthaew" that links the two terminals. It will cost you about 15 Baht per head and takes about 15 minutes for the travel. The minibus service will only be available till about 5pm after which motorbikes, taxicabs and trishaws or tuktuks will be available.
Train and Car
There are no trains that run to Chiang Rai directly but the nearest train station, should you require one, is in Chiang Mai. You could also travel by car to Chiang Rai which lies about 820 kilometres due north of Bangkok. The city is conveniently reachable from Bangkok through Highway 1 and Highway 32. If you are inbound to the city from Chiang Mai, you could opt to travel along the Highway 118 which will get you to your destination easily. Along the way and in Chiang Rai, you will come across many accommodation options in the form of many a Lanna hotel and resort or even budget accommodation services that might suit your budget and requirement.
Chauffeur Driven Van
There are quite a few tour and transport companies that offer their services from some of the main cities to Chiang Rai. The Toyota Commuter van for example, can seat up to about 9 people and is the most commonly used option. Most business will offer a flat rate and any costs incurred for fuel will be charged separately. There are many accommodation options in the area including but not limited to resorts such as Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort and many more.
lanna hotel
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A Self-Taught Standout’s Thirst for Education
Harboring an early love for politics, Kyle Redfield chose to study political theory and constitutional democracy at Michigan State. To build out his college experiences, he tutored at the athletics center, did telemarketing for the university, and interned for a global trade compliance management firm.
In his first semester, he took an economics course and quickly discovered that economics aligned exactly to his way of thinking. He picked it up as a second major and eventually graduated with undergrad degrees in political theory and economics. Soon after, Kyle made the big move to Washington, D.C., and started a two-year program at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), where he compiled data sets and reports related to federal health programs, including the increase in Medicare Part B cost, Medicare quality measurement, and the growth of Affordable Care Act premiums on the exchanges.
He loved working in the government sector, where he could see the application of his work affecting the greater world. He was hooked.
The projects he worked on gave him solid exposure to Medicare and Social Security data, cost analyses, budget processes, and literature reviews. All of this piqued his interest to what more could be achieved, so he taught himself how to code and learned the fundamentals of data science.
While he aspired to complete a Ph.D. program, life for Kyle took a detour. Looking to extend what he was learning in the real world, he began working at LMI soon after his CBO program ended. He found this was the right decision, as he was immediately able to wield his new-found knowledge of Medicare and data science in LMI’s Health market.
Working with many innovative and talented people like Brant Horio and Owen Witek in the LMI data analytics community, Kyle greatly benefited from the mentorship and informal training he received. Their successes reinforced his desire to further his formal education so he could do more. Kyle soon took full advantage of LMI’s tuition assistance program while continuing to work on highly visible client projects. Now he’s pursuing a master’s in data science at the University of California-Berkeley.
It is Kyle’s long-term aspiration to utilize his broad data science skills in politics one day. Until then, you’ll see him training for marathons or volunteering with Destination Imagination, a STEAM program for K-12 students in which he participated during his adolescence.
In the meantime, we look forward to seeing where Kyle’s data science skills take him.
"The Advanced Analytics service line offers the ability to translate state-of-the-art algorithms into data that has been largely misunderstood or unused by the government for years."
Kyle Redfield, Senior Analyst, Data Science
Meet Kyle
Drive, Determination, and Rockstar Hustle
During her last year of policy school, LMI was lucky to have Jani Smith accept a job as a participant in our Graduate Fellows…
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When Stephanie Brown identified LMI as a good place to kick-start her job search, she never imagined how large of a role it would…
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Diseases 11
Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome
Epilepsies, Myoclonic
Myoclonic Epilepsies, Progressive
Lafora Disease
Unverricht-Lundborg Syndrome
Reflex, Abnormal
MERRF Syndrome
Myoclonic Cerebellar Dyssynergia
Cystatin B
Phenomena and Processes 2
Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory
DiseasesChemicals and DrugsAnalytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and EquipmentPhenomena and Processes
MyoclonusNocturnal Myoclonus SyndromeSyndromeEpilepsies, MyoclonicMyoclonic Epilepsies, ProgressiveLafora DiseaseUnverricht-Lundborg SyndromeCystatin BClonazepamReflex, AbnormalMERRF SyndromeMyoclonic Cerebellar DyssynergiaEvoked Potentials, SomatosensoryDown Syndrome
Myoclonus: Involuntary shock-like contractions, irregular in rhythm and amplitude, followed by relaxation, of a muscle or a group of muscles. This condition may be a feature of some CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES; (e.g., EPILEPSY, MYOCLONIC). Nocturnal myoclonus is the principal feature of the NOCTURNAL MYOCLONUS SYNDROME. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp102-3).Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome: Excessive periodic leg movements during sleep that cause micro-arousals and interfere with the maintenance of sleep. This condition induces a state of relative sleep deprivation which manifests as excessive daytime hypersomnolence. The movements are characterized by repetitive contractions of the tibialis anterior muscle, extension of the toe, and intermittent flexion of the hip, knee and ankle. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p387)Syndrome: A characteristic symptom complex.Epilepsies, Myoclonic: A clinically diverse group of epilepsy syndromes characterized either by myoclonic seizures or by myoclonus in association with other seizure types. Myoclonic epilepsy syndromes are divided into three subtypes based on etiology: familial, cryptogenic, and symptomatic (i.e., occurring secondary to known disease processes such as infections, hypoxic-ischemic injuries, trauma, etc.).Myoclonic Epilepsies, Progressive: A heterogeneous group of primarily familial disorders characterized by myoclonic seizures, tonic-clonic seizures, ataxia, progressive intellectual deterioration, and neuronal degeneration. These include LAFORA DISEASE; MERRF SYNDROME; NEURONAL CEROID-LIPOFUSCINOSIS; sialidosis (see MUCOLIPIDOSES), and UNVERRICHT-LUNDBORG SYNDROME.Lafora Disease: A form of stimulus sensitive myoclonic epilepsy inherited as an autosomal recessive condition. The most common presenting feature is a single seizure in the second decade of life. This is followed by progressive myoclonus, myoclonic seizures, tonic-clonic seizures, focal occipital seizures, intellectual decline, and severe motor and coordination impairments. Most affected individuals do not live past the age of 25 years. Concentric amyloid (Lafora) bodies are found in neurons, liver, skin, bone, and muscle (From Menkes, Textbook of Childhood Neurology, 5th ed, pp111-110)Unverricht-Lundborg Syndrome: An autosomal recessive condition characterized by recurrent myoclonic and generalized seizures, ATAXIA, slowly progressive intellectual deterioration, dysarthria, and intention tremor. Myoclonic seizures are severe and continuous, and tend to be triggered by movement, stress, and sensory stimuli. The age of onset is between 8 and 13 years, and the condition is relatively frequent in the Baltic region, especially Finland. (From Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, pp109-110)Cystatin B: An intracellular cystatin subtype that is found in a broad variety of cell types. It is a cytosolic enzyme inhibitor that protects the cell against the proteolytic action of lysosomal enzymes such as CATHEPSINS.Clonazepam: An anticonvulsant used for several types of seizures, including myotonic or atonic seizures, photosensitive epilepsy, and absence seizures, although tolerance may develop. It is seldom effective in generalized tonic-clonic or partial seizures. The mechanism of action appears to involve the enhancement of GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID receptor responses.Reflex, Abnormal: An abnormal response to a stimulus applied to the sensory components of the nervous system. This may take the form of increased, decreased, or absent reflexes.MERRF Syndrome: A mitochondrial encephalomyopathy characterized clinically by a mixed seizure disorder, myoclonus, progressive ataxia, spasticity, and a mild myopathy. Dysarthria, optic atrophy, growth retardation, deafness, and dementia may also occur. This condition tends to present in childhood and to be transmitted via maternal lineage. Muscle biopsies reveal ragged-red fibers and respiratory chain enzymatic defects. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p986)Myoclonic Cerebellar Dyssynergia: A condition marked by progressive CEREBELLAR ATAXIA combined with MYOCLONUS usually presenting in the third decade of life or later. Additional clinical features may include generalized and focal SEIZURES, spasticity, and DYSKINESIAS. Autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant patterns of inheritance have been reported. Pathologically, the dentate nucleus and brachium conjunctivum of the CEREBELLUM are atrophic, with variable involvement of the spinal cord, cerebellar cortex, and basal ganglia. (From Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1991, Ch37, pp60-1)Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory: The electric response evoked in the CEREBRAL CORTEX by stimulation along AFFERENT PATHWAYS from PERIPHERAL NERVES to CEREBRUM.Down Syndrome: A chromosome disorder associated either with an extra chromosome 21 or an effective trisomy for chromosome 21. Clinical manifestations include hypotonia, short stature, brachycephaly, upslanting palpebral fissures, epicanthus, Brushfield spots on the iris, protruding tongue, small ears, short, broad hands, fifth finger clinodactyly, Simian crease, and moderate to severe INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY. Cardiac and gastrointestinal malformations, a marked increase in the incidence of LEUKEMIA, and the early onset of ALZHEIMER DISEASE are also associated with this condition. Pathologic features include the development of NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES in neurons and the deposition of AMYLOID BETA-PROTEIN, similar to the pathology of ALZHEIMER DISEASE. (Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, p213)
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laura viale
texts and publications
Memorabile!, commission, 2006-2007
Memorabile! (Memorable!) is a humanitarian project to support parents of children with Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy.
Anyone making a donation to the project also sent photographs and drawings they were particularly fond of to the "memorabile.it" site.
Viale used the images which gradually arrived as true pixels, displaying them next to each other to form the lines of a design representing flowers, which in different cultures and historic periods are, or were, symbols of friendship, availability or hope.
The design became increasingly complex as the donations multiplied, giving rise to an intricate embroidery of images, as a metaphor of this solidarity project.
The final result was auctioned by Sotheby's in Milan in November 2007 and the proceeds were in turn donated to the project.
© 2013. For the art work and the artist’s texts Laura Viale, for the catalogues texts the authors. All rights reserved.
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Play ‘Hit or Hold’ to Win Trace Adkins TIX With Mr. Morning and Suzy
youtube image
Trace Adkins is coming to the Ridgefield Playhouse Thursday night, and all this week you can win your tickets with Mr. Morning & Suzy.
Trace Adkins is a Country Music Legend with hit's like "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", "Your Gonna Miss This", "Ladies Love Country Boy's", "Just Fishing", "Hot Mama", "Every Light In The House", "Songs About Me", and his hit with Blake Shelton, "Hillbilly Bone".
If you would like to win free tickets to see Trace, just be listening all this week at 7:40 in the morning. Mr. Morning and Suzy will be playing 'Hit or Hold', where the higher the card you draw, the better your chances of winning great seats for this Thursday nights show at the Ridgefield Playhouse.
The three-time GRAMMY-nominated member of the Grand Ole Opry is a TV personality, actor, author, and spokesman for the Wounded Warrior Project and the American Red Cross, for whom he raised more than $1.5 million dollars as winner of NBC’s All-Star Celebrity Apprentice. In recent years, Adkins has performed for our service men and women across 12 USO Tours.
Download the KICKS Mobile App to Listen, Win, and Keep Up With Everything Local
Uncle Sam Statue from the Old Danbury Fair Could Be Coming Home
Win UpTo $5K or See Dierks Bentley in Los Angeles
Bear Freaks Out and Trashes Interior of CT Woman's Car
Danbury Teen Injured in Storm Receiving Lots of Local Love
Bonus Video: It's a Full Country Makeover at Hunter Mountain
Categories: Articles, Contests, Live Country Music
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Mitzi Hoag, Actress on 'The Facts of Life' and 'Here Come the Brides,' Dies at 86
Mitzi Hoag, who had recurring roles on such TV series as The Facts of Life and Here Come the Brides, died Tuesday at her home in Sherman Oaks, her family announced. She was 86.
A native of Cleveland, Hoag portrayed a mother with three kids and a lawyer husband (Paul Sorvino) on We'll Get By, a short-lived comedy created by Alan Alda that lasted just 13 episodes in 1975.
She got to know Michael Landon while guest-starring on Bonanza and appeared on subsequent NBC shows he produced, including Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven and Father Murphy.
Hoag played Evie Green, the adoptive mother of ...
See full article on The Hollywood Reporter
Father Murphy (1981)
The Facts of Life (1979)
Here Come the Brides (1968)
Mitzi Hoag
Paul Sorvino
Michael Landon (I)
Evie Green
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Sons and Daughters (1974)
TV Series | 60 min | Drama
Jeff and Anita are students at Southwest High in the 1950s who find themselves falling in love. They bond over family problems as Jeff's father has recently died and Anita's parents are divorced. Stash and 'Moose' are their pals.
Anita Cramer
(10 episodes, 1974)
Jeff Reed
Jan Shutan
Ruth Cramer
(9 episodes, 1974)
John S. Ragin
Walter Cramer
Jay W. MacIntosh
Lucille Reed
Barry Livingston
Murray 'Moose' Kerner
Danny Reed
Scott Colomby
Stanley 'Stash' Melnick
Lionel Johnston
M. Charles Cohen
4 January 2000 | Mikey-136
A suitable title would be "Not-So-Happy Days"
"Sons & Daughters" is a dramatic counterpart to "Happy Days". Like "Happy Days", the series took place in the 1950s, with a backdrop of fifties music and fifties related activities.
Unlike "Happy Days", the story line was more tragic evolving around Anita Cramer (played by Glynnis O'Connor) and Jeff Reed (played by Gary Frank).
The two were young teenagers growing up in the 1950s, who were in love with each other, but were afraid to follow their hearts. This was due to the fact that Jeff's parents were divorced and Anita was living with her father who was either divorced or a widower. Anita and Frank were both afraid to fall in love because they were uncertain about their feelings and both were afraid of hurting each other or being hurt the way both their parents were hurt.
Though the storyline was bleak, there were a lot of lighter moments provided by the antics of "Stash", "Shark" and "Moose" along with their friends, who were engaging in the typical mischief that made the 1950s such a nostalgic time. There was the soda shop where everybody hung out. There were also the "submarine races" and an "inspiration point" where teenaged couples used to go to "make out".
It was a good program that bordered between "soap" and "drama' with enough "comedy" to make this an entertaining program.
Unfortunately, there weren't enough of the lighter moments to save the series from being cancelled.
Lucas Tanner
Ode to Billy Joe
Get Christie Love!
Petrocelli
Little Ladies of the Night
Bracken's World
Based on a CBS made for TV movie, Senior Year.
General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Float your boat at Jamaica Bay Fest
If it’s on the water — from fishing to kayaking — it’s on the schedule
by Michael Shain, Editor | Posted: Thursday, July 11, 2019 10:30 am
It’s one thing to drive by the great Jamaica Bay, look out the window and whistle at its beauty.
It’s another to plop your behind in a boat and go out on it, feel the water beneath you and wonder at its scale.
The Jamaica Bay Festival this Saturday is giving people who rarely get to experience that feeling a chance to see what riding the water is really like.
The festival is part of the City of Water celebration, a citywide event now in its 13th year, to promote New York’s waterways to the people who usually forget that, no matter where they live, a shoreline is only a few bus stops away.
“We have an incredible waterfront in New York,” said Roland Lawrence of the Waterfront Alliance, the nonprofit environmental group that sponsors the huge New York harbor festival.
“Once you are engaged with it,” he said, “you want it.”
The alliance coordinates the day with scores of local groups, including the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, which is hosting nearly a dozen different events for the festival this Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
Among the activities on and around the bay are:
• Take a three-hour kayak tour of the natural wonders of Jamaica Bay led Don Riepe, who, for 25 years, has been Jamaica Bay program director for the Littoral Society.
It’s at Bay Breeze Park at Beach 88th Street and Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Beach, starting at 11 a.m.
• Learn how to fish from hooking up bait to casting a fishing rod. All ages are welcome, fishing rods provided.
It’ll be held at Bayswater City Park at Bay 32nd Street and Beach Channel Drive, Far Rockaway, at 11 a.m.
• Tour Jamaica Bay’s own version of the Calypso, Jacques Cousteau’s famed research vessel. It’s called The R/V CUNY I, a state-of-the-art, 65 foot hybrid propulsion, aluminum catamaran, docked for the day at the foot of the Marine Park Bridge, on the bayside of Riis Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Take a sunset sail around the bay aboard the Norfolk Oyster sailboat Christina. The boat leaves from the marina at 350 Beach 59 Street at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are necessary.
• Learn paddleboarding at Bayswater Park in a one-hour session. The organizers supply the equipment, at 701 Bay 32 St. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More information and signups are available at the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy web site at jbrpc.org.
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Pacific objects in focus #5: ‘Ulapinaki’ by Leanne Joy Lupelele Clayton
By Melanie Pitkin
‘Ulapinaki’, ula lei, measuring tape (red) / cable ties / plastic peanuts, designed and made by Leanne Joy Lupelele Clayton, New Zealand, 2010. Collection: GOMA Acc.2011.319 (Purchased 2011. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation). On display at the Powerhouse Museum for the exhibition ‘A fine possession: jewellery and identity’.
When someone creates a ula lei (necklace of flowers), it is a sign of affection and is usually given to another as a gift with the purpose to embellish that person as part of a greeting, farewell, alofa (love), a celebration or graduation. In my culture, when a ula lei is presented to you, it is a definite link between past and present. It is a mea lofa of love (gift). All these things are links which I am choosing to activate in my work.
– Leanne Joy Lupelele Clayton
Leanne Joy Lupelele Clayton is a New Zealand born-Australian printmaker, sculptor and wearable’s artist of Samoan-European descent. Known for her use of recycling ordinary, everyday materials into meaningful artistic forms, Leanne uses art to make a contemporary commentary on her Pacific heritage, especially as it relates to cultural and personal memory and the roles of family and tradition in a cross-cultural society. “My artwork represents a confluence of Polynesian and Western cultures, utilising techniques and materials from each…I like to draw from diverse historical materials ranging from family photographs through to clothing and dress; exploring how cultural traditions shape who we are and where we are from”.
Leanne graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (2005) and a Master of Fine Arts (2007) from the Auckland University of Technology where she majored in printmaking. She says “I became interested in printmaking because of my grandmother…she was talented with sewing, recycling, gardening, cooking, printmaking and drawing. I remember as a child how we would catch the bus to go to the Auckland Hospital to get x-ray sheets, which she would use to draw her designs onto, cut out and then print…I loved it!”. By the time Leanne reached university, she became fascinated by the repetitive prints of Andy Warhol. “I found that I was printing onto fabric, t-shirts, canvas, tapa and found objects…I felt that I had this freedom to explore and there were so many possibilities!”.
Detail of ula lei, ‘Untitled’, designed and made by Leanne Joy Lupelele Clayton for the Pataka Museum, Wellington, New Zealand, 2010. Image courtesy of the artist.
As a child, Leanne’s mother also taught her how to make ula leis. “I remember a lot of cutting, sorting, threading and making with conversations in between and some singing. The ula leis were often made for relatives for their family photos, which they placed over the frame. It’s a symbolic gesture which represents respect of loved ones past and present”. Growing up, Leanne and her mother would make the ula leis out of a wide variety of materials, even though fresh flowers are the traditional form. “Back in the 1970s, the material Mum and I used was colourful plastic sheet, quite thin…but we also made them from lollies! I have made ula lolly leis for all my kids, for my friend’s kids, relatives and so on. I even did it for my granddaughter’s graduation from pre-school. It’s a tradition!”.
‘Ulapinaki’, ula lei, measuring tape (yellow) / cable ties / plastic peanuts, designed and made by Leanne Joy Lupelele Clayton, New Zealand, 2010. Collection: GOMA Acc.2011.318 (Purchased 2011. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation). On display at the Powerhouse Museum for the exhibition ‘A fine possession: jewellery and identity’.
For the exhibition A fine possession: jewellery and identity, we are featuring two of Leanne’s contemporary ula lei creations on display. Both titled ‘Ulapinaki’ (‘Ula’ – “necklace” and ‘pinaki’ – “peanuts”), these works are made from ‘non-traditional’, Western materials, including red and yellow measuring tape, cable ties and plastic peanuts. These materials reference a complex set of relationships which are not immediately understood, as Leanne explains:
These ula leis talk about Fa’a Samoa, or the ‘Samoan Way’ – a set of obligations which all Samoans are expected to fulfill. These obligations centre on the matai (chiefs), aiga (family) and the church. The leis arouse the idea of measurement, being tied to traditions and heated expectations which can evoke ‘nuttiness’ at times. It indicates links of knowing where you stand and how you conduct yourself…as Samoans we are patterned and measured by our worth…
Leanne says she has experienced a lot of cultural pressure. “Living in between two cultures was not easy back in the 1970s. There weren’t many Islanders living in Mt Eden (a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand), which in those days was a well-to-do area, since it was mainly white families and the elderly. In fact, we were the only Pacific Islanders on our street. It was hard at first, but then we got to know all our neighbours”. In Samoan culture, families are expected to work together and help anyone and everyone. “We are taught to do this not for any recognition or money. In fact, my parents always said that your reward is in heaven…You know what is expected of you, as you have already been taught. You show your love and respect for your parents when you do these acts. I guess that’s old school, but I like it”.
Leanne has showcased her work in a wide variety of group exhibitions, especially in New Zealand, and is represented in the permanent collections of the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane and Porirua City Council in New Zealand’s Wellington region. She has guest curated several exhibitions, including ‘Circular’ at Artstation in Auckland (2010) and ‘Our Celebration’, celebrating Auckland’s 169th birthday at the Women’s Pioneer Hall Freyburg Place (2009). She also runs a variety of community-focused art workshops, most recently on Australia’s Gold Coast, working with youths of Pacific Islander background.
These ula leis (‘Ulipinaki’) are on display in the “Contemporary – Upcycling” section of A fine possession: jewellery and identity showing at the Powerhouse Museum until September 2015.
Written by Melanie Pitkin, Assistant Curator
contemporary Pacific art
Fa'a Samoa
Leanne Joy Lupelele Clayton
Object of the week
Polynesian lei
ula lei
ulapinaki
Collection stories
People and practice
Research at MAAS
Margaret West, jeweller (1936-2014)
Pacific objects in focus #3: New Zealand hei-tiki
Pacific objects in focus #4: 'Wasekaseka' whale's tooth neckpiece
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british film, directors, documentary, exploitation, Film festivals, Movies
Event preview – Bristol’s Cinema Rediscovered weekender (27 – 30 July 2017)
July 20, 2017 stubarr70Becoming Cary Grant, Blood Simple, Born in Flames, Bristol, Celluloid Man, Cinema Rediscovered, Film, Get Out, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, King Kong, Mark Kermode, Network, Philip French Memorial Lecture, The Cube, The Entity, Watershed Leave a comment
I’ve recently relocated to Bristol and have found a city with vibrant film culture into which I’m currently dipping my toes. Here follows a preview of the upcoming Cinema Rediscovered festival running at the end of July. If you live in, or around Bristol there are some great screenings and events. Here is my pick…
Film culture is at an interesting juncture right now, think pieces present future scenarios for utopian and dystopian. For the optimistic it seems like there is more access to more material than ever before. All accessible without having to move from your sofa. For the pessimistic, television has taken over as the source of grown up drama, cinema is being choked by empty spectacle.
The rise of Netflix as a major force in film production has energised both sides of this cultural argument. For the doom-slingers, the streaming giant is ushering in the end, hoovering up independent movies out of Sundance, cherry picking directors like Joon-ho Bong and Martin Scorsese, showering them with cash, and then preventing the results from playing theatrically. The pro-camp rightly argue that without Netflix’s investment a film like Okja would probably never have been made.
To quote a movie “the future is not written”. What is clear is that the increasing importance of streaming services and day and date release strategies are creating challenging times for cinemas.
Bristol’s Cinema Rediscovered festival aims to re-introduce audiences to classic, cult, and international movies and reconnect them to the environment in which these films were meant to be seen, in a cinema. Festival curator Mark Cosgrove puts it eloquently:
“Other art forms have their temples – museums, galleries, opera house, theatres. For films, cinema is where they can truly come alive and be rediscovered.”
Inaugurated in 2016, this year’s festival kicked off with the Philip French Memorial Lecture delivered by film critic Mark Kermode who set the tone with an entertaining and thoughtful riposte to the doom and gloom outlook. Kermode anticipates that the move to day and date releasing strategies will have a negative impact on many cinemas, but only those that “don’t care”. It isn’t enough for rep cinema’s to throw on some favorite films, staple a photocopied programme together, and expect an audience. Cinema’s need to get creative, provoke and engage in dialogue, and create a space (or Petrie jar if you will) for film culture to grow.
The festival in full runs from the 27th to the 30th of July in Bristol, before heading out on tour with screenings at venues including Chapter (Cardiff), Broadway (Nottingham), Home (Manchester), QFT (Belfast), Filmhouse, (Edinburgh) Showroom (Sheffield), mac (Birmingham) and Exeter Phoenix.
Here are some of my picks from the excellent programme:
Thu 27 July 20:50, Watershed
Part of the ‘Manipulating the message’ strand, this screening of Sidney Lumet’s 1976 classic will have an introduction from journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed.
Network is one of the best films of the 1970s. Paddy Chayefsky’s incendiary screenplay has lost none of its satirical bite, and the film is insanely prescient of the exact moment we find ourselves in right now. Phenomenal performances from Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duval, and Ned Beatty who delivers one of the best soliloquies in any movie made in that golden decade.
Blood Simple: Director’s Cut
Fri 28th July, 22:30, Watershed
A new restoration of the Coen brother’s debut, a sweaty, vicious neo-noir that needs no introduction. Notable for Francis McDormand delivering one of the top five kicks to the nuts in the history of film. Every man in the cinema will wince en masse.
The screening is preceded by an hour of live music inspired by the film’s themes of love lost and hearts a cheating from Bristol based musician Mike Crawford and his band the Various Sorrows in the Watershed bar from 21:30.
Sat 29 July 11:30, Watershed
Ladies and gentlemen, the original, the greatest, Kong! Presented on 35mm, the daddy of monster movies will be introduced by Aardman’s Peter Lord.
Take the kids, this is one of those movies that will make a child fall in love with cinema. It did me.
Born in Flames
I’m particularly interested in this, a film I’ve never seen. The directorial debut of artist and critic Lizzie Borden, sci-fi satire Born in Flames is regarded as a foundation stone in American queer and feminist cinema and includes Kathryn Bigelow in the cast.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
This is what interesting programming should do, create a dialogue by juxtaposing two films separated by decades. Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is from 1967, Jordan Peele’s Get Out was released earlier this year. Kramer’s film is a comic drama in which a young white woman brings home her African American boyfriend to meet her liberal parents and in so doing exposes the racial fault lines of American society. Jordan Peele brilliantly recycles the same premise but transforms it into a horror film (albeit one that is often extremely funny). Seeing both films in one day will be very interesting.
I reviewed Get Out when it was released, and the way the film plays when viewed as part of an audience is extraordinary and a potent demonstration of the value of the communal experience (something I am so bored with hearing people bitch and moan about).
Celluloid Man
Sat 29 July, 18:30, Watershed
Part of the India on Film strand, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s epic documentary presents the story of India’s rich film heritage through the story of the creation of the National Film Archive of India by P.K. Nair. Indian cinema is a real blind spot for me. I am genuinely ashamed to admit, and this strand (which includes a screening of Satyajit Ray’s The Music Room (Sat 29 July, 13:00, Watershed) is an opportunity to address that.
Celluloid Man is presented as a free drop in event (subject to availability) and includes an introduction from Dr Suman Ghosh, Senior Lecturer in Film and Screen Studies at Bath Spa University.
Sat 29 July, 21:00, The Cube
A very interesting choice, Sidney J. Furey’s 1982 horror movie is from that period when there were racks of ‘true life’ based horror novels in airports, and movies like The Amityville Horror (1979) were huge hits.
Built around an extraordinary performance from a young Barbara Hershey, The Entity is a very sleazy picture. Hershey plays a woman who becomes the victim of a series of increasingly violent sexual attacks by an invisible ghost. Treated with scepticism by medical experts, she turns to a team of parapsychologists.
The screening is presented by The Final Girls (twitter @TheFinalGirlsUK), a collective set up to examine ‘the intersection between horror film and feminism’.
Becoming Cary Grant
Sun 30 July, 17:50, Watershed
An English premiere, Mark Kidel’s documentary promises ‘a radically new perspective on Cary Grant’. Grant was originally a Bristolian, before re inventing himself as one of the most iconic of male film stars. The film includes extracts from Grant’s unpublished autobiography and personal film footage shot by the actor.
The full festival programme and booking details is online here.
→ Television, the drug of the nation: tuning back into Network
← THIS GREEN UNPLEASANT LAND – THE VISIONS OF NIGEL KNEALE
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From refugee to professional AFLW footy player
By Santilla Chingaipe, illustration by Rubii Red
Akec Makur Chuot vividly remembers the first time she held a Sherrin football in her hands.
“It was very different to the soccer balls I’d grown up playing with and there were challenges with how to bounce the ball. It was strange at first but really exciting to learn different ways to bounce and kick,” she says.
She’d been introduced to this quintessential Australian sport – with Indigenous origins – when her family moved to Perth after spending years growing up in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya after fleeing the conflict in what is today South Sudan.
She’d grown up playing soccer and had big dreams of one day playing that sport at a professional level.
“When I was young, I was a really good soccer player and I wanted to be a soccer star,” says Chout.
But that all changed in high school when she took part in all-girls carnival.
“It wasn’t until I got to Year 10 when I played in my first footy tournament with the East Perth Football Club, which was really cool, and I really enjoyed that day and I think that was the reason I thought I’d switch over to footy,” she says.
But despite her enthusiasm for the sport, her start wasn’t without it’s challenges.
“When I started playing, I wasn’t the best at it and there were a lot of learning of new skills, but when I got picked for the state team in my first year in 2013, I thought to myself that I had a really good opportunity to showcase my natural abilities,” she says.
Prior to the AFL Women’s League being founded in 2016, there any weren’t opportunities for women to play the sport professionally.
For the 26-year-old, playing the sport at an elite level came as a surprise.
“I honestly didn’t see myself playing AFLW. When the league was created it was really exciting and I didn’t think I’d get picked,” she adds.
Akec Makur Chuot also made history herself – by becoming the first woman of African descent to be drafted into the AFLW.
She was picked by the Fremantle Dockers with pick 139 in the inaugural AFLW draft and later moved to Melbourne. She played a few games with Carlton in the VFLW and currently plays for the Richmond Tigers in the VFLW.
The ruck-woman says the sport gives her a sense of belonging.
“When I play Aussie Rules, I feel part of the Australian culture to embrace the new country that I now call home,” she adds.
She recognises that because of her barrier breaking carrier as an athlete, she’s become a role model for many in the South Sudanese Australian community.
“The reception from my community has been really positive – for them to see a woman of an African background can play footy, it’s meant that they can say ‘my daughter can do that!’. I think it’s encouraging my community to step outside the norm and see this is available for everyone,” says Chuot.
And Chout believes that her presence in the league can help break down barriers not just around sexism, but racism as well.
“Obviously, it needs to be a continuous conversation [about racism] and not reactive conversation. I find with a lot of institutions that once an incident has happened, that is when people react, but in order for things to be eliminated, it needs to be an ongoing conversation,” says Chuot.
She’s quick to applaud the AFL’s zero tolerance stance on racism and hopes other sporting codes do the same.
“The more young African girls they see, the more Asian girls they see being represented on a level playing field normalises it. The more [diverse] communities reflected in the AFL, the easier it becomes,” she adds.
As for her own personal ambitions, Akec Makur Chuot says she hopes to encourage more young girls from migrant backgrounds to play the sport.
“I’d love to see a few more girls from multicultural backgrounds, getting into the pathway programs. I’d love to see more African girls having those aspirations,” she adds.
And that’s a goal we’d all like to see kicked.
Opening night: Duet Live by Tim Shiel
Enter a mesmerising trance of duality with Duet LIVE – a minimalist gaming experience that will expand the limits of your perception.
Mon 20 May 7–9pmMusicPerformance
Melbourne Innovation Districts forum
How can a pickled cucumber shape the future worker?
Discover how pickling cucumbers can help shape the future of work. Wait, what’s that got to do with pickles?
Tue 21 May 10.30am–12.30pmDesignWorkshop
Meet the minds of the Melbourne-Boston research showcase
Delight your mind and marvel at the genius behind bionic eyes, piano improvisation and pneumonia patient care.
Tue 21 May 10am–12pmEducationPanel
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Michael Cimino, director of The Deer Hunter and Heaven’s Gate, dead at 77
American filmmaker and screenwriter Michael Cimino died in Los Angeles on July 2 at the age of 77. Cimino is best known as the director of two films that had quite different fates, The Deer Hunter (1978), which won numerous Academy Awards, and Heaven’s Gate (1980), which was denounced by leading critics, lost a great deal of money and severely damaged Cimino’s career.
Michael Cimino
The ferocious, politically motivated attack on Heaven’s Gate, a drama about class conflict in the American West in the late 19th century, marked a watershed in the history of American filmmaking. Industry complaints about Cimino’s over-spending and general “excess,” coming on top of difficulties surrounding the production of Apocalypse Now (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, became part of the rationale for “reining in” independent directors and turning Hollywood into what it has now almost fully become, a platform for turning out politically inoffensive, noisy “blockbusters.”
In the wake of the controversy surrounding Heaven’s Gate, Cimino was able to direct only four more feature films (Year of the Dragon, The Sicilian, Desperate Hours and Sunchaser), the final one two decades ago.
Born in New York City in 1939, Cimino grew up on Long Island and attended Michigan State and Yale universities. After graduate school, Cimino went to work on Madison Avenue in New York in advertising, where he eventually directed television commercials. He moved to Los Angeles in 1971 and began writing screenplays. One of them came to Clint Eastwood’s attention and Cimino was able to direct Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), a relatively undistinguished and violent heist film, featuring Eastwood and Jeff Bridges.
Cimino next took on an ambitious subject, the Vietnam war and working class life in America, in The Deer Hunter. The film follows three young steelworkers from western Pennsylvania (Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage) and their physical or moral destruction in the Vietnam war.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The scenes set in Vietnam, where the trio are tortured by the “Vietcong,” are the weakest. As Robin Wood noted, in a generally perceptive essay, “Two Films by Michael Cimino:” “The film, of course, presents the war as a terrible thing, a trauma, but it was terrible because ‘our boys’ suffered so much. As in almost every other Hollywood film about Vietnam … political analysis is totally repressed and the possibility that it might be regarded as a war of American aggression/imperialism never permitted to surface.”
However, there are other, striking elements in The Deer Hunter. First of all, it is one of the few films produced by the so-called New Hollywood that took the conditions and sentiments of the American working class seriously. Cimino’s work is unusual in that it adopts a respectful and genuinely sympathetic attitude toward everyday life in Clairton, Pennsylvania (although the film was actually shot elsewhere), even its backward, religious, conventional, patriotic features, while ineluctably leading the viewer toward the conclusion that this is all going to end in catastrophe, through no individual fault or weakness.
Whether Cimino was fully cognizant of it or not, the horrors of the Vietnam war are associated in the film with the brutalities and confusions of American life, everything ugly, careless and corrupt about it. That the steel industry was on the eve of being virtually wiped out in western Pennsylvania only adds poignancy.
In The Deer Hunter’s most perceptive sequences, the chasm between the sincerity and essential decency of the characters, on the one hand, and the fate America has in store for them, at home or in Vietnam, on the other, is almost terrifying.
Not everything is successful here, by any means. The suggestion that various forms of psychological and sexual repression—including the suppression of the feelings that the leading male characters (played by De Niro and Walken) have one for another—are, in some sense, driving forces in the events, is simply misplaced. Nonetheless, this is a disturbing film that cannot, as Wood suggested, “be read as an endorsement of contemporary America.”
On the contrary, the critic argued, in contrast to the picture of America found in the classic films of John Ford, for example, Cimino’s film offers “the hysteria into which the Clairton wedding celebration is imminently in danger of collapsing: in place of harmony and unification, one finds incipient chaos, tension, disruption. The ominous proximity of Vietnam (the three men are to leave for the war the next day) is only one of the sources of this hysteria, albeit the decisive one.”
As for the singing of God Bless America, which concludes the film, Wood noted, “the only America the film has validated is that of Clairton—a community of eastern European immigrants which the dominant America has virtually destroyed. On whatever level the film is read, it is clear that if the song affirms anything, it is something already perceived as lost.”
On the strength of the success of The Deer Hunter, Cimino undertook an even more ambitious project in Heaven's Gate: to represent America at the dawn of the modern age, the era of the emergence of giant corporate interests. As his framework, he used the Johnson County War, which was fought in Wyoming between large cattle companies and small settlers and culminated in a pitched battle between the companies’ hired killers and a group of small farmers and ranchers in April 1892. The mercenaries were only rescued by the intervention of the federal government in the form of the Sixth Cavalry.
Cimino transformed the beleaguered farmers into a group of Central and Eastern European settlers, drawn to the area by cheap land. Reduced to near starvation, the immigrants resort to stealing individual cattle. The Stockgrowers’ Association determines to exterminate them with the help of hired gunmen, paid $50 for every “thief” shot or hung. The wealthy cattle barons have made a list of 125 settlers to be murdered.
Jim Averill (Kris Kristofferson) is a federal marshal in Johnson County. He is involved with Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert), a brothel keeper, who accepts cash or cattle as payment. Ella is also in love with Nate Champion (Walken again), who works for the cattle companies as an enforcer. (Cimino borrowed these names from individuals involved in the Johnson County War, but little else adheres to the immediate historical facts.)
Frank Canton (Sam Waterston), the leading figure in the Stockgrowers Associations, is a vicious, cold-blooded defender of wealth. In one of the film’s early scenes, Canton explains to the members of the Association, “This is no longer a poor man’s country. These emigrants only pretend to be farmers. But we know many of them to be thieves and anarchists openly preying on our ranges. … I had a very satisfactory talk with the governor [of Wyoming] yesterday. He asserted in the most positive terms his wholehearted support, as well as that of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the president of these United States.”
When the gunmen invade Johnson County and begin their work of assassinating those on the “death list,” which includes Ella, the immigrants discuss and debate how they should respond. There are voices urging compromise (some have even suggested handing over those on the list to the killers), but the most outraged and militant newcomers choose to take up arms against the companies. “They [the companies] advanced the idea that poor people have nothing to say in the affairs of this country.” The final confrontation between the hired assassins and the immigrant settlers, with whom Averill belatedly joins forces, is a prolonged, savage battle. When, early in the film, one of the locals observes to Averill, “It’s gettin’ dangerous to be poor in this country,” he replies, “It always was.”
When the 3 hour and 40 minute version of Heaven’s Gate opened in New York City, almost two weeks to the day after the election of Ronald Reagan as president, it was savaged by the leading critics. There are certain similarities in this to the assault on Free State of Jones currently under way.
The film played for only one week before it was withdrawn from the theaters. A two and a half hour version opened in April 1981.
In a May 1, 1981 review of the shortened version (“The Lynching of ‘Heaven's Gate,’”), the Bulletin, the newspaper of the Workers League, the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party, described the attacks:
“Heaven’s Gate, the film by Academy Award-winning director Michael Cimino, has been bombarded with abuse and outright vilification since its new version was released last week.
“The New York Times called Cimino’s film a ‘desperately muddled compromise’ lacking both ‘substance and purpose.’ Time magazine denounced him for his alleged ‘notion of Hollywood Marxism: the poor are better than the rich because they are more photogenic.’
“And the Washington Post proclaimed Heaven’s Gate a ‘humiliating white elephant’ and ‘grotesque folly,’ branding Cimino as a ‘simpleton overwhelmed by the discovery of revisionist history’ who achieves only a ‘peculiarly outmoded form of caricature.’ …”
The New York Times reviewer Vincent Canby had been extraordinarily foul in his original review in November 1980. He termed the film an “unqualified disaster,” asserting that “Mr. Cimino's approach to his subject is so predictable that watching the film is like a forced, four-hour walking tour of one's own living room.” More to the point, Canby snidely commented, “The point of Heaven's Gate is that the rich will murder for the earth they don't inherit, but … this is not enough to carry three hours and 45 minutes of screentime.”
As the Bulletin correctly noted in 1981, “The heart of the criticism of Heaven’s Gate … is the subject matter itself.
“They [the critics] are enraged that such a great amount of talent, time and resources should be expended in accurately recreating a bloody chapter in the struggle against American capitalism.”
This argument is certainly supported by a viewing of the restored, 3 hour and 40 minute version now available.
Whatever criticisms one might make of the work, the verbal assault, including claims that Heaven’s Gate was one of the worst films ever made, was so absurdly out of proportion that only ideological and political considerations could have motivated it.
In fact, Heaven’s Gate stands up today as a significant and often fascinating and moving work. The early scenes of Averill’s graduation from Harvard in 1870, where the pious Reverend Doctor (the marvelous Joseph Cotten) lectures the departing students on their responsibility to “educate the nation,” succinctly sets out the ideological atmosphere, as the Bulletin reviewers observed in 1981, at “the intellectual center for an American ruling class which, five years after the Civil War, was convinced that it was destined to be the master of the world.”
There is extraordinary and “infectious energy” (in Robin Wood’s phrase) in such scenes as Ella’s roller-skating birthday celebration attended by the entire town, one of the means by which Cimino sought to suggest that another America than the one controlled by huge corporate interests was possible.
There are mistakes and excesses and languors as well. Cimino perhaps deluded himself at times, confusing the demands of his personal demons for artistic perfectionism. Reportedly, one brief sequence that lasts a minute or two on screen took up an entire day of shooting and 52 takes. A performer in the film told the WSWS, Cimino “had a brilliant idea about Eastern Europeans coming west and the Johnson County War, but he took all the spontaneity out of the acting by doing twenty takes of everything.”
At any rate, Heaven’s Gate was not attacked for its weaknesses—or, at least, these were wielded in an entirely dishonest manner, as part of the general assault on the film’s great strength: its careful, clear-eyed, fierce condemnation of modern capitalist America and its brutal methods of rule. Cimino’s work substantiates, in no uncertain terms, the view that the wealthy in America, in Trotsky’s words, are “in essence ruthlessly rude, predatory, in the full sense of the word, and criminal.”
This was not what the upper middle class, moving rapidly to the right in 1980, wanted to hear. The radicalism of the late 1960s and early 1970s had receded very far. The critics, and the circles in which they traveled, were throwing in their lot, with varying degrees of cynicism, selfishness and self-delusion—with the wonders of the market, with Reagan’s attacks on and contempt for the poor, with the struggle against the “Evil Empire,” the Soviet Union. Heaven’s Gate, in the end, fell victim to this reactionary shift in the political winds.
In response to the news of Cimino’s death, Jeff Bridges (who plays a character loosely based on one of his relatives, John Bridges) wrote on Facebook that Heaven’s Gate was a “movie about a particularly fascinating time in American History when Cattle Barons, sanctioned by the United States government, waged war on emigrants—the Johnson County Wars. … The many months of shooting in Montana were a one of a kind movie making experience. When Heaven’s Gate came out, many critics called it a flop, a disaster. Well…that’s just their opinion, man. To me, and many others, it’s a masterpiece, and grows in beauty each time it’s seen.”
Indeed, the critical appraisal of Heaven’s Gate has altered considerably. As Nicholas Barber of the BBC observed in December 2015: “But he [Cimino] may just have the last laugh. His original cut of Heaven’s Gate earnt rapturous reviews when it was shown in Britain in 1982. Thirty years after that, he presented a restored-and-tweaked version at the Venice Film Festival, and its reception was even more euphoric. It was Canby and his fellow critics who looked ridiculous now; Heaven’s Gate looked magnificent.” Richard Brody of the New Yorker, in 2012, referred to the film as “the victim of a critical assassination. With their reviews, the most famous American film critics brought shame on themselves and their profession.”
At the conclusion of their comment on Heaven’s Gate in 1981, the Bulletin reviewers once again condemned the hostile reaction to the film, which “has everything to do with the attempt to swing the arts to the right.” The authors continued, “We unreservedly recommend this film. Its director, Michael Cimino, has taken great care to honestly and faithfully present history as it was. And in this film, as in his earlier one, The Deer Hunter , he shows great concern in portraying the life of the working class.
“We urge Cimino to fight for this film. We are sure that it will find its audience among intellectuals, the best sections of the middle class and above all in the working class itself.” Cimino wrote to the Bulletin editorial board, thanking the socialist newspaper for its stand.
Thirty-five years later, Heaven’s Gate has been restored to its rightful place in the history of American filmmaking, and the late director has been thoroughly vindicated.
Arts Obituaries
Bossa Nova pioneer, songwriter and musician João Gilberto dead at 88
New Orleans pianist and singer Dr. John dies at 77
Film director John Singleton dead at age 51
Israeli writer Amos Oz (1939-2018): A critical appreciation
Doris Day, prominent postwar American actress and singer, dies at 97
Sexual assault case in Massachusetts against actor Kevin Spacey threatens to fall apart
A conversation with Mike Kaplan, the producer of The Whales of August (1987), Lillian Gish’s final film
Marching Song, play co-written by Orson Welles about abolitionist John Brown, to be published after 85 years
When They See Us: A powerful dramatization of the case of the Central Park Five
Beanpole (Dylda): Disturbing scenes of postwar Soviet life
The Command (Kursk): A dramatization of the 2000 Russian nuclear submarine disaster
“The Short Films of Raymundo Gleyzer”: Works by left-wing filmmaker murdered by Argentine military junta
Minding the Gap: Skateboarding to “get away” in decayed Rockford, Illinois
H. Ross Perot, billionaire third-party US presidential candidate, dead at 89
Bob Hawke, former Australian Labor prime minister, 1929-2019
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A chilling attack on free speech
Trump attempts to bully cast of Hamilton over criticism of anti-democratic policies
An incident occurred last week that is a small taste of things to come.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence attended Friday night’s performance of the Broadway show Hamilton: An American Musical. His presence in the theater was met with a mixture of cheers and (mostly) boos. Following the show, Brandon Victor Dixon, one of the show’s lead actors, addressed Pence on behalf of the cast and the musical’s creators.
Dixon asked Pence, in the process of leaving his seat at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on West 46th Street in Manhattan, to remain and listen to his remarks. The actor then explained that the cast had “a message for you, sir. We hope that you will hear us out.”
Dixon continued, “Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at Hamilton: An American Musical, we really do. We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us—our planet, our children, our parents—or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us.
“Again, we truly thank you for sharing this show, this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men [and] women of different colors, creeds, and orientations.”
The statement was written by Hamilton’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, in collaboration with the show’s director, Thomas Kail, and lead producer Jeffrey Seller, with input from cast members. Hamilton, which has been hugely successful, is a musical based on Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton (1755/57–1804), a significant figure in the American Revolution and the early days of the United States.
In 2016, the show received a record-setting 16 Tony nominations and took home 11. It was also the recipient of the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
President-elect Donald Trump responded to Dixon’s polite and conciliatory--one might say, overly polite and conciliatory--remarks aimed at the incoming vice president (when audience members booed at the mention of Pence’s name, Dixon told them, “There’s nothing to boo here, ladies and gentlemen. There’s nothing to boo here. We’re all here sharing a story of love”), with a series of thuggish Tweets Saturday and Sunday.
Trump first wrote, “Our wonderful future VP Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!”
How would Trump propose to prevent such comments? It is no idle threat when an individual who will soon have the FBI and the intelligence-military apparatus at his disposal insists that “This should not happen!” Dixon replied, in a Tweet of his own, that “conversation is not harassment, sir.”
Trump’s next message read: “The theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!” And finally: “The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior.”
The demand that critics should “apologize” for criticizing a public official is an expression of authoritarianism. Along the same lines, Trump’s first response to protests after the November 8 election blamed the demonstrations on “professional protesters, incited by the media.” One of those being considered for the post of director of Homeland Security in a Trump administration, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, wrote a series of Tweets last week calling for a “state of emergency” to be declared and for the ongoing anti-Trump protests to be “quelled” by the military.
Pence struck a more dignified pose than Trump in response to the Hamilton incident. He told Chris Wallace of Fox News, “I really enjoyed watching Hamilton. It was a real joy to be there. I heard a few boos. I wasn’t offended by what was said.”
This is mere posturing. The vice president-elect is a hardened right-winger. As a talk show host, congressman and governor of Indiana, Pence advanced views typical of the Christian fundamentalist and Tea Party right. He strongly supported the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Bush administration’s “war on terror,” and each measure aimed against Iran and Syria. He voted in favor of every attack on democratic rights and the expansion of NSA and CIA surveillance powers.
Pence has been hostile to social spending and public education and is a furious opponent of abortion and gay rights. The Indiana congressman gloated in 2005 that Hurricane Katrina had cleared the way for “free market” solutions in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast generally.
In 2015, as governor, Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which permitted individuals and companies to discriminate based on their “religious beliefs.” Advance America, an ultra-right Christian outfit, explained on its web site that the law means “Christian bakers, florists and photographers should not be punished for refusing to participate in a homosexual marriage!”
The 2016 US Elections
Bernie Sanders defends American imperialism at town hall on Iran
Sanders town hall in DC promotes illusions in the Democrats and trade unions
Bernie Sanders seeks to derail growing working class opposition to capitalism
Former Democratic chairman reveals Clinton rigging of 2016 nomination campaign
One week in the media’s McCarthyite witch-hunt against Russia
Donald Trump’s fascist strategy
House Democrats ratify $733 billion for US military
Pete Buttigieg: The made-to-order political “outsider”
Mobilize the working class in defense of abortion rights
New York Times promotes a woman’s right to annihilate millions
India’s election and the revolutionary program to oppose austerity, war and communal reaction
Bernie Sanders joins Trump’s attack on “open borders”
Ronan Farrow promotes #MeToo witch hunt in University of Michigan talk
Democratic Rights in the US
Trump abolishes right to asylum on US southern border
The fascists in the White House
As auto talks begin, UAW and companies conspire to enforce new wave of concessions on workers
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“Socialism appeals to me”
Sanders rally attendees speak on socialism, Democratic Party
By George Marlowe and Marcus Day
On Sunday, US Senator Bernie Sanders continued his initial series of campaign rallies at Chicago’s Navy Pier, following Saturday’s event in Brooklyn, as he again seeks the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Sanders unsuccessfully sought the party’s nomination in 2016, subsequently endorsing Hillary Clinton, the arch-candidate of Wall Street and big business.
The Chicago Tribune estimated that over 12,000 attended. The rally attracted diverse social layers, including many young people who have been increasingly radicalized in recent years: large numbers of high school and college students, along with young workers. Significant numbers of professionals and other sections of both the lower- and upper-middle class attended as well.
Reporters for the World Socialist Web Site spoke with attendees, encountering wide interest in a socialist perspective. Many of those we spoke with were attracted to Sanders’ criticisms of social inequality, “the billionaire class” and other social ills. A number were either skeptical of or openly hostile to capitalism and the Democratic Party, while expressing illusions in the possibility of reforming either. As the WSWS has noted, the promotion of such illusions is a central aim of Sanders’ campaign.
Jesus is 22 and from the Chicago suburbs. He said he had gone to college for two years, studying to become a teacher, before having to quit and work full time at a factory in order to support his family.
He said he had been following the wave of teachers strikes in the US over the past year. “With all the effort they put into teaching students, you’d think they’d get paid more.”
He said that he hadn’t given socialism much thought until recently, which he described as Sanders’ proposals to “use taxes for the people not for the corporations, which makes a lot of sense. I think socialism but with capitalism together is the perfect idea for this country. A complete full market and no regulations is really bad. I feel like the Democratic Party has to change, otherwise they’re going to lose a whole generation, again.”
The WSWS reporter explained, however, that genuine socialism and structuring society to meet the needs of the majority of the population are incompatible with the extreme levels of social inequality under capitalism and the monopolization of wealth and political power by the rich. Jesus agreed. The reporter also explained that the Democratic Party was the oldest capitalist party in modern history, a party of Wall Street and imperialism, and had long put forth various “radical” sounding figures as safety valves in order to trap and smother social opposition.
Asked his thoughts on the previous administration of Democratic President Barack Obama, Jesus responded angrily, “The first two years of his presidency, they had control of both houses [of Congress]. He could have done way more, but they didn’t. And Obama deported way more people than Trump. And then he made the whole DACA thing at the end [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the tenuous legal status for young immigrants], which he knew would get vetoed by a Republican president.
“It’s kind of infuriating, you know? He wasn’t really hope and change.”
Jesus added that he was strongly opposed to the attacks on immigrants. “These people don’t do anything but give to this country,” he said, “and they always live in fear because they might get deported. I think it’s pretty disgusting.”
Alexis and Oliver
Alexis is a 21-year-old student from Chicago who studies political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He spoke of his left-wing views and the need for young people to fight for a better world. “I’m pretty leftist,” he said. “This is as close to the collapse of capitalism I’m going to get. I’m doing everything in my power to make the world a better place. The younger generation needs to be mobilized against a system they deem unfair. I definitely want this president out of office.”
Alexis came to the rally with Oliver, who is 19, from Quincy, Illinois, and also studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “The most important issue to me is the environment,” Oliver said. “A close second is healthcare, education and inequality. The system should never have allowed this level of inequality.” Oliver added, “I’m not a fan of the Democratic Party, but it may be a better of the two options.”
Reporters explained to Oliver, however, that the politics of “lesser evilism” has resulted in disasters for the working class every election cycle and a further shift to the right, including under the previous Obama administration. Oliver nodded his head and said, “I’m interested in learning more.”
Alexis agreed and also spoke out on his differences with the Democratic Party, noting, “I generally disagree with the Democratic Party.” He added, “Socialism appeals to me. A lot of left politics becomes coopted by the Democratic Party and because of the cooption we are never able to realize the ultimate goals that we seek. I think that’s very dangerous because it prevents any progress. I think we need to radically depart from capitalism.”
Young people also came from the economically depressed city of Rockford, Illinois. The city had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country after the financial crisis of 2008. Thousands of good-paying industrial jobs have been destroyed in the Rockford area, only to be replaced with low-wage jobs, including at the Rockford United Parcel Service (UPS) air hub, where workers make as little as $13 an hour.
Simon is an 18-year-old high school student from Rockford. He spoke of the economic devastation the city has faced. “I’ve grown up here my entire life,” he said. “It is the epitome of the ‘Rust-Belt’ city. It’s really depressing. There’s a drug issue there. There’s a lot that needs to be fixed. A lot of industrial jobs have left. At the Belvidere Assembly Plant they started laying off 1,400 workers.”
Recently Fiat Chrysler announced that it would eliminate an entire shift at its Belvidere plantnear Rockford and lay off nearly 1,400 workers, something which the United Auto Workers union is doing nothing to stop.
Simon and Andrew
Andrew, a 20-year-old worker and friend of Simon’s from Rockford, spoke of the impact of the layoffs. “Rockford is a community that had its roots in industry. There’s a lot of small manufacturing and a lot of workers are struggling,” he said.
“My cousin works at Belvidere Assembly,” he added. “The majority of people employed in the last six years are going to get laid off. It’s a horrible situation. There’s families that get their entire income from the Belvidere Assembly Plant. There’s fathers and mothers that work there together. What are they going to do come May? They’re going to get laid off and have no income. I guess they will get unemployment, but unemployment will only do so much.”
Simon spoke about his desire for free college education. “When Bernie started to run and started talking about free college education for everyone, that is one thing that really struck me,” he said. “Student loan debt is horrible. I’m a senior at Rockford East, and it’s really stressful and so complicated. It’s such a terrible system. If education was free and universal, it would provide equal opportunity for all.”
Andrew noted that he could not afford college. He said, “I’m not actually in college right now. Financial issues for college is a big thing. If college was free, I would definitely take advantage of it and further my knowledge.”
Louis is also 22 and is a college student studying communications in Chicago. “I’ve heard a lot about Sanders, but just wanted to come out and hear what he had to say. I thought he made a lot of good points in his first run.”
Louis listed a number of issues he was concerned about, including “inequality financially, our presence in the political realm, violence in our neighborhood. Police brutality definitely needs to be addressed. But I think if we address those things head on they can change.”
He said that he did not consider himself a Democrat. “I personally don’t put myself in a political party.”
Louis said that he had not given much thought to socialism previously, and said he thought that there were ways to address social problems within “each belief system, whether capitalism or socialism.”
However, when a reporter explained that there was an objective conflict within society, between a reactionary financial oligarchy and the working class which produces all of society’s wealth, he agreed, adding, “I agree with everything you just said. I strongly believe the working class is the whole heart of America, and the world.”
Jake is a 23-year-old, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. “I’m a sales manager in Chicago. Universal healthcare is a big issue for me. Social issues have been quite relevant to me as well. I know Bernie doesn’t go as far on a lot of issues, as far as socialism, that I want though.
“Healthcare matters to me because living should be a human right,” he noted. “We should care about other human rights. The rise of insulin costs is abhorrent. I have four people in my family that have diabetes. Luckily, they are all fortunate enough to be able to afford it. But I’ve heard the horror stories. Nobody should die from a treatable disease. It’s disgusting that a black market for insulin has to even exist. I am young enough and fortunate enough to get insurance from my father. I haven’t gotten any major health issues at this point—and I don’t have to in the near future. But what if my dad lost this job?”
Danny and Jake
Danny is a friend of Jake and a worker in Chicago as well. He contrasted the spending on war with spending on social programs in the United States. “The Pentagon misplaced $7 billion and they don’t know where it went,” he said. “And they can’t afford healthcare? I think saving people’s lives affordably is more important than invading other countries and destroying lives.”
Both Jake and Danny also spoke about Sanders’ tacit support for the Trump administration’s efforts to oust the Maduro government in Venezuela, which could create a violent civil war. “We should not be involved in that,” Jake said. “That’s nonsense,” Danny added.
Jake also spoke about other issues that were important to him, including education and the recent strikes of teachers. “The other big issues that matter to me are education—public vs. private. I’ve been following the teacher strikes and I have friends who are teachers in California. My friends were in the Los Angeles teacher strike. Teachers need to be paid a lot more. Education solves a lot of root problems. I’m also really concerned about income inequality.”
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Artists, writers, film scholars protest Bowling Green State University decision to remove Lillian Gish’s name
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Blog Statements and Press Releases Christchurch Terror: New Zealand Govt Extols MPAC...
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Press Release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHRISTCHURCH TERROR: NEW ZEALAND GOVT EXTOLS MPAC FOR ITS CONCERN AND CONDOLENCES
Monday 8, April 2019
The government of New Zealand has expressed appreciation to the Muslim Public Affairs Centre, Nigeria for its support to the country and its Muslim community in the aftermath of the terror attack that killed 51 Muslims in Christchurch city.
Acknowledging MPAC’s letter to the New Zealand Prime Minister, the country’s embassy in Addis Ababa through which it was sent thanked the Nigeria-based MPAC for its kind letter of condolences and appreciation regarding the terrorist attack, assuring that the letter had been forwarded to the office of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
“Thank you once again for your support at this difficult time’’, the New Zealand embassy expressed.
Following the disheartening incident of March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand, MPAC had despatched a four-paragraph “letter of Consolation and Appreciation’’ to Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, through the country’s embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In the letter dated 31 March 2019, MPAC Executive Chairman Disu Kamor on behalf of the organisation was full of empathy for the victims but praised the PM’s courage and leadership when she forcefully denounced Islamophobia and called for a global campaign against hate.
The MPAC’s four-paragraph but powerful letter reads:
“Dear Madam,
We wish to express our utmost shock at the mindless murder of innocent worshippers in mosques in Christchurch city by two terrorists during the Friday prayer on 15 March 2019. We share in the pain and misery of the Muslim community in New Zealand and the entire people of New Zealand who came together in a strong spirit of unity and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their Muslim co-citizens in revulsion and absolute rejection of Islamophobia and hate. Our solemn prayers are with the victims, the injured, their families and loved ones and indeed the entire people of New Zealand. Please accept our deepest condolences and we pray that God Almighty will reward your courage and kindness. May God grant your nation peace and security, amen.
The entire team of the Muslim Public Affairs Centre, MPAC, is particularly happy and praise your courage and leadership when you came out with one of the most forceful denunciations of Islamophobia on record, and deliberately called for a global campaign against hate. Your exemplary role and leadership during this major terrorist attack will remain a beckon of hope for those aspiring to see courageous leadership in a world that is increasingly witnessing indiscriminate bloodshed, extremism and far-right radicalism. It is clear to see that the intention of those terrorists who planned and carried out the despicable acts of terrorism against the Muslim community of New Zealand have come to nought. Surely, the people of New Zealand, under your leadership, have shown strong spirit, genuine compassion and true commitment to peaceful co-existence. By actions and words, you have demonstrated that acts of indiscriminate violence, acts of hate or terror attack targeting a faith community, even if they are a minority, cannot be tolerated. Your example has become the model for others currently in the position of power and it will serve as an inspiration to many generations to come.
Madam, as we wish you long life and more meritorious services to your nation and humanity, we pray that God Almighty will unite all your citizens on goodness, cure the hearts of the hate cultists and give us peace, love, justice, security and prosperity everywhere.
Please convey our heartfelt sympathy and prayers to the families of the bereaved, the injured and the Muslim community of New Zealand.
Disu Kamor”
From Addis Ababa, Ethiopia came the following acknowledgement:
‘’Kia ora Disu Kamor,
Thank you for your kind letter of condolences and appreciation regarding the terrorist attack in New Zealand. We have forwarded your letter to the Office of Prime Minister Ardern.
Thank you once again for your support at this difficult time.
New Zealand Embassy Addis Ababa’’
The MPAC’s letter to New Zealand was also in consonance with the organisation’s Core Values which states:
“Mercy: “We sent thee (O Muhammad) not, but as a Mercy for all creatures” (Quran 21:107)
Justice: “O you who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk. Whether the person concerned be rich or poor, God’s claim takes precedence over (the claims of) either of them. Do not, then, follow your own desire, lest you swerve from justice: for if you distort (the truth), behold, God is indeed aware of all that you do!”(Quran 4:135)
Peace: “If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things.” (Quran 8:61)
Human Dignity: “Now, indeed, We have conferred dignity on all the children of Adam, and borne them over land and sea, and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life, and favoured them far above most of Our creation.” (Quran 17:70)
Freedom: “There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever rejects Satan (and what he calls to) and believes in Allah, he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handhold, which shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.“ (Quran 2:256) “He who is rightly guided, it is for himself; and he who goes astray, it is to his own detriment. No soul can bear another’s burden.” (Quran 17: 15)
Equality for All: “O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all- knowing, all-aware.”(Quran 49:13)
Sanctity of All Human Life: Nor take life- which Allah has made sacred – except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, we have given his heir authority (to demand retaliation or to forgive): but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life, for he is helped (by the Law) (Quran 17:33)
(Imam Al-Ghazali has quoted this verse and drew the conclusion that “in respect of the sanctity of life and the prohibition of aggression against it, Muslims and non-Muslims are equal. Attack on the personal safety of non-Muslims invokes the same punishment in this world and the Hereafter”. [Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Huquq al-Insan, p. 54])
“Do not kill yourselves, for verily Allah has been to you most merciful” (Quran 4: 29)
“….take not life which Allah has made sacred” (Quran 6:151)
Meanwhile, MPAC has concluded arrangement for the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria towards the implementation of its Project Muslim VIP, a media centred initiative to strengthen Muslim Voice, project Islamic Identity and facilitate Muslim representation and participation in public, national and global affairs
The launching which holds in Lagos on Sunday, April 21 at Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) exhibition and conference centre also offers the platform to formally inaugurate it’s Muslimedia Faculty and Media & Strategic Communications Department.
Abdulwarees Solanke
Director, Media & Strategic Communications,
Muslim Public Affairs Center, Nigeria
abdulwarith.solanke@mpac-ng.org
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Natalie Pate
The Salem Storytellers Project
How and why refugees come to the U.S.
Read the story online
1:48 p.m. PDT June 15, 2016
Joel Nzabakiza describes his childhood as a “sad story.”
When he was 7, his father was stabbed to death in front of his family.
Fleeing for safety, Nzabakiza’s mother led his family, including his five brothers, to a nearby forest where they hid for a week until they were able to return to their destroyed home.
After years of running from the religious conflict in central Africa, Nzabakiza and his family lived in refugee camps for seven years, though they had to frequently live in camps apart from one another.
One day, they were given the news they’d been hoping for — they were able to resettle in the United States as refugees.
Arriving in Salem in April of 2015, everything was different.
“We came; we didn’t know anything,” said Nzabakiza, now 19.
About 60 people like Nzabakiza and his family have moved to Salem since January.
These refugees are in addition to the more than 1,300 who came to Oregon in 2015 primarily from Cuba, Burma, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq, and Somalia.
Organizations like Catholic Charities Oregon coordinated efforts to obtain needed materials, homes, job and language support and more for the future Salem residents.
In 1951 the United Nation’s Refugee Convention defined a refugee as someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”
In order to obtain refugee status, people have to go through extensive processes, including fleeing from the country in conflict, registering as a refugee with the United Nations, waiting — sometimes for years — to be approved, and undergoing the resettlement process into the country they will be in next.
By the end of 2014, there were 19.5 million refugees worldwide, according to the United Nations, 14.4 million of whom were under the mandate of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This was an increase of 2.9 million from 2013.
The remaining 5.1 million refugees were registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
However, there are an estimated 59.5 million forcibly displaced persons around the world, according to United Nation’s Global Trends report. This population not only includes refugees, but internally displaced persons, asylum-seekers and stateless people as well.
Nzabakiza’s story is telling of many of these people.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa, just after the second Congo war officially ended, Nzabakiza grow up in a time of violence.
Desperately hoping to escape the violence, his family sought refugee status and eventually were able to resettle in the states.
But it wasn’t an easy adjustment.
Nzabakiza spoke about using the shower and not knowing how to adjust the temperature or knowing how to ask for help for something so seemingly simple.
Shopping for food, clothes or school supplies could be overwhelming.
Though he speaks about seven languages, Nzabakiza had to adjust to reading textbooks and completing his math homework in a language less familiar to him.
But after three months, Nzabakiza said these things started to be more commonplace.
Nzabakiza attends McKay High School in Salem and plays on a local soccer team.
He spends his extra time working, going to church, and having fun, when he can — he really likes bowling.
He plans to attend college to become a doctor, with the hopes of attending Willamette University or another Oregon school in a couple years.
“God blessed me here to help my people back home,” he said in a previous interview with the Salvation Army.
Though his mother and siblings are now in Texas living with other relatives, Nzabakiza continues to study hard in school in Salem.
He has also been helping the new refugees as they adjust to American life.
Nzabakiza said two families — one from Kenya, the other from the Ivory Coast — live near the family he is staying with. He helps translate for them and teach them things that may be unfamiliar — like adjusting the temperature of the shower.
Jenny Barischoff of Catholic Charities Oregon said about 80 percent of refugees are women and 50 percent are under the age of 18.
“Historically, the U.S. resettles the greatest number of refugees each year,” she said in a presentation given earlier this year on refugees.
Barischoff said these people often flee their homes with little to no belongings. Sometimes they are displaced within their home country, but a refugee specifically is seeking help from another country, which is often a neighboring country.
According to the U.N., most refugees hope to one day return to their home, though some will undergo a citizenship process to become a permanent resident elsewhere.
When registering with the U.N., the candidates are interviewed multiple times, Barischoff said. She said their story has to be corroborated.
They are given a card from the U.N., that provides access to camps, food, and shelter, among other supplies.
Then the waiting begins. Barischoff said the average wait time is 10 years.
Once resettled, refugees have three paths they can take, or “durable solutions,” as Barischoff said.
They can undergo voluntary repatriation — which tends to be the most desired; work to gain legal status in host country — which is very rare; or establish permanent resettlement in a third country.
In Oregon, the Department of State and the U.S. Department of Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement contract with organizations like Catholic Charities Oregon and Lutheran Community Services Northwest to set requirements and deadlines for refugees in the area.
Barischoff said the ultimate goal of all resettlement programs is rapid employment, saying this is the “best pathway for integration.”
Once the refugees arrive in Oregon, the resettlement process beings. The refugees arrive, attend a welcoming orientation, go to the Department of Human Services for benefits, and more.
The federal and state governments have programs to help pay for some the refugees’ first 90 days in the country. Barischoff said Catholic Charities and others are working hard during that period to make sure the refugees have a sustainable life to support themselves when they no longer receive funding.
To aid them, organizations help with immunizations, medical screenings, English language learning services, enrollment for children in school as well as ongoing case management.
Barischoff said they help with cultural adaptation as much as possible as well, introducing the refugees to life in Oregon. Grocery shopping, for example, is a task that may be easy for some, but when someone doesn’t speak English, cannot read the ingredients or signs and needs helps converting currencies, it can be much more daunting.
Since refugees borrow money for plane tickets from the International Organization for Migration to be resettled, Barischoff said, they have to start paying it back after six months. At one year, they are eligible for a green card. At five years, they are eligible to apply for citizenship.
Barischoff has helped resettle many refugees in the area.
“Greeting a newly arriving refugee family at the airport is one of the greatest experiences – it’s like seeing a baby be born,” she said.
Contact Natalie Pate at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6745 or follow on Twitter @Nataliempate or http://www.Facebook.com/nataliepatejournalist
News of refugees coming to the United States and parts of Europe this year was met with resistance from many. This ongoing series will address those concerns and discuss the different ways and reasons people come to the United States.
All of the Coming to America stories, photographs and other resources can be found at www.StatesmanJournal.com.
Refugee growth in Oregon
According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, more than 64,000 refugees have resettled in Oregon since 1975. Most of these refugees initially settle in the greater Portland metro area.
Currently, the most common refugee groups arriving in Oregon are from, Cuba, Burma, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq, and Somalia.
Oregon’s refugee arrival populations from the past 15 years:
2015: 1,357
Famous refugees in the United States include:
North Salem senior to graduate, pursue dreams
A message given to Salem refugees: you are welcome here
Follow Natalie
Follow the Statesman Journal
Natalie on Twitter
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Previous article : « China’s destination of choice »
Next article : « Michael J Glennon on the growing power (...) »
‘I want to play in Europe’
Exploiting African football
Gifted soccer players are just as much an African natural resource as oil or coltan or diamonds. Europe, China and the Middle East exploit them, and the dreams of all those who want to be them.
by David Garcia
Abidjan 2005, training at the ASEC Mimosas academy
Neal Marchan · Icon Sport · Getty
The school playground in Koumassi, a suburb of Abidjan, becomes a training ground in the holidays, and this April, Métro Star juniors were kicking the ball around in the heat. Aristide B. a former professional player, helped set up this academy. There are hundreds of programmes like it in Côte d’Ivoire’s economic capital. Aristide introduced his best player, a nine-year-old. ‘I want to play in Europe,’ the boy said confidently. Did he know about the risks? He nodded.
The former captain of the Ivorian national team, Yaya Touré, earns over $1m a month at Manchester City. He belongs to a tiny international elite making over $720,000 a year, just 2% of those in the professional game, according to a 2016 survey of 54 national unions by FIFPro (the International Federation of Professional Footballers). Most play in Europe, the Gulf or China.
The reality for many African players is the antithesis of this life. They often have no contracts and terrible working conditions; 21% earn under $300 a month and 41% said they had been paid late during the last two seasons; in Africa this was 55%. Players have the least job security in Africa: 15% have no contract, compared to 3% in Europe.
Aristide B and fellow players from Koumassi told stories that illustrated the disparity between the dreams of millions of young Africans and the harsh reality. But Justin S, despite bad experiences at several clubs, wants to keep playing. He got his first professional contract in 2007, aged 17, when his monthly salary was $88, below the minimum wage in Côte d’Ivoire, $106. He never received the promised bonus of $267 for signing his contract.
‘Your mum’s got no money’
‘The [club] chairwoman would give us some sob story: “I’m your mum. Your mum’s got no money.” And we fell for it.’ Having failed a trial for a Tunisian club in 2008, he ended up in Côte d’Ivoire’s Ligue 2, where things were worse. ‘I got about $18 a month, when labourers were making $6 a day.’ To encourage (...)
David Garcia is a journalist.
Translated by George Miller
(1) The names of Koumassi players have been changed at their request.
(2) ‘Euro 2016: 40 joueurs d’origine africaine’, Football 365, 9 June 2016.
(3) ‘Global study on expatriate footballers’, International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), May 2018.
français — Misère du football africain
Español — La miseria del fútbol africano
Deutsch — Fußballträume
Esperanto — La afliktoj de afrika futbalo
« China’s destination of choice »
« Michael J Glennon on the growing power of the United States’ national security bureaucracy »
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HBO cancels 'Vinyl' in about-face from earlier renewal
by Brian Lowry @blowryontv June 22, 2016: 4:40 PM ET
Inside look at Scorsese and Jagger's new HBO show 'Vinyl'
"Vinyl" won't be getting a "B" side, as HBO has pulled the plug on the expensive music series, whose creative pedigree included Mick Jagger as well as "Boardwalk Empire" collaborators Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter.
Although tune-in for the show was low even by pay-cable standards, HBO almost instantly renewed it for a second season. But the program -- about the music industry in the 1970s -- then exhibited signs of discord, with showrunner Winter opting to leave at the end of the first year over what were described as creative differences.
HBO issued a statement announcing the move, which stated, "Obviously, this was not an easy decision. We have enormous respect for the creative team and cast for their hard work and passion on this project."
The action also comes after a management change at the network, with the departure of entertainment president Michael Lombardo. Casey Bloys, who oversaw HBO's comedy development and late night, replaced him last month. (HBO, like CNN, is a division of Time Warner (TWX).)
RELATED: HBO names Casey Bloys president of programming
For HBO, the decision appears to be a case of not wanting to throw good money after bad. Usually, the network is reluctant not to give series at least two seasons, and has often been known to order a second run even before programs premiere, demonstrating that ratings aren't the sole criteria in measuring success.
Nevertheless, there have been instances where HBO has subsequently rescinded those extensions. In 2012, for example, the network canceled the horse-racing drama "Luck" after the death of several thoroughbred horses during the filming of the series.
Canceling "Vinyl" thins the ranks of HBO series heading into the coming TV season. Among the more anticipated offerings is the sci-fi drama "Westworld," which was previously delayed and has now been scheduled for the fall.
"Vinyl" starred Bobby Cannavale, with Olivia Wilde and Ray Romano among the large supporting cast. Beyond the talent, music rights contributed to the high cost of the period series. The Hollywood Reporter estimated HBO's investment in the first season at $100 million.
CNNMoney (Los Angeles) First published June 22, 2016: 4:40 PM ET
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Jeff Bezos is the richest person in history
by Chris Isidore @CNNTech January 9, 2018: 8:33 AM ET
Jeff Bezos in 60 seconds
Jeff Bezos is now the richest person of all time. That should put an Amazon smile on his face.
The Amazon CEO's net worth reached $105.1 billion Monday, according to Bloomberg's billionaire tracker. That eclipses the record previously held by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Forbes, the other major tracker of the net worth of the world's richest, put Bezos' net worth at a mere $104.4 billion.
When inflation is taken into account, neither Gates nor Bezos is the richest person of all time. Oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller is widely believed to be the richest person since the Middle Ages.
Rockefeller would have been worth $367 billion in today's dollars, according to economist Peter Bernstein. Other 20th century business barons, including Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford, also were wealthier than Bezos.
Gates in the late '90s was also richer than Bezos is now, in inflation-adjusted terms. His net worth was briefly above $100 billion in April 1999 when the internet stock bubble helped to inflate the value of his holdings, according to Forbes. Adjusted for inflation, $100 billion in 1999 would be worth $148 billion today.
The majority of Bezos' net worth comes from the 78.9 million shares of Amazon stock he owns. Shares of Amazon (AMZN) climbed 1.4% Monday, adding about $1.4 billion to his net worth.
Shares of Amazon (AMZN) are up nearly 7% so far in this year after rising 56% in 2017.
Bezos' other holdings include the Washington Post and Blue Origin, a private space travel business that intends to take tourists to space.
Related: Jeff Bezos is the smartest guy in business
Bezos grabbed the title of world's richest person in July, when he briefly passed Bill Gates. He moved back ahead of Gates in October. He first crossed the $100 billion net worth mark in November at the start of the holiday shopping season, once again helped by stock performance of Amazon.
Gates is now worth $91.9 billion according to Forbes, and $93.3 billion by Bloomberg. That's still enough to keep the No. 2 spot on both lists of richest people.
Even without adjusting for inflation, Gates would still be worth far more than Bezos if not for his significant charitable contributions. Bloomberg said its analysis of his publicly disclosed donations shows that Gates has given away 700 million shares of Microsoft, worth $61.8 billion at today's value, as well as $2.9 billion in cash, which would put his net worth over $150 billion.
CNNMoney (New York) First published January 9, 2018: 7:42 AM ET
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Home > Economics > The crisis in higher education
The crisis in higher education
By: Stuart Watkins 10/03/2018
Bloated fat cats at the top, baying mobs closing down meetings at the bottom, and striking dons in between – it seems our universities are in deep trouble. What’s going on? Stuart Watkins explains.
Are our universities in trouble?
You would be forgiven for thinking so. The news in recent months has been full of university bosses on bloated pay packets making extravagant expenses claims; of lectures being closed down by students who don’t like to hear things they disagree with; and of dons downing chalk to defend their generous pensions. The sector generally has become embroiled in politics.
There are doubts about whether university represents value for money for the increasing numbers who go there, and there is a row about how higher education is funded – Prime Minister Theresa May last week announced plans for a year-long review, and a new regulator starts work in April tasked with improving standards.
Why is funding an issue?
Tuition fees now make up the bulk of universities’ income, according to the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Students must pay those fees themselves with loans – a cost of £9,250 a year, not including living expenses, at interest rates of 6.1%. That’s problematic politically – Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party is riding high at least in part because it has promised to scrap the fees and reintroduce maintenance grants, and May’s Conservative party feels bound to counter-offer for electoral reasons. Fees in Britain are among the highest in the OECD club of mostly rich countries.
A dismal performance all round then?
Not really. British universities are thriving. The best top global league tables for the quality of their research and teaching, despite fears that Brexit would make them less popular with foreign students and hence squeeze their income. They are borrowing to expand and improve facilities to win more students. Ever more people, including increasing numbers from poor backgrounds, go to university – nearly half of all teenagers go on to study at university, according to official figures.
They are also an important pillar of the British economy. In 2014-2015, universities supported almost one million jobs and contributed £21.5bn to UK GDP, according to Universities UK, the sector’s advocacy group.
And all the cream goes to the fat cats?
Again, not really. Some large-sounding figures have inflamed public opinion, and revelations of an expenses scandal, where top vice chancellors (VCs) have claimed for things such as top-end hampers, have not helped. But VCs aren’t overpaid, according to Len Shackleton of the Institute of Economic Affairs. Universities are not part of the public sector – they are private bodies that compete globally for talent.
They are therefore entitled to set their own pay and must do so at levels that will attract suitable candidates for what is a demanding and pressurised job. Those levels are modest by international standards and salaries are lower than those of bankers and the bosses of FTSE 100 firms. Politically, though, that’s a hard argument to make. VCs have been enjoying bumper pay rises at a time when their staff’s pay has been cut in real terms. The UCU union that represents lecturers calculates that pay has fallen by 15%-20% in real terms since 2009.
But they do get generous pensions?
Not for much longer. The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which runs the defined-benefit pension schemes for many universities, has a £6bn black hole
in its finances. As a result, it has proposed shifting future savings into a defined-contribution scheme. In other words, rather than being committed to promises about future pension payments that it can’t afford, benefits will instead be dependent on the size of the savings pot and the investment returns it has earned.
That has angered staff, who have embarked on a large and prolonged strike. The changes would leave the average lecturer £10,000 a year worse off in retirement, says UCU. But the old arrangements are unaffordable without more money that would have to come from somewhere, counter employers, and the proposed new scheme is still generous by private-sector standards – contributions from employers would be 18%, double the average in the private sector.
Is the £6bn deficit meaningful?
The USS says it is, but the figure is disputed by the union, and by Dennis Leech, a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Warwick. The pension is not actually in deficit at all using any reasonable definition of the term, says Leech. There is more money coming into the fund than is leaving it. The quoted deficit is an artefact of assumptions made about future returns and circumstances.
Plug in slightly more reasonable ones – about the future direction of bond yields or expected mortality rates, for example – and the scheme is doing just fine. Indeed, USS’s assumptions are “recklessly prudent”, says UCU: USS should be prepared to take on more risk, while demanding increased contributions from workers and employers, in the hope of better returns. Both sides went into arbitration talks this week to seek consensus, but the strikes continued.
And how are the students taking it?
Not well. Probably most support the strike (polls conducted by Times Higher Education suggest they do), but given that they now pay fees, they inevitably think more like consumers, and are demanding compensation for things they have paid for but not received. About 90,000 students have signed petitions demanding a refund. Universities are resisting, claiming alternative arrangements will always be made, but the students have a point, says Daniel Finkelstein in The Times.
“Academics can’t just have a row with each other about how they share out their own savings and expect students to pay for the argument. Academics always like to insist that students are more than customers. Right now, they are treating them as less than customers.”
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Ryan: Rain robbed this Rolex 24 of what it promised to be — legendary
By Nate RyanJan 27, 2019, 8:15 PM EDT
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When it rains it pours, but never has a potential racing classic been so dampened by the washout that turned Daytona International Speedway into a 3.56-mile flood plain Sunday.
The 2019 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona will be remembered less for what it was – a maddeningly tantalizing endurance race that concluded in fits and starts that lasted nearly nine hours – than for what it could have been.
That is, one of the all-time greatest showcases of talent and showdowns at the World Center of Racing.
Think of all the deliciously riveting storylines entering this event and then think about how they were living up to the hype through an extremely chippy first half of the 24-hour race.
–Fernando Alonso, making his second consecutive start in the Rolex 24 but in a championship-caliber car, put his gargantuan talent on full display by charging to big leads in his No. 10 Cadillac DPI.
–Juan Pablo Montoya, the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner whose aggression and verve always makes for beguiling drives at Daytona, engaged in a fierce battle with Kamui Kobayashi, Alonso’s accomplished and versatile teammate. It led to JPM hinting (with his trademark moxie) at playing rough later in the race.
— Montoya, Alexander Rossi and Helio Castroneves – three sublime talents with six Indianapolis 500 victories between them – had Team Penske’s two Acuras humming with the approval of motorsports magnate namesake Roger Penske, who was atop the pit box with no plans to sleep for 24 consecutive hours for the second year in a row.
Alex Zanardi signs autographs Saturday (Courtesy of IMSA).
And we have yet to mention Alex Zanardi, the immensely popular star whose return to American racing for the first time in nearly two decades drew the majority of the prerace headlines.
His team had initial problems with the specially modified steering wheel designed to allow Zanardi (who lost his legs in a 2001 crash) to pilot his BMW M8 at 180-plus mph with only his hands. But his spirits remained unbowed, and the race at least held the flicker of an unbelievably happy ending that would have dovetailed with his amazing life story.
Until shortly before daybreak.
At roughly 6 a.m., the heavy stuff began to arrive, and all of the action and accompanying subplots came to a screeching halt.
Alonso’s historic win with Wayne Taylor Racing at least offered a consolation postscript to a Daytona race that was unprecedented for all the wrong reasons.
“I’ve been around a long time,” Zanardi, 52, said, “but this was definitely one of the toughest conditions I’ve ever experienced in my racing career.”
The rain is nothing new for Central Florida. NASCAR fans are well aware of the clockwork summer thunderstorms that annually delay Cup races here around the Fourth of July weekend.
But this was inclement weather on a demoralizingly next level for Daytona: Borderline tropical storm-esque conditions that progressively worsened through the day.
As the wind kicked up, and the raindrops intensified, it became impossible to have the track in any sort of raceable form. Sports cars are built to run in the wet with specially constructed rain tires. But new supplier Michelin had no hope of building rubber that could match the untenable circumstances.
“You’re just standing in water up to your ankles in some of the puddles,” Rossi said after exiting his third-place No. 7 Acura for the final time. “They’re not racing conditions, unfortunately, which is a shame. It was an amazing race across all the classes before the weather started.”
This was not the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
Call it the 16 Hours of a Riveting Rolex Followed by 8 Hours of Incessant Rain That Wrecked The Last Third of a Sports Car Spectacle.
That was enough to even stun Penske, who extraordinarily was left searching for context from his 81 years and a career spanning 17 Indianapolis 500 wins and championships across several series.
“I’ve never seen a race like this,” The Captain told NBCSN’s Kelli Stavast. “Have you?”
It’s unlikely any of the fans who have been coming for this festival of speed for more than a half-century had seen anything like it, either.
At least there were the traditional fireworks, the Ferris wheel and the fairgrounds-style layout of fast cars and funnel cakes to enjoy and peruse Saturday night, because there was no fun to be had in their second run around the clock.
By late Sunday afternoon, the infield was a ghost town of mud bogs and flapping pup tents abandoned by fans who apparently had made a hasty and wise departure from the premises long before darkness fell.
The first red flag fell at 7:22 a.m. and lasted an hour and 45 minutes. After a brief attempt at green, the race went back under yellow for other 90 minutes – so long it left Penske’s Ricky Taylor needing to climb out of his car because he’d fallen ill.
The race went green again at 10:48 a.m., but the incessant spins and detours through the grass inevitably resulted in another yellow flag – and then a red flag at 12:39 p.m. that effectively ended the race.
It’s certainly fair to have a slight quibble with how IMSA handled the finish. After a promised 2 p.m. announcement that passed without news, series and race officials left everyone hanging for 25 minutes before announcing the race had been deemed official 10 minutes short of the 24-hour mark under “some of the most extreme weather conditions ever seen at Daytona International Speedway.”
With rain falling at nearly an inch per hour, there was no saving this race.
GTD driver Daniel Morad, whose No. 29 Audi was among the last casualties, said “it got a little bit dangerous” when drivers were flying through the Bus Stop section with no control. “It’s not worth people’s safety to go back green if it’s going to be this dangerous,” he said.
Said Eric Curran, whose Whelen Engineering Racing team finished second to Alonso: “I don’t want to see a bunch of cars get wrecked, and I don’t want to see anyone get hurt. It’s just about keeping the thing on the track and trying not to hurt yourself and everyone around you. It’s just miserable. You’re so focused just on yourself and keeping the car on the track more so than you are racing the guy next to you.”
Fernando Alonso exults afer his Daytona win (Courtesy of IMSA).
Winning car owner Wayne Taylor realized things had become untenable through the radio transmissions of Alonso, the two-time Formula One champion who also has a 24 Hours of Le Mans win and will go for an Indianapolis 500 win in May.
When he watched the pace car ahead of him nearly lose it under the final yellow, Alonso radioed he was fearful of the conditions.
“When I heard him come on the radio, talking fear, I suddenly realized, ‘This is not safe,’ ” Taylor said. “This is really not good when a guy like that is telling you that.”
The numbers bore out that gravity.
It was the first time in Rolex 24 history that the event was marred by two red flags (and only the seventh and eighth times there’d been a stoppage).
Of the 593 laps, 126 – or 21 percent – were run under yellow, and it wreaked havoc on the flow and fortunes of teams in the race.
Alonso took the lead for the final time because sports car ace Felipe Nasr blew the Turn 1 corner shortly before the last yellow.
In the GT Le Mans class, defending winner Richard Westbrook pitted his Chip Ganassi Racing Ford from the lead just before the final red.
“I’ve driven in many, many conditions in my life ‑‑ in the fog, in the rain, but nothing like that,” said Westbrook, whose team had rallied from five laps down. “It was ridiculous. But then to throw the red when they did is just really … it’s like a real kick in the (genitals).”
The feeling probably was similar for fans who were teased with the possibility of some big-name heavyweights slugging it out for a crown jewel but instead didn’t even get the satisfaction of Alonso’s No. 10 DPI crossing the finish line beneath the checkered flag.
Not that it bothered the Spaniard, whose team exquisitely executed its strategy of blending conservatism with occasionally blistering speed, playing the long game by sacrificing pace in dry conditions.
“I think it was perfect like that,” Alonso said when asked if he would have rather raced for the win. “I love it, you know.
“Every time that I jump in the car I felt good. I felt competitive, and in the last moment to cross the line, or not crossing the line, I think the car No. 10 was dominating the whole 24 hours. So happy to win in whatever way.”
Hard to argue with that: One of the best drivers in the world won in one of the race’s best cars.
That at least offered some comfort at the end of a miserable half-day that offered only one true blameless conclusion: It was just one of those days.
“Today it rained like hell, and this is nobody’s fault,” Zanardi said. “Just the good Lord that was not very keen with us.”
It’s always smart to heed the advice of the inspirational Italian. So with that, let’s say a prayer for the Rolex 24.
Surely, it wouldn’t hurt to have some divine intervention ensuring a debacle like Sunday’s never happens again.
The winning No. 10 team of Alonso, Kamui Kobayashi, Renger Van Der Zande and Jordan Taylor, from left to right (Courtesy of IMSA).
Tags: Alex Zanardi, Fernando Alonso, imsa, Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, wayne taylor racing
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Adam Sandler Movie “Murder Mystery” Breaks Netflix Movie Records
Arden Terry June 19th, 2019 - 1:44 PM
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Adam Sandler’s movies always manage to find an audience. Though Sandler’s movies are usually savaged by critics, more often than not they succeed financially. This includes Sandler’s latest Netflix original movie Murder Mystery which, according to Screen Rant, broke records by having the biggest opening in the streaming service’s history to date. Just 72 hours after its release, Murder Mystery has already been viewed on over 30 million different Netflix accounts. Despite its record breaking success, it does not appear to be doing well critically.
As the title suggests, Murder Mystery is comedy about a murder mystery. Specifically the movie is a spoof of whodunit mysteries much like the plots found in an Agatha Christie novel or even the film adaptation of Clue. The movie was directed by Kyle Newacheck and stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, who previously worked together on the movie Just Go With It. The film centers around a New York cop and his wife who go on vacation to reinvigorate their marriage, only to get involved in a murder investigation.
Murder Mystery is part of the deal Netflix’s made with Sandler back in 2017. Sandler agreed to collaborate with Netflix on at least four movies, and clearly the deal is paying off for both parties. Perhaps this will provide incentive for Netflix and Sandler to continue their partnership.
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Home POLITICS 2019: Katsina-based youth group mobilises support for Atiku
2019: Katsina-based youth group mobilises support for Atiku
A Katsina-based youth group, Voice of Katsina Youths, on Saturday flagged-off a campaign aimed at mobilising youths to support Atiku Abubakar, the PDP flag bearer in the 2019 presidential race.
Hajia Farida Kabir-Murnai, its National President, who flagged-off the exercise in Zaria, Kaduna State, said that the organisation was convinced that Atiku, if elected, would improve the lot of the nation’s young people.
She claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari, who is from Katsina State, had not given adequate attention to that state.
“Buhari has inaugurated many projects in other parts of the country, especially in the Niger Delta, but his own state, Katsina, is still waiting for his attention,” she said.
The group’s leader called on the youths of Kaduna State to rally round Atiku in the forthcoming presidential election, saying that he (Atiku), had articulated a plan that would make Nigeria a great nation.
Kabir-Murnai regretted that federal government scholarships were becoming increasingly difficult, saying that the situation had affected both students and their parents.
She advised youths to register as members of the movement so as to participate in Nigeria’s quest for greatness, and assured members that everyone would be part of the outfit’s decision making process.
In his speech, Malam Jibril Ahmadu of Pharmacy Department, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU, Zaria, called on the youths to be the representatives of Atiku in their respective areas.
Ahmadu, former President, ABU Students’ Representative Council (SRC), alleged that the Buhari administration had yet to achieve much so far.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, shortly after flagging off the campaign, Kabir-Murnai said that the organisation was neither political nor profit making.
“Ours is a non-political organisation; we are only mobilising for Atiku because we feel he will be “very nice” to the youths.
“We are convinced that he will give attention to the youths because they constitute a bulk of those he currently works with. Most of his campaign team members and personal aides are youths. We have no doubt that the situation will continue if he is elected,” he said.
On why the organisation was interested in PDP alone, she said that members campaigned for the APC in 2015, but were “forgotten” after victory was achieved.
“In 2015, we campaigned for the APC. We went round all the local governments in Katsina State. The youths were very committed and worked hard to ensure victory, but not much was given to them at the end of the day,” she said.
She regretted that many youths in Katsina State were into drugs and blamed the situation on neglect over the years.
“When a youth is gainfully employed, he will have little or no time to abuse drugs or engage in other social vices.
“I have been persecuted for insisting on improving the plight of the youths. I was even arrested and detained in Katsina. I have been intimidated, criticised and harassed, but I believe I am doing the right thing and that is what motivates me,” she said.
Kabir-Murnai said that the organisation was getting stronger and was no longer limited to Kastina State.
“We are targeting the entire seven states in the North-West Geo-political Zone,” she said.
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Publications & MultimediaCurrently selected
NIJ Home Page > NIJ Journal > 262
NIJ Journal No. 262
Sex Trafficking: Identifying Cases and Victims
Drugs, Race and Common Ground: Reflections on the High Point Intervention
Postconviction DNA Testing Is at Core of Major NIJ Initiatives
Sleep Deprivation: What Does It Mean for Public Safety Officers?Currently selected
Protecting America's Ports
Using Technology to Make Prisons and Jails Safer
Preventing, Preparing for Critical Incidents in Schools
Sleep Deprivation: What Does It Mean for Public Safety Officers?
by Bryan Vila, Ph.D.
©Getty Images (see reuse policy).
When I speak to police officers about my research on sleep, job performance and shift work, they always ask, "What's the best shift?"
I always answer, "That's the wrong question. Most shift arrangements have good and bad aspects." The right question is this: "What is the best way to manage shift work, keep our officers healthy and maintain high performance in our organization?"
Scheduling and staffing around the clock requires finding a way to balance each organization's unique needs with those of its officers. Questions like "How many hours in a row should officers work?" and "How many officers are needed on which shift?" need to be balanced against "How much time off do officers need to rest and recuperate properly?" and "What's the best way to schedule those hours to keep employees safe and performing well?"
After all, shift work interferes with normal sleep and forces people to work at unnatural times of the day when their bodies are programmed to sleep. Sleep-loss-related fatigue degrades performance, productivity and safety as well as health and well-being. Fatigue costs the U.S. economy $136 billion per year in health-related lost productivity alone.[1]
In the last decade, many managers in policing and corrections have begun to acknowledge — like their counterparts in other industries — that rotating shift work is inherently dangerous, especially when one works the graveyard shift. Managers in aviation, railroading and trucking, for example, have had mandated hours-of-work laws for decades. And more recently they have begun to use complex mathematical models to manage fatigue-related risks.[2]
All of us experience the everyday stress associated with family life, health and finances. Most of us also feel work-related stress associated with bad supervisors, long commutes, inadequate equipment and difficult assignments. But police and corrections officers also must deal with the stresses of working shifts, witnessing or experiencing trauma, and managing dangerous confrontations.
My colleague, John Violanti, Ph.D., a 23-year veteran of the New York State Police, is currently a professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University at Buffalo and an instructor with the Law Enforcement Wellness Association. His research shows that law enforcement officers are dying earlier than they should. The average age of death for police officers in his 40-year study was 66 years of age — a full 10 years sooner than the norm.[3]
He and other researchers also found that police officers were much more likely than the general public to have higher-than-recommended cholesterol levels, higher-than-average pulse rates and diastolic blood pressure,[4] and much higher prevalence of sleep disorders.[5]
So what can we do to make police work healthier? Many things. One of the most effective strategies is to get enough sleep. It sounds simple, but it is not. More than half of police officers fail to get adequate rest, and they have 44 percent higher levels of obstructive sleep apnea than the general public.
See "What is Sleep Apnea?"
More than 90 percent report being routinely fatigued, and 85 percent report driving while drowsy.[6]
Sleep deprivation is dangerous. Researchers have shown that being awake for 19 hours produces impairments that are comparable to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .05 percent. Being awake for 24 hours is comparable to having a BAC of roughly .10 percent.[7] This means that in just five hours — the difference between going without sleep for 19 hours versus 24 hours — the impact essentially doubles. (It should be noted that, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, it is a crime to drive with a BAC of .08 percent or above.)
If you work a 10-hour shift, then attend court, then pick up your kids from school, drive home (hoping you do not fall asleep at the wheel), catch a couple hours of sleep, then get up and go back to work — and you do this for a week — you may be driving your patrol car while just as impaired as the last person you arrested for DUI.
Bars and taverns are legally liable for serving too many drinks to people who then drive, have an accident and kill someone. There is recent precedent for trucking companies and other employers being held responsible for drivers who cause accidents after working longer than permitted. It seems very likely that police departments eventually will be held responsible if an officer causes a death because he was too tired to drive home safely.
Sleep and fatigue are basic survival issues, just like patrol tactics, firearms safety and pursuit driving. To reduce risks, stay alive and keep healthy, officers and their managers have to work together to manage fatigue. Too-tired cops put themselves, their fellow officers and the communities they serve at risk.
See "Ways to Avoid Sleep Deprivation."
Accidental Deaths and Fatigue
Police Officer Deaths in the United States, 1980–2007
Police Officer On-the-Job Injuries and Deaths
The number of police officer deaths from both felonious assaults and accidents has decreased in recent years. Contrary to what most people might think, however, more officers die as a result of accidents than criminal assaults. Ninety-one percent of accidental deaths are caused by car crashes, being hit by vehicles while on foot, aircraft accidents, falls or jumping.
We know that the rate of these accidents increases with lack of sleep and time of day. Researchers have shown that the risk increases considerably after a person has been on duty nine hours or more. After 10 hours on duty, the risk increases by approximately 90 percent; after 12 hours, 110 percent.[8] The night shift has the greatest risk for accidents; they are almost three times more likely to happen during the night shift than the morning shift.
Countering Fatigue
Researchers who study officer stress, sleep and performance have a number of techniques to counteract sleep deprivation and stress. They fall into two types:
Things managers can do.
Things officers can do.
The practices listed below have been well-received by departments that recognize that a tired cop is a danger both to himself and to the public.
Things Managers Can Do
Review policies that affect overtime, moonlighting and the number of consecutive hours a person can work. Make sure the policies keep shift rotation to a minimum and give officers adequate rest time. The Albuquerque (N.M.) Police Department, for example, prohibits officers from working more than 16 hours a day and limits overtime to 20 hours per week. This practice earned the Albuquerque team the Healthy Sleep Capital award from the National Sleep Foundation.
Give officers a voice in decisions related to their work hours and shift scheduling. People's work hours affect every aspect of their lives. Increasing the amount of control and predictability in one's life improves a host of psychological and physical characteristics, including job satisfaction.
Formally assess the level of fatigue officers experience, the quality of their sleep and how tired they are while on the job, as well as their attitudes toward fatigue and work hours issues. Strategies include: administering sleep quality tests like those available on the National Sleep Foundation's Web site (www.sleepfoundation.org, and training supervisors to be alert for signs that officers are overly tired (for example, falling asleep during a watch briefing) and on how to deal with those who are too fatigued to work safely.
Several Canadian police departments are including sleep screening in officers' annual assessments — something that every department should consider.
Create a culture in which officers receive adequate information about the importance of good sleep habits, the hazards associated with fatigue and shift work, and strategies for managing them. For example, the Seattle Police Department has scheduled an all-day fatigue countermeasures training course for every sergeant, lieutenant and captain. In the Calgary Police Service, management and union leaders are conducting a long-term, research-based program to find the best shift and scheduling arrangements and to change cultural attitudes about sleep and fatigue.
Things Officers Can Do
Stay physically fit: Get enough exercise, maintain a healthy body weight, eat several fruits and vegetables a day, and stop smoking.
Learn to use caffeine effectively by restricting routine intake to the equivalent of one or two eight-ounce cups of coffee a day. When you need to combat drowsiness, drink only one cup every hour or two; stop doses well before bedtime.[9]
Exercise proper sleep hygiene. In other words, do everything possible to get seven or more hours of sleep every day. For example, go to sleep at the same time every day as much as possible; avoid alcohol just before bedtime; use room darkening curtains; make your bedroom a place for sleep, not for doing work or watching TV. Do not just doze off in an easy chair or on the sofa with the television on.
If you have not been able to get enough sleep, try to take a nap before your shift. Done properly, a 20-minute catnap is proven to improve performance, elevate mood and increase creativity.
If you are frequently fatigued, drowsy, snore or have a large build, ask your doctor to check you for sleep apnea. Because many physicians have little training in sleep issues, it is a good idea to see someone who specializes in sleep medicine.
NIJ Journal No. 262, March 2009
NCJ 225762
Bryan Vila is a professor of criminal justice at Washington State University Spokane and director of the Critical Job Tasks Simulation Laboratory in the Sleep and Performance Research Center. Vila served as a law enforcement officer for 17 years. He has authored numerous research articles and four books, including Tired Cops: The Importance of Managing Police Fatigue.Back to the top.
Next Article: Protecting America's Ports.
[note 1] Ricci, J.A., E. Chee, A.L. Lorandeau, and J. Berger, "Fatigue in the U.S. Workforce: Prevalence and Implications for Lost Productive Work Time," Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 49 (1) (2007): 1–10.
[note 2] U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Railroad Administration, Validation andCalibration of a Fatigue Assessment Tool for Railroad Work Schedules (pdf, 42 pages), Summary Report (2006) (DOT/FRA/ORD-06/21).
[note 3] "Dying for the Job," in Policing and Stress, ed. H. Copes and M.L. Dantzker, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 87–102.
[note 4] Merrill, M., "Cardiovascular Risk Among Police Officers" (master's thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo, n.d.).
[note 5] Vila, B., and C. Samuels, "Sleep Problems in First Responders and the Military," in Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, 5th ed., ed. M.H. Kryger, T. Roth, and W.C. Dement, Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders, forthcoming: Chapter 72.
[note 6] National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, "No Rest for the Weary," TechBeat (Winter 2008).
[note 7] Dawson, D., and K. Reid, "Fatigue, Alcohol and Performance Impairment," Nature 388 (July 17, 1997): 235.
[note 8] Folkard, S., and D.A. Lombardi, "Modeling the Impact of the Components of Long Work Hours on Injuries and 'Accidents,'" American Journal of Industrial Medicine 49 (11) (November 2006): 953–963.
[note 9] Wesensten, N.J., "Pharmacological Management of Performance Deficits Resulting From Sleep Loss and Circadian Desynchrony," in Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine, 5th ed., ed. M.H. Kryger, T. Roth, and W.C. Dement, Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders, forthcoming: Chapter 73.
Date Created: March 27, 2009
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Clergy for a New Drug Policy
Religious Declaration
Staff and Advisors
Faith Voices
Unitarian Universalist
Values at Stake
Drug Policy State Grading Map
Collateral Consequences
No Mandatory Minimums
Forfeiture Laws
Harm Reduction: A Personal Journey
Rev. Alexander E. Sharp December 18, 2018 Harm Reduction
Many wage war against harm reduction, opposing clean needle exchanges, Naloxone, and other life-saving drugs. Some religious leaders, especially Evangelicals and Catholics, oppose harm reduction because they find all drug use to be immoral.
CNDP believes harm reduction to be profoundly moral and to reflect the deepest values of our religious faith. We advocate a health not punishment response to drug use.
To understand harm reduction through first-hand experience, we approached Laura Fry, who directs patient and family services for Live4Lali, a Northern Illinois non-profit that works with individuals and families struggling with substance abuse.
In the following interview, CNDP Executive Director Rev. Alexander Sharp asked Laura to describe how she learned about harm reduction, what it is, and how she applies it in her work.
Al: What is harm reduction?
Laura: We all practice harm reduction every day. In my training sessions, when I ask, “Who practices harm reduction?” at first no hands go up. Then I ask, “Okay, who put a seat-belt on when they got in their car to come here?” Everybody’s hand goes up. We didn’t always have airbags or fluoride in our water. Harm reduction has evolved over the years. It’s anything we can learn or do that might prevent harm to people.
Al: So how does it apply to drug use, and how did you discover it?
Laura: My son was an IV heroin user. Seven years ago, when he was actively using, I would sack his room and throw out or break everything that I found, every pipe, every syringe. I even found his Naloxone [which revives people who have overdosed]. I had no idea what it was.
When I first heard about harm reduction, I didn’t know how I felt about giving drugs to drug users. But I learned that in places like San Francisco, where harm reduction was practiced, deaths dropped because of needle exchanges.
People who are addicted are going to use drugs. If someone with a substance use disorder finds a needle in a puddle, there is a good chance they will use it and even share it with others. When I was an emergency room nurse, a lot of IV drug users came in with abscesses because of reusing needles, sharing needles, not knowing how to inject properly. Those injuries could have been prevented.
Al: Drugs harm people. Why not simply say to drug users, “Look, you’ve got to stop. We’ve got 12-Step meetings that insist that you stop if you’re going to be part of those meetings.” What’s wrong with that?
Laura: Unfortunately, stopping doesn’t tend to stick with a chronic relapsing brain disease. That’s like saying to a person with diabetes, “you should try to produce enough insulin today.” It’s not possible.
People who don’t understand this reality wonder, “Why are you going in and out of rehab? Why are you going in and out of jail?” They think about drug use as an individual flaw. We have to look at the systems that are supporting this population and identify whether they are appropriately serving people in need. The emphasis on abstinence can set people up to fail.
Al: But isn’t abstinence the only way to recovery for some people?
Laura: Absolutely. But what data shows us is that treatment and recovery need to be individualized. A person who has three kids and a full-time job just cannot spend thirty days in an inpatient facility. For that person an evening outpatient program, treatment by an addiction specialist, and medication can be incredibly supportive.
There are definitely some people who need an inpatient program or who can only exist by total abstinence and going to four or five meetings a week. I respect that if that’s what works for you. But people are pretty complex and there are other areas that need to be addressed and other types of recovery programs available. Some people I know with opioid use disorder now use cannabis, medically or recreationally. If it helps you and you’re leading a productive life, and you’re alive, that’s a no-brainer.
Al: What you do for Live4Lali?
Laura: My title is director of patient and family services. I oversee all programming, whether in the community or in-house. We have multiple peer-to-peer recovery groups like SMART Recovery, a 25-year-old nonprofit organization that provides real life day-to-day tools for how to work your recovery. It uses cognitive behavior therapy and rational emotive behavior techniques.
Al: Are participants expected to go to meetings sometimes for the rest of their life, as often is the case with 12-Steps?
Laura: No. You graduate from SMART. One of the things that I say is, “I am not going to be sitting in this room 35 years from now with all of you all. People have come to me and said, ‘You know, I think I’ve gotten everything I can get out of this, and I want to discuss that with you.’”
Al: Can someone who’s going through the program continue to use drugs?
Laura: SMART Recovery encourages abstinence, but we make no judgment on that. Some people continue to use. We encourage any positive change. If I see someone who was an IV heroin user and now they’re smoking pot, that is a positive step. We encourage any positive change. It all comes down to: How are your behaviors? Are you an active member of society? Are you working? Are you functioning in your family? Do people like you again? Are you being responsible? Do you like yourself?
Al: What is medically-assisted treatment? Is that part of what you teach?
Laura: Well, I call it medication assisted recovery. We should think of it this way: if the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin, replacement insulin is needed. Medication-assisted recovery helps people who use opioids, alcohol, and tobacco in much the same way. People can be on these medications the rest of their lives. I have a dear friend whose son has been on methadone for nine years now. He’s a lawyer, he has two children, he’s married. Who cares? We don’t question this type of approach for any other chronic illness.
Al: Can you imagine a safe consumption facility? [SCFs are facilities that permit drug users to self-administer under medical supervision. Treatment capacity is available on site, but is not required. Over 60 such facilities exist in Europe and Australia. Only one exists in North America, none in the U.S.]
Laura: Oh, yes I can, but I don’t know if people are ready. People still believe that safe consumption sites are going to encourage people to use drugs.
Al: How do you answer that?
Laura: I’d like to take them to the trunk of my car and say, “I drive around with syringes all day. I’ve never been tempted to be an IV drug user.” Do you know what harm reduction enables? It enables health. Last summer when we started our mobile needle exchange, people were very hesitant to use the program but eventually could see that there’s no judgment, there’s no expectation. There is love. After a while, they said, “Talk to me about treatment.”
Obviously, the national response to addiction hasn’t been working. When I started out, 99 people were dying a day. Now it’s 192. So why not try love and compassion, especially when we know it works?
Al: What about treatment? I understand that in the U.S. we have treatment available for only one out of 10 who need it. You and I have talked about Portugal, where treatment is available for everyone. Would that be part of an answer?
Laura: Of course more treatment capacity would help. But not if it is just an intensive inpatient program that only teaches you one approach. Different levels of care are appropriate for different individuals, based on a validated diagnostic tool. Many treatment programs aren’t working with people on how to find a job or how to dress for an interview. Real life stuff.
Housing is a great example. If we cannot find sustainable, supportive recovery housing for individuals leaving residential treatment, how does that bolster their resilience and motivation to stay with their recovery plan? What happens now is, people are often secluded for 30 days, which is necessary to break that cycle of use, but then they’re out and there’s no follow-up or connection. It’s really risky to rely on that model, especially without addressing harm reduction.
Al: It seems to me there are two parts to the war on drugs. We can support the use of the force of the state to try to cut down trafficking. Then there is the war against users. Where did the idea come from that we ought to be arresting people for using drugs?
Laura: Using punitive sanctions has been an American ideology that has proven to be ineffective. This is in essence controlling people’s behaviors through policy. It comes from the myth that bad people use drugs. But we’re actively working to change that, and we’re seeing success.
Live4Lali has developed diversion programming and now we have a lot of law enforcement that want to help people. They’re starting programs where people can come into the police department with their drugs and their paraphernalia, drop it on the counter, and say, “I need help.” I’ve brought people into the police department five or six times. What we’ve seen is compassion. It just blows my mind. People in uniform hugging drug users and holding their hands and saying, “We’re going to help you.”
Al: Has all of your experience with drug use —in your personal life and your clinical work— given you any insight into how people change?
Laura: I lead meetings where I pass around a hand mirror and say, “I want each one of you to look in this mirror and tell yourself you love yourself and why. One thing about you … I don’t care what it is. You have nice eyelashes. I don’t care what it is.” I did this a couple of weeks ago, and I had people moved to tears. People say, “I never thought about myself like that.”
Al: How do they do that? It’s kind of hard to do.
Laura: Practice, practice. You’ve got to change those self-perceptions. I say, “I’m 58 years old. Don’t start this as late as I did. Start your path of discovery now, and learn to love yourself. If you don’t have it inside first, you can have the best job, all the money in the world, it won’t help.”
Al: Is love from other people part of this?
Laura: Absolutely. That’s one of the most important things about recovery. And, then, turning around, giving back. Volunteer at a dog shelter, Meals on Wheels. Get out of your own head, help someone who might be a little less fortunate than you.
Al: You saw your son struggling with addiction. What do you say to parents who are experiencing the same things you did?
Laura: The first question I ask them: “What are you doing for yourself?” Then, I teach them first person language. Instead of saying, “You are going to kill yourself! How could you do this to me?” try saying “I am really afraid that something bad is going to happen, and that makes me feel anxious. I feel like I haven’t done my job right. I feel like I am not supporting you in the way I should.” The people who are stuck in this brain disease have more shame than we could ever give them. They don’t need us, as parents to say “You’re destroying our family.” You don’t think they know that? Compulsion in their brain is driving them to keep doing it.
I just see families out there, so many friends, who have lost their loved ones, who say now, “I wish I had known about harm reduction. If I had known about methadone, I know that it would’ve worked for my son.”
Supervised Consumption Facilities: Canada 44 U.S. 0
The Justice Department’s War on Supervised Drug Use
Illinois Cannabis Bill Resets the War on Drugs
SB7: Letter in Support
Don’t Wait to Legalize Marijuana in Illinois
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The Tenth Element of Great Managing
Executives who think friendships are none of their business don’t understand human nature
by Rodd Wagner and Jim Harter
Adapted from 12: The Elements of Great Managing
Few issues are more controversial or confusing than the connection between friendships in the workplace and employee productivity. It's not surprising, therefore, that no other element of great managing attracts lightning like the Tenth, measured by the statement "I have a best friend at work."
When a company's executives receive their first briefing on employee engagement results from Gallup, the presenter typically asks if any of them has a question about the statements asked of their workers. Invariably, one of the business leaders asks, "Why do you ask that 'best friend' question?" Sometimes their tone of voice communicates real curiosity. Sometimes it carries a tone of derision. Physicians bristle at it; it offends their clinical perspective. Attorneys scoff; "irrelevant," they object. Accountants consider it too far removed from the financial statements.
When Gallup first published the Tenth Element in its place among the other 12, a good share of the press coverage betrayed surprise that such an apparently strange question was predictive of performance. "A best friend at work?" wrote a Washington Post columnist. "What is this? High school?" Time magazine called it a "more subtle variable" than many of the other 12. The Chicago Tribune warned managers to be careful: "Friendships at work can lead to jealousy, envy and sloth."
Clearly, the conversational form of the statement seems to invite skepticism. How does one define "a best friend"? Wouldn't it be easier to rate a statement about trust or about the harmony of intra-office relationships? The problem is that complicated and formal questions often fail to get at the heart of the issue. "Standard survey questions about trust do not appear to measure trust," but rather trustworthiness, concluded a National Bureau of Economic Research paper. "This means that most work using these survey questions needs to be somewhat reinterpreted."
Executive skeptics
On executive row, reactions were more caustic and skeptical than those in the press. One company cancelled a 12 Elements survey because it had just sent out a memo discouraging friendships. Others asked if the survey could be administered with just 11 of the 12 statements. That such a simple and, indeed, business-related question would prove to be so provocative shows how deeply a "Theory X," leave-your-personal-life-at-the-door philosophy still pervades the business world.
One company requested that a Gallup expert face its legal team's interrogations about the Tenth Element. The group's scores showed they had modest levels of friendship, with one attorney scoring friendships at work as low as possible (anonymously, of course). "Disregard for a moment whether you feel someone ought to be able to answer 'strongly agree' to this element," said the researcher. "If you strongly disagree with this statement, you are lonely at work. Someone here is trying to tell you he or she is isolated and miserable."
After the legal team's grilling, the expert was contacted by one of the lawyers. "I am the one person you were talking about," he said. "You were right. I feel no connection here. I have no one to confide in. I'm working on getting a job somewhere else."
Gallup itself would have dropped the statement if not for one stubborn fact: It predicts performance. Something about a deep sense of affiliation with the people in an employee's team drives him to do positive things for the business he otherwise would not do.
Early research that identified the 12 Elements revealed a very different social bond among employees in top-performing teams. Subsequent large-scale, multi-company analyses confirmed that the Tenth Element is a scientifically salient ingredient in obtaining a number of business-relevant outcomes, including profitability, safety, inventory control, and -- most notably -- the emotional connection and loyalty of customers to the organization serving them.
When tested against a number of alterative ways of presenting the statement, "I have a best friend at work" proved to be the wording best able to discriminate between groups in which friendships are sufficiently supportive and those that have only surface relationships that are unable to withstand adversity. Measuring friendships is susceptible to what scientists call "social desirability," the tendency of a respondent to give an answer that casts him in the best light. The same bias makes people sometimes tell pollsters that they read the newspaper when they didn't, say that they voted when they didn't, or report that they didn't watch a lot of TV when, in fact, they and a bag of potato chips were on the couch for two hours the night before.
Simply asking people if they have friends is not enough, as most people prefer to think that others like them or are loath to confess their isolation. It took a quirky twist to the survey question to elicit the type of meaning that makes a measurable difference in organizations.
While the Tenth Element is the most controversial, it is not the toughest on which to achieve strongly positive answers. A little less than one-third strongly agree that they have a best friend at work -- a higher frequency than the Seventh Element (feeling one's opinions count) and about the same as the Fourth (recognition and praise). Maybe executives don't see the need because they tend to have more friendships at work than do front-line employees. It is especially ironic when senior teams gather for off-site retreats during which they golf, fly-fish, play tennis, and socialize, but during the meetings at those retreats question the need to address friendships on their employee survey.
Violate company policy: Make a friend
Prior to seeing the group's Tenth Element results, a personnel representative from a consumer product company said, "Our policy is to not have close relationships at work. Our executives frown on it." The results showed that policy was being flouted with abandon, with close friendships being more prevalent in this business than in the average organization.
In the battle between company policy and human nature, human nature always wins. The evidence suggests people will fulfill their social needs, regardless of what is legislated. Companies do far better to harness the power of this kind of social capital than to fight against it. Business units in the top quartile on this element achieve profitability that is a full percentage point or two higher than those in bottom-quartile, unfriendly environments.
Numerous qualitative studies of employee engagement suggest that customers not only sense the level of camaraderie where they shop, but also that it makes a large difference in their experience, if for no other reason than its natural contagiousness. In the service industries, the customer ratings of workgroups with strong Tenth Element levels are 5% to 10% higher than those of impersonal or acrimonious groups, explaining the difference between success and failure in many organizations.
Other connections between the "best friend" statement and business outcomes are less intuitive, at least at first blush. At one electric utility, friendships among team members proved to be responsible for lower accident rates. When the workers were asked for the reason, they said that the answer is simple: People look out for their friends. A friend reminds his buddy to put on his hard hat. In the few seconds before a fall might occur, a friend is more likely to spot the hazard and rush to steady the ladder. A friend guards his comrade's safety as much as he does his own and shudders at the thought of having to go to his coworker's house to inform his family, whom he probably knows well, that there has been an accident at work.
It isn't as though team members want to see accidents occur to those who are not their friends. Rather, when there is not a close bond, it is less likely that there will be the level of vigilance that can make the difference between a close call and a mishap. When two-thirds of a team's members strongly agree that they have a best friend at work, that team averages 20% fewer accidents than a team in which only one member in three strongly agrees with the Tenth Element.
One of the statistics retailers obsess over is called "shrink." Assume that a store takes delivery on 100 laptop computers. One month later, records show that the store sold 25 of the computers and has 73 left in stock. The two missing laptops are defined as shrink. What happened to them? Sometimes one is shoplifted by a customer. Occasionally an employee steals one.
Shrink dramatically reduces or destroys the profitability of a store. It requires the profit margin from many items legitimately sold to make up for one item purchased at wholesale that simply disappears. In several analyses of stores that keep good inventory records, the level of friendships among the salespeople was shown to affect shrink. The connection was puzzling at first. The employees were less perplexed. "You don't steal from your friends," said one. There also appears to be a higher level of coordination among team members and vigilance against customer theft in the more cohesive groups.
Friendlessness and the unique role of the workgroup
The workplace holds a unique position for most employees in a society widely regarded as having lost much of the social contact of prior generations. Sociologists note a decades-long decline of people joining clubs, participating in the PTA, attending a town meeting, working for a political party, going to church, or informally socializing, such as going to a neighbor's house for dinner.
Each successive generation has a lower level of trust in those around them than did their elders. One of the most disturbing findings is that between 1985 and 2004, the number of people in an average person's network dropped from roughly three to two, and the number of people saying there is no one with whom they discuss important matters nearly tripled.
"Professionals and blue-collar workers alike are putting in long hours together, eating lunch and dinner together, traveling together, arriving early, and staying late. What is more, people are divorcing more often, marrying later (if at all), and living alone in unprecedented numbers. Work is where the hearth is, then, for many solitary souls," wrote Robert D. Putnam in Bowling Alone, a 2000 book replete with data documenting the decline of social cohesiveness in the United States. "As more Americans spend more of their time 'at work,'" wrote another commentator, "work gradually becomes less of a one-dimensional activity and assumes more of the concerns and activities of both private (family) and public (social and political) life."
People generally still have their closest comrades outside of work. Few men and women have the luxury of working side-by-side with their former college roommates, their hunting buddies, their childhood friends, or others to whom they might, say, consider donating a kidney. "In the most careful study," wrote Putnam, "when people were asked to list their closest friends, less than half of all full-time workers put even one coworker on the list. On average, neighbors were more likely to appear on the list than coworkers. When people were asked to whom they would turn to discuss 'important matters,' less than half of all full-time workers listed even a single coworker."
The glue that binds teams
The issue is not whether office friendships overwhelm bonds in private life, but to what degree a certain level of affiliation -- "a best friend" rather than "my one best friend" or "most of my friends" -- creates beneficial effects for the business. It's less surprising that other friendships take precedence over work relationships than that almost half of workers listed a coworker as someone to whom they would turn for crucial advice.
It's not a huge leap to assume from these studies that, particularly where work issues are concerned, a close colleague is an invaluable resource. "Many studies have shown that social connections with coworkers are a strong predictor -- some would say the strongest single predictor -- of job satisfaction," wrote Putnam. "People with friends at work are happier at work."
Another indication of how friends can make a work obligation more enjoyable comes from "day reconstruction" studies conducted by Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist who won the 2002 Nobel Prize for economics. The research technique asks respondents to recall the various events of their day and evaluate the enjoyment of each activity. Commuting to work is consistently one of the least enjoyable common activities -- unless one commutes with a friend. Then it becomes one of the most enjoyable.
Friendship is not without hazards for productivity, nor is it effective without the other 11 elements, such as coworkers being committed to doing quality work or clear expectations for each member of a team. Without clear direction, tight-knit teams can lose themselves in socializing and ignore customer or business needs. Friendships tend to be very strong among union workgroups preparing to strike -- an us-versus-them mentality that serves neither employees nor managers well. A group needs more than cohesion; it needs "norms" of high performance. Research dating back 50 years shows that cohesive groups that have standards of low performance do in fact perform at a low level. But these are the exceptions, situations in which a team rates high on the Tenth Element but low on most of the others. Most of the evidence suggests that the more interconnected a group, the better it will perform routinely and under pressure.
Research on workers in various settings has shown that friends are more likely to invite and share candid information, suggestions, and opinions and to accept them without feeling threatened. Friends tolerate disagreements better than do those who are not friends. The good feelings friends share make them more likely to cheer each other on. Friends are more committed to the goals of the group and work harder, regardless of the type of task. Group members who identify most closely with the team are more likely to monitor its performance against the goal.
Even when convinced of its importance, managers often challenge the Tenth Element by asking, "What am I supposed to do about this 'best friend' question? It's not like I can be everyone's buddy. I am the manager, after all."
The best managers encourage friendships in the workplace by creating the conditions under which such relationships thrive. For example, new employees at one home improvement store are required to spend some time working in each department as part of an orientation tour. As far as the training is concerned, it usually doesn't matter where they start. So one astute manager inquires into the interests of his new employees and tries to start them in a department where another employee shares the new recruit's hobbies. "We want to put together personalities that will gel," he said. "It's important to put people together who probably could communicate, first of all, but secondly be friends."
Jim Harter, Ph.D., is Chief Scientist, Workplace Management and Wellbeing for Gallup's workplace management practice. He is coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers 12: The Elements of Great Managing and Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements.
Rodd Wagner is coauthor of the New York Times bestseller 12: The Elements of Great Managing. He is coauthor of Power of 2: How to Make the Most of Your Partnerships at Work and in Life.
Element 10 Best Friend Employee Engagement Gallup Business Journal Individual Performance Safety Shrink Social Capital Unions Workplace
The Engaged Workplace
A highly engaged workforce means the difference between a company that outperforms its competitors and one that fails to grow.
Learn More about The Engaged Workplace
Engineering a Friendly Workplace at DaimlerChrysler
This manager in India was faced with a poor-performing team and tremendous pressure to turn it around. To tackle this pressing problem, he took a surprising and totally unconventional approach: He fostered workplace friendships.
Creating an Employee-Centric Call Center
It's essential for companies to energize the people who have the most direct contact with customers. Here are three keys to increasing agents' dedication, enthusiasm, and customer focus.
Are You Happy Now?
Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman has chosen to dedicate the rest of his career to well-being, and not just his own. In the second of a two-part interview, Dr. Kahneman explains why we're never as happy or unhappy as we think we'll be, and why we can adapt to just about any circumstances. He also says he's exploring why the French are never satisfied, though they have perhaps the world's most enviable lifestyle.
Becoming the Best at Qwest
Why does it matter when a boss takes a personal interest in his employees? Just ask the people at a Qwest call center who once faced an uncertain future and, inspired by a great manager, turned it into the biggest and best site in the company.
Gallup https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/104197/tenth-element-great-managing.aspx
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2015 Recipients
The recipients of the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Awards encompassed a wide range of achievement, success and community service.
More than 350 people attended the Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration of Excellence on May 12, 2015, to honour five outstanding individuals who have been making a tangible and meaningful difference in our world and local community through their dedication, passion and perseverance, guided by truths and principles gained through training and education at the University of Manitoba. Read the full story here.
Marion Meadmore, CM, LLB/77
Marion Meadmore has spent a lifetime overcoming barriers to create greater opportunities for Indigenous people in Canada. After surviving a decade in the Indian Residential School system as a child, she defied the hatred and negativity of that experience by focusing her attention on education as a means to transform her world in a positive way. Meadmore graduated from Law at the University of Manitoba and became the first Indigenous woman in Canada to be called to the bar. Equipped with intelligence and a strong sense of justice, she dedicated herself to creating organizations that build community, equality and independence for Indigenous people across the country. PHOTO CREDIT: INDSPIRE
Nick Logan, BA/71, BComm(Hons)/73
During his 40 years as president and CEO of National Leasing, Nick Logan blended innovative business ideas with a personal philosophy around corporate culture steeped in the values of mentorship, teamwork and respect. Logan helped build an environment at National Leasing’s Winnipeg headquarters that reflected his view of corporate culture. There, staff might be found playing ball hockey together in the parking lot or working out in an in-house gym. Logan’s influence and impact as a professional, a philanthropist and volunteer in the community speak volumes about his passion and ability to bring out the best in people.
Wayne Davies, BEd/91, PB DipEd/07
Longtime educator Wayne Davies gave awesome opportunities to junior high students: building custom guitars; recruiting rock stars, professional athletes, even former U.S. presidents to autograph them; then auctioning them off to support local charities. In 2010, a group of teachers at the École Selkirk Junior High School in Selkirk, Man., helped then-principal Davies turn this rock ’n’ roll fantasy into reality with the founding of the Building on Students Success (B.O.S.S.) Guitar Works Program. Three short years later, in 2013, B.O.S.S. participants had built 325 fully playable guitars and raised more than $100,000 for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights as well as an additional $40,000 for various other charities.
Service to the University of Manitoba
Juliette (Archie) Cooper, BOT/79, MSc/82, PhD/87
The University of Manitoba is a better place because of Juliette (Archie) Cooper. Throughout her career as a researcher and professor in the School of Medical Rehabilitation (SMR)—now the College of Rehabilitation Sciences—Cooper has taught and mentored generations of students and distinguished herself as a leading thinker in the field of occupational therapy. Beyond her guidance of students, Cooper has enhanced the overall university community through her tireless volunteer efforts as a fundraiser and as key advisor to the secretary and the board of governors on strategic matters. A professor emerita since 2005, Cooper continues to work at the U of M a decade into her ‘retirement’, still enjoying teaching and contributing to the University.
Outstanding Young Alumni
Tito Daodu, MD/13, BSc(Med)/13
Though she had yet to reach a double-digit birthday, Tito Daodu had lived in four countries on three different continents, before settling in Winnipeg with her family. This early experience had a profound effect on the impressionable eight-year-old as she saw and experienced first-hand the inequality that exists around the world. Her resulting desire to create positive change in the world inspired her to pursue a medical degree at the University of Manitoba. She offered mentorship to inner city kids involved with the same outreach program that once encouraged her to dream big. When Daodu earned her MD in 2013, these same core-area neighbourhood children cheered her on at convocation.
Twitter: umanalumni
RT @UM_Engineering: To mark the 50 year anniversary of the moon landing, Dr. Philip Ferguson spoke with CBC Manitoba’s Up to Speed about wh… about 4 hours ago from Hootsuite Inc.
RT @hri_portal: In today's media digest: The team at @umanitoba is developing a system using 3D cameras to help improve safety for #patient… about 6 hours ago from Twitter Web App
@umanalumni
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Participants in the Spring 2017 season of the Seniors' Alumni Learning for Life Program find the diverse topics keep them coming back for more
Diversity key to success for Seniors’ Alumni Program
Topics from ticks to Trump hit the mark with the audience
May 24, 2017 —
The University of Manitoba’s Seniors’ Alumni Learning for Life Program wrapped-up yet another successful season. The program — a series of seven lectures exclusively for U of M alumni and friends aged 60-plus — has been in high demand since starting in the fall of 2015, selling out every season.
Once again, the series presented opportunities for senior alumni to explore new ideas and share their love of learning. Topics include geneology, DNA and privacy; mobile technology; ticks, gender and politics; President Trump’s effect on Manitoba; eating well for seniors; and the benefits of canola oil.
“I was interested in the program to come and learn new things,” says David Waldie, who graduated with an MBA from the U of M in 1983. “They have a wide variety of topics. Some of them, I wonder if that’s what I would be interested in, but I get here and they’re really interesting. I learn a lot from it.”
Waldie retired less than two years ago and has attended every season of the Seniors’ Alumni Program, except one, since it started. “I missed one because I didn’t get registered in time. It’s quite popular,” he says.
The final session of the season finished on May 18 with a talk from Carla Taylor titled, Oil Wars: Winners and Losers for Health.
“I think it’s great,” says Nancy Sulkers. “When people are passionate about a subject, which all of these professors are, everything is interesting. I think it’s a fabulous series. I haven’t found one that wasn’t interesting or that I had a lot of questions about.”
Sulkers graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976. This is the second season the former English major has been to. She says she’s really impressed by how well the events are organized and how welcome the U of M’s alumni relations team makes them feel.
“What really stands out overall is the quality of the professors that speak, their passion for their topics,” says Sulkers. “We had a great session two weeks ago on ticks. We know where to go and where not to go. Some sessions are more general knowledge, like the one from the professor of the Faculty of Music who talked about lyrical diction.”
Pat Love is a two-time alumna from the U of M, having graduated with a science degree in 1965 and an education degree in 1972. This was her first season participating in the Seniors’ Alumni Program. The retired teacher loved being back in a classroom setting.
“I saw the program online and I looked at it, read about it and I thought that would be something that keeps these old brain cells working,” she says. “It certainly has become a priority. It’s on my calendar and nothing else, other than being thousands of miles away, nothing is going to keep me from going.”
ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
We are excited to announce that the Fall 2017 series of the Seniors’ Alumni Learning for Life Program will held on Thursdays beginning on September 14, 2017 from 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. in the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, 196 Innovation Drive (Smartpark, near Fort Garry Campus).
The Spring 2018 series will be held on Wednesdays beginning on April 4, 2017 from 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Advance registration for both Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 is now open. A full list of topics and speakers for both sessions will be available soon. For more information on the program, please email Alumni Relations.
Jack Rach
Alumni, campus community, community engagement, lifelong learning
Finding their spark
Students & alumni thrive under Stu Clark’s legacy and continued leadership
Alumni, Asper School of Business, Faculty of Arts, front and centre, Front and Centre - Graduate Student Support, Native Studies, Philanthropy, Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship
The Globe and Mail: 2019 Order of Canada appointees have made their mark on all aspects of Canadian society
Governor General of Canada Julie Payette announced 83 new appointments to the Order of Canada, including six from the U of M community
Alumni, Faculty and Staff, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Engineering, Order of Canada, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Wpg Free Press: Alum creates new gaming system
Playdate, a quirky game system that’s earning international buzz months
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Eastern Washington's dental health gets a lift from RIDE
Instead of coasting toward graduation last spring, Kaitlin Poppe had a better plan: serving at-risk patients. Poppe, who received her D.D.S. from UW in June, spent the spring at the Yakima Valley...
Immunization hesitancy linked to fluoride refusal
Parents who refused to immunize their children also tended to turn down fluoride treatments for them, according to a study from the University of Washington School of Public Health. The study,...
Alzheimer's center director discusses burden of disease
Walter Kukull's dad said he should rely on brains over brawn for a career. So he did, coming to presenting his dissertation at UW in the 1980s and then starting a long career in the study of...
Elusive ‘dark matter’ from human microbiome is revealed
A team of researchers including Jeff McLean of the University of Washington has published dramatic new findings on bacteria that are detectable but have evaded cultivation in the lab. Known as “...
$6 million gift will propel research at Alzheimer’s center
“Alzheimer’s is driven by genetics, but it isn’t just one disease,” said Dr. Thomas Montine, chair of the University of Washington’s Department of Pathology. “It’s a disease that has many different...
Study becomes model to improve lives of aging Americans
Karalee Jacobs noticed her mother, Alice, becoming more forgetful and anxious back in 2007, but she just attributed it to age. A few years later, a family friend and retired nurse expressed concern...
Yearlong dental benefit for 150 needy kids begins May 20
About 150 Seattle-area children will receive a year of fully subsidized dental care, starting with Dental Home Day, an event May 20 in Magnuson Park at The University of Washington Center for...
Targeted bacteria-killer shows promise in tooth-decay fight
A new treatment that can kill the bacteria responsible for tooth decay without harming the mouth’s beneficial bacteria has moved one step closer to reality. Researchers at the University of...
Might high blood-pressure meds reduce risk for Alzheimer’s?
A new study suggests that people with a genetic predisposition for high blood pressure have a lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The study was published Jun 16 in PLOS Medicine. The researchers used...
Insulin’s potential to treat dementia outlined in new study
Researchers at the UW Medicine, Veteran's Administration Puget Sound and Saint Louis University have made a promising discovery that insulin delivered high up in the nasal cavity goes to affected...
(-) Remove Alzheimer's filter Alzheimer's
(-) Remove dentistry filter dentistry
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Still getting away with it
Dec. 19th, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Astonishingly, prime minister Leterme is still in office this morning. His bacon was saved yesterday after further correspondence arrived in the Belgian parliament from the judicial system, this time from the prosecutor in the court of appeal, which seemed to give some hope that there were good if technical legal grounds to challenge the original decision to suspend the BNP Paribas takeover of Fortis.
I'm more than a little amazed. These technicalities were conveniently discovered by precisely the judge who Leterme is accused of influencing; and the prosecutor's letter, though only publicised late yesterday, is dated earlier in the week. It seems reasonable to suppose that the president of the Court of Cassation was also aware of these issues when he wrote his stinging note to the speaker of parliament yesterday; he has promised an expanded report today.
Who knows? Maybe it is just a remarkable coincidence that the one judge in a three-judge panel who discovered technical flaws in a judgement inconvenient to the government also happened to be the one judge in the three-judge panel who had been directly contacted by the prime minister's office. Stranger things have happened.
It will be astonishing if the president of the Court of Cassation does not substantiate the allegations he made yesterday about political interference in the judicial system. It's a pretty serious thing when the head of the highest court in the land accuses the prime minister of violating the separation of powers. But then, I find it also astonishing that Leterme is still in his job this morning, after the way he keeps changing his story.
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Lenox Memorial Hospital Collection
Canastota Public Library
Business & Industry, Medicine, Science & Technology, Work & Labor
Canastota (N.Y.)
The Village of Canastota is located in Madison County, New York. It was originally inhabited by the Oneida Nation and later settled by Europeans. Captain Reuben Perkins was the original founder in 1810, and the village was formally established in 1835. After its official establishment, the village was in need of essential institutions, such as hospitals. A small hospital was opened within Canastota, but it was serving the outlying areas more than it was the village. In 1917, the the village purchased the hospital and it was named the Canastota Memorial Hospital in 1926. The hospital was remodeled in 1937, adding the following additions: improved operating room; more modern delivery room; a nursery; and an X-ray department. In 1947, the hospital struggled with financial operating losses and had trouble serving the needs of its villagers because of its inadequate physical space. The hospital was then turned over to the Town of Lenox and named the Lenox Memorial Hospital. Unfortunately, the hospital did not meet federal and state standards, making it unable to serve people who were under Medicaid and Medicare which encompassed a majority of the population. The hospital was closed in 1966 and torn down in 1969.
The Lenox Memorial Hospital Collection contains documents and newspaper clippings about the hospital that served the area in the early to mid-twentieth century.
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Blackberry to launch Playbook this month
New Delhi: After mobile phones, the competition is hotting up for “tablets” in India with BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM) all set to launch its PlayBook in the country later this month, to face the likes of Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.
The Canadian firm will launch PlayBook in Indian markets and some other countries this month, sources said. According to the company’s website, the PlayBook is scheduled to be launched in 16 countries, including the UK, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia, UAE and India.
“The price is going to be competitive with the other products and in line with the global pricing as well,” they said.
The price in India could range between Rs 22,000 and Rs 32,000, depending upon its storage capacity, from 16 GB to 64 GB.
Globally, PlayBook is available at USD 499, USD 599 and USD 699 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, respectively.
Since the launch of Apple’s iPad, the tablet market is witnessing huge competition, with new contenders launching their devices. A tablet PC, though smaller in size, has PC-like functionalities.
Apple’s rival in the computing space, Dell had launched the ‘Streak’ last year in India, while homegrown telecom handset makers like Spice and Olive have also launched similar devices at much lower price points.
The BlackBerry tablet has received a mixed response from the markets where it has been launched. According to reports, unlike rival iPad, which sold like hot cakes on its launch in April last year, the PlayBook just sold 50,000 copies in the first week of its launch on April 19 in the US and Canada.
BlackBerry has over one million users in India and RIM would target them.
The PlayBook is a seven-inch tablet that runs on a new operating system built by QNX Software Systems – a RIM unit that makes software used to run everything from cars to nuclear reactors.
On a PlayBook, users can go online only using a Wi-Fi network or by synchronising the device to their BlackBerry smartphones.
According to analysts, sales in the tablet PC segment in India are expected to touch one million units over the next 12 months.
With 3G (high-speed internet services) being rolled out aggressively, the opportunity has only expanded, they said.
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Games That Children Played in the 1920s
By Heather Thomas ; Updated October 03, 2017
During the years between World War I and the stock market crash of 1929, people attempted to create lives of normalcy, taking their focus off the world at large and instead placing it on their individual lives. Women achieved the right to vote, skirts grew shorter and organized crime tightened its grip on society. Children, however, enjoyed games that had endured the test of time.
Handmade marbles can be dated back to Germany, as early as the 1500s. Technological advances in the 1920s led to commercially produced glass marbles. A game of marbles could be played on any large, flat surface, and it commonly was played in the schoolyard. Vintage marbles from the 1920s are sought by collectors today.
The exact origin of the game of jacks is unknown. Children playing jacks have been represented in ancient Greek artwork dating back as early as 323 B.C. Before the metal jacks of modern time, it was common to use animal knuckles, stones or seeds. Poor children in the 1920s used small stones or seeds instead of jacks, however, metal jacks were available by this time. The rules of the game have changed little over time.
Playing house is an activity that spans several generations. In the 1920s, as gender roles shifted, young boys and girls had new examples to model. Women displayed liberation from the role of homemaker and entered the work force. Playing house allowed children to experiment with different careers, such as operator and doctor. These foundational examples shaped society’s future as young boys and girls mimicked the behavior of their parents.
The 1920s marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Baseball, an era marked by elite hitters, such as Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams. Babe Ruth was at the height of his career and was the object of every young baseball player's admiration. Baseball commonly was played as a pick-up game in vacant lots and farmer's fields. Stickball, a variant of baseball that uses different equipment and uses the city environment to comprise parts of the playing field, was played primarily in the northeastern U.S.
The game of horseshoes is believed to have its origins in the Greek discus throw. However, it was in the 1920s that many of today’s more common rules were accepted, including a height requirement for the stake and standardized scoring.
New England Antiques Journal: Marvelous Marbles
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site: The 1920s
Encyclopedia Britannica: Jacks
Digital History: The 1920s – An Overview
MLB Players: Baseball History
Utah History To Go: Games of the Coal Camp Children
Heather Thomas has written professionally since 2010. Her articles draw from a lifetime of experience in home education, business management and health and nutrition. Thomas is a member of Writer’s Village University and a moderator for their nonfiction study group.
History of Cassette Players
Historical Outdoor Children's Games
Children's Games of the 1920s
Different Parts of a Gramophone
History of Javelin Throwing
What Is a Mib Marble?
How Much Money Are Wheat Pennies Worth?
Time Capsule Fun Facts for Kids
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Men's Hoops Takes On Washington In Seattle On Saturday
Updated Stats (6 pages)in PDF Format
The Arizona State men's basketball team (14-7; 6-4) plays the Washington Huskies (8-11; 3-7) on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MST on Fox Sports Net. ASU opened Pac-10 play with five of its first seven on the road and will play seven of its first 11 in opponent's arenas. ASU has played 10 games away from Tempe this year and is 6-5 in those games, including neutral site wins over Utah (Maui Invitational) and Big Ten leading Purdue (Las Vegas Showdown). ASU has already matched its victory total (14) from last season.
The Sun Devils topped Washington State 87-54 on Thursday behind Ike Diogu's 26 points and 10 boards as the Sun Devils had the sixth-best shooting night in school history with a 34-of-52 (.654) performance, including a school-record matching 8-of-11 (.727) from the three-point stripe. ASU was 19-of-28 (.679) from the field in the first half, including 6-of-6 from three-point land, and led 52-36. ASU led 61-47 at the 15:50 mark, but held the Cougars to just one field goal in the next 12:41 and outscored the Cougars 24-4 in that time. ASU outrebounded WSU 30-17 and forced 20 turnovers. The Sun Devils got 29 points from their bench, including 18 in the first half, as Jamal Hill notched 11 and Shawn Redhage nine. Tommy Smith had a season-high 17 points.
Arizona State topped No. 20 California 75-70 and fell to Stanford 58-57 in Tempe last week to finish the first half of the Pac-10 season at 5-4. It marked the first time ASU had a winning record in the first half of the Pac-10 season since the 1994-95 Sweet Sixteen team went 6-3 en route to a 12-6 league mark.
ASU ranks first in the Pac-10 in FG percentage (.484), scoring defense (65.2 ppg.) and blocks per game (4.86). The 65.2 opponent ppg. is the best by an ASU defense since the 1983-84 team also gave up 65.2 ppg.
Also, ASU freshman Ike Diogu, Cal seniors Joe Shipp and Brian Wethers and Oregon junior Luke Ridnour are the only Pac-10 players who have posted double digits in every game this year. Senior Tommy Smith needs just 19 points to become the 28th member of the ASU 1,000 point-club.
EVERYONE LIKES IKE: Freshman Ike Diogu leads the team at 18.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and is averaging 31.1 minutes. The Garland, Texas, native has already been to the line a Pac-10-leading 182 times and is shooting .731 percent from the charity stripe (133-of-182). He also is shooting 59.3 percent from the field (124-of-209) and is at 63.2 percent (60-of-95) in Pac-10 games. He is shooting 65.6 percent (42-of-64) in ASU's seven road contests.He could become the first freshman since Cal's Shareef Abdur-Rahim in 1995-96 to finish in the league's top 10 in scoring and rebounding (Abdur-Rahim was the league's Player of the Year). He could become just the ninth freshman to earn all-league honors since Arizona and Arizona State joined the loop in 1978-79 (25 seasons ago). No freshman has earned All-Pac-10 since the trio of Jason Gardner (Arizona), Casey Jacobsen (Stanford) and Jason Kapono (UCLA) in 1999-2000 (the only freshmen to earn all-league in the past six seasons).
MAKING HIS THROWS: Diogu's 182 free throw attempts (8.67 per game) is on pace to break the ASU single-season mark of 234 (7.1 pg) set by Mario Bennett in 1994-95. Diogu's 182 attempts topped the ASU freshman record of 140 set by Bennett in 1991-92. If he keeps this pace, he would crack the Pac-10 single-season list and would register the most free throws since Harold Miner attempted 286 in 1991-92, which is third on the Pac-10 single-season list. He has made more free throws this year than any other Pac-10 player has attempted.
DIOGU SCORING: Diogu posted 27 points at Oregon on Jan. 4 and vs. Lafayette on Nov. 30, which matches the fourth-best scoring mark by an ASU freshman and is the most since Bennett set the school mark with 35 against Arizona in 1992. Diogu also is the first Sun Devil freshman to post back-to-back 20-point games since Bennett in 1991-92. He posted 26 points at Washington State on Thursday and is averaging 19.6 points in ASU's seven road games and is shooting 42-of-64 (.656) from the field.
UW SERIES NOTES: ASU holds a 32-20 lead in the series and the teams have split the past two seasons. Rob Evans is 6-3 against Washington, as the Sun Devils have won seven of the past 10. ASU has outrebounded Washington by 17.0 boards per game in the past five contests and senior Kyle Dodd has 28 assists and just five turnovers in his seven games vs. Washington.
DIOGU REBOUNDING: Diogu posted 13 boards vs. Cal on Jan. 30 and then had 14 boards vs. Stanford on Feb. 1, the most by an ASU freshman since Mario Bennett set the school freshman record with 17 vs. Oregon on Feb. 1, 1992. His double-double at Oregon State (14 points and 10 boards) was only the second double-double by an ASU freshman in the past 12 seasons and the first since Chad Prewitt in December of 1998. He now has posted three straight double-doubles and is averaging 20.0 points and 12.3 rebounds in the past three games.
SUN DEVIL DATA: Curtis Millage is averaging 15.2 points per game in his 17 career road games...ASU is 85-of-113 (.752) from the free throw line in the past five games...Tommy Smith has posted a Pac-10 leading 52 blocks on the year and has 49 assists in the past 13 games. He posted a career-high seven assists vs. Bucknell on Dec. 27. He had a season-high 17 points vs. Washington State on Thursday...ASU is 26-4 (.867) when it leads at the half in the past two seasons...ASU has held nine opponents to under 40 percent shooting...Curtis Millage has seven 20-point games in his career, but his 21-point effort vs. California on Jan. 30 was his first in Wells Fargo Arena. Millage is 19-of-24 (.792) from the free throw line in the past six games...ASU's win over Cal snapped a 17-game losing streak when ASU trailed at the half. The last time ASU had come back from a halftime deficit was March 3, 2001, when it trailed Oregon State 31-30 before winning 61-59.
VS. UW (JAN. 9): Tommy Smith posted 13 points, a career-high 16 boards, matched a career-high with six blocks and had five assists in an 89-57 win over Washington. ASU led by 11 at the half but outscored the Huskies 46-25 in the second half. Curtis Millage led ASU with 16 points while Ike Diogu had 14 points and nine boards and Jamal Hill had 14 off the bench. ASU got 32 points from its bench and shot 35-of-63 (.556) from the field and held Washington to just 20-of-59 (.339), including 8-of-28 (.286) in the second half. ASU set season-highs in field goals attempted (63), defensive rebounds (32) and blocks (13). The 13 blocks was the most since at least 1987-88, as the ASU record book doesn't have blocks, but a decent point of reference is the Pac-10 record is 16 set by Arizona vs. Oregon in 2000. UW had three steals against ASU, the lowest by a Sun Devil opponent this year.
SMITH VS. UW: Tommy Smith has played seven games against the Huskies is 33-of-61 (.541) from the field and has averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. He posted a monster game against the Huskies on Jan. 9 with 13 points, a career-high 16 boards, six blocks and five assists. He also posted his career high on Feb. 10, 2001, with 24 points and entered the Pac-10 record book in that game with an 11-of-11 effort from the field as a sophomore.
LAST SEASON AT UW: ASU did not have a block at Washington in an 81-68 loss on Jan. 10. ASU shot a season-low 32.4 percent (23-of-71) while UW shot 60 percent (30-of-50), the third-highest mark by any Rob Evans opponent, and had ASU opponent season-highs for assists (22) and blocks (10). ASU shot just 12-of-41 (.293) in the second half and was 17-of-32 (.531) from the free throw line, including 7-of-15 (.467) in the first half.
MAKING HIS SCORING MARK: Ike Diogu's 27-points at Oregon on Jan. 4 and against Lafayette on Nov. 30 are tied for the fourth-best freshman scoring mark in ASU history. It is the best scoring mark by a freshman since Mario Bennett set the mark with 35 against fifth-ranked Arizona on Feb. 20, 1992.
ASU FRESHMAN SINGLE-GAME POINTS
Rk. Pts. Player1. 35 Mario Bennett vs. #5 Arizona, Feb. 20, 19922. 31 Byron Scott vs. #18 Arizona, Feb. 23, 19803. 29 Jamal Faulkner vs. #2 Arkansas (NCAA), March 17, 19914. 27 Ike Diogu at #9 Oregon, Jan. 4, 2003 27 Ike Diogu vs. Lafayette, Nov. 30, 2002 27 Jamal Faulkner at Oregon, Feb. 28, 1991 27 Byron Scott vs. Arizona, Dec. 27, 19798. 26 Ike Diogu at Washington State, Feb. 6, 20039. 25 Ike Diogu vs. Nevada, Dec. 10, 2002
ROB EVANS: Rob Evans (160-148/.519) is in his fifth season at Arizona State in 2002-2003 (11th overall) after being hired on April 7, 1998. The 1997 SEC Coach of the Year spent six seasons at Ole Miss, compiling an 86-81 (.515) record. He led the Rebels to a 42-16 record in his final two seasons after going 44-65 (.403) in his first four seasons, winning two SEC West titles, and led Ole Miss to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1937-38. The 56-year old Evans is a 1968 graduate of New Mexico State and is 74-67 (.525) at ASU.
PLAYER QUICK NOTES
#1 JASON BRAXTON: Nine points and five boards at UCLA on Jan. 16...six boards at USC on Jan. 18...did not turn the ball over in 47 minutes on Oregon road trip...11 points vs. Utah on Nov. 27.
#3 KYLE DODD: Shooting 31-of-56 (.553) from the field this year...19-of-33 (.57) from the field in the past 14 games...five turnovers in the past 11 games (185 minutes)...in his 111-game career, he has 257 assists and just 96 turnovers, a 2.68-to-1 ratio.
#4 TOMMY SMITH: Season-high 17 points (7-of-10 shooting) at Washington State on Feb. 6...14 points, seven boards and zero turnovers vs. WSU on Jan. 11...career-high 16 boards, 13 points, six bocks and five assists vs. Washington on Jan. 9...eight points and eight boards at OSU on Jan. 2...16 points, seven boards and six assists vs. Nebraska on Dec. 28...career-high seven assists vs. Bucknell on Dec. 27...six career doubles-doubles...13 points and eight boards vs. BYU on Dec. 4...eight points, 11 boards and six blocks vs. Utah on Nov. 27.
#5 IKE DIOGU: Has scored in double digits in every game...seven 20-point games...four double-doubles...26 points and 10 boards at Washington State on Feb. 6...16 points and 14 boards vs. Stanford on Feb. 1...18 points and 13 rebounds vs. No. 20 California...24 points (11-of-12 from free throw line) at USC on Jan. 18...16 points (7-of-9 from the field) at UCLA on Jan. 16...17 points vs. Washington State on Jan. 11...14 points and nine boards vs. Washington on Jan. 9...27 points at Oregon on Jan. 4...18 points and 10 boards in Pac-10 opener on Jan. 2 at Oregon State...21 points and seven boards vs. Nebraska on Dec. 28 which earned him ASU Classic MVP honors...18 points and nine boards vs. Purdue on Dec. 2 at Las Vegas Showdown...15 points and eight boards vs. BYU on Dec. 4... 37 minutes vs. Utah on Nov. 27 and had 22 points, eight boards and zero turnovers.
#12 KENNY CRANDALL: Averaging 14.3 minutes in the past four games...played 20 minutes at top-ranked Arizona on Jan. 22 and made 4-of-7 three-pointers and had season-high 12 points...15-of-16 (.938) free throws on the year...broke right fibula on April 17 in a dirt-bike accident and is still recovering...has played double-digit minutes eight times this year.
#14 CURTIS MILLAGE: Seven 20-point games in his career, all but one away from Tempe...51-of-96 (.531) from field in past nine games...averaging 15.6 points per game in Pac-10 play...21 points vs. No. 20 Cal on Feb. 3...20 points at top-ranked Arizona on Jan. 22...23 points at UCLA on Jan. 16, as he was 8-of-12 (.667) from the field...16 points vs. Washington on Jan. 9...18 points on 7-of-10 shooting at No. 9 Oregon on Jan. 4...led team with 16 points and added five boards at Oregon State on Jan. 2...13 points, four boards and five assists vs. Nebraska on Dec. 28...26 points in his season debut vs. Utah on Nov. 27.
#21 DONNELL KNIGHT: Four career double-doubles...19-of-37 (.514) from the floor in his past six games...10 points in 26 minutes vs. No. 20 California on Jan. 30...13 points at USC on Jan. 18...13 points and eight boards vs. Washington State on Jan. 11...15 points vs. Bucknell on Dec. 27...12 points and 10 boards vs. Nevada on Dec. 10...posted 15 points and 12 boards vs. Morehead State in season opener on Nov. 22.
#22 JAMAL HILL: Junior college transfer who has been both a starter (four games) and first player off the bench...posted 11 points, including three three-pointers, in Feb. 6 win at Washington State...14-of-18 (.778) from the free throw line on the year...14 points against both Washington (Jan. 9) and Washington State (Jan. 11)...seven points at Oregon on Jan. 4...eight points in 20 minutes in Pac-10 opener at Oregon State on Jan. 2...seven points vs. Purdue on Dec. 21...12 points vs. BYU on Dec. 4 on 5-of-7 shooting...has been in double figures in seven games...17 points vs. Chaminade on Nov. 26...16 points vs. No. 15 Kentucky on Nov. 25 in season-high 37 minutes.
#42 SHAWN REDHAGE: Excellent student-athlete who has a 3.61 GPA in construction science...2001 and 2002 Pac-10 All-Academic selection...9 points in 12 minutes at Washington State on Feb. 6...10 points in 17 minutes vs. No. 20 California on Feb. 3...10 points and six boards at top-ranked Arizona on Jan. 22...seven points and six boards at No. 9 Oregon on Jan. 4...has five double-figure scoring games this year after having three all of last year...posted 14 points in 15 minutes against Purdue on Dec. 21...has made 201-of-253 (.794) free throws in his four-year career...matched the ASU freshman record with 28 starts in 1999-2000.
UCLA Takes On Washington Saturday In Seattle
Men's Hoops Takes on Washington State on Saturday
Men's Hoops Takes On PSU Vikings At 2 p.m. Saturday
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NOLA Cacao Co.
NOLA Cacao is a craft chocolate company created by two artists, Tiffany and Richard Dull, who share a common passion. NOLA crafts high quality chocolate while supporting cacao farmers and artists globally.
Tiffany, being born and raised in New Orleans, is a typical NOLA girl. From singing “WHO DAT” on the news as a small child to hangin’ in the quarter most weekends, NOLA is where she flourished. Tiffany had no shortage of local Broadways and beignets, despite having a single mother who was facing an array of obstacles. This instilled an enormous love of the arts and an immense respect for her mother. As irony may have it, Tiffany never cared much for chocolate as a child. As her love grew for her future husband, her love for the sweet confection grew as well.
Richard was born in the gorgeous state of Colorado. He is the self-taught chef of the family, partially inspired by being raised in a Korean household where the exotic aromas of bibimbap and kimchi were a bit of normalcy. He wanted to create something for people to be inspired by. Richard also excelled in the arts and cello at a younger age then moved on to the electric bass. Motivated by his love of arts and cooking is one of the reasons why he developed passion for this business.
After wedding in Jackson Square, they spent many years north of Lake Ponchartrain raising a family. Soon enough, they decided to pursue new things and packed up everything they owned, threw it into a U-Haul and headed up to Colorado. They set out on a new journey with three kids and a dog, risking so much. NOLA's vision is to be as fully supportive as possible to farmers and artists while maintaining a high quality product for people to appreciate.
© 2019, NOLA Cacao Co.. Powered by Shopify
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In 1909, the battle for women’s suffrage is raging. From London Elin Wägner covered “the greatest movement the world has ever seen”, the Fourth Congress of the International Women’s Suffrage Alliance. She was the most indefatigable opponent of the Swedish patriarchy for four decades.Her first memorable work was Pennskaftet (1910; Eng. tr. Penwoman), a novel that became a bible for “the new woman”. But Wägner is not alone. Selma Lagerlöf and Ellen Key are among the many Swedish women writers who join the struggle for women’s suffrage, and their authorships undergo a transformation in the heat of battle.
This article is about
Elin Wägner
Anna Lenah Maria Elgström
1900-1910, 1900-1960, 1910-1920, 1920-1930, 1930-1940, 1940-1950, Birgitta Holm, Diaries, Education, Essays, Feminism, First World War, Journalists, Non-Fiction, Novels, Peace, Periodicals, Politics, Sexuality, Short Stories, Suffrage, Survey Articles, Sweden, The Public Forum, Wage Labour, Wars, Women's Movement
The Greatest Movement the World Has Ever Seen
Written by: Birgitta Holm | 1. January 2012
The year 1909 is as good a focal point as any. A general strike was under way in Sweden and women were fighting for the right to vote. Two of them were in the limelight that December. Ellen Key was honoured on her sixtieth birthday, while Selma Lagerlöf became the first woman and the first Swede to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. Earlier in the year, a Swedish reporter had stood outside the gates of Holloway Women’s Prison in London. A group of suffragettes was about to be released.
Women held their own Nobel Banquet for Selma Lagerlöf at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm on 13 December 1909. Some twelve hundred guests were in attendance, while more than one thousand had been turned away. Both Swedish and foreign newspapers provided extensive coverage. The keynote speech, delivered by Lydia Wahlström, was entitled “Every Woman’s Gratitude.” Lagerlöf responded by having Fredrika Bremer make an appearance and witness the multitude of prominent, capable women.
English suffragettes on hunger strike. 1909. Photograph. Danske Kvinders Fotoarkiv, KVINFO, Copenhagen
Culmination and beginning. Key and Lagerlöf had conquered the world, each in her own way. The female strikers found their mouthpiece in a novel by Maria Sandel (1870-1927) entitled Virveln (1913; The Vortex). Elin Wägner, the reporter outside the prison, was in London to cover “the greatest movement the world has ever seen”, the Fourth Congress of the International Women’s Suffrage Alliance.
“An Authoritative but Insufficiently Trained Speaker”
When Key mounted the platform in 1883, it must have been seen as both a frightening and bewildering sign. The general public had still not grown accustomed to suffragettes on lecture tours. Key was a pioneer in the field – “an authoritative but insufficiently trained speaker,” as Carl David af Wirsén described her. It started off unpretentiously enough. Fifteen people showed up to hear her at the Swedish Workers’ Institute in the Kungsholmen district of Stockholm. Before long her pulpit was smack dab in the middle of Europe, and she was called “The Great Aunt of Europe”.
The most cherished member of her inner circle was Lou Andreas-Salomé, with whom she corresponded for over a quarter of a century. She hobnobbed with nearly “everyone who mattered” in pre-war Europe: anarchist Pjotr Kropotkin, sculptor Auguste Rodin, playwright Gerhard Hauptmann, philosopher Martin Buber, dancer Isadora Duncan, and poets Rainer Maria Rilke and Maurice Maeterlinck. Key’s word was often law. Her verdict could elevate or destroy a young writer.
Andreas-Salomé sketched a touching portrait of Key in 1905. Key was visiting Andreas-Salomé at Loufried, her home on the outskirts of Göttingen. Shortly before leaving, she removed her dress to have it brushed off. So there she was, sitting at the breakfast table in her green, loose-fitting knickers. “And floating above it all,” wrote her hostess, “was an affable, earnest face – Ellen Key in a nutshell.”
Her medium was speech; she generally presented a thought in a lecture before formalising it in an essay. Lagerlöf took the opposite approach. Her element was the printed page – “This writing, my dear, is my only passion.” If she took to the rostrum, she was sure to have a tale or two in hand, ready to enchant even the most callous audience. One of her challenges was to effectively champion social causes without sacrificing her distinctive mode of analysis and expression.
World War I brought the issue of Lagerlöf’s mode of expression to a head. The world was waiting for her pronouncement. What would she have to say when confronted by the reality of the conflict? And how explicit, how propagandistic, could she be? The novel Bannlyst (1918; Excommunicated; Eng. tr. The Outcast) was her answer after years of hesitation and writer’s cramp. The book was a call for peace, though both subtle and original. Built into the novel is the theme of the peculiar female voice that must establish its authority without abandoning its singular position on the periphery. The theme reaches its climax towards the end of the book. A woman’s voice is heard during a sermon by the local pastor. The voice is “thin and shrill”, as it has been throughout the story. But now it is also “strangely audible and distinct”. The voice, which has heretofore been banned from the public forum, the voice which is the bearer of penetrating insights, the shriek of a mother as an anti-aesthetic, becomes the guiding principle for the novel’s mode of expression.
Vocal Chords under the Spell of Women’s Suffrage
twenty-seven-year-old Elin Wägner had just been recruited to the women’s suffrage movement. She would rewrite both Lagerlöf and Key, borrowing key themes from each of them.
Wägner published her article on the release of the suffragettes from Holloway in the May 1909 issue of Idun:
“[…] accompanied by shouts of joy, the prisoners dashed out, happy if a bit pale, to be embraced by their friends. The leaders were there, and I could observe Miss Pankhurst close up. She looked like a clever, well-behaved schoolgirl. And yet she’s the one who constantly stirs up trouble and has been called the Portia of the suffragettes due to her eloquence.”
In the case of Key, she took the burning topic of how to define women’s nature and the relations between the sexes.
When it came to Lagerlöf, she acquired an interest in hidden codes. Key makes an appearance in Wägner’s novel Hemlighetsfull (1938; Secretive). Her visit ends with a question: Is it possible that I have not learned “everything I should from this remarkable person?” The passage continues: “And that night I sat upright, wide awake in my bed. Between my hands was the women’s problem, which the incorrigible Ellen Key had smuggled, knotted and unresolved as it was, into our flat in the manner of aged prophets.”
English suffragettes. 1909. Photograph. Danske Kvinders Fotoarkiv, KVINFO, Copenhagen
Wägner was the most indefatigable opponent of the Swedish patriarchy for four decades. Her first memorable work was Pennskaftet (1910; Eng. tr. Penwoman), a novel that takes place in Stockholm and became a bible for “the new woman”, who is also referred to as the “self-supporting educated woman.” Two of the central characters, Cecilia (the woman with a past) and the Penholder, reflect Wägner’s own life.
An article by Aleksandra Kollontai entitled “Novaya zhenshchina” (The New Woman) that appeared in Sovremennyi Mir (The Contemporary World) in 1913 asked rhetorically:
“Who is she – who is the new woman? Look around, strain your eyes, examine your five senses, and you will be convinced that the new woman is here – that she exists.” According to Kollontai, a subconscious set of criteria had recently developed with which different types of women could be distinguished from one another.
Cecilia is swooped up at the beginning of the book by Ester Henning, a captivating but strong-minded suffragette. Before long she meets the “Beasts of Burden”, the diverse nucleus of hardened activists on Lästmakaregatan street in Stockholm. The suffragettes in Pennskaftet are Wägner’s own creations. But they are based on women who will always be linked to the Association for Women’s Suffrage (FKPR), founded in 1902, later the National Association for Women’s Franchise (LKPR). The list includes Professor Ann-Margret Holmgren, the orator who led the movement, historian and director of studies Lydia Wahlström, who became the Chairwoman in 1909, Deputy Chairwoman Signe Bergman, a bank cashier, the mild-mannered but unflinching “mother of women’s suffrage”, school founder Anna Whitlock, social reformer Anna Lindhagen, the broad-minded Emilia Broomé, and factory inspector Kerstin Hesselgren.
The book captures the full panorama of the new woman’s life in the big city: safety, transport, dress, career, menstrual cramps, housing, diet – and, above all, sex. The most incandescent theme of the book is the need for “the new man”.
Pennskaftet is about the semiotics of the new woman and the new eroticism. A new system of signs has emerged. Women hurry home when the trams are no longer running, go to a restaurant to catch a bite to eat, or talk with a male co-worker. Modern society comprises all such signs, but few people are able to interpret them. Architect Dick Block, a young and not wholly unsympathetic man, steps in to fill the gap. He is the faltering coming-of-age hero, bearer of the requisite decoding and recoding of vision.
The novel’s hidden agenda is to find a way of turning “man as he is” into “the new man”, a worthy partner for the full-fledged new woman. At the beginning, Dick represents the obsolete code: knowing glances, a kiss in the doorway, then anything goes. The Penholder decodes him blithely but resolutely. Eventually Dick becomes not only a respectful, grateful lover, but an independent champion of a new sexual morality and an ardent supporter of women’s suffrage. In passing he also takes on the role of an anxious, tender-hearted mother when the Penholder mounts the platform and delivers her maiden speech.
Even the reader has to wipe away a tear or two. From now on, “woman” represents independence, efficiency, diversity, loyalty, sensuality, and articulateness. One way of viewing the new woman is as a lover finds her on a summer morning: “in bed with a women’s suffrage button on her nightgown, writing under a parasol while the curtains flap like taut sails.”
Crafting Modern Swedish
With Pennskaftet, female journalists came into their own as literary figures. Actually they were already a force to reckon with. Klara Johanson, recruited from the Fredrika Bremer Association magazine Dagny, had started as a reviewer and columnist for the Stockholms Dagblad newspaper back in 1899. Among the other bright new journalists were Marika Stiernstedt, Anna Stina Rydell Alkman, Elin Henriques Brandeli, Else Kleen (Dagens Nyheter), and Hedvig af Petersens (Aftonbladet).
They rather than the bourgeois realists and flaneurs were the people, who crafted modern Swedish. An article by journalist and writer Staffan Tjerneld entitled “The Women of 1918” praised the freshness and originality of the language employed by female reporters and novelists compared with that of the male notables of the age. He was referring to Wägner and her Kvarteret Oron (1918; The Anxiety District), the only story of the profiteering period during World War I that remains relevant. Another journalist whom he had in mind was Marika Stiernstedt and her wartime reporting, published as Från Frankrike fjärde krigsåret (1918; From France in the Fourth Year of the War). Then there was Agnes von Krusenstjerna and her portrayal of the decline of the Swedish bourgeoisie in Helenas första kärlek (1918; Helena’s First Love). And finally he was referring to Ulla Bjerne, the unjustly forgotten representative of la bohème and the new woman. Bjerne’s Dårarnes väg (1918; Path of Fools) was based on her experiences and observations in Paris and Senlis just before the war. Born and raised in the town of Söderhamn, she wore men’s clothes, was painter Nils Dardel’s “lady in the green pyjamas”, took Gustaf Hellström as her lover to learn how to write novels, and smoked and drank with swashbucklers like Henning Berger and Frank Heller. Bjerne’s pre-war novels Mitt andra jag (1916; My Other Self), and Dårarnes väg present the new woman in her cosmopolitan and ominous incarnation, surrounded by absinthe, cocaine, and the white slave trade.
But consummate journalists had already made their mark in 1914. Among them was Ester Blenda Nordström (1891-1948), Sweden’s first participatory and investigative reporter. Like Günter Wallraff later on, Nordström used disguises and false identities. In the summer of 1914, she published a series of reports in Svenska Dagbladet about her life as a maidservant on a farm in the Södermanland province. She had worked sixteen to seventeen hour days, heavy and monotonous labour, for poor pay and no time off. Despite the rugged conditions she depicted, the series was written with warmth and affection. The articles appeared as a book under the title of En piga bland pigor (1914; A maid among maids). It was an immediate bestseller, went through 15 different editions (35,000 copies), and soon was made into both a film and a play.
Ester Blenda Nordström, a friend of Wägner and her husband John Landquist, had been a Stockholm journalist since 1911. In 1915, she took a job as a roaming school teacher in Lapland. She documented her life with the Sami in Kåtornas folk (1916; People of the Tents; Eng. tr. Tent Folk of the Far North). She also published Amerikanskt: som emigrant till America (1923; American: as an Emigrant to America) based on her experiences as a stowaway and waitress in the New World. Her last chronicle, Byn i vulkanens skugga (1930; The Town in the Shadow of the Volcano), is about life in Kamchatka.
A chapter entitled “Tintomara” in Landquist’s book I ungdomen (1957; In Our Youth) recounts:
“Ester admired Elin both as a journalist and a writer. We looked at her as Elin’s first pupil, particularly when it came to the column-writing style that Elin introduced.”
Voices from the crowd
Woman reading voting rights poster. c. 1915. Photograph. Danske Kvinders Fotoarkiv, KVINFO, Copenhagen
Wägner’s first novel Norrtullsligan (1908; The Nortull Gang) also involved a kind of participatory journalism. The book revolves around the growing ranks of women clerks whose fate she shared as a boarder in various rooms around Stockholm. Another type of documentary, the diary of a prostitute, had received widespread attention the year before; it was entitled Den undre världen (The Underworld). The author was Anna Mathilda Cecilia Johannesdotter Johansson (1877-1906), and the publisher was cultural journalist Klara Johanson.
Sandel lent her voice to still another disadvantaged group: industrial working class women. Considering Sandel’s proletarian background and the new material she presented, her mastery of artistic expression is truly amazing. Her prowess is particularly evident when it comes to dialogue and the ability to choose situations that capture the essence of the people and living conditions she describes.
The use of melodramatic and dime novel techniques in her social realism was both pioneering and the source of great suspicion. A woman wearing a white veil embraces a man in a moonlit churchyard. A seamstress on her way to another arduous night witnesses the episode. Suddenly she realises that the woman is a young baker in the neighbourhood and the man is her own fiancé.
The first issue of the Social Democratic women’s newspaper Morgonbris (Morning Breeze) appeared in November 1904. The publisher was the Women’s Trade Union. The name, suggested by Maria Sandel, was taken from a poem by Hjalmar Gustafsson of the Social Democratic Youth Federation. The final stanza goes:
“For we greet you – young,
Fresh, and daring morning breeze.
May you lead us from snow and ice
To freedom, sun, and song.”
The writings of Anna Lenah Elgström (1884-1968) also elicited voices from the deep, Dostoevskian in its essence, suffused like never before with the yearning and suffering of the soul. A history of Swedish prose free from male preconceptions would point to Elgström rather than Pär Lagerkvist as the pioneer of expressionism and anxiety-ridden soul-searching. Her short story collection Gäster och främlingar (1911; Guests and Strangers) preceded Lagerkvist’s Människor (1912; People).
Ellen Michelsen wrote about Kristina Erbrecht, a Salvationist in Elgströms first book Gäster och främlingar, for Volume 2 (1920) of the Danish cultural monthly Tilskueren:
“She does her duty in the plague-smitten, foetid dens of iniquity. She kisses horrid prostitutes if only they ask her to. Not out of Christian piety, but impelled by her prodigious compassion, her love for these poor creatures, so brutally abused by fate. Like a sentry in the night, she stands at the window of the Salvation Army shelter and gazes into the depths of the Old City. Make no mistake about it, she is holding someone to account. And she hurls her weary, bitter Why into the emptiness of space, towards the silent stars.”
“The Pain of Millions was Given a Voice”
The outbreak of World War I was cataclysmic, perhaps more for these newly liberated women with their revolutionary visions than for anyone else. Key wrote to Andreas-Salomé: “Alas, my dear Lou, will not all the golden bridges that the peoples of the world have constructed be washed away in blood and fury?” (30 September 1914).
None of the women fell silent, but their idealism lost some of its sheen. Lagerlöf wrote Bannlyst, a farewell to the aesthetic that had animated her earlier. Key turned into the dark and misanthropic “Sibyl of Strand”, light years from the herald of joy and happiness. Wägner used an international women’s suffrage congress to symbolise her disillusionment. The story is ironically entitled “De eniga millionerna” (Millions United). The dream of international solidarity goes up in smoke, and the congress scatters like a beehive that has been set on fire when a telegram arrives that war has broken out.
The Women’s Peace Congress in Hague, 1915. Photograph, Kvinden og Samfundet, 1915. The Royal Library, Copenhagen
In reality, however, the movement regrouped. The Congress of the International Women’s Suffrage Alliance scheduled for Berlin became the International Women’s Peace Conference of 1915 at The Hague. Elgström, Wägner, and Emilia Fogelklou were among the Swedes who made up the nineteen-member Scandinavian delegation. Rosika Schwimmer, a Hungarian veteran of women’s suffrage congresses, was one of the speakers. The title of her address was “Women and the War”. Her cheerful aura had grown venerable and grave. “The pain of millions was given a voice”, a delegate wrote. One offshoot of the congress was the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, which served as an inspiration for the League of Nations.
Citizens with Power and Authority
The women’s suffrage movement had long aroused opposition from conservative forces and the military establishment. Men were now Sweden’s most valuable possession. A right-wing brochure urged women to “sacrifice your selfish little cause for the greater good of your country.” Imagine, wrote Wägner, putting the interests of your country above your pride as a woman. Nevertheless, many women believed as early as 1906 that victory was at hand. But 1907-1909 saw only a small step forward – women became eligible for election to municipal assemblies. Universal suffrage and eligibility for office did not become a reality until 1921.
Elisabeth Tamm, a landowner in Julita, was among those who were elected to municipal office following the first reform.
She was also one of the five members of her sex elected to the Riksdag in 1921. The Association of Liberal Women (FFK) reconstituted itself as the National Federation of Liberal Women that October at Tamm’s estate in Fogelstad. The objective was to prepare women to exercise their newly acquired power.
Five activists, later referred to as the “Fogelstad core group”, attended the meeting: Tamm, Wägner, Ada Nilsson, Kerstin Hesselgren, and Honorine Hermelin. The effort quickly expanded and turned out to be one of the most meaningful, original, and forward-looking developments of the inter-war period.
The first “Basic Course in Civil Rights” was held at Fogelstad in the summer of 1922. Two or three FFK representatives from each province were invited to attend. In 1925 the initiative was institutionalised as the Women´ s College for Civic Training at Fogelstad, which admitted students regardless of social class or political persuasion. Hermelin served as headmistress until the school was disbanded in 1954. Its main goal was to explore the relationship between the public sphere and personal life. Women’s unique experience was viewed as an important asset for political renewal. Among the teaching aids were a make-believe rural municipality called Komtemåtta, with a church, agricultural community, brickworks, orphanage, doctor’s residence, and other amenities. Students learned the ins and outs of exercising political and economic power at the local level. A fundamental maxim of the school was the commonality of hand, brain, and heart – no theory without practice, and no political action without considering the dictates of sensibility and emotion. Fogelstad proved unusually successful in breaking down social barriers and recruiting students from all classes.
Martinson recalled her participation in the spring 1928 course at Fogelstad:
“New layers of my brain were suddenly put to use. Everything I had read about and learned on the croft proved valuable. The others were sympathetic to what I had to say […]. There were large gaps, both literary and academic, in my upbringing. But the knowledge of the educated women also fell short when it came to society and ordinary people, so we were even.”
Jag möter en diktare (1950; I Meet a Poet).
The core group, which eventually included attorney Eva Andrén and physician Andrea Andreen, also published a magazine entitled Tidevarvet. The first issue appeared on 23 November 1923. The magazine, which served as a vehicle for all kinds of ideas until it folded in 1936, could boast of superior journalism.
As editor-in-chief of Tidevarvet, Wägner wrote to her friend Ingeborg Björklund, a poet:
“It might not have been such a big deal to put together a little magazine, but when you have to write it as well and be your own maker-up, copy editor, errand girl, and typist, you’ve got your hands full.”
(24 July 1924)
Wägner was the editor-in-chief from 1924 to 1927. The office started off at printing works in a dimly lit cellar on Vattugatan Street in Stockholm and later moved to a bright flat on Triewaldsgränd Lane across from the consulting rooms of Dr Ada Nilsson, the publisher. Circulation peaked at a modest three thousand subscribers.
Barbro Alving wrote to Hesselgren in 1954: “Was there ever an uneventful day at Tidevarvet?” Hesselgren replied: “I think not.”
The Inner Voice
Klara Johanson wrote some of the most scathing articles in Tidevarvet. In November 1923-December 1924 and January 1932-May 1933, she contributed brilliant (albeit a little too astute for many people’s taste) “Observations”. Many of her pieces invoked Frederika Bremer to address the burning topics of the day.
Among them were “The Inner Voice” (no. 6, 1924). Women’s suffrage was a fait accompli, Johansson started off. But what good was it if women were no more than what Sophie Adlersparre prophetically referred to as “the errand girls of the political parties”? Bremer issued another proclamation: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord!” That does not mean subservience, but women’s declaration of independence: Handmaid of the Lord, not of their lords. Women had to start listening to their inner voice. In order to do so, they must “politely but firmly resign their position in society as domestic servants.”
Obey not your masters, but a higher authority. Nowhere did that authority speak more clearly than when it came to peace and the Earth. The masters had failed to establish peace either on or with the Earth. Who could change the sorry state of things if not women? The interests of women, the Earth, and peace were inextricably linked. Most feminists of the interwar period found common cause in that trinity of concerns. Among their accoutrements was a fundamental ecological perspective, which showed up as early as in Lagerlöf’s Gösta Berlings saga (1891; Eng. tr. The Story of Gösta Berling). Tamm was the Riksdag’s theoretician and advocate for ecological issues. Thus the philanthropist of Fogelstad joined forces with Lagerlöf, the farmer from Mårbacka. The holistic approach brought together Key, the ageing health oracle of Strand, Wägner, the part-time farmer of Lilla Björka, and the crofter Moa Martinson. The overpopulation issue, on which Ada Nilsson served as an expert, was integral to their analysis. Even the literary elite – Johanson, Emilia Fogelklou, Agnes von Krusenstjerna, and Karin Boye – was on their side.
Elin Wägner with the signatures collected in support for women’s suffrage in Sweden. 1914. Photograph. Kvinnohistoriska Samlingarna, Göteborg
A number of seminal books were shuttled back and forth between Wägner and Fogelklou in 1938. The most important of them was Johann Jakob Bachofen’s Das Mutterrecht (1861; Eng. tr. Mother Right). Among the others were Jane Harrison’s Themis (1912), an interpretation of Greek mythology and its testimony to an ancient matriarchal society; Albrecht Dietrich’s Mutter Erde (1905; Mother Earth); and Sir James George Frazer’s The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (1890).
Wägner became engrossed in such studies after returning from a trip to Greece in 1937. Their biggest discovery was the falsification of history. What had happened to all the “signs” of another time, of other possibilities? Pennskaftet had sought an alphabet for the “new woman”: The quest now was to decipher the alphabet of antiquity – the traces of powerful women that millennia of male chroniclers had meticulously swept under the carpet.
Women’s Suffrage, Humbug!
Wägner’s Väckarklocka (1941; Alarm Clock) took on that task of decoding and recoding, sometimes in direct contradiction to Pennskaftet. “What has women’s suffrage accomplished?” was one of the underlying questions. “Still plodding along in men’s tracks”, came the answer. Only if women deciphered the code, read the signs properly, and reconstructed the half obliterated traces of the ancient past could they find their way back to ways of life that affirmed propagation, nurture, and growth.
Back in the nineteenth century, Bachofen had discovered one such sign: the opening of Aeschylus’ Eumenides, the final play in the Oresteian Trilogy. The play opens with an invocation, as the priestess reviews the line of succession at Apollo’s temple in Delphi. The first three keepers were goddesses: Gaia, Themis, and Phoebe. Apollo is a trespasser – a python-killer and distorter of signs.
Wägner experienced another sign in her personal life. She was standing at Cape Sounion, the place from which Aegeus had once watched for his son Theseus’ return. Would the ship bear a white or a black sail? As it turned out, the sign was misleading – the sail was black even though Theseus had triumphed. What Wägner realised is that the ‘error’ carried a meaning. It was hardly conceivable that a hero would simply have forgotten to announce his victory.
No, the sign represented the true import of his victory, the conquest of the matriarchy. With the assistance of Ariadne, he had slain the Minotaur of Crete. But he broke his pact with her and left her on Naxos. The black sail symbolises his inner conviction that the betrayal was a loss, the victory a bereavement. The patriarchy – along with its lust for conquest, its monuments, pageants, processions, and other tokens of power – was now here to stay.
Wägner’s Väckarklocka is just as desolate as Lagerlöf’s Bannlyst. In both books, the war is already raging and the only salvation is to take stock of the most fundamental, deeply buried resources, ultimately in the custody of the Mother. Not the mystical, preconscious, opaque, elemental substance, but its visionary, lucid, and enlightened essence. Listen closely, the authors seem to be saying, and you will hear the voice that we all bear within us.
According to Wägner, a “pole shift” in prehistoric times from matriarchy to patriarchy created a new symbolic language and way of looking at the world. The “experience of the warrior” became the foundation of science (domination of nature) and the general attitude towards life (Darwinism’s survival of the fittest). The Big Bang Theory is a modern example. “If I take a walk in the forest, I have to remember that the peace I experience is only a mirage. The trees are engaged in a furious battle for light, space, and soil nutrients.”
(Väckarklocka)
Translated by Ken Schubert
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« Glenn Shorrock "Rise Again" | Main | Nicole Wagner "And The Sky Caught Fire" »
David Garfield "Jammin’ Outside the Box"
With this second volume of a five-part, multi-genre Outside the Box series, keyboardist/producer David Garfield explores the magic of R&B/soul and pop music through the lens of imagination and quality with Jammin’ Outsi  de the Box. Like his first recording in this series, the straight-ahead-with-a-twist Jazz Outside the Box, this release is robust, full, and alive.
Touting a huge upscale roster of who’s who in the smooth jazz/soul/pop worlds that includes such top-tier artists as guitarists George Benson, Ray Parker Jr., Paul Jackson Jr, saxmen Kirk Whalum, David Sanborn, John Klemmer, and Eric Marienthal; bassist Marcus Miller, trumpeter Rick Braun, vocalists Smokey Robinson, Michael McDonald, Oleta Adams and Phil Perry, and a host of other luminaries, Garfield pours it on thick as he offers sterling, innovative covers of classics, as well as a few originals. The14-track album is a cornucopia of taste, charm, melody, and nostalgia.
An experience as rich as this demands your undivided attention as the album escorts you through such tunes as Stevie Wonder’s “Go Home” (dedicated to the late drummer Ricky Lawson); Adele’s “Chasing Pavements;” Chaka Khan and Rufus’ “Stay” featuring Richard “Moon” Calhoun on vocals, guitarists George Benson and Paul Jackson Jr., and saxman David Sanborn; Minnie Riperton’s “Lovin’ You” featuring vocalist Lilliana de los Reyes (you’ve just gotta hear what Garfield & Co. do with this one); Sting’s “Fragile;” Bob Marley’s “Jamming;” Joe Sample’s “Rainbow Seeker;” Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady” featuring vocalist Kenya Hathaway; the Isley Brothers “The Highways of My Life” featuring Oleta Adams and Phil Perry (the latter’s vocals have always reminded me of Ronald Isley’s vocals, making him a perfect fit for this tune); Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love” featuring Lamont Dozier on vocals, and many more along with sparkling original gems like “One Like You” featuring Smokey Robinson’s silky signature vocals and the flowing, tender “Harvest Time.”
The pristine colors that emanate from this most impressive production simply envelope one’s consciousness. A must-have if there ever was one.- Ronald Jackson
Posted by Arnaud LEGER at 07:19 PM in About new material | Permalink
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You are here: NUHA Foundation > Blog > Adult > In the future, people will cease to own books
In the future, people will cease to own books
By Emma Biddle. Emma, 24, writes from New South Wales, Australia, that "In the future, perhaps there won't be books, but there will still be literature." Please read her article and leave your thoughts and comments below. *Shortlisted for the NUHA Adult Blogging Prize 2012*
In the future people will cease to own books. Or they’ll own fewer books than they do now. Or they’ll own just as many as they do now. I don’t know, and I don’t think it matters. That might seem surprising – I am, after all, an English teacher and an aspiring writer – but I believe that I can still be those things in a world without books. A musician can still be valuable and popular in a world where vinyl records are collector’s items, where cassettes are laughable and even CDs have been overtaken by mp3 files. In the future, perhaps there won’t be books, but there willstill be literature.
There exists in our society a kind of dichotomy when it comes to technology: both a fevered acceptance of the new and nostalgia for the old. I recently received an internet meme sent from my husband’s ipad that commented how “kids these days” don’t recognise what the “save” icon on Microsoft Word is supposed to represent. In the staffroom, teachers trawl the internet for their next lesson plan and upload topic quizzes to moodle and edmodo, simultaneously blaming the internet for their students’ lack of interest in the classics.
So if there won’t be books, what will there be? Obviously ebooks are the first alternative that comes to mind. But just as print newspapers are slowly being replaced by online equivalents, updated hourly and with space for reader comments, the future of writing is not simply a change in physical format. There is a demand for greater interactivity, where the “death of the author” is made explicit by visible reader involvement. There is a demand for user-control, where readers can decide what to read in what order and what to skip over altogether. There is a demand for instant gratification, where readers can have new information (or new stories) in their hands within seconds of it being written. There is a demand for evolution.
Naturally, the expectation is that much of this evolution will occur on the internet. Blogs, wikis and interactive novels are already stepping into those spaces, just as web series are taking up a place in the world of film. However there are also forms of publication that are not permanently linked to the internet, such as interactive ebooks, ipad and android applications, that have a place in the growing alternatives to traditional books. As with internet publication, these models offer an opportunity for cheap, sometimes free, self-publication and mass marketability.
The idea is not without its pitfalls. Internet publication means more opportunity for copyright fraud, less recognition (and usually money) for the author, less regulation and a greater abundance of poor quality fiction to sift through. Sometimes well written gems hide on a blog page while a piece of fan fiction skyrockets to stardom, makes it to print and cashes in millions. It seems desperately unfair, especially to those who have spent several years with editors and agents attempting to get a first novel onto the desk of a publisher. But it also offers a platform for that new novelist to try to make a name for themselves. It offers the reader a chance to sample works that might interest them without having to part with their money or return to the library if they are disappointed. And for the fan or amateur critic, it offers an opportunity to be involved in the editing process or the creation of a sequel.
For the traditional reader or writer, these ideas may seem confronting, almost a violation of an art form. Like digital photography and Photoshop, there will be those who argue that interactive literature is not true literature. Likewise there will probably always be purists who enjoy old media for what it is. But for educators, perhaps rather than seeing this as the demise of books, we should see this as an opportunity for a new era of literature. We are, after all, growing the next generation of writers. Instead of grooming them to be the audience we want, perhaps we should be asking them how they can meet the demands of an audience made up of their peers. The existence of Virginia Woolf did not throw Jane Austen into oblivion. Likewise, if we want the future to be filled with good writing, let’s teach people how to write well in the new formats and purposes that they’re drawn to.
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Home Security Chaos Field Updates Two Civilians Shot Dead in Jenin
Two Civilians Shot Dead in Jenin
Today, on 05 September 2018, 2 civilians, including a woman, shot dead in Raba village, east of Jenin, southeast of Jenin. This incident is part of the state of proliferation of weapons and assault on the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 09:00 on Wednesday, 05 September 2018, B. M. B. (35) opened fire at his wife S. M. B. (30) and then Slaughtered her with a knife inside their house in Raba village, south of Jenin. After that, B. M. B. got into his car, drove for 400 meters and then stopped after he saw his cousin A. H. B. (24) standing on the road. B. M. B. got out of his car and shot his cousin dead at point-blank range. A. H. B. was admitted to Khalil Suleiman Hospital in Jenin where he immediately died. After that, B. M. B. got into his car and headed to Jalqamus Police Center, which is nearby, and then handed himself to the police.
The Police Spokesman, Louay Ezriqat, said to local media that the police arrested the person suspected in committing the crime and seized his weapon. Ezriqat added that: “the police and public prosecution opened investigation into the incident.”
PCHR is concerned over the increasing number of killing incidents in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) as 7 persons were killed in the last 3 weeks in deferent consequences. The last of these incidents was the killing of ‘A. S. H. (50) and his wife A. M. H. (35), from Dura village in Hebron, who were killed inside their apartment in Ya’bud village in Jenin on 27 August 2018.
PCHR hereby condemns the killing of (S. M. B.) and (A. H. B.) and calls upon the competent authorities to take all necessary measures to end the proliferation of weapons and maintain civilians’ security and safety.
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Next articleWeekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (30 August – 05 September 2018)
PCHR
Police Officer Killed in Family Dispute in Gaza City
Nine Citizens wounded during Family Dispute in Jenin
Woman Killed on Grounds of Family Honor in Rafah, South of Gaza Strip
Citizen Shot Dead on Grounds of Family Dispute in Yatta, South of Hebron
A Citizen Killed and Another Wounded in Family Dispute in Balata Camp
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian...
PCHR Concludes Third and Fourth Training Courses in the Field of...
PCHR Warns of Medicine Shortage in Gaza Strip Hospitals
66th Great March of Return: 74 Civilians Injured, including 23 Children,...
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401k Resources
Welcome and thank you for your interest in a position at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School!
St. Joseph's Prep is committed to building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that all members of our community - faculty, staff, students, administrators, parents, trustees, and alumni - are responsible for an awareness of and ongoing dialogue around diversity and inclusion issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, privilege, religion, physical ability, and family structure, as well as for enhancing the school's mission to produce graduates who are intellectually competent, open to growth, religious, loving and committed to doing justice.
St. Joseph’s Prep is an equal opportunity employer and affords equal opportunity to all applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other status protected under local, state or federal laws.
<< Click here for the St. Joseph’s Preparatory School Employment Application>>
If you are applying for employment at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, please complete the following applications and submit them along with a current resume, cover letter and references to hr@sjprep.org
<<Click here for the Disclosure Application for Volunteers
<<Act 168 of 2014>>
PA State Act 168 of 2014 states that all applicants to any school entity must complete this form for the current employer (if applicable) and must also complete one form for each former employer that was a school entity or where the applicant was employed in a position where they had direct contact with children. The applicant may have to submit multiple forms to multiple former employers.
PA State Act 153 of 2014 updates current laws and regulations in effect regarding clearances for persons working in schools or in any position where they have direct contact with children. The Act states that all persons working in schools or in any position where they have direct contact with children must have current versions of required clearances on file. The following clearances are now required and must be renewed every three years from their issue date:
PA State Criminal Record <Click here>
PA State Child Abuse History Clearance <Click here>
FBI Clearance (fingerprinting) <Click here>
In addition, all persons in Archdiocesan schools in any position where they have direct contact with children must also attend the Virtus Safe Environment training which addresses mandated reporting requirements.
Virtus Safe Environment <Click here>
Employees/Volunteers with no clearances on file must obtain all three clearances by December 31, 2015.
Click here to view our Employment Opportunities
The Human Resource Office is located on the first floor of Jesuit Hall, next to the Finance Office.
Mr. Joe Dougherty
Director of Human Resources
jdougherty@sjprep.org
CLICK HERE for current employment opportunities at the Prep.
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Most of us have good memories of watching cartoons when we are young. We have a lot of memories watching them, and it’s always fun to go back down memory lane whereby in those days when there weren’t much responsibilities to make and all we need to do is eat, sleep and watch cartoons.
Thinking back on our childhood days, some of these cartoon characters we had grew up with as a kid and others we had gotten to know and love as an adult.
One very popular cartoon that everyone would still remember would be of a fat, blue robot cat named Doraemon, who flies around the world with a roto-beanie “takecopter” on his head, and pulls magic tools out a pocket connected to the fifth dimension.
Doraemon had been translated into over 30 languages worldwide and his popularity is still growing even till today. it’s the longest airing anime ever, and it’s still going over 1800 episodes, it started in 1973 and was created by animator Fujio F. Fujiko
The series first appeared in December 1969, Doraemon, was send to travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi. Nobita who is so unlucky, weak and lazy that his descendants had to send the family robot back in time to help him out. This is because due to Nobita’s mistakes, the entire family is living in poverty in the 22nd Century. The Robot that was send over to him was Doraemon (where the “Dora” is presumably based on the word “dora-neko,” or stray cat). Doraemon is equipped with a four-dimensional pocket that produces any number of futuristic gadgets and devices meant to help Nobita from becoming something other than a complete failure in adulthood. Though smart and caring, Doraemon has his own foibles, and his partnership with Nobita produces both triumphs and disasters, hilarious situations and occasional poignant moments.
Doraemon is known for pulling amazing number of “future gadgets” out of his pocket such as the “takecopter” (bamboo helicopter), “super gloves” and the “dokodemo door,” (anywhere door) that allows instantaneous travel to anywhere the user wishes to extricate himself and Nobita from a range of scrapes and misadventures.
Doraemon was among 25 Asians chosen by Time magazine as “Asia’s greatest living heros.” He was selected as he had “inspired and cheered millions of children.” Despite not being well known in the United States, Doraemon has a strong following in parts of Europe and Latin America.
The show’s and the character’s popularity has been attributed to their ability to tap into the dreams and imagination of children while being sympathetic, engaging.
In 2010, that National Museum of Emerging Science in Tokyo hosted an exhibit called “Doraemon’s Scientific Future,” featuring real-life reversions of the gadgets he carries in his pocket. Among them were the 75-kilogram, single-seat GEN H-4, the world’s smallest helicopter, a super glove that gives users a grip strength of 200 kilograms, and machines that instantly translate a number of languages
Here’s some Fun facts about Doraemon
Doraemon has a production code : MS-903 which mentioned in 2007, Doraemon’s Birthday Episode.
Doraemon will be finished manufactured on 3 September 2112 in the Robot Factory Matsushiba. Which is about 100 years form now.
It is believed that Doraemon’s lucky number is 1293. Doraemon weighs 129.3 kg (285 lbs) and height 129.3 cm (4’3 “). He can run up to 129.3 km / h (80.3 mph) when he is frightened and jumped 129.3 cm (424.2 feet) when in danger. Its maximum strength of 129.3 bhp. Wrist circumference 129.3 mm. circumference of his head & chest circumference is 129.3 cm. Its feet in diameter 129.3 mm.
Doraemon is sub-standard product or rather “robots obsolete” because a lot of spare parts that is unable to function properly. For example, whiskers radar & call bell the cat.
At first, Doraemon is yellow. After his ears bitten by the mouse while he was sleeping, he got depression and sneaked up to a tower, where he drinked a concoction labelled “Sadness”. When he cried, the yellow color faded and his voice changed.
Doraemon and Dorami are known as brother and sister. It’s because they were created from the same oil tank. Doraemon created earlier (2 years older).
Dorami wasn’t part of Nobita’s family at first. She was sent by Sewashi to help Doraemon taking care of Nobita if Doraemon has an important business.
As Doraemon’s date of birth is on 3 Sept 2112, meaning this year in 2012, it will be the start of the one hundred year countdown to his birthday!
From Aug 14 to Sep 16, Harbour City in Hong Kong will be hosting the “100 Years Before the Birth of Doraemon” exhibition at their premises. The exhibition hosted in Harbour city will showcase 100 unique Doraemon figures along with 100 different pieces from his well-known repertoire of secret gadgets. This will all be displayed outside Harbour City’s Ocean Terminal, creating one of the most visually rewarding exhibitions ever seen in the city.
Not to be missed is the Concept Expo displaying Gadgets of the Future Inspired by Doraemon’s secret gadgets, Organizer is inviting creative parties from around the world to participate. Included are creatives from Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and more, each on hand to specially create and design 30 original gadgets. Each design has been directly influenced by Doraemon’s own futuristic world. All of their specially crafted works will be displayed at the Gallery by the Harbour at Harbour City.
During the exhibition period, Harbour City will be hosting workshop sessions at KidX that welcomes parents and their children to participate in creating, designing and decorating their own personalized Doraemon figures.
So if you are a Doraemon fan and is looking for a short gateway, then look no future than to fly over to Harbour City in Hong Kong to be a part of the 100 Years Before the Birth of Doraemon exhibition from Aug 14 to Sep 16.
Exhibition Details
Organizer: Harbour City and Animation International Ltd.,
Curator: AllRightsReserved Ltd.
Date: 12 August – 16 September, 2012
Time: 11:00 – 21:00 (Monday – Sunday)
Venue: Gallery by the Harbour- Shop 207, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsimshatsui (next to Fendi)
Harbour City Hotline: (852) 2118 8666 Website:www.harbourcity.com.hk
2 thoughts on “Doraemon 100 Years Before exhibition at Harbour City Hong Kong”
DanielFoodDiary says:
All the best! 😀
Doraemon Fan says:
Welcome to join us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Doraemon-Fan/289932297736706 for everyone to share everything about Doraemon
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5 Things I have learned (and admire) from Lady Gaga
January 25, 2010 Omar EduardoLeave a comment
Has she gone crazy? Oh no, that’s Lady Gaga, one of the fastest rising music artists in the world from this past year. Who is Lady Gaga? What does she do? What is so special about her? Why does she wear such weird outfits?
Lady Gaga may at first come across as just another pop artist trying to rise to stardom using the “shock factor.” In reality, though, there is much more to her , and that’s the reason I believe she will continue to be there even after many other artists rise and fall from stardom.
So, what is so special about Lady Gaga?
1) Passion for what she does
Lady Gaga is one of the hardest working artists you can find in the pop industry right now, particularly among those who are at her level of popularity. Even after her sudden rise as an international pop star, she has kept her head cool and continued doing things her way, not losing the drive and passion she has for her work. She always sings live in her performances while simultaneously dancing somewhat challenging choreographies, which is something you can rarely find among pop stars these days. Most of them can’t do either!
Her willingness to work hard and until perfection for her performances really comes through, and because of it fans are much much happier after seeing her perform. Even when her vocals are not as amazing as they would have been had she danced less or pre-recorded the show, fans will be willing to support her more than any other artist because she truly opens her heart during performances. Fans and non-fans alike respect her more because of her commitment.
2) Continuously challenges herself to improve
Lady Gaga’s rise to stardom came with 4 of her singles rocking the charts, and as such we all knew that going forward it would be difficult for her to top her own performance. A moment I loved was when she was asked if she was afraid that she might lose “it”, that shock factor, and lose her fans. Her answer? She answered that in her opinion Beyonce [Knowles] has been up doing herself every year and has done so well, so she is going to use that as an inspiration to continue topping her own performances.
The level to which that answer was amazing still dazzles me. Here we have a pop star that is not afraid of challenging herself to keep improving her performances, and while doing so honestly appreciated someone else’s talent and performance! With the surge of competition that has really taken over America and most of the world, there is much we can learn from Lady Gaga’s elegant answer. Focus on improving yourself, not on diminishing others or hoping they fall, is a lesson we should all take from this.
3) Not afraid of acknowledging those who deserve it
We are all tired of BS, and particularly when we see so many people standing in front of a podium giving thanks to certain people, but they do so in the least sincere way possible. It’s almost as if someone else talked to them before accepting an award and told them: “Now, remember. If you thank your parents, people will think you are a nice guy and will like you more,” and then the artist goes up and says: “… and, yeah, thanks for my parents. You guys are great,” and then move on.
But Lady Gaga always thanks her fans, and she can’t be stopped from doing it. She thanks them every single time she has an opportunity, and not only when in the spotlight, she also does it through YouTube & Twitter, even recognizing great fan blogs she has come across (such as GagaDaily.) It’s humbling to see her show this kind of connection with her fans.
She is also quite specific about thanking the gay community and she does so honestly. How do we know? Cause she does it over and over. Not only in one award ceremony, but also during her interviews where she adds: “The turning point for me was the gay community.” She also thanked the gay community during her acceptance of the MTV Video Music Awards in a way that may be a bit controversial, “bless God and bless the gays.” Now that’s a good way to go cross-boundaries while being grateful and polite and keeping a speech concise.
4) Consistent, in a very strange way
Hard-working Lady Gaga is always coming out with some new fashion, makeup, or dance performance that is designed to shock us, and it usually does. Or at least lets us wondering, what the hell was she thinking? The great thing, however, is that throughout all these performances, you can always ‘feel’ Lady Gaga’s presence. You can tell that it’s still the same ‘muse’ that is inspiring all of this. This is probably a product of her heavy involvement in the creative process of her work. She even wore clothing true to herself when meeting the Queen of England. (see image)
5) Doesn’t lose her image, but is flexible
Lastly, something I’ve admired about Lady Gaga is how good she is at staying true to her image, but at the same time she is smart enough to be able to associate with a variety of people and not make it awkward. She has risen to stardom because of her crazy style, but is able to pull it all together and be very real during interviews with TV personalities such as Oprah. She is also able to express herself well, and is very genuine.
Because of these 5 things, and many more I may have looked over for now, Lady Gaga has had a very interesting career and a very fruitful one. She has been able to wow her fans even after releasing a second album radically different from her first one, and I’m confident that she will continue to do so. Hard-working as she is, there is nothing she won’t be able to achieve.
We can all learn from people like her, even if our paths are completely different from hers. Passion for what you do and for improving yourself, gratefulness and sincerity, and staying true to yourself are things that no matter what you pursue will help you succeed.
Three characteristics you need to become a millionaire or obtain anywealth you desire
First Step to Any Success – Stop Lying to Yourself
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Don’t Procrastinate—Talk to Yourself
Uncategorized September 30, 2014 Leave a comment
A great article from Success.com-
http://www.success.com/article/dont-procrastinate%E2%80%94talk-to-yourself
By Tony Jeary
We all procrastinate sometimes. But I think there are two kinds of procrastination—positive and negative. An example of positive procrastination is when you legitimately need (and make the most of) a little extra time to gather your thoughts. Negative procrastination is usually based on flimsy excuses to avoid doing something now. “Production Before Perfection” is my solution to negative procrastination: It’s all about self-talk and encouraging yourself. If you are guilty of negative procrastination, it may mean you are fearful of failure and not confident in your ability to succeed. Sometimes the only way to manage your emotions is to ignore them and keep pushing through to achieve what you need to do: Go as far as you can see, and then you’ll see farther. Talk to yourself. This concept has the power to nip procrastination in the bud. You don’t have to understand all the details between where you are and where you want to go. Encourage yourself, make corrections along the way, and you’ll reach your goal. Go ahead. Time is wasting! Take a look at why people delay, along with ways to short-circuit the damaging behavior in yourself and others. – See more at: http://www.success.com/article/dont-procrastinate%E2%80%94talk-to-yourself#sthash.LavRtSu4.dpuf
Interview Those You Love (Before They’re Gone)
death, dying, family, grief, life, parents, relationships September 28, 2014 Leave a comment
Several years ago I lost both parents within 5 weeks of each other.
Among other things, I had a bunch of things I always wanted to ask them Things like, where were they when the landed on the moon? When Kennedy was shot? How did you overcome your business challenges? What did you fear most as a parent? How did you overcome your heartattack and get back into the workforce? What would you do differently as a parent?
….and many many more things. I wanted to ask them about their school experience more, other relatives, family details, etc.
Then recently I came upon this, and I wanted to share, I think it is something we never thinks about but we should.….
http://brendonburchard.tumblr.com/post/98560312858/interview-your-loved-ones-before-theyre-gone
From Brendon Burchard….
How do you honor people?
If you have loved ones who you’ve lost or you have people in your life right now who you just admire greatly, who are helping you out, who are influencing you in positive ways, how do you honor people?
In our society, especially in the Western culture it’s so much about giving them gifts, pay increases or sending them stuff.
But I actually want to talk about a different way that you can honor people that a lot of people from our audience who know this story always find meaningful. I think it would be so phenomenal an experience for your family members and for you in the future.
Maybe you know the story and maybe you don’t, but in 2009 on Mother’s Day, my dad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. He’d been a pretty healthy guy, played racquetball and went bowling all the time, played golf and he was happy and healthy. But he woke up on Mother’s Day and he was walking down the hall of the house and my mom saw him drifting a little bit and said, ”What’s wrong with you?” He said, “I’m out of balance and it hurts here on my side.”
They went to the doctor and the doctor said that’s weird your spleen seems to be enlarged and they did a bunch of tests and found out he had acute myeloid leukemia.
It’s the kind of leukemia you definitely don’t want. You don’t want either, but that one is the one that tends to take people’s lives quickly. Dad went through a couple rounds of chemo and unfortunately they weren’t helping. They wanted to put him on a course of the third treatment but it was clear it wasn’t going to work, that would decimate his body, and he made the choice to go home and be at our house with Hospice care until the disease took him.
So, from diagnosis to death we had 59 days with dad and that was it.
I feel very lucky for those times. I had an amazing relationship with my dad as did my family. I love him so much and it was something that’s taken this many years to shoot a video about, because I used to not be able to control any of my emotions and I didn’t speak about it that much on stages for a long time, because it was such a huge emotional toll.
One thing I was happy about that I was able to do during that time is when we knew it was bad and that we might lose him, I happened to be away traveling… I was teaching a seminar to a few hundred people and he called to let me know the second course of chemo hadn’t worked and they didn’t know how long he would have. They were constantly saying, “You have a week left, a week, ten days, three days.” It just took his body so fast because what happens is the stem cells aren’t creating the white cells correctly and the white cells start hampering the body’s ability to function. They’re mutated with leukemia and it takes over your entire body just that fast.
I didn’t know if I would get to see him again or if I could get out there fast enough, so I asked him, “Dad, can I call you and interview you? I want to ask you some questions and record it.” He was in the hospital and just recovering having gone through the chemo and he said sure. I just didn’t know if I would get there fast enough. I called him back and used a free conference calling line, which you can Google and find that allows you to record. I called him and recorded it.
I asked him 30 questions or so about life and I’ve posted the link to those questions [click here to get the interview guide] and I’ve formatted it in a way where you could ask anyone in your life these questions. It’s just about getting to hear them talk about what’s important in their life.
What did they learn when they were young in adolescence?
How did their mother or father influence them?
What did they learn from their parents?
What did their grandparents want them to carry on?
What do they want you to know after they’re gone?
What do they want your brothers or sisters to know after they’re gone?
What values do they want to teach?
What do they want you to remember when the times are dark?
Just advice from this person that you love.
It was my dad, and he gave unbelievable advice. I would say from everything I own in my life now, this is the most treasured thing I have is this recording of Dad, just him talking about life.
It took me a long time to be able to listen to. If I listen to it, I completely get emotional about it, but at the same time I find it empowering and inspiring and it connects me back to him. It’s meaningful to me, too, because while you’re watching me on video now or listening to me in whatever format, in growing up, my dad, his generation just didn’t have any video. I don’t have that much existing video of my father at all outside a wedding, so this is one of the few remaining recordings I have of him.
It was a two-three hour conversation that really inspired me. One of the things he said in there is the reason I’m shooting this video. I asked him what he wanted his kids to always remember and we were talking a lot about it and he just said a few things, these seven things he was always telling us in some way or another throughout our lives and he was demonstrating. He’d say them, but he kind of strung them together in this thought and I keep returning to it over and over again. His seven legacy statements for us were:
Do your best
Take care of your family
Treat people with respect
Be a good citizen
Those seven things, which were really his values and who he was in so many ways, and he said a lot of amazing things during the interview, but those things I carry with me and I’ve perpetuated over and over. I’d tell his message to all of my audiences. I’ve shared that on a quote card on my Facebook pagebefore and it literally got 40k likes in a week. I don’t know how many times it’s been shared now, but literally hundreds of thousands of times been seen by millions of people and it stunned me.
It reminded me that one of the best ways that we can honor somebody is to carry forth their values but not just to communicate them, not to just live them or have them, but to share with other people.
Maybe you had a grandparent who inspired you and you should tell people about that grandparent and what they told you about life and how to live a good life.
I think there isn’t a lot of conversation, amazingly, in our culture broadly and at an individual level about what it takes to live a good life.
People don’t talk about that as much anymore. Personal growth in terms of an industry seems to be declining, because now people can just get something for any time and everything is so immediate, less people reading books and that genre, less people engaging it seems like.
I’m blessed to have so much of a wave in this area of personal development with this YouTube show being so successful and my Facebook thing taking off and email list exploding over the past couple years. I can share with you that what makes those things meaningful is trying to share meaningful advice with people, meaningful insights and I think you can do that.
I think there have been people who have inspired you and the more you tell their story and tell people explicitly and directly, this is what they taught me the more we carry forth the legacy of those before us for future generations, the more we become standard bearers of what a good life is because if no one’s talking about it and if no one is communicating values as much anymore, we start to lose that.
And I think what’s happened is generation after generation has failed to hold the line of high standards in humanity.
We’re getting more and more lackadaisical with “anything is okay” and celebrating idiots on television, angry people or the smart bitter comment that jabs at somebody versus talking about what it takes to be a good person.
What does it take to live the ideal life? Obviously I’ve dedicated my life to that. This whole thing is about living your charged life. What would that feel like?One of the things to live a fully charged life is to honor the people in your life. I encourage you to interview them and completely steal my interview form and call someone you love and interview them. I think you’ll be surprised at some of the things you’ll learn and some of the tidbits they’ll give you, you can remind yourself. I carry them around in my wallet. I think about these things because they give a guidepost of behavior everyday to live up to, to live into your highest self; to live into those ideals and values.
There are lots of ways to honor someone. If they’re still with you, sometimes it can be as simple as calling them, taking them out to lunch, sitting them down, looking them directly in the eye and saying,
“I just wanted to spend a few minutes with you sharing how you’ve impacted my life. I just want to spend a few minutes with you telling you why you made such a difference for me. I want to share with you the values and maybe you never told me but I just see them in you, there’s something… Your strength and positivity or, your hope or your belief in me. You might not know it but it carried me through days that I didn’t think I could make it through. What you have told me I’m going to carry forth. What you help me do I’m going to help more people do.”
It’s in that perpetuation of goodness that we hold the line of the best that is in humanity, and I encourage you to do that.
It can be as simple as writing a letter to someone and professing to them, this is why I love you, care for you and admire you.
It can be as simple as shooting a video and sending it to them saying, “Hey, I just wanted you to know the impact that you’re making and I’m going to carry it forward.”
The number one way to honor someone is to carry their voice and values forward everyday through your behavior and explicitly through stories and advice and guidance of other people.
I think that’s the ultimate way to honor people, more than the fanfare of a fancy gift or if you have a great employee and giving them a raise, but to really celebrate somebody’s words and their noble character and what they have to share with other people, that is a magical way to make a difference, to perpetuate the goodness in humanity and to celebrate and honor someone who’s made a difference in your life.
Like this episode? Please share it with others. Let’s inspire others to live a fully charged life. The interview guide referenced in this video can be downloaded free here.
Feel free to share:
Frey Freyday-Worry
( Frey Freyday is simply a bunch of inspirational, motivational and other quotes meant to make you think, reflect, smile, even laugh a bit. Hopefully helpful, useful stuff….)
Worry?! Why? …..do you really think something could go “wrong”? Are you not eternal? Have you forgotten how much you’re loved? Don’t you see how far you’ve already come? Could you possibly be in better hands?
Is there not chocolate in every land? The Universe/tut.com
You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.-Walter Hagen
When you begin to worry, go find something to do. Get busy being a blessing to someone; do something fruitful. Talking about your problem or sitting alone, thinking about it, does no good; it serves only to make you miserable. Above all else, remember that worrying is totally useless. Worrying will not solve your problem.-Joyce Meyer
There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.-Mahatma Gandhi
Pray, and let God worry.-Martin Luther
Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.-Dale Carnegie
It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there’s nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized.-Wayne Dyer
Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.-Corrie Ten Boom
Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.-Leo Buscaglia
Failure is an enigma. You worry about it, and it teaches you something.-James Dyson
Worrying is like praying for bad things to happen. – Unknown.
If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.-George Burns
Bonus: Ted Talk
Listening to Bobby McFerrin sing may be hazardous to your preconceptions. Side effects may include unparalleled joy, a new perspective on creativity, rejection of the predictable, and a sudden, irreversible urge to lead a more spontaneous existence.
http://www.ted.com/speakers/bobby_mcferrin
How to Change the Quality of Your Life
Uncategorized September 25, 2014 1 Comment
Please take a moment to watch this. It is well worth the 1 minute 15 seconds……
Shift your Focus: The Power of Questions
From Tony Robbins….
I wanted to give you a quick video from one of my past weekend events where I shared about the power of questions – change the questions you ask yourself and change the direction of your life.
Also, click on this link to see a great clip on the Power of Questions that you can send on to your friends and family! Power of Questions Mini Movie
Remember, it’s not the events of your life that determine how you feel and act but, rather, the meaning you create from your life’s experiences. Learning to ask empowering questions – especially in moments of crisis – is a critical skill that will ultimately shape the meanings you create, and therefore the quality of your life.
Stay Strong and Live with Passion,
The fear of rejection
The fear of rejection is often more an inside job than truly about other people; it is a maturity and consciousness issue we must finally come to grips with, a decision to stand on our own, accept ourselves, be free. We don’t fear judgement, we fear our own inadequacy or power.
From Brendon Burchard
— Begin Transcript —
I spend all this time teaching people how to share their voice with the world, market their story out about who they are and what they want to accomplish in life. One of the things that really surprised me when I started doing this, almost 10 years ago now, was how many people would come up to me and say:
Brendon, how do you deal with rejection?
These were often adults, which really blew my mind because I was a young man back then. It would be 45, 55 and 65 year old folks saying, Brendon, how do you deal with the rejection? I thought, what do you mean? There would be this insecurity in their voice as they asked that question.
I thought, you’re an adult and still struggling with ideas about rejection?
I think that’s unfortunate and it shows that sometimes people live an unexamined life, that they’re willing to not question themselves. Shouldn’t we have all gotten over and dealt rejection pretty young? High school, college level stuff?
I’m not saying we won’t ever be self-conscious.
Don’t worry you don’t have to give me hate…
emails and comments below, I mean, you can make fun of my shirt, but other than that… I’m not trying to be insensitive I just think that sometimes they don’t understand math and odds.
We think rejection is this thing that happens all the time, so what happens is that so many people guide their life based on this fear that they’re going to be rejected, so they don’t take action and don’t start new things or chase their dreams because they’re worried about what other people are going to think.
They’re going to be rejected and deemed unworthy, unlovable or not adequate in some way or another and you think, that’s so sad, because rejection, the actual form of rejection that shapes people’s identity and hurts them, happens so rarely. If you don’t believe it then that’s an internal fear, not the reality of the universe.
Let me prove this to you with some basic data. I’ve traveled around the globe, well over most of the globe now, and here’s what I find out over and over again when I speak to audiences.
I always do this little simple activity where I say, if you’ve ever been rejected in a way where it hurt, it actually hurt and formed and shaped your identity in a way, it was a significant hurt that you felt and it changed how you felt about yourself and what you might want to accomplish in the world. If you’ve ever felt that before would you raise your hand? Everyone raises their hand.
Then I say if you’ve ever been rejected by, let’s say, three people, who really rejected you in that way that you were shot down, hurt and it changed who you are and what you wanted to accomplish in life. How many times has that ever happened with three people? A bunch of people raise their hands again and I start escalating that number from three, to five to seven, to ten, fifteen, twenty. and thirty.
Here’s what’s amazing. I’ve done this all over the world with audiences with thousands of people in them and here’s the average across all those audiences, all around the world, it doesn’t matter the culture. The average number is about seven.
So anywhere between five and seven, meaning, people say between five and seven people hurt their feelings enough with a real rejection, not one of those, “Well I’m sorry I can’t go out with you I’m washing my hair” stuff. I mean someone who really criticized you and rejected you in a way that it hurt. The average person says five to seven people rejected them like that.
There are some people who have more than that. I’m saying the average is five to seven and yet so many people when I ask, how many of you are so scared of rejection that almost everyone raises their hand.
It’s like wait a second, you’re scared of something that barely ever happens?
The second question I get asked is, how many of you have ever interacted with let’s say, 10 people and when you interacted with those 10 people it went just fine. They were nice to you. They were polite. They were patient or they just didn’t care one way or another. Have you ever met 10 people like that? Everyone raised their hand.
Then I say, how many of you have ever interacted with, met, known or associated with 100 people in your life and those 100 people were fine with you? Everyone raised their hand.
I take that number up to thousands and everyone is still raising their hands, because we’ve all met with, interacted with, known or associated with thousands of people in our lives and most of them could care less, didn’t criticize, were generally supportive.
And so it’s like wait a second.
You’re basing your life and directing yourself based on this fear of rejection that maybes happen on average, for people between five and seven times? But, thousands of people you’ve interacted with are cool with you or at least, let you do your own thing and didn’t criticize it.
It’s like wait, if you realize those numbers and you did the math, like five people versus a thousand. Five people aren’t supportive of you but a thousand were and were fine with you. Think about that math and automatically, statistically, mathematically — five out of a thousand, these are the freaks!They’re the oddities and weirdo’s. They don’t make computational sense over here.
You’re worried about what the tragic minority in that sense, five out of a thousand. You have a thousand people who have your back you could storm these five people.
You have to realize that rejection actually barely ever happens. We fear it because when we were young and it happened, it felt so real and so big, but come on. As we get older we have to gain that greater sense of awareness and maturity that says, “I am my own person. I’m going to be myself regardless.”
Some people say, Brendon, you can’t expect that from people because they have so much fear. It’s like, why does fear get so much credit? People also have so much power. People have so much strength.
People have so much in themselves that it can actually be heroic tendencies if they focus on that as much as they focused on their inadequacies.
So why are we giving everyone a by card and saying it’s okay that you’re still scared of rejection. I don’t think it’s okay.
I think it’s rather, we should say, let’s have a higher ambition for ourselves as human beings to allow ourselves the freedom to be who we are, to genuinely express ourselves.
Yes, will some people criticize it? Absolutely. Some people will criticize this video and go “Oh man, I hate your shirt. Your hair looks bad. You’re really white and what’s your deal?” Everyone is going to say something. So what!
I’m not going to limit my service or message to the world, based on what other people think.
By the way, who are we fearing the most anyway?
Usually the people we fear are the harsh critics. Let’s talk about the harsh critics, who are they?
Most harsh critics, unless they’re paid to be critics, are just jerks, and we really don’t need to listen to them.
But, why are people critical?
Most people are critical for maybe four reasons:
1. Self boasting.
Most critics are braggarts. They like to say, “You’re not good enough. I do a much better job.” Fantastic. Good for you. Go do a better job, out of my vision please.
It’s like, don’t worry about the self boasters and the narcissists, you don’t need to be concerned about them they have nothing to add to the direction in which you’re going in your life.
Focus on your own thing. Don’t worry about the couch critics or apathetic advisors on the sidelines of life. They really have nothing to contribute to you. Unless you’ve asked for constructive feedback, don’t worry about it.
2. Self-Protection.
I think the second reason become critics often is because it’s self protection.
They’re critical of you because they see something outstanding, remarkable or different in you and they’re scared of different, because they’re comfortable in their own thing or it challenges their own beliefs and behaviors seeing you excel.
Seeing you have the boldness, the freedom, the joy, the ambition, the guts, the integrity and the courage to put yourself out there, they’re like, “Oh yeah, who do you think you are?”
They try to knock you down to their level.
Do you need to be concerned about those people? No.
I think the third reason people do it is because sometimes they’re just critical, but they’re critical out of ignorance.
They actually don’t know you. They don’t know what you’re talking about. They don’t know what you’re doing. They don’t know anything about your area of expertise or the thing that you’re trying to share in the world.
So, why be concerned about what somebody who has no knowledge about you or what you’re doing has to say?
4. Protecting You.
The fourth reason people do it is because they actually do want to provide value. They want to give you some direction to protect you and care for you, and they don’t realize that sometimes the way they do that, their tone might be condescending. Maybe the way they do it does hurt you or limit you, but they weren’t trying to be a tyrant to you, they’re just maybe a little unconscious or lack some emotional or social intelligence.
For those people, pity them and ignore the rest of them.
Give some of those people who are trying patience and pity, the other ones, don’t give them patience or the time and attention.
That sounds harsh to say and I’ll be criticized for it, of course, but that’s what I believe so I’m going to say it.
I want you to go say what you feel like with the world.
Go give yourself to the world without concern about what the world thinks about you so much, because if you don’t, if you limit the expression of who you are and what you have to give in the world, based on a couple people who might criticize you, what have you done? You’ve sunken below the lowest common denominator of mankind.
If we all shrunk in our ability to serve because of what some people might think where would we be as humans?
Go out and be great and never apologize for it.
http://brendonburchard.tumblr.com/post/83219110378/fear-of-rejection
forgiveness, apologizing, bitterness
A great blog about forgiveness, apologizing, bitterness from Brendon Burchard
Nothing is served by being bitter. Nothing is served in a relationship by lording over someone else for a mistake or hurtful act. Nothing ever moves from that. There’s no positive movement in a broken relationship without first forgiveness. Forgive, not to approve of others bad behavior, but to unleash your soul from the hurt and bitterness. Let go of the ego and just forgive somebody, not to justify, not to rationalize, not to approve….just do it for your own mental and spiritual sanity, health and vibrancy. Just let it go. You need nothing more.
From the video AND blog post on how to say sorry: http://tmblr.co/ZTb1Dv1JKfK8o
https://www.facebook.com/brendonburchardfan
The transcript of the blog:
I believe that one of the great marks of personal power and spiritual power is the ability to apologize and to forgive.
Often those things are seen, for some weird odd reason, as ‘weak’ things. “Oh well, I don’t want to apologize to her because that will make me look weak.” Or, “I’m not going to forgive him because if I forgive him then that gives him the power.”
People have been thinking about apology and forgiveness in the wrong ways for so long—that’s why we have so many people who are pent up, angry, frustrated, and bitter around the world.
Do you have any bitter critter friends? You know, these people that are just bitter and angry all the time? They’re mad at other people, the injustices of the world, but then when they screw up they can’t even say, “I’m sorry.” Doesn’t that drive you nuts? It’s a lack of congruence, and I think the challenge is that so many people have never really been taught how to think about these things.
Should we apologize to people? Absolutely. If we do something that causes harm or hurts someone’s feelings, even if it wasn’t our intention, even if we think it wasn’t a big deal? Yes. Because guess what?
Apologizing has nothing to do with what we think is a big deal, no matter how smart we are about justifying why someone should not feel that way. “Well she shouldn’t feel that way, so I’m not going to apologize.” It doesn’t matter if you think she should feel that way, if she feels that way, she feels that way.
Because, whatever action you did, whether it deserved to cause that emotion, if she’s having that interaction and feeling, then we ought to say, “I’m really sorry that you’re having that experience, I didn’t intend for that, but I apologize. I want to let you know I want you to be happy. I want you to feel good. I want us to have a good relationship.”
It’s turning that apology into a direct intention, a direct statement that we want things to be better.
You say, “I’m not going to apologize because when I apologize then they really hold me to the ground.” Have you ever apologized to someone and they just won’t accept the apology? They just keep getting meaner and meaner and meaner to you, making you defend yourself, defend yourself, defend yourself?
Don’t play that game. Just say, “You know what, I don’t know what else to say. I’ve totally apologized. I have really nothing else to say about the matter other than I just feel bad. I feel bad that you feel bad. None of us wants to feel bad.”
Don’t let anyone drag you into their emotional drama either. Apologize with sincerity and strength, but do not allow yourself to be drawn into everyone else’s negative emotions. To allow yourself to apologize from a place of knowing you’re doing it with integrity, because you don’t want to cause harm or make anyone feel bad. To do that, but not allow yourself to give over your integrity, to allow someone now to brow beat you into submission, into beating you into a place where you’re emotionally and spiritually completely taxed, where you say I’m not going to apologize anymore.
See, when we apologize we don’t have to give away our power.
It’s coming from a place of real power that allows us to apologize, because when we’re coming from a place of real, raw, emotional and spiritual power, we can apologize because there’s no ego attached to it.
Whatever dance is going to happen after we apologize, we’re not going to be drawn into that dance of drama.
See, part of the reason we don’t want to apologize is because we fear it makes us look wrong, even if we wouldn’t say that or conceptualize that. We feel like, “If I apologize then that means I was wrong.”
What if it has nothing to do with whether or not you were wrong or right, deserved or justified? What if it’s so simple to apologize because it has nothing to do with your ego?
I’ll apologize all day long because me apologizing or pointing out any flaws that I have or any mistakes I’ve made does not diminish me as a person. It grows me as a person. It makes me stronger, more aware and more capable. I want to learn when I mess up, so when someone says you should apologize for that I say, “Okay, I apologize. “ There’s no hook to it for me. I don’t get angry about other people.
“Well, I don’t need to apologize to you, who do you think you are?” Nothing is served from that. I have no ego about these things and it’s so much easier to apologize, because it’s not about you. It’s not about protecting your own mental turf. It’s not about being right.
Most of the frustrations and the anger and bitterness we have to other people is because we feel that we have to be so right and we feel so powerful when we’re right.
It’s like, really?
Just be a spiritual person and be open and allow warmth and love to flow through to you, especially to the people you have hurt.
Let it go. Let go of that need to feel right or justified and your life really does transform. You can literally feel thousands of pounds of baggage releasing from your shoulders the moment you’re spiritually free enough to apologize whenever someone around you has been negatively impacted or took something negative and they felt bad.
Some people just are going to feel bad all the time, so they’ll be asking you for apologies all the time. Your job? Limit your exposure to that person.
You’re like, Brendon, “What if I marry that person.” Don’t blame me I didn’t marry them you married them!
I think you have to have a greater sense of connection with others to realize that if they’re continually offended and continually hurt, to sit them down and say,
“I sense that you were always continually hurt and there is always this thing: I can’t do anything right. So what dialogue would I have to have or what behavior change would I have to have or we have to have in this relationship so that you’re not always hurt? If you’re always going to be hurt, I’m always going to feel bad. And if I’m always going to feel bad and you’re always going to feel bad, where could this relationship ever really go? Let’s have an intentional conversation about what kind of relationship do we really want? Do you and I both want to continue drowning in our drama or do we want to find out a new way we can live and interact together? If we can’t figure out a new way to live and interact together, in which we have true joy, openness, care and compassion and love and fun with each other, then we aren’t doing a good enough job together. Then we have to explore that too.”
And sometimes there are people who just aren’t at the same conscious plain you are—and you don’t say that from a place of ego, you just say it in recognition that they’re still on that plain of hurt and they aren’t ever going to release that plain of hurt.
Maybe you have to be honest with them and have a conversation, maybe they need true therapy. They need true help. Some people truly, cannot resolve their own internal dramas, as much as they try, and you are not a therapist… (maybe you are, I don’t know).
But your job isn’t to be a therapist to your loved ones. Your job is to facilitate that if they need to go get some help, then let them go get some help, and champion that. Don’t create a stigma around it. Let them get some help to resolve their internal dramas that are creating all this negative energy that’s constantly creating bitterness and feuds between the two of you.
That’s your job: “How can I guide this so there’s not as much hurt here.” If you do that well in your relationships you find it so much easier to apologize when you do something.
When someone feels bad around me, I immediately apologize, because I know apology has nothing to do with me. It has to do with their ability and their need to release their bitterness. They’re upset, and if all the need is a simple switch of an apology to release that upset-ness in their life, I want to let them switch that thing all day long.
It’s not about you. It’s about a need they have psychologically to release from something and the apology is the lever for that release.
I’m like, I’ll hand somebody a lever all day long it doesn’t bother me, because it has nothing to do with me. Does that make sense?
If your intentions are pure and your actions are done with true compassion and faith and love in other people, than you’ll find suddenly you don’t have to apologize that much, because your actions are pure and who you are is pure.
You’re doing good things for yourself, first and foremost to have integrity, and then for others, and because you do that, suddenly you don’t make as many mistakes. You don’t hurt people as often, and you just find yourself acting, not in noble ways, but in ways that are true to your real spirit, which is coming from a place of love and compassion anyway.
I think the second part of this in demonstrating real strength is also the ability on your side to forgive.
If someone says, “I’m sorry,” you’re like I get it.
You don’t have to say, “You’re not really sorry,” and until they bleed, you won’t forgive them. You know these people don’t you?
Forgiveness should be as simple as apology for you. Simple.
Forgiveness has nothing to do with you, just like apology might not have anything to do with you. It’s not about ego.
Forgiveness is not something mental that you need to construct in your head, it’s a spiritual discipline.
You know what, there are so many things going on at any given time that could be judged as wrong, as harsh, as terrible, as mean and as vindictive, and what we have to realize is that we could interpret everything that way, everything. If someone cuts you off in traffic you freak out and now you’re going to chase them down and run them off the road, and you won’t forgive them for five days, you’re mad about that guy who cut you off.
You know what you’re carrying? Bitterness and anger. Over a period of years that starts to wear on your face. It starts showing up in your body. It starts to slow you down in your progress in life, because you start thinking people are bad, so you divide yourself from other people. And, because you see other people are as bad then you don’t collaborate as much. You don’t ask for help. You don’t believe in the power of a team to accomplish something, and suddenly you find yourself alone, bitter and alone, because you didn’t have the spiritual wherewithal to forgive.
Forgiving is so simple. It literally is a decision. No justification or cause has to happen, and forgiving does not have to do anything with accepting the other person’s behavior, approving of it, justifying it, rationalizing it or understanding it.
Forgiveness is a personal power saying, I’m not going to be upset. You don’t even have to forgive them. You don’t even have to forgive their actions.. it has nothing to do with them.
Forgiveness has to do with a decision that you’re just going to forgive the weight that you’re carrying around about something that impacted you.
That’s the way to look at it.
It is a spiritual power in just dropping weight of negativity, of negative emotion and energy around you.
I can forgive so fast in my life, not because I’m so wow spiritual, it’s just because I’ve practiced it so many times. I’m constantly like,
“Wow, I’m kind of upset about that. Let me let that go, because it’s not going to serve my life. Let me let that go because if I don’t I can’t sleep tonight. Let me let that go because if I don’t I feel heavy and angry. Let me let that go because when I’m upset or bitter I don’t have a good vision for my future. Let me let that go, because if I carry it I’m going to walk that into my next relationship with someone I love, adore or care. Let me let that go, because nothing is served by being angry.”
Nothing is served by being bitter. Nothing is served in a relationship by Lording over something over someone else’s head. Nothing ever moves from that. There’s no positive movement that comes in a relationship that has been broken without first forgiveness. It has to happen and it has to happen in a place where it’s not about you. Do it just for your spirit.
Let go of the ego and just forgive somebody, not to approve of them, not to justify, not to rationalize. Like I said, just do it for your own mental and spiritual sanity, health and vibrancy. Just let it go. You need nothing more.
Make a decision today that whatever’s bothering you just let it go. Let that challenge of that relationship for now, just let it go and see how that feels. It will lighten the load and will allow you to soar again. It will give you spirit back. It will allow an openness in the life again that never can happen when you’re tugging at all this baggage on your shoulders that you chose to carry. Maybe they threw a piece of baggage at you and you caught it. You caught it and now you’re angry. You simply need to let it go.
I’m not going to carry your stuff anymore. I forgive the situation. I forgive you, only for my own mental sanity. That’s personal power.
That’s how you feel free in life again: From apologizing and allowing forgiveness into your life, you feel free again, and when you feel free again, now life is unbounded. It’s beautiful. The colors return to the sky. The whistle comes back to the work. Any metaphor you need to justify doing this, find it and let it go today.
Apologize when you need to.
Let it go every time, and suddenly you’ll find yourself fully charged.
Do not go half-speed
Think about this as you approach your day…..
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Largest Milk Producing State in India
0.0.1 Largest milk producing country in the world- India is the largest milk producing country
1 Highest milk producing State in India
2 India’s Top 10 Highest Milk Producing States 2018
2.1 Tamil Nadu
2.2 Bihar
2.3 Haryana
2.4 Maharashtra
2.5 Punjab
2.6 Andhra Pradesh
2.7 Madhya Pradesh
2.8 Gujarat
2.9 Rajasthan
2.10 Uttar Pradesh
Hi, Users! Searching for Largest Milk Producing State in India? Many of us these days are preparing for general service exams. So, get here the full description related to Highest milk producing State in India. So all about here I have explained largest producer of milk in India.
Milk is one of most daily need in our life. It is referred as the complete food, as it contains all the necessary constituents to provide essential nutritional requirements to the body.
India is known as Agriculture dominated and Animal Husbandry. But milk production in India was poor until there took place the White Revolution. Now, India stands the first place in the production of milk in the world.
White Revolution:
Verghese Kurien (26 November 1921 – 9 September 2012) known as the Father of the White Revolution in India was a social entrepreneur whose “billion-liter idea”, Operation Flood the world’s largest agricultural dairy development program made dairy farming India’s largest self-sustaining industry
He found the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965, to replicate this pattern nationwide.It was based on Amul, his standalone cooperative, He organised dairy farmers in the villages and linked them directly to consumers in the market by eliminating middlemen, ensuring them a steady and a regular income even during the lean season and a competitive price to the consumer in the large market of the reachable cities like Mumbai. And make India the highest milk producing country in the world.
Largest milk producing country in the world- India is the largest milk producing country
The milk production in India was poor until there took place the White Revolution. Now, India stands the first place in the production of milk in the world. As we know India is an agricultural nation is leading producer of wheat and rice, but also the largest milk producing country in the world. Milk Production in India has increased rapidly after the white revolution and in the last financial year, the total milk production in the country crossed the mark of 140 Million Tonnes.
Highest milk producing State in India
If you are searching for Largest Milk Producing State of India, we give you best and Trustworthy information on the base of the last financial year 2016. State wise Milk production list and much more detailed information.
India is the largest country but among all states in India, Uttar Pradesh is the leader in milk production. Uttar Pradesh is highest milk production state in the country with an annual production of more than 20 Million Tonnes.And is also surprising that Top 10 Milk Producing States account for more than 80% of the total milk production in India.Here is the list of top 10 highest milk producing States in India
And is also surprising that Top 10 Milk Producing States account for more than 80% of the total milk production in India.Here is the list of top 10 highest milk producing States in India
India’s Top 10 Highest Milk Producing States 2018
Tamil Nadu is a state which is ranked on 10th largest milk producing state in India. Currently, the state observed a growth of 10% or above in the milk production.
Tamil Nadu has more than 11,000 Milk Cooperative Societies in the state and 17 Milk Producers’ Union, that gives employment to more than 4 Lakh milk producers.
The state contributes approximately more than 5% in the total milk production in the country, daily milk acquisition of dairy cooperative societies in the state is more than 24 Lakh Litres. States’s annual milk production is about 6.344 Million Tonnes.
Bihar on the position 9th in the Top 10 list of milk production state. It produces more than 6 Million Tonnes Milk every year.
Bihar State Milk Co-operative Federation is the dairy cooperative in Bihar, which came into existence in the year 1983. The state sells its various quality products under the brand name of “Sudha Dairy”.
The dairy cooperatives covered more than 25 Districts and have an average milk procurement of more than 10 Lakh Kilograms of milk per day. It’s annual milk production 7.24 Million Tonnes.
Haryana is another leading milk-producing state in India and rank 8th in the list of top 10 highest milk producing states in India.
Haryana Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Limited is the state milk federation, which owns 6 milk processing plants in different parts of Haryana. These milk processing plants are located in Kurukshetra, Jind, Ambala, Sirsa, Rohtak, and Ballabgarh and have the total milk handling capacity of 6.45 Lakh Litres per day. It’s annual milk production 8.28 Million Tonnes.
Maharashtra is 7th in this list. MRSDMM (Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh Maryadit) is the state milk federation organized in the year 1967. The state sells various dairy products under the trademark of Mahanand.
MRSDMM constitutes of more than 100 member organizations and associates with over 24,000 milk communities and has daily milk handling capacity of 8.5 Lakh Litres. The state’s milk production is about 8.38 Million Tonnes annually.
Punjab is another leading milk-producing state in India and rank 6th in the list of top 10 highest milk producing states in India.The state with most fertile soil is placed at 6th in the list of top 10 highest milk producing states in India. Sahiwal, the best indigenous breed of cow with the highest milk yielding capacity is found in Punjab.ahiwal is a cow breed known across the nation for the highest milk yield and has an average milk yield of 2270 kilograms of milk per lactation.
Sahiwal is the cow variety known across the nation for the largest milk yield. The breed has an average milk yield of 2,270 kg of milk per lactation.
Sahiwal is reddish brown in color, resistant to heat and adaptable in diverse climatic conditions. For the reason of high yield and some uncommon characteristics, the breed is in high demand not only in India but also in distinct countries across the globe. The annual milk production is about 10.15 Million Tonnes.
Andhra Pradesh is next on this list, The state is 3rd ranked on the list of top 10 highest milk producing states in India. Andhra Pradesh accounts for more than 9% share in total milk production in the country and plays an important role in meeting demand for milk in the country. It’s annual milk production10.77 Million Tonnes.
Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development cooperative federation Ltd (APDDCF) is the enterprise of farmers for the purpose of Dairy Development in the state. The company has been organized since 1981. The organization provides the mechanism for regular pickup of the milk and ensures that price that farmers get is reasonable.
Madhya Pradesh on the position 4th in the Top 10 list of milk production state. Nimari, Deoni, and Dandi are some of the cattle breeds found in this state.Madhya Pradesh has 7 dairy cooperatives, that account for the maximum amount of milk procurement in the state. All These dairy cooperatives work under Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Dairy Federation Limited.
Which is involved in procurement, processing, and selling of quality dairy products in the state. It’s annual milk production 12.14Million Tonnes.
Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Dairy Federation limited is a well-known enterprise for the development of milk production. The enterprise also works for procurement, production, processing with manufacturing and marketing of the milk and milk products across the state and so the country.
Gujarat is the next state in this list with an annual milk production of more than 12.26 Million Tonnes. It has a large number of corporative Amul, Banas, Dudh Sagar, Sabar, Vimal, Bharat, etc
Amul, a Gujarat-based dairy cooperative is the country’s largest dairy cooperative, which establishes in the year 1946.Amul is the organization, that initiated and successfully completed the White Revolution in India and made the country the leader in the world in milk production. Amul is the company also provides employment to over 30lakhs people across the country.
The Amul has figures of its milk procurement is more than 14 Million Litres per day from over 18,000 village milk cooperatives. The milk-producing company also stands for the symbol of purity and quality. They also offer various high-quality dairy products. The fact that the company has an annual milk production of around 12.26Million Tonnes.
Rajasthan is 2nd leading milk-producing state in India in Top 10 list. And produces more than 18 Million Tonnes of milk every year. The state has more than 15 dairy cooperatives. Among all dairy cooperatives, Bikaner Zila Dugdh Utpadak Sahakari Sangh Ltd has the highest average milk procurement of 90,000 liters per day.
There are various cow breeds in Rajasthan like Nagori, Rathi, Tharparkar, and Kankrej. Among all these cow breeds, Tharparkar has the highest cow breed that gives 1800 to 2600 kilograms of milk per lactation.Tharparkar breed is originated from Tharparkar district in Pakistan and white or gray in color. This breed is compact, strong, medium-sized and adaptable to different situations.
The annual milk production of the Rajasthan is 18.50Million Tonnes.
Now next state is the number of highest milk-producing state and is Uttar Pradesh. It is the highest milk-producing state in India and holds a share of more than 17% in the total milk production in India. This makes it largest milk producer state.
Uttar Pradesh also has the largest number of cows and buffaloes, which is more than 1.8 Crore.Kherigarh, Ponwar, Gangotri, and Kenkatha are some of the cow breeds found in Uttar Pradesh. These cow breeds are mainly found in Uttar Pradesh and known for producing milk in high quantity.
Uttar Pradesh has more than 40 dairy cooperatives, which supplies milk to many states in the country. It’s annual milk production 23.33Million Tonnes.
This was the list of top 10 highest milk producing states in India by 2017 that have made the country to be self-sufficient in milk and its products. Thus, India has been one of the Top 5 highest milk producing countries in the world, after the White Revolution in the country. You can share this post with your colleagues and friends as this might be asked in competitive exams too.
This is the list of largest and highest milk producing state of India in last financial year. Thus, India has been one of the Top 5 highest milk producing countries in the world. I hope, This Article will be very interesting and beneficial for you, Please share this post with your loved ones and colleagues so that they all can benefit from this Article to get information.
You may also share on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. When you have any problem or question regarding this article please write in the comment box, we’ll reply soon. Please keep visiting for more update. Please click on the link to enjoy and share!Thank You!!!
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414 U.S. 368 - Gateway Coal Company v. United Mine Workers of America
the United States Reports
414 US 368 Gateway Coal Company v. United Mine Workers of America
94 S.Ct. 629
GATEWAY COAL COMPANY, Petitioner,
UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA et al.
Argued Oct. 15, 1973.
Decided Jan. 8, 1974.
Certain foremen at petitioner company's coal mine were suspended for falsifying records to show no reduction in airflow at the mine when in fact the airflow had been substantially reduced because of the collapse of a ventilation structure. When the company reinstated the foremen while criminal charges were pending against them, the miners, who are represented by respondent union, struck to protest the alleged safety hazard created by retention of the foremen. The union refused the company's offer to arbitrate. The company then brought this action under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, contending that the broad arbitration clause of the collective-bargaining agreement governed the dispute. The District Court issued a preliminary injunction requiring the union to end the strike and submit to arbitration, and ordered suspension of the two foremen pending the arbitral decision. The Court of Appeals reversed and vacated the injunction, holding that there was a public policy disfavoring compulsory arbitration of safety disputes and that, absent an express provision of the collective-bargaining agreement, the union had no contractual duty to submit the controversy to arbitration and hence no implied obligation not to strike. Held:
1. The arbitration clause of the collective-bargaining agreement covering, inter alia, 'any local trouble of any kind aris(ing) at the mine,' is sufficiently broad to encompass the instant dispute, the foremen's continued presence in the mine being plainly a local issue. Pp. 374—380.
(a) On its face such contractual language admits of only one interpretation: that the agreement required the union to submit this dispute to arbitration for resolution by an impartial umpire. P. 376.
(b) The 'presumption of arbitrability' (an order to arbitrate the particular grievance should not be denied unless it may be said with positive assurance that the arbitration clause is not susceptible of an interpretation that covers the asserted dispute, and doubts should be resolved in favor of coverage), United Steelworkers of America v. American Mfg. Co., 363 U.S. 564, 80 S.Ct. 1343, 4 L.Ed.2d 1403; United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409; United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424, applies to safety disputes. Pp. 377—380.
2. The duty to arbitrate imposed by the collective-bargaining agreement gave rise to an implied no-strike obligation supporting issuance of an injunction against a work stoppage since, in the absence of an explicit expression negating any implied no-strike obligation, the agreement to arbitrate and the duty not to strike should be construed as having coterminous application. Pp. 380 384.
3. On the facts, § 502 of the Labor Management Relations Act providing that the quitting of labor by employees in good faith because of abnormally dangerous conditions for work shall not be deemed a strike, did not deprive the District Court of authority to enforce the no-strike obligation, the suspension of the foremen pending a final arbitral decision having eliminated any safety issue. Pp. 385—387.
4. The circumstances of this case satisfy the traditional equitable considerations controlling the availability of injunctive relief, Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerk's Union, 398 U.S. 235, 90 S.Ct. 1583, 26 L.Ed.2d 199, the District Court finding that the union's continued breach of its no-strike obligation would irreparably harm the petitioner, and eliminating any safety issue by suspending the foremen pending a final arbitral decision. P. 387.
466 F.2d 1157, reversed.
Leonard L. Scheinholtz, Pittsburgh, Pa., for petitioner.
Joseph A. Yablonski, Washington, D.C., for respondents.
Mr. Justice POWELL delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case involves a labor dispute over safety conditions between Gateway Coal Co. and United Mine Workers of America. The questions presented are of considerable importance to the development of federal policy regarding arbitration of safety disputes and enforcement of a contractual duty not to strike.
* Gateway Coal Co. (the company) owns and operates a large underground coal mine known as the Gateway Mine, in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Some 550 production and maintenance workers, employed by the company, are represented for purposes of collective bargaining by United Mine Workers of America (the union), including its administrative division, District No. 4, and Local No. 6330.
On the morning of April 15, 1971, shortly before the daylight shift at the mine reported for work, a shuttle car operator on the departing midnight shift noticed an unusually low airflow in his section of the mine. His foreman made an anemometer check and discovered an airflow of only 11,000 cubic feet per minute, less than half the normal rate of 28,000 cubic feet per minute.1 The company evacuated the men from the mine and ordered the day shift employees to stand by on the surface. An ensuing investigation revealed that the collapse of a ventilation structure had partially blocked an intake airway. Immediate repairs restored normal airflow, and underground mining operations resumed. In the meantime, however, some 100 of the 226 day-shift employees had disregarded the company's instructions to stand by and had gone home.
The following morning the union requested reporting pay for those employees who did not stand by as ordered on April 15, but the company refused. The union rejected the company's offer to arbitrate this dispute, and the miners on all three shifts walked off the job.
On April 17, pursuant to a union request, state and federal inspectors visited the mine to determine the adequacy of the repairs. The investigation revealed that, although collapse of the ventilation structure apparently occurred between 4 and 4:30 on the morning of April 15, records of the anemometer checks purportedly made by three foremen sometime between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. disclosed no reduction in airflow.2 The state inspector impounded the book of entries and notified the company that he would press criminal charges against the three foremen for falsification of the records. The company immediately suspended two of the men but decided against suspension of the third because he had reported the trouble.
On Sunday, April 18, about 200 company miners attended a special union meeting and voted not to work unless the company suspended all three foremen. The company acquiesced in this demand, and the following Monday the miners returned to work. Criminal prosecutions were instituted against the three foremen, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources undertook consideration of possible decertification proceedings against them.
On May 29, while the criminal charges were still pending, the company received word from the Department that it was at liberty to return the three foremen to work if it so desired.3 One of the three had retired during his suspension, but the company reinstated the other two and scheduled them to resume work on the midnight shift on June 1. On that date, miners on all three shifts struck to protest the alleged safety hazard created by the presence of the two foremen in the mines. On June 8, the company formally offered to arbitrate this dispute, but the union refused. Subsequently, the two foremen pleaded nolo contendere to the criminal charges for falsification of the records and paid fines of $200 each.
Faced with a continuing strike and a refusal to arbitrate, the company invoked the jurisdiction of the District Court under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, 61 Stat. 156, 29 U.S.C. § 185. It argued that the broad arbitration clause of the collective-bargaining agreement governed this dispute and requested an injunction against continuance of the strike. In a temporary restraining order later converted into a preliminary injunction, the District Court required the union to end the strike and to submit the dispute to an impartial umpire without delay.4 The order further provided for suspension of the two foremen pending the umpire's decision and prospectively required both parties to abide by his resolution of the controversy.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, with one judge dissenting, reversed the judgment of the District Court and vacated the preliminary injunction.5 466 F.2d 1157 (1972). The court intimated that a special provision of the collective-bargaining agreement involved here might be construed to remove safety disputes from the coverage of the general arbitration clause and reasoned that, in any event, the usual federal policy favoring arbitration of labor relations disputes did not apply to questions concerning safety. Id., at 1159—1160. Relying in part on § 502 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 143, the court found that there was a public policy disfavoring compulsory arbitration of safety disputes. Since it was 'neither particularly stated nor unambiguously agreed in the labor contract that the parties shall submit mine safety disputes to binding arbitration,' the Court of Appeals concluded that the union had no contractual duty to submit this controversy to arbitration and hence no implied obligation not to strike. 466 F.2d, at 1159. Perceiving no wrong to enjoin, the court found it unnecessary to consider whether injunctive relief in this case was appropriate under the traditional considerations of equity set forth by this Court in Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerk's Union, 398 U.S. 235, 90 S.Ct. 1583, 26 L.Ed.2d 199 (1970). We granted certiorari, 410 U.S. 953, 93 S.Ct. 1418, 35 L.Ed.2d 686 (1973).
This case presents three questions. First, did the collective-bargaining agreement then in force between these parties impose on them a compulsory duty to submit safety disputes to arbitration by an impartial umpire? Second, if so, did that duty to arbitrate give rise to an implied no-strike obligation supporting issuance of a Boys Markets injunction? Third, did the circumstances of this case satisfy the traditional equitable considerations controlling the availability of injunctive relief? We answer all three questions in the affirmative and accordingly reverse the judgment below.
No obligation to arbitrate a labor dispute arises solely by operation of law. The law compels a party to submit his grievance to arbitration only if he has contracted to do so. At all times material to this case, the parties were bound by the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1968 (the agreement). The section of the agreement entitled 'Settlement of Local and District Disputes'6 provides for resolution of grievances by direct negotiation between the parties and ultimately, should such negotiations fail, for arbitration by an impartial umpire 'mutually agreed upon by the operator or operators affected and . . . the United Mine Workers of America.' The section further states that the 'decision of the umpire shall be final.' This arbitration clause governs disputes 'as to the meaning and application of the provisions of this agreement,' disputes 'about matters not specifically mentioned in this agreement,' and 'any local trouble of any kind aris(ing) at the mine.' Paragraph 3 of the 'Miscellaneous' section of the agreement7 states that both parties 'agree and affirm . . . that all disputes and claims which are not settled by agreement shall be settled by the machinery provided in the 'Settlement of Local and District Disputes' section . . ..' It excepts from the arbitration obligation only those disputes 'national in character.'
This arbitration provision appears sufficiently broad to encompass the instant dispute. The contractual obligation reaches 'any local trouble of any kind aris(ing) at the mine,' and the continued presence in Gateway Mine of two particular foremen is plainly a local issue. On its face, this contractual language admits of only one interpretation: that the agreement required the union to submit this dispute to arbitration for resolution by an impartial umpire.
The Court of Appeals avoided this conclusion by reference to an assumed public policy disfavoring arbitration of safety disputes. The majority of that court recognized that the usual federal policy encourages arbitration of labor disputes but reasoned that this presumption of arbitrability applies only to disagreements over 'wages, hours, seniority, vacations and other economic matters.' 466 F.2d, at 1159. The court thought that safety disputes should be treated as sui generis, and concluded that it should 'reject any avoidable construction of a labor contract as requiring final disposition of safety disputes by arbitration.'8 Id., at 1160. We disagree.
The federal policy favoring arbitration of labor disputes is firmly grounded in congressional command. Section 203(d) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 173(d), states in part:
'Final adjustment by a method agreed upon by the parties is declared to be the desirable method for settlement of grievance disputes arising over the application or interpretation of an existing collective-bargaining agreement.'
In the Steelworkers trilogy,9 this Court enunciated the now well-known presumption of arbitrability for labor disputes:
'An order to arbitrate the particular grievance should not be denied unless it may be said with positive assurance that the arbitration clause is not susceptible of an interpretation that covers the asserted dispute. Doubts should be resolved in favor of coverage.' United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 582—583, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 1353, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409 (1960).
The Court also elaborated the basis for this policy. It noted that commercial arbitration and labor arbitration have different objectives. In the former case, arbitration takes the place of litigation, while in the latter 'arbitration is the substitute for industrial strife.' Id., at 578, 80 S.Ct., at 1351. A collective-bargaining agreement cannot define every minute aspect of the complex and continuing relationship between the parties. Arbitration provides a method for resolving the unforeseen disagreements that inevitably arise. And in resolving such disputes, the labor arbitrator necessarily and appropriately has resort to considerations foreign to the courts:
'The labor arbitrator's source of law is not confined to the express provisions of the contract, as the industrial common law—the practices of the industry and the shop—is equally a part of the collective bargaining agreement although not expressed in it. The labor arbitrator is usually chosen because of the parties' confidence in his knowledge of the common law of the shop and their trust in his personal judgment to bring to bear considerations which are not expressed in the contract as criteria for judgment. The parties expect that his judgment of a particular grievance will reflect not only what the contract says but, insofar as the collective bargaining agreement permits, such factors as the effect upon productivity of a particular result, its consequence to the morale of the shop, his judgment whether tensions will be heightened or diminished. For the parties' objective in using the arbitration process is primarily to further their common goal of uninterrupted production under the agreement, to make the agreement serve their specialized needs.' Id., at 581—582, 80 S.Ct., at 1352, 1353.
We think these remarks are as applicable to labor disputes touching the safety of the employees as to other varieties of disagreement. Certainly industrial strife may as easily result from unresolved controversies on safety matters as from those on other subjects, with the same unhappy consequences of lost pay, curtailed production, and economic instability. Moreover, the special expertise of the labor arbitrator, with his knowledge of the common law of the shop, is as important to the one case as to the other, and the need to consider such factors as productivity and worker morale is as readily apparent.
The Court of Appeals majority feared that an arbitrator might be too grudging in his appreciation of the workers' interest in their own safety. We see little justification for the court's assumption, especially since the parties are always free to choose an arbitrator whose knowledge and judgment they trust. We also disagree with the implicit assumption that the alternative to arbitration holds greater promise for the protection of employees. Relegating safety disputes to the arena of economic combat offers no greater assurance that the ultimate resolution will ensure employee safety. Indeed, the safety of the workshop would then depend on the relative economic strength of the parties rather than on an informed and impartial assessment of the facts.
We therefore conclude that the 'presumption of arbitrability' announced in the Steelworkers trilogy applies to safety disputes, and that the dispute in the instant case is covered by the arbitration clause in the parties' collective-bargaining agreement.10
The second question is whether the District Court had authority to enjoin the work stoppage. The answer depends on whether the union was under a contractual duty not to strike. In Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerk's Union, 398 U.S. 235, 90 S.Ct. 1583, 26 L.Ed.2d 199 (1970), the Court considered the proper accommodation between the literal terms of § 4 of the Norris-LaGuardia Act11 and the subsequently enacted provisions of § 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act.12 The Court noted the shift in congressional emphasis 'from protection of the nascent labor movement to the encouragement of collective bargaining and to administrative techniques for the peaceful resolution of industrial disputes.' 398 U.S., at 251, 90 S.Ct., at 1593. It concluded that § 301(a) empowers a federal court to enjoin violations of a contractual duty not to strike.
Although the collective bargaining-argument in Boys Markets contained an express no-strike clause,13 injunctive relief also may be granted on the basis of an implied undertaking not to strike. In Teamsters Local 174 v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U.S. 95, 82 S.Ct. 571, 7 L.Ed.2d 593 (1962), the Court held that a contractual commitment to submit disagreements to final and binding arbitration gives rise to an implied obligation not to strike over such disputes.14 Indeed, the strong federal policy favoring arbitration of labor disputes was the linchpin of this Court's reasoning in Boys Markets. Denial of all equitable relief for breaches of no-strike obligations would have carried 'devastating implications for the enforceability of arbitration agreements.' 398 U.S., at 247, 90 S.Ct., at 1591. As Mr. Justice Brennan stated for the Court in that case:
'(A) no-strike obligation, express or implied, is the quid pro quo for an undertaking by the employer to submit grievance disputes to the process of arbitration. . . . Any incentive for employers to enter into such an arrangement is necessarily dissipated if the principal and most expeditious method by which the no-strike obligation can be enforced is eliminated.' Id., at 248, 90 S.Ct., at 1591. (Citation omitted.)
Thus, an arbitration agreement is usually linked with a concurrent no-strike obligation, but the two issues remain analytically distinct. Ultimately, each depends on the intent of the contracting parties. It would be unusual, but certainly permissible, for the parties to agree to a broad mandatory arbitration provision yet expressly negate any implied no-strike obligation. Such a contract would reinstate the situation commonly existing before our decision in Boys Markets. Absent an explicit expression of such an intention, however, the agreement to arbitrate and the duty not to strike should be construed as having coterminous application.
In the present case, the Court of Appeals identified two provisions which it thought excepted safety disputes from the general no-strike obligation. The first is § (e) of the collective-bargaining agreement, which provides for a union mine safety committee at each mine. As this section was thought central to the outcome of this case, we set forth the relevant provisions in full:
'The mine safety committee may inspect any mine development or equipment used in producing coal. If the committee believes conditions found endanger the life (sic) and bodies of the mine workers, it shall report its findings and recommendations to the management. In those special instances where the committee believes an immediate danger exists and the committee recommends that the management remove all mine workers from the unsafe area, the operator is required to follow the recommendation of the committee.
'If the safety committee in closing down an unsafe area acts arbitrarily and capriciously, members of such committee may be removed from the committee. Grievances that may arise as a result of a request for removal of a member of the safety committee under this section shall be handled in accordance with the provisions providing for settlement of disputes.' App. 12a.
The union contends that this provision reserves to the workers the right to strike over safety disputes and also that the committee's determination of 'immediate danger' may be wholly subjective and without foundation in fact. In short, the safety committee may object to any aspect of mine operation as an 'immediate danger' and call the workers off the job to force whatever changes it proposes. The union further argues that since the exercise of this option cannot constitute a breach of the collective-bargaining agreement, the District Court had no wrong to enjoin.
We need not decide whether § (e) is subject to such an expansive reading, for, as the District Court found, that section was never invoked in this controversy. The safety committee did inspect the mine to determine the cause of the ventilation failure, but there was no showing that it ever reported findings or made recommendations to the company management. Nor was there any showing that the committee found conditions dangerous to the 'life (sic) and bodies of the mine workers' or which, if any, of its members formed the requisite belief in the existence of 'an immediate danger.'
The Court of Appeals majority apparently believed that the vote by the local membership, the body superior to the union safety committee, constituted substantial compliance with the purpose and intent of § (e) and obviated any need for compliance with the formal procedure. As a matter of simple contractual interpretation, we think that proposition doubtful. Under the union's construction of § (e), the committee's good-faith belief in the existence of an immediate danger, no matter how unfounded that view, is conclusive. The management's only recourse against arbitrary and capricious decisions by the committee is to seek removal of the offending members. Circumvention of the procedures of § (e), including a formal vote by the committee members, thus removes the only deterrent to unreasonable action by the committee. Given this circumstance, one would not lightly assume that failure to follow the specific procedures outlined in § (e) is somehow de minimis. In any event, whether the union properly invoked this provision is a substantial question of contractual interpretation, and the collective-bargaining agreement explicitly commits to resolution by an impartial umpire all disagreements 'as to the meaning and application of the provisions of this agreement.'15
The Court of Appeals majority also based its denial of injunctive relief on § 502 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 143, which provides in part:
'(N)or shall the quitting of labor by an employee or employees in good faith because of abnormally dangerous conditions for work at the place of employment of such employee or employees be deemed a strike under this chapter.'
This section provides a limited exception to an express or implied no-strike obligation. The Court of Appeals held that 'a refusal to work because of good faith apprehension of physical danger is protected activity and not enjoinable, even where the employees have subscribed to a comprehensive no-strike clause in their labor contract.' 466 F.2d at 1160. We agree with the main thrust of this statement—that a work stoppage called solely to protect employees from immediate danger is authorized by § 502 and cannot be the basis for either a damages award or a Boys Markets injunction.
The Court of Appeals majority erred, however, in concluding that an honest belief, no matter how unjustified, in the existence of 'abnormally dangerous conditions for work' necessarily invokes the protection of § 502. If the courts require no objective evidence that such conditions actually obtain, they face a wholly speculative inquiry into the motives of the workers. As Judge Rosenn pointed out in his dissent from the judgment below, the difficulty occasioned by this view is especially apparent where, as here, the claim concerns not some identifiable, presently existing threat to the employees' safety, but rather a generalized doubt in the competence and integrity of company supervisors.16 Any employee who believes a supervisor or fellow worker incompetent and who honestly fears that at some future time he may commit some unspecified mistake creating a safety hazard could demand his colleague's discharge and walk off the job despite the contractual agreement not to do so. Absent the most explicit statutory command, we are unwilling to conclude that Congress intended the public policy favoring arbitration and peaceful resolution of labor disputes to be circumvented by so slender a thread as subjective judgment, however honest it may be. We agree with Judge Rosenn that a union seeking to justify a contractually prohibited work stoppage under s 502 must present 'ascertainable, objective evidence supporting its conclusion that an abnormally dangerous condition for work exists.' 466 F.2d, at 1162. We find this reading of the statute consistent both with common sense and with its previous application. See, e.g., Philadelphia Marine Trade Assn. v. NLRB, 330 F.2d 492 (CA3), cert. denied sub nom. International Longshoremen's Assn., Local 1242 v. NLRB, 379 U.S. 833, 85 S.Ct. 65, 13 L.Ed.2d 41 and Local 1566, International Longshoremen's Assn., AFL—CIO v. NLRB, 379 U.S. 841, 85 S.Ct. 79, 13 L.Ed.2d 47 (1964); NLRB v. Fruin-Colnon Construction Co., 330 F.2d 885 (CA8 1964); NLRB v. Knight Morley Corp., 251 F.2d 753 (CA6 1957), cert. denied, 357 U.S. 927, 78 S.Ct. 1372, 2 L.Ed.2d 1370 (1958); Redwing Carriers, Inc., 130 N.L.R.B. 1208 (1961), enf'd as modified, Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Helpers Local Union No. 79, etc. v. NLRB, 117 U.S.App.D.C. 84, 325 F.2d 1011 (1963), cert. denied, 377 U.S. 905, 84 S.Ct. 1165, 12 L.Ed.2d 176 (1964).
On the facts of this case, we think it clear that § 502 did not deprive the District Court of authority to enforce the contractual no-strike obligation. The union inferred from the foremen's failure to record the reduced airflow on the morning of April 15 that their return to the job created an abnormally dangerous working condition. One may doubt whether this assertion alone could suffice to invoke the special protection of § 502. In any event, the District Court resolved the issue by expressly conditioning injunctive relief on the suspension of the two foremen pending decision by the impartial umpire.
For similar reasons, it is also evident that injunctive relief was appropriate in the present case under the equitable principles set forth in Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerk's Union, 398 U.S., at 254, 90 S.Ct., at 1594. The District Court found that the union's continued breach of its no-strike obligation would cause irreparable harm to the petitioner. It eliminated any safety issue by suspending the two foremen pending a final arbitral decision. In these circumstances, we cannot say that the District Court abused its discretion.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed.
Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, dissenting.
* The dispute in this labor case does not involve hourly wages, pension benefits, or the like. It involves the life and death of the workers in the most dangerous occupation in America.1 The history of the coal miner is a history of fatal catastrophes, which have prompted special protective legislation.2 Nor was the mine involved here an exception. It is classified by the United States Bureau of Mines as 'especially hazardous,' triggering special inspection procedures to insure the safety of the men who work it. Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, § 103(i), 83 Stat. 750, 30 U.S.C. § 813(i). Congress has received testimony about safety problems at this mine in which the workers, a year before this dispute, complained of the supervisors' negligence in safety matters, particularly their practice of 'not testing for gas.'3 At those hearings Senator Harrison Williams, the principal author of the 1969 mine safety act, commented that the enforcement performance of the United States Bureau of Mines was 'outrageous . . . just plain unbelievable.'4
It was in the context of this history that the workers discovered that three of their foremen had negligently failed to check and record the airflow in the mine before the daylight shift began, as was their duty. Instead they made false entries in their log books. As a result, they had not discovered that the airflow in the mine was 11,000 cubic feet per minute rather than the normal 28,000. Reduced airflow can result in a buildup of methane gas, creating conditions for accidental explosions resulting from the operation of normal mining equipment. The workers walked off the job and refused to return unless the foremen were removed. The majority passes off the workers' concern here as only 'a generalized doubt in the competence and integrity of company supervisors' as if there were only unfounded fears about a few men in an operation with an exemplary safety record. Yet the foremen in question pleaded nolo contendere to state charges of falsifying the records involved in this incident, and their admitted misfeasance is precisely the kind of reckless disregard for the miners' safety which permeates the history of this industry.
In response to this history, the union obtained, in the collective-bargaining agreement in force during this incident, a provision for a union 'mine safety committee' with the authority to present the mine operator with a binding 'recommendation' that all workers be removed from an unsafe mine area. The agreement provides no recourse for the operator in disagreement with the committee's determinations, although he may subsequently seek removal from the committee of members he believes to have acted arbitrarily. Yet it is clear from this provision that the union reserved to itself the authority to determine that a mine be closed because of safety hazards. Although there is an explicit provision that a dispute over whether a committee member should be removed is arbitrable, there is no such provision for arbitration if the mine operator disagrees with the committee's recommendation. The inescapable inference, absent any contrary presumption, is that this question is not subject to arbitration.5 And in what clearly appears to be a buttress to the union's authority in this matter, all no-strike provisions from prior contracts were explicitly excluded from the agreement in question here, which contains no such commitment on the part of the union.
This is the contractual context in which the employer brought this action, under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, 61 Stat. 156, 29 U.S.C. § 185, to compel arbitration of the safety dispute and enjoin the work stoppage. It is, of course, clearly established that because of congressional policy favoring arbitration of labor disputes, a general arbitration provision, as found in the agreement here in question, is broadly construed. Steelworkers trilogy (United Steelworkers of America v. American Mfg. Co., 363 U.S. 564, 80 S.Ct. 1343, 4 L.Ed.2d 1403; United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409; United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424.) This policy is grounded, as the majority points out, in the expression of policy by Labor Management Relations Act. And once a dispute is determined to be arbitrable, there is an implied agreement by the union not to strike, Teamsters Local 174 v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U.S. 95, 82 S.Ct. 571, 7 L.Ed.2d 593, which is enforceable by a federal court injunction under the principles enunciated in Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerk's Union, 398 U.S. 235, 90 S.Ct. 1583, 26 L.Ed.2d 199, because of the close relationship between the duty to arbitrate and the duty not to strike. Lucas Flour, supra, at 104—106, 82 S.Ct., at 577; Boys Markets, supra, at 247—249, 90 S.Ct., at 1590.
Yet this whole scheme, grounded as it is on congressional expression of policy, must allow for any congressionally indicated exceptions to that policy. In a § 301 suit the federal courts are to apply federal law 'which the courts must fashion from the policy of our national labor laws.' Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U.S. 448, 456, 77 S.Ct. 912, 918, 1 L.Ed.2d 972. Although the 'presumption of arbitrability' might be sufficient in the ordinary case to overcome the contrary implications in the collective-bargaining agreement involved here, I find that presumption seriously weakened in the area of safety disputes by § 502 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 143, which expressly shields walk-offs by workers concerned for their safety: That section reads in part: '(N)or shall the quitting of labor by an employee or employees in good faith because of abnormally dangerous conditions for work at the place of employment of such employee or employees be deemed a strike under this chapter.' Although there is nothing in the legislative history of this section to shed light on its purpose, the words of the section are themselves fairly clear. They recognize in the law what is in any case an unavoidable principle of human behavior: self preservation. As Judge Hastie said for the majority in the Court of Appeals: 'Men are not wont to submit matters of life or death to arbitration . . ..' 466 F.2d 1157, 1160.
This is an area involving 'the penumbra of express statutory mandates' to be solved 'by looking at the policy of the legislation and fashioning a remedy that will effectuate that policy.' Lincoln Mills, supra, at 457, 77 S.Ct., at 918. Although there is a general policy favoring arbitration, I do not find that Congress intended to extend that policy here. Application of the 'presumption of arbitrability' is not inevitable in every labor dispute. But miners' determination to act to protect their own safety is as inevitable in labor disputes as elsewhere. Absent any presumption, I cannot find that the dispute here was arbitrable or that the union was under any duty not to strike. It follows then, as the Court of Appeals found, that there was no wrong to remedy.
Congress in 1969 set up pervasive administrative controls over working and environmental conditions with the coal mines,6 83 Stat. 742. The need for a more effective regulatory scheme was described in H.R.Rep.No.91—563; 1970 U.S.C.ode Cong. & Admin.News, p. 2503. The 1969 Act states in its findings and purpose that 'the first priority and concern of all in the coal mining industry must be the health and safety of its most precious resource—the minor.' § 2(a), 30 U.S.C. § 801(a). Ease of investigating mines was insured. The Act provides that when a representative of the miners believes that a violation of a mandatory standard exists and an imminent danger exists, the right of immediate inspection is given the Federal Government. § 103(g), 30 U.S.C. § 813(g). The Secretary of the Interior may make a spot investigation of a mine for five working days when he believes hazardous conditions exist. § 103(i), 30 U.S.C. § 813(i). Once a hazardous condition is found the Secretary can order that all miners be evacuated from the area and prohibited from entering it. § 104(a), 30 U.S.C. § 814(a). The Secretary can abate mining in incipient or potential mining areas, § 105, 30 U.S.C. § 815; and his orders are within limits subject to judicial review by the miners as well as by the operators, § 106, 30 U.S.C. § 816.
Detailed ventilating requirements are placed in the Act, § 303, 30 U.S.C. § 863; and examinations of each mine must be made within 'three hours immediately preceding the beginning of any shift.' § 303(d)(1), 30 U.S.C. § 863(d)(1). Examinations for hazardous conditions must be made at least once a week, § 303(f), 30 U.S.C. § 863(f); and weekly investigations of ventilating conditions must be made and various monitors which detect dangerous gases must be installed, § 303(l), 30 U.S.C. § 863(l). The regulatory scheme covers the subject matter in minute detail.
Penalties run against operators of mines and also against miners who violate in specified ways 'mandatory safety standards.' Compensation of miners laid off by closed mines is provided, § 110(a), 30 U.S.C. § 820(a); and miners are protected against discharge or other discrimination by protests they have made against the operations by testimony they have given. § 110(b), 30 U.S.C. § 820(b).
Title IV of the Act treats disability payments and payments for the death of miners. It bolsters state workmen's compensation laws and makes the owners liable, through self-insurance or through liability insurance, where an adequate state law does not exist, § 423, 30 U.S.C. § 933. State laws inconsistent with the federal act are suspended; but state laws which provide more stringent standards or controls survive, § 506, 30 U.S.C. § 955.
A close reading of this Act convinces me that it must displace all agreements to arbitrate safety conditions. It is in that respect a more extreme case than United States Bulk Carriers v. Arguelles, 400 U.S. 351, 91 S.Ct. 409, 27 L.Ed.2d 456, where we held that a federal statute giving seamen a specific judicial remedy was not displaced by arbitration. When it comes to health, safety of life, or determination of environmental conditions within the mines, Congress has pre-empted the field. An arbiter is no part of the paraphernalia described in the Act. An arbiter seeks a compromise, an adjustment, an accommodation. There is no mandate in arbitration to apply a specific law. Those named in the present Act who construe, apply, and formulate the law are the Secretary and the courts.
Moreover, arbitration awards might compromise administration of the 1969 Act. Rulings of arbiters might not jibe with rulings of the Secretary. Rulings of the arbiters might even color claims for compensation or damages by negativing the very basis of liability either in workmen's compensation acts or in state lawsuits for damages.
Hence, though I disagree with the way in which the Court reads this particular arbitration clause, I conclude that even though the collective-bargaining agreement is read to authorize arbitration, the 1969 Act precludes it. The 1969 Act specifies the arms of the law which handle these matters of safety of mines. Congress has given arbiters no share of the power.
While this reduced airflow undoubtedly increased the accumulation of coal dust and flammable gas in the mine, it still exceeded the state ventilation requirement of 6,000 cubic feet per minute, Pa. Bituminous Coal Minn Act, Pub.L. 659 (1961), Pa.Stat.Ann., Tit. 52, § 701—242(b) (1966), and the federal requirement of 9,000 cubic feet per minute, Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, § 303(b), 83 Stat. 767, 30 U.S.C. § 863(b).
Section 303(d)(1) of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, 30 U.S.C. § 863(d)(1), requires such inspections within three hours immediately prior to the beginning of any shift.
After its investigation, the Department concluded that:
'In view of the satisfactory record and good performance of these foreman (sic) in the past and the pending legal action, we feel that no further action should be taken in this matter. The coal company is at liberty to return the three (3) assistant foreman (sic) to work if it so desires.' App. 16a—17a.
The District Court found that the present work stoppage was occasioned by a safety dispute over the reinstatement of the suspended foremen rather than by an economic dispute over reporting pay for April 15.
While the appeal was pending and prior to the Court of Appeals' decision, the impartial umpire rendered his decision in favor of the company and determined, inter alia, that the two foremen should be permitted to return to work. 466 F.2d 1157, 1159.
This section provides, in relevant part:
'Should differences aries between the Mine Workers and the operators as to the meaning and application of the provisions of this agreement, or should differences arise about matters not specifically mentioned in this agreement, or should any local trouble of any kind arise at the mine, an earnest effort shall be made to settle such differences immediately: (The parties will not be represented by legal counsel at any of the steps below.)
'1. Between the aggrieved party and the mine management.
'2. Through the management of the mine and the mine committee.
'3. Through district representatives of the United Mine Workers of America and a commissioner representative (where employed) of the coal company.
'4. By a board consisting of four members, two of whom shall be designated by the Mine Workers and two by the operators. Neither the Mine Workers' representatives on the board nor the operators' representatives on the board shall be the same persons who participated in steps (1), (2), or (3) of this procedure.
'5. Should the board fail to agree the matter shall, within twenty (20) days after decision by the board, be referred to an umpire to be mutually agreed upon by the operator or operators affected any by the duly designated representatives of the United Mine Workers of America, and the umpire so agreed upon shall expeditiously and without delay decide said case. The decision of the umpire shall be final. Expenses and salary incident to the services of an umpire shall be paid equally by the operator or operators affected and by the Mine Workers.
'A decision reached at any stage of the proceedings above outlined shall be binding on both parties hereto and shall not be subject to reopening by any other party or branch of either association except by mutual agreement.' App. 13a—14a.
Paragraph 3 provides:
'The United Mine Workers of America and the operators agree and affirm that they will maintain the integrity of this contract and that all disputes and claims which are not settled by agreement shall be settled by the machinery provided in the 'Settlement of Local and District Disputes' section of this agreement unless national in character in which event the parties shall settle such disputes by free collective bargaining as heretofore practiced in the industry, it being the purpose of this provision to provide for the settlement of all such disputes and claims through the machinery in this contract provided and by collective bargaining without recourse to the courts.' App. 15a.
In finding a public policy disfavoring arbitration of safety disputes, the court reasoned as follows:
'Considerations of economic peace that favor arbitration of ordinary disputes have little weight here. Men are not wont to submit matters of life or death to arbitration and no enlightened society encourages, much less requires, them to do so. If employees believe that correctible circumstances are unnecessarily adding to the normal dangers of their hazardous employment, there is no sound reason for requiring them to subordinate their judgment to that of an arbitrator, however impartial he may be. The arbitrator is not staking his life on his impartial decision. It should not be the policy of the law to force the employees to stake theirs on his judgment.' 466 F.2d, at 1160.
We find this analysis unpersuasive for the reasons stated in this section of our opinion.
The Court of Appeals also relied on § 502 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 143. Section 502 provides that 'the quitting of labor by an employee or employees in good faith because of abnormally dangerous conditions for work' shall not 'be deemed a strike under this chapter.' On its face, this section appears to bear more directly on the scope of the no-strike obligation than on the arbitrability of safety disputes. Indeed, there is nothing in the legislative history to suggest that § 502 was intended as a limit on arbitration. See 1 Legislative History of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, pp. 29, 156, 290, 436, 573, 895 (G.P.O.1948). For this reason, we reserve our discussion of § 502 until Part III of this opinion. To the extent that § 502 might be relevant to the issue of arbitrability, we find that the considerations favoring arbitrability outweigh the ambiguous import of that section in the present context.
United Steelworkers of America v. American Mfg. Co., 363 U.S. 564, 80 S.Ct. 1343, 4 L.Ed.2d 1403 (1960); United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409 (1960); United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960).
The Court of Appeals also found support for its refusal to order arbitration in § (e) of the collective-bargaining agreement. Section (e) provides for an employee mine safety committee empowered to inspect mine facilities and equipment and to report its findings to the management. If the committee finds an 'immediate danger,' it may make a binding recommendation to remove all workers from the unsafe area.
Although the Court of Appeals did not state that § (e) was an express exception to the arbitration clause, it evidently believed that the section created an ambiguity in the agreement which had to be resolved against arbitrability. However, as the Court stated in United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., supra, '(d)oubts should be resolved in favor of coverage.' 363 U.S., at 583, 80 S.Ct., at 1353. Thus, '(i)n the absence of any express provision excluding a particular grievance from arbitration, we think only the most forceful evidence of a purpose to exclude the claim from arbitration can prevail, particularly where, as here, the exclusion clause is vague and the arbitration clause quite broad.' Id., at 584—585, 80 S.Ct., at 1354. Since § (e) clearly does not constitute an express exception to the arbitration clause, it follows that the safety dispute in the instant case must be deemed to fall within the broad arbitration clause.
The dissent maintains that the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, 83 Stat. 742, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., pre-empts the field and 'displace(s) all agreement to arbitrate safety conditions.' Post, at 394. Respondents have not made this contention, and a fair reading of the Act discloses no congressional intention, either express or implied, to accomplish such a drastic result.
'No court of the United States shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or temporary or permanent injunction in any case involving or growing out of any labor dispute to prohibit any person or persons participating or interested in such dispute (as these terms are herein defined) from doing, whether singly or in concert, any of the following acts:
'(a) Ceasing or refusing to perform any work or to remain in any relation of employment . . ..' 47 Stat. 70, 29 U.S.C. § 104.
'Suits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization representing employees in an industry affecting commerce as defined in this chapter, or between any such labor organizations, may be brought in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties, without respect to the amount in controversy or without regard to the citizenship of the parties.' 29 U.S.C. § 185(a).
398 U.S., at 239 n. 3, 90 S.Ct., at 1586.
Lucas Flour involved a damages action for breach of the implied no-strike obligation, while the present case involves injunctive relief. The policy reasons favoring the availability of injunctive relief, however, are equally compelling. As the Court stated in Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerk's Union, 398 U.S. 235, 248, 90 S.Ct. 1583, 1591, 26 L.Ed.2d 199 (1970):
'(A)n award of damages after a dispute has been settled is no substitute for an immediate halt to an illegal strike. Furthermore, an action for damages prosecuted during or after a labor dispute would only tend to aggravate industrial strife and delay an early resolution of the difficulties between employer and union.'
Respondents also argue that Paragraph 1 of the 'Miscellaneous' section of the agreement disavows any intent to impose a no-strike duty. Paragraph 1 provides:
'1. Any and all provisions in either the Appalachian Joint Wage Agreement of June 19, 1941, or the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of April 11, 1945, containing any 'no strike' or 'penalty' clause or clauses or any clause denominated 'Illegal Suspension of Work' are hereby rescinded, cancelled, abrogated and made null and void.' App. 14a.
This paragraph effectively rescinds certain no-strike clauses in two prior agreements. It does not, however, purport to negate any no-strike duty created by the present agreement. As we have noted, the agreement makes arbitration the exclusive and compulsory means for finally resolving disputes. Under Teamsters Local 174 v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U.S. 95, 82 S.Ct. 571, 7 L.Ed.2d 593 (1962), this arbitration provision gives rise to an implied no-strike duty. We do not think that Paragraph 1 can be fairly construed as an exception to that no-strike duty. Cf. Lewis v. Benedict Coal Corp., 259 F.2d 346 (CA6 1958) (Stewart, J.), affirmed by an equally divided Court sub nom. United Mine Workers of America v. Benedict Coal Corp., 361 U.S. 459, 80 S.Ct. 489, 4 L.Ed.2d 442 (1960).
Judge Rosenn contended with justification that a wholly subjective test would open 'new and hazardous avenues in labor relations for unrest and strikes.' He stated: 'This test will require a court to accept the naked assertion of an employee that the presence of an of his fellow employees in a plant constitutes a safety hazard. If employees may label another employee a working risk and thereupon engage in a work stoppage which, because of its characterization as a safety strike, is unreviewable by arbitration or court, no employer can expect stability in labor relations. Moreover, each employee is the possible victim of the attitudes, fancies and whims of his fellow employees. Unions, themselves, will be at the mercy of 'wildcatters." 466 F.2d, at 1162.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Injury Rates by Industry, 1970, pp. 3, 6 (Report No. 406, 1972).
S.Rep.No.91—411, pp. 3—6; H.R.Rep.No.91—563, pp. 1—3; 1969 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, p. 2503.
Hearings on Health and Safety in the Coal Mines before the Subcommittee on Labor of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, 91st Cong., 2d Sess., 27, 351 (1970).
Id., at 191.
This inference is strengthened by the agreement's provisions for arbitration if the operator objected to recommendations by federal coal mine inspectors. § (b)(2) of the agreement. There would obviously be no need for this special arbitration provision if the parties felt that safety questions could be handled through the regular arbitration machinery.
Indeed the provision in question here has a long history supporting this construction. The 1946 agreement, known as the Krug-Lewis agreement, and arising from President Truman's seizure of the mines in 1946, United States v. United Mine Workers of America, 330 U.S. 258, 67 S.Ct. 677, 91 L.Ed. 884, expressly permitted union safety committees to initiate safety stoppages, although the Federal Coal Mines Administrator (Capt. N.H. Collisson), was given authority to halt such a stoppage. At hearings following the Centralia mine disaster, resulting in the death of 111 miners, Secretary of the Interior Krug testified that the meaning of the provision 'was to given the mine safety committee complete authority to get the men out of the mine, if they felt the mine was unsafe . . ..' Hearings pursuant to S.Res. 98 before a Special Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Public Lands, 80th Cong., 1st Sess., 312. The predecessor to the current provision appeared in the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1947, which deleted Collisson's authority to override the miners.
The hazards of various working conditions to the health of workers have been of great concern to Congress, its latest Act being the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 84 Stat. 1590, which in terms does not exclude employees who are in the coal-mining business. The Act looks toward increasing the quality of the environment in which employees work and of improving the workmen's compensation system under which they are protected. See Brodeur, Casualties of the Workplace, New Yorker, Nov. 19, 1973, p. 87, for an account of the industrial-medical complex that works to keep plants profitable to the owners and dangerous to the workers.
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Leadership Toward Educational Equity and Access to Higher Education (a 3-part series)
Author Pamela Donnelly
Comments Off on Leadership Toward Educational Equity and Access to Higher Education (a 3-part series)
Part Two: Counselor Realities
Because accurate, effective mentorship is so critical to establishing college readiness for first generation students, the National Association of College Admissions Counselors recommends a ratio of no more than 250 students to 1 counselor (NACAC, 2018). Many public high schools would have to double or even triple the amount of on-site support to attain that proportion, the budgetary impact of which would be unsustainable. The national average of 482-to-1, compounded by the fact that the 20% of lowest income school districts allocate little or no budget to this line item, constitutes a primary reason American students face such an alarmingly un-level playing field. Reports in public school districts in Chicago of a 700-to-1 ratio, and up to 1000-to-1 in Los Angeles make clear that the time for a new paradigm has arrived. New solutions must interrupt narratives of generational poverty. Those will fall into one of two paradigms, or a hybrid of both: live and/or digital mentorship. Future American generations will be impacted by how U.S. decision makers reconcile the age of digital disruption and pathways to higher education.
Figure 1: Median Caseload Per School Counselor, by High School Type. Source U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
The percentage of students enrolling in college in fall 2016 immediately following high school completion was 69.8%, and only 46% were heading to 4-year institutions. Others attended 2-year community colleges, in many cases due to financial concerns since costs are significantly more affordable for most families (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). While attendance at a community college can in some cases provide a necessary bridge to the four-year degrees that can solidify future opportunities and income, data referenced in the Chronicle for Higher Education (Strikwerda) show that only 15 percent of community-college students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. Whether this is due to lack of financial aid literacy, under-developed skill levels, or “the cultural gulf between community-college students and the colleges and universities that do little to welcome them”, a current trend in large urban districts to shuffle large numbers of students into community college pathways comes with concerns for some experts. In TX, for example, the Dallas County Promise program has ushered in a 40 percent growth in enrollment at DCCCD from 31 high schools by having students sign pledges and assuring every graduating senior they could attend community college for free, thanks to a partnership between Dallas County Community College District and education nonprofit Commit.
This alliance, as emblematic of others in the public and private sectors across America, is an interesting one to watch. The program’s goal is to boost post-secondary attainment across the board, but national statistics simply don’t support the tactic of sending a majority of disadvantaged students into community colleges, assuming this will result in four-year degrees on the back end within six years. By then, of course, the K-12 system will have graduated the students onward and be focused on the evergreen renewable crop of rising 9th-12thgraders looking for guidance. Longitudinal studies will be required to determine impact in student lives, but the central question raised by programs of this sort is whether it is fair to send a message to already marginalized students that they should hope and aim for attendance at 2-year colleges. If all students could be effectively and economically coached in attaining sufficient merit-based financial aid and scholarships, would it not be better for many of these young men and women to move directly into B.A., B.S., or B.F.A. programs?
In another example to watch, a model currently being piloted in seven states is GATE College System (founded 2015) offering digital college access support to increase confidence and competence for disadvantaged students through a live-mentorship model with national non-profit partner Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG). This partnership leverages the digital GATE tool in JAG’s work with students in order to improve forward momentum and optimize each minute the in-person mentor is able to attain with each student. Some speculate that the GATE model may provide a scalable solution for impact to help as many students as possible without untenable hiring requirements (Accelerating, 2018).
For-profit tech companies offer digital support for counselors and student upgrades for a fee, but costs are prohibitive for many public schools. In terms of student-facing support, access has remained static or diminished over the past 10-15 years for students who are first generation. Without in-person or digital intervention, each year millions of new young adults launch into the future without critical information and guidance to chart an optimal course for their futures. Compounding this, every year more than 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States. That’s a student every 26 seconds–or 7,000 a day. When high school is not directly tethered to real world outcomes that students believe are attainable for their lives, lack of engagement is the result. First generation students require specific kickstarts starting no later than the beginning of ninth grade to optimize their futures: inspiration, motivation, information and preparation.
As new college and career readiness solutions begin to arise, district superintendents bear the ultimate responsibility to effectively provide requirements needed to inspire and motivate the students under their direct care. The challenge comes in that these well-educated professionals cannot operate autonomously. It’s been said an average of at least half a dozen individuals at any district must sign off on solutions being put into place. From CTOs and CIOs to heads of departments and even teachers’ unions, it’s incredibly challenging for innovation to reach the students it’s been designed to support. Will this support live “between the bells”? Finding that coveted time proves problematic. Will it be an after-school program? Unfortunately, this disqualifies the majority of students with economic disadvantages, who rely on making the bus to make it home, or have to rush to jobs and sibling care to help their families function. For first generation students, the right solution has to be mobile-friendly, easily accessible on or out of school, and strike the right balance between the head and the heart—because both will make the journey. Factoring in the resistance to change and inherent territoriality of some stakeholders, including counselors themselves, who may rightly be concerned about EdTech replacing or augmenting their services, the hybrid model of in-person mentorship + digital solution for scale presents a potentially viable way forward. In this “both/and” not “either/or” approach, first generation students can use the precious 38 minutes annually they average with their counselors in a targeted fashion following a proven process in a step-by-step manner, with accountability and transparency.
Without a coalesced process for students that can mimic the in-person mentorship paradigm, currently available support will primarily benefit students who already have the social capital at home to be motivated to self-advocate. Sadly, this is insufficient for the needs of students whose parents have never attended college, and who could benefit most from a solution catering to their particular requirements.
Some argue that free support is readily available for various college-preparatory needs. Commonly cited is Khan Academy, which notably launched its no-cost SAT prep and other academic videos online in 2007. The reality is that students growing up in homes without adult role models who can encourage and lead them tactically toward college readiness need actual mentors to guide them in a systematic manner. The fact that 60 full-time employees of Khan’s non-profit in Mountain View CA work on Calculus, Biology, and other videos doesn’t fill America’s gaps as pertains to college access. Disjointed SAT trainings without mentorship will never bridge the gap, and anyone who remembers being a teenager knows why. Inspiration is king. The labyrinth of everything needed to solve the information gap and catapult disadvantaged students out of generational poverty requires not only preparation, but also the breath of human motivation. This requires a roadmap, not fragmented clues with a mandate for 14- to 17-year olds to somehow personally figure out how to navigate the actual terrain.
Human behavioral components, now trending in the edtech world under the broad category of SEL (social-emotional learning) have led to new startups seeking to solve that piece of the puzzle in an increasingly fragmented market. Stephen Smith, the co-founder of Naviance, is one such leader currently incubating a solution called Intellispark on the basis that “I feel like there’s a lot of unfinished work to be done. We are looking at those student experiences more holistically.” With the perspective of a seasoned professional in the industry, he goes on to say, “It’s not just about college knowledge or exploration. When you stop and think about what really makes the difference between somebody who’s successful and satisfied in a kind of important, deep way in their life, it’s not just about that kind of academic preparation that might show them as eligible for college. It’s something more in terms of the social capital that we create, the social emotional development, mental health and welfare of each of the children that we’re responsible for. And so thinking about how schools can operate in a more systematic way around those issues is very important” (S. Smith interview, October 31, 2018).
Because of this growing awareness, private companies increasingly offer digital support as partners with non-profits espousing a live-mentorship model in order to provide a scalable solution for impact to as many students as possible without untenable hiring requirements. Even more mature human-capital-centered college readiness models are beginning to change with the times; for example, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination, founded 1986) began building out its own student-facing digital curriculum in recent years. AVID’s success has been built upon teacher trainings and paid support built into the school infrastructure. “Among the most visible supports in the AVID program is a special academic elective class that meets for one academic period a day, 180 days a year, for the duration of the student’s middle or high school experience. In addition to a classroom teacher, students are assisted by college tutors on a 7:1 tutor-student ratio,” according to Ed.Gov. The AVID model, like Naviance, requires schools to dig into their often strained budgets to afford this support. The future is coming, and its digital access may bring good news for those in need, but should the keys to college access only be available for sale? If not, who should be footing the bill?
Ideally, the U.S. federal government would fund vehicles for requisite college access information so that every public high school student would receive equitable opportunities. Disadvantaged students will benefit when more substantial, systemic change trickles down from Washington D.C. not only onto their phones but into their public school lives. Despite the improvements of FAFSA access due to the laudable mobile app project launched in October 2018 by the team led by Dr. A. Wayne Johnson at the U.S. Department of Education, there is much more to be done to increase access as impacted by federal policy makers.
The FAFSA acts as a primary way millions of students each academic year access higher education. However, the FAFSA’s complexities have resulted in significant underutilization of federal aid. Only 61 percent of high school seniors complete the application, and many procrastinate timely submissions. This leaves $24 billion in federal aid unclaimed. Many other students initially file the application, but then don’t persist to actually enroll at a higher education institution. With just 31 percent of low-income students leveraging the assistance of a Pell Grant to afford college, it’s clear this issue disproportionately affect students who are already disadvantaged (Smith-Barrow). Imagine the benefits for public school students if homerooms or other “between the bells” time were dedicated to ensuring this wasn’t the case, through leveraging digital solutions offered by transformative leaders offering scalable digital solutions.
Figure 2: Source National College Access Network
Spiraling student debt presents another major impediment for students’ upward mobility. According to Traci Kirtley, Chief Program Officer at College Possible: In the mid-2000s, I often said with confidence that if we did our job right, and our students followed our guidance, they could find a college pathway where finances did not have to be a barrier to success. A decade later, I can no longer say the same thing. In 2018, we can do everything right, our students can follow all our best advice, and they can still find themselves without an affordable college option that gives them a good chance of earning their degree within six years (DeBaun, 2017).
With current cumulative student debt in the United States above the $1.5 trillion-dollar mark, there can be little doubt fiscal feasibility constitutes a major barrier for aspiration. Offsetting the panic students feel due to media coverage and misinformation related to these concerns is necessary in order to increase equitable access to higher education. Public school students who are able to think critically about the options for federal, state, institutional and private aid such as scholarships in a data-driven manner will be able to leverage a decided advantage in their work to improve their future opportunities. Transformative leaders seek to bring those opportunities to all students within the public school system, moving the old paradigm of access-for-sale to a new one of access-for-all.
Accelerating College and Career Readiness (2018, July 10). GATE White Paper. Retrieved from https://gatecollegesystem.com.
DeBaun, Bill. Infographic: The Leaky FAFSA Pipeline.14 December 2017. Retrieved from http://www.collegeaccess.org/BlogItem?dg=25a2dd88-a0a9-4198-9fbe-1da7a06d290e.
Ed.Gov. (1998, April). Tools for schools: Advancement via individual determination. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/ToolsforSchools/avid.html.
11 Facts About High School Dropout Rates. Retrieved from
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-high-school-dropout-rates.
NACAC (2018). “State-By-State Student-Counselor Ratio Report” National Association of College Admissions Counselors. Retrieved from https://www.nacacnet.org/news–publications/Research/state-by-state-student-tocounselor-ratio-report2/.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2018). Fast facts: Back to school statistics.
Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372.
Radford, Alexandria Walton, Nicole Ifill and Terry Lew. A National Look at the High School Counseling Office: What Is It Doing and What Role Can It Play in Facilitating Students’ Paths to College? Retrieved from https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/research/hsls_counseling.pdf.
Smith-Barrow, D. (2018, July 20). Are too few students asking for federal student aid? Retrieved from https://hechingerreport.org/are-too-few-college-students-asking-for-federal-aid/.
Smith, Corbett. Free college-for-all program sees ‘phenomenal’ results for Dallas County. Retrieved from https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2018/08/31/free-college-program-sees-phenomenal-results-dallas-county-colleges.
Smith, S. (2018). Interview with Pamela M. Donnelly. 31 October 2018.
Strikwerda, Carl J. Why Community Colleges Are Good for You.28 January 2018. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-Community-Colleges-Are/242359.
Positionality Acknowledgement: the author is founder and CEO of GATE College System.
Coming Soon—Part Three: Putting It All Together
GATE College System
3500 West Olive Avenue Burbank, CA 91505
Copyright © 2018 GATE College System
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Celebrities React to the News of Cameron Boyce’s Death
Actor Cameron Boyce passed away at the age of 20 over the weekend, after suffering from an ongoing medical condition that caused a seizure in his sleep.
Boyce was best known for his work on Disney Channel's television show Jessie, the Descendants franchise and Grown Ups films. Celebrities that worked with him and fans of his work reacted to the news of his death on social media.
The cast of Jessie sent words of love to his family and shared some of their favorite memories. Skai Jackson shared a number of photos and videos on her Instagram Story and posted a heartfelt tribute to her account.
"I am at a loss for words," she wrote. "I never thought in a million years I would be writing this. Cam, you were one of a kind." She said that he gave the best hugs and was the "big brother I never had." Charles Esten, who played their father on the television show, sent out a number of tweets sharing his favorite memories of Boyce and how great of a person he was.
Descendants director Kenny Ortega wrote two posts on how Boyce was immeasurably talented and how his kindness was "overflowing." Grown Ups star Adam Sandler, who played his father in the films, wrote a message on Twitter expressing his sadness.
Fans and celebrities began writing tributes on Boyce's final Instagram post. Wizards of Waverly Place star Gregg Sulkin wrote a heartwarming tribute. "Over the past decade I’ve met many actors, but you always stood out," he wrote. "Yes, you were talented. But most importantly, you were kind. You were humble. You had a special spark. May that spark shine bright in heaven."
See reactions from Cameron Boyce's many friends, fans and co-stars, below.
Filed Under: Adam Sandler, Cameron Boyce, Gregg Sulkin, Jordan Fisher, Kenny Ortega, Skai Jackson
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Category Archives: African American
20th Century, African American, History, Minnesota, omnipresent history, Transportation, Uncategorized
Truck Refrigeration System Invented
February 6, 2019 PrayThroughHistory1935, African-American history, Black History, Catholic, Cinema Supplies, education, Elohim, Exodus 20, Father Ryan, Frederick McKinley Jones, grocery stores, Hallock MN, handyman, Harry Werner, Holy Spirit, innovation, invention, inventors, Irish-American, John Jones, Joseph Numero, knowledge, patents, prophecy, refrigerated freight cars, refrigeration, Ruach ha Kodesh, supply chain, talkies, Ten Commandments, Thermo King, Ultraphone Sound System, Walter Hill, Werner Transportation Co., X-ray 2 Comments
http://www.mnhs.org/library/tips/history_topics/63jones.php
Frederick McKinley Jones was a self-taught, African-American engineer who pioneered designs for mobile refrigeration. A former race car driver and mechanic, Jones created the first mechanical refrigeration system for trucks in 1935. Some of Jones’ other inventions were a portable x-ray machine, an air conditioning unit for military field hospitals, and a refrigerator for military field kitchens. A total of 61 patents were issued in Jones’ name.*
F. M. Jones had a rough start in life. His mother left his father, John Jones, at age seven, who struggled to both work and care for a son. In that era, orphanages would not readily admit a child born to an Irish dad and African-American mom. A Catholic priest, Father Ryan, took Fred in, gave him an education, and encouraged his mechanical abilities.**
Fred eventually found refuge on a large farm in Hallock, Minnesota. He discovered that he was adept at machinery and fixing things, and worked on handyman projects given him by the farm’s owner; Walter Hill. (A relative of rail tycoon James J. Hill) People in his town came to him with problems, and he would usually find a solution.
His concern for others was evident in the utility of his inventions. A doctor couldn’t move patients to the hospital for their x-rays, and so he invented a portable x-ray machine. The local movie theatre had issues with the poor audio quality of the new “talkies”, and he developed the Ultraphone Sound System so that everyone could hear the show.
He partnered with Jospeh Numero of Cinema Supplies to market his new audio system. Numero, though initially biased against Mr. Jones, soon came to treasure him as an engineer. Playing golf together, Numero made a joke that their associate Harry Werner “needed a fridge on his trucks” to solve his spoilage problems.
https://trsservice.com.au/thermo-king-history/
Frederick took the challenge seriously, and began work immediately gaining several more patents in the process. Mr Jones’ portable air-cooling units revolutionized the safe transport of produce and perishables for both the trucking and freight train industries. His invention enabled the modernization of the grocery store, and changed millions of lives through better access to fresh foods.***,**** F.M. Jones gave this advice to those seeking similar success;
“First, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Don’t be afraid to work.
Second, you have to read. All my life has been study and work.
Third, believe in yourself.” *****
We give You humble gratitude this day, Eternal Father, for being a G-d who generously shares and encourages the inventiveness of humanity! You only ask a few things of us in return: to remember that “I am the Lord your G-d…” (Exodus 20:2), that “You shall have no other gods before me…” (Exodus 20:3), and that “You shall not bow down to or worship…” (Exodus 20:4) the things that we (humans) have made. You have inspired us to create, but have mercifully given us guidelines in the use of our creations so that we do not arrogantly deify ourselves. Our lives are not long enough to express the thanksgiving You deserve!
Ruach ha Kodesh, what part of the incredible life of Frederick McKinley Jones do You wish to underscore today? Is he a type of Joseph; bringing service to those who oppose him? Is he a type of Daniel; seeing and calling to life that which doesn’t yet exist?
Like the Prince of Egypt, he found himself orphaned, yet under the tutelage of an exceptional teacher as if he was placed there for a purpose. He submitted to authority which honed and refined his character. Though both men experienced tragic betrayals and injustices, they looked beyond for their vindication. For Joseph, it came through his incredible and miraculous talents for civic planning, administration, and economics. For Mr. Jones, it came through a heart bent to help others through his G-d given genius in mechanics, science, origination, and innovation.
Similarly, Fred’s life had commonalities with the prophet Daniel. Both of these exceptional men were displaced from their homes, and were valued for their ability to learn. They were groomed to serve those foreign to them and accepted the challenge, yet their abilities went far beyond their stewards’ expectations. Through his disciplined prayer life and connection with G-d, Daniel saw hundreds of years in the future; he was the consultant of all consultants! F.M. Jones saw solutions and worked backwards to achieve them!
This leads the author to ponder the connections between acts of invention and prophetic acts. What say You, Elohim? Prophecy is both a call to the knowledge and practice of the written Word of G-d, and to relational knowledge of the Holy Spirit of Christ which simultaneously exists before, in, and after our conceptions of time. The human being who creates needs both a rudimentary core knowledge of process, matter, and materials, yet inwardly “sees” a connection previously thought impossible. All this to express heartfelt awe of this paradoxical nature of information and knowing the Informer of All!
We remember Fredrick McKinley Jones to You, and ask that You bless his literal and figurative children that find joy in machines, and happiness with dirty hands! We thank You that he chose the high path, and overcame the obstacles the enemy used to wound him: family rejection, loneliness, racial prejudice, and academic bias to name a few. Will You forgive the family of Minnesota our historic and present judgments against the Irishman, the African-American, those with ethnically mixed marriages, and their children?
Next, we ask that You replace these curses against these specific people groups with specific and powerful blessings. Will You give honor where it was taken? Will You enable these peoples to offer their inventions and prophecies to our society? Will You give our people both gifts of knowledge and commitment to eternal, unbroken relationship?
It’s astounding that the alertness, awareness, and insights of Mr. Jones made him follow through on a real problem wrapped in a joke. This one invention, a portable truck cooler, led to a whole chain of inventions around food distribution that surely was in Your mind first as a means of blessing the whole human race. What if Fred had not taken the challenge seriously? What insights and blessings have we backed down from today? Forgive our fears of doing an everyday task with greatness, or failing to see Your greatness in the nuts and blots of life! You have seen the end from the beginning, let Your people be faithful each step of the way: in attaining knowledge, in imagination, and in knowing Your benevolent nature. May we cooperate in moving Your blessings down the road to a better future for Minnesota and the whole earth! Amen!
** https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/technology-biographies/frederick-mckinley-jones
*** https://www.shipabco.com/history-refrigerated-trucking/
**** https://trsservice.com.au/thermo-king-history/
***** Please watch this excellent synopsis of Frederick McKinley Jones’ life. InspirationalGoodNews!! I.G.N. (2014, December 13) citing Twin Cities Public Television ca 2004. (Making It Happen: Masters of Invention chapter “Hallock’s Handyman) Produced by Daniel Pierce Bergin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy4UkFN2njQ
20th Century, African American, History, Minnesota
Credjafawn Social Club Forms
March 24, 2018 PrayThroughHistory1927, Black History, co-op, Commitment, covenant, credit union, Credjafawn Social Club, Ezekiel 16, gratitude, integration, intercession, promises, relationships, Rondo, Saint Paul MN, teens, young adults 1 Comment
The Credjafawn Social Club was formed the evening of October 16, 1927, by ten young adults who sensed the lack of social activities for persons in their age bracket. The name was devised from a letter out of each of the names of the ten charter members.
Although conceived as a social/recreational club, the Credjafawns initiated some outstanding projects of importance for the Twin Cities Black community—opening a cooperative food outlet and a credit union, offering college scholarships, and working to integrate hotels.
What a pleasure to hear of this group of African-American teens committing themselves to each other, and in writing no less!?! How insightful of them to be proactive with their concerns and wants. They refused to be bored because they realized that they had the power to make and attain goals!
We thank thank You for this example of covenant (contractual) relationships in St. Paul. Your Word underscores the importance of covenant: Noahic, Abramic, Mosaic, Davidic, and Messianic. We remember Credjafawn today, and ask Your blessing on Minnesota’s teens to replicate such committed covenant friendships, then, now, and always.
We thank You for their example to the ages! This group of young adults, at first, just wanted something fun to do and a group to do it with. We do not diminish the need or importance of fun. Perhaps it was this happiness and contentment, well ordained by You, that gave them the inspiration to better the lives of others? We commend to You their accomplishments: in providing healthy food through a co-op, in lending through their credit union, in impacting the marketplace through integration, and enabling higher education through scholarships!
G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we remember today that You, though G-d of gods, chose to commit in writing to human beings. Every commitment of friendship You have made to the human race has, is, and will be kept! We scarcely can entertain the thought that, though Infinite, You have humbled Yourself to relate to us so very personally. How do I grasp that the King of the Universe has committed himself in writing, to be forever remembered, to me?
Will You forgive us our preoccupation with ourselves? We are bowled over when we focus on the problems of society on our own. Will You forgive the fears, loneliness, and passivity of teens? Will You forgive us the parental roots of these sins, and our failure to have an answer for the longings of our youth?
Will You give us the grace to establish committed relationships? Will You give us the desire to live for the betterment of others? Will You remove our blindness caused by having so many focal points that we can’t see the one friend we can bless today? Will You bless Minnesota with Credjafawnic Covenants, so we also will bless our generations?
“Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.” Ezekiel 16:60 NASB******
**”The Power of Education” by Patricia Anita Young. https://saintpaulalmanac.org/saint-paul-stories/people/the-power-of-education/
***”Commemorating Cradjafawn Co-op” by Matt Frank. http://msmarket.coop/2018/02/commemorating-credjafawn-co-op/
****Credjafawn impact on the Rondo neighborhood of Saint Paul, MN. “Rondo Neighborhood, St. Paul” by Ehsan Alam. http://www.mnopedia.org/place/rondo-neighborhood-st-paul
*****”Five Great Bible Covenants” by David Padfield. http://www.padfield.com/2004/covenants.html
******http://biblehub.com/ezekiel/16-60.htm
20th Century, African American, History, Intercession, Minnesota
Francis Appointed Minister to Liberia
March 11, 2018 PrayThroughHistory1927, Africa, African American Republicans, ambassador, Black History, I Thessalonians 4, Liberia, Monrovia, Northern Pacific Railway, peace, Pilgrim Baptist Church, President Coolidge, Republican, Saint Paul College of Law, Saint Paul MN, U.S. Minister to Liberia, William T. Francis 1 Comment
St. Paul attorney William T. Francis is appointed U.S. Minister to Liberia. His success is the product of an active black professional community in the Twin Cities.
Francis had at one time been the chief clerk of the Northern Pacific Railway and had served as a presidential elector in 1920.*
Mr. Francis first found work in the Twin Cities with the Northern Pacific Railroad, working his way up to clerk. By 1904, he had graduated from St. Paul College of Law, and became the chief clerk of the law office of Northern Pacific. This high position made him a powerful leader and advocate for black Minnesotans.**
As was common in this era, he voted and actively participated in Republican politics. (African-Americans, on average, supported Republicans from the time of Emancipation until FDR, shunning the Democratic party for its support of slavery and slave states in the Civil War.) After two failed attempts in local races, his stalwart support garnered him the status of being a most powerful African-American Republican west of the Mississippi as well as serving as a presidential elector by 1920.**
His quiet authority eventually paid off when in 1927 President Coolidge appointed him the U.S. Minister and Consul to Liberia. American tire companies, like Firestone, had made large investments in the rubber industry there critical to a country in love with the automobile. Francis, always alert for breeches of justice, made a key report that uncovered corruption of major Liberian officials taking bribes for supplying men for forced labor. Soon after submitting his report he succumbed to yellow fever, and died in Monrovia, Liberia on July 15, 1929.**
His death rocked the African-American community of Minnesota, and as a lifelong member of Pilgrim Baptist Church he was given the following eulogy by the mayor of Saint Paul.
“Whereas: The City Council has been officially notified of the death of Wm. T. Francis, U.S. Minister to Liberia…
Mr. Francis was a St. Paul product, a citizen of fine spirit, clean purpose and genuine devotion to the public good, held in high esteem of those who knew him. He fashioned his own career out of courage, determination and ability. Facing unusual handicaps he overcame them all by the quality of his character, and by single-handed struggle forced recognition of his worth. He won high honor on worth alone and earned a wide approval because he was sincere, kindly, human and gracious.
At the time of his death he was on the threshold of a distinguished career, and assured of a commanding destiny among men. His government associates were open in their praise of his achievements. Here in his home city he was respected for what he was-a true brave man, gifted with vision, cheerful and uncomplaining, and devoted to high aims. His untimely death is a tragic loss to his country and especially to his home community. He leaves behind him the memory of one who was unafraid of life, the example of one who was victorious against all untoward circumstances.”***
“…and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” I Thessalonians 4:11,12 NIV****
In Your mercy, hear our prayer. We thank You for the stellar example of W.T. Francis. We thank You for gifting him with the tenacity, perseverance, and humility to stay at his task and quietly do so much good for so many. We thank You that his years of trials, like Joseph, prepared him to be the first African-American to be an American ambassador. We thank You that his process of overcoming led to greater freedom for tens of thousands of Africans!
Will You bless those who follow his patient path to greatness? Will You bless his progeny, both literal and figurative, to be blessings to their family,neighborhood, and city? Will You bless African-American leaders to be imitators of his invaluable contributions to the company, state, and nation he serves?
We ask that You forgive the judgments and jealousies that fell on him from Minnesotans, and by those in his own community. We ask forgiveness of the offense of judging You by judging the success of African-American leaders. We ask forgiveness of You by judging the success of all leaders.
Will You forgive us of judgments based on partisanship, of our own mothers and fathers, across political party lines? In this case, will You forgive our judgments against Republican leadership? We have largely forgotten as a society that slave states were led by Democrats, and that the leadership of President Lincoln and Republican principles of liberty defeated the slavery of African human beings in the United States. W.T. Francis did not forget, but used his liberty to procure liberty of Liberians being enslaved and betrayed by their own countrymen. Will You raise a generation of African-Americans in Minnesota that similarly burn with justice for Africa?
We thank You that his inner peace begat external peace. May we receive Your peace in Minnesota, and let it radiate outward. May we work for Your applause just like William T. Francis.
**https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2017/03/lawyer-civil-rights-campaigner-and-diplomat-life-william-t-francis
*** http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/pageturn/mums312-b048-i368/#page/1/mode/1up
****http://biblehub.com/1_thessalonians/4-11.htm
*****Read deeper on this good man’s life. https://publishing.rchs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/RCHS_Winter2017_Nelson.pdf
20th Century, African American, History, Jesus, Minnesota, Prayer
Duluth Lynchings
December 27, 2017 PrayThroughHistory1920, 6th Amendment, African American, Black History, Deuteronomy 22, Duluth MN, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, impatience, Irene Tusken, Isaac McGhie, James "Jimmie" Sullivan, John Robinson Circus, justice, Leviticus 19:18, lynchings, marriage, misandry, misogyny, mob, murder, NAACP, Proverbs, racism, rape, Romans 12:9, sex crimes, sexual assault 14 Comments
In 1920, Duluth is home to a small black community. It is a period of heightened racial conflict across the country. On June 15, 1920, police arrest several young black men accused of raping a white woman. That evening, three of them – Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie – are taken from jail by a mob and lynched. A call for justice, but the lynch mob is only lightly punished. Two blacks are tried on questionable charges of rape. Three white men are imprisoned for rioting; one black man is imprisoned for rape. Afterwards, many blacks leave Duluth. Minnesota’s black community establishes the Duluth Branch of the NAACP and campaigns for anti-lynching legislation. Years later, the three victims are finally properly laid to rest.*
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent-the Lord detests them both. Proverbs 17:15 NIV
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury … , and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”
U.S. Constitution Amendment VI
Lord, there are so many forces and counter-forces involved in this event. Will You help me separate the questions, think clearly, and pray effectively? Will You justly and mercifully deal with the plots and sub-plots of this event in Minnesota’s history?
Your Word exhorts humanity to protect innocence against evil and all kinds of defilements. More specifically, the book of Deuteronomy in the 22nd chapter connects the idea that rape violates a present or future marriage. The guiding principle is that the marriage relationship is to be kept inviolate.
Will You forgive the misogyny of the sexual misconduct and or rape in this event? All rape shows a contempt for You, and Your image within women. All rape defiles its recipient twice; it is a sin against her body and spirit. Will You forgive these offenses against Irene Tusken, and Your life within her?
Granted, there was some justification of payback to the offender(s) given an assumption of rape. In contrast, will You forgive the crushing mob violence against these black males, and especially targeting Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie based on assumptions? I acknowledge the heart of this riot to be violence based on mixed motives; a combination of racial stereotypes and a truthful, yet impatient desire for justice.
Later, when Miss Tusken was examined for the evidence of rape and or assault, no physical evidence was found. “Two days later on June 17, 1920, Judge William Cant and the grand jury had a difficult time convicting the lead mob members. In the end the grand jury issued thirty-seven indictments for the lynching mob and twenty-five were given out for rioting and twelve for the crime of murder in the first degree. Some of the people were indicted for both. But only three people would end up being convicted for rioting. Seven men were indicted for rape. For five of the indicted men, charges were dismissed. The remaining two, Max Mason and William Miller, were tried for rape. William Miller was acquitted, while Max Mason was convicted and sentenced to serve seven to thirty years in prison.” ****
Our city is tarnished by this crime of lynching! Our city has offended You first insofar as it judged Your image in Clayton, Jackson, and McGhie. Our city has offended You insofar as it sought vengeance rather than waiting for a trial by jury. Will You forgive these sins, and take the judgments of mob violence, human skin color, and vengeance up, out, and onto the Cross of Christ?
We have judged You too quickly, Lord! We have assumed Your place as the Supreme Justice of the universe, and crowned ourselves as the rightful sheriffs, magistrates, and jurists of our offenders. Have mercy on this mob of Duluth citizens, and the perpetrator(s) of the crimes against Irene Tusken!
In the same way, we have committed lynchings in the present era in the court of public opinion without a trial. We have been incited to riot and rage in our hearts based on accusations alone, and have not the patience for a public trial and clarity. Have mercy on Minnesota’s present era judgments of the alleged sexual offenses of: President Trump, Senator Franken, Secretary Clinton, Judge Moore, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, and Garrison Keillor.
Help us, Father, we are in a conundrum! We stand with the victims of any sexual crimes and misconduct! Bring justice to them as citizens, and healing and wholeness to them as individuals! We stand with the accused in their 6th Amendment rights as citizens, and against the potential counter-judgment of misandry based solely on their chromosomes!
We need better paths to avoid long-standing silences of victims who are shamed or terrified from naming their offenders beyond the statute of limitations! We need methods to discern false accusations beyond the destruction of evidence and statutes of limitation. Will You give us grace that overcomes our misogyny and misandry? Will You give us patience to wait for the truth so that we do not compound a crime with the crime of street justice?
Will You have mercy on my lack of mercy for the most heinous offenses of the most abhorrent offenders? Will You forgive the murder, misogyny, and misandry of my heart and thoughts? Will You forgive my judgments of my neighbor made in Your Image irregardless of: race, nationality, background, identity, or origin? Will You replace lynchings with acts of public restoration, blessing, and commendation in Duluth? Will You replace sexual assault violations with lionizations of the relationship of marriage in our State?
‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself;’ I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18 NIV
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:9 NIV
**Overview of the Duluth Lynchings of 1920. http://www.mnhs.org/duluthlynchings/index.php
***Another summary by M. Ziebarth on lynchings. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/55/v55i02p072-072.pdf
19th Century, African American, History, Intercession, Jesus, Minnesota, Politics, women
1892 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis
February 28, 2017 PrayThroughHistory1892, African American, African American Republicans, Benjamin Harrison, election, first female delegate, John Q. Adams, Minneapolis, omnipresent history, political conventions, Republican, Republican National Convention 1892, suffrage, suffragette, The Western Appeal, Therese Alberta Jenkins, women's studies, Wyoming Leave a comment
Jun 7, 1892 to Jun 10, 1892
The 1892 Republican National Convention was held in Minneapolis and was also the first convention where women were allowed to be delegates. Mrs. Therese Alberta (Parkinson) Jenkins, delegate from Wyoming, cast the first vote by a woman for President. Wyoming had granted full suffrage for women at statehood in 1890.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1892_Republican_National_Convention
Politics, in practice, is often a game of solidifying one’s base and fracturing the support of political opponents. One seeks to heal and forgive, while the other actively fragments relationships and maintains a grudge?! Although there will always be those who are honestly committed to their principles, most often, the duplicitous ‘win-at-all-cost’ partisans seem to be the norm.
Rules and procedures are put in place to ensure that conventions are fair. However, those who know the rules often use them to beat up those who don’t, or those who simply trust in the integrity of their party. It’s like watching a board game played by children; the worst child will change the rules until he wins!
Jesus, show me what You see. I have limited vision of this convention, but am not unfamiliar with the Republican Party. Help me dredge what is crucial, and leave the rest of the silt at the bottom of the river.
To begin, I thank You that one day, You will bring Your government to earth, and we will see real peace! Thank You that You cannot be double-minded, or attempt to create something good with false motives! You are the summit of integrity because You are perfect in contentment! You resist all bribes because there are no possessions that finite beings can give to the Eternal “I Am”!
Your names in the Bible describe your character, and they include both male and female attributes. Men and women are both made in Your image. Thank You that we finally began to recognize this fact politically on June 7, 1892! Will You bless this day, those who participated, their opponents, and their heritage?
Will You forgive the dominant male pride and ego in the politics of Minnesota, its parties, and conventions? Conversely, will You forgive the bitter counter-judgments of women whether past, present, or future? Men want to lead like men, women want to lead like women, and we both fail to recognize Your wisdom and glory in the other at times! We fail to see Your hand of leadership in the other because we do not recognize its style or legitimacy. Have mercy on our judgments of our fathers’ strength of love, and our mothers’ tenderness of love!
Bless the heritage of pioneers like Mrs. Therese Alberta (Parkinson) Jenkins of Wyoming. Bless her commitment and bravery in becoming the first female delegate to represent any state in a national convention. Will You reverse the curses of this convention of 1892, and may we receive Your future insights whether housed in a male or female messenger?
To read more, see: http://www.mnopedia.org/event/republican-national-convention-june-1892
Another wonderful article about the convention? Read “African Americans and the 1892 Republican National Convention, Minneapolis” by Iric Nathanson
http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/61/v61i02p076-082.pdf
19th Century, African American, Civics, government, History, Intercession, Jesus, law, Minnesota, Native Americans, State Government
February 7, 2017 PrayThroughHistory1857, Black History, black vote, civil rights, Colossians, Democrat, Minnesota Territory, omnipresent history, Republican, State Convention, tolerance 2 Comments
Before it can become a state, Minnesota Territory must draw up a constitution. Republicans and Democrats disagree on fundamental issues and hold separate conventions. Much of the debate focuses on suffrage–Republicans believe black males should be able to vote; most Democrats oppose the measure.
When the two conventions come together in a “compromise committee,” Republicans agree to limit the right to vote to white males as long as the constitution is relatively easy to change at a future date. In 1868, the legislature passes an amendment giving black males the right to vote.*
Jesus, thank for the good that comes from making a compact, covenant, or contract. It’s good to positively define what to do , as well as what not to do. Thank you for the battles of this Constitutional Convention in 1857.
Forgive the Democrats of Minnesota their judgments of Republicans. More accurately, forgive this Democratic judgment of black Minnesotans, and the desire to withhold the vote from them. Forgive the Republican party its counter judgments of Democrats, and Minnesotans of African descent. Forgive both parties offenses of using “moral superiority” as a political weapon, and all assumptions, judgments, and counter-judgments based on “moral superiority”. Forgive the judgments, grudges, and bitterness of black Minnesotans’ towards each party.
Jesus, as a member of Your inheritance, and an heir to the state of Minnesota, I want to pronounce forgiveness for the acknowledgement of sins between the Democrat and Republican parties and black Minnesotans. Lord, will You bring this act to fruition? Lord, will use our state as an example of restoration? Will You reverse the generational curses we have received by our participation in these political parties? Will You reverse the curses pronounced over any American of African descent, and especially ALL Minnesotans of African heritage? Will You leave a heritage of blessing?
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe Yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:12-13
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Ryan Tannehill Jameis Winston Jake Rudock Brian Flores Dan Marino Stephen M. Ross Ryan Fitzpatrick Adam Gase Luke Falk Sports Athlete contracts Sports transactions Sports business Professional football Football NFL football
Miami Dolphins Tampa Bay Buccaneers New York Jets
Fitzpatrick agrees to $11 million, 2-year deal with Miami
By STEVEN WINE - Apr. 11, 2019 08:55 AM EDT
FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2018, file photo, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) rushes for a touchdown against the New York Giants during an NFL football game in East Rutherford, N.J. Fitzpatrick has agreed to terms on a two-year contract with the Miami Dolphins, who were in the market for a replacement to Ryan Tannehill. Fitzpatrick, 36, has a 50-75-1 record as a starter for seven NFL teams. He started seven games for Tampa Bay last year and had a passer rating of 100.4, which ranked ninth in the league. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
MIAMI (AP) — Ryan Fitzpatrick will become the Miami Dolphins' caretaker quarterback.
The well-traveled veteran agreed to terms Sunday on an $11 million, two-year contract as a replacement to Ryan Tannehill and a placeholder until the Dolphins can draft their franchise quarterback. That could happen next month, but is more likely in 2020.
The 36-year-old Fitzpatrick has a 50-75-1 record as a starter for seven NFL teams. He started seven games for Tampa Bay last year and had a passer rating of 100.4, which ranked ninth in the league.
The Dolphins traded Tannehill on Friday to the Tennessee Titans in a deal that also involved draft picks. Tannehill became Miami's starting quarterback as a rookie in 2012 and never took a snap in the postseason.
After Miami went 7-9 last year, owner Stephen Ross fired coach Adam Gase, ordered a youth movement and acknowledged it may take several seasons to build a winner.
Fitzpatrick could become Miami's 20th starting quarterback since Dan Marino retired following 1999 season. The Dolphins and new coach Brian Flores have the 13th choice in the April draft, and might devote their first-round pick to a QB for only the second time since taking Marino in 1984.
Fitzpatrick has thrown for 190 touchdowns and 29,357 yards, but has been inconsistent and turnover-prone. He entered the league in 2005, and his longest stay with any team was with the Buffalo Bills in 2009-12.
He had four 400-yard passing games last year for the Buccaneers but yielded the starting job to Jameis Winston in November.
Fitzpatrick joins two other quarterbacks on the Miami roster, Luke Falk and Jake Rudock. Neither has started in the NFL.
With moves made since the hiring of Flores, the Dolphins are given a 200-1 chance to win next season's Super Bowl, worst in the NFL. A poor record would mean a high first-round draft pick in 2020, and they're well-positioned to splurge in free agency a year from now.
They're still in the market this offseason for help on the offensive and defensive lines and at cornerback.
Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Steve_Wine
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QPR Snatch Up Former Liverpool Academy Graduate & Warburton Expects Him To “Challenge For A Place In The Team”
Date: 5th July 2019 at 7:15am
With it shaping up to be a busy summer for Queens Park Rangers as new manager Mark Warburton continues to tweak his first-team squad, this week has also seen the arrival of former Liverpool Academy graduate Conor Masterson.
The young 20-year-old centre-back heads into Loftus Road as a free agent, on a two-year deal having seen his contract at Anfield expire this summer.
He was with Liverpool for four years, joining them as a 16-year-old in their youth ranks before progressing through their levels, but the Dublin born Irishman didn’t obviously make his debut in their first team squad and he also didn’t gain any senior experience during any loan spells in his time with them.
We clearly see something in him though and I expect he’ll initially join our Under 23 group, but if he impresses and settles in quickly, who knows if the gaffer might give him an introduction as the month’s progress this year?
Speaking to the Official Site as his signing was announced, he explained.
“To sign for QPR is an honour and a privilege and I can’t wait to get started. I learnt so much during my time with Liverpool, had some unbelievable experiences and I think that will carry through into QPR.”
Masterson clearly has something about him though as he skippered Liverpool at Under 18 level and progressed through to their Under 23 side pretty quickly. Having mentioned the fact he didn’t make his debut, Jurgen Klopp did bring him into the first team squad for training though and he also found himself named on the bench for their Champions League clash against Manchester City, and he was on the Premier League bench for their clash with Everton in April 2018.
He was also set to continue his progression last summer on their tour of the US but a knee injury saw him sidelined, so he missed out on that opportunity.
I would imagine he’s looking forward to making up for lost time.
“Mentally it was very tough but you learn from it and it makes you stronger. You have your ups and downs in football. That was my down and hopefully, this move is one of my ups. I can guarantee the fans I will give everything in every game.”
Warburton sounds optimistic about his potential.
“I have watched Conor’s progress and he is another young player with a lot of potential in him. What he will be looking to do is come in, bed himself into the dressing room and challenge for a place in the team. I want the pathway for young players here to be clear. If they are good enough, I’ll play them – I don’t care if they are 17 or 37, it’s about being good enough and having that desire to play for QPR.”
Good luck to the lad.
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“Thanks For Everything” – QPR Striker Wished Well For The Future By These Fans As He Departs Loftus
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Why Lillabullero?
Kinks stuff …
This & that from then
Lillabullero
tintinnabulation in a humanist key from a Kinks fan
Andreï Makine is a beautiful writer, a writer like no other I’ve read. A big thank you to my old chum Linda for the tip. He can evoke so much in so few pages – a century of Russian history (a subject I didn’t think could interest me any more), the Siberian wastes, Stalin’s excesses, Soviet dictatorship and the escape attempts therefrom, and more recently post-Communist Russia – historically, socially, personally; how it feels to love, to fear, to be human. Done compellingly, with hardly a wasted word, and always elegantly. Incredibly moving and liberating. A sense of the despair but also of liberation, of flying (in one instance from seeing a Belmondo movie). Not a lot of jokes, it has to be said, but it’s a long way from immersion in misery. Amazingly he’s a Russian emigre who writes in French. Critics cite Proust and Nabakov but never mind about that. The book I liked least is the one that made his reputation – the award winning ‘Le testament francais’ – which is also the longest. I’d recommend starting with the staggering, astonishing, ‘A life’s music’, ‘Confessions’ or ‘Once upon the River Love’.
I’ve cut and pasted my personal voyage of discovery
and further travels in the land of Makine on a subsidiary page.
Most of his books are wonderfully (to be honest, how would I know? but it feels that way) translated into English by Geoffrey Strachan. Interestingly the publishers felt different titles were sometimes necessary for the UK and the USA, which can lead to confusion for the reader, so those differences are tabulated below in chronological order. In every instance I find the UK version of the titles superior.
La fille d’un heros de l’Union Sovietique
A hero’s daughter (2003)
Confession d’un porte-drapeau
Confessions of a lapsed standard bearer (UK 2000)
Confessions of a fallen standard bearer (US 2000)
Au temps du fleuve Amour
Once upon the River Love (1998)
Le testament francais
Le testament francais (UK 1997)
Dreams of my Russian summers (US 1997)
Le crime d’Olga Arbeyelina
The crime of Olga Arbyelina (1999)
Requiem pour l’Est
Requiem for the east (UK 2001)
Requiem for a lost empire (US 2001)
La musique d’une vie
A life’s music (UK 2002)
The music of a life (US 2002)
La terre et le ciel de Jacques Dorme
The earth and sky of Jacques Dorme (2005)
La femme qui attendait
The woman who waited (2006)
L’amour humain
Human love (2008)
Cette France qu’on oublie d’aimer
Non-fiction; no English translation available
Le monde selon Gabriel: mystère de Noël
La vie d’un homme inconnu
The life of an unknown man (2010)
Le livre des breves amours eternelles
Brief loves that live forever (2013)
Une femme aimée
A Woman loved (2015)
Le pays du lieutenant Schreiber: le roman d’une vie
Lieutenant Schreiber’s country: the story of a forgotten hero
Non-fiction: 2018
L’archipel d’une autre vie
The archipelago of another life (nyp: July 2019)
The bare bones of a life lifted from Hodder Headline’s – his first English publishers – website:
Andreï Makine was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia in 1957, but sought asylum in France in 1987. While initially sleeping rough in Paris he was writing his first novel, A HERO’S DAUGHTER, which was eventually published in 1990 after Makine pretended it had been translated from the Russian, since no publisher believed he could have written it in French. With his third novel, ONCE UPON A RIVER LOVE, he was finally published as a ‘French’ writer, and with his fourth, LE TESTAMENT FRANCAIS, he became the first author to win both of France’s top literary prizes, the Prix Goncourt and Prix Médicis.
He’s not exactly over-exposed on the web – http://www.andreimakine.com/ is naturally enough in French – though reviews of individual books are easy enough to find and are not listed here. His Wikipedia entry is a bit fuller than it used to be, but not as substantial as he surely deserves.
Publication of Brief loves that live forever in 2013 saw a mild outbreak of wider activity with interviews that add a lot here in the Daily Telegraph (he served in the Russian military in Afghanistan and Angola) and here in L’Italo Europeo. It would appear his fiction draws a lot on his own life.
Before that Philip Delves Broughton’s interview in the Daily Telegraph was the best I’d found, and there’s an earlier one from Natasha Fairweather in the Independent. Gerry Feehily talked at length to him for webmag 3a.m. (“Whatever it is we’re against it”) on the occasion of the UK publication of Human love under the headline “Madame Bovary, c’est moi“, a great quote from Makine himself. There is website dedicated to the man’s work – Collectif de chercheurs autour de l’ouevre d’Andrei Makine – but be warned, it’s in French.
When I first made this page even Wikipedia had a minimal entry and it’s not that much expanded even now (Nov, 2011). It does, however – quoted in full below – reveal a previously unsuspected parallel writer’s existence:
In 2001 Makine began secretively publishing as “Gabriel Osmonde“, a total of four novels over ten years, the last appearing in 2011. It was a French literary mystery and many speculated about who Osmonde might be. Finally in 2011 a scholar noticed Osmonde’s book 20,000 femmes dans la vie d’un homme had been inspired by Makine’s Dreams of My Russian Summers and Makine confirmed that he was the author. Explaining why he used a pseudonym he said, “I wanted to create someone who lived far from the hurly-burly of the world“
The titles so far are
Le Voyage d’une femme qui n’avait plus peur de vieillir, Albin Michel, 2001
Les 20 000 Femmes de la vie d’un homme, Albin Michel, 2004
L’Œuvre de l’amour, Pygmalion, 2006
Alternaissance, Pygmalion, 2011
Unfortunately none have (so far – May 2015) been translated into English.
Travels in the pages of Andreï Makine
on August 20, 2013 at 11:13 pm | Reply Andrei Makine: Brief loves that live forever | Lillabullero
[…] a chronological listing of his books (with variant titles) and some biographical notes, with links t… […]
on September 7, 2014 at 3:17 pm | Reply Milena
Fortunately, he has been translated into Serbian.
on January 15, 2016 at 5:39 pm | Reply Andreï Makine: A woman loved | Lillabullero
[…] on Lillabullero I have tabulated Andreï Makine‘s works to make sense of the variant titles that have cropped up with UK and US editions, and collected my […]
on September 10, 2018 at 3:49 pm | Reply Library Trilogy | Lillabullero
[…] occasionally indulge myself, by extending the shelf life of a few quality favourites (hello Andreii Makine). So I know where she’s coming from, and it’s a very good […]
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Tu cherche?
John Ruskin
Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks mysteries
Saving Stony Stratford Library
The Wolverton & Stony Stratford Tramway: 1
Jackie Leven talking at Jockstock 2004
Sites to savour
Jimmy Reid and me
The Gents at The Old Duke, Bristol
The Kinks in Art
The Kinks in Literature
Kinda Keats
Neil Donnelly’s Ray Davies poem
The Forensic Records Society
The punishment she deserves
The best of Adam Sharp
I wonder where they all are now …
A (I wonder)
B (where)
C (they)
D (all)
EF (are)
GH (now)
Nicky Hopkins
IJK (But)
L (rock)
M (and)
NOP (roll)
QR (will)
S (still)
TUV (live)
WXYZ (on)
2002 & 2003 In the beginning …
2004 more, more, more
2005 It’s alive …
2006 Blogfix
2007 Only one rhyme this time
2008 Postdate
2009 Spo-dee-o-dee
John Baker: Winged with death
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About C-RAIND
Center for Research In Autism, Intellectual,
and Other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
MSU and Neurodevelopmental Disability Research
The MSU Center for Research in Autism, Intellectual and other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities has a long and productive history with the DOCTRID (Daughters Of Charity – Technology, Research Into Disability) program.
DOCTRID was established under RESPECT (an Irish registered charity responsible for fundraising projects to assist people with intellectual disabilities) and the Daughters of Charity (DoC) Board. It encompasses the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Services, all Irish accredited universities, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Institute of Technology, Tralee (ITT) and two U.S. universities - Michigan State University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
One of DOCTRID’s programs, ASSISTID (Assistive Technologies for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism) administers the Marie Curie COFUND project. With $12.1 million (8.9 million euro) provided by the European Union and the Irish charity RESPECT (also operated by the Daughters of Charity), ASSISTID will support 40 post-doctoral fellows worldwide, in two waves of 20 until 2019.
At MSU we have two distinct, but highly related and integrated research initiatives that are comprehensively addressing the needs of individuals who have autism, intellectual and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. These are: (1) the DOCTRID Research Institute, which includes the MSU-DOCTRID Hegarty Fellows Program and the EU Marie Curie ASSISTID COFUND Program; and, (2) the Center for Research in Autism, Intellectual and other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (C-RAIND).
Postdoctoral researchers are highly valued at MSU, and contribute greatly to the research mission of the university while gaining additional experience and mentoring as independent researchers for the next stage of their career development process. At MSU, in addition to senior research faculty mentors, post doctoral researcher have an array of resources that have been designed to provide them with a highly supportive and stimulating collegial environment. For example, the MSU Office of Postdoctoral Training and the Postdoctoral Research Association will be a significant asset to candidates who have received appointments and are designing their postdoctoral Individual Development Plans (IDP).
In addition, the MSU Center for Academic and Future Faculty Excellence (CAFFE) provides an array of professional development courses, and the Office of International Studies and Programs will be particularly important for ASSISTID outgoing postdoctoral fellows in terms of resources and assistance. MSU also possesses a vast array of research resources that will enable the high-quality implementation and completion of MSU-DOCTRID and ASSISTID projects. These additional resources include, but are not limited to, the Center for Statistical Analysis & Training (CSTAT), Office of Research Facilitation and Dissemination, Graduate School Professional Development Workshops, Responsible Conduct of Research Workshop Series, and a Carnegie Research I research library that contains over four million volumes and is fully accessible via the Internet.
The MSU-DOCTRID International Research Institute
The DOCTRID International Research Institute and their university partners are committed to a collaborative, international, interdisciplinary research model, designed to carry out ongoing research and empirical studies that will inform policy and practice and identify new evidence-based practices, including the impact of technology, that can be effective in the delivery of services to individuals with autism and significant intellectual disabilities.
DOCTRID was established as a research program under RESPECT and Daughters of Charity (DoC) Board and encompasses the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Services, all of the universities on the island of Ireland, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Institute of Technology, Tralee (ITT) and two U.S. universities CC Michigan State University (MSU), and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. It should be noted that MSU was the founding university member of DOCTRID when it was established in 2010.
MSU-DOCTRID Hegarty Fellows Program
This program is designed to serve as a center of international research excellence in providing empirical research to help inform policy and practice in the area of intellectual disability and autism across the age continuum. In 2012, we received initial funding from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, Office of the Provost, and the College of Education at MSU. The funding from MSU is being used to fund three interdisciplinary postdoctoral research associates (MSU-DOCTRID Hegarty Fellows Program) who officially began their appointments with MSU in July of 2013, and are housed within the College of Education in the Office of Rehabilitation and Disability Studies.
These Hegarty Fellows are co-located at both MSU and a selected Irish partner university during their two-year research appointments with MSU-DOCTRID. In the fall of 2013, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon traveled to Ireland for the DOCTRID conference and announced that MSU plans to extend the Hegarty Fellows Program for an additional three years through 2019. This extraordinary level of support by the MSU President will mean that MSU-DOCTRID will be able to fund nine Hegarty Fellows over the next six years to work with DOCTRID. The generous support from MSU and RESPECT in funding international research fellows will make important, meaningful and sustainable impact on the quality of life or people with intellectual disabilities and autism on a global basis.
EU Marie Curie ASSISTID COFUND Program
DOCTRID was awarded funding for a large grant from the Marie Currie EU COFUND on Assistive Technologies for Individuals with Autism and Intellectual Disability that will provide funding for 40 additional postdoctoral researchers for the partner universities in DOCTRID. At MSU, we anticipate we will have multiple Marie Currie COFUND postdoctoral researchers appointed during each of the two waves of recruitment and selection for the five-year grant, with the first group beginning their two-year appointments with us in the spring of 2015.
Candidates for these appointments will not only have access to MSU-DOCTRID, in terms of faculty mentors, Hegarty Fellows and resources developed for that program, but also within the larger scholarly community at MSU through the RAIND Center.
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A Claim Even Randy Bryce’s Supporters Didn’t Buy
Posted by James Wigderson | Jul 17, 2018
JANESVILLE, WI – At a Saturday rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Randy Bryce told a whopper that even many of his supporters couldn’t cheer. Bryce told the audience that he has never paid a bill from money made as a politician.
“There are some people that claim that I have been a politician,” Bryce said to a crowded, unairconditioned UAW hall in Janesville. “But I can say without a doubt that I haven’t been able to pay one bill on a politician’s salary.”
Unlike Bryce’s other intended applause lines, this one only received a tepid response from the large, sweating mass of enthusiastic Democrats in the room. Perhaps it was because they read the newspapers.
Bryce was possibly responding to a Wisconsin Politifact article that pointed out Bryce is running for public office for the fourth time in six years. Bryce lost in all three prior elections. The “fact-checking” column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gave Bryce a “mostly false” rating for saying that he’s not a politician.
That may have been Bryce’s intention, but the same newspaper reported in a column by Dan Bice that the candidate is being paid by the Democratic political consultants Wavecrest Consulting and Analytics, which is owned and operated by former Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Mike Tate. The information for the story came from a required federal campaign financial disclosure form which requires candidates to declare payments greater than $5000.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Bryce campaign has refused to say how much more than $5000 the Democratic consulting firm has paid the candidate.
Bryce’s opponent in the Democratic primary, Cathy Myers, politely declined to respond to our inquiry about Bryce’s statement at the Sanders rally. However, Myers’ campaign spokesman Dennis Hughes told Bice that he believes Bryce is violating campaign finance law by not disclosing the full amount paid.
“House ethics rules were established to set a minimum standard for transparency, so voters deserve to know what Randy Bryce is trying to hide,” Hughes said to the Journal Sentinel reporter.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) agreed that Bryce needs to be transparent about how much the Democratic consulting firm is paying him.
“Randy attempted to become a politician three times before and voters rejected him every single time,” said Chris Martin, the regional press secretary for the NRCC, in a statement on Monday. “He should disclose why he’s now being paid by a liberal political consulting firm – including what he’s doing for them while running for office and how much he’s being paid to do it.”
“Randy attempted to become a politician three times before and voters rejected him every single time. He should disclose why he’s now being paid by a liberal political consulting firm – including what he’s doing for them while running for office and how much he’s being paid to do it.”
By saying that he’s never paid a bill from the money he’s made as a politician, Bryce may have also been referring to his tendency to let bills go unpaid. Bryce was over two months delinquent on his child support payments until he launched his campaign for congress, an issue for which he has been criticized by both Democrats (including his opponent in the primary) and Republicans. In addition, a mysterious “Democratic lawyer” suddenly negotiated and paid off another of Bryce’s debts from 2004 after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel began investigating the story.
Bryce’s financial missteps and arrangements with the Democratic Party have not been the only controversies surrounding his campaign. Bryce has also been the subject of recent report by CNN that he has a record of being arrested nine times. Many of the arrests stem from being pulled over in Michigan for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in 1998. Following that arrest, Bryce failed to make court appearances and was arrested three times for driving after his license was revoked. Bryce also has a record of being arrested in 1991, on his 27th birthday, for marijuana possession, property damage, trespassing and theft. CNN reported the theft and trespassing charges were dropped.
Ironically, honesty was one of the themes of Sanders’ speech at the Saturday rally for Bryce.
“Politics aside, as so many of us are parents, the grandfather of seven beautiful children,” Sanders said, sweat pouring through his shirt in the stifling heat of the unventilated packed union hall. “What we try to do as parents and grandparents is say to our children,’tell the truth.’”
After talking about the children, Sanders turned his attention to President Donald Trump.
“It is a national disgrace that we have a president who is a pathological liar,” Sanders told the overheated crowd. “How do you have a vibrant democracy when you have a president who lies every day?”
Despite the sweltering conditions, the crowd roared its approval of every one of Sanders’ punchlines. However, Sanders never addressed the controversies surrounding Bryce’s candidacy to discuss his honesty. Perhaps we should blame it on the heat.
This article appears courtesy of Media Trackers.
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James Wigderson
James Wigderson is the Editor of RightWisconsin. He was a weekly columnist for the Waukesha Freeman, an education reporter for Watchdog.org, and a contributor to Media Trackers, the MacIver Institute and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.
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November 24, 2018 Ronald Leave a comment
Because I am a garbage person, I was unable to finish Carla de Guzman’s “How She Likes It” on the time I was supposed to do so. It wasn’t because of the book though. It’s just that life has been a little tumultuous and it’s only now that I’ve finally had a breather.
But now, NOW, I’ve actually finished reading a book and share my thought on it with you guys. What? You’re not interested in hearing it? Sucks for you! This is still happening!
“How She Likes It” is about Isabel Alonso — heiress, businesswoman, and possible future CEO. Isabel is a force to be reckoned with. She’s tough as nails, intelligent, and has a business sense that makes it clear why she’s being groomed to be a CEO. The only thing missing is a man, but Isabel’s fine without one.
But then she meets single dad Adam Sevilla, and now things are suddenly so much more complicated. Why can’t a girl just have it all?
What I love the most about “How She Likes It” is how it proves that a simple change can immediately revitalize what some may consider a tired trope. How many books have you seen that feature a CEO with an edge and a softer assistant? There’s a lot of them, but Carla simply changing the genders gives the book an energy that compels you to turn the pages.
And the gender choice isn’t just cosmetic. Isabel isn’t a woman who acts like a man. She’s simply a woman who has stopped caring what men think. The reasons for her behavior, her reactions to certain situations, are different from how a male CEO would handle it, and that is so refreshing.
The friendship between Isabel and Regina was also a delight to read, especially in our Pinoy pop culture landscape where the heroine’s best friend often has to be “less”. There’s none of that between Isabel and Regina; theirs is a relationship between equals.
I also really liked Adam and Isabel’s relationship. Carla makes it clear that both of these characters are far from perfect, but it is their growing affection and love for each other that nudges them towards becoming better versions of themselves.
It’s also really great to see a woman be so powerful — in a non-sexual context — and have the man be turned on by it. If you’re someone who’s only been exposed to old school romances this is certainly refreshing to see.
Another thing to love is that there’s an acknowledgement here of the world outside of the romance. Isabel and Regina constantly acknowledge the privilege they have. There’s also the fact that Adam and Isabel also agree that just because the two of them are in love, it’s not going to mean you’re always going to agree on things. Who said romances are unrealistic?
All in all, “How She Likes It” delivers a story that is very hard not to like. Add it to your book pile now!
book reviewcarla de guzmanhow she likes it
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The Way It Is – Congressman Ruffy Biazon
The World In Ruffy's Words
Posted in Inner Thoughts, Travel with tags Cambodia, killing fields, philippines, Phnom Penh, ruffy biazon on September 18, 2007 by Ruffy Biazon
If you’re wondering why I have a somber look in this picture, it’s because this was taken at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is prohibited to smile in this historic site, since the Cambodians consider this almost a sacred site, a reminder of the times when evil ruled in Cambodia and a despotic leader thought that eradicating a quarter of his country’s population, mostly intellectuals, professionals, government officials, students and even children, would usher in a new era for this beautiful and fertile land.
That was during the regime of the Khmer Rouge, led by the infamous Pol Pot. This facility, which used to be a school, became one of the prisons and torture centers of the Khmer Rouge, under the operational command of the S-21, the unit which oversaw this center and three others around the country. This particular facility housed at least 1,500 prisoners at any one time, with inmates given some of the most inhuman treatments ever known to man.
Many of the inmates who suffered and died here were buried in mass graves which later on became known as the “Killing Fields” (a movie was made from the story of the Khmer Rouge genocide). The Vietnamese army, which invaded Cambodia in 1979 and ousted the Khmer Rouge, discovered the bodies of the tortured prisoners shackled on metal beds.
Visiting the facility now, you get a heavy, eerie feeling as you enter one of the rooms, which have on display the actual beds used by the prisoners.
There were displays of the mug shots of the prisoners, which ranged from children all the way to old ,men and women. The Khmer Rouge meticulously kept records of their prisoners and numbered each one of them, as seen in the mug shots.
The people in the photographs had a variety of expressions, from plain, blank stares to expressions of fear to those of defiance. Indeed, my visit to this monument to man’s capacity for evil against his fellow man is a one that gave me a fresh perspective about our country.
With no offense meant to the gentle and friendly Cambodian people, I had a renewed faith in the Philippines and a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the country that we have.
I am thankful that we did not experience the kind of terror that Cambodians experienced in the hands of their fellow countrymen. True, we had and still have some abuse of rights and even involuntary disappearances, but it did not and does not come anywhere near to the savagery inflicted by Pol Pot to the people he was supposed to lead.
Despite all the complaints that we now have in our country (the corruption, the political instability and the rising prices), we are still a lot better off than the Cambodians. My impression of Phnom Penh, their capital, is that it is still way behind our capital, Manila (including the Greater Metro Manila) in terms of infrastructure development. I think even our provincial cities like Dumaguete or Pagadian is ahead in development.
But it might be unfair to compare Cambodia to the Philippines in such terms, since they have gone through a long period of conflict which ended relatively recently only. Up to the mid-90’s, they were still in a brutal conflict which stunted their growth as a country.
Behind as they are in terms of economy and infrastructure, I would say they are ahead in terms of character as a nation. While in the Philippines we are constantly on the guard for fellow Filipinos who will take the first opportunity to fool us, cheat us or steal from us, money changers in Phnom Penh operate on open tables in the street corner, without even the protection of a security guard. Yes, they’re just there on the street corner with the money lying on the table in front of them.
In the market, a stall owner selling semi-precious stones lays out on top of the counter almost half of her inventory, even turning her back to the customer once in a while, unmindful of the fact that the customer browsing her wares may just pocket one of the items she is selling.
It may be stupidity for us, especially because here we look at the next person as a potential criminal, but I think to them, it is the naivete that is borne of trust–trust that is not broken by her own countrymen. The different travel guides I researched before going to Cambodia all said the same thing—Cambodians are generally honest.
And I experienced it myself. The stall owner of the jewellry stall (it was in a Divisoria-style market called the Russian Market) pointed out to me which of the items were fake and which were genuine. To me, everything looked the same and she could have easily fooled me into believing that everything was genuine (I’ve expereinced that here in the Philippines).
I took a Tuk-Tuk (tricycle in the Philippines) from the King’s Palace to the National Museum. Unlike Bangkok where the Tuk-Tuk drivers try to mulct you with their outrageous fares and forcibly bring you to the expensive jewellry shops (where they get a commission from items bought by their unwitting victims), this driver told me that I could pay him whatever I wanted. I was prepared to haggle to death, but when he told me that when I first asked about the fare, I was caught by surprise.
When we got to the National Museum, I told him I will next go the to Central Market after my visit to the museum. He said he’d wait for me. I wanted to pay him (just to show my good faith that I will not do a 1-2-3 on him, since he had already driven me to the museum from another place), but he said, I can just pay him after my whole itinerary.
As I entered the museum, the naughty Filipino in me thought, “hey, I can go out the other gate and he wouldn’t know..I can get a free ride!”. But my conscience got the best of me, so of course, after my visit to the museum, I went out the way I came in. He was taking a nap in his Tuk-Tuk and I even had to wake him up.
At least I felt good at the end of that excursion.
That trip to Cambodia, which was just three days after I came back from a trip to Australia, gave me a new perspective towards our country. I am thankful for the blessings that our country has. I am grateful that we didn’t have to endure genocide or years of civil war and strife. I am glad that we have the numerous malls and countless entertainment centers around our developed cities.
But I am envious that as a nation, we have yet to earn the admiration of the world for our honesty and integrity. IF there’s one thing we should work on as nation, I believe that more than the economic and material prosperity, it should be our character, in order for us to earn the respect of our fellowman.
God bless the Cambodians.
Anyone for Wiretapping?
Posted in Governance, Politics and Politicians with tags leonard de vera, philippines, ruffy biazon, wire tapping on September 4, 2007 by Ruffy Biazon
The following is a letter to the editor of Atty. Leonard De Vera, Chair of Equal Justice for All (E-JUST)published in the several newspapers last Sept. 1, 2007:
Lost in the midst of the “Garci tapes” controversy is an anomalous situation in Republic Act 4200, (Anti-Wiretapping Act).
The law is good in that it protects against illegal intrusion into people’s right to privacy of conversation. The law is bad in that it bans all kinds of wiretaps unless authorized by a written order issued by a judge.
Consider this dreadful situation: Your child is kidnapped. You receive a telephone call from the kidnapper who lets you hear your child’s crying voice. He demands ransom money. He instructs you not to call the police. He calls you in 30 minutes to know if you have raised the money and gives directions of where, when and how the ransom will be delivered by you.
Since it is impossible to go to court to get a written order within 30 minutes, you wiretap your phone. You record the kidnapper’s voice and ransom instructions. Because of the recorded conversation, the police are able to investigate and arrest the kidnapper.
Who goes to jail? The kidnapper? No. You go to jail.
All because RA 4200 absolutely bans the use of illegally wiretapped evidence in a court of law or in any criminal, civil or administrative proceedings.
The prosecutor cannot introduce the wiretapped voice of the kidnapper as evidence to prove the identity of, and instructions given, by the kidnapper. Lawyers love to call this, “the fruit of the poisonous tree.” Therefore, inadmissible evidence. The kidnapper is set free.
The kidnapper turns the tables on you. He sues you for violation of RA 4200 because you had wiretapped him without a written court order. You, the victim of the crime, go to jail.
RA 4200 admits of no exception to wiretapped conversations. The only legal use of wiretapping is when authorized in writing by a judge who must first interview you to see if his order to wiretap is justified.
RA 4200 must be amended to admit of some exceptions such as the one just described.
LEONARD DE VERA
Chair, Equal Justice For All (EJUST)
Unit Penthouse B, Windsor Tower
163 Legazpi St., Legazpi Village
Makati City 1229
Atty. De Vera’s proposed amendment is embodied in a bill I filed in Congress, but received no attention from the House. I felt redeemed that someone has the same view that I have of Republic Act 4200, The ANti-Wiretapping Law, which I believe needs to be amended.
Unfortunately, the issue has been drowned by the political issues that dominated the discussion about wiretapping,e specially because of the circumstances which brought the issue forward in the first place—cheating in the 2004 elections.
Indeed, those involved in the issue, especially those perceived to have committed wrong-doing, had to defend themselves, just as those who believed that the truth should come out had to do everything to expose the story behind the highly controversial 2004 elections.
It seems that the 2004 elections controversy may have been set aside with the closure of the 13th Congress, although closure has not been attained by those who believe that the Hello Garci tapes can reveal more that what has already been revealed in the hearings.
Once again in the 14th Congress, the tapes say “hello” to us. It has never really said “goodbye”, just “see you later”. That’s how it is with the Truth. It will never lay to rest unless it is out in the open. The Bible, in the Book of John, it is written, “The truth shall set you free.” So it is, with truth, that it shall set itself free.
But I am not blind to political reality. I know that at this time, while there is still a need to validate the evidence about the issues hounding the 2004 elections and the Hello Garci tapes, the people already know the truth about it and need no further revelations. The results of the 2007 elections, however tainted it may be, still indicated the people’s sentiment. So it may be time for us to look towards other objectives.
One is the amendment of the wiretapping law. While the political ends were not achieved by the Hello Garci hearings last congress, I would say that those who lost the political battle won the moral battle. It is now time to perform attain legal victory, which will benefit everyone, from all sectors, all beliefs and all affiliations.
To me, this should be the primary goal of the resumption of the Hello Garci hearings. To learn from the mistakes of the past in order to avoid them in the future. To amend the law and attune it to the needs of the present.
To express my appreciation to Atty. De Vera for his timely observation, I sent him this letter:
Dear Atty. De Vera,
My warmest felicitations to a citizen who has shown his patriotism and vigilance as a Filipino!
I would like to commend you for the insight you have shared in your letter to the editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer which was published on September 1, wherein you suggested the amendment of Republic Act 4200 to enable victims of crime to conduct wiretapping without need of a court order.
I am happy to inform you that in the 14th Congress, I filed House Bill No. 58 which seeks to amend R.A. 4200 and allow persons who are victims of kidnapping to perform wiretapping of suspects to aid in the early solution of the crime, just as you proposed.
The proposal is one of several amendments to the wiretapping law which were borne of the Hello Garci hearings in the previous Congress. I filed it as House Bill No. 5313 in the 13th Congress even before the hearings were terminated, belying the claims that no legislation was produced as a result of those hearings. Unfortunately, it was buried under the political noise at that time.
With the wiretapping hearings reopened recently, I believe that the Legislature should proceed with it with the objective of updating an old law that has ceased to be relevant to the times. With the advent of new technologies and new reasons to conduct legal wiretapping, we should look beyond or even set aside the political dimension of the issue and pass legislation that would provide us an up-to-date legal environment for recording conversations.
I hope that you can be one with us in this legislative endeavor.
Thank you very much and may God bless you!
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Do you want a recovery? Let the foreign banks fail
By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | OCTOBER 24, 2012
Although the financial crisis is said to have begun in 2008, its actual inception started many years before. As explained yesterday, the so-called recovery that almost every politician says governments are seeking is a sham. There are no plans drawn to have a recovery of the kind spoken of on the main stream media. In fact, it is totally the opposite.
It is true; the crisis that we are experiencing is the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930’s, but the conditions that created the crisis are the same that have existed for the past century. The system of creating money out of thin air enables the money makers to inject fake capital into economies, in what is called investments. After the economies get addicted to ‘free’ quick money to build their businesses, the issuers of the fake money take it away quickly or demand immediate return on those ‘investments’, which causes the decapitalization of those economies and consequently their collapse.
The causes of what seemed to have unraveled in 2008 began at the start of the 20th century with the adoption of the debt-based economic model. According to its precepts, governments yield the power to issue money to a group of international bankers who issue the it on behalf of governments around the world at a profit of as much as 30 percent or so. The interests accrued due to the issuance of the money — which is given to governments as a credit — is charged on those governments’ credit card and are immediately added to the tabs of the people who work to sustain government spending.
In a sense, the debt-based economic model originated on the irresponsibility from the part of the bureaucrats who manage the government. Instead of spending the people’s money responsibly, the bureaucrats thought it was a better idea to borrow cash at immense interest rates, rather than decrease spending. Then, they decided to accept bribes and advice from international bankers to finance their out of control expenditures while charging the interests of the debt on the working classes.
The same system initiated in 1913, is still used today everywhere there is a central bank. Whether the bank is a private entity or an agency of the government is irrelevant. The bureaucrats elected to represent the people borrow money from the IMF and the World Bank, for example, in exchange for adopting specific policies that will guarantee the international bankers their ownership of the labor force for many generations into the future.
The money paid by working people to the central governments is not used to improve the communities where they live. They go to pay the interests on the debt acquired by the same central government in the name of the people. The type of improvements promised by politicians during their political campaigns are not paid with taxpayer money, but with the cash borrowed from the international bankers. The bankers arrive to nation-states and offer loans to governments that do not have enough liquidity to carry out the promises made during the political campaign. The government accepts all the conditions on the loan contract and effectively sign away sovereignty to the money makers.
The collapse of the kind the world is experiencing now is the last step of the plan that bankers have put together and implemented to become the sole owners of everything out there. The important difference between previous crises and the current one is that this may just be the last time bankers need to use their plan. That is because this time the bankers may simply walk away with everything, so no more manufactured crises will be needed.
The question is then, how do we stop the bankers from doing the same they’ve done in Greece, where they’ve looted it all? It is very easy, actually. All of Europe and the rest of the world needs to do the same that Iceland did. Instead of saying that international financial institutions were too big to fail, Iceland decided to kick them out. As it turns out, around 90 percent of the debt held by the Icelandic government was debt created by the banks and only 10 percent was actual debt incurred into by the people. After that fact was carefully determined, Iceland decided to take the other path towards a real recovery.
Believe it or not, Iceland decided to let the banks fail, which is exactly the opposite of what was done in Italy, France, Greece, Spain, England and the United States, to cite a few countries. Everywhere else where the crisis touched international banks, governments decided that it was a bad idea to tell the banks to get out of their countries and to take their debt with them. Instead, they printed more fake money to ‘rescue’ those banks and passed the debt to the people, who will have to pay interests on that debt for generations to come. This move not only did not solve the problem because the only thing it accomplished was to increase the debt, but also worsened economic conditions as no real solutions to the crisis were enacted.
At the beginning of 2008, the banks operating in Iceland owed the equivalent of 6 times the country’s GDP. The government there decided to nationalize the 3 most important debtor banks, which caused the devaluation of the local currency — the króna — by 85 percent. This seemed to spell trouble for Iceland, but contrary to common wisdom it actually help the nation have a real recovery while it maintained much of its independence and sovereignty. The government went bankrupt by the end of the year, but the country avoided having to make the citizens responsible for the debt generated by the international banks.
Along with the devaluation of the króna, Iceland experienced soaring inflation immediately after the declaration of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the government decided to take all monies and deposit them in the recently nationalized banks in order to start all over again. The move by the Icelandic government meant a short period of real pain, but also gave the opportunity to the people there to start fresh, with no debt and with spending under control.
By 2010, just two years after the declaration of bankruptcy and the nationalization of the banks, Iceland experienced its first signs of economic growth, which marked the beginning of the recovery. By letting the international banks fail, Iceland not only punished irresponsible bankers for their overreach, but also prevented their people from becoming slaves to the banks. The country also admitted to having some real debt — a tiny portion of the total — and is now working on a successful path to a full recovery.
The lesson we get from all this is the following: We cannot fight fire by dumping gasoline on it. If the origin of the current crisis is the debt-based economic system, no solution will emerge when all we do is create more debt to pay the existing one. The reason why most countries decided to choose the issuance of more debt — as nations in Europe are doing now — is because their politicians are bought and paid for by the bankers to make that decision. If the opposite is done, that is, if the debt generated by the banks is rejected and they are left to fail, we will have many other successful recoveries. It is so simple that even Paul Krugman understands it.
So if you want your country to be free from fake money and fake debt, ask your government to renounce the debt-based development model, which is not even a development model. If all you want is a real recovery, let the banks fail.
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Filed under English, Politics, World Tagged with banker debt, Banks, Corruption, debt, debt-based model, decapitalization, fake money, fake recovery, financial bailouts, financial collapse, government spending, iceland, IMF, króna, money makers, sovereign debt, too big to fail, World Bank
Jose Dirceu Convicted in Mensalão Corruption case
But the Brazilian Court abstained itself from even hearing evidence that may have incriminated former Brazilian president Luis Inacio da Silva.
The Brazilian Supreme Court convicted Jose Dirceu, a minister of former President Lula da Silva, for bribery in the process called Mensalão.
Along with Dirceu were also sentenced the then president of the Workers Party (PT), Jose Genuino, and treasurer, Delubio Soares. The three men who were the strong core of PT back in 2003, have been convicted of using taxpaer money to bribe four other political parties. The same political parties are now allies of the government, and several of their congressmen were — according to the discoveries made in the trial — bought off to support the first Lula government. The three convicted men will also be tried later for a crime known in Brazil as “crew training”, the equivalent to forming and operating a criminal organization.
The Supreme Court had already convicted politicians from four different parties for passive corruption. On Tuesday, the Court dealt with the now proven corrupters.
The most difficult sentence to agree on, according to the press was that of Jose Dirceu, as the evidence against him was not as obvious as those of the others involved. One of the judges who acquitted Dirceu, Ricardo Lewandowski, warned that the acquittal did not mean that Dirceu was not the head of the plot, but he had not found in acts concrete evidence of his guilt.
Most judges, however, based their decision to convict Dirceu based on the theory of evidence along with the evidence presented by witnesses. They also turned to what happens in criminal organizations and the mafia. In these cases, they say, the bosses “leave no trace” and you have to get to the guilty verdict based on what they called “the crime as a whole.”
The conviction of the political nucleus that participated in the plot, whose responsibility, according to the indictment, fell over Jose Dirceu himself, the judges threw out the claim made by his legal defense that no such plot existed or that it was organized by the Workers Party in order to perpetuate its power in government. In fact, Dirceu’s defense team alleged that the Mensalão case was just isolated criminal behavior.
The local press in Brazil cites as a surprising fact that Jose Dirceu and his accomplices in the Mensalão plot were convicted by a Supreme Court in which 8 of the 11 judges, were appointed by Lula and President Dilma Rousseff. This fact debunks the argument that the trial against Dirceu and his cabal of criminals was just an attempt to ‘hurt’ the image of former president Lula da Silva. The result of the trial is not a move carried out by people from the opposite side of the aisle, but by PT loyalists who have identified themselves as Lula’s magistrate friends.
President Dilma had ordered on Tuesday morning his ministers not to manifest before the expected and Dirceu sentence.
The main stream press in Brazil anxiously expected an official statement from Lula, who in the past said that the Mensalão trial was a move stain his presidency. Lula has now said that the conviction of Dirceu is a sign of ‘hypocrisy’. The former president called Dirceu, José Genoino and Delubio Soares on Tuesday. As it is reported in Brazil, the calls were a gesture of solidarity to comfort the trio convicted by the Supreme, who always had Lula’s back during his 8 years as president of Brazil.
Previous to the conviction of Dirceu and the other PT members, Lula said he considered the live broadcast of the trial as a “political hit” by people who could not stand that a man like himself, reached the presidency of the country.
The loss endured by the Workers Party (PT) is not limited to the conviction of some of its most influential leaders. The significant defeat that the PT suffered last Sunday during the national election for Mayor and Councilmen all over the country is a clear sign of how the party has lost the favor of millions of Brazilians who were Lula’s unconditional supporters for 8 years and who also supported Dilma Rousseff, a woman that came to power mainly due to Lula’s sponsorship.
Leaving out the fact that the judges were not brave enough to at least hear accusations against former president Lula himself, it seems that the conviction of Dirceu is counted as a goal for accountability in Brazil and as a rare victory for The People in the match between them and the Mafia that governs over this country.
In a country like Brazil, it is not outrageous to ask whether the judges who convicted Jose Dirceu now have a target drawn on their backs.
Filed under English, Latin America, World Tagged with Brazil, Corruption, Delubio Soares, DIlma, Dirceu conviction, Jose Dirceu, Jose Genoino, lula, Mensalão, PT
Brazilian Court convicts 12 politicians in Mensalão Scandal
By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | OCTOBER 2, 2012
The time has come for Jose Dirceu to face justice in the Mensalão corruption scandal.
The Brazilian Supreme Court convicted Monday afternoon 12 individuals from four different political parties which were government allies during the Lula administration. These convictions are part of the process known as Mensalão, a corruption case where 38 people were brought to trial charged with seven crimes including active and passive corruption, money laundering and gang formation.
So far the Supreme Court issued 22 convictions and four acquittals. The acquittals were issued due to what the court said was lack of evidence. Monday’s convictions relate to 12 politicians from the political parties known as PP, PR, PTB and PMDB, which up until today are close to the Brazilian government and members of the Executive power.
According to the judges from the Supreme Court these politicians, which include MPs and party chairmen, such as Roberto Jefferson, president of the PTB and informer in the corruption case since 2005, had created a corruption scheme that brought former President Lula da Silva to the brink of losing his mandate. Despite multiple accusations against Lula himself, the Court has refused to hear testimony from those who accuse him of knowing about the corruption scheme that paid political groups in exchange for political support.
These 12 politicians have been convicted of having bribed with money taken from public coffers, to amass support for the Lula government and sell their votes in favor of the bills introduced by the Government, including the reform of the Social Security System.
The dean of the Supreme, Celso de Mello, who sentenced the 12 politicians for the three crimes charged by the Attorney General, made a harsh reflection on the serious consequences of corruption by politicians who should be the guarantors of democratic ethics. Mello defined them as “empowered criminals.” He said that “no one lives with dignity in a state taken by corruption”.
Mello had question the very same projects approved by people being accused of bribery today. He remembered that, for example, the judgments issued by a corrupt judge is invalid. The Chief Justice Ayres Britto, quoted Ulysses Guimarães, while explaining that “political corruption is the cancer of democracy.”
In the next few days, the focus will be on the block of inmates that belong to the Workers Party (PT), who, when the scandal broke out, were the ones responsible for the corruption scheme. They include José Dirceu, Lula’s right hand man and two-time presidents of PT, the former party member José Genuino and the treasurer Delubio Suares.
The three are accused of bribery, and of being the corrupters of political allies and of forming an organized gang as they sought to perpetuate their grasp of power in Brazilian politics and the government.
The possible sentence for Dirceu is the trickiest because, according to political scientists such sentence would also taint former president Lula, who maintains that he did not know anything about the corruption scheme known as the Mensalão.
An acquittal of Dirceu, who still claims he is innocent of the charges, would indirectly absolve Lula who insists that the ongoing process in the Supreme is a way to put in doubt the projects that his government conducted during the eight years he was in power, which he says, helped 30 million Brazilians to get out of poverty.
The PT, one of the most corrupt organizations in the country, has called on its militants and social formations to take to the streets to “defend the attempted coup against Lula”.
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Filed under English, Latin America, Politics Tagged with Ayres Britto, Brazil, Celso de Mello, Corruption, Jose Dirceu, lula, Mensalão, PMDB, politicians convicted, poverty, PT, Ulysses Guimaraes, vote buying in Brazil
Was Brazilian ‘Lula’ Behind the ‘Mensalão’ Corruption Scheme?
By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | SEPTEMBER 18, 2012
Brazilian businessman Marcos Valerio de Souza, one of the people being accused of corruption during the trial for the ‘Mensalão’ scheme, has accused the former president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of orchestrating a vote-buying plot as part of the scandal that has rocked Brazilian politics in 2011 and 2012. During the depositions and hearings, several members of Lula’s cabinet were cited as involved in the Mensalão scheme together with bankers and businessmen.
“Lula was the head. He ran it all”, said Souza, who has been identified as a “luxury messenger” of the plot laid out by the president, as reported by the Brazilian magazine ‘Veja’. “Everything I did was well known by Lula,” noted the owner of two major advertising companies in Brazil. Souza has argued, according to ‘Veja’, that the Workers Party headed government assured him his sentence would be soft if he kept quite about the Mensalão scandal, in which the defendants received monthly payments in exchange for votes.
Meanwhile, Souza’s lawyer has denied such statements saying that his client has not spoken to the press since 2005. The Brazilian Supreme Court is accusing eight people, including Souza, of money laundering and embezzlement with monies that belonged to the Brazilian Workers Party (PT), which is the political party that launched Lula to the presidency. The Mensalão scandal involving members of the PT was originally made public back in 2005.
Despite the accusations directed at the former president, the Supreme Court refused to investigate Lula’s involvement, much less to charge him with any wrong doing. Luiz Inacio da Silva ruled over Brazil between 2003 and 2010. The Court did accuse Lula’s right hand man and chief of staff, Jose Dirceu, who is now one of the eight people accused in the case.
The process has been dubbed as the “trial of the century” in Brazil, a country plagued with corruption from top to bottom and left to right, where politicians and military often get away with their crimes. The Mensalão scandal spreads its tentacles through the politics and business worlds. There are 38 former Lula ministers, legislators, bankers and businessmen involved in one of the biggest corruption scandals in the South American nation.
Thus far, from the 38 defendants — all free — face charges of money laundering, tax evasion, corruption, embezzlement and formation of a criminal organization, among others. The sentences could be of over 30 years in prison. According to ‘Veja’ magazine, the PT had bought political favors to gain support in Congress. The scandal diverted some 101 million reais (40.5 million euros).
The PT had allegedly pledged to pay a large sum of money to legislators of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB) to give their unconditional support to the government. This illegal agreement was announced following the breakdown of the alliance in 2005. Lula, who is not among the accused, has always denied having knowledge that members of his party and people close to the government had been paid to commit such offenses. In spite of the scandal, the leftist leader was reelected in 2006. Its popularity was always at high levels despite the conflict.
Filed under World Tagged with Brazil, Corruption, embezzlement, Jose Dirceu, lula, Mensalão, money laundering, PT, tax evasion, Workers Party
Apple’s Phantom Taxes Hide Billions in Profits
By PETER SVENSSON | AP | JULY 23, 2012
On Tuesday, Apple is set to report financial results for the second quarter. Analysts are expecting net income of $9.8 billion. But whatever figure Apple reports won’t reflect its true profit, because the company hides some of it with an unusual tax maneuver.
Apple Inc., already the world’s most valuable company, understates its profits compared with other multinationals. It’s building up an overlooked asset in the form of billions of dollars, tucked away for tax bills it may never pay.
Tax experts say the company could easily eliminate these phantom tax obligations. That would boost Apple’s profits for the past three years by as much $10.5 billion, according to calculations by The Associated Press.
While investors might rejoice if Apple suddenly added $10.5 billion to its profits, unilaterally erasing a massive U.S. tax obligation could tarnish its reputation as a relatively responsible payer of U.S. taxes. Instead, the company is lobbying to change U.S. law so that it can erase its liabilities in a less conspicuous fashion. The issue has become part of the presidential campaign.
Like other companies, Apple typically keeps profits on overseas sales in overseas accounts. When someone buys an iPad in Paris or Sydney, for instance, the profit stays outside the United States.
Apple may pay some corporate income taxes on that profit to the country where it sells the iPad, but it minimizes these by using various accounting moves to shift profits to countries with low tax rates. For example the strategy known as “Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich,” routes profits through Irish and Dutch subsidiaries and then to the Caribbean.
When it comes to using creative tax techniques, Apple is no different from other multinational corporations, says Robert Willens, an independent accounting expert.
And just like other corporations, Apple leaves cash overseas. If it brought it home to the U.S., it would have to pay federal income taxes on the money (though it would get a credit for foreign taxes already paid). In Apple’s case, those overseas accounts have grown to a staggering $74 billion — equal to the market value of Citigroup Inc.
The money is accumulating overseas because corporations are counting on lower U.S. tax rates in the future. At 35 percent, the U.S. corporate tax rate is among the highest for developed countries. In 2004, Congress enacted a one-year “tax holiday” for overseas earnings, and multinationals are hoping for a repeat of that. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney wants to permanently eliminate federal taxes on overseas profits. President Barack Obama attacked that idea last week, saying it won’t create U.S. jobs, like the Romney campaign contends.
Where Apple does differ from other companies is that it sets aside a portion of these overseas profits, marking them as subject to U.S. taxes sometime in the future. Essentially, it’s saying “this is money that we’ll likely have to pay U.S. federal income taxes on” because we intend to repatriate it, says Willens.
But because Apple doesn’t actually bring the profits into U.S. accounts, it doesn’t pay the taxes. Instead, it records a tax liability. When Apple reports quarterly results, it subtracts these liabilities from its profits, even though it hasn’t actually paid the taxes.
The liabilities accumulate, and as Apple’s profits grow, they’re piling up faster and faster.
“When you capitalize that into the future, it might be tens of billions of dollars,” said Martin Sullivan, an economist with Tax Analysts, a nonprofit publisher.
The company had a net $6 billion of tax liabilities at the end of September, the last reported figure. It’s had two blow-out quarters since then and is expected to report another one Tuesday. Based on reported and expected profits for the last three quarters, the liabilities can be estimated at around $10.5 billion.
Apple declined to comment on the specifics of its tax strategies or why it records tax liabilities that other multinationals avoid.
“Apple has conducted all of its business with the highest of ethical standards, complying with applicable laws and accounting rules,” the Cupertino, Calif., company said in a statement.
Yet Apple has made clear that it has no intention of repatriating its profits from overseas at the current U.S. tax rate. When CEO Tim Cook announced that the company would start paying a dividend this summer, he said the board determined the size of the dividend solely by looking at the amount of cash the company has in U.S. accounts.
“We do not want to incur the tax cost to repatriate the foreign cash at this time,” Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer told investors in March.
Apple’s net tax liabilities started building three years ago, when its sales started rocketing because of the iPhone. In that time, the company has reported a total of $69 billion in net income. If it had applied the same accounting practices as other multinational technology companies, and not marked some overseas profits as subject to U.S. taxes, its profits would have been about $78 billion, or 13 percent higher.
The boost to net income could mean a boost to the stock, since companies are usually valued on their earnings. If investors were to value Apple based on the last 12 months of earnings, with the tax liabilities added to earnings, the stock might be 13 percent higher.
Willens and Sullivan say that Apple could erase its liabilities by considering the profits “permanently reinvested” overseas, acknowledging that they will never be brought home. That would erase the tax liability, but it could make Apple look like a less responsible corporate citizen.
“I doubt they’re going to do that on their own, because they don’t want to be set up for criticism,” said Willens.
Groups such as Citizens for Tax Justice compile lists of the tax rates corporations report. Apple looks like a relatively good taxpayer on such lists, with a 24 percent rate. But Apple doesn’t actually pay the 24 percent, since it isn’t repatriating its overseas profits. The actual taxes Apple pays are 13 percent of profits, as computed by Sullivan. That’s a relatively low rate compared with other multinationals.
But keeping the money overseas limits what Apple can do with it. It means, for instance, that Apple can’t use it to buy another U.S. company, or give it to shareholders.
To get the money home without paying full U.S. taxes on it, the company advocates a change in U.S. tax law. It’s a member of Working to Invest Now in America, or WinAmerica. The coalition is lobbying for two congressional bills that would temporarily reduce the tax rate on such earnings to 5.25 percent. That would encourage the repatriation of some of the $1.4 trillion in cash that U.S. companies have sitting in overseas accounts, the group says.
The temporary tax amnesty enacted in 2004, resulted in hundreds of billions being brought home to the U.S. But according to the Congressional Research Service, it didn’t create jobs or stimulate the economy, as had been hoped.
Google Inc., Oracle Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. are also members of WinAmerica, but none of them stand to gain as much as Apple from a tax amnesty, because they have less cash overseas.
Filed under Africa, Asia, English, Latin America, North America, Special Reports, World Tagged with Apple, apple cheating taxes, apple phantom taxes, apple's profits, Corruption, phantom taxes, tax maneuver
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Sandbox - 22jun19
[Now that President Trump has revealed that he does incorporate reasoned decision processes and make prudent decisions about engaging US forces in response to abundant provocations by murderous dictatorships, I wonder if the Dems will allow their minions to hear any of this on the media. One can niggle about whether he should have revealed how the latest all came about. gjr]
Great sound gig in Auburn last night at a public park the result of Socialist ideas. Drove home on a Socialist highway policed by Socialst police. Today I'm doing sound for Alasdair Frasier's fiddle camp at another Socialist effort Pioneer Park. Great fun-200 fiddlers.
Posted by: Paul Emery | 22 June 2019 at 09:56 AM
I think that you Paul are confusing socialism and simply the government doing things that we cannot do alone. I cannot build a highway for my personal use, but I can certainly pay for my own medical care. 😉
Posted by: Barry Pruett | 22 June 2019 at 10:01 AM
Punchy’s argument is straight out of what smug Democrats have even slinging over on the Liberation sites. Same argument they use against Libertarians.. Not quite word for word, but so close I can’t tell the difference. “I walk into the Post Office which I did not build..........”
One clause in the Constitution that has not been adhered to is the set aside of land for universities. Very socialistic of the evil founding fathers.
The whole emphasis behind Commie Bernie and ALL the Leftinista candidates is to soften up the uninformed (ignorant) to the notion that socialism is good. The big push is on.
Ponytail? Nay. Ponytail of ignorance? Yea.
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 22 June 2019 at 10:15 AM
Are you saying that a working class person who has a pre existing condition can afford their own insurance without government assistance?
PaulE 956am - Paul, I think Barry (1001am) is trying to be ultra-gentle with your (mis)understanding of socialism that you have exhibited for years. Why such an admirer of socialism as you continue to display such a deficit is an enduring puzzle?
Posted by: George Rebane | 22 June 2019 at 10:29 AM
Punchy 1019am
Are you making up stuff out of thin air?
There is a difference between charity and paying for one's own care. Insurance is purchased before the event one is insuring against.
Posted by: Gregory | 22 June 2019 at 10:34 AM
Hey Emery. Get your kin to buy life insurance after you assume room temp. You know,, it's the same idea.
If think Socialism is so great, head to Venezuela. Spin your CD's there. They love your kind of music. Plenty of Socialist parks, housing, health care.
Posted by: Walt | 22 June 2019 at 10:41 AM
What does pre existing condition" mean to you? Important distinction. How about Cystic Fibrosis as an example.
Also Gregory should an insurance company be able to cancel you once you develop an ongoing medical condition? If so where should those people go for health care?
I'll pick up on your 10:29 tomorrow. Off to my sound gig. By the way Alasdair Fraser's Ceilidh in the Park is a fabulous event. 200 fiddlers. Here's a link:
https://www.stringsconcerts.com/
A person signs a contract with a private insurance company and is bound by the contract. If it says they will boot you after a major illness then don't sign. If they tell you they don't insure for pre-existing then find one that does. Maybe you have to pay more. If a set of parents has hemophilia in their DNA trail and choose to have kids that have it, whose responsible? Maybe the parents should prepare better rather than ask their neighbors?
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 22 June 2019 at 11:08 AM
Paul, what does charity mean to you? Do you think insurance companies should be considered charitable institutions that can and must pay whatever medical bills your "health care professionals" send you?
Its a rumble in the socialist dem clown car -
Democrats are concerned they will have another 2016 on their hands, when the primary grew so bitter that some supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) intentionally sat on the sidelines instead of supporting the party’s eventual nominee Hillary Clinton.
They are worried that a long, bruising primary season could ultimately benefit President Trump on Election Day.
“Democrats will beat Donald Trump by making this a referendum on Donald Trump. But if they tear each other apart between now and the convention, they risk depressing their own turnout,”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/449812-ghosts-of-2016-primary-haunt-democrats
Posted by: Don Bessee | 22 June 2019 at 11:27 AM
Punchy has left the building. Hey, Punchy will be at the park. Party at Punchy’s House. BYOSP. Bring your own spray paint. I have stencils!
Bill I will give the kids just down the street from him a Costco size supply of TP. Nothing better than a riotous TP job to come home to.
Well someone can tell the local homeless his place is free to camp on. What better than to come home and find 30 squatters in your front yard?
Walt,
TPing houses was big back in the day. ‘Twas the thing to do. Pity the poor teachers. I remember once my brother and fellow hooligan teens got caught by the police TPing a home around the bend. The cop gave us a good stern warning. When the police officer drove off, he failed to notice that the back bumper of his squad car got the TP wrap with streamers. lol. I will never forget the rear of that police car going to his next call. Some things stick. Back then, that was really being a rebel. A delinquent. Boy, times have changed. Of course, back then, a kid could walk down to the hobby shop and buy black powder and fuses. Big booms rocked my world. :). Building contractors could buy dynamite. Things have changed. Darn terrorist ruint it for everybody.
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 22 June 2019 at 12:21 PM
Bill. It still is.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/mom-reacts-to-kids-who-covered-house-in-toilet-paper-in-viral-facebook-post-210912618.html
At least this lady took it in stride.
"On June 14, Aubrey Dupree Seymour, of San Clemente, Calif., posted a photo of her front yard in the “San Clemente Life” Facebook Group, in which she described the toilet paper decorating her home as an “AMAZING job,” and said the youths went “ABOVE and BEYOND.” The post earning thousands of likes, shares and delighted comments thanking her for letting “kids be kids” and not taking their prank too seriously."
Emery would call the cops and call it a hate crime.
Posted by: Walt | 22 June 2019 at 01:44 PM
IF shrillary had won this would have gone the other way, thank God she didn't -
The cross was built with private funds; but it sits on public land in a busy highway median in Prince George’s County, Maryland, just outside of the District of Columbia. The plaintiffs brought their challenge under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, arguing that the cross constitutes an impermissible endorsement of Christianity by the state. The Court rejected their challenge by a 7-2 majority, with the five conservatives being joined by Justices Breyer and Kagan.
The outcome was clearly correct. As Justice Alito wrote for the majority, “Even if the original purpose of a monument was infused with religion, the passage of time may obscure that sentiment.” The original religious and commemorative purposes are now accompanied by historic value and community identity. The same may be said of the rows of crosses in military cemeteries in the United States and Europe.
As Justice Alito rightly pointed out, tearing down the cross now (or removing its arms and transforming it into a secular obelisk, an alternative the plaintiffs suggested) would demonstrate government hostility toward religion, more than allowing the cross to remain in place would constitute an endorsement of religion. In Alito’s words: “A government that roams the land, tearing down monuments with religious symbolism and scrubbing away any reference to the divine will strike many as aggressively hostile to religion.”
Justices Gorsuch and Thomas added in their concurring opinion that the members of the American Humanist Association never had standing to bring the suit in the first place. Standing requires a plaintiff to suffer injury because of the challenged government action. In this case, the atheists claimed that they were offended every time they drove by the cross. But in today’s hypersensitive, politically-correct culture, many people with nothing better to do walk around being offended on a daily basis. That doesn’t amount to the kind of injury necessary to invoke the action of the federal courts.
Those of us who adhere to the original understanding of the Constitution are relieved that the cross is allowed to stand. But there’s also something troubling here – just how close we came to this case going the other way.
President Trump’s victory in the 2016 election resulted in the appointment of Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. And that was decisive in creating the majority in this case.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/06/21/kobach-trumps-victory-may-have-saved-the-cross/
Posted by: Don Bessee | 22 June 2019 at 02:32 PM
More on our Sandbox. I do have to commend our group of commenters on the substantive nature of their topics and posts. Yes, we do admit to some interstitial crap now and then, but I have yet to see a leftwing post that picks up on topics of interest in current events and social policies to depth and extent as do our readers. This is doubly so when we compare what appears in these comment streams compared to ANY leftwing blog hereabouts. Our leftwingers have little to contribute but scorching the messengers - where are the ideas that they bring? Do they have anything to offer beyond DNC talking points?
I have always been heartened by this - sally forth!
Posted by: George Rebane | 22 June 2019 at 02:49 PM
Shhhhhhhh! -
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/06/21/maher-hard-to-win-the-election-if-you-run-a-campaign-based-on-reparations-and-concentration-camps/
Yep. Stinging, on point, right wing commentary. "Party at Punchy’s House. BYOSP. Bring your own spray paint. I have stencils!
Posted by: Jig WIggly | 22 June 2019 at 04:40 PM
Juggy Wuggly 440pm
Damn, I'm all out of dead puppies for the Roadkill BBQ... could you bring them?
Posted by: Gregory | 22 June 2019 at 05:11 PM
WOW!!! Close down the State house because there may be some Right leaning folk with guns!!!! Whata GREAT excuse!
So LIBS are scared of the 2nd Amendment's intended propose. Works for me!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/oregon-senate-closes-due-to-possible-militia-threat-after-republican-walkout
Notice the key word."possible". They had to think up someone to blame it on.
There is still hope, great video as the 4th approaches -
https://www.foxnews.com/us/veterans-returning-home-from-washington-trip-serenaded-with-god-bless-america-at-rochester-airport
FDR would never buy into comrade bernnies bolshevik bulls shit -
In particular, Sanders recalled FDR’s proposal, in his 1944 State of the Union address, for an “economic bill of rights,” covering such topics as wages, education, and health care.
Interestingly, the 32nd president even included this pro-business provision: “The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad.”
Now who does that 2nd paragraph sound like, fauxcahauntas or comrades deblasio and sanders?
A link with that snack sir @920? 920, is that double weed time or perhaps double dabs time? -
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/06/22/pinkerton-bernie-sanders-wraps-democratic-socialism-flag-roosevelts-new-deal/
For the aerospace minded -
The successor to Lockheed Martin’s SR-71 Blackbird, the Mach 3 long-range recon aircraft that once tore across the skies like a Cold-War era arrowhead before its retirement in 1999, may be inching closer toward reality.
According to Aviation Week, a handful of visitors to the SAE International Aerotech Congress and Exhibition at Fort Worth, Texas, this week reported catching glimpses of a “demonstrator vehicle” believed to be linked to the proposed replacement: the SR-72.
Though the SR-72’s development is (understandably) a tightly-kept secret, Aviation Week reports that: In the early hours of July, an “unmanned subscale aircraft” was seen flying into the Air Force’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, where Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works division is headquartered.
With an “optionally piloted” flight research vehicle test slated for 2018 by Lockheed back in June, and a test flight anticipated to occur by 2020, the presence of the demonstrator at Palmdale seems to indicate that the SR-72’s progress is in line with Lockheed Martin’s timeline.
“Although I can’t go into specifics, let us just say the Skunk Works team in Palmdale, California, is doubling down on our commitment to speed,” Orlando Carvalho, the executive vice president of aeronautics at Lockheed Martin, said at the exhibition, which ran from Sept. 26 to 28. “Simply put, I believe the United States is on the verge of a hypersonics revolution.”
Lockheed Martin has remained tight-lipped on the SR-72 program since announcing the Blackbird successor in 2013, but the aerospace giant wants to up the ante in terms of speed. And that’s saying something: the Blackbird as it's known is not only faster than any other jet-propelled aircraft — it can literally outrun missiles.
“Speed matters, especially when it comes to national security,” as Carvalho put it.
If the recent sightings in Palmdale are tied to the Blackbird’s replacement, then the aircraft really is fast — and not just on the flight line. While still under development at Skunk Works, the proposed reconnaissance plane is expected to hit Mach 6 thanks to advanced new hypersonic tech.
“Hypersonics is like stealth. It is a disruptive technology and will enable various platforms to operate at two to three times the speed of the Blackbird,” Carvalho told Aviation Week. “Operational survivability and lethality is the ultimate deterrent. Security classification guidance will only allow us to say the speed is greater than Mach 5.”
The proposed hypersonic aircraft could fill a space left by the SR-71, which was retired in 1999 due to the proliferation of spy satellites, enemy air defenses, and ultimately, its exorbitant costs — roughly $200,000 per hour of operation, reports the National Interest. Unlike its predecessor, the SR-72 is being designed with strike capability in mind — which means it’s not just a super speedy spy plane: It can reach out and touchobliterate a target, then zip back the way it came.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/top-secret-no-longer-new-mach-5-sr-72-spy-plane-could-beat-everything-63782
Can I ask for the group's feelings on Megan Dahle running for her husband's former assembly seat? We had a dose of the Gaines Family (I know, Beth did not represent us) and Nevada County got nothing from Ted Gaines while he was our state senator as he was too busy propping up his wife in her assembly district. I mean, Megan's whole public service experience is one term on the local school board, where the graduating senior class is usually a dozen kids and being married to an assembly member. Thoughts?
Posted by: Keith | 23 June 2019 at 08:20 AM
k 820am
It depends upon who else runs. State Assembly is a low rung.
I'm not sure why Ted Gaines is relevant here.
Audrey Denney had never run for any elected orifice before challenging LaMalfa, losing badly. Her public service experience was (is) as a board member for a Soros supported 'charity' in El Salvador that helps the poor in Central America to walk to the USA in caravans and provides a summer camp for folks to learn about liberation theology (Marx con salsa). And she's running again. And before that, Ben Emery ran for Congress claiming to be a straight A student in Nursing school... but he hadn't been admitted to a Nursing school yet, those were courses required to get onto a waiting list for Nursing school.
Back to Mrs. Dahle... it depends upon who else runs. On first look, we could do better and we could do worse.
Howdya like that you mutha mullahs -
The US may have withheld a physical military response to Iran shooting down a drone, but it might not have shown similar restraint with a digital campaign. Washington Post sources say the President greenlit a long-in-the-making cyberattack that took down Iranian missile control computers on the night of June 20th. The exact impact of the Cyber Command operation isn't clear, but it was described as "crippling" -- Iran couldn't easily recover, one tipster said.
https://www.engadget.com/2019/06/22/us-cyberattack-reportedly-knocked-out-iran-missile-control-syste/?yptr=yahoo
Winning -
TEL AVIV – In a rare interview with a Hebrew-language newspaper, a senior Saudi diplomat said it was time the Arab world realized that the “age of war with Israel” is over.
The diplomat, who declined to be named, slammed the Palestinian leadership for “irresponsibly” panning the Trump administration’s long-anticipated peace deal without even seeing it.
“The bloody conflict has dragged on for too long. For us the Saudis, as well as for all the Gulf states, Egypt and Jordan, it is clear that the age of war with Israel has ended and that normalizing relations will only benefit us,” he said in interview published in Globes. “The entire Arab world can benefit from this, not only the Palestinians, and of course also [Israel].”
https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2019/06/23/top-saudi-diplomat-tells-israeli-paper-age-of-war-with-israel-is-over/
Priceless Crisis
By David Wojick
Having hitched their wagon to the unicorn of climate catastrophe, the Democrat candidates for president are caught between a rock and a very hard place.
Each of these twenty contenders has to try to stand out from the crowd and they will not do that by saying “oh wait, climate change is not a problem.” But the shriller they get the less likely they are to defeat President Trump. This panic festival will be fun to watch.
Aussie skeptic Jo Nova put it best:
“There are a billion sensible reasons the Democrats don’t want a climate debate
And it’s not because they’d lose debating science. There’s no chance they would debate science every candidate already agrees there is a climate emergency de facto, or they’d be thrown out of the party. So, any debate would start with “what should we do” and instantly turn into a high risk competition to outbid each other. Who can promise more, squander more, or cry bigger tears on stage on cue?”
The Democrat candidate debates are about to begin. Will the climate issue rise, or fall, or be swept under the rug?
https://www.cfact.org/2019/06/21/priceless-crisis/
Posted by: Russell Steele | 23 June 2019 at 01:12 PM
Ok you socialist dem clowns, move over and make room in the car for 1 more clown -
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/joe-sestak-pennsylvania-25th-democrat-white-house-race
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition -
Constitutional expert on 'separation of church and state': Framers said nothing wrong with religion in culture
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/separation-of-church-state-levin-michael-mcconnell
That Trump is sure a racist, no, what, wait? -
The United States has poured more investment into Africa under President Donald Trump than under any previous administration.
That’s according to Aubrey Hruby of the Atlantic Council, who admitted she was stunned to learn the facts.
Yet as the Daily Maverick notes, Trump is proposing to fund the DFC with $60 billion for investment in Africa, and has launched the Prosper Africa program, which aims to “double two-way trade and investment between the world’s biggest economy and the continent by 2025,” according to Bloomberg News.
https://www.breitbart.com/africa/2019/06/20/expert-u-s-invests-more-in-africa-under-trump-than-any-other-president/
They know creepy grampa joe well -
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/06/23/democrats-biden-is-unchanging-disaster-waiting-happen/
So.. It looks like the bastard had the ass whoop'n coming.
https://www.theunion.com/news/crime/nevada-county-das-office-no-charges-to-be-filed-in-mustang-valley-place-assault/
The Nevada County District Attorney’s Office has opted against filing charges in a bizarre assault in which a man was reportedly shot, beaten with a golf club and run over with an ATV.
Three people had initially been arrested in connection with the Tuesday altercation on Mustang Valley Place, off McCourtney Road. Jerry Del Re, 67; Lindsey Papola, 29; and Aaron Pillow, 32, were charged with assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury. Papola also was charged with battery.
But on Friday, Assistant District Attorney Chris Walsh issued a release saying no charges would be filed, and explaining the decision.
“As background, it should be noted the alleged victim had a restraining order against him that had recently elapsed, issued earlier this year,” Walsh said. “The restraining order had been obtained by individuals who lived at the property where this happened.”
According to Walsh, law enforcement had been called out to the property in April, after the alleged victim was said to have doused the residence with gasoline, including splashing gasoline on a person who lived there, and was threatening to blow the place up.
The new red guard -
Leftists are threatening to dox incoming freshmen students at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), claiming they will release the students’ personal information if they are caught joining conservative groups on campus, namely the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) and Turning Point USA (TPUSA).
“Hey UT23! Do you wanna be famous?” tweeted an account allegedly operated by leftist students, “If you join YCT or Turning Point USA, you just might be. Your name and more could end up on an article like one of these. So be sure to make smart choices at #UTOrientation.”
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/06/23/ut-austin-leftists-threaten-to-dox-students-for-joining-conservative-campus-groups/
DonB 457pm - Good catch Mr Bessee. Only on America's Left do we see such fervent emulation of tyrannical regimes' social control processes. Likening them to a "new red guard" is spot on. And today they over-populate our colleges.
Don, looks like Texas is turning so Blue is looks like Stalin.
I see your Native American reparations and take it to a whole new level and another realm. Under the category ‘ Fact is stranger than fiction.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/48766/warren-comes-out-gay-reparations-amanda-prestigiacomo?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dwbrand
Aw come on, would the left do that? You bet your ass! -
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9354092/boris-johnson-furious-partner-carrie-symonds-stitch-up-anti-brexit/
True dat -
https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2019/06/23/report-christian-persecution-2019-scourge-mammoth-proportions/
There goes the Mission bells. Screw Santa Cruz and the banana slugs. Offensive to “the community.” Community of what, wingnuts? Wonder how long it will before the County’s Miner statues get doused with red paint.
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/06/21/uc-santa-cruz-will-remove-offensive-bells-from-campus/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1F5_vnd0MS9K16gRzsIadNsG-EnGCCDrPSmnrRntCih0mee0AjKpWl9XI
That Trump is a funny guy. He knows how to wind them up and watch them spin.
“TIME Magazine Wants Everyone To Know Trump Shared A ‘Manipulated Version’ Of Their Cover”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/48745/time-magazine-wants-everyone-know-trump-shared-ashe-schow
Were the banana slugs the inspiration for PCU? -
A high school senior visits college for the weekend, and stays at the wildest house on campus in this classic tale of anti-political-correctness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCU_(film)
Those mutha mullahs are suffering from group think over generations -
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/iran-inflection-point-attacks-change-status-quo-defense-intelligence-agency-director-tells-fox-news
Did you hear Omar Ilhan’s latest pearls of intelligence? She said that, yes, AOC is correct. It’s people concentrated in a camp, thus it's concentration camp. Like summer camp? Or, like 600,000 people at the Yuba? We have now been schooled and enlightened by the brightest of stars.
Goes to show you want centuries of in-breeding from not marrying outside your clan will do to one’s mind.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=304725433331073&set=a.302385250231758&type=3&theater&ifg=1
The is the Queen of the DAMNED's idea of immigration reform.
"Let them ALL stay!!"
https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2019/06/23/nancy-pelosi-donald-trump-thanks-halting-deportations-now-give-us-nationwide-amnesty/
"Mr. President, delay is welcome,” she tweeted, adding, “Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform.”
"In recent weeks, Democrats have been stepping up their calls for “comprehensive immigration reform,” usually by praising the 2013 “Gang of Eight” amnesty and cheap-labor bill. Democrat’s use of “comprehensive immigration reform” is shorthand for a political deal that would promise better border security for Americans in exchange for an immediate nationwide amnesty that would provide Democrats at least 10 million new voters in a decade."
LIBs have no intention of curbing illegal immigration.
The joys of unfettered immigration -
The court did not agree with the representative, saying that the migrant may be prosecuted for rape against a child. Investigators also revealed suspicions that the teen may actually be over 20-years-old.
Last year, the Swedish government announced a plan that became known as the “high school law” which allowed around 9,000 Afghan “children” to remain in Sweden despite reports claiming that 78 per cent of the migrants were actually adults.
The case comes after another rape case earlier this month involving seven Afghan migrant suspects and one Swedish citizen, with one of the Afghan migrants having been employed by an asylum seeker integration charity.
Last year, many on the left expressed outrage after Swedish national broadcaster SVT revealed that 58 per cent of men convicted of rapes in the previous five years had been born overseas and that number increased to 85 per cent in cases where the victim did not know the attacker beforehand.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/06/23/nobody-told-me-it-was-illegal-claim-of-migrant-accused-of-child-rape/
We think we rule the world already, we have established a red guard in all your countries so tow the line bitches!
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun said on Monday that China will not allow the Group of 20 nations to discuss the Hong Kong issue at its summit this week.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-not-allow-hong-kong-022907557.html
Don at 9:24 - Oh, that's just China being China.
If the other nations had any sense, they'd tell China not to bother showing up. Tell China the conference is only for adults - no petulant children allowed.
Posted by: Scott O | 23 June 2019 at 10:10 PM
This will get the left all excited -
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2019/06/24/george-soros-leads-chorus-of-billionaires-calling-for-a-new-wealth-tax/#2324ad681ce7
"Billionaire George Soros and members of the Gund and Pritzker families are among a number of the world’s wealthiest business leaders to have signed a letter calling for a new U.S. wealth tax."
See??!! The rich WANT to pay more taxes!!!
Of course they'd pay higher taxes right now on their own - because of MORALITY and all, but they just don't know how. It's too confusing or something.
This is how the wealthy got wealthy - paying more money.
Posted by: Scott O | 24 June 2019 at 07:37 AM
A place where our LIBS will feel right at home.
Nevada County chapter coming soon.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/23/communist-party-usa-chicago-cpusa-convention
If you open it they will come through -
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2019/06/24/exclusive-mexican-officials-confirm-u-s-warned-about-suspected-isis-suspects-headed-to-border/
Bernie says it would be inappropriate to deport illegals who have deportation orders from the court or whom have broken the law (again) by failing to appear at their hearings. Can you say “open borders?” Can’t separate families, can’t detain them, can’t make them enter at a point of entry, can’t, can’t, can’t. But we can help them and care for them and make sure they have enough toothpaste and free eye surgery!
“There are ICE raids set to start Sunday morning. Estimates of some 2000 people or so who will be targeted, is this appropriate?" moderator Margaret Brennan asked Sanders.
"No, it's not," Sanders responded. "It is absolutely not appropriate."
“Several moments later, Brennan again pressed Sanders: "But specifically on this point the two thousand that are supposed to be targeted haven't shown up for a court date so essentially they're- they're not following the asylum process. The legal standards when they're here. So should they be prosecuted, should they be deported?"
“Sanders responded: "I don't- I don't like this deportation thing at all and I think Trump uses this as a beginning to do worse things to come."
https://www.dailywire.com/news/48771/bernie-not-appropriate-deport-illegal-aliens-not-ryan-saavedra
Ok, I get it now. It’s not called open borders, it’s just no deportations and no Wall. Got it. Well, Bernie is not a Maoist. They were nationalists. No, Bernie is a Stalinist. They believed in crossing national boundaries. Export and import. The Soviet original Commie leaders were from Ukraine and Georgia, not Russia. Make sense now. ‘Splains the Honeymoon in the good ole USSR and maybe also explains why John Brennan was a Gus Hall supporter and voter. Think globally, act globally. That’s makes the US the Evil Empire. Got it.
https://spectator.org/john-brennans-president-remembering-comrade-gus-hall/
2020 factor?
https://news.gallup.com/poll/259103/new-high-say-immigration-important-problem.aspx
The masters of the universe still think they can put their thumb on the scale -
Undercover videos recorded by Project Veritas reveals that Google is determined to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump in 2020, and is altering its products with this aim in mind.
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/06/24/project-veritas-google-exec-decries-trumps-election-how-do-we-prevent-it-from-happening-again/
Today in the socialist dem clown car -
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bill-de-blasio-roasted
Joe Biden tanking earlier than expected, 'maybe he regrets now even deciding to run'
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lara-trump-joe-biden-gaffes
https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/marchers-confront-pete-buttigieg-police-chief-with-frustrations-after-south/article_25ff0d24-c317-53ed-9999-4f51ac5bcf36.html
Only 22% of Democrats registered to vote say they know a lot about the candidates’ positions, while 62% say they know a little. And only 35% say they’re paying close attention to the campaign, with almost two-thirds saying they’re paying some or no attention.
https://www.apnews.com/705afbd6b5c247f8ba2f81d212e5808e
Will the clown car make a stop at? -
Dan on Bernie
https://www.facebook.com/dan.bongino/videos/441709713289162/
Posted by: Bill Tozet | 24 June 2019 at 05:20 PM
The thought police in full effect -
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/06/24/teen-who-said-there-are-two-genders-suspended-school/
If putins new frigate is so great why does it need 3 salvage escorts to make a port call?
It's the first ship in a new class of frigates intended to replace aging Soviet-era destroyers to project power far away from Russian shores.
The ship is accompanied by the logistics vessel Elbrus, the medium sea tanker Kama and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker, the Russian navy said.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9365741/russia-warns-cuban-missile-crisis-warship-havana/
Daily Quotes and a meme.
The Gipper: “Government has an important role in helping develop a country’s economic foundation. But the critical test is whether government is genuinely working to liberate individuals by creating incentives to work, save, invest, and succeed.” —Ronald Reagan
For the record: “Its completely inappropriate, it’s reckless, it’s irresponsible, it’s misinformed, and it’s flat out wrong.” —Acting ICE Director Mark Morgan on AOC’s “concentration camps” remark
Friendly fire: “When she analogized institutions used for mass slaughter to legitimate institutions of government, that’s a moral and political obscenity.” —Democrat strategist Doug Schoen
Braying Jenny: “I think a lot of people are conflating what a death camp looks like or a specific removal of people. These people are coming to the border. We are removing them from the border. We are placing them in camps.” —Rep. Ilhan Omar
Non Compos Mentis: “I would find [taking legal action against Trump] disrespectful to the women who are down on the border who are being raped around the clock down there without any protection. As you know, the women have very little protection there. It would just be disrespectful. Mine was three minutes. I’m a mature woman. I can handle it. I can keep going. You know my life has gone on. I’m a happy woman. But for the women down there and, actually, around the world, you know, in every culture this is going on no matter high in society or low in society, it just seems disrespectful that I would bring [charges].” —advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who alleges Trump raped her in the 1990s
What could possibly go wrong? “We are gonna … create a Medicare for All health-care system which guarantees health care to every man, woman, and child and saves the average American substantial sums of money. … When I talk about health care being a human right, last time I heard that undocumented people are human beings as well.” —Sen. Bernie Sanders
And last… “The problem is that college costs have skyrocketed versus inflation due to government interference in loans, and the solution people are proposing is to have the government pay off those loans, giving colleges even less incentive to cut costs. There would be no student debt crisis if colleges hadn’t been fueled into an inflation of costs. If you’re talking about loans and nothing about making colleges reduce costs, despite all you posturing about caring about students, you are a bad person and making things worse.” —Frank J. Fleming
https://m.facebook.com/PatriotPost/photos/a.82108390913/10156476803170914/?type=3&source=48
Mayor Pete got the Mayor Steinberg treatment by his black citizens on Sunday. A cop shot an attacking black man wielding a knife. Protestors galore. His chance for any black votes went up in smoke.
Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 24 June 2019 at 06:11 PM
Dropout Derby Delinquents - OK Messrs Branson, fish,and Juvinall, get in there and insert your #24 and #25 Democratic hopefuls. Please submit your new lists in the comments under the updated Dropout Derby post. Thanks.
Yes they are -
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/450127-press-democrats-form-circular-firing-squad
Well of course the would want to hide their election meddling from the stupid voters -
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/06/24/google-censors-video-exposing-google/
Well LIBBYS,,
Google employee, Jen Gennai, stating that the company shouldn’t be broken up because only they can prevent the “next Trump situation.”
And the likes of you complain about "big business" and "Wall St."
paying Repubs off? It hasn't been that way for a LONG time.
Now don't forget who the whore of Wall St. really was.(Hillary)
I'm sure you LIBS are quite happy with one LIB company interfering with the elections. Their on your side. Oh... And not Russians.
Just Frisco Communists.
Nothing to see here on Pride Month
https://freebeacon.com/politics/just-promoted-dccc-official-has-history-of-homophobic-racist-comments/
All is forgiven, #NoHomos
Sounds good to me -
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/congress-seeks-to-make-iran-pay-for-downed-american-drone/
Fish and Gregory, as Libertarians what is your view of the Constitutionality of this:
‘I don’t have to do it, legally’: Trump says he can invade Iran without Congress’ permission.
“I like the idea of keeping Congress abreast, but I wouldn’t have to do that,” said Trump. In response to the fact that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said he must obtain congressional approval first, Trump said, “I disagree. I think most people seem to disagree.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/i-dont-have-to-do-it-legally-trump-says-he-can-invade-iran-without-congress-permission/
Posted by: Paul Emery | 24 June 2019 at 08:58 PM
When did he say invade oh great pony tail of ignorance. Try getting up to date to the war powers act but we know that's too much for you.
Rawstory again Emery? Clickbait is getting slim for ya'.
Iraq could set of a nuke, and you would find a reason to piss and moan about not going in and kicking ass.
KVMR is clearly so proud of their own po' ol' fakenewsmans lies. The actual quote is;
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/06/24/trump-i-dont-need-congressional-approval-before-striking-iran/
And he does not - ;-)
“After 15 yrs and $2bil [in the 1990s] the Kansas City school district failed all of Missouri's 11 academic performance standards and became the first big-city school district to lose its academic accreditation." -Larry Elders, the Elder Statesman
U.N.: Living in someone else's country is a 'Universal Human Right'
and once they are here.....
Article 25 adds "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing,and medical care...."
That does not sound like a plan to help developing countries. The UN is a joke.
Thanks for confirming my quote Don. So you have no problem with the president taking military action without the consent of Congress. Just want to make it clear that’s your position. Can you show me where in the constitution it justifies that.
Emery can't comprehend the President has the POWER to do so.
You better call the White House Emery, and have Trump clear any action with you.
Seems all that Sun cooked your gourd.
PaulE 932pm - Perhaps you can show us where the Constitution prevents the President from such a response.
Read it and bitch Emery. From the war powers act.
"The War Powers Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without a Congressional authorization for use of military force"
Trump can do all the limited engagements he likes.
He can pound the shit out of them with drones and Cruse missiles.
And no troops set foot on camel jockey soil.
The War Powers Act long name:
“Joint resolution concerning the war powers of Congress and the President”
Enacted by the 93 Congress of the United States of America.
Your quote is an absolute lie, he never said invasion oh great pony tail of ignorance, the legally passed federal war powers act allows for tons of fun on those mutha mullahs. Military forces can be on temporary duty for up to 89 days. Then you have the war on terror resolution that stands to this day. Wipe your lip you are drooling a little there.
Another shining example of the KVMR crack(ed) po' ol' fakenewsmans fake news. I wonder if KVMR will play this -
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2019/06/24/roseanne-barr-and-andrew-dice-clay-announce-mr-and-mrs-america-comedy-tour/
Another historic day. Scratch that one off the ‘to do’ the list.
“In an executive order issued Monday, Trump ordered the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies to develop rules that will require hospitals and other health care providers to disclose prices to show what both the insurer and the patient will pay for a service.
“The president has a clear vision for American health care,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. “Today, the president is delivering on that historic promise," adding that this will “go down as one of the most significant steps in the long history of American health care reform."
“The new rules would also force health care providers and insurers to tell patients exactly what their out-of-pocket costs would be before any service is provided.
“Everyday American patients are being taken advantage of by a system that hides critical information from them that they need to make decisions for them and their families,” Azar said. He added that knowing the cost of service beforehand means Americans would be able to comparison shop — just like they might when getting their cars fixed.
“Azar also said his agency and others would seek to end “surprise billing,” in which patients find out weeks or months later that their insurance companies won't cover a provided service.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/48783/trump-orders-health-care-providers-reveal-prices-joseph-curl?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=benshapiro
Well, that is more paperwork I do like. They charged my Uncle for a case of tampons!
Shocking, absolutely shocking. Report scorched the President.
The PBS Frontline special entitled “Lost In Detention” represents a scathing indictment of the administration’s immigration policy. The yearlong investigation did an extensive and deep dive into the U.S. immigration enforcement system and stories of hidden abuse in detention centers.
“The nearly hourlong report makes for harrowing viewers: Women who have been detained complaining about being harassed by guards for sexual favors, sexually assaulted by guards, and guards threatening to kill the women they are harassing if they talk. A single mom with two daughters who overstayed a visa gets deported back to Mexico just because she changed lanes without signaling. Cops describe patrolling neighborhoods with significant number of illegal immigrants, where people instinctively run from the sight of a police car. A mother of five American-born children being deported over a speeding ticket.
“The report describes, “a vast network of 250 detention centers, from county jails to large centers run by private prison companies, where immigrants facing deportation are held until they can be removed from the country. In the past decade, three million immigrants have been detained in the system.” The report shows white-domed tents surrounded by barbed wire, and are described as overcrowded warehouses of people. Those who have been through the detention centers describe beatings, racial slurs, official coverups, and threats to deport anyone who complains. The problem is described as more than a few “bad apples,” but more of “barrels of bad apples.”
“One of the president’s immigration advisors callously declares, “At the end of the day, when you have a community of 10 million, 11 million people living and working in the United States illegally, some of these things are going to happen. Even if the law is executed with perfection, there will be parents separated from their children. They don’t have to like it, but it is a result of having a broken system of laws.”
More from this shocking report. It’s sickening.
“Wait, wait, I’m sorry, this Frontline special is from October 2011, and describes the immigration policies of the Obama administration. Clearly, these policies do not warrant a heated national conversation, are not a national scandal, outrage, or embarrassment, and do not deserve furious denunciation all across the political spectrum. If they did, we would have heard all of this eight years ago. While the allegations of abuse are repulsive, they simply didn’t seem to interest the media or the public on a large scale back in 2011.
“And regarding the way illegal immigrants are being hunted, arrested, and deported, clearly the president knew what he was doing and this was simply tough enforcement of the immigration laws on the books. If it wasn’t, surely all of the current Democratic presidential contenders who are furious about the current policies would have noticed. I mean, Joe Biden was vice president when all of this was going on.”
https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEApP-tYLjodbbukA2IvZEzkqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowh4uHCzDap4UDMMDclgY?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
Now don't go messing up team lefties approved narratives with pesky FACTS @1059!!
Something for the true believers of AGW to wake up to.
Here is a good, swift kick to the pea sized testis.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Colorado-s-snowpack-is-40-times-normal-after-rare-14036967.php
"On summer's opening day, up to 20 inches of snow buried the high terrain of the Colorado Rockies, boosting the state's snowpack to extraordinary levels for the time of year.
The solstice flakes marked a continuation of a snowy stretch that began in January and February and lingered through spring. Even before the solstice snow, The Denver Post wrote, the state's snowpack was "in virtually every numerical sense . . . off the charts." At the time, the snowpack was 751 percent above normal.
Kinda the opisate of what you doom and gloomers preach.
Oh... And the nice cool weather WE are going to have in the coming days.
We enjoy the cricket festival for your side of the ditch when
news like this hits.
Obviously no Libertarians on this blog. Not a peep from Gregory or fish.
You obviously have no respect for this:
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. The President, meanwhile, derives the power to direct the military after a Congressional declaration of war from Article II, Section 2, which names the President Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
Did Trump start a war?
PaulE 648am - is it not obvious that you may not know what is going on in the Mideast?
That's not my question George. If we attack Iran that is an act of war. How is that justified when the Constitution is so specific. Perhaps it's not important but you cite the Constitution in many of your discussions-especially the Second Amendment but this seems unimportant to you. Can you explain? Perhaps there should be a Constitutional Amendment. What do you think?
@ 7:00 am Has a War been declared? Gee, how could I missed that one?
Random quotes.....picked at random.
“In 2017, the CBO … stated that the government-managed student-loan program would garner a respectable $114 billion in revenue over the ensuing 10 years. Then, in 2018, that revenue estimate nosedived to just $8.7 billion. … Now, the CBO is calculating a $31 billion deficit over the next 10 years. A Bloomberg Government report parsed this development as ‘a shift from past CBO forecasts that the government would profit from the program.’ That’s not merely a shift. That’s a deviation of epic proportions.”
“The cat is out of the bag. The corporate wing of the Democratic Party is publicly ‘anybody but Bernie.’”—Comrade Bernie (I-Vermont)
“Sanders, Warren Vie for 'King of the Free-Stuff Mountain'
“Online Knitting Community Bans Trump Supporters, Accuses Them Of Backing 'White Supremacy'
“FLASHBACK: ABC's ’08 Prediction: NYC Under Water from Climate Change By June 2015”
Donald Trump Jr.: ‘Mexico Doing More To Protect America Than Democrats’
Ocasio-Cortez Lies About Concentration Camp Remarks, Blames GOP For Her Words
Biden promises to raise your taxes by an average of $1,400 on ‘Day One.’
GAVIN NEWSOM: REPUBLICANS WILL BE 3RD PARTY IN 10-15 YEARS BECAUSE ‘MASCULINITY’
Yikes! WTF???
“I think most people think of rape as being sexy. Think of the fantasies.” —-Trump rape accuser E. Jean Carroll, an Elle magazine advice columnist.
“In terms of interior enforcement … what’s the point?” —Nancy Pelosi on Trump’s deportation raids.
Last but not least;
“If you want to run a campaign based on reparations and concentration camps then it’s going to be very hard to win the election.” —HBO’s Bill Maher
And a visual aide
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156695848363878&set=a.10154039903428878&type=3&theater&ifg=1
The War Powers act gives the President, umm, limited War Powers. It hasn't been found unconstitutional. It was enacted over Nixon's veto.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Powers_Resolution
Then there were the actions by other Islamic entities that bedeviled Washington and Jefferson both, causing the US Navy to be founded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Wars
"From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli". Sing it, Paul. The Constitution isn't a suicide pact.
Ships attacked in international waters, an aircraft blown out of the sky... what should be done, Paul?
Perhaps the nuclear football that goes where the President goes should have a couple of clones that goe with the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority leader so that all three could come to a decision in a timely fashion?
Give it a rest Emery. You were shown the facts. Deal with it.
No amount of Emeryism is going to justify the whine.
So Emery, If Iran declares war on us,(which they pretty much have)
explain away why Trump can't make Iran a footnote in history.
LIBS are cowardly traitors, who have no intention of defending this nation or living up to protecting allies, You and yours would prefer world anarchy.
So Walt you believe the Constitution is obsolete in this matter. Why not a Constitutional Amendment ?
Back at ya' Emery, tell us why MAD "Max" should not be charged with treason."giving aid and comfort to the enemy"
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/06/24/crenshaw-maxine-waters-hate-for-trump-runs-so-deep-she-is-willing-to-take-irans-side/
@RepMaxineWaters
Trump, you get no credit for so-called stopping the strike against Iran. Why was the unmanned drone in Iran's airspace? Why the surveillance? Don't provoke and then pretend innocence.
What am I supposed to be responding to Punch-E?
Posted by: fishpunch@punchfish.com | 25 June 2019 at 08:28 AM
“Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. The President, meanwhile, derives the power to direct the military after a Congressional declaration of war from Article II, Section 2, which names the President Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.”. Exactly Paul.
If the President fails to get a declaration of war, then Congress can impeach him. That’s the remedy and the only remedy. I don’t think that is going to happen, as our public generally has no idea what we are talking about due to the dumbing down of our population through liberal progressive policies and also due to the fact that we have been involved in multiple military exercises since WWII with no declaration.
@8:28 am
“What am I supposed to be responding to Punch-E”
Well, Punchy left the building to go fiddling Sunday morn. He promised he will get back to a poster he identified as @10:48am at the time. Of course, that what was he said, but pay that no nevermind. He would not dare to utter another “lie”, would he? His topic he wanted answers to was concerning Health Care. So, I guess you are supposed to respond to Health Care.
He’s all over the map. He is pissed that Obama launched all those drones and now he fears, fears I say, that Trump will go to war with Iran without Congressional approval. And now he wants a Constitutional Amendment. Takes 3/4 of the State Legislatures and 2/3 of the Congress. I say write the State Legislatures and get the ball rolling. If CA with its super majority one party Deep Blue State cannot get off their arses, then all is lost and we are stuck with current Federal Law. Now, back to health care.
The non-birthers are going nuts lately.
Paul, is there a difference in your mind between an act of war and war?
BTW the one President to totally ignore the War Powers act was Bill Clinton, who waged war in Serbia (then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), dropping bombs from Belgrade to Kosovo, killing many hundreds of Serb civilians, without a declaration of war, in a UN action undertaken without a vote of the Security Council.
This was ostensibly done to stop Serbs from ethnically cleansing Kosovo of ethnic Albanians (think Ottoman Empire) from Kosovo. When the Serbs stopped resisting, blue helmeted UN forces stood by while Albanian Kosovars ethnic cleansed Kosovo of Serbs. Albanians had been streaming across the border into historic Serbian territory to take it over all along.
Much later, we admitted to using depleted uranium ammunition against Serbs in Kosovo. Also in Afghanistan and Iraq.
https://mondediplo.com/2002/03/03uranium
Try to imagine the UN bombing Texas in order to stop Texans from stopping Mexicans from streaming over the border to retake the Alamo, and then making a new state of South Texas to make it safe for the South Texans.
Hey, but we proved to the Saudis we were willing to bomb the crap out of Christians to make the world safer for Islam. The oil flowed.
Raising a Constitutional question about Presidential powers. Do you believe this should apply to Trump in when he claims he doesn't need Congressional approval to invade Iran
Ahh…there it is!
Well Punch…..we seem to be in a "Post Constitutional" era as half the crap Obama did and wanted to do would have certainly been constitutionally suspect just 20 years ago. Today you have the Speaker of the House telling illegals under deportation orders that they should just ignore them (this after due process has been followed). Would it be constitutional…..probably not. Not smart either as we are really over extended militarily. I wouldn't worry…..I don't think the president is going to pursue this course of action.
Now as a libertarian I am mightily encouraged that representatives of the government are telling us to just not follow laws we don't like. There are a couple of non California compliant handguns that I think I'll have friend purchase in Nevada, wait for a couple of months, and then bring to me after they bust the first couple of morons trying to bring in ammunition the day after July 1st.
Thanks Nancy….I think I can get on board with the "pick and choose" the laws we like plan!
Posted by: fish | 25 June 2019 at 08:54 AM
What does that have to do with my 8:54?
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Art, Campus, Culture, Lifestyle & Culture February 22, 2019 February 26, 2019
UMass printmaking professor uses her art and teaching to showcase her journey as an Afro-Cuban migrant growing up in America
By Isha Mahajan
Juana Valdes, printmaking professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, acknowledges that students and faculty of color deserve a platform and a community that makes them comfortable and creates a space where students can get together to share ideas and beliefs.
“Often times, there is not enough importance put to these situations and these issues are not addressed as quickly as they need to be addressed,” Valdes said.
Valdes recalls gravitating towards making art as a junior in high school, when she was put in various creative classes. She now sees it as an opportunity to express her perception of the world.
“As a woman, as a woman of color and as an immigrant, I feel that I’m at an intersection of a lot of discriminations and push-backs of my ideas and beliefs, so I have decided to use my work as a vehicle to communicate what it’s likes to be in my position.”
“Single Drawn Line / Drummer” (2014) by Juana Valdes
As an Afro-Cuban artist, Valdes believes that artists of color often deal with the issue of visibility.
“Invisibility which is a combination of recognition as to where you can present your work and how easy it is to present your work. And all of this ties to the financial support you get.”
Valdes suggests that these issues are getting better in the art world with the progression of time; however, it is still very difficult for artists of color to arrive at a high level of recognition.
Coming from an immigrant community makes it even harder because one’s resources are often displaced in the process of relocation. Artists are often starting anew and they don’t have the resources to support their art.
“The fact that their own community does not have the means to promote their artwork pushes them to step out into the general world, which in turn makes them compete in a larger group to gain recognition.”
Throughout her work, Valdes “examines the post-colonial history of the Americas and the current representation of Latinos, Caribbean citizens, Blacks or what the current “Other” is in vogue in mainstream America,” which she explores with various mediums such as ceramics, sculptures and installation pieces.
In her work, “Color China Rags”, Valdes addresses pigmentocracy, the social hierarchy, and discrimination of people based on the lightness or the darkness of their skin color, and its impact on people’s access to resources in areas like health and education.
“Redbone – Color China Rags” (2017) by Juana Valdes
Some of Valdes’s other work focuses on the idea of migration. She believes “migration is a component of human nature – to seek out better possibilities and places to live.” Through her art, Valdes aims to bring out further recognition of these topics into the world.
When asked for advice to the UMass community, she encourages students to pursue their passion.
“Develop grit—because the most important thing is not how talented you are or cease to be, but your ability to stay determined, to keep trying and to make room for failures.”
Valdes recalls from her time in college of a philosophy professor, who was a woman of color, that left a profound impact on her life.
“For me as a young woman at that time, it was very impressive to see this older woman as a philosopher, which is such an unusual field, having the ability to communicate her presence in class as a figure of authority. This was very encouraging to me knowing that I could also be like this.”
She feels that this left an impact on her in a way which made her confident to believe that she could be like her professor as well.
“It makes you more eager to learn when you see yourself represented.”
“In No Abstract Terms” (2012) by Juana Valdes
Valdes believes that being part of a predominantly white institution has its challenges.
“The greatest challenge is being able to express your difference, to make people understand that they should not feel threatened by that. It doesn’t need to be repressed into one homogenized ideal,” Valdes said.
“I think with diversity and difference of opinion, there are places to grow. It needs to be at a place where people need to be comfortable with it.”
Juana Valdes completed her M.F.A. in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in 1993 and her B.F.A. in Sculpture at Parsons School of Design in 1991. She was born in Cabañas, Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States in 1971. She currently teaches as an Assistant Professor of Printmaking in the Art Department, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Valdes’s work can be found on her website: http://www.juanamvaldes.com/blog/
Letter: SGA president Timmy Sullivan: A candidate for racial justice
“A Celebration of Black Art” open mic (photos)
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TTM Report: June 2017
Finally, we've come to the end of my monthly autograph reports for 2017 - well, at least until I do the December roundup in a week or so. There were some more solid returns in this batch, and I'm eager to get this thing over with, so let's have a look already!
José Cardenal: 1/2, 138 days.
José is yet another player I wrote this year whom I came across thanks to the old Pacific Legends sets. I picked up this sweet '68 Topps in a Sportlots buy and dashed it off, along with his Legends card as well, but he didn't sign that one. No matter, I'll take this swell looking sig on its own!
Cardenal was a Cuban ballplayer who spent 18 seasons bouncing around the majors while hitting at a .275 clip, amassing 1913 hits, 138 homers, 775 RBI, 46 triples, and 346 stolen bases.
He also spent a decade coaching at the big league level, picking up three rings with the Yankees during his tenure from 1996-1999.
Dan Coombs: 2/1 646 days.
I have to admit, I had given up all hope of this one coming back, as it was out well over a year. That's what I love about this hobby, though - you just never quite know when one of those little SASE's will spit out a big surprise. Coombs was a towering lefty who pitched for the Colt .45s/Astros from 1963-1969 before wrapping up his career with two seasons in San Diego. The 6'5" hurler attended Seton Hall University, where he was also a basketball star of course. The other Astro who calls Seton Hall his alma mater? That would be one Craig Biggio.
This '69 came out really nice - I love the way Coombs is looming large, true to his size, and the great looking signature.
Eric Milton: 3/3, 225 days.
I remember Milton as the leader of the Twins staff in the late 90s and early 00's - a promising prospect that authored a No-No at the end of his second season when he struck out 13 Angels on September 11, 1999. No-No pitchers are another little mini-collection among my autographs, so this was a fun add.
I hadn't realized until I was putting this request together that Eric was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Chuck Knoblauch to the Yankees, arguably the biggest prospect that the Twins received, along with Cristian Guzman and a couple other guys. In the end, Milton wound up with arm troubles, high ERAs, and was frequently long-ball prone, leading the NL in HR allowed in both 2004 and 2005, with 43 and 40 in those years.
Paul Reuschel: 1/1, 44 days.
Chalk up another baseball brother on my list. Paul is Rick's older brother by two years and a few months. While Rick had a long and storied career, Paul's lasted just five seasons in the majors. The two both pitched for the Cubs during Paul's time with the team (1975-1978), and in August of 1975 the Reuschels became the only siblings to combine on a shutout when they blanked the Dodgers on August 21st. Rick started and went 6.1 innings before Paul closed out the final 2.2 innings to secure the victory.
Bruce Bochte: 3/4, 157 days.
There are baseball cards, and then there are baseball cards. This fantastic piece of cardboard featuring a strapping young Bruce Bochte at 25 years old, tan in the California sun with his stone jaw and surfer hair, with its lively yellow border capping off the show definitely falls into the later category. It is a complete specimen, showcasing a California boy made good in his own backyard. Bruce was born in Pasadena and attended Santa Clara University before being drafted by the Angels in 1972.
Bochte (that's bock-tee, not bow-chee) was a 12 year big league utility man who split his time between the outfield - mostly in left, first base, and DH duty. He had a career year in 1979 with Seattle, hitting .316/.385/.493 with 38 doubles, 6 triples, and 16 homers, good for 100 RBI and a 134 OPS+. For those efforts, Bruce was rewarded with an All-Star selection, playing in front of a familiar crowd as the Mariners hosted the festivities.
Bruce is a particularly interesting sort of ballplayer - one whose appreciation for the game stemmed from a pure love of baseball. He actually sat out the 1983 season in protest of what he deemed excessive greed in professional sports. After his playing career, he became deeply involved with environmental issues, and has distanced himself from baseball.
Dave Dravecky: 3/3, 52 days.
Peer into Dravecky's eyes on this 1984 Topps team leaders card and you'll find a young man quietly oozing self-confidence: the young star of the staff poses in near regal fashion, belying a slight smirk. He knows he's good. Just ask ol' Terry and his toothpick over there. He'll tell you what's up.
Dravecky, of course, is known more for his injuries than his hot start in San Diego or his work on a studded Giants staff after that. Doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his pitching arm, and in October of 1988 he underwent surgery to have it removed. The doctors advised Dave to sit out the entire 1989 season and not pitch until 1990, but Dravecky was determined to make it back to the team. By July 1989 he was already pitching in the minors, and effectively at that. On August 10th, he made his return to the majors. Five days later he started a game against Montreal by throwing three no-hit innings, but in the fifth he felt a tingling sensation in his arm. He went back out for the sixth inning, giving up a leadoff homer, then hitting Andres Galarraga. When he threw the next pitch to the third batter of the inning, Tim Raines, Dravecky's humerus bone snapped in two, a clean break midway between the shoulder and the elbow which could be heard throughout the stadium. Dravecky collapsed on the mound; his season was finished.
The Giants season was not, however, as they plowed their way to the World Series. When they clinched the NLCS, Dave ran onto the field to celebrate with his teammates, and his left arm was broken again. The cancer had returned to his arm, which would continue to deteriorate. Eventually, his left arm and shoulder were amputated in 1991. He's since gone on to be a motivational speaker.
Having been familiar with his story, I really wanted to write Dave. Among the cards I dug up was that fabulous '83 Topps, depicting him mid-pitch - it's Dave's rookie card. He answered some questions I had about his career and his injury, and was very kind. Thanks Dave!
Well, that does it. I'm finally caught up on the year's worth of baseball autograph returns. Now it's time to write some trade posts!
Hope Santa filled your stockings with plenty of cardboard treats,
- Marc
Labels: Autographs, Bruce Bochte, Dan Coombs, Dave Dravecky, Houston Astros, TTM Report
The Angels In Order 26 December, 2017 17:21
Those two Angel cards (and all the others I suppose) are beauties! Nice haul.
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The Semantic Web is an idea of World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee that the Web as a whole can be made more intelligent and perhaps even intuitive about how to serve a user's needs. Berners-Lee observes that although search engines index much of the Web's content, they have little ability to select the pages that a user really wants or needs. He foresees a number of ways in which developers and authors, singly or in collaborations, can use self-descriptions and other techniques so that context-understanding programs can selectively find what users want.
The Semantic Annotations for Web Services Description Language (SAWSDL) Working Group at W3C is in charge of defining the specifications for the Semantic Web.
This was last updated in November 2006
Continue Reading About Semantic Web
Tim Berners-Lee was interviewed by the International Herald Tribune about the Semantic Web and "Web 3.0.'
In this New York Times article, "Entrepreneurs See a Web Guided by Common Sense," Web 3.0 is used to describe the Semantic Web.
E-Book: Technical Guide on Web Application Firewalls –SearchSecurity.com
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You are here: Home / health care reform
ACA Repeal Would Drive Up Uninsured, Uncompensated Care
March 28, 2019 /0 Comments/in Affordable Care Act, health care reform, Medicaid, private safety-net hospitals /by Joseph Steinbock
At the same time that the Trump administration announced that it has asked a federal court to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act, the Urban Institute has published a report detailing the potential impact of the health care reform law’s repeal.
According to the Urban Institute report, repealing the entire Affordable Care Act would add almost 20 million Americans to the ranks of the uninsured. Medicaid and CHIP enrollment would fall by 15.4 million people and millions of others would lose the tax credits they used to purchase insurance. Some would purchase insurance with limited benefits and individual plan premiums would rise while others would go uninsured.
In addition, repeal of the Affordable Care Act would lead to an 82 percent increase in hospital uncompensated care, to more than $50 billion. About half of the states would see the amount of uncompensated care provided by their hospitals double, the Urban Institute estimates.
Repeal of the Affordable Care Act would pose an especially great financial challenge for private safety-net hospitals because they care for so many Medicaid- and CHIP-covered and low-income patients who might lose their coverage if the reform law is repealed.
Learn more from the Healthcare Dive article “Killing ACA would lead to huge spikes in uncompensated care” and from the Urban Institute report State-by-State Estimates of the Coverage and Funding Consequences of Full Repeal of the ACA.
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/reform.jpg 300 425 Joseph Steinbock https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png Joseph Steinbock2019-03-28 06:00:082019-03-29 13:46:47ACA Repeal Would Drive Up Uninsured, Uncompensated Care
Could Medicaid Buy-In Push Aside Medicare for All?
January 17, 2019 /0 Comments/in health care reform, Medicaid, private safety-net hospitals /by Joseph Steinbock
Officials in ten states are giving consideration, in one form or another, to permitting uninsured low-income residents to buy into their Medicaid programs.
So while Washington considers the possibility of Medicare for all, the ten states – Nevada, New Mexico, California, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin – are tackling the many issues they must address if they intend to pursue such a ground-breaking option. Among them:
Who would be eligible to participate?
What benefits would be offered?
Would health plans be available on Affordable Care Act health exchanges, and if so, would ACA subsidies be available to potential purchasers?
How would cost-sharing, such as premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, be addressed?
In the absence of federal matching funds, how would the states pay for their share of Medicaid benefits purchased by those not eligible for Medicaid?
Would such as effort be approved by the federal government?
To the extent that Medicaid buy-in would turn uninsured patients into insured patients, Medicaid buy-in would be beneficial for private safety-net hospitals.
Learn more about what the states are considering and the potential obstacles they face in the Stateline article “Medicaid ‘Buy-In’ Could Be a New Health Care Option for the Uninsured.”
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/iStock_000014445371XSmall.jpg 282 425 Joseph Steinbock https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png Joseph Steinbock2019-01-17 06:00:482019-01-16 15:58:16Could Medicaid Buy-In Push Aside Medicare for All?
CMS Introduces New Waivers
December 4, 2018 /0 Comments/in Affordable Care Act, health care reform /by Joseph Steinbock
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has introduced four new “state relief and empowerment waivers” that are widely viewed as new vehicles for states to circumvent Affordable Care Act requirements to implement their own new approaches to health care.
Through “account-based subsidies” waivers, states may direct public subsidies into defined-contribution, consumer-directed accounts that individuals use to pay for health insurance premiums or other health care expenses.
“State-specific premium assistance” waivers enable states to create their own subsidy programs.
“Adjusted plan options” authorizes states to provide financial assistance for different types of health insurance plans, including short-term and other health insurance policies that do not meet Affordable Care Act benefits and coverage requirements.
“Risk stabilization strategies” waivers give states greater flexibility to implement reinsurance programs or high-risk pools.
These waiver options have been introduced not through regulations but through guidance published in the Federal Register. States must apply for these waivers, which must meet section 1332 federal standards for comprehensiveness, affordability, coverage, and federal deficit neutrality.
Learn more about state relief and empowerment waivers in this CMS fact sheet and this guidance that was published in the Federal Register.
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/federal.jpg 300 425 Joseph Steinbock https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png Joseph Steinbock2018-12-04 06:00:272018-12-26 21:46:38CMS Introduces New Waivers
Hospital Government Payment Losses Could Reach $218 Billion by 2028
June 22, 2018 /0 Comments/in Affordable Care Act, health care reform, Medicaid, Medicare /by NASNH Administrator
A recent study concluded that hospitals can expect to lose about $218 billion in federal Medicare and Medicaid payments between 2010, when the latest round of major cuts began, and 2028.
Among those cuts cited in the study, which was commissioned by the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals, are:
$79 billion for DRG documentation and coding adjustments
$73 billion for Medicare sequestration
$26 billion for Medicaid disproportionate share payments (Medicaid DSH)
$11 billion in cuts associated with the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
Other cuts came, or will be coming, through regulatory changes, the introduction of value-based payment programs, and other means.
Learn more about these cuts and their potential implications in this Healthcare Dive story.
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png 0 0 NASNH Administrator https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png NASNH Administrator2018-06-22 06:00:142018-06-22 06:00:14Hospital Government Payment Losses Could Reach $218 Billion by 2028
NAUH Urges Senators to Oppose Graham-Cassidy Bill
September 19, 2017 /0 Comments/in health care reform, Uncategorized /by NASNH Administrator
NAUH has declared its opposition to the Graham-Cassidy proposal to partially repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
In a message to senators, NAUH stated that its opposition is based on the millions of people the bill would leave uninsured, its lack of federal protection for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, its failure to repeal massive Affordable Care Act cuts in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and its proposal to reduce the limit the ability of states to levy provider taxes to finance some of their share of their Medicaid costs.
NAUH’s message to senators explained that the association
…welcomes proposals that would enhance access to care in an affordable and responsible manner but we do not believe this legislation offers such potential.
See the full text of NAUH’s message to senators here.
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png 0 0 NASNH Administrator https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png NASNH Administrator2017-09-19 06:00:172018-12-11 16:00:24NAUH Urges Senators to Oppose Graham-Cassidy Bill
ACOs, APMs Proliferate
July 3, 2017 /0 Comments/in accountable care organization, health care reform, Medicare /by NASNH Administrator
The number of accountable care organizations and alternative payment models is growing, as is the number of people served by such programs.
According to a new study published on the Health Affairs Blog, there are more than 900 ACOs across the country – a 10 percent increase over a year ago.
32 million Americans are served by ACOs today – 2.2 million more than a year ago. Among them, 59 percent are served through commercial contracts, 29 percent by Medicare contracts, and 12 percent under Medicaid contracts. ACO growth is greatest in metropolitan areas, the states with the greatest ACO penetration are Rhode Island and Maine, and the states with the least ACO penetration are Wyoming and West Virginia.
Among alternative payment models, growth is greatest among shared-savings and shared-risk ACOs, include episode-based models and partially- and fully-capitated payments for patient populations. Today, APMs account for more than 30 percent of Medicare payments, with the greatest number, by far, participating in Medicare’s Comprehensive Primary Care Plus Model, followed by Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement and Shared Savings Program models.
Learn more about the growth of ACOs and APMs, the current policy environment for such approaches, and possible future changes in these approaches in this Health Affairs Blog article.
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Medical Homes and High-Need Patients
April 13, 2017 /0 Comments/in health care reform, private safety-net hospitals /by NASNH Administrator
With five percent of patients accounting for 50 percent of health care costs, such high-need patients are the subject of increasing attention as health care providers search for better ways to serve them at less cost. Such patients are especially challenging when they lack the financial resources and personal support systems needed to address their considerable medical needs.
One of those ways is through the concept of the medical home: an approach to primary care, also often referred to as a patient-centered medical home, that is a team-based approach to delivering patient-specific, coordinated, accessible care that focuses on quality and safety and that features as one of its defining characteristics closer contact between patients and their caregivers.
Private safety-net hospitals typically care for large numbers of such high-need patients.
In a new report, the Commonwealth Fund tells how one such program, Chicago’s Medical Home Network, is attempting to make a difference in the lives of its low-income, high-need patients. See that report here.
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png 0 0 NASNH Administrator https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png NASNH Administrator2017-04-13 06:00:312018-12-11 21:20:18Medical Homes and High-Need Patients
NAUH Expresses Views on Health Reform Proposal
March 15, 2017 /0 Comments/in Affordable Care Act, health care reform, private safety-net hospitals /by NASNH Administrator
NAUH does not support the American Health Care Act in its current form, the organization told members of the House of Representatives in a letter it sent yesterday.
In its letter, NAUH noted that the recently proposed AHCA would result in millions of Americans, many of them Medicaid beneficiaries and low-income individuals and families, losing their health insurance over the next ten years. Private safety-net hospitals serve especially large numbers of these patients.
In addition, the bill inadequately indexes future growth in federal Medicaid spending; proposed two years of reduced Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) payments in some states; and calls for reduced federal funding for the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion population in a manner that NAUH believes could lead to some combination of tightened Medicaid eligibility requirements, reduced benefits, and reduced provider payments.
For these reasons, NAUH does not support the AHCA in its current form.
In its letter, NAUH also expresses hope that Congress will consider addressing these issues when it refines and improves the bill.
The ACHA proposal would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
See NAUH’s letter to Congress here.
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png 0 0 NASNH Administrator https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png NASNH Administrator2017-03-15 10:08:392018-12-11 21:33:34NAUH Expresses Views on Health Reform Proposal
New Series Examines Serving High-Need, High-Cost Patients
August 2, 2016 /0 Comments/in health care reform /by NASNH Administrator
The Commonwealth Fund is launching a new series of case studies describing “innovative programs designed to address the needs of the nation’s high-need, high-cost patients, a group that accounts for a disproportionate share of health care spending.”
Among the types of programs it will profile are:
home-based primary care
enhanced primary care
programs of all-inclusive care (PACE)
accountable care for Medicaid populations
guided care
For a closer look at the new series and the programs it will profile go here, to the web site of the Commonwealth Fund.
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png 0 0 NASNH Administrator https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png NASNH Administrator2016-08-02 06:00:242018-12-12 18:44:00New Series Examines Serving High-Need, High-Cost Patients
Congressional Task Force Considers Medicaid Reforms
May 12, 2016 /0 Comments/in health care reform, Medicaid, private safety-net hospitals /by NASNH Administrator
A House Energy and Commerce Committee group is looking at potential Medicaid reforms for 2017.
The task force, consisting entirely of Republican members, was created late last year to “… strengthen and sustain the critical program for the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.”
At a recent event at George Mason University, task force chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), cited continued high Medicaid spending as a reason to consider reform and noted that the degree to which the task force could tackle Medicaid in 2017 would depend on which party occupies the White House and controls Congress. He suggested that the task force would look for ways to prevent people from needing to choose between getting jobs and keeping health insurance. Among the potential legislative vehicles for reform, Guthrie said, are reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicare extenders.
Because they serve so many Medicaid and low-income patients, the task force’s deliberations will be of particular interest to private safety-net hospitals.
Learn more about the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Medicaid Task Force here and about Rep. Guthrie’s remarks at the George Mason University forum here.
https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png 0 0 NASNH Administrator https://safetynetalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasnh-logo.png NASNH Administrator2016-05-12 06:00:082018-12-12 19:59:09Congressional Task Force Considers Medicaid Reforms
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Derelict Troop Ferryboat Blocking Commercial Boats At Vallejo MarinaA ship captain says the city of Vallejo has created an obstacle to his business that he literally can’t get past, and he may sue because of it.
Local Teens Develop High-Tech Device To Help The Visually Impaired
By Julie Watts September 7, 2018 at 6:15 pm
Filed Under:Bay Area, Blindsight, business, consumer, High school, TechCrunch Disrupt, Technology
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — A group of Bay Area teens on Friday was mingling with Silicon Valley’s top dogs, sharing a new device and app that help the visually impaired.
In a room filled with tech giants and the Silicon Valley elite, the recent grads from Lowell and Dublin High Schools were getting a lot of attention.
What began as a high school project went on to win the Visa Developer Hackathon landed the bright teens a coveted spot at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt.
Local teens develop tech to help visually impaired (CBS)
The idea was inspired by their friend’s dad who lost his vision to glaucoma and had to buy a $10,000 device to help him get around.
“We wanted to make something a lot more cheap, a lot more accessible and empower visually impaired people,” said young developer Devin Mui.
It’s called Blindsight. It is wearable device that pairs with an app to help the visually impaired with daily tasks.
“There’s a bunch of different features: recognize objects, find things, read text, et cetera,” explained Mui.
The devices uses vibrations to guide the user toward objects and machine learning to identify faces.
The device also uses Visa’s open-source technology to help make payments and shop, which is how the teens won the Visa Hackathon.
“When we heard about the idea and the fact that there are millions of visually impaired people around the world, we felt like this solution would be able to help bring payments to that population,” said Visa spokesperson Charles Tsang
And Visa is not alone. The team also made it to the semifinals at TechCrunch Disrupt this week.
They hope to someday make it to market.
“We hope to someday slim this down to more of a smart watch profile, so we’re trying to maybe get it down to an Apple Watch size,” said Mui.
But after winning the Visa Hackathon and making the semifinals at Tech Crunch Disrupt, KPIX 5 just found out the team didn’t make the finals.
However, they are still hopeful that they will get funding and eventually bring this product to market, changing the lives of millions of people who are visually impaired.
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Home National Trump's trade war got Americans a $3 billion tax hike — every...
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Trump's trade war got Americans a $3 billion tax hike — every month
Trump's trade war has turned into a 'worst-case scenario' for Americans.
We already know Trump's disastrous, prolonged trade war is hurting farmers, companies, and even entire states. But a pair of new studies published over the weekend expose the depth and breadth of harm Trump is responsible for.
Trump's trade war is costing companies and consumers $3 billion per month in additional tax costs. And those costs aren't being paid by China or other countries, as Trump often claims. No, this study shows American consumers — teachers, factory workers, and farmers — along with U.S. companies bear almost all the cost from Trump's tariffs, according to economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton University and Columbia University.
"This is kind of the worst-case scenario in terms of consumers," David Weinstein, one of the authors of the study, told Bloomberg.
A different study from four economists, including the World Bank's chief economist, confirms the economic harm caused by Trump. That study puts the annual losses from Trump tariff cost increases at a staggering $68.8 billion. Even after accounting for any gains from Trump's trade war, the analysis pegged the overall harm from Trump's actions at $6.4 billion per year.
The harm caused by Trump's trade war is hitting his own base the hardest. "Workers in very Republican counties bore the brunt of the costs of the trade war, in part because retaliations disproportionately targeted agricultural sectors, and in part because U.S. tariffs raised the costs of inputs used by these counties," the second study explains.
The academic study backs up claims by South Dakota's Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican. She recently said her state has been "devastated by the trade wars that are going on."
Trump's incompetence may very well come from a deep ignorance about how the global economy functions. When asked if she thinks Trump understands the basics of macroeconomic policy, former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen responded simply, "No, I do not."
While he may not understand how things work, Trump's actions are having immensely negative impacts on American families. These two studies, which Bloomberg calls two of the most authoritative studies on the topic of Trump's trade war, show hardworking families across the country are paying a high price for Trump's decisions.
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Respiratory tract colonization with Ureaplasma urealyticum and bronchopulmonary dysplasia in neonates in southern Israel. Academic Article
Ureaplasma urealyticum has been recognized as an important potential pathogen in premature neonates. Reported rates of colonization of the respiratory tract vary. Data on neonatal ureaplasma colonization outside the United States and Western Europe are rare. Therefore we prospectively studied nasopharyngeal and endotracheal colonization in a cohort of 114 preterm and 100 full term infants within 48 hours of birth. The colonization rate was 24% in the premature infants and zero in the full term infants. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia developed in 19% of infants with nasopharyngeal Ureaplasma colonization and in 4.6% of noncolonized infants (P < 0.03). Bronchopulmonary dysplasia developed in 40% of intubated infants with positive endotracheal Ureaplasma cultures and only in 9.8% of infants with negative endotracheal cultures (P < 0.04). Thus Ureaplasma colonization of either the nasopharynx or the trachea was associated with an increased risk for the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (relative risk, 4.0 and 4.1, respectively).
Horowitz, Shulamith
Landau, Daniel
Shinwell, Eric S
Zmora, Ehud
Dagan, Ron
The Pediatric infectious disease journal Journal
Mollicutes
Mycoplasmataceae
Ureaplasma urealyticum
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American Literature. Colonial Period William Bradford ( 1590-1657 )
American Literature. Colonial Period
William Bradford ( 1590-1657 )
William Bradford was elected governor of Plymouth in the Massachusetts Bay Colony shortly after the separatists landed. He was a self-educated person who had learned several languages, including Hebrew, in order to ” see with his own eyes the ancient oracles of God in their native beauty”. His participation in the migration to Holland and the ” Mayflower” voyage to Plymouth, and his duties as governor, made him ideally suited to be the first historian of his colony. His history ” Of Plymouth Plantation” ( 1651), is a clear description of the colony’s beginning.
Bradford also recorded the first document of colonial self-governance in the English New World, the ” Mayflower Compact “, drawn up while the Pilgrims were still on board ship.
Puritans disapproved of such amusements as dancing, card-playing, reading or writing ” light” books. They read and wrote nonfiction or religious genres.
Anne Bradstreet ( c. 1612-1672)
The first published book of poems by an American was also the first American book to be published by a woman- Anne Bradstreet. It is not surprising that the book was published in England, given the lack of printing presses in the early years of the first American colonies. Born and educated in England, Anne Bradstreet was the daughter of an earl’s estate manager. She emigrated with her family when she was 18. Her husband eventually became governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which later grew into the great city of Boston. She preferred her long , religious poems on conventional subjects such as the seasons, but contemporary readers most enjoy the witty poems on subjects from daily life and her warm and loving poems to her husband and children.
While puritan writers devoted their works to religious themes, the authors from the southern colonies were more interested in the material world: the land, Indians, plants, animals, and settlers.
William Byrd ( 1674-1744)
William Byrd was educated at excellent schools in England and Holland. He was friendly with some of the leading English writers of his day. His London diaries are the opposite of those of the New England Puritans, full of fancy dinners and glittering parties. Byrd is best known today for his lively ” History of the Dividing Line”, a diary of a 1729 trip of some weeks and 960 kilometers into the interior to survey the line dividing the neighbouring colonies of Virginia and North Carolina. In this book he vividly describes the vast wilderness, Indians, half-savage whites, wild beasts and difficulties he faced.A lot of descriptions are full of humour.
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Why Nate Silver counts
Something very important happened during the 2012 US presidential election-campaigns -- and I'm not referring to the campaigns themselves, or to the behaviour of the candidates.
A New York Times blogger called Nate Silver predicted all of the key results with unerring accuracy. He got each of the 50 states right. This meant that he got the key 'battleground' states right, including those with very close margins, such as Florida. He got the popular vote right (he predicted that Obama would get 50.8 per cent against Romney's 48.3 per cent -- the actual margin was 51.1 per cent to 47.2 per cent); and he got the electoral-college vote right (he predicted that Obama would get 313 electoral votes against Romney's 225 -- the actual margin was 332 to 206).
I could go on, but you get the picture. What makes this all the more impressive is that the US's voluntary voting system makes it very difficult to make accurate forecasts in tight races, because it's hard to know what the turnout will be like, or whether it will differ significantly either demographically or ethnically from previous turnouts -- and opinion polls have to not only capture voting intentions accurately, but to build in assumptions about both these key factors. He was also making forecasts that differed significantly from those provided by large, well-endowed national polling companies.
At a personal level, Silver kept updating and holding to his predictions (which he calls 'projections') while he was under ferocious criticism from conservative pundits as being a liberal who was running a self-serving Democratic Party line. The same commentators criticised all opinion polls they didn't agree with on similar grounds. (As it turns out, they'd swallowed their own Kool Aid.)
Silver's blog, FiveThirtyEight (which is the total number of electoral-college votes up for grabs) has been hosted by the Times for a couple of years. So far as I know, Silver hasn't revealed the full details of the model he uses, but it's apparent that it's based on a judicious interpretation of opinion polls. Because of the US's electoral-college system (which we in Australia would think of as an indirect first-past-the-post system), Silver is less influenced by national opinion polls than the media and the usual suspects are. Instead, he has compiled a history of opinion-polling results in each state, a set of local characteristics that he calls 'State fundamentals', and a discount factor that he applies to the polling results to produce what he calls an 'adjusted polling average'. This ends up being expressed as a projected vote-share, and a probabalistic figure for the outcome, which he summarises as the candidates' 'chance of winning'.
For example, in one of the key battleground states, Virginia, where the opinion polls had Obama leading by only just over 1 per cent, Silver came up with a projected vote for Obama of 50.7 per cent to 48.7 per cent, and gave him a 79 per cent chance of winning the state. Obama won by 50.8 per cent to 47.8 per cent.
Silver seems to apply discounts to national polls as well, and is clearly much more interested in updated polling averages than in the latest poll/s at any given time. Because of America's size and relatively dense population, he's helped by the vast number of local polls that are carried out during election campaigns. In other words, he has a lot of information -- both current and historic -- at his disposal. But, clearly, he applies a great deal of statistical expertise to these numbers.
Readers of Silver's bestselling book, The Signal and the Noise, will know that he comes from a background of statistical analysis of baseball, and of professional poker-playing. He understands the basis for establishing probabilities in a wide range of fields (including weather forecasting), and isn't frightened of following the evidence wherever it takes him.
Apart from anything else, he could see that Obama was ahead where it mattered -- in the battleground states -- and that he wasn't relinquishing that lead as the election neared.
This is where Nate Silver's achievements have local significance. Before and during the election campaign, he kept showing Obama as having a very high chance of winning; in fact, by election eve, he nominated that chance as being 90.9 per cent; conversely, he said that Romney had a 9.1 per cent chance.
This, at a time when national opinion polls showed only a small gap in Obama's favour. In Australia, US-based print and TV correspondents all opined that the election was -- you guessed it -- 'too close to call'. This was particularly noticeable on the ABC's radio and TV news programs, as well as on its flagship TV current-affairs program, 7.30.
Not to put too fine a point on it, these journalists didn't know what they were talking about. The election was only too close to call if you weren't looking in the right places. They were doing what was easy, and what they thought was safe.
Their failure is the take-home message from Nate Silver's achievements. General correspondents have no right to editorialise about the implications of opinion polls if they don't have a grasp of the nuts and bolts behind the polls -- or at least don't talk to people who do. In Australia, The Australian's Dennis Shanahan has been shown up by electoral-specialist bloggers several times for his inadequate rendering of opinion polls conducted by Newspoll, the company owned by his employers. And our major newspapers, which commission the main polls, have a self-serving habit of splashing the latest poll results as though they were definitive.
Journalism is under enough external challenges without scoring own goals. Australia's electoral system is very different from America's (voting is compulsory for a start, so there's much less need to enrol voters or to get them to vote), but in 2013, an election year, there will be immense pressure on political journalists to behave professionally. Some of them could do worse than start the year by researching the track record of Australia's opinion-polling organisations, and try to come up with evidence-based probabilities of their own.
Henry Rosenbloom
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Bahrain 2013 - Red Bull dominate in the desert // Vettel wins another race, as Lotus take two steps on the podium
Published 22 April 2013 by Christine
Credit: Mark Thompson
We've complained endlessly in the past about the lack of racing action provided in Bahrain, and although it is by no means the worst track on the calendar, it has failed to deliver. That was all swept under the carpet for 2013, with an incredible race with action from lights to flag - overtaking, incidents, teammate rivalries, and just the one retirement.
Red Bull took the top honours, although Lotus had the most presence on the podium, but it was actually a good weekend for most of the teams, as they started to see progress even before the return to the European race tracks.
Driver positions - Red Bull
S Vettel 2nd 1st
M Webber 5th 7th
Red Bull didn't have the pace they, and we, might have expected in China, and as Free Practice proceeded in Bahrain, it looked like they may be in for a repeat weekend. The Austrian squad have been very vocal about their dissatisfaction with the tyres, and there was no reason to assume they'd have got on top of their troubles in seven short days.
Whatever the Free Practice timesheets said, the reality was much different. Sebastian Vettel would have nabbed himself another pole position if it weren't for a pesky Mercedes, and he went on to cruise to a dominant victory on race day. In the end, the gap to second place Kimi Räikkönen was under ten seconds, but it could easily have been a lot more.
On the other side of the garage, Mark Webber was forced down from his fifth place qualifying spot by a penalty hanging over his head from China. From eighth on the grid, the Australian fought hard to gain several positions, but spent so long doing battle with other drivers that the tyres were unable to remain competitive for their required stints. It may not have been what the driver wanted, but it was certainly entertaining!
If you race people hard then you run out of tyres, but if you don't then they come through. In the end it was a pretty good battle with Lewis for both of us; neither of us had any tyres left, but we were trying to race as best we could.
- Mark Webber, F1 driver, Red Bull Racing
Driver positions - Lotus
K Räikkönen 9th 2nd
R Grosjean 11th 3rd
Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lotus gave Romain Grosjean a brand new chassis to play with, reportedly to rule out any problems with the car when it comes to his lacking performance. Rather than placing the blame squarely on the driver's shoulders, the new chassis made all the difference, and Romain Grosjean was suddenly a contender. Although he was still beaten by his teammate in both sessions, it was a lot closer.
The pace on the Lotus appeared to be lacking on Saturday, and Grosjean just missed out on getting into the final session, gaining the benefit of starting on whichever tyres he so desired. Räikkönen gained a small boost from Lewis Hamilton's grid penalty, and he kept on moving forward in the race. The team split their strategy, with Grosjean on a three-stop and Räikkönen taking just two stops as the race unfolded. The car appeared to be light on its tyres, and allowed the drivers to push for position, do battle with those around them, and still remain on the pace when required.
After the race, Kimi aired his views that the team probably wouldn't have been fast enough to catch the Red Bull disappearing in the distance, even if they had managed to do better on a Saturday - but as ever, qualifying performance is holding the Enstone squad back.
Driver positions - Force India
P Di Resta 7th 4th
A Sutil 8th 13th
Paul di Resta showed a glimpse of what was to come in Free Practice when he finished both Friday sessions in fifth position. Practice times are almost meaningless, but the Scot went on to take that place on the grid as well, his teammate just behind him. The Force India pair were flattered by the penalties that saw two drivers move down behind them, but they were there to capitalise when it mattered.
In the race, Adrian Sutil was scuppered almost immediately by a collision with Felipe Massa that saw him slow to a crawl and dive into the pit lane after a painful lap. At the back of the grid, his race strategy was ruined, and it was a matter of pushing through the field as best as possible from there.
Di Resta was having a much better time of it out front - he kept himself in contention with the leaders, even leading a race for the first time in his F1 career. It never quite looked like a win was on the cards, but a third place was certainly possible until a flying Grosjean exited the pits on fresh rubber and with a target in mind. The Force India held off the Lotus for as long as possible, but it wasn't to be. Despite that, Di Resta isn't disappointed with missing out, taking great heart from the pace on display. His boss is of the same opinion.
Although we missed out on third, the twelve points scored keep us up in fifth place in the championship and give us every reason to be optimistic for the coming races. The contact with Massa proved very costly because Adrian's race pace was on a par with Paul's and we should have brought both cars home in the points.
- Vijay Mallya, Team Principal, Force India
Driver positions - Mercedes
N Rosberg 1st 9th
L Hamilton 4th 5th
No one was expecting Nico Rosberg to take pole position, not even the driver or the team principal themselves. Raised eyebrows and big smiles all round at Mercedes on Saturday, with Rosberg proclaiming this as the start of an upswing, kick-starting his season where the previous weekends have failed to deliver. Unfortunately for the German on Sunday, things took a tumble again, as he fell rapidly through the field. His defensive moves were impressive but ultimately failed to keep anyone behind him as the car lacked any pace at all.
Saturday was good for both cars, although Hamilton's five place gearbox-related grid drop hid the best he had to offer in qualifying. The cooler, windier temperatures during qualifying helped the cars towards the front of the grid, but they suffered on race day when the sun was doing its worst.
Hamilton's car had little to offer during the first half of the race, and he suffered a similar fate to his teammate, fighting to keep any kind of position in the field. Suddenly, however, the car came to life and in the final stint, Hamilton started making his way through the field again. He passed his teammate and continued onwards to grab a handful of very useful points. The Mercedes car was completely inconsistent in the warmer temperatures, and although we're heading into Europe now, where it's probably going to be raining each and every weekend, this'll be something the team need to look at very closely indeed.
Driver positions - McLaren
J Button 10th 10th
S Pérez 12th 6th
Where Red Bull's teammate fallout continued for several weeks after the event earlier this year, McLaren have managed to patch theirs up within 24 hours. Having instructed new driver Sergio Pérez to up his game, the team weren't too impressed to see their drivers fighting for track position in a heart-stopping fashion. Button's overly-defensive moves didn't help and Pérez's eagerness to get through saw a small collision between a rear wheel and an endplate. There was no major damage done, words were had afterwards, and all has been patched up.
In terms of race pace, Button said that the Bahrain circuit highlighted all their flaws - track design and temperature both working against the new car. Considering they went on to finish with both cars in the points (just), this is probably good news for the rest of the season.
Qualifying on Saturday was nip and tuck for Button, he just managed to get through to the top ten shootout and then opted not to set a time in the final session, preferring to save the tyres. The strategy didn't work out so well in the race, with Pérez able to move past his teammate and finish higher up in the points - but a double points finish for both is still progress for the team at this stage.
Driver positions - Ferrari
F Alonso 3rd 8th
F Massa 6th 15th
Ferrari suffered the rather embarrassing problem of a DRS failure on Fernando Alonso's car during Sunday's race, with the rear wing flap getting stuck open. They brought forward his pit stop to rectify the situation, sent him back out for another lap, in which the DRS got stuck open again. A second pit stop meant the potential for a race win was ruined, and it was a simple fight through the field to limit the damage as much as possible.
Felipe Massa wasn't having a particularly good time of it either, after the early collision with Adrian Sutil, and not one, but two punctures forced him ever backwards. It was even more disappointing after gaining from the penalties of others on the grid. The two Ferrari cars lined up third and fourth but ended the race with just four points.
The entire team have since been talking about their bad luck this race, and it's clear to see that Alonso could have been in with a shout for the victory - particularly when you consider his pace through the field with broken DRS. He didn't make as much progress as he would have liked but to bring home any points in that condition is good. Massa's pace continues to be better than last year, but not quite as good as his teammates, and thus it's all about when they can turn things around and get on fate's good side again.
I am sure that without the problems me and Felipe had, we would have finished higher up, because the car responds very well and it is definitely our best of the last four years. But having a good race involves a lot of factors, including a bit of luck.
- Fernando Alonso, F1 driver, Ferrari
Driver positions - Williams
P Maldonado 17th 11th
V Bottas 15th 14th
If Williams were in that Bahrain race, I don't recall seeing them. However, an anonymous race is actually a step up for the team, considering how visible Pastor Maldonado has been in the past. He's managed two successive race finishes now, and didn't spin off drastically throughout the weekend. The worst part of the weekend for Pastor was qualifying, as he dropped out in the first session whilst his teammate managed to squeeze through to Q2. The pair showed how evenly matched they are, though, by setting exactly the same qualifying time in that first session. It was only that Bottas had set his first that he made the cut.
The team were expecting the drivers to end up racing each other on Sunday as well, but a problem with Bottas' pit stop separated them and allowed Maldonado to get ahead. In the end, he missed out on points by just one place - so that the team go away from another race weekend with zero on the team standings.
Driver positions - Sauber
N Hülkenberg 14th 12th
E Gutiérrez 18th 18th
Esteban Gutiérrez managed to have his worst race so far in Bahrain, and that is after crashing into Adrian Sutil in China and getting a five place grid penalty for his trouble. Having qualified 18th, the drop saw him start last on the grid. He managed to survive a small collision during the first lap, but then went on to be out-classed by Charles Pic in a Caterham. Esteban admitted he was expecting a difficult weekend but when your teammate is chasing down points, it reflects even more on your own performance.
For his part, Hülkenberg also expected a difficult time of it on Sunday, and was actually taken aback when things weren't as bad as they feared. Looking back on his strategy, the German believes they could have taken their last stop earlier as the car was behaving itself on low fuel better than anticipated. The team as a whole aren't impressed with their weekend's work and are pinning their hopes on upgrades that should hopefully improve things for Spain.
Driver positions - Toro Rosso
JE Vergne 16th DNF
D Ricciardo 13th 16th
We've talked often about Jean-Éric Vergne and the fact that he is often one of the drivers dropping out of qualifying in the first session. In Bahrain, he managed to follow his teammate up and out and into the second session, although couldn't make much more progress than 16th. Ricciardo, meanwhile, wasn't quite as strong as the last race in China, but pushed the car to its limit to secure 13th.
Vergne was rewarded for his hard work on Saturday by an early exit during the race - the only driver to retire during the Grand Prix. He pins the blame on being pushed wide by Bottas which in turn pushed him into Giedo van der Garde. The damage brought him into the pits and although the team patched him up as best as possible, it wasn't long before they decided to end his race. The hopes of the team rested on Ricciardo's shoulders but he couldn't get the tyres to work properly, without being able to pinpoint why.
Daniel did everything he could and we also tried to make some changes during the pit stops, but that did not work. As soon as we can, we will have a look at the car, because we assume there is some fairly significant problem with it, which will be the obvious cause of our poor performance today. As for Jean-Éric, he was unlucky to be pushed into the path of a Caterham by a Williams.
- Franz Tost, Team Principal, Toro Rosso
Driver positions - Caterham
C Pic 19th 17th
G Van der Garde 21st 21st
The other side of Vergne's accident was Giedo van der Garde, who lost a significant amount of time and a front wing to boot. After an unscheduled stop early on in the race, plus a puncture towards the end, it was no surprise to see Van der Garde start and finish in the same position - essentially last.
Pic, meanwhile, was having a much better time of it. After qualifying well, he managed to keep pace with, and easily get the better of, the two Marussia drivers, and was doing battle with a Sauber, Force India and Toro Rosso. Two of those cars were significantly out of place, but weren't making enormous amounts of progress on passing the Caterham. Finishing 17th isn't going to help them in the backmarker battle, but is a boost for the team who were beginning to look a few steps behind Marussia.
Driver positions - Marussia
J Bianchi 20th 19th
M Chilton 22nd 20th
I found it fascinating to see Jules Bianchi struggling in qualifying - having been the golden boy of the rear of the field for the first three races, he finally found himself outqualified by a Caterham. It wasn't clear at first if it was just a bad track for the team, or if Bianchi was the worse for having given up his car in Friday practice. Eventually, it became clear the track wasn't suited to the Marussia car on either side of the garage.
It was disappointment all round on Sunday, although Max Chilton takes great comfort from the fact that he could finally match the pace of his teammate during the race. He was in front of both Caterham drivers for a while, but the tyres weren't behaving as well as hoped. Bianchi had been on a three-stop strategy but had to complete an extra stop towards the end of the race after running out of rubber.
As with everyone in front of them, Marussia are putting these first four races behind them and concentrating on bringing the best updates they can over the next three weeks. When things get going in Spain again, we could see yet another shake-up in the order of things.
All content in the series Bahrain 2013
Bahrain 2013 - Race information
Free Practice from Bahrain
Bahrain 2013 - Free Practice 1 results
Qualifying from Bahrain
Bahrain 2013 - Predict qualifying
Bahrain 2013 - Qualifying highlights
Bahrain 2013 - Qualifying results
Bahrain 2013 - Starting grid
Grand Prix from Bahrain
Bahrain 2013 - Predict the race
Bahrain 2013 - Race highlights
Bahrain 2013 - Race results
Bahrain 2013 - Driver standings
Bahrain 2013 - Team standings
Bahrain 2013 - Rate the race
Bahrain 2013 - Red Bull dominate in the desert
Filed under Team by team
References Adrian Sutil, Charles Pic, Esteban Gutiérrez, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso
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Race highlights - Korea 2013
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Pope: Failing to Care for Environment Is a Betrayal of God
By Daniel Politi
Jan 18, 201511:14 AM
Pope Francis waves as he leaves the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on Jan. 18, 2015.
Photo by Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis has been wading into environmental issues during his week-long Asian tour, but he issued the strongest words on Sunday, when he said that man was betraying God’s calling by destroying nature. Or at least that’s what he was supposed to say at a rally with young people at a university in Manila. But the pope ended up being moved by the story of an abandoned girl so he improvised a speech. Still, the Vatican has said that when the pope decides to improvise, the prepared text is official, notes Reuters.
“As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to make the earth a beautiful garden for the human family,” the pope said in the prepared text. “When we destroy our forests, ravage our soil and pollute our seas, we betray that noble calling.”
The pope also pointed out that youth in the Philippines should feel a special obligation to care for the environment. “This is not only because this country, more than many others, is likely to be seriously affected by climate change,” he said in the prepared text. “You are called to care for creation not only as responsible citizens, but also as followers of Christ!”
He also appeared to chastise those who think that simply by buying environmentally friendly products and recycling they are doing enough for the cause. “Respect for the environment means more than simply using cleaner products or recycling what we use. These are important aspects, but not enough,” he said.
In a celebration of Sunday Mass in Manila where 6 million people gathered to hear the pope’s words, he once again touched on the environment. God “created the world as a beautiful garden and asked us to care for it,” Francis said, according to the New York Times. “Through sin, man has disfigured that natural beauty. Through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures that perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption.”
A record 6 million people gathered at a park in Manila to hear Pope Francis on Jan. 18, 2015.
Photo by Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
The words came days after the pope said he believed people were mostly responsible for climate change. “I don’t know if it (human activity) is the only cause, but mostly, in great part, it is man who has slapped nature in the face,” he said when he was traveling from Sri Lanka to Manila, according to the Associated Press. “We have in a sense taken over nature.” Francis added that “I think we have exploited nature too much.” The pope noted that his widely awaited encyclical on the environment would be released by June or July and expressed hope that it could influence the climate change negotiations in Paris in November. The pontiff expressed disappointment that last year’s Peru conference did not go far enough.
“The meetings in Peru were nothing much, I was disappointed,” he said. “There was a lack of courage. They stopped at a certain point. We hope that in Paris the representatives will be more courageous going forward.”
This overhead view shows millions of faithful attending a Sunday Mass at a park by Pope Francis during his visit to Manila on Jan. 18, 2015.
Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images
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By freakpool / February 15, 2016
[MOVIE] GACKT is Looking for a New Leading Lady for His Next Film
Japanese singer and actor, GACKT, is starring in a brand new movie titled “KARANUKAN,” which is set in his home…
Japanese singer and actor, GACKT, is starring in a brand new movie titled “KARANUKAN,” which is set in his home islands of Ryuukyuu. However, there is only one problem, and that is the fact that he still has no leading lady! That is why they are currently holding auditions to find the right girl.
The producers are seeking a “Wild and Beautiful Woman,” who is appropriate for the scenery of the Ryuukyuu islands. Ladies who are interested in becoming GACKT’s leading lady can download an application form via the film’s official website, and then mail it to them before 29 February 2016. Applicants must be at least 18 – 25 years of age.
The movie aims to show the beauty of Okinawa, and will be set in the island chain’s wild northern islands of Yaeyama and Yanbaru. It will follow a photographer named Hikaru Ooyama (played by GACKT), who is graced with “beauty, knowledge and strength.” He will be going on a photo shoot in the Yaeyama Islands with a model, however, while taking photos of her by a waterfall, a sunbeam blinds him, and the model disappears. He will then spend four years trying to find that model, all while being immersed in the beauty of the Ryuukyuu islands. The audition aims to find the woman who will play that very model.
KARANUKAN is slated for release in 2017, and will be directed by Yasuhiro Hamano. GACKT has talked about the movie being based on his own backyard, and said:
“as an Okinawan, I will show the great nature of Okinawa and the Yaeyamas to everyone through this movie.”
Meanwhile, director Hamano has added that he hopes that the movie will:
“sing the beauty of love between a beautiful man and a beautiful woman in the epic scenery of Okinawa and in the workings of its deep, artistic culture.”
Source: ANN
Categories: ENTERTAINMENT Tags: GACKT
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US Space Force to Cost Nearly $2 Billion - CBO Report
© Flickr/ Official U.S. Navy Page
The Trump administration has proposed creating a Space Force within the Air Force, a relationship similar to that between the Marine Corps and the Navy. The argument used by the Pentagon is that a separate military branch for space is imperative in the face of alleged plans by Russia and China to expand the use of space for military purposes.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a report released Wednesday that the US administration’s proposed plan to create a new Space Force could increase related annual Pentagon costs by $1 billion to nearly $2 billion, while also requiring startup costs of $2 billion to nearly $5 billion.
This estimate for the proposed reorganisation of the military’s space enterprise comes despite acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan calling the previously announced $2 billion price tag “overstated” earlier in the day.
“The $2 billion, in my view, is overstated. I think that detracts from the real value of the Space Force,” Shanahan said during a Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing.
US confirm HUGE $2billion price tag for ambitious Space Force – 'essential personnel’ https://t.co/E2FdjVPdRj pic.twitter.com/ipKlCQQXT2
— The Us Posts (@theusapost21) May 9, 2019
An independent Space Force military branch, according to the CBO report estimate, would need 5,400 to 7,800 new personnel, thus hiking the Pentagon’s annual costs by $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion.
There is an option to cut costs somewhat by placing the new service within the Air Force – the move proposed in the Defense Department’s fiscal 2020 budget request.
READ MORE: Six Air Force Bases Being Considered to House Space Command — Reports
Trump also signed off on establishing the US Space Command to oversee space operations, with the administration proposing a new agency that would be responsible for the development and acquisition of space systems.
The three organisations proposed for FY2020 would jointly require “5,700 to 9,700 new positions for overhead and management, increase DOD’s annual costs by $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion, and incur onetime costs of $1.8 billion to $4.7 billion,” the CBO estimates.
The administration has only requested $306 million and 827 new positions for FY2020, the initial year of creating those organisations, stating it plans to have the new organisations fully running within five years' time.
© Photo : Wikipedia
Trump Space Force Aimed at Reviving Reagan-Era Star Wars Insanity – Russian MoD
There has been scepticism, however, among lawmakers, over the Trump administration’s Space Force plans, as they question the very need for a new service branch in the first place.
When it came time to explaining the rationale for the Space Force, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan called the proposal “threat-driven”.
He said threats are “increasing and the importance of and the opportunities in space are growing.”
Shanahan also argued the Space Force is needed to centralise the management of space activities.
READ MORE: US Must Accelerate Deployment of Space Sensors to Counter Russian Threat — NORAD
In December, US President Donald Trump established the Space Command, which is to become a new branch within the Pentagon, subsequently signing a directive that ordered the Pentagon to establish the US Space Force, which would operate as the sixth branch of the armed forces within the Air Force.
Although the Space Force would initially operate as part of the Air Force, much like the Marine Corps is part of the Navy, the eventual goal is for the Space Force to operate as an independent branch of the military.
The push to create a US space force was prompted by the efforts of potential adversaries to develop space-based military capabilities, according to the directive.
Trump Nominates Air Force General to Lead US Space Command - Pence
With 15,000 Personnel, Trump’s Space Force Would Be Smallest Service Yet
Trump Signs Directive Establishing US Space Force
Trump's Space Force ‘Could've Always In Certain Ways Been Realized' - Professor
Space Command, Space Force, Air-Space Forces, Pentagon, Patrick Shanahan, Donald Trump, China, United States, Russia
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Tag Archives: collection
Book Review: The Right-Hook of The Big Smoke
The Big Smoke, Cover.
Right-Hook of The Big Smoke
In the collection of poetry, The Big Smoke, Adrian Matejka sets up an all-American underdog in that of historical boxing legend Jack Johnson. With skillful form and rich language, Matejka highlights a determination to keep his protagonist fighting for his life, to keep the heavy weight champion going, and to show the effects his character has on those near him. Matejka uses mechanical allegories and aggressive metaphors to describe a man as being similar to a well-oiled machine or animal. Whether for violence in the ring, or violence in domestic life, his gears are always spinning. The power within The Big Smoke stems from questions that it asks the reader. These questions of race, of segregation, of violence, and of gender, bring to mind an oppressive time in our not-so-distance past. The inquiries come in the densely compact prose and terse lines. This fictional history of collected poems graphically details the trials and tribulations of Jack Johnson, while it asks the reader provocative questions of racism, violence, and gender in American culture. The poems also ponder the worth of a man, in relation to his identity and appearance, while showcasing the consequence of action upon a person’s character. Adrian draws from the historical fiction based on the real-life boxer Jack Johnson. Johnson’s persona and attitude come out with Matejka’s voice. Pulling no punches, The Big Smoke reads as a how-to in boxing wins, and gives fresh perspective on the vantage point of another human, a person rooted in American history, from a completely different culture, and an antiquated time.
The Big Smoke focuses on topics of racism, the All-American rise to the top, physicality of a man, sexuality, and a violence driven sport. Themes put forward throughout his collection carry over from the distant past to shed light on topics still relevant today. Racism appears to be a key emphasis with Matejka’s African American protagonist, Jack Johnson. The Big Smoke starts out by detailing a man who is not afraid to fight to prove his worth, whether he is black or white. Jack appears as an everyman’s man. He is a deeply forthcoming and challenged individual who sets out in the world with odds against him—because of the color of his skin. He knows he must use his physical strength to get what he wants. Not only is Jack aware of his predicament, he faces it head on in physical bouts. Constant reference to fighters drawing the “colored line” shows the intense oppression that existed in American history, and in Jack’s professional life. Not only was Jack subject to being denied the opportunity to fight for his living, he was antagonized by those in the crowd while he fought. Matejka makes art of describing fight scenes of high pomp and lavish fashion. A man’s dream of success and fortune is seen through the eyes of Johnson, though the inverse is also shown. With violence, racism, and sexuality comes the idea of a dangerous living. Matejka maps out a precarious world. Jack Johnson is at times his best friend and his own worst enemy. Ego from being a champion overtakes his senses and draws him closer to his demise. When Jack has everything, the cars, the money, the champagne, the women, the sex, and the victories—even with the negative aspects of the racial strife, he still wants more. His insatiable drive within American culture is a play on the society’s lust for possession and power, and what a person will go through to get it.
The detailed setting of The Big Smoke adds unique framing the feel of the poems. Though the setting of The Big Smoke appears to exist in the south, or on the west coast, it may better reflect America as a whole. Valuable aspects throughout this collection of poetry are the greatness in details given. At times these details come off-handedly, in relation to motor vehicles, hotel rooms, intimate settings, and hot midday boxing matches where men are beaten to pulps—as detailed props of the locale. Matejka uses sharp imagery to show intense struggle and pain. In many of his poems he describes a man being torn apart physically with language so elegant and so commonplace that the reader will hardly bat an eye, only to realize the power of the line thereafter. A good author can create amazing works with the simplest words. Matejka does this masterfully, yet not without throwing hints of French, Latin, and early Modern English language into the mix. When foreign lines come up in The Big Smoke, the reader may be somewhat confused at the placement or idea of such phrases. However, these spirts and fragments show the intelligence of the main character. It sheds light on his mentality. Jack Johnson can relate to these classics—Shakespeare and the unfamiliar, he is well read black man in a southern American setting. This detail is telling. It allows for the reader to have empathy, to see eye to eye with the struggle. Jack Johnson this successful individual is only being oppressed by the color of his skin. He has been placed in the unfortunate setting of racial tension. Though it seems an odd pairing, Jack Johnson and Southern United States, it alludes to America’s melting pot makeup. We are all characters in the fight of life trying to get ahead, trying to prevail on those around us, to make it. The American South is a hotbed of controversy, steeped in oppression. The setting and language keeps the reader engaged while on edge, and this defines Matejkas talent for creating fiction of a real-life hero.
Voice, aggression, cocky confidence, self-assured prize fighter, forget the race, swagger, these are the authors tools for creating a violent machine of a man, a man on the verge of becoming a veritable monster, and a master of his sport. Matejka challenges the reader with such pointed topics by using straightforward words and dialogue. Jack Johnson as the subject is not a timid creature, but iron-fisted boxer with his assertions. He is explosive. His dead-pan humor is either that to be laughed at, or completely serious and not at all. He is not an individual to tango with. If he wants something, a woman, a hit, a win in a fight, he takes it without asking. The way he eggs his opponents on is textbook bully. His nature is captured by referencing animals and machines. Matejka has created a working Goliath of a man in his beginnings, in his prime, and in his relative demise. Jack Johnson may tell the other fighter how to take a punch, or how to go down, tell his love interest that he will choke her, or buy her jewelry, but he is foretelling of his action, and this creates the intrigue. He has thoughtful meaning about him. While some aspects of his personality may be hidden in brief breaks for correspondence between Jack and his companions, the lack of information given provides a natural tension to ensure the reader’s locked into the story. Matejka’s words work as tools to produce a dangerous man partial to violence. Jack is an interesting example of a product of his own environment. He gets violence and he gives it back. He is the champion of boxing, yet he is the champion of a violent and barbaric sport. And those bold attributes carry over into both aspects of his life, sport and personal. Jack Johnson’s larger than life persona is Matejka’s Goliath in print.
Matejka gives you the visual, the historical background. In the opening of The Big Smoke while he discusses Shakespeare and Bear fights. The world his poems create is one of old—yet still relevant. He sets up Jack as an animal, a monster, yet with an empathetic quality of which the reader can relate to. His barbaric nature is countered always with luxury, or education, or elegance in style of the day. To quote Shakespeare is to know of Shakespeare. To ride in fancy car, buy expensive jewelry, and pop fine champagne in bathtubs, is to understand luxury. Jack’s life is setup up so that the reader can be carried into the success and failure. This gives feeling of closeness of relation to the reader. Jack’s voice is seen through with Matejka’s language. Matejka cleverly uses colloquialisms and low-demotic dialogue to push the reader into a caste system and to show where the fighter came from. This place in society is painted perfectly. Human nature is reflected within the subject’s needs. Jack needs money, he needs women, and later in the book he needs a high society lifestyle. Matejka’s voice, given to Jack, is one of many facets, a history of the man. The way that Matejka creates the quality of each character draws the reader into the collection emotionally.
Historical America, and its oppression, is shown within Matejka’s collection of poems. The question of historical oppression comes to the fore especially in the boxing ring. When Johnson is to fight someone outside of his race the intensity within the poem is turned up, this intensity creates excitement of the material. Aspects of life become more vivid. Reflecting on Jack’s fight, Matejka will focus on minute aspects such as sweat, or the sun, or the insides of a person being pulverized. Even the colors within the poems appear brighter. The glint of Johnson’s gold teeth and the biting language come out, at times tragically so. Adrian’s tone and tenor create a landscape in his poetry that is easy for a reader to agree with, even if the topic itself is difficult, melancholy, or traumatizing. The historical presence throughout brings the collection closer to home, and offers insight to our country in earlier historical times. Matejka’s ability to imagine and relate appear on each page.
The readability of The Big Smoke comes from the theme and the text itself. This by no means suggests that the topics and themes of this collection of poetry are not without significance. The topics within are American made. The All-American rise is at hand. Jack Johnson starts out by declaring his mother is a slave. He comes from this environment. His inspiration is getting ahead, essentially following the American Dream. He rises by fighting for necessity and eventually gaining a reputation as a fighter. The fame and fortune which comes is desirable to the reader. Having a constant underdog lends to the framework of a story immensely. Even while Jack is at the top his internal struggle, with women, with race, with caste systems, create problems for him, by his problems he is easily relatable. This theme would also be less readable had it not come with clever language. Matejka avoids being lumped into a category of poets who use big words to please the pretentious, though he does at times throw in flashy demotic. He also avoids objective history, because what is that? The way he manipulates tenor reflects in the language of Jack Johnson. Jack is clearly beyond the ordinary man, he is powerful, almost super-human, and intelligent. Matejka proves this by alluding to his literary repertoire. He also makes this visible through powerful dialogue, dialogue between Jack and the women in his life, and italicized words which are either assumed direct quotes or mere quick thinking. The Big Smoke allows the reader a mix of close imagery and insightful thought through the use of risqué topics and lean prose.
The Big Smoke presents diverse language on a diverse and difficult topic, racism in America, violence between humans, and the ever pressing framework of a hierarchy. These elements are presented with Matejka’s artful prose. The storytelling and smart verse keeps the reader entrenched and imagining. Realism in imagery and description make a fictional story seem as the real thing. The idea of Jack Johnson as an American underdog, starting with nothing and rising to the top, is one rooted in the American Dream, no matter race. Jack Johnson as a character embodies the trials and tribulations set forth by an oppressive and judgmental society. He goes on to prove that he is the man in charge, though he is the person who ruins himself in the end. This espouses that Jack Johnson was in control, no one controlled him—but he himself. Throughout Matejka’s collection of poetry Jack Johnson is a force to be reckoned with. The Big Smoke is an inspiring and gritty book of poems rooted in the clashes of American history and culture, which speak to the essence of the American Dream.
Work Cited
Matejka, Adrian. The Big Smoke. New York: Penguin Group, 2013. Print.
Tagged Adrian Matejka, American History, Big Smoke, Book Review, Boxer, Champion, collection, Collection of Poetry, English Department, feminism, History, Jack Johnson, luxury, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Peter Campion, poetic, Poetry, poetry seminar, Professor, prose, Race, Racism, Realism, Reality, Relations, Review, Senior Seminar, sexuality, The Big Smoke, UMN, University of Minnesota, Women
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No Females Allowed?
In 2010 I watched Dr. Jane McGonagel, from the Institute of the Future, take the TED stage and share four traits of video gamers. It occurred to me: had I known of these traits a few years back, I might not have grounded my preteen son for sneaking Grand Theft Auto into the house. It also occurred to me that these traits — urgent optimism, social connectedness, and blissful productivity — were also the qualities of successful business leaders. It resonated so strongly that I wrote a book about it, which will be published next year.
So imagine my surprise when I learned that an upcoming global video gamer conference, organized by the IeSF (International eSports Federation), was banning women from participating? The conference is called Heroes of Warcraft, which is a virtual card game produced by Blizzard Entertainment. The reason the organizers gave for the ban was to avoid “potential conflicts” such as a woman eliminating a man. That would be conflict, to be sure, for the men.
This is crazy on so many levels. First, it’s not like there any physical restrictions when it comes to playing video games. I’m pretty sure women’s thumbs can move as fast as men’s. Then there’s the fact that almost half of video gamers are women. By keeping women out, they’re telling the video game console makers and marketers that their user audience should be 50% less. Good luck making that argument. Microsoft, Sony and others won’t be too excited about that result. There are also the software game makers, like Blizzard and Electronic Arts. Toss those video games out the window, ladies, and see how Blizzard reacts.
If organizing bodies thought like capitalists, instead of bureaucrats, they’d see the commercial insanity in their policies. It goes beyond just the video game makers too. The IeSF is a South Korean based organization. I drive a Hyundai Sonata. Suddenly my impression of this whole developing country, and what I buy from it, gets called into question. Am I going to turn in my car because of this? No. But serious female video gamers might think about it.
Another company that begins with A, and is the name of a fruit, might also be a little concerned. Many women who use their devices to download this game will hear of these rules and wonder: why would Apple partner with another entity that practices gender bias?
Perhaps the strangest thing about is where the competition is being held — Finland. Over the years, the Scandinavian countries, especially Norway and Finland, have been very progressive regarding women serving on corporate boards. The European Union’s largest women’s arm, called the European Women’s Lobby (EWL), does an annual report monitoring European countries and women on business boards. As of 2011, 45% of Finland’s state-owned companies have women on them. This is about triple what the U.S. has accomplished to date. Wonder if any of these gender progressive Finns made a call to the South Koreans?
Maybe so. 24 hours after word got out on the ban, social media went crazy and the tournament organizers retracted the male-only rules. I guess we women don’t pose as much of a “potential conflict” as was originally thought. Or, just maybe, they saw what a conflict we could pose just by uniting around an outdated practice.
By Susan Packard|2014-10-06T09:57:47-04:00July 10th, 2014|Advocacy for women, Business and Finance, Gamesmanship, Leadership, Parenting, Women in business|0 Comments
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October 29, 2017 JarretR 16 Comments
The highly anticipated second season of the Netflix series Stranger Things arrived in October 2017 to usher in the 1980s once again.
In July 2016, streaming media service Netflix quietly unleashed an eight-episode period drama to little initial fanfare. The drama, a show titled Stranger Things, focuses on a group of ordinary kids living in the ordinary American Midwest (the fictional small town of Hawkins, Indiana) who experience some decidedly extraordinary events. The period is the early 1980s.
During the course of the first season of Stranger Things, the main cast of kids, including Dustin, Mike, Lucas, the mysterious girl known as “Eleven,” and teenagers Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler, investigate the disappearance of local kid Will Byers, who vanishes one night following a “Dungeons and Dragons” showdown with his pals. The quest to find Will steadily unveils a host of supernatural events that involve, among other things, an interdimensional monster, a shady government agency, and a creepy alternative universe dubbed “the Upside Down.” Oh, and lots of callbacks and Easter eggs to 1980s culture, from a synth-based soundtrack, to references to films like The Empire Strikes Back and E.T., to VHS tapes, to John Carpenter. Not to mention kids on bikes.
The effort by series creators/producers Sean and Matt Duffer paid off: Stranger Things became a word-of-mouth sensation and one of Netflix’s most successful shows ever. The show’s unabashed “love letter to the 80s” aesthetic was a massive part of its appeal. On October 27, 2017, the much-anticipated second season of Stranger Things only further piled on the 80s domination of contemporary culture, forwarded by an ad campaign that placed the show’s characters smack in the middle of classic 80s horror films. If Stranger Things demonstrated nothing else, it provided yet further evidence that the 1980s, a decade that ended twenty-eight years ago, will live forever. Continue Reading →
1980s, Stranger Things 1980s, bikes, digital, free-range parenting, internet, Netflix, Nostalgia, Oregon Trail, popular culture, Reaganomics, Stranger Things, synthwave, video games, xennials
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Essays, In Conversation
Rights, Protest, and the Incoherence of Public Discourse
Japanese people protesting the US Marine Corps base in Ginowan, 2009 (Nathan Keirn, Wikimedia)
Date: September 5, 2017Author: Robert Bellafiore 1 Comment
by Robert Bellafiore
Contemporary political discourse should take a page from art criticism. The assessment of a work of art often relies on a distinction between the content—what is being depicted—and the form—the design, methods, and techniques employed to create the depiction. Both are essential. Appreciating a novel, for example, requires consideration of both the specific story told and the way in which it is told. Discussions of politics, economics, and the like, however, focus almost exclusively on content, with no regard for the form through which the content is communicated. The consequence of this emphasis on form over content is that two characteristics of our contemporary discourse go unconsidered: speaking of moral claims in terms of rights, and protests.
By rights, I mean not civil rights, those bestowed by a government, but what we usually call human rights, those rights that are thought to belong to all humans by virtue of their status as human beings. Such rights are typically divided between negative rights—those which preclude something, such as violence or coercion—and positive rights—those which maintain something, such as democratic self-representation.
Rights language entered common parlance in the Enlightenment, most famously in the Declaration of Independence’s identification of the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It has only grown more popular since then, to the point that I think it is fair to call it the dominant tool for articulating moral principles in our contemporary discourse. Speaking of ethical claims or obligations in terms of rights is so natural to us today that it is astonishing that rights are a relatively new concept: they have no means of expression in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or Arabic before about 1400.[1] Today, however, rights reign supreme. We have the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Watch… the list goes on.
It is worth considering, however, whether the supremacy of rights in our moral language is not unrelated to the cacophony that concerned citizens of all stripes see in our conversations. The pernicious connection between the two emerges when we consider a fundamental—but suspiciously rare—question: on what basis do we make such claims about the existence of rights? The growth in the number of rights that are recognized as belonging to each of us would suggest that our moral sensitivities have grown impressively acute over time. We now claim many more fundamental obligations than those stated explicitly in the Declaration of Independence, and if the current trajectory maintains, future generations will identify many rights that we do not recognize today. Is there any argument we can make for the comprehensiveness of our contemporary list of rights? Is the future list of rights too expansive—that is, does it mistakenly identify certain conditions as rights that should be considered something else? Where do all these rights actually come from?
Unless the origin or existence of rights can be explained, one can hardly hold it against someone who does not accept the assertion of a right. Hitchens’ Razor, named after the essayist Christopher Hitchens, comes in handy here: “That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.” In response to this line of thinking, legal scholar Ronald Dworkin has noted the fact that simply because a statement cannot be demonstrated does not mean that it is not true, and therefore the absence of a proof of rights does not mean those rights do not exist.[2] This is certainly the case, but it also means that someone who denies the existence of a given right is perfectly justified in doing so. Without an argument, both the assertion and denial of some “fundamental human right” are equally rational.
The absence of arguments in rights language is critical, for it results in the impossibility of reconciling competing rights. Consider one issue that occupies our minds today: the growing economic inequality in the United States. In defense of redistributing the wealth, one might assert that a basic standard of living is a fundamental human right and that we are therefore justified in taking from the wealthy in order to care for the poor. On the other hand, one might assert that private property is a fundamental human right and that it is therefore unacceptable to take from one person to give to another. It doesn’t matter here which side is correct—what is relevant is the difficulty of explaining which is justified in terms of rights. Both a decent standard of living and private property may be asserted as human rights. But if rights truly are, in Dworkin’s term, “trumps,” that ought to override all other concerns, we are at an impasse: a right will be violated no matter what. No resolution can be identified that does not leave one side without its humanity seemingly denied.
If rational argumentation fails, there is only one method available for resolving the predicament: force. The need for, and justification of, coercion follows from the inadequacy of persuasion. If it is true that an inalienable claim is being denied and that rights by definition override all other concerns, then one is justified in using whatever means necessary to protect that claim. This does not mean that people will inevitably resort to outright violence. It does mean, however, that those who want their rights protected or recognized will go about working to ensure that they are—regardless of whether others are convinced.
Enter the second characteristic of our discourse (which, again, has nothing to do with the content of our arguments and everything to do with the form): protest. Like declarations of rights, protests are marked by a near-total absence of any attempt to persuade the unpersuaded. Such an absence is not accidental—it is precisely the absence of a desire, or ability, to persuade that leads people to protest rather than engage in other forms of communication. Invariably, the purpose of a protest is to “make our voices heard.” Assertion, rather than persuasion, is at the core of the protest as a method of political expression. Philosopher Alasdair Macintyre is worth quoting at length on this point:
[Protesting] is now almost entirely that negative phenomenon which characteristically occurs as a reaction to the alleged invasion of someone’s rights in the name of someone else’s utility. The self-assertive shrillness of protest arises because the facts of incommensurability ensure that protestors can never win an argument; the indignant self-righteousness arises because the facts of incommensurability ensure equally that the protestor can never lose an argument either. Hence the utterance of protest is characteristically addressed to those who already share the protestors’ premises. The effects of incommensurability ensure that the protestors rarely have anyone else to talk to but themselves. This is not to say that protest cannot be effective; it is to say that it cannot be rationally effective and that its dominant modes of expression give evidence of a certain perhaps unconscious awareness of this.[3]
The white supremacists’ rally, the Women’s March, and the annual March for Life are not intended to convince the unconvinced. Rather, the very method of political expression that the participants have chosen involves an implicit recognition or concession that even if they did want to convince others, they would be unable to do so. Such protests may be effective at achieving their participants’ goal, whether that goal is ethnic homogeneity, the preservation of women’s access to abortion, or the restriction of that access, but surely we fool ourselves if we think that rational persuasion is one of those goals.
The fact remains, however, that there exist fellow members of our society who disagree with us. The preservation of that society requires that we at least make the effort to persuade and understand others. At this point, the natural question is: if rights don’t work, what does? It is beyond the scope of this essay to propose and defend an alternative; and though it is easier to expose flaws than to present solutions, Alasdair Macintyre’s After Virtue has done the latter as well as the former. Unless a compelling alternative gains widespread traction, the dissonance of our discourse will continue, not as an unfortunate though temporary problem, but rather as a necessary consequence of the form that our arguments take.
Robert Bellafiore is a senior at the University of Oklahoma studying economics and philosophy and minoring in international studies.
[1] Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2007), 83.
[2] Taking Rights Seriously (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1977).
[3] After Virtue, 85.
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One thought on “Rights, Protest, and the Incoherence of Public Discourse”
John Speers says:
EXCELLENT!! I could not agree more.
To break out of our respective conservative and progressive ideological ghettos/echo chambers, I think we need to direct our energies much more into education and fact-based discourse. Here is a painfully long blog I wrote post-election that addresses the issue from a somewhat different perspective: https://rumination13.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/twointell/
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Why December 7th Matters In Rock History
posted by Dave Basner - Dec 7, 2018
It’s December 7th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:
In 1968, at a concert in England, Eric Burdon announced that he would be breaking up The Animals later in the month so he could move to California and start an acting career. Instead, he’d go on to join the band War.
In 1999, The Eagles held a press conference to announce that their first Greatest Hits package had become America’s best-selling album.
In 1991, U2’s Achtung Baby debuted at number one on the charts.
In 1987, Mr. Mister started a two-week run at number one on the singles charts with “Broken Wings.”
And in 2011, 30 Seconds to Mars broke the record for most shows performed during a single album cycle when they played their 300th concert in support of their album, This Is War, at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom.
And that’s what happened today in rock history.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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My 5 Favorite De Niro Performances
If you asked me who my favorite actor is I’d proudly proclaim ROBERT DE NIRO, along with thousands upon thousands of other fans across the world. In each role he fills, De Niro engages, scares, surprises, and connects. He is a bonafide legend, and the depth, tone, subtlety, and intensity he is able to create within each of his characters is nothing short of awe-inspiring. In honor of his 72nd birthday, here are my five favorite Robert De Niro performances, in no particular order. What are yours? Jake La Motta – Raging Bull (1980) Raging Bull is one of my favorite films for numerous reasons, including Robert De Niro’s mesmerizing performance (for which he won the Academy Award), the stunning cinematography, and the truly moving soundtrack. In Raging Bull we see the destruction of a man’s world, as his anger and jealousy corrodes the relationships in his life. It’s one of those films and performances that one can never do justice to when discussing – it simply must be watched and enjoyed. Michael – The Deer Hunter (1978) The Deer Hunter provides an examination of the Vietnam war and its impact on American …
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Meet the First British Woman to Go Around the World on Her Motorbike
Updated: 30 April 2018
You’re 23, your heart’s been broken and there’s a long, hard slog of study stretching out in front of you. What do you do? For Elspeth Beard, a round-the-world trip on the back of her 1974 BMW R60/6 flat-twin motorbike proved the ultimate remedy for a wounded heart and weary head.
Thirty-two years after making history as the first British woman to ride solo around the globe, clocking 35,000 miles and crossing 20 countries along the way, she sat down to complete the equally epic task of penning a biking memoir to match the adventure. Lone Rider, published by Michael O’Mara in July 2017, retraces her two-year journey from a dockland warehouse in Brooklyn to her parents’ garage in central London, via outhouses in the Outback and hostile hotels in Middle Eastern war zones.
Elspeth on her bike the day she rode to Dartford to get her bike shipped to New York, 1982
© Courtesy of Elspeth Beard
Culture Trip filmmaker Souleyman Messalti and animator Joe Brooks caught up with Beard at her home in Godalming, Surrey: an award-winning, 130-foot, brick-built water tower that she painstakingly converted over a seven-year period after she returned from her travels and completed her architectural studies. (Just in case you hadn’t gathered by now, this is a woman who likes a challenge.)
She discusses the liberating power of anonymity, the painful trade-off between independence and isolation, the possibility of finding love in the mountains of Kashmir and the opportunity, fast disappearing from the world, of getting lost.
Elspeth on the road to Leh in Ladakh, 1983
If you’ve ever heard the call of the road, her words of advice are the ones you should follow.
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News Roundup: 90210, One Tree Hill, The O.C. and Gossip Girl
Michael Steger (Navid, 90210) was on The Wendy Williams Show last week.
SoapNet has been airing a great promo featuring Beverly Hills 90210, One Tree Hill and The O.C., and I finally found it online!
SoapNet has an interesting One Tree Hill poll question: What’s the worst thing Dan’s done (other than kill Keith)?
Star News has an interview with Mitch Ryan (Alexander, One Tree Hill).
Jackson Brundage (Jamie, One Tree Hill), Cullen Moss (Junk, One Tree Hill) and Vaughn Wilson (Fergie, One Tree Hill) will participate in a charity basketball game.
You can get 10% off your ticket for the Gossip Girl tour in New York City when you use the promo code TEENDRAMA.
Tags: 90210, Alexander, Beverly Hills 90210, Cullen Moss, Dan, Fergie, Gossip Girl, Jackson Brundage, Jamie, Junk, Keith, Michael Steger, Mitch Ryan, Navid, New York City, One Tree Hill, SoapNet, Star News, The O.C, The Wendy Williams Shows, Vaughn Wilson
Categories : 90210, Beverly Hills 90210, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The O.C.
Exclusive: One Tree Hill’s Cullen Moss on the Evolution of Junk, Making of Dear John and Blood Done Sign My Name
Think One Tree Hill is the only place to catch Cullen Moss? Not true, my friends, not true. In the month of February alone, Moss had two movies come out in theaters, the based-on-a-novel Dear John and the based-on-a-true-story Blood Done Sign My Name.
But there’s no denying Moss is most familiar to us TDWs for his role as Junk Moretti, a character we first met way back in 2003 in the One Tree Hill pilot. In our exclusive interview, Moss talks about his longevity on the show, improvising in Dear John and the connection he has to Bethany Joy Galeotti’s The Notebook musical.
TeenDramaWhore: Do you remember what your audition for One Tree Hill was like?
Cullen Moss: Yes, I do. It was a surprise. It started with a call from my agent that the [casting agency] Fincannons wanted to see me. I just this past year found the piece a paper where I wrote the details down. I wrote “Jump McCready, 17-year-old baller.” This was when I was 27! My agent, she even told me, “Now, I asked them if they knew how old are you” and she asked if they were sure they wanted to see me and they did. I went in and I found out it was not Jump McCready. But for some reason, that name, Jump McCready, made me go in and do this character-y New York dialect. I guess they liked it. The line was about somebody stinkin’ and needed deodorant. It sounded like something from The Bowery Boys in a 1940s movie. Or somebody out of The Sandlot. It was weird. But when I went back for the call-back, I said, “You know, I can lose that accent. I don’t have to do that” because I realized that it was supposed to be set in North Carolina, and they were like “No, no, no. Are you from New York?” and I said I wasn’t. I forget who was there. [Creator] Mark Schwahn and…
TDW: [Executive producers] Mike Tollin? Brian Robbins?
Moss: Yeah, I think they were both there. I’m pretty sure Brian Robbins was. Anyway, they were like, “No. Keep it. We like it.” So I did. At the time, I was supposed to go over to Japan to visit my brother who was living there but my agent kept saying, “You’re still in the running. You’re still in the running.” It was this long process. So I had to postpone the trip to Japan and then the final audition was a shoot-out. They set up a basketball hoop outside the casting office. I was by no means 17 and by lesser means a baller. I would play little pick-up games with my friends but I was terrible. I had poor form. I would describe my court-style as frantic. I practiced the night before the shoot-out and I tried to pass to one of my friends and my back went out! I was just feeling decrepit and old and useless. But the morning of, I stretched it out and kind of played through the pain. It was down between me and a black guy for the role. He had played high school basketball and stuff but, for some reason, he wasn’t hitting his shots. I was talking trash, needlessly because I was horrible, but all my garbage I was shooting was going in! I remember Mark Schwahn saying, “Your form is horrible! How are you making these shots?” but I couldn’t miss that day. Then I got the part.
TDW: Did you ever expect all these years later that your character would still be around?
Moss: No, I didn’t. Vaughn Wilson, who is such an awesome and cool dude, plays Fergie. Usually when we would shoot, it was like smoke and fire. One of us wasn’t working unless the other was. They would call us in together, Junk and Fergie, Junk and Fergie. I was working at the studios, actually, during the second or third seasons, in the lighting and grip department. I was in the shop, inventorying equipment and fixing equipment. I would deliver stuff to the set of One Tree Hill and try to get the scoop–was I in the next script? I remember somebody at the beginning of the third season saying, “Oh, yeah. You’re coming up soon” and then they looked at the script later and were like, “No, I think it was just Fergie in the script.” It happened another time, too, where he was working and I wasn’t so I thought maybe they were just done with me and I wanted to find out. So I e-mailed Mark Schwahn and said, “Hey, if you’re done with me, I understand. I don’t want to be on edge here. Just let me know if that’s it. If that’s it, that’s fine and thank you for keeping me around as long as you did.” He answered back–and he’s such a sweet dude–he said “You know, honestly, we really don’t know. We don’t have a point of view for your character. We don’t know where we’re going to go so I don’t have an answer for you but that might be it for you. Oh, and you’re not looking so high school.” And I understood that.
So I wrote him back and pitched an angle. I don’t know if it had anything to with his ultimate decision but I pitched it that maybe Junk was this older loser guy. They had never shot me at the high school. I said maybe he’s the older loser guy who hangs out with the kids on the River Court. He never really grew out of his high school years. He doesn’t have anyone his own age so he’s clinging to this group and maybe he’s the guy who buys the beer. I didn’t know. But I pitched it to him and he brought me back in and I thought it was in that capacity, as the older loser guy who found his niche with these guys. I thought it was that until they had me going to prom [Episode 4.15, Prom Night At Hater High] and graduation [Episode 4.20, The Birth And Death Of The Day]. I was like, “Okay. So I actually graduated. I actually went to prom.” They actually had Fergie and I go together. We didn’t have dates. So we walked in together.
Mark Schwahn, he’s a loyal guy. Our characters certainly have not been so integral that they couldn’t have just been dropped at this point. There wouldn’t have been some huge outcry from the general public that watches One Tree Hill, I don’t think, if Junk and Fergie disappeared. But they did keep us around. I was surprised when I found out that there were people who actually knew who Junk was, that people did watch the show that intently. “They’re the old crew. They’re the River Court kids.” I think Schwahn saw that, too, and felt the need to bring back those roots, every now and then, to the River Court and to where the pilot began, the story began. Throughout whatever changes have gone on, he’s brought us back to represent those roots and certainly occasionally for comic relief. It is kind of a surprise that seven years later I’m still playing Junk and that, in the small capacity I’m in, people know who Junk and Fergie are and appreciate us. It makes me feel like maybe if I was gone, I would be missed. I don’t know.
TDW: I think it’s remarkable because the show has had tons and tons of supporting characters over the years and you two have outlasted nearly all of them.
Moss: Yeah. I think part of it might be due to the fact that we’re local actors. They don’t have to fly us in. So part of it may be a budgetary issue. But Mark’s been loyal and kept us in mind when there’s gatherings and weddings and stuff. He’s like, “Even if you don’t have lines in the episodes, you guys need to be there. You’re part of the crew.” He hasn’t forgotten the roots of the show and that’s cool. While we’ve never come in and had very specific storylines or characters arcs, he’s felt us somewhat integral and necessary, I guess.
TDW: Your most recent episode was the John Hughes tribute [Episode 7.15, Don’t You Forget About Me]. Were you a fan of Weird Science and Home Alone before then?
Moss: I was with Weird Science. I hadn’t watched Home Alone in its entirety until this last year. I showed it to my six-year-old son and we got to enjoy that together. But I was a big fan of Weird Science.
TDW: What was it like filming those scenes with Jackson [Brundage, Jamie]?
Moss: It was a lot of fun. He’s always fun to work with. He was such a cool addition to the show when he came in. It’s cool whenever the cameras stop rolling and we get to horse around with him. Actually in the paintball scene [in 7.15], there was a point in the shooting where they used stunt guys. Vaughn and I took the first few hits with special effects guys firing the paintball guns because they were not entirely trusting of Jackson’s aim, not to hit us in the face or the cracks of our padding. But once they got the stunt guys in our places, they let him have a turn with the gun and he did not miss. He was nailing them repeatedly. He was a good shot.
TDW: On some level, that doesn’t surprise me. He’s proven he’s good at like every single thing the show has handed him.
Moss: He is. He’s such a little fella. I’m sure his percentage on the basketball court is better than mine. He puts up these wild shots and they go in. He’s good. He’s a sporty little fella. He’s just a lot of fun. I’ve been doing this show longer than my son’s been around. He was born [in season 1] so it’s an interesting timeline, just to think I’ve been doing this show as long as its taken to this little human being to become who he is. The point of that being is that I’ve got a six-year-old kid and he’s a little younger than Jackson, but I love kids and interacting with them. So Jackson is also a joy to be around.
TDW: Have you heard anything about the chances of there being an eighth season?
Moss: Probably as much as you have. I’ve got two theories. One, we will get an eighth season and my second theory is that we won’t.
TDW: Very scientific.
Moss: That’s as far as it goes. I really have no idea. I know the show was doing well with ratings towards the beginning of this season. I don’t know quite where it is right now. I don’t know who wants it, who wants to continue. I don’t know who doesn’t. So I don’t know what will factor into it but I’d love for there to be another season, of course for myself and for the Wilmington crew, too. From the PAs to the DPs, the grips, the electrics–that’s kind of the only gig in town right now outside of independents. I’m hoping all the talented guys on the crew can stay employed another season. And hopefully by the time the show has seen its last episode, there will be enough other work in town due to the film incentives that were recently passed so they can stay employed and stay in their own town.
TDW: I have to congratulate you on the success of Dear John. You guys took down Avatar in your first week!
Moss: We did. Our special unit dudes tackled those blue aliens. That was a shock. It was pretty cool to be a part of that.
TDW: For that audition, did you go in for a specific one of John’s army pals or a generic one? Because I thought they all had unique personalities but I wasn’t sure if that was determined by the script or if you brought that to the role.
Moss: Well, it was a little bit of both. To answer the first question, I originally auditioned for one of Savannah’s friends. And then they brought me in for Rooster, who was who I got cast as. As far as what I brought to it, that was something again with the name. When I hear names, I put voices to them and with Rooster I decided maybe he was a Southern guy and brought that to the audition. I got called back and the director Lasse Hallstrom was there and I said, “Now I don’t know if you want him to be Southern” but he liked what I had done. He asked where I was from and I said North Carolina and he said, “Oh, but you don’t have an accent?” and I said, “I do but I don’t have the accent I auditioned with.” I made him a little more Southern.
Hallstrom did let us bring a lot to it. Very little of what you heard my character saying was scripted. I’m trying to think of any of it was. There was “requesting to extend my stay as well, sir”–that was scripted. But he would let us improvise a lot. There’s that scene where John drops his letters in the mud before he burns them off. Hallstrom decided at the last minute, “Let’s pop this shot off” and he asked if I would walk by and say something. I asked, “Anything in particular?” and he said, “No, maybe you can just say something smart-ass to him, make a little joke about it. Or ask him what’s wrong. It’s up to you.” So we went over a few variations of it and did it. And the scene in the humvee just before John gets in a firefight, there was this whole little written monologue about being a little upset about being a soldier sent overseas and there not being any combat where we were. We tried that and he said, “No, it sounds too soldier-y, too military. Can you just tell a story?” And I said, “What kind of story?” “I don’t know. Any kind of story. Something personal.” So I told part of a story from a buddy of mine, a fishing story about a catfish eating a squirrel and the squirrel getting away and swimming to the shore. So I did that in one take and I was just ad-libbing in the surroundings for other stuff. So we all did get to bring a lot of our stuff to it. Hallstrom would just try to breathe life into it by saying, “Forget the script. Here’s the situation. Act as you would naturally.”
TDW: You also have a new movie out now, Blood Done Sign My Name. What can you tell me about that?
Moss: That was a great experience because it was the only time I’ve played an actual real-life person. It’s a true story. It’s based on the memoirs of Tim Tyson. He observed the racial tensions in Oxford, North Carolina in the 1970s, where riots and protests came about when three local white men–a business owner and his two sons–weren’t convicted of brutally beating and shooting to death a young black Vietnam veteran who had just gotten back. I was cast as one of those sons, Larry Teel. It’s an important story. As a North Carolinian and as well as an American, you don’t hear all these stories. You hear about the civil rights movement and it’s kind of confined to this time in the ‘60s but you find out shit was not fixed in the ‘70s and it’s still not. That should be common knowledge but you don’t hear these little stories. It’s not a part of North Carolina history. They teach North Carolina history in their schools and you don’t hear about this. It was cool to be a part of a true story. There were people on set that were there during the riots, during that time, and saw the tension after these three men went on trial and got off scot-free when there were witnesses. It was really interesting. It was a great experience.
TDW: You also worked with fellow One Tree Hill stars on it.
Moss: Yeah, I worked with Lee Norris [Mouth] and Michael May [Chuck]. It was cool to have Lee there. It was comforting.
TDW: Speaking of One Tree Hill stars, you also narrated The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend, which starred Hilarie Burton [Peyton] and Austin Nichols [Julian].
Moss: Yes, I did. That was really cool. [Writer-director] Nick [Gray] and Hilarie asked me to come in and do that. I think they both had seen me do really broad kind of character-y voices from different things that I have done so they wanted me to come in and provide them with this crusty narrator guy. It was a lot of fun to kind of disappear into that voice.
TDW: If I didn’t know that you were the narrator, I never would’ve guessed.
Moss: Well, thank you. We toyed around with a couple of voices but that was pretty much the first idea and they liked it. It was like a Southern-fried William S. Burroughs.
TDW: I think I read that your girlfriend was on One Tree Hill recently.
Moss: Yes! She’s awesome. Madison Weidberg. She is an incredible actress and quite a talented actor. We actually met doing a play in Wilmington. We met [in 2008] during Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical–real high-brow stuff. But it was a blast. Anyway, she was involved with The Notebook musical, the workshop that Bethany Joy [Galeotti, Haley] did. She played a couple of characters in that and she did a great job. She and Bethany Joy got along really well and so when the opportunity came for back-up singers for the episode where Haley has her big concert [Episode 7.13, Weeks Go By Like Days], she called upon some of the girls that had been in The Notebook.
TDW: That’s very cool. What’s next for you?
Moss: Since Dear John, I got to do a part in The Conspirator, which is a Robert Redford-directed film about the trial of Mary Surratt after the assassination of Lincoln. I play a senior officer in the war department and I get to have a nice scene with Kevin Kline–and under the director of Robert Redford, so that was amazing! To be there and looking at Robert Redford’s face telling me what to do–that was a real thrill. Then I went down not long ago and had a day on The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, which is a Nicholas Cage thriller. It’ll be out in a year or so. And I just got cast in Army Wives; that’s a Lifetime show that shoots in Charleston. There’s a possibility that that’ll be a recurring role.
TDW: That’s exciting.
Moss: Yeah, I just shot that this past week. I guess that’s the next thing that will be seen. Vaughn and I worked on another One Tree episode about Skills [Antwon Tanner] coming back and some drama there with Mouth.
TDW: Is Antwon in that episode?
Moss: Oh, yeah. He is.
TDW: That’s great. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for that and everything else you have going on.
Moss: I’ve got a couple pilots out there that are kind of little independent ventures that I’m hoping will come to fruition. I shot a pilot called Hardwell with some good friends. It’s a comedy we shot and pitched to FX. Nothing’s happened with it yet but we’re crossing our fingers but not holding our breath. And there’s a golf pilot I shot with some guys in town here about a golf pro. Wilmington is really cool. There’s so many creative, talented people in this town that just drum up [projects] when there’s not any big things in town. The independent film scene in town is thriving and alive and will hopefully get realized and make some dough. When there’s nothing big happening, you can usually find something to do, something to act in, some way to work whether it’s for free and the thrill of the project or what.
TDW: I wish you the best of luck of everything.
Moss: Well, thank you so much. Thanks a lot, Shari.
Come back next Sunday for another exclusive interview!
TDW Interview Index
Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Antwon Tanner, Army Wives, Austin Nichols, Avatar, Bethany Joy Galeotti, Blood Done Sign My Name, Brian Robbins, Charleston, Chuck, Cullen Moss, Dear John, Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, Don't You Forget About Me, Fergie, Fincannon, FX, Haley, Hardwell, Hilarie Burton, Home Alone, Jackson Brundage, Jamie, Japan, John Hughes, Julian, Junk, Junk Moretti, Larry Teel, Lasse Hallstom, Lee Norris, Madison Weidberg, Mark Schwahn, Mary Surratt, Michael May, Mike Tollin, Mouth, Nicholas Cage, Nick Gray, North Carolina, One Tree Hill, Oxford, Prom Night, River Court, Robert Redford, Skills, The Birth And Death Of The Day, The Bowery Boys, The Conspirator, The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, The Notebook, The Sandlot, The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend, Tim Tyson, Vaughn Wilson, Vietnam, Weeks Go By Like Days, Weird Science, William S. Burroughs, Wilmington
News Roundup: One Tree Hill, 90210, Gossip Girl and More
The CW has ordered another pilot, in addition to the five shows previously announced.
Monday’s One Tree Hill (1.9 million rounded up) dropped a decent amount in the ratings compared to last week. This is a season- and (I believe) series-low.
Variety says One Tree Hill has a “better-than-50/50 shot at returning.”
InStyle has a short article on Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) at New York Fashion Week.
Due to scheduling issues, Jana Kramer (Alex, One Tree Hill) and Robert Buckley (Clay, One Tree Hill) will no longer be participating in the Wilmington police fundraiser this weekend. Instead, James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill) and Mitch Ryan (Alexander, One Tree Hill) will and possibly others.
Blood Done Sign My Name, a movie Lee Norris (Mouth, One Tree Hill) first told me about in August, starring him, Cullen Moss (Junk, One Tree Hill), Michael May (Chuck, One Tree Hill) and Susan Walters (Principal Rimkus), opens in theaters Friday. Star News has a review of the film.
The CW sent out a YouTube interview with 90210’s costume designer, Frank Helmer.
The contenders for the TV’s Top Couples tournament have officially been announced. They include: David/Donna (Beverly Hills 90210), Dylan/Brenda (Beverly Hills 90210), Chuck/Blair (Gossip Girl),Nate/Blair (Gossip Girl) and Ryan/Marissa (The O.C.).
Alexandra Patsavas (music supervisor, Gossip Girl & The O.C.) is among BuddyTV’s picks to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol.
I’ve never listened to This American Life before but I stumbled across an edition that had a segment about The O.C. that I really enjoyed. It starts around the 30-minute mark.
Autumn Reeser (Taylor, The O.C.), who appeared on tonight’s episode of Human Target, has been cast in No Ordinary Family, which is being executive produced by Greg Berlanti (writer-producer, Dawson’s Creek).
LOLing at this Blair Waldorf comparison to Suri Cruise, especially since Suri is the daughter of Katie Holmes (Joey, Dawson’s Creek).
Holmes is included in an E! Online photogallery of stars at 18 years old.
Tags: 90210, Alex, Alexander, Alexandra Patsavas, American Idol, Autumn Reeser, Beverly Hills 90210, Blair, Blair Waldorf, Blood Done Sign My Name, Brenda, Brooke, BuddyTV, Chuck, Clay, Cullen Moss, David, Dawson's Creek, Donna, Dylan, E! Online, Frank Helmer, Gossip Girl, Greg Berlanti, Human Target, InStyle, James Lafferty, Jana Kramer, Joey, Junk, Katie Holmes, Lee Norris, Marissa, Michael May, Mitch Ryan, Mouth, Nate, Nathan, New York Fashion Week, No Ordinary Family, One Tree Hill, Principal Rimkus, Robert Buckley, Ryan, Simon Cowell, Sophia Bush, Star News, Suri Cruise, Susan Walters, Taylor, The CW, The O.C, This American Life, TV's Top Couples, Variety, Wilmington, YouTube
Gossip Girl and 90210 scored several nominations in E! Online’s second annual CW Awards while One Tree Hill only received one.
MTV has an article about Twelve, starring Chace Crawford (Nate, Gossip Girl).
TVGuide.com named the James’ sisters’ pool fight as one of their Top Moments of the Week.
Examiner.com has an interview with Cullen Moss (Junk, One Tree Hill).
SF Universe has an interview with Michael Trucco (Cooper, One Tree Hill). His new film Meteor Storm premieres on SyFy tomorrow night.
Chad Michael Murray (Lucas, One Tree Hill) and Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210) both attended the first-ever DipDive Data Awards.
PopEater has an interview with Tori Spelling (Donna, Beverly Hills 90210) and her husband Dean McDermott.
Stephanie Beacham (Iris, Beverly Hills 90210) placed fifth in the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother.
E! Online has quotes from both AnnaLynne McCord (Naomi, 90210) and Olivia Wilde (Alex, The O.C.) on Haiti.
TVGuide.com has a video interview with Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.) about Southland. You can see some footage of Michael Cudlitz (Tony, Beverly Hills 90210) as McKenzie talks about their characters’ relationship.
E! Online has an interview with Tate Donovan (Jimmy, The O.C.) about his work on Damages.
EW.com’s recap of last night’s episode of The Vampire Diaries feature a Dawson’s Creek comparison and a link to a classic Pacey-Joey scene.
James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) credited his role on One Tree Hill (as Adam/Dixon Reese) as making him “fall in love with being on a set again.”
Entertainment Today has an interview with Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) about Fringe.
Tags: 90210, Adam, Adrianna, Alex, AnnaLynne McCord, Benjamin McKenzie, Beverly Hills 90210, Celebrity Big Brother, Chace Crawford, Chad Michael Murray, Cooper, Cullen Moss, Damages, Dawson, Dawson's Creek, Dean McDermott, DipDive Data Awards, Dixon, Donna, E! Online, Entertainment Today, EW.com, Examiner.com, Fringe, Gossip Girl, Iris, James Van Der Beek, Jessica Lowndes, Jimmy, Joey, Joshua Jackson, Junk, Lucas, Meteor Storm, Michael Cudlitz, Michael Trucco, MTV, Naomi, Nate, Olivia Wilde, Pacey, PopEater, Reese, Ryan, SF Universe, Southland, Stephanie Beacham, SyFy, Tate Donovan, The CW, The O.C, The Vampire Diaries, Tony, Tori Spelling, TVGuide.com, Twelve, UK
News Roundup: 90210, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and The O.C.
A few teen drama mentions in this L.A. Times photogallery on “character types.”
BlackBook has a brief interview with Jessica Stroup (Silver, 90210).
The New York Times said the new 90210 doesn’t “approach the success of [its] predecessor, or even passable hit status.” They won’t get any argument from me!
According to Zap2it and Nielsen Media Research, 90210 was the fourth least-watched show of 2009.
Tabitha (Jessica Walter, 90210) and CeCe (Caroline Lagerfelt, Gossip Girl) are mentioned in this CNN piece on boozy grandmothers.
Only Blair (Leighton Meester, Gossip Girl) is left in the Girl on Top tournament.
Examiner.com has an interesting article about Meester.
Jessica Szohr (Vanessa, Gossip Girl) is on the cover of the February issue of Teen Vogue. They posted an interview excerpt online and PEOPLE.com also has a story on it.
The new One Tree Hill Connection podcast features an interview with Lee Norris (Mouth, One Tree Hill). He compares the show to Gossip Girl around the 7:55 mark. Have you read my *two* interviews with Norris?
PEOPLE.com has an article on Johnathon Schaech proposing to Jana Kramer (Alex, One Tree Hill).
Ausiello has an interview with Joe Manganiello (Owen, One Tree Hill). Have you read my interview with him?
Thanks go to Sam for sharing a YouTube link of The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend, starring Hilarie Burton (Peyton, One Tree Hill) and Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) with narration by Cullen Moss (Junk, One Tree Hill). Can’t say I liked it much…
The O.C. is on TV.com’s list of the Most Influential Shows of the Decade.
Tags: 90210, Alex, Austin Nichols, BlackBook, Blair, Caroline Lagerfelt, CeCe, CNN, Cullen Moss, Examiner.com, Girl on Top, Gossip Girl, Hilarie Burton, Jana Kramer, Jessica Stroup, Jessica Szohr, Jessica Walter, Johnathon Schaech, Julian, Junk, L.A. Times, Lee Norris, Leighton Meester, Mouth, Nielsen Media Research, One Tree Hill, One Tree Hill Connection, PEOPLE.com, Peyton, Silver, Tabitha, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, The O.C, The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend, Vanessa, YouTube, Zap2it
News Roundup: One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and Dawson’s Creek
Lee Norris (Mouth, One Tree Hill) recorded a message for fans.
The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend, starring Hilarie Burton (Peyton, One Tree Hill) and Austin Nichols (Julian, One Tree Hill) with narration by Cullen Moss (Junk, One Tree Hill), has been released, according to a vlog from Burton.
You can vote Gossip Girl as the Best Scripted Television Series of 2009 in an E! Online poll.
You can vote for Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl), Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) or Michelle Williams (Jen, Dawson’s Creek) as the Most Stylin’ Star of 2009 in another E! Online poll.
Tags: Austin Nichols, Blair, Blake Lively, Cullen Moss, Dawson's Creek, E! Online, Gossip Girl, Hilarie Burton, Jen, Julian, Junk, Lee Norris, Leighton Meester, Michelle Williams, Mouth, One Tree Hill, Peyton, Serena, The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend
Categories : Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill
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News Roundup: 90210, One Tree Hill and Dawson’s Creek
Last night’s 90210 (1.4 million viewers) dropped a bit in the ratings compared to last week.
Korbi has a pretty great but spoilish video interview with Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210).
Rebecca Gayheart (Toni, Beverly Hills 90210) is on the cover of Us Weekly alongside her husband Eric Dane and their new baby.
Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) will be on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tomorrow night.
Busy Philipps (Audrey, Dawson’s Creek) was on Chelsea Lately last night.
Tags: 90210, Adrianna, Beverly Hills 90210, Brooke, Craig Ferguson, Eric Dane, Jessica Lowndes, Korbi, Rebecca Gayheart, Sophia Bush, The Late Late Show, Toni, US Weekly
Categories : 90210, Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill
News Roundup: One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, 90210 and More
Last night’s One Tree Hill (1.9 million viewers) and Gossip Girl (1.7 million viewers) both had drops in the ratings compared to last week. OTH’s was tiny, though.
Zap2it did a nice roundup of the tweets Robert Buckley (Clay, One Tree Hill) sent last night.
Zap2it also has a “first look” at two of The CW’s pilots, including Nomads, which stars Michaela McManus (Lindsey, One Tree Hill) but they don’t have photos with her.
Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl), Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl), Jessica Szohr (Vanessa, Gossip Girl), Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl), Rachel Bilson (Summer, The O.C.), Penn Badgley (Dan, Gossip Girl), Sebastian Stan (Carter, Gossip Girl) and Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) were among the attendees at last night’s annual MET Costume Gala. There may have been others from the teen dramas but those are the ones I know of.
Nicole Fiscella (Isabel, Gossip Girl) will give the commencement speech at the University of Bridgeport.
OnTheRedCarpet.com has short, spoilish video interviews with Taylor Momsen (Jenny, Gossip Girl) and Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210).
TVGuideMagazine.com also has a short but spoilish interview with Lowndes.
Examiner.com has a spoilish interview with Ryan Eggold (Ryan, 90210).
Jessica Walter (Tabitha, 90210) will appear on Make It Or Break It, which Paul Stupin (executive producer, Dawson’s Creek) EPs.
Shannen Doherty (Brenda, Beverly Hills 90210) tweeted that she is supposed to be on the Dancing With the Stars season finale.
Tags: 90210, Adrianna, Beverly Hills 90210, Blair, Blake Lively, Brenda, Carter, Clay, Dan, Dancing with the Stars, Examiner.com, Gossip Girl, Isabel, Jenny, Jessica Lowndes, Jessica Szohr, Jessica Walter, Joshua Jackson, Kristen Bell, Leighton Meester, Lindsey, Make It Or Break It, Met Costume Gala, Michaela McManus, Nicole Fiscella, Nomads, One Tree Hill, OnTheRedCarpet.com, OTH, Pacey, Paul Stupin, Penn Badgley, Rachel Bilson, Robert Buckley, Ryan, Ryan Eggold, Serena, Shannen Doherty, Stebastian Scan, Summer, Tabitha, Taylor Momsen, The CW, The O.C, TVGuideMagazine.com, University of Bridgeport, Vanessa, Zap2it
Anyone tweet with The CW tonight? I was live-blogging so I obviously couldn’t do it but I imagine interesting things were said.
The issue of TV Guide Magazine on sale now features a spoiler-filled blurb about the Gossip Girl finale, with quotes from Stephanie Savage (executive producer, Gossip Girl).
The CW Source has a short video interview with Billy Baldwin (William, Gossip Girl).
Twelve, starring Chace Crawford (Nate, Gossip Girl), will open in theaters July 2.
Rolling Stone named The Pretty Reckless, featuring Taylor Momsen (Jenny, Gossip Girl), one of Bamboozle’s Five Breakout Bands T0 Watch.
Access Hollywood has an interview with Momsen.
Deadline has some details on the renewal process and chances for One Tree Hill.
TVGuide.com also gives its thoughts and lists OTH as “looking good” for renewal.
In USA Today’s Save Our Shows survey, only 10 percent voted to “keep” One Tree Hill.
James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill) participated in a live-streamed Wakey!Wakey! concert thingie with Mike Grubbs (Grubbs, One Tree Hill) tonight. You can watch the archived version.
Examiner.com has an interview with Lee Norris (Mouth, One Tree Hill). Have you read my two interviews with him?
NBC Philadelphia has a brief interview with Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210).
Beverly Hills 90210 and The O.C. are included in SoapNet’s “Your Family Is Tearing Us Apart!” photogallery.
The Extra Man, with Katie Holmes (Joey, Dawson’s Creek), will open in theaters 30.
Tags: 90210, Access Hollywood, Adrianna, Bamboozle, Beverly Hills 90210, Billy Baldwin, Chace Crawford, Dawson's Creek, Deadline Hollywood, Examiner.com, Gossip Girl, Grubbs, James Lafferty, Jenny, Jessica Lowndes, Joey, Katie Holmes, Lee Norris, Mike Grubbs, Mouth, Nate, Nathan, NBC Philadelphia, One Tree Hill, OTH, Rolling Stone, Save Our Shows, SoapNet, Stephanie Savage, Taylor Momsen, The CW, The CW Source, The Extra Man, The O.C, The Pretty Reckless, TV Guide Magazine, TVGuide.com, Twelve, USA Today, WakeyWakey, William
News Roundup: One Tree Hill, 90210, The O.C. and More
SoapNet is making some significant schedule changes regarding its teen drama lineup. Beginning tomorrow, May 1, One Tree Hill will air for two additional hours on Saturdays, now going from 9am til 1pm. Beverly Hills 90210 has been pushed back to 1pm and will go til 5. Sunday remains unchanged. Then, as of Monday, May 3, The O.C. will only air at 1pm, losing its second hour. One Tree Hill will move an hour earlier, airing at 2pm and 3pm. Beverly Hills 90210 will keep the 11am and noon slots but will now also have 4pm, in addition to their current 5pm slot. That hour, which started airing the show from the beginning in November after the network took away the 6pm timeslot, will repeat the noon episode (and the 4pm slot will repeat the 11am episode). That means though we’re currently in season 4 during the 5pm hour, it will pick up with the middle of season 10, which is what’s currently airing in the morning. The individual show pages above have been updated to reflect these changes.
The CW has announced who will be participating in their Tweet Week and when: Robert Buckley (Clay, One Tree Hill) will tweet Monday at 8pm eastern. Josh Schwartz (executive producer, Gossip Girl) and Zuzanna Szadkowski (Dorota, Gossip Girl) will tweet Monday at 9pm eastern. Shenae Grimes (Annie, 90210), Michael Steger (Navid, 90210), Tristan Wilds (Dixon, 90210) and Trevor Donovan (Teddy, 90210) will tweet Tuesday at 8pm eastern. All of this will take place at tweet.cwtv.com.
Jackson Brundage (Jamie, One Tree Hill) will be a part of CURED’s charity event tomorrow in Illinois.
One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and 90210 are all included in TVGuide.com’s photogallery of Must-Watch Finales.
TVGuide.com named Annie’s fountain scene in this week’s 90210 the “oddest reaction” in their list of Top Moments of the Week. I disagree.
Latina.com has a great but spoiler-filled interview with Diego Boneta (Javier, 90210).
Lindsay Price (Janet, Beverly Hills 90210), Hilary Duff (Olivia, Gossip Girl) and Busy Philipps (Audrey, Dawson’s Creeks) are in the “Beautiful At Every Age” section of PEOPLE’s Most Beautiful issue. Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) is in the online version but also in the “Hot List” section of the issue. Jessica Stroup (Silver, 90210), Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210) and Jessica Szohr (Vanessa, Gossip Girl) are in the “Beautiful Jessicas” section. Michelle Williams (Jen, Dawson’s Creek) is in the “Amazing Lookalikes” section.
At work today, Gossip Cop and I busted a Star cover story about Katie Holmes (Joey, Dawson’s Creek).
Tags: 90210, Adrianna, Annie, Audrey, Beverly Hills 90210, Blake Lively, Busy Philipps, Clay, CURED, Dawson's Creek, Diego Boneta, Dixon, Dorota, Gossip Cop, Gossip Girl, Hilary Duff, Illinois, Jackson Brundage, Jamie, Janet, Javier, Jen, Jessica Lowndes, Jessica Stroup, Jessica Szohr, Joey, Josh Schwartz, Katie Holmes, Latina.com, Lindsay Price, Michael Steger, Michelle Williams, Navid, Olivia, One Tree Hill, PEOPLE, Robert Buckley, Serena, Shenae Grimes, Silver, SoapNet, Star, Teddy, The CW, The O.C, Trevor Donovan, Tristan Wilds, TVGuide.com, Vanessa, Zuzanna Szadkowski
Spoiler: Watch With Kristin
Mike in Alexandria, Va.: I’m dying for news on One Tree Hill! Please tell us, will it survive? Or will the CW pick up Life Unexpected instead?
Still no decisions yet, but they both could come back—possibly with shortened seasons, so keep the faith! We’ll find out May 20. As for OTH, I’ll be (hopefully) talking to James Lafferty and/or Rob Buckley this week, so please email me any Q’s you have or send them via twitter @kristinalert.
Erica in Turkey: We need some Chuck and Blair scoop that is good please on Gossip Girl!
I’m so sad to have to say this, but I don’t have anything new to report on the Chair front. I’m trying to keep the faith with you, and I know they will reunite at some point, but it might not be superquick, sorry.
Elise from Austin, Texas: I just can’t get on board with Gia and Adrianna on 90210. I miss her and Navid being together. Any hope?
Well, I’d say yes, after sitting down with Michael Steger to talk about the rest of the season. He says Navid and Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) “develop a strong friendship again.” That’s good news, yes? I can also tell you that their bond gets stronger because of some changes in her music career. And what of Navid’s new girl Lila (Amber Wallace)? “We take it to another level, but it’s a temporary thing,” Michael dishes. So hope is lost for all you Adrianna/Navid fans!
Rebecca in Oregon: Any hope for Naomi and Liam?
I’m told she’ll be single for a while. Sorry.
Credit: E! Online
Life Unexpected stars Kerr Smith (Jack, Dawson’s Creek).
I think there’s a typo in this sentence: “So hope is lost for all you Adrianna/Navid fans!” Based on the sentences before it, it probably should read “So no hope is lost for all you Adrianna/Navid fans!” Or, alternatively, “All hope is not lost for all you Adrianna/Navid fans!”
Tags: 90210, Adrianna, Amber Wallace, Blair, Chair, Chuck, Clay, Dawson's Creek, E! Online, Gia, Gossip Girl, Jack, James Lafferty, Jessica Lowndes, Kerr Smith, Liam, Life UneXpected, Lila, Michael Steger, Naomi, Nathan, Navid, One Tree Hill, OTH, Rob Buckley, The CW, Watch with Kristin
Categories : 90210, Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill
News Roundup: 90210, Gossip Girl and Dawson’s Creek
The L.A. Times has an interview with Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210).
Teen Today has an interview with Trevor Donovan (Teddy, 90210) but it’s really…well, you’ll see.
Parade.com has an interview with Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills 90210). It’s good but there’s nary a mention of BH90210.
You can watch the trailer for Call Me Fitz (previously called Meet Phil Fitz), the upcoming Canadian series starring Jason Priestley (Brandon, Beverly Hills 90210). Warning: this is NSFW and very far removed from Brandon Walsh! (I think the latter is part of the point.)
Thanks to Talking Gossip After Dark for the shoutout!
Ausiello has a pretty big Gossip Girl spoiler.
Kristin also has some spoilers, but less big.
PEOPLE.com has a spoilish “first look” at next week’s Gossip Girl.
Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) is now a Global Ambassador for Herbal Essences. (Women’s Wear Daily has an article announcing the deal but you have to be a subscriber to their Web site to read it.)
US Weekly has an article on the supposed split between Meester and Sebastian Stan (Carter, Gossip Girl) but I still don’t know if it’s true.
Robyn Lively, half-sister of Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl), stars in Letters To God, which is now playing in select theaters.
Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) will be a presenter at the Academy of Country Music Awards on April 18.
James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) and his girlfriend Kimberly Brook are expecting a baby.
Tags: 90210, Academy of Country Music Awards, Adrianna, Ausiello, Beverly Hills 90210, BH90210, Blair, Blake Lively, Brandon, Brandon Walsh, Brian Austin Green, Call Me Fitz, Canada, David, Dawson, Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl, Herbal Essences, James Van Der Beek, Jason Priestley, Jessica Lowndes, Kimberly Brook, Kristen Bell, Kristin, L.A. Times, Leighton Meester, Letters To God, Meet Phil Fitz, Parade.com, PEOPLE.com, Robyn Lively, Sebastian Stan, Serena, Talking Gossip After Dark, Teddy, Teen Today, Trevor Donovan, US Weekly, Women's Wear Daily
Categories : 90210, Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl
News Roundup: 90210, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and More
Be sure to check out The CW’s site for all the new video content this week.
Last night’s 90210 (1.3 million viewers) had another drop in the ratings compared to last week, hitting a new season- and series-low. Note, though, that coverage was only in 92 percent of the marketplace, not the usual 95. (I know the Chicagoland area, for instance, had the show preempted for sports.)
E! Online has 90210 spoilers.
The Stir has an interview with Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210).
I love working for Gossip Cop. I love it even more when it involves taking down Perez Hilton for a Beverly Hills 90210-related post.
Gossip Cop also busted another false Life & Style story today (though I wasn’t involved in this one; I did write the above PH one) about the marriage between Tori Spelling (Donna, Beverly Hills 90210) and Dean McDermott.
Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills 90210) and girlfriend Megan Fox made a Funny or Die video in support of public education.
Tiffani Amber Thiessen (Valerie, Beverly Hills 90210) participated in a Paley Center panel last night in support of her show, White Collar.
SoapNet now has a Beverly Hills 90210 I.Q. quiz to go along with the ones for The O.C. and One Tree Hill. I got a 100 percent and was told “AWESOME! Is your last name Walsh? You’re a Beverly Hills, 90210 expert, a fact sure to open doors and earn you friends wherever you go.” It was much easier than the other quizzes, IMO, but unfortunately, there were two inaccurate questions (though you can still figure out the answers) and one answer listed incorrectly on the results page.
Shenae Grimes (Annie, 90210) is on the cover of Dirrty Glam magazine. Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) was on the last issue.
Bell was on The Late Late Show last night.
Korbi has an interview with Zuzanna Szadkowski (Dorota, Gossip Girl). Have you read my interview with her?
Your Love Is A Drug by Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) will be featured in next week’s episode of Gossip Girl.
TeenVogue.com has the video premiere of Light Outside by Wakey!Wakey!, which features Mike Grubbs (Grubbs, One Tree Hill).
Sixty percent of voters in Zap2it’s “kill” or “keep” poll want to keep One Tree Hill.
The final round of Save One Show has started and One Tree Hill, as well as Life Unexpected starring Kerr Smith (Jack, Dawson’s Creek), are still in the running. Also a contender is Chuck, which is executive produced by Josh Schwartz (executive producer, Gossip Girl; The O.C.). The post includes written messages from both Schwartz and Mark Schwahn (creator, One Tree Hill), as well as the producers of the other shows, encouraging their fans to vote.
James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) tweeted a picture of the call sheet he found for the original DC pilot.
Tags: 90210, Adrianna, Annie, Beverly Hills 90210, Blair, Brian Austin Green, Chicagoland, Chuck, David, Dawson, Dawson's Creek, DC, Dean McDermott, Dirrty Glam, Donna, Dorota, E! Online, Funny or Die, Gossip Cop, Gossip Girl, Grubbs, Jack, James Van Der Beek, Jessica Lowndes, Josh Schwartz, Kerr Smith, Korbi, Kristen Bell, Leighton Meester, Life & Style, Life UneXpected, Light Outside, Mark Schwahn, Megan Fox, Mike Grubbs, One Tree Hill, Paley Center, Perez Hilton, Save One Show, Shenae Grimes, SoapNet, TeenVogue.com, The CW, The Late Late Show, The O.C, The Stir, The Walshes, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Tori Spelling, Valerie, WakeyWakey, Walsh, Walshes, White Collar, Your Love Is A Drug, Zap2it, Zuzanna Szadkowski
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Tag: This Sporting Life
1994: March 19-25
Cover: Jennie Garth (Beverly Hills 90210) Basia’s big byte According to The Big Byte host Basia Bonkowski, technology can be sexy. “Technology, in a way, is very sexy — it is!,” she told TV Week. “It’s fascinating and it takes you into a different sphere and opens up new avenues, and for that reason it’s …
1994, Amazing, Family Feud, GP, Heartbreak High, Heartland, Hey Hey It's Saturday, Home And Away, Man O Man, Neighbours, Now You See It, Paradise Beach, Saturday Disney, The Big Byte, The Footy Show, The Great Outdoors, The Price Is Right, The Talk Show, This Sporting Life, TV Week, TV Week Logie Awards, Wheel Of Fortune
Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2014/03/1994-march-19-25.html
1993: August 15-21
Cover: Jennie Garth (Beverly Hills 90210) The long goodbyes A Country Practice star Judith McGrath has been farewelled by her fellow castmates who presented her with a cake in the studio after she taped her last scenes. Her departure from the series has been well timed, with news from producer JNP that the series will …
1993, A Country Practice, At Home, Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, Fast Forward, Graham Kennedy, Home And Away, Jeopardy, Live It Up, Midday, Neighbours, New Faces, Paradise Beach, Police Rescue, Quantum, Sale Of The Century, This Sporting Life, Vidiot
Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2013/08/1993-august-15-21.html
1993: June 6-12
Cover: Jo Beth Taylor (Australia’s Funniest Home Video Show), David Faustino (Married With Children), Lisa Hensley (Law Of The Land) The division of Labor A new five-part documentary is set to unveil the bitterness and antagonism between former Prime Minister Bob Hawke and his successor Paul Keating. ABC series Labor In Power features interviews with …
1993, 60 Minutes, A Country Practice, A Current Affair, Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, Baseclimb, Beyond 2000, Burke's Backyard, E Street, Everybody, Hey Dad, Hinch At Seven, Labor In Power, Law Of The Land, Midday, Mother And Son, Police Rescue, Ray Martin Presents, Real Life, Sale Of The Century, The 7.30 Report, The Great Outdoors, The Norman Gunston Show, This Sporting Life, TVTV
Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2013/06/1993-june-6-12.html
1993: April 18-24
Home or Away? Former Home And Away star Rebekah Elmaloglou (pictured) now appears unlikely to settle in the UK after a recent stint on the pantomime circuit. “I got very homesick,” she said. “I prefer living in Australia.” The young star is looking at acting opportunities in Australia but is not keen to rush back …
1993, 60 Minutes, A Country Practice, All Together Now, Beyond 2000, E Street, Fast Forward, Getaway, Home And Away, Law Of The Land, Neighbours, Phoenix, The Great Outdoors, This Sporting Life, Under The Skin
Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2013/04/1993-april-18-24.html
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Stepkid.com
All posts by Anastim Ducray
Ete AhPing – You Don’t Fit In But You Belong
July 18, 2019 Anastim Ducray
You Don’t Fit In But You Belong is a new album from Ete AhPing, a singer/songwriter based in Park City, Utah. The songs are colorfully uplifting and Ete’s acoustic guitar playing is clear and bright, really pleasant sounding to the ears. The songs have a very intimate feel to them, not just lyrically, but it’s as if you’re watching someone perform these songs a few feet away from you next to a fireplace. The opening track, For the First Time In a Long Time is a fairly straightforward but lovely acoustic guitar track, similar to artists like Bright Eyes. After that the tracks move into more rockin’ avant garde territory, making use of electric guitar, piano/synth and some interesting psychedelic vocal effects. The various recordings do a nice job of displaying Ete’s versatility and keeping your attention. The lyrics all express positivity and encouragement. They’re motivational but not in an obnoxious motivational speaker kind of way. The ambiance here is more subdued and sentimental. My favorite song on this album is probably Ghosts, which has an excellent mix and contains one of Ete’s best vocal performances. Anyway, You Don’t Fit In But You Belong is a solid indie pop album. You should check it out.
https://etemusic.bandcamp.com/album/you-dont-fit-in-but-you-belong
TexMex Shaman – Easy
Easy is a new release from Dallas based artist, TexMex Shaman. It’s a cover of The Commodores’ song, Easy, although I would apply the term “cover” here somewhat loosely, mainly because TexMex gets so creative with his version that he might as well be given credit for a whole new song. This is what you might call derivative art. TexMex Shaman is one of the more memorable artists I’ve reviewed on here previously. His musical style and associated artwork are so distinctive, he really stands out (and I’ve easily done write-ups of over 1000 musicians.)
Anyway, back to Easy. This version differs from the original in that it’s basically all instrumental. There are no vocals, though this artist is very abstract and deep so maybe they’re layered in there subliminally somehow. I don’t know. What I will say though is that I actually like this version better than The Commodores’ one. It’s just very psychedelic in that refined late 70s early 80s cocktail party kind of way. This would have fit right in on the Boogie Nights soundtrack, perhaps for one of the mellow and reflective, lounging around scenes.
I’m not even sure what level of player he is, but TexMex knows how to get just the right tone from his guitar and amplifier. His technique, gear and effects used make this guy’s guitar playing really pleasing to listen to. Forget ASMR vids. You should be listening to this recording if you want to be chilled out to the max. Just about one and a half minutes into the song though, things spice up a bit as the music kicks into a higher gear. It then alternates back and forth from mellow to rockin’ the rest of the way. Stylewise, some of the guitar on this jam reminds me a bit of Edward Bear’s Last Song (if that song had been an instrumental.) This is ultimately more of a groovy, psychedelic smooth jam. It’s difficult to classify though due to the dynamic changes that occur throughout. In that sense it’s similar to collage style songs like The Pretty Things’ Defecting Grey. One minute it’s soft rock, and the next it’s high octane 70s psychedelia. I’m sure that a lot of people have covered this song before, but I guarantee you this guy has done it with more originality. He does The Commodores’ song justice while making a distinctly worthy creation of his own. It’s not as easy for most people to be as creative as TexMex Shaman makes it look here.
The official release is set to occur in the next couple of weeks, and you can expect to find this track on streaming services in the beginning of August. Keep your eyes peeled.
https://www.texmexshaman.com/
SoRi – I Am Not Alone
I Am Not Alone is a new single from SoRi, a very famous artist and entertainer from Seoul, Korea. The song was produced by Folded Dragons, an NYC based EDM producer. I Am Not Alone a lively pop song, and the video features some pretty impressive dance choreography. The dance routines are tasteful, energetic and avant garde. SoRi’s a professional obviously and her vocals are top of the line. The video seems to be shot mostly in one area, but the setting is used creatively in different ways throughout the video, and the main focus is where it should be, on the performers. In fact, SoRi really gives it her all, and her performance has a heroism that makes you really want to root for her.
https://www.facebook.com/kimsoriofficial/
Oluse – Thorium
Thorium is a new album from Los Angeles based rapper, Oluse. A Nigerian-American, lists his musical influences as Tupac and E-40. When listening to these recordings I expected Oluse to have some exotic foreign accent, but nope. He sounds fully American to me. He does have a charismatic and lively delivery though. His voice is very dynamic, and he’s able to alternate tones and change diction at the drop of the hat. Really though, this guy doesn’t just go through the motions. He delivers these lines with spontaneity and moxie. The backing music is retro and groovy. It really gives off some smooth vintage hip hop vibes. The album consists of 9 full songs. Each of them is very colorful and distinctive. My favorite track on here is probably Boiling Point 4788C, which has a trippy and memorable intro.
Website: https://oluseworld.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/oluse
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buffaloty/
URBANO and RM4K – Worth The Price
Worth The Price is a new single from sibling duo URBANO in a collaborative effort with UK producer and DJ RM4K. The music combines elements of EDM, pop and hip hop to create a high energy dance party jam. It’s hard to even describe how much youthful vitality this song has. To say that it’s wild, fast paced, and delightfully chaotic would be an understatement. The brother’s quick witted hip hop delivery juxtaposes well with his sister’s passionate and powerful vocals. Seriously, the girl’s voice is huge. The video for this song was directed by Joseph Graves, and it does a terific job of capturing the electrifying energy of the song and getting it across on screen. This is just a really solid contemporary pop song, and ther artists clearly have found a formula that works.
https://www.instagram.com/urbanomusicgroup/
https://www.instagram.com/rm4kmusic/
Sonic Radiation – Infrared
Infrared is a new release from Sonic Radiation, (the name for the musical project of Dallas based artist, Todd Last.) It’s electronic dance music, blending trance and techno. The beat pacing is quick and the song has a crystal clear sound. I would characterize this track as being somewhat retro-futuristic, with its spacey ambiance and robotic control room vibes. The music has a very machine-like quality to it, as if you’re listening to the inner mechanical workings of a supercomputer. It’s also very high octane and action packed. Someone would get a pretty good workout by dancing to this jam. From what I understand this guy, has been doing this since 2003, and it really shows. In a genre where the barrier to entry is fairly low, this whole recording is very meticulous and professional. The artist also manages to incorporate imagination and a tangible theme into the music. He clearly has a “vision” at work here beyond just simply wanting to make people dance, and he succeeds at elevating the track into something more.
Jenae Ailia – Coming of Age
Coming of Age is a new EP from artist, Jenae Ailia. The songs have a pop/R&B feel to them but are a little more on the artistic side. The music is low-key, and mellow, with a vibe of dreamlike innocence that’s both ambient and ethereal. Jenae’s voice is refreshingly soft and pretty compared to most contemporary pop artists. This album is brimming with a romantic tenderness which will tug on your heartstrings. My favorite track on here is probably What Are We Running Away From, which has a beautiful retro synth intro. There are a ton of aspiring young recording artists these days, and this artist is relatively unknown, but I was pleasantly surprised by just how good these songs are. This girl really has something.
https://www.instagram.com/thejenaem/
ECHOGLASS – Lonely
Lonely is a new single from Echoglass, a fairly well known indie outfit with an established international following. The band is from Blackburn, Lancashire and is heavily associated with the Northwest of England scene, an area which has historically been brimming with artistic talent. Lonely is difficult to classify musically. It’s obviously under the indie/alternative umbrella, but that alone doesn’t tell you much. Atmospherically, the track is dark and brooding, beautiful in a haunted way. The ambiance is reminiscent of songs from artists like Leonard Cohen and Radiohead. It’s deep “soul searching” music. Obviously with a title like Lonely one would expect the mood to be a bit of a downer. The lyrics reflect this, with the theme of “a love that curses itself,” yet the music is strangely uplifting. By the end of the song I felt more energized than depressed.
The pacing is slow and methodical, but the dynamic musical changes throughout the song keep you engaged with the story. The backing is mostly piano and synth, and at certain critical times the emphasis shifts to the vocals (and vice versa.) Speaking of the vocals, the singing on here is definitely well above average for this genre. It also isn’t ruined by a lot of unnecessary processing or autotune type crap. In that sense, this almost feels like a retro recording, if only for it’s shining authenticity and genuine expressiveness. In fact, the voices are ultimately what drives the song’s emotionally haunting aesthetic, whilc the synthscape provides the ethereal backdrop.
The video for the song is professional and does a nice job of bringing the story to life visually. We see the characters’ quietly tumultuous relationship and lonely despair play out. The fact that it’s shot in black and white contributes to the dreary, rainy day atmosphere evoked by the song. We see the unhappiness in the characters’ expressions, activities and mannerisms, all of which exude loneliness and despair. That’s okay though because after all, that is what the song is about.
Obviously this band is achieving a lot of success and has already “made it” to a large extent. So, a lot of people are aware that they’re good. I’m not discovering some secret here and revealing it to the world when I tell you that this is an excellent song. It’s great to see a band making music as good as this and getting some recognition for it for a change. That must indeed be a lonely feeling.
http://www.echoglassmusic.com/
http://www.instagram.com/echoglassmusic
Platinum B LOvE – I Don’t Know Em.
I Don’t Know Em. is a new single from Houston based artist, Platinum B LOvE. The video for this pimp tight jam is very professional and has some impressive cinematography. Platinum B LOvE’s delivery style is assertive and charismatic. While the artist is well traveled and has lived all over the world, he remains true to the distinctive southern/Texas hip hop style. His wild fashions and tricked out low rider bike accentuate his persona.
This track is in your face and hard hitting but still pretty fun, thanks to the artist’s antics and the flavorful vibe. Ultimately this song deals with themes of someone not getting the recognition they deserve and when they finally make it, they will act like they don’t know the people who didn’t support them. Platinum B LOvE is a hungry and up and coming artist in the Houston area, and people should expect to be hearing a lot more from this guy. If this high quality video is any indication, he means business.
https://www.facebook.com/PlatinumBLOvE
Free Dios – Embodiment
Embodiment is a new (soon to be released) EP from hip hop artist, Free Dios. First off, the production is very good. Everything in the mix sits right where it should be. Most of the tracks feature a layered conversational delivery style, giving the music an avant garde, voyeuristic quality, as if you’re eavesdropping on someone’s thoughts. The songs make good usage of samples and intros, which are often attention grabbing and give each track its own distinct vibe. Lose Money Not Time and Shine are probably the most stand out tracks to me. Musically they seem to flow the best and are the catchiest/most memorable. I’m a big fan of conversational delivery style in hip hop, and one thing Free Dios does very well is strike a balance between streey toughness and a willingness to express vulnerability in his lyrics. The way the album is produced makes me think of old school hip hop. It has a warm, analog sound and raw energy. Be on the lookout for this artist and release.
https://soundcloud.com/freedios47
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John Pilger,
(Photo: Pete Souza / White House)On my wall is the front page of Daily Express of September 5, 1945, and the words: “I write this as a warning to the world.” So began Wilfred Burchett’s report from Hiroshima. It was the scoop of the century. For his lone, perilous journey that defied the US occupation authorities, Burchett was pilloried, not least by his embedded colleagues. He warned that an act of premeditated mass murder on an epic scale had launched a new era of terror.
Almost every day now, he is vindicated. The intrinsic criminality of the atomic bombing is borne out in the US National Archives and by the subsequent decades of militarism camouflaged as democracy. The Syria psychodrama exemplifies this. Yet again, we are held hostage to the prospect of a terrorism whose nature and history even the most liberal critics still deny. The great unmentionable is that humanity’s most dangerous enemy resides across the Atlantic.
John Kerry’s farce and Barack Obama’s pirouettes are temporary. Russia’s peace deal over chemical weapons will, in time, be treated with the contempt that all militarists reserve for diplomacy. With Al Qaeda now among its allies, and US-armed coupmasters secure in Cairo, the US intends to crush the last independent states in the Middle East: Syria first, then Iran. “This operation [in Syria],” said the former French foreign minister Roland Dumas in June 2013, “goes way back. It was prepared, pre-conceived and planned.”
When the public is “psychologically scarred,” as Channel 4 reporter Jonathan Rugman described the British people’s overwhelming hostility to an attack on Syria, reinforcing the unmentionable is made urgent. Whether or not Bashar Assad or the “rebels” used gas in the suburbs of Damascus, it is the US, not Syria, that is the world’s most prolific user of these terrible weapons. In 1970, the Senate reported, “The US has dumped on Vietnam a quantity of toxic chemical (dioxin) amounting to six pounds per head of population.” This was Operation Hades, later renamed the friendlier Operation Rand Hand: the source of what Vietnamese doctors call a “cycle of foetal catastrophe.” I have seen generations of young children with their familiar, monstrous deformities. John Kerry, with his own blood-soaked war record, will remember them.I have seen them in Iraq, too, where the US used depleted uranium and white phosphorous, as did the Israelis in Gaza, raining it down on UN schools and hospitals. No Obama “red line” for them. No showdown psychodrama for them.
The repetitive debate about whether “we” should “take action” against selected dictators (i.e. cheer on the US and its acolytes in yet another aerial killing spree) is part of our brainwashing. Richard Falk, emeritus professor of international law and UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, describes it as “a self-righteous, one-way, legal/moral screen [with] positive images of Western values and innocence portrayed as threatened, validating a campaign of unrestricted political violence.” This “is so widely accepted as to be virtually unchallengeable.”
It is the biggest lie: the product of “liberal realists” in Anglo-American politics, scholarship and the media who ordain themselves as the world’s crisis managers, rather than the cause of a crisis. Stripping humanity from the study of nations and congealing it with jargon that serves western power designs, they mark “failed,” “rogue” or “evil” states for “humanitarian intervention.”
An attack on Syria or Iran or any other US “demon” would draw on a fashionable variant, “Responsibility to Protect,” or R2P, whose lectern-trotting zealot is the former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, co-chair of a “Global Centre,” based in New York. Evans and his generously funded lobbyists play a vital propaganda role in urging the “international community” to attack countries where “the Security Council rejects a proposal or fails to deal with it in a reasonable time.”
Evans has form. He appears in my 1994 film Death of a Nation, which revealed the scale of genocide in East Timor. Canberra’s smiling man is raising his champagne glass in a toast to his Indonesian equivalent as they fly over East Timor in an Australian aircraft, having just signed a treaty that pirated the oil and gas of the stricken country below, where Indonesia’s tyrant, Suharto, killed or starved a third of the population.
Under the “weak” Obama, militarism has risen perhaps as never before. With not a single tank on the White House lawn, a military coup has taken place in Washington. In 2008, while his liberal devotees dried their eyes, Obama accepted the entire Pentagon of his predecessor, George Bush: its wars and war crimes. As the constitution is replaced by an emerging police state, those who destroyed Iraq with shock and awe, and piled up the rubble in Afghanistan and reduced Libya to a Hobbesian nightmare, are ascendant across the US administration. Behind their beribboned façade, more former US soldiers are killing themselves than are dying on battlefields. Last year, 6,500 veterans took their own lives. Put out more flags.
The historian Norman Pollack calls this “liberal fascism.” “For goose-steppers,” he wrote, “substitute the seemingly more innocuous militarisation of the total culture. And for the bombastic leader, we have the reformer manqué, blithely at work, planning and executing assassination, smiling all the while.” Every Tuesday, the “humanitarian” Obama personally oversees a worldwide terror network of drones that “bugsplat” people, their rescuers and mourners. In the west’s comfort zones, the first black leader of the land of slavery still feels good, as if his very existence represents a social advance, regardless of his trail of blood. This obeisance to a symbol has all but destroyed the US anti-war movement: Obama’s singular achievement.
In Britain, the distractions of the fakery of image and identity politics have not quite succeeded. A stirring has begun, although people of conscience should hurry. The judges at Nuremberg were succinct: “Individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity.” The ordinary people of Syria, and countless others, and our own self-respect, deserve nothing less now.
John Pilger is an Australian-born, London-based journalist, filmmaker and author. For his foreign and war reporting, ranging from Vietnam and Cambodia to the Middle East, he has twice won Britain’s highest award for journalism. For his documentary films, he won a British Academy Award and an American Emmy. In 2009, he was awarded Australia’s human rights prize, the Sydney Peace Prize. John Pilger’s films can be viewed on his website.
Syria’s “Liberated” Future: Ethnic-Religious Cleansing and Genocide
A fascinating shift has happened in the U.S. mainstream media: After a year of anti-Syria war propaganda and lies, glimmers of truth are making their way into the…
Shamus Cooke,
Syria and the “Red Line” Nonsense
The “red line” that the Obama administration has claimed in regards to Syria and chemical weapons continues to cloud the reality of political conflict in the region.
Peter Hart,
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Report: Therapists See Increase in Patients With ‘Trump Anxiety Disorder’ (Video)
FEATURED, POLITICAL NEWS
By Lauren Richardson
‘Trump Anxiety Disorder’ may not be an official diagnosis, but therapists recognize the symptoms.
Mental health therapists across the United States have noted a rise in symptoms many have come to associate as “Trump Anxiety Disorder, the CBC reported.
Elisabeth LaMotte, the founder of the DC Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, said that since Donald Trump was elected president she has observed a “collective anxiety” among patients about President Donald Trump’s actions.
“There is a fear of the world ending,” she said. “It’s very disorienting and constantly unsettling,” LaMotte said.
Though not an official diagnosis, she said, the symptoms include feeling a loss of control and helplessness, worrying about what’s happening in the country, and spending excessive time on social media.
LaMotte told CBC News, too, that even those who support the president feel isolated within social spaces or their families.
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According to an essay written by psychologist Jennifer Panning, the symptoms of “Trump Anxiety Disorder” include “feeling a loss of control and helplessness, and fretting about what’s happening in the country and spending excessive time on social media.”
A 2017 poll by the American Psychological Organization also found that nearly half of its respondents said they were significantly stressed due to the country’s political climate, Fox News reported.
No Place For ‘Snowflakes’: Conservative Christian College Poised to Open in 2018
A new conservative Christian college – free from “safe spaces” and ‘snowflake’ students screaming helplessly at the sky is set to open in 2018.
Sattler College will, instead, focus on three c’s: core academics, Christian character and keeping education costs down.
Boston-area businessman Finny Kuruvilla, who founded Sattler, appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday to preview the new school.
“The modern educational system is too expensive, it’s academically weak and it’s hostile to faith,” Kuruvilla said. “These institutions are very resistant to change, and so we decided to create our own college in Boston, Massachusetts.”
He pointed out that the average student, after four years of college, is worse off when it comes to issues like pornography addiction, drug use, cheating and promiscuity. He wants Sattler to “focus on the whole person,” rather than just on GPA or college transcripts.
“It’s time for a revolution to get college back on track to think about character as much as it thinks about developing the mind,” Kuruville said, adding that because this is a Christian college, it will keep students “grounded.”
The college’s mission statement reads: “Sattler College seeks to prepare students to serve Christ, the church and the world. Our mission is to provide classical education that instructs the mind, discipleship that shapes the soul and inspiration that inflames the heart.”
Sattler College hopes to enroll about 300 students, with tuition set to be only $9,000 a year – a fraction of what most private college charge. The liberal arts school will have five majors at the outset: human biology, computer science, biblical and religious studies, history and business.
The school plans to one day expand into journalism.
Kuruvilla earned a medical degree and Ph.D. from Harvard and preaches at Followers of the Way, a small church in Medford, a Boston suburb.
Sattler College Founder Finny Kuruvilla appeared on Fox Business to discuss why the cost of a college education has risen and how his college promotes open mindedness to its students.
Link to the school: Sattler College
Constitutional moderate dedicated to bringing awareness about issues that challenge the security, Sovereignty and citizens of our beloved nation, The United States of America.
Newer PostAfrican-American Support of Trump at 36%, Almost Double From Last Year
Older PostNancy Pelosi’s Home State Newspaper Comes Out Against Her: ‘Forget Being Speaker’
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Seven False Flag Attacks The United States Admits To
FEATURED, POLITICAL NEWS, WORLD NEWS
By Jennifer Johnson
“False flag terrorism” occurs when elements within a government stage a secret operation whereby government forces pretend to be a targeted enemy while attacking their own forces or people. The attack is then falsely blamed on the enemy in order to justify going to war against that enemy.
Or as Wikipedia defines it:
False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one’s own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and have been used in peace-time; for example, during Italy’s strategy of tension.
Truth Feed reports False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one’s own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and have been used in peace-time; for example, during Italy’s strategy of tension.
It is common knowledge false flag operations are common throughout the globe, but what is terrifying is they have occurred in the United States as well.
(1) The CIA admits that it hired Iranians in the 1950′s to pose as Communists and stage bombings in Iran in order to turn the country against its democratically-elected prime minister.
(2) In 1960, American Senator George Smathers suggested that the U.S. launch “a false attack made on Guantanamo Bay which would give us the excuse of actually fomenting a fight which would then give us the excuse to go in and [overthrow Castro]“.
(3) As admitted by the U.S. government, recently declassified documents show that in 1962, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff signed off on a plan to blow up AMERICAN airplanes (using an elaborate plan involving the switching of airplanes), and also to commit terrorist acts on American soil, and then to blame it on the Cubans in order to justify an invasion of Cuba. See the following ABC news report; the official documents; and watch this interview with the former Washington Investigative Producer for ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.
(4) In 1963, the U.S. Department of Defense wrote a paper promoting attacks on nations within the Organization of American States – such as Trinidad-Tobago or Jamaica – and then falsely blaming them on Cuba.
(5) The NSA admits that it lied about what really happened in the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 … manipulating data to make it look like North Vietnamese boats fired on a U.S. ship so as to create a false justification for the Vietnam war.
(6) Although the FBI now admits that the 2001 anthrax attacks were carried out by one or more U.S. government scientists, a senior FBI official says that the FBI was actually told to blame the Anthrax attacks on Al Qaeda by White House officials (remember what the anthrax letters looked like). Government officials also confirm that the white House tried to link the anthrax to Iraq as a justification for regime change in that country.
(7) Similarly, the U.S. falsely blamed Iraq for playing a role in the 9/11 attacks – as shown by a memo from the defense secretary – as one of the main justifications for launching the Iraq war. Even after the 9/11 Commission admitted that there was no connection, Dick Cheney said that the evidence is “overwhelming” that al Qaeda had a relationship with Saddam Hussein’s regime, that Cheney “probably” had information unavailable to the Commission, and that the media was not ‘doing their homework’ in reporting such ties.
For a longer list of global false flag operations click here
Photo: Bing
Newer PostObama: Crime Created By ‘System,’ Successful People ‘Just Lucky,’ ‘Wasn’t Nothin’ You Did’ (Video)
Older PostNorth Woods Lawlessness: Controversial Raid Raises Questions About Undercover Operations
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Twitter isn't real
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What if Twitter isn't real?
By that, I don't just mean Russian bots talking to other Russian bots, liberal satirists fooling gullible conservatives, and cynical opinion-mongers conjuring panics out of nothing. There's clearly a lot of literally fake news on Twitter, and it's a problem.
Notwithstanding these flaws — or perhaps because of them — Twitter is still taken seriously as a medium. It's supposed to be extraordinarily powerful and influential, able to make and break reputations at unprecedented speed.
But what if it isn't? What if Twitter is mostly a closed ecosystem, relevant only to and within itself? What if its ability to shape the real world is, as they say, greatly exaggerated?
Consider the most potent Twitter user in the world: President Donald Trump. Trump's tweets are scrutinized by hordes of journalists, both for a view into the president's mood and views, and because they can easily be repackaged into a story that attracts additional attention (including attention on Twitter). But announcements Trump makes via Twitter are as often as not contradicted by his own staff or by the president himself in a subsequent tweet (as was the case — repeatedly — with regard to the purported truce in our trade war with China). There's precious little evidence that they are a reliable guide to anything — certainly not more reliable than either old-fashioned gumshoe reporting and source greasing.
Why, then do they move markets? Well, how do we know they do? News stories written about market moves, even when they quote participants, are exercises in after-the-fact explanation of the inherently unpredictable behavior of a chaotic system. Since they have very little predictive value, they don't have much practical utility. In a very basic sense, all we can say about the idea of a Trump tweet moving the markets is that a sufficient number of market participants thought that a sufficient number of other market participants would be surprised and react a certain way. It's mob psychology all the way down. Following Trump's tweets will tell you almost nothing useful about how resources will actually be allocated, and that is ultimately what matters.
Do they at least have a political consequence? That's not completely clear either. While Trump clearly uses Twitter to communicate to his base and to keep them in a state of agitated support, it's not clear how much that activity affects electoral outcomes. Consider Trump's involvement in the 2017 Alabama Senate race. Trump strongly supported establishment candidate Luther Strange, only to see him lose to the Trumpier candidate, Roy Moore. Trump's response was to delete his prior tweets supporting Strange, and embrace Moore — only to see Moore lose.
My point is not that Trump has no political influence. He is, after all, the president, and he can make decisions of great consequence. But his tweets are not such decisions. They are utterly ephemeral, not just in practical terms but even in political ones. They may affect the emotions of millions, but only for an instant. And he, like every political leader, operates within real-world constraints which include the deeper views and feelings of his own most fervent supporters — and their opponents. His mastery of Twitter doesn't eliminate those constraints; at best, it enables him to measure them more effectively.
How easy is it to even do that, though? That's a question every organization concerned with public relations, which is to say just about every organization, cares deeply about. When Twitter "blows up" in response to something controversial associated with the organization, does that demand a forthright response to prevent serious harm to the organization's reputation? And how can you predict in advance what will spark such a storm?
It's extremely hard to know — because Twitter, like the financial markets, is also a chaotic system, and hence inherently unpredictable. In the face of that uncertainty, the default for many organizations is to react defensively, but it's not clear that defensiveness is effective, in either the short or long term.
Consider the case of comedian Kevin Hart, who was briefly tapped to host the Academy Awards. As soon as the announcement was made, the denizens of Twitter went to work unearthing bits from his comedy (of which his Twitter feed is surely an extension) that were less than complimentary toward gay men, to say the least. Within two days, Hart had stepped aside, claiming he didn't want to be a distraction from the awards ceremony. But the distraction hasn't abated. Instead, Hart's friends and colleagues are coming to his defense by pointing out that other ostensibly woke comedians engaged in similar sorts of humor and continue to do so.
Did the Academy do the right thing? If the "right thing" is to never give a platform to anyone who's ever said anything like Hart said, then the mistake was to ever have reached out to Hart in the first place. Backing down swiftly just makes it look like they didn't do their homework, and further erodes trust in their judgment; it's not like those homophobic jokes were any kind of secret, after all.
From the Academy's perspective, though, the "right thing" was probably just to avoid negative publicity that would weaken ratings for the event. But by that metric it's quite possible that they made the wrong call. I suspect there are more Kevin Hart fans who normally don't watch the awards who would tune in to see him than there are die-hard Oscar watchers who would tune out in protest of his presence. Moreover, it's easy to imagine folks in the Academy's PR department pulling their hair out now about the problem of how to replace Hart. If the next host isn't black, will Hart fans accuse the Academy of holding him to a racist double standard? But how will another black comedian feel about stepping into the spot over Hart's corpse?
So I have to wonder: What would have happened if the Academy had done nothing — or nearly nothing? What if they followed a PR strategy that presumed that, in the Twitter era, the baseline level of negative publicity is always going to be higher than it used to be — and that the presumption should be that the publicity has few real consequences in monetary terms. Firing off an angry tweet is the second-easiest thing in the world to do, the only thing easier being liking someone else's angry tweet. If that's all that's happening, then what's happening really isn't real.
That's basically how The New York Times handled the most recent blast of Twitter fury aimed their way, over their conservative columnist, Ross Douthat. Apropos of the passing of President George H. W. Bush, Douthat wrote a column lamenting the passing of the old WASP aristocracy and its replacement by a self-described meritocratic elite that, while more diverse in terms of ethnicity, race and gender, lacks many of the civic virtues that legitimated the old establishment.
His argument could be attacked legitimately from many directions; The Week's own Ryan Cooper did an able job of one such, making the case for FDR's class treason over the noblesse oblige of the establishment's typical class-consciousness. But when Douthat's column "blew up" on Twitter, we didn't see a vibrant debate about Douthat's thesis; we saw a virtual mob denouncing Douthat as a white supremacist, and excoriating The New York Times for publishing such racist hate.
The Times, of course, has not fired Douthat for WASP nostalgia. Nor are they likely to fire him for saying, in his follow-up column, that his political ideal is a "multiracial, multilingual Catholic aristocracy ruling from Quebec to Chile." In one sense, that suggests that they are comfortable with those views as part of the spectrum of opinion their readers deserve to hear, and with Douthat as the kind of writer who can expound those opinions in a mode that is appropriately respectful of deep political disagreement. (I agree on both counts.)
In another sense, though, what it suggests is that the Times is confident that a wave of Twitter outrage is not actually a threat to their bottom line. Their readers may write nasty comments, but they aren't actually going to leave. In fact, they don't even actually want Douthat to leave, because the opportunity to vent their outrage is part of the experience they came for, whether they actually read his piece or just heard about it on Twitter.
How many other respectable institutions and individuals are in the same position? How many are stronger than they think and could weather the outrage cycle simply by saying: Twitter outrage isn't real outrage; Twitter shame isn't real shame. This medium only has power if we choose to believe it does. But we know who and what we are, and we're going to keep being who and what we are, and will trust our own good judgment to prevail not only in the fullness of time, but in time to keep us solvent.
I suspect we're going to find out. Because no institution can remain respectable if it doesn't respect itself. And how much self-respect can anyone have living in constant terror of a fickle and shallow digital mob?
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Biden's play for the deplorable vote
Has Trump done irreversible damage to the U.S.-China relationship?
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Gambia Withdraws From ICC, Accuses World Body of Bias Against Africans
The announcement comes soon after similar decisions this month by South Africa and Burundi to abandon the institution.
Gambia's President Al Hadji Yahya Jammeh attends the plenary session of the Africa-South America Summit on Margarita Island September 27, 2009. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Abidjan: The government of The Gambia said on Tuesday it was withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the world body of ignoring the “war crimes” of Western nations and seeking only to prosecute Africans.
The decision by the tiny West African nation, whose president Yahya Jammeh has called on the court to investigate African migrant deaths on the Mediterranean, comes just days after South Africa said it was quitting The Hague-based tribunal.
“This action is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called the International Criminal Court, is in fact, an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans,” information minister Sheriff Bojang said on state television.
The ICC was not immediately available for comment. But coming so soon after South Africa’s announcement, The Gambia‘s move added to pressure on the world’s first permanent war crimes court.
The ICC has had to fight off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa, where all but one of its ten investigations have been based.
Burundi has already said it plans to leave and Kenya’s parliament is considering following suit.
The statement from The Gambia, whose citizens make up a disproportionately high proportion of the African migrant flow to Europe, said it had sought to bring the European Union before the ICC over the deaths of migrants but received no response.
“There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted,” it said.
The ICC’s current chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is Gambian and was an adviser to Jammeh in the early years of his rule after he seized power in a coup in 1994. She later served as justice minister.
It is not the first time Jammeh has pulled his country – a popular beach destination for European tourists – out of an international institution.
In 2013, he withdrew The Gambia from the Commonwealth, the 54-member grouping including Britain and most of its former colonies, branding it a “neo-colonial institution”.
Rights groups accuse Jammeh of cracking down on political opponents as he eyes a December election, where he will seek his fifth term after he scrapped term limits.
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Abandoned NYC: The Staten Island Farm Colony’s Disturbing Secrets
joyce lam 10/15/2013 Architecture, New York
Greenbelt’s unruly forest surrounds Farm Colony structures. Image via AbandonedNYC
Abandoned for over 40 years, the Staten Island Farm Colony today is a creepy memento of its dark and troubled past. Situated in the center of Greenbelt’s lush forest, the Farm Colony’s decrepit structures are enveloped in trees and vines, and are only visible from November-May according to AbandonedNYC.
Throughout its history, the grounds of the Farm Colony were often associated with society’s ‘unwanted’. The colonial farm era in the 19th century witnessed a bout of construction developments catered to housing the poor, infirm, mentally ill and developmentally disabled. Initially, the Farm Colony housed a collective of farmhouses that rehabilitated New York City’s aging poor, until they were replaced by the dormitory structures we see today. Not only where these facilities overcrowded, the employees and staff that worked on the Farm Colony were habitually intoxicated; which means not much work was getting done. Below, AbandonedNYC’s photographs depict the buildings in their current state: defamatory graffiti scrawled on walls, collapsed ceilings and strewn rubble.
Juvenile graffiti on the walls of an industrial building.
The last room standing in one of the three oldest dormitories.
A brightly-lit room covered in rubble.
On a rather disturbing note, AbandonedNYC pointed out a 1920s abduction and murder of a seven-year-old boy that had occurred on the Farm Colony’s grounds. The Farm Colony community claimed they saw an old man and young boy walking in the woods on the day the child went missing, and fingers pointed to legendary serial killer Cropsey as the one to blame. Another incident at the nearby Willowbrook State School fueled the area’s murderous tendencies. Andre Rand, a man who allegedly lived in the tunnels underneath the abandoned site, was responsible for a string of child murders during the 70’s and 80’s. In 1987 the body of Jennifer Shwweiger was found not far from where he set up camp. Upon reading this, we are reminded of Greenwich Village’s turbulent past, which also had its fair share of bloodthirsty activity.
Staten Island Farm Colony at twilight.
Currently, the Farm Colony is a designated historic district, but the city has not done much to look after the building structures in the area, as portrayed by the photos. There have been several appeals to turn the buildings into something of use, but not many people expressed interest. Although it’s technically not open to the public, the space transforms into a popular nighttime hang out for high school students. On the weekends, it serves as the perfect setting for a lively paintball game. It appears that Farm Colony’s grim history doesn’t deter Staten Island teenagers in the slightest; rather, they regard the ruins as their playground. Leave it up to the youth to find the light in all things dark.
See more from our Abandoned Series on Untapped Cities and on AbandonedNYC.com.
staten island, Staten Island Farm Colony
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Doreen 09/03/2017 1:20am Reply
this is not true in it entirety!! In 1978 all the building in the farm colony were functional & not a thing broken inside or out!! a beautiful piano was even in there. The children that moved here from BRooklyn went in & destroyed everything in the buildings…set fires , they even had there own territories depending on the block they lived on…. when it was abandoned as the farm colony the state owned & maintained it… ONe of the foundation i wnat to say Polio but i am not sure ..wanted the property for about 4 million dollars to rent!!!.. BUt they wnated more & left it to fall to the way side collecting nothing while it was vandalized …. Next the CITY took it over, The switching from state to city was obvious because that day NUmerous trucks vans, etc.. entered the property that was already beaten & usless , they STripped the buildings of all copper & roofing they could leaving it in the condition it is today.. There is a POtters field in that area of land that may have as many as 45o bodies buried there… ANyway moving forward it was just sited as a 50 & over community, high end by the builder who also built the TIDeS in Tottenville. Many contracters have looked to develope this land BUt i believe the cost to do so was too high… there are as mentioned underground tunnels Sewers that connect waste from sea view hospital that shouldnt be allowed to run into residential communities.. BUt that is another story!!!
Lynne Dolan 04/03/2016 3:33pm Reply
My grandfather was here and died here in 1942. Not sure of the year he arrived at the farm Colony. I know he was transferred from Kings County Hospital. He had a breathing problem from mustard gas when he served in WWI.
I would like to know more so a few years ago I found a hole in the fence and went onto the property. I didn’t go far, just walked on the walkway and just tried to imagine how it was back when my grandfather was there. Sat on a bench and then I got the feeling I was being watched, I turned and thought I saw something on the second floor of the building I was in front of. That’s when I got up and left.
Does anyone know where I could get the health records of my grandfather from this place?
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