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__label__wiki	0.842343	0.842343	Smoking\|Obesity\|Hot Topics Index Gen-i Makes High Level Health Sector Appointment Thursday, 28 October, 2010 - 10:12 In a move underscoring its commitment to the health sector, Gen-i - a division of Telecom New Zealand - has appointed Jo-Ann Jacobson to the newly established role of Health Business Development Manager. Ms Jacobson has for the past three years been the Chief Information Officer at the Hawke's Bay District Health Board (HBDHB), an organisation with a turnover in excess of $400 million serving a population of 160,000. Gen-i CEO, Chris Quin, says Ms Jacobson will deploy her significant health and ICT industry experience to lead Gen-i's efforts to fulfill the health sector's ambition to move to patient-centered models of care. Gen-i is also aiming to support the Government's strategy to regionalise and nationalise information systems and move to single federated electronic health records by 2014. "Our vision is to provide the health sector with cloud-based services that connect health organisations and provide access to clinical information anywhere, anytime. We're working with a number of health providers and ICT partners to identify areas where we can deliver valuable technologies and services using our cloud capabilities," said Quin. Ms Jacobson says that health professionals are increasingly realising that ICT is key to reducing costs, creating efficiencies and providing improved health outcomes, and is thrilled that she is able to play a part in helping drive this forward for the New Zealand health sector. "As an ICT provider to all of the DHBs and a number of private health care providers, Gen-i will continue to build on these relationships and leverage sector partnerships to provide managed, secure IT infrastructure, platform and application services," said Jacobson. "We're committed to supporting easier regional and national access to health information, by acting as an aggregator of services to support health business and communication needs." Ms Jacobson's previous positions include: IT Manager and Information Manager with HBDHB; IT Service Manager with Air New Zealand; and commercial management roles with a large non-government organisation and an electrical engineering firm. Ms Jacobson is based in Wellington. Northland DHB disappointed retailers still selling tobacco to minors Northland aiming for a bigger Latch On Colon research gets international recognition	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722928
__label__cc	0.745592	0.254408	VON COMPANY DEN KUNDE THE BUYER'S OPTIONS AS TO THE PLACE OF SHIPMENT NON-NEGOTIABLE TRANSPORT DOCUMENTS INSTEAD OF BILLS OF LADING THE RIGHT TO GIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CARRIER ICC ARBITRATION THE EXPRESSION «NO OBLIGATION» VARIANTS OF INCOTERMS CUSTOMS OF THE PORT OR OF A PARTICULAR TRADE INSPECTION OF GOODS MODE OF TRANSPORT AND THE APPROPRIATE INCOTERM 2000 THE RECOMMENDED USE THE BILL OF LADING AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF INCOTERMS WHY REVISIONS OF INCOTERMS? INCORPORATION OF INCOTERMS INTO THE CONTRACT OF SALE THE STRUCTURE OF INCOTERMS THE SELLER'S DELIVERY OBLIGATIONS PASSING OF RISKS AND COSTS RELATING TO THE GOODS Die Hauptseite / Incoterms Incoterms focus on the seller's delivery obligation. The precise distribution of functions and costs in connection with the seller's delivery of the goods would normally not cause problems where the parties have a continuing commercial relationship. They would then establish a practice between themselves («course of dealing») which they would follow in subsequent dealings in the same manner as they have done earlier. However, if a new commercial relationship is established or if a contract is made through the medium of brokers - as is common in the sale of commodities -, one would have to apply the stipulations of the contract of sale and. whenever Incoterms 2000 have been incorporated into that contract, apply the division of functions, costs and risks following therefrom. It would, of course, have been desirable if Incoterms could specify in as detailed a manner as possible the duties of the parties in connection with the delivery of the goods. Compared with Incoterms 1990, further efforts have been made in this respect in some specified instances (see for example FCA A4). But it has not been possible to avoid reference to customs of the trade in FAS and FOB A4 («in the manner customary at the port»), the reason being that particularly in commodity trade the exact manner in which the goods are delivered for carriage in FAS and FOB contracts vary in the different sea ports.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722929
__label__wiki	0.935378	0.935378	RI Blog Board index General Discussion and ExchangeData And Research The NRA The Russia Connection Moderators: DrVolin, 82_28, Elvis, Jeff by seemslikeadream » Thu May 03, 2018 10:05 am The NRA Is Still Dodging Questions on Its Russia Connection With Trump about to address the NRA’s convention, the group still isn’t giving straight answers. RUSS CHOMAMAY. 3, 2018 6:00 AM The night before President Donald Trump spoke at the 2016 National Rifle Association convention, his eldest son met with a Russian politician who had been pitched to the Trump campaign as an “emissary” of Vladimir Putin who could set up a back channel to the Kremlin. Since then, that Russian official, Alexander Torshin, a former deputy governor of the Russian central bank who is reported to be under investigation for possibly funneling money to the NRA, has bragged about his relationship with the NRA, and the gun group has reluctantly acknowledged that it has received money from Russian sources. But with Trump set to address this year’s NRA convention this weekend, there remain few clear answers about the group’s ties to Russian funders—in part because the organization has sidestepped queries from Congress about its Russian connections. The primary question is how much money the NRA has accepted from Russians. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has posed the question to the NRA several times, and now the Federal Election Commission is asking as well—and the FBI may be, too. Politicians and political action committees can’t accept money from a foreign government, but a nonprofit like the NRA can, as long as the money is kept away from any political activity the group undertakes. The information the NRA has provided to Wyden has clarified little. In a February letter to the NRA, Wyden asked for details on its financial connections to Russia; specifically, how much money the NRA’s political arm has accepted from Russian sources, and what internal controls the group has in place to ensure no foreign money is spent on American elections. The group’s response did little more than restate the question. “As a longstanding policy to comply with federal election law, the NRA and its related entities do not accept funds from foreign persons or entities in connection with the United States elections,” the NRA’s general counsel, John Frazier, replied. Frazier said that most of the group’s donations come from small donors, but “significant” donations are “vetted,” though he provided no details on how. In a follow-up letter in March, Wyden tried again, adding questions about Torshin’s relationship to the NRA and citing Torshin’s involvement with a trip made by an NRA delegation to Russia in 2015. Among the NRA officials on that trip was Joe Gregory, who chaired the group’s “Golden Ring of Freedom” program, which awards special status to donors who have given the NRA at least $1 million. Wyden asked whether any Russians were Golden Ring participants. In a testy response, the NRA acknowledged to Wyden, “While we do receive some contributions from foreign individuals and entities, these contributions are made directly to the NRA for lawful purposes.” The group also stated, “For the relevant time period (2015-2016), we have found no significant contributions to any NRA entities sent from any foreign address or drawn on any foreign financial institution.” Wyden had not asked about that particular time period. After yet another letter from Wyden, the NRA finally conceded in early April that it had, in fact, received $2,500 or more from at least 23 individuals who were Russian or living in Russia. The group said these donations were made for a variety of purposes. In the same letter, the NRA made clear that it had no interest in further discussing donations from Russian sources. “We believe this and our previous letters have provided enough information to address any legitimate concerns about these issues,” wrote Frazier, the group’s lawyer. “Therefore, given the extraordinarily time-consuming and burdensome nature of your requests, we must respectfully decline to engage in this beyond the clear answer we have already provided.” The NRA has one of the most sophisticated and successful fundraising operations of any nonprofit. In 2016, it hauled in $266 million. The NRA has denied that the FBI is investigating its Russian connections. But on the eve of its convention, the NRA appears to be gearing up to deal with a more aggressive interrogator than Wyden. According to CNN, the group’s attorneys have begun setting aside years of documents relating to Torshin, a move that sources told CNN could be simple due diligence, but also appeared to be a sign that the gun group is “bracing” for a full-on investigation. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... onnection/ Inside the Decade-Long Russian Campaign to Infiltrate the NRA and Help Elect Trump Femme fatales, lavish Moscow parties and dark money – how Russia worked the National Rifle Association russia NRA Illustration by Victor Juhasz for Rolling Stone In November 2013, the president of the National Rifle Association, David Keene, was introduced as an honored guest at the conference of the Right to Bear Arms, a gun lobby in Moscow. "There are no peoples that are more alike than Americans and Russians," Keene said. "We're hunters. We're shooters. We value the same kinds of things." Keene underscored his friendship with Alexander Torshin, a top politician in the ruling party of Vladimir Putin; for the past three years, Keene said, "I've hosted your senator Alexander Torshin at the National Rifle Association's annual meetings." In words that now carry a darker connotation, Keene insisted, "We need to work together." Torshin, now 64, is a roly-poly politician, perhaps five feet six, with thick glasses and a passion for borscht – "like medicine!" he once tweeted. A member of Putin's right-wing United Russia party, he served in the Russian senate for more than a decade, forging close ties to Russia's internal security service, the FSB, which awarded him a medal in 2016. His embrace of Keene, says Steven Hall, who served as chief of Russian operations for the CIA until 2015, was about more than forging "an international brotherhood of the NRA." As part of Putin's "active measures," Hall says, Russia has attempted to influence right-wing and populist factions abroad, preaching unity around social conservatism: "'We're both religious-based countries – we have the Orthodox Church that's a big deal for us.' " The Russians, Hall believes, "made a natural transition in the United States to the NRA"; over time Putin became determined to exploit the American gun lobby "and decided Mr. Torshin is going to be the guy to do it for him." Keene proved an easy mark. A career lobbyist who advised presidential candidates from Ronald Reagan to Mitt Romney, he was a longtime chair of the American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual CPAC convention. NRA board member Grover Norquist has praised Keene as "a conservative Forrest Gump" who's been at "the center of all things conservative for decades." Keene, with a sweep of white hair, owlish glasses and a patrician bearing, might move in cutthroat political circles, but friends say his personality runs against type. "He's like a teddy bear," says Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, who has known Keene for decades. "He's not hard-edged at all. He's a gentleman." (Keene did not respond to multiple interview requests.) Torshin and Keene forged a quick friendship. "Just a brief note to let you know just how much I enjoyed meeting in Pittsburgh during the NRA annual meeting," Keene wrote in a 2011 letter later obtained by anti-corruption activists in Russia. Extending a personal invitation to the following year's event, Keene added, "If there is anything any of us can do to help you in your endeavors . . . please don't hesitate to let us know." Torshin's "endeavors" included a plan to back a gun-rights group in Moscow. "We will start organizing our own Russian NRA," Torshin soon tweeted. The NRA president seemed flattered, seeing Torshin as a powerful Russian eager to build a gun organization that mirrored his own, and even secured a Russian translation of the NRA charter. But Russia experts believe Torshin's interest in U.S. gun culture masked a dark, ulterior motive. "It's all a big charade, basically," Glenn Simpson, founder of the research firm behind the infamous Steele Dossier, testified to the House Intelligence Committee. Much of what passes for civil society in modern Russia is, in fact, controlled by Putin. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee published a January 2018 report on "Putin's Asymmetric Assault on Democracy," which describes how the Kremlin has "sought to co-opt civil society by 'devot[ing] massive resources to the creation and activities of state-sponsored and state-controlled NGOs." Some of these faux grassroots groups buttress the Kremlin's domestic agenda. Others are projections of Putin's foreign policy. Sen. Ben Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, says it is common for Russian groups that "appear to be independent" but are "really Putin groups" to build relationships with civic groups in Western democracies, like the NRA – "to have tentacles," Cardin says, "to try and influence public opinion here in the United States. It is certainly part of Putin's MO." Hall agrees. "The idea of private gun ownership is anathema to Putin," he says. "So then the question is, 'Why?' " Why was a pro-gun campaign being hatched by a leader in Putin's own party? The answer, according to Hall, is that Putin was baiting a trap. "He's reaching out to attract the NRA, specifically, over to Russia." The FBI is now investigating whether Torshin, the current deputy governor of the Russian central bank, illegally funneled cash to the NRA to support the election of Donald Trump, according to a report by McClatchy that has sparked a probe by the Federal Elections Commission. Moscow's NRA connections have also become a focus of House and Senate Russia investigators. In his House testimony, made public in January, Simpson pointed to "Russian banker-slash-Duma-member-slash-Mafia-leader" Torshin and his "suspicious" protégé, a young gun activist named Marina Butina. "It appears the Russians," Simpson said, "infiltrated the NRA." The NRA spent an unprecedented $30 million to install Trump in the White House. Putin has a long track record of illegally financing nationalist opposition groups in the West. If the Kremlin's NRA outreach culminated in pumping vast sums into the group's coffers, America's lax campaign-finance regulations would have posed no obstacle. "There are so many ways that a group like the NRA could be used to channel Russian money into a race, it's shocking," says Robert Maguire, who investigates "dark money" for the Center for Responsive Politics. In a letter to Congress, the NRA has denied wrongdoing; it has not denied accepting Russian money. The notion that the flag-waving NRA of Eddie Eagle has allied itself with the Russian bear, and the government of former KGB colonel Vladimir Putin, can be hard to fathom. But an investigation by Rolling Stone establishes deeper ties between the NRA and Russia than previously reported. The record reveals this union was the product of a sophisticated Russian influence campaign nearly a decade in the making. By November 2016, Torshin greeted Trump's election victory as a foregone conclusion, specifically pointing to his and the president-elect's joint connection to the NRA. "This striking personality has fascinated me for a long time," he tweeted, in Russian. "Was sure of his victory." By Torshin's own account, his affiliation with the American gun lobby began around 2010, when he became a member of the NRA. His passion for firearms is genuine; Torshin counted Gen. Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47, as a friend, and has tweeted, "I love guns." Nearly as soon as Torshin joined the NRA, he began targeting the gun lobby's leadership, leaning on a friend, a Nashville lawyer named G. Kline Preston IV. "I've probably known him 10 years," Preston says of Torshin. "He's one of the finest people I know. He's a very capable, intelligent, honest man, a very devout Orthodox Christian, very serious about his faith." Preston is a jovial Russophile. He studied abroad in Soviet Leningrad in the late Eighties on his way to an undergraduate degree in Russian language and literature. He has moonlighted as a vodka importer and a trader on the post-Soviet stock exchange. In 2006, Preston opened a sister law office in St. Petersburg, where his practice areas included "lobbying members of government bodies in the United States and the Russian Federation." Torshin met Preston through mutual Russian contacts, and he invited the lawyer to speak to the Russian senate in 2009. "I'm very pro-Putin, honestly," Preston says in a rich Southern drawl. "He's been fantastic for Russia." Toshin (center) with Putin at an awards ceremony in Moscow, 2011. Toshin (center) with Putin at an awards ceremony in Moscow in 2011. Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images A campaign banner from Putin's 2012 election hangs in Preston's Nashville office, also decorated with Russian nesting dolls of the Trump family. Preston believes Russia shares the values of the American South, but his own views are reactionary. He calls the Civil War "the War for Southern Independence"; the Confederate Constitution "an improvement"; and has blasted Lincoln as "a terrorist and a war criminal!" In 2013, he posted a meme on Twitter of Barack Obama looking unmanly in comparison to the buff, shirtless Russian leader. Preston wrote, "As long as U.S. is electing foreign-born presidents, I propose Vladimir [Vladimirovich] Putin." The Nashville lawyer saw nothing odd about his Russian friend's desire to meet the NRA president: "Torshin is a gun enthusiast," he says. And although Preston attends the annual NRA meetings, he didn't know Keene personally. "I just called him out of the blue," Preston says. "I told him, 'Hey, I got a friend who is interested in the NRA, gun rights, that kind of stuff. Happens to be a Russian senator.' " The NRA welcomed the outreach. "Russia's essentially a gun-free zone since Bolsheviks took power," Preston explains. (Rifles and shotguns are commonly owned; handguns are tightly restricted.) "You have Russian politicians and other citizens working to change that. Senator Torshin is one of those people." He adds, "The obvious place to look, to see a successful gun-rights organization, is the United States and the NRA." Speaking on the phone from Tennessee and Moscow, where he traveled in March to act as an observer of the presidential election of Putin – which independent monitors have called "a sham" – Preston flatly denies that his Russian friends were meddling in the U.S. election. "These allegations are laughable," he says. "I have no knowledge of it, never saw any indications. It's a red herring, man. Like when we were kids, they sent us on snipe hunts – a bird that doesn't exist." But as early as 2012, when Torshin attended the NRA convention as a "VIP" guest of "the NRA President," his fascination with U.S. gun culture was twinned with an interest in presidential politics. That November, he was in Nashville as an observer of the contest between Obama and Romney. "I set that up," says Preston, but Torshin's bona fides with the rifle association smoothed his path: "My NRA card," he boasted on Twitter, "opened the doors to any polling stations for me." Torshin inspected electronic voting machines and election queues. Spotting posters of Obama hanging in one precinct – a violation of election norms – "Torshin, I think, snapped pictures and sent them to Moscow immediately," Preston recalls. Torshin also traveled to D.C., making two intriguing stops: one at the headquarters of the NRA, the other at the residence of Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States whose frequent contacts with Trump campaign figures have raised red flags with investigators. Over the next year, Torshin's access and influence in the NRA continued to grow. At the 2013 convention in Houston, Gottlieb recalls, Torshin was presented with the gift of a rifle. "3 thousand delegates of the NRA Congress, greeted me with an ovation!" Torshin tweeted. He also snapped photos of a ceremony for the "Golden Ring of Freedom," the NRA's high society for million-dollar lifetime donors, many of them gun executives. The group breaks bread in golden dinner jackets with elaborate crests embroidered on the breast pockets. They ring a replica of the Liberty Bell. Outside the NRA bubble, however, senator Torshin was becoming infamous. Spanish authorities reportedly sought to arrest him at a 2013 birthday party for Alexander Romanov, a member of the Russian Taganskaya mob, now serving prison time for laundering money through real estate on the Spanish island of Mallorca. According to judicial documents reviewed by El Pais, Romanov referred to Torshin as "boss" and "godfather" on intercepted phone calls; Spain suspected Torshin had laundered 14 million euros through the purchase of a hotel on the island. The birthday sting was foiled when Torshin didn't show up to the island. Charges were never filed. "Calling on Russia to arrest him would have been useless because Russia does not cooperate," a judicial source told El Pais. In a statement to the paper, Torshin denied any wrongdoing, insisting he'd never done business with Romanov or owned Spanish real estate. Torshin has acknowledged only social connections to the mobster; for example, he is the godfather of Romanov's teenage son. (Torshin did not respond to interview requests.) In Moscow, Torshin had partnered with Marina Butina, who would become the face of gun rights in Russia. She gained national prominence in 2011, competing in the Youth Primaries of the Young Guard of United Russia – a political competition sponsored by the Kremlin to cultivate fresh political talent. Tall and poised, with a spiky brown haircut, Butina, then 22, had grown up with guns, learning to hunt with her father in her home region of Altai, in southern Siberia. Her platform in the contest included liberalizing Russia's gun laws. Torshin was captivated. He hired Butina as a special assistant. That same year, she became the founding chair of Russia's new gun group: the Right to Bear Arms. In late 2013, Torshin and Butina hosted an NRA delegation, along with other American gun-rights activists, at a Right to Bear Arms convention in Moscow. A lavish affair, staged in an upscale convention center, the event doubled as a coming-out party for Torshin's young protégé. They arranged private meals for American guests, who feasted on Russian delicacies and downed flavored vodkas. Leggy models in mini-skirts put on a fashion show, flashing garter belts that doubled as conceal-carry gun holsters. "I was impressed with the grassroots movement they created," says Gottlieb, of the Second Amendment Foundation. "I wish we had as many good-looking young ladies involved in our gun-rights movement here in the United States." For an upstart organization, the Right to Bear Arms' conference was crawling with Russian government officials. Torshin delivered the keynote address, and Butina presented him and a half-dozen other Russian politicians – including the ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky – with honorary memberships. (Butina has denied taking even "one coin" in government money.) Leading the American cohort was the NRA's president, Keene, who delivered his address promoting Russo-American unity. In pictures, Keene posed next to Butina – now sporting long red hair – grinning like a schoolboy. Putin did not attend, but those in the audience felt his influence. "I make the assumption that they have the blessing of more than just Alexander Torshin, because he's an upper-ranking member of Putin's party," Gottlieb says. "He's not going to do things that are going to upset Putin." (Despite this cleareyed assessment, Gottlieb rejects the notion that the Russians and the NRA were in cahoots in 2016.) Right to Bear Arms' international outreach extended to John Bolton, the former U.N. ambassador and longtime NRA activist, who now serves as President Trump's national security adviser. In late 2013, a video appeared online of Bolton delivering an address to Right to Bear Arms, as the group was pursuing a gun-rights amendment to the Russian constitution. (That campaign – like much of Right to Bear Arms' political agenda – has foundered.) Through his bushy mustache, Bolton praised Putin's autocratic country as a "force for democracy in the world," and encouraged the Russian activists. "Good luck on your journey," he said, "into a new century of freedom." Torshin feted Butina, calling her "very young and talented. She is the youngest prominent public figure in the Russian Federation." Torshin also praised more than her political acumen, saying she had become "more beautiful" and "ideally slim." Hall, the former CIA officer, says Butina fits a mold: "The Russians are not stupid. It's a safe bet that there's more men in leadership positions on the conservative side of American politics in places like the NRA. If you are looking to attract people to your cause, guys would be more interested in talking to somebody like her. It's one of the old plays out of the KGB handbook." Butina, he says, "reminds me of Anna Chapman – the fiery redhead who was one of the illegals who was kicked out of the United States back in 2010." Chapman had lived in New York before being unmasked as a spy by the FBI; she pleaded guilty to acting as a foreign agent and was deported in a spy exchange – for the Russian double agent recently poisoned with a nerve agent in the U.K. Chapman now has a popular Instagram account in which she poses in revealing outfits, often with weapons. Butina has flashed a similar sex appeal, stripping down for a 2014 profile in GQ Russia – wielding a pair of pistols, wearing stilettos, a black leather jacket, and lingerie from Dolce & Gabbana – and posing as the cover model for the Right to Bear Arms glossy in-house magazine. In early 2014, U.S.-Russia relations were cratering, following the invasion of Crimea. Torshin helped steer the legislation that officially annexed the territory, appearing with Putin at a Kremlin signing ceremony. But his relationship with the NRA was sunnier than ever. "Republicans are the bones of the NRA," Torshin tweeted in February. "Great political victories are ahead of you!" At the 2014 convention in Indianapolis, Butina met with the highest-ranking officers of the NRA – including, Rolling Stone can report, Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president. She presented a plaque from Right to Bear Arms to then-NRA president Jim Porter, tweeting, "Mission accomplished." Her tour through the conservative elite included snapping selfies with former GOP presidential candidates Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum. As a guest of Keene, Butina joined the rituals of the Golden Ring of Freedom, even ringing the NRA's liberty bell. "To the right to bear arms for citizens of the whole world," she said as the bell sounded. Her first American trip, she blogged, culminated in "an experience at the Washington office of the NRA." Standing before the group's blue-glass headquarters, she posed for a photo with Keene. Butina and Torshin soon began leveraging their NRA connections to gain personal access to GOP presidential contenders. Not yet a declared candidate, Trump addressed the NRA's 2015 convention in Nashville. "We need strength," Trump said. "We need people that are respected. Putin has no respect for our president." Torshin has claimed he met Trump in Nashville, and that Trump ribbed him: " So, you're from Russia – when are you going to invade Latvia?" The Trump White House has denied this encounter took place. The Russians also rubbed elbows with Scott Walker, then a viable candidate, and the beneficiary of more than $3.5 million from the NRA over his career. Walker charmed Butina when they first met, she blogged, greeting her in Russian. "We talked about Russia," she wrote. "I did not hear any aggression towards our country, the president or my compatriots." Two months later, Butina traveled to Waukesha, Wisconsin, to attend Walker's official presidential launch. Butina was not keeping a low profile. In June, she wrote an English-language op-ed about U.S-Russia relations for The National Interest, the foreign-policy magazine founded by neoconservative Irving Kristol. Butina staked out a case for regime change in America: "It may take the election of a Republican to the White House in 2016 to improve relations between the Russian Federation and the United States," she wrote. "As improbable as it may sound, the Russian bear shares more interests with the Republican elephant than the Democratic donkey." Citing the GOP's coalition of social conservatives, businessmen and anti-terrorism hawks, Butina wrote, "These are values espoused by United Russia, the current ruling political party in Moscow." The magazine identified Butina as the founder of "a Russian version of the NRA." Not included in her bio: Butina was still on the government payroll, as special assistant to Torshin, who by now was deputy governor of the Russian central bank. Butina soon appeared in Las Vegas for Freedom Fest, a libertarian conference where Trump spoke. Barely a month into his candidacy, Trump had said little formally about Russian relations. "I am from Russia," Butina said in lilting English from a microphone in a ballroom at the Planet Hollywood casino. "If you would be elected as the president, do you want to continue the politics of sanctions?" "I know Putin," Trump replied. "I believe I would get along very nicely with Putin. OK?" Then Trump gave an answer that was music to Kremlin ears: "I don't think you'd need the sanctions." Butina's intelligence, drive and charisma won her powerful friends in the NRA. But she became remarkably close with one lifelong GOP activist in particular: Paul Erickson. Six-feet-four, with a bald crown ringed by graying curls, Erickson has a skier's build and greets fellow Yalies with a fight-song-inspired "Boola, Boola." A member of the same cohort of college Republicans that produced Norquist, Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed and disgraced super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Erickson has enjoyed a vivid and varied career. A rabid anti-communist, he spent the summer of 1983 sending supplies to insurgents battling the USSR in Afghanistan. He has lobbied on behalf of Zairean strongman Mobutu Sese Seko, mounted the "Love Hurts" media tour for celebrity penis amputee John Wayne Bobbitt and was credited as an executive producer on Abramoff's 1989 B-movie Red Scorpion, starring Dolph Lundgren. Like Keene, with whom he served on the board of the American Conservative Union, Erickson is a low-profile everywhere man, described by one friend as a "secret master of the political universe." He has helped run a number of GOP presidential campaigns, serving as national political director for nativist Pat Buchanan's 1992 run. (Erickson did not respond to repeated interview requests.) In 2013, Erickson joined the NRA's first visit to the Right to Bear Arms conference in Moscow – the following September, according to Butina's blog, he returned to Russia, solo, to address her group on behalf of the NRA. As she tracked GOP presidential candidates in 2015, Butina touched down, repeatedly, in South Dakota, where Erickson lives. In July, she lectured at a camp for young Republicans with Erickson by her side. That same month, the duo appeared on a podcast in Manhattan. Erickson regaled the audience with a creation myth about Right to Bear Arms worthy of a Silicon Valley startup. "Maria is very humble," Erickson said. "She started the Right to Bear Arms in the Russian version of McDonald's with friends, and her work became noticed by the highest levels of the Russian government." In September, the pair partied by the graveside of F. Scott Fitzgerald in Maryland. Butina wore a flapper's silver headband and a long string of pearls; Erickson carried a bottle of rum and a copy of The Great Gatsby. At the close of 2015, Torshin and Butina invited a new delegation of NRA members to a Right to Bear Arms convention in Moscow. The crowd included faces familiar and new, including Keene; Pete Brownell, CEO of one of America's largest gun-sellers who is now the NRA's president; Joe Gregory, the chair of the NRA's Golden Ring of Freedom; as well as Trump surrogate and then-Milwaukee Sheriff David A. Clarke. Erickson reportedly also attended. The Russians put on a wintry spectacle – replete with ornate Christmas trees and white chairs tied up like presents with red ribbons. Arnold Goldschlager, a major NRA donor who also attended, would tell McClatchy, "They were killing us with vodka and the best Russian food." In a public filing, Clarke estimated Right to Bear Arms spent $6,000 on his hotels, meals, excursions and transportation around Moscow. Maria Butina, founder of Russia's Right to Bear Arms, at an NRA convention in Nashville in 2015. Maria Butina, founder of Russia's Right to Bear Arms, at an NRA convention in Nashville in 2015. Maria Butina/Facebook In these same days, Putin himself was pursuing other angles of influence with the American right. The Russian president met with right-wing pastor Franklin Graham for a 45-minute exchange. And on December 10th, Putin infamously sat next to Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump's future national security adviser, at an RT gala in Moscow. As they lived the high life in Moscow, the NRA delegation kept crossing paths with top Putin cabinet officials. Clarke tweeted about a meeting with "the Russian Foreign Minister" – who is Sergey Lavrov. NRA members also convened with Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister of Russia who is in charge of the defense industry, and a subject of U.S. sanctions. But for the representatives of the NRA, geopolitics seemed a distant concern. This trip was all fun and guns. Sheriff Clarke tweeted photos from Russian gunmaker Orsis, delighting, "I test fired one of their sniper rifles." The Russians, Hall believes, were seeking a "mechanism by which they can, sort of, control the NRA." If NRA members were having a carefree good time, the Russians were almost certainly watching their every move, seeking leverage, says Hall. "The FSB is set up first and foremost to collect compromising information on people who might later be useful to the Russian government," he says. "It's not always that," he adds. "A lot of it involves establishing personal relationships that then could be leveraged into something different. That's where a lot of the dinners, and the toasting, and the private meetings start. This is something the Russians have done for decades." The Russians, Hall believes, were seeking a "mechanism by which they can, sort of, control the NRA." They might start with the "friendly route," he says, "pulling the wool over the organization's eyes, getting them to buy into: 'Hey, we're both real conservatives at heart. Russia is actually a friend of the United States. Why can't we get past all of this ugliness?" The question is where the camaraderie ends. "Do they end up with a senior NRA guy who they formally recruited, who can now work clandestinely for them?" Many recruits are oblivious of Russian influence – until it's too late. "They'll start it off with something seemingly innocuous," Hall says. "And then they'll move it as far as they possibly can. If they start hitting resistance, they might very well say, 'Let's not forget that trip to Moscow you took six months ago, where you had a few too many drinks and got a little too friendly with somebody.' That's there as well." At the beginning of 2016, Butina and Erickson were taking their relationship to a new level. Back in South Dakota, they became partners in a limited-liability corporation called Bridges; in legal documents, Butina and Erickson list their address at the same suite in Sioux Falls, but the purpose and activities of Bridges remain opaque. According to a conversation between Erickson and reporters for McClatchy, the corporation, founded in February 2016, "was established in case Butina needed any monetary assistance for her graduate studies." (Months later, Butina would enroll in a master's program at American University.) McClatchy deadpanned this would be "an unusual way to use an LLC." The timing of Bridges' founding is notable. Three days later, Torshin tweeted from Russia, sharing news of the Republican presidential race: "Maria Butina is now in the U.S. She writes to me that D. Trump (a member of the NRA) is really for the cooperation with Russia." That spring, Erickson would attempt to broker a meeting between the GOP candidate and Torshin, with the hope that it would lead to a future sit-down between Trump and Putin. Erickson sent an e-mail to a top member of the Trump campaign in May, with the subject line "Kremlin Connection." (The message, obtained by Congress, was shared with The New York Times.) Erickson explained that "happenstance" and NRA connections had enabled him to "slowly begin cultivating a back-channel to President Putin's Kremlin." He informed the campaign that "Putin is deadly serious about building a good relationship with Mr. Trump" and wished candidate Trump "to visit him in the Kremlin." Erickson implied that Moscow saw Hillary Clinton as "beyond redemption." Referring to "President Putin's emissary on this front" – who The New York Times determined was Torshin – Erickson proposed an initial meeting would be possible between Trump and Torshin in Louisville, Kentucky. Timed with the 2016 NRA convention, Erickson wrote, the event weekend could be used by Torshin to "make 'first contact.' " The NRA officially endorsed Trump in Louisville on May 20th, marking the gun lobby's earliest-ever presidential endorsement. Accepting the NRA's backing, Trump vowed, "I will never let you down." Torshin watched in the audience, later tweeting, "He was not simply endorsed at the NRA Congress at Louisville, it was unanimous. . . . the applause!" Torshin, it seems, did not secure the face-to-face meeting with Trump. But the Russian banker did meet with the president's son, lifetime NRA member Donald Trump Jr., at a dinner during the convention. (Outreach from Russia was coming strong: Weeks later, in early June, Trump Jr. would sit down with another cast of Russians promising "dirt" on Clinton at Trump Tower.) In July, Torshin received his medal from the FSB. Through Election Day, the NRA would spend more than $30 million in federally recorded funds on behalf of Trump. Citing two sources close to the gun lobby, McClatchy reporters Peter Stone and Greg Gordon suggest the true total may be far greater – $70 million or more – noting that Internet advertising, field work and get-out-the-vote campaigns are not documented in federal disclosures. The source of the millions spent by the NRA is untraceable; the organization is a dark-money giant that can hide its benefactors. This privilege of secrecy is granted to "social welfare" organizations, whose primary purpose is not political. Despite its prodigious power in our elections, the NRA spends most of its money on other activities – from magazine publishing to gun education to NRATV. "The NRA is routinely used as a conduit" for "sketchy" money spent on Republican politics, says Maguire, the investigator for the Center for Responsive Politics. "We've seen some of the groups in the Koch network give large, six- and seven-figure grants to the NRA – knowing that the NRA is going to spend that money on ads in an election," Maguire says. "They get away with it." The Russians, Maguire says, could easily have funneled money into the NRA's coffers, using a similar pathway: "It is not surprising that the NRA would be used in that way." It might even have been legal, he says. The NRA is allowed to accept foreign cash; it's only forbidden from spending that money directly on U.S. elections. But in an organization as vast and varied as the NRA, cash is fungible. A legal, ostensibly apolitical donation to the NRA by Russia could have freed up other, unrestricted funds to spend on politics. It's also possible the gun lobby was duped. "The NRA may have been used without even knowing it," Maguire says. "Russians could easily set up a Delaware corporation, with a name like 'Americans for Gun Freedom LLC,' and give the NRA a $5 million check. The NRA would just say, 'Hey great, it sounds like our kind of people,' " and spend the cash. The NRA did not respond to numerous requests to comment for this piece. In letters to Ron Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, a lawyer for the NRA wrote that the organization is committed to "raise and spend our funds within the bounds of the law" and that it works to vet "significant contributions from unknown entities." However, the lawyer admitted that the NRA accepts donations from "foreign persons" to accounts not dedicated to elections – adding that money moves between election and nonelection accounts "as permitted by law." Wyden tells Rolling Stone that "money in these accounts could be used to pay for ad campaigns and voter mobilization efforts," insisting that "the NRA has a public responsibility to disclose where their foreign donations are coming from." Understanding how "outside actors are directly or indirectly influencing the U.S. political debate," the Oregon Democrat says, "is critical to the preservation of our Democracy." Torshin has blasted the accusations in the McClatchy exposé as "gossip from the media," taunting critics on Twitter to "produce concrete proof of my financing of the NRA (amounts of money, account numbers, dates). . . . I'm waiting!" On social media, Butina has argued her gun advocacy should be taken at face value, and not as evidence of the "long arm of the Kremlin" in the 2016 election. "Sometimes," she wrote, in a nod to Freud, "a cigar is just a cigar." Some members of Congress see the apparent Russian effort to turn the NRA as part of a larger, ongoing Kremlin offensive. "The tentacles of Russian enterprise in this country are deep and ubiquitous," says Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. "The Russians are as close to being warlike as you can imagine, without bullets being fired." Putin, says Sen. Cardin, "uses an asymmetric arsenal in order to undermine our democracy and our institutions of democracy" – noting that "part of his game plan is to finance entities that he believes disrupt the unity of our country." Pointing to the gun lobby's polarizing role in our political culture, Cardin adds, "The NRA would be perfect." https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/f ... mp-w518587 Was Jeff Sessions Aware of a Proposed Trump-Putin Back Channel? New details from the House Intelligence Committee suggest the attorney general was privy to a critical episode of the NRA-Russia scandal Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Capitol Hill this week. Andrew Harnik/AP Democrats have published a response to the House Intelligence Committee report on the Trump/Russia nexus, released Friday by the committee's Republican majority. The minority report offers new details – and unanswered questions – about the role of the NRA as a conduit between Russia and the Trump campaign, raising fresh questions about then-Senator Jeff Sessions' knowledge of Russian outreach. The Democratic report affirms and amplifies the findings of Rolling Stone's investigation into the NRA's Russia connections. In particular, the Democrats strongly suggest that Putin ally Alexander Torshin was running an op through the NRA: "The Kremlin-linked individual" – Torshin – "appears to have used the group" – the NRA – "to befriend and establish a backchannel to senior Trump campaign associates through their mutual affinity for firearms," the Democrats write, "a strategy consistent with Russian tradecraft." (Torshin, a lifetime NRA member, was recently sanctioned by the Treasury Department and can no longer travel to the United States.) The Democratic report also publishes a full excerpt of an infamous May 2016 email from Paul Erickson to the Trump campaign. (Previously, this email had only been reported in snippets by the New York Times.) Erickson is an NRA- and GOP operative who repeatedly visited a Torshin-backed gun-rights group in Moscow. He later started a mysterious business with Torshin's protege, Maria Butina, in South Dakota. The excerpt is illuminating: Erickson addressed the email – which included a proposed meeting between candidate Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin – to Rick Dearborn, then a top Trump campaign staffer. But the full text suggests Sen. Jeff Sessions was directly in the loop. Erickson wrote: "I'm now writing to you and Sen. Sessions in your roles as Trump foreign policy experts/advisors. […] Happenstance and the (sometimes) international reach of the NRA placed me in a position a couple of years ago to slowly begin cultivating a back-channel to President Putin's Kremlin. Russia is quietly but actively seeking a dialogue with the U.S. that isn't forthcoming under the current administration. And for reasons that we can discuss in person or on the phone, the Kremlin believes that the only possibility of a true re-set in this relationship would be with a new Republican White House." Did Sessions, now the attorney general, receive a copy of this email directly? The report's footnote, sourcing the email, reveals the document came from "Attorney General Jeff Session [sic] Document Production." Rolling Stone asked for clarification from a spokesperson for Ranking Member Adam Schiff; he replied: "We cannot comment." That this email was found in Sessions' files is a startling revelation. Sessions previously told House investigators that he did not recall the outreach by Erickson, according to the New York Times. And it may provide new context for why Sessions recused himself from the Justice Department's Russia investigation. The Democratic report also reveals that Dearborn moved Erickson's message up the chain of command – and amplified when and where Putin hoped to meet with candidate Trump. "Dearborn communicated this request on May 17, 2016 to the highest levels of the Trump campaign, including Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and Jared Kushner," the Democrats write. Torshin hoped to use the 2016 NRA convention to break the ice, and open a personal line of communication to "someone of high rank in the Trump Campaign," the report continues. "As explained in Dearborn's email, such a meeting would provide Torshin an opportunity “to discuss an offer he claims to be carrying from President Putin to meet with DJT." ("DJT" is a reference to Donald J. Trump.) "They would also like DJT to visit Russia for a world summit on the persecution of Christians at which Putin and Trump would meet.'" Ultimately, Torshin met the future-President's son, Donald Jr., at the NRA convention. The Democrats upbraid the majority for "conveniently" concluding there was "no evidence that the two discussed the presidential election." The Democrats expand: "this relies solely on the voluntary and self-interested testimony of the individual in question... Trump Jr." The report adds: "The Majority refused multiple requests by the Minority to interview witnesses central to this line of inquiry, including Torshin, Butina, Erickson, and others." The Democrats conclude the NRA section of their report with a litany of questions the GOP majority refused to examine, writing that the GOP majority report "ignores significant outstanding questions about individuals who sought to set up this backchannel, including why Torshin and Butina were interested in connecting the Trump campaign to Putin, what they sought to get out of that connection, why they enlisted the support of NRA colleagues, and whether others in the campaign were communicating with Russia through the NRA." The Democrats also underscore that Republicans took no interest in getting to the bottom of allegations that Russian money illegally boosted Trump's candidacy. "The Majority refused to investigate," Democrats write, "whether Russian-linked intermediaries used the NRA to illegally funnel money to the Trump Campaign, to open lines of communication with or approaches to Trump or his associates, and how those approaches may have informed Russia's active measures campaign as it unfolded throughout 2016." https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/n ... in-w519652 The NRA May Have More Russian Contributors Than It First Said Tim MakApril 9, 201810:44 AM ET A sign touts the 144th National Rifle Association annual meetings and exhibits. The NRA may have more Russian or foreign members than it first acknowledged. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg The National Rifle Association may have accepted more contributions from Russian donors than it first acknowledged, new documents show. A Russian citizen who works for a U.S.-sanctioned arms manufacturer was arrested earlier this year when he tried to board a flight from Los Angeles to Moscow carrying a rifle scope — one authorities say requires an export license. The man, Evgeny Spiridonov, said in court documents filed as part of his case that he was an NRA member. Spiridonov, who has ties to weapons-maker Kalashnikov Concern, said in the documents he has been an NRA member since 2015. Membership requires a monetary contribution. That's at least one more Russian member than a lawyer for the NRA acknowledged in an interview with ABC News: Outside counsel Steven Hart told the network that the NRA had received just one contribution from a Russian individual between 2012 and 2018, for less than $1,000. That was the life membership payment made by a Russian government official, Alexander Torshin, and was not used for any of the NRA's election-related political activities, Hart said. On Friday, Torshin was among a number of powerful Russians punished with new economic sanctions by the Treasury Department. Neither Torshin nor an attorney for Spiridonov nor the NRA responded to NPR's request for comment. "It is membership organization, and unless you're paying the membership dues, you're not a member of the organization," Richard Feldman, a former NRA lobbyist, told NPR. "You can't be a member without having given money." That may be the case for at least one more Russian. In a Tweet from November 2016, Torshin notes that his aide Maria Butina, a Russian national who claimed she had been part of the Trump campaign's communications with Russia, was, like himself, also a life member of the NRA. Investigators want to know whether Russia may have tried to use the NRA or other political organizations to influence the information environment inside the United States as part of the attack on the 2016 election. One key player in the Russia imbroglio told House members he believed Russia's intelligence apparatus sought to "infiltrate" the NRA or other groups. McClatchy reported that the FBI is investigating whether Torshin may have funneled money to the NRA. As part of these inquiries, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked the NRA in February to list the contributions it had received from Russian nationals. The group declined to directly address the question, saying: "the NRA and its related entities do not accept funds from foreign persons or entities in connection with United States elections." Since then, the NRA sought to clarify that it does accept foreign donations for its membership organization. "Nobody is running background checks when they're sending in your check," Feldman said. "There's no way that NRA would even know if someone is a Russian citizen or a Russian national." https://www.npr.org/2018/04/09/60035995 ... st-it-said NRA discloses two dozen additional contributions from Russian donors PHOTO: The National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax, Va., is pictured in this undated file photo.Mark Peterson/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE WATCH Matthew Dowd: NRA 'successful' at forcing 'mythic binary choice' on gun control The National Rifle Association has acknowledged two dozen additional contributions from Russian donors since 2015 in a significant departure from their previous claim that only one Russian had donated to the controversial gun-rights group. After telling ABC News the organization had received a single contribution of less than $1,000 from one Russian individual, the NRA revised that total in an April 10 letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, who has been pushing to learn more about the NRA’s election spending. “Given your focus on potential Russian influence between 2015 and the present, we reviewed our financial records for that period,” wrote John C. Frazer, the NRA’s Secretary and General Counsel. “During that time, the NRA received a total of approximately $2512.85 from people associated with Russian addresses (which may include U.S. citizens living in Russia), or known Russian nationals living in the United States.” “Of this total, about $525 was from two individuals who made contributions to the NRA,” Frazer continued. “The rest consisted of routine payments from about 23 individuals for membership dues and additional magazine subscriptions.” Steven Hart, outside counsel to the NRA, told ABC News a different story in March. “We have one contribution from a Russian,” Hart said, adding that “the donation was the person’s membership dues” and was not used for election-related activities” and “was not a major donor program.” PHOTO: Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, questions witnesses during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on election security in Washington, D.C., March 21, 2018.Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, questions witnesses during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on election security in Washington, D.C., March 21, 2018.more + An aide to Sen. Wyden told ABC News the senator is considering making a push for “additional oversight actions” in light of what the aide characterized as an inadequate response to recent inquiries. “Sen. Wyden will be referring his correspondence with the NRA to the Federal Elections Commission to contribute to their inquiry,” the aide said. “After three letters, the NRA continually, and specifically avoided detailing what measures it takes to vet donations, including from shell companies, a known means for Russians to funnel money into the United States. As ranking member of the Finance Committee, he is considering additional oversight actions in light of this response.” The individual Hart was referring to was Alexander Torshin, a Russian politician who sat at a dinner table with Donald Trump Jr. at the 2016 National Rifle Association convention but has recently has been the subject of scrutiny as lawmakers and Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigate possible attempts by Russia to influence the 2016 presidential campaign. The NRA has denied receiving money “from foreign persons or entities in connection with United States elections,” but questions have continued to swirl around the organization’s seemingly close relationship to Torshin. PHOTO: Russian Council of the Federation Deputy Chief Alexander Torshin is seen during a meeting, April, 3, 2012 in Maloyaroslavets, Russia.Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images, FILE Russian Council of the Federation Deputy Chief Alexander Torshin is seen during a meeting, April, 3, 2012 in Maloyaroslavets, Russia.more + Last week, Torshin was added to the list of Russian nationals sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, raising questions about his long-standing relationship to the NRA, especially in light of revelations that Torshin met with several NRA board members during a December 2015 visit to Moscow. “There were already red flags regarding Kremlin links to NRA,” Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, told ABC News following Torshin’s designation. “This just supercharges it.” Sen. Wyden wrote to the U.S. Treasury Department in February seeking financial records concerning alleged links between Torshin and the NRA, citing published reports suggesting possible ties between Torshin’s interest in the NRA and the organization’s hefty campaign spending in support of then-candidate Donald Trump. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the NRA reported spending nearly $55 million on the 2016 elections, including more than $30 million in support of Trump. In his letter published Wednesday, Frazer states that the organization is “reviewing [its] responsibilities” with respect to Torshin. The NRA did not immediately respond to questions about what that review might entail or what actions might be taken. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/nra-dis ... d=54395292 Alexander Torshin, Russian who courted NRA leaders, sanctioned by US Treasury WATCH Treasury secretary: 'There is the potential of a trade war' Alexander Torshin, the Russian politician who sat at a dinner table with Donald Trump Jr. at the 2016 National Rifle Association convention, has been added to the list of Russian nationals sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. The deputy governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation was for years a paying member of the NRA and repeat guest at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, but more recently has been the subject of scrutiny as lawmakers and Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigate possible attempts by Russia to influence the 2016 presidential campaign. “There were already red flags regarding Kremlin links to NRA,” Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat who has been pushing to learn more about Torshin’s activities during the 2016 campaign, told ABC News. “This just supercharges it.” Lieu, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre in March, expressing his concern with the NRA’s relationship to Torshin and noting that Torshin “acted as a liaison” during a December 2015 visit to Moscow by several NRA attended by board members. “Torshin’s influence in Russia and his relationship with the NRA suggest this allegation [that Torshin secretly funneled money to the NRA during the 2016 campaign season] may have merit,” Lieu wrote. “It is deeply disturbing that an organization like the NRA, whose stated purposes and objective is to ‘protect and defend the Constitution,’ would meet with sanctioned individuals connected to a foreign adversary that seems determined to undermine elections.” Lieu told ABC News that he is still awaiting the NRA’s response. PHOTO: Rep. Ted Lieu at the Mr. Trump, Tear Down This Wall panel during Politicon at Pasadena Convention Center, July 30, 2017 in Pasadena, Calif., July 30, 2017.Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images Rep. Ted Lieu at the "Mr. Trump, Tear Down This Wall" panel during Politicon at Pasadena Convention Center, July 30, 2017 in Pasadena, Calif., July 30, 2017.more + Lieu’s letter followed letters from Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, who wrote to the Treasury Department in February seeking records related to Torshin’s involvement in the NRA. On Friday, Wyden seized the opportunity to renew his call for the release of those records. "Today's sanctioning of Mr. Torshin is hard evidence of his deep involvement in Vladimir Putin's regime, which actively attacked our democracy in 2016," Wyden said in a statement. "Today's news increases the urgency for the Treasury Department to provide the Finance Committee with relevant documents on Mr. Torshin that I requested months ago." During testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of the investigative firm Fusion GPS, named Torshin in describing what he said were efforts by Russians to “infiltrate” the NRA. “I would say broadly speaking, it appears that the Russian operation was designed to infiltrate conservative organizations,” Simpson told investigators. “And they targeted various conservative organizations, religious and otherwise, and they seem to have made a very concerted effort to get in with the NRA.” Last month, a lawyer for the NRA told ABC News that Torshin had, indeed, donated membership dues of between $600 and $1,000 to the organization. But the lawyer, J. Steven Hart, said that was the extent of money coming from Russians. “We have one contribution from a Russian,” Steven Hart, outside counsel to the NRA, said in an interview with ABC News before Friday’s sanctions announcement. Hart said it was the “life membership payment” made by Torshin, which went to the NRA's non-profit parent organization, which is not required by law to disclose the donation. Hart added, “The donation was the person’s membership dues” and was not used for election-related activities. “That was not a major donor program,” he said. NRA General Counsel John C. Frazer, in an earlier letter to Wyden said the gun-rights group accepted an undisclosed amount of foreign donations, though not for electioneering purposes. A spokesperson for the NRA did not respond to ABC News' request for comment on Torshin’s designation. The National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax, Va., is pictured in this undated file photo.more + None of that is mentioned in the Treasury statement announcing the latest list of sanctions. The list is intended to single out “those who benefit from the Putin regime and play a key role in advancing Russia’s malign activities,” the announcement says. In all, 24 individuals and 14 companies were sanctioned, meaning their U.S. assets were frozen and their ability to interact in the international finance system will be severely hampered. “The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “The Russian government engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities. Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government’s destabilizing activities.” In addition to Torshin, the list includes oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg. Deripaska, a prominent metals magnate who founded En+ Group, reportedly employed Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort at one point, though they are said to have fallen out. Vekselberg heads the Moscow-based company, Renova. The head of the firm’s U.S. subsidiary (an American citizen) contributed $35,000 to the Trump Victory committee and $250,000 to Trump’s inauguration fund, according to campaign records. The Renova Group also donated between $50,000 and $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation, records show. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and one of Vekselberg’s companies held large stakes in the Bank of Cyprus. During Ross’s confirmation hearings, a group of six Democratic senators raised questions about the nominee’s ties to Vekselberg. Vekselberg also helped fundraise for the Moscow Jewish Museum, including hosting a 2014 gala in Russia attended by Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner. Ilya Zaslavskiy, an Oxford-trained scholar and frequent critic of the oligarchs, told ABC News he hailed the decision to sanction the Russia oligarchs. “Sanctioning of Vekselberg and his company Renova shows that US authorities finally - after long bipartisan pressure from Congress and anti-corruption activists - are targeting real oligarchs with actual exposure in the US,” he said. ABC News attempted to contact Vekselberg through his company, Renova Group, but received no reply. Whether Torshin factors into any further federal probe of Russian interference is unknown. NRA officials have said they believe time will show conclusively that the organization played no part in any foreign influence effort. “This is imaginary but details do matter eventually,” Hart told ABC News. “There is no Russian influence [on the NRA]. This all comes off one report. We’ve been trying to be polite. How do you prove a negative?” For Lieu, Torshin’s activities provides more evidence of Russia’s broad campaign to meddle in the 2016 elections. “The Russians are very sophisticated,” Lieu told ABC News. “They didn’t just hack us.” https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/alexand ... d=54295231 The Very Strange Case of Two Russian Gun Lovers, the NRA, and Donald Trump Here’s what we uncovered about an odd pair from Moscow who cultivated the Trump campaign. Denise Clifton and Mark FollmanMay/June 2018 Issue For more than a year, reports have trickled out about deepening ties among prominent members of the National Rifle Association, conservative Republicans, a budding gun-rights movement in Russia—and their convergence in the Trump campaign. Now attention is focused around a middle-aged Russian central bank official and a photogenic young gun activist from Siberia who share several passions: posing with assault rifles, making connections with Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates, and publicizing their travels between Moscow and America on social media. Alexander Torshin and his protégé Maria Butina also share an extraordinary status with America’s largest gun lobbying group, according to Torshin: “Today in NRA (USA) I know only 2 people from the Russian Federation with the status of ‘Life Member’: Maria Butina and I,” he tweeted the day after Donald Trump was elected president. Of particular interest are their overtures to Trump. Butina asked him directly at a campaign event about the future of “damaging” sanctions against Russia. Torshin twice tried to meet with Trump, according to the New York Times, and did meet with Donald Trump Jr. at an NRA event. Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee has heard sworn testimony about possible Kremlin “infiltration” of the NRA and other conservative groups. And the FBI reportedly is investigating whether Torshin illegally funneled money to the Trump campaign through the NRA—which backed Trump with a record $30 million. Torshin, a former Russian senator and longtime ally of Vladimir Putin, has been accused of having ties to the Russian mob (an allegation he has denied). Butina, a graduate student since fall 2016 at American University in Washington, DC—who founded a Russian gun rights group and worked as Torshin’s assistant—has reportedly bragged about her connections to the Trump campaign. Does this odd pair indicate anything more than a far-flung association of international gun rights advocates? Neither Torshin nor Butina responded to our requests for comment, but we built a timeline from hundreds of their photos and social-media posts going back seven years—including previously unreported material—that stirs further questions about their roles. Introductions and a new gun group 2011: Torshin, then a Russian senator, is introduced to NRA President David Keene through G. Kline Preston IV, a lawyer from Nashville, Tennessee, who had been doing business in Russia for years. Preston later tells the Washington Post, “The value system of Southern Christians and the value system of Russians are very much in line.” Butina at the 2014 NRA convention in Indianapolis VK page 2011: Maria Butina, in her early 20s, creates Right to Bear Arms, aiming to seed a gun rights movement in Russia. 2011: US gun manufacturer Arsenal Inc. sells 100 limited-edition AK-74s signed by Mikhail Kalashnikov—a personal friend of Torshin’s—with the anticipated $100,000 or more in proceeds to go to the NRA-ILA, the organization’s political lobbying arm. NRA magazine America’s First Freedom December 2011: Preston serves as an international observer of Russia’s legislative elections, calling them free and fair, despite mass street protests and European observers reporting fraudulent activity. Targeted by the Kremlin 2012: The FBI warns Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher—a cold warrior turned Russia apologist who claimed to have once lost a drunken arm-wrestling match to Putin in a Washington dive bar—that the Kremlin aims to recruit him as a source. April 15, 2012: Torshin tweets about returning from the NRA annual convention to a rally in Moscow for the Right to Bear Arms, where he notes how “similar,” “good-looking,” and “confident” the supporters of both gun groups are. July 24, 2012: Torshin and Butina lobby the Russian senate to expand gun rights. November 2012: Torshin and Preston observe the US presidential elections in Nashville and allege improprieties took place on behalf of President Barack Obama. From Houston to Moscow May 2013: After attending the NRA annual convention in Houston, Torshin writes, “Kalashnikov couldn’t join me, though we have both been ‘life members’ of the NRA for years,” adding that “dozens of AK-47 clones” on display at the event represented one of “our country’s greatest accomplishments.” Keene and Butina in a photo posted on Butina’s Facebook page in November 2013 November 2013: Torshin and Butina invite Keene to Moscow for a Right to Bear Arms meeting that draws 200 people and features a fashion show, including attire designed for carrying concealed weapons. Concealed-carry fashion Right to Bear Arms Facebook page November 2013: Former UN ambassador and future Trump national security adviser John Bolton appears in a video in which he talks up gun rights in Russia. Bolton is a member of the NRA’s “international affairs subcommittee” at the time. NPR later reports that Bolton recorded the address at Keene’s request for the Russian legislature, and that Right to Bear Arms used the video in its lobbying. “We would like to be friends with NRA” January 2014: Following the death of Kalashnikov at age 94, the Washington Times publishes an appreciation written by Torshin. Former NRA President Keene is the op-ed editor at the time. April 2014: Torshin and Butina attend the NRA convention in Indianapolis, where Butina joins Keene for meetings. Butina later explains the purpose: “We protect gun rights in Russia, and people who are gun owners and in a situation of self-defense.” She adds, “We would like to be friends with NRA.” September 2014: Paul Erickson—an NRA member and longtime conservative Republican operative from South Dakota—attends a Right to Bear Arms meeting in Moscow with Butina. Erickson has known Butina at least since 2013. Butina and Erickson in Russia, in a photo posted in November 2013 November 18, 2014: Russia changes its laws to allow citizens to carry guns in public for self-defense. Trump to Butina: “I don’t think you’d need the sanctions” January 2015: Torshin is appointed deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia. March 2015: Butina announces on Facebook that she will attend the NRA’s upcoming convention in Nashville. She notes the importance of “paying attention to the politicians that we have more similarities than differences.” April 2015: Butina posts about 200 pictures from Nashville, including one with Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who she says greeted her in Russian. She notes he’s “one of the possible future nominees for the post of US President,” and ponders the “beginning of a new dialogue between Russia and the US.” Donald Trump also attends, telling the crowd, “I promise you one thing, if I run for president and if I win, the Second Amendment will be totally protected, that I can tell you.” Torshin, also present, later tells Bloomberg that he had a “jovial exchange” with the future president. Butina at the NRA convention in Nashville April 16, 2015: Butina gives a talk at the University of South Dakota; she says Right to Bear Arms now has 10,000 members and 76 offices “all over Russia.” June 2015: Four days before Trump announces his campaign, Butina writes in the conservative National Interest urging friendship between “the bear and the elephant”: “It may take the election of a Republican to the White House in 2016 to improve relations between the Russian Federation and the United States.” July 11, 2015: At FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Butina asks Trump, “What will be your foreign politics…and do you want to continue the politics of sanctions that are damaging on both economy?” Trump responds, “I know Putin and I’ll tell you what, we get along with Putin…I don’t think you’d need the sanctions. I think that we would get along very, very well.” Q&A with Trump at FreedomFest July 13, 2015: Butina posts photos from the Wisconsin event where Gov. Scott Walker announces his presidential candidacy. Butina attends Gov. Walker’s campaign launch August 29, 2015: Preston tweets a picture of Trump speaking to the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, posting in Russian, “Donald Trump today in Nashville. He is a friend of Russia.” September 25, 2015: A Right to Bear Arms post on Facebook features a Trump meme, attributing to him in Russian, “Nobody can encroach on the citizenry’s right to store and carry firearms. Period.” Right to Bear Arms post December 8-13, 2015: Erickson, Keene, future NRA President Pete Brownell, and Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke meet with Kremlin officials in Moscow, where they have lavish meals and visit a gun manufacturer. Clarke, an outspoken Trump supporter, later files an ethics report showing that Right to Bear Arms paid $6,000 for his expenses. December 10, 2015: Future Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn is also in Moscow, attending a gala for the Kremlin-controlled RT media network. Flynn, who sits next to Putin and across from future Green Party candidate Jill Stein, gives a speech for which he is paid $45,000—a sum he fails to report on his financial disclosure forms. Campaign ammo January 21, 2016: Trump speaks at the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s annual “SHOT Show” in Las Vegas; Don Jr. and Eric Trump also attend, posing with representatives from Sig Sauer, whose “Black Mamba” MCX assault rifle would soon be used in the Orlando nightclub massacre. Ten days later, at an event at an Iowa gun shop, Don Jr. and Eric Trump shoot assault rifles and brag about their concealed-carry permits. “I shoot all the time,” Don Jr. tells the Telegraph. “Every weekend.” February 13, 2016: Torshin writes on Twitter, “Maria Butina is currently in the USA. She writes to me that D. Trump (an NRA member) really is for cooperation with Russia.” February 2016: Butina and Erickson form Bridges LLC. Erickson later tells McClatchy that they created the South Dakota-based company for Butina to get financial assistance for her graduate studies—“an unusual way to use a LLC,” as McClatchy dryly notes. February 23, 2016: After winning the Nevada primary, Trump gives a victory speech hailing his sons’ gun bona fides: “[Don Jr.] loves the rifle stuff. This is serious rifle. This is serious NRA, both of them, both of them. We love the Second Amendment folks. Nobody loves it more than us, so just remember that.” March 3, 2016: In a primary debate, Trump is reminded that in his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, he supported a ban on assault weapons. His response: “I don’t support it anymore.” May 2016: In an email to Trump campaign aide Rick Dearborn, with the subject line “Kremlin Connection,” Erickson says Russia is “quietly but actively seeking a dialogue with the U.S.” and proposes using the NRA convention to set up “first contact” with the Trump team. According to a New York Times report, Erickson writes that he’s in a position to “slowly begin cultivating a back-channel to President Putin’s Kremlin.” The email doesn’t name Torshin but appears to reference him as “President Putin’s emissary” who planned to attend a dinner hosted by conservative Christian activist Rick Clay. Meanwhile, Clay sends an email to Dearborn with the subject line “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite,” seeking a meeting between Trump and Torshin. Dearborn forwards Clay’s email to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who reportedly nixes the proposal. May 19-20, 2016: Torshin meets Don Jr. at a private dinner the night before his father speaks at the NRA convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Don Jr.’s lawyer later says the exchange “was all gun-related small talk.” The NRA endorses Trump for president. Trump tells the crowd, “The only way to save our Second Amendment is to vote for a person that you all know named Donald Trump.” Torshin poses for photos wearing an NRA “Ring of Freedom” donor ID badge. June 2016: Butina is part of a group that requests a meeting with the Trump campaign to discuss the persecution of Christians worldwide, according to Clay, who later tells the Washington Post that Dearborn turned down the request. June 15, 2016: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy tells fellow GOP leaders in a private conversation, “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump. Swear to God.” House Speaker Paul Ryan immediately shuts down the conversation and swears those present to secrecy. When a recording of the conversation later becomes public, McCarthy says he was just joking. August 2016: Hours after Trump appears to threaten Hillary Clinton during a campaign rally by invoking “Second Amendment people” who might “do something” to stop her, Politico reports that the NRA has bought its most expensive pro-Trump campaign ad yet: a $3 million spot attacking Clinton. September 2016: Don Jr. appears in a promotional video for gun silencer manufacturer SilencerCo, whose CEO subsequently donates $50,000 to the Trump Victory fund. “That thing’s awesome,” Don Jr. says, firing guns in the opening segment. The 38-minute video closes with the CEO saying, “Your father is someone that we believe in very strongly.” October 2016: A wave of NRA-sponsored TV political ads targets voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina. Since the end of June, the NRA has aired more than 10,000 ads criticizing Clinton or extolling Trump—about 16 percent of all TV ads produced by Trump and his allies. Trump goes on to win all three states. Early November 2016: Pro-gun messages feature prominently in “junk news” spread by Russian trolls and others on Twitter, particularly in key battleground states, according to a later analysis by Oxford University researchers. November 8, 2016: Donald Trump is elected the 45th president of the United States. November 12, 2016: Butina hosts a costume party in DC for her 28th birthday, attended by Erickson and Trump campaign aides. Erickson dresses as Russian mystic Rasputin, and Butina dresses as the Russian empress Alexandra. Two unnamed guests tell the Daily Beast that Butina bragged about being part of the Trump campaign’s communications with Russia. “You came through for me” Jan. 20, 2017: Butina and Erickson attend the Freedom Ball, one of the three official inaugural balls Trump attends. From right: Kolyadin and Torshin, with others including Rohrabacher, second from left Kolyadin’s Facebook January 31, 2017: Torshin, Erickson, Rohrabacher (who has received at least $18,000 from the NRA over the past 20 years), and former Kremlin staffer Andrey Kolyadin attend a private event on Capitol Hill hosted by George O’Neill Jr., a longtime conservative activist. February 2, 2017: Torshin and Butina accompany a delegation of more than a dozen Russian officials and academics to the National Prayer Breakfast, where Trump is the main attraction. Kolyadin posts a photo with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, commenting that he “treats Russia pretty well, by the way.” Kolyadin later brags about his “direct access to leadership,” noting, “we sat very close to each other and just smiled.” Torshin was scheduled to meet with President Trump, but the meeting is canceled when a national security aide points out that Torshin reportedly is under investigation by Spanish authorities for an alleged “godfather” role in organized crime and money laundering. For his part, Rohrabacher tells Yahoo News that Torshin is “sort of the conservatives’ favorite Russian.” “Direct access to leadership” February 24, 2017: “For years, the media couldn’t have cared less about Vladimir Putin or Russia,” NRA leader Wayne LaPierre says in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, giving early voice to a “deep state” conspiracy theory on Trump’s behalf: “But now, barely a month into Trump’s presidency, they’re ‘horrified’ and all a-fret over the ‘Russian-American equation.’ Even more alarming is that they’ve apparently found willing co-conspirators among some in the US intelligence community.” April 28, 2017: Having recently reversed an Obama-era law making it more difficult for mentally ill people to buy guns, Trump addresses the NRA annual convention: “You came through for me,” he says, “and I am going to come through for you.” August 15, 2017: After Rohrabacher meets with WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, he claims he has evidence to share with the White House that the Russians did not hack the Democratic National Committee. But White House chief of staff John Kelly rebuffs him. Rohrabacher later tells the Intercept, “What is preventing me from talking to Trump about this is the existence of a special prosecutor. Not only Kelly, but others are worried if I say one word to Trump about Russia, that it would appear to out-of-control prosecutors that that is where the collusion is.” October to November 2017: Russian-linked trolls spread conspiracy theories following mass shootings on the Las Vegas Strip and at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. November 14, 2017: “It appears the Russians…infiltrated the NRA,” Glenn Simpson, founder of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, testifies to the House Intelligence Committee. “They targeted various conservative organizations, religious and otherwise, and they seem to have made a very concerted effort to get in with the NRA.” Referencing Torshin and Butina, he adds, “The most absurd [thing] about this is that, you know, Vladimir Putin is not in favor of universal gun ownership for Russians. And so it’s all a big charade, basically.” Investigations and a politicized school massacre January 18, 2018: McClatchy reports the FBI is investigating whether Torshin illegally funneled money to the Trump campaign through the NRA. (The FBI would “neither confirm nor deny” the investigation to Mother Jones.) January 29, 2018: Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, tells NPR that the committee’s probe of the NRA-Russia angle has been stymied by the Republican majority. “I am specifically troubled by the possibility that Russian-backed shell companies or intermediaries may have circumvented laws designed to prohibit foreign meddling in our elections.” February 2, 2018: Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden sends separate letters to the NRA and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin demanding they provide any documents showing financial ties between the NRA and Russia. “I am specifically troubled by the possibility that Russian-backed shell companies or intermediaries may have circumvented laws designed to prohibit foreign meddling in our elections,” Wyden writes. NRA General Counsel John Frazer responds, “The NRA and its related entities do not accept funds from foreign persons or entities in connection with United States.” February 14, 2018: Following the school massacre in Parkland, Florida, Kremlin-linked trolls and Russian state media jump into action on Twitter, stirring both sides of the gun debate. February 21, 2018: During a live-televised “listening session” with Parkland survivors at the White House, Trump endorses NRA talking points to end “gun-free zones” and arm teachers to “harden” America’s schools. February 22, 2018: Trump hails the leaders of the NRA: “Great People and Great American Patriots. They love our Country and will do the right thing. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch echoes Trump’s blame on the FBI’s Russia investigation for the failure to prevent the Parkland massacre: “Maybe if you politicized your agency less and did your job more, we wouldn’t have these problems.” March 2018: In an NRA magazine, LaPierre blasts media bias against Trump, specifically calling out coverage of “the bogus Russia investigation.” March 1, 2018: Trump and Vice President Mike Pence meet privately in the Oval Office with NRA Executive Director Chris Cox. Trump calls the meeting “great.” Cox announces: “POTUS & VPOTUS support the Second Amendment, support strong due process and don’t want gun control. #NRA #MAGA.” The NRA, Trump administration, and Paul Erickson did not respond to requests for comment. Additional reporting and translations from Russian by Hannah Levintova. The above timeline has been updated since initial publication. Top image credit: Shalgin Alexander/TASS/ZUMA; Anton Novoderezhkin/ITAR-TASS/ZUMA; Jonathan Alcorn/ZUMA; FerhatMatt/Getty https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... shin-guns/ In total there are 119 users online :: 2 registered, 3 hidden and 114 guests (based on users active over the past 5 minutes) THIS IS THE END OF MY PRESIDENCY. I'M F**ED - trump May 17, 2017 Dotard = Bulger Rat trump is member of a transnational crime syndicate masquerading as a government Why we do think that Trump owes debt to Putin? 50 reasons seemslikeadream Location: into the black Re: The NRA The Russia Connection by seemslikeadream » Fri May 04, 2018 10:28 am NRA to host company with ties to sanctioned Russians at annual convention An ammunition distributor with ties to a recently sanctioned Russian oligarch is listed among the expected exhibitors at the National Rifle Association’s Annual Meetings opening in Dallas, Texas on Friday. Add Gun Control as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Gun Control news, video, and analysis from ABC News. TulAmmo USA is a private company headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, but sells small-arms ammunition manufactured by the Tula Cartridge Works in Tula, Russia, about 120 miles outside of Moscow. The factory, one of Russia’s oldest and largest arms plants, is tied to a number of entities and individuals who have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, including Rostec, Russia’s state-owned defense conglomerate, and Igor Rotenberg, an oligarch who was recently targeted alongside several other allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This year’s convention, always a political spectacle, comes as the NRA’s connections to Russia have become the focus of media attention amid a Senate inquiry into allegations that Russian agents may have tried to use the gun-rights group to gain access and influence in U.S. political circles, but TulAmmo USA’s presence raises a somewhat different set of concerns. “I suspect TulAmmo USA has stayed on the right side of U.S. sanctions laws,” said Peter Harrell, a former senior State Department sanctions official who is now an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “But there is something deeply troubling about a Russian arms maker -- one that makes Russian military assault rifles and anti-tank missiles -- profiting by selling ammunition in the U.S. The fact that a portion of those profits flow to some of Putin's closest cronies makes the situation even more problematic.” PHOTO: A TULAMMO product photo. Amazon A TULAMMO product photo. In an interview with ABC News, TulAmmo USA CEO Ed Grasso confirmed that the company is a distributor for the Tula Cartridge Works but described it as a “completely separate entity” with a legal business arrangement to buy ammunition exported by the Russian factory for sale to consumers. “Tula Cartridge Works has been paid for the product they ship to the U.S. under licenses approved by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the State Department,” Grasso said. There are no Russian citizens or people from Russia serving as company board members or officers, Grasso said. The NRA did not respond to a request for comment. Harrell told ABC News that just because TulAmmo USA has managed to remain “just outside the penalty box” doesn’t mean their presence shouldn’t cause concern. “I also bet that the American sportsmen buying TulAmmo cartridges would be surprised to learn that they are supporting the same Russian military complex that supports Russian aggression in Syria, Ukraine, and around the world,” Harrell said. According to its website, TulAmmo USA “represents the Tula Cartridge Works here in the US,” which unlike Russia, has a thriving consumer market for guns and ammunition. “The Tula Cartridge Works, founded in 1880 by Emporer [sic] Alexander II, is one of the most significant producers of small-arms ammunition in the world today,” the website reads. “Leveraging the production experience of nearly 140 years, and applying ever-evolving technologies and research knowledge, we continue to push the envelope on behalf of the American shooter.” Selling steel-cased ammunition from Russia is the majority of the company’s business and according to its CEO Grasso, that business has grown rapidly over the last decade thanks in large part to a symbiotic relationship with the American gun industry. “American shooters have become accustomed to the Russian ammunition,” Grasso said in an interview with SHOT Show TV in January 2017. “They find it working in their guns. We’ve had good cooperation from the U.S. gun companies. They’ve realized that having inexpensive ammunition that works across their product line allows people to shoot more ammunition, and when they have an option to shoot more ammunition, they might buy more guns, so it’s a partnership that’s worked so far.” The National Rifle Association headquarters in Fairfax, Va., is pictured in this undated file photo. The extent of TulAmmo USA’s relationship with the Tula Cartridge Works appears to be closer than the typical buyer-supplier relationship. TulAmmo USA and TulAmmo, its Russian counterpart, which lists the same address the Tula Cartridge Works, share a name, a logo and at least one former officer. Alexey Solovov, the factory’s onetime chairman who was convicted two years ago on fraud charges and given a three-year suspended prison sentence, appears to have also registered five patents for ammunition boxes, packages and clips on TulAmmo USA’s behalf between 2014 and 2016. Grasso told ABC News Solovov is no longer involved with the company. Tula Cartridge Works is partially owned by a holding company called High Precision Systems that was established by the state military technology firm Rostec, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014 and cut off from U.S. debt financing amid “continued Russian efforts to destabilize eastern Ukraine.” Igor Rotenberg purchased 46.176 percent of the Tula Cartridge Works in February 2017. He refused to comment on the deal at the time, but Vedomosti, one of Russia’s leading business newspapers, suggested that he may have been buying in ahead of an expected rearmament by Russia’s military, which was known to be preparing to replenish its ammunition stocks. The Rotenberg’s family’s ties to Putin stretch back decades. Igor’s father Arkady has been Putin’s close friend since childhood, when they were judo sparring partners, and Arkady has since amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune largely through state contracts, including the controversial effort to build a bridge between Russia and the recently annexed Ukrainian peninsula Crimea. Rotenberg acquired significant assets from his father, Arkady, and his uncle, Boris, after they were sanctioned themselves in 2014 for supporting “Putin’s pet projects by receiving and executing high price contracts for the Sochi Olympic Games and state-controlled Gazprom.” This week, after being hit with sanctions by the U.S. himself, Rotenberg reduced his share in the factory to 20.23 percent, a move a manager from the factory told Vedomosti was intended to allow the company to keep exporting ammunition. PHOTO: TULAMMO CEO Ed Grasso during a studio interview on the SHOT Show. Tulammo USA/YOUTUBE TULAMMO CEO Ed Grasso during a studio interview on the "SHOT Show." Grasso told ABC News that he was aware of the sanctions against Rostec and Rotenberg but insisted the company has done its due diligence. “I’ve never delved into it, but Rostsec owns a lot of companies in Russia,” Grasso said. “[And] I have been assured that [Rotenberg’s] ownership shares are no longer anything that we have to be concerned with.” TulAmmo USA, meanwhile, is poised to occupy a booth in Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center this weekend alongside hundreds of other approved exhibitors even as questions have swirled about whether Russians have attempted to use the NRA as a vehicle to influence the 2016 election. Grasso said TulAmmo USA has not made any contributions of any kind – political or otherwise -- to the NRA beyond paying for a booth at the annual convention since 2011. It appears to have shared the group’s opposition to Hillary Clinton though. One of two “News” items listed on TulAmmo USA’s website is a sharp criticism of Hillary Clinton’s position on gun control and the “proudly anti-gun tenor” of the Democratic National Convention that nominated her. In January 2017, Grasso noted some relationship between business and politics in his industry. “I think there was [an increase in prices] at the retail level. I think you saw some buildup in pricing in anticipation of the election,” Grasso told SHOT Show TV. “I think they’ll stabilize over the next six months and get back to normal. It looks like we’re going to have a fairly normal year.” https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/nra-hos ... d=54932526 by seemslikeadream » Mon May 07, 2018 2:37 pm NRA just announced: Lt. Colonel Oliver North, USMC (Ret.) will become President of the National Rifle Association of America within a few weeks, a process the NRA Board of Directors initiated this morning. From Russia with Love for the NRA A (constantly updated) timeline of the NRA’s ties to the Putin government and efforts to abet collusion between the Trump campaign/administration and Russia. https://medium.com/@LaddEveritt/from-ru ... c69088fe41 The Pentagon Considers This Russian Sniper Rifle a Big Threat to US Soldiers. The NRA Helped Promote It. So much for patriotism. May. 7, 2018 6:00 AM In late 2016, the US Army released a report noting that the Russian military, through experience gained during fighting in Ukraine, was undergoing a transformation and becoming a more potent battlefield threat to American forces. One troublesome development identified by the report’s authors was the increased proficiency of Russian snipers. “The capabilities of a sniper in a Russian contingent is far more advanced than the precision shooters U.S. formations have encountered over the last 15 years,” the study noted. One reason for this was the Russian military’s recent adoption of the ORSIS T-5000, a relatively new Russian-made firearm that the report called “one of the most capable bolt action sniper rifles in the world.” As one military technology expert noted, after reviewing this report, the US Army faced “being outgunned” by foes armed with the T-5000—which can be accurate at a distance of 2,000 yards—and these Russian rifles were showing up in Iraq and Ukraine. That is, this weapon posed a threat to US troops and those of its allies. Yet the National Rifle Association—which boasts it is identified with American patriotism—has helped promote Moscow-based ORSIS and its sniper rifle. In December 2015, as has been previously reported, the NRA sent a high-level delegation to Russia. The group included Peter Brownell, then the first vice president of the NRA; David Keene, a past president; Joe Gregory, a top NRA donor; and David Clarke, then the sheriff of Milwaukee County, who would become a top surrogate for Donald Trump. (Brownell became president of the NRA last year.) The trip was at least partially subsidized by a curious Russian gun rights organization called the Right to Bear Arms that has been associated with two Russians, Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin, who for years had been forging connections with conservative organizations and gun aficionados in the United States. (Torshin—a director of the Russian central bank, a former senator, and a close ally of Putin—has been accused of having ties to Russian organized crime, an allegation he has denied. During the 2016 campaign, Torshin and Butina tried to connect with Trump campaign officials.) The Right to Bear Arms paid $6,000 toward the cost of Clarke’s trip. While in Russia, members of the NRA delegation met with Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister, who was sanctioned by the Obama administration the previous year in retaliation for Putin’s invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Rogozin was a hardliner who led the ultra-right party Rodina, and part of his government portfolio was of particular interest to the NRA representatives: the arms industry. When Rogozin became deputy prime minister in 2011, he was given the task of overseeing Russia’s military-industrial complex and reviving the nation’s weapons-making business through private-public partnerships. One early endeavor in this regard, according to a Russian publication called Defense and Security, involved ORSIS, a small, private company, which about this time began receiving government contracts. (For a spell, Rogozin’s son was a deputy director of the firm.) In 2014, Pravda reported Russia, now facing sanctions blocking the sale of made-in-Russia guns to the United States and Europe, was looking to export ORSIS sniper rifles as part of its development of new markets for Russian weapons, and the Russian newspaper referred to the T-5000 as the “Rogozin rifle.” The paper noted, “Defense officials from the Philippines and Pakistan evinced interest in the so-called Rogozin rifle, advertised by Putin and [American actor] Steven Seagal. The countries offered to test sniper rifle ORSIS T-5000 on their territory. Similar proposals came from Malaysia and Indonesia.” (In 2013, ORSIS announced it would be making a sporting version of its rifle endorsed by Seagal.) While the NRA delegation was in Moscow, it visited the ORSIS offices and facilities. The group, accompanied by Butina, watched a video extolling the T-5000, toured the company’s manufacturing plant, and observed rifles being made. Then members of the delegation test-fired ORSIS rifles at an on-site shooting range. The company presented the NRAers with swanky watches bearing the company’s logo. The day of the ORSIS visit, Clarke posted on Twitter a photograph of himself holding an ORSIS rifle. The NRA trip to ORSIS was of use to the Russian gunmaker. The company produced a video showing the NRA delegates oohing and aahing over the T-5000. The video was one in a series of short films promoting ORSIS and its weapons. The video was posted on YouTube four weeks after the visit. For the US military, a concern regarding the proliferation of the T-5000 rifle is that it is one of the few Russian rifles that can pierce body armor used by American troops. As the National Interest reported in December, “The Russian involvement in Syria and Ukraine has provided a wealth of experience to the Russian military. One of the hallmarks of these engagements is the continued use of sniper tactics. As a result, the modern Russian sniper has evolved far beyond the relatively primitive technology used during the Cold War. Most notably, significant attention has been given to sniper systems that have the ability to penetrate body armor.” With the ORSIS T-5000, this article noted, the Russian military has “a formidable ability to defeat body armor at long ranges.” “The concern of the US military,” says Olga Oliker, director of Russia and Eurasia programs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “is that this rifle has more range. The idea is a sniper at a tremendous distance can take out a few soldiers, cause great confusion, and a unit can then be hit with rocket strikes.” She notes that it is unlikely that American troops will have firefights with Russian forces anytime soon. “But will small, non-governmental forces, which won’t have rocket strikes, get these rifles, and can they do other things at a distance?” Oliker comments. “Possibly.” And the ORSIS T-5000 has been spreading across the globe. During the February 2014 protests in Ukraine against then-President Viktor Yanukovych, dozens of protesters were killed by pro-government snipers, according to NBC News, and sniper teams supporting Yanukovych were armed with “Russian-made ORSIS rifles.” A 2017 post on TheFirearmBlog.com noted the rifle had been “spotted” being used by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. In 2016, a pro-Kremlin Romanian military expert pointed out that Russia was supplying the Syrian army of Bashar al-Assad with T-5000 rifles. And last September, Sputnik, the Russian English-language propaganda outlet, reported that the T-5000 “has gained popularity among special forces in Russia, Iraq, Syria, China and Vietnam.” The NRA has been under fire for its Russian links. The outfit has refused to provide Congress with complete information about funding it receives from overseas, including Russia. McClatchy has reported the FBI is investigating whether Torshin illegally funneled money to the NRA to help Trump win the presidency. (The NRA was among the biggest pro-Trump spenders in the 2016 election.) And the ORSIS trip is another link between the NRA and Russia. The NRA did not respond to a request to explain whether the organization had any qualms about plugging a Russian weapon of concern to the US military. This Russian rifle could be dangerous for American soldiers—and Russia has been arming its own military and security services with the weapon and distributing it around the world. In a recent article in Popular Mechanics, David Hambling, a military technology expert, notes that the T-5000 is changing “the shape of future battlefields” to the disadvantage of the United States. (“For now,” he notes, “the solution [for US forces] is simple—run.”) Still, the NRA—whom Trump has called “great American patriots” and whose convention he addressed on Friday—allowed itself to be used by ORSIS to promote the weapon. For the group, guns do seem to transcend all, including national security. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... romote-it/ by seemslikeadream » Wed May 16, 2018 4:13 pm Kremlin Used NRA to Help Trump in 2016, Senate Report Says Documents suggest Moscow funneled money to Trump through the gun group, according to the judiciary committee. 05.16.18 12:41 PM ET The Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday that the Russian government apparently used the National Rifle Association to help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. Documents suggest the Kremlin used the NRA to offer the campaign a back channel to Moscow—including a potential meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin—and might have secretly funded Trump’s campaign, the committee said. One of the Russians named in the report even bragged she was part of the Trump campaign’s communications with Russia, The Daily Beast reported last year. The NRA spent a record $30 million on Trump and the FBI is reportedly investigating whether any of the money came from Russia. U.S. law prohibits foreign money to be spent on elections. Two Russian nationals figure prominently in the alleged scheme: Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Kremlin’s central bank, and his then-deputy Maria Butina. Torshin met Donald Trump Jr. at the NRA’s 2016 convention in Kentucky and hosted an NRA delegation in Moscow in 2015. Torshin was previously accused by Spanish investigators of laundering money for Russian mobsters, an allegation he denied. (Last month he was sanctioned by the U.S.) Butina founded a pro-gun group in Russia before coming to the United States in 2015 when she immediately began ingratiating herself in conservative circles. Butina started a business with NRA member and GOP activist Paul Erickson. In May 2016, the same month Torshin met Trump Jr. at the NRA convention, Erickson emailed a Trump advisor about setting up a meeting between the candidate and Putin. “Putin is deadly serious about building a good relationship with Mr. Trump,” he wrote, according to the New York Times. “He wants to extend an invitation to Mr. Trump to visit him in the Kremlin before the election.” The judiciary committee’s report was released on the same day the Senate intelligence committee broke with Republicans on the House intelligence committee and said Russia clearly favored Trump in the 2016 election. https://www.thedailybeast.com/kremlin-u ... -committee by seemslikeadream » Tue May 29, 2018 10:35 am PaulForVirginia On May 24 I delivered a letter to AG @jeffsessions demanding DOJ investigate the murky relationship b/t @NRA & sanctioned Russian officials regarding the $30 million in dark money NRA spent to elect @realDonaldTrump. This illicit relationship raises many unanswered questions. 5:29 AM - 29 May 2018 Four years prior to the election of Donald Trump, known Russian spy, criminal and mobster, Alexander Torshin, arranged high-level meetings with senior NRA officials both in the US and Moscow. In late 2015 NRA sent a high-level delegation including the Chair of its exclusive $1 million donor club to meet with Torshin and US-sanctioned Defense Minister Rogozin & other Russian officials. Why would these senior NRA officials meet with sanctioned Russians in Moscow? In early 2016, on behalf of Torshin, NRA insider Paul Erickson contacted the Trump campaign to attempt establish a “back channel” between Trump and Putin, using an NRA event to set up. On May 19, 2016, Torshin attended the annual NRA convention as a VIP guest and dined at a private dinner with Donald Trump Jr. The next day the NRA endorsed Trump before he became his Party’s nominee. First time NRA did this in presidential race. Upon his return to Russia in the summer of 2016 Torshin received a commendation medal from the Russian spy service, FSB. This raises questions about the private dinner with Trump, Jr. The NRA spent an unprecedented $30 million to elect Donald Trump. Where did the source of this $$ come from? The meetings. The trips to Moscow. The cozy relationship btwn NRA leaders and Russian officials. Many questions need to be answered. After U.S. gov't officials questioned the source of the NRA’s funding of Trump's election, NRA president Brownell refuses to run for second term. Why did Brownell, who had travelled to Moscow to meet sanctioned officials, refuse to serve a customary second term? As a federal prosecutor for 27 years, I know when something smells rotten. This stinks. The source of the NRA’s $30 million funding to elect DJT must be investigated. https://paulforvirginia.com/nra-investigation … https://twitter.com/PaulForVirginia/sta ... 3551603713 by seemslikeadream » Sat Jun 09, 2018 2:57 pm Lawyer linking NRA and Russia helped lead Marsha Blackburn campaigns, documents show Kline Preston said he helped head Blackburn's re-election efforts—while bringing NRA and Russian officials together. CASEY MICHEL JUN 8, 2018, 4:02 PM Kline Preston introduced the NRA to Russian officials—and also helped lead re-election campaigns for Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R.-TN). CREDIT: YOUTUBE / DIANA OFOSU When G. Kline Preston IV first introduced National Rifle Association (NRA) leadership to Russian officials in 2011, he’d been close to Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for years. Both Preston and Blackburn have a long history in and around Brentwood, the tony Nashville suburb. And as Preston — the lawyer whose relationship with both NRA leadership and sanctioned Russian officials facilitated the unexpected cooperation between the two — recently told the Tennessean, he and Blackburn have been “family friends” for a “long time.” But as documents obtained by ThinkProgress reveal, Blackburn was far closer to Preston than has previously been reported. Preston not only listed himself as the “Campaign Finance Chairman” for Blackburn, but additionally worked for years as the president of Marsha Blackburn for Congress, Inc. According to information now removed from his website, Preston says he served as president for Marsha Blackburn for Congress, Inc. through at least 2014, with official documents showing the work beginning in 2003. During the same time period, he also introduced Alexander Torshin, a now-sanctioned Russian official accused of mafia ties and massive money laundering in Europe, to then-NRA President David Keene. For good measure, documents filed show that Marsha Blackburn for Congress, Inc., also listed Blackburn’s husband as the registered agent, and listed Blackburn’s address as its own. The fact that a key member of Blackburn’s campaign was also working closely with Russian officials raises new questions about designs Russian operatives may have had on recruiting allies among Republicans and social conservatives in the U.S. — as well as just how extensive this effort might have been. Kline Preston introduced Alexander Torshin to the NRA—and praised Putin's recent reelection. CREDIT: YOUTUBE / TG33 Here’s what we know about the American lawyer tying Russia to the NRA Friends in low places The relationship between Preston and Blackburn, whose campaign and congressional office did not respond to ThinkProgress’ repeated requests for comment, is well-known in certain Nashville circles. The two “are from the same town — they’re thick as thieves,” one Nashville-based lawyer, who asked not to be named, told ThinkProgress. Despite Preston listing his primary focus on his LinkedIn profile as “experience in business in the Russian Federation,” his professional relationship with Blackburn dates to at least 2002. That is when Preston says he began working as Blackburn’s campaign finance chairman, shortly before Blackburn was elected to Congress. A year later, according to documents filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, Preston also picked up another gig: serving as president of Marsha Blackburn for Congress, Inc., a position the documents show he retained until 2009. The organization was founded in 2002, and is listed as a nonprofit. The registered agent for the group was listed as Charles Blackburn — Marsha’s husband. The organization also shares the same Brentwood address as Blackburn. Preston’s website, however, said his work with Marsha Blackburn for Congress, Inc. extended even further. An Internet Archive search shows Preston listed himself on his website as “Current President, Marsha Blackburn for Congress, Inc.” as recently as June 2014 — three years after he began acting as liaison between the NRA and Russian officials, a relationship now reportedly under investigation by the FBI. Kline Preston wrote on his old website that he helped lead Marsha Blackburn for Congress, Inc. as recently as 2014. Per the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the group was recently renamed “Marsha for Senate,” in light of Blackburn’s ongoing campaign for Senate. According to documents obtained by ThinkProgress, Preston is not involved in “Marsha for Senate,” a separate company registered in Tennessee. Meanwhile, where Preston’s website says he ended his tenure as Blackburn’s campaign finance chair in 2004, a series of reports a few years later showed that Preston continued to work with Blackburn’s campaign committee. As The Commercial Appeal wrote in 2006, the campaign committee for Blackburn was forced to pay a $1,500 fine to the FEC after the campaign failed to report over $60,000 in contributions and over $50,000 in disbursements. Preston, identified as the campaign committee’s lawyer, signed an agreement with the FEC describing the failed reportage as an “inadvertent violation.” According to The Tennessean, Preston — who describes himself on his Twitter account, @gittinpaid, as both a “prophet” and an “amateur phrenologist” — further “provided legal services to [Blackburn’s] campaign in 2007,” around the same time that Preston’s wife, Tiffany, also picked up administrative work supporting Blackburn. Maria Butina, head of the Russian group Right to Bear Arms Senate Democrats’ Russia report suggests the Kremlin used the NRA to aid Trump Elsewhere on his website, Preston listed another achievement: “Organized visit, participation and conference for Russian Government Officials to attend the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and meeting with the president of the NRA as part of a legislative project to grant Russian citizens the right to bear arms.” Meetings and hosts Preston doesn’t hide his affections for Russian President Vladimir Putin. His Twitter and Facebook feeds are drenched in material from Russian propaganda outlets, and he helped the Kremlin whitewash its recent presidential election, claiming both that he “didn’t see any complaints” and that “Crimea was, is, and will be Russian.” He’s even written a book entitled The December 4, 2011 Parliamentary Elections of the Russian Federation — The Case Against Western Media Bias and Prejudice. Indeed, as Preston recently told ThinkProgress, he believes Putin was appointed by God. I’m telling you right now. This is my personal opinion, but I think there are certain people throughout history, excluding Christ for obvious reasons — humans, not God — there are people who have been placed on this planet, once about every 500 years, who are difference-makers. Without whom things would be much different and worse. In the history of our nation I believe firmly that George Washington was one of those people. Had he not lived, this would be a totally different scenario. There are two people in Russian history in the last days that I believe were God-sent. One was Boris Yeltsin, and one was Vladimir Putin. And the reason I say Yeltsin… he was the guy that anointed Putin, and, man, that was a world-changer right there. Him. Yeltsin did it. And from whence it came, I can only think, you know, that it was divine Preston hasn’t limited his attempts at building bridges with Russia to trips to Moscow. Recent documents discovered by NPR show how Preston acted as host for Torshin, a lifetime NRA member, and Russian diplomat Igor Matveev during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Torshin, of course, was recently sanctioned by the U.S. government. Preston told ThinkProgress that the sanctions haven’t affected his friend. “He doesn’t get as emotional as I do,” Preston said. “When we’re having lunch or dinner or whatever, I don’t pound my fist, but I’ll be very emotional about [how] this is stupid. He’s very level-headed, and his opinion about the sanctions are, ‘Eh, it’s just politics.’ It rolls off, man.” Matveev, as it is, has also met spent time with Blackburn. According to local paper The Daily Herald, Matveev, then the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy, trekked to Nashville in 2008. While there, he dropped by Blackburn’s office, meeting with the congresswoman. “It was very nice to have the chance to visit with Congressman Blackburn as well and discuss U.S.-Russia relations. It was a very enjoyable trip and I received a good reception,” Matveev said of the meeting. This was around the same time that Russia began strengthening its efforts to reach out to social conservatives across the West. Likewise, it came shortly before Torshin requested a meeting with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), a woman whose politics closely align with Blackburn’s. As it is, there’s no indication anything came from Blackburn’s meeting with Matveev — although it’s worth noting that a Russian Twitter account posing as the Tennessee GOP Party was the seventh-most mentioned account on the day of the 2016 election. And while Blackburn has carried water for President Donald Trump during the ongoing investigations into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, she has never been the most outspoken pro-Kremlin figure in Congress. “I’ve never asked [Blackburn] for anything with respect to Russia or policy or anything, but she has always voted opposite of what I thought she should,” Preston told ThinkProgress. However, the fact that Matveev took the time to drop by her office — and that Torshin spent over a decade building ties with Preston, a relatively small-time lawyer with numerous links to Blackburn — tosses fresh questions on how certain Russian officials view Blackburn, as well as how they might woo and lobby the Senate hopeful. “[Preston] is this random guy in Brentwood, and he’s got all of these Russian connections,” the Nashville-based lawyer said. “It’s bizarre, and [the relationship between Preston and Blackburn] can’t be discounted, knowing what we know now. Especially as tight as he is with Marsha, it can’t be discounted.” https://thinkprogress.org/new-documents ... 8e923eb7e/ by seemslikeadream » Tue Jun 12, 2018 3:53 pm Web of elite Russians met with NRA execs during 2016 campaign By Peter Stone and Greg Gordon ggordon@mcclatchydc.com President Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association annual convention in Dallas, Friday, May 4, 2018. Susan Walsh AP Photo Several prominent Russians, some in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle or high in the Russian Orthodox Church, now have been identified as having contact with National Rifle Association officials during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. The contacts have emerged amid a deepening Justice Department investigation into whether Russian banker and lifetime NRA member Alexander Torshin illegally channeled money through the gun rights group to add financial firepower to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. Other influential Russians who met with NRA representatives during the campaign include Dmitry Rogozin, who until last month served as a deputy prime minister overseeing Russia’s defense industry, and Sergei Rudov, head of one of Russia’s largest philanthropies, the St. Basil the Great Charitable Foundation. The foundation was launched by an ultra-nationalist ally of Russian President Putin. The Russians talked and dined with NRA representatives, mainly in Moscow, as U.S. presidential candidates vied for the White House. Now U.S. investigators want to know if relationships between the Russian leaders and the nation’s largest gun rights group went beyond vodka toasts and gun factory tours, evolving into another facet of the Kremlin’s broad election-interference operation. Even as the contacts took place, Kremlin cyber operatives were secretly hacking top Democrats’ emails and barraging Americans’ social media accounts with fake news stories aimed at damaging the image of Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton and boosting the prospects of Republican Donald Trump. It is a crime, potentially punishable with prison time, to donate or use foreign money in U.S. election campaigns. McClatchy in January disclosed that Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller was investigating whether Torshin or others engineered the flow of Russian monies to the NRA; the Senate Intelligence Committee is also looking into the matter, sources familiar with the probe have said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the inquiries, which are part of sweeping, parallel investigations into Russia’s interference with the 2016 U.S. elections, have not been publicly announced. NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said, however, that the FBI has not contacted the group. The NRA, Trump’s biggest financial backer, spent more than $30 million to boost his upstart candidacy; that's more than double what it laid out for 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, and the NRA money started flowing much earlier in the cycle for Trump. Trump to NRA: ‘I will never ever let you down’ President Trump addressed the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention on April 28, 2017. He’s the first president to do so in more than 30 years. “The eight-year assault on your second amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end,” Trump said McClatchyThe White House Torshin has drawn focus in part because he was implicated in a years-long investigation by Spanish authorities into money-laundering by the Russian mob. Spanish prosecutor Jose Grinda, who has led that investigation, was in Washington late last month and met with FBI officials for several hours, a well-placed source said. During his visit, Grinda also acknowledged in an appearance at the Hudson Institute that a few months ago his office provided the FBI with transcripts of wiretaps in which a since-convicted Russian money-launderer spoke with Torshin and called him “El Padrino” — Spanish for godfather, Yahoo News reported. Spanish authorities have alleged that Torshin helped launder money years ago into Spanish hotels and banks for Russian mobsters, a development first reported in 2016 by Bloomberg News. Torshin was among 38 Russian government officials, oligarchs and companies sanctioned by the United States in April in retaliation for the Kremlin’s U.S. election meddling and other aggressions around the world, including in Ukraine and Syria. It’s unclear whether Torshin’s NRA activities or his alleged money-laundering in Spain influenced the decision to bar Americans from doing business with him. Now deputy governor of Russia's central bank, Torshin has denied mob ties, as well as any role in money-laundering in Spain or in secretly routing money to the NRA. Last month on Capitol Hill, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee who examined Russian interactions with the NRA reached a preliminary conclusion that “the Kremlin may also have used the NRA to secretly fund Mr. Trump’s campaign.” Citing that finding, Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Kathleen Rice of New York asked FBI Director Christopher Wray in a May 24 letter to expand the inquiry to also explore whether Kremlin money flowed illegally to the NRA for use in influencing House and Senate races. “Illegal campaign contributions by a foreign nation, especially one whose interests stand in stark contrast to those of the United States, threaten the very underpinnings of our democracy and cannot remain unchallenged,” Lieu and Rice wrote. The NRA reported spending $24.4 million to back Republican candidates for Congress in 2016. Spokespeople for the FBI and Mueller’s office declined to comment on the letter. The senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee echoed concerns about whether Russian money might have found its way through the NRA to congressional races. California Rep. Adam Schiff said it's also important to trace whether the Russians used the prominent gun rights group to conceal financial backing for Trump to determine "whether that would constitute leverage against our now-president" — a favor that could leave him beholden to the Kremlin. In a weeks-long exchange of letters with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, NRA General Counsel John Frazer disclosed that the group accepts foreign donations, but that none has been used in elections and that Russian contributions and member dues totaled $2,500 in 2016. In April, Frazer cut off the exchange without divulging any of the group’s so-called “dark money” donors, who are allowed to contribute anonymously and can further shield their identities behind shell companies. It is unclear whether the group has traced the sources of all of those funds. Of the $30 million the NRA reported spending to support Trump, more than $21 million was spent by its lobbying arm, whose donors are not publicly reported. Two NRA insiders say that overall, the group spent at least $70 million, including resources devoted to field operations and online advertising, which are not required to be publicly reported. NRA officials first forged a relationship with Torshin, a close Putin ally, and his protégé, Maria Butina, in 2011. Soon, Torshin helped Butina start a Russian gun rights group called Right to Bear Arms. In 2016, upon Trump's election as president, Torshin tweeted that he and Butina were the only Russian lifetime members of the NRA. For five years, Torshin flew to the United States to attend the group’s annual conventions, culminating in the 2016 affair in Louisville. Torshin briefly met Donald Trump Jr. at a dinner during the event, but failed in efforts to arrange a private meeting with Trump. Months earlier, in December 2015, Torshin and Butina’s gun rights group hosted an NRA delegation led by NRA board member and former President David Keene for a week of lavish wining and dining in Moscow. During their visit, the NRA group met with Rogozin, who served as the deputy prime minister overseeing Russia’s military industrial complex for seven years and previously was Russia’s ambassador to NATO. Late last month, Putin put him in charge of the Russian space program. Rogozin is a far-right nationalist who has “extensive ties to the Russian arms industry” that he managed and “is deeply hostile to the West,” said Mike Carpenter, who was a Russia specialist while a senior Pentagon official in the Obama administration. Another Russia expert, Atlantic Council fellow Anders Aslund, was flabbergasted that the NRA delegation met with Rogozin. "I can't understand the NRA meeting with Rogozin since he was sanctioned in 2014,” he said. “ It's so embarrassing.” Rogozin, Torshin and ultra-nationalist foundation chieftain Rudov joined the NRA entourage during the visit and were photographed together at a meeting. Rudov's career has kept him on a lower-profile trajectory running a conservative religious charity, the St. Basil’s the Great Charitable Foundation. St. Basil's chairman and founder is Putin ally and Orthodox Church figure Konstantin Malofeev, a Russian billionaire sanctioned in 2014 by the U.S. Treasury Department because of his support for Russian-backed separatists who invaded Crimea early that year. Carpenter said Malofeev's foundation is used to support his various causes, which have included financing mercenaries who forcibly wrested control of eastern Ukraine from the Kiev government. Lieu, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in an interview that he finds it "very odd for Putin's allies to meet with the NRA, because they don't actually have a similar interest in making sure that people bear arms." The Russian government has generally restricted citizens to owning a shotgun and, after five years of licensed use, a hunting rifle. Given the web of contacts between top Russians and the NRA during the presidential race, Lieu said, it appears that “something very bad happened in 2016.” https://www.mcclatchydc.com/latest-news ... 56749.html by seemslikeadream » Thu Jun 21, 2018 2:42 pm The N.R.A. Spent $30 Million to Elect Trump. Was It Russian Money? Congressional Democrats, the F.B.I. and Robert Mueller want to know why Putin-tied oligarchs took such an interest in American gun ownership. Chris SmithJune 21, 2018 10:30 am NRA CONVENTION SCENE 1 An attendee wears an an American flag shirt depicting President Donald Trump as the Terminator during the National Rifle Association annual convention in Dallas, May 5, 2018. By Ashley Gilbertson/The New York Times/Redux. Saint Basil the Great clearly earned his nickname. The Turkish holy man was a scholar who aided victims of drought and who fought prostitution. Sadly, Basil’s views on gun ownership are unknown—he died in 379. Yet a charity named after the saint may turn out to be one key connection between the National Rifle Association and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The F.B.I. and special counsel Robert Mueller are investigating meetings between N.R.A. officials and powerful Russian operatives, trying to determine if those contacts had anything to do with the gun group spending $30 million to help elect Donald Trump—triple what it invested on behalf of Mitt Romney in 2012. The use of foreign money in American political campaigns is illegal. One encounter of particular interest to investigators is between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian banker at an N.R.A. dinner. The Russian wooing of N.R.A. executives goes back to at least 2011, when that same banker and politician, Alexander Torshin, befriended David Keene, who was then president of the gun-rights organization. Torshin soon became a “life member,” attending the N.R.A.’s annual conventions and introducing comrades to other gun-group officials. In 2015, Torshin welcomed an N.R.A. delegation to Moscow that included Keene and Joe Gregory, then head of the “Ring of Freedom” program, which is reserved for top donors to the N.R.A. Among the other hosts were Dmitry Rogozin, who until last month was the deputy prime minister overseeing Russia’s defense industry, and Sergei Rudov, head of the Saint Basil the Great Charitable Foundation, one of Russia’s wealthiest philanthropies. It’s possible that the men were merely bonding over a shared love of firearms. Mike Carpenter, a Russian specialist who worked in the Pentagon during the Obama administration, laughs at the notion. “The Russian state is run by a K.G.B. elite that wants nothing less than to have an armed citizenry,” Carpenter says. “Rogozin is a heavyweight in Russian politics. . . . Torshin has a direct line to Putin . . . and also has possible ties to organized crime. Rudov is the right-hand man of Konstantin Malofeev, who is sort of a paleo-conservative, ultra-nationalist figure who bankrolls a lot of projects involving mercenaries in Ukraine.” Carpenter sees how a dark money trail could connect the Kremlin to the gun lobby. “Those three would only meet with N.R.A. officials if there were some concerted effort by senior members of the Russian government to try and co-opt the N.R.A. politically,” he continues. “And they are all money men. They can throw tens of millions around.” (Efforts to reach Torshin, Rogozin, Rudov, and Malofeev were unsuccessful. Malofeev has denied aiding the invasion of Ukraine.) Torshin—who Spanish authorities wanted to arrest in 2013 on money-laundering allegations—made energetic efforts to ingratiate himself with the Trump campaign. (Torshin was never charged and has denied any wrongdoing in the money-laundering case.) He met Donald Trump Jr. at a private dinner during the N.R.A.’s convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in May 2016. Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., has dismissed the conversation between his client and Torshin as “all gun-related small talk.” putin-torshin Putin attends the Russian Day Awards with Alexander Torshin in Moscow on June 12, 2011. By Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images. “There are a lot of unanswered questions,” Senator Ron Wyden says. The Oregon Democrat has spent months pushing the N.R.A. to explain the sources of its foreign contributions. The gun group’s responses shifted from saying it had received only one contribution from a Russian person in six years; to acknowledging 23 Russian-related contributions since 2015 totaling a little more than $2,500; to shutting down communications with Wyden. “’Shifting’ is a diplomatic way to put it,” the senator says. “They have flipped more times than a kid on a summer diving board. . . . The notion that all of these important oligarchs who had involvement with the N.R.A. and were close to Putin were spending money on a few magazine subscriptions doesn’t strike me as very plausible.” (The N.R.A. did not return a call for comment, but a spokesman has said previously that the group’s contacts with Russian figures had nothing to do with its spending in American political campaigns.) Wyden has also been requesting financial information about Torshin’s dealings from the Treasury Department, headed by Steve Mnuchin, with even less success. “Mr. Mnuchin has been stonewalling for more than a year in handing over documents relating to Russia,” Wyden says. “All I can tell you is my guess is that he and the president are afraid of what’s in them.” Ted Lieu wants to summon N.R.A. officials to testify before him and the rest of the House Judiciary Committee—but that depends on the Democrats regaining a congressional majority this fall. For now, the California Democrat and one of his New York colleagues, Kathleen Rice, have written to F.B.I. director Chris Wray calling for the bureau to probe whether Russian money was channeled through the N.R.A. and spent on 2016 House and Senate campaigns. “These meetings with Russians and the N.R.A.’s increased spending could be coincidence number 395,” Lieu says. “Or something extremely bad happened.” https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/06 ... sian-money by seemslikeadream » Wed Aug 22, 2018 11:12 am where to post this ....so many options so little time Everytown Maria Butina's gun rights group deleted the video it had posted of John Bolton praising "a new era of freedom" in Russia. But don't worry, we've reposted it to preserve the record. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EytAMUUH9Yc by seemslikeadream » Fri Nov 02, 2018 10:37 pm Senate Intelligence Wants Documents on NRA’s Russia Trip Betsy Woodruff, 11.02.18 7:03 PM ET The Senate intelligence committee has asked the National Rifle Association to provide documents on its connections to Russia—including documents related to a 2015 trip some of its top leaders made to Moscow. That’s according to two sources briefed on the committee’s activities. The NRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Spokespersons for Sen. Richard Burr, the intelligence committee chair, and Sen. Mark Warner, the panel’s ranking member, declined to comment on the record. The NRA’s Russia connections have drawn growing public scrutiny after a key figure in Russian outreach to the powerful gun lobby, Maria Butina, was indicted in July on charges of being an undeclared Russian operative connected to the country’s intelligence apparatus. Butina sought to use guns as a lever to tilt the Republican Party in a pro-Kremlin direction, creating a political firestorm for the NRA in the wake of her arrest. The intelligence committee’s document request is just one part of the aftermath. Butina, whose Russian political patron Alexander Torshin is a senior figure in the country’s powerful central bank, ran a Russian gun-rights organization called the Right to Bear Arms. In December 2015, the group sponsored an NRA delegation to come to Moscow for a week. NRA dignitaries also met with another influential Russian, the former deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin. Torshin subsequently came under U.S. sanctions; Rogozin had been under sanctions since 2014. Kremlin & GOP Bigwigs Have a New Friend Tim Mak Former NRA President David Keene and soon-to-be president Peter Brownell were both on the trip. Accompanying them were Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke; NRA donors Jim Gregory and Arnold and Hilary Goldschlager; and Jim Liberatore, the president and CEO of the Outdoor Channel. The intelligence committee isn’t the only Senate panel interested in the trip. The Senate Finance Committee has for months sought NRA documents about the controversial excursion. Earlier this year, the NRA faced persistent questioning from the Finance Committee over the trip and whether it received money from Russia. The NRA, in a series of letters to the committee, initially denied receiving money from Russia. But in an April 10 letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, its general counsel John Frazer acknowledged receiving “a total of approximately $2512.85 from people associated Russian addresses” and “about $525” from two Russian nationals living in the United States. It also acknowledged “membership dues” from Torshin, a non-voting life member of the NRA since 2012. “[G]iven the extraordinarily time-consuming and burdensome nature of your requests, we must respectfully decline to engage in this beyond the clear answers we have already provided,” Frazer wrote in April, three months before Butina’s arrest. The heightened Congressional scrutiny of the NRA comes as one of its former top attorneys, William Brewer III, has faced legal challenges of his own. In September, federal Judge Liam O’Grady chastised the Texas attorney for failing to disclose that a judge in Texas had sanctioned him for more than $133,000 for using an unethical polling practice to influence a jury pool. Brewer challenged that judge’s move, and an appellate court upheld the penalty. The appellate court’s ruling noted that the judge who first sanctioned Brewer found his attitude in that process to be “dismissive and uncaring.” When Brewer appeared before a Virginia federal court to represent the NRA—in litigation over its “Carry Guard” insurance program for gun owners who shoot people—he asserted that he had not “been reprimanded in any court.” When the judge learned about his prior sanction, he yanked him off the case, as Texas Lawyer detailed. Brewer has said he didn’t commission the poll, according to the Texas Lawyer, and that he neglected to reveal the sanction to O’Grady because he was appealing it to Texas’s highest state court. His firm still represents the NRA. https://www.thedailybeast.com/senate-in ... ia=desktop by seemslikeadream » Thu Dec 06, 2018 5:14 pm Documents Point to Illegal Campaign Coordination Between Trump and NRA Trump and the gun group used the same consultants to spearhead their TV ad blitzes at the height of the 2016 election, likely in violation of federal law. [Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images] The Trace and Mother Jones have teamed up to further investigate the NRA’s finances and political activity. The National Rifle Association spent $30 million to help elect Donald Trump — more than any other independent conservative group. Most of that sum went toward television advertising, but a political message loses its power if it fails to reach the right audience at the right time. For the complex and consequential task of placing ads in key markets across the nation in 2016, the NRA turned to a media-strategy firm called Red Eagle Media. One element of Red Eagle’s work for the NRA involved purchasing a slate of 52 ad slots on WVEC, the ABC affiliate in Norfolk, Virginia, in late October 2016. The ads targeted adults aged 35 to 64, and aired on local news programs and syndicated shows like Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. In paperwork filed with the Federal Communications Commission, Red Eagle described them as “anti-Hillary” and “pro-Trump.” The Trump campaign pursued a strikingly similar advertising strategy. Shortly after the Red Eagle purchase, as Election Day loomed, it bought 33 ads on the same station, set to air during the same week. The ads, which the campaign purchased through a firm called American Media & Advocacy Group (AMAG), were aimed at precisely the same demographic as the NRA spots, and often ran during the same shows, bombarding Norfolk viewers with complementary messages. The two purchases may have looked coincidental; Red Eagle and AMAG appear at first glance to be separate firms. But each is closely connected to a major conservative media-consulting firm called National Media Research, Planning and Placement. In fact, the three outfits are so intertwined that both the NRA’s and the Trump campaign’s ad buys were authorized by the same person: National Media’s chief financial officer, Jon Ferrell. “This is very strong evidence, if not proof, of illegal coordination,” said Larry Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission. “This is the heat of the general election, and the same person is acting as an agent for the NRA and the Trump campaign.” Reporting by The Trace shows that the NRA and the Trump campaign employed the same operation — at times, the exact same people — to craft and execute their advertising strategies for the 2016 presidential election. The investigation, which involved a review of more than 1,000 pages of Federal Communications Commission and Federal Election Commission documents, found multiple instances in which National Media, through its affiliates Red Eagle and AMAG, executed ad buys for Trump and the NRA that seemed coordinated to enhance each other. Individuals working for National Media or its affiliated companies either signed or were named in FCC documents, demonstrating that they had knowledge of both the NRA and the Trump campaign’s advertising plans. Experts say the arrangement appears to violate campaign finance laws. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a situation where illegal coordination seems more obvious,” said Ann Ravel, a former chair of the FEC who reviewed the records. “It is so blatant that it doesn’t even seem sloppy. Everyone involved probably just thinks there aren’t going to be any consequences.” National Media, the NRA, the Trump campaign, and the White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment. AMAG does not appear to have any employees or contacts independent of National Media; a lawyer who has been identified in news accounts as representing AMAG did not respond to multiple requests for comment. National Media is based in Alexandria, Virginia. Its web site describes it as “a nationally recognized leader in media research, planning, and placement for issue advocacy, corporate, and political campaigns,” and says that its “goal is to maximize every dollar that our clients spend on their media.” Those clients have included the Republican National Committee as well as the GOP’s congressional and senatorial campaign committees. Publicly available corporate documents don’t indicate who owns or runs AMAG, but a lawyer representing the company acknowledged to the Daily Beast in 2016 that it was affiliated with National Media. PBS has described AMAG as an “offshoot” of National Media. The Trump campaign paid AMAG more than $74 million for “placed media” in September and October of 2016. Red Eagle Media, the firm that the NRA used to place its pro-Trump ads, is merely an “assumed or fictitious name” used by National Media, according to corporate records. Corporate, FEC, and FCC records for all three entities list the addresses of 815 Slaters Lane or 817 Slaters Lane, a pair of adjacent brick buildings that share a parking lot in the historic Old Town section of Alexandria. The NRA was free to spend as much money as it wanted on behalf of Trump in 2016. But under federal election law, if an independent group and a campaign share election-related information, then the group’s expenditures no longer qualify as independent and are instead treated as in-kind donations, subject to a $5,000 cap. When an outside group and a candidate use the same vendor, staffers working for either client are prevented by law from sharing information with each other. Typically, such vendors make staffers sign a company “firewall” policy, which functions as a pledge not to coordinate and an acknowledgment that there are civil and criminal penalties for doing so. Under the law, National Media staffers working for Trump should have been separated from those working for the NRA. Documents suggest, instead, a synchronized effort. Records in the FCC “public inspection files” — files that television stations maintain in order to comply with transparency regulations around political advertising — show that Red Eagle and AMAG often bought ads around the same time, on the same stations, for the NRA and the Trump campaign, respectively. During the last week of October, for instance, Red Eagle bought $36,250 worth of ads on the ABC affiliate in Cleveland on behalf of the NRA. A form the NRA filed with the station described spots mentioning the Second Amendment, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and the 2016 presidential election. At the same time, AMAG spent almost the exact same amount — $36,150 — on a series of Trump campaign ads on the same Cleveland station during the same week. Both the NRA ads and the Trump ads aired during many of the same programs, including local newscasts, Good Morning America, and NCAA football. The Trace identified at least four current or former National Media employees, including CFO Jon Ferrell, who are named in FCC filings as representatives of both the Trump campaign and the NRA during the final stretch of the 2016 presidential election. The form filed with the Cleveland station on behalf of the NRA by Red Eagle in September 2016 lists a person named Kristy Kovatch as a point of contact. (An identical form that Red Eagle filed for the NRA with WCPO in Cincinnati also lists Kovatch.) Kovatch is a senior buyer for National Media, specializing in “television media buying for political candidates, issue/advocacy groups and public affairs clients.” According to her bio on the company’s web site, she’s been with the firm for 20 years. Throughout the fall of 2016, Kovatch was also involved in ad purchases for Trump. Just three days before she was named in records as the contact for Red Eagle in Cleveland and Cincinnati, she appeared in the same role on an AMAG advertising request sheet filed for the Trump campaign with an NBC Telemundo station in Miami. FCC documents also list her as the AMAG buyer or contact for various other Florida stations. Another National Media employee, Ben Angle, was identified in the 2018 book Inside Campaigns: Elections Through the Eyes of Political Professionals as an architect of Trump’s airwave strategy. “In mid-September,” the book says, “Angle and his boss were summoned to Trump Tower and told their firm would be placing all of the Trump campaign’s television advertising during the last seven weeks of the campaign.” Angle is listed on National Media’s website as a “senior media buyer.” In October, his name appeared in FCC paperwork as the contact for an NRA ad buy, placed through Red Eagle, at an ABC station in Denver. A fourth staffer whose name appears on both NRA and Trump campaign documents, Caroline Kowalski, left National Media in 2017. Her title was “media specialist,” according to her LinkedIn page. Within the span of one week in late October and early November 2016, she was listed as the Red Eagle contact for an NRA ad purchase in Cape Coral, Florida, and as the AMAG contact for a Trump campaign placement at a CBS station in Philadelphia. Ferrell’s signature appeared on forms authorizing ads on stations across the country. For the Trump campaign, that included battleground markets like Youngstown, Ohio; Cape Coral, Florida; and Reno, Nevada. For the NRA, it included Cincinnati and Wilmington, North Carolina. Ferrell also signed off on placements with national syndicators and distributors covering most of the country for both Trump and the NRA. Share A Tip Here’s how to contact our reporters securely. Ferrell, Kovatch, Angle, and Kowalski did not respond to requests for comment. According to their National Media bios or LinkedIn pages, all are specialists in the art of strategic media placement. Ferrell’s “efforts help [National Media] provide optimal financial stewardship of campaign media budgets.” Kovatch “has consistently bought the largest media markets around the country, building an extensive knowledge of ratings, costs and seasonal trends across all time periods and dayparts.” Angle uses his “extensive experience” to “strategically place efficient and effective media buys for our clients.” And Kowalski “acted as a liaison between media buyers and TV, radio, and cable networks,” and “researched voter demographic data to help create” advertising campaigns for, among others, “presidential” candidates and “issue-advocacy groups.” Prior reporting has identified consulting firms as conduits for potentially illegal coordination between campaigns and outside groups. In 2013, a Center for Public Integrity and NBC News investigation turned up evidence that an AMAG media buyer purchased airtime both for a Texas congressional candidate and for an outside group that was supporting him. In July, The Trace found that the NRA had been using an apparent shell firm called Starboard Strategic Inc. to produce ads for Senate candidates who employed a GOP consulting outfit called OnMessage Inc. The two entities, according to subsequent complaints filed to the FEC, are “functionally indistinguishable.” Starboard and OnMessage are located in the same Alexandria buildings as National Media, according to public records. The FEC has the authority to launch investigations and seek civil penalties, but it’s unlikely that the NRA or the Trump campaign will face any official action. The FEC’s four commissioners — it is supposed to have six — have been deadlocked for years in an ideological split, making the unanimous vote required for significant investigations almost impossible to achieve. The Department of Justice is also authorized to launch investigations, but prosecutions under the Federal Election Campaign Act are uncommon. If convicted, violators can be subject to criminal fines and up to five years in prison. Experts consulted by The Trace say the apparent coordination is the most glaring they’ve ever seen. “It is impossible for these consultants to have established firewalls in their brains,” said Brendan Fischer, the Director of the Federal Reform Program at the Campaign Legal Center. “We have not previously seen this level of evidence undermining any claim of a firewall.” Daniel Nass / Shutterstock Effectively placing ads is among the most important tasks in getting a candidate elected to office. “The creative content is only part of the equation,” said Rick Wilson, a Republican media strategist. “Political advertising relies on smart media placement at every stage. Anything else and you might as well just throw your money in a bonfire.” Campaign coordination, Wilson added, allows candidates and outside groups to “maximize their resources,” making spending far more efficient. “Modern campaigns are driven by data,” he said. “Pollsters and analytics people will give you a set of targets, and you want to address those targets as best you can, in as many markets as you can.” Concurrent purchases by Red Eagle and AMAG appear designed to provide such a higher return on spending. On September 15, for instance, Red Eagle executed an $86,000 deal for the NRA with Raycom Sports Network, a syndicator of sports programs, for slots during seven ACC college football games airing in the final weeks of the presidential race. Documents authorizing the purchase were signed by Ferrell, whose colleague Ben Angle, the senior buyer at National Media, has been a proponent of sports as a way to reach conservative audiences. “Every time we assist a Republican candidate, we advise him to advertise at sports events,” he told one journalist. “In sports, the audience is engaged, they like to see it live so they do not skip the commercials by using a recording device.” Less than a week later, another National Media staffer authorized virtually the same purchase for Trump. Because stations are required to charge candidates the “lowest unit price” for airtime (while charging independent groups the higher market rate), the deal only cost $30,000. The purchases were mirror images of each other. In five of the games, both the NRA and Trump bought ads. When the NRA ran two spots either attacking Clinton or promoting Trump, the Trump campaign ran just one. And when the Trump campaign ran two spots, the NRA ran one. The pattern even persisted when there was no direct overlap: In the two games the Trump campaign sat out, the NRA ran two ads. And in the one game during which the NRA didn’t buy time, Trump bought two slots. Side by side, the spots aired across the country, on as many as 120 stations, according to data provided by Raycom. Angle’s name appears on Trump campaign paperwork documenting the Raycom purchase, directly above “AMAG.” After reviewing the Raycom records, Wilson said the pattern suggests that the purchases were part of a unified strategy by the NRA and the Trump campaign. “Sometimes you want to maximize the lowest unit rate on the campaign side,” he said. “But you still need more fire on the target. This is why the FEC says coordination is illegal.” https://www.thetrace.org/2018/12/trump- ... rdination/ by seemslikeadream » Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:04 pm Documents Show NRA and Republican Candidates Coordinated Ads in Key Senate Races “You do this if you think no one is going to investigate,” says a former federal regulator. Christopher Hooks and Mike SpiesJanuary 11, 2019 6:00 AM NRA president Oliver North campaigning with GOP Senate candidate Josh Hawley in Missouri in November 2018Scott Olson/Getty The National Rifle Association appears to have illegally coordinated its political advertising with Republican candidates in at least three recent high-profile US Senate races, according to Federal Communications Commission records. In Senate races in Missouri and Montana in 2018 and North Carolina in 2016, the gun group’s advertising blitzes on behalf of GOP candidates Josh Hawley, Matt Rosendale, and Richard Burr were authorized by the very same media consultant that the candidates themselves used—an apparent violation of laws designed to prevent independent groups from synchronizing their efforts with political campaigns. In December, the Trace and Mother Jones reported on a similar pattern of coordination between the NRA and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. In that case, Trump and the NRA hired affiliates of the same company—National Media Research, Planning and Placement—to direct their ad spending. Employees of that firm, operating under different corporate identities, placed ads for both Trump and the NRA on television stations across the country, with the apparent goal of reinforcing each other’s message. Representatives of National Media, operating under the name Red Eagle Media, also bought ads on behalf of the NRA in support of some of the group’s preferred Senate candidates, and simultaneously bought ads for those Senate candidates while acting as a supposedly separate entity called American Media & Advocacy Group (AMAG). In at least 10 instances across the Missouri, Montana, and North Carolina races, FCC records show that ad purchases for both the NRA and the Senate campaigns were authorized by National Media chief financial officer Jon Ferrell. Campaign finance laws bar outside groups from sharing any election-related information—including advertising strategy—with the candidates they support. While it is not illegal for independent groups and campaigns to use the same vendors, the Federal Election Commission requires consultants to prevent staffers from sharing information, usually through the creation of internal “firewalls.” “All evidence points to coordination,” said Larry Noble, the general counsel of the FEC from 1987 to 2000, in response to a detailed description of the documents. “It’s hard to understand how you’d have the same person authorizing placements for the NRA and the candidate and it not be coordination.” In the Missouri race, where state Attorney General Josh Hawley unseated Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill, the NRA flooded local TV stations with ads supportive of Hawley in the month before the election. On the CBS affiliate KOAM, which serves the southwest part of the state, the NRA paid for almost 70 ads that aired during the first half of October. Graphic: Daniel Nass. Sources: Hawley campaign contract; NRA contract FCC records show that those ads were purchased on the NRA’s behalf by Red Eagle Media—which, according to corporate records, is just an “assumed or fictitious name” used by National Media. The order was signed on September 7, 2018, by National Media’s Jon Ferrell. His bio on the firm’s website touts his skill at ensuring “optimal financial stewardship of campaign media budgets,” as well as making sure “every penny allocated for media is spent according to election laws.” Just the day before, KOAM had received an order for ads from the Hawley campaign. The paperwork accompanying that order shows that the spots were purchased on Hawley’s behalf by AMAG, which has been described by its lawyer as a National Media affiliate. The paperwork is signed by Ferrell, with a handwritten addendum: “agent for Josh Hawley for Senate.” The ads that Ferrell placed for the NRA closely align with the list of ads he authorized for the campaign. On October 5, for example, on KOAM’s morning show, an NRA ad about the Senate race ran at 6:39 a.m. and a Hawley campaign ad ran five minutes later. During Wheel of Fortune, a Hawley ad ran at 6:42 p.m. and an NRA ad supporting Hawley followed at 6:59. A similar pattern played out in Montana, where Democratic Sen. Jon Tester beat back a challenge from state auditor Matt Rosendale despite more than $500,000 in NRA spending on Rosendale’s behalf. Records show that Ferrell signed off on a Red Eagle order for NRA ads backing Rosendale on KULR, an NBC affiliate in Billings, on September 4. One week later, on September 11, AMAG purchased a slate of ads on the same station on behalf of the Rosendale campaign. The paperwork is signed by Ferrell. As in the Missouri race, he added a handwritten addendum making clear that he was acting on the campaign’s behalf: “Jon Ferrell, agent for Matt Rosendale for Montana.” Those ads ran on many of the same shows that the NRA ads did, including airings of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Graphic: Daniel Nass. Sources: Rosendale campaign contract; NRA contract Back in 2016, when North Carolina Republican Richard Burr prevailed against Democratic challenger Deborah Ross, Burr employed National Media outright, while the NRA used Red Eagle. As in the other races, Ferrell signed off on purchases for both sides. FCC paperwork filed by WECT, the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, shows Ferrell signing off on purchases for the Burr campaign on October 12, 24, and 27 and November 2 as an “agent for Richard Burr Committee.” At the same time, he authorized Red Eagle purchases on behalf of the NRA on September 19 and October 21. Graphic: Daniel Nass. Sources: Burr campaign contract; NRA contract National Media and Ferrell did not respond to requests for comment; neither did representatives for Hawley, Rosendale, and Burr. AMAG does not appear to have any employees or contacts independent of National Media. The NRA’s use of National Media and its affiliates to coordinate with the Trump and Hawley campaigns is currently the focus of two complaints before the FEC by the Campaign Legal Center and the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Although federal law prohibits such coordination, it’s rarely enforced as a practical matter. The FEC, which oversees elections, has been deadlocked along partisan lines for a decade. (FEC enforcement matters are confidential until resolved; it’s unclear if the NRA has formally responded to the complaints.) Ann Ravel, who served on the commission from 2013 to 2017, says the straightforward manner in which the NRA and Senate campaigns aligned ads in these cases “goes to show how weak the campaign finance system is.” “There is so much documentary evidence that it wouldn’t even require a lengthy investigation,” Ravel said. “Some cases are hard to prove, but this, on its face, is so obvious. I would not think that there is any basis for not at least investigating the matter.” Noble agreed: “What this reflects is the FEC’s lack of enforcement and the lack of respect that the NRA and the vendor are showing toward the FEC and the law. You do this if you think no one is going to investigate.” (Mother Jones and the Trace have teamed up to investigate the NRA’s finances and political activity. See more of our reporting here.) https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... sh-hawley/ by seemslikeadream » Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:33 pm As part of House Oversight's investigation into security clearances, the committee is demanding docs from the NRA relating to John Bolton's foreign contacts. NPR has the letter Cummings sent to the NRA president: by seemslikeadream » Tue Jan 29, 2019 9:52 pm NRA attempts to create distance between CEO LaPierre and NRA officers who traveled to Moscow in 2015 NRA ignored requests for comment, but NOW has an attorney make a statement? What’s going to break soon that they’re trying to get in front of? NRA Distances Itself From Curious Russia Trip Wayne LaPierre is trying to control the narrative about an infamous jaunt to Moscow in 2015 Tim Dickinson January 29, 2019 3:24PM ET NRA CEO Wayne La Pierre and Maria Butina at the 2014 NRA Convention in Indianapolis Maria Butina/VK.com As the scandal surrounding the Russian infiltration of the NRA has grown, the gun group has maintained a steely silence. The NRA has not responded to perhaps a dozen inquiries about its Russian ties from Rolling Stone alone. But an outside lawyer for the gun group and a past president of the NRA have now spoken to the New York Times for the paper’s new dispatch on the scandal. The NRA is attempting to create distance between CEO Wayne LaPierre and the NRA officers who traveled to Moscow in 2015, at the invitation of criminal Russian influence agent Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin — the sanctioned now-former Russian central banker described in court documents as her handler — where the NRA members met with top members of Vladimir Putin’s government. William A. Brewer III, a lawyer who represents the NRA, tells the Times: “Wayne was opposed to the trip.” Allan Cors, who was president of the gun group at the time of the 2015 meeting in Moscow, underscores this same talking point: “Wayne expressed concerns about this trip and suggested that I not participate. Wayne did not want any misconception that this was an official trip,” Cors added. “Frankly, I had similar concerns.” Such concerns, oddly, did not prevent the trip from taking place. And the Times reports the NRA paid for at least some travel expenses. The NRA delegation included first vice president Pete Brownell (whose allegedly unsanctioned participation didn’t prevent his rise to become NRA president in 2017); Joe Gregory, who chairs the Golden Ring of Freedom, the NRA’s elite club for million-dollar lifetime donors; and past president David Keene, who had forged the NRA’s close ties to Moscow, visiting in 2013 to declare: “There are no peoples that are more alike than Americans and Russians.” LaPierre’s new campaign to distance himself from the Russian affair must be considered in context: As Rolling Stone first reported last spring, LaPierre was happy to pose for a photograph with Maria Butina in 2014 at the NRA’s convention in Indianapolis. Butina and Torshin had each been VIPs at NRA conventions, meeting with top brass and participating in elite ceremonies. Butina tweeted about ringing the NRA’s replica Liberty Bell in 2014. After the 2015 Moscow exchange, Butina and Torshin continued as lifetime NRA members and used the NRA convention in 2016 to meet with Donald Trump, Jr. For his part, Torshin remained friendly with Cors, buying him a thoughtful gift in 2017. The Times report emphasizes that the NRA officials who traveled to Russia had business interests there: “Mr. Brownell had expanded his family-owned gun accessory retailer, Brownells, into Russia in 2015, before the trip, licensing its name to a local company and collecting a percentage of sales.” Outdoor Channel CEO Jim Liberatore, who joined the NRA junket, reportedly pursued, with Butina, the idea of signing Vladimir Putin to a reality show on his network. While the NRA-Russia connection has reportedly reemerged as a focus Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, the Times indicates congressional interest also remains high. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) tells the paper that the GOP majority in the last congress stymied attempts to probe the issue: “We were really not able to determine how the Russians used the N.R.A. as a back channel or look into allegations that the Russians may have funneled money through the N.R.A. to influence the election,” he says. “Those issues remain of deep interest to us.” Ron Wyden (D-OR), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, tells the paper: “The prospect of N.R.A. or N.R.A. officials abusing nonprofit status to work with a hostile regime and undermine our democracy is central to my investigation.” Brewer, the NRA outside counsel, inisted to the the Times that the NRA “believes that no foreign money made its way into the organization for use in the 2016 presidential election.” https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... re-786193/ Return to Data And Research Jump to: Select a forum ------------------ General Discussion and Exchange Current Events General Discussion Data And Research Lounge Members' Notice Board The Franklin Scandal Subject Forums 9/11 7/7 London bombings Activism Assassinations and Suspicious Deaths Book Forum Bush Family Culture Studies Deep Politics Economics Energy Issues Environment Fascism Health Iraq Justice Katrina and Aftermath Latin America Media and Information Technology Middle East Mind Control Paedophilia and Fascist Sexuality Plame Investigation Politics and Stolen Elections Psyops and Meme Management Religion and the Occult SRA and Occult Crime Scalar and HAARP Scientology Secret Societies Self Sufficiency Spirituality UFOs and High Weirdness The "War on Terror" Other Board Admin Posting Guidelines Ask Admin Locked Forums Fire Pit Site design by Likely Arts based on "Deluxe" by Artodia.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722930
__label__wiki	0.846143	0.846143	PICTURES & TRANSLATION: Rob’s Portrait In @Snatchmag Published on May 14, 2014 in Internet/Bloggers/Magazine/Movies/Press by Laura Pictures and translation by Laura, please credit the website! Hysteria, unfortunate onanism, big sorrows and independent changes, Robert Pattinson, the freed marionette P.44 Portrait: Robert Pattinson Age 27, Robert Pattinson is a little bit in need of freedom, partly because of his fans troop who have set him up as the ultimate celebrity doing so that his everyday life became impossibly complicated. All the contrary of who is the new idol of the independent cinema: a real nice guy, shy, music lover, AND clever. A little sensible sweetheart almost boring in fact? No, not really. Robert Pattinson Chronicle Of a changing icon For a long time, Robert Pattinson had only been a Twilight character: a kitsch romance actor, sex-symbol of all the teenagers of the world, and press people favorite which were delighted of his complicated love affairs with Kristen Stewart. And then, there has been his meeting with David Cronenberg in 2012 in Cosmopolis, which marks the début of a new orientation more independent in his career and changed his image. From the Barnes suburb, where he was born, to his new Hollywood life, portrait of a pure bold actor, victim of a very long misunderstanding. Since centuries, nothing would have bothered the quiet and calm of the little town of Montepulciano, located in the Tuscany’s heart, in the Sienna province. Its inhabitants lived at the rhythm of country labor, and the everyday life seemed to have stopped at the Renaissance, in which we could find all kind of architectural vestiges everywhere in the city. The time passed quietly, deaf at the modernity noises, until this fateful month of May 2012 when Montepulciano would live for a brief and intense moment a time of fame. During a few days, the city hall accepted to welcome the Twilight Saga: New Moon set, the second episode of the successful franchise, the most expected movie for teenagers from all around the world. Everything nada been set to avoid incidents: a set had been installed on Piazza Grande which dominates the city, 1,500 Italian extras participated in the scene and a mass of bodyguards had to surround the actors, including the lead man, Robert Pattinson. But nothing went as planned “It became very strange, completely crazy”, remembers Chris Weitz at this day, the director who is nevertheless experienced. “The city had been invaded by entire buses of fans from all around the world. We were overwhelmed but we had to keep the situation under control and protect Robert, because the girls became crazy as soon as they saw him”. In the general bustle which retarded the beginning of the set, the director remembers a precise event: “Amongst the fans, there was an handicapped girl with a wheelchair, and the crowd demanded Robert came to talk to her. We thought we were back in Middle Age. He finally went to talk a bit with the young girl. Really, I thought she was going to stand up and walk. But no.” Read the entire translation under the cut! Apart from the joke, Chris Weitz sums up perfectly what Robert Pattinson’s last few years looked like: an enormous madness. From 2008 and 2012, the time the Twilight franchise lasted, the five movies adapted from Stephanie Meyer’s books earned three billions dollars in total. Robert Pattinson became, for his part, one of the biggest pop icon from this century beginning. Thanks to his romantic vampire role, he had been imposed as the sex symbol of an entire generation of teenagers, and provoked a hysterical wave comparable to the one known by Leonardo DiCaprio during Titanic, for better and for worse. The better: he became a multimillionaire at only 21, and has known how to use his fame to concentrate on more prestigious, doing, from Cosmopolis by David Cronenberg in 2012, an independent turn which made him one of the most passionate actor from his time. The worst: he sacrificed a good part of his youth, and has to live now under constant protection because of the phenomenon Twilight. “He did not predict this immoderation”, sums up his friend, the actor and director Brady Corbet. “Now, his every day life is a permanent game of hide and seek: he has to protect himself from fans and paparazzi, he has to think about his safety every time he goes out.”” Even when we go to the restaurant with him, we have to enter from a hidden door” testifies David Cronenberg, who offered a new role for the actor in his last movie, Maps To The Stars. “He cannot live as a normal human being anymore, he has no freedom anymore. He loves Toronto, my city, because the people don’t bother him. He can go to a bar without a bodyguard. In Los Angeles or everywhere else, it is impossible…” He thought the first Twilight would have been art movies about vampires. He did not have any idea what was waiting for him” David CronenbergBears, Mates, and a GuitarIn this surrealistic environment where each of his moves are organized in advance by a mass of assistants, and where the least of his gestures are analyzed by press, the logic would have been Robert Pattinson going mad, he would have rejoined the long list of pop icons sacrificed on the verge of fame. But, if we believe his relatives it would appear he chose another destiny. All of them portray him as a “natural”, “healthy”, “sane”, “feet on the floor” (head on both shoulders) actor. Robert Pattinson, they told us, it is the story of an ordinary man propelled overnight to a superstar status, a normal guy who has found, despite of himself, on posters stuck on teenagers’ walls all around the world. “You would be surprised to see him outside of movie sets: he stayed very cool and authentic, the kind of guy going to bars and play music with his friends”, noticed again Brady Cornet, who knows the actor since he moved to Los Angeles, and is a part of his close friends (which counts the actor Tom Studdridge). The Director of Remember Me, Allen Coulter, who met Robert Pattinson a little bit before Twilight, shares this vision about a guy preserved from the medias craziness: “He has been overtook by his fame. He was embarrassed, stunned. He has quickly become and for a young man, it is not easy. He is a sensitive guy, and he does the best he can, as opposed to all those celebrities who succeeded and who did anything.” All those who worked with him agree to say Robert Pattinson has kept a cold head in front of the Twilight phenomenon. On blockbusters or independent movies sets, the actor is known to not make any wave: we have never heard of ego crisis or whims. Birth of a “strange” baby-starTo understand this capacity to resist the Hollywood siren calls, maybe we need to remind you of a little detail: Robert Pattinson is British. He was not born in Los Angeles in the star system cult, but in Barnes, a residential suburb in South London. There, life is quiet, bucolic, not to say boring: the district is composed of houses, pubs and public schools which welcome a majority of white privileged school students. “The only strangers, here, are Swedish”, says a little girl from the neighborhood, pointing us the way to take to the Pattinson’s house: “You will recognize the house by its big façade, his parents have money.” It is there, in this middle-class environment that Robert Pattinson has been raised by a father selling classic cars and a mother working in a advertising agency. He has known an ordinary childhood, marked very soon by his musical learning (his sister, Elizabeth, signed at the age of 16 a contract to sing in a band), and his scholarship in the crested Harrodian School where he met his mate Tom Studdridge. The theater, he has gone there for one and unique reason: in his depressing district, it was the best way to meet girls. At a few miles from the Pattinson’s “bunker” house, stands the Barnes Theatre Club, the little suburb company where he began, and where they always remember young Robert, reciting his firsts ranges: “About fifteen children who went by the theatre became professionals, but no one has had the same career as his”, tells Darrol Blake, a former BBC director, who supervised aspiring actors. “Robert, he, was good in all of his roles.” And be had unstoppable asset compared to his competitors: a particular appearance, sexy and androgynous, which made him sign his firsts modeling congrats at 12 years old and to be spotted by an agent, Stephanie Ritz, whose the reason of his success. She is the one who obtains for him his firsts tries, including a germane-British telefilm, Ring Of the Nibelungs. Carol Dudley was the head of the casting. She remembers the day Robert Pattinson went through her door: “He was at the time unknown. He was weird, he was not used to this kind of exercise”, she says. “At this age, children going to those auditions already have experience. They say the first audition has to be made before the loss of the fifth tooth. Him, he was shy, you could feel he was not in his comfort zone. But he had his head on his shoulders and he was, more importantly, well surrounded. I remember thinking he was going to go far if he kept this equilibrium…” A year later, in 2005, he got a little part in Harry Potter And the Goblet of Fire, his first participation in a blockbuster. Everything goes on and his name begins circulating in London, whereas he goes to multiple castings for movies or plays. “He knew from now on he wanted to complete focus on cinema”, tells Robin Shepperd, the director of the BBC telefilm The Bad Mother’s Handbook, who keeps an impressed memory of the actor: “Robert was not even twenty but appeared much more mature. He had an analysis capacity and a rare wisdom for his age. He refused to be too exposed in the media outlets. It was striking. Becoming an actor was not necessarily synonymous of fame for him.” On sets, he distances himself by his work capacity: “He was a young man on the watch, on alert” notices Campbell Mitchell, artistic executive from one of his first telefilm, The Haunted Airman. “During a basic scene, he had to use an old razor but he had never used one before. Well, he rehearsed like mad to be sure to have the right gestures. He was someone very intense. When he had to get wet, to be covered in blood, when he had to force himself a way or another, he went, he let himself go. He was not precious.” To involve himself complete in his roles, study his characters, it is a method Robert Pattinson will always keep, and which sometimes saved a movie, as says Stefano Falivene, operator chief on Bel Ami: “Robert has been the most professional actor on set. Comparing to the others, he respected what he had to do. We complained about a lot of whims from a lot of actresses during the movie, but he never caused any problems.” A handjob and a lot of tearsRobert Pattinson seemed to be calibrated for success: well educated, first student in his classes, hard-worker, he had everything to become his generation’s baby-star. But it is not a reason to be mistaken about the actor’s nature, who has nothing to do with the infallible machine his relatives try to sell us. In reality, the biggest teenagers’ sex symbol is a worried guy, really anguished who has, let’s say, difficulties feeling at ease with his body. The Little Ashes crew can testify that. In this period movie released in 2008, Pattinson was the painter Salvador Dali and had several gay sex scenes, including one of masturbation he had difficulties with, at the point he thought about stopping his career. “He was really embarrassed”, tells the director, Paul Morrison. “I remember once, he refused to show up naked on set until we assured him at 100% the only people there were the only necessary ones to film the scene. It was borderline paranoia.” The Spanish actress Marina Gatell remembers this moment: “Dali’s lover, after being rejected by him, had to have a sexual relationship with Magdalena, the character I played, meanwhile Dali was masturbating and watching them. Robert had nothing else to do than watch and masturbate. But he was not at ease at all. He could not stop crying. In this room, this atmosphere became extremely sad, barely bearable.” Other anecdotes of this type confirm this image of a fragile and sensitive actor, unable to control his emotions. On Water for Elephants set, a very soft sex symbol shared with Reese Witherspoon had become a media imbroglio. The rumor ran in the press that the actor did not dwell well with pressure , and that he finished the scene in tears at the mischievous moment. Sympathetic, Reese Witherspoon tried to save the pretense, affirming in a TV interview that he simply had a cold at that exact time. But some time later, Robert Pattinson has contradicted his co-star and revealed the truth himself: yes, he really cried during the scene, and he assumes completely. This claimed hyper sensitivity, it is mostly what explains the actor’s immense popularity. For all the Twilighters, principally teenage girls, he is a reassuring sex symbol, a kind of romantic ideal dangerous and touching at the same time. “He is not only a sexy boy, a kind of boy next door. He has also an unique and moving glance. The first time I met him, I had the impression he had an old soul – we could have believed he had already lived a century, and he was a solitary person”, testifies Catherine Hardwick, first Twilight director. She is also the one who convinced the actor to audition for the vampire role in her movie, after seeing him in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She describes the day of the tries: “He had a long brown lock of hair and a little belly. I think he drank too many bears at that time. He was nervous but charming. I invited him home to meet Kristen Stewart, who I already chose for the feminine lead role. I made them rehearse the confrontation in biology scene at the beginning of the movie. And then, we went to my room, where I asked them to kiss on the bed. The chemistry between Robert and Kristen was immediate.” We all know the rest: five Twilight movies will be released until 2012, engendering billions of dollars, and Robert Pattinson would leave London for good to lead his career in Hollywood. Twilight: the golden cageIf the pop culture books retained that Robert Pattinson became a celebrity thanks to Twilight, the actor is trying, nowadays, to get rid of this image and free himself from the character Edward Cullen. Even if he has never declared it publicly, it was becoming more and more difficult to live with Twilight, at a point he almost “showed some signs of depression”, explains Elliott Davis, chief operator on the first movie. “He was really involved on set, but honestly: he was not happy. The first Twilight success probably devastated him, he understood the trick closed on him.” This trick, Elliott Davis explains its outcomes: “The Summit Entertainment studio were on the edge of bankruptcy. Our movie had such success they want to prolong it: they found their goose that lays the golden eggs. In this context, the actors had a lot of pressure. Without them, the saga would not exist. So they had to stay, go on with the next movies, whereas the studios did not care anymore about artistic quality. The most important thing was the business. Robert found his way too, of course. If he decided to continue, it was only for the money. He had no contractual obligation. But it has to have been an incredible pain for him.” David Cronenberg confirms us and relates his conversation on the subject with the actor: “He confided to me he thought the first Twilight would have been art movies about vampires. He did not have any idea what was waiting for him.” What was waiting for him, was a kitsch franchise for teenage girls, and all the problems going with him: fanatics kids all around the world, an image reduced to one of a sex symbol a little bit ridiculous, and the toxic pressure of the press, especially as Robert Pattinson had the bad idea to form a couple with the lead woman of Twilight, Kristen Stewart. Both of them nurtured one of the biggest story for media outlets of the hears 2000, entertaining the mystery about their real nature of their relationship. Marketing fabrication to sell Twilight to the kids? Simple friendship reinterpreted as a torrid love story by the medias? Everyone wondered about the secrets of their story at the same time the movie were released. Not Elliott Davis: “You had to be blind to not see they were a couple”, he says. “As soon as the set began, they instantly got closer. They helped each other a lot and protected one another from the enormous pressure the film entailed. In reality, their relationship began with Twilight and ended at the end of the saga.” Truth: A few month after the fifth episode, the headlines in the medias announced their breakup. Pictures showing Kristen Stewart with another man, the director Rupert Sanders, making Robert Pattinson the world’s most famous deceived boyfriend. In response, the depressed actor decided to sell their house in Los Angeles, and talks about his misfortunes in the medias. The end of the Twilight era was testing for Robert Pattinson, who thought – once again – to set aside his career to concentrate on his first passion: music. Since his first rock band formed during his teenage years in London suburb, the actor never really stopped and continued composing songs or giving improvised concerts, with his friend Bobby Long in particular, a folkie British. Moreover it is the first thing Catherine Hardwicke remembers from her meeting with Pattinson, to who she gave the opportunity to have a few composition on the Twilight original score: “We were three to leave for a cabin in the mountains to work on the music. Rob began taking the guitar and recorded songs while watching the finished movie on my computer. He was completely happed by music, he seemed to have lost all his natural shyness. I did not know his voice could be so intense and moving.” But instead of producing his first album, (“which will arrive soon”, promised his friend Brady Corbet), Robert Pattinson was once again caught back into the cinema after his Twilight period, giving his career a second dynamic, now placed under the sign of independent cinema. Leos Carax, for realThe real brilliant blow Robert Pattinson succeeded to do was to reinvent himself in only one film, leading us to forget his teen icon image stuck to his skin – when, just comparing, Ryan Gosling spent ten years going out of Disney Club. This opportunity, the actor obtained it thanks to one and unique person: Colin Farrell. Until the beginning of 2011, he was David Cronenberg’s favorite for the lead role in Cosmopolis, adapted from one of Don DeLillo’s novel. But the American actor hesitated for too long, his agents wanted a too high salary, and he ended committed himself to the movie Total Recall, leaving the field open for the second choice: Robert Pattinson. It took all the movie producer’s perseverance, Franco-Portuguese Paulo Branco, to convince the actor to accept the role. “He hesitated a bit at first, I think he was afraid of the challenge it represented”, remembers the businessman. “He began refusing the deal, but we insisted, David and myself, and then he gave his agreement: he understood it could be a turning point in his career.” The most complicated thing was to deal with agents and managers who surrounded him, even if Robert Pattinson agreed radically revising his salary expectations: him who worked for 12,5 millions dollars per Twilight episode, agreed earning 1,2 millions of euros, in a movie which the total budget was 15 millions euros. For both parties, the Cosmopolis case was a win-win: first, the actor could redo his reputation working with one of the biggest director in activity; second, David Cronenberg assured with his lead actor a big visibility on media outlets and the assurance of easy financing. Stayed a simple question: is Robert Pattison able to meet the challenge of a movie with hyper complex dialogue? Does the actor from romantic teen movies have the shoulders to convert himself in an exigent cinema? The selection of Cosmopolis for the Cannes Festival in 2012 confirmed it. Paulo Branco, he, has never had doubts on the question: “As soon as I met Robert, I understood he had temper, that he could not be reduced to his fame only”, he says. “Moreover I was surprised by his knowledge of cinema: he is a boy you could have a very rich conversation about cinema. He confided for example that Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf by Leos Carax was one of his bedside movie.” Another anecdote marked Paulo Branco too, who is still amazed: “To prepare his role, Robert not only read Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo: he read all of his books. Yet, I know of anyone who did. And, they met too, they talked for some time, they seem to perfectly hit it off, despite DeLillo is wild.” On the set of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the director Chris Weitz remembers he too has been surprised by the celebrity’s attitude between scenes: “He was not like other young actors hanging around set. He preferred going alone in his caravan with a book and we did not see him for hours.” Other anecdotes of this kind portray the hyper curious actor, reader of Houellebecq and fan of the director Ernst Lubitsch, of whom he collected the masterpieces before Bel Ami’s set. Going more and more towards art-house films – we will find him soon in Weber Herzog or James Grey’s movies -, Robert Pattinson did not simply look for ameliorating his image, but to affirm his tasted and his desire of a singular cinema. Nevertheless, taking the fold of independent cinema was not without an adapted period for the actor. After years of bathing in the Twilight Saga blockbusters broth, the powerful Director’s strict biases seemed far away from his habits while collaborating with David Cronenberg. The Canadian director reveals then he had the impression of being confronted to a first timer during their first collaboration for Cosmopolis. “At the beginning of filming, he told me: “I have never seen anything like that in my life.” I answered him: “Never seen what?” And he said this: “A man like you on set. You take all the decisions.” And I answered him: “Rob, there is no one else. Just us. We do not have studios on our backs. The only producer’s preoccupation is for us to be happy. You understand, we are doing this movie together. Just us, we take the decisions.” I think he has never really filmed in a movie of that type. Until there, he always had to report to directors who had to call the studios every time they wanted to make a decision, change a costume or a haircut. With me, there is no phone.” Moreover, wink of fate, in Maps To The Stars, the last Cronenberg Movie, he plays an idealistic young man coming from the depth of USA, arriving in Hollywood to make career without being aware of the game’s rules in which he put his feet in. When we asked Cronenberg if we have to see a resemblance between this role and the former Twilight glory, the director does not hide it: “There is a resemblance, indeed. Robert never hoped to be a celebrity. He wanted to be an actor, and he was trapped by celebrity.” The good news is he decided to keep his chains. Previous Story Previous post: UPDATE: Advance Screening of “The Rover” Wins Praise Next Story Next post: EXCLUSIVE: Rob Featured On The Cover Of ‘World Film Locations: Toronto Latest from Internet/Bloggers THE LIGHTHOUSE \| “THE LIGHTHOUSE” Theatrical & DVD Release Dates ' Please note that all release dates are tentative and may change UPDATED TENET \| ON SET PICTURES \| Discover The First Pictures Of Robert Pattinson On Christopher Nolan’s Set! (June 29, 2019) ' Source \| Source \| Source \|Thanks @sallyvg and @robsjaw for the UPDATED TENET \| ON SET PICTURES \| Robert Pattinson On Christopher Nolan’s Set! (June 30, 2019) ' Source \| Source \| Source \| Source \| Source \|	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722932
__label__wiki	0.543493	0.543493	Bride set on fire and killed by groom after she slept with ex-lover on wedding night A bride was doused with alcohol and set on fire by her new husband after she slept with an ex-lover on her wedding night, police say. Mother-of-one Veronika Filippova had sought out her former partner after her new spouse fell asleep drunk at their wedding reception. The 27-year-old had 80% burns on her body and died despite frantic efforts by doctors to save her. Continue... Ivan Kuzmin, 30, her new husband (pictured with Veronika, left, during happier times), has confessed to murder after being arrested by police in Volgograd in southern Russia, according to police, News site Life News reported that the bride took 'revenge' on her husband after he passed out at their wedding party, but was later overcome with guilt and told him everything. He responded by dousing her with neat alcohol - used to make homemade vodka - before igniting her in flames with a cigarette lighter. 'He set her on fire when she was sleeping, pouring alcohol on her and our Veronica is gone,' said relatives of Filippova's in an online posting. The relatives, Olesya and Yuriy Prosin, also claimed that Kuzmin had hidden from his wife a previous conviction for attempted murder and attempted rape involving an underage girl, which led to a ten year prison sentence. 'He did not have enough of a conscience to confess to Veronika that he was in prison for trying to rape an underage girl and attempted to burn the apartment to hide the evidence. He is nothing but scum.' Another version was that the couple went our for a beer the day after the wedding and this is when the row erupted leading to her being doused in alcohol and set alight. The woman tried to escape, but her husband caught up with her and struck a lighter,' it was reported. Police confirmed that Kuzmin had confessed to killing his wife. The alleged lover she visited on her wedding night was not identified. Sergey Domnyshev, an investigator in the Kirov district of Volgograd, confirmed to the media Kuzmin's previous convictions and jail term. He now faces a possible 15 year prison sentence. Filippova was previously married and had a ten year old son by her first husband. Culled from UK Daily Mail Posted by Unknown BBM: 29EEC799 at 12:51 am	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722937
__label__wiki	0.546708	0.546708	State Visit of the President of the People's Republic of China - Day 4 In This Album: Xi Jinping, David Cameron, Rupert Pearce, Peng Liyuan, Prince Philip In This Photo: David Cameron, Xi Jinping British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to his official residence at Chequers on October 22, 2015 in Aylesbury, England. The President of the Peoples Republic of China, Mr Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, end a State Visit to the United Kingdom as guests of The Queen. They stayed at Buckingham Palace and undertook engagements in London and Manchester. The last state visit paid by a Chinese President to the UK was Hu Jintao in 2005. (Oct. 22, 2015 - Source: WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe) Hu Chunhua Li Keqiang Wang Qishan Liu Xiang Leung Chun Ying Sun Zhengcai Tung Chee Hua	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722940
__label__wiki	0.851155	0.851155	Born in Carmel, California Paige Bradley knew she would be an artist by the age of nine. Immersed in nature and art, Bradley's fascination with the human figure began early. She believed that through the figure an artist could speak a universal language that is timeless and essential. Paige Bradley started drawing from the nude model by the age of ten and by fifteen was studying intensely at university campuses during the summer months. Knowing that she was naturally a sculptor, at seventeen she cast her first bronze sculpture. Educated at Pepperdine University, Paige spent a year in Florence, Italy with the university’s study program. There she took classes at the Florence Academy of Art, which included art history. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1994, Bradley left Pepperdine and entered into what would be a ten year apprenticeship with renowned sculptor Richard MacDonald. She went on to continue her education at the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied sculpture and learned to paint and print in several different mediums. Her work remains in the Pennsylvania Museum of Fine Arts. In 1995 she was assistant sculptor on a monument for the Atlanta Olympic Games. In 2001 she was voted into the National Sculpture Society, the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club and The Salmagundi Club as a professional sculptor. In 2006 one of her sculptures was selected to become a prestigious international award for young dancers. A replica of the sculpture is now awarded to a talented dancer selected by a panel of judges annually from Ballet International. Annually, Paige Bradley has several solo exhibitions, and her work can be seen in selected galleries throughout the world. In 2004 she moved her studio from California to New York City. In the spring of 2007, she moved to London, where she worked until 2016. Paige now resides and works full time again in the United States. Her work is housed in prominent public and private collections across the globe, among them, actress Nicole Kidman, radio personality Robin Quivers, architect and designer Campion Platt and music producer Harvey Goldsmith. Paige’s work is full of dichotomies: both the beautiful and the ugly, the liberated and the contained, the falling and the floating. She is always in control of form but not imprisoned by its literality. The subject matter becomes the most important -- not narrowly feminist, but rather humanistic betrayals of modern emotion. Paige’s work is becoming a valuable keystone for the missing figure in contemporary art. Entering the middle of her career, Paige Bradley’s talent and artistic achievements have already gained her much notoriety. Artist's Statement. Focusing on tensions and liberations in my work, I feel most of our emotions are locked into a existential cocoon. My sculptures show the human race as a singular individual searching for connection but finding only alienation. My recent work has become a symbol of struggle -- both being contained and liberating ourselves from self-inflicted boundaries. Fears of ostracism, avoiding distinction and hiding from greatness are all thoughts that come to mind. These fears create sculptures wrapped in extraordinary tension. The figures struggle to unveil themselves in order to become understood and known. These bound figures give me a sense of unrest as if too much life is jammed into too restrictive of space. I feel as if I am trying to live my truth free and unveiled in a society that would rather keep us contained. From the moment we are born, the world tends to have a container already built for us to fit inside: a social security number, a gender, a race, a profession, an I.Q. I ponder if we are more defined by the container we are in than what we are inside. Would we recognize ourselves if we could expand beyond our bodies? Would we still be able to exist if we are authentically “un-contained”? I attempt to expand my sculptures beyond the human flesh of the figure and create the brilliance within us. Simultaneously, I cannot help but to see a dangerous dichotomy between falling apart and expanding beyond our limitations. When devastation becomes deliverance, ashes from the past can become the foundations of the future. "Those who do not move do not notice their chains." - Rosa Luxemburg Soaring. Bronze. Edition of 25. 35 x 12 x 34". Believe. Bronze. Edition of 25. 26 x 5 x 4". Believe Column. Conception Column. Bronze. 80 x 12 x 12". Edition of 12. Soar. Soar Column. Bow. Madelyn in Red. Column. Bronze. Edition of 12. 67.25 x 14 x 13". Vertigo Studies. Bronze. 8" variable. Lifesize. Bronze. 84 x 41 x 63". Also available in half life and maquette scale. Academia. Bronze. 30 x 7 x 5". Also available on column. Academia Column. Academia II. Bronze. Edition of 25. 30 x 27 x 5". Erato. Bronze. Edition of 25. 35.5 x 10.5 x 14". Erato Column. Half Life. Bronze. Edition of 12. 43 x 20 x 20". Wrapped. Bronze and silk. 20 x 5 x 8". Harmony Column. Bronze. Edition of 12. 67.5 x 24 x 17". Couture. Dreamer. Bronze. L x 12 x 20". Edition of 8. Column. Bronze. Edition of 12. 72" tall. Bronze. Third life. Edition of 50. 32 x 24 x 16". Aspire. Ballet Femme. Bronze. Edition of 18. 30.5 x 27" x 13". Liberty. Bronze. 30 x 14 x 12". Momentum. Bronze. Edition of 25. 18.5 x 26.5 x 13.25". Visionary Column. Bronze 75 x 12 x 12". Edition of 8. In the New York home of Campion Platt as seen in Architectural Digest. Freedom Bound. Bronze and Silk. 21 x 28 x 15". Edition of 8. Column. Bronze. Edition of 12. 72" H. In the Studio with Principal Dancer, Alexsandra Meijer. Paige Bradley working in her London studio with ABT and San Jose Ballet Principal, Alexsandra Meijer. Alexander Calder is best known for creating mobiles—sculptures composed of abstract shapes moving through space. Born in 1898, in the Philadelphia area, Calder came from a family of artists. Both his father and his grandfather were sculptors. After graduating from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1919 with a degree in mechanical engineering, "Sandy" (as he was known by his friends) held various jobs before entering the Art Students League of New York in 1923. At first a painter, he studied under Thomas Hart Benton, George Luks, , Kenneth Hays Miller, and John Sloan, and was a classmate of John Graham. In the early 1920s he worked as an illustrator, covering such events as the circus. His sketches of circus acts rekindled his childhood fascination with animals, a subject that became central to his art. In 1926 he went to Paris for the first time and stayed there until the fall of 1927. An active participant in the avant-garde milieu of Paris between the two World Wars, Calder had a wide circle of friends and colleagues in the arts. He met many of them through performances of his entourage of small sculptures, Circus, in the late twenties and through his membership from 1931 in the Abstraction-Création group, a loose alliance of artists promoting diverse multi-national trends in abstract art. It was at this time that he began making small moveable animal figures in wood and in wire, using the wire as if he were drawing in space. By 1928, Calder was exhibiting his wire sculptures both in the United States and in France, where he resided periodically throughout his life. Calder created his first abstract wire sculptures in the spring of 1931, and that year Galerie Percier in Paris held an exhibition of these works, which Arp called "stabiles.” By 1932, Calder was composing his forms with the intention of making them move through space. First he experimented with motorized sculptures. But soon, by precisely adjusting the weight and balance of each shape, he created works that floated through space, propelled only by air currents. Known as mobiles, the term was coined by Calder’s fellow artist, Marcel Duchamp. Dividing his time between homes in Roxbury, Connecticut, and Saché, France, Calder produced a large body of works in a wide variety of mediums. His work was exhibited in several large retrospectives at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1964), the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris (1965), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1974), and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1976). In November 1976, soon after the opening of this last retrospective, which he personally installed, Calder died in New York. La Noce. 1974. Original gouache on paper. SOLD. Plaisir du Neophyte. 1976. Original lithograph. Hand signed in pencil. From the edition of 100. 20 7/16 x 28 3/8". SOLD. (Russia 1887- Paris 1985) Considered by many to be the finest color lithographer of the 20th century, Marc Chagall created an impressive oeuvre filled with whimsical and thought provoking works. His mastery of printmaking extended to etching and aquatint as well, and his fascination with these techniques provided important new avenues for his creativity. Chagall's unique style and iconography have made him one of the most highly collected artists in history. Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was born in Vitebsk, Russia in 1887 and lived to be 97 years old. His style, while reflective of cubist, expressionist and surrealist affinities, is distinctly personal. His contribution to early modern painting and printmaking has been of the first order. Chagall studied briefly with a local artist in Vitebsk, and in 1908 studied at the academy in St. Petersburg. In 1910, he went to Paris, where he would live for most of the rest of his long life. There, he met the poets Max Jacob, Blaise Centrars and Andre Salmeon and the painters Modigliani, Delaunay, LaFresnaye, and other cubists and independents. The complexities of Chagall’s aesthetics are apt to be obscured somewhat by the whimsical fantastic subject matter. Although cubism had an early and formative influence upon his works, it did not detract from his uniqueness of expression. The impact of cubist structure and spatial handling is evident in I and my Village (1911) and Over Vitebsk (1916), both in the New York Museum of Modern Art. Thereafter, his style becomes increasingly unique and the cubist aspects operate less evidently. Appollinaire introduced Chagall to Herwarth Walden, the German publisher and dealer, in Berlinin 1914. This resulted in Chagall’s first one-man show in the same year. He returned to Russiato marry. After the revolution of 1917, he was appointed Commissar of Fine Arts for Vitebskand founded an art school there. He designed murals for the Moscow Jewish Theatre in 1922 and then left for Parisby way of Berlin, where he stayed long enough to make engravings as illustrations for a book. The poet Cendrars was responsible for Chagall’s meeting with the dealer Ambroise Vollard. His first retrospective exhibition was given at the Galerie Barbazange-Hodebert, Parisin 1924. His style became increasingly romantic and devoted to fantastic narratives during the middle 1920s. Chagall’s first lithography plates (30 in all 1922-23) were executed in crayon on lithographic paper. The Jewish Wedding (1926), a gouache and chalk composition, disclosed another tendency of his Russian origin. His first New York show dates from 1926. In 1927, he undertook the illustration of La Fontaine’s Fables, completing the 100 plates in 1930. In 1931, he traveled toPalestine andSyria to study themes for Biblical engravings, another Vollard commission. By now, Chagall had become internationally famous, and a large retrospective in 1933 at the Basel Art Museum increased his prestige. He was disquieted, however, by political developments in Europe during the early 1930s and the increasingly severe persecution and threat of war lead him to paint religious works of a darkly exciting kind. His apprehensions were aggravated by a visit to Poland in 1935. In 1939, the first prize in the Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, was given to Chagall, and in 1941, he settled in the United States at the invitation of the Museum of Modern Art. At first rejuvenated by his new environment, he was deeply saddened by the death of his wife in 1944. Before returning to Paris in 1946, he completed the sets for Stravinsky’s Firebird and other theatrical designs. He also produced 13 color lithographs for One Thousand and One Nights. On his return to Paris, Chagall went to master printer Mourlot, who was responsible for the revival of lithography after the war. Chagall had retrospective shows in 1947 in Paris, Amsterdam, and London, and was represented at the 1948 Venice Biennial. In 1949, he worked in Venice, primarily with ceramics. In that year, he also painted an important canvas, The Red Sun. This was an allegory invoking memories of his late wife and the rich colored imagery of Russian folk fantasy, which was always so much a part of his art. The 1950s brought additional honors to Chagall, not the least of which was the commission from the Joseph Neufeld and the Women’s Zionist Organization of America to design 12 stained glass windows for the synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center near Jerusalem. A retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1970 culminated a long and prolific career. 1966. Original Lithograph. Handsigned in black crayon, Chagall. Hand numbered in white crayon 7/150. From the hand signed and numbered edition of 150 with text. (Apart from the regular poster edition of 3000 and hand signed and numbered edition of 200 without text. ) 40 x 26". Le Cirque au Clown Jaune. 1967. Original lithograph. Hand signed. Edition of 150. 30 1/8 x 22 3/4". La Carrousel du Louvre. 1954. Original lithograph. From the edition of 2500. 14 7/8 x 10 13/16”. Untited from Cirque. 1967. Original lithograph. From the edition of 250. 16 3/4 x 12 3/4”. A La Femme Qu'Est-il Reste?... 1967. In the Land of the Gods suite. Original lithograph. Hand signed. Edition of 75. 25 1/2 x 19 5/8". The Ballet. 1969. Original Lithograph. 14 x 10". La Plafond de L'Opera de Paris. 1965. Original Lithograph. 13 x 9 1/2". As the father of color lithography and of the art poster, Jules Cheret's innovations have influenced everyone from Toulouse-Lautrec, who called him "The Master," to modern advertisers. His work transcended the realm of "commercial" art, however, and his painting and pastels were eagerly acquired by influential collectors, as well as fellow artists like Degas and Monet. Cheret's pioneering efforts in color printmaking were an important contribution to the excitement and energy associated with La Belle Époque. Jules Cheret was born to a poor family of artisans in Paris on May 31, 1836. His formal education ended at the age of thirteen, when his father placed him in a three-year apprenticeship to a lithographer in order to help the family. He continued to work for several lithographers while attending the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs. Cheret had some success selling sketches for covers to various music publishers but it didn’t afford him the luxury of pursuing a career inart. At this point he went toLondon to study technical advancements in color lithography. After six months of drawing pictures for a furniture company catalog Cheret returned toParis. In 1858, young Cheret sold a poster design for Orphée aux Enfers toJacquesOffenbach. The poster was a success but when no commission followed, Cheret again returned toLondon. There he barely supported himself doing posters for operas, circuses and music halls. A turning point in Cheret’s career developed when a friend of his introduced him to perfume manufacturerEugeneRimmel. Cheret did floral designs for the Rimmel products and in 1866 Rimmel advanced the funds that enabled Cheret to return toParis and set up his own lithography studio. The early poster designers used on or two colors on tinted paper, or in red and green strongly outlined in black. In 1890 Cheret abandoned this primitive technique altogether and discontinued using black for a softer outline in blue. From that time on he used flowing yellows, reds, and oranges against cool greens, and vibrant blues. Cheret was greatly affected by the works ofRubens,Watteau, and especiallyTiepolo, whose strong influence is reflected in the vertical composition of many of Cheret’s posters. The technique of color-printing as applied to posters was, if not invented, at least enormously developed and refined byJulesCheret, Lautrec’s most distinguished predecessor in this field, during the eighteen-eighties. Cheret won a silver medal at the Universal Exposition of 1879 and a gold medal at the Exposition of 1889. In the same year, an exhibition of about one hundred of his posters, pastels, lithographs, drawings, and sketches for posters was held at the Theatre d’Application. This proved to be another turning point for Cheret. A petition to have Cheret decorated was signed by leading figures in the arts, including Rodin, Daudet, de Goncourt and Massennet. In 1891, he became a Chevalier de la Légion of Honor, cited as “the creator of anart industry.” Cheret produced over one thousand posters in both color and black and white. However, after 1900 he stopped taking poster commissions on a regular basis in order to devote more time to his paintings and pastels. In 1912 Cheret was honored by theLouvreMuseumwith retrospective exhibit atPavillionde Marsan. Cheret had often wintered in Nice and toward the end of his life he lived there exclusively until his death in 1932 at the age of 96. A large collection of his works is on display at the Hermitage museum inRussia. Cheret’s charming, frivolous Harlequins, columbines, and Pierrots, his girls and boys in masks and fancy dresses, were a delight to the eye; his brilliant yet delicate colors danced like flickering sunbeams over the gray stonewalls of Paris. The posters turned out while other contemporary designers were by comparison, vastly inferior in composition, crude in color, and slipshod in execution. For more than a decade, until the advent of Lautrec, Cheret had no serious rival; he was the only creative artist who really understood the decorative possibilities of the poster. Theatre de L'Opera- Carnaval 1892. 1892. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone lower left Cheret. Printed at Imprimerie Chaix. Bearing the Republique Francaise tax registration stamp lower center. 48 3/4 x 34 3/8". Pastilles Geraudel. 1895. Original lithograph. 47 3/4 x 33 5/8". Theatre de L'Opera. Quinquina Dubonnet. 1896. Original lithograph. 22 13/16 x 15 1/4". Eldorado. 1894. Original Lithograph. 21 3/4 x 14 7/16". SOLD. Saxoleine. 1896. Original lithograph. 22 1/4 x 15 3/16". La Loie Fuller. 1897. Original lithograph. Les Maitres de L'Affiche. Plate 73. 15 7/16 x 11 5/16". Le Courier Francais. 1891. Original lithograph. Maitres de L'Affiche. Pl. 49. 12 9/16 x 9 1/16". Les Coulisses de L'Opera au Musee Grevin. 1896. Original lithograph. Les Maitres de L'Affiche. Plate 37. La Musique. 1900. Original Lithograph. Maitres de L'Affiche Pl. 197. 13 3/16 x 9 3/16". La Pays de Fees - Jardin Enchante. 1899. Original Lithograph. Maitres de L'Affiche Pl. 181. 12 9/16 x 8 7/8". One of the most famous and prolific artists of the twentieth century, Dali’s fantastic imagery and flamboyant personality made him the best known artist of the Surrealist movement. Born in Figueres, Spain in the northeastern province of Catalonia, Dalí trained in the early 1920s at the Madrid Academy, where he perfected his realistic and meticulously detailed style. However, after reading Freud, his passions turned to dreams and the unconscious. It was Salvador Dalí’s surrealist work, using bizarre dream imagery to create unforgettable and unmistakable landscapes of his inner world, that solidified the artist as a Modern Master. Salvador Dalí's work can be found in the most prestigious private and public collections worldwide as well as in the permanent collections of major museums internationally, among them the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Venice, the Tate Gallery in London, The Museum of Surrealism in Menlun, France and the Dali Museum in Figueres, Spain. The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, is dedicated solely to Dalí's work, and three museums in Spain are part of the artist's legacy, the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, the Gala Dalí Castle Museum-House in Púbol and the Salvador Dalí Museum-House in Portlligat. These works of impeccable provenance by the Surrealist master have been part of the Argillet family collection since their creation by Dali during his collaborative years with Pierre Argillet and demonstrate high standards of quality, and the empassioned collaboration between an artist and his publisher. The friendship between Dali and his publisher, Pierre Argillet, spanned five decades. Argillet was an avid collector of Futurist, Dadaist and Surrealist works and had, from very early on, met with the major artists of the 20th century. But it was with Salvador Dali that a long and fruitful collaboration developed. They remained friends until Dali’s death in 1989. "Corridor of Katmandu" 1969-70. Original etching in two colors. 25" x 20". Hippies series. Hand signed and numbered. Picasso's Horse. 1968. Original etching with hand coloring. 15" x 11". Ronsard series. Handsigned and numbered. Flight and Fall of Icarus. 1963. Original drypoint. 22 x 30". Mythology series. Hand signed and numbered. Les Perroquets. 1966-67. Original drypoint and aquatint with hand coloring. Hand signed in pencil. One of seven plates from the album La Tauromachie Surrealiste. 20 x 25 5/8". Le Piano Sous Le Neige. Les Moulins. La Statue. La Tauromachie au Tiroir. La Girafe en Feu. Le Buste. 1967. Original etching. 15 x 11". Handsigned and numbered. The Negresses. 1969. Original Etching with hand coloring. 15 x 11". Venus in Furs series. Hand signed and numbered. Place Furstenberg. 1971. Original etching with hand coloring. 20 x 25". Handsigned and numbered. Woman with Whip. The Egrets. 1969. Original etching. 15 x 11". Venus in Furs series. Handsigned and numbered. Santiago de Compostela. 1969-70. Original etching. 25 x 20". Hippies series. Handsigned and numbered. Portrait of Marguerite. 1968. Original etching with hand coloring.15 x 11". Faust series. Handsigned and numbered. Sainte Anne. Horses. 1967. Drypoint with hand coloring. 15 x 11". Mao Dedong Poems series. Hand signed and numbered. Woman with Pig. 1968. Original etching with hand coloring. 15 x 11". Faust series. Handsigned and numbered. Neptune. 1964. Original drypoint with hand coloring. 22 x 30". Mythology series. Hand signed and numbered. The Fairy. 1968. Original drypoint with hand coloring. 15 x 11". Ronsard series. Hand signed and numbered. Diane de Poitier. 1971. Original etching with hand coloring. 25 x 20". Hand signed and numbered. Le Soleil. The Old Hippy. Nude. Marilyn Monroe. 1967. Original drypoint with hand coloring. 25 x 20". Hand signed and numbered. Judgement of Paris. 1963-65. Original etching in two colors. 22 x 30". Mythology series. Handsigned and numbered. Edgar Degas seems never to have reconciled himself to the label of "impressionist" preferring to call himself a "realist" or "Independent." Nevertheless, he was one of the group’s founders, an organizer of its exhibitions, and one of its most important core members. Like the Impressionists, he sought to capture fleeting moments in the flow of modern life, yet he showed little interest in painting plain air landscapes, favoring scenes in theaters and cafés illuminated by artificial light, which he used to clarify the contours of his figures, adhering to his academic training. Degas was born in 1834, the scion of a wealthy banking family, and was educated in the classics, including Latin, Greek, and ancient history, at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. His father recognized his son’s artistic gifts early, and encouraged his efforts at drawing by taking him frequently to Paris museums. Degas began by copying Italian Renaissance paintings at the Louvre, and trained in the studio of Louis Lamothe, who taught in the traditional Academic style, with its emphasis on line and its insistence on the crucial importance of draftsmanship. Degas was also strongly influenced by the paintings and frescoes he saw during several long trips to Italy in the late 1850s; he made many sketches and drawings of them in his notebooks. Evidence of Degas’s classical education can be seen in his relatively static, frieze-like early painting, Young Spartans Exercising (ca. 1860; National Gallery, London), done while he was still in his twenties. Yet despite the title, and the suggestion of classical drapery on some of the figures in the background, there is little that places the subject of this painting in ancient Greece. Indeed, it has been noted that the young girls have the snub noses and immature bodies of "Montmartre types," the forerunners of the dancers Degas painted so often throughout his career. After 1865, when the Salon accepted his history painting The Misfortunes of the City of Orléans (Musée d'Orsay, Paris), Degas did not paint Academic subjects again, focusing his attention on scenes of modern life. He began to paint scenes of such urban leisure activities as horse racing and, after about 1870, of café-concert singers and ballet dancers. Degas’s choice of subject matter reflects his modern approach. He favored scenes of ballet dancers, laundresses, milliners, the figure’s pose is difficult to decipher, viewed from a steep angle with both her feet and her head at the bottom of the picture, yet it conveys a sense of the dancer’s flexibility. Degas absorbed artistic tradition and outside influences and reinterpreted them in innovative ways. Following the opening of trade with Japan in 1854, many French artists, including Degas, were increasingly influenced by Japanese prints. But whereas his contemporaries often infused their paintings with Eastern imagery Degas abstracted from these prints their inventive compositions and points of view, particularly in his use of cropping and asymmetry. Degas had also observed how sixteenth-century Italian mannerists similarly framed their subjects, sometimes cutting off part of a figure. For example, in A Woman Seated Beside a Vase of Flowers, through the decades until Dancers, Pink and Green, which displays a subtle grasp of the characteristic postures and attire of the top-hatted gentlemen he portrays. By 1885, most of his more important works were done in pastel. He submitted a suite of nudes, all rendered in pastel, to the final Impressionist exhibition in 1886; among these was Woman Bathing in a Shallow Tub, which depicts another of Degas’s favorite themes, the use of hatching gives a sense of swaying grass. The immediacy of the moment is captured in the raised leg of the horse in the foreground and the foreshortened, angled approach of the vigorous horse in the background. The Singer in Green, an unusual work from this period, is an unexpected instance of Degas presenting an outdoor scene with no figures, which shows an imaginative and expressive use of color and freedom of line that may have arisen, at least in part, as a result of his struggle to adapt to his deteriorating vision. Degas continued working as late as 1912, when he was forced to leave the studio in Montmartre in which he had labored for more than twenty years. He died five years later in 1917, at the age of eighty-three. Etude d'Apres 'La Sibille de Delphe'. 1855-56. Original pencil drawing with white gouache. SOLD. Born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Willem de Kooning grew up in an impoverished household and attended the Rotterdam Academy, training in fine and commercial arts. In 1926, the adventurous young artist stowed away on a ship bound for Argentina. While the ship was docked in Virginia, de Kooning slipped off, skirted immigration and made his way to New Jersey- and so began the rest of his life. In New Jersey, de Kooning found work as a house painter. Large brushes and fluid paints were the tools of this trade, ones that he would continue to utilize throughout his artistic career. His dual foundations in drawing and craftsmanship underlay all of his work, even his most abstract paintings. De Kooning's next stop was New York, where he forged his artistic career. The Jazz Age was in full swing when he moved to the city, and he quickly fell under the sway of the lyrical freedom of jazz and the abstract art made by other artists under its influence. New York also brought him into contact with the work of Henri Matisse and with contemporaries including John Graham and Arshile Gorky, with whom he developed a particularly close and inspiring friendship. In 1929, the Great Depression brought the Jazz Age to a crashing end. As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) program, in the 1930s de Kooning was commissioned to design public murals; he worked under Fernand Leger, who proved to be an important influence. Though his studies for the murals were never realized they were among his first abstractions, and the experience of working on this project spurred him to pursue art making full time. By the 1940s, de Kooning had gained prominence as an artist. Over the course of a career lasting nearly seven decades, he would work through a wide array of styles, eventually cementing himself as a crucial link from New York School painting to European modernism. Physical labor and countless revisions were constants in his work, which ranged from abstraction to figuration, often merging the two. "I never was interested in how to make a good painting..." he once said. "I didn't work on it with the idea of perfection, but to see how far one could go..." The female figure was an especially fertile subject for the artist. His paintings of women were among his most controversial works during his lifetime and contuse to be debated today. His works are among the most highly collectible of our time. Untitled from Quatre Lithographies. 1986. Original lithograph. Proof impression of definitive state. 28 1/2 x 24 1/2". SOLD. de Kooning working in his East Hampton studio. "Get lost in dreams. The truth is in there." Internationally-renowned and New York City-based photographer and multidisciplinary artist David Drebin, is celebrated for creating spectacular shots of dazzling subjects including photographs that tell a tale, voyeuristic scenes with people and dream-like city and landscapes that evoke emotions, psychological perspectives and insightful reflections into the viewers’ own imagination and experiences. When asked “What do you do?”, Drebin says “I chase dreams.” His work is often described as epic, spectacular, dramatic, cinematic, dreamy, imaginative, smart, sexy, elegant, and unexpected, appealing to new patrons of the arts and the most sophisticated of collectors. A graduate of Parsons School for Design, David’s career began in commercial photography and he quickly made a name for himself advancing into the world of contemporary fine arts. His unique vision, distinctive depth and often passion or tension-filled images provide an infinite surface for the imagination making his work highly desirable as art to adorn and complete the most beautiful spaces, as well as, for periodic high profile campaigns. Throughout his career, Drebin has worked with individuals, A-list celebrities and global powerhouse brands such as Mercedes, American Express, Adidas, The May Fair Hotel, MTV, Nike, Breil, Sony, Davidoff and many more. He has contributed to top publications such as Vanity Fair, New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, GQ, VOGUE, ELLE, countless photography publications, Condé Nast Traveler, and National Geographic. Collected worldwide, David is represented by some of the finest art galleries in the world. Windsor Fine Art is honored to be among them. Sundown over Rome. Digital C Print Photograph. Limited Edition. Horses in Paradise. Digital C print photograph. The Sea. Capri. Portofino Nights. Dreams of Florence. The Amalfi Coast. Balloons over Paris. Paris at Night. Electric City (New York). Jerusalem. Balloons over San Francisco. All of a Sudden. Canyon of Dreams. Photographer, David Drebin. Albrecht Dürer was born in Nuremburg in 1471, the third child of a goldsmith who had trained in the Netherlands with the “great masters.” As a young man, Dürer was trained in his father’s shop. It is essential to understand the importance of the skill that he acquired at a young age with the goldsmith’s tools, for it was in the workshops of craftsmen who incised decorations on objects of precious metal that some of the most interesting early engravings were produced. Thus, the foundation of his achievements as an engraver must be credited to his father. Apprenticeship and First Journey By the time Dürer turned 15 years of age he had convinced his father to allow him to become a painter. In 1486 he was apprenticed to the painter and printer Michael Wolgemut. Even though Wolgemut was not an artist recognized for his great talent, his workshop was widely known. The shop was involved in producing books illustrated with woodcuts. At this time Southern Germany became a center for publishing, and it was commonplace for painters of the period to become skilled at producing woodcuts and engravings. In Wolgemut’s shop Dürer had the opportunity to learn from beginning to end the arts of designing, cutting and printing woodblocks. Dürer ended his apprenticeship in 1489 after which it was customary for a young man in his position to embark on a bachelor’s journey. This journey was to keep him away from Nuremburg for 4 years. He traveled to Colmar in 1492 where he intended to join the workshop of the great German printmaker Martin Shongauer, but by the time he arrived Shongauer had died. Shongauer’s brothers suggested that he travel on to the Swiss publishing center of Basel to find work. There, and later in Strasbourg, Dürer created illustrations for Saint Jerome’s Epistolare, and Sebastian Brandt’s Das Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools). First Italian Journey In 1494 Dürer returned to Nuremburg where he married Agnes Frey. Shortly afterward he left on his first Italian journey. During the next ten years back in Nuremburg, between 1495 and 1505, Dürer produced a large number of works that firmly established his fame. Amongst the works produced during this period are the 15 woodblocks, plus title page, illustrating the last book of the New Testament, The Revelations of Saint John the Divine, or The Apocalypse, foretelling the events that would take place on earth at the Second Coming of Christ. Never before had a single artist executed a project of such scope with total mastery of every aspect. The Apocalypse was the first book in history to have been illustrated, printed and published by an artist. Engravings produced during this period include the “Large Fortune” or “Nemesis” (Strauss 37), and “The Fall of Man” or “Adam & Eve” (S. 42), illustrating Dürer’s mastery of human proportions based on the work of the ancient Roman writer Vitruvius. He was so justly proud of “Adam & Eve” that it is the only print to which he added his full name as signature. Also produced during this period was “Saint Eustace” (S. 34). Second Italian Journey Dürer once again traveled to Italy between 1505 and 1507. During this trip he met and studied the paintings of the great Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, and the engravings of Bellini’s brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna, in which Mantegna attempted to capture all the nuances of classical painting. During the visit Dürer also studied the revolutionary ideas of Leonardo da Vinci. He studied the whole intellectual background of the Italian Renaissance including the writings of the humanists. As a result he was able to create his own personal synthesis of the arts of the north and the south. Upon Dürer’s return to Germany he intensified the learned side of his art and personality; he studied mathematics, geometry, Latin and humanist literature. Having become aware of the superior social status of artists in Italy, he returned to Germany and sought out the company of the leading scholars and humanists including Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. In 1512 Dürer was appointed court painter to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, a post that included a yearly stipend. Back in Nuremburg in 1507 Dürer began his second period of great productivity during which he produced a small number of great paintings and many great prints. In 1511 he published the 12 woodcuts comprising The Large Passion, the 17 woodcuts comprising The Life of the Virgin, and 36 woodcuts comprising The Small Passion. Engravings include 15 plates comprising the Engraved Passion, and the monumental single plates “Knight, Death and Devil” (S. 71), “Saint Jerome in His Study” (S. 77), and “Melancholia I” (S. 79). Final Journey and Late Works Between 1520 and 1521, laden down with prints and other artworks which he sold along the way to finance his trip, Dürer traveled from Nuremburg to Aachen in order to gain an audience with Charles V, the successor to Maximilian as Holy Roman Emperor, from whom his post and pension as court painter was ratified. He traveled from there to Antwerp, Brussels, Cologne, Middleburg, Bruges and Ghent keeping a diary along the way which provides a fascinating account of his travels, his audiences with royalty, and his reception by fellow artists. Dürer’s final monumental works are two large panel paintings depicting “The Four Apostles,” which were presented as his gift to the city of Nuremburg. Dürer finally returned to Nuremburg in July of 1521, after venturing off to the swamps of Zeeland in search of a beached whale. He remained in Nuremburg where he worked unremittingly, in spite of ill health from fever probably contracted in Zeeland, until his death in 1528. The quality of Dürer’s work his prodigious output, and his influence on his contemporaries, all underscore the importance of his position in the history of art. Despite his large workshop he had no clear successors, as his art was too universal and yet too personal to breed imitators. Approximately 60 of his paintings survive and are featured in select museums; however, his prints are included in virtually every major print room in the world! Nemesis (Fortuna). 1501-02. Original engraving. Signed in the plate with the artist's monogram. 16th century, lifetime impression. 12 3/4 x 8 13/16". SOLD. Apollo and Diana. c. 1504. Original engraving. Signed in the plate with the artist's monogram. 16th Century/ later lifetime Meder "c" impression printed c. 1519-20. 4 7/16 x 2 13/16". SOLD. Madonna With The Pear. 1511. Original engraving. A fine 16th century Meder "c" impression printed c. 1560-1570. Signed in the plate with the artist's monogram on a tablet lower left, dated on a tablet upper center. 6 3/16 x 4 1/4". Madonna Crowned by One Angel. 1520. Original engraving. Dated and signed with the artist's monogram in the plate. 16th Century Meder "a" impression. 5 3/8 x 3 7/8". Madonna by the Wall. 1514. Original engraving. Dated and signed in the plate with the artist's monogram on a tablet at the center of the right edge. A good, clean 16th century impression of Meder's second and final state. 5 13/16 x 3 15/16". Madonna and Child with the Monkey. c. 1498. Original engraving. Signed in the plate with the artist's monogram lower center. 16th century impression. 7 1/2 x 4 7/8". The Virgin with the Dragonfly. 1495. Original engraving. Signed in the plate with the artist's monogram lower center. 16th century impression printed circa 1560. 9 3/8 x 7 5/16". Sudarium of Saint Veronica Supported by Two Angels. 1513. Original engraving. Dated and signed in the plate with the artist's monogram on a tablet lower center. 16th Century impression. 3 15/16 x 5 1/2". Birth of the Virgin. c. 1503-04. Original woodcut. Signed in the block with the artist's monogram. 16th Century/ lifetime impression. From the edition of 1511, with Latin letterpress on verso. One of 20 woodcuts issued in the album The Life of the Virgin. 11 13/16 x 8 5/16". Glorification of the Virgin. c. 1502. Original woodcut. Signed in the block with the artist's monogram. 16th Century/ lifetime impression. From the Latin edition of 1511, without the letterpress text on the verso. The 20th and final woodcut issued in the album The Life of the Virgin. 11 11/16 x 8 1/4". The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. 1503-04. Original woodcut. Signed in the block with the artist's monogram on a tablet lower right. 16th century impression printed circa 1590. 11 7/8 x 8 7/16". The Death of the Virgin. 1510. Original woodcut. Signed in the block with the artist's monogram lower right. 16th century impression printed circa 1600. 13 9/16 x 9 7/8". The Circumcision of Christ. c. 1505. Original woodcut. Signed on the block with the artist's monogram on a tablet lower right. 16th century, lifetime impression from the Latin edition of 1511. 11 3/4 x 8 1/8". Rustic Couple. c. 1497. Original engraving. Signed in the plate with the artist's monogram lower center. 16th century, late lifetime impression. 4 3/16 x 3". Peasant and his Wife at Market. 1519. Original engraving. Signed in the plate with the artist's monogram on a stone lower right. 16th century, lifetime impression. 4 9/16 x 2 15/16". The Holy Family with Two Musical Angels. 1511. Original woodcut. Dated in the block upper center. 16th century, lifetime impression. 8 3/8 x 8 7/16". Over a career span of more than forty years, New Orleans native, Alan Flattmann has become recognized as one of the most influential and respected pastel artists in the country. Although accomplished in oil and watercolor, Flattmann is best known for his work in pastel. In 2006, the Pastel Society of America honored Flattmann with induction into the prestigious PSA's Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was inducted into the Master Circle of the International Association of Pastel Societies. Flattmann's work can be found in hundreds of private collections and in prominent public collections including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Longview Museum of Art, Mississippi Museum of Art and the Hang Mingshi Pastel Art Museum in Suzhou, China. His book, The Art of Pastel Painting (Pelican Publishing Co. 2007) is still considered to be the definitive guide to pastel painting. He is also the subject of three other books, The Poetic Realism of Alan Flattmann (ACM Publishing 1981), Alan Flattmann's French Quarter Impressions (Pelican Publishing 2002) and An Artist's Vision of New Orleans: The Paintings of Alan Flattmann (Pelican Publishing 2014). Evening Reflections in the French Market. Original pastel. 24 x 30". SOLD. Orange Shades. Original pastel. 18 x 24". Italian Barrel at Night. Lucca Amphitheatre, Tuscany. Original pastel 24 x 30". Night Patrol. Rethymonon Harbor with Red. Crail Scotland Fishing Boats. China Tong Li Village. French Farmhouse in Lot Valley. Afternoon on St. Peter Street. River Tugboats at Daybreak. Blustery Afternoon in New Orleans Mena's Palace. Original watercolor. 13 1/2 x 11 1/2". Rainy Day, Tuscany Village. Lucca Ampitheatre, Tuscany. Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), whose career spanned six decades, has long been recognized as one of the great American artists of the twentieth century. She was eminent among the second generation of postwar American abstract painters and is widely credited for playing a pivotal role in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Color Field painting. Through her invention of the soak-stain technique, she expanded the possibilities of abstract painting, while at times referencing figuration and landscape in unique ways. She produced a body of work whose impact on contemporary art has been profound and continues to grow. Frankenthaler, daughter of New York State Supreme Court Justice Alfred Frankenthaler and his wife, Martha (Lowenstein) Frankenthaler, was born on December 12, 1928, and raised in New York City. She attended the Dalton School, where she received her earliest art instruction from Rufino Tamayo. In 1949 she graduated from Bennington College, where she was a student of Paul Feeley, following which she studied briefly with Hans Hofmann. Frankenthaler’s professional exhibition career began in 1950, when Adolph Gottlieb selected her painting Beach (1950) for inclusion in the exhibition titled Fifteen Unknowns: Selected by Artists of the Kootz Gallery. Her first solo exhibition was presented in 1951, at New York’s Tibor de Nagy Gallery, and she was also included that year in the landmark exhibition 9th St. Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture. Renowned art critic Clement Greenberg recognized her originality, and as early as 1959 she began to be a regular presence in major international exhibitions. She had her first museum retrospective in 1960, at The Jewish Museum in New York City. In 1952 Frankenthaler created Mountains and Sea, a seminal, breakthrough painting of American abstraction. Pioneering the “stain” painting technique, she poured thinned paint directly onto raw, unprimed canvas laid on the studio floor, working from all sides to create floating fields of translucent color. Mountains and Sea was immediately influential for the artists who formed the Color Field school of painting, notable among them Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland. Thereafter, Frankenthaler remained a defining force in the development of American painting. Throughout her long career, Frankenthaler experimented tirelessly, and, in addition to unique paintings on canvas and paper, she worked in a wide range of media, including ceramics, sculpture, tapestry, and especially printmaking. Hers was a significant voice in the mid-century “print renaissance” among American abstract painters, and she is particularly renowned for her woodcuts. She continued working productively through the opening years of this century. Frankenthaler’s distinguished and prolific career has been the subject of numerous monographic museum exhibitions, including—in addition to the 1960 Jewish Museum show—major retrospectives at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and European tour (1969); The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and tour (1985, works on paper); the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and tour, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1989); the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and tour (1993, prints); the Naples Museum of Art, Florida, and tour, including the Yale University Art Gallery (2002, woodcuts); and the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, traveled to the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh (2003, works on paper). Recent major exhibitions have included Painted on 21st Street: Helen Frankenthaler from 1950 to 1959 (Gagosian Gallery, NY, 2013); Making Painting: Helen Frankenthaler and JMW Turner (Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK, 2014); Helen Frankenthaler: Composing with Color: Paintings 1962–1963 (Gagosian Gallery, NY, 2014); Giving Up One’s Mark: Helen Frankenthaler in the 1960s and 1970s (Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, in cooperation with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, 2014–2015); Pretty Raw: After and Around Helen Frankenthaler (Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, 2015); Line into Color, Color into Line: Helen Frankenthaler, Paintings, 1962–1987(Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, 2016); As in Nature: Helen Frankenthaler Paintings and No Rules: Helen Frankenthaler Woodcuts(The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, 2017); and Helen Frankenthaler: After Abstract Expressionism, 1959–1962 (Gagosian Gallery, Paris, 2017). In addition to numerous scholarly articles on her work by renowned art historians, curators, and critics, Frankenthaler was the subject of three major monographs: Frankenthaler, by Barbara Rose (1972); Frankenthaler, by John Elderfield (1989); and Frankenthaler: A Catalogue Raisonné, Prints 1961–1994, by Suzanne Boorsch and Pegram Harrison (1996); and substantial exhibition catalogues by authors including Carl Belz, Julia Brown, E.A. Carmean, Jr., Bonnie Clearwater, Ruth Fine, Judith Goldman, Eugene C. Goossen, Frank O’Hara, and Karen Wilkin. In 2015 Gagosian Gallery published “The heroine Paint”: After Frankenthaler, edited by art historian and curator Katy Siegel, which explores Frankenthaler’s painting and expands its focus to include the immediate social and artistic context of her work, then traces artistic currents as they move outward in different directions in the ensuing decades. Distributed by Rizzoli International Publications, the book collects six scholarly essays, six short texts from contemporary artists, and reprints of historical writing. Frankenthaler was the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates, honors, and awards. In 1966, along with Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jules Olitski, she represented the U.S. at the 33rd Venice Biennale. She received the National Medal of Arts in 2001; served on the National Council on the Arts of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1985 to 1992; was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1974–2011), where she served as Vice-Chancellor in 1991; and was appointed an Honorary Academician of the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 2011. Important works by Frankenthaler may be found in major museums worldwide. Southern Exposure. 2005. Original screen print. Hand signed and dated. Printer’s proof. 30 1/2 x 37 1/8”. SOLD. Tahiti. 1989. Original micrograph. Hand signed and dated. From the edition of 45. 32 x 54”. SOLD. A Page From a Book III. 1997. Original etching, aquatint, mezzotint and stencil. Hand signed and dated in pencil in the margin lower right Frankenthaler 97. From the edition of 60. Numbered in pencil in the margin lower left 10 1/8 x 24 5/8”. A Page From a Book II. 1997. Original etching, aquatint, mezzotint and stencil. Hand signed and dated in pencil in the margin lower right Frankenthaler 97. From the edition of 60. Numbered in pencil in the margin lower left. 10 1/8 x 24 5/8”. Paul Gauguin styled himself and his art as "savage." Although he began his artistic career with the Impressionists in Paris, during the late 1880s he fled farther and farther from urban civilization in search of an edenic paradise where he could create pure, "primitive" art. Yet his self-imposed exile to the South Seas was not so much an escape from Paris as a bid to become the new leader of the Parisian avant-garde. Gauguin cultivated and inhabited a dual image of himself as, on the one hand, a wolfish wild man and on the other, a sensitive martyr for art. His notoriety helped to promote his astonishing work, which freed color from mimetic representation and distorted form for expressive purposes. Gauguin pioneered the Symbolist Art Movement in France and set the stage for Fauvism and Expressionism. Gauguin came late to art. There is little in his early life to presage his phenomenal artistic career; however, his peripatetic upbringing established his restless need for voyage to exotic destinations. Descended on his mother's side from Peruvian nobility, he spent his early childhood in Lima. He would later misrepresent his ancestry to portray himself as an Incan savage. Gauguin's nomadic life continued when he joined the merchant marines and visited ports as far flung as India and the Black Sea. By 1873, he was married and settled in Paris as a stockbroker, thanks to his guardian Gustave Arosa, a wealthy Spanish financier in Paris with a formidable collection of modern French painting. Through Arosa, Gauguin developed an amateur interest in art. He met Camille Pissarro at Arosa's home and by 1879 became an unofficial pupil as well as patron of the artist. Pissarro soon invited the ambitious Gauguin to exhibit with the Impressionists. After the stock market crashed in 1882, Gauguin decided to become a full-time artist. He painted Impressionist landscapes, still lifes, and interiors heavily influenced not only by Pissarro but also by Paul Cezanne, whom he had met through Pissarro. Gauguin adopted and adapted Cézanne's parallel, constructive brushstrokes; he in fact bought several paintings by Cézanne in order to study the brushwork more carefully. Nevertheless, Gauguin's pictures showed a preoccupation with dreams, mystery, and evocative symbols that revealed his own artistic inclinations. He also sculpted, carved wood reliefs and objects, and made ceramics, signaling an interest in three-dimensional decorative objects from the beginning of his career. He eventually set sail for Tahiti in 1891. His first major Tahitian canvas, Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), dresses a Christian theme in Polynesian guise. A Tahitian Virgin Mary is worshipped by two other Tahitian women dressed in colorful pareus in a lush, tropical landscape. The composition is based on a photograph that Gauguin had brought with him of a bas-relief in the Javanese temple of Borobudur. Another photograph that Gauguin packed, of Manet's Olympia , inspired the master work from his first Tahitian trip, Manao Tupapau (Spirit of the Dead Watching) (Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo). Gauguin's Tahitian pictures are thus a hybrid of various Western and Eastern sources, creating a new synthetic style that combined decorative abstract patterning with figuration. In The Siesta, to take a further example, Gauguin updates the fête galante genre as a languorous scene of Tahitian women relaxing on a porch in the humid tropical heat. After he returned to Paris in 1893, he began creating a book accompanied by woodcuts, entitled Noa Noa (Fragrant), to explain and contextualize the bizarre paintings he had made in Tahiti. The intentionally crude, richly textured woodcuts reconfigured motifs from his paintings to evoke an atmosphere and a vision of Tahiti as mysterious, erotic, and savage. Gauguin experimented with various colored papers, inks, and processes such as offset printing to explore different artistic and emotional effects. With financial success continuing to elude him in France, Gauguin decided to return to Tahiti permanently in 1895. He was suffering from syphilis by this time, yet between hospitalizations, he was able to paint his masterpiece, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). This monumental allegorical painting served as a synthesis or culmination of his art. Afterwards, his Tahitian work became increasingly self-referential; he drew and painted the same figures over and over again, cutting and pasting them in different configurations and settings. For instance, the young women in Two Tahitian Women appear in two other monumental paintings in 1898 and 1899. Despite the arcadian content of his pictures, Gauguin became disillusioned with the Westernization and colonial corruption of Tahiti. He left in 1901 for the Marquesan island of Hiva Oa, perpetually searching for a lost paradise. He died there in 1903, having become a legend for a new generation of artists halfway across the world in Paris. Nave Nave Fenua. Original woodcut. 1893-94. Signed in the block with the artist's monogram lower left PGO. From the edition of 100. 14 x 8". SOLD. Noa Noa. Original woodcut. 1893-94. Signed in the block with the artist's monogram upper center PGO. From the edition of 100. 14 x 8". SOLD. Pastorales Martinique. 1889. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone. From the 1900 edition of 50 issued by Ambroise Vollard. From the Vulpine Suite. 14 1/2 x 13". Giacometti was born into a Swiss family of artists. His early work was informed by Surrealism and Cubism, but in 1947 he settled into producing the kind of expressionist sculpture for which he is best known. His characteristic figures are extremely thin and attenuated, stretched vertically until they are mere wisps of the human form. Almost without volume or mass (although anchored with swollen, oversize feet), these skeletal forms appear weightless and remote. Their eerie otherworldliness is accentuated by the matte shades of gray and beige paint, sometimes accented with touches of pink or blue, that the artist applied over the brown patina of the metal. The rough, eroded, heavily worked surfaces of "Three Men Walking (II)" typify his technique. Reduced, as they are, to their very core, these figures evoke lone trees in winter that have lost their foliage. Within this style, Giacometti would rarely deviate from the three themes that preoccupied him—the walking man; the standing, nude woman; and the bust—or all three, combined in various groupings. Giacometti's work can be seen to balance the concerns of the modern and the historical as well as the specific and the universal. While many have viewed his sculptures as emblematic of the horrors of World War II or representative of the alienation of modern urban life, his figures also contain specific allusions to ancient Egyptian burial figures and to early Greek korai. At the same time, the fragile figures are universalized, their tentative movements expressive of an essential human condition. In this work, the figures take wide steps, each in a different direction. The empty space around them acts as an obstacle to communication. They stride along, each untouched by another, alienated by the void that surrounds them. Giacometti produced his first prints – wood etchings – alongside his father when he was still a schoolboy. During his life, Giacometti tried his hand at every print technique: wood, engraving, etching, aquatint, and above all, lithography, from 1949 onward. As a witness at André Breton’s wedding in 1934, he illustrated the anthology offered by the poet to his young wife, L’Air de l’eau. Giacometti, who was a great book lover and friend of many writers and poets, also illustrated the writings of René Crevel (Les Pieds dans le Plat, 1933), Georges Bataille (Histoire de rats, 1947), Michel Leiris (Vivantes cendres, innommées, 1961), and René Char (Retour Amont, 1965). From 1951 onward, he produced lithographic plates which were separately published by the Maeght Gallery. Giacometti was always in favour of disseminating his work through quality editions. Lithography involving the transfer of a drawing onto a zinc plate offered the advantage of requiring lightweight equipment that was easy to handle: special paper and a lithographic pencil.The artist was thus able to leave his studio, go out into the street and sketch his city, café terraces, the overhead Metro, modern building sites like Orly airport, and the lithographer’s print shop, and then return to his studio. This would be the subject of Paris sans fin, a collection of 150 prints commissioned by the publisher Tériade, on which Giacometti worked from 1959 on, but which was not published until after his premature death. Annette de Face. 1955. Original etching. 14 3/4 x 19 15/16" Claudia HENRIQUEZ-JOHNSON was born in Osorno, Chile in 1966. She moved to Valparaiso in 1985 and in 1987 began her studies in art. As a painter, her work was exhibited in Chile and received numerous prestigious awards. For the last twenty five years, she has focused on the medium of photography, capturing stunning land and seascape images that are often an inspiration behind her husband, renowned Chilean minimalist, Jose Basso’s serenely evocative landscape paintings. We are honored to be bringing Claudia’s captivating work to the United States for the first time. Untitled I. Limited edition photograph. Edition of 7. Hand signed. Untitled. Limited edition photograph. Hand signed and numbered. Edition of 7. Untitled XIV. Untitled XV. Untitled VII. Untitled XI. Untitled XII. Untitled V. Untitled VIII. Untitled IX. Untitled IV. Untitled X. Damien Hirst was born in Bristol in 1965. He first came to public attention in 1988 when he conceived and curated ‘Freeze’, an exhibition of his own work and that of his contemporaries at Goldsmiths college, staged in a disused London warehouse. Since this time Hirst has become widely recognised as one of the most influential artists of his generation. Damien Hirst was born in 1965 in Bristol and grew up in Leeds. In 1984 he moved to London, where he worked in construction before studying for a BA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths college from 1986 to 1989. He was awarded the Turner Prize in 1995. Since the late 1980’s, Hirst has used a varied practise of installation, sculpture, painting and drawing to explore the complex relationship between art, life and death. Explaining: “Art’s about life and it can’t really be about anything else … there isn’t anything else,” Hirst’s work investigates and challenges contemporary belief systems, and dissects the tensions and uncertainties at the heart of human experience. Hirst developed his interest in exploring the “unacceptable idea” of death as a teenager in Leeds. From the age of sixteen, he made regular visits to the anatomy department of Leeds Medical School in order to make life drawings (‘With Dead Head’ (1991)). The experiences served to establish the difficulties he perceived in reconciling the idea of death in life. Of the prominence of death in his work (‘A Thousand Years' (1990)) he has explained: “You can frighten people with death or an idea of their own mortality, or it can actually give them vigour.” At Goldsmiths, Hirst’s understanding of the distinction between painting and sculpture changed significantly, and he began work on some of his most important series. The ‘Medicine Cabinets’ created in his second year combined the aesthetics of minimalism with Hirst’s observation that, “science is the new religion for many people. It’s as simple and as complicated as that really.” This is one of his most enduring themes, and was most powerfully manifested in the installation work, ‘Pharmacy’ (1992). Whilst in his second year, Hirst conceived and curated ‘Freeze'– a group exhibition in three phases. The exhibition of Goldsmiths students is commonly acknowledged to have been the launching point not only for Hirst, but for a generation of British artists. For its final phase he painted two series of coloured spots on to the warehouse walls. Hirst describes the spot paintings as a means of “pinning down the joy of colour”, and explains they provided a solution to all problems he’d previously had with colour. It has become one of the artist’s most prolific and recognisable series, and in January 2012 the works were exhibited in a show of unprecedented scale across eleven Gagosian Gallery locations worldwide. In 1991 Hirst began work on 'Natural History’, arguably his most famous series. Through preserving creatures in minimalist steel and glass tanks filled with formaldehyde solution, he intended to create a “zoo of dead animals”. In 1992, the shark piece, ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ (1991) was unveiled at the Saatchi Gallery’s 'Young British Artists I’ exhibition. The shark, described by the artist as a “thing to describe a feeling”, remains one of the most iconic symbols of modern British art and popular culture in the 90’s. The series typifies Hirst’s interest in display mechanisms. The glass boxes he employs both in ‘Natural History’ works and in vitrines, such as 'The Acquired Inability to Escape’ (1991), act to define the artwork’s space, whilst simultaneously commenting on the “fragility of existence”. Since his involvement in ‘Freeze’ in 1988, curatorial projects have remained important to the artist. In 1994 he organised the international group exhibition ‘Some Went Mad, Some Ran Away’ at the Serpentine Gallery. Over a decade later, and explaining that he considers collections to constitute a “map of a man’s life”, he curated an award-winning exhibition of work from his ‘Murderme’ collection: 'In the Darkest Hour There May be Light'. (2006, Serpentine Gallery). Stating: “I am absolutely not interested in tying things down”, Hirst has continued over the last decade to explore the “big issues” of “death, life, religion, beauty, science.” In 2007, he unveiled the spectacular, 'For the Love of God' (2007): a platinum cast of a skull set with 8,601 flawless pavé-set diamonds, at the White Cube exhibition 'Beyond Belief'. The following year, he took the unprecedented step of bypassing gallery involvement in selling 244 new works at Sotheby’s auction house in London. Describing the sale as a means of democratising the art market, the ‘Beautiful Inside my Head Forever' auction followed Hirst’s Sotheby’s event in 2004, in which the entire contents of the artist’s restaurant venture, Pharmacy, were sold. Since 1987, over 80 solo Damien Hirst exhibitions have taken place worldwide and his work has been included in over 260 group shows. Hirst’s first major retrospective 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' was held in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples in 2004. His contribution toBritish art over the last two and a half decades was recognised in 2012 with a major retrospective of his work staged at Tate Modern. Hirst lives and works in London, Gloucestershire and Devon. Gold Thioglucose. 2008. Original screen print in 48 colors with gold leaf. Hand signed in pencil lower right. From the edition of 45. 29 1/2 x 37 1/4”. Psalm: Miserere Mei Deus. 2016. Original screen print. Hand signed. From the edition of 25. 18 x 18". Psalm: Expectans Expectavi. Psalm: Judica, Domino. Psalm: Beatus Qui Intelligit. Psalm: Benedict Dominus. Internationally renowned photographer Michael Kahn’s stunning seascape and spectacular sailing photographs are exhibited in art galleries and museums throughout the world. Michael’s handmade photographs are each signed and created in limited editions. With his 1950’s camera, Michael travels extensively to photograph the world’s finest boats and pristine seascapes. He collects his images on traditional black and white film and produces luminous silver gelatin prints in his darkroom. His traditional technique united with his distinctive sense of form, vision, and composition has helped him to become one of the most memorable photographers of our time. Born in 1960, Michael Kahn is a life-long resident of Chester County Pennsylvania. During his childhood, his family summered on the coasts of Maine and Topsail Island, North Carolina. This is where his love of the sea and sailing originated. After high school, Michael apprenticed in a portrait studio where they used Hasselblad cameras with a square 6x6 cm film format. Here, Michael received hands on training in film handling and black and white printmaking. Several years later, the owner of the studio changed the business model and became a commercial/advertising photographer. Michael stayed on as an assistant, learning skills in advertising, product and editorial photography. From there, Michael branched off on his own, shooting for magazines and other commercial clients. In 1990 he published a book of black and white photographs of the Brandywine River in Southeastern Pennsylvania. In the mid-90’s, Michael took his first sailing photograph of a small boat in the fog on a lake in the Adirondacks. This image launched his nautical photography career. Michael made the decision to stay with his film cameras instead of going with the new trends in digital equipment, and continues to make handmade photographs in his darkroom. His work has been exhibited in over 50 solo and group gallery and museum exhibitions throughout the United States, Switzerland, Scotland, France, Bahrain and Nepal. Books published on the work of Michael Kahn include Over the Dunes (2015), The Spirit of Sailing (2004), and Brandywine (1990). Michael's work has appeared in countless publications, among them: Conde Nast Traveller, Elle Decor, Coastal Living, Forbes, Sailing Magazine, Photo Technik International (Germany), Classic Yacht, the New York Times, Town & Country, Architectural Digest, and many others. Select Corporate Collections and Clients include: the Microsoft Corporation, Exxon, MGM Studios, Universal Pictures, MBNA Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Vanguard, Bain Capital, the American Board of Surgery, and Lukens Steel. The Down Wind Leg. Silver gelatin 14 x 14 and 19 x 19" photograph. Fine art pigment print 30 x 30" photograph. Hand signed and numbered. J Class Velsheda. The Bowman. J Class Hanuman Downwind. J Class Rainbow. J Class Shamrock V vs Ranger. Whimsy. Connie. Sails of Thendara. Before the Wind. Beach. Waves 1719112. Off Shore. Quansoo. Keeping Quiet. Reeds. Michael Kahn shooting on location in Antigua. Les Maitres de l'Affiche (The Masters of the Poster) is one of the most prestigious and influential art publications in history. Its 256 color plates from the turn of the century were issued as separate numbered sheets measuring 11 1/4 x 15 1/2" every month for 60 consecutive months. From December 1895 through November 1900, subscribers received a wrapper containing four consecutively numbered poster lithographic works. On 16 occasions, the monthly wrapper also contained a bonus plate, not a poster reproduction, but a specially created art lithograph. Jules Cheret, artistic director of Imprimerie Chaix and father of the modern poster, emerged with the majority of the plates, one of every 4 issued per month, and seven of the 16 bonus plates. Of the 97 artists represented in Les Maitres de l'Affiche, some were preeminent painters and printmakers at various stages of their careers, Toulouse-Lautrec and Bonnard among them. There were also those artists whose names say "poster", the pioneers of the new medium such as Cheret himself, Mucha, Steinlen, the Beggarstaffs, Grasset, and Parrish. Cheret. La Loie Fuller. Jules Cheret. 1897. Original lithograph. Pl. 73. Mucha. Bieres de la Meuse. Alphonse Mucha. 1899. Original lithograph. Pl. 182. Lautrec. Jane Avril. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Jane Avril- Jardin de Paris. 1898. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 110/256. Lautrec. La Goulue. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. La Goulue- Moulin Rouge. 1898. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 122/256. Bouisset. Chocolat Menier. Firmin Bouisset. 1896. Original lithograph. Pl. 47. Jules Cheret. Vin Mariani. 1897. Original lithograph. Plate 77 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 12 7/16 x 9 3/16". Lautrec. Divan Japonais. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Divan Japonais. 1895. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 2/256. Cheret. Le Courrier Francais. Alphonse Mucha. Gismonda. 1896. Original lithograph. Plate 27 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 14 1/8 x 5 7/16". Mucha. La Samaritaine. Dumas. Icandescence Par La Gaz. Maurice Realier-Dumas. 1896.Original lithograph. Pl. 23. Mucha. Salon des Cent. Alphonse Mucha. Salon des Cent. 1897. Maitres de l'Affiche Plate 94/256. Beggarstaff. Corn Flour Kassama. Beggarstaff. Corn Flour Kassama. 1900. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 232/256. Cheret. Les Coulisses de L'Opera. Gausson. Lessive Figaro. Leo Gausson. 1897. Original lithograph. Pl. 71. Cheret. Olympia. Jules Cheret. Olympia. 1898. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 133/256. Steinlen. Lait Pur Sterilise. Theophile Alexandre Steinlen. Lait Pur Sterilise. 1897. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 95/256. Donnay. Ville de Liege. Auguste Donnay. 1897. Original lithograph. P.. 59. de Feure. Jeanne d'Arc. Georges de Feure. 1898. Original lithograph. Pl. 130. Lucas. Le Journal. Charles Lucas. 1899. Original lithograph. P. 155. Grasset. Napoleon. Eugene Grasset. 1898. Original lithograph. Pl. 126. d'Alesi. Chemin de Fer de L'Est. A Paris de Venise. Hugo D'Alesi. 1899. Original lithograph. Pl. 171. Steinlen. Compagnie Francaise des Chocolats et des Thes. Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen. Compagnie Francaise des Chocolats et Des Thes. 1899. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 170/256. Mataloni. Incandescenza a Gas. Giovanni Mataloni. 1897. Original lithograph. Pl. 72. Lautrec. La Chaine Simpson. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. La Chaine Simpson. 1900. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 238/256. Cheret. Le Rappel. Jules Cheret. 1900. Original lithograph Pl. 209. Hynais. Exposition Ethnographique et Checo Slave de Prague. Voytech Hynais. Exposition Ethnographique et Checo Slave de Prague. 1897. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 56/256. De Feure. Thes du Palais Indien. Georges De Feure. Thes du Palais Indien. 1900. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 199/256. Jules Cheret. La Danse. 1899. Original lithograph. Plate 193 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 13 1/8 x 9 3/16". Cheret. La Musique. Jules Cheret. La Musique. 1900. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 197/256. Jules Cheret. Pantomimes Lumineuses. 1896. Original lithograph. Plate 41 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 12 1/16 x 9". Jules Cheret. Bal au Moulin Rouge. 1897. Original lithograph. Plate 53 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 12 5/8 x 9 1/8". Alphonse Mucha. Lorenzaccio. 1898. Original lithograph. Plate 114 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 14 x 5 5/8". Mucha. La Dame Aux Camelias. Alphonse Mucha. La Dame Aux Camelias. 1898. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 144/256. Cheret. Theatre de L'Opera. Jules Cheret. Theatre de L'Opera. 1896. Maitres de l'Affiche Plate 9/256. Cheret. Paris Courses. Jules Cheret. Paris Courses. 1897. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 61/256. Jules Cheret. Theatre de L'Opera. 1898. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 105/256. Jules Cheret. Theatre de L'Opera. 1897. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 57/256. Beggarstaff. Hamlet. Beggarstaff. Hamlet. 1898. Maitres de L'Affiche Plate 107/256. Alphonse Mucha. Job. 1900. Original lithograph. Plate 202 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 11 1/2 x 8 7/8". Grasset. Jeanne d'Arc. Jules Cheret. Jardin de Paris. 1897. Original lithograph. Plate 65 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 12 3/8 x 9". Jules Cheret. Quinquina Dubonnet. Jules Cheret. Pays de Fees: Jardin Enchante. 1899. Original lithograph. Plate 181 from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. 12 9/16 x 8 7/8". Along with Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse was regarded as one of the greatest figures in 20th-century art, a master of color and form, and the leader of the group of artists known as the Fauves. Unlike many artists, he was internationally popular during his lifetime and enjoyed the favor of collectors, art critics, and the younger generation of artists who followed him. In 1892, having given up a career in law, Matisse went to Paris to study art formally. His teachers were academically trained and relatively conservative in style, but Matisse also studied more contemporary art, especially that of the Impressionists. Matisse's true artistic liberation, in terms of using color to render forms and organize spatial planes, came through the influence Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh, whose work he studied closely beginning about 1899. Then, in 1903 and 1904, Matisse encountered the pointillist paintings of Henri Edmond Cross and Paul Signac. Cross and Signac were experimenting with juxtaposing small strokes (often dots or “points”) of pure pigment to create the strongest visual vibration of intense color. Matisse adopted their technique and modified them repeatedly, usually using broader strokes. He also embarked upon an exploration of printmaking, with an emphasis on linocuts, lithography and etching, that would propel his creativity into other media. By 1905, Matisse had produced some of the boldest color images ever created, and exhibited his paintings along with works by Andre Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck. Together, the group was dubbed les fauves (literally, “the wild beasts”) because of the extreme emotionalism in which they seemed to have indulged, their use of vivid colors, and their distortion of shapes. Although intellectually sophisticated, Matisse always emphasized the importance of instinct and intuition in the production of a work of art. He argued that an artist did not have complete control over color and form; instead, colors, shapes, and lines would come to dictate their own relation to one another. He often emphasized his joy in abandoning himself to the play of the forces of color and design. "Creativity takes courage." - Henri Matisse L'Enterrement de Pierrot. 1947. Original pochoir after Matisse's cut paper collage maquette of the same title. From the edition of 250. One of 20 pochoirs illustrating the artist's own text in the book, JAZZ. 16 1/2 x 25 3/4". La Cage de Perruches. 1929. Original copper plate used in the etching of the same title. Etching published in an edition of 25. Inscribed signature in the plate lower center. Danseuse Etendue au Divan. 1927. Original lithograph. Hand signed and numbered 5/5 in pencil. 10 15/16 x 18 1/16". Nue Au Miroir Marocain. 1929 Original copperplate from which the edition of 25 was printed. Impressions from this plate are housed in the permanent collections of MOMA (New York), Musee Matisse (Nice) and Biblioteque Nationale (Paris). SOLD. Nue Bleu. 1970. Original lithograph. After the artist's 1952 collage. Published by Ministere des Affaires Culturelles, Paris. 23 5/8 x 17 1/8". ...Le Regard Fixe, Les Joues en Feu... 1944. Original linocut. From the edition of 200 on this paper illustrating the Henry de Montherlant text Pasiphae: Chant de Minos. 12 7/8 x 9 13/16". Joan Miró, one of the leading artists of the 20th century, was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1893. At the time of his death in Palma de Mallorca in 1983, he had left behind an extraordinary legacy that is acknowledged as among the greatest of his time. His work, in general, would be marked with a clear surrealist tendency, where the realm of the memory and imaginative fantasy were to take priority. He studied at La Lonja School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, and in 1918 set up his first individual exhibition in the Dalmau Galleries, in the same city. His works before 1920 (the date of his first trip to Paris) reflect the influence of different trends, like the pure and brilliant colors used in Fauvism, shapes taken from cubism, influences from folkloric Catalan art and Roman frescos from the churches. His trip to Paris introduced him to and developed his trend of surrealist painting. In 1921, he showed his first individual exhibition in Paris at La Licorne Gallery. In 1928, he exhibited with a group of Surrealists in the Pierre Gallery, also in Paris, although Miró was always to maintain his independent qualities with respect to groups and ideologies. From 1929-1930, Miró began exploring collage, which would eventually lead to his fascination with the creation of surrealist sculptures. His tormented monsters appeared during this decade, which gave way to the consolidation of his plastic vocabulary. He also experimented with many other forms, such as engraving, lithography and other types of original prints, as well as watercolors, pastels, and painting over copper. Of particular importance during this period were the two ceramic murals which he made for the UNESCO building in Paris (The Wall of the Moon and the Wall of the Sun, 1957-59). During his later years, Miro's creativity was undiminished as he concentrated more and more on monumental and public works. These works were characterized by the same freshness and playful ingenuity with which he carried out his canvasses, while paying special attention to the qualities of the new materials he employed. He focused primarily on symbols in his creations, more than specific themes or narratives, thus creating works with strong ties to the collective unconscious. In 1976 the Joan Miró Foundation Centre of Contemporary Art Study opened in the city of Barcelona, and in 1979, just four years before his death, he was named Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Barcelona. Tete au Soleil Couchant. 1967. Original aquatint and carborundum. Hand signed. From the edition of 75. 19 3/4 x 25 7/8". SOLD. La Calebasse. 1969. Original etching, aquatint, and carborundum printed in colors on wove paper bearing the "ARCHES/ FRANCE" watermark. Hand signed in pencil lower right Miro. From the edition of 75. 39 3/4 x 27 5/8". L'Ogre Enjoué. 1969. Original etching, aquatint, and carborundum. Hand signed in pencil. From the edition of 75. 36 3/4 x 55 3/8”. Le Chef des Equipages. 1973. Original etching, aquatint and carborundum. Hand signed in pencil. From the edition of 50. 54 1/4 23 5/8". L'Enrage. 1967. Original etching, aquatint and carborundum. Hand signed. From the edition of 75. 35 1/4 x 23 7/8". Gaudi XVII. 1979. Original etching. Hand signed. From the edition of 50. 35 1/2 x 25 3/4". Le Penseur Puissant (The Powerful Thinker). 1969. Original etching, aquatint, drypoint and carborundum. Handsigned. Signed "HC" (hors commerce). Apart from the edition of 75. 41 1/2 x 26 7/8". Untitled from Fusees. 1959. Original etching and aquatint with hand coloring by the artist. Hand signed in pencil in the margin lower right. Proof impression annotated “H.C.” (hors commerce). 9 7/8 x 14 1/4”. Regne Vegetal. 1968. Original aquatint and carborundum. Hand signed. From the edition of 75. 29 1/4 x 22 5/8". American (1915 - 1991) “Art is an experience, not an object.” - Robert Motherwell. Possessing perhaps the best and most extensive formal education of all the New York School painters, Robert Motherwell was well versed in literature, philosophy and the European modernist traditions. His paintings, prints and collages feature simple shapes, bold color contrasts and a dynamic balance between restrained and boldly gestural brushstrokes. They reflect not only a dialogue with art history, philosophy and contemporary art, but also a sincere and considered engagement with autobiographical content, contemporary events and the essential human conditions of life, death, oppression and revolution. Robert Motherwell was born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1915, but he would spend much of his childhood in the dry environs of central California, where he was sent in an effort to relieve his severe asthma. The son of a well-to-do and conservative bank chairman, Motherwell was expected to follow in his father's footsteps. From early on, though, Motherwell displayed an affinity for more intellectual and creative pursuits, and his early education included a scholarship to study at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Before he devoted himself entirely to art practice, Motherwell received an extensive education in philosophy, literature and art history. He began his studies at Stanford University, where he earned a BA in philosophy in 1937. There he encountered the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead and the work of French symbolist poets, and these twin inspirations helped to open Motherwell's mind to the possibilities of abstraction in writing and art interrupted by a yearlong European trip which he embarked upon in 1938, and during which he fell in love with European modernism. It was only at his father's insistence that he chose a stable occupation which led him to study art history at Columbia University in 1940, instead of immediately beginning his career as an artist. Motherwell's time at Columbia, however, proved to be significant for his artistic development. Upon his arrival to New York, he fell in with the circle of painters who would make up the core of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Another powerful influence was art historian Meyer Schapiro, who was then teaching at Columbia. Schapiro encouraged Motherwell's painting and introduced him to the group of European Surrealists living in New York at the time. He was deeply impressed by their notion of automatism - the idea that art might be a manifestation of the artist's subconscious - and it would become a central tenet of his work. Motherwell's first known works were composed during a 1941 trip to Mexico with the Surrealist painter Roberto Matta. These eleven pen and ink drawings, collectively called the "Mexican Sketchbook," show the influence of Surrealism, yet they are essentially abstract in nature and balance formal composition with spontaneous invention. Motherwell's career then received a jump-start in 1943 when Peggy Guggenheim offered him the opportunity to create new work for a show of collages by several European modernists. He took to collage immediately and would continue to utilize the technique throughout his career. The pieces included in the show featured a mixture of torn paper, expressively applied paint, and violent themes relating to the Second World War. The show proved successful for Motherwell, and it was followed by a solo exhibition at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery in New York in 1944, and a contract with the dealer Sam Kootz in 1945. n the 1940s, Motherwell also began parallel careers in teaching, editing and writing. Over the next two decades, he taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina; he helped to establish an art school, Subjects of the Artist, in New York's Greenwich Village; and he also taught at Hunter College. He wrote for the Surrealist publication VVV in 1941, and later edited the extremely influential Documents of Modern Art series, the publication Possibilities, and The Dada Painters and Poets anthology. He would continue to lecture and write about art throughout his long career. The Elegies to the Spanish Republic series - the career-spanning group of over 140 works for which the artist is perhaps best known - began as a small drawing created in 1948 to accompany a poem in Possibilities. A year later, Motherwell reworked the sketch as a painting called At Five in the Afternoon, so named for a poem by Frederico Garcia Lorca, a poet who was executed during the Spanish Civil War. The Elegies paintings use the tragedy of the war as a metaphor for all human suffering; and with their stark black and white palette, gestural brushwork, and tense relationships between ovoid and rectilinear forms, they also attempt to symbolically represent the human cycles of life, death, oppression and resistance. Composed between 1953-1957, the artist's second major group of work is called the Je t'aimeseries, after the French phrase that appears on each canvas. These works feature a brighter and broader palette than the Elegies paintings, yet they maintain the same dialogue between the strictly formal compositions of European modernism and the more spontaneous, emotionally expressive methods of the Abstract Expressionist movement. In 1961, Motherwell began to reinvent his collages as limited editions of lithographic prints. He would become the only artist in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists to utilize printmaking as a major part of his artistic practice. Motherwell's collages from this period also started to incorporate the detritus (cigarette wrappers, etc.) of his daily life. These autobiographical references hint again at the artist's interest not only in formal and intellectual concerns, but also his continued engagement with the external world and his own emotions. Motherwell began his third major series, the Opens, in 1968, after the dissolution of his marriage to the artist Helen Frankenthaler. As with his earlier series, these works are organized around a relatively simple formal construct - in this case, a two or three-sided rectilinear box on a mostly monochromatic field - in which Motherwell would find almost infinite room for variation and extrapolation. Unlike many of his friends and contemporaries in the Abstract Expressionist movement, whose lives and careers burned brightly but for far too short a time, Motherwell would continue to work productively throughout the next thirty years. He spent these years painting, printmaking, lecturing and further expanding upon the themes that had occupied his entire life. After a long and prolific career, the artist died in 1991 at his home in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Airless Black. 1983. Original lithograph from the El Negro suite. 14.5 x 25.5”. From edition of 98. Hand signed and numbered in pencil 82/98. Black for Mozart. 1991. Original lithograph. Hand signed with the artist’s monogram in pencil. Artist’s proof impression, one of 16 such impressions. 63 3/4 x 40 1/2”. Alphonse Mucha was an extremely influential artist whose name will always be most associated with the Art Nouveau movement. His graphic designs, and in particular his large posters, came to epitomize the very embodiment of this style. Mucha was born in Ivancice, Moravia in the Czech Republic. Under the patronage of Count Khuen-Belassi, a wealthy landowner who first commissioned Mucha to paint murals in his castle, Mucha studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. After two years in Munich, he was sent to study at the Academie Julian in Paris. After a couple of years the supporting funds were discontinued and Mucha was to become the proverbial starving artist. He was 27 years old with no money and no prospects. For approximately five years he struggled to make ends meet, working in illustration for popular magazines and borrowing money. He shared a studio with Gauguin for a short period of time. Mucha gave impromptu art lessons. All the while he was formulating his own theories and precepts of what he wanted his art to be. In December of 1894 he was given an opportunity that would change his life. During the Christmas holidays, he was called upon to create a poster for Sarah Bernhardt’s play Gismonda. The poster, which appeared on January 1, 1895 was the declaration of his new art. This near life-size design was a sensation not only with Miss Bernhardt, but also the adoring public. Its success made Mucha a celebrity. Miss Bernhardt contracted him to do her posters, costumes and sets for her plays for close to a decade. Commissions poured in. In 1898 he moved to a new studio, had his first one-man show and began publishing graphics with Champenois. For the World’s Fair in Paris in 1900, Mucha designed the Bosnia-Hercegovina Pavilion. He partnered with the goldsmith Georges Fouquet to create jewelry based on his designs. He also published Documents Decoratifs, a visual statement of his artistic theories. This portfolio, which contains 72 plates, was used for years by many art schools as a textbook, and it influenced a whole generation of artists. His association with Miss Bernhardt led to an entry into social circles where he was introduced to Charles Crane, a millionaire from Chicago. In 1909 Crane provided financing for a project that Mucha considered his life’s ambition, “The Slav Epic”. Covering the history of the Slavic people up to the nineteenth century, twenty massive paintings (approximately 24 x 40 feet) chronicling major events in the Slav nation were presented to the city of Prague in 1928. Mucha created a style based on strong compositions, sensuous curves derived from nature refined decorative elements and natural colors. His Gismonda poster set the standard for a great number of his future posters. There are two zones of text on the upper and lower sections that are countered balanced by the solitary figure. There is an eloquent, expressive gesture filling the center. The drapery intertwines with the text at the bottom. Reality and stylization are integrated throughout the entire composition. The four most conspicuous elements in Mucha’s posters are best represented in one of his poster for Job cigarette papers. First, women are seen as idealized beauty. Nearly all his designs will show women as beautiful and desirable. Repeated in Mucha’s best work is a bordered ring behind the main subject. Mucha saw the circle as the most perfect shape in nature and he utilized as often as possible. The undulating tresses (sometimes referred to as “macaroni”) are used often to adorn and enhance their loveliness. The fourth element is his use of meticulous ornamentation. Mucha makes sure the background of his posters is as carefully crafted as his the main subject. Mucha’s work today can be found in leading museums and private collections worldwide. His name will always be synonymous with the Art Nouveau movement, and the tremendous demand for his work has created a level of rarity that has outpaced even that of Toulouse-Lautrec. Moet & Chandon: Grand Cremant Imperial. 1899. Original lithograph. Signed and dated on the stone lower right. 24 1/4 x 9 5/16". Moet & Chandon: Champagne White Star. Salon des Cent. 1896. Original lithograph. Handsigned. 24 3/8 x 16 9/16". 1896. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone. 24 1/2 x 16 1/4". Biscuits Lefevre-Utile/Gaufrette Vanille. Flirt Biscuits. 1899. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone lower right Mucha. Printed by F. Champenois, Paris bearing his credit line at the lower edge. 24 1/8 x 11 3/16". (1971 - ). Tommaso Ottieri was born in Naples, Italy in 1971. He studied architecture at the University of Naples and the Robert Gordon School of Architecture. After winning the Leonardo da Vinci scholarship in 1996, Ottieri moved to the Greek island of Santorini to work as an architect. During this time, he founded his first painting studio in the town of Oia. After returning to Naples in 1998, he obtained his Master's degree in Executive Planning and Bio-Architecture at the University Federico II of Naples. Shortly after receiving his degree, he devoted himself to painting full time. His study of architecture has undoubtedly shaped the style and subject matter of his paintings- luminous urban landscapes and the interiors of theaters and churches. He focuses on the color, light and movement found in the intense life of a city as it falls into the dark. By using wax and oil as his medium, his paintings have a texture that fills them with the drama and motion seen in the places they depict. Ottieri has enjoyed international success as an artist, exhibiting in over 20 solo exhibitions and nearly 40 group exhibitions in cities all over the world. "I always paint the city as women I adore, to place them standing in front of a majestic sky and at the sight of a world, which sets but always dawns." - Tommaso Ottieri Original oil and wax on panel. 24 x 24”. Matematica Romana. Original oil on board. 2017. 63 x 94 1/2". Seville. Original oil and wax on panel. Paris et Blue. Original oil on board. 2017. 27 1/2 x 39 1/2". London Bridges. The greatest painter and most innovative sculptor of the twentieth century, Pablo Picasso was also its foremost printmaker. His graphic oeuvre spans more than seven decades, from 1899 to 1972. His published prints total approximately 2000 different images pulled from metal, stone, wood, linoleum and celluloid. His unpublished prints, perhaps 200 more, have yet to be exactly counted. Picasso’s prints demonstrate his intuitive and characteristic ability to recognize and exploit the possibilities inherent in any medium in which he chose to work. Once he had mastered the traditional methods of a print medium, like etching on metal, Picasso usually experimented further, pursuing, for example, scarcely known intaglio techniques such as sugar-lift aquatint. The printed graphic work of Picasso shows a clearly defined succession of periods in which certain techniques predominated. Early on, the copperplate, with its variants of the etching and drypoint, fascinated the young artist. In the Parisian ateliers of the masters of this craft, Eugene Delatre, Louis Fort and above all, Roger Lacouriere, he was introduced to many new techniques. Later, Picasso acquired his own press on which he made many trial proofs and further explored the secrets of printmaking. Between 1919 and 1930 he occasionally turned his hand to lithography. Then, in the etchings of the Vollard series, his creative powers reached a first culminating point. Most of the compositions that followed during the war years were intended for book illustrations. In 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, Picasso carved his first linoleum cut. The work was the artist’s contribution to the hastily assembled album of poems and prints Pour la Tchecoslovaquie: Homage a un pays martyrpublished to commemorate Czechoslovakian martyrs. Its style is quick and curvilinear. Its violent image, the head of an anguished screaming woman, was printed in black and white. It may be considered Picasso’s final postscript to his mural Guernica (1937), and until 1951 Picasso could look back on some 300 etchings and engravings that he had produced over the previous thirty-five years. His achievement in intaglio had been extraordinary and it alone could assure his pre-eminence in the history of printmaking. The year 1945 marks the inception of his great lithographic work in the atelier of Fernand Mourlot. It seems almost as though he was now eager to make up for lost time. His growing mastery of the medium and his inventive genius soon enables him to venture into domains new to lithography and to achieve bold and striking effects. After World War II, Picasso’s production as a printmaker substantially increased and the etching and engraving continued to be his favorite medium for graphic expression. During several concentrated spans of time, however, he was profoundly involved with two other techniques: first lithography on stone, (and its surrogate, zinc) and subsequently, linocut, a relief method of carving and printing similar to woodcut but utilizing a linoleum instead of a wood surface. Picasso adapted the processes of both lithography and linocut to his own language and to his individual methods as a peintre-graveur. His continual inventiveness sometimes challenged his collaborators, the printers, to the limits of their own skills as craftsmen. Picasso’s prolific and astonishing example in lithography during the late 1940’s and the 1950’s encouraged other principal painters of the Ecole des Paris, including Leger and Miro, to work directly on stone and zinc in association with printers. Two women, Francoise Gilot, a painter and writer Picasso met in 1943, and Jacqualine Roque, whom he met in 1953 (and who would become his second wife in 1961) were the primary sources of inspiration for his lithographic output. In 1951, when Picasso was seventy, he renewed his interest in the art of linocut, an interest which would continue for almost two decades. In 1963 Piero and Aldo Crommelynck brought a hand press from Paris to Mougins, where the artist had settled permanently. From then on, his etching, drypoint and aquatint would translate into black and white on color compositions of unfailing inspiration. In his eighties, Picasso actively resumed etching and engraving and about 500 intaglio plated from this period of his career have been published. Finally, in 1972, a year before his death, Picasso etched two intaglio plates, his last prints. Picasso has astonished the ablest printmakers again and again. It is not only that he mastered the difficulties of new techniques with playful ease; he soon went on to obtain results that had hitherto been deemed impossible. A virtuoso craftsman in engraving, etching, lithography and linocut, he explored their secrets with patience, love, and elicits from each medium the very subtlest effects it is capable of yielding. Picasso cared. It is hardly surprising that five, ten or even thirty states were sometimes necessary before a masterpiece emerged from his hands. "My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso." - Pablo Picasso "Painting is just another way of keeping a diary." - Pablo Picasso Jacqueline Lisant. 1958. Original lithograph. Hand signed in pencil. From the edition of 50. 22 x 17 3/8". Buste au Corsage a Carreaux- Jacqueline. 1957. Original lithograph. Hand signed in red crayon. From the edition of 50. 25 5/8 x 19 7/8". SOLD. Minotaure Caressant Une Dormeuse. 1933. Original drypoint. Hand signed in pencil. From the edition of 260, the Vollard Suite. David et Bethsabee. 1949. Original lithograph. Hand signed in colored pencil in the margin lower right Picasso and dated on the stone "7.4.49". Definitive state. From the edition of 50. Sheet size 30 1/8 x 22 1/4". Le Cirque, Repetition. Jacqueline au Bandeau de Face. 1962. Original linocut. Handsigned. 25 1/4 x 20 3/4". Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MOMA, New York. Baigneuses au Ballon III. Original drypoint. 1933. One of 3 unsigned and unnumbered proofs apart from the numbered edition of 50 and 16 additional roman numerated artist's proofs. From the ex collection of Marina Picasso, grand daughter of Pablo Picasso. 11 x 7". Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Taureau et Picador 1959. Original linocut. Hand signed. From the edition of 50. 24 5/8 x 29 1/2". Vallauris 1956 Exposition. 1956. Original linocut. Handsigned in blue crayon. One of 51 artist's proofs apart from the numbered edition of 200. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 26 x 21 1/4". Two Catalan Drinkers. 1934. Original etching. From the Vollard Suite. 13 5/16 x 17 1/2". Deux Femmes Regardant un Modele Nue. 1923. Original drypoint & etching. 50/100. Handsigned in pencil. 6 3/4 x 5". Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. SOLD. Le Voil I. 1932. Original drypoint. Bearing the estate stamp signature. Numbered 38/50. 4 13/16 x 3 5/8". Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Jeu du Cape. 1961. Original lithograph. 7 3/4 x 10". Les Banderilles. 1961. Original lithograph. 7 1/2 x 9 1/2". The Pike. Le Picador II. La Petite Corrida. Original Lithograph. 1957. Rembrandt Van Rijn is considered one of the greatest and most influential painters and printmakers of all art history; he stands out as one of the most solitary and unapproachable personalities, who struck his own style and stamped his influence for all posterity. In his etched works, his unique position is realized to even greater advantage than in his painted works; Hardly any etchers, then or since, achieved the same mastery of medium and expression that Rembrandt possessed. In the range of his genius, Rembrandt still stands alone in art history. Whether a landscape, a genre scene, a religious moment, or a still life—he illumined all with his technical and stylistic powers, never failing to pierce to the heart of things. Born in 1606 as the ninth child of a wealthy miller in the town of Leiden, young Rembrandt attended Latin school until 1620 and studied at the University of Leiden. Even at a young age, his interest and ability in the arts was apparent, and he came to study with local artist Jacobvan Swanenburgh, working for three years to develop his formative abilities. In the early 1620s, Rembrandt spent a precious six months studying with Pieter Lastman, a great artist in Amsterdam. In 1624, the young Rembrandt opened his own studio in Leiden, and he began accepting students in 1627, including Gerard Dou. As proof of Rembrandt’s individual genius, it is interesting to note that in an age when every young artist made an obligatory trip to Italy, the young Rembrandt did not. As a pupil of the classicist Lastman, he despised the conventional tour. He was convinced that the true realization of his and his country’s art lay in the limited view of the Dutch interior and amid the quiet beauty of uneventful landscape. After leaving school in the early 1620s, Rembrandt spent several years experimenting with the technique of etching. His earliest undated prints were produced about 1626 and the earliest dated prints were done in 1628. Rembrandt expressed great genius in numerous series of studies, portraits, and Biblical subjects. His etchings numbered more than three hundred and were well received due to the fine detail of the pieces. The execution of the plates was a masterful accomplishment in that time in history. By 1632, Rembrandt’s reputation was well established. He permanently settled in Amsterdam, and there he received many commissions, allowing him a life of prosperity. In 1634, he married a wealthy woman named Saskia, and for the next ten years, they led a comfortable, happy life of luxury and extravagance, building a family and enjoying the success of Rembrandt’s art. They bought a luxuriously large house in the artistic Jewish Quarter, an indulgence that later contributed to his financial ruin. Tragedy too soon eclipsed this happy period. In the 1630s, the couple’s first three children died shortly after birth—only their fourth child Titus survived to adulthood. Then, shortly after Titus’s birth, dear wife Saskia died, possibly of tuberculosis. Rembrandt’s drawings of Saskia on her sick and death bed are among his most moving works. After Saskia’s death, Rembrandt kept other female companions, including Geertje Dircx, who worked as Titus’s nanny, and Hendrickje Stoffels, who began as Remrandt’s maid. Even with small new found joys, Rembrandt could not escape emotional hardship. Soon after birthing a healthy baby girl, Rembrandt’s faithful companion Hendrickje passed away. Then, just after marrying in 1668, Rembrandt’s song Titus and his young wife both died. The artist was once again all but alone. Throughout his life, Rembrandt lived beyond his means, buying art (including bidding up his own work), prints (often used in his paintings) and rarities, which probably caused a court arrangement to avoid his bankruptcy in 1656 when he sold most of his paintings and a large collection of antiquities. The sale list survives and gives good insight into his collections, which included Old Master paintings and drawings, busts of the Roman Emperors, suits of Japanese armor among and assorted Asian objects, and collections of natural history and minerals. In spite of his personal tragedies, Rembrandt never ceased working, the one constant in his life. As an artist, he made no compromises. Indeed, first and foremost, his life was dedicated to his passion for creating art. Throughout his whole work, Rembrandt accepted all variations of man, woman, and land that lay to his hand. He never sought the external ideal of beauty, which he felt lacked the distinct voice of true humanity. He appreciated that physical realism is less a hindrance than an aid to the rendering of spiritual significance—both religious and secular—in art. In his lifetime, Rembrandt created countless self-portraits, like a string of autobiographies that reveal the progression of his physical and emotional states. Still today, he is renowned a master of the self-portrait in both etching and paint. Rembrandt’s etched work can be divided into three periods, each with a predominant characteristic. In the first period (1628-1639), the pure etched line is the most common medium. The young artist was accustomed to holding back exuberant passion, using careful and even restrained draftsmanship. By 1640, in the second period, Rembrandt’s work with the dry-point, which began in the late 1630s, became a significant factor in his style, and its use in heightening the effect of light and shade is little by little more adequately realized. Attention to the tone of the whole composition, apart from the mere design, is characteristic of Rembrandt’s developing power, though this end is still gained largely by means of close lines of shading. In the third period (from 1651 through his death), there is a remarkable increase in the vigor and breadth of the handling. The lines of shading are more open, the forms less conventional, and the touch truer, more spontaneous, and less evidently conscious. Drypoint was used as much as etching, and chiaroscuro, now of-the-moment, was often achieved by a more summary method, though still rendered in some plates by closely hatched shading. In his etching, Rembrandt is open to adapting all elements of life and art that made a passing impression on his mind, which best displays his constant freshness of vision. Like all the greatest creators, he seldom exhibited a need for forced originality. He used familiar themes and felt no compunction at copying other artists. Yet, his reused themes and ideas show a readiness of appreciation, not poverty of imagination. His pre-eminent place in art depends as much on his untiring powers of self-education as on any extraordinary brilliance of innate genius. While other artists acquiesced in contemporary fame, public, Rembrandt still took infinite pains to re-explore visual paths, sometimes leading him away from general popularity, but constantly reaching for the highest level of human achievement. Self Portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill 1639. Original etching. 17th century/ lifetime impression. 8 1/16 x 6 3/8". The Triumph of Mordecai. 1641. Original etching. 17th century/ lifetime impression. 6 3/4 x 8 3/8". Ship of Fortune. Bearded Man Wearing Velvet Cap with Jewel Clasp. 1637. Original etching. 17th century/ lifetime impression. 3 15/16 x 3 5/16". Old Man with Divided Fur Cap. 1640. Original etching. 17th century/ lifetime impression. Strolling Musicians. Christ Seated Disputing with the Doctors. 1654. Original etching. 18th century impression. 3 3/4 x 5 3/4". The Card Player. Pierre-Auguste Renoir was the last of the Impressionists to be drawn into printmaking, turning to the medium when he was almost fifty years old. Though he was extremely skilled as an etcher and lithographer, he spent the majority of his career establishing himself as a painter. Thus, most of the prints we have from him were executed for friends and colleagues or for book frontispieces and illustrations. Although they are limited (Renoir only created about sixty prints in total), his etchings and lithographs posses such merit, that it is truly a cause for regret that the artist did not produce a greater number of them. As a printmaker, Renoir was greatly indebted to the encouragement and support of two men - Ambroise Vollard, the great Parisian art dealer and the most important print publisher of his time, and Auguste Clot, the master lithographer who printed many of the Vollard editions. Renoir was not overly theoretical with the content of his work, and instead simply chose to represent what he loved. His work is sensual, but always charming and never threatening. Théodore Duret, an authority on the origins of the Impressionist movement wrote that, “Instead of contriving like Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, or Degas to find a singular point of view or unexpected lighting, Renoir wanted to see and love only what everyone, or almost everyone, sees and loves: a woman, a tree, flowers, childhood, water…” Renoir’s women are supple and soft, and though their images are rendered in black and white, he is still able to capture the lustrous quality their skin. There is a lyrical quality to Renoir’s prints, and he is unsurpassed in representing a woman’s grace and physical beauty. Odalisque. 1904. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone below the image lower right Renoir. Proof impression of this rare lithograph, apart from the edition of 75 commissioned to illustrate an unrealized publication of Leo Vanier. 7 516 x 9 3/16". Etude Pour Une Baigneuse. 1906. Original drypoint. Signed with artist's signature cachet Renoir. 8 3/4 x 6 1/2". SOLD. Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed. Born in New York City in 1894, Norman Rockwell always wanted to be an artist. At age 14, Rockwell enrolled in art classes at The New York School of Art (formerly The Chase School of Art). Two years later, in 1910, he left high school to study art at The National Academy of Design. He soon transferred to The Art Students League, where he studied with Thomas Fogarty and George Bridgman. Fogarty’s instruction in illustration prepared Rockwell for his first commercial commissions. From Bridgman, Rockwell learned the technical skills on which he relied throughout his long career. Rockwell found success early. He painted his first commission of four Christmas cards before his sixteenth birthday. While still in his teens, he was hired as art director of Boys’ Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, and began a successful freelance career illustrating a variety of young people’s publications. At age 21, Rockwell’s family moved to New Rochelle, New York, a community whose residents included such famous illustrators as J.C. and Frank Leyendecker and Howard Chandler Christy. There, Rockwell set up a studio with the cartoonist Clyde Forsythe and produced work for such magazines as Life, Literary Digest, and Country Gentleman. In 1916, the 22-year-old Rockwell painted his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post, the magazine considered by Rockwell to be the “greatest show window in America.” Over the next 47 years, another 321 Rockwell covers would appear on the cover of the Post. Also in 1916, Rockwell married Irene O’Connor; they divorced in 1930. The 1930s and 1940s are generally considered to be the most fruitful decades of Rockwell’s career. In 1930 he married Mary Barstow, a schoolteacher, and the couple had three sons, Jarvis, Thomas, and Peter. The family moved to Arlington, Vermont, in 1939, and Rockwell’s work began to reflect small-town American life. In 1943, inspired by President Franklin Roosevelt’s address to Congress, Rockwell painted the Four Freedoms paintings. They were reproduced in four consecutive issues of The Saturday Evening Post with essays by contemporary writers. Rockwell’s interpretations of Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear proved to be enormously popular. The works toured the United States in an exhibition that was jointly sponsored by the Post and the U.S. Treasury Department and, through the sale of war bonds, raised more than $130 million for the war effort. Although the Four Freedoms series was a great success, 1943 also brought Rockwell an enormous loss. A fire destroyed his Arlington studio as well as numerous paintings and his collection of historical costumes and props. In 1953, the Rockwell family moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Six years later, Mary Barstow Rockwell died unexpectedly. In collaboration with his son Thomas, Rockwell published his autobiography, My Adventures as an Illustrator, in 1960. The Saturday Evening Post carried excerpts from the best-selling book in eight consecutive issues, with Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait on the cover of the first. In 1961, Rockwell married Molly Punderson, a retired teacher. Two years later, he ended his 47-year association with The Saturday Evening Post and began to work for Look magazine. During his 10-year association with Look, Rockwell painted pictures illustrating some of his deepest concerns and interests, including civil rights, America’s war on poverty, and the exploration of space. In 1973, Rockwell established a trust to preserve his artistic legacy by placing his works in the custodianship of the Old Corner House Stockbridge Historical Society, later to become Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge. The trust now forms the core of the Museum’s permanent collections. In 1976, in failing health, Rockwell became concerned about the future of his studio. He arranged to have his studio and its contents added to the trust. In 1977, Rockwell received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2008, Rockwell was named the official state artist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, thanks to a dedicated effort from students in Berkshire County, where Rockwell lived for the last 25 years of his life. Scouts of Many Trails. 1937. Study for Scouts of Many Trails. Original oil on masonite. An intermediate study for a 1937 Boys Life cover illustration. 40 x 28 1/2". SOLD. Born in 1941 in Valencia, Spain, Royo began demonstrating his artistic talent early. At the age of 9 his father, a prominent physician and avid art enthusiast, employed private tutors to instruct Royo in drawing, painting, and sculpture. When Royo turned 14 he entered the San Carlos Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia. Upon turning 18 Royo continued his artistic studies privately with Aldolfo Ferrer Amblat, Chairman of Art Studies at the San Carlos Academy. He also visited the major museums in Europe at this time to study the famous masters-Velasquez, Goya, Renoir, Monet, and Sorolla among others. During the mid-60's-early 70's Royo added more dimensions to his skills creating theatre sets and doing graphic illustration and restoration work. He also participated in prestigious competitions gaining major distinctions. In 1968 he began to exhibit in Spain, specifically Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona. With positive reception of his works in Madrid, Royo received commissions to paint the royal portraits of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. He received subsequent commissions to paint the Judges of the High Magistrature and the Court of Justice, as well as prominent political and society figures. At the age of 25 Royo began feeling a growing desire to paint the land of his birth; to convey the light, the color and the intensity of Valencia and the Mediterranean. This meant a new focus and change of style in his work; he needed to perfect new ways to capture the light, the shadow and to work on classical composition styles. Through the 1980's Royo perfected his style of painting the Mediterranean and exhibited abroad, notably in London, Brussels, Copenhagen and Paris. He also participated in the International Geneva Art Fair. Beginning in 1989 and continuing until today we see the development of Royo's "matured" style. His dramatic use of color and "texturing" capture his subject matter with unique flair. Parallels can be drawn to the work of the European masters; for example, with Royo's "homage to the female form," we see the distinct influence of Renoir. It is the similar, almost portrait-like treatment of the female model, caught in a serene, contemplative moment, with the surrounding "bursts" of color from the floral landscapes where we see the "Renoir" in Royo's work. In fact, critics have concluded, "If the artwork of Renoir were blended with that of the 'Valencian painters' you would arrive at the canvasses approaching the uniqueness of the impressive work of Royo." Impressive parallels can also be drawn between Royo's work and that of the Spanish master, Joaquin Sorolla. Both were born in Valencia, both were classically trained, both "matured" into styles of painting capturing the dramatic visual essence of their homeland-Valencia and the Mediterranean Sea. They have both been described as "painters of the Light"; some have said, "of the Light of the South," that is, the southern coast of Spain. It is the overwhelming influence of Sorolla blended with his own style that make Royo's masterful treatment of the Mediterranean subjects both haunting and mysterious, yet full of raw power at the same time. The sweeping brush strokes, bold swaths of color, and heavy impasto capture the eye and draws one inward until that final absolute moment of awareness that one is actually there in the scene feeling the light and heat of the sun, the salt and sea spray, and hearing the crashing surf. Royo conveys not merely image, but mood and atmosphere as well. This is rare in today's art world, hence the connoisseur is compelled to compare with the old masters. Thus, the appeal of Royo's work for today's collector becomes obvious. With pride we offer the art work of today's Spanish master painter, Royo, to the art connoisseurs of the world. El Manton. La Florista. Original oil on panel. 36 x 29". La Calma. Eterea. Original oil on panel. 23 1/2 x 28 1/2". SOLD. Belleza (Beauty). Raza (Race). Odalisca. Ensonacion (Dreaming). Luz Suave (Soft Light). Original Oil o Canvas. 24 x 29". Expresion. En el Espejo (In the Mirror). El Paseo (The Walk). Pino. Gustave Torres was born in Guadalajara, Mexico where he began sculpting and training with accomplished artists such as Luis Larios at a very young age. Torres left Mexico in 1991 after receiving his Bachelors of Fine Art at the University of Guadalajara to pursue a career in the United States. Torres is both a talented visual artist and a master craftsman. His visual imagery reflects the deep, quiet spirit of antiquity, and rough finger work and carefully chosen patinas convey a worn, earthy presence. The power of his art is in its simplicity, tranquility and connection to life. With references to both ancient Mayan art and the sculptures of Giacometti, Torres’ style is both primitive and abstract, and he strives to create a “spiritual balance” in his art. His statement that “art without spirit is nothing” demonstrates his reverence for life. His driving desire is to connect his work to others on a spiritual level, and each piece begins with a fragment of his own past. “The form is just the beginning. The rest is left to each person’s connection as they add their own experience and spirit,” he says. Torres describes himself as an old-fashioned sculptor because he uses centuries-old lost-wax casting techniques to create his bronzes. He is directly involved with each stage of the creation of every piece from the mold making to the careful application of the patina. Torres currently resides in Northern California. His sculptures have been exhibited at the Carmel Arts Association and prominent fine art galleries throughout the country. Torres is an award-winning artist, has received a Gold Medal in National Competition in Guadalajara, and has been featured in publications worldwide. Torso. Bronze. Edition of 12. 30" H. Living Pompeii. Bronze. 24 x 24 x 5 1/4". One of a kind. SOLD. Un Comenzar ( A New Beginning). Pilar. Torso. Lifesize. Bronze. Edition of 8. 67" Height. My Own Journey. Bronze. Edition of 20. 20" Height. Also available in life-size 60" H. Edition of 12. Celeste. Bronze. Edition of 30. 19" Height. Volar (To Fly). Bronze. Edition of 100. 13" Height. Amistad. Bronze. Edition of 25. 16 1/2" Height. Helena. Sarah (Angel). Bronze. Edition of 20. 28 x 3 1/2 x 3 1/2". Angel on Wheel. Caras. Espanola. Icarus Group. Bronze. Edition of 100. 8-11" Height. Gustavo in his California studio. Though his life was short, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's artistic legacy resounds today. His dramatic and innovative style was perfectly suited to commercial pursuits. In fact, his poster designs, with their strong outlining and bold use of color, are so impactful that they have become cultural icons. The artist's infatuation with lithography led to the creation of well over 300 original prints and 30 posters which are still considered "state of the art" after a hundred years. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec came from an aristocratic background, having been born the son of an earl. Even as a schoolboy, he showed a talent for drawing, covering every paper and book margin with subjects he knew, mainly farm animals, horses and riders. At 14, his family arranged for him to take lessons from animal painter Rene Princeteau in Paris. By this time, already, he had suffered two riding accidents which eventually left him crippled for life. At the age of 18, he made the final decision to stay in Paris and study art seriously. He found lodgings in Montmartre and mingled with its denizens, honing his craft among like-minded contemporaries, among them were Leon Bonnat, Fernand Cormon, Louis Anquentin, Emile Bernard, as well as Degas and Van Gogh. He became a frequenter of the cafes, cabarets and brothels of the neighborhood, drawing from them inspirations for his artistic themes. Among his early patrons was Aristide Bruant, a rough hewn entertainer who owned the Mirliton, one of Toulouse-Lautrec's favorite haunts; Bruant 3exhibited his work, published some of it in his magazine (also called Le Mirliton), and later gave him poster assignments. As the artist's stature grew, he found other magazines eager to publish his work, among them La Revue Blanche, L'Escarmouche and Le Rire. His subjects continued to be the types he came in contact during his rounds: many of them anonymous loafers, street girls, vendors and the like, but also some of the famous music hall artists who became his friends, such as the singer Yvette Guilbert, can can dancers Jane Avril and La Goulue, stage stars May Milton, Yahne, May Belfort and many others. In 1896, he published a collection of lithographs, Elles, with scenes from the local brothels. He became absorbed in the night life of Montmartre until he himself was an indispensable part of it. From the beginning his drawings showed an herring eye for catching facial characteristics, expressions and mannerisms with deadly accuracy and yet with the most sparing means, a few lines, a carefully chosen perspective, or an imperceptible emphasis that focuses our attention. In 1891, Toulouse-Lautrec was greatly impressed with Pierre Bonnard's France Champagne poster and decided to investigate the potential of lithography. Working with Bonnard's lithographer Ancourt, he learned the craft from the bottom up - and within months, brought it to an unprecedented artistic zenith. He managed to cram some 400 lithographs into the remaining ten years of his life, 31 of which were posters, and all of which were the cream of graphic design. His masterpieces define the limits of poster style: where Cheret epitomizes a completely external, impersonal viewpoint, Toulouse-Lautrec is the embodiment of internal, personal vision with a point to make- not, to be sure, a moral judgement, but rather an amused, wry observation on the passing scene. Virtually all posterists then and since have had to make their stance somewhere between these two poles. True, some may have tried a satirical bite more vicious than Lautrec's or a neutrality even more profound than Cheret's but none could surpass the sheer mastery of their pioneers. The best proof is that a century later, their work still sparkles with all its force, inventiveness and beauty, and each in his way is more popular than they ever were in their own lifetimes. Debauche. 1896. Original lithograph. Hand signed in black crayon. Also bearing the artist's monogram in the stone. Edition of 100. 11 1/16 x 15". SOLD. Troupe de Mlle. Eglantine. 1896. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone with the artist's script signature and monogram. 24 1/4 x 31 1/2". Une Redoute au Moulin Rouge (A Gala Evening at the Moulin Rouge). 1893. Original lithograph printed in black ink on wove paper. Signed with the artist's monogram stamp in red ink lower right. Also signed in the stone lower left. From the edition of 50. 22 x 15". Bruant au Mirliton. 1893. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone with the artist's monogram. 31 1/2 x 23 1/4". SOLD. 1894. Original lithograph. Hand signed in pencil. From the edition of 100. Brandes et Leloir Dans Cabotins. 1894. Original lithograph. Signed with the artist's monogram stamp. From the edition of approx. 30. 22 x 15". Pauvre Pierreuse (Poor Prostitute). 1893. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone with the artist's monogram device. Music and lyrics printed on the verso. 10 13/16 x 7 5/8". L'Argent. 1895. Original lithograph. Programme pour L'Argent. Signed in the stone. 12 1/2 x 9 5/16". May Belfort. 1895. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone with the artist's monogram. 31 7/16 x 24". May Milton. 1895. Original lithograph. Signed with the artist's monogram device. 31 3/8 x 24 3/4". Miss Ida Heath, Danseuse Anglaise. 1894. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone with the artist's monogram upper left. One of 15 impressions on this paper of an overall edition of 40. 20 13/16 x 14 1/8". Judic. 1894. Original lithograph. Signed on the stone with the artist's monogram device. From the edition of 100. 14 7/8 x 11". Moulin Rouge. La Goulue. 1898. Original lithograph. Maitres de L'Affiche. 12 15/16 x 9 1/8". Jane Avril. Original lithograph. Maitres de L'Affiche. Pl. 110/256. La Chaine Simpson. Original lithograph from Les Maitres de L'Affiche. (1928 Pittsburgh - 1987 New York) Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928, in a two-room row house apartment at 73 Orr Street in Pittsburgh. His parents, Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants Andrej and Julia Warhola, had three sons. Andy was their youngest. Devout Byzantine Catholics, the family attended mass regularly and observed the traditions of their Eastern European heritage. Warhol’s father, a laborer, moved his family to a brick home on Dawson Street in 1934. Warhol attended the nearby Holmes School and took free art classes at Carnegie Institute (now The Carnegie Museum of Art). In addition to drawing, Hollywood movies enraptured Andy and he frequented the local cinema. When he was about nine years old, he received his first camera. Andy enjoyed taking pictures, and he developed them himself in his basement. Andrej Warhola died in 1942, the same year that Andy entered Schenley High School. Recognizing his son’s talent, Andrej had saved money to pay for his college education. Warhol attended Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) from 1945 to 1949. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Pictorial Design with the goal of becoming a commercial illustrator. During these years he worked in the display department at Horne’s department store. Soon after graduating, Warhol moved to New York City to pursue a career as a commercial artist. His work debuted in Glamour magazine in September 1949. Warhol became one of the most successful illustrators of the 1950s, winning numerous awards. He had a unique, whimsical style of drawing that belied its frequent sources: traced photographs and imagery. At times Warhol employed the delightfully quirky handwriting of his mother, who was always credited as “Andy Warhol’s Mother,” Julia Warhola left Pittsburgh in 1952 and lived with her son for almost 20 years before her death in Pittsburgh in 1972. Warhol rewarded himself for his hard work by taking a round-the-world vacation with his friend Charles Lisanby from June 16 to August 12, 1956. They toured Hawaii and many countries in Asia and Europe. It was Warhol’s first trip abroad and a significant event in his life. Serendipity 3, a trendy restaurant and ice cream parlor located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, was a place where Warhol sometimes exhibited his work. He often held parties there--his friends could gorge themselves on the restaurant’s signature “frrrozen hot chocolate” while helping Warhol hand-color his self-published artists’ books. In the late 1950s, Warhol began to devote more energy to painting. He made his first Pop paintings, which he based on comics and ads, in 1961. The following year marked the beginning of Warhol’s celebrity. He debuted his famous Campbell’s Soup Can series, which caused a sensation in the art world. Shortly thereafter he began a large sequence of movie star portraits, including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Elizabeth Taylor. Warhol also started his series of “death and disaster” paintings at that time. Between 1963 and 1968 Warhol worked with his Superstar performers and various other people to create hundreds of films. These films were scripted and improvised, ranging from conceptual experiments and simple narratives to short portraits and sexploitation features. His works include Empire (1964), The Chelsea Girls (1966), and the Screen Tests(1964-66). Warhol’s first exhibition of sculptures was held in 1964. It included hundreds of replicas of large supermarket product boxes, including Brillo Boxes and Heinz Boxes. For this occasion, he premiered his new studio, painted silver and known as “The Factory”. It quickly became “the” place to be in New York; parties held there were mentioned in gossip columns throughout the country. Warhol held court at Max’s Kansas City, a nightclub that was a popular hangout among artists and celebrities. By the mid-1960s he was a frequent presence in magazines and the media. Warhol expanded into the realm of performance art with a traveling multimedia show called The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, which featured The Velvet Underground, a rock band. In 1966 Warhol exhibited Cow Wallpaper and Silver Clouds at the Leo Castelli Gallery. Warhol self-published a large series of artists’ books in the 1950s, but the first one to be mass-produced was Andy Warhol’s Index (Book), published in 1967. Two years later he co-founded Interview, a magazine devoted to film, fashion, and popular culture. Interview is still in circulation today. His later books include THE Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) (1975), Exposures (1979), POPism (1980), and America (1985). Most of his books were based on transcribed conversations. In 1974, Warhol started a series of Time Capsules: cardboard boxes that he filled with the materials of his everyday life, including mail, photos, art, clothing, collectibles, etc. The artist produced over 600 of them and they are now an archival goldmine of his life and times. Throughout the 1970s Warhol frequently socialized with celebrities such as Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Truman Capote, both of whom had been important early subjects in his art. He started to receive dozens—and soon hundreds—of commissions for painted portraits from wealthy socialites, musicians and film stars. Celebrity portraits developed into a significant aspect of his career and a main source of income. He was a regular partygoer at Studio 54, the famous New York disco, along with celebrities such as fashion designer Halston, entertainer Liza Minnelli, and Bianca Jagger. In 1984, Warhol collaborated with the young artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francesco Clemente, and Keith Haring. Warhol returned to painting with a brush for these artworks, briefly abandoning the silkscreen method he had used exclusively since 1962. In the mid-1980s his television shows, Andy Warhol’s T.V. and Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes were broadcast on New York cable television and nationally on MTV. He created work for Saturday Night Live, appeared in an episode of The Love Boat and produced music videos for rock bands such as The Cars. Warhol also signed with a few modeling agencies, appearing in fashion shows and numerous print and television ads. Warhol was a prolific artist, producing numerous works through the 1970s and 1980s. His paintings, prints, photographs, and drawings from this period include: Mao, Ladies and Gentlemen, Skulls, Hammer and Sickles, Shadows, Guns, Knives, Crosses, Dollar Signs, Zeitgeist, and Camouflage. Warhol’s final two exhibitions were his series of Last Supperpaintings, shown in Milan and his Sewn Photos (multiple prints of identical photos sewn together in a grid), exhibited in New York. Both shows opened in January 1987, one month before his death. Campbell's Soup I : Vegetable. 1968. Original screen print. Hand signed on the verso. From the edition of 250. 35 x 23". SOLD. Bruno Zupan was born June 21, 1939 in Trbovlje, Slovenia and graduated from the Art Institute in Zagreb, Croatia before emigrating to Paris in 1962 at the age of twenty-three. He left Paris in 1964 for New York and became an American citizen in 1969. He has exhibited widely with over 200 exhibitions in museums and galleries on three continents. In 1976, he was awarded life membership in the Society of French Artists. Zupan prefers to paint directly from nature rather than in a studio, and his locations of choice are Mallorca, Venice and Paris. He must have a deep emotional relationship with the subjects he chooses to paint, and that intimacy allows him the freedom of expression best described by ArtSpeak critic Ed McCormick: "The real magic is in the paint surface itself, with its energetic bravura strokes, splashes, splatters, and drips forming a unified statement, as active, alive and visually autonomous as an Abstract Expressionist work by de Kooning or Diebenkorn- yet simultaneously evoking the world outside the canvas. Among contemporary painters, Bruno Zupan alone possesses the singular sensibility to strike such a perfect balance between surface and subject, between a convincing pictorial lyricism and the matter of fact materiality that is even larger truth and triumph of the most advanced modern art." Public Collections (partial) American Ballet Theater. Bank of America. Columbus Museum of Art. Greenville County Museum of Art. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Museo de Arte de la Cartuja, Mallorca. Museo de Mallorca. Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Philatelic Museum, Palais de Nations, Geneva. Schlumberger Corporation. Synovus Financial Group. The Carter Center, Atlanta. United States Embassy, Lisbon. United Nations Headquarters, New York. Private Collections (partial) HRH Princess Grace of Monaco. Tom Brokaw. Erica Jong. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Bruno Magli. The Rockefeller Collection. The Rothschild Collection. George C. Scott. The Swarovski Family of Austria. Baron H.H. Thyssen-Bornemiza. Jacques Valenti. Natasha Makarova. Gilsey Kirkland. Margot Fonteyn. Rudolf Nureyev. Terry Vanderbilt. US Senator Robert Corker. Sheikh Alia Mubarak Al Sabah. Li Xiannian, President of the People's Republic of China. Port of Valldemossa in June. Original oil on canvas. 32 x 39" SOLD. Morning Light, Rocks and Sea. Original Oil on Canvas. 45 x 57 1/2". Yachts by San Giorgio, Venice. Original oil on canvas. 35 x 46" Peniches Below Pont des Arts. Original watercolor. 26 x 39". SOLD. Six Gondolas on the Grand Canal, Venice. Original Watercolor. 30 x 42 1/2". Gondola Repair Station, Venice. Original oil on canvas. 18 x 15". SOLD. Evening in Venice. Street in Valldemossa. Gondolas on the Grand Canal. Gothic Balconies in Venice. Original oil on canvas. sf. 32 x 39". Tuileries in July. Centaur and Fountains. Original Watercolor. 27 1/2 x 39". Morning Light, Chopin Museum, Valldemossa. Fountain in Spanish Patio. Ferris Wheel in Tuileries Garden. Paris. Sunflowers Below the Monastery. Bruno painting in his Venice studio. Bruno in Mallorca. Jonah Allen’s work revolves around his interests in abstraction, environmentalism, color, geometry, landscape, and the power of water. Using aerial photography and both digital and analogue photographic techniques, he is able to explore different perspectives and challenge the viewer to look at water in a new way. On the surface, his images are based on the allure of water. Yet, on a deeper level, the images aim to inspire a deep respect for the Earth’s waterways. “Ultimately, water is all we have. It facilitates our very existence. It is why we are here on this tiny blue planet. My hope is that my artwork will inspire people to not only appreciate our watercourses but also think about how we can make them last for future generations.” - Jonah Allen. Flash back to a young boy on the beach, visiting the Gulf of Mexico in Seaside, Florida, on a family vacation. At age ten, he took his first surf lesson, and it changed the course of his life. He realized the transformative power of water and grew to become obsessed with the ways it flows and moves. Born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Jonah Allen endured a sort of long-distance relationship with his love, the Gulf of Mexico, as a teenager. As a solution to his heartache over being five hours away, Allen began photographing the other bodies of water around him—lakes, streams, pools—to ease his withdrawal from the Gulf. Thankfully, his family often took trips back to the beach. “I spent countless hours in the emerald gulf, mesmerized by the energy within it,” Allen recalls. “With my camera, I could capture those fleeting moments and take them back to Georgia as memories. This ended up creating a division in me—I lived in Atlanta, but my true home was at the beach. That division lasted fifteen years until I finally decided it was time to leave Georgia.” Following this life-changing decision, he worked for months to save the money for a round-the-world trip. With a little help from his father, who worked for Delta Air Lines, Allen took a leap of faith and set out on a yearlong journey to surf in different places and document the inspiring waters along the way. His photos tell stories from his adventures in Chile, Indonesia, Europe, Peru, and many more destinations. But it was always the Gulf of Mexico that called to him the most. After Allen spent a year traveling the world, surfing the most incredible waves, and capturing the powerful waters of the earth in his photos, he finally moved full-time to the Gulf Coast of Florida. “Reflecting on the whole year abroad, I really saw how water connects us all, no matter where we are on the planet,” he says. “I gained many different perspectives on water, from the respect of the Hawaiians to the vitality of the ocean in Chile, the agricultural use in Indonesia, and the consequences of climate change in Peru. Something that emerged was the duality of water; it provides life just as easily as it can endanger it, and our usage influences this. All around the world, people are both using water sustainably and misusing it. This got me thinking, ‘What is happening to the water of Walton County and the Gulf of Mexico?’ So, I’ve been creating artwork around this idea and raising other questions: How are all the watercourses of the Gulf being influenced? What does water mean to the people around the Gulf? What draws people to the Gulf waters?” Using aerial photography, Allen can explore different perspectives and challenge his viewers to look at water in new ways. He creates large-format art (four-by-six feet and larger) depicting views of the coastal dune lakes, the Gulf, and other waterways in Northwest Florida by piecing together several photos so that the finished project can show acres at a time. The results are stunning statement pieces. Excerpt from VIE MAGAZINE. July 2019. Outfall no. 68. Limited edition chromogenic photograph. Hand signed and numbered. 48 x 48” Edition of 5. 64 x 64” Edition of 5. Refraction no. 2. Limited edition chromogenic photograph. Hand signed and numbered. Converge. Indonesian Shore no. 3. Palette of Emeralds. Peak no. 25. Coastal Flow no. 5 and 6. Diptych. Receded Reservoir no. 5. Outfall no. 72. Triptych. Outfall no. 1. Aquamarine Study no. 3 and 4. Diptych. Turquoise Breaker no. 3. A-Frame. Outfall no. 234. Installation - Outfall no. 68. Installation - Receded Reservoir. Alys Beach, Florida. As featured in VIE Magazine. July 2019. ORIGINAL WORKS BY DURER. REMBRANDT. DEGAS. TOULOUSE-LAUTREC. CHERET. MUCHA. STEINLEN. WEGENER. GAUGUIN. MATISSE. PICASSO. DALI. CHAGALL. MIRO. CALDER. FRANCIS. DIEBENKORN. DINE. LICHTENSTEIN. STELLA. MOTHERWELL. FRANKENTHALER. INDIANA. de KOONING. WARHOL. HOCKNEY. ZUNIGA. RICHTER. CHRISTO. EICHINGER. ROYO. ZUPAN. BATTISTIN. HIRST. BRADLEY. TORRES. BASSO. OTTIERI. DREBIN. KAHN.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722945
__label__wiki	0.579232	0.579232	Mason Ramsey featured in new "Old Town Road" remix - WSIL-TV 3 Southern Illinois Mason Ramsey featured in new "Old Town Road" remix Friday, July 12, 2019 11:51 AM EDT Friday, July 12, 2019 12:10 PM EDT By Baylee Steelman bsteelman@wsiltv.com (WSIL) -- Golconda's favorite son has a verse in the newest remix of the hit song "Old Town Road." Mason Ramsey joins Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and Young Thug in the newest remix of "Old Town Road." The song has been #1 on the Billboard charts for 14 weeks. Only 10 singles in the chart's 61-year existence have ever spent that many weeks at No. 1. Mason Ramsey paid a visit to News 3 This Morning to debut his new song "Twang" earlier this month. He rose to fame after a video of him yodeling in the Harrisburg Walmart went viral in 2018.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722948
__label__wiki	0.898202	0.898202	WATCH OR STREAM Cis La Season 10 Episode 22 Search Results for: cis la season 10 episode 22 Mile 22 2018 An elite group of American operatives, aided by a top-secret tactical command team, must transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to an extraction point 22 miles away through the hostile streets of an Asian city. In Norway on 22 July 2011, right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 young people attending a Labour Party Youth Camp on Utöya Island outside of Oslo. This three-part story will focus on the survivors of the attacks, the political leadership of Norway, and the lawyers involved. Drama \| History \| Thriller \| Crime 22 Minutes 2014 22 minutes got Russian marine to free a hijacked oil tanker far from shore. Crime \| Action 22 Bullets 2010 Charly Matteï has turned his back on his life as an outlaw. For the last three years, he's led a peaceful life devoting himself to his wife and two children. Then, one winter morning, he's left for dead in the parking garage in Marseille's Old Port, with 22 bullets in his body. Against all the odds, he doesn't die... Action \| Crime \| Thriller Drama \| Thriller \| Romance \| Science Fiction \| Mystery Catch-22 1970 A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation. War \| Comedy \| Drama Utøya: July 22 2018 The movie tells the story about a girl who has to hide and survive from terrorist Anders Breivik while looking for her little sister during the terrorist attacks in Norway on the island Utøya, July 22nd. After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt and Jenko when they go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team, and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. Now they don't have to just crack the case - they have to figure out if they can have a mature relationship. If these two overgrown adolescents can grow from freshmen into real men, college might be the best thing that ever happened to them. Crime \| Comedy \| Action 22 Chaser 2018 One of the city's last decent tow truck drivers risks everything on a desperate quest to become king of the road and provide for his struggling family. Crime \| Drama 22 Female Kottayam 2012 22 Female Kottayam, also known as 22FK, is a 2012 Indian rape and revenge film directed by Aashiq Abu and starring Rima Kallingal and Fahad Fazil in the lead roles. The film deals with the travails of a nurse who was victimised for no fault of hers and who takes revenge on her tormentors in a rather unusual manner. Set and filmed in Bangalore, the film released on April 13, 2012, and received strongly positive reviews from critics. It was also well received at the box-office. Crime \| Drama \| Romance \| Thriller The plan was easy; the job was not. On a snowy night a tight crew of four criminals plan to pull off a routine heist. When things go horribly wrong, friendship, loyalty and trust are pushed to the limit. A wounded man makes a desperate call, reporting that a gunman is holding a coffee shop hostage and shooting anyone he pleases -- but when the SWAT team shows up, the madman opens fire. Through flashbacks, a waitress serves an array of customers, all of whom are blissfully unaware of how their lives will be horrifically changed. Prelude 22 1996 Prelude 22 is a singly-printed hand-painted thick black and gold swatches of color which evolve into forms that are horizontally and vertically sliced, smeared, cut-off until color "runs" sensuously in snake-like shapes, coils, soforth. Panic on the 5:22 1974 Three armed men take over a private railroad car, determined to rob and kill the passengers. Beck - Den svaga länken 2007 A teenage girl is found by her parents brutally raped and murdered in the woods. It's now up to Beck and his team to catch the criminal. WWE WrestleMania 22 2006 WrestleMania 22 was the twenty-second annual WrestleMania PPV. It was presented by Snickers and took place on April 2, 2006 at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus Triple H for the WWE Championship. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton. Featured matches on the undercard included a No Holds Barred match between Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon, a Casket match between The Undertaker and Mark Henry, a WWE Women's Championship match between Mickie James and Trish Stratus and an interpromotional Money in the Bank ladder match featuring six participants. Tickets sold out in under two minutes, grossing US$2.5 million for the event, making it the highest grossing one-day event at the Allstate Arena. More than 17,155 people attended, with millions more watching in more than 90 countries. 22 Yards 2019 Ron Sen is a successful sports agent who manages top players from the Indian cricket team. After controversy ends the prospects of his career, Ron mentors a down-on-luck cricketer, Shome to help achieve his dream. A young woman is locked in the bathroom of an abortion clinic after her aborted baby is born alive. Horror \| Drama Set in Italy during World War II, the series follows the story of the incomparable, artful dodger Yossarian, a bombardier for the U.S. Air Force, who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy, but rather his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Comedy \| Drama \| War & Politics NYC 22 2012 NYC 22 follows six diverse NYPD rookies as they patrol the gritty streets of upper Manhattan. With unique backgrounds, personalities and reasons for being on the force, the new cops will make their share of rookie mistakes while they figure out how to relate to their boss, each other and the people they swore to protect. This Hour Has 22 Minutes 2009 This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials. Originally featuring Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey and Mary Walsh, the series featured satirical sketches of the weekly news and Canadian political events. The show's format is a mock news program, intercut with comic sketches, parody commercials and humorous interviews of public figures. The on-location segments are frequently filmed with slanted camera angles. Its full name is a parody of This Hour Has Seven Days, a CBC newsmagazine from the 1960s; the "22 Minutes" refers to the fact that a half-hour television program in Canada and the U.S. is typically 22 minutes long with eight minutes of commercials. Jones and Walsh had previously worked together on the sketch comedy series CODCO, on which Thomey sometimes appeared as a guest. Mercer had been a notable young writer and performer on his own, touring several successful one-man shows of comedic political commentary. News \| Comedy Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century 1999 Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century is an animated television series, in which Sherlock Holmes is brought back to life in the 22nd century. The series is a co–production by DiC and Scottish Television and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Special Class Animated Program. Animation \| Mystery \| Crime \| Sci-Fi & Fantasy M.K. 22 2004 M.K. 22 is an Israeli animated sitcom, revolving around the adventures of soldiers in a fictional IDF military base hosting the so-called "Israeli doomsday weapon". The show was created for the cable channel Bip and debuted in March 2004, becoming the first prime time animated series in Israeli television, and was later rebroadcast partly censored on Channel 2. The show won the Israeli Television Academy Award for Best Comedy Series and is considered by many a milestone in the history of Israeli animation. Despite gaining popularity and critical acclaim, the negotiations for a second season seem to have failed, making the first 10-episode season the only one thus far. Animation \| Comedy Taxi 0-22 2007 Taxi 0-22 is a popular Canadian television comedy series, which airs on TVA, a Quebec-based French language network in Canada. The series stars Patrick Huard as Montreal cab driver Rogatien Dubois Jr. II. The first season is predominantly set inside Dubois' dark blue taxi, a Ford Crown Victoria, and the comedy unfolds through his interactions – usually opinionated and deeply held – with the guest stars and other passengers who ride in his cab. Season two expanded the show's narrative to focus more on stories and characters outside of his taxi. Dubois speaks a thickly accented and rapidly delivered Quebec slang. The first season of the show commenced broadcast in February 2007, the second in January 2008, and the third season began airing in January 2009. It is broadcast at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday nights. It has been reported that more than one million viewers watch the show every week. The TVA network has ordered season four to be produced, based on the success of the series. In 2008, the series won the Olivier Award for best dramatic comedy. Actor James Gandolfini is developing a pilot for an American adaptation, which will air on HBO if it is picked up as a regular series. 227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series stars Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins. It was produced by Embassy Television from 1985 to 1986 and by Embassy Communications from 1986 until 1988; then ELP Communications through Columbia Pictures Television produced the series in its final two seasons. Le TVA 22 heures Le TVA 22 heures is the main nightly network newscast on TVA, a French language television network in the Canadian province of Quebec which is also available across Canada on cable. The program airs weekday evenings at 10 p.m. ET, and is anchored by Sophie Thibault. It is rebroadcast at 11 p.m. ET on TVA's all-news channel LCN. 22 Minute Hard Corps 2015 With 22 Minute Hard Corps basic-training program, Tony Horton makes getting in shape and losing weight really simple. Fall-in for just 22 minutes a day and you’ll see outstanding results. Room 222 1969 Room 222 is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series aired on ABC for 112 episodes from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 9:00 for its first two seasons before settling into its best-remembered time slot of Friday evenings at 9:00, following The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family, and preceding The Odd Couple and Love, American Style. In 1970, Room 222 earned Emmy Awards in three categories: Outstanding New Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. An English teacher travels back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination, but discovers he is attached to the life he has made in a bygone era. Drama \| Sci-Fi & Fantasy Partridge Family 2200 A.D. 1974 Partridge Family 2200 A.D. is an animated television series based on The Partridge Family created by Hanna-Barbera. Crusade 1999 Crusade is an American spin-off TV show from J. Michael Straczynski's Babylon 5. Its plot is set in AD 2267, five years after the events of Babylon 5, and just after the movie A Call to Arms. The Drakh have released a nanovirus plague on Earth, which will destroy all life on Earth within five years if it is not stopped. To that end, the Victory class destroyer Excalibur has been sent out to look for anything that could help the search for a cure. Drama \| Sci-Fi & Fantasy \| Action & Adventure Space Battleship Yamato 2199 2013 The year is 2199. The human race has been crushed in their war with the Gamilos, driven into underground cities by the invader's assault. Scientists estimate they have only a year left. The young officers Susumu Kodai and Daisuke Shima receive a mysterious capsule from a ship that made an emergency landing on Mars and return with it to Earth. It contains humanity's last hope: the planet Iscandar on the other side of the Magellan Galaxy has the technology to defeat the Gamilos and restore the planet. The space battleship Yamato is entrusted with this task, but they have only one year before humanity ends. Action & Adventure \| Animation \| Drama The Phantom 2009 Chris Moore is shocked to learn that he was adopted and is actually the son of The Phantom, a caped crime fighter. He joins the Phantom team in the jungles of Bengalla to train in martial arts and combat, and emerges as the next Phantom. Action & Adventure \| Crime \| Drama Blacklist El Chapo The Good Doctor Season 1 Ep 2 A D The Bible Continues Season 2 Are You The One Season 7 Alli Abajo Dirty Dancing The Remake Narcos 3 The Good Doctor Season1 Locked Up Vis A Vis Gotham Season 5 Episode 2 God Befriended Me The Resident Outlanderseries 4 A D The Bible Runaways Session 2 Episode 1 Taxi A D Season 2 The Continues Bible Season 2 Handmaid Legends Of Tommorow Mr Mercedes Season 2 Legacies Candice Renoir Great British Baking La Dona Derry Girls Ncis Via A Vis Blue Bloods Season 9 Episode 13 Sheldon Growing Ish Grownish Season 2 Episode 2 Clique Grownish Season2 Vis A Vis Lesbian New Young Sheldon Season 1 Ep 1 Burden Of Truth Series 2 Episode 1 Shazam Finder Dirilis Ertugrul Season 5 How To Ger Vis A Vos La Reina Del Grownish Siren Queen Of The South Lucy Duren Ted Season 2 Dominion Bible Continue Grown Ish Episode 6 Season 4 Outlander The Bible Conte Crime Of Glinderwald Jane Yhe Virgin Outlander Season 4 Grow Ish Dirili Ertu Rul Transporye The Brave Season2 Episode 1 True Detective Season 2 Episode 1 Mcgyver Blue Blood 100 Heartland Constantine Season 2 White Gold Aquaman 13 Reasons Why Season 1 The Beast Transporter The Series British Bake Off Reina Del Sur 2 Grown Ish Season 2 Brave Season 2 A D The Bible Continues Shetland Season 4 Episode 4 How To Get Away La Reyna De Sur 2 Ad The Bible Young Sheldon Season 1 Into The Bandlands Season 3 Fructul Oprit Reina Del Sur Vis A Vis 3 Temporada Capitulo 4 Elementary Young Sheldon Escape At Dannamore Transporter The Movie A D The Bibles Continues Game Of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3 Jane The Virgin Aqua Man A D Bible Game Of Thrones If Loving You Is Wrong Jean Copyright © 2016 Watch or Stream Free HD Quality Movies. 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__label__wiki	0.844889	0.844889	Archive for Moon Zappa Great Rock Albums of 1983: Frank Zappa- The Man From Utopia Posted in 1980s, films, Humour, Music, Rock, Uncategorized with tags Classic Rock, Doctor Demento, films, Frank Zappa, Guitarists, humour, Joe's Garage, Moon Zappa, parody, progressive rock, Rollerball, Steve Vai, The 1970s, The 1980s, The Man From Utopia on December 6, 2015 by 80smetalman If there was any more evidence to further my belief that 1983 was the year for humour in music, then it would have to be the album “The Man From Utopia” by Frank Zappa. For over a decade and a half before the release of this album, Frank had been successfully carrying out a two pronged assault of making some fantastic music while at the same time, making us laugh our asses off with his humourous lyrics. In the late 1970s, listening to Zappa was practically a requirement at my high school. 1983 would be the year that one of his songs would actually get airplay on commercial radio. Before that, his only access to radio play was via the Dr Demento Show. Yes, I know that “Valley Girl” broke into the top forty charts in 1982 but that song will always be associated with his daughter Moon. Doctor Demento That all changed when one day, while listening to the one decent rock station in Jacksonville, North Carolina, I heard the track “Cocaine Decisions.” Okay, the song never broke the top forty singles chart, but who really cares about that? I just thought it was great to hear Frank on the radio. True, “Cocaine Decisions” is an anti drug song. However, it is not aimed at the common man. Instead it pokes fun at all the high class executives who used to snort. There was a saying back in the 80s that went, “Cocaine was God’s way of telling you that you make too much money.” Frank’s song parodies that. The rest of the album consists of everything that Frank Zappa has been doing to entertain us for all those years. There are a load of great parody songs on the album. At first, I thought “The Radio is Broken” was going to be about a broken radio. Instead, Frank is being a kind of prophet here. It would only be less than two years later when, in my view, commercial radio started to suck. This song is about that. Then there’s “The Dangerous Kitchen.” This one takes the piss out of the rising health and safety culture and look where it is now these days. The track “The Jazz Discharge Party Hats” rips on musicians trying to get laid after every gig. However, my favourite track on “The Man From Utopia” is “The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou.” While the song is done with the usual Zappa sense of humour, there is a serious side to it. It’s about a down trodden housewife who gets away but then gets revenge by fleecing men. It is on this track that Ray White’s underrated vocals come out. Oh yes, “Sex” is a pretty funny track too. If I were to nit pick anything about the album, it would be the absence of Frank Zappa’s guitar playing ability. He doesn’t go into any great solos and it could be said that there is a lack of guitar great Steve Vai’s skills. Honestly, I’m not really bothered. There are three instrumentals, “Tink Walks Amok,” “We’re Not Alone” and “Moggio,” on the album and they all boast the great musicianship from the people Frank gets to play on his albums. I think that “The Man From Utopia” might be his best album since “Joe’s Garage Act 1.” Track Listing (CD) Cocaine Decisions Tink Walks Amok The Radio is Broken The Dangerous Kitchen The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou The Jazz Discharge Party Hats Luigi and the Wise Guys Moggio Frank Zappa- vocals, guitar, drum machine Steve Vai- guitars Ray White- guitar, vocals Roy Estrada- vocals Bob Harris- boy soprano Ike Willis- vocals Bobby Martin- keyboards, saxophone, vocals Tommy Mars- keyboards Arthur Barrow- bass, rhythm guitar, keyboards Ed Mann- percussion Scott Thunes- bass Chris Wackerman- drums Vinnie Colaiuta- drums Craig Twister Stewart- harmonica Dick Fegy- mandolin Marty Krystall- saxophone Frank Zappa was still going strong in 1983 as “The Man From Utopia” shows. After all, if 1983 was a year for humour in music to step forward, it wouldn’t have been able to do so without Frank. I have also made a rather disappointing discovery. As a teen forty years ago, I thought that by now, 2015, wars would no longer exist but there would be ROLLERBALL! Next post: Weird Al Yankovick Great Rock Albums of 1982: Frank Zappa- Ship Arriving Too Late To Save a Drowning Witch Posted in 1980s, Humour, Music, Rock, Uncategorized with tags Americans, Blues, Classic Rock, Frank Zappa, Guitarists, hard rock, Joe's Garage, Men at Work, Moon Zappa, parody, progressive rock, Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, Steve Vai, The 1980s on March 5, 2015 by 80smetalman It was true that Men At Work brought a fresh sense of humour to music in 1982, however, Frank Zappa had been bringing humour to music for nearly a decade and a half before that. In 1982, Frank gave us the album “Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch.” What’s more, this album gave him his only top forty single with the help of his daughter Moon Unit. “Valley Girl” made it to number 32 in the pop singles charts and to number 12 in the mainstream rock charts. It also had many girls and quite a few guys using the lingo from the song. Terms like “barf me out,” “gag me with a spoon” and “groady to the max” were all used quite liberally in 1982 and for the next few years after. Moon Zappa “Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch” only has six songs on it but they are all memorable ones, usually the case with Zappa. Except for the track “Envelopes,” which is an instrumental, the songs all have that trademark warped sense of humour that he possessed. They also have, the instrumental track included, the precise musicianship that a Zappa album always had. In the case of this particular album, a then little known guitar named Steve Vai makes an appearance, playing what is credited on the album as ‘credited guitar parts.’ What some people sometimes forget and I will keep shouting from the rooftops, is that Frank was a damn good guitarist himself. He really smokes the fingerboard on the title track of the album and does a similar job on “I Come From Nowhere.” In fact, after refamiliarising myself with this album, I am lead to draw the conclusion that with the possible exception of “Joe’s Garage Act 1,” “Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch” has the perfect balance of humour and musicianship for a Zappa album. 1. No Not Now 2. Valley Girl 3. I Came From Nowhere 4. Drowning Witch 5. Envelopes 6. Teenage Prostitute Frank Zappa- vocals, lead guitar Steve Vai- guitar (impossible guitar parts) Ray White- rhythm guitar, vocals Bobby Martin- keyboards, saxophone Scott Thunes- bass (tracks 2,4,5,6) Arthur Barrow- bass (tracks 1 and 3) Patrick O’Hearn- bass on the guitar solo on track 3 Bob Harris- vocals Lisa Popeil- vocals on “Teenage Prostitute” Moon Unit Zappa- vocals on “Valley Girl” If you want humour and good musicianship, then a Frank Zappa album is the best way to get it. It just so happens that this album hits the right combination of both. Next post: Utopia- Swing To the Right	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722956
__label__cc	0.70606	0.29394	Faculty Oversight and University Athletics Colorado State University Professor of Education and longtime AAUP member Bill Timpson has a piece in today’s Fort Collins Coloradoan arguing that faculty must take their share of responsibility to ensure that the academic integrity of the university is never compromised in the collegiate arms race to be competitive on the playing field. For a link to the article go here. We also reproduce it in its entirety below. Recent changes in Colorado State University athletics have created quite a buzz–expensive buy-outs, very big salaries, and now talk of a new stadium on campus–and all of this during a time of national recession. There is no question that many great American universities have very competitive athletic programs and that the excitement from winning teams can be energizing. However, we also have seen scandals surface routinely along with widespread concern expressed by academic leaders about the ways that big-time athletics and television revenues can distort a university’s mission when oversight and transparency are lacking. I will argue here that faculty must assert their responsibility to assure that the integrity of the university is never compromised no matter the amount of money “on the table” – or under it – or the frenzy of the fan base. As a former college athlete, I always enjoyed having the support of fans, the community and the media. However, as a longtime member of the faculty at CSU, I have concerns from the other side of the lectern. Shared governance, the inclusion of many voices in the decisions that impact the university, what many of us consider the foundation for the historic strengths of U.S. universities, is too often sacrificed in the rush to get to “the next level” of competitive prowess. Much research has demonstrated that we get better and more creative decisions when we take the time and find the mechanisms to include diverse voices. The Dec. 16 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education has its lead article titled, “What The Hell Has Happened To College Sports? And What Should We Do About it?” William Friday, president emeritus of the University of North Carolina, writes: “(Each) year brings more scandals and more incidents calling into question the compatibility of universities and a gargantuan (sports) entertainment industry.” As a longtime member of American Association of University Professors, arguably the most consistent voice for faculty and adjunct instructors across the nation, I found three recent reports about the dangers of big-time athletics on their website. The conclusions are clear: Oversight and transparency are essential and faculty, the guardians of academic integrity, must be involved. In one report, John Gerdy, author of several books on this subject, writes: “A strong case can be made that our country has lost perspective regarding the role of organized sports in our culture. Although much of what transpires in college athletics is positive, we have come to glorify athletic accomplishment far more than academic achievement. And we in higher education have largely been responsible for allowing this culture to evolve… People need to understand that American higher education existed for more than two hundred years before the first intercollegiate athletic contest and will continue to provide quality education, produce important research, and contribute to the betterment of society with or without athletics. The issue is balance.” In his report, “The Faculty’s Role in Reforming College Sports,” Professor James Earl writes: “Most fans would be surprised to learn that these tremendously popular spectacles make no money for their owners, and in fact cost most universities precious millions they can’t afford. … So it’s up to the owners – us – to slow things down.” There are core issues of university and academic integrity here where transparency is essential and faculty must provide ongoing oversight. ← Arthur Gilbert and Academic Freedom at DU AAUP-Colorado Releases Report on the University of Denver’s Termination of Sharolyn Anderson →	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722957
__label__wiki	0.573834	0.573834	Fidelity of Bacterial Source Tracking: Escherichia coli vs Enterococcus spp and Minimizing Assignment of Isolates from Nonlibrary Sources W. M. Hassan, University of Southern MississippiFollow Rudolph D. Ellender, University of Southern MississippiFollow Shiao Y. Wang, University of Southern MississippiFollow The goal of the study was to improve the fidelity of library-dependent bacterial source tracking efforts in determining sources of faecal pollution. The first objective was to compare the fidelity of source assignments using Escherichia coli vs Enterococcus spp. The second objective was to determine the efficacy of using thresholds during source assignments to reduce the rate of misassignments when nonlibrary isolates (i.e. isolates from animals not used in building the identification library) are present. E. coli and Enterococcus isolates from 784 human, cow, deer, dog, chicken, and gull faecal samples were fingerprinted using BOX-PCR. Jack-knife analysis of the fingerprints showed that the overall rate of correct assignment (ORCA) of 867 E. coli isolates was 67% compared with 82% for 1020 Enterococcus isolates. In a separate blind test using similarity value and quality factor thresholds, the ORCA of 130 E. coli and 131 Enterococcus isolates were 70% and 98%, respectively. The use of these thresholds reduced misassignment of 262 nonlibrary enterococcal isolates from horses, goats, pigs, bats, squirrels, ducks, geese, and migratory song birds. Misassignment was reduced from 100% when thresholds were not used, to 47% using similarity threshold alone, and to 12% when both thresholds were used. The use of enterococci provides higher rates of correct source assignment compared with E. coli. The use of similarity thresholds to decide whether to accept source assignments made by computer programmes reduces the rate of misassignment of nonlibrary isolates. Although both E. coli and Enterococcus spp. are still used in microbial source tracking, the use of enterococci should be preferred over the use of E. coli in DNA fingerprint-based efforts. In addition, because environmental isolates are not limited to those from animals used to build source tracking libraries, similarity thresholds should be used during source assignments to reduce the rate of misassignments. Journal of Applied Microbiology Hassan, W., Ellender, R. D., Wang, S. Y. (2007). Fidelity of Bacterial Source Tracking: Escherichia coli vs Enterococcus spp and Minimizing Assignment of Isolates from Nonlibrary Sources. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 102(2), 591-598.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722962
__label__cc	0.695179	0.304821	Fic: How To Make a Better Vampire 10/? - Tomorrow is Another Day ... 25 November 2012 @ 02:09 am Fic: How To Make a Better Vampire 10/? Title: How To Make A Better Vampire Chapter: 10 - What Love Should Be [Featured Characters: Elena, Matt, Rebekah and Damon] Author: JenniferH (Arabian) Rating: M (For future chapters/language, sex, violence) Summary: Post 3.22 -- Elena grapples with who she is as a vampire, struggling for control as she tries to find herself and accept who she loves (spoiler: it's Damon!) while her friends and enemies grapple with their own choices in this new world. Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries, and all her characters as presented, belong to Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, the CW, etc., etc., so on and so forth. ;) Notes: Thank you to my group of wonderful beta-readers who made this fic a ton better than it would have been otherwise. Following canon here, so there will be Stefan/Elena and as portrayed on the show, but fear not, this is very definitely a Damon/Elena story (with other pairings referenced, and some featured (Stefan/Rebekah, Matt/Rebekah, Stefan/Caroline, Jeremy/Bonnie, Klaus/Caroline). Just a heads-up, obviously TVD has returned, but nothing in this fic -- despite some similarities you may note -- is inspired by anything seen in season 04. Nor will it be -- if I start adding things from the show it might wind up messing my planned story! PREVIOUS CHAPTERS - 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| 7 \| 8 \| 9 Chapter 10: What Love Should Be The sun shining brightly through the window greeted Elena when her alarm clock went off. Despite the gratitude she still felt for the protection her ring provided, she woke up feeling lousy. Frustration and confusion gnawed at her just as it had the day before. It had been two days and although she had tried to ignore it, her last conversation with Damon kept popping up in her head. And no matter how much she tried to tell herself that she did not care what Damon Salvatore did or said, or rather what he didn’t do or say, she kept replaying their encounter. ”I'm not mad at you or Stefan. Elena, I'm not mad at all.” He smiled and it wasn’t snarky or sarcastic, but one of those rare genuine smiles, beautiful and real. “I’m good,” he said, that smile still on his face. And then even as sincere as his words had sounded, what he did next threw her for a greater loop. “Go on. Go have fun with your boyfriend.” And he meant it. He totally and completely meant it. “His time is now.” “His time is now,” Elena repeated and she knew exactly what Damon was saying. Stefan had now because Damon didn’t expect that she and Stefan had any shot at a future. Throwing her arm over her face and blocking out the sun, Elena couldn’t deny that Damon could be right. She had to admit that things were not going well with her boyfriend. They barely spent any time together and when they did, things were just a bit uneasy, both of them tentative with each other. Elena sat up and bit her lip, thinking her way out of her disloyal thoughts. It has only been a couple of days, of course things aren’t going to be perfect. We just need time. As for Damon… Elena threw herself back down, seeing his smile, the certainty and sincerity in his voice, in his words and she just couldn’t figure it out. When she had last seen him here in her room, she’d kicked him out of her life, used his love for her to get him to stay gone. And instead of bitterness, recrimination, instead of anger and sarcasm covering a world of hurt, he’d been sweet and well, as he said himself, good. He had been good. But she knew he loved her. With all of the crazy uncertainty in her world, that was something of which she had no doubt. Damon loved her. And yet… he wasn’t acting like she had feared he would. She was happy about it; happy that he wasn’t off on some bender which would likely lead to disaster not just for others, but for himself. Seeing him so confident and practically carefree gave her a sense of peace that she had done the right thing for him, letting him go. And yet… She was confused as hell. Why wasn’t he freaking out and being all Damon-y about it all? She was usually so good at reading him, but his attitude had her completely mystified. Elena sighed, her mind going a hundred miles an hour. She reached over and grabbed her other pillow, pressed it to her face, letting out a small scream of frustration. It helped a little. Sitting up, she reached over for her diary and the pen sitting nearby. Flipping open to thelast entry, the pros and cons game with Stefan, she considered the list. Yeah, that worked out real well, she thought with a grimace. Elena read it over again, still thrown by the fact that there were quite a few more cons than pros. Shaking her thoughts away, she settled her pen on a blank line and jotted down the date. And then she paused. She couldn’t think of anything to write. She didn’t know where to start. Damon? Stefan? The fact that I didn’t attack anyone yesterday? Ugh! Throwing the diary and pen down next to her, she glanced over at her bedside table. Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and dialed the number of the only person she knew who would be up… and who was becoming her Salvatore confidant extraordinaire. As the phone rang, Elena wondered what it said about her that the best person to discuss her romantic turmoil with the Salvatore brothers was her ex-boyfriend. “Hey, Elena!” Matt answered without a hint of sleepiness in his tone. “I’m the world’s worst ex-girlfriend,” she began without a hello. “OK,” he laughed and then trailed off, but she could still hear the smile on his face. “Let me guess? Damon? Stefan? Two for the price of one?” Elena covered her eyes in mortification. “Seriously, I’m the worst. I’m so sorry, Matt.” “Really, it’s OK. At least you make me feel useful. Shoot.” “I don’t know, I just can’t stop thinking about what’s going on with Damon.” “Damon. Right. What happened?” “He came to see me the other night and he really was nice, but I pushed him away since I’d already decided I needed to stay away from him because I go crazy around him. And crazy and a baby vampire I’m finding out is not a good mix.” “Yeah, I heard about Beverly.” “What? Oh, Caroline –” “Caroline.” He responded at the same time. “No, well, yes, but that wasn’t Damon’s fault. He came over, he was nice and I was a bitch –“ “Elena, don’t –“ “No, really, I was. I was awful. I justified pushing him away because I was only hurting him by holding on, but Matt, I just hurt him so badly all over again.” She sighed. “I just broke his heart into a million pieces. I’m worse than Katherine when it comes to him.” “No, I am. At least she gave him something for his trouble. Me, I just expect him to be there for me, to comfort me, support me and then I throw it all back in his face.” She stopped and took a deep breath. Elena waited a beat, a part of her wanting him to interrupt this bout of brutal honesty that made her want to stake herself. But Matt was silent on his end. She sighed and continued, determined to lay it all out there if he was willing to listen. “But no more. I told myself that I was doing this for him. I wasn’t going to hurt him anymore and if that meant kicking him out of my life, it had to be done. It was best for him in the long run. And, OK for me too because I’m selfish and awful and I can’t control myself around him. So I did it, I kicked him out and I used how he feels about me to make sure he stayed out.” Elena paused, Damon’s face completely at peace when she last confronted him, flashing in her mind. Shaking her head, she continued. “Matt, he should hate me right now. Or be miserable or off killing someone or sleeping with Rebekah again!” “Rebekah? Again?” And there was a choked note in his voice, enough that it pulled Elena out of her rant. “Matt, what?” “Nothing, I just,” he laughed, and this time there was no humor in the sound. “I didn’t know she slept with him. Never mind, it doesn’t matter. So I take it that Damon is not doing any of those things?” “Wait, are you OK? Caroline mentioned something about you and Rebekah. There's maybe something there, right? I mean, if you want to talk about it…” “No, no, it’s fine. Damon’s acting cool?” There was strain in his voice, as he strove to sound cool himself. Elena wanted to push him, but if he didn’t want to talk, she wasn’t going to force him. Elena waited a beat, and then two, but Matt remained silent waiting for her to carry on. With a sigh, she dove back into the subject of Damon. “Yeah, he’s acting cool. I saw him the next day and he was fine. Not pretend ‘fine,’ but really, truly fine. Matt, he was telling me to enjoy my time with Stefan. Yeah, he threw a few jabs his way, and he so does not agree with how I’m dealing with this whole vampire thing, but, yeah, he was cool.” “And that’s a bad thing?” “No, it’s good. I’m glad for him because I don’t want to see him hurt. But I’m just confused.” Matt was quiet again, and she wondered if he was thinking about her Damon-issues or if he had Rebekah-issues that his mind was stuck on. Really? Rebekah? What is going on there? When he spoke though, his voice was normal, if hesitant as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how she’d take it. “Elena, maybe there’s all this confusion because you picked the wrong brother?” “What? No.” She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her. “Why would you even say that?” “Because Stefan– look, you know I’m not the guy’s biggest fan. I don’t get some of the things he does, and he’s certainly not the good guy we all thought he was when he first showed up. I mean, the dude lies a lot, Elena.” “Matt –“ Even if it was a truth she was beginning to accept, it wasn’t one she was ready to confront. “I’m just saying. Look, the thing is… in the truck, I asked you who you wanted to be with, but I thought it was just a formality. I was all ready to keep driving to Damon because, Elena, I thought it was Damon.” “You did?” Her voice was low, surprised, but not as much as she probably should have been. “I’m not saying I agreed with it, but I don’t think Stefan’s a prize either. In my book, there was no good choice there. I just thought that between them you’d pick Damon.” “But I was with Stefan before he took off and you know we never broke up.” Elena lay there, reminding herself of that fact. She was with Stefan. She was with Stefan. Yes, her feelings for Damon rang deep and she hadn’t allowed herself to actually think about, let alone voice her decision until the end, but how could Matt have been so sure when she was still trying to figure out her own heart? “Yeah, but Stefan took off. Then when he came back, he did that whole switch thing and was a real jerk. And that whole time, you and Damon got closer. When you talked about them, especially that night, when you talked about Stefan, you sounded a lot like –“ He broke off then continued with a sigh, “Elena...” before trailing off this time. “Go on. I sounded like what?” “A lot of things you said, you know like what love should be, what you should do, it sounded a lot like when you were giving me all the reasons why you broke up with me.” There was apology in his tone. “Oh,” was all she could manage in response, taken aback by his words. “I don’t know, Elena, when we talked, it just sounded like Stefan was the safe choice, while Damon was what, I guess, what your heart wanted.” “Matt... ” she began and then trailed off, having no clue how to respond. Matt spoke into the silence. “I just wonder if everything that happened, Mr. Saltzman becoming what he did and then thinking they all were gonna die made you decide to go with the safe choice. And that’s what Stefan was, not your real choice.” “Of course he was,” but her voice was nearly a whisper. “I’m just saying. You didn’t choose Stefan to be with him, Elena. You chose who you were gonna say goodbye to. That’s not the same thing.” She was quiet, and an awkward tension filled the line. With a sigh, Matt spoke again. “But, hey what do I know? I'm the ex, right?” “Matt,” she protested. “Hey, I'm fine, it took me a long time, but I am over you. The thing is I still care and I just think maybe there’s some soul-searching about Stefan you need to do. You seem to do that a lot when it comes to Damon because you can’t really see how you can be with him because of who he is, what he’s done. I just don’t get how it isn’t the same deal with Stefan. Considering all you know now. It’s just something to think about, I guess.” She could practically hear his shrug over the phone. “But, yeah, really, what do I know? I don't know your heart, Elena. Not anymore. Maybe I never did.” “Matt,” she began, misery sweeping through her. She never should have called him, never should have put him in this position. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and she was saying sorry for everything. “It’s OK. I’m good, Elena.” In the background, Elena heard the doorbell ring. “Hey, I gotta go. Some crazy person is ringing my doorbell at 5:30 in the morning! After another crazy person woke me up at 5:00 to discuss her love life.” He laughed. “I'm sorry,” she repeated, but more by rote. She knew he was joking by the sound of his laughter. She could practically see his smile over the phone and it filled her with relief knowing that he really was OK. “I'm kidding. I was awake. You know I work out in the morning. It's good, it's all good.” And then he turned serious. “You'll be good, Elena. You can get through this, I know you can. You just need to figure it out.” The doorbell rang again. “Coming!” He called out and then continued talking to her. “Just stop thinking about what you should do. You've been doing that ever since you found out about the whole doppelganger thing. Try thinking about what you want. OK? “Good, I gotta go. Bye.” Before he hung up, she heard the doorbell once more and he called out again, annoyance in his voice. “I said I was coming!” “Thank you,” She murmured even though she knew he was gone even before the line went dead. Setting the phone down, Elena thought about all he had said. He was right; she had to figure things out. But dealing with Stefan and the choice she had made that night was too much for her to handle right now on top of the whole vampire thing. On the other hand, she did have to come to terms with what she had done to Damon or the guilt would eat at her. Even if he was fine with it, she wasn’t. The next chance she had she would talk to him, clear the air. But first she needed to figure out what to say even if it was only to offer up an apology. It was the least she owed him. She sighed, knowing that she owed him more than the least she could manage. Reaching over, Elena picked up her diary again. Staring at the blank page for a moment, she sighed and wrote one word: ‘Damon.’ She stared at his name for a few seconds and then with a determined frown she began to scribble her scattered thoughts, hoping to make sense of the chaos in her mind. Tapping her foot impatiently, Rebekah resisted the urge to knock again. Suddenly she wondered if Matt was taking so long because he had been in the shower. She imagined him opening the door, body wrapped in a towel, glistening muscles, wet hair– The door opened. He was wearing clothes. And was dry. Damn, she couldn’t help but think with an inner sigh. Still, she pasted a smile on her face. “Matt!” He frowned and then gave a slight shake of his head. “What are you doing here, Rebekah?” “I have a surprise, and good news. Well, it’s good news for me. You probably already know and, I guess,” her smile faded as her voice trailed off into a low murmur. “It’s not good for you.” He raised a brow. “Klaus? He’s alive and living inside my best friend? Yeah, heard that.” His voice was flat. “Congratulations. You got your brother back.” “Yes, well, he’s mad at me right now but–“ “Why is he mad at you?” Matt interrupted with a scowl. “By killing Elena didn’t you save him and all of your family?” “Yes, but he doesn’t see it that way. Nik is upset that I took away his human doppelganger. No more hybrids now.” She rolled her eyes. “My brother isn’t exactly the bigger picture kind of fella. I took away his plaything and he’s pouting.” Matt’s eyes widened in surprise, and then with a shrug, his expression tried for blank. “Well, sucks to be you, I guess.” “I–“ She began, but he wasn’t done. “No, wait. Sucks to be Elena.” And I’m done. “Get over it, Matt. OK, fine, she’s dead. Whatever.” “Whatever?” He sputtered, but she continued over him. “It’s done, it happened. She’s a vampire now, thus undead and still around. And a lot of good came out of it,” she strove to remind him. “Alaric Saltzman is dead therefore the one being with the power to kill the Original bloodline which would have led to the death of half of your friends is dead. Since she’s no longer human, my brother’s obsession with her is done and over with. And since it wasn’t her choice, he doesn’t even want to capture and torture her like he does Katerina.” Rebekah took a deep breath, smiling broadly and finished up her spiel. “Lastly, as a vampire she’s no longer the pathetic, weak thing she was who needed to be saved every five seconds. And, of course, she’ll have the Salvatore brothers to moon over her for all eternity. What fun for her,” she finished with a scowl. “I don’t believe you. You just don’t get it.” Stomping her foot, Rebekah pouted. “What is your problem? Look, I know you’re upset about it, but you can’t not understand. Killing her was the only way to save my family. Of a THOUSAND years. How can the life of one seventeen-year old –“ “Eighteen.” She rolled her eyes. “Eighteen-year old girl compare? And she’s not gone. You’re alive, she’s… here. Tyler, Caroline, everyone you love is still here. How long are you going to be so mean to me? I wasn’t plotting to kill her. She was… collateral damage. And I am sorry that it upset you, but can’t we move on now?” “Rebekah, I’m not a vampire. I just found out about all this stuff like six months ago and it’s still crazy to me. I haven’t been around a thousand or even a hundred years! I’m eighteen and my first girlfriend dying and coming back as a blood-sucking monster who attacks our classmates is not something I can just ‘move on’ from!” Turning her head to the left, she cast her eyes down, a frown upon her face. They were both quiet. Finally, she glanced back up at him, her eyes filled with a yearning she couldn’t hide. “I can’t change what I did. And I wouldn’t even if I could. But,” she broke off and stomped her foot again, a whine entering her voice. “I got you a surprise! To help make up for it. To show you that I am sorry.” Rebekah tried a small smile, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. “To show that I do care.” “It’s not that easy.” “But can’t I try?” She entreated and when he was silent, not immediately shutting her down, Rebekah took a few steps to the side and looked over her shoulder. “Take a look.” Matt sighed, froze and then gasped. Striding past her, he practically ran to the car parked in his driveway. “What? What!? What is this?!” He reached out as if to touch the vehicle and then pulled back, his hands instead rising to cover his open-mouthed shock. Turning to her, his eyes were wide and delight filled the bright blue. “I remembered from the ball. You said that this is what you wanted, right? A Maserati. So I got you one.” She smiled, thrilled with the happiness radiating from him. “I mean, it‘s my fault that your truck is no longer… operational. So, surprise!” Matt stood gaping at her, his head swiveling between her and the Italian car. Reaching out once more, he finally touched it. A satisfied sigh, nearly a purr, escaped him as he gently ran his hand over the smooth, dark metal. “It’s… this is amazing.” His voice nearly shook with emotion. Rebekah clapped her hands at this reaction. “I don’t even know what to say…” “I’m glad,” she murmured. And then, as if her words had broken a spell, Matt dropped his hand. He stiffened jerkily, stepped back and cleared his throat. “I can’t–“ He broke off, gulped and then continued, his voice pained. “I can’t accept this, Rebekah.” “But… but why not? You need an automobile. You want this automobile. Matt,” she cried, stepping forward. “You obviously love it!” Shaking his head, he sounded resolute. “You can’t buy me a car to make up for what you did– Wait! You did buy it, right? Rebekah, you didn’t compel some car salesman? Right?!” She pulled back, stung. “Of course I bought it. I wouldn’t have you driving around a pilfered automobile.” “OK, good, but still–“ “No ‘but still.’ It’s my fault your truck is at the bottom of Willow Creek. Here’s a replacement. Consider me your insurance.” “Look, my family is wealthy. Fabulously so. The cost was nothing to me. And I owe you.” Matt tried to speak again, but before he could manage another prideful rebuttal, she rushed on. “I know it can’t make up for what I did, but she is still here. And you don’t have an automobile.” Then she smiled. “Well, you do actually. This,” she pointed to the gleaming metal sports car, “is in your name. Free and clear.” “I can’t–“ he began, but he was shaking his head, a longing so intense on his face. “I shouldn’t.” “Matt, from where I sit, you’re always doing what you should, not what you want. You want this and who does it hurt?” “No one,” he whispered, his gaze locked on the car. “No one,” she repeated. Reaching out, he laid a hand on the door and sighed deeply. He turned to look at her. “Where are the keys?” Rebekah grinned and pulled them out of her pocket, holding them up with a little jiggle. Standing still for a moment longer, Matt then gave a sudden decisive nod and walked over to her. As he grabbed at the keys, his fingers brushed over hers. Their eyes met. She grinned. “So... give a girl a ride?” Elena carefully covered the brown rabbit with some leaves. Stepping back, she considered the arrangement and finally conceded that nothing could disguise the fact that she’d just killed and drank the blood of a defenseless bunny. She sighed. “This sucks,” she muttered. And it did, but still she felt better. More herself. Feeding in the morning and before bedtime, and drinking like an alcoholic coming off a forty-year-bout of abstinence during the day had taken off the edge. And after purging a zillion thoughts about Damon into her diary earlier, she was ready to face him, apologize and even try to explain herself honestly. She’d even dealt with some of her concerns about Stefan, attempted that soul-searching thing with his name on it like Matt suggested. And that was all wrapped up in what she had to say to Damon. After school today, she reminded herself, she would go see him after school. Or not. Elena looked over her shoulder as the elder Salvatore brother came into view. She was quiet and then with a deep breath, she allowed a small smile. “Hey.” He returned her smile, his eyes widening a bit in surprise. “I was just heading to the Lockwood caves.” He pointed in their direction and then held his hands up in a flash, grinning. “I wasn’t stalking, I swear.” Elena shook her head. “I didn’t think…” she trailed off and then unable to deny her curiosity. “Why are you going to the caves? “We’re talking?” He said to himself and then continued in a normal volume before she could respond. “There are a lot of caves and winding corridors down there and I figured there just might be more beyond the Original stuff we already found.” “Yeah, we got distracted with the whole Homecoming-non-Klaus-kill-fest, Stefan leaving, Esther rising from her coffin, etc. etc. and we kinda left off exploring.” Damon grinned. “So I'm going spelunking,” he paused and squinted. “Hopefully to caves that are not vampire-zoned-out.” Elena nodded, still not sure how to broach the other night. “Uhm, will you tell Bonnie if you find anything?” Coward, she chastised herself. “Yup. She hasn’t made me go all ‘aahhh’ recently.” He held his hands to his head, mimicking the ‘brain whammy,’ as he liked to call it. Kicking the dirt, she glanced up at him from underneath her lashes, a ridiculous shyness taking over. “Yeah, she's kinda coming around... about you, I mean.” “I know, shocking, huh? I spent almost an hour with her the other day and not one brain-whammy.” He grinned again, looking ridiculously good. Elena looked away again, managing a nod. “I think what happened with Esther changed her perspective. She realized that the witchy way of things isn't always the right way.” She sent a quick glance his way. "'Bout damn time some witch learns it,” he gave a quick wink, doing that eye-thing of his, a beautiful smile stretching across his face. She couldn’t help it; she smiled back. Then she realized what she was doing and stopped. She shouldn’t be smiling at him. He shouldn’t be smiling at her, not after what she had done to him. Damon’s smile faded as well; he sighed. “How are you?” Looking at him head-on, she was surprised that he asked, which was silly because of course he would ask. “I'm fine. I'm good.” His eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Really?” Elena was quiet. “I’m better.” He rolled his eyes. “Fine, I attacked a student the other day. Beverly Marshall.” She glanced down at her foliage-camouflaged bunny. “That's why I'm having a before as well as an after-school snack. So that I stay better.” “Ah.” He paused and then asked her a question that was just a matter of fact in his worldview. “Did you kill her?” “No!” She cried, and then sighed because she remembered that a minute was the difference between Beverly’s life or death. “Caroline... took care of her.” “Good,” he shrugged. "I mean, I don’t care, but I know you do.” Pausing, Damon looked at her, sincerity in his gaze. “You know this is really stupid what you’re doing?” “No buts. You–" He broke off with a sigh. Reaching out, he traced a gentle finger down her cheek and Elena had to bite back her own sigh, one of pleasure and longing. Her lids flickered, but her eyes didn't close by sheer force of will. Damon pulled back, his gaze sincere. His eyes were wide, so startling blue that she would have found herself lost in their beauty if the absolute earnestness within them hadn't held her captive. "You miss being human. You want to be human." He paused and then spoke, his voice hushed as if sharing a secret. "I get it. I understand." Elena's lips parted because his eyes, his voice, the slight hint of uncertainty that hung over him made her realize that it was a secret. This was something new about Damon, something that had never even crossed her mind before. Damon was who he was, accepted what he was because he didn't look back. He accepted and embraced reality because it hurt too much hoping, dreaming, wanting something you couldn't have, but it didn't mean that he still didn't hope and dream and want. She blinked again, trying to fight tears that threatened to spill, but she was unable to stop their fall. He shook his head as if trying to contain the flow with the action. "Elena," he murmured, but didn't touch her again. "You are not human. You are a vampire. Vampires need blood. Vampires have a killing– let's call it a hunting, instinct. Vampires feel... everything. Magnified. If you continue to try and pretend to be what you're not anymore, it's going to end badly." Unable to tear her gaze away, she did manage to give a quick shake of her head and brushed away her tears. "You are not a human. Not anymore. You are a vampire, and you need to open up and embrace that reality." "Like you have?" He nodded. She sighed, tears beginning to well once more. Finally, she spoke. “Maybe, I don't know. I just– Damon, I can't not try this, because I'm not you. Maybe it will work for me. I just– I need to figure this out my way.” Damon was quiet for a moment and then he nodded. “I know. I respect that. I just think at the end of it, there's gonna be a very hard lesson learned. And you'll probably regret it. But, hey, it's your choice.” He offered up a quirk of a smile. She was quiet, and he continued, his tone laced with humor. “I'm gonna go. I know I'm violating the stay-away-from-all-things-Damon mandate.” He held up two fingers in the sign of a cross and grinned. And there’s my opening. Elena, do it. “Damon, about that–“ He interrupted. “It’s OK.” And she was shaking her head before he finished speaking. “No, it's not. I've been thinking, trying to figure things out and I don't know where my head is, I don't know where my heart is. Everything is just, I'm a mess. But Damon, I do know that I am sorry for what I did to you.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. "What I said." He moved a few steps closer, those eyes of his so warm and sincere. He nodded. “I know.” She shook her head. “I don't want to hurt you. I know I do, but I don't want to. I don’t mean to. It's just– I say things because I'm scared and confused and then I’m awful to you.” He was shaking his head, but she rushed on. “I just– everything is so chaotic and crazy right now and when I'm with you, I lose control.” Tears began to slide down her cheeks. Elena looked at him, begging him to understand. “I'm afraid that I'm gonna lose myself.” “I get it.” There wasn’t even a trace of bitterness or anger in his tone. He truly understood. “You know it's not forever. It's not. It's just–“ she broke off, unsure of the timeframe. But he knew just what to say. “Right now. It’s not right now.” Elena nodded. “Right. It’s not right now. I care about you, I do. You have to know that!” He nodded. “But I can't keep doing this. Pulling you closer, relying on you and then pushing you away, breaking your heart when you get too close. It's not fair. It's not right.” Her voice was thick with tears as she moved closer to him, needing to be closer. “Hey, I was a baby vamp once upon a time I get it–“ She cut him off, very nearly angry with him. “Stop! Stop being nice. I did this to you before I turned too, I just couldn't admit it. I'm all messed up about you, me, this,” she gestured between them, the space so much less than it was moments ago, “thing between us.” Damon was quiet, listening to her, looking at her so intently as he took it all in. Her voice dropped to a near-whisper. “I'm afraid that everything I believe has been wrong, that everything with Stefan is a lie. Going back, remembering, there’ve been so many lies. And I just went along. What does that say about me?” He shook his head. “It's not. It's not a lie, you love each other. You have been good for each other.” She looked at him, struck silent at his words. Damon continued, earnestness in his tone. “Elena, you just need to figure out when to let go.” He nodded. “And you will.” “Damon, how can you— “ she broke off, completely flummoxed at how understanding he was being about all of this. “I don’t get it,” she cried out. “Why aren’t you furious with me!? I hurt you! I don't deserve your understanding.” Shrugging, he took another step closer. "But you have it. I get you. And you were right the other night, sending me away.” With a short laugh, Elena scoffed. “I was right? I was cruel to you.” She sniffed and wiped at her tears. Nodding, he grinned. “Yeah, that too, but, hey, you know how the song goes.” He started to sing a song she found vaguely familiar. “You gotta be cruel to be kind, in the right measure…” He trailed off at her slightly confused look. “No? Kids today, the music you don’t listen to. Anyway. You need to do what you have to do to be a better vampire, and if right now, being around me makes that harder, then, yeah, you need to not be around me.” Damon reached out, gently brushing at the tears staining her cheek and she found herself wanting to lean into his touch. “That doesn't make the other stuff you're doing anything other than really, really stupid. REALLY stupid.” “Damon–“ she started to protest. “And it's not just stupid,” he overrode her objection. “It's dangerous. Think of Beverly Marshall.” Elena opened her mouth and then closed it without saying a word. She shook her head. “I’m getting better, Damon. I just didn't have enough blood. That was it. See, blood? I can say it.” He shook his head and she rushed on. “No, really, I hadn’t had any since that first time the night before. That’s all it was.” “Damon, listen to me!” She stepped closer, right next to him. “I’m doing what I have to do. I need to do this my way.” He was silent and the stillness grew in the air between them. Every sound around them faded, all she could see was him and her tongue felt tied, she could find no more words. Elena found her gaze drifting from his eyes to his lips, parted slightly, lush and soft and she remembered the feel of them, the taste of him and before she could get a grip on her emotions, she was pressed against him. She didn’t know if he had kissed her, or if she had made the first move, but she was in his arms, their mouths fused together. There was not a breath of air between them, that desperate hunger building like wildfire as she lost herself in his embrace. He gripped her hips hard with his hand before sliding it around, under her rear. With a gasp, she pulled back, her eyes wide, her chest heaving. “God, no!” She flew back. “No!” She cried and turned to run, moving so fast that the trees blurred around her and the wind rushed past her like a tornado. Finally, she slammed against a tree, the breath knocked out of her. “I can’t,” she sobbed to herself. “I can’t be near him. I can’t…” Elena slipped to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees as she cried. “I can’t do this, I can’t.” Throwing her head back against the rough tree bark, she looked around, seeing how far she had come in just a handful of seconds. She’d managed to avoid using any of her vampire powers since the morning she’d decided against it. And five minutes alone with Damon, that resolve disappeared. Elena wiped the tears away, getting a hold of herself. She wasn't going to fall apart again. This wasn't like the other night. She closed her eyes and began breathing deeply until her reckless emotions found some semblance of peace. She could think clearly again. He knew. Damon knew what she was trying to do, why she was pushing him away. He understood. She didn't have to feel guilty anymore. He got that she needed to work though this situation first before dealing with this connection they had. A connection I no longer have with Stefan, she admitted to herself now that she was calm. This is a problem, Elena realized. Beyond a few kisses that had barely affected her, she and Stefan had shared very little physical intimacy since she'd turned. And yet alone with Damon, she found herself in his arms... again. She couldn't keep going like this, caught up in a vicious cycle that just kept repeating. Going over all of the conversations she had had with Stefan, with Caroline and Bonnie and Matt and Jeremy, Elena replayed them word-for-word in her mind. She thought about what she felt, what she wanted to feel, what she said, and what she was doing. Damon, Damon, Damon. Every word, every moment, everything with Damon. And she realized something. She kept telling herself that she wanted things to work with Stefan, but that wasn't going to happen if she didn't put action to thought. What she felt for Damon was real, but so was what she felt for Stefan. Closing her eyes for a quick moment, Elena straightened her spine and nodded to herself. While she was trying to become a better vampire, to use Damon's phrase, she would figure out if she had a future with Stefan or if Damon was right and she and Stefan were only right now. Rising to her feet, Elena released a long, steadying breath. Damon was right. She had to open up and face reality, and that included opening up to Stefan and definitively trying to make things work with him as what they were now, as opposed to who they had been. If she didn't do this, didn't actually try, Elena would just be stuck playing pretend forever. A pretend human in a pretense of a relationship. The latter leaving her snagged in this endless triangle of wanting to be with Stefan and wanting Damon which made all three of them miserable. It was time to put up or give up. If she wanted to be with Stefan then she had to be with Stefan. No more pretending. Time to face reality and see if their relationship could withstand it. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I swear that I came up with the idea of Rebekah giving him the car months ago when I did the outline. I couldn't believe it when she gave him the truck on the show, LOL! Erm, OK, so is anyone beyond x5vale and my betas reading this? I'm getting like no responses beyond them, so I am kinda wondering. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Tags: damon/elena, fic, fic: ...bettervampire, rebekah/matt arabian on December 4th, 2012 01:47 pm (UTC) I'm sorry, I've fallen behind again (I know, I know) because I'm enjoying the show SO much right now (even more than I think I have before) that I'm concentrating more on that than my story. I might just wait until the break and try post 4-6 chapters or so during that time period because I'll have time to really concentrate on it and hopefully get a lot more written before the end of that hiatus so I won't have to try and fit writing chapters in between episode musings/gifs/etc. It will be finished though. I have a really good handle on it and where I'm going and this new direction of the show is SO different from where I'm at now that it will make it easier. (Prior to episode 06, there was enough of a similarity that I was having to backtrack to make sure I wasn't accidentally including stuff from the show in my story. Admittedly there are still similarities, but those are things I wrote before the season started and so it doesn't mess up details that weren't planned.) buffygirl3 on December 4th, 2012 02:20 pm (UTC) NO worries, I just wanted you to know that you have a keen reader who hates waiting. But it will be worth it if you post several chapters all at once. Consider yourself forgiven! ;-) arabian on December 19th, 2012 10:29 pm (UTC) Thank you. I posted chapter 11, and will try and post two chapters a week during the hiatus. :) Thanks for reading and commenting. :)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722963
__label__wiki	0.51013	0.51013	Filters: Author is Rust, Richard Dilworth [Clear All Filters] Rust, Richard Dilworth. "Review of Bradley J. Kramer, Beholding the Tree of Life: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon." BYU Studies Quarterly 54, no. 3 (2015): 184-187. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "Light: A Masterful Symbol." Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 20, no. 1 (2011): 52-65. Rust, Richard Dilworth. Mormon Scholars Testify: Richard Dilworth Rust. Mormon Scholars Testify, 2010. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "The Book of Mormon as Literature." The FARMS Review 17, no. 2 (2005): 141-143. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "Ancient Literary Forms in the Book of Mormon." FARMS Review of Books 14, no. 1-2 (2002): 83-90. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "The Literary Book of Mormon." FARMS Review of Books 11, no. 1 (1999): 1-5. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "Recurrence in Book of Mormon Narratives." Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3, no. 1 (1994): 39-52. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "Taste and Feast: Images of Eating and Drinking in the Book of Mormon." BYU Studies Quarterly 33, no. 4 (1993): 743-752. Rust, Richard Dilworth, and Donald W. Parry. Book of Mormon Literature In Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Edited by Daniel H. Ludlow. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan, 1992. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "Book of Mormon Imagery." In Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, edited by John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne, 132-139. Provo, UT: FARMS, 1991. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "Poetry in the Book of Mormon." In Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, edited by John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne, 100-113. Provo, UT: FARMS, 1991. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "The Book of Mormon, Designed for Our Day: Annual FARMS Lecture." Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 2, no. 1 (1990): 1-23. Rust, Richard Dilworth. " "I Know Your Doing": The Book of Mormon Speaks to Our Times." Ensign 18, no. 12 (1988): 15-19. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "Book of Mormon Poetry." New Era 13, no. 3 (1983): 46-50. Rust, Richard Dilworth. "“All Things Which Have Been Given of God . . . Are the Typifying of Him”: Typology in the Book of Mormon ." In Literature of Belief: Sacred Scripture and Religious Experience, 233-244. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1981.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722965
__label__cc	0.685948	0.314052	<a href="http://archive.today/u3OS4"> <img style="width:300px;height:200px;background-color:white" src="https://archive.is/u3OS4/61356237c19e229c832c04b239b7969a78976a2a/scr.png"><br> The View from Hell: What Changes People's Minds?<br> archived 21 Aug 2014 17:20:30 UTC </a> {{cite web \| title = The View from Hell: What Changes People's Minds? \| url = http://theviewfromhell.blogspot.de/2011/08/what-changes-peoples-minds.html \| date = 2014-08-21 \| archiveurl = http://archive.today/u3OS4 \| archivedate = 2014-08-21 }} Most of my friends and lovers are pronatalists, so I know that kind, smart people often hold beliefs that contradict mine. I still have hopes of converting them and others (as they have hopes of converting me, no doubt). How do we go about changing people's minds? How do real human minds get changed? Information doesn't seem to do it - being exposed to information contradicting your point of view, if anything, seems to cement your original position, rather than change it. This is a well-documented social phenomenon; you know those cults that predict the end of the world? What happens when the end doesn't come? A few members leave the cult, but generally, those who remain are even more committed to the cult! So how do we change minds? Is it inextricably connected to status? Self-interest? Social belonging? Are there any methods that reliably work to change core beliefs? Posted by Sister Y at 10:29 AM Labels: antinatalism, argument, epistemology Greg August 25, 2011 at 10:40 AM There's no "magic bullet", and it takes some experimentation for each individual, but, yes, there are. You could start here: http://changingminds.org/index.htm Hedonic Treader August 25, 2011 at 12:32 PM Sister Y, would you change your anti-natalist position in a hypothetical world where it could be guaranteed that... a) the overwhelmingly vast majority of children will live lives that are predominably very good, and will self-report great gratitute that they have been born, or b) suffering becomes biologically impossible (cf hedweb.com), or c) creating new sentient entities happens only through duplication of previously existing ones that claim to be very happy and consent to the process? For your lovers: use the Lysistrata method. For the rest, two words: OPRAH WINFREY. estnihil August 25, 2011 at 12:39 PM But when the minds you're trying to change have been fortified with the latest in anti-bias research, it should be a lot easier to convince them, especially when you can tell them when they're following their own cognitive biases. Hence my reasons for taking on the Overcoming Bias community :) Of course, I guess if I can't convince you to join the few of us doing this, I probably won't have any luck with the guys and gals at the OB community. Sister Y August 25, 2011 at 2:09 PM Hedonic Treader: a. No. How is that different from the status quo? b. Yes - then reproduction would be neutral. c. No - it's not true consent. I'm reminded of Greg Egan's Permutation City, which gives good examples of the copy's interests being extremely divergent from those of the original. Re: Lysistrata - that would only work if my lovers' sexual options were limited to me. (Is refusing to interact with/fuck people who have children a moral/effective strategy for reducing breeding? I don't know, but some of my best friends have kids, and some of them are the most sympathetic to the cause. I just don't think deterrence/incentive is the appropriate way to think about one's friends and lovers.) estnihil - you are undoubtedly right that to the extent that our position is logically entailed by basic empathy and reason, those most sensitive to reason should be the most susceptible to conversion. But think about the mortality salience experiments with judges: even judges performing their judicial functions demonstrate strong emotional biases of the kind that our beliefs would undoubtedly trigger. I'm open to it as an experiment, but . . . do we have, like, a control or hypothesis or anything? I'll gladly participate. (I troll/tilt at OB all the time anyway.) It is really difficult to change their minds. Compare it to how many people drink, smoke and overeat even though it is generally accepted that these things are not good. Michael Drake August 25, 2011 at 8:56 PM "Are there any methods that reliably work to change core beliefs?" Not any that are legal. Srikant August 25, 2011 at 9:19 PM I wonder how effective an "If only you weren't born ..." would be when they are in deep crisis. Another thing that could be tried is, "If only s/he wasn't born!" when their child is in deep crisis. sagredo August 25, 2011 at 10:47 PM Pro-natalism and anti-natalism are not strictly logical positions. They're moral positions, or attitudes, or visions, or preferences, or desires, or values. So pure reason isn't going to cut it. Probably your best bet is to force upon others the formative experiences that led you to your own moral positions. For instance, if you've suffered a lot of depression and you think that may have had bearing on your attitudes, try ruining other peoples' lives, preferably in covert ways. Ann Sterzinger August 26, 2011 at 2:35 AM The Lysistrata method sounds, as usual, hilarious, but getting someone to SAY they've changed their mind in order to get what they want isn't the same as actually changing their mind. This is a very difficult question. You would think that a harrowing experience such as the death or deformity of one's own child would make people think twice about natalism, but no; many simply try again. James August 26, 2011 at 2:46 AM A lot of smart people (e.g. Richard Posner) have advanced the view that books like Peter Singer's Animal Liberation have succeeded to the extent that they have not because they make great technical arguments, but because they contain graphic imagery that makes the problem of animal suffering vivid in people's minds. Perhaps we need more graphic imagery to make the problem of human suffering vivid in people's minds. Lol @ Sagredo! I try to avoid life as much as possible so i don't do drama and games. I did convince my sister but she admitted not having children would ruin her marriage and future life (social standing, family get togethers, feeling "eggy",...). I'm done preaching about it, let them all burn. Chip August 27, 2011 at 11:30 AM My mind has been changed through exposure to logical (and emotional) arguments, both through interpersonal exchange and through reading. What I have noticed is that the change seldom comes instantly; it usually comes after some personal reflection and reorientation. I'm probably not typical. With reference to biorealism (or HBD), the blogger Half Sigma contends that no amount of logical data-based argument is sufficient. He says the better tack if you want to change minds is to humbly aver that you used to believe X (what they currently believe) until that day when you tried in earnest to defend your position and realized you were wrong. Being averse to intellectual dishonesty, I personally recoil from this kind of tactic. But it might be there's something to it. I suppose the idea is to signal grudging social acceptance of a seemingly toxic notion, until would-be adversaries are tempted away from their rejectionist default. By the way, I received a memo from the future and it turns out that a critical mass of people will become antinatalists after reading a book called "Every Cradle is a Grave." lolwut? Who reads Half Sigma anyway? Only proles who don't want to be proles. Chip, you mean the book will be featured on the Oprah Book Club? Congratulations! What would a critical mass of antinatalists look like? Enough to forcibly sterilize the entire planet? We all know that continued reproduction takes only a subset of the population actually reproducing. Pual August 27, 2011 at 7:49 PM While general strategies for mind-changing would be nice, doesn't it make sense to focus on the most intuitive and accessible arguments for the position you're advancing? For example, I found this site before reading Benatar, and I'm not sure that I would have bought his explanation of the asymmetry without exposure to the Austrian Basement post. So we should be asking philanthropic antinatalists how they were convinced, and see if any patterns emerge. Chip August 27, 2011 at 11:15 PM Pual, I agree with you about tactics. It has been said that one benefit of the truth -- or in this case, an "intuitive and accessible" argument -- is that it's easier to remember. It does occur to me that the basic PA argument could be effectively presented to a wider audience in a calmly intoned documentary film (perhaps narrated by Morgan Freeman). I suppose I had been nursing inchoate antinatalist nostrums for some time prior, but my profound epiphany came through a critical reading of Murray Rothbard's treatise, "The Ethics of Liberty." In the chapter where Rothbard gamely attempts to outline a theory of children's rights under the strict dicta of libertarian nonaggression (with repugnant conclusions galore), I sensed a gaping blind spot in his insistent logic. The blind spot was simply that he failed to see that procreation could itself be an instance of unprovoked force. Later, when I read Benatar, it became clear that similar problems bedeviled other ethical strategies and systems. Where philosophy -- and ordinary human sensibility -- is concerned with the problems of death and harm, it seems that antinatalism eventually and inevitably intrudes upon our thoughts. Perhaps this was always the case, but now the idea comes with a pedigree. I think that much matters. With every iteration, it becomes more difficult to ignore the obvious thing. More difficult not to connect the dots. Riley August 28, 2011 at 12:54 AM Music and fiction seem pretty effective at covertly developing sympathies for just about any view of the world. I'll repeat myself because you've ignored my argument, and continued to juggle the moral memes of antinatalism as if it had any meaningful impact on actual reality on this planet: All it takes for complete repopulation of planet earth is for only a very small minority of people to continue reproducing, even if billions of others are magically and unrealistically converted to antinatalism. So what's the point of it, other than an academic exercise and personal frustration-venting? From an actual consequentialist perspective, there doesn't seem to be too much value in it. Futhermore, the concept of consent-based ethics has problems with personal identity, which is mostly an elaborate memetic and neurological illusion. From a (negative) utilitarian perspective, antinatalist would only make sense if it somehow magically convinced people to do things that acutally prevent large-scale suffering in this world. This seems super unrealistic to me. Sister Y August 28, 2011 at 10:37 AM Fewer people is progress. And who knows what the future may bring to our cause? I presume you are addressing me since I neglected to engage your point about "critical mass." Since I was obviously joking in my initial comment, I assumed you were at least half-joking in reply. But I do understand your point. To my mind, a "critical mass" effect would obtain if antinatalism were to become a subject of legitimate popular bioethical debate and discussion (much like abortion or euthanasia or even circumcision now) and if, in such an atmosphere, there were measurable and appreciable negative effects on rates of reproduction. The extinctionist project is at once quixotic (since forcible sterilization isn't going to happen) and inevitable (since all life is doomed in time). Anyway, I don't really understand the emphasis on endgame scenarios where this subject is concerned. I think it's a form of special pleading. If the point is that procreation always exacts uninvited harm on those who are created (and that the alternative exacts no such harm) then it is presumably within an individual's control to prevent some measure of this category of harm simply by not having children. The people that you and I do not create are spared the fate of the living, just as the people we do not torture and murder are spared another particular fate. It hardly matters that you and I may not desire to impose suffering on others; my point is simply that nonreproduction, like other forms of nonaggression, appears to be a viable and practicable option for real individual human beings faced with options. The fact that murder and torture have not been (and probably never will be) abolished is not generally construed to render our intuitive opposition to such conduct "academic." It just means that there is only so much we can do. One other point I would make is that the legitimization of antinatalist reasoning might have other positive real-world implications that would pass any consequentialist test, and this seems especially likely where law is concerned. Two realistic possibilities come to mind. The first is that wrongful life litigation could be more broadly applied. The second is that prevailing legal restrictions on suicide could be repealed. It isn't necessary to end the world (all of our worlds end when we die) to recognize the difference between better and worse. I don't really have anything to say with reference to your final point regarding such "memetic and neurological" illusions that might undermine consent-based ethics. The ideas behind your conclusion are years of study beyond my grasp and would seem, in any event, to apply just as forcefully to arguments against murder and torture. "The ideas behind your conclusion are years of study beyond my grasp" Indeed. But fear not, I still do respect you as a person. Karl August 29, 2011 at 2:11 AM "Futhermore, the concept of consent-based ethics has problems with personal identity, which is mostly an elaborate memetic and neurological illusion." I really find it so tiresome when people trot this out. Like it or not, one is obliged to act as an "I", one is obliged to take responsibility for one's choices and one is obliged to be an ethical agent. Saying that science "disproves" the self strikes me more and more as an excuse for apathy and irresponsibility. "Like it or not, one is obliged to act as an "I", one is obliged to take responsibility for one's choices and one is obliged to be an ethical agent." Independent from the question of personal identity, I cannot see such an obligation. As far as I can tell, the only obligation that "I" ever had was to obey the laws of physics. "Saying that science "disproves" the self strikes me more and more as an excuse for apathy and irresponsibility." Why would we need an excuse for that? We can already do whatever we want, as long as we're ready to accept the consequences. "We can already do whatever we want, as long as we're ready to accept the consequences." Well if you're prepared to go down the nihilist line, antinatalism isn't for you. AN is a moral position, based on the reasonable projection of unnecessary future suffering that can be averted through individual choice. This demonstrates yet again how a position of total determinism is completely irreconcilable with ethics. Srikant August 30, 2011 at 2:14 AM What? You mean only the consequences for us (as in the action's doer)?! "What? You mean only the consequences for us (as in the action's doer)?!" No, I mean consequences. "AN is a moral position, based on the reasonable projection of unnecessary future suffering that can be averted through individual choice." If the goal is to reduce preventable future suffering, then it seems AN is just an instrumental subset of negative utilitarianism, which doesn't emphasize the requirement of consent except for its instrumental value. "A child cannot consent to being born" is not the relevant then. What about the non-consensual killing of people who might suffer in the future? Surely, that too qualifies as "the reasonable projection of unnecessary future suffering that can be averted through individual choice", and it does not require the illusion of individuality or deontological focus on consent. Antinatalism focuses on the initial decision to eschew procreation. It has nothing hard or fast to say about abortion and has absolutely nothing to do with "the non-consensual killing of people who might suffer in the future". I know. That's why it's at least incomplete. Judging from the proclaimed terminal goal of preventing unnecessary future suffering that can be averted through individual choice, it makes no sense to be anti-procreation, but not pro-abortion. Or pro-suicide. Rather than just pro-choice. Unless you add a deontological consent principle for pre-existing people, and then you're basing your limitations on the illusion of personal identity again. I'm not saying that you can't. It just doesn't follow from the goal you've stated. Constant August 30, 2011 at 6:33 AM First, yes, you can be an antinatalist on purely negative utilitarian grounds without caring about consent, and that's, in a way, what Benatar does, avoiding the non-identity problem. Second, you can also be an antinatalist if you find consent so great that you care about it even outside the person-affecting conception of harm, which is usually taken to be relevant by consent people. And third, I think there will be hardly any antinatalist that doesn't think abortion is actually morally obligatory. The reason is, if you're sensible and compassionate enough to be of antinatalist conviction, you're very unlikely to be the kind of person who has weird conceptions about fetuses. Oh, I forgot, fourth: yes, it does make sense to be pro-choice and not pro-suicide for an antinatalist. If you think you can't do this by just assigning death a large enough harm value, then you still can by switching to preference utilitarianism. Sister Y August 30, 2011 at 8:06 AM James' distinction between AN and NU JasonSL August 30, 2011 at 5:22 PM I'm surprised no one's mentioned the "kids make you less happy, and pregnancy sucks big time" strategy. While AN is of course a moral position rather than a prudential position, people care about themselves more than others, so why not appeal to their egoism? Perhaps perversely, having a visibly awesome childless life may be more effective than attempts to verbally persuade. So even though there's probably a moderate-to-strong correlation between AN and depression/melancholy/dysthymia, we should do our best to be good ambassadors and make it harder for people to say, "oh, you're just saying that because you're depressed" (you'd think that the existence of depressed people would be evidence for AN rather than against it, but logic is obviously not behind this common response). Proselytizers convert only a tiny fraction of the people they preach to. If I can get ten people to go from each having a 90% chance of having children to each having an 80% chance, that's as good as one forcible sterilzation (better, in fact, since, despite recent discussions, I'm still not cool with that). I recently had some discussions with co-workers about morality, and managed to convince them that their total-utility ethics required them to have children just as strongly as it required them to save a baby tied to the train tracks. They provisionally bit the bullet and admitted selfishness, but at least they recognized some problems with total utility. If we think that reason leads people at least closer to AN, then just getting them thinking can be on average good. There are also roads to AN that, to someone not familiar with AN, don't lead immediately there and so are less likely to be rejected out of hand. Various optimism and cheery-history biases, the disutility of desire, hedonic treadmilling, and freedom from being evolution's bitch, for example. But the baby on the train tracks suffers fear and pain, while unborn babies do not; and there are probably parents/relatives or at least the public who are horrified by the babies gruesome death, the train driver might feel bad about it, and we had better find out who's out there tying babies to train tracks because who knows what else they're up to... Also, there may be non-AN intervention modes that convince people more easily and that reduce more suffering in future generations more quickly. In this case AN is a distraction. Also, evolution doesn't stop because a minority of people has fewer children, it might mean that other people will have more because there are now more free resources (unless Bryan Caplan is right and population is magic), and they may predominantly be religious fundamentalists [1]. Now surely, THAT will make the world a better place... [1] http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/out-of-mouths-of-babes--religious-will-rise-as-secular-birth-rates-fall-20100919-15hsc.html JasonSL August 31, 2011 at 12:49 AM Absent the baby suffering fear and pain, everything else is a second-order effect. With a modicum of effort, I could update the thought experiment to equalize those effects, but it's 3:45am, so I won't expend it. Do neonates fear death? I doubt it. Why should they, any more than pre-natal fetuses do? Getting run over by a train, especially when it crushes your skull, basically doesn't hurt. And in any case, pain itself isn't what causes suffering (capsaicin, anal sex, emotional suffering, etc.). You may be right than AN is a distraction. This is, however, an empirical question. I see AN as a natural outgrowth of what I believe to be moral -- it is a conclusion rather than a premise. Since what I care about is improving the well-being of sentient (has subjective experiences) beings and preventing the creating of on-balance-negative-utility-enjoying beings, I'm open to arguments that promoting AN explicitly is counterproductive toward that goal. And in fact, I don't try to promote AN explicitly -- rather I try to problematize natalism, raise doubts about the positive utility of most lives, and have an enviable life even though I'm way past the median child-having age. If you convince me fish are sentient, I'd have a real problem. We can make differences on the margin. Natalism may have a genetic component, but it's not entirely controlling. We can also play the odds: we may influence someone who will become civilizationally influential and institute policies that are marginally more antinatalist. Or, more importantly, marginally more minipassial. megabeastie May 17, 2012 at 10:59 AM As a 19th century lawyer put it, "beliefs are like nails-- the harder you strike at them, the deeper they will go." In the ideal world, we would have the capacity and determination to lead by example. In practice, this must mean having the status and the goodies that would normally make it "desirable" for a person to seek to reproduce. From my point of view, acquiring status and material wealth in which one has no real interest for the sake of proving a major point is balls-achingly boring... But it's the only thing that's likely to work. People try to do what "the successful people" do. Sister Y May 17, 2012 at 11:16 AM It seems people find reasons to discount AN either way. If you're open about your high-status traits/achievements, people accuse you of whining, first world problems, etc. If you're open about low-status traits, people blame those for your pessimistic worldview. Convenient Catch-22! I agree that low status and low income are, well, unconvincing, whatever it is you try to propound. And I can't say that a "successful" voice will always be effective. I do think, however, that it will be more effective, for what that's worth, and therefore preferable. As an unrelated point: how do I send you a personal message? I did see the image of a gmail address, but have trouble making it out. (Nothing serious, just fan mail. Not even that :)))) sister.eee@gmail.com Agree that high status/beauty/etc. is more persuasive than low status, as far as attracting on-the-fence converts or sympathizers. <3	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722966
__label__cc	0.657526	0.342474	On this page, I have indexed for your convenience some Christian Housewarming Bible Verses you may like to use in cards, scrapbooks or crafts. All the Housewarming Scripture references are taken from the Amplified translation unless otherwise stated, and are linked to 'Bible Gateway' so you can click on the scripture link to be referred to the Bible Gateway website where you can change the 'bible translation' or 'language translation' if you wish. It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, a man's face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion's face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the house all around. From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the nave. The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. The altar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood And he said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD." The nave and the sanctuary each had a double door. Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. Also there were carved on them, on the doors of the nave, cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. There were latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; thus were the side chambers of the house and the thresholds. Christian Art and Gifts As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. Scripture Image If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ... Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. ... Share Your Faith Products Gifts David built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; ... Scripture Images and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. "And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent, the table also and its utensils, and the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering also with all its utensils, and the laver and its stand, the woven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to carry on their priesthood; the anointing oil also, and the fragrant incense for the holy place, they are to make them according to all that I have commanded you." The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 'Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Christian Art and Gifts And it will come about in that day, that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns. People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample. “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.” And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” ... Scripture Image "Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. "This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. "You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. Scripture Images “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: ... Scripture Images See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Christian Art and Gifts In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. And he made for the house windows with recessed frames. He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around. ... Share Your Faith Products Gifts Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. ... Christian Art and Gifts Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold. Share Your Faith Products Gifts	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722968
__label__cc	0.571381	0.428619	Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Scripture Image Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ... "The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods. "But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him? "Now send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass and iron, and in purple, crimson and violet fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled men whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. Scripture Images Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ... Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ... Share Your Faith Products Gifts Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Scripture Images The theme verse of 1 & 2 Kings are combined for two reasons: first, the two documents were originally written as one book, but were simply divided up because of scroll length. This is true also of 1 & 2 Chronicles and 1 & 2 Samuel, but in this case, the theme of both 1 & 2 Kings was best summed up together (in the other book pairs, each book had a more distinctive theme). Christian Art and Gifts 19 designers and 31 writers invested their energy and creativity to this collection, each riffing on the timeless, inspired words of Scripture. Each designer worked hard to capture the essence of each verse in its historical and cultural context, and to design in a way that makes clear the way in which the original readers would have understood it. Then, after each design was complete, a writer reflected on each piece of art and the verse that inspired it. The result is 100 pairs of art and devotional that illuminate the words of Scripture. Share Your Faith Products Gifts The Bible is full of encouraging scriptures that are such a blessing to read and memorize. Here are ten of my favorite scripture quotes for encouragement. Feel free to share these with others as these encouraging Bible verses will brighten anyone’s day. The Scriptures used are filled with hope, comfort and inspiration. These famous Bible quotes are from the Old and New Testament. Christian Art and Gifts What does the Bible say about creativity? The very first verse of Scripture actually describes a creative act as "God created the heavens and the earth." Additionally, from Genesis, the Bible says, "God created man in his own image." This could be interpreted as we are creators just as God created us. We create relationships, art, homes, cities, nations and many more things including inventions even yet to be known! The creative spirit is certainly favored by God and our fellow man. Learn more from the collection of Bible verses about creativity below! Character Of WickedRevelation, Necessity Ofevangelism, nature ofSatan, Power OfSpiritual Warfare, Enemies InImagination, Evil SchemingPresent Evil AgeNames And Titles For SatanRevelation, Responses ToShiningUnbelief, Nature And Effects OfLikenessFalse ReligionUnbelief, Sourced InSatan, As DeceiverSpiritual Blindness, Consequences OfPrincehood Of SatanSatanticImage Of God Scripture Image The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken and as the LORD had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. Then the LORD raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Christian Art and Gifts If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ... Scripture Image A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. ... Scripture Images Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt. Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it: ... Scripture Images “You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ... Christian Art and Gifts What does the Bible say about creativity? The very first verse of Scripture actually describes a creative act as "God created the heavens and the earth." Additionally, from Genesis, the Bible says, "God created man in his own image." This could be interpreted as we are creators just as God created us. We create relationships, art, homes, cities, nations and many more things including inventions even yet to be known! The creative spirit is certainly favored by God and our fellow man. Learn more from the collection of Bible verses about creativity below! Share Your Faith Products Gifts The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken and as the LORD had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. Then the LORD raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. On the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around.read more. Scripture Images Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. Publication date: May 9, 2019. Publisher: OpenBible.info. "You shall have no other gods before Me. "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,read more. Christian Art and Gifts Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great. Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers' houses. And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there. (But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) Moreover, the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly sought it out. ... The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken and as the LORD had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. Then the LORD raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Share Your Faith Products Gifts He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. The capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. There were capitals on the two pillars, even above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network; and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals. Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished. Share Your Faith Products Gifts As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. Christian Art and Gifts “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Scripture Image Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. ... Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold. He also made two pillars for the front of the house, thirty-five cubits high, and the capital on the top of each was five cubits. He made chains in the inner sanctuary and placed them on the tops of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates and placed them on the chains. He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz. Scripture Image For the last 5 years, the in-house design team at the Faithlife Corporation has illustrated one Bible verse every day. This art has found its way onto t-shirts, magnets, and postcards—and now, a beautiful picture book. In print for the first time, art from Faithlife's Verse of the Day series paired with uplifting devotionals will encourage and inspire you. Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” Scripture Image 19 designers and 31 writers invested their energy and creativity to this collection, each riffing on the timeless, inspired words of Scripture. Each designer worked hard to capture the essence of each verse in its historical and cultural context, and to design in a way that makes clear the way in which the original readers would have understood it. Then, after each design was complete, a writer reflected on each piece of art and the verse that inspired it. The result is 100 pairs of art and devotional that illuminate the words of Scripture. Scripture Images The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design that may be assigned him, with your craftsmen, the craftsmen of my lord, David your father. Scripture Image	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722969
__label__wiki	0.716723	0.716723	Volkswagen Announces $15B Emissions Settlement erin dooley, daniel steinberger, whitney lloyd & jeffrey cook Jun 28, 2016, 11:15 AM ET PlayMichael Probst/AP Photo WATCH Volkswagen Reaches Settlement in Emissions Case After admitting last year to installing "defeat devices" in 475,000 of its diesel cars, Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to $15 billion to settle claims that it intentionally misled regulators and consumers, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case announced this morning. Affected owners will have the choice of having Volkswagen repair or buy back the polluting vehicle and owners of the affected vehicles can expect to receive up to $10,000 in cash compensation. The fixes offered to Volkwagen owners are designed to lower emissions but are expected to compromise the performance of the car. The company could start buying back the vehicles as early as this fall. Consumers have until May 2018 to make the decision as to whether they will have Volkswagen buy back or fix their car, the Department of Justice announced today. “By duping the regulators, Volkswagen turned nearly half a million American drivers into unwitting accomplices in an unprecedented assault on our atmosphere,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates said a joint press conference with the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Trade Commission. "This partial settlement marks a significant first step towards holding Volkswagen accountable for what was a breach of its legal duties and a breach of the public’s trust. And while this announcement is an important step forward, let me be clear, it is by no means the last. We will continue to follow the facts wherever they go," Yates added. According to Yates, this does not resolve the government's "active and ongoing" criminal investigation into Volkswagen's actions. In a conference call with reporters today, Elizabeth Cabraser, the plaintiffs' lawyer, explained that this was exactly the settlement they were hoping for. “There has never been a commitment of this level for these types of claims that we are aware of in U.S. history,” said Cabraser, a class-action veteran who previously had worked on the litigation involving the Exxon Valdez disaster. “Compare it to something like the Exxon Valdez oil spill,” Cabraser continued. “That did not come close to the amount of money and effort and commitment that has been pledged in these [Volkswagen] settlements.” “This settlement I hope will be a model for future resolutions in which private plaintiffs and government entities can collaborate and work together to forge resolutions that, like this one, are ... as a whole, greater than the sum of their parts,” she continued. John Cruden, head of the DOJ’s Environment and National Resources Division, agreed that while the settlement is "historic in every way," it's just a first step. "This is the largest automobile settlement in our history. It's the first buyback that we are aware of that has occurred," he said. "It's the largest mitigation fund for states. It's the first partnership of this kind, putting consumers and the environment together with FTC and with EPA and the California Air Resources Board." Cabraser said the German automaker will put $2.7 billion into a trust to fund environmental remediation and commit another $2 billion to promote and educate people about "Zero Emissions Vehicle technology." The scandal came to light last September when Volkswagen admitted that some of its diesel vehicles used illegal "defeat device" software. Regulators said Volkswagen's diesel cars emitted nitrogen oxides, or NOx, at 10 to 40 times the federal limit. Volkswagen equipped certain 2.0 liter vehicles with software that detected when the car was being tested for EPA compliance, thus producing emissions that were different from actual on-the-road emissions. The Justice Department also said Volkswagen violated EPA regulations by applying for certification with certain vehicle designs but then imported vehicles with different designs. The affected vehicles are: 2009-14 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI, 2009-15 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, 2010-15 Audi A3 TDI, 2010-15 Volkswagen Golf TDI, 2012-15 Volkswagen Beetle TDI, 2012-15 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible TDI, 2012-15 Volkswagen Passat TDI and the 2015 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen TDI. Owners of the affected vehicles can expect to receive $5,100 to $10,000 in compensation. The DOJ explains, however, that the buyback payment will be adjusted if the car has higher or lower than standard mileage when the owner brings it into a dealership to participate in the settlement program, and the minimum amount owners will receive will not be less than $5,100. ABC News' Becky Perlow contributed to this report.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722970
__label__wiki	0.817726	0.817726	Posts Tagged ‘New York Yankees Braves deal Vazquez to Yanks for Melky Cabrera Categories: Atlanta deals Vazquez to Yanks... other deals looming? Tags: American League, Arodys Vizcaino, Atlanta, Baseball America, Boone Logan, Braves, Bronx, Class A Staten Island, Derek Lowe, ESPN, free agency, Jason Bay, Javier Vazquez, Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, National League, New York Yankees, NYY, prospect New Brave Melky Cabrera The Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees agreed on a deal sending SP Javier Vazquez and left-handed reliever Boone Logan to NYY for OF Melky Cabrera, rookie left-hander Mike Dunn and right-handed pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino. The Braves, who had an abundance of starting pitching, had hoped to retain Vazquez’s services and instead tried unsuccessfully for the past month to move veteran Derek Lowe. But, in the end, they found no teams willing to take on Lowe’s hefty contract, which still had three years and $45 million remaining on the original four-year deal he signed with Atlanta last offseason. The Yankees will pick up all of Vazquez’s $11.5 million salary for the 2010 season. Vazquez, who will be eligible for free agency next winter, enjoyed a career year for Atlanta last season, going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA and 238 strikeouts in 219 1/3 innings pitched. While Vazquez proved to be a valuable asset to Atlanta’s rotation last year, the Braves felt comfortable enough with their depth at starting pitching to make this move in an effort to improve other areas of their club while also receiving increased financial flexibility. The Braves rotation stood atop the National League last season with a 3.52 ERA. Vazquez also had a no-trade clause to West Division teams which limited the pool of suitors Atlanta could engage in trade talks with about the right-hander. Throughout his career, Vazquez has struggled in the American League, often proving to be much more effective with National League clubs. This will be Vazquez’s second stint with the Yankees. It comes as somewhat of a surprise that the Bronx Bombers would pursue Vazquez again. He spent the 2004 season in pinstripes but posted an unimpressive 4.91 ERA in 32 starts with the club and was dropped from the postseason rotation. In Cabrera, the Braves added a bat to their line-up but not the power hitter many had expected them to acquire. In 2009, the 25-year-old switch-hitter posted a .274 average with 13 HR and 68 RBI in 154 games for the Yankees. Cabrera, who primarily played center field for New York last season, has the versatility to play all three outfield spots and possesses a strong arm and provides solid defense. With Nate McLouth expected to start in center for Atlanta next year, Cabrera is likely to begin spring training in right field for the Braves, barring another move. The highlight of the deal for Atlanta comes in prospect Arodys Vizcaino. Vizcaino, 19, was recently rated by Baseball America as the #3 prospect in the Yankees organization. Last season, Vizcaino went 2-4 with a 2.13 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 10 starts at short-season Class A Staten Island. The third player coming over to Atlanta in the deal for Vazquez is left-handed rookie reliever Mike Dunn. In four appearances with the Yankees last season, Dunn posted an inflated 6.75 ERA. However, the 24-year-old lefty went 4-3 with a 3.31 ERA while racking up 99 strikeouts in 73 1-3 innings in the minor leagues in 2009. He also had two saves in 38 appearances in AA and AAA last season. This move appears to be a pre-cursor for other moves for Atlanta. ESPN.com reports that the Braves have freed up approximately $9 million dollars with this trade after subtracting Vazquez’s $11.5 million and adding on the estimated $3 million Cabrera will receive in arbitration this year plus figuring in the $500,000 the Braves will receive from the Yankees once this transaction is complete. With the money saved in this deal, the Braves look to continue their pursuit of a power-hitting outfielder, first baseman or perhaps both. Johnny Damon and Jason Bay were linked to Atlanta recently but both still figure to cost more than Atlanta is willing to spend. The Braves may still opt to pursue free agent Xavier Nady, who could play the outfield or first base, and should come cheaply as he is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. Atlanta could also decide to make a trade involving an outfielder, maybe even the newly acquired Cabrera, for a better upgrade. Dan Uggla remains a possibility for the Braves, who could shift him to first base, if needed. Soriano stuns Braves, accepts arbitration offer Categories: Atlanta will look to trade right-hander this winter Tags: arbitration, Atlanta Braves, Billy Wagner, bullpen, Derek Lowe, Frank Wren, Houston Astros, John Lackey, Kelly Johnson, Mike Gonzalez, New York Yankees, Peter Greenberg, Rafael Soriano, Scott Boras, Takashi Saito The Braves thought free agent reliever Rafael Soriano’s agent Peter Greenberg was bluffing over the weekend when he claimed his client was seriously considering accepting Atlanta’s arbitration offer by Monday’s midnight deadline. Turns out he wasn’t. Soriano chose to take arbitration and return to the Braves on a one-year deal that could net him between $7 and $8 million in 2010. The decision to accept a one-year, non-guaranteed arbitration offer over exploring free agent offers that could have landed Soriano a multi-year deal came as quite the surprise to Atlanta. The Braves were almost certain that Soriano, along with Mike Gonzalez, two of the highest ranked free agent relievers, would decline the team’s arbitration offers, and as a result the Braves would receive two compensatory draft picks for each when they departed. Gonzalez, a Scott Boras client, declined as expected but Soriano’s decision to take the Braves’ offer shows he wasn’t garnering the type of attention on the free agent market that he had hoped for. His agent spoke with the New York Yankees and Houston Astros before announcing Soriano’s decision late Monday night, but didn’t receive indication that his client would be better off declining arbitration and continuing talks with these clubs about a suitable multi-year offer. The Braves, who with the off-season additions of Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito, had already replaced Soriano at the back end of their bullpen and seemingly do not have the money in their budget to afford to keep him as a high priced middle reliever next season. Even though retaining Soriano would give the Braves arguably one of the deepest bullpen’s in all of baseball, the club will now look to deal the right-hander, once they receive permission from him to do so. Atlanta believes Soriano will give them the go-ahead to trade him by the June 15 deadline once he receives word of his diminished role with the club if he were to remain with the Braves in 2010. GM Frank Wren hadn’t anticipated having to deal with this headache, but has said that Soriano’s decision to accept arbitration will not deter the Braves from following through with the rest of their offseason plans. Wren will continue to be aggressive in his pursuit of a right-handed bat and believes having a new bargaining chip in Soriano only enhances the team’s options and ability to make trades this winter. While Soriano’s surprising decision to return to the Braves was the biggest news for the club from the first day of the Major League Baseball winter meetings in Indianapolis, other developments have the team actively shopping 2B Kelly Johnson and RHP Derek Lowe. The Braves have reported heavy interest in Kelly Johnson from multiple other clubs and also now have reason to believe they will be able to move Lowe and the majority of his high-priced contract this winter. Atlanta has let it be known they may be willing to eat a portion of Lowe’s salary, which has made him more attractive to potential suitors, but have been led to believe that once John Lackey signs, interest in Lowe will only heat up. The club looks to continue talks about both of those players, as well as continuing its search for a power bat, as the meetings continue this week. Escobar the Enigma Categories: Are Escobar's days as a Brave numbered? Tags: Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, benching, Bobby Cox, hip flexor injury, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, shortstop, Yunel Escobar Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar What in the world is going on with Yunel Escobar? That is the burning question and water cooler talk surrounding BravesNation these days. Escobar, while infinitely talented, needs an attitude adjustment. And, fast. The Braves young shortstop, who has displayed immature behavior and has often ruffled feathers within the organization, has most recently infuriated team brass and manager Bobby Cox for an unprofessional antic that occurred during the team’s interleague series with the New York Yankees. After being charged by the official scorer with one of his two errors in a game against the Bronx Bombers, Escobar pointed to the press box and was caught by cameras mouthing an obscenity. After the scoring decision, Escobar looked lackadaisical in the field and appeared out of position for the rest of the inning. Not surprisingly, Escobar was benched in the series that followed against the Boston Red Sox. What’s most disconcerning is this is not the first time Cox has had to sit his talented shortshop. Escobar was benched after committing not one but two careless plays that proved costly in a Braves 11-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in mid-June. As Braves fans know, Bobby Cox does not tolerate such behavior. No one player, no matter how much potential he possesses, is bigger than the team. Bobby may be a player’s manager but he has one rule in which he stresses and always strictly enforces and that is the art of professionalism. While Cox stated Escobar’s most recent benching was due to “injury,” and Escobar was sidelined early his season with a strained hip flexor, many believe the manager was also sending a message to his shortstop, similarly to the way he handled a young Andruw Jones’ cocky behavior during the former center fielder’s early tenure with the Braves. However, no lesson appears to be learned as the Escobar saga is only escalating. Bobby Cox had his enigmatic shortstop penciled in Tuesday’s series opening line-up against the first place Philadelphia Phillies before Escobar told a trainer during batting practice that his hip was still sore and he was not ready to play. While Escobar did tweak his hip again in mid-June, this latest bout of soreness has kept him out of four consecutive games. Suspicious timing, to say the least. I’m not claiming Escobar is faking his injury, by any means. I do believe the Braves shortstop when he says his hip is bothering him. However, I do feel by milking the injury the way he has and causing a media firestorm as a result, that he is trying to even the score with his manager. Escobar is very hard-headed and strong-willed and there is an obvious bitterness that remains between himself and Cox. So the question that needs answering is this: Do the Braves remain patient with Escobar in hopes that he eventually learns the brutal lesson that Andruw Jones once learned? Or, is it time for the team to wash their hands of this headache, knowing they would also be giving away a great talent? It’s not an easy answer and there are sure to be consequences either way. The only thing I know is this: The Braves don’t stand for distractions or egos. And, if I had to put my money on it, whether it is now or down the line, I don’t think Yunel Escobar has a long-term future with the Bravos.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722972
__label__wiki	0.798057	0.798057	Dad’s 45’s, Part Three (1964-1965) By altrockchick on October 13, 2016 We looked down the river and we seed the British come And there must have been a hundred of ’em beatin’ on the drum —Johnny Horton, “The Battle of New Orleans” My dad had told me the story a hundred times before, but just like a little kid, I wanted to hear it again. This time I recorded it: “It was December 1963, so the assassination still weighed heavily on everyone. You’d go to school every morning and the first thing you’d see were the flags at half-staff, so it was never far from your mind. I remember how quiet people were during that time, and how weird it all felt. The stores had decorated for the Christmas season but it seemed like no one had their hearts in it. Before Dallas, everyone knew what life was all about, and then this horrible thing happened that didn’t make any sense. We lost something more than a president—we lost our sense of direction, a sense of hope. The future seemed uncertain. “Anyway, my dad watched Huntley and Brinkley religiously every night before dinner, and I’d usually stretch out on the floor in front of the TV and watch it with him. It was sometime around Christmas—the tree was still up, but I don’t remember if it was before or after—and towards the end of one of the broadcasts they aired a report from their London correspondent about Beatlemania sweeping the country. It was a short piece—only a minute or so—but they showed the screaming girls, the queues to get tickets, and a few seconds of concert footage with everybody going crazy. The Beatles just flashed by—the image in my mind is three guys with guitars and their hair brushed down in front with a drummer in the back—but I couldn’t hear the music with all that screaming going on. What I do remember is after the piece aired, the cameras went back to Huntley and Brinkley for the “Good night, David, good night, Chet” routine and they were both smiling. I can’t tell you how rare that was—these guys hardly ever smiled, and the news had been pretty grim for a while. But there they were, smiling, shaking their heads about this crazy shit going on in Jolly Olde England. “I don’t know if I really felt it back then, but I’ve always looked back at that moment as the first sign of hope that things were going to get better.” My dad was one of the 73 million Americans tuned into The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, February 9, 1964. “It changed my life. It changed a lot of people’s lives. My buddies and I started speaking in shitty British accents, calling things ‘fab’ and ‘gear,’ and everybody wanted to start a band. Shit, here was a son of Irish immigrants wanting to be a Brit! That was a major liberation moment for me! That summer I grew my hair longer—they still had rules about hair length in school those days, so I had to cut it off in September—and I bought every British single I could get my hands on. My parents were okay with the whole thing—you know how much they love music, and that first year The Beatles kept coming out with one great song after another with those beautiful harmonies mom and dad loved. “The Beatles lifted that pall that had hung over America after JFK died. They made life fun again.” If you knew nothing about The British Invasion, you could have figured it out simply by looking at my dad’s 45’s in chronological order. Before “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” the only British music in his collection is Lonnie Donegan’s “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?” That song might have been the only bit of British music you could find in American homes, as culture-crossing was a relatively rare phenomenon in American popular music. Cliff Richard and the Shadows never made it in the States, and though The Singing Nun and Kyu Nakamoto had recently pierced the cultural barrier, they were one-shot wonders and none of their countrymen or women followed in their footsteps. The Beatles kicked the door wide open and later that year Peter & Gordon, Manfred Mann and The Animals all topped the charts, with The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, The Searchers, Dusty Springfield and Chad & Jeremy penetrating the Top 10. Dad has them all, and except for Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman,” The Beach Boys’ “I Get Around,” Mary Wells’ “My Guy,” Martha and the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street,” The Shangri-Las “Leader of the Pack” and three hits from The Supremes, his collection contains no American 45’s released in the period between February and December 1964, when local heroes The Beau Brummels released their first single. Just as they were at the time of Pearl Harbor, the Americans were completely unprepared for foreign invaders and needed time to retool the music industry. Remove the Brits from the 1964 charts and you’ll find very little American rock because very few industry moguls believed there was a market for it. The Americans still did well chart-wise, but some of the names that helped keep them competitive are as far away from rock as I am from claiming virginity. Louis Armstrong in the deep twilight of his career. Dean Martin with “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.” Lorne Greene of Bonanza fame with the Western talkie, “Ringo.” And the insipid Bobby Vinton—twice! At the start of the year Bobby held the #1 spot for four weeks before The Beatles threw him out on his pathetic little ass with “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and you would have thought that would have been the end of it. But just like the monster in a bad sci-fi sequel, he came ba-a-a-ck with “Mr. Lonely” towards the end of the year. Somebody should have plunged a stake into his overactive heart. I would apologize on behalf of my father for the inexcusable gaps in his collection, but the truth is he’s pretty happy with the choices he made and so am I. The British Invasion restored rock ‘n’ roll to prominence and opened up dozens of unforeseen pathways to new possibilities in music. It was an incredibly exciting development in music history. The Americans did make a comeback of sorts in 1965 thanks to Mr. Zimmerman and the flood of acts who based their careers on covering his songs. The most notable gaps in dad’s 1965 collection are chart-topping wonders Petula Clark, Gary Lewis & The Playboys and Sonny & Cher (together or separate). Once again, I’m in complete agreement with his choices, but I would have loved to take a shot at “Laugh at Me.” I’ve already covered all The Beatles’ singles . . . as well as those from The Kinks, The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, The Hollies, Roy Orbison, The Beach Boys, Them, The Who, The Byrds, The Temptations, The Miracles, The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, The Shangri-Las . . . as well as several from The Stones and Yardbirds. “What’s left?” you query. “Oodles!” I reply, giggling gidgetly. So, grab a can of Schlitz from your Frigidaire, crack it open with that newfangled pull tab (be careful not to cut yourself!), head into the living room, avoid the temptation to tune into another laugh-filled episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., lean back in your Barcalounger, light up a Viceroy (recommended by dentists!) and get ready to listen to the sweet sounds of revolution through the dual speakers on your newfangled Zenith console stereo . . . in mono. We’ll set the stage by starting with one of the most popular acts of the early 60’s . . . a slice of Jersey Boy Americana to warm your cockles before the British come marching in. “Dawn (Go Away),” The Four Seasons, January 1964: Although I bemoan the excessive use of male falsetto during an era when there were plenty of seriously hot female singers who could have handled the high notes, I’m rather fond of The Four Seasons. Even the casual listener can appreciate their consummate professionalism, thoughtful arrangements and vocal capabilities. Dad has several Four Seasons records in his collection, and “Dawn” is my favorite, with “Rag Doll” a close second. The two songs are virtual twins, dealing with the shame of class differences and the stigma of poverty. Here the male half of the relationship is embarrassed by his lower-class limitations; in “Rag Doll,” Bob Gaudio’s lyrics allowed Frankie Valli to defend a poor girl from the heartless shaming that has grown into a sick teenage tradition in the United States. What gives “Dawn” the edge for me is the rhythmic change in the “Think!” passages and the perfectly executed build-up to the clinching line, “Think what the future would be with a poor boy like me.” I tear up every time I hear it. The drumming on “Dawn” is equally impressive, with drummer Buddy Saltzman eschewing cymbals and accentuating that rhythmic change with solid fills. “Needles and Pins,” The Searchers, March 1964: Gosh, I remember this from my childhood—vividly! I was about five or six years old when I heard this song on the living room stereo, and when it was over, I ran through the house looking for my mother. “Maman, I learned a new word!” I shouted with glee. “Oh, what word might that be?” she asked. “Pinza!” I cried. “Pinza? What does that mean?” mother responded with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know,” I replied, “But I found it all by myself!” and stamped my feet in pride. My mother still looked confused and asked me to show her where I found the word. I took her hand, led her to the living room and pointed at the cassette player, where a tape of dad’s 45’s was playing. Maman picked up the plastic case, scanned my father’s handwriting on the insert and no doubt smiled to herself. Instead of telling me what a dumb shit I was, she squatted down to my level and said, “Oh, yes, now I remember! Pinza is a word that means anything you want it to be! It’s a very rare and special word and you’re a very lucky girl to find it.” I beamed with pride, and for the next year or so I used the word pinza to explain, describe or imagine many things. “I think that mean boy is a pinza,” “I wonder what the pinzas are doing tonight,” and “Careful, watch out for the pinzas!” Maman must have let dad in on the secret, because he played along right from the start, especially when watching sports on TV. “Krukow, you goddamn pinza, put the ball over the fucking plate!” Thank you, Mike Pender, for the vocal affectation that changed my life. The Searchers were generally a pretty good band limited by their dependence on other people’s songs. “Needles and Pins” was written by Jack Nietzsche and Sonny Bono, for fuck’s sake, and they would go on to cover songs by Jackie DeShannon and old standbys Leiber and Stoller. And although that guitar sure sounds like a Ric 12, it’s really two six-string guitars playing in unison. Fake Ric, curious phrasing and squeaky drum pedal aside, “Needles and Pins” is one pinza of a song. “Bad to Me,” Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, April 1964: Geez, Mr. Martin, could you have made the intro just a teensy bit louder? I just sat down to listen to the goddamn 45 and now I have to get up and adjust the volume knob so I can hear what the hell Billy J is singing! Harrumph! Once we get past that rare error by the late and lamented Sir George, we hear a lovely, melodic pop number written entirely by John Lennon while on his allegedly scandalous-but-sodomy-free holiday in Spain with Brian Epstein. If you’ve heard the bootleg demo of the song with John at the mike, you’ll likely agree with me that the decision to give this song to Billy J was spot-on. Billy J was a fine, if somewhat traditional, pop singer with a nice feel for melody and vocal dynamics—and while John probably could have pulled it off with a little practice, I’d rather hear him sing the sturdier stuff. All in all, a great little tune that is so British Invasion. “A World Without Love,” Peter & Gordon, May 1964: The Beatles’ early successes motivated John and Paul to get serious about songwriting, and they came up with more great songs in a shorter period of time than any songwriting duo in history. This is not one of those songs—Paul wrote it when he was sixteen and gave it to the brother of his main squeeze because he didn’t think it was good enough for The Beatles. Ah, that I could write one throwaway song as good as “A World Without Love.” Like many Beatle songs of the era, both high and low harmonic lines are strong enough to serve as main melodies, and Peter and Gordon’s close harmonies are quite lovely. As for the Rickenbacker riff that certifies the song as bona fide British Invasion . . . sorry, it’s a Vox 12-string. “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” Dusty Springfield, June 1964: Dusty Springfield took a Dionne Warwick b-side version of a Bacharach-David song and turned it into a magical experience. This is not an easy song to sing, with shifting metrical feet requiring the singer to carefully manage her breathing and be ready to soar at a moment’s notice. When Dusty takes flight in the bridge sections, chills run up and down my spine, and when she returns to the series of spondees (wishin’-hopin’-squeeze-him-please-him) I’m stunned that she could reassert her discipline so quickly. “Wishin’ and Hopin'” is obviously one of my favorite vocals ever, an inspiring example of a singer finding her voice and coming into her own. “The Girl from Ipanema,” Astrud Gilberto, Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz, June 1964: No, no, no and no! The single version cuts out all of Joao Gilberto’s vocal, leaving us only with Astrid’s. Not that I don’t love Astrid’s cool and sensuous vocal, but hey—I’m bisexual! I have the inalienable right to hear both vocals! And whether it’s Continental or Brazilian, Portuguese is a very sexy language, especially when spoken by men! Screw the single—get the Getz/Gilberto album and hear all of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s marvelous jazz/bossa nova compositions PLUS the full, 100% certifiably gen-u-ine, Real McCoy version of “The Girl from Ipanema.” Time for a mid-series rant. 45’s are really starting to piss me off! I hate that little doohickey that you have to pop in the hole just so you can fucking play two and a half minutes of music before you have to get out of your comfy chair and turn the little fucker over. That’s not enough time even for a third of a cigarette! Then you have to take the little doohickey out and pop it into the next one because your father is too cheap to buy a stack of doohickeys and too nostalgic to buy a simple, solid round plastic adapter that he could slip down the spindle AND NEVER HAVE TO TO DEAL WITH DOOHICKEYS AGAIN! Sometimes I have to share with my readers the pain and anguish I am forced to endure to bring you these reviews. “You’re My World,” Cilla Black, July 1964: Brian Epstein did all he could to make Cilla a credible star, but the truth is she wasn’t that good of a singer in the first place and owed her very brief American success to the strength of the Invasion. In the first two verses, we find Cilla stiffly singing in the lower part of her register, trying very hard to hit the right notes at the right time, just like a girl at her first audition for the school chorus. As she tiptoes awkwardly through the melody, she makes us painfully aware of her nonexistent acting skills while attempting to project a tone of awed reverence for the man to whom she is willing to sacrifice everything—body, soul and any sense of self-esteem. When she finally gets to move up the scale a bit on the phrase, “With your hand,” at first you think George Martin couldn’t stand it any more, leapt out of the booth, shoved Cilla to the side and replaced her with an emergency standby singer. But no, it’s just Cilla completely blowing it by suddenly thickening her voice in preparation for some serious hamming on the painfully overwrought line, “I feel a power so divine.” At this point she’s supposed to dig deeply into her emotions and build to a grand finale, but all we get is loud and louder almost to the point of panic, like a desperate American Idol contestant whose dreams are about to be cruelly shattered by the heartless panel. In the end, we learn that, just like Skeeter Davis, losing her man would be the end of the world for Cilla, and I think the odds of that happening are pretty high, as no man in his right mind would want a woman so brainlessly dependent on his existence. This was Cilla’s only appearance on the American charts, where she stalled at #26. She remained quite popular in the U. K., where she reached the Top 10 eleven times and became a popular television host for decades. Let’s just say I don’t like her performance on this particular song and give her due credit for a very successful career in the field of entertainment that ended with her passing last year. “A Summer Song,” Chad & Jeremy, August 1964: I argued with my dad for days about which Chad & Jeremy song to cover. I expressed a preference for the snappier “Yesterday’s Gone” while he insisted that “A Summer Song” was the more iconic of the two. I couldn’t disagree with him on that score, so I let him win one (and only one). I have to confess that summer songs don’t move my needle much, as they’re often drenched in nostalgia, and I’ve always thought of nostalgia as a virulent disease of the psyche. I also grew up in a place where summer meant freezing your ass off in the fog while the rest of the country seemed to bask in the sunshine. I say seemed to bask because later I learned from first-hand experience that summer sucks pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies because of the horrible humidity that makes everything smell like a moldy hunk of cheese. Now that I live in Nice, summer is the time of year when we’re overrun by tourists hoping to see a few nice racks on a topless beach. Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” pretty much captures my feeling about the high season. 20-second review: “A Summer Song” is a pleasant little ditty compromised by an overactive string arrangement, a minor work that made the Top 10 and opened up new opportunities for Chad & Jeremy in the Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary field. The real news in August 1964 was the congressional passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, an overreaction to an incident that never took place and would soon put millions of young American men, including my father, in legitimate fear for their lives, and affect the course of popular music in very short order. “Have I the Right,” The Honeycombs, September 1964: Whenever I hear this song I imagine The Honeycombs performing in big fat fuzzy bumblebee costumes. Whether it’s a subliminal suggestion arising from the name of the band or that horrible buzzing sound in the background is a jump ball. I’m assuming that the buzzing comes from one of Joe Meek’s funny instruments because it sounds a lot like the electronic sounds on The Tornadoes’ “Telstar,” which Meek wrote and produced. Whatever it is, I loathe it. Even without the buzz, I always thought this song sounded a little weird for some reason but never bothered to figure out why. Forced by this series to get the scoop, I learned that the recording itself is weird. The producers decided to speed it up, and by doing so, raised the pitch, making Dennis D’Ell’s lead vocal sound like a failed audition for Alvin and the Chipmunks. I had always been intrigued by the female drummer but when I learned that those thunderous drums you hear are one-fourth drums and three-fourths Honeycombs stamping their boots on a wooden staircase (while wearing their bee costumes, no doubt), I’d pretty much exhausted all the look-on-the-bright-side possibilities and tossed “Have I the Right” into the shitcan of my mind. “She’s Not There,” The Zombies, October 1964: The Zombies were light years ahead of most of the other Invasion bands in terms of musical talent and sophistication, and its a testament to their originality that the music experts never really knew how to classify them. Wikipedia classifies “She’s Not There” in three different genres: “jazz rock,” “beat” and “pop rock.” I can understand their confusion: “She’s Not There” is more modal than scale-based, and Rod Argent’s electric piano solo is the keyboard equivalent of Dave Davies’ lead solo on “You Really Got Me”— an exciting passage of music that defies convention. The varied dynamics, the thrilling build to the chorus with its sudden stop and Colin Blunstone’s sexy, breathy vocal are so well-executed that someone who has never heard of The Zombies might conclude that “She’s Not There” was a late-period single that took hours of studio time to mold into perfection. Imagine the shock on that someone’s face when you tell him that this was The Zombies’ first single and they nailed it in one take. Last year I was fortunate enough to see The Zombies in concert, where they performed the entirety of Odyssey and Oracle note for note and mixed some newer work with old favorites. They actually played “She’s Not There” twice, in modestly different versions. They could have played it a hundred times and I wouldn’t have minded in the least—this is one song with a life span that will be measured in the centuries. “Time Is On My Side,” The Rolling Stones, October 1964: The Stones didn’t exactly explode onto the American scene; none of their first three singles (“Not Fade Away,” “Tell Me” and “It’s All Over Now”) made the Top 20. It is therefore somewhat surprising that the band who would become one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands in history first reached the Top 10 with a slow dance number. Keith Richard chalked it up to Americans preferring soul to rock ‘n’ roll, a plausible theory in a year when American soul music was pretty much the only modern American music that could hold its own against the Brits. What’s really weird is the version released of “Time Is On My Side” in the United States is clearly inferior to the version everyone knows today. The enduring version features a hot guitar-lick intro; the American version opens with a funereal organ. The harmonies and background vocals are seriously off in terms of both key and timing, and Mick’s vocal lacks the consistent command of the familiar take. After listening to dad’s 45 the usual three times, I had to clean my eardrums by listening to the version on Hot Rocks four times in a row! Oh, well . . . at least the substandard version broke the losing streak and earned The Stones a trip to the Ed Sullivan Show. Ed was so horrified by their slovenly appearance that he swore he’d never have them back. He later changed his mind, rang Mick Jagger on the trans-atlantic phone line and said, “Hey! Let’s spend some time together!” “Laugh, Laugh,” The Beau Brummels, January 1965: Sal Valentino was born and raised in North Beach, San Francisco, when North Beach was a pretty cool place to be. Populated largely by Italian-American immigrants (including the DiMaggio family), North Beach became the scene in San Francisco, a place where beatniks thrived, where jazz greats came to play and where topless dancing burst into the limelight. And when you’re talking about the legendary Carol Doda, I do mean burst. Sal Valentino could have easily become another fine nightclub singer in the Italian-American tradition, but he too was caught up in the excitement of the new music from Britain. Offered a regular gig at a night club, he scrambled to put together a band, and just like Dion, he started looking for guys from his old neighborhood. There he connected with childhood friend Ron Elliott, a guy who knew a thing or two about music. Elliott recruited the rest of the guys, and The Beau Brummels were born. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Local DJ’s Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell were looking for acts to sign for their new label, Autumn Records, and caught the band’s act in a nightclub in San Mateo. While they saw Sal Valentino as a more-than-capable front man, Donahue and Mitchell were more intrigued by Ron Elliott’s songwriting talent. In a few short months, with the help of a very young producer by the name of Sly Stone, “Laugh, Laugh” was released. The chord structure for this song is unusually complex, with the minor key couplets each resolving on an E major chord while the chorus is based on a rising fourth chord progression (moving counterclockwise on the circle of fifths). The circular progression also (and very cleverly) resolves to E major. Ron Elliot had been composing music for years, and the man not only knew his music theory, but knew what to do with it. Sal Valentino navigates the complexity with admirable ease, an unusual display of command for a rookie singer. While “Just a Little” was the bigger hit, “Laugh, Laugh” is the more musically interesting piece and one of my favorite hometown songs. After their second hit and an animated TV appearance on The Flintstones (no shit!), the BB’s would shift gears and produce two critically acclaimed and completely ignored albums before splitting up towards the end of 1968. “Ferry Cross the Mersey,” Gerry & The Pacemakers, February 1965: Gerry and the Pacemakers’ happy stuff (“How Do You Do It?” and “I Like It”) tends to be a little too sugary for my tastes, and I could never stand the mushiness of “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.” I do like “It’s Gonna Be Alright,” the song that actually opens the Ferry Cross the Mersey film, but sadly, Dad doesn’t have the 45, so I chose the title track instead. Gerry Marsden wrote this wistful song about the Merseyside and its friendly and welcoming people in much the same vein as The Beach Boys’ songs about Southern California: mythologizing. The difference is that the Liverpool of the 60’s needed a healthy dose of validation while Southern California could have used a healthy dose of humility. Musically speaking, it’s pretty predictable, but Gerry sings it well and it’s a pleasant way to pass a couple of minutes. As for the film . . . dad bought a DVD-R copy of the film from Amazon, as it’s never been officially released on video. It’s definitely a rip-off of A Hard Day’s Night but still worth the few bucks for a badly-made copy because most of it was shot on location in 1960’s Liverpool. “I’ll Never Find Another You,” The Seekers, March 1965: Tom Springfield’s “I’ll Never Find Another You” has deep personal significance for me and my partner—it’s “our song.” When I was looking for that special someone, I only had two criteria. I wanted someone who was irresistibly attractive to me and who was willing to do the hard work of peeling away the layers of bullshit that accumulate in the personality and make it impossible to experience true intimacy. I wanted no separation—not in the physical sense, but in the relational sense. I wanted a relationship where both parties shared all their secrets, all their vulnerabilities, all their fears, all their fantasies. Trust is the most important factor in any relationship, and to build complete trust requires full commitment and full disclosure. I went through at least a dozen relationships with that goal in mind before I found my partner. I can’t take much credit for the discovery because it was more her finding me than vice versa. My first impression of her was “frivolous loser.” Fortunately, she is both fearless and persistent and managed to overcome my skepticism. Sometimes when I think of all those failed relationships and the time and energy I put into trying to make something out of not much, I seek her out, hold her as close as I can and sing this verse to her: There is always someone For each of us they say And you’ll be my someone Forever and a day I could search the whole world over Until my life is through But I know I’ll never find another you Then we do naughty things together. Judith Durham’s vocal is one of my all-time favs, and it’s a pity that her strong, capable voice was wasted on shit like “Georgy Girl.” That song also has personal significance—of another sort. My dad knew how much I hated it and sometimes he would sneak into my room at night and set up my CD alarm clock to play “Georgy Girl” when my alarm went off. I really should have reported him to child protective services. “I’m Telling You Now,” Freddie & The Dreamers, March 1965: British readers may be confused by the date here; in the mother country, “I’m Telling You Now” topped the charts in August 1963. The song was released in the United States back then and did absolutely nothing. Re-released in 1965 when the American people were ga-ga for all things British, it went straight to the top. Freddie Garrity co-wrote the song with Invasion tunesmith Mitch Murray, who famously wrote the song rejected by The Beatles for their follow-up hit, “How Do You Do It?” The two songs share the same joyful innocence, but I prefer “I’m Telling You Now” as the more prototypical Invasion song with its bright guitar chords (again, not a Ric) and close harmonies. Trying to watch a performance of “I’m Telling You Now” takes some fortitude, as Freddie and the Dreamers play the song while doing The Freddie in unison, justifying Lester Bangs’ description of them as a band with “plentitude of talentless idiocy.” It’s impossible to play the what-if game with Freddie and the Dreamers . . . but let me show you why. Ask yourself, “What if the Americans had paid attention to ‘I’m Telling You Now’ back in the summer of 1963? Would the British Invasion have started six months earlier?” The answer should leap out of your mouth: “Not a fucking chance.” Only The Beatles could have pulled off a feat of such magnitude, for several reasons. One, they had genuine talent. Two, they had two of the best songwriters who ever lived. Three, they were generally nice-looking blokes, especially John and Paul. Four, they had the wit and sense of humor to charm the press and the populace. Five, The Beatles wouldn’t have been caught dead doing The Freddie. “For Your Love,” The Yardbirds, May 1965: The historical significance of “For Your Love” cannot be underestimated, because it was the song that motivated Eric Clapton to leave the group for John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. “Good riddance,” say I, for it opened a spot for Jeff Beck, who was much more suited for the role and would have an enormous influence in shaping The Yardbirds’ distinct sound. Even without Jeff Beck on this song, “For Your Love” clearly differentiated The Yardbirds from other Invasion bands through its multi-faceted defiance of convention. Paul Samwell-Smith reworked the arrangement on the original Graham Gouldman demo, and thought an organ would be a nice touch. They brought organist Brian Auger into the studio to record the organ part and found that there wasn’t an organ anywhere in the building. No problem! Hey! Here’s a harpsichord! Auger put together the intro and supporting chords, amplifying the mysterious and moody character of the minor key by a hundredfold. The use of bongos in the minor key verses add to the song’s exotic, foreign feel. The song changes both key (E minor to E major) and rhythm in the middle eight, a shift to a classic rock rhythm that propels the song and gives the listener something familiar to hold onto. Add Keith Relf’s natural talent in working with half-step melodic moves occasioned by the flattening of the third in major-minor chord changes, and “For Your Love” is not only a helluva single but a gateway to future experimentation. Things worked out for Clapton, too, as his stuff on the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton not only gave him shared billing but is much better than anything he did during his time with The Yardbirds. “In the Midnight Hour,” Wilson Pickett, July 1965: Dad joined a couple of “garage” bands during his teens (“garage” is in quotes because there’s no way a four-piece band can fit into a San Francisco garage), playing rhythm guitar and singing backup vocals. When I put this particular disc on the turntable, the sound of Wilson Pickett’s voice triggered his memory of his all-too fleeting career in music. “Every garage band in the country had to learn this song whether they liked it or not. The only gigs a teenage band could get were high school dances, and that meant you played more Stones than Beatles and a whole lot of soul music. ‘In the Midnight Hour’ got the kids onto the dance floor like nothing else.” Wilson Pickett had all the right stuff to record this iconic song: a deep background in gospel and serious respect for Little Richard. Steve Cropper and Pickett had composed the song together in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where MLK would meet his tragic end a few years later. When Atlantic/Stax president Jerry Wexler heard it, he made what proved to be a crucial suggestion: change the beat to accent the second beat in the measure to make it more danceable. If you compare the beat from “In the Midnight Hour” to Ringo’s intro to the Sgt. Pepper reprise, your body will tell you why that shift mattered so much. Ringo’s pattern accentuates the third beat—da-da-DA-da—-and you start tapping your feet. When you place the accent on the second beat, da-DA-da-da, your hips get involved and your ass goes into thrust mode. For horny teenagers in these early days of The Pill, dancing was as close as you could get to “going all the way,” and “In the Midnight Hour” is perfectly designed to encourage such shadow-fucking. I’ve commented elsewhere on the parallels between religious and sexual ecstasy, and some of our greatest sex songs have come from singers trained in gospel music (Aretha Franklin, for example). Wilson Pickett was an inspired choice for this number, and when he sings “And do all the things I told you,” you can hear the sheer ecstasy in his voice as he contemplates fulfillment of his every fantasy. “You Were on My Mind,” We Five, July 1965: To appreciate just how good We Five’s version is, listen to the alternatives provided by Ian and Sylvia and Crispian St. Peters. Ian and Sylvia’s version is a lazy bluegrass number with no oomph whatsoever. Crispian St. Peters’ version sounds like he’s either just woken up or is under the influence of barbiturates. By the way . . . Yes, “Pied Piper” is in my dad’s collection, and no, I won’t be covering it. That fucking piccolo on the chorus makes me want to reach for a brick and throw it at the speakers. Back to We Five, their version of “You Were on My Mind” is masterpiece of dynamics, propelled by an exceptionally strong vocal by Beverly Bivens, whose range spanned from tenor to high soprano. The gradual build in intensity leading to the sudden shift to stillness in the last verse gives us a temporary respite, but the downshift is only a way station leading to the glorious ending with its complex harmonies on the long held note and the arpeggiated guitar coda. Absolutely breathtaking! We Five seemed to be another promising San Francisco ensemble, but once Beverly left the group in late 1966, they were never able to recapture the magic. Bummer. “Like a Rolling Stone,” Bob Dylan, July 1965: Rolling Stone rates this song the #1 song of all time, a rating that makes perfect marketing sense when the song is the source of the name of your magazine. However, even I, a Dylan-skeptic, cannot deny the song’s influence and impact. Clocking in at 6:13, “Like a Rolling Stone” shattered the three-minute airplay limit, an achievement that freed many artists, from Frank Sinatra to The Beatles, from a completely arbitrary restriction on creativity. While I loathe the vitriolic tone of the song, I appreciate Dylan’s insights into the gap between what we now call The One-Percent and those forced to live on the streets by either misfortune or America’s refusal to deal with its mental illness epidemic. My favorite verse is the second verse, where Dylan exposes the cherished college education as an empty status symbol that leaves the song’s heroine completely unable to deal with the harsh realities of street-level survival: Ahh you’ve gone to the finest schools, alright Miss Lonely But you know you only used to get juiced in it Nobody’s ever taught you how to live out on the street And now you’re gonna have to get used to it You say you never compromise With the mystery tramp, but now you realize He’s not selling any alibis As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes And say do you want to make a deal? As is usually the case, the Baby Boomers who revere Dylan have over-analyzed the song to death and inflated the contributions of everyone who appeared on the recording. Mike Bloomfield certainly had better days, and really, Al Kooper’s organ piece isn’t all that difficult. What really makes the song—I can hardly believe I’m saying this—is Bob Dylan’s vocal. He sings “Like a Rolling Stone” like a man who has finally found his voice and his message, allowing the listener to share in the experience of artistic liberation. “Summer Nights,” Marianne Faithfull, August 1965: Marianne Faithfull was every American teenage boy’s fantasy of an English bird. Her reedy, breathy voice caused many a willie to wiggle in excitement, including my father’s. Her long blonde hair and big dreamy eyes enticed my father to buy her eponymous first album just for the cover. I examined the sleeve carefully and found no evidence of male residue, so at least I know that dad didn’t go completely bonkers over the broad. When my dad hears early Marianne Faithfull, he conjures up the image of a 20th-century Guinevere. When I hear early Marianne Faithfull, I hear a very poor singer with limited vocal and emotional range. We both agree that the voice she displayed on Broken Dreams has more character and generates more emotion, but that voice was the result of a long, dark period marked by multiple forms of drug addiction and episodes of homelessness. In any case, her work on Broken Dreams is a whole lot better than her contribution to “Summer Nights,” where she gives a rather awkward performance indicating she played hooky on the day they covered proper breathing techniques in the Vocals 101 class. I wholeheartedly endorse Clive Davis’ assessment of Marianne Faithfull: she was and is more of a performance artist than a singer. “Eve of Destruction,” Barry McGuire, August 1965: Barry McGuire’s sandpapery voice was already quite familiar to the American listening public through his solo spots on The New Christy Minstrels’ hit, “Green, Green.” McGuire’s shift from sanitized ensemble folkie to protest singer angered flag-loving conservatives in the USA, fueling a defensive patriotism that manifested itself in two response songs. The first, “Dawn of Correction,” was written and performed by a temporary alliance called The Spokesmen, featuring (once again) the two guys who wrote “At the Hop.” Here’s their first verse: The western world has a common dedication To keep free people from Red domination And maybe you can’t vote, boy, but man your battle stations Or there’ll be no need for votin’ in future generations Oh, for fuck’s sake. The more affirmative defense manifested itself in Sgt. Barry Sadler’s “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” a celebration of alleged American military heroism in the jungles of Vietnam that topped the charts for five consecutive weeks in 1966. A triple oh, for fuck’s sake to that one. While the issues in P. F. Sloan’s song are period-specific, it’s astonishing to listen to “Eve of Destruction” and see how little has changed in our world in the last fifty years. Verse one: violence in the Middle East. Verse two: the threat of nuclear proliferation. Verse three: a dysfunctional political system. Verse four: the persistent presence of hatred in world and personal affairs. Recorded in one take—and accidentally released before they had time to do a “proper” vocal take—Barry McGuire’s performance is a wonder, a sincere expression of deep anguish at the blindness of the human race as it marches blindly towards inevitable self-destruction. The 60’s were full of great protest songs, but “Eve of Destruction” is the one people remember best. Protest songs provoke a curious reaction in me: I generally agree with the nature of the protest, but I also know that however fiery the protest, the blowback will be equally intense. The idealist in me yearns for the one protest song that will change everything and everyone overnight, a silly dream if there ever was one. “It Ain’t Me Babe,” The Turtles, August 1965: In 1964, everyone jumped at the chance to cover Lennon & McCartney; in 1965, a Dylan cover was almost a guaranteed pathway to success. I generally dislike Dylan’s relationship songs, which tend to focus on relationship failures and wallow in bitterness, so I have to give Howard Kaylan some credit here for taking a more balanced approach to “It Ain’t Me Babe.” Kaylan sings the two verses in this made-for-AM-radio abbreviated version with more heartbreak than heartburn, more empathy than antipathy. His ire rises only in the chorus, a fair reaction to a partner who heaps you with expectations and denies your right to a unique identity. My dad has most of The Turtles’ singles, and I chose this one because a.) I needed a Dylan cover and refused to consider Cher; b.) The Turtles were comparatively competent, especially for such a young band; and c.) I’d do anything to avoid having to listen to “Happy Together” again. “There But for Fortune,” Joan Baez, September 1965: If you’ve read my review of Woodstock, you’ll know how little I appreciate Joan Baez, but I deeply appreciate Phil Ochs, and this is one of my favorite Phil Ochs songs. While Joan’s version is stiffer than Phil’s live and studio versions, she does manage to avoid some of her often distracting vocal mannerisms, allowing the listener to focus on the beauty of the poetry. The simple idea of this song—that things can happen to people for reasons out of their control—is in itself a protest against the strange American belief that if something bad happens to you it’s your own damned fault because either you didn’t work hard enough or committed some sort of sin against God or a transgression against human authority. The prisoner, the homeless, the drunkards all get what they deserve in the land of the free and the home of the white-privileged cowards who run the place. The lyrics remind us of the common humanity we share with those who suffer misfortune, and whether that misfortune was the result of dumb luck or a simple human mistake hardly matters. When people need help, we should help them. If they’re trying to game the system, doesn’t that tell you the system isn’t responding to human needs? Or that the person needs a different form of help or education? When are we going to get it? The lyrics to the first three verses are incredibly moving, and deserve your full attention. I am using Joan’s lyrics for consistency’s sake, but there was some controversy concerning her rendition. The “and” in parentheses is not in her version; it is noted because Phil Ochs was seriously pissed at Joan for omitting it. To Phil, that omission changed the meaning; personally, I have no opinion on the subject. Show me the prison, show me the jail, Show me the prisoner whose face life has gone stale And I’ll show you a young man with so many reasons why (And) There but for fortune, go you or I. Show me the alley, show me the train, Show me a hobo who sleeps out in the rain, Show me the whiskey stains on the floor, Show me the drunkard as he stumbles out the door, The last verse deals with the grander issue of war against a young country and how patriotism and paranoia lead us to dehumanize the enemy. At the time Joan’s version was released, LBJ, who upon passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution said he was not “committing American boys to fighting a war that I think ought to be fought by the boys of Asia to help protect their own land,” had already begun the senseless bombing and troop escalation that would place 200,000 American soldiers to Vietnam by year’s end. While that single verse has led some to classify “There But for Fortune” as a Vietnam War protest song, the truth is that Phil Ochs wrote a song of timeless value that remains relevant today. “I Still Love You,” The Vejtables, October 1965: If you want to hear what a real garage band sounded like in 1965—check that—a real garage band with actual talent—go no further than The Vejtables. When picked up by Autumn Records, The Vejtables were still attending high school in Millbrae, a bedroom community south of San Francisco, one of a string of suburban towns connected by the El Camino (nobody in the Bay Area refers to the old Jesuit missionary path as the El Camino Real). “I Still Love You” was their one and only hit to breach the Top 100, popping in at #88 for a single week. The center of gravity for The Vejtables was a young lady named Jan Errico, who chose Jan Ashton as her stage name because British-sounding names were in and Italian-sounding names were on their way out. Jan was the drummer, lead singer and lead songwriter, a young gal with a shitload of talent. “I Still Love You” is a very melodic and clever pop song, unique in that it has no chorus—the transition to the bridge is accomplished by an appended line of verse. Her vocal is flat-out gorgeous, and the band, with its jangly guitars and simple vocal harmonies, has all the freshness of teens discovering the joys of the new sounds emanating from the British Isles. The band fell apart once Autumn Records went belly up and Jan transferred her talents to the equally unstable Mojo Men, whose hit will be covered in the 1967 segment. It’s really too bad that Jan didn’t find a more stable environment and upper-level support from industry powers, as she was not only a fabulous vocalist but a promising songwriter. Her song “Cold Dreary Morning” is Ray Davies-like in its characterization of mood and social reality, and the best song I’ve ever heard about life in the fog belt on the San Francisco Peninsula. “Rescue Me,” Fontella Bass, October 1965: The result of a jam session at Chess Records, the first thing I noticed when I listened to the song three times through is how Fontella’s voice became stronger and how her emotional expression became more varied and genuine as the song went on. I researched the background and found that all those marvelous moans and lyrical fragments in the call-and-response segment towards the end of the song were the direct result of Fontella having forgotten the words! Hooray! Now you can just feel it, baby! It helped that she had some pretty solid musicians behind her, including two guys who would wind up in Earth, Wind & Fire. After some bad experiences with the recording industry, Fontella split for Paris with her musically-inclined hubby and recorded a couple of albums with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, most famously (from the French perspective) the 9-minute avant-garde jazz piece, “Theme de Yo-Yo.” Her work with the ensemble is absolutely stunning, and so far removed from her work on Chess that it’s hard to believe it’s the same woman. “The Sound(s) of Silence,” Simon & Garfunkel, November 1965: “Do I have to, Dad?” “Yes.” “But I can’t stand Simon & Garfunkel.” “Paul Simon is an important American songwriter.” “Paul Simon is just the English major version of Neil Sedaka.” “Come on. He was a more-than-credible poet.” “If he was such a credible poet, why did he have to keep reminding people he was a poet and that Artie was just a one-man band?” “How about if we extend the series to 1968 so you can do ‘Mrs. Robinson?’ Surely you see the value in that song.” “I think it’s a dumb-ass song. They tried to show how hip they were with the ‘I Am the Walrus’ snippet and that reference to DiMaggio was astonishingly racist. Who needed DiMaggio when you had Willie Mays? Was it that the white folk back then didn’t cotton to Willie because he was a black dude?” “Well, if all you’re going to do is trash Paul Simon, then don’t bother.” “Deal!” “I Got You (I Feel Good),” James Brown, November 1965: Look. You’re never going to buy a James Brown song for the lyrics, so forget about them. James Brown was an influential entertainer who put all his chips on the groove, using his high-pitched, gravel-soaked voice to amplify the excitement embedded in the song’s movement. “I Got You (I Feel Good)” is pure heat delivered by a very tight band and a vocalist who allowed himself to channel the feeling with a minimum of interference. ‘Nuff said. “Jenny Take a Ride,” Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, December 1965: Look. You’re never going to buy a Mitch Ryder song for the lyrics . . . wait, where have I heard that before? Am I getting senile? Let me start again: if you want pure rock ‘n’ roll without any socially significant hoo-hah, look no further than Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. Mitch hit the Top 10 with two medleys—“Jenny Take A Ride” mingles “See See Rider” with the Little Richard classic, and “Devil with the Blue Dress On” appends Mr. Penniman’s “Good Golly, Miss Molly” to create a thrilling finale. Mitch Ryder kicks ass! ‘Nuff said. “Lies,” The Knickerbockers, December 1965: Many American Beatles imitators emerged on the scene in 1965, including and especially The Knickerbockers. The first few times my dad heard “Lies” he thought it was The Beatles, and had to eat crow when he called the local radio station and requested “the new Beatles single” only to have the DJ respond, “‘Day Tripper’—got it.” Once he finally saw The Knickerbockers on television in their short hair and business suits, he felt completely betrayed and never played the single again. He tried to trade the 45 but couldn’t find any takers. Sheesh! Sure, I hear The Beatles’ influence, but the lead singer doesn’t sound like John, Paul, George or even Ringo, so we’ll just chalk up my dad’s mistake to a still-developing ear. “Lies” is a pretty decent song with steady intensity from the first note to the last. By all accounts, The Knickerbockers modus operandi was to follow whatever trend might lead them to stardom, an approach clearly destined to make them the one-hit wonders they turned out to be. “Uptight (Everything’s Alright), Stevie Wonder, December 1965: I found it odd that dad’s collection didn’t include Little Stevie Wonder’s “Fingertips,” because he loves Stevie Wonder, and “Fingertips (Part 2)” hit the top of the charts in 1963. Dad? “I thought it was a novelty song, you know—the little blind black boy wows the crowd kind of thing. It was more of a gimmick than anything else. I thought he was being exploited and didn’t realize it, so I stayed away.” I think that’s fair. If Stevie Wonder was truly going to manifest his destiny, he had to avoid the sympathy trap and move beyond the expectations attached to becoming “The Next Ray Charles.” He had to become his own man. “Uptight” was the moment when he crossed that bridge. Although I find the horn arrangement ridiculously over the top, there is absolutely no doubt that Stevie Wonder—not Little Stevie Wonder—had begun to set his own course. His vocal on this song flows beautifully, the sound of a man who has found his true voice and inner confidence. When I listen to “Uptight,” I see the path to Innervisions and the truly great work he would produce in the future. “It Was a Very Good Year,” Frank Sinatra, December 1965: I was absolutely blown away to find Ol’ Blue Eyes in my father’s collection, as it didn’t fit the narrative of a teenage boy smitten by British rock and American soul. When I confronted him with this contradiction, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s a great song with a great arrangement by a guy who knew how to sing.” I completely agree. Sinatra was a serious musician and student of the vocal arts, and though some of his anti-longhair and political comments during this period made him seem like a hopeless old fart, he could still bring it to the microphone. Starting with his work at Capitol in the mid-1950’s, Frank Sinatra made a series of lasting and influential recordings that will endure forever, and continued to issue first-class work after forming his own label, Reprise Records, in the early 60’s. Several notable artists signed with Reprise, including one of the more outrageous Invasion bands—a motley crew who called themselves The Kinks. Frank Sinatra brought us The Kinks, for fuck’s sake! For that alone, he should earn a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! “It Was a Very Good Year” is my favorite Sinatra number of them all. Backed by one of the loveliest wind-and-string arrangements in popular music history, Sinatra plays the part of a man recounting the most important experiences in his life—all of which have to do with women. Well, duh! Is there anything more important in life to a heterosexual man than women? Of course not! Frank’s vocal is beautifully reflective throughout the song. As he reminisces about the babes he’s enjoyed you can visualize the summer nights spent on the village green discovering the joys of post-pubescent existence; you can smell the perfume in the undone hair of the more active twenty-somethings who live in the upstairs flats; you can feel the cool leather of the limousine as he pours his high-class date a glass of Dom Perignon. I do take exception to the last verse, where he describes himself as a guy “in the autumn of my years.” While his vocal gains strength, it sounds like he draws more strength from memories of past achievements than the possibility of future opportunities. If I’d been alive and active back then, I would have told him, “Frank, baby! You’ve only just turned fifty! One of the best fucks I’ve ever had was a guy in his sixties, so you’ve got at least ten more years to play. Forget Mia Farrow—Raquel Welch is ready and waiting for you, baby!” “It Was a Very Good Year” was the start of a very impressive run for Frank on the pop charts. In 1966, “Strangers in the Night” knocked “Paperback Writer” out of the top spot, “Summer Wind” made the Top 30, and “That’s Life” (also in my dad’s collection) would enter the Top 10 toward the end of the year. But most importantly, Frank Sinatra fathered a daughter . . . a daughter who would give American males their very first lesson in the art of female dominance. Posted in: Classic Music Reviews, Dad's 45's \| Tagged: altrockchick, Astrud Gilberto, Barry McGuire, Billy J. Kramer, Bob Dylan, Chad & Jeremy, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, female blogger, Fontella Bass, Frank Sinatra, Gerry & The Pacemakers, I'm Telling You Now, James Brown, Joan Baez, Joao Gilberto, Marianne Faithfull, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Peter & Gordon, Simon & Garfunkel, Stan Getz, stevie wonder, The Beau Brummels, The Four Seasons, The Honeycombs, The Knickerbockers, The Rolling Stones, The Searchers, The Seekers, The Turtles, The Vejtables, The Yardbirds, The Zombies, We Five, Wilson Pickett Michael October 13, 2016 at 1:19 pm \| Reply So glad to see that your father owned The We Five single. “You Were On My Mind” was always one of my favorite all-time songs for the exact same reasons which you mentioned. Looking ahead to 1967 and The Beau Brummels, is it too much to hope that “Magic Hollow” was in your father’s 45 collection? After all, the song never cracked The Billboard Top 100. altrockchick October 13, 2016 at 2:39 pm \| Reply No “Magic Hollow” due to the microeconomics of the time—he bought Triangle instead. bazzabaz October 13, 2016 at 2:07 pm \| Reply As ever most entertaining and interesting and sure enough, a lot I could say about some of these records but will keep it brief! Again, I’m surprised by some of the discs you do like… “World Without Love” I guessed would had been cast aside as insipid drivel with pretentious clumsy lyrics (Lennon always sneered about Paul writing “I know not when”) but hey, that’s my view! Gordon Waller had a good voice but P+G’s image and material was too lightweight. Their greatest moment was the B side of the godawful “Lady Godiva” (I HATE banjos!) – a self penned number called “Morning’s Calling” – quite Byrdsy, Waller in great form and a good rocking track… if only they did more in that vein… Interesting analysis on Cilla Black. She was a strange one. She certainly made what little she had go a VERY long way thanks to Brian Epstein, Lennon and McCartney and George Martin finding good material for her, but as time proved, she was being groomed for TV personality status and her singing voice became the butt of many a comic’s joke for decades. She did do 2 or 3 good records where she sang fine but most of the time she seemed a bit incompetent… check out her version of “For No One” if you dare – it’s a masterclass in comic ineptitude as it’s blatantly clear Cilla had absolutely no idea what she was singing about let alone being able to find a way HOW to sing it as her phrasing is downright bizarre! How George Martin deemed it releasable (even as a B side) remains a mystery. Her quickie cover of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” was one thing (bloody awful) but “For No One” just defies belief! Yet when all is said and done, Cilla was a huge name in UK entertainment and I was surprised to find myself feeling very saddened when she passed away last year. I found her quite irritating yet, she was part of the fabric of our lives, one of those people that was always there somewhere, so the world does feel a bit emptier and stranger now she’s no longer here. I’m a big Joe Meek fan (a Meek-freak) so have to comment on The Honeycombs. Have to agree it is a bloody awful record, the footstomping being the only endearing feature. You correctly observed about how Meek sped everything up… that was part of his formula. He sped up EVERYTHING he recorded and released because he believed it gave the records more “excitement” and “urgency” and whilst in principle he was right, unfortunately there were times when he sped things up to almost chipmunk degrees. Denis D’Ell, the lead singer of the band got VERY pissed off about this and for good reason – it meant onstage he could never sound like he sounded on the records and he wanted Meek to cut out the speeding up games to let everyone hear how his voice really sounded. Meek was truly bloody minded and refused to cave in. The crunch came in early 1966 when Meek released “Who Is Sylvia?” – God, is that a TERRIBLE record. For 3/5th of the band, it was the last straw – they protested again at the speeding up and the awful quality of the song… and quit the band in one fell swoop. Meek was a genuinely interesting and innovative character. His biggest tragedy was being homosexual when it was still deemed illegal and being the only one in the music scene to get caught, arrested and outed… to say his life took a turn for the worse after that is putting it mildly. The UK music scene was largely run by gay men – Joseph Lockwood, Larry Parnes, Brian Epstein, Robert Stigwood, Kit Lambert and more who all had to live double lives to prevent suspicion and being outed… Meek was the unlucky one and paid for it with his life. Thank goodness times have changed. Finally, the 45 itself. In the UK we didn’t have that problem of the large centre holes, instead having the push out or solid centres which enabled one to stack up 6 or 7 discs to play in succession on autochanger players… sure, it helped scratch records up badly but it spared us from having to keep changing every 2 or 3 minutes. The Dansette was a cultural icon in itself, wooden boxes one could carry around with built in speaker and of course stackable spindles… those machines were how most listened to these records in the UK. That was also why Joe Meek stood out and produced records the way he did… Meek always remembered BASS. Most records played through the speakers of the time sounded horribly tinny so Meek would use compression, whack up the bass, get a thumping sound, bribe the disc cutter to cut it louder and sure enough they sounded great on crappy speakers and a bit louder than everybody else. In fact, listen to “Have I The Right” again along with a track that band did called “I Can’t Stop” – combined, they back up my argument and case for Joe Meek being the true Godfather of the dreaded “drum and bass”! Then came Motown, Stax, Atlantic etc and by God those mono 45’s sounded very powerful, a point The Beatles picked up on as UK records (not produced by Meek) sounded thin and tinny by comparison so when it came to “Paperback Writer” they demanded Geoff Emerick, George Martin and the EMI boffins to whack up the bass and cut the disc differently to bring up the bass so it could compete with the American gems they loved and by God, that was one explosive single! Olivier October 13, 2016 at 7:07 pm \| Reply Very nice to get into the room of a teenager of the time. I can only imagine what it’s like to dig into your dad’s records as my parents didn’t buy a single one. Which may be the best as I had to find what I loved with a fresh ear. No mention of the misogyne lyrics to “Wishin’ and Hopin’” ? “Show him that you care just for him Do the things he likes to do Wear your hair just for him” Lesley Gore also did “That’s the Way Boys Are” after “You don’t own me” (which Dusty also cut, and better) and that reflects well an era that changed a bit its attitude towards women but was still deeply rooted in the past (and still is). I still like the song. Being a Dylan and Zombies fanatic they’re by far my favorite of the bunch. The Zombies are outstanding as they sound like no one else at a time when most artists had their own sound and lots of character, “Leave me be” is wonderful. I’ll get my hear on some of these I don’t know like “You Were on My Mind”, I tried the Four seasons and did not like it. Chouette de voir que tu n’a pas réussi à raccrocher ! Continue ! Ha! Because Dusty was bisexual, I always took her interpretation of the lyrics as tongue-in-cheek. Congratulations on Dylan winning the Nobel! Your status as a fan has been raised to the nth power! Hmmm, and you’re hearing “You don’t own me” as “Go ahead and own me” when she sings it ? haha Prizes are dumb, they mean nothing. And they’re giving him 1M dollars, I can’t believe it. I wonder if it’s taxpayer’s money, it’s stupid anyway. Ayrton Mugnaini Jr. October 14, 2016 at 9:28 pm \| Reply Our opinions and taste may vary at times, but your insights are always spot-on. A curio: as we all know, originality is not a priority in popular music, let alone pop (commercial) music. One example is “Ferry Cross The Mersey” I like the tune, but, at least to my ears, the chorus has its origin in the intro to this: BTW, I like “Neil Fucking Sedaka”. The lyrics to his melodies (mostly written by othgr pepple) may be often corny, syrupy and too “teensy”, but I think he’s an above-average melodist, although some notches below Carole King (how many pop songwriters are at a par with her anyway?). I will defend your right to like Neil Fucking Sedaka until the day I die. On your point regarding originality, I agree with the proviso that every now and then someone has to come along and shake things up a bit by infusing pop music with new sounds and structures (see comment in the 1966 post). Spot on with Jimmy Clanton! Leave a Reply to Olivier Cancel reply	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722974
__label__wiki	0.904576	0.904576	As the Wiseguys Turn: McCabe, Comey, and the FBI Boys By Michael Walsh\| 2018-06-07T21:26:58-07:00 June 7th, 2018\| Back in the heyday of the New York City mafia, the wiseguys used to gather at the Ravenite Social Club in Manhattan’s Little Italy, a place on Mulberry Street that John Gotti and the Gambino crime family used as their informal headquarters. Despite Gotti’s best efforts to keep the cops away, the FBI managed to plant listening devices in the club and the apartment above it, which eventually lead to the Teflon Don’s downfall, especially after one of the goodfellas, Sammy “the Bull” Gravano, turned informant and ratted out the gang. Gotti was convicted in 1992 and died in federal prison 10 years later. Thanks in large part to the sweeping powers inherent in the so-called RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act of 1970, the Gambino family—and indeed Italian organized crime—never recovered. Even the acronym was a tip of the fedora to Rico Bandello, the character portrayed by Edward G. Robinson in one of the earliest gangster movies, Little Caesar. But nature abhors a vacuum, and now it appears we have a new crew of wiseguys, this one operating out of Washington, D.C., with its headquarters in the J. Edgar Hoover building, otherwise known as FBI headquarters. The news is that former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe—who has been referred to the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia for possible criminal prosecution by Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice’s inspector general—wants immunity in exchange for testifying in front of the Senate judiciary committee headed by Charles Grassley of Iowa. At issue are allegedly false statements McCabe made to investigators looking into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, and how that “investigation” was handled by former officials at Justice and FBI, among them attorney general Loretta Lynch and FBI director James Comey. Pass the popcorn—and this double feature’s just getting started. For, in addition to Little Caesar, there’s a James Cagney classic from 1935 called G Men that everybody involved in this unintended remake ought to watch before the curtain rises. Cagney, in his first major role as a good guy after the string of gangster movies that made him a star, plays Brick Davis, a young lawyer whose legal education, as luck would have it, was financed by a prominent gangster wanting him to go straight. Scrupulously honest, Cagney’s straight-arrow character has no clients as a result. He turns down an offer from a pal to join the FBI, but when his friend is murdered by gangsters, Cagney joins the Bureau, vowing to get the killers. Naturally, this puts him in direct conflict with his mentor, and it all ends bloodily but happily. Cagney’s character even manages to survive, unlike in the actor’s famous outings in The Public Enemy, Angels with Dirty Faces, The Roaring Twenties and White Heat. But now it seems we’ve flipped the script: what began as an investigation into Russian “collusion” on the part of the Trump campaign and perhaps the president himself, is now steadily being revealed as the sham byproduct of the fixed-fight “probe” of the Clinton email “matter” that allowed the former secretary of state to head into the 2016 election “cleared” of any wrongdoing by the Obama “justice” department. Vengeful over her surprising (but not to me) loss, the Woman Scorned and her cronies in the former administration and the intelligence community then concocted the “collusion” narrative, obligingly peddled to the public by the Democrat-controlled media, to strangle the Trump presidency in its cradle. And they almost got away with it. The first clue that the plot was going sideways was the December 2016 announcement by McCabe, Comey’s right-hand man, that he would be “retiring” from the FBI in early 2018, just after fully vesting in his lavish, taxpayer-funded pension. This was, recall, before the straight-arrow Comey’s own firing in May 2017 by Trump, employing a legal justification for the dismissal written by deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who then turned around and appointed another noted straight arrow Robert Mueller as a special prosecutor to look into the “collusion” and the origins of Comey’s canning. Then, on the eve before McCabe was going to cash out, he was suddenly defenestrated by somnolent attorney general Jeff Sessions for lying to investigators regarding his role in the Clinton email investigation. He’s also suspected of leaking to various friendly media outlets in a disinformation operation designed to cover his own posterior. And now, facing the committee, he may well take the Fifth if his demand for immunity is not granted. In short, it’s a perfect circle of jerks—a bunch of Beltway lawyers (like Brick Davis) in charge of the nation’s cop shop, but who (unlike Brick Davis) have never grilled a suspect or traded shots with the goombahs: desk jockeys well versed in Beltway Borgia backstabbing, but otherwise completely useless in any real investigative function. But that’s what happens when you have career liars-for-hire running the investigative agencies instead of, you know, real investigators. Back in the early days of the Bureau, the FBI would take law-enforcement pros and make them get law degrees; now it hires lawyers and gives them a badge and a gun. As I wrote in the New York Post after Comey’s firing: So who should replace Comey? The rumor mills are already churning out names of the usual suspects: a judge (Michael J. Garcia), a prosecutor (Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher), a politician (Sen. John Cornyn of Texas), a veteran fed (Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe) and the Richmond FBI head (Adam Lee). But the country doesn’t need another politician, jurist or prosecutor at the bureau. It needs someone dogged, determined, experienced, impartial and fearless. Someone sworn to protect and serve, who will follow the evidence wherever it leads and make the appropriate recommendations in the name of justice. Incorruptible and impartial. In other words, a cop—the best one we have. That didn’t happen, of course. Instead we got another Ivy League lawyer, Christopher Wray. It remains to be seen how this movie turns out; after all, the last act has yet to be written. But this time, it’s the good guys—not the media mouthpieces who routinely leap to the defense of the Democrats—acting as the screenwriters. McCabe’s in serious trouble and, if and when he falls, or rolls over, the sanctimonious Comey may be in for it, too. What other ending can there be in a plot for a man who leaked his own memos to the press in order to encourage the duplicitous Rosenstein to appoint Robert Mueller (Comey’s immediate predecessor at the FBI) to look into the Russian “collusion” charges? What will satisfy the audience more than comeuppance for a man who passed off a dossier that originated with the Clinton campaign and was facilitated by the media in the form of Fusion GPS, the oppo-research organization founded by former journalists and responsible for commissioning a former MI6 spy to compile this imaginary pile of concocted hearsay called “evidence” from Russian “sources” that was then presented by… who else? Rosenstein!—to the FISA courts. Can the plot get any thicker? As the saying goes, you can’t make this stuff up, unless you actually do. But perhaps the gangsters inside the FBI and Justice ought to remember how their namesake, Rico, got his comeuppance—filled full of Hollywood lead and mouthing his last words: “Mother of Mercy – is this the end of Rico?” Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Washington’s public enemies? It’s the ending the audience is just dying to see. Content created by the Center for American Greatness, Inc. is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a significant audience. For licensing opportunities for our original content, please contact [email protected]. (Photo credit: John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) Edward G. Robinson as Cesare Enrico Bandello points a gun at a shadow of a man he just shot in Little Caesar. About the Author: Michael Walsh Michael Walsh is a journalist, author, and screenwriter. He was for 16 years the music critic and foreign correspondent for Time Magazine, for which he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. His works include the novels As Time Goes By, And All the Saints (winner, 2004 American Book Award for fiction), and the bestselling “Devlin” series of NSA thrillers; as well as the recent nonfiction bestseller, The Devil’s Pleasure Palace. A sequel, The Fiery Angel, was published by Encounter in May 2018. Follow him on Twitter at @dkahanerules (Photo credit: Peter Duke Photo)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722977
__label__wiki	0.851396	0.851396	Careers at AL DÍA State-wide day in support of driver’s licenses for undocumented Pennsylvanians According to organizers, participants will attempt to deliver more than 2,700 support letters from Pennsylvania people of faith and 220 support letters from Pennsylvania clergy, to State Rep. John Taylor, chair of the House Transportation Committee. by Ana Gamboa State-wide day in support of driver’s licenses... “I am fighting for a driver’s license because I am a mother of three children. I need to take them to school each morning. If I have an accident or accidentally run a red light, I don’t want to be detained and taken away from them. I just want a legal ID so my kids won’t be afraid of the police every day," said Lucy Marquez, member of La Alianza Pro Licencias. On Thursday a coalition of clergy members and activists will hold vigils across Pennsylvania in support of legislation that would provide driver’s licenses for undocumented residents. The vigils will start at the State Capitol in Harrisburg at 3 p.m., to continue in Philadelphia (2901 E. Thompson St.) and Reading (St. Peter’s Church, 322 S. 5th St.) at 4 p.m., to end at York (intersection of Market St. and S. George St.) at 6 p.m. The vigils urges passage of legislation that would provide undocumented people access to a driver’s license in order “to keep immigrant families safer from deportation, improve safety on the roads, and support Pennsylvania’s economy,” NSM stated. According to organizers, participants will attempt to deliver more than 2,700 support letters from Pennsylvania people of faith and 220 support letters from Pennsylvania clergy, to State Rep. John Taylor, chair of the House Transportation Committee, and State Rep. William Keller, Democratic chair of that same committee. Celia Mota, an immigrant from Mexico and civic leader at New Sanctuary Movement, predicted the next immigrant justice victory for Pennsylvania would be driver’s licenses for undocumented people. "Despite significant challenges, we’re making gains for immigrant justice," Mota said. "Pennsylvania must be safer for everybody. We have a plan to win this fight and invite everyone to join in." State Rep. Mark Cohen is attempting to reintroduce H.B. 1648, a bill that was disregarded by the Transportation Committee last year. The project proposes to allow undocumented individuals who do not have a social security number to submit a federal tax identification number or a combination of documents, including a valid foreign passport, consular identification, or a certificate of birth, marriage, adoption or divorce, to establish identity when applying for a driver’s license. According to Cohen, estimates show some 200,000 undocumented residents live in Pennsylvania. Before 2002, residents in Pennsylvania were able to get a driver's license using their tax ID number, but when the law changed, the state cancelled the drivers’ licenses of thousands who had gotten their licenses legally. “My congregants are mostly undocumented and work like any other human being. They buy groceries, go shopping, visit friends and family and go to the church. But they don’t have the liberty of going to those places by car. The solution to this problem will be opening the possibility so immigrants are able to obtain an unmarked driver’s license,” said Pastor Aldo Siahaan, one of the 215 members of the clergy who wrote open letters in support of driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. Siahaan is a pastor at Philadelphia Praise Center, a Mennonite Church in South Philly serving Indonesian, Burmese, Vietnamese and Latino immigrants. NSM highlighted that 11 other states, including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, have approved driver’s licenses for undocumented people. The organization says their ultimate goal is to make Pennsylvania the 12th state to do so. Please tell us what you think about this story An illegal battle against asylum in the United States ICE’s new harassment strategy: surveillance and facial recognition Trump’s raids and the art of the threat Trump lost the Census battle but his threats remain intact Coalitions support licenses for undocumented immigrants Sen. Leach proposes immigrants’ access to driver’s licenses	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722979
__label__wiki	0.757831	0.757831	Alabama EPSCOR Category Archives: Announcements Tuskegee Science and Technology Open House 2016 July 12, 2016 Alepscor One of the greatest problems America faces is reducing the gap between the numbers of qualified workers and the increasing need to fill jobs in science and technology fields. Tuskegee University continues to be on the forefront of addressing the future of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and careers in underserved areas. For about 10 years, students and teachers from around the state have been invited to the annual Science and Technology Open House to be motivated to discover more about the possibilities in STEM. Read More. Tuskegee University on WSFA (NBC) – Montgomery, AL February 13, 2014 Alepscor …it’s not artwork…but science and technology…at work. It’s an open house going on at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Montgomery. 120 students are showing off their research and the National Science Foundation funds the conference. Click here for the video. Dr. Christopher Lawson Named Vice-Chair for the Coalition of EPSCoR States October 18, 2013 Alepscor Dr. Christopher Lawson The EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation/Coalition is an organization that organizes national EPSCoR activities and lobbies on its behalf to the U.S. Congress. The Foundation is the non-lobbying arm, and the Coalition includes lobbying activities. More details are available here. Dr. Lawson has been on the EPSCoR / IDeA Coalition Board of the Directors since 2010. He has been very active in Coalition activities in support of EPSCoR generally and Alabama EPSCoR specifically. The previous Vice-Chair, Bill Gern, VP for Research at the University of Wyoming will take over as Chair from Tom McCoy, who is is leaving EPSCoR (he is the new VP for Research at Univ. North Texas). As Vice Chair of the Coalition, Dr. Lawon will have increased influence and ability to lobby on behalf of Alabama EPSCoR. UAH hires new VP of Research with background in cyber security, military The University of Alabama in Huntsville has hired a new vice president for research who has an extensive background in cyber security and is a retired Army colonel. Rayford Vaughn joins the UAH administration after serving as associate vice president for research at Mississippi State University since 2010. During his career at Mississippi State, which began in 1997, Vaughn founded and directed the Critical Infrastructure Protection Center. According to UAH, the center was under sponsorship from the Department of Homeland Security as an outreach effort to operators of the nation’s critical infrastructure. The center supports training activities and research, which is primarily focused in the area of industrial control system security. Visit the AL blog to read more. UAB named to national list of 50 Advancing Women in STEM The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been named one of 50 Colleges Advancing Women in STEM by The College Database, a leading not-for-profit resource for college-related data and rankings. stem_ranking_sUAB earned distinction for its suite of programs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with a high level of female enrollment and an impressive yearly female graduation rate. “UAB’s STEM programs are consistently recognized for excellence, and we are honored that our commitment to fostering participation from outstanding female students and graduates has received this recognition,” said UAB Provost Linda Lucas, Ph.D., who is an engineer. “Encouraging women in these vital areas will remain a priority for us.” Thousands of colleges and universities were researched for the final list. “It’s vital that women are encouraged to participate in strong STEM programs like the University of Alabama at Birmingham offers to narrow the gender gap in these traditionally male arenas, academically and professionally,” said Sarah Durkin, managing director of The College Database. “As job opportunities shift in this direction, The College Database wants to recognize the colleges and universities advocating for women’s educational advancement in STEM.” Visit UAB News to read more. UAB and BBA partner to win prestigious $600,000 NSF Partnership for Innovation grant The National Science Foundation (NSF) will support a University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)/Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) collaboration through a $600,000 Partnership for Innovation (PFI) grant, which has the potential to enhance and create more knowledge-based jobs in the Birmingham region through UAB startups and spin-off companies. This is one of only 17 PFI grants awarded this year, and the first ever given in the state of Alabama. PFI grants encourage academic and industry partners to work together on research discoveries to bolster U.S. competitiveness or provide a solution to a national and/or global problem. The grant will support a synthetic diamond research project — “Innovations in Chemical Vapor Deposited Diamond Crystals and Nanostructured Diamond Coatings” — and it represents a significant milestone in a growing strategic trend of collaborative efforts between the BBA and UAB. UAB becomes largest cancer study enrollment site in the U.S. The University of Alabama at Birmingham community came out in full force to support the Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3), becoming the largest single-site enrollment location in the United States with 1,209 participants. This surpasses the previous record set in Albany, N.Y., where 1,200 people enrolled at one site. “We’re thrilled to break this national record,” said Edward Partridge, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and past-president of the American Cancer Society. “I’m so proud of the UAB community for showing up and answering the call.” Partridge had set a goal for UAB to break the single-site recruitment record with at least 1,201 participants. Partridge explained that going beyond that number is exciting, “but I am even more excited at the prospect of what this historic study is going to reveal to us about our understanding of cancer.” Alabama STEM education initiative gets worldwide attention MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Six-year-old Blake examines three small wheat seeds under a magnifying glass and then documents what he has observed. He pinches together a piece of paper towel until it fits into a straw. The student deposits his seeds in the straw and the teacher places the straws in cups. The class discusses whether the seed could grow without soil. It is determined that plants need air, water, and sun to grow. The teacher places the straws in water in the windows and the class will observe them during the next few weeks and record their findings. Visit Made in Alabama to read more. Testimony of Christopher M. Lawson, Ph.D. March 21, 2013 alepscor Executive Director, Alabama EPSCoR Director of the Graduate Research Scholars Program Professor, Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham Submitted to the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, my name is Christopher Lawson. I’m a UAB physics professor, and I also serve as Executive Director of Alabama EPSCoR. Thank you for this opportunity to testify about NSF EPSCoR and NASA EPSCoR. For Fiscal Year 2014, we respectfully request $160 million for the NSF EPSCoR budget and $25 million for the NASA EPSCoR budget. Congress established the EPSCoR program to ensure that research universities in all states participate in Federal science and technology activities. Although EPSCoR states have 20% of the nation’s population, and close to 25% of its doctoral research universities, these states only receive about 10% of the Federal research outlays. EPSCoR provides a mechanism to address these geographical imbalances. The program has been a huge success—investments have generated growth in state economies, attracted students into STEM fields, and created a broader base of high-tech research expertise. In my home state of Alabama, NSF EPSCoR funding has generated revolutionary advancements in science and engineering that have led to new business growth and high-paying jobs. For example, EPSCoR funded research at UAB has seeded a new type of ultra-sensitive “laser optical nose”, that can “sniff” environmental toxins from spills caused by natural disasters. It also may enable long range laser “sniffing” of explosives such as roadside IED’s, to protect our soldiers. This new technology led directly to the creation of a new multi-million dollar startup company in Alabama. NSF EPSCoR dollars have introduced more than 2,000 individuals across Alabama to science and technology concepts in the last year alone. In a time when the President and Congress talk about the urgency of getting more of our students engaged in STEM fields, it only makes sense to build on this success by continuing to fund NSF EPSCoR at $160 million. Like its NSF companion, Congress designed NASA EPSCoR to increase the research capacity of states with little NASA research involvement. The program helps states compete for funding in areas that are directly relevant to NASA’s mission in earth and space science, human spaceflight, and aerospace technology. For example, NASA EPSCoR research at the University of Alabama on fluid dynamics has the potential to reduce airflow drag by 30%. A 1% reduction in drag can save an airline company $100,000 to $200,000 in fuel per year per aircraft. Thus, this research could ultimately reduce the nation’s dependency on fossil fuels, CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, and costs. Funding the NASA EPSCoR program at last year’s request level of $25 million will help to develop additional new types of NASA related technologies for additional economic growth. At a time of economic challenges and tight budgets, programs like EPSCoR that seek a broader distribution of research funding make solid fiscal sense. Limiting these resources to only a few states and institutions is self-defeating for our nation in the long run. NSF and NASA EPSCoR help all states to benefit from taxpayer investments in Federal research and development, and they generate long-term growth and a skilled workforce for the future. NSF and NASA EPSCoR stretch limited Federal dollars farther through state matching. Not only do states benefit from increased research capacity and growth, but our nation benefits from the rich and diverse pool of talent that our entire country can provide. In a time that 33 percent of all bachelors degrees in China are in Engineering, compared to 4.5 percent in the U.S., if we are to remain globally competitive, instead of restricting ourselves to only a few states and institutions, we need to be training and harnessing all of our nation’s brainpower, and EPSCoR is working to achieve this goal. Thank you for inviting me to testify today. Alabama Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research New Interactive Map! Accelerate Alabama 2.0 NSF EPSCoR CPU2AL RII Track 1- Statewide Initiative RII Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations RII Track-3 Awards RII Track-4 EPSCoR Research Fellows DOE EPSCoR DOE EPSCoR Implementation Grants DOE EPSCoR State/National Laboratory Partnership Grants DOE Office of Science Early Career Awards NASA EPSCoR USDA EPSCoR NIH IDeA NIH COBRE NIH INBRE GRSP GRSP Campus Coordinators Round 11 GRSP Featured Scholars ALEPSCoR One Pager Major Awards Alabama EPSCoR State Science and Technology Roadmap Alabama Innovation Fund Federal Program Update and Review To utilize the Alabama EPSCoR Research Capabilities Map/Database first select a research priority or a research institution from one of the drop down menus. Research priorities are organized in three tiers- primary, secondary, and tertiary. There are eleven primary research priorities to choose from, see the drop down menu for a selection, then drill down for a detailed list and points-of-contact. Alabama’s research institutions are listed in alphabetical order. Select an institution for points- of-contact and/or to view all of the research capabilities of that institution. To see the expertise at an institution hover the cursor over the red dot representing that institution. Icons will denote that institution’s secondary research capabilities. Click the dot to get more detailed information. To see the state-wide capabilities in a particular secondary capability, click the secondary capability (it will turn red and produce another map). To obtain more details, first, click on the secondary capability (turns red) then click on the institution’s dot to obtain a list of tertiary capabilities.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722980
__label__wiki	0.947128	0.947128	Membership, coaching changes for Allegheny cheer Willy Walker, Contributing Writer\|October 25, 2018 Emily Jones, ’22 In a stunt referred to as a liberty, flyer Amaya Jenkins, ‘22, does a heel stretch. Between a membership boost and a new coach, the Allegheny College Cheerleading Squad has had to brace waves of change, but they have not fallen behind. With this year’s captains having to teach roughly 30 cheers, sideline dances, a halftime show and special dance for the homecoming game, including a Mac Miller song as a tribute to the late rapper, to a completely new group of faces, the stress can be overwhelming, according to Captain Samantha Medaglia, ’19. “It’s a lot of material and definitely a lot to teach,” Medaglia said. “I would say the team did a really good job of picking things up fast and learning all of the material in a good amount of time for us to start going to the games and doing all of the stuff we do.” The new members do not consist of strictly first-years. Of the six seniors on the team, three are new to the cheerleading squad this year, Medaglia said. The captains agreed on how quickly their new faces were able to learn the moves. “At first I was really nervous about basically starting a whole new team, but it really worked out very well,” Captain Taylor Looney, ’19, said. “Each of the teammates has something special and different about them, but we all work really well together.” According to Looney, the squad has added six girls and three boys to the group this year. It’s nice becauase now that all of the seniors will be leaving, we’re leaving the team in the hands of the first-years to start the new cycle of this team.” — Samantha Medaglia, '19 Although technically new to college cheer, most of the new members have high school and middle school cheer experience. Katherine Leyonmark, ’22, cheered for seven years before coming to Allegheny. “It’s a lot of experimentation and seeing what works and what doesn’t, but I think overall it’s a good team,” Leyonmark said. “I think we all work together pretty well.” Although overwhelming at first, a large first-year class has allowed the senior members respite in knowing that the team will live on for many years after they depart Allegheny. “It’s nice because now that all of the seniors will be leaving, we’re leaving the team in the hands of the first-years to start the new cycle of this team,” Medaglia said. “It’s nice because ‘all of the seniors’ isn’t half of the team so we’re not leaving the team behind with no one, so it’s nice that they’ll still have a big bulk of the team when we leave.” As the squad begins a new cycle of life led by the first-years, they will be led by their new coach, who happens to be a former student of the squad’s previous coach. Last year, former coach Carrie Mae, who coached at Allegheny for several years prior, told the squad she was moving out of state and had to step down. “Last year’s captains wanted to find a new coach for this year,” Medaglia said. “We sent out a few things on Facebook looking for a new coach.” New Ccoach Latasha Manning heard about the position from an ad on Facebook. She applied and, after an interview at Tarot Bean Roasting Company downtown, got the job. “Carrie was my cheerleading coach when I was in high school, and she coached me all four years,” Manning said. “I try to run things like I know she would run a practice. She wanted everything to be just right.” Manning was not stressed about having to coach a new group of people since they have all had cheer experience before. “They’re all very receptive to learning new things, so it makes my job easier because they’re willing to go out there and try,” Manning said. The squad has been enthusiastic about the change and have welcomed Manning with open arms. “It’s cool that we have a generation of coaches,” Captain Alexandra Downer, ’21, said. “She really helps us know if we look good and lets us know how we’re doing.” Manning is equally enthusiastic about watching the team grow from season to season. “I’m looking forward to watching the team grow as the season goes on,” Manning said. “A lot of the same members cheer for basketball too, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they grow from football season to basketball season.” Tags: Cheerleading, club sports Willy Walker, Sports Editor Willy Walker is a first-year and is from Kiski Area, Pennsylvania. He is an Environmental Science & Sustainability and Music double major with a minor... There are 13 club sports offered at Allegheny College, each bringing something unique to campus. One of the sports offered that some may not be famili... As Allegheny College prepares for the inauguration of President-elect Hilary Link on July 1, the athletics and fitness department must say goodbye t... They come for a sport but stay for a team. The members of the Allegheny men’s rugby team have a diverse set of athletic backgrounds, but they say t... It was a new experience. A new place, competing against new people and an opportunity to set a new record. And Emily Forner, ’19, knew the chance... Baseball and softball travel south during spring break Allegheny Aikido combines club sport and martial art Recruiting the next generation of Gator athletics Ross named director of athletics and recreation Women’s basketball concludes season at NCAC Tournament	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722981
__label__wiki	0.982859	0.982859	Drake Hoping Michael Jackson Record Will Continue His Chart Run Rapper Drake turns to the King Of Pop to make history again. (AllHipHop News) Drake is turning to Michael Jackson to help him extend his new U.S. pop chart record. The rapper has become the first artist to score 29 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 countdown in a single calendar year, thanks to the success of "God's Plan," "Nice For What" and "In My Feelings," and now he's hoping to add a few more weks to his feat before the end of 2018. Republic Records bosses have announced that Drake's "Don't Matter to Me," which features the late King of Pop, will be the next radio single released from Drake's hit album Scorpion. The track features previously unreleased vocals Jackson recorded in 1983. It will be a good addition in the music but I must say that Micheal had always added Earth songs and humanity songs e.g HEAL THE WORLD, ALL I WANA SAY THAT.. etc to potrey love to the People of the world. Now a days it's lacking in our artists.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722982
__label__cc	0.641358	0.358642	The W-2 Form for Calendar Year 2000 click on the area of the W2 Form The University has recently mailed over 28,000 Calendar Year (CY) 2000 W-2 Forms to our employees' home addresses as they appear on the Payroll File (Employee Database). An explanation of the contents of the various boxes on the W-2 form is as follows: A. Wages, tips, other compensation: this represents the total amount of Federal Taxable compensation paid or imputed to you during Calendar Year 2000 through the University Payroll System. This amount includes: a. The value of your taxable graduate and/or professional tuition benefits, if you, your spouse and/or your dependent children have received such benefits; b. The value of Group Life Insurance coverage for amounts greater than $50,000. The premium payments for this excess coverage, if any, have been included as imputed income (see Excess Insurance Premium - below); Amounts which are excluded from this amount are: c. Tax deferred annuity contributions (i.e., TIAA/CREF); d. Health, Dental and Vision Care insurance premiums that have been sheltered; e. Amounts voluntarily contributed to a dependent care or a medical reimbursement account. Also included this year are fees for Parking, Transit Checks, TransPass and the Van Pool. B. Federal income tax withheld: this represents the amount of Federal Income tax which was withheld from your earnings during the year and paid to the Internal Revenue Service, on your behalf, by the University. C. Dependent care benefits: this represents the total amount which you have voluntarily "sheltered" for dependent care expenses, regardless of whether you have been reimbursed by the University for the expenses associated with this "shelter" as of December 31, 2000. D. Social security wages: this represents the total amount of compensation paid to you during Calendar Year 2000 which was subject to Social Security (FICA/OASDI) tax, including all of your tax deferred annuity contributions and excess life insurance premiums, if applicable, but excluding health and dental insurance premiums and any voluntary dependent care or medical reimbursement account contributions which you have "sheltered". E. Social security tax withheld: this represents the total amount of Social Security (FICA/OASDI) tax which was withheld from your earnings during the year and paid to the Social Security Administration, on your behalf, by the University. F. Benefits included in box 1: if you have received certain fringe benefits, the value of such benefits is shown here, and is also included in Box 1, Wages, tips, other compensation. These benefits include the value of taxable graduate and/or professional tuition benefits and other benefits relating to imputed income. If you have received any of these benefits the University has recently advised you, individually and personally, concerning their taxability; please refer to those communications specifically. G. Medicare wages and tips: this represents the total amount of compensation paid to you during Calendar Year 2000 which was subject to Medicare tax, including all of your tax deferred annuity contributions and excess life insurance premiums, if applicable, but excluding health and dental insurance premiums and any voluntary dependent care or medical reimbursement account contributions which you have "sheltered". H. Medicare tax withheld: this represents the total amount of Medicare tax which was withheld from your earnings during the year and paid to the Social Security Administration, on your behalf, by the University. I. Excess insurance premium: the Internal Revenue Service requires that the premiums paid by an employer for group life insurance coverage in excess of $50,000 be imputed as income to the employee. The amount which appears in Box 13 and labeled (C) is the value of the premiums paid for this excess insurance coverage. This amount is based on an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) table which identifies premiums for different age groups. J. Tax deferred annuity contributions: this represents the total amount of contributions made by an employee to a retirement plan on a tax-deferred basis. The amount is shown in Box 13 and labeled (E). K. Excludable moving expense reimbursements: this represents the nontaxable moving expenditures that were paid to you as a reimbursement. The amount is shown in Box 13 and labeled (P). If any reimbursements or third party payments were deemed to be taxable income you were notified of these amounts under separate cover. L. Employee's social security number: this is the number that the Federal and State Governments use to identify you with the tax returns that you file, so please review it for accuracy. If the number is incorrect, then the University Payroll system is also inaccurate and you should contact the Payroll Office, immediately, before you file your returns. M. State wages, tips, etc.: this represents the total amount of compensation paid to you during Calendar Year 2000 which was subject to Pennsylvania State Income Tax, including all of your deferred annuity contributions, if applicable, but excluding health and dental insurance premiums and any voluntary medical reimbursement account contributions which you have "sheltered". N. State income tax: this represents the total amount of Pennsylvania State Income Tax withheld during Calendar Year 2000 and paid to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on your behalf, by the University. If you do not live in Pennsylvania no amount will be reflected in this box. If you lived a portion of the year in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and another portion in New Jersey or Delaware, you will receive two W-2 forms, one showing the state taxes paid to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the other showing no taxes paid to the other jurisdiction. O. Local wages, tips, etc.: this represents the total amount of compensation paid to you during Calendar Year 2000 which was subject to Philadelphia City Wage Tax, including all of your deferred annuity contributions. P. Local income tax: this represents the total amount of Philadelphia City Wage Tax withheld from your earnings during Calendar Year 2000 and paid to the City of Philadelphia, on your behalf, by the University. When you receive your W-2 form, please review it immediately to ensure that your name is spelled correctly and that your Social Security number is correct. If you feel that any information on your W-2 is incorrect, review your calculations carefully and compare the information on the form with your final 2000 pay stub. If you have availed yourself of certain taxable benefits please review any additional information which was provided to you, under separate cover, concerning these benefits and their impact on your tax status. If you still believe that your W-2 is in error, please contact the W-2 Office at (215) 573-3277 or write to W-2 Office, Room 310, Franklin Building /6284. You should have received, via the U.S. Postal Service, your Federal and State Income Tax Forms and related instructions for filing. Federal Tax forms are available at the Internal Revenue Service, 600 Arch Street, Philadelphia, or by calling (800) TAX-FORM. Pennsylvania Income Tax forms are available at the State Office Building, 1400 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, or by calling (888) PA-TAXES. Federal and State forms are also available at many libraries and U.S. Post offices. --Theresa V. Lafferty, Manager, Payroll Department Almanac, Vol. 47, No. 20, January 30, 2001 \| FRONT PAGE \| CONTENTS \| JOB-OPS \| CRIMESTATS \| W-2 FORM: 2000 \| Impact of the Genome Project \| TALK ABOUT TEACHING ARCHIVE \| BETWEEN ISSUES \| FEBRUARY at PENN \|	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722984
__label__wiki	0.757988	0.757988	Entertainment » Movies by Kevin Taft Tuesday Jul 9, 2019 'Alita: Battle Angel' Available digitally today! After a few delays due to a crowded holiday release schedule, the James Cameron produced, Robert Rodriguez directed "Alita: Battle Angel" finally arrives in theaters.... and it's well worth the wait. Granted, it's only the beginning of February, but "Alita" is truly the first great movie of 2019. While it might be forgotten by year's end, it's an impressive spectacle that puts character first and that's something that shouldn't be taken for grantd. The special effects in this epic might be front and center, but Rodriguez and screenwriters Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis ("Terminator: Genysis") allow the story to unfold without a lot of unnecessary balls-to-the-wall action. Oh, there's that, but it comes when it needs to. It doesn't knock the characters aside just to get audiences into the world. Our introduction to the city of Scrapyard is fairly quiet. We see a monstrous city Tiphares floating in the sky, silently dropping trash and waste onto the earth below. There, amongst the metal and scraps of cyborgs, a Dr. Ito (Christophe Waltz) is seeking parts to use in his business of restoring cyborgs who need updating. There he spots the head and torso of a female cyborg he realizes is still alive, but in a sleep state. He takes her back to his lab, where he uses a cyborg body he had stored away to make the girl complete. The girl (Rosa Salazar) finally wakes up but with no memory of her past. Dr. Ido names her Alita after his deceased daughter and he quickly becomes a father figure. She begins to learn about the world around her, what happened to it (it takes place 300 years after something called "The Fall") and what Hunter-Warriors are (they track down cyborg criminals). But memories of her past and the discovery of some pretty amazing fighting abilities make her realize there is something more to her past that needs to be understood. Along with her hot new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) she tries to find her place in the world. To be fair, special effects aside, "Alita" would not work if it wasn't for the effective and heartbreaking performance by Rosa Salazar. Using the latest in motion-capture technology, Salazar's facial expressions and body movements are captured so perfectly in the CGI character of Alita that when you see side by side comparisons, you realize you are literally seeing Salazar's performance onscreen — despite the bug eyed creation the Weta people have produced. Even when you know you're seeing something that isn't actually flesh and blood, you believe she is real and you never once doubt the heart and soul behind the character. What's so impressive about the film is how it takes its time to establish the characters and the world. There is no Michael Bay rush to get to the head-pounding action. This feels - like "Bumblebee" before it - like a throwback to the action sci-fi spectacles of the '80s and '90s, where a fully-realized world was presented, inclusive of intriguing characters, a compelling (and easy to follow) storyline, and a far-out domain that young and old alike can partake in. This isn't a toy or videogame with mythology that only fans will understand. Despite being based on a manga by Yukito Kishiro, it's an accessible look into an innocent girl becoming a strong and confident woman. (Although, yes, a cyborg.) The acting is stellar across the board, even though the heavy lifting by Salazar is the film's focus. Waltz eschews his usual slime ball role for a heartfelt father figure turn, and Jennifer Connelly (slightly underused) brings some gravity to the villainess role that goes a bit deeper than you'd think. A number of famous faces show up as CGI characters and robots, particularly the Hunter-Warriors and the cyborgs that participate in a Moto championship. (You'll spot Jeff Fahey ["The Lawnmower Man"], Casper Van Dien ["Starship Troopers"], Jai Courtney ["Terminator: Genisys"], and "Michelle Rodriguez ["Avatar"]). Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali plays another of the villains, Vector, but he is underused, although still effective. Don't let the cyber-punk posters and ad campaign turn you away from this gem. Men and women, young and old will all find something to enjoy here. And I won't lie: I unexpectedly shed a tear or two during the final act. This is spectacular and emotional entertainment that is well worth your time and money, especially on the biggest screen you can see it on, with the best sound, and in 3D (which I generally don't promote). See and support this dynamic and fantastic world! This reviewer is all ready for the next chapter in Alita's remarkable saga. Kevin Taft is a screenwriter/critic living in Los Angeles with an unnatural attachment to 'Star Wars' and the desire to be adopted by Steven Spielberg. MOVIES \| Jul 23	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722989
__label__cc	0.694913	0.305087	The Interiors of the Terrestrial Planets Kovach, Robert L. and Anderson, Don L. (1965) The Interiors of the Terrestrial Planets. Journal of Geophysical Research, 70 (12). pp. 2873-2882. ISSN 0148-0227. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20140507-124553554 Conclusions regarding the internal constitution of the terrestrial planets are dependent on the assumption as to the nature of the earth's core. It has previously been supposed that if the terrestrial planets, Earth, Venus, and Mars, are of similar composition the material of the core must represent a phase change, but if the core material is chemically distinct the planets must differ in over-all chemical composition. An equation of state for the mantle and core based on recent free oscillation and shock wave data is used in developing models of the terrestrial planets. It is demonstrated that Earth, Venus, and Mars can be satisfied with the hypothesis of chemical uniformity and a chemically distinct iron-rich core, provided that the external radius of Mars is about 3310 km. The radius of Mars could be as large as 3325 km and could differ only slightly from the gross composition of the earth, i.e. 2% less iron. Astronomical data indicate that Mars must be an almost homogeneous body, but compositional identity with the earth can be maintained by mixing mantle and core material. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JZ070i012p02873 DOI Article http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/JZ070i012p02873/abstract Publisher Article © 1965 American Geophysical Union. Manuscript Received: 15 FEB 1965. Contribution 1315, Division of Geological Sciences. Other Numbering System: Other Numbering System Name Other Numbering System ID Caltech Division of Geological Sciences 1315 Kovach, R. L., and D. L. Anderson (1965), The interiors of the terrestrial planets, J. Geophys. Res., 70(12), 2873–2882, doi:10.1029/JZ070i012p02873. Aucoeur Ngo	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722990
__label__wiki	0.724558	0.724558	Autism Genome Project – Phase II Underway Phase II of the Autism Genome Project is now officially underway. Phase I saw the assembly of the genetic biobank and autism genome scan aimed at finding susceptibility genes. Now the international research team including Canadians Dr. Peter Szatmari and Dr. Stehen Scherer have launched Phase II using gene chip technologies to scan the genome for association with new genetic markers, and sub-microscopic copy number variations (CNVs) along chromosomes in autism. The Canadian role is central to the project: “These findings will guide high-throughput DNA sequencing experiments designed to pinpoint underlying changes in DNA sequences in autism susceptibility genes. The unprecedented statistical power generated by the AGP will ultimately allow researchers to confirm the role of these genes in autism spectrum disorders. “In essence, we will be looking at the genes to see if there is any abnormality that might cause this complex developmental disorder,” says Dr Szatmari. “We also want to know if the genes interact to create a combined effect that is more powerful than each alone, or whether they operate only in certain subgroups of children, such as females, those who are higher functioning, or those who have Asperger Syndrome.” “The availability of the Centre for Applied Genomics, a provincially and nationally supported genomics infrastructure, will allow us to scan the genomes at the highest resolution, for both samples from Canada and around the world, making the Canadian contribution central to the AGP’s success,” says Dr Scherer.” http://www.labcanada.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=65620&issue=02192007 Many thanks are owed to all the researchers from this international consortium, to the parents, families and autistic persons who contributed to the databank and to the backers of this incredible project: Genome Canada/Ontario Genomics Institute, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Autism Speaks, the British Medical Research Council (MRC), the Health Research Board of Ireland (HRB), Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC), the Hilibrand Foundation, the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine, IBM, the Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, and SickKids Foundation. Discussion of the causes, even the nature, of autism is often heated and controversial, fueled by emotion and marked by an absence of hard facts. More heat than light as the old saying goes. The Autism Genome Project, based on a massive assembled bio-genetic data bank, enhanced by refreshing international scientific and professional research cooperation, and energized by rapidly developing technologies promises to add much more light to our understanding of autism disorders. March 8, 2007 Posted by autismrealitynb \| autism disorder, Autism Genome Project, international cooperation, Scherer, Szatmari, technology \| Leave a comment Funding Critical to Autism Research In the excitement of the big autism genome breakthrough the Montreal Gazette offers an important reminder that the research behind this breakthrough was made possible by funding. Funding is critical to sustained uninterrupted research. Now is not the time for complacency. Now is the time to move ahead with more research and with more funding to ensure that the research continues. Thank you to Dr. Peter Szatmari and all involved in this collaborative effort. As a Canadian I am very proud of the Canadians who led this research effort and I hope that our federal government shows some heart, and some good sense, and continue to fund autism research. Funding helped autism discovery Published: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 News of a breakthrough in understanding the genetics of autism, which was splashed dramatically across the world’s front pages yesterday, provides a precious lesson in the value of research. The discovery came from a vast sleuthing effort: More than 130 researchers from 50 institutions in eight countries made scans of DNA from 8,000 people in 1,600 families. From all that data, scientists uncovered two new mutations possibly linked to an increased risk of susceptibility to autism, a neurological condition of varying degrees of complexity. The breakthrough should lead, via more accurate diagnostic tests, to earlier, more pertinent therapy. All those resources were mobilized because of the growing realization that autism is far more widespread than previously thought, touching as many as one child in 165. Canadians were among the scientists who led the effort. Peter Szatmari, director of the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster Children’s Hospital, is described as setting the groundwork for the international effort that got under way in 2002. Steve Scherer, senior scientist of genetics and genomic biology at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, is a project co-leader. The international research effort is run by the Autism Genome Project, Canada’s part of which is underwritten by a $6.9-million grant from Genome Canada, primary funder in Canada of genomics and proteomics research. Every Canadian should be proud this country has contributed to this promising research. Despite some recent successes, Canada’s investment in scientific research has not been everything it could be. In 2005, 40 prominent scientists criticized the Liberal government’s funding policy, which required scientists seeking federal funding to find matching money elsewhere. The scientists argued scientific excellence alone should be considered, because premature emphasis on commercial application could stifle basic research. Ottawa has since 1999 pumped more than $7 billion into scientific research – enough to keep top scientists in the country. But that funding could come to an abrupt end once $400 million in grants announced in November by Industry Minister Maxime Bernier runs out. The dangers of this kind of off-and-on-again approach to funding were explained to The Gazette in 2004 by Sean Taylor, project manager for the Montreal Proteomics Network: “You don’t invest all this money in burgeoning fields like genomics and proteomics, and then just drop it,” he said. For Canada to become a research hub, scientists need time and secure funding, Taylor said. Alberta, at least, seems to understand that. Last week, it announced it will use money from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research to try to attract – and keep – “superstar” medical researchers to the province. What a good investment. February 20, 2007 Posted by autismrealitynb \| Autism Genome Project, autism spectrum disorder, funding, govenrment, research, Szatmari \| Leave a comment	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722992
__label__wiki	0.977566	0.977566	Japan sees UK as part of TPP11 UK-Japan News November 2018 As the UK prepares for Brexit, scheduled for 11pm UK time on 29 March, 2019, striking trade deals to take effect after the transition period ends on 21 January, 2021, is of great importance. Japan sees the UK as potentially part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, also known as the TPP11. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that the UK would be welcome to join the trade pact, which, The Nikkei Asian Review reported on 30 October, will go into effect on 30 December after Australia became the sixth country to ratify it. The UK would be the only member without a Pacific border.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722996
__label__wiki	0.777555	0.777555	Old Filth Author(s): Jane Gardam 'Jane Gardam's work is rich and diverse and she writes beautifully. She's a treasure of contemporary English writing' Ian McEwan 'What a spiky brilliant sledgehammer of a novel is Jane Gardam's Old Filth' Patrick Ness Sir Edward Feathers has had a brilliant career, from his early days as a lawyer in Southeast Asia, where he earned the nickname Old Filth (Failed In London, Try Hong Kong) to his final working days as a respected judge at the bar. Yet through it all he has carried with him the wounds of a difficult and emotionally hollow childhood. Now an eighty-year-old widower living in comfortable seclusion in Dorset, Feathers is finally free from the demands of his work and the sentimental scaffolding that has sustained him throughout his life. He slips back into the past with ever mounting frequency and intensity, and on the tide of these vivid, lyrical musings, Feathers approaches a reckoning with his own history. Not all the old filth, it seems, can be cleaned away. Jane Gardam has written a literary masterpiece that retraces much of the twentieth century's torrid and momentous history. Feathers' childhood in Malaya during the British Empire's heyday, his schooling in pre-war England, his professional success in Southeast Asia and his return to England toward the end of the millennium, are vantage points from which the reader can observe the march forward of an eventful era and the steady progress of that man, Sir Edward Feathers, Old Filth himself, who embodies the century's fate. A genuine masterpiece - funny, brilliant and wise - Old Filth is now reissued with a new cover. Shortlisted for Orange Prize 2005. Jane Gardam has been awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a lifetime's contribution to the enjoyment of literature; has twice won a Whitbread Award and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. She was awarded an OBE in January 2009. Publisher : Little, Brown Book Group Limited Imprint : Abacus Availability date : March 2014 Author : Jane Gardam	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722997
__label__cc	0.745504	0.254496	Prolonged exposure to loud sounds is the most common cause of tinnitus. Up to 90% of people with tinnitus have some level of noise-induced hearing loss. The noise causes permanent damage to the sound-sensitive cells of the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear. Carpenters, pilots, rock musicians, street-repair workers, and landscapers are among those whose jobs put them at risk, as are people who work with chain saws, guns, or other loud devices or who repeatedly listen to loud music. A single exposure to a sudden extremely loud noise can also cause tinnitus. Limit use of earplugs. Earplugs are important to use to protect your hearing when you’re likely to be exposed to loud noises. (Remember, exposure to loud sounds, and noise-induced hearing loss, are common causes of tinnitus, and may make tinnitus worse if you already have the condition.) But otherwise, people with tinnitus are advised not to wear earplugs, including for sleep. Earplugs reduce your ability to hear external noise and can make tinnitus more noticeable. Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease. Most cases are due to damage to the microscopic endings of the sensory nerve in the inner ear, commonly from exposure to loud noise (as from amplified music or gunfire). Other causes include allergy, high or low blood pressure, a tumor, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, and head or neck injury. In addition, some drugs, including aspirin and other anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, sedatives, and antidepressants can also cause tinnitus. If so, changing drugs or lowering the dosage usually helps. Although mitochondrial DNA variants are thought to predispose to hearing loss, a study of polish individuals by Lechowicz et al, reported that "there are no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of tinnitus and its characteristic features between HL patients with known HL mtDNA variants and the general Polish population." This would argue against mitochondrial DNA variants as a cause of tinnitus, but the situation might be different in other ethnic groups. Tinnitus (pronounced tin-NY-tus or TIN-u-tus) is not a disease. It is a symptom that something is wrong in the auditory system, which includes the ear, the auditory nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain, and the parts of the brain that process sound. Something as simple as a piece of earwax blocking the ear canal can cause tinnitus. But it can also be the result of a number of health conditions, such as: Most cases of tinnitus are unfortunately thought to be difficult to treat, and sometimes severe tinnitus cannot be treated at all when permanent and irreversible damage to the ears or nerves has occurred. That being said, many patients find natural tinnitus treatment methods and coping strategies to be very helpful in allowing them to adjust to the changes that tinnitus brings. Here are six of those tinnitus treatment options: A wealth of research has gone into understanding the mechanisms of tinnitus due to the increased concern in our ageing and noise exposed society through the support of organizations such as the Tinnitus Research Institute, the American Tinnitus Association and even the US Department of Defense. This research has helped us to understand not only why and how this phantom percept can develop, but also sheds light on why it may sound like a hiss for one person and a high pitched tone for another.7 In addition, neuroscientists have shown connections between the limbic system (where emotions are processed) and the auditory system; it is not uncommon for tinnitus to increase during times of stress or negative emotions.5 As such, the effective tinnitus treatment strategies should be enjoyable and positive, and should account for the variability in what tinnitus sounds like for each patient. Smoking. Contrary to popular belief, there are some external irritants that can cause tinnitus. For example, Nicotine has been proven to be an irritant that can cause someone to develop a ringing in their ears. Smokers may find that their chances of developing the condition may be higher than someone who is a non-smoker. If you’re suffering from tinnitus right now, and you’re a smoker, please quit as soon as possible. If that’s just not an option for you right now, be sure to at least pick up an over the counter tinnitus treatment that will dramatically reduce the ringing in your ears. Cochlear Implants. These implants are a treatment option for patients that have a severe hearing loss along with tinnitus. Cochlear implants are designed to bypass any damaged parts of the inner ear and send the electrical signals sound makes directly to the auditory nerve. By bringing in outside noise, these implants can effectively mask your tinnitus, as well as stimulate your neural circuits to change. Though the exact cause of tinnitus — as in the specific mechanism that creates these phantom sounds in some people — remains unknown, contributing factors and triggers have been identified. Excessive exposure to loud noise is often a factor because of the damage done to your auditory system. Tinnitus may also result from jaw-joint dysfunction (e.g., teeth grinding, temporomandibular joint disorder) or chronic neck muscle strain. Subjective tinnitus is the most common type and accounts for 95 percent of cases. Only you can hear it and it’s usually caused by exposure to excessive noise. It can appear suddenly and may last three months (acute) to 12 months (subacute), or longer. Subjective tinnitus is often accompanied by hearing loss due to hair cell nerve damage. The severity of symptoms varies from patient to patient, and largely depends on your reaction to the noise. Tinnitus can vary a lot between individuals; therefore you can find many different types of tinnitus. Tinnitus varies considerably in intensity and type. Some people describe tinnitus as high-frequency whistling sounds while others perceive tinnitus as a buzzing noise or a sound similar to butter sizzling in a frying pan. But some experience, instead, a thumping sound in the same rhythm as their heartbeat. This is called pulsatile tinnitus. Read more about the types of tinnitus. Tinnitus is a non-curable, invisible and debilitating hearing disorder that can take on many different forms – ringing, hissing, buzzing, and even the sound of crickets. Almost everyone has experienced brief periods of mild tinnitus, but for many, this sound can be permanent. Over 360,000 Canadians report suffering from chronic tinnitus, and almost half of those are severely affected.1 In the US, over 16 million tinnitus sufferers seek treatment every year.2 Tinnitus is the number one disability claim for US veterans3 and has also become the top disability claim for current and former male RCMP members.4 This persistent sound can have a serious impact on quality of life; leading to sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, and even suicide. What adds to the challenges faced by tinnitus sufferers is a lack of knowledge, support and options available to them. Unfortunately, there are currently too few health care professionals providing services to tinnitus sufferers who are seeking ways to manage their tinnitus. Unfortunately, the phrase “learn to live with it” is still heard far too often by those that seek help for tinnitus. Some tinnitus sufferers have experienced relief through hearing aids, but studies indicate that such benefits are limited to those with low-frequency tinnitus.8 For those with a tinnitus pitch above 5–6 kHz or those with a hissing or buzzing tinnitus, the benefits of hearing aids are more limited or even nonexistent. This makes sense from a neuroscience point of view, as the hearing aid will typically not be making up for hearing loss at frequencies above 6–8 kHz; this prevents any possible effects on tinnitus types that are caused by changes to higher frequency regions in the auditory system. While hearing aids are essential to improving the lives of the hearing impaired, they are not typically the best option for tinnitus; especially when used alone. When tinnitus is unexpected and unwelcomed, it can lead to a negative reaction to the tinnitus. This can create a vicious cycle. When tinnitus is perceived, it can prompt emotions, including frustration, fear, unhappiness, etc. These can, in turn, cause physical reactions such as anxiety and stress. This reinforces the tinnitus and perpetuates the cycle. Another thing that tinnitus and sleep problems share? A tendency among people to brush them off, and try to “tough it out,” rather than addressing their conditions. It’s not worth it, to your health or your quality of life. If you’re having trouble sleeping and you have symptoms that sound like tinnitus, talk with your doctor about both, so you can sleep better—and feel better— soon. Experts believe that tinnitus is associated with neural (brain and nerve) injuries that affect the auditory pathway and therefore someone’s ability to hear sounds. (10) Most of the time, tinnitus is a result of a disorder that affects parts of either the outer, inner or middle ear. The good news is that the majority of cases are not linked to any serious illness, although some cases are. A poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, lack of sleep and chronic stress are all capable of reducing immunity and making you susceptible to nerve damage, allergies and ear problems. If you frequently experience seasonal or food allergies that affect your ears, ear infections, swelling and other problems related to damage of the vestibular system, consider changing your diet, exercise routine and ways of dealing with stress, which in turn will aid your tinnitus treatment. Try natural stress relievers like exercising, yoga, meditation, taking warm baths, using essential oils and spending more time outdoors, and eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Counseling helps you learn how to live with your tinnitus. Most counseling programs have an educational component to help you understand what goes on in the brain to cause tinnitus. Some counseling programs also will help you change the way you think about and react to your tinnitus. You might learn some things to do on your own to make the noise less noticeable, to help you relax during the day, or to fall asleep at night. Most experts refer to tinnitus as the condition that causes ringing in the ears, however other abnormal sounds and sensations can also be attributed to tinnitus. The definition of tinnitus is “the perception of noise or ringing in the ears.” Some also describe this condition as “hearing sounds in the ears when no external sound is present.” Although tinnitus is only a significant problem for about 1 percent to 5 percent of the population, up to 10 percent to 15 percent of all children and adults are believed to experience ringing in the ears at least from time to time. Although drugs cannot cure tinnitus, there are a few that will help suppress the symptoms you are experiencing. Tricyclic antidepressants, like amitriptyline and nortriptyline, are two of the most commonly prescribed medications. If you are experiencing severe tinnitus, one of these drugs may be used. However, it's important to know that these medications may come with side effects such as dry mouth, blurry vision and heart issues. Discuss any other conditions you have or medications you are currently taking with your physician. Niravam and Xanax can also be prescribed, but each of these medications can cause drowsiness and nausea, and they can be habit-forming. Tinnitus is the name for hearing a sound that is not physically present in the environment. Some researchers have also described tinnitus as a “phantom auditory perception.” People with tinnitus most often describe it as ringing, buzzing, cricket sounds, humming, and whooshing, although many other descriptions have been used. To hear some sound samples access the American Tinnitus Association website, where they have put together files of different manifestations of tinnitus to listen to for education purposes. If the source of the problem remains unclear, you may be sent to an otologist or an otolaryngologist (both ear specialists) or an audiologist (a hearing specialist) for hearing and nerve tests. As part of your examination, you may be given a hearing test called an audiogram. An imaging technique, such as an MRI or a CT scan, may also be recommended to reveal any structural problem.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1722999
__label__wiki	0.637022	0.637022	FIU Business Professor Jerry Haar publishes new book on globalization, competitiveness and governability. Faculty June 11, 2019July 10, 2019 Jeffrey Heebner A new book authored by Jerry Haar, professor of international business and director of Executive and Professional Education at FIU Business, in collaboration with Georgetown University Professor Ricardo Ernst, has been published. The book is titled Globalization, Competitiveness, and Governability: The Three Disruptive Forces of Business in the 21st Century. It argues that three powerful symbiotic forces (globalization, competitiveness, and governability) are disrupting business in the 21st century, resulting in an impact on the economic and business environment far greater than the effects of any of these three individually. The authors note that both globalization and competitiveness are governed essentially by market forces that force the introduction of significant changes aimed at increasing efficiency so that a better use may be made of the advantages of globalization (i.e., the traditional “invisible” hand). In addition, the book argues responsibility for bringing about these changes lies not only with the private sector but also with the government (i.e., the “visible” hand). Jerry Haar In addition to his FIU Business appointments, Haar is also a Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a senior research fellow at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. He is the author/editor of 17 books, including The Future of Entrepreneurship in Latin America and Innovation in Emerging Markets. Ricardo Ernst is the Baratta Chair in Global Business and professor of operations and global logistics, managing director of the Global Business Initiative, managing director of the Latin American Board, executive director of the Latin America Leadership Program, and former deputy dean, all at the Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. He is also co-author of Innovation in Emerging Markets and Global Operations and Logistics. The book is now available for preorder. EPE, Executive and Professional Education, Faculty, International Business, Jerry Haar About Jeffrey Heebner View all posts by Jeffrey Heebner → Porsche Latin America builds project management know-how, team spirit at FIU Business. My First Job: Sasha K. Mallet, BBVA Compass FIU Business partners with Georgetown University for international business and public policy program. U.S. News Ranks FIU Business No. 6 for International Business. Please solve the following to prove you are not a bot: * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA. four + = 13	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723004
__label__cc	0.519734	0.480266	3 Cornell faculty elected fellows of American Physical Society By: Tom Fleischman, Cornell Chronicle Three professors – representing the departments of Astronomy, Physics, and Biological and Environmental Engineering – have been elected fellows by the American Physical Society (APS). The criterion for election is exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise – including outstanding physics research, important applications of physics, leadership in or service to physics, or significant contributions to physics education. Rachel Bean, associate professor of astronomy and director of graduate studies, was elected for her contributions to the understanding of dark energy and her cosmological observations to constrain physics beyond the Standard Model of physics. Her group’s research focuses on the application of astronomical survey data to improve our understanding of the physical origins of dark energy, dark matter and primordial inflation, and how the observations can distinguish between competing theories. Csaba Csáki, professor of physics, was cited for wide-ranging contributions to theories for physics beyond the Standard Model, from cosmology to electroweak symmetry breaking. His research is in the field of elementary particle theory, aiming to gain understanding of the deepest mysteries of particle physics, including the origin of mass and the origin of different scales in physics. Mingming Wu, associate professor of biological and environmental engineering, was elected for her research into the biophysical and biochemical drivers that guide bacterial and animal cell migration, and the creation of single-cell analysis tools. Her lab develops microscale and nanoscale technologies for solving contemporary biological, medical and environmental problems. APS fellowship is usually granted to no more than one-half of 1 percent of all APS members in a given year. There were 248 members elected APS fellows this year, and 102 Cornell professors have been elected since the fellowship was established in 1921. This article originally appeared in the Cornell Chronicle.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723010
__label__cc	0.624887	0.375113	by etuk \| Dec 22, 2017 \| Faculty, Staff Russell Scarbrough, PhD, director of the Jazz Ensemble at Canisius, was commissioned to compose a piece to memorialize the lives of three Chicago teachers who died in the last year. The work, entitled Solaces, was featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune and in an Associated Press story featured in U.S. News and World Report. Scarbrough is going to Chicago next month to conduct the piece. Click here to read the Chicago Tribune story. Click here to read the U.S. News and World Report story. Submitted by: College Communications Click here to enjoy the Canisius Chorale, directed by Bradley Wingert, performing All Bells in Paradise. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sheets Named Director of New Data Analytics Program by browkaa \| Dec 22, 2017 \| Faculty, Staff Canisius College Vice President for Academic Affairs Margaret C. McCarthy, PhD, has appointed H. David Sheets, PhD, director of the college’s new, one-year MS program in data analytics. Scheduled to launch in fall 2018, the new degree program applies fundamental scientific principles to the analysis of large, complex data sets. Housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, data analytics will function as a uniquely interdisciplinary major that provides students with a graduate-level education in three core components of the field: statistics, computer science and business (including accounting, economics, finance, management and marketing). Sheets, a professor in the Physics Department, begins his new role as director of the data analytics program in January 2018. He will oversee the development and implementation of the interdisciplinary program, and teach program coursework. Click here to read more about Sheets and the new data analytics program. The Dome: Off Until January 3 The Dome will be going on hiatus over the holidays. This is the last issue that will be published in 2017. The Dome will resume its Monday, Wednesday and Friday publishing schedule beginning on Wednesday, January, 3. Please be sure to have your submissions in by 2 p.m. on Tuesday, January 2. Public Safety Critical Incident Training Public Safety will engage in Critical Incident Training from Tuesday December 26 – Friday December 29 from 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. in Old Main. Entrances and stairwells to areas above the first floor of the building will be blocked during this training. For your protection and to ensure the integrity of these important exercises, please do not enter the training area during this time. If you must enter floors 2, 3 or 4 during training, please call Public Safety Dispatch at Ext. 2330 for an escort. Also note that there may be loud noises and voices during this training. Submitted by: Wil Johnson, director, Public Safety	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723012
__label__wiki	0.725041	0.725041	Supermodels helped John Galliano get back on his feet By dailydish@sfgate.com (Daily Dish) on June 19, 2013 at 2:00 PM (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images) Supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Kate Moss helped disgraced fashion designer John Galliano get back on his feet after his infamous anti-Semitic rant and subsequent stint in rehab. Galliano’s fall from grace came after he was arrested for hurling racist comments at a couple during a night out in France in 2011, which cost him his job as head designer at Christian Dior later that year. The star apologized, but the damage was done and Galliano was largely ostracized from the fashion community. He recently sat down with Vanity Fair magazine for his first interview since the scandal, and admits he was in a really dark place at the time of the incident due to his substance abuse issues. He says, “At first alcohol was like a crutch outside of Dior. Then I would use it to crash after the collections. I’d take a couple of days to get over it, like everyone. But with more collections, the crash happened more often, and then I was a slave to it. Then the pills kicked in because I couldn’t sleep. Then the other pills kicked in because I couldn’t stop shaking. I would also have these huge bottles of liquor that people got for me. Towards the end, it was whatever I could get my hands on. Vodka or vodka-and-tonic. … But I never for one second would admit I was an alcoholic. I thought I could control it.” British catwalk star Campbell, who once struggled with her own drug problems, stood by Galliano and even helped reserve a spot for him at a rehab center in Arizona, where he spent six weeks undergoing treatment. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images) Meanwhile, Evangelista was one of his first visitors. She says, “I just didn’t want that weekend to go by without anyone reaching out to him.” When he was released, Moss hired Galliano to design her wedding dress for her nuptials to Jamie Hince. She explains, “When my dad gave his speech he thanked everyone and then he referred to the genius of Galliano, who made his daughter’s dress. Everyone stood up and gave John a standing ovation. It was the most moving thing, because suddenly John realized he wasn’t on his own.”	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723019
__label__cc	0.652493	0.347507	By Becky WicksFebruary 13, 2019 Travel tips The UK’s chaotic capital feels a lot calmer when you’re looking down on the action from up high! If you’re looking for the best views in London, look no further than this list! If lookouts could kill, The View from the Shard would finish you off. Winner of the Best Attraction RVA award, this towering top attraction offers unrivaled 360-degree views of luvverly London! From a height of 300 meters, see the London Eye, the Tower of London, St. Paul’s, the Thames and more! If you’re feeling swish, opt for an upgrade and get a glass of Moët & Chandon Imperial Brut Champagne at the bar. Soak up the splendor of those skyscrapers from the top of Primrose Hill, a 65 metre hill on the northern side of Regent’s Park. It’s spectacular in summer, when sun worshippers sprawl on the grass on their picnic blankets and gaze upon central London, Hampstead and Belsize Park from a distance. In winter the views are just as magical, but it might be too cold and windy to sit down for long! Can you find the engraved quotation from William Blake? Originally intended as a temporary structure, the views offered by the London Eye from its 32 air-conditioned capsules are arguably some of the best in town. Enter your pod with up to 25 people and get ready for 30 minutes of dazzling views from the Thames river to Big Ben and beyond. Book ahead! More people visit the London Eye every year than the Taj Mahal! Greenwich Royal Park It’s worth the ride on the DLR to one of London’s most leafy green locations. Greenwich Royal Park offers amazing views of the London skyline from the top of the hill. While you’re in the area, why not explore the meaning of time at the Royal Observatory? Learn all about the Greenwich Meridian Line and GMT, then step onboard the Cutty Sark and walk around the insides of an old tea clipper. The views of the Thames are great from the deck. Alexandra Palace, affectionately known as Ally Pally to Londoners, opened to the public in 1873, and has survived two fires, hosted the world’s first TV broadcast and brought amazing events to people who’ve travelled from all over the planet! Crowds pack the sloping lawns in summer, but if the weather’s no good for outdoor lounging, grab yourself a proper English pint of beer in the pub at the top and admire the views from inside. One New Change Rooftop For jaw-dropping views of St Paul’s Cathedral, the busy City and beyond, One New Change rooftop is a must. It’s even better at sunset, when the light can fall just perfectly on the scenery (and you) from where you’re standing. Madison’s Restaurant and Bar on the rooftop can mix you a great cocktail so you can enjoy those breathtaking panoramic views in style. It’s a great place to impress a date, and you can even take a yoga class up there! Want to get the most out of London? Check out everything else Tiqets has to offer in the UK capital. Or read the blog for more travel inspiration. Orchid You Not - you have to get to Kew Gardens!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723026
__label__wiki	0.561256	0.561256	Top marks for AV at the University of Copenhagen Panasonic Visual Systems transform scientific learning at the University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Medical Health and Sciences at the University of Copenhagen is expanding. Not just by means of more floor space in a ground-breaking new building, but also in terms of its AV installations. The University has completed one of the biggest AV installation projects ever undertaken in Denmark, ensuring a top-class learning environment for scientists and students. Panasonic technology is at the heart of the development. The Panum Institute is part of the Faculty of Health and Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. Thanks to a donation from the A.P. Møller Foundation, it has been extended with a new visionary tower block, known as the Mærsk Tower. The 75-metre-tall structure rises above all of the old buildings at the city area of Nørrebro, taking the institute from 105,000 to 145,000 square metres of floor space - an expansion of 40 percent. The architecture, interior design and installations combine to create a unique building with the purpose of constituting an international hub for medical education and scientific work. In fact, it provides some of the world's most advanced facilities for research and teaching on health and disease. Securing the AV system of the future When creating a state-of the-art modern learning environment, the main concern was ensuring there was AV capability to match. According to Anders Jørgensen, contractor and head of the AV installation at Stouenborg, it first and foremost requires carefully detailed planning and testing to ensure that the products used are appropriate to the space. "When testing products, we have very strict criteria. So we had to run numerous tests, mock-ups and trials from different brands to see what was possible and how various installations would look and perform to ensure the best result - from info screens to projectors and projector screens. And we actually had to revise our strategy several times when tests demonstrated that a product did not meet our strict criteria," Anders Jørgensen says. The reason why Panasonic was eventually chosen for the task came down to two very specific features and overall solution: "The technical quality and design had to go hand in hand," said Anders. "In the end, we went for Panasonic, which was able to offer solutions that were not available from competitors, especially in terms of projection. First of all, Panasonic was the only projection brand offering a short throw lens that could project an image width of 5,3 metres at a distance of only 2 metres. Moreover, the projectors had an extremely low noise level - under NR-30." "Moreover, we do not regard individual units as 'the product', but as a part of the package, and Panasonic offered the best combination of different solutions that combine great image quality with high durability. Altogether, these are important differences that helped us ensure the best result possible for the university." LED projectors with a green footprint Offering a complete view of Copenhagen's historical skyline, the Mærsk Tower is definitely not small in size. And for that reason specifically, implementing a sustainable installation is crucial in order to ensure a low level of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. "One of the reasons why we chose Panasonic's LED projectors was that they gave us the most significant energy savings. In this way, we have not only gained the best chance of ensuring significant electricity savings, but also generated the smallest possible environmental impact, in line with the Panum Institute's sustainable strategy and green image," Anders Jørgensen added. The project objectives were to create a user-friendly, state-of-the-art AV installation that fulfilled the University's technical requirements, something that has been accomplished, according to Anders Jørgensen. "After months of hard work I am very satisfied that we have been able to create a dynamic learning environment that is totally out of the ordinary in terms of functionality and aesthetics. The doors have opened to a new building of scientific research that will hopefully raise the profile of Denmark as a leading nation within scientific research at the highest level." Top marks for AV at the University of Co... Displaying a new collaborative future University of Sussex DCU lasers in on new AV future Visual systems sparkle in Sheffield Engaging medical minds at QUB Visual upgrade at Kingston University Bright future at Kingston University Interactive floor makes motion magic	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723027
__label__cc	0.619956	0.380044	Friday News Finds – February 1, 2019 On February 2, 2019 February 2, 2019 By Canadian Business Law BlogIn Uncategorized Welcome back to Friday Finds, the weekly series on the CBLB where we share five of the top corporate and securities law news stories from the past week. The Polar Vortex sweeping through North America and causing freezing cold, Mars-like temperatures was at the top of most headlines this week, however there were also a number of big securities law stories. We’ve rounded up the top five that dominated our conversations. First up, a decision from the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). Bankrupt oil and gas companies must fulfill provincial environmental regulations before paying back anyone they owe money to, the SCC ruled on Thursday. The case before the SCC involved Redwater Energy Company, an Alberta oil and gas company that went bankrupt in 2015. Following its bankruptcy, Redwater abandoned its wells, pipelines, and other facilities but neglected to complete the required costly clean-up of the land. The SCC’s decision reversed an earlier ruling that prevented the Alberta Energy Regulator from seizing Redwater’s assets in order to pay for the necessary clean-up of its abandoned sites. In its majority decision, the Court stated that “[b]ankruptcy is not a license to ignore rules…”. This case brings new challenges to boards of directors in carrying out their risk assessments, particularly as more oil and gas companies are facing bankruptcy due to unfavourable market conditions. On Thursday, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) published a notice inviting innovative Ontario businesses to join a new pilot project to test financial products and services. The project is the initiative of a global group of regulators called the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), of which four of Canada’s biggest securities regulators are members (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec). The purpose of this pilot is to provide FinTechs with a global sandbox to test out new products and business models in different jurisdictions, allowing them to access real-time insight into how they may enter these different markets. Additionally, the project will help inform the future work of the GFIN and could, over time, be used to highlight potential areas of regulatory convergence. This pilot is an example of the type of work the OSC has been engaging in recently to modernize regulation and support the development of innovative businesses for the ultimate benefit of investors. One of the big questions faced by securities regulators over the past few years is whether ICOs should be deemed securities. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a number of statements and carried out enforcement actions indicating that an ICO can constitute a security offering, and is therefore subject to the relevant registration requirements. However, Kik Interactive, a Waterloo-based start-up, disagrees. Kik is facing a potential enforcement action from the SEC for the 2017 token sale of Kik’s cryptocurrency, Kin. In an interview this week, Kik’s CEO, Ted Livingston, asserted that because Kin has monetary value it is essentially a currency and is therefore not subject to the registration requirements under the Securities Exchange Act (1934). Though the SEC hasn’t issued an enforcement action yet, Kik has made it clear that it will fight back if necessary. The result of this legal battle, should it come, could have major implications on the SEC’s regulatory authority over ICOs in the future. In other regulator news, the Investment Industry Regulatory Agency of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA) are pressuring provinces and territories to pass stricter laws relating to financial adviser fraud. The goal of two regulators, which oversee registered investment dealers, mutual fund firms, and financial advisers, is to provide a consistent level of investor protection across Canada. However, doing so requires closing a number of regulatory gaps that enable offenders to evade penalties. For example, in most jurisdictions the regulators do not have the authority to start collecting evidence immediately following the identification of a possible offender. Instead, in all but a few provinces, regulators must wait until disciplinary hearings have begun before collecting evidence on the alleged violators – a delay that hinders effective enforcement. As such, IIROC and the MFDA are seeking greater legal power from provincial and territorial governments to investigate crimes and collect fines, as well as protection from malicious lawsuits when acting in the public interest. Lastly, we’ll end off with some industry news. Last week we talked about a couple major takeover deals by the gold producers Barrick Gold Corp and Newmont Mining Corp. This week, there’s a new takeover target in the gold sector. Iamgold, a Toronto-based mining company with operations in Canada, Africa, and South America, saw a 23% jump in its share price this week resulting from takeover rumours. Analysts say that Iamgold’s “surprise” decision to defer a project indicated that it might be preparing for a potential transaction. The miner was also apparently in talks with Kinross Gold Corp about a possible takeover last year, though the two companies failed to reach a consensus over certain terms. Both companies are among the worst performing long-term Canadian gold stocks, though Kinross is over twice the size of Iamgold and produced almost three times as many ounces of gold last year. Whether Iamgold will be the latest gold company to be acquired remains to be seen – stay tuned to Friday Finds for updates on this deal. Thanks for getting caught up with us this week. We’ll see you back here on the CBLB next Friday for more Friday Finds! Friday News Finds – January 25, 2019 Ontario’s law society needs to address problems in self-regulation	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723028
__label__wiki	0.954802	0.954802	Corbin says Nationals were best fit The Washington Nationals officially agreed to terms on a six-year, $140 million contract with All-Star left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin and unveiled him at a press conference on Friday. FILE PHOTO: Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Patrick Corbin reacts after he gave up a home run to New York Mets batter Anthony Recker in the fifth inning of their MLB National League game at CitiField in New York, July 2, 2013. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine “We’ve always said that starting pitching is the driver. As the top free agent pitcher on the market this offseason, we targeted Patrick from the onset,” Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo in a statement. “He was one of the top pitchers in the National League in 2018 and at 29 years old, we believe the best is yet to come. We are thrilled to bring him into our organization.” Corbin went 11-7 with a 3.15 ERA during an All-Star campaign for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He set a career high for strikeouts with 246 and reached 200 innings for the second time in his career. During the press conference, Corbin noted that the recent signings of catchers Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki factored into his decision. “That’s a huge part. Signing Gomes and Suzuki,” he said. “I’ve gotten to watch them over the last couple of years and it’s just a big part of the game.” Corbin also considered the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies before deciding Washington was the proper destination. “I just feel like this is the best fit,” Corbin said. “To be able to come in here and compete for a championship and be a part of something special.” Corbin also was an All-Star in 2013 when he went 14-8 with a 3.41 ERA. He injured his pitching arm in spring training the following season and underwent Tommy John surgery. He missed all of 2014 and half of the 2015 season. Corbin struggled in 2016 — he went 5-13 with a 5.15 ERA — before bouncing back to match his career highs for wins in 2017. He went 14-13 with a 4.03 ERA that season. Overall, Corbin is 56-54 with 3.91 ERA in 172 career appearances (154 starts). Nats pitchers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg were present at the press conference announcing Corbin, where Rizzo also noted the deal was “independent” of any moves with their own free agent, outfielder Bryce Harper.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723031
__label__wiki	0.888053	0.888053	MOOCs and the Master's Degree The University System of Maryland is experimenting with the use of massive open online courses to accelerate the path to an advanced degree — and the work has shed light on surprising new benefits of the MOOC format. It has been just about 12 months since the University System of Maryland (USM) announced a partnership with edX to deliver four MicroMasters programs: non-credit master's level courses intended to accelerate the process of earning an advanced degree. The idea was to support an "inverted admissions process." Students could try out the master's-level coursework before making the commitment to a full-on master's degree program. Even in those earliest days, the system made no promises about the possible results they were expecting. A headline for a news release at the time used the word, "may," as in, "may accelerate [the] path to advanced degrees and save students thousands of dollars." As with much about MOOCs, nobody knew whether the "mini-master" concept would gain traction among students, let alone become a "gateway" to advanced degrees. Now, a year into the experiment, while the gateway model might be a bit wobbly, the mini-master concept thrives for other reasons. Opening the MOOC Gateway USM kicked off its first massive open online course on edX in September 2016. While another institution in the system, College Park, already had a relationship with MOOC competitor Coursera, this was to be the first MOOC launched by the system itself, and the first to appear on edX. On top of that, it emphasized cross-institutional collaboration; the global health course was co-taught by faculty from the system's Baltimore campus and University College (UMUC), its online school. The thinking behind signing a systemwide agreement with edX was "to help raise all boats," said MJ Bishop, an associate vice chancellor in the system and director of the William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation. "We work very much at the 30,000-foot level, looking at all this strategically." That means figuring out how MOOCs might fit into the individual missions of the 12 institutions making up the system — research vs. HBCU vs. regional comprehensives and so on. Even as USM's MOOC effort was approaching lift-off, edX introduced its MicroMasters offerings, announcing 19 such programs with 14 universities. One of the founding ideas was to address changing workforce needs. By finishing several online courses on a topic, such as supply chain management, learners could prepare for "jobs of the future." At the same time, the "digital credentials" could count as credit toward a portion of an advanced degree within those participating schools. The MicroMasters program expanded, primarily driven by the wild success demonstrated by the Georgia Institute of Technology. There, over the course of a year, an analytics program that began with 250 students in fall 2017 grew nearly five times, to more than 1,200 by fall 2018. And while the residential program could cost as much as $49,000 for an out-of-state student, the MOOC-supplemented version was less than $10,000. The gateway was wide open. Identifying the Real Win By February 2017, USM had joined the pack with plans to offer four edX MicroMasters, all through UMUC. (The count has since grown to six, five of which UMUC is producing.) At the time, university faculty estimated that between 20 and 50 percent of the institution's master's degrees could be completed through the MicroMasters programs. Those initial MOOCs drew 135,000 unique students. So far, said Bishop, 5,816 have signed up for the "verified track" — meaning they would be eligible to apply to the university if they passed a specific set of MOOC courses — and 2,788 verified learners have succeeded in passing the track. Out of that total, she estimated, "about a hundred" have matriculated into UMUC as full master's students. By those measures, the success rate has been less a gateway and more a needle eye. For every 10,000 students enrolled in the original MOOCs, seven headed to a USM institution to pursue their advanced degrees. But that's not the end of the story. As Bishop added, "If those verified learners are utilizing those certificates to go and advance their careers, then as far as we're concerned, that's a win." So, can that stand-alone credential also play nicely with a master's degree? Bishop isn't yet convinced. On one hand, she explained, building those stand-alone credentials requires pulling together relevant concepts from a variety of traditional courses and putting them together into a MOOC format. On the other hand, "When we unpack that and try to bring that student back into the master's program, how does all of that come back together into something that makes sense? I feel a little bit like these things might be mutually exclusive, and combining them as we are right now is a little problematic." At the same time, there are fears from some individuals in the system that as an online provider of education, UMUC is "poaching" from itself by engaging in MicroMasters. The thinking is this: Those who go the distance through MOOCs will be doing so at a "greatly reduced cost" while others "are coming through the usual admission process." Similarly, what will the student think who has paid full price on tuition when he or she learns there's a MicroMasters equivalent for part of the program? Will there be demands for refunds or course shortcuts? "We're wrestling with these questions. We're trying to demonstrate how the verified track adds value and also trying to make sure that we're clear about what's part of our 'secret sauce' in the usual degree programs versus the things we're putting into these pathways," said Bishop. "This is all very much experimental for everybody engaged. I think everybody is trying to sort out where it fits in." The poaching qualms might create a bigger hurdle for future MicroMasters ambitions if the data didn't belie the worries. By digging into the MOOC numbers, the university system has discovered that some 120,000 learners participated in the MOOC "never having approached UMUC before. They'd never inquired. There was no record of them having ever had interest in UMUC before," said Bishop. "Essentially, 98.2 percent of the learners out of that 135,000 were previously unknown to the institution." Just as importantly, the data was showing a MOOC student population quite different from what UMUC was accustomed to attracting to its online programs. UMUC has traditionally appealed to adult learners overseas, especially those in the military. "Now," said Bishop, "they're reaching a very different kind of international audience." As a result of those findings, the institution "is in the process of trying to pivot their marketing," she noted. At its foundation, the MicroMasters effort has become a branding and recruitment coup — whether for career acceleration or master's gateways — that should lay poaching worries to rest. The Future of MOOC Data In the meantime, new data generated by those MOOCs and MicroMasters programs keeps rolling in, no doubt containing additional potential insights. And that is a story in itself. As part of their contractual agreements with edX, institutions are obligated to appoint a "data czar," somebody who works with the data to make it usable by the schools so they can act on what they discover. Typically, that individual will come out of the institutional research area. In the case of a systemwide contract, the system also needs to appoint a czar. But at USM, Bishop said, the "folks doing data analysis are pretty well strapped with everything else they're already doing." As an alternative, the system chose to contract out for the edX data management services it needed. HelioCampus was perhaps the obvious choice, since it originated at UMUC to begin with. "UMUC began experiencing unprecedented enrollment volatility, and we tripled down on our use of analytics to navigate a path forward," recalled HelioCampus CEO Darren Catalano, who previously served as vice president of analytics at UMUC. "We had a very successful outcome — so much so that the [System] Board of Regents spun us out into a separate company and gave us a $10 million seed investment." Now the company uses its data warehouse and data analytics expertise to do work — not just edX-related, but any kind of data work — for a multitude of institutions, including community colleges, four-year schools and entire systems. The agreements are subscription-based and last for between three and five years. Why that lengthy duration? As Catalano pointed out, "Analytics is not a project. You're building a capability on campus, and it's a multi-year journey that's never done." Paul Walsh would concur. He serves as program director for USMx, USM's edX platform, working at the system level. He's also the liaison between the system and participating institutions. While HelioCampus has helped with preparing the edX data and offering it in different reports or dashboards, one of Walsh's jobs is to support the creation of a "community of practice" within the individual universities to help their people learn how to use the edX data "to answer questions related to enrollment, marketing and research and prioritize what is most important to the institution." Somewhere in that data, the future is sending out signals. For example, while the emphasis on the mini-masters concept has so far neglected undergraduate education, edX is starting to explore the idea of "micro bachelors." While those might help somebody accelerate through a four-year degree, more likely — if the MicroMasters model holds shape — they could see a pending graduate through preparation for the workforce, by adding, for example, a coding or user design certificate to an English major's portfolio. Then there's the market for post-degree professional certificates. Those could be a ramp-up of certificates like the one currently being offered out of the College Park campus for agile project management, which costs $562.50 for five courses. "If you've been working as a project manager for the last 10 years, you probably don't have any credential in agile or scrum. They're seeing a need and filling it from a professional development standpoint," Walsh said. "That is pretty successful right now." Time and the data will help much of this get sorted out, he added. "Our institutions are excited about what the MicroMasters could be. But after some of these programs run for three years or maybe a little bit longer, they'll want to do some re-evaluation as to which ones they want to keep on the edX platform and which might be getting to a sunset point." In the meantime, USM and its ilk need to continue building up their data super powers, suggested Catalano. "My opinion is, no one has figured this out yet. Not a specific school, not a specific vendor. We're still in the early stages of getting good analytics in higher education." Thinking Outside the (Capture) Box	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723035
__label__wiki	0.636945	0.636945	The Open Boat Essay Tar 1Man vs.Ticha TarENGL 202-D03Prof. Dow10 November 2014OutlineNaturalism from Dreiser's "Truth Art Speaks Plainly." "Truth is what is, and the seeing of what is the realization of truth. To express what we see honestly and without subterfuge: this is morality as well as art"Thesis: In his story, "The Open Boat," Stephen Crane portrays the men as they struggle to endure the harsh weather in what seems like an indifferent universe against them, while they battle their view of god, nature and their survival.There is an emphasis upon a world in which God is distant or entirely absent.After rowing the men look for some life saving station, but find none.The men doubt that there is a god that wants them to succeed.For them their god is absent, and cares nothing about there efforts.There is an emphasis on a struggle to survive nature that is almost animalistic towards the men.The men are in a desperate situation against nature.Nature/storm continues to harsh regardless of what might happen to them.This causes the men to think that the storm/nature is actually out for their demise, alienated.Taunting them at sea, the gull. Nature knows that any effort to swat the bird would sink them.The men even think of the Universe/Nature as being hostile towards them.They are constantly striving to stay alive even though their efforts are almost ineffective.Humans never stop trying to win against nature, even though they never succeed in the end.There is certain determinism.They, then, rail against an providential and unreasoning universe.The men play no part in their outcome in their life.They see life in a bleak way man was made to die.Essentially, they never give up that hope that one-day they'll succeed.Ticha TarProf. DowENGL 202-D0310 November 2014Man vs.Theodore Dreiser's criticism of both realism and naturalism can be seen in his writing Truth Art Speaks Plainly. The two styles have a few things in common, while both strive to depict the world as honestly as it is. Dreiser questions which form of writing would be most enjoyed for the reader. In Truth Art Speaks Plainly, Dreiser says, "a true picture of life, honestly and reverentially set down, is both moral and artistic whether it offends the conventions or not" (562). Dreiser claim for the naturalistic point of view in writing is seen in that statement. He agrees with displaying the truth even if it offends the reader because the truth is something that should not be hidden. In Stephen Crane short story The Open Boat, the protagonists, a group of shipwrecked survivors are in debate on forces acting on them while trying to make it safely to shore. Dreiser shows the reader that as people we have no control of the struggle that our lives will entail. In the story, "The Open Boat," Stephen Crane portrays the survivors as they struggle to endure the harsh weather in what seems as if the universe is against them, while they battle their view of god, nature and their survival.Throughout The Open Boat the crewmen... Find Another Essay On The Open Boat Autobiography in The Open Boat Essay 973 words - 4 pages The Open Boat is based off the true story of the sinking of the Commodore. Stephen Crane had a traumatic shipwreck in January 1897. After the crash on the 10-foot boat, Crane was lost at sea for 30 hours. He was later rescued and wrote 3 different writings on the sinking of Commodore (Eye). Crane’s afterthought of the sinking of the Commodore led to the short story. It was initially published as “Stephen Crane’s Own Story” (Hayes). The Open Boat Stephen Crane's The Open Boat Essay 1420 words - 6 pages “The Open Boat” was written by Stephen Crane in 1897. This is an extremely powerful short story fictionalized by one of Crane’s own experiences out at sea. He is able to use what has happened to him, and spice it up to turn his story into a fictional account everyone can relate to. The reasons this story is so powerful is because of the literary devices Crane uses throughout the story, especially symbolism. In “The Open Boat,” Crane uses the Stephen Crane's The Open Boat 776 words - 3 pages Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" “None of them knew the color of the sky.” This first sentence in Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” implies the overall relationship between the individual and nature. This sentence also implies the limitations of anyone’s perspective. The men in the boat concentrate so much on the danger they are in, that they are oblivious and unaware to everything else; in other words, maybe lacking experience. “The Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" 1096 words - 4 pages Stephen Crane: The Open BoatThere are many good short stories in this world, but how many of them can captivate the reader in such a short amount of time like that of Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat." As a reader of this story one may feel as if they too were on the boat with these men. Not just any writer could activate the reader in such a manner as this. Yet we will never know the true extent to how much more of an impact he would have made on Fountainhead and The Open Boat 1127 words - 5 pages Fountainhead and The open boat In today’s world there are many kinds of people that do things at their own free will. In the novel “The Fountainhead” it is shown that people made their own decisions to go where they wanted to go in their own free will. In the story “The Open Boat” men have shown to open to their own instincts and follow their own path for survival. Both stories show many forms of determinism, objectivism, naturalism Naturalisn In The Open Boat 1237 words - 5 pages In most traditional happy ending stories, there always appears to be evidence of supernaturalism. However, Stephen Crane leaves out all fairy tale elements and mystical creatures in his “The Open Boat”. Throughout the whole story, there are constant examples of the raw, realistic and indifferent parts of life. In Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” naturalism is apparent through the use of language, literary techniques, and thematic elements Stephen Crane's " The Open Boat" 1764 words - 7 pages Naturalism and Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" Naturalism is frequently cited as one of the dominant literary movements of 19th century America. Naturalism aimed at a detached, scientific objective portrayal of a natural self controlled by instincts and ruled by passion. Since a self was not perceived to have free will, naturalism debunked moral judgment. Historically, naturalism is perceived to have been more inclusive but also less selective Naturalism in Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” 988 words - 4 pages subsequently became a literary movement is Naturalism (Kendir). In this case, Scientific Development is a major factor that influences the movement of literary naturalism. Charles Darwin is the one who brought up a new concept of sciences, in which Stephen Crane will use it as a concept for his short story “The Open Boat”. From Darwin’s book “The Origin of Species,” there are two concepts that can be found in “The Open Boat.” The first concept is Analysis of Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" 2114 words - 9 pages Stephen Crane’s short story “The Open Boat” is a story of conflict with nature and the human will and fight to survive. Four men find themselves clinging to life on a small boat amidst a raging sea after being shipwrecked. The four men, the oiler (Billie), the injured captain, the cook, and the correspondent are each in their own way battling the sea as each wave crest threatens to topple the dinghy. “The Open Boat” reflects human nature’s The Open Boat by Stephen Crane 866 words - 3 pages The Open Boat by Stephen Crane “The Open Boat” Four men drift across a January sea in an open boat, since they lost their ship some time after dawn. Now, in the clear light of day, the men begin to grasp the full gravity of their situation. Realizing that their main conflict will be man versus nature, in this case, the raging sea. In the short story “The Open Boat,” Stephen Crane gives an itemized description of the two days spent on a 1634 words - 7 pages “The Open Boat”” “From the first moment [sentence referencing “the sky”], … The Open Boat proceeds as a traditional sea journey to knowledge, and the knowledge it attains is equally as mysterious or religious as that envisioned in other great American sea journeys ---…” The “Open Boat” is a short story written by Stephen Crane (1871-1900). This story develops the tragic fate of the SS Commodore. This ship had for mission to transport 793 words - 4 pages “The Open Boat” uses characterization to analyze the forms of survival that comes from the characters of the realistic fictional short story. The oiler, correspondent, captain, and cook all fulfill the different personalities dealing with the shipwreck. According to Joseph, the characterization in the story introduces four characters who have been dealt a bad hand by nature in a devastating shipwreck. The correspondent, the captain, the cook "The Open Boat" Essay 1296 words - 6 pages “The Open Boat” The relationship between man and nature Many stories talk about the idea of fate, the idea that no matter how much a person tries to survive, nature ultimately chooses the person’s path of life. The short story, “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane illustrates the relationship between nature and man and how nature’s indifference towards man’s effort for survival. In this account, the narrator, Stephen Crane explains to the readers "The Open Boat" Conflict Essay 640 words - 3 pages Dinghy vs. Nature In his short story, "The Open Boat," Stephen Crane shows how an inanimate object can be very unconcerned with whether you live or die. In this case, it is an ocean, which man has to struggle to survive. The characters in the story come face to face with this natural disaster and nearly overcome by Nature's lack of concern. They survive only through persistence and cooperation. Crane shows the reader how not to give up when Community The Open Boat Essay 2052 words - 8 pages Stephen Crane's Theme of CommunityStephen Crane is well known in the literary world for his many underlying themes. In Stephan Crane's "The Open Boat," one of the many themes that can be seen is that of community. He brings to life the importance of the each individual's role in the group setting. Crane uses a dire situation in which men's lives are in the hands of each other to show that without group togetherness no one would make it. He shows The Importance of Being Earnest: Setting and Stage Analysis Rape of Lock as Mock Epic This is an essay about Bill 3213 New Zealand Neural and hormonal factors in agression Inhaled insulin - a lot of hot air Pakistan environmental report A Modern Female Image in A Woman on a Roof Rise in demand of Thai amulets: the power play between Buddhism, materialism and sensationalism	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723042
__label__wiki	0.545076	0.545076	Update: Buddhists, Christians must reclaim values that lead to peace, pope says POPE FRANCIS GREETS YOUNG PEOPLE AFTER CELEBRATING MASS WITH YOUTHS NOV. 30 AT ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL IN YANGON, MYANMAR. (CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS) YANGON, Myanmar – Christians and Buddhists are called by faith to overcome evil with goodness and violence with peace, Pope Francis said during a meeting with leaders of Myanmar’s Buddhist community. Quoting St. Francis of Assisi and Buddha, the pope insisted that in a land where the powerfully bonded pairing of religion and ethnicity have been used to prolong conflict, it was time for religious leaders to reclaim the greatest values and virtues of their faith traditions. Pope Francis met Nov. 29 with members of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, a government-appointed group of senior Buddhist monks who oversee some 500,000 monks and novices in Myanmar, where close to 90 percent of the population follows Buddhism. One of the strongest anti-Muslim and anti-Rohingya currents of Myanmar society is led by Buddhist nationalists. The meeting was hosted by the Buddhists at the Kaba Aye Pagoda and Center. As is customary, Pope Francis took off his shoes before entering the hall and walked in his black socks to his place. The Buddhist committee members sat directly opposite Pope Francis and members of his entourage across a plush, bright blue rug. The challenge of the Buddhist monks and of the Catholic clergy, the pope said, is to help their people see that patience, tolerance and respect for life are values essential to every relationship, whether with people of the same family or ethnic group or with fellow residents of a nation. The approach, he said, is common to both faiths. Pope Francis quoted Buddha: “Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.” And then he pointed out how the “Prayer of St. Francis” has a similar teaching: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, let me bring pardon. ... Where there is darkness, let me bring light, and where there is sadness, joy.” “May that wisdom continue to inspire every effort to foster patience and understanding and to heal the wounds of conflict that, through the years, have divided people of different cultures, ethnicities and religious convictions,” he said. The pope did not use the word “Rohingya,” whom the Myanmar government does not recognize as a separate ethnic group, but he insisted the meeting was an occasion “to affirm a commitment to peace, respect for human dignity and justice for every man and woman.” Faith, he said, not only should lead adherents to an experience of “the transcendent,” but also should help them see “their interconnectedness with all people.” Bhaddanta Kumarabhivamsa, president of the committee, told the pope Buddhists believe all religions can, “in some way,” bring peace and prosperity, otherwise they would cease to exist. Religious leaders, he said, “must denounce any kind of expression that incites (people) to hatred, false propaganda, conflict and war with religious pretexts and condemn strongly those who support such activity.” Pope Francis ended his day with the Catholic bishops of Myanmar, urging them to “foster unity, charity and healing in the life of this nation.” As he had earlier in the trip, the pope again defined as an example of “ideological colonization” the idea that differences are a threat to peaceful coexistence. “The unity we share and celebrate is born of diversity,” he said. Unity in the church and in a nation “values people’s differences as a source of mutual enrichment and growth. It invites people to come together in a culture of encounter and solidarity.” As Myanmar continues its transition to democratic rule and tries to deal with the challenges of development and full equality for all its ethnic groups, Pope Francis told the bishops to make sure their voices are heard, “particularly by insisting on respect for the dignity and rights of all, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.” POPE FRANCIS ARRIVES WITH BHADDANTA KUMARABHIVASMA, CHAIRMAN OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF BUDDHIST MONKS, FOR A MEETING WITH MONKS OF THE COUNCIL AT THE KABA AYE PAGODA IN YANGON, MYANMAR, NOV. 29. (CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723045
__label__wiki	0.538588	0.538588	Chicago Cubs trade deadline: Starting pitchers to target other than Jacob deGrom Published on July 21, 2018 in Chicago Cubs by Matt Gentile With the non-waiver trade deadline quickly approaching, it’s fair to assume that the Chicago Cubs are going to make moves to beef up their pitching down the stretch. And it’s a safe assumption. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have made deals the last three trade cycles to bolster their staff and bullpen. Their five noteworthy deals included: July 31, 2015: Dan Haren – Starter July 20, 2016: Mike Montgomery – Long reliever/spot starter July 25, 2016: Aroldis Chapman – Closer July 14, 2017: Jose Quintana – Starter July 31, 2017: Justin Wilson – Reliever On Thursday, the team traded for Texas Rangers reliever Jesse Chavez, and they’re rumored to be interested in Baltimore Orioles reliever Zach Britton and Miami Marlins reliever Kyle Barraclough. However, there also is a good chance that the Cubs will look to improve the starting staff. And for good reason. Beyond Jon Lester, the rest of the rotation is questionable at best. While Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana haven’t been horrific this year, neither has been consistently good enough to prove they can be game-changing performers by the postseason. Tyler Chatwood continues to struggle with his command, leading the National League in walks. And Yu Darvish has dealt with injury setbacks since May, leaving little to no confidence that he’ll be a bonafide No. 2 or 3 starter down the stretch. With the New York Mets looking to retool on the fly, we wrote last month about why pursuing ace Jacob deGrom would be an aggressive and wise move down the stretch. The speculation surrounding deGrom to the Cubs has grown the last couple of weeks. However, the front office might not be willing to part with the number of major league pieces that would get any potential deal done. So if deGrom isn’t a realistic option, who can the Cubs turn to? Here are some starters they can target as the deadline approaches. Matt Harvey – Cincinnati Reds Before you spit out your drink or hurl your phone across the room, chew on this for a bit. Although he’s had durability and attitude issues in the past, Harvey’s 12-game stint with the Reds has been rock solid. The 29-year-old is 5-3 with a 3.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, and he looks close to the pitcher he was earlier in his career with the Mets. If you’re worried about him reverting to the old, ego-maniacal Harvey, the good news is that Cubs offer a situation to keep him in check and fully engaged. They not only are in a hot division title race, but they also have a great clubhouse culture that most likely would suit his style. Joe Maddon and cornerstone players like Jon Lester and Anthony Rizzo do a masterful job of keeping things light while still maintaining a competitive edge. It seems like the perfect fit for Harvey. When he’s pitching at peak performance, he can be a top-end No. 2 or 3 starter who could be a valuable piece down the stretch and in the postseason. Since he’s playing on a one-year deal, Harvey’s price tag shouldn’t be too high for the Cubs. As a rental, it might cost them a couple of mid-level prospects or a package including a minor-league pitcher and a major leaguer like David Bote or Victor Caratini. While losing Bote or Caratini would take depth off the major league roster, it would help shore up the middle of the rotation. And that can be a huge difference between making the playoffs and competing for a World Series title. J.A. Happ – Toronto Blue Jays Happ is the type of pitcher who elicits a resounding “meh” from a lot of fans. He’s 34 and doesn’t have the electric stuff someone like deGrom or Harvey possess. But he always has seasons where he overperforms, and 2018 has been one of those years. Coming off the heels of a 20-win campaign two years ago, Happ is 10-6 with a 1.19 WHIP in 19 starts through the first half of the season, earning his first All-Star selection. His 4.29 ERA is nothing to write home about. But that number fattened up from his last three starts, which included outings against the high-powered New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Prior to July, he only had three losses and a respectable 3.62 ERA. During his first 16 outings, he notched five wins against teams that ranked in the top half of the majors in team batting. What’s been even more impressive is that he’s pitched into the sixth inning or later in 10 of those starts. There have been reports that the Cubs are interested in the Evanston native, and the Blue Jays are reportedly eyeing Bote and a couple of minor league prospects. While he might not be a high-end starter, Happ will certainly tie up loose ends in the back half of the rotation and provide solid starts come playoff time. Michael Fulmer – Detroit Tigers Fulmer has been a solid starter in his short three-year career, earning AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 and an All-Star selection last season. However, the 26-year-old righty has been in a slump this season. Through 19 starts, Fulmer is 3-9 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. To make matters worse, he strained his oblique during a side session Friday and was placed on the 10-day disabled list. Given his health concerns dating back to last season and first-half struggles, he might be the perfect “buy-low” guy for the Cubs. The asking price will still be a bit hefty. Unlike the other options on this list, Fulmer is arbitration eligible starting next year and won’t be a free agent until after the 2022 season. A package of mid-level prospects and low-end major leaguers aren’t going to be appealing to Tigers team looking to find valuable young pieces. Would the front office be willing to part with someone like Ian Happ or Kyle Schwarber to acquire a young, cost-controlled starter? We know there was reported interest in Fulmer last season. A change of scenery not only could propel him in the second half, but it also could give the Cubs an affordable starter for the next four seasons. Still, they should attempt to pry him away at a lower price. His poor performance started in the latter half of last season, when he dealt with lingering elbow issues that eventually ended his season. So offering a package centered on Caratini and a top minor league arm is at least worth trying before tossing in more valuable pieces off the major league roster. Other possible Cubs targets The following starters are expected to be available at the trade deadline, and a couple of names have been tied to the Cubs for a few years. Unlike the three key names above, these guys have some question marks regarding asking price and high-level production. Zack Wheeler – Wheeler is viewed as a more realistic trade chip for the Mets than deGrom. At 28 with another season of arbitration, he would be an intriguing mid-rotation option for the Cubs. He’s improved significantly in his last eight starts, which is arguably his best stretch since he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015. The only issue is that the Mets might look to drive up the asking price to include a package of top prospects and a major leaguer off the Cubs roster. Cole Hamels – Hamels would make a nice rental for most teams. He has plenty of postseason experience, and his contract includes a team option for 2019. The only downside is that his performance has been very shaky since June. While he could be this year’s Justin Verlander, is it worth trading mid-level prospects and a top minor league arm for someone who’s been inconsistent to this point? Chris Archer – Archer has always been linked to the Cubs. Even though he’s 29 and pitches against stiffer competition in the AL, he’s not necessarily a lockdown No. 1 or 2 starter. However, he’s the ace on the Tampa Bay Rays’ staff and has a friendly contract that includes team options in 2021 and 2022. The package might be too rich for Theo and Jed, especially since he’s not a top-tier starter. James Shields –Despite a 4-11 record, Shields is having a decent bounce-back season for the Chicago White Sox. He’s another former Maddon guy who’s been linked to the Cubs in the past, so seeing him on the north side wouldn’t be too surprising. Unlike last season’s crosstown trade for Quintana, this one wouldn’t cost as much. But do they really want to give up any pieces for someone who would be a fifth starter at best? Previous Story Previous post: Allen Robinson and Mitchell Trubisky will define new-look Bears Next Story Next post: World Series chances threatened by shaky Cubs rotation	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723048
__label__wiki	0.548126	0.548126	In Memoriam: Bernard L. Kowalski (1929-2007) Bernard L. Kowalski died on October 26. He was one of the most creative director-producers of the ’60s, whose passing rated more attention in the press than this sole, belated Variety obit. I guess his primary claim to fame is having directed the Mission: Impossible pilot, and later several of the good, early Columbo segments. Mission was the culmination of a brief, productive collaboration with its creator, Bruce Geller, with also included some good episodes of The Dick Powell Show and one amazing, postmodern, ahead-of-its-time season of Rawhide. (Too ahead of its time: they got fired.) Sam Peckinpah made their partnership a trio for a time, but he was too volatile for it to last. The year that Bernie launched Mission: Impossible, he directed or produced a total of five successful series pilots – for Mission, The Monroes, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The Rat Patrol (Kowalski produced, Tom Gries directed), and NYPD. I can’t imagine that’s not a record. The NYPD pilot would never be broadcast; Kowalski’s show featured Robert Hooks, Frank Converse, and Robert Viharo as a multiracial team of young detectives. When the show went to series a year later, Viharo was gone, replaced by Jack Warden as an older police captain. Bernie had two flirtations with feature careers – early on, as a director of low-budget sci-fi and action films (Attack of the Giant Leeches) for Gene and Roger Corman, and for a while in the late ’60s and early ’70s after his TV career had peaked with that string of hit pilots. Those movies (Krakatoa – East of Java, Macho Callahan, SSSSS) were eclectic but not very good, and Bernie slid back into episodic TV. His credits include long stints on a raft of classics or, at least, popular hits: The Rebel, The Untouchables, Perry Mason, Banacek, Columbo, Baretta, Knight Rider, Airwolf, Jake and the Fatman. The conclusions one draws from that list, I guess, are that Bernie had a skill for handling masculine action material, and that he was a good man to call in if you had a temperamental star who liked to throw his weight around. Bernie was an easygoing guy, but he didn’t take any crap from anybody. I met Bernie in January 2006, and we spent more than three hours at his Northridge home, just covering the pre-Krakatoa years (plus a little bit of Columbo). His memories were vivid, funny, and forthright (he admitted, for instance, that the visual style of Mission: Impossible was cribbed straight from The Ipcress File). Plus, it’s always a bonus to talk to someone in the house where they’ve lived for many decades. At one point Bernie gestured toward the front lawn as he was telling me a story about a fistfight that erupted between Sam Peckinpah and the writer James Lee Barrett, and I realized I was sitting in the same den where Peckinpah and Lee Marvin and many others had caroused with Bernie over the years. Bernie and his wife Helen were very warm and hospitable that afternoon, and I wish I’d stayed in touch; I still don’t even know how Bernie died (he seemed in pretty good health two years ago). It’s a common occurrence for an historian, but it still makes me sad. Tags: Bernard L. Kowalski, Bruce Geller, Classic Television, Mission: Impossible, Obituary, Oral History, Sam Peckinpah 7 Responses to “In Memoriam: Bernard L. Kowalski (1929-2007)” Mike & Debra Pierce Says: Bernie was a great man,I met Bernie and wonderful Helen after the Northridge Quake ,what a fun couple,I had the opportunity to work for them for about a year remodeling there Home in north ridge , they were both so much fun , I remember we were trying to get a drywall contractor to do a spanish style finish in the house, that was a smooth type finish with booby bumps all over it was very humorous at the time and when we found a guy, Bernie always gave such great praise to all that had tallent in any feild, he would always Tell me ..Pierce i love to have you around your energy is so strong lets go to Vegas…I loved Them both and i am so proud to have got to have Bernie and Helen in my Memorie of Life.They accepted My wife Debra and I as family and gave us free rain of there property and Condo in Delmar , Its really hard to find such Genuine people like them anymore , We love you Helen and Im sorry I Just was made aware of this great lost to You and the Kids, M.Pierce and Debra love you and will never forget you guys in Our Life,God Bless. 2007 TV Necrology « The Classic TV History Blog Says: […] Heffron, ’70s film director who did the pilots for Toma and The Rockford Files. Oct 26: Bernard L. Kowalski, prolific A-list director (Rawhide, Columbo) who launched Mission: Impossible. Nov 11: Delbert […] One Tree Hill lover Says: One Tree Hill episode 9 season 5 was in memory of him. Vern Says: The best Thanksgiving dinner I ever had. My sister in-law Susan called and said she was inviting over 2 friends for Thanksgiving dinner to our little home in Maui. When I opened the door it was Bernie and Helen, at the time I did not know who they were other than new friends. I knew Peter but never meet his Dad Bernie or his Mom. I must say after 5 minutes with them I was hooked, I wanted to leave Maui and get back in the film business again. We talked for hours and I still remember all the people and places he talked about, his true love and passion for the film industry was more than inspiring for me. I will never forget the best Thanksgiving dinner I ever had. Gloria Robinette Says: Wow. I worked with Bernie in Madrid, Spain on the film Krakatoa, East of Java. I became close to Helen and Bernie. How I loved them. They were fun, warm, hospitable, and beautiful people. I lost touch over the years and regret that but they never changed, did they? Robert J Mauro Says: Bernie was a family friend, my dad and Bernie were in the Army together and we would travel to California every other year and Bernie and Helen would always make us feel welcomed. My dad was supposed to meet up with Bernie and a couple of other guys from their Army days but when he got there they had to break the news to my dad. He was heartbroken for quite a while. Dad has just passed in Nov, I sure hope they find each other in heaven. Bernie and Dad, RIP Sandra Gutierrez Vargas Says: Thank you for sharing. It was nice to read. My dad and Bernard were cousins. I heard of his name and his accolades as I was growing up. I never met him but I always told people that he was my family. I loved seeing his name in the credits of many shows. « In Memoriam: Lonny Chapman (1920-2007) In Memoriam: Gail Ingram (1924-2007) »	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723052
__label__wiki	0.883725	0.883725	Obituary: David Pressman (1913-2011) David Pressman, a victim of the blacklist who directed dramatic television for nearly fifty years, died on August 29 at the age of 97. Pressman had a fractured career. A distinguished background as an actor and teacher in the theatre, including a long period as Sanford Meisner’s right-hand man at the Neighborhood Playhouse, led naturally to work as a director in the early days of the dramatic anthologies. His debut came in 1948 on Actors Studio, a show that benefitted from its (nebulous) association with the exciting new acting school of the moment, and won a Peabody. From there Pressman moved on to some other forgotten dramatic half-hours (including The Nash Airflyte Theatre, pictured above, for which Pressman discovered an unknown Grace Kelly) and then the summer edition of Studio One. But the door slammed shut in 1952, when CBS reneged on a longterm contract after it learned of Pressman’s leftist past and the director refused to issue a public apologia, as Elia Kazan had just done. The CBS lawyer who put forth this ultimatum was named Joseph Ream, and as Pressman laughed years later, “he gave me the ream!” David Pressman (speaking into the microphone at right) in the control room of Actors Studio. Photo courtesy Michael Pressman. Pressman survived the blacklist by teaching (his students at Boston University included John Cazale, Verna Bloom, and Olympia Dukakis) and then directing plays. After David Susskind hired him to direct a few small independent shows, the networks finally cleared Pressman in 1965, but the timing was lousy – he got in a Defenders and a Doctors and the Nurses before those, along most of the other serious dramas then on the air, were cancelled. Pressman moved on to nine episodes of N.Y.P.D., and in those he worked with some of the great soon-to-be stars of the next decade: Cazale, Blythe Danner, Raul Julia, and, in the same episode, Jill Clayburgh and Al Pacino. But, barring a move to Los Angeles, soap operas were the only option, and after a short stint on Another World he settled in as the regular director of One Life to Live for twenty-eight years (surely a record, or close to it). He won three daytime Emmys. That’s an impressive accomplishment. But David’s son, Michael Pressman, has been an episodic director for the past two decades, moving among the top dramas of his time – Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Law and Order, Damages, Weeds, Grey’s Anatomy, The Closer – and it bears pointing out that, if not for the blacklist, David Pressman’s resume would probably comprise a list of the equivalents to those shows from the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Fortunately, as was so often not the case with his contemporaries, the historians made good use of Pressman. The Archive of American Television and Syracuse University both recorded lengthy oral histories on video, and I made my own modest (and as yet unpublished) contribution when I visited Pressman and his lovely wife of sixty-some years, Sasha (who survives him), in 2004 and 2005. Diminutive, bald, and speaking in a comforting drawl, Pressman reminded me of a miniature Dean Jagger. He was also one of the nicest guys I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know. I think my favorite moment in any interview I’ve ever done came during my first meeting with David. He told me this story of being persecuted for his political activities: One day the doorbell rang and I opened the door and there was two FBI guys. They looked like caricatures. They said, “Do you want to talk to the committee?” Eugene [his son] was a baby, and Sasha came out and put the baby in my arms. They said, “Don’t you want to help your country fight communism?” I said, “I was in World War II. I was a wounded combat soldier.” They said, “Well, don’t you want to . . . .” Whatever it was. They talked to me. I said, “I’m doing what I can.” I don’t remember what I told them. As he related this encounter, Pressman gestured vaguely toward the front door, and a shiver went down my back. “Wait a minute,” I asked, “are we sitting in the room where this actually happened?” Yes: fifty-odd years later we were in the same Central Park West apartment into which the Pressmans moved in 1949. Everything the Pressmans suffered during the blacklist – the strategy sessions for David’s unsuccessful lawsuit against a producer who fired him, the fretting over how to support three young children without any offers of work – I could look around and imagine all of it going on around me. As a historian, one learns things at a remove – in the reading room of an archive, in a retirement home a thousand miles away. This was as close as I’d come to actually being there. It is, incidentally, shameful that Pressman – one of the few live TV directors who rarely, if ever, worked outside his beloved Manhattan – was passed over for a New York Times obituary. More friends of this blog have left us: Kim Swados, who recalled his work as an art director on Studio One in this piece, died on August 30 at the age of 88. His daughter, Christina, who informed me of his death, has launched a website that will showcase her father’s work. Actress Peggy Craven Lloyd died on August 30 at 98, after a long period of ill health. I only met her for about ten seconds once. But Peggy was married to one of my favorite people, Norman Lloyd, in whose company I spent two unforgettable afternoons. Norman is still going strong at 96 and I hope this doesn’t slow him down any. Filed in Obituaries Tags: Blacklist, David Pressman, Kim Swados, Live Television, McCarthyism, Michael Pressman, Obituaries, One Life to Live, Peggy Lloyd, soap operas, Television Directors “Sidney Lumet was wonderful. He does homework like no other director, and he is the warmest guy. Everybody was ‘my love,’ and ‘you gorgeous wonderful thing,’ and rehearsals were filled with kissing and hugging and wild exclamations of joy. Actors have never been more loved than when they were loved by Sidney Lumet.” – Reginald Rose, in Jeff Kisseloff’s The Box: An Oral History of Television, 1929-1961 He was supposed to last forever. His fraternal twin among the live television-era directors, Arthur Penn, was frail and mostly out of the limelight during his final decades; but Sidney Lumet kept making movies, and seemed to be everywhere. His last movie, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, came only four years ago. A good one to go out on, it found new wrinkles in the worn-out caper genre (was that suburban mini-mall jewel heist the cinema’s first?), and reimagined faded ingenue Marisa Tomei as a fortysomething sex symbol and a sought-after actress. More than that, Lumet was a boon to the film historian: modest, accessible, efficient, always willing to sit for an interview. No surprise that he turned out to be one of the subjects who sat for a video obituary for the New York Times. When he didn’t show for a widely publicized screening of 12 Angry Men introduced by Sonia Sotomayor last fall – the new Supreme Court justice has often cited Lumet’s debut film as an inspiration – I knew we were in trouble. I’ve already written this next part so many times, in obituaries for Penn and for others, that I don’t want to belabor it again. But let’s lay it out before we plunge in: Lumet’s early career in television has been, and will continue to be, ignored, glossed over, or reported inaccurately in the tributes. The Times wrote that Lumet directed the live television version of 12 Angry Men as well as the film. But the former belonged to Franklin Schaffner, a fact that Lumet pointed out at every opportunity, and yet it took the paper of record eight days to notice and correct that. Most of the shows themselves are locked away in the vaults or lost. We don’t even have a good list of them. The obits threw around a total of 200 live broadcasts (Lumet’s own estimate?) but at the moment the Internet Movie Database lists only about fifty. The on-line catalogs of the Paley Center and the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and my own unpublished research, contribute a few more, but that still leaves the majority unidentified. Rather than dwell on that, I want to take a close look at a few of Lumet’s live television dramas that are accounted for and extant. Since his death on April 9, I’ve been watching some of Lumet’s segments of the dramatic hour sponsored alternately by Goodyear (The Goodyear Playhouse) and Alcoa Aluminum (The Alcoa Hour); specifically, six of the twelve segments that Lumet directed for this umbrella anthology, a linear descendant of the Philco-Goodyear Playhouse (which yielded “Marty”), between the fall of 1955 and the spring of 1956. Lumet’s Goodyears and Alcoas were among his first hour-long dramas after a period of directing less prestigious (but no less formally challenging) half-hour genre shows. They were also his final works for television prior to stepping onto the set of 12 Angry Men in June 1956. “Sidney didn’t like talking to the actors on the loudspeaker, so he would tear down the spiral staircase to the stage, talk to the actor, and tear back up the staircase. O. Tamburri, our TD [technical director], once said to me, ‘If Sidney does that a little faster, he’s gonna screw himself into the ceiling.’” – Philip Barry, Jr., associate producer of The Alcoa Hour / The Goodyear Playhouse, in The Box “The Mechanical Heart” (November 6, 1955), Lumet’s Goodyear Playhouse debut, is a prototypical mid-fifties anthology drama. It concerns a mid-level toy manufacturer, Steve Carter (Ralph Bellamy), who operates on a razor-thin margin and faces bankruptcy when a complicated three-way deal unravels. The only way he can see to survive is to steal the sole major client of a small-time competitor (Jack Warden), who considers him a friend. The script, by a minor writer named Alfred D. Geto, is an obvious knock-off of Rod Serling’s “Patterns”; it considers some of the same ethical dilemmas faced by corporate climbers in the postwar boom, but with little of Serling’s intensity or ambiguity. Lumet’s chief contributions to “The Mechanical Heart” are to shape the performances, and then to avoid distracting from them with fancy cutting or camera movements. Many key scenes (like the one pictured below) play out in long takes with a stationary camera. Lumet’s self-effacing staging is not an absence of style, but an aesthetic choice not to foreground content over technique. At this point in their careers, Lumet’s approach can be placed at an opposite pole as that of John Frankenheimer, another live television wunderkind who was busy exploring the technical possibilities of the medium – unusual lenses, showy camera moves, rapid cuts – without always worrying whether the material justified them. Prominent among the supporting cast of “The Mechanical Heart” are three of the future 12 Angry Men (two more than Schaffner’s version contained), and all of them – Edward Binns, Jack Klugman, and Warden – do terrific work. Viewers who remember Klugman from his hambone Quincy days, or even his full-throttle guest spots on The Twilight Zone and Naked City, just a few years after this piece, will be startled by his restraint in “The Mechanical Heart.” When Carter suggests a shady maneuver to Klugman’s character, the company accountant, he replies, “But Steve . . . I don’t know.” The obvious choice would be to inflect the line with uncertainty or unease, but Klugman offers it as a simple statement of fact: his character literally doesn’t know what his boss should do. One can sense Lumet working with the actors to make intellectual, rather than instinctive, choices in interpreting the material. Warden’s habit of repeatedly wiping the back of his neck with his handkerchief is such a choice. The gesture conveys his character’s nervous, underdog status, and adds a bit of atmosphere – it’s hot and humid in those midtown offices in the summer – and of course Warden would reuse it in 12 Angry Men. A more ambiguous touch comes in a later scene in which Klugman’s character again questions Carter’s ethics. “What’s the matter, Greenfield?” Bellamy sneers, with an ugly emphasis on the man’s name, and Greenfield comes back with just, “Aww, Steve.” Klugman delivers that simple line with a note of weary disappointment, then moves into an uninflected recital of some financial details. The implication of anti-semitism probably wasn’t spelled out in the script and, indeed, Lumet is so constitutionally unsuited to beating any idea to death that one can’t be entirely certain it exists within the show, either. Lumet’s second Goodyear show was a light comedic caper called “One Mummy Too Many” (November 20, 1956), with Tony Randall as an American air conditioner salesman in Egypt who stumbles into a mystery of stolen sarcophagi. Lumet probably had to take whatever script fell into his slots on this series, but the change of pace undoubtedly suited him, just as he would later take pains to avoid being pigeonholed in any particular cinematic genre. Referring to the 1968 black comedy Bye Bye Braverman (which I find hilarious, but which many, including Lumet, thought too heavy), Lumet said that he took a long time to figure out how to direct comedy, and didn’t succeed with it until Murder on the Orient Express. But “One Mummy,” which bears some tonal similarities to Lumet’s hit 1974 film, is an agreeable trifle in which the three stars – Randall, Eva Gabor, and Henry Jones – effectively pass the fun they seem to be having along to the audience. Lumet experiments with formal strategies for creating humor in “One Mummy,” especially in his use of depth of field to convey to the audience a punchline to which the characters remain oblivious. In one scene, Gabor’s ingenue explains to Randall’s milquetoast hero that the theft of a crate will mean his certain demise; in the background, unseen by either of them, porters enter and remove the crate in question. Another bit of slapstick, constructed in the same way, can be encapsulated in a single frame requiring no caption. “The Trees” (December 4, 1955) is a lesser entry in another quintessential genre of early live television, the tenement drama. It’s perfect for Lumet, whose films famously teemed with the eccentric street life of Manhattan. Jerome Ross’s sentimental story concerns a neighborhood effort to raise money to plant trees along a slum sidewalk, which is threatened by the actions of, among others, a young hoodlum (Sal Mineo) and a genteel older woman (Frances Starr) angling to sell out and move to the suburbs. Lumet again favors long takes, but this time with a more peripatetic camera, which roves back and forth between rival camps that group and regroup on opposite sides of the street. The primary challenge of 12 Angry Men would be choreographing the movements of the twelve actors within a confined space, and “The Trees” shows Lumet experimenting with ways to fill the frame with people, grouping and regrouping his large cast in clusters that emphasize the cramped nature of the urban setting. “Man on Fire” (March 4, 1956) fumbles a good, topical idea through miscasting and an underdeveloped script (by the West Coast team of Malvin Wald and Jack Jacobs). It’s a proto-Kramer vs. Kramer, a study of a successful divorced man (Tom Ewell) who cracks up when he loses custody of his only son. The role called for a sensitive, versatile actor like Warden or Klugman or George Grizzard (another Lumet favorite, the star of his final Goodyear, “The Sentry”); instead, Lumet found himself saddled with Tom Ewell, an unlikely stage and film star thanks to the recent hit The Seven-Year Itch. The inexpressive Ewell, whom Lumet had known but not necessarily admired at the Actors Studio (he relates an encounter with Ewell there in mildly derogatory terms in his Archive of American Television interview), is a sponge for all the free-floating self-pity in Wald’s and Jacobs’s treatment; in his hands a character who should have been sympathetic turns repellent. It’s the only wholly unsuccessful performance in any of the six Lumet shows discussed here – although, in general, Lumet seems to have responded to Alcoa/Goodyear’s habit of hiring Hollywood stars by turning his attention more to the supporting casts, comprised of actors he had used dozens of times on Danger or You Are There. (In “Man on Fire,” the one effective scene belongs to Patricia Barry, the wife of Alcoa/Goodyear’s associate producer. Usually a polished ingenue, Barry shows a vulnerable side that I had not seen before when as she gently fends off a sloppy pass by Ewell, who plays her boss. Barry’s character, a career girl, explains that she has several boyfriends, none of whom she loves, and supposes she’ll marry one of them because it’s what’s done. Lumet seems more engaged by this speech, and Barry’s wistful reading of it, than anything else in the show; as a director, he always picked his battles.) Lumet had attended the Actors Studio briefly, but he detested Method affectations. If there is a single unifying element among his live television work, it is the consistent naturalism in the performance styles, down to the smallest bit parts. Any deviation from that principle tended to occur at the top. Lumet’s results with imported stars were mixed: a failure with Tom Ewell; a split decision on Ralph Bellamy, who tears into “The Mechanical Heart” with an atypical intensity but little nuance; and a stunning success with the ingeniously reteamed ’30s Warner Bros. contract players who headlined his next segment. “His big theory, since most people had ten or twelve-inch sets, was close-up, close-up, close-up. I would argue with him a lot, because if everything’s going to be close-up, there’s no point of emphasis. When you really need it . . . you’ve used it up.” – Sidney Lumet, referring to Alcoa/Goodyear producer Herbert Brodkin, in his Archive of American Television interview “Doll Face” (March 18, 1956), set entirely in an Atlantic City hotel, concerns a faded beauty queen (Glenda Farrell) who returns to the current edition of the pageant that crowned her back in 1930. In tow are her surly adult daughter (Nancy Malone) and genial husband (Frank McHugh), who conveniently is vying for a promotion at a business conference held at the same hotel. This script, also by Jerome Ross, contains as many cliches as “The Trees,” but it offers greater emotional possibilities for Lumet to explore. Lumet tamps down his actors, per usual, and ensures that each of the three main characters – any one of whom could turn grotesque, as Ewell’s distraught dad does in “Man on Fire” – is recognizably human and sympathetic. In “Doll Face” Farrell is not restrained, but she also does not turn the title character into a caricature (as a more obvious casting choice, like Shirley Booth or Joan Blondell, might have). No one overacts in any of these early Lumet shows. In part that reflects Lumet’s skill in working with actors, but it is also a consequence of his formal choices. Farrell benefits enormously from Lumet’s theory of the close-up; when he finally deploys them at the climax, her character’s distress as she is made to see herself as others see her is quite moving. In “Doll Face” Lumet repeats a composition from “One Mummy Too Many” almost exactly: a person leans into the foreground from the left, directing the viewer’s eye to action in the middle distance toward the center and right of the frame. In “One Mummy” the effect was comedic; here it is expository (the man at left pops in to shush loud revelers). In the space of four months, Lumet’s playful use of depth of field in “One Mummy” has evolved into a powerful, coherent compositional strategy for “Doll Face.” In a careful ballet of performers and cameras, the three principals group and regroup themselves into three-dimensional tableaux, again and again, each time with a different actor occupying the foreground, middle, and background space. “Doll Face” is essentially a three-character family drama, and Lumet uses dimensionality to signify the shifting emotional dynamic between father, mother, and child. It is the same kind of conceptual – a skeptic might say schematic or overly intellectual – strategy that Lumet would later apply to his filmmaking, as with (to use Lumet’s own example from the Times video obit) the selection of a red building as a location in Prince of the City to presage, almost subliminally, a coming bloodletting. Chronologically, I have skipped over “Tragedy in a Temporary Town” (February 19, 1956), which is both the most famous of the Alcoa/Goodyear hours and the most directorially accomplished of the Lumet efforts in this survey. Another civics lesson from Reginald Rose, “Town” is typically pedagogic in its argument but less compromised by censorship than most. Lumet would have brought his best to the table before he even opened the script, for it was he who had produced Rose’s first teleplay on Danger in 1951. In the five years hence, each had risen to the top ranks of his profession in the New York television world, and it would be Rose who would handpick Lumet to direct his screenplay for 12 Angry Men. A heated study of mob violence in an itinerant, working-class community of dam builders and their families, “Tragedy in a Temporary Town” has little to say on the subject of lynching (spoiler alert: it’s bad) that wasn’t already covered in The Ox-Bow Incident. But when you parse Rose’s narrative as an allegory for McCarthyism, its sly cynicism and political courage become more evident. Just as American communism was an empty threat and HUAC a hysterical overcorrection, so respectively are the attack on a teenaged girl in “Town” (a man barely touches her shoulder before running off) and the hyperactive shantytown kangaroo court that forms in response. This penny ante inquisition is ridiculous on his face. The girl never saw her attacker’s face and heard him say only one syllable, so the doofus vigilantes require every male in camp to utter the word “Hey” and press the young woman to try to make an impossible identification. The poor girl (Betty Lou Keim) is more thoroughly victimized by her defenders than by her putative attacker. Rose scores his other major rhetorical point in his depiction of the ostensible and none-too-subtly named hero Alec Beggs (Lloyd Bridges), who is scarcely better than his opposites. Beggs abstains from the mob shenanigans but also declines to stick up for the Puerto Rican family who are marked from the beginning as inevitable scapegoats. When Beggs finally screws up his courage to confront the mob and disperses them in shame, it’s only after they have achieved their bloody catharsis by beating the shit out of the innocent Puerto Rican boy (Rafael Campos) with a thick stick of firewood. Beggs’s ineffectual liberalism and hypocrisy point a finger at various players on different sides of the blacklist, and the provocative casting of Lloyd Bridges (a HUAC friendly witness) must have resonated with Lumet (a narrow escapee of the blacklist, compelled at one point to grovel before clearance thug Harvey Matusow). Lumet was too professional to have tormented Bridges with his informer status, but still one would love to know just how much of the script’s subtext was articulated between star and director. “Town” finds Lumet at his most expressive and illustrates a movement toward a somewhat bolder compositional style. Many of his images here (above and below, for instance) are more painterly than anything attempted in “The Mechanical Heart” or “One Mummy Too Many.” Lumet orchestrates complex crowd scenes, photographing some with a bird’s-eye camera, all of which must have given Herbert Brodkin fits. The episode’s nighttime setting all but compelled Lumet toward dramatic extremes of light and shadow. Lumet illuminates the lynch mob finale in part with the actual headlights of the vigilantes’ automobiles. Earlier, amid the harsh blacks and whites, there is one moment where Lumet flouts half a dozen tenets of television lighting and achieves a backlit effect unlike anything I’ve observed in a kinescope (or even a filmed episode). During his climactic speech (“you’re all pigs”), Bridges begins to demolish the scenery – literally – carrying his intensity beyond the level upon which he and Lumet had agreed during rehearsals. But Lumet has built the tension so effectively to this point that “Town” can withstand such a volcanic release. As in some of Lumet’s other Alcoa/Goodyears, the supporting cast appears to be working in a different register – more detailed, more restrained, consciously (even self-consciously) resisting obvious choices. At first I had a hard time figuring out why Milton Selzer, usually one of Lumet’s underplaying ringers, is so atypically twitchy in as one of the nastier vigilantes. Then it occurred to me that actor and director probably agreed that Selzer should play the character as a closeted or self-hating homosexual – something that’s not in the text at all, and only perceptible one screen if you’re looking for it. Jack Warden, quietly upstaging Bridges, plays the lynch mob leader with a maddening calm and a visible irritation towards the more voluble hotheads. There’s a moment where Warden’s character asserts his authority by placing a hand on Beggs’s chest; Bridges casually removes it and Warden barely reacts. The gesture tells volumes about both characters: they will not lose their cool over unimportant things. “Town” offers the clearest examples of Lumet’s strategy of expressing concise ideas through concrete filmmaking choices. His control extends beyond acting and camera movement all the way down into costuming and sound design. One of my favorite elements in “Town” is the baggy black V-necked sweater that Warden wears; a good fit for Kim Novak’s Bell Book and Candle closet, it’s the absolute opposite of what you’d expect a redneck brute to be caught dead in. The earlier Alcoa-Goodyear segments are marred by cliched symphonic scores (by Glenn Osser, moonlighting as “Arthur Meisel”); in “Town” Lumet, weaned on Tony Mottola’s minimalist guitar scores for Danger, managed to banish Meisel and eschew almost all musical accompaniment. For much of “Town,” the only background noise is the ambient sound of crickets. The most powerful element of the final image, in which Beggs’s son carries off the maimed boy, is its utter silence. Note Milton Selzer’s effeminate gesture (center), and Jack Warden’s sweater (right). “People always think that the smaller a thing is, the simpler it is. It is quite the reverse.” – Sidney Lumet, in a 1965 interview with Robin Bean Like Lumet, John Frankenheimer released his first feature film in 1957. But The Young Stranger was a flop, and Frankenheimer retreated back to television to lick his wounds. Meanwhile, the thirty-three year-old Lumet collected an Oscar nominationand became a hot property in multiple media. He made three more movies before the end of the decade – but returned to television, as Frankenheimer had, whenever he wasn’t shooting one of them. He must have loved it enough to incur the slight risk that, even with the nomination, he’d be tainted as a television guy. Lumet got the prestige assignments, of course: back to work for Herbert Brodkin to fight over close-ups on Studio One and then Playhouse 90; literary adaptations for David Susskind on the retooled Kraft Theatre and then Play of the Week; a legendary two-part Reginald Rose teleplay about Sacco and Vanzetti. He stopped in 1960 with an adaptation of the stage version of Rashomon, and more importantly, a four-hour “Iceman Cometh” that recorded Jason Robards, Jr.’s legendary Off-Broadway performance and earned raves. But the movies beckoned, and live television was a dying medium anyway. Like Frankenheimer, Lumet made his exeunt in 1960, bequeathing a final socially conscious script that he had developed with Reginald Rose, Play of the Week’s “Black Monday,” to Ralph Nelson. (I’m not counting the autumnal return for a few episodes of 100 Centre Street, even though I’m sort of curious about them.) The films remain underrated and many of them are overlooked – Lumet has yet to fully emerge from the ghetto of “Strained Seriousness” into which Andrew Sarris dumped him in The American Cinema back in 1968. The tendency to ignore, or damn with faint praise, directors who were catholic in their choice of material and mise-en-scene – Huston, Kazan, Lumet – persists. Along with, or more than, the established classics, I’m partial to That Kind of Woman, Fail-Safe, The Hill, The Deadly Affair, and Lovin’ Molly. Some of those are no less scarce than the television episodes I’ve written about here. Seek them out. Tags: 12 Angry Men, Al Geto, Alcoa Hour, Alcoa-Goodyear, Alfred D. Geto, Anthology Drama, Arthur Penn, Blacklist, Classic Television, Edward Binns, George Grizzard, Glenda Farrell, Goodyear Playhouse, Herbert Brodkin, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, Jerome Ross, John Frankenheimer, live anthologies, Live Television, McCarthyism, Milton Selzer, Obituaries, One Mummy Too Many, Patricia Barry, Philip Barry Jr., Ralph Bellamy, Reginald Rose, Sidney Lumet, Television History, Tom Ewell, Tragedy in a Temporary Town What the Obituaries Didn’t Tell You About Allan Manings and David Durston After Allan Manings, a television comedy writer, died on May 12, the Los Angeles Times ran a medium-length obituary which offered an adequate summary of Manings’s career. The obit foregrounded some warm quotes from his stepdaughter, the actress Meredith Baxter, which I suspect would not have received as much prominence had Baxter not made news recently by revealing her homosexuality. What’s most interesting about Dennis McLellan’s piece in the Times, though, is what it left out. Manings came to prominence late in life. In his mid-forties, he won an Emmy as part of the original writing staff of Laugh-In. In fact, according to an invaluable interview with Manings in Tom Stempel’s Storytellers to a Nation: A History of American Television Writing, Manings was the first writer sought out by Laugh-In’s creator, George Schlatter, to work on the show. Manings served as a head writer on the popular sketch show for four seasons, and was thought of (in Schlatter’s words) as the “conscience of Laugh-In,” because he fought more aggressively than anyone else to include political material in the show’s gags. When all ten of Laugh-In’s writers crowded on stage to accept their Emmy in 1968, it was Manings who quipped, “I’m sorry we couldn’t all be here tonight.” After Laugh-In, Manings became a part of Norman Lear’s expansive sitcom factory of the seventies, helping to develop Good Times in 1974 and co-creating One Day at a Time the following year. Manings wrote One Day at a Time with his wife, Whitney Blake (Baxter’s mother), and the pair derived the show’s original premise from Blake’s own experiences. The earliest of Manings’s credits cited in the Times obituary is Leave It to Beaver. Manings wrote two episodes of Beaver during its final seasons, and didn’t particularly care for the show; he was already looking ahead to the more realistic humor of the Lear era. (I had thought for a long time that Manings was the last surviving Leave It to Beaver writer, but I realize now that that distinction probably belongs to Wilton Schiller, a writer better known for his work on dramatic series like The Fugitive and Mannix.) Leave It to Beaver was also Manings’s comeback from the blacklist, and that’s the conspicuous omission from the Los Angeles Times obit. Manings had gotten started in television writing a “few sketches” (Stempel) for Your Show of Shows and then joined the staff of one of its successors, The Imogene Coca Show, along with his then-writing partner, Robert Van Scoyk. After a year or two, Manings’s agent tipped him off that he’d become a political sacrifice, and Manings took refuge in a novel place: Canada. (Although many blacklistees went to England, Mexico, France, or Spain in search of work, I can’t think any others of note who spent their lean years in Canada.) Manings may have found some work in live television there, but after a time he ended up working on a forty-acre horse farm. Manings sold manure to other local farmers and realized, as he related to Tom Stempel, that Hollywood would pay more for horse shit. As soon as the blacklist began to thaw, Manings moved to Los Angeles. (A footnote: In his interview with Stempel, Manings identified Beaver as the show that ended his exile, although Manings’s papers reveal that Ichabod and Me, a dud sitcom created by Beaver producers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, was probably his first post-blacklist credit, in 1961.) Manings’s blacklisting is no secret, and I’m certainly not implying that some rightist conspiracy has suppressed the facts. Still, it’s curious that the Times steered so carefully around that portion of Manings’s biography. It seems doubtful that McLellan simply didn’t know about it, since his obit references Manings’s political activism more than once. There’s a quote from Lear about Manings’s commitment as a voter and a citizen, and Baxter describes him as “a very outspoken liberal.” Perhaps it’s just that the blacklist is old news these days, first to be sacrificed for length ahead of soft quotes from celebrities. Ironically, in Stempel’s book, Manings chose to clam up about the blacklist, too. His only direct quote on the matter is: “I fronted for some, others fronted for me.” I’d always hoped for, but never got, a chance to press Manings further on the subject. Last December, in this interview, Meredith Baxter discussed the reactions of some of her family members after she decided to come out of the closet. She mentioned her stepfather, although only by his first name, so I doubt that anyone realized (or cared) that she was talking about Allan Manings. But through her, Manings got in a marvelous last word. “I went to Allan and I said, ‘I’m dating women,’” Baxter related. “And he said, ‘Hmm. So am I.’ And that was that.” As long as this entry is getting filed under the Corrections Department, we may as well turn our attention to one David E. Durston, who also died this month. Durston is remembered mainly as the auteur behind the low-budget cult horror film I Drink Your Blood. I’ve never seen the movie, and I know little about Durston. Judging by his resume, as enumerated in this perhaps lengthier-than-deserved Hollywood Reporter obit, Durston seems to have been one of those figures who hovered on the fringes of the movie industry for decades, carving out a marginal career with an energy that surpassed his talent. Picking on the recently deceased is a joyless exercise, but in the interest of the historical record, I have to call foul on this claim, quoted from the Hollywood Reporter but repeated in substance by many other sources: “Durston wrote for such ground-breaking TV shows as Playhouse 90, Rheingold Playhouse, Tales of Tomorrow – one of the earliest science fiction anthology shows – Kraft Theatre, and Danger.” Resume padding is common in the entertainment industry (and everywhere else), and in the pre-internet days you could get away with it for a long time. When I interviewed one prominent writer-producer of the sixties and seventies, I asked him about the Philco Television Playhouse, which had turned up on some lists of his credits. Somewhat embarrassed, the man admitted that he had never written for Philco. When he was young and struggling, Philco (the anthology on which Paddy Chayefsky’s “Marty” debuted) was the most prestigious credit a television writer could have, so he simply added it to his resume. In his case, the chutzpah paid off. I think Durston may have tried the same thing. A writer named Stephen Thrower, who interviewed Durston at length, has compiled the most detailed list of Durston’s credits that I can find. Note how it remains vague about the big dramatic anthologies – Danger, Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, Playhouse 90. No dates, no episode titles. Let’s start with the easy ones. Thrower’s resume for Durston lists four teleplays for Tales of Tomorrow, and three of those are confirmed in Alan Morton’s The Complete Directory to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Television Series (Other Worlds, 1997). A fourth, “The Evil Within,” is credited on-screen to another writer, Manya Starr. Then there’s the Rheingold Playhouse – or, actually, there isn’t, because there was no Rheingold Playhouse. Durston may have meant this production, “A Hit Is Made,” which seems to have been a one-time live broadcast, sponsored by Rheingold Beer and telecast from Chicago in 1951. A few years later, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., hosted a dramatic anthology called the Rheingold Theatre, and by christening the earlier show the “Rheingold Playhouse” Durston could have hoped to confuse it with the more impressive Fairbanks series. It’s very difficult to verify credits from Danger or the Kraft Television Theatre. Many of the segments are lost. Often the credits would be dropped if an episode ran long, or the reviewers for the trades or the newspapers simply wouldn’t catch them as they watched the show live. But the records for Studio One are closer to complete, and I’m convinced that I have seen an accurate list of writing credits for the entire run of Playhouse 90. David Durston’s name is not among them. Moreover, Playhouse 90 was a Rolls Royce of a show, very self-conscious about its prestige. With rare exceptions, only established “name” writers were invited to contribute to Playhouse 90, and Durston would not have fit that description. Of course, it is possible that Durston contributed to one of these shows without credit – but all of them? I could go on: this book offers a Durston bio with still more credits that look bogus, including, of all things, Hart to Hart, whose writers have been well-documented and do not seem to include Durston. But you get the idea. Entertainment news does not, and never has, received the same scrutiny by editors and fact checkers as “real” news. Much of the information that gets accepted as fact is just plain wrong. (And if anyone out there can provide any solid facts about the David Durston credits I’ve disputed, by all means post them below.) Filed in Corrections Department, Obituaries Tags: accuracy, Allan Manings, Blacklist, David Durston, fact checking, Good Times, I Drink Your Blood, Leave It to Beaver, Los Angeles Times, McCarthyism, Meredith Baxter, Norman Lear, Obituaries, One Day at a Time, Playhouse 90, reporting, resume padding, Tales of Tomorrow, The Hollywood Reporter, Whitney Blake	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723053
__label__wiki	0.908223	0.908223	A Description of Khufu's Rule in Ancient Egypt By Scott Thompson ••• Brand X Pictures/Stockbyte/Getty Images Almost nothing is known for certain about the pharaoh Khufu other than the fact that he was the son of the pharaoh Sneferu and Sneferu's queen Hetepheres and that the Great Pyramid at Giza was built as his tomb. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Khufu was a tyrant and an oppressor of his own people. However, the archaeological record does not support Herodutus' version of history. Two Khufus Khufu, also known as Khnum-Khufwy and Cheops, was the second pharaoh of ancient Egypt's Fourth Dynasty. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus describes Khufu or Cheops as a tyrannical and vicious ruler who suppressed the Egyptian temples, forced thousands of people into slavery to build his pyramid and even commanded his own daughter to become a prostitute to raise money for the project. Another ancient source, the Westcar Papyrus, describes Khufu in much more benevolent terms as an easygoing but intellectually curious ruler. The Great Pyramid was built around 2551 BC, while Khufu was still alive and ruling Egypt. There is no question that the project required hard and dangerous labor by tens of thousands of people. Until recently, it was assumed that these people must have been slaves. However, the construction of the pyramid required skilled labor by highly educated designers. The Great Pyramid is larger than a 40-story building and covers 13 acres of land, yet this massive structure is almost perfectly level. No Slave Labor It isn't hard to imagine the pyramids being built by an army of slaves commanded by a despotic tyrant, but that doesn't appear to have actually been the case. According to an interview with Craig Smith, author of "How the Great Pyramid Was Built" in "Stanford Magazine", archaeological excavations show that the Great Pyramid was actually built by paid employees. They worked under difficult and dangerous conditions hauling huge stone blocks that weighed several tons each, but they were paid wages in the form of bread, beer or grain. Generations of pyramid builders sometimes lived and worked together at the same site, and when they died they were given an honorable burial on the sacred ground of the pyramid. The workers may have been conscripted into service, but were not outright slaves. The Problem of History If Herodotus was wrong about slave labor being used to build the pyramids, there is reason to doubt the other details in his account such as the claim that Khufu had the temples shut down or that he forced his daughter to become a prostitute. Herodotus wrote his history in 440 BC, 2000 years after the reign of Khufu. He may have have been writing down oral traditions with no basis in fact, or he may simply have recorded his own speculations. BBC History: Khufu Stanford Magazine: What You Don't Know About The Great Pyramid Fordham University: The History of Herodotus U.S. Department of Defense: Egypt - Exercise Bright Star Scott Thompson has been writing professionally since 1990, beginning with the "Pequawket Valley News." He is the author of nine published books on topics such as history, martial arts, poetry and fantasy fiction. His work has also appeared in "Talebones" magazine and the "Strange Pleasures" anthology. Brand X Pictures/Stockbyte/Getty Images Theory of How Egyptian Pyramids Were Made Slavery in Antiquity & in Ancient Egypt	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723054
__label__wiki	0.987373	0.987373	奥运新闻 UPDATE 1-Doping-Russian bobsleigh chief Zubkov banned for two years-IBSF (Adds Russian Olympic Committee, Zubkov reactions) Jan 16 (Reuters) - Russian Bobsleigh Federation president Alexander Zubkov has been suspended from any activities related to the sport for two years for doping violations, the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) said on Wednesday. Former bobsledder Zubkov, who carried Russia's flag at the opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Games, was stripped of his two Sochi gold medals by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2017 on doping grounds. He appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but the court upheld the IOC decision. Stanislav Pozdnyakov, head of Russia's Olympic Committee, said in a statement that it would request that Zubkov leave his position immediately. "This is a very unpleasant situation for bobsleigh overall (in Russia)," Pozdnyakov said. "It requires rapid, clear and understandable action." Zubkov, who has denied any wrongdoing, did not answer Reuters phone calls on Wednesday. The IBSF also said Russian bobsledders Ilvir Khuzin, Aleksei Pushkarev and Alexander Kasjanov have been suspended from competition until 2020 for violating anti-doping rules. "There are no circumstances that will lead to an elimination or reduction of the standard period of ineligibility," the IBSF said in a statement. Zubkov had been provisionally suspended from Dec. 19 last year, while Khuzin, Pushkarev and Kasjanov were provisionally suspended from Dec. 13, 2018. (Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Moscow; Editing by Ken Ferris and Christian Radnedge)	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723056
__label__cc	0.612289	0.387711	Co-Geeking The Curious Case of Cambyses and the Apis Bull August 20, 2018 July 15, 2018 Erik The Persian king Cambyses has a bad reputation. He has come down in Western histories as a prototypical mad emperor: arrogant, violent, and contemptuous. The centerpiece of this narrative is his treatment of the Egyptian Apis bull, but the evidence does not match up with the stories that have come down to us. Cambyses ruled the Persian Empire from 530 to 522 BCE. Under his rule, Persia expanded westward to conquer Egypt. Egypt was a valuable prize for Persia, phenomenally rich and well organized, with strong trade connections to the larger Mediterranean and Africa. The Persian conquest of Egypt went swiftly and easily. Holding the territory was another matter. The Persian Empire was the largest empire in the world, indeed the largest empire that had ever existed up that that point in world history. Persia owed a large part of its success to a policy of cultural accommodation. Conquered peoples were left alone to follow their own cultures, speak their own languages, and worship their own gods; Persian culture was not imposed on them. Persian kings took steps to ensure continuity of local traditions and present themselves according to local ideals and expectations. Cambyses followed this same policy in Egypt. He officially ruled as pharaoh under the Egyptian name Mesutire and he carried on the traditional religious and military activities of Egyptian kingship. Among those activities was providing for the Apis bull. Egyptians believed that an aspect of the god Ptah came to Earth in the shape of a black bull, known as Apis. Apis was cared for in a special temple and lived a life of luxury. When one Apis bull died, it was believed that the spirit of Ptah was born again in another calf, somewhere in Egypt. The death of an Apis bull was therefore an occasion of important ritual: the old bull became identified with the spirit of the god Osiris and had to be mummified and ceremonially interred, meanwhile the hunt was on up and down the Nile for the next calf to be born with the proper signs. Since the new Apis bull could not be born until after the previous one’s death, properly recording and commemorating the event was crucial. The finding of the new Apis was also the occasion for a major religious festival, which was joyously celebrated throughout Egypt. An Apis bull died during Cambyses’ time in Egypt. The precise timing of its death and the ceremonies for its burial are not entirely clear, but it was given a full and proper burial under Cambyses’ authority, as attested by the inscription on its sarcophagus: Horus, Uniter of the Two Lands, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mesutire, Son of Re, Cambyses—may he live forever! He has made a fine monument for his father Apis-Osiris with a great granite sarcophagus, dedicated by the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mesutire, Son of Re, Cambyses—may he live forever, in perpetuity and prosperity, full of health and joy, as King of Upper and Lower Egypt eternally! Translation by Amélie Kuhrt, The Persian Empire (London: Routledge, 2007) 4.13 The cult of the Apis bull was closely connected to kingship in Egypt and this inscription shows Cambyses fully engaged in his role as Egyptian pharaoh. He associates himself with the royal falcon god Horus and shows filial deference to both the sun god Re and to the spirit of the dead Apis bull. Whatever Cambyses may have personally believed, he was making sure that his public behavior was irreproachable as a king of Egypt. Which makes it strange to turn back to the Greek sources and find a dramatically different account of Cambyses and the Apis bull: When Cambyses returned to Memphis [after an unsuccessful military campaign in the south], Apis (whom the Greeks call Epaphus) appeared in Egypt. When Apis appears, the Egyptians at once don their best clothes and hold a celebration. Seeing this, Cambyses was convinced that they were celebrating his misfortunes, so he summoned the rulers of Memphis. When they came before him he demanded to know why the Egyptians were behaving in this way, which they had not done before, just when he was returning having lost so much of his army. They answered that a god had appeared, one who only came to them after long stretches of time, and that it was the custom for all Egyptians to rejoice on such an occasion. Cambyses replied that they were lying and he put them to death for it. He next summoned the priests, who told him the same thing. He replied that if a tame god had come to Egypt, he would know about it. He then ordered the priests to bring Apis before him, so they fetched him. Apis, or Epaphus, is a calf born of a cow which then cannot become pregnant again. The Egyptians say that a ray of light from heaven strikes the cow, and this is how Apis is conceived. The calf called Apis has these signs: he is black with a white triangular mark between his eyes and the shape of an eagle on his back, the hairs of his tail are double, and there is a beetle-shaped mark under his tongue. When the priests led Apis in, Cambyses—who was a little disturbed in the head—drew his dagger and stabbed Apis, aiming for the belly but hitting the thigh. Laughing, he said to the priests: “Are these your gods, fools, of flesh and blood who can feel the bite of iron? This is a fitting god for Egyptians, but I will teach you to make a laughingstock of me!” Saying this, he ordered the priests whipped and any other Egyptians celebrating to be killed. So the festival ended and the priests were punished. Apis lay in the temple wasting away from the blow to his thigh. When he had died of the wound, the priests buried him in secret without Cambyses’ knowledge. – Herodotus, Histories 3.27-29 My own translation How did Cambyses go from a king properly honoring Apis to a tyrant mocking and killing him? The answer is: Egyptian resistance. No matter how much Cambyses tried to behave like a traditional Egyptian pharaoh, he wasn’t one. Egypt had a strong sense of national culture, with a strain of isolationism. There were also internal conflicts within Egypt that the Persians did not manage with much success. Over time, as resentment against Persian rule built up, the memory of Cambyses the conqueror was adapted to suit Egyptians’ attitudes towards contemporary Persians. By the time Herodotus was traveling in Egypt asking questions about history—about a century after Cambyses—popular opinion had thoroughly rewritten the king’s reputation. Herodotus and other Greek and Roman historians had no idea about Cambyses’ actual behavior in Egypt, and their own anti-Persian prejudices inclined them to accept any negative story about a Persian king. Thus Cambyses the arrogant bull-stabber became a fixture of Western history, even though he was only ever a figment of lurid anti-Persian rumor. Image: Funerary stela for an Apis bull, photograph by Rama via Wikimedia (found Serapeum of Saqqara, currently Louvre; 643 BC; painted limestone History for Writers is a weekly feature which looks at how history can be a fiction writer’s most useful tool. From worldbuilding to dialogue, history helps you write. Check out the introduction to History for Writers here. History for Writersanimals, Cambyses, Egypt, Herodotus, history, Persia Previous Article Rating: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase 1 Next Article A Pompom Solar System One thought on “The Curious Case of Cambyses and the Apis Bull” Brother Sister December 8, 2018 / 17:05 What is perhaps also relevant to this interpretation is the story of the way in which the Egyptian Prince was treated by the Persians as well; that is being killed due to an attempt at raising an army against Cambyses. -Great Article! 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__label__wiki	0.946821	0.946821	Ugandan LRA rebels flee Sudan for Congo KAMPALA, 19 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - Sixty fighters in the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have left their areas of operation in northern Uganda and southern Sudan and crossed into northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ugandan army spokesman Lt Col Shaban Bantariza said on Monday. "The area they have entered is a national park in the DRC and I think here they will be able to access water and animals for food," he said in Kampala, the Ugandan capital. He said the development posed a new "inconvenience" for Uganda. Uganda and Sudan's defence chiefs have begun discussing joint operations against the LRA, Uganda's State House, the official home of the president, announced on Sunday. It said Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir had made the proposal to Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni in New York, through Sudan's foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail. Bantariza said the LRA rebels now in the DRC were led by the movement's second in command, Vincent Otti. "Otti and others including a senior commander called Odhiambo have taken flight to DRC from the pressure we had mounted on them east of the River Nile," Bantariza said. Other dissident Ugandan forces - the Allied Democratic Forces and the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda - have been in the DRC for years. The Congolese government has said their presence "would no longer be tolerated", and has given all foreign armed groups till 30 September to disarm and leave the country or face "serious consequences". Bantariza said that LRA leader Joseph Kony was also on the run but he may be heading west. Kony's fighters are accused of forcibly recruiting children and using them as sex slaves. Up to 1.6 million Ugandans have been displaced by the fighting. Security Council extends UN mission, intervention force in DR Congo for one year (March 28, 2014) U.S. sending more personnel to Uganda to hunt LRA leader Joseph Kony (March 24, 2014) DR Congo Takes Chairmanship of COMESA at Summit in Kinshasa (February 26, 2014) DR Congo, M23 Rebels Sign Declarations Marking End of Kampala Peace Talks (December 12, 2013) Kabila Congratulates Congo Army for Defeating M23 Rebels (October 30, 2013) UN Security Council debate focuses on peace efforts for Africa's Great Lakes region (July 25, 2013) Kony 2012 video director detained (March 16, 2012) LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony target of viral campaign video (March 7, 2012) UN, AU vow to eradicate Ugandan rebel group LRA in 2012 (January 5, 2012) Tshisekedi Says He Won, Can He Prove It? (December 17, 2011) Obama Sends Troops to Help Fight the LRA (October 14, 2011) UN envoy tells Security Council of improving security, remaining threats (June 9, 2011) Rights Groups: Strengthen Civilian Protection Before Elections (June 9, 2011) Military Operations Have Weakened the LRA, Says UN (February 23, 2011) UN launches patrols to head off rebel violence during holiday season (December 1, 2010) US President Barack Obama outlines plan to defeat Ugandan LRA rebels (November 25, 2010) ICC Dismisses Jean-Pierre Bemba's Appeal on Admissibility of His Case (October 19, 2010) Four African nations crack down on LRA (October 16, 2010) LRA: UNHCR relocates 1,500 refugees from CAR to the DRC (August 24, 2010) Report: Uganda LRA rebels 'on massive forced recruitment drive' (August 12, 2010) Huge DR Congo gold mine to open, displacing 15,000 (July 22, 2010) Congo Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Independence (June 30, 2010) Report Says Uganda's Elusive LRA Rebel Almost Caught Last Year (June 24, 2010) U.S. Official Sees Improvement in Africa's Great Lakes Region (May 26, 2010) Behind Human Rights Watch Report on LRA, a Plea for MONUC to Remain in the Congo (March 29, 2010) New strategy needed against LRA in DR Congo, says UN chief (March 28, 2010) Reports That LRA's Kony is Hiding in Darfur Alarm South Sudan (March 19, 2010) First set of UN troops could leave DR Congo by late June (March 6, 2010) Ugandan rebels kill 100 civilians in north-eastern DR Congo, UN reports (February 1, 2010) • Joseph Kony • LRA • Yoweri Museveni	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723062
__label__wiki	0.752976	0.752976	Five Colour Prints (1965 Portfolio) by Jack Hamilton Bush Jack Bush Five Colour Prints (1965 Portfolio) complete set of five colour serigraphs “Red Sash- New York 1962”, “Red Stripes- New York 1962”, “Red Orange Green- 1963”, “Nice Pink- 1965”, “Stripes to the Right- 1965”; each signed, dated 1965 and numbered 57/100, housed in the original portfolio 26 x 20.5 ins ( 66 x 52.1 cms ) ( each ) Marc Mayer and Sarah Stanners, “Jack Bush”, Ottawa, 2014, pages 20 and 21 Jack Bush is one of Canada's greatest contributors to the advancement of abstract art. He pushed the boundaries of expression and emotion, challenging the traditional idea that meaning can only be drawn from representational works of art. Clement Greenberg met Jack Bush in 1957, marking the beginning of a shift in the way Bush approached his work. Bush moved confidently into the 1960s with a fervour and passion to create bold colourful paintings with strong lines and unrelenting power. The shift that began in the late 1950s became a full evolution in 1960, when Bush committed to abstraction through a simplification of forms and a refined use of the hard edge. “Five Colour Prints” is a limited edition of 100, exemplifying the strongest period of his artistic career. Collected from a consignor in British Columbia, the prints were kept in the original portfolio cover, stored under a bed for decades, ensuring that the works were in pristine condition upon offering in the Spring 2016 Live Auction of Important Canadian Art. The portfolio’s result was the highest price ever paid at auction for a collection of prints by Jack Bush. (1909 - 1977) Painters Eleven, OSA, ARCA Current SalesHighlightsWatch Artist A founding member of the Painters Eleven group and the subject of major retrospectives at the Art Gallery of Ontario (1976) and the National Gallery of Canada (2014), John Hamilton (Jack) Bush (born March 20, 1909 in Toronto; died January 24, 1977 in Toronto) was one of Canada’s most influential artists. Among the first Canadian painters of his generation to achieve international success in his lifetime, Bush was a masterful draftsman and colourist whose works are coveted by major institutions and private collectors throughout the world. Born in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto in 1909, Bush spent his childhood in London, Ontario, and Montréal, Québec, where he studied at the Royal Canadian Academy and apprenticed as a commercial artist in his father’s business, Rapid Electro Type Company. After relocating in 1928 to work in the firm’s Toronto offices, his interest in fine art grew through contact with members of the Group of Seven, the Ontario Society of Artists, and the Canadian Group of Painters. Working as a commercial artist by day, Bush painted and took night classes at the Ontario College of Art (now the Ontario College of Art and Design University) throughout the 1930s, studying under Frederick Challener, John Alfsen, George Pepper, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Charles Comfort. After forming the commercial design firm Wookey, Bush and Winter in 1942 with partners Leslie Wookey and William Winter, Bush remained engaged in the graphic art world until his retirement in 1968. Like many of his contemporaries in Toronto, Bush had little exposure to international trends of modernism during his formative years as a painter. For nearly two decades, he drew inspiration for his landscape and figural paintings from works by members of the Ontario Society of Artists and the Canadian Group of Painters. Though he began to incorporate non-representational elements in his work in the late 1940s, Bush’s more focused experimentations with formal abstraction in the early 1950s reveal the conspicuous influence of his eventual encounters with modern artwork in Toronto and New York City. In 1953, Bush joined the newly-founded Toronto artist group Painters Eleven. Through his involvement in the group’s efforts to promote abstract painting in Canada, Bush met the influential New York City art critic Clement Greenberg. Their resulting friendship would influence Bush’s early development as an abstract painter, with Greenberg serving as an occasional mentor to the artist, encouraging him to abandon his Abstract Expressionist style in favour of a brighter, more refined palette and technique. Through his association with Painters Eleven, Bush became closely tied to Colour Field painting and Lyrical Abstraction—two movements that had evolved from Abstract Expressionism. After the group disbanded in 1959, Bush’s distinguished career was marked by numerous achievements, including the opportunity to represent Canada at the São Paulo Art Biennial in 1967, after which his art found considerable commercial success in the United States (Bush had already been showing his work in New York City since 1962). In 1972, Bush was the subject of the inaugural survey exhibition in the modern wing of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Four years later, the Art Gallery of Ontario organized a major touring retrospective of his work. Jack Bush died at the age of 68 in 1977, one year after he received the honour of Officer of the Order of Canada.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723064
__label__wiki	0.865984	0.865984	April 14, 2012 Johanna Movie News One comment Disney Announces Arrietty Release Date, Adds Two Other Ghibli Blu-Ray Titles The Secret World of Arrietty will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on May 22 from Walt Disney Studios and Studio Ghibli. The Blu-ray Combo Pack release of the animated movie about little people living in the walls of houses (based on Mary Norton’s book The Borrowers) will include the following special features: The storyboard version of the film Original Japanese trailers and TV commercials Music video for “Summertime” performed by Disney Channel star Bridgit Mendler, who is also the speaking voice of Arrietty The making-of that music video Music video for “Arrietty’s Song”, performed by singer/songwriter/harpist Cécile Corbel DVD version of the movie The DVD edition includes only the “Summertime” video and making-of. I’ve previously posted clips of the movie if you’d like to see more of The Secret World of Arrietty. Along with this debut on U.S. home video, Disney is releasing two more Studio Ghibli movies on Blu-ray on the same day. I’m thrilled to see that one of them is my favorite, Whisper of the Heart. It’s not as fantastic as many of the others (by which I mean, it’s more realistic in tone, with fewer imaginary creatures); instead, it’s a quieter but still charming story about a young girl falling in love, screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki. It’s a great pairing for the female-centered Arrietty. Bonus features include the original Japanese storyboards, the Japanese trailers and TV ads, and “Behind the Microphone”, showing the voice talent and footage from the dubbing sessions. Those are carried over from the previous two-disc DVD, but there’s an additional feature described that isn’t listed in that edition. It’s described as the chance to “watch the evolution of four different scenes by master artist Naohisa Inoue”. Whisper of the Heart Castle in the Sky Also being upgraded to Blu-ray is Castle in the Sky, about a boy (James Van Der Beek) and girl (Anna Paquin) seeking the legendary floating castle of Laputa. This one is directed by Miyazaki and includes an introduction by John Lasseter, the original storyboards, and a set of featurettes about creating the movie, including an interview with Miyazaki himself. Pingback: Studio Ghibli Fest to Show 6 Anime Classics in Theaters – Comics Worth Reading	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723067
__label__wiki	0.667967	0.667967	Consumer Financial Services Legal Update Blog District Court Holds Consumer May Sue U.S. Governmental Entity for Money Damages under FCRA On February 7, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan denied a motion by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the USDA seeking money damages for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). In moving to dismiss, the USDA argued that the FCRA claim was barred by federal sovereign immunity. However, the court rejected that argument, holding that the U.S. Government had waived its sovereign immunity from actions seeking monetary relief for FCRA violations. As a result, the court held, it had subject matter jurisdiction over the FCRA claim. See Jones v. United States Dep’t of Agric., No. 17-11530, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19886 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 7, 2018). Autodialer Junction, What’s Your Function? D.C. Circuit Reverses FCC’s Internally Inconsistent Interpretations of ATDS Functionality The D.C. Circuit’s reversal of the FCC’s pronouncements as to “the precise functions that a device must have capacity to perform for it to be considered an ATDS,” will likely prove to be the most consequential aspect of the court’s opinion in the ACA International appeal. ACA Int’l v. FCC, No. 15-1211, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6535 at *9 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 16, 2018) (“ACA Int’l”). The decision gives the FCC a blank slate to take a fresh look at this issue, and there is potential for big changes on the horizon. D.C. Circuit Holds that FCC’s Interpretation of the Term “Capacity” is Invalid Because It Makes Nearly Every American a “TCPA-Violator-in-Waiting” The D.C. Circuit has rejected the FCC’s “impermissibly expansive” interpretation of what constitutes an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (“ATDS”) under the TCPA. ACA Int’l v. FCC, No. 15-1211, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6535 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 16, 2018) (“ACA Ruling”). Under Congress’s two-pronged definition of the term, an ATDS is equipment that: (1) “has the capacity”; (2) to function as an autodialer (i.e. “store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator”). The ACA Ruling addresses the ATDS definition in two parts – first analyzing the meaning of the word “capacity” and then analyzing the functionalities required of an ATDS. This article will focus on the first of these two pieces of analysis – the meaning of the term “capacity.” CFPB / Fair Credit Reporting Act Federal Court Orders Loan Servicer to Comply with CFPB’s CID Investigating Potential UDAAP and FCRA Violations On February 28, 2018, a Pennsylvania federal district court granted a petition by the CFPB to enforce a CID against a student loan servicer to investigate potential Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices or violations of FCRA in CFPB v. Heartland Campus Solutions, ECSI. The court applied the Supreme Court’s Morton Salt test applicable to investigative demands, and ruled in the CFPB’s favor, marking a court victory for the Mulvaney-led CFPB in investigative efforts to enforce a CID against the loan servicer. D.C. Circuit Dooms “Idiosyncratic” or “Imaginative” TCPA Revocation Efforts While Blessing Contractual Revocation Provisions in Upholding FCC’s Revocation Approach Nearly a year-and-a-half after oral argument on the ACA International v. FCC petition for review of the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 Omnibus Order, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its long-anticipated opinion last Friday, March 16th, in a 51-page decision authored by Judge Srinivasan. This article focuses on the D.C. Circuit’s handling of the issue of revocation of consent and its further implications for contracting parties addressing the same. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Sets Aside FCC’s Definition of “Called Party” Under the TCPA—What Comes Next? The TCPA makes it unlawful to make autodialed calls without the prior express consent of the “called party.” The statute does not define the term “called party,” leaving parties on both sides of the aisle scratching their collective heads as to what person or persons fall within this category. The definition of “called party” is particularly important because prior express consent of the called party is a complete defense to the TCPA. Thus, identifying the “called party” is a crucial component to any TCPA compliance regime and/or lawsuit. Unsurprisingly, this was one of the principal issues addressed by the D.C. Circuit in its recent blockbuster ACA Int’l v. FCC decision, with important implications for future litigants. Your Definitive Guide to the ACA Int’l Ruling: The Top 10 Things Every TCPAlander Needs to Know Now It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here! At last, I no longer need to field the question of “When, oh when, is the D.C. Circuit going to rule on the ACA Int’l appeal of the FCC’s TCPA Omnibus ruling from 2015?” Now we know the answer: right in the middle of March Madness, of course. Forced, as I am, to look up from the basketball games, I now must face the biggest TCPA questions of all: What is the current state of the law respecting predictive dialers? Can we use contractual revocation provisions to full effect? Who is the called party? Is the TCPA constitutional? This is my definitive take on these and other TCPA issues arising from the big D.C. Circuit ruling of ACA Int’l v FCC, No. 15-1211, Doc. No. 1722606 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 16, 2018). District Court Overrules Magistrate’s Order Compelling Prior Complaint Information and Related Data in TCPA Class Action Quicken Loans scored a victory earlier this week when Judge Steven D. Merryday sustained its objection to a magistrate judge’s order compelling production of every shred of documentation in any form about every do-not-call request that Quicken received. See Nece v. Quicken Loans, Inc., No. 8:16-cv-2605-T-23CPT, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31346 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 27, 2018). Ninth Circuit Lowers the Axe on Oft-Criticized TCPA Standing Opinion The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal overruled the district court’s dismissal of a TCPA case for lack of Article III standing yesterday in Elisa Romero v. Department Stores National Bank, No. 16-56265, 2018 WL 1079728 (9th Cir. Feb. 28, 2017). The district court ruling in Romero was an oft-cited and oft-criticized opinion that held, in essence, that the harm caused by phone calls must be attributable to the use of an ATDS to give rise to Article III standing. It also suggested that debt collection phone calls don’t really cause harm at all. FDCPA / TCPA Church Provides No Sanctuary: Sixth Circuit’s FDCPA Decision May Breathe New Life into TCPA Spokeo Arguments A number of Circuit Courts of Appeal have addressed Spokeo challenges to consumer protection statutes in the 646 days (and counting) since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins in 2016. Most of those decisions have given the issue of standing short shrift, leapt to conclusions or—perhaps worst of all—shown a deep and unrelenting deference to Congressional legislative power in assessing Article III limits. The result has been languid opinions and squishy legal doctrine in the arena of standing, where only precision and intellectual rigor ought to prevail. Hagy v. Demers & Adams, No. 17-3696, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 3710 (6th Cir. Feb. 16, 2018) marks a stark departure from its soft-thinking predecessors, and represents the first intellectual tour-de-force of the post-Spokeo era. Changes at the CFPB: Dorsey Partner Quoted in American Banker Article, “Mulvaney Looks to Neuter CFPB’s Most Potent Weapon” American Banker quoted Dorsey & Whitney partner Jenny Lee in an article reporting on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new strategic plan. The article observes how the CFPB’s February 12, 2018 plan dropped all mention of “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices” from the Bureau’s vision statement, suggesting that Mick Mulvaney will de-emphasize actions against regulated entities for so-called UDAAP violations. D.C. Circuit Upholds CFPB’s Constitutionality: Why the PHH Case Underscores the Importance of Internal Agency Discipline On January 31, the D.C. Circuit issued a plurality opinion confirming the constitutionality of the CFPB governance by a sole Director, while reinstating the decision below that struck down the CFPB’s $109 million disgorgement demand in the underlying dispute. Moving forward, the decision puts the spotlight on several important issues for those interested in the CFPB’s activities. Patience is Waning: Courts Start Reversing Themselves on TCPA Stays as Delay on Omnibus Ruling Continues It has been 15 months since oral argument in the ACA’s appeal of the FCC’s 2015 Omnibus, and courts are starting to lose patience waiting for a decision by the D.C. Circuit. Last week, two district courts in California lifted stays previously granted based on the pendency of the ACA appeal.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723072
__label__cc	0.52212	0.47788	হোম রিসোর্স সেন্টার The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Maisha Ali the-alchemist1 “It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” This, along with many others, is one of the most inspiring quotes from the book The Alchemist. Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho (pronounced co-AIL-you) became an overnight favorite to teenagers, young adults and even adults who read this book. By 2015, marking its 25th anniversary, The Alchemist which was originally published in 1998, has sold over 150 million copies worldwide, won 115 international prizes and awards, has been translated into 80 languages, and is still on the New York Times bestseller list today. Getting sparkling reviews from central platforms like The Washington Post, The Guardian and other such publications, The Alchemist was put on the map over night and came to be seen in every ordinary man as well as celebrated icons’ hands. The book dictates a story about an Andalusian shepherd boy names Santiago who, heeding to a recurring dream goes to a gypsy to find out its meaning. The gypsy having told her he is destined to find a great treasure sets off to Egypt in search for it. There he comes across an alchemist and the beautiful Fatima faces adventures that change his life and his perspective towards it. The narrative of the story is such that it creates a fantastical atmosphere for whoever reads it. The adventures and the people Santiago comes across are impeccably detailed and create a vivid imagery that pulls the readers deep into the story. The starting of the story seems a bit slow to readers who are more into dynamic reads but it creates a blissfully serene impression that is perfect for a great leisurely read. The adventures of Santiago, if nothing else, will inspire you as they make him the perfect adolescent protagonist of this generation who is brave and ambitious but at the same time struggles with realistic life choices and associated dilemmas. Although the entire story is veiled by subtle allusion of fantastical prince and princesses, the underlying reality that connects the fantasy with reality is quite stark. Overall, it is a great leisurely read that challenges perceptions and priorities, and at the same time inspires its readers. আগের আর্টিকেলEpisode 6 পরবর্তী আর্টিকেলসিনেমা জগতের স্টান্টম্যানদের কিছু অজানা কথা	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723074
__label__wiki	0.862144	0.862144	Cheaphotels4uk > Airport Hotels > Birmingham BHX > Info BHX Birmingham international airport location, how to reach, how to get to the city centre Information – Birmingham Airport BHX Birmingham International Airport — Birmingham International is the UK’s sixth largest Airport in the United Kingdom after London four airports and Manchester Airport. More than 50 airlines fly from BHX to more than 100 destinations worldwide. Birmingham airport is well placed for visiting the popular tourist attractions of Drayton Manor Theme Park, Cadbury World, Twycross Zoo (World Primate Centre) and the Birmingham National Sea Life Centre. Just a short train journey and your right in the middle of Birmingham City Centre, with some of the best shopping in the UK and the most fabulous array of nightlife anywhere. Famous shopping, including Brindley Place, The Mailbox, the Bullring, with its Selfridges landmark store, and the Jewellery Quarter. Birmingham Int. Airport has two terminals. There is frequent public transportation to and from the airport with a choice of trains, coaches, taxis and car hire. Terminals 1 and 2 are adjacent and connected by the covered Millennium Link walkway. Book Cheap Hotels and B&B’s near Birmingham Airport Where is Birmingham International Airport ? The airport is just 8 miles east of Birmingham city centre and only 1 mile from Junction 6 of the M42 where you can access to 5 other motorways linking all areas in England. How far is Birmingham Int. airport from Birmingham city centre ? Birmingham International Airport is situated 8 miles or 13km southeast of central Birmingham, at the centre of England and the centre of the UK’s motorway network. How can I reach Birmingham Airport by car ? The airport is situated on the A45 Coventry road, close to junction 6 of the M42. There are direct connections from the M1, M5, M6 and M40. The new M6 toll road provides a faster alternative to the M6. The airport is signposted from the motorways. How to get to Birmingham City Centre ? By Car : Birmingham city centre is well signposted from the airport if you are travelling by road. By Coach : National Express run coach services from the airport to Birmingham and a number of other cities. Digbeth coach station in Birmingham City Centre is the hub of the National Express network with services to most parts of the UK. Digbeth coach station is about 20 minutes away from the Airport and is easy to reach using the 900 bus service. There is also an inter-airport service provided by Flightlink coaches. By Bus : Local buses link the airport to surrounding districts. All buses stop opposite Terminal 2 in the new bus and coach terminus. Main services are routes 900 and 966. The 900 Airport Link operates between the passenger terminals and the city centre every 20 minutes. X1 (connecting Birmingham and Coventry) 966 (connecting Erdington and Solihull) 97/97A (Birmingham City Centre to Birmingham Airport – 24/7) 75/75A (connecting Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham International Station) 91 (connecting Chelmsley Wood and Birmingham International Station By Train : The free Air-Rail shuttle service links the airport directly to nearby Birmingham International Train Station in about two minutes. There are frequent train services from the airport to Birmingham New Street station in the city centre, journey time is 10-20 minutes. Birmingham International lies on the West Coast Mainline with fast and frequent connections to the rest of the UK. Train operators include Arriva Trains Wales, CrossCountry, London Midland and Virgin Trains, which offers long distance services between London and Glasgow via Birmingham. There is a Virgin service to London Euston. By Taxi : Taxis are available in front of both Airport Passenger Terminals. Birmingham Airport Area Information Birmingham and the surrounding region has a wealth of visitor attractions to keep you busy, from the idyllic village of Bournville, to Shakespeare’s Stratford; from where future meets the present in the city centre, to monuments of the Industrial revolution. Birmingham offers style and culture, welcoming visitors with more pride than ever before. From the variety of shops within the new Bullring, to the UK’s finest concert venue, the Symphony Hall, staging more national and international sporting championships, and the most popular exhibition centre in Europe, the NEC. Adjacent to the airport are major conference and exhibition facilities like the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), music and sports venues, such as The Symphony Hall and the National Indoor Arena. In the vicinity of the airport and the surrounding area are a wide choice of excellent hotels. Quick travel information about Birmingham International airport in England. How to get to the airport, where is Birmingham airport ? How to get to the city centre ? Major airlines with many flights going through Birmingham International are bmi, MyTravel, Thomas Cook, Thomsonfly and Flybe. Cheap Car Rental UK	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723078
__label__cc	0.670827	0.329173	contributors / debtags.debian.org Debian Contributors debtags.debian.org package tagging data source 108 contributors/contributions tracked: Paul Wise June 27, 2016 July 9, 2019 Guillem Jover June 6, 2016 June 11, 2019 Tzafrir Cohen May 12, 2019 May 12, 2019 Sven Bartscher Jan. 11, 2018 March 20, 2019 Carsten Schoenert Dec. 10, 2017 Feb. 24, 2019 Nicholas Steeves Dec. 12, 2017 Feb. 11, 2019 Neil Williams Feb. 27, 2016 Jan. 14, 2019 Tássia Camões Araújo Jan. 6, 2019 Jan. 6, 2019 Michael R. Crusoe Feb. 6, 2016 Dec. 31, 2018 Ben Finney Dec. 21, 2017 Nov. 30, 2018 Jelmer Vernooĳ Nov. 20, 2018 Nov. 20, 2018 Kristjan Onu Oct. 23, 2016 Nov. 17, 2018 Petter Reinholdtsen Feb. 5, 2016 Nov. 17, 2018 Laurent Bigonville Jan. 26, 2018 Nov. 2, 2018 Nicolas Boulenguez Nov. 1, 2018 Nov. 1, 2018 Ricardo Mones Lastra March 25, 2016 Oct. 31, 2018 Adam Borowski April 20, 2016 Oct. 13, 2018 Michael Biebl Feb. 5, 2016 Sept. 26, 2018 Sébastien Villemot Sept. 7, 2018 Sept. 7, 2018 Víctor Cuadrado Juan March 12, 2016 Aug. 25, 2018 Simon Josefsson Aug. 24, 2018 Aug. 24, 2018 c s Feb. 25, 2018 Aug. 17, 2018 Sebastiaan Couwenberg Feb. 7, 2016 Aug. 16, 2018 Gustavo Panizzo Aug. 15, 2018 Aug. 15, 2018 Andrej Shadura Aug. 13, 2018 Aug. 14, 2018 Sagar Ippalpalli Aug. 14, 2018 Aug. 14, 2018 Joost van Baal Aug. 14, 2018 Aug. 14, 2018 Niels Thykier Aug. 14, 2018 Aug. 14, 2018 Paride Legovini Aug. 14, 2018 Aug. 14, 2018 Sebastian Reichel Aug. 14, 2018 Aug. 14, 2018 Antonio Terceiro Aug. 14, 2018 Aug. 14, 2018 Enrico Zini Feb. 5, 2016 July 31, 2018 nicoo July 31, 2018 July 31, 2018 Roland Rosenfeld July 14, 2016 July 28, 2018 Shengjing Zhu June 27, 2018 June 27, 2018 Julian Andres Klode June 21, 2018 June 21, 2018 Moritz Schlarb April 12, 2018 June 13, 2018 Reiner Herrmann March 16, 2016 June 6, 2018 Diane Trout May 16, 2018 May 16, 2018 Gürkan Myczko May 3, 2017 May 2, 2018 Xavier Guimard May 2, 2018 May 2, 2018 Philip Rinn Feb. 10, 2016 April 27, 2018 Lev Lamberov Feb. 12, 2016 April 19, 2018 Wolfgang Schweer April 18, 2018 April 18, 2018 Lazarus Long Jan. 14, 2018 April 10, 2018 Maxime Werlen March 27, 2018 March 27, 2018 Félix Sipma Feb. 28, 2018 March 14, 2018 Wouter Verhelst March 7, 2018 March 7, 2018 Geoffroy Youri Berret March 1, 2018 March 1, 2018 Marcin Owsiany Feb. 27, 2018 Feb. 27, 2018 Christoph Martin Feb. 26, 2018 Feb. 26, 2018 Eugene Zhukov Feb. 26, 2018 Feb. 26, 2018 Raphaël Hertzog Feb. 26, 2018 Feb. 26, 2018 Mike Miller Nov. 26, 2016 Feb. 26, 2018 Aleksey Kravchenko Jan. 19, 2017 Feb. 26, 2018 Samuel Henrique April 21, 2016 Feb. 26, 2018 David Steele Feb. 26, 2018 Feb. 26, 2018 Thijs Kinkhorst Feb. 17, 2016 Feb. 26, 2018 Timo Weingärtner Feb. 26, 2018 Feb. 26, 2018 Uwe Kleine-König Feb. 26, 2018 Feb. 26, 2018 Andrey Rahmatullin Feb. 26, 2018 Feb. 26, 2018 mai Feb. 22, 2018 Feb. 22, 2018 Georges Khaznadar Feb. 11, 2016 Feb. 18, 2018 James Cowgill Feb. 13, 2018 Feb. 13, 2018 Boyuan Yang Dec. 12, 2017 Dec. 12, 2017 Helmut Grohne Dec. 23, 2016 Aug. 29, 2017 Axel Beckert April 23, 2016 April 19, 2017 Simó Albert i Beltran March 12, 2017 March 28, 2017 Milan Kupcevic March 21, 2017 March 21, 2017 Carsten Schoenert March 4, 2016 March 11, 2017 Sven Wick Feb. 27, 2017 Feb. 27, 2017 Samuel Thibault Feb. 18, 2017 Feb. 18, 2017 Alexander GQ Gerasiov Feb. 5, 2017 Feb. 5, 2017 Fabien Givors Feb. 3, 2017 Feb. 3, 2017 Dara Adib Jan. 23, 2017 Jan. 23, 2017 Carl Suster Jan. 6, 2017 Jan. 6, 2017 Marco d'Itri Jan. 2, 2017 Jan. 2, 2017 Simon Heimberg Dec. 28, 2016 Dec. 28, 2016 Frank Lin Piat Dec. 19, 2016 Dec. 19, 2016 Gordon Ball Dec. 13, 2016 Dec. 13, 2016 W. Martin Borgert Dec. 7, 2016 Dec. 7, 2016 Stephen Kitt Nov. 26, 2016 Nov. 26, 2016 Stuart Prescott Nov. 26, 2016 Nov. 26, 2016 Paulo Roberto Alves de Oliveira Nov. 23, 2016 Nov. 23, 2016 Samuel Bronson Nov. 2, 2016 Nov. 3, 2016 Dylan Aïssi Aug. 16, 2016 Oct. 23, 2016 Daniele Forsi Oct. 17, 2016 Oct. 18, 2016 Matteo Cypriani Oct. 11, 2016 Oct. 11, 2016 Peter Blackman Oct. 7, 2016 Oct. 10, 2016 Julien Cristau Sept. 16, 2016 Sept. 16, 2016 Jordi Mallach Aug. 8, 2016 Aug. 8, 2016 Dieter Adriaenssens July 7, 2016 Aug. 4, 2016 Adrien Cunin July 27, 2016 July 27, 2016 Zorian Medwid July 25, 2016 July 25, 2016 Shachar Shemesh July 24, 2016 July 24, 2016 nord stream July 7, 2016 July 7, 2016 Roland Clobus July 3, 2016 July 3, 2016 Sascha Steinbiss Feb. 6, 2016 June 9, 2016 Jeremy Bicha June 6, 2016 June 6, 2016 Jonas Smedegaard June 6, 2016 June 6, 2016 Jean-Michel Vourgère April 19, 2016 June 3, 2016 Giulio Paci May 6, 2016 May 6, 2016 Thomas Goirand April 18, 2016 April 21, 2016 Benjamin Mesing April 20, 2016 April 20, 2016 Simon McVittie March 13, 2016 March 13, 2016 Alexandre Detiste March 1, 2016 March 1, 2016 François Joulaud Feb. 27, 2016 Feb. 27, 2016 Paul Gevers Feb. 26, 2016 Feb. 26, 2016	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723079
__label__wiki	0.660733	0.660733	food.gov.uk COT Glossary of terms Glossary of terms used in COT reports. a priori: The formulation of a hypothesis before undertaking an investigation or experiment. Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI): Estimate of the amount of a substance in food or drink, expressed on a body weight basis (e.g. mg/kg bodyweight), that can be ingested daily over a lifetime by humans without appreciable health risk. Acute: Short term, in relation to exposure or effect. Acute reference dose (ARfD): Estimate of the amount of a substance in food or drink, expressed on a body weight basis, that can be ingested in a period of 24 hours or less without appreciable health risk. Acute toxicity: Effects that occur over a short period of time (up to 14 days) immediately following exposure. Adduct: A chemical grouping which is covalently bound (see covalent binding) to a large molecule such as DNA (qv) or protein. Adenoma: A benign neoplasm arising from a gland forming epithelial tissue such as colon, stomach or respiratory tract. Adverse effect: Change in morphology, physiology, biochemistry, growth, development or lifespan of an organism which results in impairment of functional capacity or impairment of capacity to compensate for additional stress or increase in susceptibility to the harmful effects of other environmental influences. Ah receptor: The Ah (Aromatic hydrocarbon) receptor protein regulates some specific gene expressions associated with toxicity. The identity of the natural endogenous chemicals which bind to the Ah receptor is unknown. Binding to the Ah receptor is an integral part of the toxicological mechanism of a range of chemicals, such as chlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls. Alkylating agents: Chemicals which leave an alkyl group covalently bound to biologically important molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids (see adduct). Many alkylating agents are mutagenic, carcinogenic and immunosuppressive. Allele: Alternative form of a gene. Allergen: Substance capable of stimulating an allergic reaction. Allergy: The adverse health effects that may result from the stimulation of a specific immune response. Allergic reaction: an adverse reaction elicited by exposure to a previously sensitised individual to the relevant antigen. Ames test: In vitro (qv) assay for bacterial gene mutations (qv) using strains of Salmonella typhimurium developed by Ames and his colleagues. Androgen: The generic term for any natural or synthetic compound that can interact with and activate the androgen receptor. In mammals, androgens (for example, androstenedione and testosterone) are synthesised by the adrenal glands and the testes and promote development and maintenance of male secondary sexual characteristics. Aneugenic: Inducing aneuploidy (qv). Aneuploidy: The circumstances in which the total number of chromosomes within a cell is not an exact multiple of the normal haploid (see 'polyploidy') number. Chromosomes may be lost or gained during cell division. Apoptosis: A form of active cell death resulting in fragmentation of the cell into membrane-bound fragments (apoptotic bodies). These are usually rapidly removed in vivo by engulfment by phagocytic cells. Apoptosis can occur normally during development, but is often triggered by toxic stimuli. Base pair (bp): Two complementary nucleotide (qv) bases joined together by chemical bonds. Benchmark dose (BMD) modelling: An approach to dose-response assessment that aims to be more quantitative than the NOAEL process. This approach constructs mathematical models to fit all data points in the dose-response study and uses the best fitting model to interpolate an estimate of the dose that corresponds to a particular level of response (a benchmark response), often 10%. A measure of uncertainty is also calculated, and the lower confidence limit on the benchmark dose is called the BMDL. The BMDL accounts for the uncertainty in the estimate of the dose-response that is due to characteristics of the experimental design such as sample size. The BMDL can be used as the point of departure for derivation of a health-based guidance value or a margin of exposure. Bias: In the context of epidemiological studies, an interference which at any stage of an investigation tends to produce results that depart systematically from the true values (to be distinguished from random error). The term does not necessarily carry an imputation of prejudice or any other subjective factor such as the experimenter's desire for a particular outcome. Bioavailability: A term referring to the proportion of a substance which reaches the systemic circulation unchanged after a particular route of administration. Bioinformatics: The science of informatics as applied to biological research. Informatics is the management and analysis of data using advanced computing techniques. Bioinformatics is particularly important as an adjunct to genomics research, because of the large amount of complex data this research generates. Biomarker: Observable change (not necessarily pathological) in an organism, related to a specific exposure or effect. Body burden: Total amount of a chemical present in an organism at a given time. Bradford Hill Criteria: Sir Austin Bradford-Hill established criteria that may be used to assist in the interpretation of associations reported from epidemiological studies: Strength – The stronger the association the more likely it is causal. The COC has previously noted that the relative risks of <3 need careful assessment for effects of bias or confounding. Consistency – The association has been consistently identified by studies using different approaches and is also seen in different populations with exposure to the chemical under consideration. Specificity – Limitation of the association to specific exposure groups or to specific types of disease increases likelihood that the association is causal. Temporality – The association must demonstrate that exposure leads to disease. The relationship of time since first exposure, duration of exposure and time since last exposure are all important in assessing causality. Biological gradient – If an association reveals a biological gradient or dose-response curve, then this evidence is of particular importance in assessing causality. Plausibility – Is there appropriate data to suggest a mechanism by which exposure could lead to concern? However, even if an observed association may be new to science or medicine it should not be dismissed. Coherence – Cause and effect interpretation of data should not seriously conflict with generally known facts. Experiment – Can the association be demonstrated? Evidence from experimental animals may assist in some cases. Evidence that removal of the exposure leads to a decrease in risk may be relevant. Analogy – Have other closely related chemicals been associated with the disease? Bronchial: Relating to the air passages conducting air from the trachea (windpipe) to the lungs. C. elegans: Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode or roundworm, the first animal to have its genome completely sequenced and all the genes fully characterised. Cancer: Synonym for a malignant neoplasm – that is, a tumour (qv) that grows progressively, invades local tissues and spreads to distant sites (see also tumour and metastasis). Candidate gene: A gene that has been implicated in causing or contributing to the development of a particular disease. Carcinogenesis: The origin, causation and development of tumours (qv). The term applies to benign as well as malignant neoplasms and not just to carcinomas (qv). Carcinogenicity bioassay: Tests carried out in laboratory animals, usually rats and mice, to determine whether a substance is carcinogenic. The test material is given throughout life to groups of animals at different dose levels. Carcinogens: The causal agents which induce tumours. They include external factors (chemicals, physical agents, viruses) and internal factors such as hormones. Chemical carcinogens are structurally diverse and include naturally-occurring substances as well as synthetic compounds. An important distinction can be drawn between genotoxic (qv) carcinogens which have been shown to react with and mutate DNA, and non-genotoxic carcinogens which act through other mechanisms. The activity of genotoxic carcinogens can often be predicted from their chemical structure - either of the parent compound or of active metabolites (qv). Most chemical carcinogens exert their effects after prolonged exposure, show a dose-response relationship and tend to act on a limited range of susceptible target tissues. Carcinogens are sometimes species or sex-specific and the term should be qualified by the appropriate descriptive adjectives to aid clarity. Several different chemical and other carcinogens may interact, and constitutional factors (genetic susceptibility, hormonal status) may also contribute, emphasising the multifactorial nature of the carcinogenic process. Carcinoma: Malignant tumour arising from epithelial cells lining, for example, the alimentary, respiratory and urogenital tracts and from epidermis, also from solid viscera such as the liver, pancreas, kidneys and some endocrine glands. (See also 'tumour'). Case-control study: (Synonyms - case comparison study, case referent study, retrospective study) A comparison is made of the proportion of cases who have been exposed to a particular hazard (e.g. a carcinogen) with the proportion of controls who have been exposed to the hazard. Cell transformation: The process by which a normal cell acquires the capacity for neoplastic growth. Complete transformation occurs in several stages both in vitro and in vivo. One step which has been identified in vitro is 'immortalisation' by which a cell acquires the ability to divide indefinitely in culture. Such cells do not have the capacity to form tumours in animals, but can be induced to do so by extended passage in vitro, by treatment with chemicals, or by transfection with oncogene DNA. The transformed phenotype so generated is usually, but not always, associated with the ability of the cells to grow in soft agar and to form tumours when transplanted into animals. It should be noted that each of these stages of transformation can involve multiple events which may or may not be genetic. The order in which these events take place, if they occur at all, in vivo is not known. Chromosomal aberrations: Collective term of particular types of chromosome damage induced after exposure to exogenous chemical or physical agents which damage the DNA. (see clastogen). Chromosome: In simple prokaryotic organisms, such as bacteria and most viruses, the chromosome consists of a single circular molecule of DNA containing the entire genetic material of the cell. In eukaryotic cells, the chromosomes are thread-like structures, composed mainly of DNA and protein, which are present within the nuclei of every cell. They occur in pairs, the numbers varying from one to more than 100 per nucleus in different species. Normal somatic cells in humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, each consisting of linear sequences of DNA which are known as genes (qv). Chronic effect: Consequence which develops slowly and has a long-lasting course (often but not always irreversible). Chronic exposure: Continued exposures occurring over an extended period of time, or a significant fraction of the life-time of a human or test animal. Clastogen: An agent that produces chromosome breaks and other structural aberrations such as translocations. Clastogens may be viruses or physical agents as well as chemicals. Clastogenic events play an important part in the development of some tumours. Clearance: Volume of blood or plasma, or mass of an organ, effectively cleared of a substance by elimination (metabolism and excretion) in a given time interval. Total clearance is the sum or the clearances for each eliminating organ or tissue. Clone: A term which is applied to genes, cells, or entire organisms which are derived from - and are genetically identical to - a single common ancestor gene, cell, or organism, respectively. Cloning of genes and cells to create many copies in the laboratory is a common procedure essential for biomedical research. Coding regions: those parts of the DNA that contain the information needed to form proteins. Other parts of the DNA may have non-coding functions (e.g. start-stop, pointing or timer functions) or as yet unresolved functions or maybe even ‘noise’. Codon: a set of three nucleotide bases in a DNA or RNA sequence, which together code for a unique amino acid. Cohort: A defined population that continues to exist through time. Cohort study: (Synonyms - follow-up, longitudinal study) The study of a group of people defined at a particular point in time (the cohort), who have particular characteristics in common, such as a particular exposure. They are then observed over a period of time for the occurrence of disease. The rate at which the disease develops in the cohort is compared with the rate in a comparison population, in which the characteristics (e.g. exposure) are absent. Complementary DNA (cDNA): cDNA is DNA that is synthesised in the laboratory from mRNA by reverse transcription. A cDNA is so-called because its sequence is the complement of the original mRNA sequence. Confounding variable: (synonym - confounder) An extraneous variable that satisfies BOTH of 2 conditions: (1) it is a risk factor for the disease under study (2) it is associated with the study exposure but is not a consequence of exposure. For example cigarette smoking is a confounding variable with respect to an association between alcohol consumption and heart disease. Failure to adjust for a confounding variable results in distortion of the apparent magnitude of the effect of the exposure under study. (In the example, smoking is a risk factor for heart disease and is associated with alcohol consumption but is not a consequence of alcohol consumption.) Congeners: Related compounds varying in chemical structure but with similar biological properties. Covalent binding: Chemical bonding formed by the sharing of an electron pair between two atoms. Molecules are combinations of atoms bound together by covalent bonds. Cytochrome P450 (CYP): An extensive family of haem-containing proteins involved in enzymic oxidation of a wide range of endogenous and xenobiotic (qv) substances and their conversion to forms that may be more easily excreted. In some cases the metabolites produced may be reactive and may have increased toxicity. In other cases the substances may be natural precursors of hormones (e.g. steroids). Cytogenetic: Concerning chromosomes, their origin, structure and function. Deletion: A chromosomal aberration in which a proportion of the chromosome is lost. Deletions may range in size from a single nucleotide (qv) to an entire chromosome. Such deletions may be harmless, may result in disease, or may in rare cases be beneficial. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid): The carrier of genetic information for all living organisms except the group of RNA viruses. Each of the 46 chromosomes in normal human cells consists of 2 strands of DNA containing up to 100,000 nucleotides, specific sequences of which make up genes (qv). DNA itself is composed of two interwound chains of linked nucleotides (qv). DNA probe: A piece of single-stranded DNA, typically labelled so that it can be detected (for example, a radioactive or fluorescent label can be used), which can single out and bind with (and only with) another specific piece of DNA. DNA probes can be used to determine which sequences are present in a given length of DNA or which genes are present in a sample of DNA. DNA repair genes: Genes which code for proteins that correct damage in DNA sequences. When these genes are altered, mutations may be able to accumulate in the genome, ultimately resulting in disease. Dominant lethal assay: See Dominant Lethal mutation. Dominant lethal mutation: A dominant mutation that causes death of an early embryo. Dose: Total amount of a substance administered to, taken or absorbed by an organism. Endocrine modulator (synonym – endocrine disruptor): A chemical, which can be naturally occurring or man-made, that causes adverse health effects in an organism, as a result of changes in hormonal function. Endonuclease: An enzyme that cleaves its nucleic acid substrate at internal sites in the nucleotide sequence. Enterohepatic circulation: Cyclical process involving intestinal re-absorption of a substance that has been excreted through bile followed by transfer back to the liver, making it available for biliary excretion again. Epidemiology: Study of the distribution and the aetiology of disease in humans. Epithelium: The tissue covering the outer surface of the body, the mucous membranes and cavities of the body. Erythema: Reddening of the skin due to congestion of blood or increased blood flow in the skin. Erythrocyte: Red blood cell. Estrogen: Sex hormone or other substance capable of developing and maintaining female characteristics of the body. Exogenous: Arising outside the body. Fibrosarcoma: A malignant tumour arising from connective tissue (see 'tumour'). Fluorescence In-Situ Hybridisation: A technique which allows individual chromosomes and their centromeres to be visualised in cells. Fetotoxic: Causing toxic, potentially lethal effects to the developing fetus. Forestomach: (See glandular stomach). Full gene sequence: the complete order of bases in a gene. This order determines which protein a gene will produce. Gavage: Administration of a liquid via a stomach tube, commonly used as a dosing method in toxicity studies. Gene: The functional unit of inheritance: a specific sequence of nucleotides along the DNA molecule, forming part of a chromosome (qv). Gene expression: The process by which the information in a gene is used to create proteins or polypeptides. Gene families: Groups of closely related genes that make similar products. Gene product: The protein or polypeptide coded for by a gene. Genetic engineering: Altering the genetic material of cells or organisms in order to make them capable of making new substances or performing new functions. Genetic polymorphism: a difference in DNA sequence among individuals, groups, or populations (e.g. a genetic polymorphism might give rise to blue eyes versus brown eyes, or straight hair versus curly hair). Genetic polymorphisms may be the result of chance processes, or may have been induced by external agents (such as viruses or radiation). Changes in DNA sequence which have been confirmed to be caused by external agents are generally called “mutations” rather than “polymorphisms”. Genetic predisposition: susceptibility to a disease which is related to a polymorphism, which may or may not result in actual development of the disease. Genetically modified organism (GMO): An organism which has had genetic material inserted into, or removed from, its cells. Genome: All the genetic material in the chromosomes of a particular organism; its size is generally given as its total number of base pairs. Genomic DNA: The basic chromosome set consisting of a species-specific number of linkage groups and the genes contained therein. Genomics: The study of genes and their function. Genotoxic: The ability of a substance to cause DNA damage, either directly or after metabolic activation (see also carcinogens). Genotype: The particular genetic pattern seen in the DNA of an individual. 'Genotype' is usually used to refer to the particular pair of alleles that an individual possesses at a certain location in the genome. Compare this with phenotype. Glandular stomach: The stomach in rodents consists of two separate regions - the forestomach and the glandular stomach. Only the glandular stomach is directly comparable to the human stomach. Half-life: Time in which the concentration of a substance will be reduced by half, assuming a first order elimination process. Hazard: Set of inherent properties of a substance, mixture of substances or a process involving substances that make it capable of causing adverse effects to organisms or the environment. Hepatic: Pertaining to the liver. Hepatocyte: The principal cell type in the liver, possessing many metabolising enzymes (see 'metabolic activation'). Hepatotoxic: Causing toxicity to the liver. Horizon Scanning: The systematic examination of potential threats, opportunities and likely future developments, which are at the margins of current thinking and planning. Horizon scanning may explore novel and unexpected issues, as well as persistent problems and trends. Overall, horizon scanning is intended to improve the robustness of policies and the evidence base Human Genome Project: An international research effort aimed at discovering the full sequence of bases in the human genome, led in the UK by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council. Hyperplasia: An increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the number of cells. Hypertrophy: An increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the volume of individual cells within it. Idiosyncrasy: Specific (and usually unexplained) reaction of an individual to e.g. a chemical exposure to which most other individuals do not react at all. General allergic reactions do not fall into this category. In situ hybridisation (ISH): Use of a DNA or RNA probe to detect the presence of the complementary DNA sequence in cloned bacterial or cultured eukaryotic cells. In vitro: A Latin term used to describe effects in biological material outside the living animal (literally 'in glass'). In vivo: A Latin term used to describe effects in living animals (literally 'in life'). Incidence: Number of new cases of illness occurring during a given period in a specific population. Inducing agent: A chemical which, when administered to an animal, causes an increase in the expression of a particular enzyme. For example, chlorinated dibenzodioxins are inducing agents which act via the Ah-receptor (qv) to induce cytochrome P450 (qv) CYP1A1. Intraperitoneal: Within the abdominal cavity. Isomer: Isomers are two or more chemical compounds with the same molecular formula but having different properties owing to a different arrangement of atoms within the molecule. The ß-isomer of alitame is formed when the compound degrades and the atoms within the molecule are rearranged. kilobase (kb): A length of DNA equal to 1000 nucleotides. Knockout animals: Genetically engineered animals in which one or more genes, usually present and active in the normal animal, are absent or inactive. LD50: The dose of a toxic compound that causes death in 50% of a group of experimental animals to which it is administered. It can be used to assess the acute toxicity of a compound, but is being superseded by more refined methods. Leukaemia: A group of neoplastic disorders (see tumour) affecting blood-forming elements in the bone marrow, characterised by uncontrolled proliferation and disordered differentiation or maturation. Examples include the lymphocytic leukaemia’s which develop from lymphoid cells and the myeloid leukaemia’s which are derived from myeloid cells (producing red blood cells, mainly in bone marrow). Ligand: A molecule which binds to a receptor. Lipids: Fats, substances containing a fatty acid and soluble in alcohols or ether, but insoluble in water. Lipophilic: 'Lipid liking' - a substance which has a tendency to partition into fatty materials. Lymphocyte: A type of white blood cell that plays central roles in adaptive immune responses. Lymphoma: Malignant tumours arising from lymphoid tissues. They are usually multifocal, involving lymph nodes, spleen, thymus and sometimes bone marrow, and other sites outside the anatomically defined lymphoid system. (See also 'tumour'). Malignancy: See 'tumour'. Margin of exposure (MOE) approach: A methodology that allows the comparison of the risks posed by different genotoxic and carcinogenic substances. The MOE approach uses a reference point, often taken from an animal study and corresponding to a dose that causes a low but measurable response in animals. This reference point is then compared with various dietary intake estimates in humans, taking into account differences in consumption patterns. Messenger RNA (mRNA): The DNA of a gene is transcribed (see transcription) into mRNA molecules, which then serve as a template for the synthesis of proteins. Meta-analysis: In the context of epidemiology, a statistical analysis of the results from independent studies, which aims to produce a single estimate of an effect. Metabolic activation: Metabolism of a compound leading to an increase in its activity, whether beneficial (e.g. activation of a pro-drug) or deleterious (e.g. activation to a toxic metabolite). Metabolic activation system: A cell-free preparation (e.g. from the livers of rats pre-treated with an inducing agent (qv)) added to in vitro tests to mimic the metabolic activation typical of mammals. Metabolism: Chemical modification of a compound by enzymes within the body, for example by reactions such as hydroxylation (see cytochrome P450), epoxidation or conjugation. Metabolism may result in activation, inactivation, accumulation or excretion of the compound. Metabolite: Product formed by metabolism of a compound. Metabonomics: Techniques available to identify the presence and concentrations of metabolites in a biological sample. Metaphase: Stage of cell division (mitosis and meiosis) during which the chromosomes are arranged on the equator of the nuclear spindle (the collection of microtubule filaments which are responsible for the movement of chromosomes during cell division). As the chromosomes are most easily examined in metaphase, cells are arrested at this stage for microscopical examination for chromosomal aberrations (qv) - known as metaphase analysis. Metastasis: The process whereby malignant cells become detached from the primary tumour mass, disseminate (mainly in the blood stream or in lymph vessels) and 'seed out' in distant sites where they form secondary or metastatic tumours. Such tumours tend to develop at specific sites and their anatomical distribution is often characteristic; it is non-random. Micronuclei: Isolated or broken chromosome fragments which are not expelled when the nucleus is lost during cell division, but remain in the body of the cell forming micronuclei. Centromere positive micronuclei contain DNA and/or protein material derived from the centromere. The presence of centromere positive micronuclei following exposure to chemicals can be used to evaluate the aneugenic (qv) potential of chemicals. Micronucleus test: See Micronuclei. Mitogen: A stimulus which provokes cell division in somatic cells. Mitosis: The type of cell division which occurs in somatic cells when they proliferate. Each daughter cell has the same complement of chromosomes as the parent cell. Mouse lymphoma assay: An in vitro assay for gene mutation in mammalian cells using a mouse lymphoma cell line L5178Y, which is heterozygous for the gene (carries only one functional gene rather than a pair) for the enzyme thymidine kinase (TK+/-). Mutation of that single gene is measured by resistance to toxic trifluorothymidine. Mutant cells produce two forms of colony - large, which represent mutations within the gene and small, which represent large genetic changes in the chromosome such as chromosome aberrations. Thus this assay can provide additional information about the type of mutation which has occurred if colony size is scored. Mouse spot test: An in vivo test for mutation, in which pregnant mice are dosed with the test compound and mutations are detected by changes (spots) in coat colour of the offspring. Mutations in the melanocytes (skin pigment cells) of the developing fetus are measured. Mucosal: Regarding the mucosa or mucous membranes, consisting of epithelium (qv) containing glands secreting mucus, with underlying layers of connective tissue and muscle. Murine: Often taken to mean 'of the mouse', but strictly speaking means of the Family Muridae which includes rats and squirrels. Mutation: A permanent change in the amount or structure of the genetic material in an organism or cell, which can result in a change in phenotypic characteristics. The alteration may involve a single gene, a block of genes, or a whole chromosome. Mutations involving single genes may be a consequence of effects on single DNA bases (point mutations) or of large changes, including deletions, within the gene. Changes involving whole chromosomes may be numerical or structural. A mutation in the germ cells of sexually reproducing organisms may be transmitted to the offspring, whereas a mutation that occurs in somatic cells may be transferred only to descendent daughter cells. Mycotoxin: Toxic compound produced by a fungus. Neoplasm: See 'tumour'. Neoplastic: Abnormal cells, the growth of which is more rapid that that of other cells. Nephrotoxicity: Toxicity to the kidney. Neurobehavioural: Of behaviour determined by the nervous system. Neurotoxicity: Toxicity to the nervous system. No observed adverse effect level (NOAEL): The highest administered dose at which no adverse (qv) effect has been observed. Non-genotoxic: See 'carcinogens'. Nucleic acid: One of the family of molecules which includes the DNA and RNA molecules. Nucleic acids were so named because they were originally discovered within the nucleus of cells, but they have since been found to exist outside the nucleus as well. Nucleotide: the "building block" of nucleic acids, such as the DNA molecule. A nucleotide consists of one of four bases - adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine - attached to a phosphate-sugar group. In DNA the sugar group is deoxyribose, while in RNA (a DNA-related molecule which helps to translate genetic information into proteins), the sugar group is ribose, and the base uracil substitutes for thymine. Each group of three nucleotides in a gene is known as a codon. A nucleic acid is a long chain of nucleotides joined together, and therefore is sometimes referred to as a "polynucleotide." Null allele: inactive form of a gene. Odds ratio (OR): The odds of disease in an exposed group divided by the odds of disease in an unexposed group. Oedema: Excessive accumulation of fluid in body tissues. Oestrogen: (See estrogen) Oligonucleotide: A molecule made up of a small number of nucleotides, typically fewer than 25. Oncogene: A gene which is associated with the development of cancer (see proto-oncogene). Organochlorine: A group of chemical compounds, containing multiple chlorine atoms, that are usually of concern as environmental pollutants. Some organochlorines have been manufactured as pesticides or coolants and others arise as contaminants of manufacturing processes or incineration. Pharmacokinetics: Description of the fate of drugs in the body, including a mathematical account of their absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (see toxicokinetics). Pharmacogenomics: The science of understanding the correlation between an individual patient's genetic make-up (genotype) and their response to drug treatment. Some drugs work well in some patient populations and not as well in others. Studying the genetic basis of patient response to therapeutics allows drug developers to design therapeutic treatments more effectively. Phenotype: The observable physical, biochemical and physiological characteristics of a cell, tissue, organ or individual, as determined by its genotype and the environment in which it develops. Phytoestrogen: Any plant substance or metabolite that induces biological responses in vertebrates and can mimic or modulate the actions of endogenous estrogens usually by binding to estrogen receptors. Plasmid: A structure composed of DNA that is separate from the cell's genome (qv). In bacteria, plasmids confer a variety of traits and can be exchanged between individuals- even those of different species. Plasmids can be manipulated in the laboratory to deliver specific genetic sequences into a cell. Plasticiser: A substance which increases the flexibility of certain plastics. Polymer: A very large molecule comprising a chain of many similar or identical molecular sub units (monomers) joined together (polymerised). An example is the polymer glycogen, formed from linked molecules of the monomer glucose. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR): A method for creating millions of copies of a particular segment of DNA. PCR can be used to amplify the amount of a particular DNA sequence until there are enough copies available to be detected. Polymorphism: (see genetic polymorphism) 32P postlabelling: A sensitive experimental method designed to measure low levels of DNA adducts induced by chemical treatment. Prevalence: The number of cases of a disease that are present in a population at a given time. Primer: Short pre-existing polynucleotide chain to which new deoxyribonucleotides can be added by DNA polymerase. Proteomics: The determination of the function of all of the proteins encoded by the organism's entire genome. Proto-oncogene: One of a group of normal genes which are concerned with the control of cellular proliferation and differentiation. They can be activated in various ways to forms (oncogenes) which are closely associated with one or more steps in carcinogenesis. Activating agents include chemicals and viruses. The process of proto-oncogene activation is thought to play an important part at several stages in the development of tumours. Receptor: A small, discrete protein in the cell membrane or within the cell with which specific molecules interact to initiate a change in the working of a cell. Recombinant DNA: DNA molecules that have been created by combining DNA more than one source. Reference nutrient intake (RNI): An amount of the nutrient that is enough, or more than enough, for most (usually at least 97%) of people in a group. If the average intake of a group is at the RNI, then the risk of deficiency in the group is very small. Regulatory gene: A gene which controls the protein-synthesising activity of other genes. Relative risk: A measure of the association between exposure and outcome. The rate of disease in the exposed population divided by the rate of disease among the unexposed population in a cohort study or a population-based case control study. A relative risk of 2 means that the exposed group has twice the disease risk compared to the unexposed group. Renal: Relating to the kidney. Reporter gene: A gene that encodes an easily assayed product that is coupled to the upstream sequence of another gene and transfected (qv) into cells. The reporter gene can then be used to see which factors activate response elements in the upstream region of the gene of interest. Risk: Possibility that a harmful event (death, injury or loss) arising from exposure to a chemical or physical agent may occur under specific conditions. RNA (ribonucleic acid): a molecule similar to DNA (qv), which helps in the process of decoding the genetic information carried by DNA. Safety: Practical certainty that injury will not result from a hazard under defined conditions. SCF: The European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food (formerly the Scientific Committee for Food). Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): DNA sequence variations that occur when a single nucleotide in the genome sequence is altered. For example, a SNP might change the DNA sequence AAGGCTAA to ATGGCTAA. By convention, SNPs occur in at least 1% of the population. Sister chromatid exchange (SCE): Exchange of genetic material between two sub-units of a replicated chromosome. Stakeholder: A person or organisation representing the interests and opinions of a group with an interest in the outcome of (for example) a review or policy decision. Suppressor gene: A gene which helps to reverse the effects of damage to an individual's genetic material, typically effects which might lead to uncontrolled cell growth (as would occur in cancer). A suppressor gene may, for example, code for a protein which checks genes for misspellings, and/or which triggers a cell's self-destruction if too much DNA damage has occurred. Surfactant: Also called: surface-active agent. A substance, such as a detergent, that can reduce the surface tension of a liquid and thus allow it to foam or penetrate solids; a wetting agent. Systematic review: A review that has been prepared using a documented systematic approach to minimising biases and random errors. TDI: See 'Tolerable Daily Intake'. Teratogen: A substance which, when administered to a pregnant woman or animal, can cause congenital malformations (structural defects) in the baby or offspring. Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome (TDS): The hypothesis that maldevelopment (dysgenesis) of the fetal testis results in hormonal or other malfunctions of the testicular somatic cells which in turn predispose a male to the disorders that comprise the TDS, i.e. congenital malformations (cryptorchidism and hypospadias) in babies and testis cancer and low sperm counts in young men. Threshold: Dose or exposure concentration below which an effect is not expected. Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI): An estimate of the amount of contaminant, expressed on a body weight basis (e.g. mg/kg bodyweight), that can be ingested daily over a lifetime without appreciable health risk. Toxic Equivalency Factor (TEF): A measure of relative toxicological potency of a chemical compared to a well characterised reference compound. TEFs can be used to sum the toxicological potency of a mixture of chemicals which are all members of the same chemical class, having common structural, toxicological and biochemical properties. TEF systems have been published for the chlorinated dibenzodioxins, dibenzofurans and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, and for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Total Toxic Equivalent (TEQ): Is a method of comparing the total relative toxicological potency within a sample. It is calculated as the sum of the products of the concentration of each congener multiplied by the toxic equivalency factor (TEF). Toxicodynamics: The process of interaction of chemical substances with target sites and the subsequent reactions leading to adverse effects. Toxicogenic: producing or capable of producing a toxin. Toxicogenomics: A new scientific subdiscipline that combines the emerging technologies of genomics and bioinformatics to identify and characterise mechanisms of action of known and suspected toxicants. Currently, the premier toxicogenomic tools are the DNA microarray and the DNA chip, which are used for the simultaneous monitoring of expression levels of hundreds to thousands of genes. Toxicokinetics: The description of the fate of chemicals in the body, including a mathematical account of their absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. (see pharmacokinetics) Transcription: the process during which the information in a length of DNA (qv) is used to construct an mRNA (qv) molecule. Transcriptomics: Techniques available to identify mRNA from actively transcribed genes. Transfer RNA (tRNA): RNA molecules which bond with amino acids and transfer them to ribosome’s, where protein synthesis is completed. Transfection: A process by which the genetic material carried by an individual cell is altered by incorporation of exogenous DNA into its genome. Transgenic: Genetically modified to contain genetic material from another species (see also genetically modified organism). Transgenic animal models: Animals which have extra (exogenous) fragments of DNA incorporated into their genomes. This may include reporter genes to assess in-vivo effects such as mutagenicity in transgenic mice containing a recoverable bacterial gene (lacZ or lac I). Other transgenic animals may have alterations of specific genes believed to be involved in disease processes (e.g. cancer). For example strains of mice have been bred which carry an inactivated copy of the p53 tumour suppressor gene (qv) -, or an activated form of the ras oncogene which may enhance their susceptibility of the mice to certain types of carcinogenic chemicals. Translation: In molecular biology, the process during which the information in mRNA molecules is used to construct proteins. Tumour (Synonym - neoplasm): A mass of abnormal, disorganised cells, arising from pre-existing tissue, which are characterised by excessive and uncoordinated proliferation and by abnormal differentiation. Benign tumours show a close morphological resemblance to their tissue of origin; grow in a slow expansile fashion; and form circumscribed and (usually) encapsulated masses. They may stop growing and they may regress. Benign tumours do not infiltrate through local tissues and they do not metastasise (qv). They are rarely fatal. Malignant tumours (synonym - cancer) resemble their parent tissues less closely and are composed of increasingly abnormal cells in terms of their form and function. Well differentiated examples still retain recognisable features of their tissue of origin but these characteristics are progressively lost in moderately and poorly differentiated malignancies: undifferentiated or anaplastic tumours are composed of cells which resemble no known normal tissue. Most malignant tumours grow rapidly, spread progressively through adjacent tissues and metastasise to distant sites. Tumours are conventionally classified according to the anatomical site of the primary tumour and its microscopical appearance, rather than by cause. Some common examples of nomenclature are as follows: Tumours arising from epithelia (qv): benign - adenomas, papillomas; malignant - adenocarcinomas, papillary carcinomas. Tumours arising from connective tissues such as fat, cartilage or bone: benign - lipomas, chondromas, osteomas; malignant - fibrosarcomas, liposarcomas, chondrosarcomas, osteosarcomas. Tumours arising from lymphoid tissues are malignant and are called lymphomas (qv); they are often multifocal. Malignant proliferations of bone marrow cells are called leukaemias. Benign tumours may evolve to the corresponding malignant tumours; examples involve the adenoma to carcinoma sequence in the large bowel in humans, and the papilloma to carcinoma sequence in mouse skin. Tumour initiation: A term originally used to describe and explain observations made in laboratory models of multistage carcinogenesis, principally involving repeated applications of chemicals to the skin of mice. Initiation, in such contexts, was the first step whereby small numbers of cells were irreversibly changed, or initiated. Subsequent, separate events (see tumour promotion) resulted in the development of tumours. It is now recognised that these early, irreversible heritable changes in initiated cells were due to genotoxic damage, usually in the form of somatic mutations and the initiators used in these experimental models can be regarded as genotoxic carcinogens (qv). Tumour promotion: An increasingly confusing term, originally used, like ‘tumour initiation’ to describe events in multistage carcinogenesis in experimental animals. In that context, promotion is regarded as the protracted process whereby initiated cells undergo clonal expansion to form overt tumours. The mechanisms of clonal expansion are diverse, but include direct stimulation of cell proliferation, repeated cycles of cell damage and cell regeneration and release of cells from normal growth-controlling mechanisms. Initiating and promoting agents were originally regarded as separate categories, but the distinction between them is becoming increasingly hard to sustain. The various modes of promotion are non-genotoxic, but it is incorrect to conclude that ‘non-genotoxic carcinogen’ (qv) and ‘promoter’ are synonymous. Uncertainty factor: Value used in extrapolation from experimental animals to man (assuming that man may be more sensitive) or from selected individuals to the general population: for example, a value applied to the NOAEL to derive an ADI or TDI. The value depends on the size and type of population to be protected and the quality of the toxicological information available. Unscheduled DNA Synthesis (UDS): DNA synthesis that occurs at some stage in the cell cycle other than the S period (the normal or 'scheduled' DNA synthesis period), in response to DNA damage. It is usually associated with DNA repair. Volume of distribution: Apparent volume of fluid required to contain the total amount of a substance in the body at the same concentration as that present in the plasma, assuming equilibrium has been attained. WHO-TEQs: The system of Toxic Equivalency Factors (TEFs) used in the UK and a number of other countries to express the concentrations of the less toxic dioxin-like compounds (16 PCDDs/PCDFs and 12 PCBs) as a concentration equivalent to the most toxic dioxin 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is that set by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the resulting overall concentrations are referred to as WHO-TEQs (Total toxic equivalents). Xenobiotic: A chemical foreign to the biologic system. Xenoestrogen: A 'foreign' compound with estrogenic activity (see estrogen). Help us improve food.gov.uk What you were doing * What went wrong * Committee on Toxicity About the COT Assessing chemical risks in food COT Risk analysis framework History of the COT COT membership COT meetings COT reports COT statements and position papers COT Working groups COT Information Guide COT Secretariat Floors 6 and 7, Clive House 70 Petty France London SW1H 9EX cot@food.gov.uk COT privacy notice Sponsoring departments Sister committees Committee on Carcinogenicity Committee on Mutagenicity	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723081
__label__wiki	0.543649	0.543649	Bimstec joint military exercise begins The inaugural military field training exercise for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Tech-nological and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) nations named MILEX-18 started with a grand opening ceremony at Aundh Military Station, India on Monday. Contingents of the member nations came together for the opening ceremony of the MILEX-18 that will continue till September 18, according to Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. The parade was commanded by Captain Gaurav Sharma, who is part of the participating Indian contingent. The contingents marched together smartly at the Drill Ground of Aundh Military Station. Major General Sanjeev Sharma, General Officer Commanding, Golden Katar Division, chief guest for the opening ceremony, reviewed the parade, in presence of number of officers and officials of participating nations.During the parade there was also a fly past of army aviation helicopters who carried the national flags of the member nations. The General Officer Commanding interacted with the contingents after the completion of the parade.The members of all participating nations also interacted and familiarized with each other after the opening ceremony. The aim of the forthcoming exercise is to practice the Bimstec Nations in planning and conduct of counter terrorist operations.The exercise schedule is focused upon learning of best practices, team building and special tactical level operations in a counter-terrorist environment in semi urban setting. The inaugural edition of the Bimstec MILEX-18 was carried out in all military grandeur, razor edge precision and with complete sanctity that a military parade should display.Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal. More From Frontpage	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723084
__label__wiki	0.502448	0.502448	'70pc Australians face sexual harassment' Stepmother sent to jail in girl rape, murder caseNearly 71 per cent of Australians have been victims of sexual harassment at some point in their lives, a report published on Wednesday by the Australian Human Rights Commission said. One in every three have experienced it at work in the last five years, Efe news quoted the study as saying. Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins indicated in the report that sexual harassment is generally perpetrated by a man and "in many cases it is ongoing over an extended period". The main forms of sexual harassment cited in the study are sexual jokes and comments, inappropriate physical contact and rape. At least 23 per cent of women have been victims of an attempt or an act of rape or sexual assault in their lives, the report said, adding that 89 per cent of women have also suffered other types of harassment. The study also reveals that more than 85 per cent of women and 56 per cent of men under the age of 15 say they have been sexually harassed at least once.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723085
__label__wiki	0.849736	0.849736	A few days ago the news carried a story about a small First Nation from the Gulf Islands of British Columbia appearing out of the past to claim large chunks of coastal territory, including Stanley Park in Vancouver. Few people will have heard of the Hwlitsum people, including the government apparently since the band is not officially recognized as even existing. In fact, their story includes one of the most brutal examples of "gunboat diplomacy" to occur on the coast. Most British Columbians are unaware of the violence that accompanied the settlement of coastal BC. We know about the horrible smallpox epidemic of 1862-63 which killed so many Aboriginal people (a third of the population by some estimates), but the iron hand of repression wielded by the British navy on behalf of the colonial enterprise is largely forgotten. The Hwlitsum were the victims of one of these violent episodes. The 1850s and 1860s saw a series of forays by British gunboats to pacify different Aboriginal groups. No act of defiance was allowed to go unpunished. Governor James Douglas thought that the colony sat atop "a smouldering volcano, which at any moment might erupt." Nervously outnumbered, colonists believed that the indigenous people had to be convinced to accept the hegemony of British rule. Diplomacy would be best, but violent repression if necessary. In early April 1863, in the Gulf Islands, in the space of two days, three whites were murdered and another was badly wounded. (The details of this whole affair are in Chris Arnett's thorough study, The Terror of the Coast [Talonbooks, 1999].) In response to these killings and at the request of Gov. Douglas, the British navy provided a 30-metre gunboat, Forward, armed with a cannon and two howitzers. Commander Horace Lascelles managed to track three suspects in one murder to Cowichan Bay where they were taken into custody. He then moved on to the village of Lamalcha on Kuper Island, a community of seven multi-family lodges where the people were known to be antagonistic to white settlement. These were the Hwlitsum. When the people would not (or could not because he wasn’t there) give up a suspect, Lascelles opened fire on the village. Villagers returned fire with their muskets from concealed positions on shore, killing a 16-year-old sailor named Charles Gliddon. He was the only British serviceman killed in action in BC. After a prolonged firefight, Lascelles withdrew the Forward to the mainland opposite Kuper Island. The best account of the incident claims that the “Battle of Lamalcha” was the only tactical defeat ever inflicted by a tribal people on the Royal Navy, though “defeat” might be a little strong given that the British returned the next day to find that the people had all fled and the village was ultimately destroyed. Still, it was a shock to white colonists that the armed might of the British navy had been repulsed by what the authorities considered to be a small band of malcontents and troublemakers. In response, they mounted the largest military action ever seen on the coast, involving a naval man-of-war, two gunboats, two naval launches and about 500 men, all to hunt down seven Lamalcha men who were suspects in the murder. The British chased the fugitives for several days, taking them into custody one by one, along with assorted relatives and hostages. In the end, nine men were tried, eight of whom were hanged for their part in the Gulf Island killings. With the village destroyed, the Hwlitsum disappeared from the historical record. But they have resurfaced to assert their existence and their claim to compensation. Their case will be heard in March. For the time being their experience reminds us that contrary to what we would like to believe, the success of the colonial project in Canada (remember Prime Minister Harper telling us that Canada had had no experience of colonialism?) depended on force and violence. aboriginal history Kuper Island	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723088
__label__cc	0.564297	0.435703	Tag: Tracey Segarra Posted in Authors, Monday blogs Wordup at Long Island Litfest: A Tribute to Authors and Storytellers Posted on March 27, 2017 March 27, 2017 by Debbie Yesterday afternoon, I attended Wordup: Long Island Litfest at the Madison Theater at Molloy College with two author friends, Kimberly Amato and Lisa Diaz Meyer. This annual event, in its third year, featured popular Long Island authors and was kicked off with a choice of two free writing workshops. My friends and I selected the Storytelling Workshop presented by Tracey Segarra of the Now You’re Talking Show. After treating the attendees to one of her own stories, Segarra broke down the structure of a story and invited everyone to try two storytelling exercises. The first consisted of prompts to help generate ideas. The second was a group activity involving object description and active listening. Although the workshop was short, it was quite informative. Segarra also invited everyone to her May 6 event, The Tipping Point, at the Merrick Theater and Center for the Arts at which several authors and storytellers will share stories. Cathi Hanauer Interviewing Gail Sheehy at LI Litfest The main event of the Long Island Litfest commenced at 1 pm and ran to 4:30 pm. It consisted of two sessions of speakers followed by questions from the audience, book sales, and author signings. The Emcee and first speaker for the event was Barry Dougherty, author of How To Do It Standing Up, The Friars Club’s Guide To Being A Comic and other books on comedy. The first-session speakers included Caroline Leavitt, author of the novel Cruel Beautiful World and New York Times bestselling author of Is This Tomorrow, Pictures of You, and many other works; and Steven Gaines, co-founder and a past vice-chairman of the Hamptons International Film Festival and author of numerous books, including Philistines at the Hedgerow and his memoir, One of These Things First. The last two speakers of the session were Cathi Hanauer, New York Times bestselling author of three novels and editor of two anthologies, The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth about Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood and Marriage and the recent The Bitch Is Back: Older, Wiser, and (Getting) Happier; and Gail Sheehy, author of seventeen books, including internationally acclaimed best-seller Passages, named one of the ten most influential books of our times by the Library of Congress. Hanauer and Sheehy spoke alone, and then Hanauer interviewed Sheehy about her recent memoir, Daring: My Passages,. Alan Zweibel and Dave Barry answering audience questions at LI Litfest Session two featured George Carlin’s daughter, Kelly Carlin, writer, actress, producer, monologist, and Internet radio host, and author of A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George ; Bill Scheft, Emmy-nominated and long-time staff writer for David Letterman and author of five humor novels, including his latest, Shrink Thyself; Alan Zweibel, an original Saturday Night Live writer, who has won multiple Emmy and Writers Guild of America awards for his work in television, which includes It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, Late Show With David Letterman, and Curb Your Enthusiasm and has also won a Tony Award and the Thurber Prize; and Dave Barry, Pulitzer-Prize winning humor writer whose columns and essays have appeared in hundreds of newspapers over the past 35 years who has also written a number of New York Times bestsellers including the recent, For this We Left Egypt, a parody of the Passover Haggadah, co-authored with Alan Zweibel (and Adam Mansbach). After Barry spoke, he and Zweibel opened the floor to questions. Book sales for Litfest were handled by Turn of the Corkscrew bookstore. Other sponsors included The Madison Theater, Long Island Pulse, Now You’re Talking, and East End Fringe Festival. It was nice to be able to buy the presenters’ books and have them autographed on the spot. It was a very entertaining afternoon and an opportunity to listen to some great stories and storytellers.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723090
__label__wiki	0.560105	0.560105	NSW creates health IT agency Renai LeMay The New South Wales State Government has opened a new page in its long and troubled history implementing electronic health solutions, committing yesterday to creating a dedicated agency to service the area, amid a much wider shake-up of the health sector in general driven by its new Coalition Government. The state’s director-general of health, Dr Mary Foley, yesterday handed down a landmark report (PDF) into future governance arrangements for the state’s health department, with new Health Minister Jillian Skinner immediately welcoming the report and pledging to implement its recommendations. Among a number of other conclusions, the report noted that eHealth should be recognised as “the way of the future” in healthcare. However, it noted, NSW wasn’t currently making the most of its opportunities. “In NSW, the current ICT governance model can be regarded as a ‘half-way house’, with staff and functions spread between the department, which has a strategic role, Health Support Services, which is responsible for rolling out major corporate and clinical systems, and area health-based ICT services which are currently located in the clusters,” the report states. “The statewide roll out of major systems needs to be supplemented with pervasive clinical engagement at the local level involving multiple testing and iterations of new systems before they are implemented.” NSW Health’s credibility on the issue of electronic health solutions has taken a battering over the past several years. In March this year, for example, a study published by Sydney University health IT academic Jon Patrick heavily criticised the FirstNet system implemented by the department to manage emergency departments. At the time, some public sector doctors called for the system to be scrapped, as it had suffered a series of problems, such as allowing patient details to be assigned to the wrong patient. The platform it is based on was provided by US e-health giant Cerner. “When do we stop throwing good money after bad?” Dr Sally McCarthy, who heads the Prince of Wales Hospital’s emergency department said at the time, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “Anything that takes staff off the floor to spend their working time on an inefficient IT system is a detriment to patients.” Another rollout, known as Healthelink, was kicked off back in 2004 with wider ambitions to solve the e-health records problem within NSW Health, but only had some 100,000 clients registered by mid-2010. It has since been integrated into the Federal Government’s much wider personal e-health records system, but is believed to have remained primarily in pilot or trial phase – without being extended to the wider NSW population. NSW is not the only state to have suffered similar problems – with e-health record rollouts right around Australia suffering similar delays, fits and misstarts. To resolve the problems in NSW, the state will now, according to the report, create a new agency, eHealth NSW, which will become “the system leader for the NSW Health information strategy”. Its first priority will be “a re-setting of strategy” based on extensive consultation with clinicians and other users and the redesign of ICT governance to ensure “clear statewide plans” and “an appropriate balance with local initiatives”. By the end of 2011, The State Government is aiming to have established eHealth NSW and to have developed “a strong governance framework for ICT”. While there is no doubt that the creation of a new NSW eHealth group is an incredibly positive move by the new State Government, and a step in the right direction, it is also a move which is inherently designed for failure due to circumstances which are largely beyond its control. In Australia, cases of successful e-health records implementations are currently few and far between, and this has little to do with a lack of funding or effort in the area (just look at the hundreds of millions of dollars which Victoria has ploughed into the area over the past decade), and everything to do with poor technology. The first problem is that there are very few vendors which have a mature and robust e-health solution to provide to government at the moment. In the CRM and ERP spaces, to cite two other examples of business software platforms, there are currently hundreds of vendors selling many different competing solutions. If you look hard enough, you’ll find an application or a module for any given circumstance – and they’re fairly easily customized for your own use. In the e-health area, there’s only a handful of major names, and some of these are experiencing a substantive degree of corporate change. US-based Cerner is probably the biggest name right now, and Australia’s IBA Health used to be another. However, IBA several years ago bought rival iSOFT, which turned out to be a poison pill – with the company suffering a series of financial headaches which eventually led to it being bought out by US IT services giant CSC this year to help develop its own e-health practice. There’s a few other companies bubbling along – such as Intersystems’ TrakHealth and even Medical Objects – but none have a huge profile, despite some successes. The second problem is that implementing the solutions offered by these companies often ends up being problematic in practice. Cerner’s well-documented problems in emergency services are one example, while iSOFT’s problems in the UK with its giant nationwide rollout in that country are the stuff of legend in the health industry. Often this boils down to the differing requirements of each health jurisdiction, with those implementing systems often complaining that a platform built for one country just doesn’t work very well in another. Complicating all this is the fact that throughout the e-health industry’s problematic history, few implementations have involved the end users of the systems – health professionals such as doctors, nurses and specialists – as much as they should have. Health is a fraught area, and execution with limited resources is king. Every time a major e-health platform is implemented, the screams of medical professionals can be heard a mile away. It’s as predictable as clockwork. These people don’t need a new system – they need to have management overhead removed from their lives so they can do their job more efficiently with what paltry resources they have. For all these reasons and more, eHealth NSW will have its work cut out for it – as has the National e-Health Transition Authority and HealthSMART in Victoria before it. I recommend they start with a couple of small, extremely targeted projects and bed them down properly. If you can get them working so well that doctors in other jurisdictions start demanding the same thing … they’ll be onto a winner. Image credit: Jimmy Harris, Creative Commons Govt creates new digital agency to fix e-health issues Qld eHealth agency reportedly stands down CIO after just one month Former health CIOs, IT startup luminary to fix troubled eHealth records project Failing Qld e-health system needs $439 million fix Now Qld Health bungles e-health program healthelink iba health isoft trakhealth Guest 25/08/2011 at 6:15 am Health systems implementations are fraught with problems because, on the one hand, you have a vendor who has a vested interest in talking up their solution and hiding its flaws and, on the other hand, you have clinicians who often think that a knowledge of medicine qualifies them in IT. Add to this government staff who have no experience implementing e-health records or even projects of similar size and complexity and you have a recipe for disaster. Even with a competent systems integrator this task is extremely challenging. Without one it is a train wreck waiting to happen. Anonymous 26/08/2011 at 1:04 am That’s why there’s a growing field of Health Informatics people who know how to do both! Oz Ozzie 25/08/2011 at 6:18 am Comment on earlier versions of the plan: http://healthitnerd.blogspot.com/2008/11/turkey-for-thanksgiving_27.html Grahame 25/08/2011 at 6:21 am > everything to do with poor technology It’s not really technology so much as poor work practices, poor control over information, and a notoriously recalcitrant workforce when it comes to adopting and following consistent procedures and systems. It’s not helped by the fact that each patient is different.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723092
__label__cc	0.648848	0.351152	January 1, 2014 March 28, 2017 by cruisejobs Cruise Jobs with Hurtigruten Hurtigruten operates a fleet of 14 ships that ply the waters of the Norwegian Fjords, Greenland, Iceland, and Antarctica. Their current fleet consists mostly of classic ships, ships built in the late nineties, and ships built after the millennium. They offer coastal cruises, expedition cruises as well as a ferry service, but their cruising focus is on adventure travel. Since 1893, the Hurtigruten ships have been a hallmark of the Norwegian coast. On all of the 14 ships in today’s fleet you will find modern facilities carefully blended with true character. Its passenger and cargo ships have connected Northern and Southern Norway for over 120 years. In 1993 a new era began with the modernisation of Hurtigruten’s fleet resulting in 10 new ships being added to the fleet by the end of 2007. TDR, a British private equity firm acquired Hurtigruten in 2014. Since then, they provided the capital to refurbish four existing ships as well as acquire and refurbish their new ship, the Spitsbergen (2015/2016). In April 2016, they ordered two new hybrid 600-passenger ships for deliveries in 2018 and 2019. Cruise Line Website: www.hurtigruten.no Employment Pages: Hurtigruten Jobs Categories Cruise Line Employment InfoTags Hurtigruten Post navigation River Advice and ISP Combine to Form Fleet Pro	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723094
__label__wiki	0.562344	0.562344	Christ is a communist and God is a miner: ‘The Sair Road’ by William Hershaw Published in Poetry Jim Aitken reviews The Sair Road, by Willie Hershaw. The header image and all others in this review are by Les McConnell, the illustrator Far from creating any ‘gude and godlie’ kingdom in Scotland as a result of the Reformation there in 1560, by the time of Robert Burns (1759-96) Presbyterianism was being openly satirised. Religious hypocrisy was one of Burns’ most constant themes in his poetry. This is no more evident than in ‘Holy Willie’s Prayer’ where Willie believes that he has become one of the elect by the simple fact of seeing himself chosen by God to be one of the elect. And while he chastises others like Gavin Hamilton because ‘he drinks, an’ swears, an’ plays at cartes (cards)’, Willie exonerates himself for lifting ‘a lawless leg’ upon Meg and for having had sex with ‘Leezie’s lass…three times.’ He should be excused for the latter offence on the grounds that he was ‘fou ‘(drunk). Such transgressions Willie sees as utterly without any theological or moral implication for himself but the same man would condemn others fervently for similar transgressions. The Christian virtue of ‘judge not lest you be judged’ has no reference point in Willie’s religious view. The obsession with the sins of others created the dialectic of the self-righteous and the damned. With so much to be frowned upon it is fair to say that Scottish culture suffered from such a censorious atmosphere. Righteousness, after all, meant always being right. It is therefore understandable that in James Hogg’s ‘The Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824)’ that it would be the Devil that made an appearance. In this incredible novel a fanatically self-righteous Robert Wringhim is encouraged to kill his more rounded and sporty brother, George. The figure of Gil-Martin as Devil incarnate utilises the religious fanaticism of Robert to commit fratricide. The novel is set in the turbulent times of the 17th century when Scotland was waging religious war both at home and abroad during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Hogg has two narratives in this book, one by an Editor and the other by Robert himself. The Editor is a smug man of the Enlightenment who believes that civilisation and progress are both constant and linear. He looks back on the fanaticism of a previous era with horror, viewing the excesses of such times as primitive and barbaric. What makes this novel so modern is our clear understanding today that such excesses are always with us – when we think of the two World Wars of the 20th century, of the Iraq war, the rise of Daesh, the rise of the far right, national populism and the threat of environmental catastrophe in our short century so far. Hogg’s masterpiece raises such important notions of duality and without it we would not have had Stevenson’s ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ or ‘The Testament of Gideon Mack’ by James Robertson. It was not until 1860 that Christ made his most significant appearance in Scottish culture. It was in a painting by William Dyce (1806-64) of Aberdeen called ‘The Man of Sorrows.’ Dyce was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and played a part in their early popularity. It was in fact Dyce who introduced Rossetti, Holman Hunt and Millais to John Ruskin and the spirituality in some of Dyce’s painting owes much to the Pre-Raphaelites. Victorian Britain was a brutal place, with imperialism abroad and servitude at home, and the Pre-Raphaelites sought to go back in time to a more romanticised world, often inspired by the poetry of Shakespeare, Keats and Tennyson. While they did create an artistic renewal and expressed a mission of moral reform revealing piety, they also showed the struggle of purity against corruption. Ruskin particularly approved of their detailed treatment of nature. However, their canvases largely featured much earlier historical eras, while the social reality around them was ghastly. In this they were not entirely different to Prince Charles, with his horror of so much of modern architecture, or to John Major and his reverie for an England where you came out from Evensong and headed for a warm beer on the village green, watching cricket. What made Dyce’s painting so memorable – at least for Scots – was that the figure of Christ was sitting on a Scottish Highland hillside. Dyce, of course, would have been intimate with such locations himself and that is probably why he chose such a setting. However, the implication of such a setting was considerable. There is plenty of space for Christ to contemplate in such a wilderness because a few decades earlier the Highlanders had been cleared from the land to make way for sheep. ‘The Man of Sorrows’ can be seen to be at one with the men and women who were so brutally evicted from their lands. Such an interpretation –possibly unintended by Dyce – would nonetheless be made by many Scots. The sorrows felt by Christ were also the sorrows of those who once lived in this wilderness. Furthermore, the sorrowful Christ of the Highland hillside would clearly have known that the church in Scotland did little to prevent such suffering, by siding instead with the landowners and the gentry. Though we live in a largely secular era today (though not so secular in the land of Mammon, the USA), the figure of Christ, as expressed in the Gospels, can still inspire. What churches have done – or not done – in his name cannot be attributable to him. He was and remains a radical and a revolutionary figure who sought nothing more than peace, love and sharing based on communal values. Christ is a communist and God is a miner Call that rebirth and resurrection if you like. He was on the side of the poor, the victimised, the marginalised and the oppressed. His ministry was itself ‘good news for the poor.’ It is inconceivable in a world where the poor and oppressed are still with us that he cannot be seen as relevant. George Bernard Shaw, in his Preface – a work far more interesting than the play it introduces – to ‘Androcles and the Lion (1916)’ called Christ ‘a communist.’ His story inspired an array of different people and groups as diverse as the Levellers of the 17th century, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, Keir Hardie, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, along with untold billions over the last two millennia. Love richt and heeze the ferlous gift o grace! So for Jesus to turn up in the Fife coalfield of the 20th century seems perfectly in keeping with his historical influence at other times. The versatile William Hershaw, who is not just a poet but also a dramatist, folk musician and Scots language activist, tells us in his introduction to ‘The Sair Road (2018)’ that ‘the Thatcher years ‘were ‘the most significant period’ in his life. At the time of the Miners’ Strike of 1984-5 he ‘was a young teacher in Fife’ working not so much at the chalk face but at the coal face, where many of the students he taught would have been the sons and daughters of miners. The idea behind ‘The Sair Road’ must have formed in an earlier poem he wrote called ‘God the Miner’. The words of this poem are inscribed on a sculpture by David Annand called ‘The Prop’ and installed in 2007 in Lochgelly. It was in fact part of the Lochgelly Regeneration Project brought about after the death of a once proud industry. The words from the poem seem entirely apt because, as God creates, so too does the miner. They are indistinguishable: God is a miner, For aye is his shift, Heezan his graith he howks in the lift. Always working (aye is his shift) God lifts (heezan) his tools (graith) and digs (howks) in the sky (lift). In the second verse we read: Thrang at his work, Stars are the aizles he caws in the mirk. Here we are told that God is constantly busy (thrang) and that the stars are the sparks (aizles) he strikes (caws) in the dark (mirk). These lines not only offer a poetic response to the work of creation but to work generally because labour can – and should – be afforded dignity because it is labour itself that is the source of all that is created. The Fife coalfield was ravaged during the Thatcher years and neglected during the years of Blair and Brown. With the death of an industry came the death also of the NUM and, saddest of all, the death of that precious experience of community. From ‘God the Miner’ in 2007 Hershaw must have been howking away inside his poetic imagination to have come up with ‘The Sair Road.’ A Christian is a Socialist or nocht This collection is also written in Scots, which is fitting because the Fife tongue still uses a great many Scots words and miners would certainly have used many of these words. The miners were a special workforce, and no more so than in the Fife coalfield. While the term ‘Red Clydeside’ is well known, ‘Red Fife’ could easily have challenged Clydeside for radical politics. In 1935 it was the Red Clydesider William Gallacher who became Communist MP for West Fife until 1950. And though our media loves to peddle the idea that to be a Communist you had to have attended Cambridge University and become a spy, the reality was that Cowdenbeath had the largest Communist Party Branch of anywhere in the UK, and members there were almost entirely miners. The socialist credentials of Fife are second to none. ‘The Sair Road’ is structured to parallel the Stations of the Cross. Hershaw, however, has adapted them to form what he calls ‘The Lochgelly Stations.’ There is also an introductory poem before the Stations called ‘Apocrypha 1: Airly Doors’ and after the Station sequence there is ‘Apocrypha 2: Efter Hours’ along with three further poems that seek to sum up not only what has gone before but what could come after. There is, Hershaw tells us again in his Introduction, ‘no theological consistency or orthodoxy in ‘The Sair Road’ and Jesus the Miner ‘has little time for organised religion.’ In the poem ‘The Lord Lous (loves) a Sinner’ the following lines confirm this sense of an independent mind: The Kirk needs the pious Tae fill up her pews But the Lord recruits sinners For guid men are few. The action flits through the 1920s, when there was a lockout of miners in 1921, and moves on to the General Strike of 1926, when there was another lockout after that strike. The miners’ strike of 1984-85 is implied in all the action and invoked cleverly after Jesus the Miner is ‘liftit’ for preaching his gospel of love: The neist day he was bound tae staund in coort Condemned by the Sanhedrin, Daily Mail, Thatcher and McGregor, the BBC, Chairged wi riot, unlawful assembly, The braggarts feart he micht owercoup their world And like mad dugs settled tae bring him doun. As he sat in the Gethsemane Plots thinking on his struggle ahead he was told – ‘You’re liftit Trotsky…Judas turned a scab.’ The archetypal name for a rebel – Trotsky – is applied to suggest how dangerous Jesus’ words have been to the status quo. And Judas – just as before – is the archetypal name for a traitor. The names of the Apostles have a Scots twist to them. Jesus calls them his ‘feirs’ (friends) and they are named as Jamie, Mattie, Si, Wee Jock, Andrae, Tam and Big Pete. They are also his boozing buddies as they often hang out in the local Goth Bar. In no way could Jesus the Miner be set apart from others in this community. His spirituality and conviction may make him seem ‘other’ but he is very much a part of the mining community in all other respects. Support the striking miners? Never, naa,/I winnae lift a haund, I'll see it faa. The Lochgelly Stations mirror well the original story, and are also well applied to the mining community Jesus the Miner finds himself in. One good example of this is replacing Pilate with Ramsay MacDonald. He washes his hands of the whole sorrowful business at the end of the General Strike, just as Pilate did in the New Testament. Hershaw uses a particularly descriptive Scots word to suggest how the Labour leader feels about it all – ‘MacDonald girnt.’ Girning in Scots means not just moaning but doing so with lathers of self-pity. In his speech MacDonald ‘girns’ about his lot. He tells Jesus the Miner, ‘Socialism, Labour are juist bit words.’ Though progress is slow, he says, it will come ‘through the ballot box, no blackmail.’ These words could so easily have been spoken by Neil Kinnock when he was leader of the Labour Party during the strike of 1984-5. The South Wales miners dubbed him Ramsay McKinnock for not supporting them. Kinnock, of course, went on to become an unelected EU Commissioner, and he now sits in the unelected House of Lords. The same man complained – as the Tory press of his day told him to – that the miners should have had a ballot, which seems rather ridiculous today as the former son of a miner now sits with what Burns called ‘cuifs’ (fools) clad in ermine, in the House of Lords. There is one key idea in ‘The Sair Road’ and that comes at Jesus’ trial. He is charged with the ‘wittin (knowledge) that he brocht: A Christian is a Socialist or nocht.’ How can it be that the rich and exploiter class are often the ones who attend church on a regular basis and claim to be Christian? How is it that the hapless Mrs May went to church, when as Home Secretary she made vans run around London with the words ‘Go Home’ printed on their side? These vans were directed at people of colour who had lived here for 50 years. How can she profess her Christianity while apparently holding others in such disfavour? How could she have led a political party of the rich for the rich, while overseeing Victorian levels of inequality and maintain she is a Christian? The answer, of course, is the same as it has always been – easily. Her Prime Ministerial resignation speech showed how delusional she had been politically – so why should delusion not be part of religious faith either? The Letter of St. James tells us ‘faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.’ And ‘works’ meant good works like helping the poor and not adding to their number. To be Christian, at least according to its founder, you have to ‘do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you.’ Without active concern for the poor, the victimised and marginalised, your professed faith is rather empty. Burns railed against religious hypocrisy in his day and Hershaw is simply saying the same today. What is different though is that Hershaw’s Jesus himself rails against such rank religious hypocrisy. When Mrs Thatcher came and addressed the Church of Scotland General Assembly in 1988 she told them, ‘Christianity is about spiritual redemption, not social reform.’ Jesus the Miner would no doubt reply to this ‘you cannot have one without the other.’ Jesus of the New Testament would similarly agree, especially when we recall his words in Matthew 19:24, ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.’ It is the multi-millionaires and billionaires who should be afraid because of what they have done and what they continue to do. This is where Jesus the Miner and Jesus of the New Testament have such a powerful message. Both preach love for all, including your enemies. All will be forgiven and all it takes to be forgiven is a change of heart. This is the essence of the Christian message. This is the great magnanimity of that message; this is the theological simplicity of it all. As with most theories, however, there is often the problem with praxis. Because the rich are so powerful they want to maintain their position of supremacy over others by keeping their riches – and continually adding to them – by keeping others down. When Jesus the Miner is ‘flung in their jyle’ (jail) he is also scourged by ‘the Polis’. He is ‘punched and kicked’ as ‘Centurions waved tenners in his face.’ They called him ‘commie scum’ and said, ‘This kicking’s juist the stert o mair tae come.’ That kicking of anyone who stands up to the rich has been taking place for a long time now. The early Christians were persecuted for their belief, yet it was their persistence with that belief that ended slavery in the ancient world. The Hebrew word ‘anawim’ describes the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth and it was these people who became the first followers of this new faith. Once an idea takes hold, Lenin said, it can become a material force. That was certainly true of Christianity, and like socialism it has never been properly practised internationally because the rich and powerful have never allowed either to be properly practised. It has been suggested that when the Emperor Constantine de-criminalised Christianity in 313 and converted to it on his deathbed, and later in 380 when the Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Empire, that the faith became compromised. The rich and powerful could use it for their own purposes. After this, of course, the Church split in two between a Catholic west and an Orthodox east, and then during the Reformation there came into being countless new Protestant churches. Jesus the Miner speaks for no church and only speaks for himself and what he says is remarkably like the original Jesus. Although the original Christian message may have been compromised there have been many followers in all traditions who have stayed true to that message. It was the former Archbishop of Olinda and Recife in north-eastern Brazil, Dom Helder Camara, who famously said, ‘When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food they call me a communist.’ There were many priests and theologians in Latin America who developed what was known as liberation theology. Two of the most famous texts were ‘A Theology of Liberation’ (1971) by Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez and ‘Jesus Christ Liberator’ (1972) by Leonardo Boff OFM. Liberation theology was all about bringing ‘good news to the poor’ again, as Jesus had originally intended. Jesus the Miner would surely approve of them. With the arrival of Pope John Paul II, such theologies and practices were frowned upon. Under the tutelage of Cardinal Ratzinger from the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, an Instruction went out against the practise of liberation theology called ‘Libertatis Nuntius’ in 1984. This was followed up by a Papal visit to parts of Latin America and a finger-waving Pontiff was shown on the BBC news telling off Boff in Brazil, and the poet-priest Ernesto Cardenal who had joined the first Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The reason this was shown was because this was a Pope fiercely opposed to socialism and maybe this was why the media seemed to warm to him. After the death of John Paul II the new Pope was Benedict XVI – the former Cardinal Ratzinger. He has since resigned, and it was widely believed that he did so because he could not deal with the corruption inside the Curia, along with all the extensive cover-ups of clerical abuse now being exposed internationally. It has been left to Francis I to deal with this. Capitalism is the dung of the Devil Pope Francis would have personally known of liberation priests who were murdered in Argentina by the junta there, for serving the poor. He may well have met Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered by El Salvadorean death squads in their fight against leftists in 1980. While Romero was not a liberation theologian, he was on the side of the poor, and he spoke out against their poverty and social injustice. Pope Francis has called capitalism ‘the dung of the Devil.’ He wants bridges rather than walls built between peoples, and wishes migrants fleeing poverty and war to be treated with love and compassion. Jesus the Miner would like the sound of that. What he may not like the sound of is the new theology that has spread into Latin America from the United States. The gap opened up by Libertatis Nuntius has enabled Protestant Evangelicals proclaiming what is known as ‘prosperity theology’ to make inroads in a continent that was once largely Catholic. Their Christian fundamentalist influence has helped secure the Presidency of Bolsonaro in Brazil. According to Mary Fitzgerald’s recent article in ‘openDemocracy’ (24 May 2019) over $50 million in ‘dark money’ has come into Europe from American religious conservative groups associated with Trump in the last decade. This money has funded campaigns that are dear to the far right, such as ending LGBTI rights, and ending the reproductive rights of women, as well as securing Europe from ‘Muslim invaders.’ This rhetoric has also railed against EU elites and has led to a fair crop of far-right representation at the recent EU elections. Steve Bannon, in his base at the Certosa di Trissulti monastery – a two hour drive south-east of Rome – has declared that Pope Francis is the enemy because of his mission for the poor and for his support of migrants. Religion has always been disfigured by the rich, powerful and unaccountable, with agendas that use religion for their own self-aggrandising political and economic ends. And any national populist turn in Britain or in Europe as a whole will simply continue that age-old exploitation. He pushed brillo pads doun Grandi's lungs In Station 5 of Hershaw’s poem, we hear about the terrible things done to miners and their families by King Coal. We are told he was a ‘spine-snapper, baa (testicle) – squeezer…..bairn-beater…..compensation-refuser..…match-fixer..…inquest-wrangler…..sulfur-choker…..telegram-bringer.’ In a grim reminder of what the miner’s life was like, we are told King Coal ‘pushed brillo pads doun Grandi’s lungs.’ All the horrible respiratory diseases are contained in this image. King Coal ‘mashed up our ambitions intae potted hough…he’d hypnotised us no tae believe in futures.’ These are real sentiments that must have been held by many a miner down the years but what did hold them together was their solidarity with one another. To survive down in the bowels of the earth you needed that solidarity with your fellow workers. It got you through your shift, and when you came up to the surface that solidarity was still there. This solidarity was also supported and strengthened by the National Union of Miners. In 1973 the NUM paid for a bus of Chilean refugees fleeing from the scourges of Pinochet’s regime, a regime supported by the US to try out the new shock therapy of monetarist economics. The bus travelled from London to Cowdenbeath where the refugees would be housed. Thousands of miles from their homeland, the Chileans saw and heard the pipers playing and marching them to their new homes. Their homes had toys for the children, blankets on their beds and warm coal fires burning as they entered their new houses. Here was room at the inn, true Christian charity of the most generous: here was international working-class solidarity at its finest. And this charity, this solidarity was delivered by a group of workers who, like the ‘anawim’ of the ancient world, were looked down upon and reviled by the rich for challenging their rule. Today, this inspiring recollection is all the more sad, because last year in Cowdenbeath where King Coal is now absent, a Boyne ‘celebration’ was held by the Orange Order, addressed by Arlene Foster of the DUP. This event was the antithesis of what this area once represented. The CP within the NUM had successfully challenged the blight of sectarianism that seeks to divide workers. While our environmental consciousness today would not condone coal mining, the great loss of working-class solidarity is still something to be lamented. The solidarity of all who are oppressed Unlawfully jailed, victimised and blacklisted it is ‘The Wummen o the Soup Kitchen’ (Station 8) who ‘kept saul and body thegither’ for Jesus the Miner. By mentioning these women Hershaw does not merely conjure up the followers in the Gospel accounts who were women – his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene, a former prostitute, being among his most faithful followers – he also helps us to recall the incredible contribution miners’ wives made during the 84-85 strike. Their activism and sacrifice was phenomenal. And just as those with power and wealth seek to divide worker from worker so they also try to do the same between men and women. It is the solidarity of all those who are oppressed that they fear most and that is why they must be divided. The wummen o the soup kitchen kept saul/And body thegither syne ‘The Wummen o the Soup Kitchen’ were the heroines who had ‘smiles and faith/ And breid (bread) and soup they biggit (built-up) better men.’ Jesus the Miner had sought their help after he was ‘blacklistit fae ilka (every) pit in Fife.’ This was because, after the Great War, he had said in 1921,’This is nae land for heroes comin hame.’ He had told the ‘dochters (daughters) o the coalfield ‘greet nae for me’ (don’t cry for me) but ‘mourn for yersels, and for yer stervan bairns’ (starving children). Here he aligns himself with the poor and this was natural for him because he too is poor and made poor by those in power. The painful route Christ took walking the Via Doloroso is cleverly paralleled as Jesus the Miner seeks to come to the aid of his fellow miners trapped down in a mine shaft. While he manages to ‘bring thaim tae the surface’ he found there was ‘nae hamewird passage up’ for himself. He writes a last message with a piece of chalk onto a wall of coal, and it is written for ‘wee Jockie.’ He asks him ‘tae tak care o ma Mither’ and ‘to luik out for our dear comrades’ and to ‘screive (write) doun our gospel tale.’ The use of the word ‘comrades’ here is interesting. The word is usually used on the left to suggest not just friendship but a brotherly or sisterly recognition that both parties are engaged in the greatest challenge of all and that is the liberation of mankind. The spiritual struggle and the political one are inexorably linked here as Jesus the Miner writes this word on the wall. You are fogien. This Setturday nicht, I trow/You'll dance wi your Jean upby in the Goth By way of re-assuring ‘The Guid Thief o the Lindsay Pit’ (Station 11) that, despite his foolishness in lighting up a ‘sleekit (sly) Woodbine’ that ‘blew aa Kelty up’ and killed and maimed many miners, Jesus tells him, ‘You’ll dance wi your Jean upby in the Goth …this Satturday nicht.’ However, this hope seems dashed as the pit props were made of cheap timber and ‘the ruif (roof) came doun on tap o Jesus back.’ And remarkably, echoing the historical crucifixion of Christ, Jesus the Miner trapped underneath timber, pit props and stones ‘lay there greetan (crying) in the daurk/Whiles bluid and watter skailt (spilled) fae out his side.’ And he said seven words – ‘Oh faither, why has thou forsaken me?’ Many miners have died this way, but Jesus the Miner is clearly no ordinary miner. He represents all miners, he represents the NUM and he represents the broader working class itself. The destruction of this industry, prepared well in advance by Ridley and Thatcher, was designed to smash not just an industry and an irritant union, but to put the working class back in their place. This brutal event has given the ruling class the rotten fruits of foodbanks, zero-hours contracts, non-unionised workplaces, Universal Credit, rising homelessness and a hundred other rotten fruits besides. It could be said that the Crucifixion of Jesus the Miner is in fact the Crucifixion of the working class. The Inquiry found 'mistakes had been made'......The Pit was closed in 1910. As Jesus languishes at the bottom of a shaft this becomes his tomb. Station 13 ‘Laid in a Tomb’ is the only poem throughout the sequence that is written in English. The expressive and effusive use of Scots is banished in favour of the colder and more callous use of English that can hide its deeds behind the words it uses. All the governmental buzzwords are here in this short poem – ‘mistakes had been made’……‘further recommendations’……‘future improvements’……‘no individual was deemed to blame for the accident’……‘due to the financial outlay’……‘geological difficulties’……‘too dangerous to reclaim the body.’ Thousands of miners’ wives have read such letters after fatal accidents concerning their husbands. The language used here from the inquiry is the language of power. It is a language that anaesthetises thought for a while, as the bureaucratic register deliberately obfuscates where culpability really lies. It brings to mind Hillsborough, the Bogside and Grenfell. Blessit are thaim wi a drouth for richt In ‘The Ballant o the Miner Christ’ (Station 14) Jesus has now become Christ because he has ‘maistered Daith.’ Hershaw tells us here, ‘This tale’s a baur (joke), a comedy.’ There is no need for tears. Instead, because Jesus mastered death ‘Let fowk (folk) get fou (drunk), let aa rejoice.’ In ‘Apocrypha 2: Efter Hours’ it is fitting that Jesus should turn up in the Goth and meet with Tam. Jesus tells him it is ‘Nae miracle – ye hinnae seen a ghaist.’ Cleverly too Hershaw has Jesus tell Tam that he is not in any hereafter but in ‘the here and nou (now).’ And what needs to be done ‘here and nou’ is what should always have been done before – ‘Let our leid (language) aye be love.’ Again, Hershaw has taken us to the essence of the Christian message in all its utter simplicity. In ‘Spare me nae Beatitudes’ there are two lines that seem to represent what is at the heart of ‘The Sair Road’ – ‘Blessit are thaim wi a drouth (thirst) for richt: They will get unco fou.’ The demand for ‘richt’ is not really a demand for right and certainly not a demand for righteousness but a demand for justice, for social justice. As a result of the demise of the mining industry and the subsequent attacks on the working class as a whole, former mining areas – like many other de-industrialised areas – are now full of ‘smack-heids’, ‘junkies,’ ‘drunkarts,’ ‘jaikies,’ ‘hameless,’ and ‘gangrels’ (beggars). They have all fallen through the pit shafts of social and personal disintegration. But this ‘sair road’ that all the casualties have to follow – and because of our existential condition as social beings, we are all casualties – will find justice and redemption one day. Effectively, the resurrection of Jesus the Miner is the hoped-for resurrection of the working classes. They have been, and still are, walking ‘the sair road’ but there is no reason to say that they will keep walking this road. They may see the light and climb the mountain to their eventual redemption. It should be ‘here and nou’ but it will come nonetheless. Many genuine socialists and true Christians believe this. Or to put it another way it is similar to Antonio Gramsci’s formulation of ‘The pessimism of the intellect and the optimism of the will.’ Beckett’s work illustrates how we all walk the same ‘sair road,’ the same existential road, aimlessly groping our way in the dark. Unlike George Osborne’s ‘we are all in this together’ when he can protect himself with his wealth from life’s adversities, ‘the sair road’ offers no protection for those with money. Along ‘the sair road’ we truly are in this all together. Or as the old adage has it – you can’t take it with you. In the final poem ‘Isaiah 2:2-6’ there is the hope and the promise of ‘paice for ivirmair’ (peace for evermore) when our guns will be ‘wrocht (turned) intil ploushares.’ This is a fitting conclusion to ‘The Sair Road.’ Love, death, religion and revolution The collection raises many issues and implications. It was a brave decision by Hershaw to write it and to write it in Scots. The use of Scots actually makes the poem all the more credible because to write on a subject like this in English would be to draw forth issues concerning the words Jesus the Miner uses. Would he have to talk as he does in the Gospels? How would he sound among Fife miners if he spoke English? What kind of accent would he have? The use of Scots makes Jesus the Miner exactly like everyone else. There is no difference in accent and therefore no class division either. Hershaw chose Scots well in ‘The Sair Road.’ If Hershaw’s choice of Scots was a good one then his decision to show that Jesus the Miner ‘has little time for organised religion’ was an even better one. The most obvious point here is that organised religion – especially in the West (though not the USA) is in decline. There is also a widespread revulsion against the growing number of cases coming to light of clerical sexual abuse. This is particularly true of the Catholic Church. By keeping Jesus the Miner away from any notional sense of church involvement, Hershaw avoids any taint of denominational preference or having to defend such a preference. ‘The Sair Road’, however, raises many issues that have had a past debate and continue to be discussed today. It was Dostoyevsky in ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ (1879-80) who has Ivan Karamazov tell the tale of ‘The Grand Inquisitor’. Christ returned to earth, he says, during the time of the Spanish Inquisition in Seville. The local people recognised him and gather round Seville Cathedral to welcome him. Inquisitors eventually arrest him and Christ is told by the Grand Inquisitor that the church has no need of him today. Christ is to be burned at the stake but during the night before this is to take place, the Grand Inquisitor visits him in his cell. Christ listens to him without speaking himself. The Grand Inquisitor then decides to allow Christ to leave ‘into the dark alleys of the city.’ Christ had been condemned by the Inquisition for giving us all the freedom to walk ‘the sair road’ with all that implies for us. The Church, maintained the Grand Inquisitor, kept everyone happy by taking away their freedom. Jesus the Miner, like all miners and all workers, chooses ‘the sair road’ which ultimately brings resurrection and redemption. And just as the ordinary people in Seville recognised and loved Christ, so too the ordinary miners and their families have taken Jesus the Miner to their hearts. There is also a well-known sketch by the Irish comedian, Dave Allen, that similarly deals with this conflict between Christ and the Church that claims to carry his message. As reverential music is being played while the Three Wise Men look down upon the baby Jesus in his crib, a rush of fervent Irish nuns appear and take hold of the child saying, ‘Well now, we will just be making sure that he is brought up the right way.’ In one of Terry Eagleton’s recent books ‘Radical Sacrifice’ (2018) we can find something akin to the idea inherent in ‘The Sair Road’. Eagleton’s work over many decades has been inspired by Marxism in his work on literary criticism and cultural theory, yet his Marxism also shows a debt to his earlier Catholicism. Thomas Docherty in his ‘Literature and Capital’ (2018) talks of Eagleton’s ‘quasi- religious turn’ and it could be that such a ‘turn’ maybe only became apparent after the publication of ‘After Theory’ (2003). This study sought to re-invigorate the left by saying that the age of theory is surely over now. In attacking the postmodernists who claimed that the era of what they called ‘meta-narratives’ was over – ie religious systems, philosophical systems and political ones like communism – Eagleton claimed that they made little mention of the most dangerous ‘meta-narrative’ of all that is capitalism. He argued that it was time to cast aside the empty relativism of the postmodernists and to re-engage with the big issues all over again. He could well have been saying that ‘man does not live by bread alone.’ For him the big issues meant love, evil, death, morality, metaphysics, religion and revolution. Marx, it should be remembered, said something similar – ‘Philosophers have only interpreted the world. The point is to change it.’ Eagleton would support this comment, but would add a caustic comment of his own saying that the postmodernists have not really interpreted very much. ‘Radical Sacrifice’ looks at the role of the ‘scapegoat’ in both primitive and modern societies. Jesus was a scapegoat in his time as were his followers. Creating scapegoats enables the status quo to remain the status quo. The miners in 84-85 were the scapegoats and today it is Muslims and migrants. Both ‘Radical Sacrifice’ and ‘The Sair Road’ seek to re-engage with issues of love, death, religion and revolution. Similarly, some of the recent work by Marxists who profess their atheism nonetheless offer penetrating insights into the revolutionary potential of early religion. Alain Badiou in 1997 brought out ‘Saint Paul: The Foundations of Universalism’. Badiou considers St Paul to have been a profoundly original thinker who still has the revolutionary potential to inspire in the 21st century. It should be remembered that Paul was the one who took the message of Christ across the ancient world and helped set up the first Christian communities. He lived an impoverished life himself. He was Christianity’s first theologian if you like. One of his deepest insights was to say in Galatians 3:28: ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’ Here is the principle of Christian egalitarianism which ended slavery in the ancient world. It did so through love, through the unconditional love of others. Such a principle is not a million miles away from ‘The workers have nothing to lose but their chains. Workers of the world unite.’ That unity is required more now than ever before. Slavoj Žižek has engaged in recent years in dialogues on faith in ‘The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic?’ (2009) with John Milbank and in ‘God in Pain’ (2012) with Boris Gunjevic. Both texts discuss faith in the 21st century and dissect its revolutionary potential. This places ‘The Sair Road’ in extremely good company. The ongoing catastrophe that is capitalism should make us think deeper than ever before. To go forward you must always check the past by digging deeper into it than ever before also. The sodgers played at pitch and toss, Hey caw through, though doul the daw, Wi Jesus nailed attour the Cross. His love rules aa! The final word on this remarkable book should go not to Hershaw but to his wonderful illustrator Les McConnell. His drawings do more than illustrate the meanings of the poem, they extend and enhance them, providing a fine accompaniment to the fine ‘The Sair Road.’ His drawings that accompany the text are sensitively rendered and enhance the poem tremendously well. They bring out both the detailed particularity of the scenes depicted, and the more abstract connections being imagined in the poem between Jesus’ revolutionary message and the struggle of the miners and the working class as a whole for economic, political and spiritual liberation – the communist dream of a society where 'love rules aa!' The Sair Road by William Hershaw, illustrated by Les McConnell, is published by Grace Note Publications, price £20. Capitalism, Communism, Christianity - and Christmas Published in Religion Roland Boer answers questions about religion, capitalism, Christian communism – and Christmas. Culture Matters is also giving away a downloadable PDF of Professor Boer's new ebook on Christian communism, with best wishes to all our readers for the midwinter celebrations. Let's hope we have a culturally and politically progressive 2019........ Q. To start with, can you tell us a bit about yourself, and your path to Marxism? A. My path to Marxism came through religion, particularly the Reformed (Calvinist) part of Protestantism. This may seem like a strange path, since the more common one is through Roman Catholicism – think of Terry Eagleton, Louis Althusser, David McLellan and so on. But it is one I share with far more illustrious people such as Friedrich Engels and Kim Il Sung. How did this happen? My parents emigrated to Australia in the 1950s from the Netherlands, where the long post-war recession was still being felt. My father became a minister in the Reformed Churches of Australia, and later the Presbyterian Church. So I grew up as a minister’s son, with all of its benefits and drawbacks. It did mean that this type of Christian faith was part and parcel of everyday life – a rare experience these days. It was the fabric of my life, my assumptions and ways of experiencing the world. Intellectually, this meant that I would inevitably study theology, but only after a degree in European classics (Greek, Latin and Sanskrit). While studying for a Bachelor of Divinity at the University of Sydney, I took a course in the 1980s called ‘Political and Liberation Theologies’. It was a real eye-opener – my first in-depth engagement with the intersections between Marxism and religion, which would shape much of what I did later. A Master’s thesis on Marx and Hegel followed, with a doctorate in Montreal on Marxist literary criticism of the Bible. Various jobs followed: a minister in the church, a lecturer in a theological college, a university research scholar. But I have always been somewhat ambivalent about such institutions and their demands. There is always one foot outside, searching for another path. The reality was that I was on some type of quest: to follow the whole Marxist tradition in all its many directions. In a Western European situation, this meant – given my interests – the complex intersections with Christianity. It is a commonplace that Western European cultures and traditions are deeply shaped by the realities of Christian (and Jewish) thought in so many ways. This meant that many Marxists, from Marx and Engels onwards, had to engage with religion. A similar point could be made about Russian Marxism, although this was now the Eastern Orthodox tradition, with its distinct theological developments. The study of Russian Marxism brought me to a new awareness: as Lenin said on many occasions, winning power through a communist revolution is relatively easy; trying to construct socialism, often in a hostile environment, is infinitely more complex. So I became more interested in what might be called ‘After October’, after the revolution. What communist parties do when in power is an extraordinary area to study, especially since it remains so under-studied. New problems arise that could simply not be foreseen by Marx and Engels, who never experienced what may be called ‘socialism in power’. New solutions must be found and new theoretical positions developed. All of this took me to China (and more recently North Korea). Here communist parties are in power, and I prefer to take that reality seriously rather than simply dismiss it. What are the practical and theoretical developments? How do the cultural and historical contexts – so different from Western Europe and Russia – influence the developments of Marxism? One obvious point is that the history of engagements with religion is so different that one must start again in order to understand what is going on. So I am now, along with a number of others, working on a project called ‘Socialism in Power’. My interest is in Chinese Marxist philosophy, which entails knowing the language and engaging with the rich tradition of this philosophy and its relations with traditional Chinese philosophy. What topics interest me? They include the socialist state, a Chinese Marxist approach to human rights, Chinese approaches to ‘utopia’ and how these are reinterpreted in light of Marxism, and even what the Chinese mean by a socialist market economy. Q. You’ve written for Culture Matters on a number of topics. Can you start by saying something about Marx, Engels and Lenin’s comments on religion? A.‘Opium of the people’ is where we should begin. For a young Marx in his twenties it meant not simply a drug that dulls the senses and helps one forget the miseries of the present. Instead, the metaphor of opium in the nineteenth century was a complex one. On the one hand, opium was seen as a cheap and widely available medicine, readily accessible for the poor. Marx himself used opium whenever he felt ill, which was often. On the other hand, opium became increasingly to be seen as a curse. Medical authorities began to warn of addiction and that perhaps its healing properties were not what many people believed. And the scandal of the British Empire forcing opium on the Chinese in order to empty Chinese coffers became more and more apparent. In short, opium was a very ambivalent metaphor: blessing and curse, medicine and dangerous drug, British wealth and colonial oppression. This ambivalence carries through to religion. As for this ambivalence, Engels is our best (early) guide. Despite giving up his Reformed faith – with much struggle – for communism, he kept a lifelong interest in religion. He would frequently denounce religion as a reactionary curse, longing for it to be relegated to the museum of antiquities. But he also began to see a revolutionary potential in religion, which came to its first full expression in his 1850 piece on the German Peasant War. This was a study of Thomas Müntzer and the Peasant Revolt of 1525, which was inspired by a radical interpretation of the Bible. It was the first Marxist study of what later came to be called (by Karl Kautsky) Christian communism, although Engels tended to see the theological language as a ‘cloak’ or ‘husk’ for more central economic and political matters. But Engels was not yet done. Not long before his death in 1895, an article appeared on early Christianity. Here Engels challenged everyone – Marxists and Christians alike – to take seriously the argument that early Christianity was revolutionary. Why? It drew its members from slaves, peasants and unemployed urban poor; it shared many features with the communist movement of his own day; it eventually conquered the Roman Empire. We may want to question the last assertion, as indeed later Marxists like Karl Kautsky did, for Christianity – unexpectedly for some – became a religion of empire rather than conquering it. Does Lenin have any insights for understanding religion? Generally, he was more trenchantly opposed, not least because the Russian Orthodox Church sided so clearly with the collapsing tsarist autocracy. Yet there are some insights. Apart from Lenin’s continued interest in sectarian Christian groups after the October revolution, let me make two observations. The first is that Lenin agreed with a position that had been hammered out in the German Social-Democratic Party: religious belief is not a barrier to joining a communist party. Marx and Engels had already indicated as much in terms of the First International. Why? Religion is not the primary problem; instead, the main target is economic and social exploitation. Indeed, this principle has by and large been followed by nearly all communist parties since then (although the Communist Part of China is an interesting exception). Second, Lenin reinterpreted Marx’s ‘opium of the people’ not as ‘opium for the people’ (as is commonly believed) but as a kind of ‘spiritual booze’. This term has many layers in Russian culture, all the way from Russian Orthodox theology to the complex role of vodka in Russian society. The main point is that ‘spiritual booze’ is not immediately a dismissal, but rather a grudging acknowledgement of the sheer complexity of religion itself. Q…..and on the topic of religion and capitalism? A. Let us go to the heart of the matter, with Marx (and leave aside the superficial efforts to see capitalism as a type of ‘religion’). The most thorough analysis of how religion works in capitalism comes through Marx’s reinterpretation of the idea of the fetish. Over forty years, Marx turned this idea over and over. He was always aware of its religious dimensions, but he also transformed it (the German is Aufhebung) into a very useful way to understand the core functions of capital. To find this insight, we need to go to the third volume of Capital. After pointing out that fetishism attaches to every feature of capitalism, he then points out the key fetish: money produces money, capital produces profit or interest in and of itself. Or as his formula puts it: M–M1. Why is this the main fetish? It is both unreal and real, mystical and concrete. On the one hand, it obscures labour and production, pretending that money produces money; on the other hand, it is very real and profoundly oppressive. It is what would now be called the ‘financialisation of the market’. This is what he means by the ‘religion of everyday life’. Q. The ebook that you’ve written for Culture Matters is on the topic of Christian communism. What are the biblical roots of Christian communism? A. Let us begin with the socio-economic situation, because Christianity, like most religions, is a response to economic injustice and oppression in this world. In the Eastern Mediterranean, Rome’s imperialism was reshaping peasant agriculture, and the burdens of taxation and debt were growing, deeply affecting local economies, village communities, cultures and health – malaria, for example, was rife. When the Romans eventually took possession of the Eastern Mediterranean, they found a colonial system that was working rather well – if one thinks in terms of the colonisers. They took over what the Greeks had already established for a few centuries and modified it in the light of their own preferences. This was a system of Greek ‘cities’ (polis), which marked the colonising presence of foreigners. These cities were Greek-speaking, with Greek culture, institutions and town planning. Above all, they relied on all of the surrounding territory (called the chora) to supply everything the cities needed. Their ‘needs’ were substantial, transforming the economic structures of this chora. But what was the chora? In a colonial situation, the chora was not the arable land around the city (as in Greece). Instead, it comprised all of the villages, land and peasants who worked the land. They spoke the local language, followed local customs and practices and saw the colonising cities as thoroughly foreign. Given the immense demands from the cities, the lives of the peasants were transformed. They were often forced to move into lower areas rife with malaria, with profound consequences for short lives – life expectancy was around 30. Roman armies frequently cut swathes through this countryside, as ‘punishment’ for revolt. Mass enslavements took place, further reducing rural labour power. In a recently published book with Christina Petterson (Time of Troubles), we have described this as a ‘colonial regime’. The Romans gradually transformed the system they inherited. Even though the cities remained Greek in culture, they were also required to provide the relatively large city of Rome itself with even larger supplies of grain, and of course slaves. Q. Given this context of exploitation and oppression, can you give us some examples of parables and stories from the NT which can be interpreted as revolutionary hopes, prescriptions, exhortations etc.? A. Perhaps it is best to begin with an item that is often a stumbling block to modern readers: the healing stories. To modern eyes, they seem magical, the stuff of ‘faith healing’. But they can be read at two levels. The first is the reality of lives broken by disease. Earlier, I mentioned the pervasiveness of malaria, born by mosquitoes. Malaria does not necessarily kill immediately, but it makes one prone to a multitude of other diseases. The healing stories provide an answer to this reality. At a symbolic level, these stories also respond to lives broken by poverty, exploitation and the profound disruption to kin networks. At the same time, we need to be wary: the Greeks and Romans liked to characterise peasants as ugly, misshapen and deformed (among other items of class consciousness). The presence of so many people in the Gospels with what would now be called ‘disabilities’ may also be seen as a standard way of depicting peasants. In this light, the healing stories disrupt this type of anti-peasant class consciousness. More obviously, we find in the Gospels a whole series of sayings and events that challenge Roman perceptions of private property, imperialism and exploitation of colonised areas of the empire. Let me give one example of each: A challenge to private property, which the Romans had invented as a legal category in the late second century BCE. At one point, Jesus tells his disciples, ‘it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God’. A challenge to imperialism: asked about a coin and whose bust was on it, Jesus replies, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s’. In other words, the emperor is due nothing, while God is due everything. ‘What has Rome given us?’ Jesus says. ‘Nothing’, is the reply. A challenge to imperial exploitation: the best example here is a central item of the church’s liturgy. Each week at evening prayer, I recite the following, which are the words of Mary from the Gospel of Luke: ‘He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty’. I suspect that the radical sense of these words has been lost through two millennia of repetition. Also lost to view has been the practical way of life that early Christians led, which was essentially communist. Their solution to the problems of exploitation and oppression was sharing, and common ownership, as described in Acts of the Apostles: Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common … and it was distributed to each as any had need. Q. How did this ‘communist’ tradition continue, and how was it suppressed and co-opted by the ruling classes? A. At this point, we need to backtrack a little. The idea of Christian communism was first proposed by Karl Kautsky, the leading intellectual of the second generation of Marxists. In a massive study – called Forerunners of Modern Socialism – that has been translated only partially into English, Kautsky and his comrades set about identifying a whole tradition of European Christian communism. A careful analysis of this work appears in the first chapter of a book called Red Theology, which will be published in early 2019. Kautsky identifies the basic impulse for Christian communism in many sayings of the Gospels, but above all in two brief texts from the ‘Acts of the Apostles’. The first is quoted above, the second was: ‘All who believed were together and had all things in common’. For Kautsky, this was enough of an inspiration for a Christian form of communism that would resonate through the ages. For our purposes here, Kautsky notes that this communist impulse was appropriated by the powers that be in terms of ‘charity’ and ‘alms’. As Christianity spread, it adapted to imperial power. The turning point was when Constantine made Christianity the imperial religion. The radical texts remained, but they were softened and spiritualised into admonitions for alms, family life and simple living. But it could not be completely appropriated and suppressed. At the moment of this appropriation, the monastic movement arose, which rejected the trappings of wealth and power and sought the simplicity of the original Christian life far from the centres of power. Q. What examples of Christian communism have there been in the West? A. There have been many, not least the ongoing monastic movement. The Christian communist impulse refused to die. It kept reappearing, challenging the status quo and the tendency for the Church to become a surrogate for imperial values. The examples are many, but they are predicated on a basic dynamic of Christianity. In the name of returning to the original Christian community, one movement after another has tried to reform the Church from within or challenge it from outside. Christian communism has had a fascinating history of 2,000 years. There have been two currents: a) communal life with all things in common; b) revolutionary uprisings, due to persecution and radical criticism of the status quo. The communal expression is found in the Franciscans, Beguines, the Moravian Brethren, the Levellers and Diggers in England, and the many American Utopian communes, such as Pantisocracy and the communities inspired by Étienne Cabet. The revolutionary impulse appears first with the Dulcinians, who took up arms in the early fourteenth century. Later, it appears all over Europe, especially with the rise of early capitalism: Taborites in Bohemia, Peasant Revolutions in England and Europe, especially with Thomas Müntzer (1525) and the Anabaptist Revolution in Münster (1534-1535). Keir Hardie and Tony Benn are two more recent examples of socialists who were shaped by Christian beliefs. Q. What examples of Christian communism have emerged in other parts of the world? A. Russia has a long history, with sectarian groups (Old Believers, Doukhobors, Molokans and so on) and an older peasant Christian communism, with its slogan, ‘the land is God’s’. Tolstoy was a champion of this type, based on the village-commune with land in common. During the Russian Revolution a unique form arose: ‘God-Building’. According to Anatoly Lunacharsky, Soviet People’s Commissar for Education and Culture, the gods of religion represented the ideals to which human beings were striving. Socialism could embody this approach in education, art, culture – and especially through revolution. In modern times, the Christian churches of the DPRK have come to support the Korean effort to construct socialism. They are actively engaged in domestic social work and internationally work to overcome the deep anti-DPRK prejudice. The Chinese tradition of Christian communism, which arose in the early twentieth century, is the most interesting of all. One of its main theologians was Wu Yaozong, who spoke of two conversions: one to Christianity and one to Marxism-Leninism. Wu established the Three-Self Patriotic Movement Church, established in 1951 and supported by the government, which is now the largest Protestant organisation in the world, with more than 38 million members – and growing. Even the Vatican understands the natural links between the Chinese state’s struggle for socialism and practical application of the Gospel. It recently pointed out that the Chinese state’s commitment to the common good has much more affinity with Catholic Social Teaching than the individualism of Western liberal democracies. Let me focus on the recent agreement between the Vatican and the Chinese government, which has confounded many observers, including on the socialist left. Three recent statements are important for understanding the agreement, which seeks to solve a centuries-long problem: who will appoint bishops, the Vatican or the Chinese government. Up to recent times, there have been two Roman Catholic Churches in China, one recognised by the Vatican and the other recognised by the Chinese government. The 2018 agreement finally solves this problem. But from the Vatican’s side, it was framed in terms of some very important observations. First, in 2016, Pope Francis observed: It has been said many times and my response has always been that, if anything, it is the communists who think like Christians. Christ spoke of a society where the poor, the weak and the marginalized have the right to decide. Second, in 2018 Massimo Faggioli (from Villanova University) pointed out that: …the use of Catholicism as an ideological surrogate for Western ideologies is not new, but is especially at odds with Pope Francis’ vision of Catholicism, and it makes it impossible to understand this important moment in the relations between the Vatican and China. In other words, the church has its own agenda and is not to be co-opted by a Western liberal ideological agenda. Third, and most importantly, Bishop Sorondo, who is head of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, made the following arresting observation in 2018: Right now, those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church are the Chinese … They seek the common good, subordinating things to the general good … The dignity of the person is defended … Liberal thought has liquidated the concept of the common good, not even wanting to take it into account, asserting that it is an empty idea, without any interest. By contrast, the Chinese focus on work and the common good. This may seem like an extraordinary development, especially in light of the ramped-up Sinophobia in a small number of Western countries, but it makes quite clear that the Vatican has its own agenda in the light of a long history of Catholic Social Teaching, and that it values the social good. For the Vatican, China embodies in our time a focus on the common good. Churches in China are full to overflowing, apart from the many, many Muslims in China (Hui and Uyghur minorities that number in tens of millions) and indeed the Buddhists. Obviously, they are doing something right. Perhaps we can learn something from the Chinese experience, not least in the way different Christian churches are seeking to contribute to the construction of socialism. Q. So there seems to be quite a lot of evidence, throughout history and across the world, that Christianity and communism can be mutually supportive - although clearly there have also times when they have been deeply opposed! What are the lessons for Western socialist politics, and political parties? A. Churches, mosques, temples and meditation centres need to remember that religion is not all about a private spiritual life focused on another world. This world too, with its exploitation, injustice and inequality, is also vitally important. As each tradition recognises, faith is collective and unitive, a fundamental part of our social natures. That means working with others for the core aspirations of socialism. One example is to become part of the movement for cultural democracy, to liberate itself from the legitimation of exploitation and oppression and like other cultural activities become part of the struggle to transform the material world. Let me make the following initial suggestions: first, Western churches may want to begin rethinking their comfortable alignment with liberalism and the modern Euro-American project. I am not using liberalism here in the American sense, where it has come to mean – for various reasons – what is progressive. Instead, I mean liberalism – and its more recent form as neo-liberalism – as the main ideological framework for modern capitalism. It means the primacy of the private individual at the expense of the social and the dismissal of any notion of the common good. Aligning with this ideology has been deadly for Western Churches, as empty pews on any Sunday can attest. The answer is not more liberalism, which we often find in Pentecostal churches and others on the religious right. The answer is to recover the Christian affirmation of the common good. It is important to do so from within the dynamic of Christianity: the faith and the creeds and the practices of the churches and of religious belief. My influence is the Christian communist tradition, which arises from within such affirmations. This suggestion may seem slightly strange for those who have never experienced religious faith or find it simply mystifying and nonsensical (as the New Atheist movement tries to do in our time). But this is where the inspiration lies – a kind of ‘spiritual reserve’ to inhibit the usual drift away from radicalism,. For example, the Chinese Christian communist, Wu Yaozong, made it clear that his position arose from faith, prayer and Christian belief, and not from some opportunist compromise with the communists. Thus, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement Church – which Wu Yaozong helped to establish – in China today is deeply confessional. Or if you look at the statements concerning the Vatican’s reasons for the agreement with the Chinese government, they make it clear that the ultimate basis is theological and pastoral. Let me put it this way: the Christian call to conversion is far more than an individual moment. The original Greek is metanoia, which means a change of heart and mind. This change of direction, of a turn in one’s life and setting out on a new road, is very much a collective change. What does this entail? In terms of communist parties, which seem to be undergoing a revival as I write, it is worth reminding them of the Christian communist tradition. This tradition is so important for the Western developments of communism (it was first identified by Marxists, after all) and it reminds us that Christianity is not simply a reactionary and conservative force. In the context of the UK, it may mean influencing an actual Labour government with Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister. The traditions of British Labour can play a role here, with inspiring leaders like Keir Hardie and Tony Benn, who have drawn on the Christian tradition. The trap, of course, is that such a government may end up losing its radical agenda once in office, as has happened so often before. For this reason, I wrote ‘influencing’, or working to keep the radical agenda at the forefront and even pushing it further to the Left. This may be called a Western version of working with progressive movements, but not identifying with them completely. Perhaps the best slogan here is ‘within and for socialism, but holding socialism to account’. Or it may mean becoming part of a wider dynamic like ‘cultural democracy’ that seeks to reclaim culture for the people rather than big business and its overwhelming drive for profits As writers on Culture Matters and elsewhere have argued, we need democratic control and various forms of social ownership over the arts, sport, the media – and the churches, mosques and temples. We need it because culture is integral to the socialist project, an essential part of an all-round healthy, happy, human existence. Our participation in cultural activities like religion should be part of our individual and collective realisation of the common good, and not be undertaken for commercial profit or to ignore, deny or legitimise profit-seeking economic systems like capitalism. Q. Finally, do you have any other thoughts for our readers, relevant to this Christmas season? A. Yes – the nativity story is full of radical potential! Jesus is born to a poor family, perhaps in a stable or even on the street, and placed in a feeding trough after birth. Why? An innkeeping businessman turned them away, and then the family was harassed and hunted by the puppet king Herod. Think of the Magnificat, when Mary says: He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. And as for the great tradition of Christmas gifts, and Boxing Day, we should remember that the communist slogan – ‘from each according to ability, to each according to need’ – comes originally from the Book of Acts: ‘everything they owned was held in common … and it was distributed to each as had any need’. Christian Communism, by Roland Boer, published as a downloadable PDF by Culture Matters, December 2018. Marxism and religion Richard Clarke outlines how religion, like any other cultural activity, is capable of both promoting political and social liberation, and being manipulated and controlled by ruling classes who attempt – and very often succeed – in turning it into a force for conservatism. Most Marxists would say that it is none of their business to judge or comment on any individual’s sincere and deeply-held religious beliefs, provided that these do not encourage prejudice, intolerance or result in harm to others. Some religious groupings, notably the Quakers, have been prominent in the peace and anti-war movement. Many Jews – not just secular Jews but ultra-orthodox religious Jews as well – oppose the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Catholic ‘liberation theology’ has been a feature of progressive movements in South America. Many individuals – of all faiths – have managed to combine their religious conviction with a commitment to socialism, even Marxism. In Britain, the fusion of Marxist theory and Christian beliefs called Christian socialism has a long and honourable tradition. Keir Hardie (1856-1915), the founder of the modern Labour Party declared that “Any system of production or exchange which sanctions the exploitation of the weak by the strong or the unscrupulous is wrong and therefore sinful.” And Hewlett Johnson (1874-1966), the ‘Red Dean’ of Canterbury (1931-1963) was a supporter of the October Revolution, a life-long friend of the Soviet Union, and a chair of the Board of the Daily Worker, the predecessor of today’s only socialist national newspaper, the Morning Star. Religion in and of itself is no indicator of people’s political orientation or of their personal qualities. At the same time Marxists would challenge the liberal exhortation to ‘celebrate all faiths’. The ‘faiths’ that are purportedly celebrated are not, of course, just matters of individual conviction. They are institutionalised belief systems. Religion is primarily a social and historical phenomenon. As Marx observed, ‘Humanity makes religion, religion does not make humanity.’ Britain’s own Head of State is, after all, also the head of the ‘established’ Church of England. On a philosophical level, Marxism questions the truth of any religion that assumes the existence of a supernatural being not subject to the laws of nature but who responds to the adulation and entreaties of his/her/its worshippers. In engaging with religious believers, however sympathetically, Marxists do not conceal their materialist belief that everything that exists is part of nature and subject to laws which – in principle at least - can be discovered by human action and used by humanity to shape our own future. However, notwithstanding the gendered language of his time, Marx’s position on religion is a lot more subtle and sympathetic than is commonly thought: Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man, the state, society. This state and this society produce religion, an inverted world-consciousness, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of that world, its encyclopaedic compendium, its logic in a popular form, its spiritual point d'honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realisation of the human essence because the human essence has no true reality. The struggle against religion is therefore indirectly a fight against the world of which religion is the spiritual aroma. Probably the best known observation of Marx on religion is that it is the ‘opium of the people.’ This is sometimes taken to mean that he saw it as a mechanism of control from above, prescribed by those in power to secure compliance and docility. To the extent that this is true it is only part of Marx’s analysis. The full passage from Marx makes his own meaning clear: As Roland Boer points out, Marx used opium himself to give some relief from a variety of ailments including toothache, ear aches and carbuncles; the opium metaphor had some meaning to him. Religion, in his view, provided at least some comfort and hope to the oppressed. In an uncertain world it promises a degree of certainty; it provides an apparently alternative authority to corrupted secular institutions, and to those suffering physical or psycho-social distress, it offers comfort. Above all, it offers hope, however illusory. Marxists understand this, which is why they don’t challenge genuine individual faith. Marxists realise the limitations of individual good works, and question those that are driven primarily by expectations of a better life hereafter. More than a century ago, the communist organiser Joe Hill’s ballad ‘The Preacher and the Slave’ (popularised by Woodie Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen amongst others) challenged the ‘pie in the sky when you die’ of organised religion. ‘It’s a Lie’ goes the final line of each stanza. As Marx concluded in his ‘opium of the people’ passage: ‘challenging religion as the illusory happiness of the people is to demand their real happiness.’ John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ tries to do just this ‘imagine there’s nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too; imagine all the people, living life in peace… no possessions… no need for greed or hunger…’ And of course, the Internationale declares ‘No saviour from on high delivers.’ Institutionalised religion can impose its own form of alienation on its adherents. That alienation is expressed wonderfully for one individual in Dire Straits’ song Ticket to Heaven (ironically taken by some to be an endorsement of religious faith rather than a critique of it). The ‘narrator’ of the song gives more than she can afford to ‘save the little children in a far country’ – sending money to ‘the man with the golden ring. – a reference to evangelical Baptist ministers like Billy Graham, spiritual adviser to a number of American presidents including Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon and a significant influence on Donald Trump). As a consequence she has ‘nothing left for luxuries, nothing left to pay her heating bills’ but ‘the Good Lord will provide’ – she has her ‘Ticket to Heaven’. Religion can also be a cloak, a justification for greed and avarice. TV evangelists in the US (and elsewhere) promote the ‘prosperity gospel’ – the belief that faith can make you rich, inverting Feuerbach’s assertion that ‘only the poor man has a rich God’’ and reimagining the life of an itinerant Jew who believed that you couldn’t serve God and mammon to be ‘a poster boy for the super-rich.’ As Giles Fraser (former Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, with special responsibility for contemporary ethics and engagement with the City of London as a financial centre) has pointed out, Donald Trump is both a product and a perpetuator of the ‘prosperity gospel’ – the belief that faith can make you rich: ‘Being “blessed” has become a moral alibi for America’s greed. It is a nauseating smile of faux-gratitude that says: God gave this to me, so it’s not about me having too much.’’ In Britain the Alpha Course, that gospel’s more restrained, English equivalent, promotes a parallel message of personal fulfilment or quiescence, devoid of any notion of collective social progress. All religions demand a degree of submission in religious observance – attendance at mass, praying five times per day, acceptance of a higher authority than one’s own conscience. And most are accepting of the status quo – on this earth as well as the next. That lovely hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ has for its third verse: The rich man in his castle,/ The poor man at his gate, God made them high and lowly,/ And ordered their estate. But religions are not ‘all the same’. Religion presents a world of contrasts and contradictions both between and within faiths. It would be difficult to conceive of an Islamic liberation theology, for instance. The prophet of Christianity – a poor single man who ‘turned the other cheek’ and gave what he had to the poor contrasts with the prophet of Islam – a trader and military leader who accumulated wealth and power through war. Pope Francis’ 2017 encounter with Donald Trump (who arrived at the Vatican in a motorcade; the Pope came in a Ford Focus) spoke volumes. The Pope had previously suggested that Trump’s threat to build a Mexican wall meant he could not be a Christian (Christians build bridges) to which Trump responded by calling the Pope ‘disgraceful’ for doubting his faith. For some, religious conviction offers comfort, disengagement, a shelter from the world. For others, it offers a justification for greed, bigotry and even violence. And for some it is the route to social action, challenging injustice, exploitation and evil. Marxists need to take a careful, dialectical view on religious belief. Like any other cultural activity, it is capable of promoting political and social liberation. But it is always subject to manipulation and control by ruling classes who attempt – and very often succeed – in turning it into a force for conservatism. 'It is communists who think like Christians': free ebooks on Marxism, religion and communism Published in Our Publications Culture Matters has published three free ebooks containing essays by the theologian and writer Professor Roland Boer. Our aim with the topic of religious and spiritual life is the same as our aim across the arts and all other cultural activities - to unearth and mobilise the radical meanings in religious thought, teaching and practice. We believe the intersection of religion and progressive politics is a field which merits serious study, as the intellectual bankruptcy of neoliberalism becomes increasingly obvious to people, reactionary politicians continue to hide behind a socially conservative interpretation of religion, and as recognition of the need for wide-reaching and progressive change in Britain grows. Organised religion repels a lot of people these days, because of the perception that it is elitist, dogmatic and socially exclusive. But there is a radical strand in the modern Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other faiths, based on helping the poor, promotion of the common good, respecting the dignity of labour, and practising solidarity with the socially excluded. This radical strand includes political campaigning against the structural causes of poverty and inequality in the name of social justice, as well as encouraging individual acts of charity. To take a few examples, all of the main Christian groups - Anglicans, Methodists, Catholics, United Reformed Church, Baptists, Quakers, Church of Scotland - are supporters of Real Living Wage campaigns, which aim to improve the situation of workers in low-paid, precarious employment. Churches of a variety of denominations have come together to help the victims of recent tragedies such as the Grenfell Tower fire and the Manchester Arena bombing. And consider also the critical statements made by Pope Francis about capitalism such as, 'We cannot wait any longer to deal with the structural causes of poverty, in order to heal our society from an illness that can only lead to new crises.' The pope has repeatedly cited the pitfalls of capitalism, decrying global income inequality and equating low-wage labor to a form of slavery. He has even said, in that bitterly ironic tone characteristic of Jesus' voice in the Gospels: 'It is the communists who think like Christians'. Combining a progressive political strand with a radical application of religion could make a useful contribution to the national conversation about the direction of a future Labour Government. It also could empower people to reclaim their spiritual and moral heritage, and help inspire, motivate and underpin local campaigning activity. Just like art, religion can be a tool of oppression, a means of legitimating unfair distributions of power and wealth – but it can also be a powerful tool for the radical liberation of humanity. In the first essay, Professor Boer discusses Marx's description of religion as 'the opium of the people'. He says: Marx’s most well-known observation concerning religion is that it is ‘the opium of the people’. The meaning would seem to be clear: opium is a drug that dulls the senses and helps one forget the miseries of the present. So also with religion. The catch is that Marx’s use of ‘opium’ is not so straightforward, for it actually opens the door to what may be called a political ambivalence at the heart of religion. Go to Religion: the opium of the people? for the first essay. In the second essay, Professor Boer analyses the various relationships between religion and capitalism, especially Marx's use of the term 'fetish'. He says: Marx was then able to distil the idea to locate the central fetishistic function of capitalism: money produces money, capital produces profit or interest in and of itself. Only a complex theory of fetishism can explain why ‘capital thus becomes a very mystic being’, especially ‘since all of labour’s social productive forces appear to be due to capital, rather than labour as such, and seem to issue from the womb of capital itself. In this sense can we say that capital becomes the ‘religion of everyday life’. Go to Religion and capitalism for the second essay. In the third essay, Professor Boer discusses the biblical basis for Christian communism; the views of Engels, Kautsky and Lenin; its history in Europe and Russia; modern examples of the mutually supportive ways in which Christianity and communism operate in North Korea and China; and suggests some possible lessons for Western churches and socialist parties. He says: Churches, mosques, temples and meditation centres need to remember that religion is not all about a private spiritual life focused on another world. This world too, with its exploitation, injustice and inequality, is also vitally important. As each tradition recognises, faith is collective and unitive, a fundamental part of our social natures and of human cultures. Go to Christianity and Communism for the third essay. We hope these essays stimulate critical discussion, and would welcome critical and creative responses to the issues they raise. We invite people to share the ebooks via their networks, join us in the debate and contribute ideas about to how advance this agenda. Displaying items by tag: political theatre	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723097
__label__cc	0.543867	0.456133	Junk-Science in the Medical Profession: The Resurgence of Polygraph “Lie-Detection” in an age of Evidence-Based Medicine December 8, 2014 March 28, 2015 mllangan1 8 Comments The article below was published in the now defunct magazine Gray Areas almost twenty years ago. (Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 1995 pp. 75-77). Antipolygraph.og founder George Maschke noted in 2008 that article “makes a good introduction to the pseudoscience of polygraphy” and “the criticisms of polygraphy remain valid today.” They still do. The Art of Deception: Polygraph Lie Detection By Michael Lawrence Langan, M.D. I’d swear to it on my very soul, If I lie, may I fall down cold.” – Rubin and Cherise (Hunter/Garcia) The accuracy of polygraphic lie detection is slightly above chance. Nevertheless, State and local police departments and law enforcement agencies across the United States are devoted proponents of this unscientific and specious device. In addition, the American public seems to lend an implicit credence to the “lie detector” as evinced by its ubiquitous use on television crime shows and in “whodunit” literature. It is given overt attributions of credibility on tabloid type talk shows and news shows. For example, in the highly publicized case of Tonya Harding a reporter stated, not with removed objectivity but with sardonic grin and mocking emphasis, that the accused had failed two polygraph tests. The implied assumption is that if the person has failed the polygraph test, then therefore he or she is guilty regardless of other evidence. Bottom line. Culpa ex machina. End of story. Lie detection by the polygraph is based on the premise that the act of telling a lie causes specific, universal, and reproducible physiological responses as manifested by the autonomic nervous system. (Saxe, 1991) These physiological responses, which are largely outside the influence of voluntary control, are then measured by the polygraph instrument. The polygraph itself is simplistic in design. It consists of several devices which are attached to the subject to record blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and galvanic skin response (which is related to perspiration). The results are then recorded on a moving paper by a “kymograph.” Hence any change of one of the autonomic nervous system variables will be recorded on the paper as a change from baseline. The polygraph examiner then interprets the tracing. A characteristic change from baseline on a relevant question is interpreted as a lie. In fact, the polygraph test does measure autonomic nervous system activity. The role of the autonomic nervous system with its sympathetic and parasympathetic branches is well defined within the field of medicine, and was well described by the French physician Claude Bernard over a century ago. The primary role of the autonomic nervous system is to maintain bodily homeostasis to allow the individual to exist in a changing environment. Simplistically described, the autonomic nervous system is a part of the peripheral nervous system which consists of a variety of outgoing nerve pathways that regulate important physiological functions generally outside of voluntary and conscious control. Thus, respiration, body temperature, heart rate, digestion, sweating, and blood pressure are all, partly or entirely, regulated by the autonomic nervous system. It is divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic branches which have contrasting functions in terms of effect. The sympathetic branch increases heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and perspiration. It is active at all times but varies with the constantly changing environment, and is especially active during rage or fright and prepares the body for the so called “fight or flight” phenomenon. Many of these reactions are caused by the release of epinephrine. The parasympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, is primarily involved with conservation and restoration. It is the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system that the polygraph measures in terms of its activity. Thus, from a medical perspective it is entirely valid that the polygraph will accurately measure sympathetic nervous system activity with its instrumentation. The false assumption of the polygraph test is that dishonesty is the sole cause of sympathetic arousal during a polygraph examination. Deception is a cognitive phenomenon that cannot be measured. Indeed, throughout the entire history of medicine there has not been a single scientific study that demonstrated evidence that a cognitive phenomenon (such as love, hatred, truth, altruism, jealousy) could be measured. Since, in the complex realm of truth and deception, there is no known physiological response that correlates with lying, then there is no validity to the test. Although the act of lying can elicit fear and anxiety via the sympathetic nervous system, so can multiple other confounding and complex emotional factors including stress, embarrassment, anger, and fear. “Deception itself cannot be measured directly.” (Steinbrook, 1992) In addition, each individual differs in autonomic lability. Some people stay calm with a gun at their head. While others get autonomically excited, with heart thumping and palms sweating at simply shaking someone’s hand. In reality, the examination itself is inherently designed to elicit fear and anxiety. It is an interrogation. If this fear and anxiety are recorded on a relevant question, then you have failed that question according to the polygraph “experts.” The polygraph technique begins with a pre-test. After a sixth-grade level lecture on the nervous system and a proclamation of the test’s infallibility, the examiner will go over all of the questions that have been formulated. These questions consist of control questions, relevant questions, and irrelevant questions. The subject will then be attached to the polygraph equipment and the formal testing begins. The most crucial questions on the polygraph examination, or “Control Question Test,” are the control questions and relevant questions. The control questions are garnered from the suspect by asking him an innocuous question which could not be truthfully denied. For example, “Have you ever thought of hurting someone?” or “Have you ever lied to anyone?” The responses to the control questions will elicit some degree of autonomic activity which can then serve as a baseline for which to compare subsequent questions. The relevant questions pertain to the actual investigation at hand. The magnitude of responses to relevant questions and control questions as compared with the irrelevant questions is then interpreted, in a non-blinded manner, by the examiner. The assumption is, that if you are prevaricating, the relevant questions will cause a greater response than the control questions. So if the question “Have you ever been late for an appointment?” (control question) elicits less of an emotive response on the polygraph equipment than “Did you murder and rape your girlfriend?” (relevant question) you have failed the test. And, according to the American Polygraph Association (APA) you are lying. Assuming the subject is innocent, it is fairly obvious that he would respond with more emotional autonomic activity to a question regarding a recently deceased loved one than he would an inquiry about punctuality. Obvious to everyone, that is, but the APA. The APA is a professional organization for polygraph examiners who have complete faith in the accuracy of the test. They have their own trade journalPolygraph in which they report scientifically worthless studies and brandish anecdotes of the wonders of their trade. The majority of these members can pride themselves on completing a 6 week to 6 month post- high school training course in the art of polygraphy. They have no formal training in medicine, psychology, physiology, or behavior; the very disciplines on which the testing is based. The majority of them cater to the legal system wherein their economic livelihood depends. Since they are primarily paid to identify guilty suspects, motivational factors may play a part in their eagerness to find the guilty suspect. (Kleinmuntz, 1987) The accuracy of any test is determined by that test’s sensitivity (ability to find a positive) and specificity (ability to find a negative). A polygraph examiner will ardently tell you that the exam has somewhere in the neighborhood of a 95% sensitivity rate. This means that if 100 guilty suspects are given a polygraph exam, 95 of them will be detected through the test. Only five of the 100 will be a false negative and not be detected by this miraculous method. Likewise they will claim a similar specificity rate, and state that if you are telling the truth then you have almost a 100% chance of being cleared by the test. John Reid, the inventor of the Control Question Test claimed 99% accuracy. (Reid and Inbau, 1977) This is clearly not accurate. The polygraph was not subjected to much critical and scientific investigation until the last two decades. (Saxe, et al., 1983) Since this time there have been a number of studies of sound scientific design and methodology which clearly refute the high specificity and sensitivity that polygraph advocates claim. These studies have appeared in reputable peer-reviewed journals and not trade publications. Horvath, for example, reported a sensitivity of 76 percent and a specificity of 52 percent. (Horvath, 1977) This means that out of 100 liars 76 of them will be detected by the polygraph. What is astonishing though is the specificity of 52 percent. This means that out of 100 people who are not lying, 52 will be identified as telling the truth while 48 of the honest individuals will be branded as liars. The odds are similar to that of a coin toss which would have a specificity of 50 percent. Barland and Raskin’s study actually demonstrated a specificity of 45%. Worse than a coin toss. (Barland and Raskin, 1976) Multiple other studies have shown similar results. (Brett, et al., 1986, Kleinmuntz and Szucko, 1984, Lykken, 1984). The polygraph examiner likens his “skill” to that of the radiologist reading a chest X-Ray or a cardiologist interpreting an EKG. (Barefoot, 1974) This analogy is not only ridiculous but, in fact, if a medical test had a similar sensitivity and specificity to that of the polygraph examination it would simply not be used in the field of medicine. They will cite the fact that the polygraph has been used in the United States for greater than 70 years as if longevity is directly related to validity. They will state that they have personally administered hundreds or thousands of these tests, and have almost never been wrong, as if total number of tests given constitutes accuracy. They are so convinced of the accuracy of the polygraph that they regard opponents of polygraphy as communists and do-nothing professors. (Arther, 1986) It doesn’t occur to them that someone with a Ph.D. and years of research experience, in the very subjects they ignorantly dabble in, may know something more than they do. It is astounding that the criminal justice system has institutionalized and perpetuated a so called “technology” that lacks scientific evidence and is in fact rejected by the scientific community. It is as ludicrous as procuring the so called “love meter” machine from the amusement park which measures galvanic skin response and placing it in the courtroom. But in a backward legal system which has been known to use psychics to help with unsolved murders and has allowed the mentally retarded to serve as jurors, it is not entirely surprising. The tool is useful to them, however, in that 25 to 50 percent of examinees will, under the tense psychological pressure of the exam, confess to the misdeed at hand. (Lykken, 1981, Lykken, 1991) Persuaded that they have been proven dishonest by “scientific” means they give up hope. It is usual for the polygraph examiner to interrogate the subject who has failed the test. They will state that there is no way now to deny the objective guilt demonstrated by this impartial and unbiased scientific device, and that the only available option is to confess. The assessment by the polygrapher is genuinely convincing because, sadly, he believes it himself. Thus the instrument is clearly useful as a confession inducing device. One wonders, over the past 70 years, how many false confessions have been obtained in this way from innocent persons. In summary, the polygraph is a ludicrous implementation of pseudo-science at its worst. The members of the APA are non-scientists practicing science, and the consequences are often dire. Lykken reports the cases of three men who were convicted of murder largely due to the polygraph examiner’s testimony that in their “expert opinion” they had failed the test. All three were subsequently found to be innocent. (Lykken, 1991) Polygraph examiners ignore such cases or rationalize that they are due to the rare incompetence of some examiners. The continued use of polygraphic lie detection has the potential to cause much harm to those who are judged dishonest by its results. The specificity and sensitivity are not dissimilar to that of a coin toss. Innocent suspects have about a 50/50 chance. One failure is all it takes to ruin your life. Since the 1923 Federal Court decision of Frye vs United States (293 F 1013 [DC Cir 1923]), polygraph evidence has not been admissible in federal court cases because there was deemed a lack of scientific validity to the test. This travesty however is still used widely by the state court system. Furedy characterizes the continued use of polygraphy as a serious “social disease.” (Furedy, 1987) State laws regarding abuse of the polygraph must change, and it is time for the medical and scientific communities to educate lawmakers and policy makers about the true validity of this perversion of science. It must be forever banished to the same realm of parapsychology as the Ouija Board, phrenology, and palmistry. The relatively conservative American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs recommended that the polygraph not be used in pre-employment screening and security clearance. (Council on Scientific Affairs, 1986) It is time to extend this recommendation across the board, and put the greater than 3000 anachronistic polygraph examiners in the United States out of business. Meanwhile, if you are asked to take a polygraph test–don’t do it. Those involved in the criminal justice system, including lawyers, are largely uneducated in the realm of scientific scrutiny and experimental methodology. They may not separate science and pseudo-science, and erroneously believe that the polygraph is an accurate scientific instrument. Their interactions are with polygraph examiners who proselytize its use, and they have little or no interaction with scientists, psychologists, and physicians who refute its use. Refuse to take the test and educate them. Cite the Frye doctrine, go to the medical library, copy the scientific articles which belie its validity, and present them to whomever requested you to take the test. State that the principles and assumptions underlying polygraphy are not supported by our understanding of psychology, neurology, and physiology. Then put the burden of proof on their heads. Tell them to present you with scientific evidence that corroborates the validity of the test. There is simply no rational basis for a machine to detect liars. Arther RO. 1986. The polygraph’s enemies: An update. Journal of Polygraph Science. 20: 133-136. Barefoot J. 1974. The Polygraph Story. Cluett Peabody and Co., New York. Barland, G, Raskin D. 1976. Validity and reliability of polygraph examinations of criminal suspects (Report 76-1, Contract 75 NI-99-0001). Brett AS, Phillips M, Beary JF. 1986. Predictive power of the polygraph: Can the “lie detector” really detect liars? The Lancet. 1: 544-547. Council on Scientific Affairs. 1986. Polygraph. Journal of the American Medical Association. 256: 1172-1175. Furedy JJ. 1987. Evaluating polygraphy from a psychophysiological perspective: a specific-effects analysis. Pavlovian Journal of Biological Sciences.22: 145-151. Horvath F. 1977. The effect of selected variables on interpretation of polygraph records. Journal of Applied Psychology. 62: 127-136. Kleinmuntz B. 1987. The predictive power of the polygraph: The lies lie detectors tell. Journal of the American Medical Association. 257: 189-190. Kleinmuntz B, Szucko J. 1984. A field study of the fallibility of polygraphic lie detection. Nature. 308: 449-450. Lykken D. 1984. Polygraph Interrogation. Nature. 307: 681-684. Lykken DT. 1981. A tremor in the blood: Uses and abuses of the lie detector. McGraw-Hill, New York. Lykken DT. 1991. Why (some) Americans believe in the lie detector while others believe in the guilty knowledge test. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science. 26: 214-222. Reid JE, Inbau FE. 1977. Truth and deception: The polygraph (“lie detector”) technique. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore. Saxe L. 1991. Science and the CQT polygraph: A theoretical critique. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science. 26: 223-231. Saxe L, Dougherty D, Crosse T. 1983. Scientific validity of polygraph testing: a research review and evaluation. Conference: OTA-TM. U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. Steinbrook R. 1992. The polygraph test – A flawed diagnostic method. The New England Journal of Medicine. 327: 122-123. Transcription and HTML by AntiPolygraph.org Published in Gray Areas, Vol. 4, No. 1 (spring 1995), pp. 75-77. This article may also be downloaded as a 1 mb scanned PDF file.https://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-053.pdf AntiPolygraph.org Home Page > Reading Room drug testing, Evidence-Based Medicineautonomic nervous system, Junk-Scienct, polygraph, Pseudoscience, sympathetic nervous system ← Integrity and Accountability—Defend the MRO Procedurally, Ethically or Legally and win 100 Volumes of the Classics in Medicine Library and Salk and Sabin Autographs! Fake ASAM ‘Doctors’ Push AA Cult For Profit → 8 thoughts on “Junk-Science in the Medical Profession: The Resurgence of Polygraph “Lie-Detection” in an age of Evidence-Based Medicine” Ronald Baker says: Reblogged this on Unchain The Tree. anchorrock4 says: Thank you for another enlightening post. Reblogging…. Reblogged this on theperfectprescription2014. Allison Casey says: And psychiatry! Reblogged this on Disrupted Physician. Junk-Science in the Medical Profession: The Resurgence of Polygraph “Lie-Detection” in an age of Evidence-Based Medicine \| Disrupted Physician says: […] Junk-Science in the Medical Profession: The Resurgence of Polygraph “Lie-Detection” in a…. […] The Resurgence of Polygraph “Lie-Detection” in an age of Evidence-Based Medicine \| Forensic Science News says: […] Junk-Science in the Medical Profession: The Resurgence of Polygraph “Lie-Detection” in a… […]	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723099
__label__wiki	0.754284	0.754284	Home » Featured, People & Places, Politics » But P.U.P. says time has been lost But P.U.P. says time has been lost Henry Charles Usher Well, the matter will not proceed to court. This afternoon, C.E.O. Tamai wrote to the P.U.P. chairman informing that the review of the binders can begin on Monday. But according to Henry Charles Usher time has been lost. Henry Charles Usher, Chairman, P.U.P. “It was an application for an order of mandamus against the chief elections officer and also an order for a declaration. A quick background: on the twelfth of January, I as the Chairman of the party wrote a letter to the chief elections officer asking for permission for Miss Sylvia Cowo to view the binders in the electoral office for Corozal South East. We received a letter on January seventeenth denying that request. Now in the history of writing these letters—I’ve written dozens of these letters and that request has never been denied before—that request has never been denied. So we found it very strange. And what was even more strange was the reason given for denying such request was that the registering officer is too busy to oversee the perusal of the binders because she is registering too many people. So we decided to take the matter to the court because one; we feel that it was an unreasonable decision made by the Chief Elections Officer and two; it was actually ultra vires the representation of the people’s act which says that the Chief elections officer may grant the permission for the agents of the party to peruse the binders under the supervision of the registering officer. However, that discretion must be reasonable—the permission must be given reasonably. And if there is reasonable ground not to give the permission—that’s the only way that we wouldn’t be able to view the binders. Now the reason why it is important to view the binders is because especially at this time when there are so many mass registrations going on and the time and the period for registering these people have been extended from the tenth of January to the twentieth of January, we need the perusal of the binders to make sure if we have any objections that we have all the proper information to make the objections. I can say today that we received a letter from the chief elections officer saying that she has reversed her decision and will give us permission the permission to view the binders starting on the twenty-third which is next Monday. However, we’ve already lost an entire week and of course on the twenty-third, all the mass registration will not be going on because today’s the deadline. So even though the chief elections officer has said that we will be given permission to view the binders, I still think it is important that the matter be heard because it is a decision that could possibly affect us in the future. What if we write a letter again asking for the permission and the chief elections officer does not give it?” “I know there are at least two representatives of the P.U.P. on the commission itself—Mister Landy Espat and Mister Derek Courtenay. Have they not had any input or anything with the decision-making or have they not spoke to the chief elections officer regarding this?” “Yes Landy and Mister Courtenay are in constant communication with the chief elections officer; however, they can only do so much. They are only an advisory role on the elections and boundaries commission. The decision is ultimately hers and we believe that she made that decision unreasonably.” 1 Response for “But P.U.P. says time has been lost” Demetrios Fauskein says: Well…what to do? But there is a sniff in the air that the tide is shifting !!! Oh yes, silently wise voters are just keeping it quiet, waiting for that day when something can and will be done !!! Trying to muscle in voters in San Ignacio New Belizeans; 118 sworn in today Elections and Boundaries approves perusal of binders 5000 plus new voters on election’s list Elections and Boundaries investigate irregularities by Grijalva’s campaigners Coroner’s Inquest into Richard Hoare’s death complete Security Company loses port job Looking for answers about brother’s death F.F.B. Executive election campaign underway Mixed Martial Arts at House of Shotokan Sketching; An exhibit inside the Belisle Gallery Youth Voices Video Documentary and Park Poetry	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723107
__label__cc	0.606738	0.393262	Fiji: A Tragic Epidemic – 1875 Fate played a cruel trick on the natives of Fiji. The islands emerged from appalling inter-tribal wars in 1874, hopeful of a peaceful and prosperous future under British colonial governance, only to immediately suffer the loss of entire tribes – wiped out not by war, but measles. In October 1874, Fijian chief Ratu Cakobau was persuaded to voyage to Australia on HMS Dido for an official state visit to the governor of New South Wales. Cases of measles had just started in the city of Sydney and Cakobau and his entourage caught the disease. With attentive nursing care, they had all more or less recovered by the time they landed back home in January 1875 and the newly posted British authorities did not deem it necessary to impose any quarantine restrictions. A week later, the islanders began to be struck down with what was for them a mysterious new disease. Despite the protestations of British administrators, the suspicions of the hill tribes that they were the victims of sorcery and that the British had taken Cakobau to Sydney with the specific intention of poisoning him could not be allayed. The increasingly hostile islanders refused all conventional measles treatment and attempted to allay their fever by bathing in icy rivers, laying themselves open to the aH-too-common secondary complications of a disease against which they had in any case no natural immunity. The outbreak coincided with a spell of appalling weather: howling gales did nothing to help weakened immune systems stave off serious illness. The epidemic was the worst disaster in Fiji’s history. In the end the British government blamed the tragedy on the ship’s doctor and the captain of HMS Dido for failing to put their passengers into quarantine. But, whoever was to blame, it was too late for the Fiji islanders. When: January to June 1875 Where: Fiji Death toll: Around 40,000 – a third of the population You should know: Measles is a highly contagious viral disease of the respiratory system with accompanying symptoms of high fever and rash. An otherwise healthy person is unlikely to be seriously ill but it can be very serious indeed for anyone whose immune system is already compromised by malnourishment, leading to secondary complications such as pneumonia or encephalitis and, all too often, death or permanent disability.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723108
__label__wiki	0.86066	0.86066	Srebrenica Genocide – Bosnia-Herzegovina – July 15, 1995 Srebrenica was placed under UN protection but the number of soldiers guarding the city was small and the Serbian Army easily captured it and arrested the 7,500 Muslim men. During the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s, the community of Srebrenica was named a safe haven by the United Nations (UN). That is, men and women could take refuge there under UN protection. Serbian soldiers, seeing that there was only a small number of armed UN soldiers, took possession of this area by force and murdered the more than 7,500 unarmed Muslim men and boys who had been sheltering there. Bosnia-Herzegovina is a province of the former Yugoslavia, a country that was formed after World War I, and stayed united for about sixty years. President Tito was able to hold it together for all of this time. He had dictatorial power under a communist type of government, similar to but independent of the Soviet Union. When he died in 1980, the different provinces began to express their desires for freedom. The differences between them were not ethnic. As Croats, Muslims, and Serbs they represented different religions, but they had a long history of living together. Bosnia- Herzegovina was mainly Muslim and Serbian, similar in size to West Virginia. Croatia and Slovenia, in the north, were the first two provinces to declare independence in 1991. The Serbs, the largest group of the largest province, Serbia, resisted these declarations of independence. They were convinced that the country should remain united under their leadership and they took up arms to restore the previous order. Fighting went on for some months between Serbia and the two independent regions but finally, aided by 12,000 United Nations peacekeepers, a cease-fire was established. Bosnia-Herzegovina’s move to independence came next in 1992. This was a much greater challenge to Serbia as it was next door and about one-third of the people in Bosnia-Herzegovina were ethic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs argued that an independent Bosnia would be dominated by Muslims because their numbers were slightly larger than the Serbs. Religious elements surfaced for the first time. In the long history of Southeastern Europe some people had become Catholic under the Holy Roman Empire. They were the Croats. In the East, those influenced by the Byzantine Empire converted to Orthodox Christianity. They were the Serbs. Under the dominance of the Ottoman Turks when they occupied this region many became Muslims. These differences of religions had not been a problem in previous times, but the Serbs argued that it would be impossible to share Bosnia with Muslims because of their religion and their numbers. That was the beginning of what came to be known as ethnic cleansing. Serbs immediately began forcing Muslims out of their part of Bosnia. This was not genocide of the kind seen in Rwanda; rather, it was a case of compelling people to leave their homes and live permanently in another part of the country. Naturally this was resisted and intense fighting ensued, but the violence that erupted was much worse than traditional warfare. Where resistance was strong, mass executions were employed as a terror tactic. Srebrenica, an industrial and prosperous Bosnian town of about 40,000 people, about ten miles from the Serbian border, was an early target for ethnic cleansing. It was attacked and taken over by the Serbian army in April of 1992 and its Muslim residents immediately fled out of it into the forests. Within three weeks a reversal took place. An armed force of Muslims recaptured the town and to the surprise of the Serbs, who were more heavily armed, they drove on into Serb territory to double the amount of land they controlled. By the end of the year this Muslim force was within five miles of linking up Srebrenica and its immediate surroundings with the part of Bosnia farther west that was firmly in Muslim hands. At that point Serbs counterattacked with a large force of troops, backed by tanks and artillery, forcing the Muslims back and once again taking control of the area around Srebrenica. The Muslim troops, who were not prepared for an extended war when they shared in the declaration of independence for Bosnia-Herzegovina, were now unable to defend themselves. The United Nations (UN), which was involved in the conflict, banned sales of arms to either side, forgetting that Serbia, as the center of power in the old Yugoslavia, was fully equipped for conflict. It was not long afterward that another action by the UN had devastating consequences for the Muslims. To protect the people of Srebrenica from being forcibly removed, the UN declared the city a safe haven and therefore under its protection. To safeguard the people under its care, the Secretary General of the UN requested 34,000 troops from member countries for Srebrenica and other safe areas. The United States as well as other countries refused to provide the additional peacekeepers requested and the UN had to settle for less than a quarter of the number needed. Srebrenica was allocated a force of 750 lightly armed Dutch soldiers. In June of 1995, Bosnian Serb forces, claiming that several of their people had been killed by attacks from within Srebrenica, invaded it. The Dutch peacekeepers were outnumbered and were taken hostage. The UN responded with air attacks but within a day they stopped as Serb forces threatened to kill their Dutch hostages. The hostages were released soon after. The Serbs knew then that they had nothing to fear from the UN because its power could be so easily removed. From that moment the terrible massacre of Srebrenica began to take shape. General Ratko Mladic, the Serb Commander and his assistant general, Radislav Krstic, were in charge along with Radovan Karadzic, the general in charge of all Serb forces. Thousands of Muslim residents of Srebrenica were separated by age and gender and the women and children were sent away on foot or taken by bus to places near Muslim-controlled territory. The males had their hands tied behind their backs as they were taken away, ostensibly for questioning. The litany of lies and false statements from Serb representatives deceived everyone. At Bratunac on the Serbian border the more than 7,500 prisoners from Srebrenica were shot in a series of mass executions. Serb commanders thought that no one would ever find out what they did. Brutality was usually associated with these executions in the form of sadistic tortures. For example, some were hit with iron bars as they came off the buses, then forced to kneel in prayer before being shot. They were buried in mass graves near Bratunac but later, after news of the massacre was reported, they dug up the bodies and took them to several different locations for burial. Satellite photography was able to identify these new locations and in due course the whole story came out. As part of their terror tactics, Serbs engaged in the mass raping of Muslim women, knowing that this would have terrible consequences in the social life of Muslims. In the year 2000, these crimes of mass rapes were recognized as crimes against humanity and successfully prosecuted as such for the first time at the International Court of The Hague. An earlier indictment of the same kind had been made in Tanzania as part of the United Nations trials of the leaders of Rwanda. Mass rapes were part of the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in Nanking in 1937. Sadly these terrible acts were not recognized as international crimes for a further sixty-three years. This massacre at Srebrenica was the worst crime of the Bosnian civil war. The main problem was that the city had been declared a “safe area,” when in fact the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was incapable of defending it. The UN should have provided a full military force and that force should have attacked the Serbs before they came within the city. The Muslims were promised complete protection, by whatever military action was necessary, and the typical UN approach of impartiality put aside. The prosecution of those involved in mass rape at the International Court of the Hague has already been noted. The capture and prosecution of others who were involved became an ongoing activity. Late on Friday, June 29, 2001, Slobodan Milosevic the former president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, who had earlier been arrested by the new government of Serbia, was handed over to the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague in Holland. Zoran Djindjic, prime minister of Serbia, made the decision to hand him over to stand trial for crimes against humanity because of the atrocities committed in Kosovo as well as at Srebrenica. He was formally charged soon after his arrival in Holland with mass murder, deportation of Kosovo Albanians, and specific massacres in different places. The date of his trial was not determined. It was recognized that a large amount of evidence has to be assembled before these formal proceedings could begin. The pursuit of the military men involved in the Srebrenica massacres, Krstic, Mladic, and Karadzic, continued through 2001. In August of that year, General Radislav Krstic was arrested and brought before the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague, accused of personally helping to plan, prepare, and carry out the killings of at least 7,500 Muslim men and boys. General Krstic had taken command of the Drina Wolves unit of the Serbian Army and these were the soldiers who carried out the massacres. Judge Almiro Rodrigues, head of the three-member panel that delivered the verdict at The Hague, spelled out the charges against Krstic. He was accused of causing the persecutions suffered by the Muslims of Srebrenica, his participation consisting mainly in allowing the Drina Wolves to carry out the executions. The 255-page indictment included the testimonies of 130 witnesses and the records of more than 1,000 pieces of evidence. There were reports of wives and children being beaten and raped, and of men, some as old as eighty, being starved and beaten before they were killed. Some of Krstic’s victims were herded into a warehouse and shot at close range by Serbian execution squads who used guns and grenades to do the killing. Because those who were killed belonged to an identifiable cultural group— Muslims—Krstic was declared guilty of genocide. In defense, Krstic said that he had not known of the massacres until it was too late to stop them. He had intended to punish his soldiers for what they had done. The prosecuting judge dismissed his statements and sentenced him to forty-six years in prison, the harshest punishment up to that time for crimes against humanity in the Bosnian war. The massacre of 7,500 or more Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica was Europe’s worst civilian atrocity since World War II. There were serious inequalities from the beginning of the Bosnian war. The Serbs had all the military power they needed to conduct military operations but the others, the Croats and Muslims, were handicapped by a UN decision to ban the sale of military equipment to either side. More than four years after the massacre, Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, issued a report on the mistakes made by the UN. Poor judgment and an inability to recognize the truth of the situation were listed as contributing to the tragedy. While Srebrenica was a horrendous instance of genocide it pales in significance when compared with the far greater acts of genocide that began with Germany’s Crystal Night. The atrocities that were initiated in 1938 with “Crystal Night,” were the beginning of a massive program intended to kill every Jew in Germany. As soon as he came to power as chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler began to express his anti-Jewish ideas in public. He attempted first to make life so unpleasant for Jews that they would emigrate. Crystal Night, a one-day boycott of all Jewish shops and offices, based on false charges, marked the beginning of violent action against Jews. Windows were smashed, contents of stores stolen, and any books found were publicly burned. Over 7,500 Jewish shops were destroyed and four hundred synagogues were burnt down. Ninety-one Jews were killed and an estimated 20,000 were sent to concentration camps. After Crystal Night the numbers of Jews who left Germany increased dramatically. It has been calculated that before war broke out in 1939 approximately half the Jewish population of Germany left the country. This included several Jewish scientists who were to play an important role in the fight against Nazi Germany during World War II. A higher number of Jews would probably have left German but anti-Jewish sentiment was not entirely a German prejudice. Many countries were reluctant to take Jews. Once the Jewish population had been demonized by the various actions of the German government it became easier for Hitler to propose the mass execution of all Jews. Within three years of Crystal Night the gas chambers associated with the concentration camps were in place. Those who were about to be executed were told to strip naked so that they could be given a bath. Doctors pretended to be giving them a physical exam to allay fears and, during this process, they took note of those who had gold teeth. Their chests were marked with a distinctive sign so that after their death the gold could be recovered before the bodies were thrown into the furnaces. Once they were inside the so-called bathroom, the door was shut and locked, poisonous gas released into the room, and everyone died a painful death. For two further years, until Germany was conquered and overrun, the mass executions, referred to by Hitler as the final solution, was extended until approximately six million Jews from central, eastern, and southern Europe had been annihilated.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723109
__label__wiki	0.937432	0.937432	Five months in, Bill Simmons’ The Ringer tries to find its footing Audio Anywhere November 14, 2016 by Max Willens Just hours after HBO announced that it was canceling “Any Given Wednesday,” the sports-flavored talk show hosted by media heavyweight Bill Simmons, people began wondering what would happen to the rest of his newly created digital empire. HBO has made it clear it’s standing by Simmons, and its execs are optimistic that he’ll be able to help develop further projects for them. But he might do well to devote more time to The Ringer, a site that, despite warm reviews from media observers, may be having trouble growing its audience. For all the eulogies and mourning set off by last year’s closure of Simmons’s old ESPN site, Grantland, it was never a traffic juggernaut. The site’s best months for traffic came immediately after Simmons’ ouster, when it attracted 7.2 million visitors in May 2015, according to comScore. The Ringer is smaller and newer than Grantland, and as with all small, new websites, it is difficult to get a clear picture of its traffic from third parties. Yet data from two separate companies, comScore and SimilarWeb, paint similar pictures. SimilarWeb data suggests The Ringer attracted 7.5 million people to its sites on desktop and mobile last month, down from a high of 10 million readers during its first month. Data from comScore is a lot bleaker, showing The Ringer peaking at just over 1 million monthly visitors across desktop and mobile in July, then declined to around 600,000 readers in August and September. The comScore numbers must be taken with a big grain of salt, because comScore does not track Medium-hosted sites directly, instead relying on survey data. But regardless of whether the Ringer’s traffic is closer to comScore’s or SimilarWeb’s, both sets of data suggest The Ringer’s traffic is trending in the wrong direction. A Ringer spokesman, in response to queries about the numbers and trends outlined in comScore and SimilarWeb’s data, wrote that it is “encouraged with the audience for The Ringer so far. “Between the website, a burgeoning podcast network, early forays into video and live streaming, and social media engagement, our audience is growing daily,” the statement read. “Our focus has been supporting and growing new voices on all platforms. Strategically, we’re right where we want to be just five months after launching.” The Ringer has 77,000 Facebook fans and 272,000 Twitter followers. In either case, The Ringer’s audience falls below the threshold some media buyers see as the minimum advertisers will pay attention to. Adam Shlachter, the president of Verizon’s media agency VM1, said 10 million monthly unique visitors would be the minimum for any site looking to attract a topical audience, though audience engagement and time spent would factor in to the picture. “Pure traffic numbers alone don’t tell the story,” Shlachter said of what goes into a decision to buy with a particular site. While Simmons chafed under ESPN management, he’s likely to acknowledge that Grantland’s prominent placement on the ESPN homepage was a boon for Grantland. “Any issues the Ringer might be having are not a reflection of the quality of work being done there,” said J.A. Adande, an ESPN columnist and the director of the sports journalism program at the Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications. “They are a reflection of the value of the ESPN real estate in the sports landscape.” Medium, which trumpeted the arrival of The Ringer as a flagship property making its home on the platform, is no ESPN, and it has not caught fire with Medium’s community yet. The Ringer’s 57,000 Medium followers make it the 20th-most-followed publication on Medium, according to data compiled by Unboxed. The traffic decline isn’t unexpected. It takes a while for a new site to gain an audience, and the two topics Simmons is best known for, sports and pop culture, take a monthlong siesta at summer’s end. But the arrival of the NBA season, the sport that Simmons is most associated with, seems to have done little to buoy the site’s numbers. Moreover, the site’s broad range of topics puts them. “When I look at the Ringer, any one given article can be amazing,” said John McCarus, a digital consultant and the former chief strategy officer of Federated Media. “But in the world we now live in, it’s a world of niches. And the worlds of sports and politics and current events have already proven to be really challenging.” Simmons’ relative absence may have played a role in the lack of growth, too. While Simmons filed columns at least weekly when Grantland started, he has published exactly three columns of original material since the site formally launched in June, a development that has not thrilled his longtime readers. There are plenty of bright spots. The Ringer locked Miller Light in as a monthslong presenting sponsor, and it brought Jaguar on to sponsor a number of content packages, including one on the future of movies that launched in November. It’s also doing fine on the podcast front. The Ringer’s podcast network, which not everyone likes, generates a major share of the company’s revenue, attracting close to 5 million downloads every month, according to people familiar with the matter. “In their genre, one could compare them to The Nerdist,” said Jessica Kupferman, the CEO of the j/k media agency, which focuses on podcasting. “Very large, very well followed, very well respected.” Ultimately, the thing that could determine The Ringer’s success might rest less in numbers than voice. “Every site or publisher needs to find their voice and make sure it’s distinct and unique enough to build a loyal audience,” VM1’s Shlachter said. Competitor podcasters Stitcher and Wondery team up to enter UK Cosmopolitan is launching a branded podcast with Tinder June 26, 2019 by Max Willens	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723110
__label__wiki	0.978353	0.978353	Ford will build electrified vehicles in U.S. after canceling Mexico plant Michael Martinez Ford is testing a fleet of 20 Transit Connect hybrid taxi and van prototypes. DETROIT -- Ford Motor will cancel its $1.6 billion assembly plant in Mexico, instead investing $700 million in the U.S. to bring to market 13 electrified vehicles. The plans include an F-150 hybrid pickup, a Mustang hybrid and a full electric SUV with a 300-mile (480 km) range. The SUV will launch in 2020 and will be sold in North America, Europe and Asia. It will be built south of Detroit in Flat Rock, Michigan. Ford is expected to call the SUV the Model E. Tesla CEO Elon Musk wanted to use the Model E name for the Model 3, but he was unable to secure the naming rights from Ford, which has owned the patent for some time. The F-150 hybrid will be available by 2020 and will be sold in North America and the Middle East. It will be built at Ford’s Dearborn truck plant. The Mustang Hybrid will be produced at the Flat Rock plant and will be available initially in North America in 2020. The other vehicles include a high-volume autonomous hybrid vehicle for commercial or ride-sharing service. The vehicle will debut in 2021 in North America and will be built at the Flat Rock plant. Ford will also launch a Transit Custom plug-in hybrid in 2019 in Europe. Ford did not say where the Transit plug-in will be produced. Ford in December 2015 announced plans to invest $4.5 billion in electric car research and add 13 electrified vehicles to its lineup by 2020. On Tuesday the company announced details for about seven of the 13. To support this, Ford plans to invest $700 million and add 700 direct new jobs in the next four years. The Mexico plant had been slated to build small cars; it’s unclear where that small car production will go. Trump criticism Ford had come under harsh criticism from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for its Mexican investment plans. Trump has threatened to slap Ford with a 35 percent tariff on any vehicles it imports from Mexico, as well as renegotiate or pull out of the North America Free Trade Agreement. Ford CEO Mark Fields on Tuesday said the decision to cancel the new plant in Mexico was in part related to the need to "fully utilize capacity at existing facilities" amid declining sales of small and medium sized cars such as the Focus and Fusion. Fields also used the occasion to endorse "pro growth" tax and regulatory policies advocated by Trump and the Republican led Congress. Trump repeatedly said during the election campaign that if elected he would not allow Ford to open the new plant in Mexico and would slap hefty tariffs taxes on imported Ford vehicles. Trump also targeted GM in a tweet on Tuesday, threatening to impose a "big border tax" for making its Chevrolet Cruze model in Mexico. In response, GM reiterated that Cruzes built there will mostly go to the domestic market and that it will continue to build the compact in the U.S. Ford’s electrified-vehicle announcement was made the same day that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles revealed plans for an all-electric minivan concept, called the Chrysler Portal, that gets 250 miles of range. The automaker recently began selling a hybrid version of its Chrysler Pacifica minivan. General Motors is also making headlines for its Bolt EV, which went on sale in California last month and boasts 238 miles of range. It comes out a year before the planned release of Tesla’s much-hyped Model 3, the California automaker’s own 200-plus range EV. Ford also said Tuesday that it is moving production of the Focus sedan -- which was supposed to go to the new Mexican plant -- to its existing Mexico plant in Hermosillo. Reuters contributed to this report	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723119
__label__wiki	0.593024	0.593024	Horoscope ♉: You may have to consciously let go of some of your plans, Taurus, and simply leave things up to chance. The element of the unexpected can help you out quite a bit, so work with it instead of trying to keep it at bay. The natural flow of events should lead you toward a place of greater freedom. Use your imagination instead of relying completely on mental processes like logic.: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch Today’s Holiday: Mothering Sunday Today’s Holiday: It was the custom in 17th-century England for Christians to pay their respects on the fourth Sunday in Lent to the “Mother Church” where they had been baptized. This day usually included a visit to one’s parents—to “go a-mothering,” as it was called back then. In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, the fourth Sunday in Lent is known as Laetare Sunday. The Introit of the Mass begins with the word “Rejoice” (laetare in Latin), marking a slight respite in the solemn Lenten season. Priests may wear rose-colored vestments to mass, instead of the usual purple for Lent. More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch Today’s Birthday: Joseph Haydn (1732) Today’s Birthday: Joseph Haydn (1732) The principal shaper of the Classical style, Haydn was an Austrian composer who exerted major influence on his contemporaries, including Mozart, and future composers. The first great symphonist, he composed 106 symphonies and virtually invented the string quartet. By his later years, he was recognized internationally as the greatest living composer. He composed important works in almost every genre. As a teacher, Haydn had a difficult relationship with what famous student? More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch This Day in History: The Alhambra Decree Is Issued (1492) This Day in History: The Alhambra Decree Is Issued (1492) Fourteen years after Ferdinand II and Isabella I, the “Catholic Monarchs” of Spain, established the Spanish Inquisition to discover and punish converted Jews—and later Muslims—who were insincere, they issued the Alhambra Decree, an edict ordering the expulsion of all Jews who refused to convert to Christianity. Any Jew who did not convert or leave by the deadline faced execution. Non-Jews found sheltering or hiding Jews had all of their belongings seized. When was the edict officially revoked? More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch Quote of the Day: W. Somerset Maugham Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind. More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch Article of the Day: The Chaperon Article of the Day: The Chaperon The chaperon was a type of hood worn throughout Western Europe in the Middle Ages. It was especially fashionable in 15th-century Burgundy. The French verb chaperonner, meaning “to cover with a hood,” was derived from the name of the headgear and later came to mean “to protect.” Under the influence of the verb sense, the French noun chaperon came to mean “escort,” a meaning that was borrowed into English by the early 1700s. Why was Joan of Arc denounced for wearing a chaperon? More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch Idiom of the Day: broken-hearted Idiom of the Day: broken-hearted Very sad, typically due to a tragic event or the end of a romantic relationship. Watch the video…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch Word of the Day: two-piece Word of the Day: Definition: (noun) A woman’s very brief bathing suit. Synonyms: bikini Usage: Kristen changed into her two-piece and jumped into the pool.: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch Watch “Proteasome inhibitors in myeloma” on YouTube Watch “Pretty Little Liars – Every Reveal Ever (SEASONS 1-6)” on YouTube Watch “Poupée de cire poupée de son – France Gall – French and English subtitles .mp4” on YouTube Je suis une poupée de cire Une poupée de son Mon cœur est gravé dans mes chansons Poupée de cire, poupée de son Suis-je meilleure, suis-je pire Qu’une poupée de salon? Je vois la vie en rose bonbon Mes disques sont un miroir Dans lequel chacun peut me voir Je suis partout à la fois Brisée en mille éclats de voix Autour de moi j’entends rire Les poupées de chiffon Celles qui dansent sur mes chansons Elles se laissent séduire Pour un oui, pour un non L’amour n’est pas que dans les chansons Seule parfois, je soupire Je me dis à quoi bon Chanter ainsi l’amour sans raison Sans rien connaître des garçons Je n’suis qu’une poupée de cire Qu’une poupée de son Sous le soleil de mes cheveux blonds Mais un jour je vivrai mes chansons Sans craindre la chaleur des garçons Songwriters: Serge Gainsbourg Poupée de cire, poupée de son lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Sidonie	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723120
__label__wiki	0.926204	0.926204	Peter Sutherland For the Scottish explorer, see Peter Cormac Sutherland. GCIH KCMG SC UN Special Representative for International Migration 12 January 2006 – 9 March 2017 Chairman of Goldman Sachs 1 July 1995 – 1 May 2015 Edith W. Cooper Director-General of the World Trade Organization Arthur Dunkel (as Director-General of the GATT) Renato Ruggiero 7 January 1985 – 5 January 1989 Jacques Delors Frans Andriessen Leon Brittan 19th Attorney General of Ireland 30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982 Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald Anthony J. Hederman 15 December 1982 – 12 December 1984 John L. Murray Peter Denis Sutherland Foxrock, Dublin, Ireland 7 January 2018(2018-01-07) (aged 71) St. James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Resting place Kilternan Cemetery Park, Maruja Sutherland (m. 1974) Gonzaga College Peter Denis Sutherland (25 April 1946 – 7 January 2018) was an Irish businessman, barrister and politician who served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2006 to 2017, Chairman of Goldman Sachs from 1995 to 2015, Director-General of the World Trade Organization from 1993 to 1995, European Commissioner for Competition from 1985 to 1989 and Attorney General of Ireland from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1994. He was a barrister by profession and was a Senior Counsel of the Irish Bar. He was known for serving in a variety of international organisations, political and business roles. Sutherland was the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration until March 2017.[1][2] Appointed in January 2006, he was responsible for the creation of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).[3] He served as President of the International Catholic Migration Commission, as well as member of the Migration Advisory Board of the International Organisation for Migration. Sutherland previously served as Attorney General of Ireland (1981–84), European Commissioner responsible for Competition Policy (1985–89); Founding Director-General of The World Trade Organization,[4] formerly GATT (1993–95), and former Chairman of Goldman Sachs International (1995–2015).[5] He received numerous awards including European Person of the Year Award (1988). 1 Early and personal life 2 Entry into politics 3 EU Commissioner 4 GATT/World Trade Organization 6 Last years 8 Immigration policy 9 Honours, awards and honorary doctorates Early and personal life[edit] Of Irish nationality, Sutherland was born in Dublin in 1946 and was educated at Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin. He is of partial Scottish ancestry. He graduated in Civil Law at University College Dublin and practiced at the Irish Bar between 1969 and 1980.[6] He married his wife, Maruja Sutherland, a Spaniard, in 1974.[7] Entry into politics[edit] Sutherland was appointed Attorney General of Ireland in June 1981, resigning in March 1982 and taking the post again between December 1982 and December 1984.[8] EU Commissioner[edit] He was appointed to the European Commission in 1985 and had responsibility for competition policy and, initially for 1985 only, also for education. He said that he was especially pleased to have proposed the establishment of the ERASMUS programme (European Regional Action Scheme for Mobility of University Students) that allows European university students to study in other member states.[9] He was Chairman of the Committee that produced The Sutherland Report on the completion of the Internal Market of the EEC, commissioned by the European Commission and presented to the European Council at its Edinburgh meeting in 1992.[10] He was the youngest ever European Commissioner and served in the first Delors Commission, where he played a crucial role in opening up competition across Europe, particularly the airline, telecoms, and energy sectors. Sutherland was described as "an outstanding Commissioner".[11] GATT/World Trade Organization[edit] In 1993, he became Director-General of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (now the World Trade Organization). Later Mickey Kantor, the US Trade Minister, credited him with being the father of globalization and said that without him there would have been no WTO.[12] The Uruguay round of global trade talks, concluded in December 1993 with Sutherland as chair of GATT, produced a "comprehensive, rules-based and global trade regime" [13] which was the biggest trade agreement in history and established the World Trade Organization. His integral role in the successful conclusion of these negotiations has been cited as "indispensable".[14] Chairing the Uruguay Round, Sutherland "employed tactics the likes of which had never been seen before in GATT…he worked to create the sense of unstoppable momentum" by mobilising the press and media and instigating "a more aggressive public relations than the staid GATT had ever before seen".[15] A 2013 book by Craig VanGrasstek of the Harvard Kennedy School, published by the WTO, The History and Future of the World Trade Organization,[16] details Sutherland's role in the formation and establishment of the body. On the elevation of the role of director-general, VanGrasstek writes "The office is shaped to a great degree by the person who occupies it, and Director-General Peter Sutherland – who served both as the last GATT director-general and the first WTO director-general – redefined the role and the links between that office and the leadership in the members in a way that gave him and his successors additional options for the conduct of negotiations".[17] Sutherland was instrumental in elevating the office of director-general to one that dealt directly with presidents and prime ministers, not just ministers, a key factor in the success of negotiations and the political esteem of the body going forward.[18] Chairman of the Advisory Council to the Director General of the World Trade Organization that produced the Report on the Future of the World Trade Organization published in 2005.[19] Business[edit] Sutherland was the Chairman of Allied Irish Banks (AIB) from 1989 until 1993.[20] .[21] He was also a non-executive Director of controversial construction materials giant CRH plc from 1989 to July 1993. Given that his preceding job was EU Competition Commissioner, this appointment proved to be somewhat of a dichotomy when CRH plc was fined in 1994 for its key role in the pan-European cement cartel (Case Number IV 33.126 AND 33.322). He was non-executive Chairman of Goldman Sachs International (a registered UK broker-dealer, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs) until June 2015. Until June 2009 he was non-executive chairman of BP being replaced by Carl-Henric Svanberg formerly chief executive officer of Ericsson. Sutherland was a director of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group until he was asked to leave the board when it had to be taken over by the UK government to avoid bankruptcy. He also formerly served on the board of ABB.[citation needed] He served on the steering committee of the Bilderberg Group,[22] until May 2014 and is an Honorary Chairman of the Trilateral Commission (2010 -), he was Chairman of the Trilateral Commission (Europe) (2001–10)[23] and was vice chairman of the European Round Table of Industrialists (2006–09).[24] He was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Institute of Public Administration (Maastricht) from 1991 to 1996.[25] He is Honorary President of the European Movement Ireland.[26] He was a member of the Hong Kong Chief Executive's Council of International Advisers between 1998 and 2005.[27] He produced the Sutherland Report for the Portuguese Government on the handover of Macao to China in January 2000.[28] He was President of the Federal Trust for Education and Research, a British think tank. He was Chairman of The Ireland Fund of Great Britain from 2001 to 2009, part of The Ireland Funds.[29] He was a member of the advisory council of Business for New Europe, a British pro-European think-tank.[30] He was a member of the Commission on Human Security set up by the Japanese Government that reported to the United Nations in 2003.[31] In 2005, he was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.[32] In Spring 2006 he was appointed Chair of London School of Economics Council commencing in 2008.,[33] a position he held until February 2015.[34] Sutherland also served on the International Advisory Board of IESE,[35] the graduate business school of Spain's University of Navarra. In January 2006, he was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan as his Special Representative for Migration. In this position, he was responsible for promoting the establishment of a Global Forum on Migration and Development, a state-led effort open to all UN members that is meant to help governments better understand how migration can benefit their development goals. The Global Forum was acclaimed by UN Member States at the UN High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, in September 2006, and will be launched in Brussels in July 2007. On 5 December 2006, he was appointed as Consultor of the Extraordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (a financial adviser to the Vatican).[36] On 22 January 2010 he said while in Dublin that Ireland could not afford seven comprehensive top tier universities with research capabilities.[37][38][39] In September 2010 ahead of the Irish government budget for 2011, Sutherland said of a proposed €3bn cut in expenditures, "The figure of €3 billion has been postulated as the improvement to be sought in the next budget," he said. "We are told that this is all that the political system can bear, but if all the mainstream political parties accept that more is required – although disagreeing perhaps about where to find the €3 billion – and are prepared to say it, we can find a way." Sutherland said a default on State debts would leave the Government without the capacity to manage its affairs or raise finance. "It simply is not an option to choose," he said.[40] Sutherland was also co-Chairman of the High Level Group appointed by the Governments of Germany, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Turkey to report on the conclusion of the Doha Round and the future of multilateral trade negotiations. Report issued in May 2011.[41] In 2012, Sutherland became the honorary President of Brussels-based independent think tank the European Policy Centre.[42] Last years[edit] In an interview with The Irish Times in early 2010,[43] Sutherland revealed that in summer 2009, during a holiday, one of his children noticed a swelling on his throat while they sat on a beach. Within a week he was back home in London undergoing a major operation. Sutherland had an operation for throat cancer in August 2009 and following the operation he underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy.[43] For Sutherland, a Europhile, the worst part about his illness was missing the "mortal combat" of fighting for the Yes vote in the second Lisbon referendum.[43] Sutherland visited Irish politician (Fianna Fáil) Brian Lenihan to tell him what a great job he thought he was doing and to say that Lenihan had the potential to be one of the great taoisigh of the 21st century. Lenihan was taken aback, he says. Sutherland believes Ireland failed in economic terms over most of the past four decades with the exception of a "sparkling period" from 1994 to 2002 when the State took advantage of EU changes freeing up the movement of goods, capital and services across Europe.[43] Outside banking, Sutherland in early 2010 finished a 13-year stint as chairman of BP, Europe's largest oil company. At one point during his tenure, the company was valued on the stock market at £236 billion (it is currently worth about £120 billion) and was making £42 million a day in profits.[43] He was twice offered the job of UN High Commissioner for Refugees by Kofi Annan, a fact, he says, that he has never disclosed publicly before, but he declined both times due to other commitments. He cites his work at GATT and the introduction of the Erasmus student exchange programme when he briefly held the education portfolio at the Commission in 1986 as his two most rewarding achievements.[43] Regarding the next stage of his career, Surtherland disclosed that he decided to join three boards – at German insurer Allianz; Koç Holding, Turkey's largest conglomerate; and a shipping company, BW Shipping located in Singapore.[43] In November 2010, he renewed his involvement in trade issues when he was appointed co-chair of an Experts Group, created by the heads of government of Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia and Turkey, to report on the priority actions to be taken to combat protectionism and to boost global trade. The Trade Experts Group's interim report was launched at Davos on 28 January 2011. In September 2016, Sutherland suffered a heart attack while on his way to mass at a Catholic church in London. Six months later, he resigned from his post as United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration because of poor health. After a long illness, Sutherland died in Dublin on 7 January 2018, of complications from an infection, aged 71. Immigration policy[edit] Sutherland strongly advocated unrestricted immigration into the European Union. Sutherland gave his opinion to the UK's House of Lords Home Affairs Committee on 21 June 2012 as being (a) that "at the most basic level individuals should have freedom of choice" about working and studying in other countries and that EU states should stop targeting "highly skilled" migrants (and, conversely, placing restrictions on low-skilled migrants). Sutherland also argues (b) that migration is a "crucial dynamic for economic growth" and that this is the case "however difficult it may be to explain this to the citizens of those states". Sutherland's stated opinions on policy were (a) that "it was fundamentally important for states to cooperate on migration policy rather than developing their own policies in isolation as 'no state is or can be an island'"[44] (b) that multiculturalism is both inevitable and desirable: “It’s impossible to consider that the degree of homogeneity which is implied by the other argument can survive because states have to become more open states, in terms of the people who inhabit them” and also (c) that “the European Union, in my view, should be doing its best to undermine” any “sense of our homogeneity and difference from others”. An ageing or declining native population in countries like Germany or southern EU states was the "key argument and, I hesitate to the use word because people have attacked it, for the development of multicultural states", he added.[45] Sutherland restated his view in the syndicated article co-authored with Cecilia Malmström entitled “Immigration challenge: Europe’s politicians should accept diverse social communities”, the opening paragraph of which declares: “Europe faces an immigration predicament. Mainstream politicians, held hostage by xenophobic parties, adopt anti-immigrant rhetoric to win over a fearful public, while the foreign-born are increasingly marginalized in schools, cities and at the workplace. Yet, despite high unemployment across much of the Continent, too many employers lack the workers they need. Engineers, doctors and nurses are in short supply; so, too, are farmhands and health aides. And Europe can never have enough entrepreneurs, whose ideas drive economies and create jobs”.[46] Sutherland and Malmström also argue in the above article that “Last year, during the Arab revolutions, the EU missed a historic opportunity to begin weaving together the two sides of the Mediterranean.” Sutherland is also quoted as arguing that opposition to greater globalisation is "morally indefensible".[47] In January 2015, Sutherland took office as the President of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). Honours, awards and honorary doctorates[edit] Sutherland has received a total of fifteen honorary doctorates from universities in Europe and America.[citation needed] Honorary Fellow of OXONIA, The Oxford Institute For Economic Policy[48] Honorary Doctorate of Law, St Louis University (1985) The Gold Medal of the European Parliament (1988) Robert Schuman Medal (1988) The First European Law Prize (Paris 1988) European Person of the Year Award (1988) The David Rockefeller International Leadership Award (1998) Grand Cross of Order of Civil Merit (Spain 1989) The Irish People of the Year Award (1989) Grand Cross of Order of Leopold II (Belgium 1989) New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal (1990) Honorary Doctorate of Law, National University of Ireland (1990)[49] Knight of the Legion of Honour (France 1993) The Consumer for World Trade Annual Award (1994) Commandeur of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Morocco 1994) Honorary Doctorate of Law, Bath University (1995) Order of Rio Branco (Brazil 1996) The Dean's Medal, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, (1996) Honorary Doctorate of Law, University of Reading (1997)[50] Grand Cross of the Order of Infante Dom Henrique (Portugal 1998) Honorary Doctorate of Law, Nottingham University (1999) Honorary Doctorate of Law, Exeter University (2000)[51] Foundation Day Medal, University College Dublin (2004) Honorary Knighthood of the Order of St Michael and St George (UK 2004) Honorary Doctorate of Law, Queens University, Belfast (2004)[52] Honorary Doctorate of Letters, University of Sussex (2008)[53] Knight Commander of the Order of St Gregory (con placca) (2008) Lifetime Achievement Award, Ireland Chamber of Commerce USA (2009)[54] Honorary Fellowship of London School of Business Honorary Vice President of the University College Dublin Law Society (2011) Honorary Fellow of St Benet's Hall, Oxford (2013) University College Dublin law school was renamed the Sutherland School of Law in his honour, following his financial contribution to the newly completed law teaching facility (2013)[55][56] Knight Commander's cross, Order of the Polar Star, Sweden (2014) UCD Economics Society Thomas Kettle Award (2016) ^ United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary- General for International Migration ^ "Secretary-General Appoints Louise Arbour of Canada Special Representative for International Migration \| Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 24 April 2017. ^ "United Nations Population Division \| Department of Economic and Social Affairs". www.un.org. Retrieved 1 March 2016. ^ World Trade Organization. "Peter Sutherland, GATT and WTO Director-General, 1993 to 1995". ^ Noonan, Laura; Correspondent, Investment Banking (20 May 2015). "Peter Sutherland bows out as Goldman Sachs International chairman". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 1 March 2016. ^ The questions Peter Sutherland, the globe's grandee, was NOT asked by the Lords EU sub-committee, Daily Mail, 27 June 2012 ^ Private jets fly south for Sutherland marriage, Irish Independent, October 4, 2009 ^ Peter Sutherland: Former attorney general who headed world trade body, The Irish Times, January 7, 2018 ^ Katherine Donnelly: A world of opportunity has opened up for all, Irish Independent, September 18, 2017 ^ "Archive of European Integration". ^ The European Commission 1973–1986: History and Memories of an Institution (Eric Bussiere ed., 2014) ^ Leadership at a time of transition and turbulence, Gresham Lecture, Tuesday 8 March 2011 ^ "Ashgate Research Companion to International Trade Policy (Heydon & Woolcock, 2012, p. 58)]" (PDF). ^ The History and Future of the World Trade Organization (Craig VanGrasstek, 2013, p.69) ^ The History and Future of the World Trade Organization (Craig VanGrasstek, 2013) ^ The Future of the WTO ^ Peter Sutherland website Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine ^ WTO Bio of Sutherland ^ "Governance". Bilderberg Meetings. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2010. ^ "The trilateral commission". Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010. ^ European Round Table website Archived 10 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine ^ Public Management and European Governance: The Role of EIPA PDF ^ "?". Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. ^ "CE discusses economic issues with international advisers". Press release. 6 November 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2010. ^ Macau in the context of EU-China relations Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine ^ The Ireland Funds website Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine ^ "BNE Party Conference Programme". Business for New Europe. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010. ^ "Final report for Commission on Human Security". ^ "?". United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Archived from the original on 24 March 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2010. ^ "The latest press releases from LSE". LSE. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2010. ^ was chairman of the London School of Economics until February 2015 ^ "IESE News – Top Stories". IESE Business school – University of Navarra. Retrieved 30 August 2010. ^ The Guardian Business news ^ RTÉ. "Call for higher education system reform". Friday, 22 January 2010 15:57 ^ The Irish Times – Saturday, 23 January 2010. "Sutherland says number of universities must be cut". Sean Flynn Education Editor. ^ The Irish Times – Last Updated: Friday, 22 January 2010, 13:21. "Call for fewer universities". ^ Cuts not enough – Sutherland ^ "Final Report of the High Level Trade Experts Group". ^ http://www.epc.eu/about_governance.php ^ a b c d e f g "The ultimate social networker". The Irish Times. 30 January 2010. ^ "The EU's Global Approach to Migration and Mobility" (PDF). UK Parliament. p. 48. Retrieved 20 June 2013. ^ "EU should 'undermine national homogeneity' says UN migration chief". BBC News. 21 June 2012. ^ Peter Sutherland and Cecilia Malmstrom on Europe’s Immigration Challenge – Project Syndicate ^ "The questions Peter Sutherland, the globe's grandee, was NOT asked by the Lords EU sub-committee". Daily Mail. London. ^ "The Oxonia Website". ^ Aguisíní Appendices PDF ^ "Times Higher Education list of Honorary Degrees for Bristol University". ^ "University of Exeter list of Honorary Doctorates". ^ Royal Irish Academy Annual Report 2002– 2003 PDF Archived 3 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine ^ "University of Sussex press release". ^ "The Ireland Chamber of Commerce, American Celtic Ball Honorees 2008". Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. ^ Minister gives green light for new law school ^ UCD officially opens €25 million Law School named after Peter Sutherland, University College Dublin, 2 December 2013 Lord Woolf's Inquiry into the LSE and Libya, March 2011 The Archive of Peter Sutherland Peter Sutherland's Commission Papers and three interviews with him INT670, INT273 and INT274 are deposited at the Historical Archives of the European Union Legal offices Anthony J. Hederman Attorney General of Ireland John L. Murray Attorney General of Ireland Richard Burke Irish European Commissioner Ray MacSharry Frans Andriessen European Commissioner for Competition Non-profit organization positions Arthur Dunkel Director-General of the World Trade Organization Civic offices Otto Graf Lambsdorff European Group Chairman of the Trilateral Commission Attorneys General of Ireland Hugh Kennedy John O'Byrne John A. Costello Conor Maguire James Geoghegan Kevin Haugh Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh Cecil Lavery Charles Casey Thomas Teevan Aindrias Ó Caoimh Colm Condon Declan Costello Harry Whelehan Eoghan Fitzsimons Dermot Gleeson Michael McDowell Rory Brady Máire Whelan Séamus Woulfe Irish European Commissioners Patrick Hillery Richard Burke Michael O'Kennedy Pádraig Flynn Máire Geoghegan-Quinn European Commissioners for Competition von der Groeben Sassen Borschette Vouel Andriessen Brittan Van Miert Kroes Almunia Campus, buildings and Berrylands British Library of Political and Economic Science Charles Booth Archive Clare Market Hall–Carpenter Archives Lincoln's Inn Fields 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields Peacock Theatre Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy Centre for the Economics of Education Crisis States Research Centre Grantham Research Institute Greater London Group International Bibliography of the Social Sciences International Growth Centre LSE Cities LSE IDEAS Department of Social Policy TRIUM EMBA Athletics Union The Beaver Clare Market Review The Argonaut LSE Students' Union Pulse! Radio Student Central Fabian Society Fabian Window LSE Libya links Rivalry with KCL and UCL The Princess Royal (Chancellor) Dame Nemat Shafik (Director) Dame Shirley Pearce (Chair of Court and Council) Lord President of the Council (Visitor) Sidney Webb Beatrice Webb Graham Wallas List of London School of Economics people List of Nobel Laureates Montague Burton Professor of International Relations Association of Commonwealth Universities CEMS Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget Baldor Electric Company Brown, Boveri & Cie International Combustion Mincom Limited Klaus Agthe Percy Barnevik Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Sutherland&oldid=905074475" Alumni of University College Dublin Chairmen of BP Businesspeople from County Dublin Commanders of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite Fellows of St Benet's Hall, Oxford Fine Gael politicians Chairmen of Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs people Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Institute of European Affairs Irish barristers Irish people of Scottish descent Irish rugby union players Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group People associated with the London School of Economics People educated at Gonzaga College People of the Year Awards winners Recipients of the Order of Rio Branco Rugby union players from County Dublin University College Dublin R.F.C. players World Trade Organization Directors-General Irish chairmen of corporations Use Irish English from September 2015 All Wikipedia articles written in Irish English Use dmy dates from April 2011 Articles with unsourced statements from January 2018 Wikipedia articles with LNB identifiers	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723127
__label__wiki	0.68285	0.68285	Review: Naked to the Hangman by Andrew Taylor Andrew Taylor is an excellent writer. This has been shown in his previous books in the Lydmouth series, with Richard Thornhill as his troubled Detective Chief Inspector in a 1950s provincial town. It is also apparent in The American Boy, an intriguing and well-crafted story set in Regency England and involving Edgar Allan Poe as a young boy. And it is especially apparent in the dark and compelling Roth trilogy. Andrew Taylor (as Andrew Saville) also gave us Bergerac, and a number of other books, including the Dougal series, now being reissued. In Naked to the Hangman, Richard Thornhill seems to have moved on from his sporadic affair with Jill Francis, the local newspaper editor, to a new source of guilt. This revolves around a period he spent in Palestine in the late 1940s attached to the police force operating in the last years of the British Mandate there. Thornhill got involved in questionable activities which led, in part to the inadvertent shooting of a young Jewish girl, sister of a member of Jewish terrrorist organisation. The past has caught up with Richard Thornhill as the brother seeks his revenge. The action moves in parallel with torrential rain and flooding in Lydmouth that heightens the tension of the inhabitants, who are soon faced with violent death and kidnapping, not to mention the loss of a purse. There are unforeseen consequences for many of Lydmouth’s inhabitants, and their relationships. These include a nicely drawn picture of adolescent lust, and the tensions of two women living together. We also learn more about Thornhill’s wife, Edith, and his children, especially Elizabeth, who is at the centre of much of the action, and about his colleagues The atmosphere of the time and place is well caught, especially the social norms and prejudices, but somehow the plot is not compelling and is not satisfying. Perhaps we will need to await further books in the series to find out what the impact really is on Richard and Edith Thornhill, and on Jill Francis – this book feels as though its setting the scene for something. So, a bit of a disappointment, but that won’t put me off continuing to read Andrew Taylor. Details: Publisher Hodder ISBN: 978 0 340 92150 0 (A format) 978 0 340 89521 4 (B format) Other books by Andrew Taylor: Lydmouth series (1994- ) – An Air That Kills, The Mortal Sickness, The Lover of the Grave, The Suffocating Night, Where Roses Fade, Death’s Own Door, Call The Dying Roth trilogy (1997-2000) – The Four Last Things, The Judgment of Strangers, The Office of the Dead Dougal series (1982-1993) – Caroline Minuscule, Waiting for the End of the World, Our Fathers’ Lies, An Old School Tie, Freelance Death, Blood Relation, The Sleeping Policeman, Odd Man Out Blaines trilogy (1987-1990) – The Second Midnight, Blacklist, Toyshop Bergerac (1985-1988, as Andrew Saville) – Bergerac: Crimes of the Season, Bergerac and the Fatal Weakness, Bergerac and the Traitor’s Child, Bergerac and the Jersey Rose, Bergerac and the Moving Fever Other books – The American Boy (An Unpardonable Crime in the US) Hairline Cracks, Private Nose, Snapshot, Double Exposure, The Raven on the Water, Negative Image, The Barred Window, The Invader, A Stain on the Silence Leave a Comment » \| Books, Crime, Reviews \| Tagged: Andrew Taylor, England, Lydmouth, Richard Thornhill \| Permalink Review: Never End by Åke Edwardson Åke Edwardson is another Scandinavian writer, in this case Swedish, whose translated books are a welcome addition. I had previously read Sun and Shadow, which introduced Chief Inspector Erik Winter, of Gothenburg, described on the jacket as “the youngest chief inspector in Sweden; he wears sharp suits, cooks gourmet meals, has a penchant for jazz…” In Never End, Gothenburg is sweltering under an unusually hot summer sun, and Winter and his team are faced with a series of rapes and murders that seem to be linked with an unsolved crime from five years before. The victims are all young women, girls really, with no apparent link except that they have all just graduated from school and are on the threshold of their lives. The heat of the summer gives a sense of suspension and unreality that adds to the frustration of the police team, as they struggle with uncooperative witnesses and the increasing awareness of breakdown and inevitability. The resolution moves between the sun and light of sunbathing teenagers to the depths of the city’s clubland and crime scene, with a shaded spot in a city park as their nexus. In this story, the characters and motivations of the Winter and his colleagues are as important as the plot and its mechanisms. Relationships, especially, are key, whether hinted at or obvious. Much of this is conveyed through dialogue, and the effectiveness says much for the skills of the translator, Laurie Thompson. The flow and rhythm of the writing is effective in maintaining the tension as well as illustrating the characters and the relationships. The book was originally written in 2000 and while forensic technology has a part, it does not obtrude to take over or solve things. That is left to the hard work and insights of Erik Winter and his friends and colleagues. It also reflects their dedication, perhaps obsession, with their job that is in danger of outweighing the rest of their lives. This is especially illustrated through Winter’s relationship with his partner Angela and their baby daughter, Elsa. In his books, Åke Edwardson shows us Gothenburg,the second-largest city in Sweden, so its not the rural/provincial flatness of Henning Mankell’s Skane, or the intrigues of Liza Marklund’s Stockholm. But it does reflect the changing nature of Swedish society and the responses to it. Details: Publisher: Vintage Books ISBN: 978-0-099-47206-3 Other books by Åke Edwardson (in English) – Sun and Shadow, Frozen Tracks. For a fuller list, including untranslated books, see the Wikipedia entry on Åke Edwardson. Leave a Comment » \| Books, Crime, Reviews \| Tagged: Ake Edwardson, Erik Winter, Gothenburg, Henning Mankell, Inspector Winter, Liza Marklund, Scandinavia, Sweden \| Permalink Film Review: La Vie en Rose La Vie en Rose (La Môme) is the story of Edith Piaf as told by director Olivier Dahan, and lead Marion Cotillard. This is certainly Piaf behind the scenes, chronicling a childhood of being constantly separated from the people and places she gets to know, to a life as a street singer, before being discovered and making the big time. In the end, living her life for the moment catches up with her, and the moment is passed at only 47. In a way this could be just another drugs, sex and rock and roll movie, albeit with some nice period touches – Paris, New York and California in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. But what makes it different is its quality, whether it is the acting, the writing, or their realisation on the screen. Marion Cotillard brings us Edith as an impatient, troubled woman, who looks to St Therese de Lisieux to help her through life, with support from lots of alcohol and drugs. Edith’s first rescuer, nightclub owner Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu) is murdered and she is suspected of complicity but is acquitted. However, this was a setback to her career until she came under the wing of Raymond Asso, and the rest is history. After the war, Edith Piaf toured the USA, where she met the love of her life, the married boxer Marcel Cerdan. The importance of this relationship to her is illustrated through a fantasy scene when she learns of his death in a plane crash. After that, it seems to have gone downhill on the relationship side, even if the career was taking off big time. In the end the drugs and rehab, the booze, and the car crashes, all took their toll on the body, including the liver, and the end is inevitable. The movie flashes around Edith’s life, beginning with a collapse on stage, going back to her childhood, and then working its way backwards and forwards to the end. The effect is successful. It illustrates and emphasizes the nature of her life and the relationships in it, including that with her half-sister, Simone. Although names are dropped, e.g Cocteau has her in a play, and we see Marlene Dietrich drop by at New York club, most of the action is with Edith’s circle. Marion Cotillard becomes Edith Piaf, and while the big-eyed look is perhaps overdone, her performance is extraordinary, and she carries the movie with her. She uses the whole of her body – the damaged walk of later years, the arm gestures, and the joyfully bad manners – to give us the character. In the end, this is a very good movie, because it explains something to us about a life that has become a legend and a symbol. For more details go to the IMDB site for this movie. To see a great review, and links to YouTube videos of Edith Piaf, go to Roger Ebert. Leave a Comment » \| Film, Reviews \| Tagged: California, drugs, Edith Piaf, Film, France, New York, Paris, singer, sparrow \| Permalink Review: Jacquot and the Master by Martin O’Brien The defining characteristic of Daniel Jacquot is that, as a loose forward for France’s rugby team, he scored a famous try to defeat England at Twickenham. Two decades on he is a homicide Chief Inspector with the Marseilles judiciare, but after a fight with a colleague has been banished up-country to Cavaillon. That story is told in Jacquot and the Waterman, in which he tracks a serial killer. The underlying theme of these books is Provence, both the countryside and the city of Marseilles, and the combination of scenery, food and people, which make this such a magical part of the world. Oh, and Jacquot has a ponytail and smokes dope – clearly an outlaw. In Jacquot and the Master, the chief inspector does not appear until page 99, and the first body is not found until page 321. This allows O’Brien time to build the suspense, which revolves around the Master, Auguste Vilotte – an aging artist, a relic of the great days of Picasso, Dali, Dufy and Chagall – and the intrigues going on to capture not only Vilotte’s works, but also his fabled collection of his contemporaries’ masterpieces and memorabilia. The scene is set in a luxury hotel, a remodelled castle-cum-monastery with a magnificent kitchen, and a cast of potential murderers, conveniently cut off from the world by a storm at a crucial point, and nearly all with a range of motives and opportunities. The story has Jacquot finding out more about each of the suspects, with a number of clues and red herrings being sown for us to look back at and make the connection. In the end, and following a climactic fire and another body, it is a combination of information about the past (which we are not privy to before the denouement – bad mark) and the sorting of motives, which allows for the responsibilities for the murders to be sheeted home. It also allows Jacquot to be the arbiter of justice, which is not quite satisfying (although the fate of Vilotte’s collection is a brilliant stroke). The plot is very carefully planned and the action moves along, including Jacquot’s meeting up again with Claudine Eddé, from an earlier book, which hints at a future for them that we see achieved in Jacquot and the Angel. But somehow its all a bit too pat, and the characters don’t somehow match up adequately to their back stories, and the denouement to the main murder is a bit too sudden and unheralded. The outcome does suggest questions about what is true justice (given that the book starts with an old murder) and about who should determine life and death, but doesn’t really examine those questions. So, as with the earlier books, I am left with a slight feeling of dissatisfaction that something that started out so promisingly has not ended quite so well. But O’Brien does write beautifully about the food and the places and the people of Provence (he has been a travel writer after all), and Jacquot can be added to our list of the men who can go down mean streets without themselves being mean. Details: Publisher: Headline ISBN: 978 0 7553 3505 3 Other books by Martin O’Brien – All the Girls, Jacquot and the Waterman, Jacquot and the Angel, Jacquot and the Fifteen 2 Comments \| Books, Crime, Reviews \| Tagged: France, Jacquot, Marseilles, Martin O'Brien, Provence, Rugby \| Permalink You are currently browsing the Strangely Connected blog archives for October, 2007.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723132
__label__wiki	0.924755	0.924755	Human Rights Watch states that the Security Service of Ukraine was torturing the suspected person in the state treason. SSU denies Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, states that the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has detained a woman suspected of treason for two days with torture without contact with the outside world. This is reported by “Radio Svoboda” . “The authorities of Ukraine should immediately investigate allegations that Mastikasheva was illegally detained and tortured”, the director of Europe and Central Asia Human Rights Watch Hugh Williamson said . According to the statement of human rights activists, 29-year-old Ukrainian citizen Dariya Mastikasheva , who lives in Moscow, visited her mother and son in Dnipropetrovsk region in August, and she was detained by the SSU representatives when she tried to take the bus back to Russia. Mastikasheva’s relatives said that they had no information about her for 2 days. Subsequently, the woman was charged with treason, and a court in Dnipro city decided to put her under arrest. Mastikasheva’s lawyer told human rights activists that the officers forced her to read for camera the confession in work for Russian FSS and the intention to recruit veterans of military operations in the east of Ukraine to commit acts of terrorism in Russia, in which the FSS would have blamed Ukrainian authorities. At the same time, the SSU press secretary Elena Hitlyanskaya stated that the accusations against the special services were “groundless.” “The Security Service has acted and operates exclusively within the law, therefore, all Russian information propaganda, thus trying to defend itself from its failure of the terrorist attacks that they planned – we would not comment on it”, Hitlyanskaya said. On August 17, the SSU Head Vasiliy Hrytsak stated that the Service had found out the mechanism of Russian special services through which Russian FSS planned to use former ATO fighters to cover terrorist attacks on its territory. According to him, two suspected people who are in charge of the export of Ukrainian fighters were taken into custody. The Cabinet has approved the strategy of informing citizens about their rights The High Council of Justice allowed to arrest the judge	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723134
__label__cc	0.515123	0.484877	Fastermind.co Comprehensive support system for business owners S.2 Ep. 007 – The Business Side of Creativity with Musician and Financial Whiz, Paco de Leon https://fastermind.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/CP-S2E007.mp3 Download Audio Subscribe The business side of creativity is something many artists struggle with. Of course, there’s the philosophical side of whether or not it’s about the money or the art. But that’s a different discussion. On this episode, we’re concerned with how to go about the business side of being a creative without driving yourself crazy or making yourself feel dumb. To address the issue in a common sense, low-pressure way Dane invited Paco de Leon on the show. She’s, first of all, an artist – a musician who has also been gifted with a kind of business savvy that enables her to bring the sometimes complicated processes and details of financial management into a verbiage and language that creatives can understand. You will enjoy hearing how Paco addresses these issues, in this episode. As a creative, do you sometimes feel unintelligent when it comes to financial stuff? If you do, you can breathe easy because you’re not alone. In fact, today’s guest is a creative herself who helps artists of all kinds get a handle on the financial details of their work – and she says that many creatives feel those same kinds of insecurity. She says that it doesn’t mean you are dumb. In fact, most creatives are highly intelligent. All it means is that most of what you hear from financial experts and advisors isn’t communicated in terms you are familiar with or “get.” That’s OK – Paco and her team are here to help. You’ll find her ability to translate the financial mumbo jumbo into terms you can understand to be an uncommon skill – and one that will make the money side of things much easier for you. The ridiculous advantage of being an unorthodox creative. Today’s guest, Paco de Leon is what Dane calls an “unorthodox creative.” She’s clearly an artist, a creative – but she’s able to bring a host of other talents and skills to her creative work that amplifies and make it more effective. In her case, one of the skills she brings to the table is a solid grasp of business and finance that most creatives find difficult to understand. It’s the merging of her creativity with that understanding that makes her such a helpful person to know. She’s got the ability to make creativity and business sync up and can help you do the same as it relates to the great work you’re trying to put into the world. Take the time to listen to what Paco has to say. You’ll be helped and encouraged. Do you struggle to know if you should make money from your art? Many creatives do. As a musician, Paco de Leon understands the tension. You love your craft and do it for the pure joy and love of it. Sometimes it seems that any thought of monetary gain from your art could sully it in ways you don’t want. But you also wonder, is there a way to do both that doesn’t make you feel like you’re compromising? Paco has wrestled with that very real tension herself and is eager to help you think through the real issues, mental roadblocks, and limiting beliefs you may have surrounding money as it relates to your art. Are you ready for the challenge? Listen to this episode. It IS possible to create your art and live a life free of the concern about money. But it will take some work on your part. Many artists freeze up right about there. The very thought of thinking through their beliefs and approach to money is daunting. And the fact that it has to do with balance sheets and profit and loss statements makes it worse. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today’s guest, Paco de Leon has made it her business to understand BOTH the art and the finances of making art. In other words, she gets the business side of creativity. That makes her a tremendous resource for you. You can be assured, she’s able to remove the fear from dealing with your finances. Listen to this episode and you’ll understand how she can help. Outline of this great episode [0:48] Dane’s introduction to today’s topic and guest: Paco de Leon. [2:29] Why do creatives feel unintelligent when it comes to finances? [4:45] How a musician got into finance in the first place. [11:40] The ridiculous advantage of the unorthodox creative. [13:54] How you can discern if you’re ready to get financial help. [18:00] How you can make use of Paco’s resources. [22:10] Paco’s #1 piece of advice that can make a difference in your finances. GUESTS RESOURCES Websites: www.TheHellYeahGroup.com Connect with the Converge team: Website: www.Fastermind.co Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followdane/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danesanders Twitter: https://twitter.com/danesanders Audio Production & Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK Get everything you need to launch your mastermind group with our Free Fastermind Field Guide. DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE © 2019 FASTERMIND · Terms & Conditions • Privacy Policy • Contact Us	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723135
__label__cc	0.652569	0.347431	Global Centers of Insurance Excellence Designees Announced The International Insurance Society has designated four universities as Global Centers of Insurance Excellence (GCIE) in 2019 -- University of Central Arkansas, University of Colorado Denver, Universität Hamburg, and University of Witwatersrand. NEW YORK, May 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The International Insurance Society has designated four universities as Global Centers of Insurance Excellence (GCIE) in 2019. The GCIE certification program recognizes outstanding risk management and insurance programs that play an integral role in promoting insurance knowledge and research. Since the inception in 2017, the program has designated 34 universities across 11 countries. The GCIE designation is awarded to universities and colleges that meet stringent criteria focused on student qualifications, course offerings, graduate and industry employment rates, as well as professional involvement. The universities must also demonstrate that students are learning primarily from a designated full-time faculty with appropriate academic qualifications and research expertise. After a rigorous review, the IIS GCIE Evaluation Committee has designated the following programs: University of Central Arkansas University of Witwatersrand "We established the GCIE program to play our part in addressing the industry's growing talent shortage," says Mike Morrissey, IIS President and CEO. "The GCIE designation signals the industry as to where the top talent is being cultivated and in doing so, builds the prominence of the world's leading insurance programs, which are effectively serving as the top-tier talent pipeline." This year's recognitions will be made before a global audience of more than 500 insurance leaders from 50+ countries, at the IIS Global Insurance Forum, this year taking place in Singapore, June 18 – 21. The Call for Applications for the 2020 GCIE designation will be released in the fall of 2019. Information on the programs offered by the universities and further details about the GCIE is available on IIS website: http://www.internationalinsurance.org/recognition. About International Insurance Society IIS serves as an inclusive platform for private and public stakeholders to promote resilience, drive innovation, and stimulate the development of markets through insurance and risk management. Our members include life and nonlife insurers from developed and emerging markets, as well as brokers, scholars, regulators and advisors. By virtue of its diverse membership, IIS is recognized for its global convening power and its policy neutral platform that explores the forces that shapes, supports, and enhances the relevance of risk management and insurance in the global economy. Its signature annual event, the Global Insurance Forum, is considered the premier industry conference and is attended by 500+ insurance leaders from around the globe. Founded in 1965, the IIS is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization based in New York, NY. IIS is an affiliate of The Institutes.Internationalinsurance.org About The Institutes \| Risk and Insurance Knowledge Group As the industry's trusted and respected knowledge leader, The Institutes are committed to meeting the evolving professional development needs of risk management and insurance professionals through innovative research, networking, and career resources. The Institutes offers 28 designations, including the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®). Other offerings include certificate and introductory programs, online and continuing education courses, leadership education, custom solutions and assessments, and industry consortiums. TheInstitutes.org. CPCU is a registered trademark of The Institutes. All rights reserved.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723138
__label__cc	0.740756	0.259244	Kaylee Schwertfeger Associate Professor, Medical School - Twin Cities Campus, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Inflammation as a Target in Cancer Therapy Leon-Cabrera, S., Schwertfeger, K. & Terrazas, L. I., Jan 1 2019, In : Mediators of inflammation. 2019, 1 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial JAK/STAT inhibition in macrophages promotes therapeutic resistance by inducing expression of protumorigenic factors Irey, E. A., Lassiter, C. M., Brady, N. J., Chuntova, P., Wang, Y., Knutson, T. P., Henzler, C., Chaffee, T. S., Vogel, R. I., Nelson, A. C., Farrar, M. A. & Schwertfeger, K., Jun 18 2019, In : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116, 25, p. 12442-12451 10 p. Janus Kinases STAT3 Transcription Factor Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating Neoplastic Stem Cells human PELP1 protein Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptors Glucocorticoid Receptors Paclitaxel fibroblast growth factors osteoclasts lesions (animal) Cytoplasmic localization of proline, glutamic acid, leucinerich protein 1 (PELP1) induces breast epithelial cell migration through up-regulation of inhibitor of κb kinase ϵ and inflammatory cross-talk with macrophages Girard, B. J., Knutson, T. P., Kuker, B., McDowell, L., Schwertfeger, K. & Ostrander, J. H., Jan 6 2017, In : Journal of Biological Chemistry. 292, 1, p. 339-350 12 p. Glutamic Acid Progesterone Receptors STAT5 deletion in macrophages alters ductal elongation and branching during mammary gland development Brady, N. J., Farrar, M. A. & Schwertfeger, K., Aug 1 2017, In : Developmental Biology. 428, 1, p. 232-244 13 p. Human Mammary Glands Estrogen Receptors Macrophages: Regulators of the inflammatory microenvironment during mammary gland development and breast cancer Brady, N. J., Chuntova, P. & Schwertfeger, K., Jan 1 2016, In : Mediators of Inflammation. 2016, 4549676. Inflammation Mediators EIF4E threshold levels differ in governing normal and neoplastic expansion of mammary stem and luminal progenitor cells Avdulov, S. V., Herrera, J., Smith, K., Peterson, M., Gomez-Garcia, J. R., Beadnell, T. C., Schwertfeger, K., Benyumov, A., Manivel, J. C., Li, S., Bielinsky, A. K., Yee, D., Bitterman, P. B. & Polunovsky, V. A., Feb 15 2015, In : Cancer Research. 75, 4, p. 687-697 11 p. Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-4E Epiregulin contributes to breast tumorigenesis through regulating matrix metalloproteinase 1 and promoting cell survival Farooqui, M., Bohrer, L. R., Brady, N. J., Chuntova, P., Kemp, S. E., Wardwell, C. T., Nelson, A. C. & Schwertfeger, K., Jul 29 2015, In : Molecular Cancer. 14, 1, 138. Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 Cell Survival Hyaluronan, inflammation, and breast cancer progression Schwertfeger, K., Cowman, M. K., Telmer, P. G., Turley, E. A. & Mc Carthy, J. B., Jan 1 2015, In : Frontiers in immunology. 6, JUN, 236. CD44 Antigens Cellular Microenvironment Disaccharides Toll-Like Receptors Triptolide enhances the tumoricidal activity of TRAIL against renal cell carcinoma Brincks, E. L., Kucaba, T. A., James, B. R., Murphy, K. A., Schwertfeger, K., Sangwan, V., Banerjee, S., Saluja, A. K. & Griffith, T. S., Dec 1 2015, In : FEBS Journal. 282, 24, p. 4747-4765 19 p. TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand Receptors Death Domain Receptors Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors Activation of the FGFR-STAT3 pathway in breast cancer cells induces a hyaluronan-rich microenvironment that licenses tumor formation Bohrer, L. R., Chuntova, P., Bade, L. K., Beadnell, T. C., Leon, R. P., Brady, N. J., Ryu, Y., Goldberg, J. E., Schmechel, S. C., Koopmeiners, J., Mc Carthy, J. B. & Schwertfeger, K., Jan 1 2014, In : Cancer Research. 74, 1, p. 374-386 13 p. Acinar Cells protein kinase C Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate Long Noncoding RNA myc Genes BMP-binding protein twisted gastrulation is required in mammary gland epithelium for normal ductal elongation and myoepithelial compartmentalization Forsman, C., Ng, B. C., Heinze, R. K., Kuo, C., Sergi, C., Gopalakrishnan, R., Yee, D., Graf, D., Schwertfeger, K. & Petryk, A., Jan 1 2013, In : Developmental Biology. 373, 1, p. 95-106 12 p. Gastrulation Bone Morphogenetic Proteins Gene Amplification Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1 Activation in Mammary Tumor Cells Promotes Macrophage Recruitment in a CX3CL1-Dependent Manner Reed, J. R., Stone, M. D., Beadnell, T. C., Ryu, Y., Griffin, T. J. & Schwertfeger, K., Sep 24 2012, In : PLoS One. 7, 9, e45877. Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1 mammary neoplasms (animal) Macrophages promote fibroblast growth factor receptor-driven tumor cell migration and invasion in a Cxcr2-dependent manner Bohrer, L. R. & Schwertfeger, K., Oct 1 2012, In : Molecular Cancer Research. 10, 10, p. 1294-1305 12 p. p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases Epithelial Cells Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Ovarian Neoplasms Mouse mammary tumor virus Oncogene Proteins Catenins Action Potentials Interleukin-1beta Fibroblast growth factors in development and cancer: Insights from the mammary and prostate glands Schwertfeger, K., Nov 26 2009, In : Current Drug Targets. 10, 7, p. 632-644 13 p. Prostatic Neoplasms Interleukin-1beta and fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 cooperate to induce cyclooxygenase-2 during early mammary tumourigenesis Reed, J. R., Leon, R. P., Hall, M. K. & Schwertfeger, K., Apr 24 2009, In : Breast Cancer Research. 11, 2, R21. Cyclooxygenase 2 Interleukin-1 Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases A critical role for the inflammatory response in a mouse model of preneoplastic progression Schwertfeger, K. L., Xian, W., Kaplan, A. M., Burnett, S. H., Cohen, D. A. & Rosen, J. M., Jun 1 2006, In : Cancer Research. 66, 11, p. 5676-5685 10 p. Transgenic Mice Epithelium Stromal Cells MDM2 is required for suppression of apoptosis by activated Akt1 in salivary acinar cells Limesand, K. H., Schwertfeger, K. L. & Anderson, S. M., Dec 1 2006, In : Molecular and Cellular Biology. 26, 23, p. 8840-8856 17 p. Xanthine Dehydrogenase Expression of constitutively activated Akt in the mammary gland leads to excess lipid synthesis during pregnancy and lactation Schwertfeger, K. L., McManaman, J. L., Palmer, C. A., Neville, M. C. & Anderson, S. M., Jun 1 2003, In : Journal of Lipid Research. 44, 6, p. 1100-1112 13 p. Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors An atlas of mouse mammary gland development Richert, M. M., Schwertfeger, K. L., Ryder, J. W. & Anderson, S. M., Jan 1 2000, In : Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia. 5, 2, p. 227-241 15 p. Estrous Cycle JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases Prolactin Receptors Phosphotransferases	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723141
__label__cc	0.523261	0.476739	Posts Tagged ‘Robert Pattinson’ Seventh Annual Groovers Movie Awards Posted in Movie Blog, Oscars & Awards, tagged Aaron Sorkin, Alice Birch, Armando Iannucci, Baby Driver, best, Best Actor, Best Comedy, Best Dialogue, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Movie, Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, Casey Affleck, Chan-wook Park, Denis Villeneuve, Edgar Wright, Fandango, Fandango Award, Fingersmith, Florence Pugh, Groovers Movie Awards, jessica chastain, Jonathan Amos, Julian Slater, Kevin Costner, Kevin Reynolds, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, Manchester by the Sea, Miss Sloane, Molly’s Game, Oldboy, Oscars, Paul Machliss, Robert Pattinson, Roger Deakins, Sarah Waters, The Death of Stalin, The Handmaiden. A labyrinthine, William Oldroyd on January 21, 2018\| 1 Comment » There is a little academy you may have heard of who plan to announce the nominees for their film awards this week, I think they call them the Oscars. Before that we have the Seventh Annual Groovers Movie Awards. As ever all categories, eligibility and winners are decided by me: Best Movie: Blade Runner 2049: Blade Runner (1982) didn’t need a sequel, not only is this movie a worthy sequel, but it continues the story that enhances rather than diminishes the original, continuing, even expanding on the themes. As you would expect from director Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins, it looks amazing. A love it or hate it type film; like the original, it may have underperformed at the box-office, it will find its audience in time. Best Director: Chan-wook Park for The Handmaiden. A labyrinthine tale that never loses its focus and always holds the audience’s attention. Based on Sarah Waters novel Fingersmith, this adaptation sees the setting change from Victorian England to Japanese occupied Korea, making the most of the setting, the film looks amazing. Possibly Park’s best movie since Oldboy. Best Actor/Actress: Casey Affleck won the academy award for Manchester by the Sea, a result I certainly wouldn’t argue with. Jessica Chastain gave to fantastic performances in Miss Sloane and Molly’s Game. Best Dialogue: Aaron Sorkin (writer/director) Molly’s Game. In his directorial debut, Sorkin is helped by his actors: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner who makes his machine gun dialogue sound amazing. Best Editing: Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss (editors) Edgar Wright (writer/director), Julian Slater (sound designer), for Baby Driver. I have always been an advocate of the idea that the best editing is invisible. Baby Drive breaks this rule with very conspicuous editing; there are long takes, single take tracking shots, quick cuts all done in time with the music. It could have been a disaster, it’s actually a masterpiece. Best Comedy: The Death of Stalin. Armando Iannucci made an interesting choice with his cast using a mix of British and American accents in this story of the power struggle in the days that followed the titular death of Stalin. Farce and satire in equal parts, with a really dark undercurrent, the risk pays off, it is brilliant and hilarious. Special Award: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. This special award is for making interesting movie choices. A decade ago Stewart and Pattinson became two of the biggest stars in the world thanks to the Twilight movies. Choosing to work with directors including: James Gray, David Cronenberg, Olivier Assayas, Kelly Reichardt and Woody Allen. They have continued making interesting and extremely good movie: Stewart worked with Olivier Assayas for a second time with Personal Shopper, while Pattinson made Good Time with The Safdie Brothers. Fandango Award: William Oldroyd, Alice Birch, and Florence Pugh – Fandango was writer/director Kevin Reynolds debut (and best) feature, and the first notable movie for star Kevin Costner. It gives its name to this award for the best breakout film-makers of the year: William Oldroyd, Alice Birch, and Florence Pugh are director, writer and star of Lady Macbeth respectively. The captivating movie is the first feature for Oldroyd and Birch, and the first starring role for Pugh. A to Z of 2014 Posted in Movie Blog, tagged 12 Years a Slave, 20000 Days on Earth, 2014, A to Z, A to Z of 2014, Alan Turing, Annie, Avengers, Barack Obama, Belle, Blue Ruin, Boyhood, Captain America The Winter Soldier, Chef, Dallas Buyers Club, Dan Gilroy, david fincher, David Michôd, Doug Liman, Edge of Tomorrow, Exodus Gods and Kings, George Clooney, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guy Pearce, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Lawrence, Kickstarter, Luc Besson, Lucy, Lupita Nyong'o, Maps To The Stars, Marvel, Matthew McConaughey, McConaissance, Mia Wasikowska, Nick Cave, Nightcrawler, Obvious Child, Only Lovers Left Alive, Oprah Winfrey, Oscar, Paddington, Peter Jackson, Quvenzhané Wallis, Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson, Scoot McNairy, Selma, Snowpiercer, Terry Gilliam, The Double, The Hobbit, The Hundred-Foot Journey, The Imitation Game, The interview, The Rover, The Zero Theorem, Tracks, Under The Skin, Unreleased, Veronica Mars, What We Do In The Shadows, Zach Braff on December 27, 2014\| 4 Comments » A – Avengers: Captain America: The Winter Soldier set the Avengers franchise in a new direction and Marvel announced phase Three schedule covering films up to 2019. B – Boyhood: What could have been a gimmick turned out to be the best film of the year. C – Nick Cave: 20,000 Days on Earth was neither documentary or a narrative film, but was one of the best movies of the year. D – Doug Liman: Edge of Tomorrow was the enigma of 2014. The Doug Liman directed movie received solid reviews and great word of mouth but underperformed at the box-office. E – Egypt & Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott’s biblical epic was released on Boxing Day in the UK and few weeks earlier in some countries. The film has been banned in Egypt as the courtiers censors are unhappy with “historical inaccuracies”. F – Fincher & Flynn: Director David Fincher turned Gillian Flynn’s bestselling Novel Gone Girl into an excellent movie. G – Guardians of the Galaxy – Made up of a cast of largely unknown characters, it was considered a risk for the franchise. Not only was the film great fun but was the Highest grossing film at the US box-office (and 2nd highest worldwide) for the year. H – The Hobbit: After more than 20 hours screen time, The Battle of the Five Armies brings Peter Jackson’s time in Middle Earth to an end. I – The Interview: The release for the movie The interview was cancelled following threats from hackers. Barack Obama and George Clooney joined the debate and the film received a limited Christmas day release earning $1million from 331 scenes in independent theatres. J – Jennifer Lawrence: With an Oscar win and two other nominations as well as a starring role in two of the biggest movie franchises, Jennifer Lawrence is probably the biggest young star in Hollywood. She was also the most outspoken victim of hackers who stole nude images and posted them online. K – Kickstarter: the big names to come from kickstarter in 2014 were the Veronica Mars movie and Zach Braff’s ;Wish I Was Here. Blue Ruin and Obvious Child also raised a little to help get them released. L – Luc Besson & Lucy: After numerous movies with his name attached as a writer or producer Besson is back in the director’s chair with the surprise hit Lucy. Making back its $40million budget back in its opening weekend. M – McConaissance: Matthew McConaughey’s resurgence was completed with a best actor Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club. N – Nightcrawler: Jake Gyllenhaal gives the performance of his career in Dan Gilroy’s feature debut. O– Oprah Winfrey: as well as producing two movies: Selma and The Hundred-Foot Journey Winfrey proved her Hollywood power by lending her support to the independent British film Belle. P – Paddington: What could have been a disaster turned out to be charming and funny. Q – Quvenzhané Wallis: The young star of Beasts of the Southern Wild retuned with a small part in 12 Years a Slave and starring role in the remake of Annie. R – The Rover: After his début feature, Animal Kingdom in 2010 David Michôd is back with The Rover, a movie full of subtext, foreboding and great acting from Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson and Scoot McNairy. S – Scarlett Johansson: It’s been a busy year for Johansson with the UK release of: Her, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Chef, Under the Skin and the surprise hit of the year Lucy. T – Alan Turing: The imitation Game finally told the long overdue story of war hero and farther of computing, Alan Turing. U – Unreleased: A region 2 DVD of Snowpiercer is available from a well know online retailer but the film is still yet to receive a UK release. V – Vampire: Forget Twilight, with Only Lovers Left Alive and What We Do in the Shadows there are two original ideas to kick-start the genre. W – Mia Wasikowska: After appearing in Stoker my favourite film of 2013 Mia Wasikowska is rapidly becoming one of my favourite actresses with appearances in Maps to the Stars, The Double, Only Lovers Left Alive and Tracks in 2014. X – X-Men: Days of Future Past: Bryan Singer returned to the X-Men franchise with a seminal story form the 80’s. It beat Captain America: The Winter Soldier at the world box-office, dragging the franchise from the shadow of Marvel Studios. Y – 12 Years A Slave: Winner of Oscars for Best picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and best supporting actress for Lupita Nyong’o in her first feature film. Z – The Zero Theorem: Terry Gilliam is back after five years, and back to what he does best, making interesting films that look like the cost a lot more to make than they actually did. The Next James Bond will be? Posted in James Bond, tagged Bond 24, Bond 25, Bond 26, Casino Royale, Christian Bale, Clive Owen, Daniel Craig, Guy Pearce, Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, James Bond, Jon Hamm, MGM, Michael Fassbinder, Nicholas Hoult, Robert Pattinson, Sam Mendes, Skyfall, Timothy Dalton, Tom Hiddleston, Wallther PPK on October 20, 2013\| 3 Comments » Back in 210 when production of the as yet unnamed 23rd James Bond movie was indefinitely suspended due to MGM’s financial troubles, I speculated about the future of Daniel Craig as the worlds most famous secret agent. Remembering what had happened the last time there was a delay and Timothy Dalton walked away from the role, I feared the worst. I looked at who could replace Craig should he drop out. As it happened there was nothing to worry about. When the film now named Skyfall finally arrived at the back end of 2012 it turned out to be one of the best Bond films ever and my favourite film of the year. It has since been revealed that Craig will appear in two more Bond films, at least one of them reuniting him with Skyfall director Sam Mendes. It is believed that “Bond 24” as it will be know until a title is chosen with be released in November 2015, suggesting Craig’s final outing will be two or three years after that by which time he will be somewhere around 50 about the right time to hang up his Wallther PPK . This leaves a problem with some of my other suggestions for the next bond. If Craig does fulfil his commitment for another two (five in total) Bond films it will be around 2020 before a replacement is needed, by which time some of my other suggestions will be too old. Idris Elba: already in his 40’s Elba will be the wrong side of 50. The long time favourite Clive Owen will be 50 next year so will be way too old, his chance realistically went when Craig was first cast. Michael Fassbinder (1977): The German born Irish actor has been in hugely varied movie and TV roles. He is very at home in period settings as seen in a lot of his films including Inglourious Basterds and X-Men: First Class making him the perfect choice for a 50’s or 60’s set Bond. He will be in his early 40’s by the time “Bond 26” goes into production, just about the right age. Henry Cavill (1983): For so long the nearly man, Cavill was the first choice for McG’s Superman but lost out to Brandon Routh when Bryan Singer took over as director. He was the fans favourite to play Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter but lost out to Robert Pattinson. He was author Stephenie Meyer‘s choice to play Edward Cullen in Twilight, again missing out to Pattinson. He narrowly missed out to Daniel Craig to play Bond in Casino Royale. All these casting choices turned out to be right, he was too old to play Diggory and Cullen, too young for Bond and eventually got to play Superman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel that was better than Superman Returns. He will be about the right age to play Bond in 2020. Tom Hiddleston (1981): Having worked mainly in television for a decade I had never heard of Hiddleston until he played Loki in Thor then all of a sudden he was everywhere with War Horse, The Deep Blue Sea and a small but memorable performance as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Midnight in Paris. He will always be associated with Loki and this villainous typecasting could help bring the necessary cold edge to Bond. Again he will be about the right age to play the part. There are lots of other names mentioned who I can’t see as Bond for one reason or another: Tom Hardy (1977) is probably to visceral and brutal and would need to slim down from his Warrior/Bane bulk. Christian Bale (1974) probably brings too much baggage (Batman) and is at the upper end of the age range. I could have seen Guy Pearce (1967) as Bond a couple of years ago but think he will be too old by the time the part becomes free. Jon Hamm (1971) is probably the right age now making him too old when Craig steps down. I also can’t see an American Bond. Then we come to the leftfield choice: Nicholas Hoult (1989) at 23 he is too young to play Bond now and will still be at the bottom end of the age range in 2020, however it could work. Bond movies have always moved with the times (although often behind the times) without any mention of a reboot until Casino Royale (2006). This is a perfect opportunity to not only reboot the series but to return to Ian Fleming’s eleven key novels (skipping the short story compilations and The Spy Who Loved Me (1962) whose format would need a lot of tweaking): Moonraker (1955) Diamonds Are Forever (1956) From Russia, with Love (1957) Goldfinger (1959) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963) You Only Live Twice (1964) If they start with a young enough actor and make a film every couple of years we could see an actor grow into age in the part. Possibly taking certain books and playing with the order a little we could have rise, fall and rebirth of bond including a SMERSH trilogy and a Blofeld trilogy. The big question is when to set the stories. Although always assumed to be contemporary at the time they were written Fleming was always as vague about the passage of time as he was about the age of his hero. The two options are either present day or 1950’s. I would go with 1950’s partly for the look of the films but also to help keep the stories close to the source material without the distraction of modern technology. In truth the next Bond will most likely be someone we have never considered or possibly somebody we have never heard of. Although aware of Daniel Craig before Casino Royale I have never considered him as a potential Bond. Whoever they choose, we have two more Craig outings to look forward to, we can only hope they are as good as Skyfall.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723147
__label__wiki	0.857453	0.857453	Armbruster receives media service award Arts & Humanities at Fresno StateAlumni News, Faculty and Staff, Media, Communications and JournalismBruce Batti, Jim Boren, Jim Tucker, MCJ, Media, Communications and Journalism, PRSA, Ray Steele, Robert Gauthier, Shirley Armbruster, Shirley Melikian Armbruster, Stefani Booroojian, The Fresno Bee, University Communications, Visalia Times-DeltaLeave a comment ~ Reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com Shirley Melikian Armbruster, associate vice president for University Communications at Fresno State, received the 2017 Jim Tucker Media Service Award presented by the Department of Media, Communications and Journalism for her journalistic and communications accomplishments. The award was established in 2004 as a tribute to Jim Tucker’s decades of service to the department as a professor and chair. The award honors a media professional in or from the San Joaquin Valley who has performed with distinction. Armbruster was announced as the recipient during the department’s celebration of graduates on Friday, May 19, at the Satellite Student Union on campus. Armbruster is Fresno State’s chief spokesperson and leads a 15-member, award-winning communications team that tells the University’s story through social media, media relations, graphic design, photography and videography. Armbruster is a member of the President’s Cabinet and provides media and public relations counsel to University President Joseph I. Castro and senior administrators. She is originally from Fowler and studied journalism at Fresno State under Tucker and the late Roger Tatarian. “Shirley is the standard bearer for media professionals,” said Dr. Katherine Adams, the department chair. “Throughout her career — first as a journalist and later as a public relations practitioner and leader — she has produced the highest quality work with the highest level of integrity. It is a joy to honor her today.” Armbruster, who is retiring in July, was also honored by the department in 2014 when she was named an MCJ Fellow at the MCJ Alumni and Friends Chapter Hall of Fame event. She serves on several campus boards and committees, including Strategic Planning, WASC Reaccreditation and the DISCOVERe tablet task force. She also co-chaired the University’s rebranding effort in 2012. She chairs the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Advisory Council for Communications and Public Affairs and is a member of the national Executive Committee of the Public Relatins Society of America (PRSA) — Counselors to Higher Education. She served a three-year term on the national CASE Commission on Communications and Marketing. Locally, she is a member of the Central California PRSA Chapter Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the Fresno State Phi Kappa Phi honor society chapter. She was named the 2016 Professional of the Year by the Central California Chapter of PRSA and was selected for the 2016 Staff Leadership Award by the Fresno State Women’s Association. She has won numerous news writing awards, including the National Epilepsy Society Feature Story of the Year, PRSA regional awards and CASE District VII Award of Excellence for Integrated Marketing Program. Prior to her service at Fresno State, Armbruster worked as an award-winning reporter and editor at the Visalia TimesDelta and The Fresno Bee. Last year, the Tucker Award was presented to Robert Gauthier of the Los Angeles Times. Previous winners include Bruce Batti, president of Jeffrey Scott Agency, Inc.; Ray Steele, former publisher of The Fresno Bee; Jim Boren, The Fresno Bee editorial page editor; and Stefani Booroojian, a KSEE 24 news anchor. Tucker retired in 2007 after 39 years as a journalism professor at Fresno State. He was department chair for 12 years. For more information, call 559.278.2087. Posted by Arts & Humanities at Fresno State The College of Arts and Humanities provides a diverse student population with the communication skills, humanistic values and cultural awareness that form the foundation of scholarship. The college offers intellectual and artistic programs that engage students and faculty and the community in collaboration, dialog and discovery. These programs help preserve, illuminate and nourish the arts and humanities for the campus and for the wider community. CineCulture receives Way of Peace award A Message to Our Graduates from the Dean and Associate Dean	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723149
__label__wiki	0.910047	0.910047	Ever since Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem became the first Chinese sci-fi novel to win the prestigious Hugo award in 2015, propelling The Informer the author and genre to a new stratum of mainstream recognition within China, critics, fans and commentators have been hotly anticipating a “new era of Chinese sci-fi cinema.” Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy — of which The Three-Body Problem is the first installment — has been shouldering expectations to kickstart this new cinematic wave since that same year, when Shanghai-based production company YooZoo Pictures announced that the first in a proposed six-film franchise adapted from the Remembrance series had completed filming. Fast forward to October 2018, and we still haven’t seen this film, reportedly due to a “lack of visual depictions.” YooZoo Pictures nevertheless re-asserted Marauders their adaptation rights to the Remembrance trilogy in March, after Amazon entered the fray offering 1 billion USD to adapt the novel into a three-season web series. It might take a while longer to see Liu’s “immense” — to use President Obama’s word — saga on the silver (or smartphone) screen. But for now, we can look forward to watching another Preman Pensiun of Liu’s original sci-fi stories in theaters next year: The Wandering Earth, a much shorter novel first published in 2000 (the Remembrance series was published between 2008 and 2010). The Wandering Earth depicts humanity’s search for a new solar system suitable for life, with its protagonists using Earth as a starship when our original solar system starts burning down in the year 2100. A key theme in the novel is how catastrophic changes in the Earth’s environment prompt its surviving citizens’ mindsets to likewise transform as Earth wanders through the galaxy. Director: Frant Gwo Actors: Chuxiao Qu, Li Guangjie, Wu Jing The official account of the Star Wars saga has Moana just tweeted the title of the next movie in the galactic saga, which will be episode VIII of it and will… Genre: Action, Fantasy, Science Fiction Bleeding Steel Jackie Chan may be getting closer and closer to an inevitable withdrawal from action movies, but that does not mean he has slowed down his work pace. On the contrary,… Genesis: The Fall of Eden Benedict Cumberbatch is a long-time fan of the semi-biographical novels of Edward St. Aubyn, and he makes good on his wish to play alcoholic, drug-addled Patrick Melrose with the performance… If you are one of those who are looking forward Bullitt County to the summer to attend the premiere of The Predator, we have good news. Or maybe not. A… In 1983 Marvel released the cartoon New Death Note Mutants, a spin-off of the X-Men that sought to complement the successful Uncanny X-Men comic. The comic remained for sale until 1991… The film adaptations of comics have La La Land become so ubiquitous that, perhaps to justify themselves or perhaps to ensure the continuity of the business, in Hollywood they have been… Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction Any film enthusiast as something more than an entertainment knows that, especially in fantasy and science fiction movies, there are amazing constructions that do not exist in reality and that,… Recording Academy president Neil Portnow has backpedaled on comments he made after Sunday’s Grammy Awards that women need to “step up” to improve the music Ocean’s Eight industry’s glaring gender… After X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), actress Jennifer Lawrence suggested that she would not go back to the mutant franchise like Mystique. However, director Simon Kinberg forced his change of mind. The… An ambitious young executive is sent The Jungle Book to pick up the CEO of his company from an idyllic wellness center located in a remote location in the Swiss Alps…. Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller Foxtrot Six Young director Randy Korompis embraces Hollywood film producer Mario Kassar to work on the Foxtrot Six film. Previously, Mario was known as The New Mutants a producer of action films… Country: Indonesia, USA Genre: Action, Science Fiction It seems that The Cloverfield Paradox was just the beginning of a new era on Netflix. Where the platform is determined to buy the exclusive rights to premier Perfect Strangers films;… Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller Trailer: The Wandering Earth	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723150
__label__wiki	0.811821	0.811821	← TCS: History Within Breathing Distance ON THIS DAY: June 25, 2019 → ON THIS DAY: June 24, 2019 Posted on June 24, 2019 by wordcloud9 June 24th is Celebration of the Senses Day * Pralines Day Swim a Lap Day International Fairy Day MORE! Anita Desai , Hopalong Cassidy and Mindy Kaling, click Christianity – Feast of St. John the Baptist Baha’i – Feast of Rahmat Brazil – Day of the Caboclo (mixed indigenous/European ancestry) Quebec: St. Jean Baptiste Day › (patron saint of the city) › Discovery Day Estonia – St. John’s Day Latvia – Jani (St. John’s Day) Lithuania – Day of Dew (St. John’s Day) Peru – Farmer Day and Inti Raymi (Incan Sun Festival) Philippines – Wattah Wattah (Saint John the Baptist Day) Scotland – Bannockburn Day Venezuela – Carabobo Battle Day 1312 BC – Muršili II, King of the Hittite Empire, launches an attack on Hayasa-Azzi, a confederation of two kingdoms in the uplands near Mount Ararat 217 BC – Second Punic War: Four Roman legions under Gaius Flaminius Nepos are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal’s army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene 109 – Emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 25 miles (40 kilometres) north-west of Rome 637 – The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dál Riata, a contender for the largest battle in the history of Ireland 972 – The Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces 1128 – Forces led by Teresa of León, Countess of Portugal, and Fernando Pérez de Traba are defeated by Alfonso I, Teresa’s son, at the Battle of São Mamede 1314 – Robert the Bruce leads Scottish forces to victory over Edward II of England at Bannockburn 1314 (? year uncertain) – Philippa of Hainault born in France, became Queen of England as the wife of Edward III; acted as regent in 1346 when her husband went to war in France. She is credited with persuading Edward to spare the Burghers of Calais when the besieged city was forced by starvation to surrender; Edward said he would spare the people if six of the city’s leaders would give themselves up to him, demanding they walk out wearing nooses around their necks, and carrying the keys to the city. Philippa asked Edward to be merciful, saying their deaths would be a bad omen for her unborn child, Thomas of Windsor (who only lived a year, in spite of Edward’s mercy) 1322 – Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, born; ruler of Brabant (1355-1406). Her first husband, William IV, Count of Holland, died in battle, after 11 years of marriage, and their only son also died young. Her second marriage was to Wenceslaus of Luxembourg. The marriage negotiations resulted in a document in 1356 called the Blijde Inkomst (“Joyful Entry”) which became the rule of law in Brabant. It assured Joanna and her consort peaceable entry into their capital and settled the inheritance of the Duchy of Branbant on Johanna’s sisters, her “natural heirs,” who were more acceptable to the burghers of Brabant than rule by the House of Luxenbourg. However, this caused problems when Louis II of Flanders almost immediately made a military incursion into Brabant, claiming he was Duke of Brabant by right of his wife, Joanna’s younger sister. With Branbant overrun by forces from Flanders, Joanna and Wenceslaus had little choice but to sign the humiliating Treaty of Ath, ceding Malines and Antwerp to Louis. They called on the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV for support by force of arms, but instead he met at Maastrict with the parties concerned, including representatives of all the towns, and nullified certain terms of the Blijde Inkomst, to satisfy the Luxembourg dynasty. The duchy continued to deteriorate with Wencelaus’s defeat and capture at the battle of Baesweiler with the Duke of Jülich in 1371 after mercenaries robbed Brabantine merchants in Jülich territory and the Duke protected the mercenaries. Joanna did manage to keep Louis III from succeeding her. At her death, the Duchy passed to her great-nephew Antoine, the second son of her niece, Margaret III, Countess of Flanders 1374 – One of the first major outbreaks of St. John’s Dance or St. Vitus’s Dance, a possible mass psychogenic illness, overtakes Aachen, Germany, causing hallucinations, jumping and twitching until people collapse from exhaustion Victims of Saint Vitus Dance Go on Pilgrimage, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder 1509 – Henry VIII is crowned king of England 1519 – Théodore Bèza born, French Protestant theologian, author, translator and teacher, a disciple of John Calvin, influential figure in the Reformation 1532 – Robert Dudley, first Earl of Leicester born, English courtier, statesman, favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, financial backer of Francis Drake, patron of the arts, especially theatre 1591 – Mustafa I born, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1617-1618 and 1622-1623). The custom of Sultans before Mustafa’s older brother ascended the throne was to have all his brothers executed (Mustafa’s father, Mehmed III, had executed 19 of his brothers.) But when Ahmed I was enthroned in 1603 at the age of 13, he spared the life of Mustafa, aged 12. In 1617, Ahmed died, causing a crisis. Both Ahmed’s first-born son Osman, and his brother Mustafa, had claims to the throne. Şeyhülislam Esad Efendi and Sofu Mehmed Pasha headed the faction that said Osman was too young, and championed Mustafa, who was 26 years old. Others objected because of Mustafa’s mental problems, but they were overruled. It was the first time an Ottoman Sultan was succeeded by his brother instead of his son, and created a new succession principle of seniority that would last until the end of the Empire. Mustafa’s mother Halime Sultan became the Valide Sultan as well as a regent and wielded great power. Due to Mustafa’s mental conditions, she acted as a regent and exercised power more directly. Mustafa behavior was rumoured to be odd: he pulled off the turbans of his viziers and yanked their beards, and some claimed to have seen him throwing coins to birds and fish. Whatever his mental condition, he was batted back and forth by the Topkapi Palace court cliques. In 1618, a different palace faction deposed him in favor his 14-year-old nephew, who became Osman II (1618-1622), but Osman angered the Janissaries (the Sultan’s household guards), and they strangled him to death during an uprising, so Mustafa was once again placed on the throne. He began his second reign by executing everyone who had any share in the murder of his nephew. Rumors of his mental instability increased, and his mother continued to hold most of the real power. A conflict between the Janissaries and the sipahis (Ottoman cavalry) increased the political instability, and Mustafa was deposed a second time. Murad IV, the 11-year-old son of Ahmed I, was enthroned in 1623. Mustafa was spared execution by the pleadings of his mother, and lived in the Eski (Old) Palace until his death in 1639, at age 47 1604 – Samuel de Champlain reaches the mouth of the Saint John River 1717 – The Premier Grand Lodge, the first Masonic (Freemasons) Grand Lodge, is founded in London 1813 – Henry Ward Beecher born, American Congregational minister, abolitionist, author and social reformer, involved in a major scandal over alleged adulterous affairs 1831 – Rebecca Harding Davis born, American author and journalist; advocate for marginalized groups in society including blacks, Native Americans, women, immigrants and the working class; author of novella, Life in the Iron Mills 1842 – Ambrose Bierce born, American author, journalist and wit, served as a lieutenant in the Union Army during in the Civil War; noted for The Devil’s Dictionary 1844 – Charles Goodyear is granted a U.S. patent for vulcanized rubber 1867 – Ruth Randall Edström born, American women’s rights and peace activist; she moved to Europe after marrying Sigfrid Edström, a Swedish engineer, and they lived in first in Switzerland, and then in Sweden. She was one of the organizers of the third peace conference in The Hague, and participated in the International Women’s Congress of 1915 1880 – Agnes Nestor born, American labor leader, politician, suffragist and social reformer, known for her roles in the International Glove Workers Union and the Women’s Trade Union League 1883 – Victor Franz Hess born in Austria-Hungary, American physicist; 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on atmospheric radiation, “cosmic rays” 1901 – First exhibition by Pablo Picasso, aged 19, opens in Paris Self-portrait, by Pablo Picasso 1912 –Mary Wesley born, English novelist and children’s author; she worked for MI5 during the war and noted in her official biography, published after her death, that she would “hunt in pairs” with her friend Betty, who, like her, favoured men in RAF uniform. Years later, when her husband died she was left impoverished, and tried writing children’s books, but they brought in little money. Her first adult novel, Jumping the Queue, was published when she was 71 years old, but it was followed by ten other novels in the next fourteen years, all of them bestsellers. Her most successful book, The Camomile Lawn, was made into a popular television series in the UK. Some younger readers were shocked that an “elderly woman” author would use such salty language and put septuagenarian sexual scenes in her books, but she delighted a large number of readers who were her contemporaries 1914 – Pearl Witherington born, British secret agent, fought in occupied France as a Special Operations Executive member, leading a guerrilla band of French resistance fighters; recommended for the Military Cross, but denied it because she was a woman. 1915 – Norman Cousins born, American essayist; editor of The Saturday Review 1916 – Saloua Raouda Choucair born, Lebanese painter and sculptor; considered the first abstract artist in Lebanon. In 1943, she went to Egypt, and was affected by the Islamic art she discovered in the mosques in Cairo. A combination of architectural and traditional Islamic elements became central to her work. After her return to Lebanon, some of her drawings were published in the Art Gazette of the American University of Beirut’s Art Club. In 1947, she exhibited some of her geometrical gouache work at the Arab Cultural Gallery, the first recorded abstract painting exhibition in the Arab World. 1947 was also the year she went to Paris, and became part of the city’s art scene. She spent the majority of the rest of her life there, over time concentrating more on sculpture than painting, and winning a commission for a stone sculpture as public art in Beirut. She lived to age 100 Self-Portrait 1943 – Poem, sculpture – Saloua Raouda Choucair 1916 – John Ciardi born, American poet, etymologist and translator, notably for Dante’s Divine Comedy; columnist and editor at The Saturday Review 1916 – Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million dollar contract 1917 – Joan Clarke born, British linguist, cryptanalyst and numismatist; one of the WWII code breakers at Bletchley Park working on the Enigma project. When Clarke first arrived at Bletchley Park in June, 1940, she was placed with “The Girls,” a group women that mainly did routine clerical work. At this time, cryptology was not considered a job for a woman. According to Clarke, she only knew of one other female cryptologist that worked at Bletchley Park. Gordon Welchman, her former academic advisor, who had recruited her, was able to get her transferred to Hut 8. She was the only woman practitioner of Banburismus, a cryptanalytic process developed by Alan Turing which reduced the need for bombes —electromechanical devices as used by Welchman and Turing to decipher German encrypted messages. Although Clarke had the same position as her male coworkers, she was being paid less due to her gender. Clarke’s first work promotion was to Linguist Grade, although she didn’t speak other languages, a ploy so she could be paid more money, because of her workload and contributions to the team. Clarke became deputy head of Hut 8 in 1944, but that was her last promotion, and she continued to be paid less than her male counterparts. She and Alan Turing became close friends and worked well together. In 1941, Turing proposed, and they were engaged, but he privately admitted to her that he was a homosexual, which she said she had already suspected. Turing decided he could not go through with the marriage, and broke off the engagement. He and Clarke remained close friends until his death in 1954. After the war, Clarke went to work for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), where she met and married John Murray, a retired army officer who had served in India. From 1952 to 1962, she and her husband were retired as he suffered from ill health. She returned to GCHQ in 1972, and worked there until her retirement in 1977 1917 – Lucy Jarvis born, American television producer. She was a food editor at McCall’s magazine who left to raise her two children; then as a volunteer for the Organization for Rehabilitation through Training (ORT), she produced the documentary, Passport to Freedom, and began working for radio and television organizations, including Pathé News. Worked on a public affairs radio program with Martha Rountree in 1957. In 1959, became associate producer on NBC’s The Nation’s Future, and its producer in 1961. Jarvis produced documentaries, including The Kremlin (1963 – in Moscow during the Cuban Missile Crisis), The Louvre: A Golden Prison (1964) which won a Peabody Award, and six Emmys, and What Price Health (1973), which won a Hillman Prize. She left NBC in 1976 to produce several Barbara Walters specials for ABC, then launched her own production company, and produced shows on Broadway, including Sophisticated Ladies (1988) 1918 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist, one of the first women reporters at The Wall Street Journal 1923 – Margaret Olley born, Australian painter, known for still-life paintings, recipient of the Mosman Art Prize. She donated over 130 artworks to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, with an estimated value of $7 million AUD Eucharist Lilies, by Margaret Olley – 1963 1929 – Carolyn Shoemaker born, American astronomer; she was a 51-year-old “empty-nester” when she started her career, as a field assistant to her husband Gene; she discovered 32 comets, over 800 asteroids, and was co-discoverer of the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 1937 – Anita Desai born in the Garhwal Kingdom, Indian novelist and Emerita Professor of Humanities at MIT; won the 1978 Sahitya Akademi Award and the Holtby Memorial Prize for Fire on the Mountain, and the 1983 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for Village by the Sea. Clear Light of Day, In Custody and Feasting, Fasting were shortlisted for the Booker Prize 1938 – Lawrence Block born, American crime fiction writer; named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of American in 1994 1940 – The WWII Vichy French government signs an armistice with Italy 1941 – Julia Kristeva born in Bulgaria, French psychoanalyst, sociologist, philosopher, author, feminist and human rights activist; noted for development of the concept of abjection, process of separating one’s self from another, such as a child developing a separate identify from a parent, or an abused woman separating her sense of self from her abuser; founder of the Simone de Beauvoir Prize 1943 – Birgit Grodal born, Danish economist and academic, who worked on micro-economic theory, mathematical economics and general equilibrium theory; elected as president of the European Economic Association, but died before she took office; author noted for A Second Remark on the Core of an Atomless Economy (1972), and Existence of Approximate Cores with Incomplete Preferences (1976) 1944 – Kathryn Lasky born, American author of children’s fiction, including historical novels in the Dear America series; also writes adult fiction, sometimes under the pen name E.L. Swann 1947 – Mick Fleetwood born, British rock musician, drummer and co-founder with John McVie of Fleetwood Mac 1947 – Clarissa Dickson Wright born, English chef, author, and one of the Two Fat Ladies, with Jennifer Paterson, on the popular BBC2 cooking programme. She is also an accredited cricket umpire, and one of only two women to become a Guild Butcher Two Fat Ladies: Jennifer Paterson, left, and Clarissa Dickson Wright, right 1949 – Hopalong Cassidy debuts as network TV’s first western series on NBC 1950 – Mercedes Lackey born, American fantasy novelist; many of her books are set on the world of Velgarth, with interlinked stories 1952 – Dianna Melrose born in Zimbabwe, British diplomat; British High Commissioner to Tanzania (2013-2016); British Ambassador to Cuba (2008-2012); Department for International Development (2002-2006) Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2000-2002 and 2006-2008) 1957 – In Roth v United States, and its companion case, Miller v. California, U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling, redefines the Constitutional test for determining what constitutes obscene material not protected by the First Amendment; Material whose “dominant theme taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest” to the “average person, applying contemporary community standards.” Only material meeting this test could be banned as “obscene.” The convictions for publishing and sending obscene material through the mail in both companion cases are upheld 1960 –Dame Elish Angiolini born, Scottish lawyer; Lord Advocate of Scotland (2006-2011); Solicitor General (2001-2006); was the first woman, first Procurator Fiscal (public prosecutor) and first solicitor to hold either post. Currently Principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and Chancellor of University of the West of Scotland 1964 – The Federal Trade Commission rules that health warnings must appear on all cigarette packages 1964 – Kate Parminter born, Baroness Parminter of Godalming; British Liberal Democrat Life Peer in the House of Lords since 2010; Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords since 2015; Liberal Democrats Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Spokesperson (2015-2017); Chief Executive of the Campaign to Project Rural England (1998-2004) 1966 – Adrienne Shelly born as Adrienne Levine; American actress, film director and screenplay writer. She wrote, directed and co-starred in 1999’s I’ll Take You There, and Waitress, released in 2007, after Shelly’s death. In November 2006, Shelly was found dead, hanging in the shower of the apartment she used as an office. Originally the police considered her death a suicide, even though the front door was unlocked and money was missing, but a closer examination of the bathroom revealed a male footprint that wasn’t a match to her husband, Andy Ostoy. Police arrested a construction worker, who confessed to the murder and then making it look like a suicide. Ostoy established the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, which awards scholarships, production grants, finishing funds and living stipends to filmmakers. The Women Film Critics Circle gives an annual Adrienne Shelly Award to the film it finds “most passionately opposes violence against women.” 1967 – Women vote for the first time in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) as voters approve a new constitution 1974 – The Beach Boys release their greatest hits album Endless Summer 1979 – Mindy Kaling born as Vera Mindy Chokalingam, American comedian, writer, producer, actress and director 1997 – The U.S. Air Force releases a report on the so-called “Roswell Incident,” suggesting alien bodies witnesses saw in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies 1998 – AT&T strikes a $31.7 billion deal to buy cable TV giant Tele-Communications 2004 – Federal investigators question President George W. Bush for over hour about the news leak of a CIA operative’s name 2009 – South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, missing for seven days, admits that he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit his mistress 2010 – Julia Gillard becomes Australia’s first female Prime Minister; the first woman to become Deputy Prime Minister, Prime Minister and leader of a major party in Australia 2011 – Celebration of the Senses Day * is launched 2011 – New York State legalizes same-sex marriage 2013 – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is sentenced to seven years in prison for abusing his power and having sex with an underage prostitute 2016 – British Prime Minister David Cameron announces his resignation after the British people vote in an historic referendum to leave the European Union This entry was posted in History, Holidays, On This Day and tagged Agnes Nestor, Ambrose Bierce, Anita Desai, Hopalong Cassidy, Mindy Kaling, Pablo Picasso, Saloua Raouda Choucair. 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__label__wiki	0.806973	0.806973	Documents filtered by: Author="Jefferson, Thomas" AND Period="Colonial" AND Period="Colonial" AND Period="Revolutionary War" From Thomas Jefferson to Isaac Zane, [ca. 1773–1778] [document added in digital edition] To Isaac Zane [ca. 1773-1781] You must give me leave to return you the inclosed, as I have laid aside the distressing trade of receiving money for serving my friends. the pleasure of doing them an acceptable office is the richest reward which can be conferred on me, and I never think them ungenerous but when they decline giving me an opportunity of proving this. the late occasion too was peculiarly sacred. the packet to mrs Jefferson, even tho’ it should contain a billet doux, shall be delivered safe & unopened. it will always give me pleasure to receive assurances of your friendship; but they must be such as may not distress me with fears that any mercenary principle should undeservedly intermix itself with that pleasure. I am with much esteem Your friend & servt. Th: Jefferson RC (Private Collection, 2016); undated; addressed: “Mr Isaac Zane”; endorsed. A Philadelphia Quaker, Isaac Zane (1743-95) moved to Frederick County, Virginia, during the 1760s and became the proprietor of the Marlboro Iron Works. In addition to the forge, which he worked with slaves and indentured convict servants, Zane owned much land and emerged as one of the Shenandoah Valley’s leading citizens. First elected to the House of Burgesses in 1773, a development that led to his expulsion from the Society of Friends, he subsequently represented Frederick and then Shenandoah County in the General Assembly until his death. Representing the former county at Virginia’s second revolutionary convention, he joined TJ on the committee charged with preparing the colony’s armed defense. Well-read and philosophically inclined, Zane developed a warm friendship with TJ, and although business setbacks plagued the later years of his life, he left TJ a small bequest (Roger W. Moss, Jr., “Isaac Zane, Jr., a ‘Quaker for the Times,’” VMHB description begins Virginia Magazine of History and Biography description ends , 77 [1969], 291-306; William J. Van Schreeven and others, eds., Revolutionary Virginia: The Road to Independence, 7 vols. [Charlottesville, 1973-83], 2:357-8, 366-7; Williamsburg Virginia Gazette (Pinkney), 16 Dec. 1775; Columbian Mirror and Alexandria Gazette, 10 Oct. 1793; Leonard, General Assembly, 103, 105, 109, 112, 114, 119, 122, 129, 134, 137, 141, 147, 151, 155, 158, 162, 166, 170, 177, 181, 185, 189, 193, 197, 201; Vol. 40:619-20). mrs Jefferson: this letter was certainly written during the ten-year span of TJ’s marriage and presumably was done when TJ and Zane were in the same location. The two participated in colony or state government sessions in Williamsburg or Richmond from March 1773, when Zane first became a burgess, until 1781, when Zane was a delegate and TJ was governor (MB, 1:xlvi-xlviii). Zane, Isaac “From Thomas Jefferson to Isaac Zane, [ca. 1773–1778] [document added in digital edition],” Founders Online, National Archives, accessed April 11, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-01-02-9002. [This document from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson is original to the digital edition. It was added on 14 February 2017.] From Jefferson to Zane [26 February 1778] All correspondence between Jefferson and Zane	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723152
__label__wiki	0.795907	0.795907	Wolcott, Oliver, Jr. Hamilton, Alexander (119) Adams, John (110) Washington, George (78) Jefferson, Thomas (5) Montgomery, James (1) Parker, William W. (1) Washington Presidency (171) Adams Presidency (142) Jefferson Presidency (4) post-Madison Presidency (1) Documents filtered by: Author="Wolcott, Oliver, Jr." Results 21-30 of 318 sorted by editorial placement 21To John Adams from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 20 October 1797 (Adams Papers) I have according to the Presidents desire continued to observe the progress of the sickness in... I have the honour of acknowledging the rect. of your favour of Oct. 20th.— What I have written... I feel a sincere pleasure in representing to the President, that the Citizens are returning to... 24To John Adams from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 13 December 1797 (Adams Papers) The Secretary of the Treasury in obedience to the command of the President of the United States... 25To John Adams from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 8 February 1798 (Adams Papers) The Secretary of the Treasury respectfully repo rts to the President of the United States. That... The Secretary of the Treasy respectfully reports to the President of the U. States. That the... 27To John Adams from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 6 March 1798 (Adams Papers) The Secretary of the Treasury respectfully transmits to the President a Warrant for Three... 28To John Adams from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 10 March 1798 (Adams Papers) The Secy of the Treasy respectfully submits to the Prest. of the US. the following Report. On the... 29To John Adams from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 6 April 1798 (Adams Papers) The Secretary of the Treasury has the honour to represent to the President of the United States.... 30To John Adams from Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 12 May 1798 (Adams Papers) The Secretary of the Treasury respectfully represents to the President of the United States. That...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723153
__label__wiki	0.762388	0.762388	A look back at D-Day “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you.” ~ General Dwight D. Eisenhower Commander, Operation Overlord 74 years ago today marks the tide that began to turn the War in Europe. D-Day, June 6, 1944, would mark the invasion that would drive the Nazis out of France, and eventually win back the continent from their tyrannical grip. All the efforts of the Allies in the months and years prior laid the groundwork for this mission, including the work of the Tuskegee Airmen in the European Theater. Before dawn on D-Day, 13,000 paratroopers leapt into darkness straight into enemy territory in Normandy, France, and an additional 5,000 would follow later that day. Naval and air forces bombarded Hitler’s Atlantic Wall off the coast. 156,000 Allied soldiers stormed the beaches from 5,000 ships and landing craft. This orchestrated attack on D-Day and the days that followed created a breach in the Nazi hold over the country. This allowed in mass amounts of troops, supplies and equipment that would press on into the occupied country, liberate Paris by August 25 and begin the end of World War II, marked by the surrender of the Nazis on May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe Day. Over 9,000 lives were lost in Operation Overlord, 4,000 of those on D-Day. Although no Tuskegee Airmen took part in this invasion, their work and that of other squadrons of the U.S. Army Air Forces, would play an important role in the success of this epic mission. The Tuskegee Airmen were first deployed to combat in April of 1943, sent to French Morocco before moving on to Europe for missions over the Mediterranean, Italy and into the heart of action farter north. Missions included strafing targets on the ground, taking out surface targets like enemy ammunitions factories, fuel refineries and transportation routes. They provided close air support for ground troops and also escorted bombers on their precarious trips into the heart of Nazi territory in Germany to take out key targets. These missions would prepare for and support the tactics of Operation Overlord. More than seven decades have passed since these brave Americans took up arms to defend our country, and the freedom and dignity of all our Allied nations. The heroic men who fought their way into enemy territory on D-Day provided the catalyst to spark the beginning of the end of the War, and the missions of the Tuskegee Airmen and others made that success possible. One of our fellow Commemorative Air Force units, the CAF D-Day Wing, is currently making preparations to take several CAF aircraft back to Normandy in June of 2019 to mark the 75thanniversary of D-Day, including the C-47 That’s All, Brother, the lead paratrooper transport aircraft on D-Day. Doug Rozendaal, CAF Red Tail Squadron P-51C Mustang pilot and Squadron Leader, has played an important role in the renovation of that remarkable aircraft. Learn more about their efforts at CAFDDayWing.org. C-47 Tuskegee Airmen D-Day That's All Brother Red Tails	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723157
__label__wiki	0.578885	0.578885	Paying respect to the birthplace of our P-51C Mustang “Tuskegee Airmen” Did you know the CAF has a resident historical expert who is nothing short of a gold mine of WWII aviation history and knowledge? Keegan Chetwynd, CAF Education Coordinator and Curator, recently shared a wealth of information about the birthplace of our P-51 Mustang Tuskegee Airmen, and it is FASCINATING. Following a CAF headquarters event in Dallas, Chetwynd led a tour to the famed North American Aviation plant, the iconic aerospace manufacturer responsible for the mass production of aircraft from WWII. Their facility in Dallas was opened as the country prepared for war, and their presence helped the local economy rise from the ruins of the depression that were still felt in the hard-hit state of Texas. The plant is actually located adjacent to Grand Prairie, just west of the city of Dallas. As a special benefit to CAF members, Chetwynd led a foot tour of the area surrounding the facility for those interested in learning more about this often forgotten, but important piece of Dallas history. It was a rare treat for CAF members to catch a glimpse of what was an iconic factory supporting our troops in WWII. Bill Shepard, CAF Red Tail Squadron Leader and CAF Vice President of Education, attended the event. Visiting the site where our P-51C Mustang Tuskegee Airmen rolled off the production line, built by the hands of what were very much artisans, was in his words, a very awe-inspiring moment. “I don’t think people realize the impact that North American Aviation had on not just the socio-economic front, but how the work they provided the community helped to bridge some very large social gaps,” recalls Shepard. “People of many different backgrounds worked together washing the slate not clean, but cleaner. These folks worked together side by side, regardless of race, for a common goal. That was practically unheard of at the time.” The effects of the wartime employment North American offered the Dallas area was felt for a long time. “The work being done on their shop floors at that point of time was very innovative for our society and helped to break down barriers. These opportunities brought people out of the fields and gave them the opportunity to earn a living wage and increase their station in life and that of their families. People in these communities today are the fruits of their parents’ labor. Its impact has been felt for generations.” North American Aviation’s plant in Dallas was a place where tens of thousands of people were gainfully employed in a time of economic hardship, giving each person a chance to use their hands and intellect to help end the war. Up to 40,000 people were employed at the plant at its peak. They hired “outside the box,” employing men that were younger and older than the draft age, women, African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans. And each employee at North American was encouraged to share their ideas for innovation, the implementation of which lead to safer practices and significant cost savings. This 24-hour-a-day operation was a focal point of manufacturing at that time in the U.S., and their contributions to the processes of manufacturing resonated across the industry. Shepard lived near the facility in his youth. “My dad was stationed across the runway from here. As a kid I had no idea I was in close proximity to such important history,” Shepard remembers. “Looking at the shell of a building that was once there, Keegan colorized in our minds people in mass transitions, herds of people coming through to work. They worked to improve their lives and help end the war. It must have been an amazing sight.” No books have been published to capture the story of North American’s important historical presence in Dallas. This was the largest aircraft production factory in WWII by volume, and it’s the only facility of its scale still standing today. There are many impressive statistics, including: - - The plant was built in 120 days - - They often produced aircraft faster than they could be picked up - - 83% of all AT-6 Texan aircraft were produced at this plant - - At it’s peak, 250 Mustangs per month came off the production line - - Every C model Mustang ever built came from this plant - - The site spans 272 acres and contains 2.9 million square feet in 85 buildings - - The Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP), the all-female pilot group that served the country stateside, picked up many of the planes and ferried them to their forward deployment locations - = An entire community known as Avion Village was built in record time to accommodate the workers, and people still live there today To learn more, watch the CAF’s webinar, “The Forgotten History of North American Aviation in Dallas.” See historic photos, learn about the people who made their mark on our country’s airpower in WWII, and get a deeper look into a forgotten piece of American history. WWII history Warbirds Red Tail Squadron Tuskegee Airmen Dallas Restoration Grants for CAF Units Robert Stenevik Several CAF units have benefitted from the CAF’s Restoration Grant Program. An internal program in which Units can apply for a matching grant from the CAF Headquarters; enabling CAF Units/Sponsor groups to accelerate their efforts of returning their aircraft to flying condition. Those Units with aircraft restoration projects that fit the criteria will need to send a grant request as soon as possible. In the next few weeks decisions will be made to determine the projects most suitable for this program. For those aircraft nearing completion or finished- You can do the paperwork, but aircraft that are mostly finished will have a lower priority (paint is part of restoration), but will be considered. Please review the CAF Restoration Grant Guide and use the document as a guide for submitting a request. NOTES- Don’t spend much time on unit history; concentrate on a timeline with milestones to finish the restoration and cost for each phase of the project. There needs to be enough information to see what you are spending money on. It is best to specifically ask for an amount of ½ of specific things you can accomplish in 12 months. If you have received a grant previously, just include the old request with an update on the work ahead and timeline. The money is a matching grant, so you will need to have, or raise money and the grant needs to be spent in one year. For Questions, email rstenevik@cafhq.org. Dallas Commemorative Air Force operations Volunteer Warbirds Safety, Operations and Maintenance	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723158
__label__cc	0.662928	0.337072	Dark Souls Dev FromSoftware could be working on a new dark fantasy action-RPG for home consoles By Rajesh V On Apr 30, 2017 The Ringed City marked the closing of the Dark Souls saga, but it would seem that From Software is still determined to produce another action-RPG title from the dark fantasy style. On the website of Silicon Studio, there was recently seen an advertisement for an unnamed company looking for a 2D designer for a temporary job on a dark fantasy action-RPG in 3D for the home consoles. As mentioned above, the advertisement is anonymous, but it is important to note one detail: the headquarters of the software house is seven minutes from Sasazuka Station, on the Keiō Line of Tokyo. Well, as stated on its official website, the coordinates lead us right in the name of From Software. According to some reports, the fact that it is a temporary work might suggest that the company is already at a good point in the development phase of its new game, and who is looking for collaborators to refine and flesh out the game assets (in this case we speak of textures for characters and backgrounds). At this point we could only speculate on the possible arrival of a result of the much appreciated Bloodborne, or a completely original IP. However, we want to specify that nothing contained herein is officially confirmed. There only remains to wait for From Software to officially reveal its future plans. What do you expect after the closing of the Dark Souls saga? Let us know in the comments below. dark fantasy action-RPGDark SoulsDark Souls Devhome consolesvideo gamevideo game developer	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723163
__label__cc	0.673356	0.326644	10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) Cast: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr. Screenplay: Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, Damien Chazelle 104 mins. Rated PG-13 for thematic material including frightening sequences of threat with some violence, and brief language. What is 10 Cloverfield Lane? Is it a sequel to Cloverfield? How is it actually connected? What the hell is actually going on here? Lots of questions circulate the pseudo-sequel, or as J.J. Abrams calls it, the “spiritual successor” to Cloverfield, ever since its trailer premiered in front of 13 Hours after filming was completed without anyone really knowing about it. The idea is brilliant, but it remains with a follow-up question: Was it worth it? SPOILER ALERT: A film like 10 Cloverfield Lane has been shrouded in so much secrecy that many would consider any discussion to be spoilery. I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty of the spoiler territory and tread lightly here, but for all you spoiler purists out there, this is a heads up. When Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Final Destination 3, Faults) wakes up in an underground bunker handcuffed to a pipe, she doesn’t understand what’s going on. It isn’t until she meets her captor, Howard (John Goodman, Monsters, Inc., Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle) that she learns of a horrible truth: there has been an attack on American soil. Everyone else is dead. She meets Emmett (John Gallagher Jr., TV’s The Newsroom, Short Term 12) who backs up the claim but doesn’t have any proof. So the question remains: Is Howard telling the truth? Or is Michelle in more danger beneath the soil? Also, it has Cloverfield in the title, so there’s that. I spend the entirety of the film trying to tie it to Cloverfield. I’ll tell you right now, the film is tied to Cloverfield, but if you haven’t seen the original film, you could enjoy this one all the same. John Goodman gives an award-worthy performance as the jealous and tense Howard, and he is met on an almost-equal playing field by Winstead and Gallagher here, as this single-location thriller unfolds. Director Dan Trachtenberg plays the claustrophobia well here, not overdoing it but letting the story dictate when. It’s a tautly-edited film, packed with great set design and excellent dialogue. This entire film is exactly what it should be with one exception concerning the film’s ending (which I actually really enjoyed, but I also wanted more). I really can’t get too much into it, but I will say this: I’ve heard Abrams discuss a possible third installment, and I cannot wait. Not that this film sets up a sequel so much. I just want to see the next direction the series will take. After the stunning found-footage Cloverfield and the tightly-wound thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane, I just…I want more! So there you have it. See this damn movie! It’s the best film I’ve seen this year (so far, of course, but all the same). If you didn’t like Cloverfield or couldn’t sit through the found-footage, that’s fine. Go to 10 Cloverfield Lane. Now. So have you seen 10 Cloverfield Lane? What did you think? Did you catch the cameo at the beginning? Let me know! 2016 Films, Film Reviews 10 Cloverfield Lane, 13 Hours, 2016, Cloverfield, Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle, Damien Chazelle, Dan Trachtenberg, Faults, Final Destination 3, Inc., J.J. Abrams, John Gallagher Jr., John Goodman, Josh Campbell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Matthew Stuecken, Monsters, Short Term 12, The Newsroom Tom Segura: Mostly Stories (2016) Daisy Ridley Decides One Franchise Isn’t Enough: Actress in Talks to Become the Tomb Raider (and How the Internet is Ruining It) 6 thoughts on “10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)” Pingback: Kyle’s Top Ten Films of 2016 – AlmightyGoatman Pingback: Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (2017) – AlmightyGoatman Pingback: [31 Days of Horror: The Final Chapter] Day 12 – Final Destination 3 (2006) – AlmightyGoatman Pingback: [31 Days of Horror: The Final Chapter] Day 15 – Cloverfield (2008) – AlmightyGoatman Pingback: Kyle’s Top Ten Most Anticipated Films of 2018 – AlmightyGoatman Pingback: [31 Days of Horror Part V: A New Beginning] Day 7 – Hush (2016) – AlmightyGoatman	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723164
__label__cc	0.644926	0.355074	You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2010. peeves: spinning the rankings 9 November 2010 in peeves \| 10 comments It’s good to be #1. And on a list of, say, a thousand items, it’s also pretty darn good to be ranked #7, or #17, or even #47. In fact, just being among the top 50 is really quite an accomplishment, don’t you think? Yet business writers — particularly in marketing and PR — sometimes get a little consumed with rankings. Maybe this obsession comes from wanting to stand out from the competition, to communicate that you or your client is part of the elite, one of the best. And, for their part, organizations as disparate as U.S. News & World Report, the Zagat Survey, and the Bowl Championship Series feed the phenomenon, doling out top 100 lists and extensive rankings in a wide range of categories. Look, there’s nothing wrong with this stuff, not really. Inclusion on a respected list might be worth an ad campaign or a press release. But my eyelid gets twitchy when I come across sentences like this one (and yes, I have encountered them): Widgets International is a Fortune 19 manufacturing company based in Utopia, New York. I mean, c’mon. There’s no such list as the Fortune 19. Everyone reading this sentence knows that. What you mean, if you must say it, is this: Widgets International, ranked 19th on the Fortune 500, is a manufacturing company based in Utopia, New York. The same thing goes for a statement like this one, the likes of which I see all the time: Brickstone University is one of the top 43 colleges in the Southeast, according to U.S. News & World Report. This is pure spin, trying to make more of your ranking than it is. But no one will be fooled into thinking that U.S. News just happened to stop its list at an off-round number of colleges like 43 and your institution made the cut as one of 43 equals. Give your readers some credit. Better yet, tell a truer story. One more example — one of my favorites for its absurdity: Day and Night Freight Services is one of the top two providers of shipping services in the metropolitan area. Really? “One of the top two”? As the kids say: Dude. In this reckoning, you clearly came in second. And that’s still plenty respectable. Any of these edits says the same thing without the spin factor: Day and Night Freight is one of the top providers of shipping services in the metropolitan area. Day and Night Freight is the second-largest provider of shipping services in the metropolitan area. Day and Night Freight is the #2 provider of shipping services in the metropolitan area. I tell you, it’s enough to make an editor dizzy.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723173
__label__wiki	0.523138	0.523138	Care and support in Wales is changing Measuring well-being Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act Carers’ policy in Wales Paying for social care Working with other agencies Young carers toolkit Last updated 24 August 2017 The content of this page is not being updated. Get up to date information on health and social care at beta.gov.wales. We work with and support local authorities and the independent sector who deliver social services. We are responsible for legislation and policy, and ensuring that services are regulated and inspected. We also fund and give guidance to local authorities. Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act came into force in April 2016. It is the new legal framework that brings together and modernises social services law. The Act will change the social services sector giving people more of a say over their care and support. The law is based on the four principles of well-being, people, partnership and prevention. The Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act was granted Royal Assent in January 2016. The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act has changed the foundation of the sector, and this sister Act will build on the success of regulation in Wales to improve the quality of care and support, and strengthen the protection of citizens. For further information please visit the Social Care Wales information and learning hub.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723177
__label__cc	0.633963	0.366037	CONC CONC App 1 CONC App 1.2 Total charge for credit rules for oth... View CONC App 1.2 as PDF View CONC App 1 as PDF CONC App 1.2 Total charge for credit rules for other agreements CONC App 1.2.1R 01/04/2014 RP a reference to a rate of interest is a reference to the interest rate expressed as a fixed or variable percentage applied on an annual basis to the amount of credit drawn down; a reference to an open-end regulated credit agreement is to a regulated credit agreement of no fixed duration and includes credits which must be repaid in full within or after a period but, once repaid, become available to be drawn down again. This section shall not apply to regulated credit agreements which are secured on land or to prospective regulated credit agreements which are to be secured on land except to the extent that the Consumer Credit (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2010 apply to such agreements. The total charge for credit which may be provided under an actual or prospective regulated credit agreement shall be the total cost of credit to the borrower determined in accordance with the requirements in (2) to (5) below. Subject to (3), the following costs shall be included in the total cost of credit to the borrower:1 (-a) any fee or charge payable by the borrower to a credit broker in connection with the agreement (if the fee or charge is known to the lender);1 the costs of maintaining an account recording both payment transactions and drawdowns; the costs of using a means of payment for both payment transactions and drawdowns; other costs relating to payment transactions. The costs at (2) shall not be included in the total cost of credit to the borrower where the opening of the account is optional and the costs of the account have been clearly and separately shown in the regulated credit agreement or in any other agreement made with the borrower; in the case of an overdraft facility the costs do not relate to that facility. Costs in respect of an ancillary service shall be included in the total cost of credit to the borrower if the conclusion of a service contract is compulsory in order to obtain the credit or to obtain it on the terms and conditions marketed. The total cost of credit to the borrower shall not include any charges payable by or on behalf of the borrower or a relative of his for non-compliance with his commitments contained in the regulated credit agreement; charges which, for purchases of goods or services, he or a relative of his is obliged to pay whether the transaction is effected in cash or on credit. In (4), the reference to an ancillary service means a service that relates to the provision of credit under the regulated credit agreement and includes in particular an insurance or payment protection policy. The total cost of credit to the borrower must not take account of any discount, reward (including ‘cash back’) or other benefit to which the borrower might be entitled, whether such an entitlement is subject to conditions or otherwise.1 CONC App 1.2.3AG 02/11/2015 RP 1The total cost of credit to the borrower includes fee or charge payable by the borrower to a credit broker, if the fee or charge is known to the lender. CONC 4.4.2R(3) requires the credit broker to disclose their fee to the lender. Lenders should take reasonable steps to ascertain whether a fee is payable to the credit broker and, if so, the amount of the fee. Calculation of the annual percentage rate of charge The annual percentage rate of charge shall be calculated in accordance with the mathematical formula set out in CONC App 1.2.6 R. Assumptions for calculation For the purposes of calculating the total charge for credit and the annual percentage rate of charge:2 it shall be assumed that the regulated credit agreement is to remain valid for the period agreed and that the lender and the borrower will fulfil their obligations under the terms and by the dates specified in that agreement; in the case of a regulated credit agreement allowing variations in the rate of interest, or where applicable, charges contained in the annual percentage rate of charge, where these cannot be quantified at the time of calculation, it shall be assumed that they will remain at the initial level and will be applicable for the duration of the agreement; where not all rates of interest are determined in the regulated credit agreement, a rate of interest shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be fixed only for the partial periods for which the rate of interest is determined exclusively by a fixed specific percentage agreed when the agreement is made; 2where different rates of interest and charges are to be offered for limited periods or amounts during the regulated credit agreement2, the rate of interest and the charge shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be at the highest level for the duration of the agreement; where there is a fixed rate of interest agreed in relation to an initial period under a regulated credit agreement, at the end of which a new rate of interest is determined and subsequently periodically adjusted according to an agreed indicator, it shall, where necessary,2 be assumed that, at the end of the period of the fixed rate of interest, the rate of interest is the same as at the time of making the calculation, based on the value of the agreed indicator at that time; where the regulated credit agreement gives the borrower freedom of drawdown, the total amount of credit shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be drawn down immediately and in full; (fa) where the regulated credit agreement imposes, amongst the different ways of drawdown, a limitation with regard to the amount of credit and period of time, the amount of credit shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be the maximum amount provided for in the agreement and to be drawn down on the earliest date provided for in the agreement; where the regulated credit agreement provides different ways of drawdown with different charges or rates of interest, the total amount of credit shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be drawn down at the highest charge and rate of interest applied to the most common drawdown mechanism for the credit product to which the agreement relates; for the purposes of (g), the most common drawdown mechanism for a particular credit product shall be assessed on the basis of the volume of transactions for that product in the preceding 12 months, or expected volumes in the case of a new credit product; in the case of an overdraft facility, the total amount of credit shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be drawn down in full and for the entire duration of the regulated credit agreement; for the purposes of (i),2 if the duration of the overdraft facility is not known,2 it shall, where necessary,2 be assumed that the duration of the facility is three months; in the case of an open-end regulated credit agreement, other than an overdraft facility, it shall, where necessary,2 be assumed that the credit is provided for a period of one year starting from the date of the initial drawdown, and that the final payment made by the borrower clears the balance of capital, interest and other charges, if any; for the purposes of (k):2 the capital is repaid by the borrower in equal monthly payments, commencing one month after the date of initial drawdown; in cases where the capital must be repaid in full, in a single payment, within or after each payment period, successive drawdowns and repayments of the entire capital by the borrower shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to occur over the period of one year; interest and other charges shall be applied in accordance with those drawdowns and repayments of capital and as provided for in the regulated credit agreement; in the case of a regulated credit agreement, other than an overdraft facility, or an open-end regulated credit agreement:2 where the date or amount of a repayment of capital to be made by the borrower cannot be ascertained, it shall, where necessary,2 be assumed that the repayment is made at the earliest date provided for under the regulated credit agreement and is for the lowest amount for which the regulated credit agreement provides; where it is not known on which date the regulated credit agreement is made, the date of the initial drawdown shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be the date which results in the shortest interval between that date and the date of the first payment to be made by the borrower; where the date or amount of a payment to be made by the borrower cannot be ascertained on the basis of the regulated credit agreement or the assumptions set out in (i) to (m), it shall, where necessary,2 be assumed that the payment is made in accordance with the dates and conditions required by the lender and, when these are unknown:2 interest charges are paid together with repayments of capital; a non-interest charge expressed as a single sum is paid on the date of the making of the regulated credit agreement; non-interest charges expressed as several payments are paid at regular intervals, commencing with the date of the first repayment of capital, and if the amount of such payments is not known they shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be equal amounts; the final payment clears the balance of capital, interest and other charges, if any; in the case of an agreement for running-account credit, where the credit limit applicable to the credit is not yet known, that credit limit shall, where necessary,2 be assumed to be £1,200. 2The assumptions set out in CONC App 1.2.5R are intended to ensure that the total charge for credit and the annual percentage rate of charge are calculated in a consistent way to promote the comparability of different offers. The use of the term ‘where necessary’ in assumptions (c) to (o) in that rule makes clear that these assumptions only apply where they are necessary in relation to the specific agreement, for example, where key features such as the amount or duration of credit are uncertain. In general, though, the total charge for credit and the annual percentage rate of charge calculation will depend on the terms of the individual regulated credit agreement. The annual percentage rate of charge (“APR”) is calculated by means of the equation in (2) which equates, on an annual basis, the total present value of drawdowns with the total present value of repayments and payments of charges. The equation referred to in (1) is For the purposes of (2) the amounts paid by both parties at different times shall not necessarily be equal and shall not necessarily be paid at equal intervals; the starting date shall be that of the first drawdown; intervals between dates used in the calculations shall be expressed in years or in fractions of a year; a year is assumed to have 365 days (366 days for leap years), 52 weeks or 12 equal months; an equal month is assumed to have 30.41666 days (365/12) regardless of whether or not it is a leap year; the result of the calculation shall be expressed with an accuracy of at least one decimal place; if the figure at the following decimal place is greater than or equal to 5, the figure at that particular decimal place shall be increased by one; the equation can be rewritten as set out in (h) using a single sum and the concept of flows (Ak), which will be positive or negative, either paid or received during periods l to k , expressed in years; the equation referred to in (g) is S being the present balance of flows; if the aim is to maintain the equivalence of flows, the value will be zero.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723179
__label__cc	0.741777	0.258223	1980 film “Used Cars” with Kurt Russell on Shout Select Blu-ray in February November 8, 2018 November 23, 2018 ~ Justin Sluss The 1980 Robert Zemeckis film “Used Cars“ starring Kurt Russell has just been announced to be coming to Blu-ray Disc on February 26th, 2019 via Shout Select (Shout! Factory). The film, co-wrote by Bob Gale (“Back to the Future”), featured a supporting cast of Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae, Deborah Harmon and Jack Warden. Tech specs and bonus materials have not yet been released, but stay tuned for a later update on that in the future. UPDATE: The Blu-ray is now available for pre-order over at Amazon. The Blu-ray is also available for pre-order directly over at Shout! Factory‘s store. Lastly, it is worth noting that this title has been previously released on the Blu-ray format by Twilight Time back in 2014. This will be the second release here in the United States of the film on the Blu-ray format. Posted in Blu-ray Disc News Blu-rayBob GaleDeborah HarmonFrank McRaeGerrit GrahamJack WardenKurt RussellRobert ZemeckisShout SelectShout! Factory ‹ Previous“Yellowstone Season One” starring Kevin Costner comes to Blu-ray in December Next ›“White Boy Rick” with Matthew McConaughey on Blu-ray this Christmas	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723182
__label__wiki	0.553612	0.553612	Home Filmstars Female Ashley Tisdale Height Weight Body Statistics Ashley Tisdale Height Weight Body Statistics Ashley Michelle Tisdale Ash, Ashie, Tiz, The Tizz West Deal, New Jersey, USA Los Angeles, California, U.S. Ashley did her schooling from Valencia High School from 1999 to 2003. Actress, Recording Artist, Producer, Singer, Model Father – Michael Tisdale (Contractor) Mother – Lisa Morris Siblings – Jennifer Tisdale (Older Sister) (Actress and Film Producer) Others – Arnold Morris (Maternal Grandfather) Ashley’s current manager is Bill Perlman, to whom she met when she was 3 years old. She was also signed with the Ford Modeling Agency from 1997 to 2003. She is also represented by Creative Artists Agency. Warner Bros. Records Ashley Tisdale dated – Jared Murillo (2007-2009) – Jared Murillo, a professional dancer is known to have dated Ashley from July 2007 until March 2009. They first met during the filming of the 2006 movie “High School Musical”. Scott Speer (April 2009 – October 2012) (See pic) – Scott Speer directed his first Ashley Tisdale video in 2007. Then, he did 2 more videos with her and in 2009, they started dating. But their relationship saw an end in October 2012. Martin Johnson (December 2011 – March 2012) – American singer and guitarist started dating Tisdale from late 2011 and had a short time relationship with her. Martin was thrown to fame after becoming ‘Boys Like Girls’ frontman. C.M French (December 2012 – Present) – Annie Automatic’s lead singer Christopher French is married to American musician Ashley Tisdale. The duo started dating in December 2012. Ashley and French got engaged on August 8, 2013, and married on September 8, 2014, in a small private ceremony held in Santa Barbara, California. There is a huge height difference between them. Ashley Tisdale and CM French She has English, Irish, Scottish, and German ancestry on her father’s side while she is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent on her mom’s side. Ashley’s natural hair color is Brown. But, she prefers to dyes them blonde. 34-25-36 in or 86-63.5-91.5 cm 4 (US) or 36 (EU) or 8 (UK) 8 (US) or 38.5 (EU) or 5.5 (UK) Staples Inc (2007), Eckō Red clothing (2007), Got Milk?, appeared in commercials for T-Mobile and Toys “R” Us. She grew up with a mix of both Christianity and Judaism as her father is a Christian and mom, a Jewish. Portraying the candy-counter girl “Maddie Fitzpatrick” in Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series (2006). American singer-songwriter Ashley Tisdale released her first album titled Headstrong on February 6, 2007 through Warner Bros. Records. In all, there are 14 tracks in this album. It reached the Gold level at USA. First Film as a Voice Artist 1998 film An All Dogs Christmas Carol. This was a direct-to-video film (released to TVs) and animated film, for which Ashley gave her voice. First Film as an Actress 2001 film Donnie Darko for her role as Kim. She did not star in this American fantasy and comedy-drama film. First Film as a Producer 2008 romantic comedy film Picture This was her first film as executive producer. She also starred (acted) in this film for her role as Mandy Gilbert. It was released on July 13, 2008 on television by ABC Family. American sitcom TV series Smart Guy is her first TV show. This show ran for three seasons from April 2, 1997 to May 16, 1999. But, Ashley appeared in just a single episode and it was episode no. 6 in Season 1, titled “A Little Knowledge”. Ashley Tisdale is a health lover and that is why she has also hired a personal trainer. She manages to eat a balanced diet. She workouts a lot for strengthening her muscles – particularly cardio and weight training. She normally does exercises 4 days per week. Her trainer has divided the schedule as follows – 30 minutes for core exercises, elliptical training, and weight training each. She also has slender legs, for which she daily runs for a while on the treadmill in the gym and climbs the staircase. Ashley Tisdale Favorite Things Favorite Food – Sushi, Chocolate Favorite TV Programs – Friends (1994-2004) Favorite Song – Baby (Justin Bieber 2010) Favorite Bands – The Used, All American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Paramore, Usher Favorite Subject – English / Creative Writing Favorite Book – The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) Favorite Place – Forever 21, Hollister, Urban Outfitters, Justice Favorite Movies – Just Married (2003), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003), A Walk To Remember (2001), Titanic (1997) Favorite Accessory – Louis Vuitton Bag Ashley Tisdale Facts Ashley was also a Ford Model from 1997 to 2003. Ashley has a teacup poodle dog named Maui. She had also sung a song at White House, for President Bill Clinton, when she was 12 years old. She underwent a septoplasty procedure in November 2007 to correct her partially deviated septum. She has posed nude for Allure magazine’s May 2011 issue. Visit her official website @ ashleytisdale.com. Connect with Ashley on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Eden McCoy Height Weight, Age, Body Statistics Dylan Arnold Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics Anonym January 28, 2013 at 3:59 AM She looks like me.. I’ve never seen before photos of her.. But when I sow it… It is amazing. BUT SHE’S BLOND AND I have brown hair… Debashish September 16, 2014 at 12:27 AM Then I want to marry you. Will you? Luiggi Langelli June 29, 2013 at 12:45 AM She is an OK young lady…but she dissed Mother Nature when she got a b**bjob. Now, in her bikinis she “shows and tell” on how not to spend $5K. Original ones are my likings. Father Time will take care of them and of A.T. ‘nuf said. lish March 3, 2014 at 4:17 PM She didn’t get a chest fix, its a rumour darling.I am quite Frank of Ashley tisdale.I admire Americans even though england is my home! Lits of ladies have chest fixes here but not Ashley ☺ Haiti January 10, 2015 at 11:57 AM I don’t think Ashley got a boob job, she’s an A, what was she before? A boy? Just because someone’s chest suddenly looks different doesn’t mean they are fake. She is absolutely perfect (: she’s an inch shorter than me and weighs 20 pounds more than me. That’s crazy! And my chest is alot bigger than hers, other than that we have the same body type and our noses and smiles are very similar but I’m a mix of blonde brown and red hair. Bron May 23, 2018 at 9:18 PM She’s not white, she’s Semite (Jew) or mixed race. Maggie Civantos Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics Sofia Coppola Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723188
__label__wiki	0.516187	0.516187	Home Schools Elementary/Intermediate Schools Gwin teacher awarded Conservation Educator of the Year by AWF Gwin teacher awarded Conservation Educator of the Year by AWF Gwin teacher awarded Conservation Educator of the Year award AWF President Charles V. Welden III, Horace Horn of PowerSouth Energy, Gov. Robert Bentley, and Matt Bowden of Alabama Power Company present the award to Traci Knight Ingleright. Traci Knight Ingleright, an enrichment teacher at Gwin Elementary School, was recently awarded the Conservation Educator of the Year Award at the 2013 Alabama Wildlife Federation Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards banquet. Gov. Robert Bentley provided opening remarks and assisted with the presentation of the awards at the event. The AWF Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards (GCAA) are the most respected conservation honors in the state of Alabama. Over the past 30 years, the AWF has presented these awards to individuals and organizations that make great contributions to the conservation of Alabama’s wildlife and related natural resources. During her career, Ingleright has served on the Alabama Environmental Literacy Plan Task Force and as a board member of the Environmental Education Association of Alabama and the Governor’s Task Force for Environmental Literacy in Alabama. She is a life member of the Alabama Wildlife Federation and a member of Ben Knight Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, named in honor of her father. In 2008, Gwin achieved Certified Alabama Outdoor Classroom Status, and this year it received the Project Learning Tree Green School Award, the National Wildlife Federation Green Flag Award and the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Award. Gwin was the first school in the nation to receive all of these awards. Gwin Elementary The Alabama Wildlife Federation	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723190
__label__cc	0.685964	0.314036	jennifer-orhelys « Photographer, Self-portrait, Art, Painting, Infographie » Jennifer Orhélys has been sailing since childhood in a broth of culture, languages and art. She has always drawn to writing, poetry, music and fashion; and lucky to be in contact with the beauty and surrounding wilderness. Strong visual experience, which will feed her years later in her artistic expression: Photography. Her fascination for the art of self-portraiture, a specialisation that she began to practice as part of her studies of Cinema, Visual Arts and Art History at the School of Arts at the Sorbonne-Pantheon. Hence his photographic work in the "scènaristique" staging inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite and Romantic periods of classical painting. In her self-portraits, Jennifer shares her world with a magical appearance. So, using her face in dozens of productions, her portfolio gives us more than a thousand different women to see whose suite, filled with poetry, take us on far away by sharing with us his bucolic world, dreamy and sensitive. She is her Artistic Director, Model, Stylist, Makeup Artist and Hairdresser. She excels in the dangerous exercise of recreating herself always in the discipline of self-portraiture. Jennifer Orhélys also seems to have found a delicate way of exposing her relationship to nature in grandiose landscapes. By the emotion that carries her, Jennifer creates an imaginary world, coloured and with the subtle messages, of solitary heroines. Because she grew up in a picturesque environment with mountains, trees and fields; The result is a force common to all his images, even if at times they may seem to overlap between peace and wild melancholy. In 2016, his work and research on the art of self-portraiture was recognised and is part of the permanent collection of the Kiyosato Photographic Museum, a museum dedicated to photography in the Kiyosato area of the city of Hokuto, Japan). Jennifer has exhibited from New York to Los Angeles and Berlin to Japan. Her self-portraits have featured in several major group exhibitions, such as the Berlin Foto Biennale / Magnum Agency (Palazzo Italia, Berlin), the Louvre Museum (Paris), Times Square (New York), the KD Gallery (International Biennial of Art). Image, Nancy), Novotel Tour Eiffel (Paris), International Photography Week (Riedisheim), Artist Corners Gallery (Hollywood) .	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723193
__label__cc	0.649586	0.350414	One trapped miner in Chile rescued, one dead, one remains missing Dave Sherwood SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean authorities found alive one of three Bolivian miners trapped beneath the rubble at a small copper mine early on Saturday, while another was found dead, Chile´s mining ministry said. Authorities have yet to locate the third miner. The three men had gone missing late Thursday after a small landslide blocked the entrance to the mine, trapping the miners nearly 70 meters (230 feet) beneath the surface. “Our rescue teams found one of the miners in good physical condition, and he has been transferred to the hospital,” mining minister Baldo Prokurica said in a statement on Saturday. “We will continue to look for the third person that has not been found.” The mining ministry said authorities had worked for nearly 40 hours at the Directorio 8 mine near Tocopilla on the northern Chilean coast before locating two of the three men. Chile is the world’s top copper producer, and mining accidents, while uncommon, are closely followed by the Chilean public and politicians. In 2010, a mining accident in Copiapo, northern Chile, led to 33 miners being trapped underground for nearly 10 weeks before being rescued, an event that made world headlines. Reporting by Dave Sherwood, Editing by Franklin Paul	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723195
__label__cc	0.656195	0.343805	Home Education TCS and Discovery Education Partner to Prepare One Million US Students for... TCS and Discovery Education Partner to Prepare One Million US Students for 21st Century Careers NEW YORK–Tata Consultancy Services, a global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, and Discovery Education, a provider of digital education content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, announced the launch of Ignite My Future in School, a multi-million dollar and first-of-its-kind initiative to use computational thinking as a catalyst to transform education in the United States. This program will enable educators, administrators and school districts to become ambassadors of a transdisciplinary approach and introduce computer science within the context of core subjects such as English, mathematics, social studies, science, and the arts, TCS said in a statement. Ignite My Future in School will engage 20,000 teachers and more than one million students over the next five years, offered free of cost to them and their school districts. Educators will be provided with high quality professional development content that aligns with existing curricular requirements, enabling them to reach students in a compelling, hands-on manner to learn computational thinking concepts and apply such digital skills to solve real world problems. These instructional courses, content and lesson plans will give faculty the opportunity to try new teaching strategies in their classrooms that are designed to increase student engagement and achievement. “Innovation occurs at the intersection of disciplines, and digital technologies are transforming every business around the world, from manufacturing and banking to retail and healthcare,” said Surya Kant, President, North America, UK and Europe, TCS. “Computational thinking and digital fluency are critical skills to succeed in careers across all sectors. Combining our industry knowledge, technology and mentors with Discovery Education’s educational resources, we can empower educators and schools to ignite the spark to prepare a whole new generation of students for brighter futures.” Starting in 2017, Ignite My Future in School will be rolled out in school districts in 10 U.S. cities: New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Santa Clara, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Charlotte, Cincinnati, and Seattle. It will also be available across the U.S. through a virtual digital platform. Each market will have local learning leaders, who will promote teacher learning communities, connect participants and act as guides for cross-district learning and sharing. Moreover, more than 3,000 TCS employees will be actively involved as mentors and support the building of local coalitions in each city. “Discovery Education is proud to join forces with TCS, a truly innovative and purpose-driven company, in support of our shared mission to empower students with the skills needed for success beyond graduation,” said Bill Goodwyn, CEO, Discovery Education. “Together, we are developing and delivering to educators dynamic digital resources that support the growth of critical computational thinking skills. We look forward to working closely with the talented TCS team to support the success of all learners.” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020 there will be one million more computer science-related jobs in the U.S. than there will be students qualified to fill them. However, only one in 10 schools nationwide teach computer science classes. This multi-million dollar, multi-year initiative will bridge this gap by creating an educational journey with multiple touch points, from teacher training to partnerships with administrators, school leaders, etc., that empowers educators to play a critical, active role in preparing today’s and tomorrow’s students. Ignite My Future in School builds on TCS’ robust global community initiatives that have inspired more than two million young people in STEM education and careers. TCS is a founding partner for two national mentoring initiatives in the United States, US2020 and Million Women Mentors. TCS’ flagship student engagement program, TCS goIT, has engaged more than 12,000 middle and high school students in the United States and Canada with hands-on experiences in computer science, inspiring them towards tech careers in all sectors. Previous articleTCS named Red Hat’s ‘US partner of the year’ Next articleIndian-Origin Ex-South African Finance Minister Says Allegations Against Him Are Sickening BYJU’S acquires TutorVista and Edurite Cornell Professor Kaushik Basu is new International Economic Association President Foreign students considering leaving US ‘Cautious’ fiscal policy, low inflation helped India reach 7.8 percent growth: UN official Amazon too turns against Trump’s order on immigration IndUS Business Journal - January 31, 2017 India continues to engage with US on Iran oil imports IndUS Business Journal - November 1, 2018 BSE’s record-smashing IPO over-subscribed 51 times Japanese experts to assist Indian architects develop bullet train stations	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723197
__label__wiki	0.560385	0.560385	How to Save Memory for the Future Remarks on the Paintings of Isca Greenfield-Sanders, 2003 How to Save Memory for the Future Remarks on the paintings of Isca Greenfield-Sanders By BERND KLÜSER From a distance, Isca Greenfield-Sanders’ paintings look like blow-ups of hand-tinted photographs of bourgeois family idylls dating from the 1950s. That first glance is deceptive: the surface of these works has been done in oils, and the cliché of an idyll which they show has been manipulated – a mixture of document and virtual reality. At a household auction five years ago the artist bought some metal boxes of the kind formerly used to store slides. To her surprise, the boxes were full of holiday and casual photographs of the members of a large American family. Her first reaction was to try and return the photographs to the seller, as she was only interested in the metal boxes. He congratulated her on the purchase of the metal containers and recommended that she throw away their contents as he was not acquainted with the former owners of the house. This chance find then inspired Isca Greenfield-Sanders to base her paintings on these photographs: “I decided to adopt these orphans.” A rational decision which psychoanalytical critics in the future might interpret both speculatively and exaggeratedly as a kind of self-exploration or unconscious search for the archetypes of her own childhood. What is certain, however, is that the artist was delighted to have found raw material to work with for a considerable period of time in this passive store of images – and in our society’s most popular pictorial genre. Her acknowledgement of an ideology-free pictorial content places her in the good company of great artists from the history of art. The motif of her picnic-paintings first cropped up in Giorgione’s Concert Champêtre (1519), and since Manet’s Déjeuner sur l’herbe, at the latest, it has become embedded in our general consciousness. Cézanne pursued that motif further in series of paintings, adding numerous “Bathers”, a subject that would preoccupy generations of major artists (from Matisse, Picasso, Bonnard and Kirchner to Henry Moore, Alberto Giacometti and Jasper Johns, who did studies after Cézanne’s Bathers). Currently, the work of Gerhard Richter provides contemporary examples of largely “neutral” painterly themes based on photographs. Richter has been alternating between different banal motifs (and painting styles) in his works for decades. His models are family and landscape photographs, as well as illustrations from encyclopaedias and enlargements of photographs of the surface structures of his own abstract paintings. Isca Greenfield-Sanders is not only aware of this art historical context, she also attributes importance to it. Lisa Dennison, head curator at the Guggenheim Museum (which already purchased a large painting by the artist in 2002) has pointed this out: “Many artists work with reproductive media and digitally-manipulated photographs, but she takes this in another direction by alluding to art history.” Technically, the artistic transformation process in Isca Greenfield-Sanders’ works, from the model to the finished painting, is highly complex. First she scans up to six selected photographs into her computer and then digitally processes various elements thereby modifying the theme. She prints the results on rice paper, which she subsequently reworks with paint. A new condensed image thus emerges in which people or elements of a landscape are amplified or eliminated, in compliance with the artist’s compositional idea. Painterly corrections have to be made in order to adapt, for example, the shadows of newly-introduced people to the light conditions prevailing in the image. This new basic image is again scanned into the computer and enlargements printed out on square sheets of rice paper each measuring 17.5 x 17.5 cm. The individual sheets are then pasted onto canvas in grid form, making up the final pictorial model. This is where the actual creative painting work begins, the second transformation. The photographic image is painted over in oils, giving rise to more deviations from the original model due to changing colours and densities. The artistic process of transforming content into form and allowing that transformation to become legible equates in Isca Greenfield-Sanders’ work to drawing and painting of the first order: from the calculated imperfections in Mondrian and Malevich to the visible traces of underpaintings and first drafts in Rothko and Scully to Pollock’s “drippings”, Warhol’s silk-screen printing structures, the blurs in Richter and the traces of the eraser in Alberto Giacometti’s drawings. What at first sight looks like realist-painterly virtuosity turns out on closer inspection of her works to be a well-considered engagement with pictorial reality and painting – an attempt to give painting a function, which it is now usually denied. These are pictorial inventions which respond to the flood of images in our era of the new media, while at the same time referring to pictorial inventions in the history of painting. The dominant colours are blue, green and turquoise, which, by comparison with the photographic models, are clearly intensified. This results in a specific light, the impact of which is quite irritating. On first perceiving the motifs, viewers expect faded shades, as would be typical of colour photographs from the 1950s. Instead, they are confronted with a light familiar to them from contemporary TV sets, computer monitors or light boxes: transcendent, as if lit from within, similar to the effect of stained glass windows in churches. A slight blurredness resulting from the painting technique increases the irritation, forcing one to take a closer look. Isca Greenfield-Sanders’ works are painterly explorations of seeing, something which Cézanne had in mind in his conversation with Gasquet: “All that we see is dispersed, is transient, is it not? Nature is always the same, but nothing remains of what we see of her. It’s for our art to give the feeling of her endurance, with the ingredients, the appearance of all her changes.” According to Cézanne, the transience of life can only assume permanence through form, and it makes all the difference whether the after-images of a memory are brought to mind by photographs or are represented in painting. Painting enlarges the distance between photography and reality, and saves memory for the future. Or to quote Alex Katz: “Photography is always the past, painting always the present.” daveh 2017-10-28T20:33:56+00:00 Keep Them Still, 2017 Painting the Shifting Sands of Memory by Stacey Goergen, 2016 The Silent Glow of Light by Liv Stoltz, 2011 Foreword to the Light Leaks Catalogue by Adam Lerner, 2010 Isca Greenfield-Sanders Light Leaks by Nora Burnett Abrams, 2010 In the Air by Tinie Dalton, 2008 A Conversation: Chuck Close and Isca Greenfield-Sanders, 2006 Postcard: A Conversation with Isca Greenfield-Sanders by Lauri Firstenberg, 2005 Isca Greenfield-Sanders: Grids, 2005 Processes of Identification: Isca Greenfield-Sanders by Demetrio Paproni, 2000 Arresting Tranquility: A View of the Works by Isca Greenfield-Sanders by Salvatore Lacagnina, 2001	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723201
__label__wiki	0.534048	0.534048	Vale Bryce Courtenay Australia said goodbye last week to one of our most dearly loved authors. Bryce Courtenay wrote an astonishing 21 books in 23 years. He has been rightly described by his publisher at Penguin, Bob Sessions, as Australia’s own Charles Dickens. Like Dickens, Courtenay’s writing is remarkable for his larger than life characters, his complex plots and his broad popular appeal. And like Charles Dickens, Courtenay was willing to tackle social justice issues. Apartheid in The Power Of One, racial prejudice in Jessica, AIDS in April Fool’s Day – he wasn’t just a champion story-teller, but somebody who aimed to make a difference with his writing. The Potato Factory trilogy was my first experience of reading Bryce Courtenay books. I loved them, and was inspired to begin writing again myself, after a break of many years. That’s the other thing he did – show people that it’s never too late to follow your dreams. Courtenay began his remarkably successful publishing career at the age of fifty-five. As a one-time ad man, he was a master of promotion, but also most generous. For example, he gave away up to 2,500 books free each year to readers he met in the street. So thank you Mr Courtenay, for being such an inspiration over so many years. How fabulous that your final novel Jack Of Diamonds, was released before you died. You’ve left us a truly remarkable legacy. And thank you also, on behalf of a grateful nation, for giving us Louie the Fly! This entry was posted in Books, Writing and tagged AIDS, April Fools Day, Bryce Courtenay, Charles Dickens, Jessica, Penguin Books, Popular Australian Fiction, Potato Factory, Solomon's Song, The Power Of One by jenniferscoullar. Bookmark the permalink. 4 thoughts on “Vale Bryce Courtenay” acflory on November 26, 2012 at 8:03 pm said: I’ve only read a few of Bryce Courtney’s books but each one made me think. I feel as though I’ve lost a friend. jenniferscoullar on November 26, 2012 at 9:15 pm said: He was such a positive influence in the world. It’s funny. I always get an unpleasant surprise when someone I look up to dies. It’s almost as if they are too big, too important to be mortal like the rest of us. Pingback: In Memory of Bryce Courtenay and The Power of One: It’s Never Too Late to Start Writing \| Travel. Garden. Eat.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723205
__label__cc	0.708823	0.291177	Tag Archives: Animal Characters The Animal Characters Of ‘Turtle Reef’ Today, author Sydney Smith interviews me about the animals in my upcoming release, Turtle Reef. SYDNEY: Jenny, your latest novel, Turtle Reef, will soon come out. As with Currawong Creek, the story contains plenty of animal characters and a child with an intellectual disability. One of the interesting things about your fiction is the theme of “wise” animals and children like Jack in Currawong and Josh in Turtle Reef―wise because they feel comfortable in their place in the world, comfortable with themselves, while adult humans stuff things up left, right and centre. Can you talk about how you see these wise animals and children? JENNIFER: I believe children haven’t strayed as far from the animal, and thus instinctively understand the natural world and their place in it. I struggle with our modern disconnect from nature. Most of us live our lives so removed from the elemental that we rarely even touch the earth. We tell ourselves that we are separate from the natural world. But I worry about the cost to our declining environment. Not to mention the cost to our hearts. The rural fiction genre is so popular because readers are hungry to re-engage with nature, to ground themselves. Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild tapped into this vein. The wildly successful movie, Avatar, did the same. For me, losing touch with wildness means losing touch with ourselves. In a review of my debut novel, Wasp Season, Diana Jenkins (News Editor, Varuna National Writers’ Centre) put it this way : ‘Jennifer’s a changeling, in my mind, someone who’s not really human at all, or at least not in the conventional sense. She’s too alive to the possibilities and voices of other living things for that. But with what eyes does she see? How does she so convincingly inhabit the wasps? I think it’s because she’s somehow emerged with her childlike wonder intact. Remember foraging around at the bottom of every garden or wood or forest or glen you came across as a child? How fantastic it seemed, how secretive? How full of drama and exquisite beauty? I remember it really clearly, and when I think of Jennifer’s eye on the natural world I imagine that I just might be able to reach that magic garden again.’ SYDNEY: So when you started to think about writing Turtle Reef, how did you come to choose which aspect of the drama of the Great Barrier Reef to write about? Would you say part of your role as a writer is to educate readers about how to correct old mistakes in the management of the natural world? JENNIFER: The Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral ecosystem on our blue planet, holds a special place in the hearts of most Australians. As you suggest in your question, it has so many aspects that lend themselves to dramatic stories. I tell human and animal tales side by side, exploring how we exist together in one habitat. Choosing a cane farmer and marine zoologist as my main protagonists allowed me to look at the varied parts the reef plays in the life of coastal communities. It was also an excuse to write about dugongs and dolphins! My aim as a writer is to entertain. It’s not my role to educate readers in any way. I simply present issues that confront people in regional areas on a day-to-day basis. However, we are so often on a collision course with nature. If my stories spark debate about conservation, that’s a bonus. SYDNEY: Can you talk a bit about how you build an animal character? You’ve told me already about Einstein, the octopus. I was instantly captivated (and still think about inklets, baby octopi!). How much anthropomorphism goes into it? Or do you think the key to creating an animal character lies elsewhere? JENNIFER: The first thing I do when building animal characters is to learn everything I can about their lives. This is my favourite part of the writing process. I’ve been an amateur naturalist for as long as I can remember, and love nothing more that immersing myself in the world of a brumby, or goose, or dolphin. Then I build my animal character much like I would any other, imagining its personality, back-story and motivation. In my view, anthropomorphism is a useful tool for navigating this planet that we share with other animals. Take the recent documentary film, Blackfish, for example. It tells the story of Tilikum, a captive Orca who killed several of his trainers. It’s an emotionally-wrenching, tightly-structured tale that relies on us empathising with the whale’s plight. Thoughtful, balanced anthropomorphism helps us perceive the kinship shared by humans and animals. Can I add, Only The Animals, by Ceridwen Dovey, has been long-listed for the Stella Prize. In this astonishing anthology, the souls of ten animals that died in human conflicts over the last century tell their own stories. The old taboo against anthropomorphism is lifting, and it’s a good thing too. SYDNEY: Hm. Only the Animals sounds like a must-read to me. Only, I’m scared I’ll bawl my eyes out! Getting back to how you build an animal character, you immersed yourself in the worlds of several marine animals. Have you got any insights to impart about your discoveries? JENNIFER: Yes Sydney, Only The Animals may not be for you. It’s very confronting and you’d probably cry. I did! Getting back to the animals in Turtle Reef, I too am intrigued by my octopus character, Einstein. These misunderstood creatures are usually cast in an evil light. Take the giant, murderous octopus from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, for example, or Ursula the sea witch from The Little Mermaid. I think the octopus gets such bad press because it is an alarmingly alien animal. Eight suckered arms. Three hearts pumping blue, copper-based blood around its boneless body. However, I’m a big fan of this jet-powered invertebrate. Master of camouflage, a shape-shifter, and with an intelligence approaching that of a dog. And when it comes to maternal self-sacrifice? Well, you’ll just have to read the book … I also learned a lot about dolphins. Recent scientific research suggests they have a wider range of emotions than humans, a culture that is handed down through generations, and personal names. Unlike us, they are conscious breathers. This was discovered in the 1960s, when researchers tried to anaesthetise dolphins. As soon as they fell unconscious, they stopped breathing and died. Depressed captive dolphins have been known to commit suicide by simply deciding not to breathe. In fact, the more I learned about dolphins, the more firmly opposed I became to them being held in marine parks. For example dolphins have a sixth sense, sonar, which becomes problematic when they are confined. Sound bounces off the concrete tanks, confusing and irritating them. Sonar is dolphins’ most effective tool for learning about the world around them. Thwarting their ability to use this sonar is tantamount to blinding them. SYDNEY: That is so interesting, Jenny. Isn’t it funny how suggestible we are. If we’re presented with an animal as a hostile being, we become scared of the whole species. But present us with a friendly version and we love the whole species. How much of the drama that unfolds in Turtle Reef is shaped by human preconceptions about certain animals? Maybe you can talk about the contrast between the way Josh responds to these animals and the way some adult humans do. JENNIFER: There are lots of preconceptions being made about the characters in Turtle Reef, some negative, some positive, but mostly unwarranted. The instant aversion people feel towards Einstein, the octopus, for example. The automatic assumption that Kane the dolphin, with his perpetual smile, is peaceful and happy in captivity. Josh has a brain injury, so it’s assumed he is slow. Aisha, the Arabian mare, is branded a rogue, and nobody challenges this. However, with one exception, Josh isn’t guilty of pre-judging the other characters in Turtle Reef. He takes them as he finds them. So does Zoe. This is their strength. They can see past these preconceptions to the truth. Thank you for your thought-provoking questions Sydney, and I look forward to sharing the story of Turtle Reef with my readers very soon! Pre-order Turtle Reef here at Bookworld, Booktopia and Amazon Posted in Books, Home and Family, Nature, Writing \| Tagged Animal Characters, Anthropomorphism, Avatar, Blackfish, Dolphins, Dolphins In Captivity, Great Barrier Reef, Into The Wild, Octopuses, Only The Animals, Sydney Smith, Turtle Reef, Wasp Season \| 7 Replies Dugongs In Fiction Posted on January 11, 2015 by jenniferscoullar I’ve completed the final edits for Turtle Reef, which is due for release with Penguin on the 25th of March. Hopefully I’ll be able to reveal the cover next week. Finishing a novel always evokes mixed feelings – excitement at moving on to a new project; regret at leaving much-loved characters behind. As readers of my books will know, I have animal characters as well as human ones, and sometimes they’re the ones I miss the most. Zenandra, the wasp queen from Wasp Season; Whirlwind, the mysterious brumby mare from Brumby’s Run; Samson, the loyal German Shepherd from Currawong Creek and the charming Magpie geese goslings from Billabong Bend – these characters stay with me long after the final words are written. Turtle Reef is no different. Set at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef, the story includes a wide range of marine animals (and horses of course). Some like Kane, the dolphin, and Einstein, the octopus, are characters in their own right. Others such as the sea turtles and dugongs fuel the narrative in more general ways. Out of curiosity I decided to research the place of dugongs in fiction. It surprised me to discover that there are very few books about these unique animals, and all of them seem to be for children. Dabu Grows Up: The Tale of a Dugong is a picture book set in the tropical waters of the Torres Strait. Dabu is a young dugong whose mother is taken by hunters. Dabu learns about life, respect for the natural world, loneliness and friendship as he explores a tropical reef, finally deciding that to survive he must return to his herd. Denis, the Dugong follows the adventures of an Arabian dugong, and is enriched with details of the surrounding flora and fauna. The book is part of a series stressing the importance of conservation in the Arabian Peninsula. Dipanker the Dugong is a similar book set in India. That’s it – all I could find. Please comment if you know of any others. I’m thrilled to think that my new book Turtle Reef will help raise the profile of these enchanting and under-represented animals in fiction. Dugongs belong to the order Sirenia, named after the legendary sirens of the sea. Their closest living relatives are the manatees and they’re also distantly related to elephants. Dugongs are found throughout the Indo-pacific region, but over the past century many populations have disappeared. Australia is their last stronghold, but even here they are in dramatic decline. Threats to dugongs are all man-made: entanglements in shark and fishing nets, marine debris, loss of sea grass meadows due to dredging and agricultural run-off, traditional hunting and collisions with boats. I’ve always loved these gentle giants of the sea that have existed on earth for 45 million years. What a tragedy if after all this time they went extinct on our watch! 🙁 Posted in Books, Nature, Writing \| Tagged Animal Characters, Animals In Fiction, Billabong Bend, Brumby's Run, Conservation, Currawong Creek, Dugongs, Dugongs In Fiction, Endangered species, Turtle Reef, Wasp Season \| 4 Replies	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723206
__label__wiki	0.856797	0.856797	Joshua Berrett, author of Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz Joshua Berrett’s Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz is a dual biography of two great innovators in the history of jazz. One was black, one was white — one is now legendary, the other nearly forgotten. Berrett offers a provocative revision of the history of early jazz by focusing on two of its most notable practioners — Whiteman, legendary in his day, and Armstrong, a legend ever since. Whiteman’s fame was unmatched throughout the twenties. Bix Beiderbecke, Bing Crosby, and Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey honed their craft on his bandstand. Celebrated as the “King of Jazz” in 1930 in a Universal Studios feature film, Whiteman’s imperium has declined considerably since. The legend of Armstrong, in contrast, grows ever more lustrous: for decades it has been Armstrong, not Whiteman, who has worn the king’s crown. Berrett’s book explores these diverging legacies in the context of race, commerce, and the history of early jazz. Early jazz, Berrett argues, was not a story of black innovators and white usurpers. Berrett presents a more compicated story — a story of cross-influences, sidemen, and sundry movers and shakers who, he argues, were all part of a collective experience that transcended the category of race. In the world of early jazz, he contends, kingdoms had no borders.# Berrett joins Jerry Jazz Musician publisher Joe Maita in an October 4, 2004 conversation. Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman “Armstrong’s supreme position in the jazz pantheon as the first great soloist has never been in doubt. As Dan Morgenstern has put it: ‘Though he was never billed as the King of Jazz, Armstrong is the only legitimate claimant to that title. Without him there would of course have been the music called jazz, but how it might have developed is guesswork. This extraordinary trumpeter and singer was the key creator of the mature working language of jazz.’ That regal title was at one time bestowed on Whiteman, first as part of an advertising campaign for brass instruments and later in a 1930 movie. Yet his role as an outstanding pioneer has generally been far more problematic, especially starting in the 1930s; more often than not he has been condemned in jazz history as a usurper or else been expunged from the record altogether.” – Joshua Berrett Rhapsody in Blue , by Paul Whiteman JJM Your book revisits the world of early jazz and examines, compares and contrasts the work of Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman, who the cultural critic Gerald Early refers to as “the twin father figures of American popular musicboth heavy and both popular as personalities as much as for their musical abilitiestwo fathers, one black and one white.” What did you set out to accomplish with your book? Art representative of “The Jazz Age” Everybody Step , by The Paul Whiteman Orchestra JB What I am trying to show is that there is a give and take between the so-called black and white areas of music. The book is really a cultural history of jazz during the twentieth century — the American century — which was clearly and decisively shaped by jazz and modernism. The whole point I am trying to make in the book is that jazz is not the legacy, entirely, of African Americans, and I am trying to restore a balance to our view of jazz. Also, to be very clear in pointing out that the word itself, “jazz,” is extremely slippery, and has been subject to enormous change. If you look at its history, it was very much a function of the political agenda of the time, and who was writing about it. That’s a big part of what I try to address, how commerce and various political agendas helped shape the writing of jazz. JJM How was the word “jazz” used in, let’s say, the twenties? JB It was a very loose term for pop music, and used for anything that was lively or that people could dance to. There was always the fascination with syncopation, animal dances and a certain earthiness, but there was no real iron clad definition for “jazz” that you can come up with. Most people just wanted to go out and have a good time, and dance to the strains of ensembles like Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. So, while it was very much a part of the whole headlong rush of the twenties, I don’t think there was any clear textbook definition for it. What is really astounding, if you ever watch King of Jazz, the movie featuring Whiteman, you will notice there is virtually no jazz in it. The jazziest number is Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Most of it is made up of what we would today call popular music or salon music. The movie is really like a variety show, in many ways. Paul Whiteman “Armstrong had little use for the minutiae of money and managing a band. He was perfectly happy to blow his horn peacefully and not have to deal with ‘too much quarreling over petty money matters.’ By contrast, Whiteman’s was a corporate mentality. In his focus on the ensemble and arrangements he epitomized the savvy dance band or orchestra leader as well as the entrepreneur and promoter par excellence. It was as if he were taking his cue from Calvin Coolidge, who in a 1925 speech before the Society of American Newspaper Editors originated the dictum, ‘The business of America is business.'” “As a human being with a rare generosity of spirit, Armstrong transcended the barriers of religion, category, and race.” JJM Is Whiteman’s recording of Rhapsody in Bluean example of how black and white musical worlds intermingled during that era? JB Well, I believe there is something to that — it was the way it was marketed — and it was an effort to give jazz more mass appeal. It is complicated, obviously, by the fact that it was the era of Jim Crow laws and prohibition, therefore people would go “slumming” on Chicago’s South Side or in Harlem. But I am thinking of the mass media and the different ways the music could be heard — on the radio, in film, and on the records themselves. The era was obviously segregated, and there were these very discrete populations to whom the recordings were distributed. What would be fascinating to determine is how many of the same people who bought a recording by or listened to Paul Whiteman also bought “race records,” which would have included the earliest recordings of King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. It is very hard to reconstruct that kind of history, and to get a really definitive answer. JJM When did Armstrong and Whiteman begin to move in intersecting orbits? JB I think it begins in the thirties, when, in a way, Armstrong is packaged more as a big band leader. That is something people often ignore. They focus on his “Hot Five” or “Hot Seven” recordings, which represents a rather limited phase of his whole career. But for much of his life, he was fronting a big band and promoting popular songs. I see a big intersection there, and it continues, pretty much, until 1947, when Armstrong’s All Stars are formed. Of course, by this time, Whiteman was effectively out of the picture. It is very difficult to pinpoint certain moments where their careers may have intersected. They had two individual, parallel careers that in different ways embraced jazz and pop music while straddling the racial and national divide. They became international icons at different times — by 1923, Whiteman was known in Europe, while Armstrong made it big in Europe in the late twenties and early thirties. “Fox Trot,” by Noble MacClure Whispering , by Paul Whiteman West End Blues , by Louis Armstrong JJM One of the things that I was reminded of while reading your book was America’s fascination of the exotic at the time JB The fascination with the exotic goes back to the teens, with the fascination of the animal dances, the Barbary Coast, and the fox trot. This fascination starts then and continues very clearly with Armstrong in the United States, but also in France. I write about how he was received at Salle Pleyel by Hugues Panassie in the early thirties, when Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt just wanted to hear Armstrong’s deep, gravelly voice. They hardly knew a word of English but there was something exotic and quite out of their world about Armstrong that really grabbed them. JJM What did Whiteman mean when he said he wanted to make a “lady” out of jazz? JB That is generally code for saying that he wanted to make it acceptable to a white, middle class audience, and also to apply certain practices of classical music to it. While Whiteman was fascinated by orchestration, he was very acutely aware of the need for an earthy, gutsy, bluesy sound. When Bill Challis joined him as arranger, that really took hold. So, making a “lady” out of jazz was the idea of creating some kind of a controlled ensemble sound lacking in the so-called “hot” jazz of Armstrrong, yet would also capture its earthiness. This was a much more complicated thing than people realize because the Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles really did rehearse quite carefully, and planned what they played. This naïve notion that they just made it up as they went along is totally untrue. Armstrong was very conscious of the balance between the soloist and the ensemble. Song Of The Dawn Bix Beiderbecke Mississippi Mud “The New Orleans groove was the kind of hot jazz that was in Armstrongs blood a mode of music making that stood in sharp contrast to the norm for Paul Whiteman and symphonic jazz. What it meant for Armstrong was goin to towncuttin loose and takin the music with you, whatever the score may call for[to] break through the set rhythms and melody and toss them aroundplay away from the score.” JJM Talk a little about Whiteman’s vision for jazz on the concert stage? JB He was trying to invigorate the whole language of modern music, using jazz idioms — some of the syncopation, some of the saxophone sonorities, the blues sounds — to energize the world, and I think that largely he succeeded. From the dance band stage, he believed he could incorporate European classical elements with what he felt to be jazz elements, especially standard blues qualities, syncopation, and certain kinds of instrumentation. One of the things I develop in the book is that this whole strain of symphonic jazz can be traced all the way from Whiteman’s Rhapsody in Blue to the latest music of Wynton Marsalis. This is clearly traceable to Paul Whiteman, although there are precedents to Rhapsody in Blue you are perhaps familiar with — La creation du monde , by Darius Milhaud, Stravinsky’s Ragtime , as well as efforts by James Reese Europe in the teens. But Whiteman’s Rhapsody in Blue struck gold and became the basis for a whole tradition of symphonic jazz. JJM What do you suggest we listen to that exemplifies Whiteman’s transformation of his sound into something that could be categorized as “hot”? JB I would say virtually everything that he recorded while Bix Beiderbecke and Bing Crosby were with the band — as well as some of the recordings with Mildred Bailey. “Mississippi Mud” would be a good example. If you listen closely, there is a real effort to raise the temperature of the music, and when he hired Bill Challis, he did so for that purpose. JJM When did he begin to sense that there were limitations to symphonic jazz, and how did he respond to it? JB The limitations really persisted with him all the way through the early forties. He premiered Rhapsody in Blue in 1924 as part of his eight experiments in modern music, and his mission carried through to the early forties when he did that rather fascinating West Coast session with Billie Holiday, which was like the last gasp of his pop sound. But clearly, the eight experiments in modern music were very conscious efforts to achieve a synthesis of European music and jazz — that was his express purpose. That is subsumed by the word “modern.” The whole idea is that jazz is what made American music modern, and without jazz, music would not be modern. “As one of the most eruditite and articulate voices of the Harlem Renaissance, Alain Locke argued for a jazz style that would rid itself of ‘shoddy superficiality andrepetitious vulgar gymnastics,’ a music performed by academically trained musicians who preserve the African American folk idiom. For Locke, only William Grant Still and Duke Ellington were equal to the challenge of creating works worthy of the genre of symphonic jazz.” – Joshua Berrett _____ Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American” , by William Grant Still JJM You write, “the process of how Armstrong came to be written into jazz history as one of its very greatest icons and a symbol of proletarian ‘people’s’ music, even as Whiteman was relegated to the sidelines, is very much part of our story. Whiteman was a casualty of a socialist agenda coupled with the heightened black consciousness emerging during and directly after World War II. And it was a political process which effectively denied or ignored much of what he had achieved to foster the careers of such African American musicians as Don Redman, Earl Hines, William Grant Still, Duke Ellington, and others.” This isn’t a view commonly held by other historians, is it? JB I don’t think so, and it is why I felt I had a certain mission in writing this book. To be honest, if you open a typical jazz reference book, there are two things Whiteman will be mentioned for; one is that he commissioned Gershwin to write Rhapsody in Blue, and the other is that Bix Beiderbecke played with him, essentially nurtured him, and offered him his chair back while he was dealing with his alcoholism. It is quite interesting, because I have some very well informed friends and members of the family who were very surprised when I even told them that Paul Whiteman had commissioned Gershwin to write Rhapsody in Blue. So, what I tried to do in the book is put Whiteman in a much larger context, and to show that he really went out on a limb. For example, in 1931 he wrote an affidavit in support of Armstrong when he was being threatened by the mob, saved Earl Hines from losing his job at the Terrace in Chicago, and got William Grant Still an important job as an arranger, commissioned Duke Ellington, and on and on. But then what happens is, starting in 1928 with the Communist International, and accelerating with the Scottsboro trial of 1931, a polarization sets in. The idea of blacks being a victimized race and the Communist Party rallying to their cause was very radicalizing for some. The Scottsboro trial radicalized John Hammond — who described himself as a “New York social dissident” — and it changed his perception of the world, and of blacks, and he felt that he somehow had to serve them to the virtual exclusion of whites. Tags: big band music, jazz criticism, jazz history, louis armstrong, paul whiteman Pages: Page 1, Page 2 Author Joe MaitaPosted on October 4, 2004 Categories Biographers, InterviewsTags big band music, jazz criticism, jazz history, louis armstrong, paul whiteman	cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line1723209

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