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Vieux-Château (L'Île-d'Yeu)
Vieux-Château (L'Île-d'Yeu) Photo - Remi Jouan — Photo taken by Remi Jouan - Wikipedia - lic. under CC BY-SA 3.0
Location: L'Île d'Yeu, in the Vendée departement of France (Pays de la Loire Region).
Ownership / Access: --
Notes: Vieux-Château (L'Île-d'Yeu), Old Castle, built in the fourteenth century, covers three centuries of island history. It is the subject of a classification as historical monuments since 1900. It Olivier IV of Clisson, great builder of castles, which began work in order to ensure Islais safety in case of foreign invasion . The longest was the one conducted by the famous English pirate Robert Knowles, who succeeded in 1355 to capture the castle and occupied the island for 37 years. In 1392, the island of Yeu will return to the English during the reconquest of Poitou by the Constable Olivier de Clisson. During the Renaissance, Jean V Rieux (master of the island) erected bastions of speakers around the castle. These fortifications were built models (as they did in their country) by Italian engineers that Francis had brought with him from his Italian wars. Later, Vauban resume in perfecting this military architecture to design his famous forts. This protection will be effective when in 1550 landed from the north, thousands of Spanish soldiers who defeated under the walls of the local garrison were forced to put to sea to return to the Iberian Peninsula. Old Castle, obsolete by the construction (between 1654 and 1660) of coastal forts small according to the technique of Vauban, was dismantled in the late seventeenth century, and many other ancient castles of the French coast, by order of Louis XIV fearing that they were not taken by the enemy to use them in strategic points. It is a listed building since 1890. In the 1970s, Maurice ESSEUL (from the island) is undertaking the excavation and restoration of the castle. He regularly gives lectures and organizes daily tours. Hergé would have inspired the Old Castle to draw one of The Black Island.
How To Get To Vieux-Château (L'Île-d'Yeu) (Map):
Vieux-Château (L'Île-d'Yeu) Links:
Vieux-Château (L'Île-d'Yeu) On Wikipedia
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No Breath Test, No Problem? Think Again - Observational DWI
During the holiday season, many police departments place special emphasis on DWI patrol and detection. The police know that during the month of December and through New Years day, many families and offices host holiday parties and serve alcohol to those in attendance. The police do not care about the parties themselves, but rather look out for all the guests who decide to drive home from a party after drinking.
Unfortunately, many drivers have the misconception that they are susceptible to DWI charges if they only had one or two drinks. This misconception is based on the notion that DWI charges depend solely on a breath test which determines a driver’s Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). However, both New Jersey and New York have TWO methods by which a court can find a driver guilty of DWI. The first method hinges on a breath test which determines a driver’s BAC. This is called Per Se DWI. If the test was properly administered and the machine, properly calibrated, produces a reading of 0.08% or above then the driver is facing a nearly certain Per Se DWI conviction.
The second type of DWI conviction is often referred to as Observational DWI and is based on factors independent of a driver’s BAC. Observational DWI, as its name suggests, can be founded on any observation of an officer or witness. These often include an odor of alcoholic beverages emanating from a driver’s breath or vehicle, slurred or nonsensical speech, bloodshot and/or watery eyes and anything else that one might see, hear or smell which leads to the conclusion that the driver was intoxicated. Additionally, officers can ask a driver to perform field sobriety tests which assess the driver’s balance and coordination. A poor performance on these tests will also support a finding of DWI. Finally, any statement made by the driver will be used against him should the statement indicate that the driver consumed alcohol before operating the motor vehicle. All of these factors can combine and support a court’s finding that a driver is guilty of DWI despite the absence of any breath test evidence.
It is important to understand that the law prohibits driving while intoxicated. While the most often discussed method of proving intoxication is the use of breath test machines, drivers can also be found guilty of DWI based solely on observational evidence. A driver who faces Per Se or Observational DWI charges should talk to a Traffic Court attorney as a thorough cross-examination of the arresting officer is crucial to the driver’s defense. If you have been charged with DWI, contact our office today to set up a free consultation.
The Criminal Implications of Refusing a DWI Breath Test
Both New York and New Jersey have laws known as DWI Refusal Statutes. In N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a, New Jersey makes it a crime for a person to refuse to take a chemical breath test after having been arrested for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Similarly, NY VTL § 1194 requires a driver to submit to a chemical breath test if there were reasonable grounds to believe the driver was operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. In both states, refusal to submit to a chemical test results in an immediate charge of Refusal DWI, an offense carrying the same sentencing guidelines as regular DWI.
The Refusal statutes are based on the presumption that anyone who drives within NY or NJ is deemed to have given consent to a chemical test in order to determine the alcohol or drug content in the driver’s blood. In other words, when a person decides to drive a vehicle in either NY or NJ, that person is deemed to have simultaneously agreed to provide a chemical test sample when asked to do so by an officer. Unfortunately, a suspect cannot “plead the Fifth” because the Constitutional Right against Self-Incrimination offers no protection for drivers in this situation. The privilege is only a bar against compelling verbal communications or testimony and does not protect against the compulsion of real or physical evidence[i], such as a breath, urine or blood sample.
Once a driver has been charged with Refusal DWI, the burden is on the prosecutor to prove two crucial facts in order to convict a suspect. The prosecutor must demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that (a) that the police officer had probable cause to believe the suspect was driving a vehicle while intoxicated and (b) that the suspect refused to take the chemical test. If a police officer lacked a proper basis to ask a driver to submit to a chemical breath test or the prosecutor cannot demonstrate that the suspect actually and knowingly refused, then the Refusal charge will be dismissed.
If you, or someone you know has been arrested for Refusal DWI, contact a defense attorney today to learn about your rights and how to best defend against the charges going forward. Contact us today to set up a free consultation.
[i] Schmerber v. Cal., 384 U.S. 757, 764 (1966).
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Nolan is a pianist now. He was pulling on my guitar’s E string a little too hard, so we switched him to the electric piano that his Great-Aunt Donna gave me a few years ago. So. He’s a pianist now. Pam made a comment that was cute and true - all of his plastic toys suddenly become INVISIBLE when he spots Uncle Greg’s guitar. Perhaps the music gene is in him, too? Perhaps his mind would be blown later in life by the images and videos of Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Greg playing loud rock music together at John & Peter’s in New Hope.
It gets me thinking about the essence of creativity. I remember telling my Mom and her friend Peggy that I was gonna perform a concert for them. I don’t know what I would’ve sang or how long they stayed, but I know that it was in some mangy room in my childhood home (“The Labyrinth”) and I know that I was several years away from knowing how to play a chord and more than several years away from knowing how to sing. Nevertheless, it was ABSOLUTELY time to perform a concert! This was early; I’ve probably gone on dates with women born after this concert.
I also remember deciding that one of the shelves of my bookshelf should probably have a Christmas scene on it rather than books. Like a snow globe with elements you can touch. I remember the intoxicating sense of purpose I felt while doing it and I also remember my Mom telling me that I can’t use sugar as fake snow because it’ll attract ants. It was an early run-in with The Man who, in this case, was a woman.
While Nolan eyed-up my guitar, I showed Pam how three generations of guitar-playing McGarveys’ acoustic guitars are in black cases side-by-side under my bed, in descending generational order - my 2014 Martin 000-15M (almost entirely paid off, spiritually co-owned by Nick Crocker, and named “Chellie” in honor of the girlfriend who suffered through my long infatuation with this model), my Dad’s 1980s Sigma DM-2, and my Grandpa’s late 1930s or early 1940s archtop Gibson L50 (or similar). Maybe Nolan will play all these guitars one day?
Inspired, perhaps, by The Scientist and her successful, last-minute dissertation at Princeton, I’ve JUST begun promoting next week’s art show. How lazy can one get? Nevertheless, I will be interviewed about the show next week by two newspapers, one of which is the paper that I used to sell over the phone when I was a teenager (and, before that, delivered).
Having hit a rough patch in the creation of a show poster for “A Few Moments With Marcella,” I had the thought: "Marcella, you were a graphic designer; can you help me finish this poster?" A few minutes later, I went back to it and it had these strange gray shapes on it. A glitch or a spiritual collaboration? You tell me. I dug it, so I took a screen shot before it went away, added text, and now that's the show poster.
The other day, I woke to emails from two different empaths. The messages they sent me inspired me to do a little deep-soul diving. I’ve been staying busy - and gratefully so. Working, paying bills, fixing the car, going to Trader Joe’s (my Snack Game is VERY strong right now)… Surface stuff. But what’s happening below the surface?
I’m on the porch, home surprisingly early from a gig. Red flowers in front of me. Over my shoulder, a spider is climbing over the blue moon. The whole neighborhood a chorus of crickets, interrupted only occasionally by the toiletesque sound of manchildren drag-racing around town.
I played a gig on an outdoor stage in Somerville, New Jersey, not far from where I was born. I spent a song or two getting out of my own way: “Do I know how to sing?” “Will anyone come to the show?” “Why are these people texting while I’m singing my ass off in front of them?”
But then that moment happened. I succumbed. I caught the wave and rode it all the way to shore. Suddenly, we had a nice crowd watching, singing, putting money in our tip jar, dancing. It was fun watching strangers react to my songs, not to mention songs like R.E.M.’s “I’ve Been High” which they’d almost certainly never heard before. My voice and my freshly restrung Martin served me well.
My friend Jenny Cat accompanied me on Stratocaster and, thoroughly energized by the power of the music, I couldn’t resist accompanying her on acoustic guitar, slide guitar, harmonica, and vocals during her set. If you missed that gig, you missed some of my best guitar playing. (Maybe I felt more connected to the guitar having bled on it earlier in the day?) I relished in the challenge of writing guitar parts on-the-spot to songs of Jenny’s that I’d never heard before.
We were pushing our voices and guitars hard enough that we could hear them bouncing off the brick buildings on either side of the alley. Natural echo. By the end, I was stomping on the stage in my baby blue argyle socks and unable to wipe the big stupid smile off my face. The crowd let us know that they dug it, too. Even the young lady who sold me a milkshake afterwards complimented me as I tried to decide between rocky road and mint chocolate chip.
Come to think of it, on that stage, I did the deep-soul diving I’d been craving.
And I probably sounded a lot better than I did at that show in ‘80s.
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One of the first apps many people seek out on their new device is a good weather app. Sometimes the built-in app is fine, but often there are third-party apps that offer more features, better accuracy, and more customizability. Apple’s built-in weather app on the Watch is good, but since my main iPhone app is Yahoo! Weather, I thought I would try out a few apps to see if I could find the weather app for the Watch.
Apple’s Built-in Weather App
Yahoo! Weather
Living Earth
Note: Dark Sky is not available in Canada, so it is not part of my review.
First I want to take a look at Glances, as they are the quickest way to access the weather. Until native apps arrive on the Watch with watchOS 2 later this year, I’ll be using Glances to check the weather rather than opening actual apps.
Weather app glances. Note: missing The Weather Network as it was a late addition.
Apple’s glance isn’t too bad. It has a basic icon displaying the current conditions, the current temperature with a nice large number, the location it is showing weather for, a short text description of the conditions and the high and low for the day. This is a perfectly useful glance and it updates very quickly. It does not display the “feels like” temperature, which can be very important in Canada, especially in the winter when wind chill can really make it feel much colder. It also doesn’t show probability of precipitation. Everything is left-aligned and nicely designed, but I think there is room for improvement here.
The Yahoo! glance is slightly more minimal than Apple’s. At first, I thought they were wasting the space at the top of the screen by leaving it blank. Today I went back to the glance and it had a little animated cloud:
Yahoo! Glance
I’m not sure why it wasn’t showing previously, but it’s there now. The current temperature is nice and big and it also displays “feels like” temperature, probability of precipitation and the wind. It does not have textual description of the conditions and I find the little icon doesn’t really give you the best indication. I also found the little t-shirt icon very confusing. At first I thought maybe it meant that it was “t-shirt weather,” but it remained even when the temperature dipped several degrees to 5°C – certainly not t-shirt weather! Now that I know what it is, it’s a useful bit of information, but I still think the icon is out of place. The water drop icon representing PoP is great and the data is fairly accurate. Wind can definitely make a difference in how you experience the weather, and living by the ocean means that a beautifully sunny day can feel a lot cooler when the wind is blowing at 25kph. I’m not sure this is terribly useful for everyone in all climates, but it’s a nice touch. However, I would drop it for high/low if I could customize this glance.
Just like Yahoo!’s glance, AccuWeather’s changed from the first time I made these screenshots to now. The first one above features a line of text describing the weather – “Rain for at least 120min,” which I really like. The circular temperature/weather representation is confusing and I don’t like it at all. The current temperature is a good size and I love the inclusion of high/low, but other than that it is a sparse glance.
However, I just took another screenshot of the glance and now it looks like this:
Updated Accuweather glance.
We now have a similar setup to other apps, with an icon and one word representing the conditions rather than a longer line of text. The current temperature is larger than before. Accuweather calls its “feels like” temperature “RealFeel” and it gets prominent placement. Below the main section we have the high/low, which is great. Under that, it looks a lot like the Yahoo! glance with three small icons. Two of them represent wind and PoP, like Yahoo!’s, but the third tells you when the sun is going to set. At first I thought this glance was too basic, but it is now one of the more fully-featured glances in the pack.
This glance is the most basic of the group, and because of that I definitely won’t be using it. The other glances have proven that there is more than enough room to add some useful details. This glance contains only the current temperature, a very short description of the conditions, and a large icon representing those conditions. It looks nice (and right now there is a cloud with a cute little cloud), but it’s just not enough information.
This glance is middle of the road. Like The Weather Channel, it offers the temperature and an icon for the current conditions. It adds the location, a “Feels like” line and a textual representation of the conditions. In this case, “Rain showers.” This is more information than TWC, but less information than every other glance, and it does not offer anything in the way of a forecast. There is a lot of empty space that could have been used. On one hand, it’s just a glance, so some may say the simpler the better, but when the other apps feature way more information without feeling cluttered, I think there is room for improvement.
Living Earth is a cool iPhone app – it shows a representation of where you are on the globe, with lighting effects. The glance includes the same, along with current temp (which isn’t extremely large, but it’s not too bad), high/low, PoP and location. It doesn’t include wind, feels like, or current conditions. It’s got the eye candy and a decent amount of info, but I don’t like that the vast majority of the screen is taken up the graphic of the Earth. I know that’s the whole point of the app, and some will really enjoy that aspect, but I feel like it’s wasted space.
Wunderground is a nice glance. It features the current temperature in a different colour, which makes it stand out – something the other glances don’t do. It has a small conditions icon, the high/low, and the forecast for the next three hours. It also has the date, time and location, which I think is useless. Most, if not all Apple Watch faces have the time. Many have a complication that can be set for the date. I get that some of the glances show the location because you can obviously have different locations in you weather app, but to have the location along with the date and time doesn’t make sense to me. This is more wasted space. Even if they just removed those elements, spaced things out more, and made the icon and temps a bit larger, I think they’d have a much-improved glance. It’s the only glance that features a look ahead at the forecast, so I really hope they continue to work on the glance, as it has potential.
Watch Apps
Until native apps arrive, I don’t think I’ll be spending much time in weather apps on the watch. They take too long to load and too long to update with current information. One of my goals with the watch is to spend less time interacting with it and have it mainly for notifications and quick interactions. Scrolling through weather information is not something I want to do on my wrist. If I can get the current conditions and maybe a short forecast or a high/low inside a glance, that’s all I need. If I really want detailed weather info, I’ll pull out my phone. That said, here’s a look at the companion apps to the glances reviewed above:
The Apple weather app is incredibly simple – it is just one screen, and if you didn’t start turning the digital crown, you’d never know it continued below with a ten-day forecast. That is something I’ve noticed throughout watchOS – there are often small circles at the bottom of the screen indicating there is another “page” to the right or left, but there is often nothing indicating there is more information or “pages” below if you scroll with the digital crown or swipe down.
Apple App – Main Screens
I like the circular interface – at a glance you can see what the general conditions will be throughout the day, and the current temp is prominently displayed in the centre. You can swipe left/right on the circle to get pop and temperature. You can also switch to these views via a force touch.
Apple App – Forecast / Temp / pop Views (Accessible by swiping or with a force touch)
Again, there is some wasted space from the displaying of the time, but with this layout anything else might look out of place in that space. The ten day forecast shows a conditions icon and the high/low for each day. This is an efficient display. Interestingly, at the end of the ten days there is a logo indicating the weather info comes from The Weather Channel.
Force Touch in this app changes the circular views from forecast, temperature and pop.
Unfortunately, Yahoo!’s app keeps giving me this error:
Opening the app on my iPhone usually gets rid of it, but sometimes it persists. Eventually I can usually get the watch app to work, but it’s pretty annoying to have this happen all the time, especially after a month of usage.
Once the app actually loads, it’s a fairly simple layout. You scroll down for the forecast for the next 24 hours, and you swipe left to change between your locations. First up is the current temperature with high/low and the location and time. The next screen down is the pop, wind speed, and a cute little animation of the sun’s current location, ending with sunrise and sunset times. Scrolling down brings the basic forecast (with one icon), temperature, and high/low for the next 24h, chunked into afternoon / evening / night / morning sections.
Yahoo! App – Main Views
Yahoo! App – Forecast Scroll
I like this app. When I’m looking at weather on my watch, what I’m really looking for is current information first and foremost, and then the next 24h. I don’t see myself looking up weather for the next seven days on my watch all the time, so I like Yahoo!’s focus here. The information isn’t as quick to access as Apple’s since you have to scroll down versus Apple’s circular presentation, but you get the temperature and forecast in one view, along with high/low whereas with Apple’s app you have to swipe or force touch to get that info.
Force Touch in this app brings up an option to refresh.
AccuWeather’s app offers the least amount of information. It consists of one-and-a-half screens. It displays the AccuWeather logo, the time, location, large forecast icon and temperature, one-word forecast description, RealFeel, MinuteCast, and then an overview that shows the high/low, windspeed, pop, and sunrise or sunset time plus icons. The layout is a big awkward. As you can see from the screenshot below, the MinuteCast says “Rain for at least 120min,” but the “min” is cut off and placed on the next line. While I actually like that this gives you an indication that you are supposed to scroll down, I feel this looks a bit clunky.
AccuWeather App – the only screen!
The MinuteCast information is a bit odd as well because the address shown in the screenshot is many kilometres from where I was when I took the screenshot, and I don’t see any options to change that.
The layout could easily be improved by moving everything up to a bit so that there is no blank space about the AccuWeather logo. It looks like the time is on its own “line,” and because of that, the MinuteCast sentence is getting cut off at the bottom.
MinuteCast is nice, though not very accurate for my location. I like having RealFeel, as humidity and windchill make a big difference where I live. Overall, I like the amount of information you get from the app, but it is disappointing that it is so poorly laid out and that it is limited to one day’s forecast.
This app does not support Force Touch.
The Weather Channel app, like its glance, is quite basic. The main screen, called “Right Now” has the time, a small conditions icon, text describing the conditions, and the current temperature. It then has what I assume is high/low, though in the example below you can see that one of the numbers is “–” instead of an actual number. The only other information on the first screen is pop. You swipe between screens in this app, and there is no scrolling down.
The second screen is a bit unique amongst these set of apps. It is mis-titled “hourly” and features a look ahead at the next 9 hours or thereabouts. In this example, it shows 6pm, 9pm and 12am. It has a line graph of the temperature and three bar graphs representing pop. The third screen is a live radar map.
The focus on pop isn’t a terrible idea, but the app does feel sparse. The inclusion of the radar is nice eye candy, but I don’t find it overly useful, and it takes some time to load. I don’t mind the second screen, but I feel that the first screen could have more information. It feels sparse.
Like the Yahoo! app, I often get an error message when opening The Weather Network’s app. Force touching and hitting refresh usually fixes it. At this point, I feel these errors have more to do with WatchKit and the OS than the apps themselves. I think watchOS 2 will fix a lot of these issues.
TWN’s app is pretty basic. Like AccuWeather, it only has two screens. You scroll down to access the second one. Swiping takes you to your other locations, as set in the iPhone app. This app has something else in common with AccuWeather – the time is on its own “line” and there is a gap above the rest of the info. In fact, the whole first screen is almost identical to AccuWeather – large icon and number for current conditions, a “Feels like” section, one word to describe the conditions, and TWN’s own version of MinuteCast – in this case rain starting at 4:30pm and stopping at 5:20pm. The second screen details wind, humidity, pressure, visibility, ceiling, sunrise, sunset, and, for some reason, yesterday’s high and low.
The Weather Network app.
This is the first app to display pressure, visibility and ceiling, though those bits of information aren’t really useful to a lot of folks, so it’s not necessarily a value-add. I like that this app essentially has the same info as AccuWeather, but fits it much better on the first screen, with nothing getting cut off. I do wish they’d push everything up a bit and get rid of that gap to the left of the time. Overall, this is a good set of information presented pretty well. However, it offers little more than most glances, with no future forecast information listed, so its utility is limited.
Force touching in this app brings up an option to refresh.
Living Earth is a really cool iPhone app – it shows a “live” view of the Earth. The watch app is pretty cool, too. It approaches things a little differently than most of apps in this review. It is divided into three main views, each of which are tappable to bring up more information. Let’s take a look at the three main views:
Living Earth – 3 Main Screens
The first screen offers current conditions plus a snapshot of the next several days. It includes location, time, a small icon, current temperature, high/low, and pop.
The second screen focuses on the current conditions and adds Living Earth’s trademark view of the Earth. The third view currently displays information about a tropical depression named Halola. Each of these screens contain additional information.
The first screen can be scrolled, giving you a 9-day forecast:
Living Earth – 9 Day Forecast
As you can see, the data appears to come from Weather Underground. For each day, the app displays an icon, pop, and high/low. Not bad. Tapping on any of these days brings up an hourly forecast for that day:
Living Earth – Detailed Day Forecast
Tapping the second screen takes you to a screen with detailed information about the current day:
Living Earth – Current Earth Detail
Tapping the third screen gives you a bit more information about the weather event:
Living Earth – Weather Event Detail
This app has a lot of information. It is the only one in this list that has information on major weather events. It has a nice design, and there isn’t a lot of wasted space, though perhaps the Earth view with current conditions and the weather event information could be on the same screen. The downside to this app is that it wasn’t immediately clear that you could tap to get more detail. There is so much information on the screen that my brain immediately thought that was it – no need to tap since there’s so much there already.
The iPhone app is one of my favourite weather apps, purely for design and eye candy reasons. The watch app is quite good as well, and now that I know where to swipe and where to tap, I enjoy the amount of information that can be gleamed here.
Weather Underground is another “one column” app that you scroll through, though it does have three tappable areas that give you different information and is the only app to offer user submissions. The main screen has the time and location at the top, and then inside a large circle it features a weather icon, high/low, and the current temperature.
Weather Underground – Main Screen
A Force Touch on this screen gives you options to quickly jump to the Hourly and 10-Day forecasts, or to your list of Locations.
Weather Underground – Force Touch Screen
Scrolling down to the next screen brings the user to the “Next 24 Hours,” which displays a line graph of the temperature and pop.
Weather Underground – Next 24 Hours
The third screen is a radar. This app and The Weather Channel are the only ones that feature a radar, and I’m still not sold on its utility. This one is animated and larger than TWC’s, but I would rather just see that information represented in numbers, icons, and text.
Weather Underground – Radar
At the very bottom, you are given two button – Hourly Forecast and 10-Day Forecast.
Weather Underground – Two Buttons
In this example, the hourly forecast is given for the current hour and 16 hours out. For each hour, the app displays a weather icon, the temperature, text describing the conditions, and the pop.
Weather Underground – Hourly Forecast
The 10-Day Forecast displays a weather icon, the high/low, and the pop.
Weather Underground – 10-Day Forecast
I like the 16h and 10-Day forecasts, but I don’t like the main screen. The circle doesn’t really add much design-wise and the space isn’t used very effectively. There isn’t even pop on the main screen. The other screens fare much better, but for me, if the main screen isn’t as useful as those of the competitors, I won’t choose it as my main, or even backup, weather app.
Weather Underground does have one unique feature. On the main screen, outside of the useless circle, there is a plus sign. Tapping that brings you to the Crowd Report screen where you can submit weather information. You can set the conditions (clear, mostly clear, partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, overcast) and tap toggles for rain and/or snow.
Weather Underground – Crowd Report
This data is sent to WU and this is part of the vast network of weather data that WU and other apps and companies use to populate their apps and websites. I find it interesting that WU has this feature, yet their own watch app does not include any information on up-to-the-minute conditions like AccuWeather’s MinuteCast. It’s also interesting to note that Living Earth credits WU for weather data, yet that app includes much more detailed information than Weather Underground’s own app.
A Force Touch in Weather Underground gives you three options – Hourly Forecast, 10-Day Forecast, and your Locations.
Wow. 4000 words and several screenshots and I’ve only touched on a handful of the weather apps that are currently available for Apple Watch. watchOS 2 will also bring a slew of new apps and updates to current apps, as these apps will be able to run natively on the watch. Right now, the delay in opening the apps and grabbing data is substantial. In fact, most of the time my watch display turns off before all of the data is loaded. Not a great experience.
The apps above all have similarities. They all perform about the same. The biggest differences are in the design and which information the developers have chosen to display – on the main screen, on scrolling screens, and via taps and swipes. For me, the main screen is the most important, and I want the app to be intuitive. I want to quickly see the current conditions and what I can expect in the next few hours, including the high/low. I like to know the humidity/windchill/feels like info, as well as the probability of precipitation. I’m not overly concerned with radars or multi-day forecasts, at least on my watch.
Best Glance: (Tie) Apple Weather & Weather Underground
Best Glances – Apple (left) and Weather Underground (right)
Apple’s default glance is pretty good. It’s got a weather icon, the temperature, text with the current conditions and the high/low for the day. It uses the whole screen, and looks good. It could add some more information and make everything a bit smaller, but it’s pretty good for v1 of a stock app.
Weather Underground wastes space with the date and time at the top, and huge font they’ve used for the location, but it features a weather icon, high/low, temperature and a 3-hour look-ahead with weather icons. If they dumped the stuff at the top, they could add temp to the 3-hour sections and they could add a “feels like” under the temperature.
Best App: Living Earth
This was a tough choice, and honestly I will probably be going back and forth between a couple of apps until watchOS 2 is released and the weather apps can really show their muscle. Until then, I like Living Earth’s watch app. The main screen gives me a weather icon, the temperature, high/low and pop. It then starts to give an overview of the next several days. Swiping over I can see some eye candy and then the third screen will become important soon as we are currently at the start of hurricane season and we usually get one or two making landfall in Halifax.
I do wish it had a “feels like” temperature, and I would dump the extended forecast on the first screen and add text about current conditions and attempt to include MinuteCast-like information. But overall, I like this app the best.
Runners-up: I love the MinuteCast feature of AccuWeather and The Weather Network‘s version as well. The information is fairly accurate, though in Canada it doesn’t seem to be as reliable as a lot of places in the states, and of course smaller towns don’t get as much love as bigger cities. Overall, the Apple Weather app is a pretty darn good option, especially with the ability to see temp/pop/conditions for the next several hours in a simple, elegant, circular design.
I’m excited to see what watchOS 2 will bring to all apps, and I think we will see major improvements in weather apps upon its release. Until then, I hope this article has given some insight into the current glance and app options.
Tags: apple AppleWatch apps glances iphone watch weather
My name is Matt. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. I am an educator, a photographer, and a lover of all things technology. Check out the About page for more information.
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CATWALK HISTORY: THROUGH THE LENS OF MICHEL ARNAUD
Some of the supermodels Arnaud photographed throughout the years.
The time, 1970-1997, the photographer, Michel Arnaud. Taking us back to an era of the true supermodel, the evolution of the runway show and Arnaud was privy to it all and now thanks to both Arnaud’s generosity and FIDM Museum, so are we with his first ever exhibition, Capturing The Catwalk, Runway Photography From Michel Arnaud, open now at the FIDM Museum.
Working for both Vogue Magazine and exclusively for American Harper’s Bazaar, from 1992-1997 under the renowned fashion editor, Elizabeth Tilbaris, Arnaud helped establish fashion journalism, truly capturing some of the most famous and profound fashion moments in trends, couture and ready-to wear, by recording them through his photography as well as taking intimate snaps of famous supermodels such as Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell both on the runway as well as backstage. Arnaud has even given us access to sneak peaks of the countless after parties through his lens.
One of the pieces in the exhibition features this Versace sequined bustier paired with the photo of Arnaud's own photo of model Yazmeen Ghauri from the runway.
From 1970, Arnaud travelled every fashion season to Paris, Milan, New York, and London to cover the fall and spring Haute couture as well as the ready-to-wear collections. Recording the most iconic fashion houses such as Dior, Chanel, Versace, Armani and Valentino.
Some of the Chanel accessories Arnaud shot during his time as a fashion photographer
Stacy Fan with Michel Arnaud and CEO of Capsul Jewelry, Tina Cheng
Over the years, Arnaud has tracked the evolution of ready-to-wear, and following famous supermodels throughout the height of their careers.
Fast forward to May 2018 and we're fortunate enough that Arnaud's exhibition is now available for public viewing, allowing us to explore his work throughout the years. So generously donated by Arnaud to FIDM Museum, Capturing The Catwalk exhibition opened in May 2018 and will run until July 7th 2018. Featuring the archive of his runway photography which consists of over 200,000 color photographs, the earliest being the 1974 Chloé Fall / Winter 1974 prêt-à-porter collection in Paris, up to the collections of Fall / Winter 1997. The exhibition is even paired up, when possible, with the look from the runway show.
ICONIC LOOKS, SHOT BY ARNAUD
I was fortunate enough to visit the exhibition ahead of its opening in May, followed by an intimate dinner with Arnaud, his lovely family, The Vice President of Education at FIDM / FIDM’s museum director Barbara Bundy, and FIDM’s president, Tonian Hohberg as well as the team at the FIDM Museum responsible for recording the thousands of photographs, and curating the exhibition so wonderfully.
The evening gave the guests the unique opportunity to discuss Arnaud’s extensive work as well as giving us an understanding from the FIDM Museum's team on the work that went into putting the breathtaking exhibition together. It’s truly a gift to be able to see such incredible moments recorded in fashion history through the talented eye of Arnaud.
FIDM Museum Director Barbara Bundy, Michel Arnaud, and FIDM Museum Registrar and Curator of Capturing the Catwalk Meghan Hansen.
Visit the FIDM museum until July 7th 2018. The exhibition is FREE and located at Fashion Institute of Design & merchandising. 919, S Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90015. Call (+1) 213.623.5821 for more information.
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Red meat production in Q1 over 210,000 tons
ANKARA-Anadolu Agency
Turkey produced 211,435 tons of red meat in the first three months of this year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on May 10.
The country's red meat production fell by 16.5% year-on-year in the first quarter and it was also down 18.6% on a quarterly basis.
"In total red meat production, the amount produced by slaughterhouse was 174,052 tons," TÜİK said.
Turkey's cattle meat production was estimated to stand at 191,287 tons while sheep meat output around 17,932 tons from January to March.
Last year, the country produced 1.12 million tons of red meat, a drop of 0.7% over the previous year.
Including cattle and buffalos, the number of bovine animals totaled 17.2 million heads in 2018, up 6.9 percent year-on-year.
Official data also said the number of ovine animals surged 4.1 percent to 46.1 million heads over the same period.
Turkey, red meat, production
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in Hospitality
Government’s efforts aiming to boost Qatar’s hospitality industry’s performance have yielded positive results. Despite the unjust blockade, which has been ongoing for more than two years, the average revenues of hotels across all categories witnessed solid growth (year-on-year) in April 2019, with the budget hotels recording the highest 30 percent.
The average hotel revenue, measured by per available room, increased to QR264 in April 2019 (year-to-date, YTD), up by 5.6 percent, or QR14, compared to QR250 a year ago (April 2018), official data show.
Bolstered by a significant increase in occupancy rates of hotels, the revenue per available room of hotels improved in April 2019 compared to a year ago, latest available data released by the Planning and Statistics Authority show.
The average occupancy of hotels in April (YTD) has increased by 8 percent to 70 percent against 62 percent for the same period last year.
When analyzed by individual categories, data show that all categories of hotels registered growth in ‘hotel revenues per available room’ by varying degrees ranging between QR8 and QR27, with 1&2-Star hotel rooms seeing the highest 30 percent, or QR27 (from QR90 to QR117) increase in revenue per available room.
This was closely followed by 3-Star category hotels which saw their hotel room revenue increased to QR142 in April, up by 13.6 percent (or by QR17 per available room) compared to QR125 in the same period last year.
The 4-Star and 5-Star category hotels rooms recorded the same level of revenue increase (QR8 per available room in absolute terms) which increased to QR160 from QR152 (5.26 percent) and to QR363 from QR355 (2.25 percent), respectively.
This remarkable improvement in the performance of the hotel industry can be mainly attributed to the increase in the number of tourists, especially as a result of triple-digit growth in cruise tourism. According to the official data, some 789,027 visitors arrived in Qatar year-to-date in April 2019. Out of that 685,388 people came by Air and 103,639 by sea, which is over 101 percent surge compared to 51,415 in the same period last year.
Europe and Asia accounted for a significant majority (72 percent) of the total number of visitors in April (YTD) 2019, with Europe (36 percent) followed by Asia (including Oceania) accounting for 36 percent. GCC countries accounted for 11 percent of the total number of visitors for the period.
Nearly 87 percent of the total number of visitors came to Qatar by air and the remaining (13 percent) by sea route. No visitors were able to enter Qatar by land route due to the obvious reason of illegal blockade by Saudi-led Arab quartet.
Contrary to hotel rooms, average revenues for ‘Hotel Apartment’ rooms (measured in per available room) showed a marginal decline of 1.6 percent (year-on-year), which declined to QR247 in April from QR251 a year ago. Revenues per available room in Deluxe category apartments declined to QR267 in April 2019 from QR273 in April 2018, and for Standard category, it declined to QR150 from QR157 a year ago.
Tags: hospitalityQatar
Lebanon: $200 million ready for renewable energy
IMF: Egypt's economic reform program world's most successful
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Colleen Macklin
Colleen Macklin is a game designer, an Associate Professor in the school of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons The New School for Design, where she has been teaching interaction and game design for over 20 years. Macklin is also founder and co-director of PETLab (Prototyping Education and Technology Lab), a lab that develops games for experimental learning and social engagement. PETLab projects include disaster preparedness games and sports with the Red Cross, the urban activist game Re:Activism and the physical/fiscal sport Budgetball. PETLab has also published game design curricula for the Boys & Girls Club. She is a member of the game design collective Local No. 12, best known for their social card game, the Metagame. Her work has been shown at Come Out and Play, UCLA Art|Sci Center, The Whitney Museum for American Art and Creative Time.
Games, Design and Play: A detailed approach to iterative game design
By Colleen Macklin, John Sharp
Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development (Book) and Introduction to Game Design LiveLessons (VideoTraining) Bundle
By Colleen Macklin, John Sharp, Jeremy Gibson Bond
Book $106.25
Introduction to Game Design LiveLessons (Video Training)
By Colleen Macklin, John Sharp.
Online Video $119.99
Design Values
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David February 15, 2015 May 6, 2016 Future, Present
The future of the automotive industry has been getting a lot of press lately. It’s starting to sound as if self-driving cars are (umm…) just around the corner. But the future of mobility is going to be a lot more than just autonomous vehicles. It’s about how new technologies and services can be used to solve hard problems for future contexts. It’s going to be about design.
The problem stems from a series of long-term trends that are leading us to crowded, polluted, traffic-choked megacities — places that aren’t going to very fun places to live. In his TED talk, Bill Ford refers to this as global gridlock. And the US DOC’s recently published report Beyond Traffic begins:
The year is 2045. A driver sits in traffic for hours, which may have been common in Los Angeles a generation before. But this particular driver lives in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2045, Omaha is the new LA.
(The Verge’s post 6 reasons to be terrified about the future of transportation gives a good summary of the report.)
Source: Beoyond Traffic
Because the problem is so big, there’s a ton of of innovation taking place. New and disruptive services (think Uber or car2go) are changing the equations of car usage, ownership, and insurance among other things. Cities are rethinking their role in sustainable mobility. Big data is revealing insights and new opportunities. So while the problems are increasingly clear — nobody knows which solutions will stick. It’s a sort-of wild-west.
Somehow I’ve found myself working in this space a lot. For years I worked at BMW’s DesignworksUSA helping envision future vehicle concepts. And lately I’ve been working with Ford — which has taken a unique approach…
A couple weeks ago, at CES, Ford’s president & CEO Mark Fields revealed their Smart Mobility plan. A part of their Blueprint for Mobility, it’s Ford’s way of using innovation to advance the company in a future of rising urban mobility challenges.
What’s unique, especially for a company like Ford, is that rather than announcing a new product, Ford revealed a suite of 25 different experiments. Each is a way for the company to understand and test new ideas, technologies, or services.
The global scope of the experiments.
Ford describes the experiments as falling into three categories:
better customer experience
flexible user-ship models
The category names may not be very lovable, but they’re reasonable descriptors for the opportunity spaces. And they address possible solutions to trends that, unsolved, will make our future mobility quite limited and difficult.
The experiments, as they’ve been released, are a bit rough. They’re works in progress. They don’t yet have findings or conclusions. But what’s remarkable is that they’re being made public. It’s a bold move for Ford — and very different from most automotive firms which tend to keep much of their long-term work secret. There’s a humility and openness to this approach. And a willingness to engage with others.
I’m excited about this because I’ve been working with Ford to help guide the user experience and design of many of these experiments.
Design is critical here because the future of mobility isn’t just about coming up with a new technology or service. It’s about creating experiences that will capture people’s imagination and get them excited. We need people to want to use these new things. As I’ve written before, you don’t do this by creating minimum viable products (MVPs). You need to start with minimum awesome products (MAPs).
Ford’s Dynamic Social Shuttle
We’re also experimenting with design approaches and processes. Why? The automotive industry is facing radical disruption. To survive it needs to learn how to adapt. It’s not just about inventing a new thing. It’s learning new ways of discovering new things. And so every project is also an exploration into process and ways of designing.
Personally, it’s fascinating stuff. Not only have I been working with various internal teams and stakeholders, I’ve been working with a wide range of external agencies. Every group has their own process, methods and approaches. And so there’s an ongoing need to translate across cultures, as well as opportunity to learn from each other. By working across a wide range of projects, there’s the opportunity to “cross pollinate” and share key learnings between the experiments as well as bubble them up to shape future work and, eventually, impact product design.
Stay tuned, I’ll try and share more in future posts as the experiments develop.
Ford’s City Driving On-Demand, London
The Mobility section of Ford’s Sustainability Report 2014/15 has additional/updated information.
Update: May 2016
While most of the work is still confidential but here are some highlights of what has launched or been made public:
GoDrive
This car-sharing pilot in London is the first that allows one-way journeys with guaranteed parking at the user’s destination. (Here is the official website. And research partner Plan has more information on their site.)
Dynamic Shuttle
An innovative platform for transport services that pick up and drop off passengers along a route that is dynamically computed based on the demands from users.
Multimodal Transportation
We’re doing a lot of work to help people choose and connect multiple modes of transportation based on their individual needs. This New York Times article The Commute of the Future? Ford Is Working on It gives a nice overview of some of that work.
University Projects
I’ve been the project lead on three university sponsorships. 1) At CMU students explored future interaction design possibilities; 2) SVA students explored future service design opportunities; and 3) Parsons students used design speculations to approach future mobility problem-solving from nontraditional avenues. (The Parsons students documented their work with this website.)
automotive, Ford, mobility, research, ux
Previous New Frontiers at Sundance ’15
Next AR & VR
Published by David
View all posts by David
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Republican Governor Rick Scott Announces Support for ACA Medicaid Expansion in Florida
Yesterday, Florida Republican Governor Rick Scott threw his support behind adopting the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion in the state. The move would extend eligibility for the program to 138% of federal poverty, offering health coverage to an additional 1 million people in Florida. Scott’s decision is particularly noteworthy given his previous dogged opposition to the law.
Gov. Scott said, “While the federal government is committed to paying 100% of the cost, I cannot in good conscience deny Floridians that needed access to health care.” He joins the Republican governors of Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Ohio in moving forward to implement the ACA expansion.
Scott said that he supports implementing the expansion for its first three years, from 2014 to 2016, while it is 100% federally funded. Between 2016 and 2020, federal financial support for the expansion gradually descends to 90% and remains at that level thereafter. Scott said that he would recommend that the state evaluate whether to continue the expansion after 2016.
Scott made the announcement after receiving notification that Florida had received federal approval for two waivers that would allow statewide enrollment of Medicaid beneficiaries in private managed care plans. The Florida Medicaid program currently operates a pilot program in certain counties that has already implemented many of the changes in the waiver.
The Medicaid expansion will require approval of the Florida Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans. Will Weatherford, speaker of the state House, expressed doubt about the decision, saying that he was “personally skeptical that this inflexible law will improve the quality of health care in our state and ensure our long-term financial stability.” However, both Republican leaders in the Legislature said that they would review recommendations from a select committee that will assess the state’s options in advance of a final legislative decision.
Prepared by John Connolly (2/21/13)
For the full New York Times article on the topic: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/us/in-reversal-florida-says-it-will-expand-medicaid-program.html?_r=0
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3 Win Medicine Nobel for Discovering Brain's GPS
By The Associated Press Monday, October 6, 2014 9:34 a.m. CDT
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A U.S.-British scientist and a Norwegian husband-and-wife research team won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for discovering the brain's navigation system—the inner GPS that helps us find our way in the world—a revelation that one day could help those with Alzheimer's.
The research by John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser represents a "paradigm shift" in neuroscience that could help researchers understand the sometimes severe spatial memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease, the Nobel Assembly said.
"This year's Nobel Laureates have discovered a positioning system, an 'inner GPS' in the brain, that makes it possible to orient ourselves in space," the assembly said.
O'Keefe, 75, a dual U.S. and British citizen at the University College London, discovered the first component of this system in 1971 when he found that a certain type of nerve cell was always activated when a rat was at a certain place in a room. He demonstrated that these "place cells" were building up a map of the environment, not just registering visual input.
Thirty-four years later, in 2005, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser, married neuroscientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, identified another type of nerve cell — the "grid cell" — that generates a coordinate system for precise positioning and path-finding, the assembly said.
It was the fourth time that a married couple has shared a Nobel Prize and the second time in the medicine category.
"This is crazy," an excited May-Britt Moser, 51, told The Associated Press by telephone from Trondheim.
She said her 52-year-old husband didn't immediately find out about the prize because he was flying Monday morning to the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany, to demonstrate their research.
"This is such a great honor for all of us and all the people who have worked with us and supported us," she said, adding they had been together for 30 years. "We are going to continue and hopefully do even more groundbreaking work in the future."
Hege Tunstad, a spokeswoman at the university in Trondheim, said May-Britt Moser "needed a minute to cry and speak with her team" when she first heard the news.
Edvard Moser told the Norwegian news agency NTB he only discovered he had won after he landed in Munich, turned on his cellphone and saw a flood of emails, text messages and missed calls.
"I didn't know anything. When I got off the plane there was a representative there with a bouquet of flowers who said 'congratulations on the prize,'" he was quoted as saying.
O'Keefe, a New York-born scientist who moved to England for postdoctoral training, found the "place cells" in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. The Mosers, meanwhile, identified the "grid cells" in a nearby section of the brain known as the entorhinal cortex.
The Nobel Assembly said the discoveries marked a shift in scientists' understanding of how specialized cells work together to perform complex cognitive tasks. They have also opened new avenues for understanding cognitive functions such as memory, thinking and planning.
"Thanks to our grid and place cells, we don't have to walk around with a map to find our way each time we visit a city, because we have that map in our head," said Juleen Zierath, chair of the medicine prize committee. "I think, without these cells, we would have a really hard time to survive."
All three Nobel laureates won Columbia University's Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize last year for their discoveries. They will split the Nobel prize money of 8 million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million).
The Nobel awards in physics, chemistry, literature and peace will be announced later this week and the economics prize will be announced next Monday. Created by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prizes were first awarded in 1901. The winners collect their awards on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
Last year's medicine award went to researchers who discovered how substances are transported within cells, a process involved in such important activities as brain cell communication and the release of insulin.
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3 in U.S. Win Chemistry Nobel for Computer Models
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Parish courts exceed case clearance-benchmark in first quarter 2019
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Court Management Services (CMS) is reporting that all parish courts have for the first time, since the collection of statistical data on court performance, exceeded the international benchmark relating to the case clearance rate.
This, the CMS said was achieved between January 1 and March 31, 2019.
Figures produced by the court's Statistical Unit show that the overall case clearance rate for the quarter was 103.46 per cent, which is the highest overall rate recorded since the unit commenced producing statistics on the performance of courts islandwide in 2016.
The unit said that the figures mean that for every 100 new cases filed in the parish courts approximately 103 were disposed of or completed.
The case clearance rate, which is an index of productivity in the courts, is used to measure the number of cases disposed of for every new case filed in a particular period. It also takes into account cases which could have originated before the review period.
The St Mary Parish Court emerged with the highest clearance rate at 162.12 per cent, followed by the Portland Parish Court with 137.01 per cent and the St Catherine Parish Court with 129.82 per cent.
The case clearance rate in each court is closely linked to another important benchmark of court excellence – that of trial date certainty, the CMS said. This provides a measurement of the likelihood that trials will proceed as scheduled, without being adjourned for future dates. The overall trial date certainty in the first quarter was 82 per cent, up from 79 per cent in the corresponding quarter in 2018.
The Westmoreland, Clarendon, St Ann, Portland and Trelawny Parish Courts had trial date certainty rates of 100 per cent for the review period while the St Elizabeth and St James Parish courts had rates of over 90 per cent.
St Mary, Hanover and the Corporate Area Parish Court (Criminal Division) with rates ranging between 28 per cent and 58 per cent had the lowest trial certainty rates for the quarter, consistent with the trend observed in 2018.
The largest proportion of cases disposed of in the first quarter was by way of guilty pleas, accounting for 54.15 per cent of the disposed cases in the first quarter of 2019. This was followed by cases dismissed at 19.44 per cent.
Guilty verdicts accounted for 5.72 per cent of the matters disposed; mediated settlements accounted for 6.63 per cent and not guilty verdicts 9.20 per cent.
Commenting on the performance of the parish courts for the review period, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, said, “while there is still a far way to go, based on the latest statistics, Jamaicans should be encouraged and hopeful that our judiciary is on course to become the best in the Caribbean in three years and one of the best in the world in six years as it relates to the delivery of legal services”.
Netball World Cup: Jamaica beat Uganda to maintain hopes of fifth place
Netball World Cup: Jamaica lead Uganda 35-20 at half time
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Board index » Sri Lanka Heritage » Landmark buildings & Constructions
Embekke Devale: A wooden wonder
Rohan2
Post subject: Embekke Devale: A wooden wonder
Ambekke Devale: A wooden wonder
The village of Embekka (also written as Ambakka , Ambakke , Embakka , Embakke , Embekke) is found in the area known as Udunuwara in the Kandy district. It is situated about three kilometres from the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens.
The beautiful devale, which was built during the 14th century is believed to have been built by King Wickremabahu III, who reigned in Gampola from 1357 to 1374, in honour of the God of Kataragama. The king is said to have built it on the invitation of his queen. The site comprises the devale, digge and the centre where hewisi were played.
The carved wooden pillars in the temple are believed to have come from a royal audience hall in the city. They are said to be the finest such carvings belonging to the Kandyan era, and have earned the devale much acclaim from artists. The carvings include lions, swans, bulls, elephants, double-headed eagles, leaf patterns, wrestling men, soldiers, horse riders, dancing women, mermaids and lotus motifs. There are altogether 128 carvings in these pillars and what is unique about them is that all these carvings are different from each other. Some believe these carvings to have been done by an artisan known as Devendra Mulachari.
There are 16 wooden pillars at the entrance to the devale. The 52 feet, 10 inches long and 25 feet, 9 inches wide digge has 32 square-shaped pillars. The wood known as gammalu has been used here, while other types of wood such as ginisapu, na and pihibiya have been used in the other sections. Most of these intricately carved wooden pillars have stone pillars as their base. The UNESCO has identified these marvellous but elaborate carvings on wooden pillars to be the finest products of woodcarvings to be found in any part of the world.
The most impressive feature of the devale is its roof. It does not have one central beam, but 26 smaller rafters are fixed to the roof through huge wooden nails, resembling spokes in the wheel of a cart. It is the only place in Sri Lanka where such a construction can be witnessed.
The main devale is a 28 feet long, 23 feet and 7 inches wide two-storeyed building. The smaller devale is built close to it. The entrance is through a large doorway built of wood and there is a verandah spreading on three sides of the building.
Among the carvings, there are 125 series of decorations, 256 liyawel, 64 lotus designs in Pekada, 30 decorative patterns on timber, roof members, making a total of 514 such exquisite carvings.
The other constructions which can be seen at the Embekka Devala site are vahalkada, image house, kitchen and granary. They are located within a wall. The ambalama (resting place) and throne are located outside these premises, but also belong to the devale.
The Legend of Embekke Devale
Many are the hoary legends that tell of the origins of this splendid devale. According to archaic documents and the epic Embekke Varnanawa composed by Delgahagoda Mudiyanse, it was built during the Gampola period of King Wickrema Bahu II (1371 AD). One of his consorts named Henakanda Biso Bandara, in association with a drummer named as Rangama, as told in a miraculous dream, is supposed to have built this Devale dedicated to God Kataragama in a superb three-storeyed building which is now no more.
There is a small village called "Arathtana" which was, many moons ago in Sri Lanka, well known for its dancers and drummers. In this village lived a drummer called Rangama who had a skin disease. He tried every possible treatment to rid himself of his problem, but none of them worked. Every medicine failed to cure him. He decided to go to the "temple of Katharagama", a temple in the southern part of Sri Lanka. This temple was built for the god of Katharagama. He went there and asked the god of Katharagama to cure his illness, promising to worship the temple annually. Then his illnesses were cured, and he kept his promise to Katharagama for many, many years.
It was a long, tiresome journey to the south and finally the time came when Rangama knew his body could no longer make the trip. For the last time he traveled to the temple and praied the god that he could no longer continue his annual ritual, as he was too old. The sad drummer returned home and that night, the god of katharagama spoke to him in his dreams. He made a prediction. The god said, "in few days, a miracle will happen! You must go there and perform your traditional drumming!" As predicted by the god the miracle happened.
There was a flower garden known as Ambakka, which belonged to the wife of King Wickramabahu- Queen Henakanda Bissobandara. When the gardener was working in the garden he tried to remove a "Kaduru" tree from the garden. When he cut it a stream of blood began to flow from the tree. The drummer Rangama heard of this miracle and so went to the flower garden to perform the rituals as he was ordered to do by the god. He built a small temple out of tree branches around the tree. It has been called the "Ambakka Devalaya" ever since.
After some days the king of "gangasiripura", "gampola" king Wickramabahu, was informed about the event. The king ordered to build a three story building in the land. He gave land and elephants as gifts to the temple. His queen's jewellery was also given to the temple as a gift. Since then the temple of ambakka is worshipped by thousands of people every year. They say, even today, the drummer's ancestors' perform rituals in the temple.
How the village got its name.
There are many stories about this village. There is an ancient game known as "ankeliya" performed for the goddess of Paththini. There was a playground in this village where they performed this game annually. This village had a horn, used to play the game. And this was a big horn. In sinhala "ann" or "anga" means the horn. They say "bakka" for big. Earlier they called the village "An+bakka", which means 'the big horn'. The word "an+bakka" has changed to "Ambakka", as we know it today.
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IEP/504 Plan
Parent Coaching and Consulting
Workshops and Speaking Engagements
To schedule a 1-hr. IEP Educational Consultation, call us today at 248-890-0584.
Carla Baker Marymee is a parent coach, confidante, consultant, and IEP special education expert and advocate who partners with parents to support their children with disabilities. Her experience includes advocating for children with autism, ADD, developmental delays, emotional disturbance, intellectual disabilities, and speech and language impairments. The owner of Kids First Advocacy, she provides expert guidance to assist parents in making positive decisions proactively to assist their children and maximize successful outcomes at home, in school, and in their communities.
She has certifications from Wrightslaw, the leaders in special education law and advocacy, and the Council of Parent Attorney and Advocates (COPAA), an organization of attorneys and advocates who work to protect special education rights in education. The parent of a 19-year-old son diagnosed with autism, she also has personal, hands-on experience helping him successfully transition through many of life’s phases heading toward independent living. She is also caretaker for her brother who has mental illness.
She began advocating in California in 1997 after her son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism (PDD-NOS). Since then she’s partnered with families and advocated for children with many disabilities and worked with school districts to develop programs from California to Michigan. In 2001, as Co-Chair of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for children with special needs in the Oakland (CA) Unified School District, she advocated for and represented 6,000 special needs children. She was instrumental in the creation of the progressive Asperger Inclusion Program (AsIP). This program was one of the first in California to use Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy throughout the state to help students with high-functioning autism find success in traditional elementary school classrooms.
Considered a pioneer in creating educational strategies, training models, and programs for different learners, she brought her extensive experience and knowledge to Michigan in 2005 when the family moved here. She created Baker Marymee Advocacy (now Kids First Advocacy) in 2006, advocating for Michigan children with various special needs in many school districts.
She was on the board of directors for the West Bloomfield Educational Foundation (WBEF) from 2006 to Dec. 2009. In 2011, she was Co-Chair of the Revenue Enhancement/Communications Committee for the West Bloomfield School District, actively engaging in strategic planning, marketing, and fundraising. She was also a board member of the West Bloomfield High School Choral Boosters.
Prior to becoming an educational advocate, she was a writer and marketing and public relations executive with more than 20 years’ experience, working for several Fortune 500 high-tech companies in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area.
She is a member of The Autism Society of America, the national Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), the National Association for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and Inforum, the leading professional organization focused on creating strategic connections and accelerating careers for women throughout Michigan and the Midwest.
She resides with her husband, son, and brother.
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October 17. Driving From Zion To The Grand Canyon. North Rim.
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Morning fog.
The Grand Canyon's top five rock layers are clearly visible on the opposite cliff. Notice that some rock layers form sheer vertical walls, while others form slopes. Shale and siltstone erode easily and crumble into slopes. Sandstone and limestone resist erosion in this arid climate, but shear off vertically as they are undermined by the more easily eroded shale below.
The top layer is Kaibab Limestone from a shallow inland sea 250 million years ago. It is composed primarily of a sandy limestone with a layer of sandstone below it. In some places, sandstone and shale also exist as its upper layer. The color ranges from cream to a grayish-white. Fossils found here are brachiopods, coral, mollusks, sea lilies, and worms. The next layer below is Toroweap Formation - a layer of sandstone, limestone, and gypsum from a shallow inland sea 260 million years ago. It is darker in color, ranging from yellow to gray. This layer contains a similar fossil history. The third layer is Coconino Sandstone from windblown sands about 270 million years ago. It's composed of pure quartz sand and is basically a petrified sand dune. The color of this layer ranges from white to cream colored. No skeletal fossils have been found yet but numerous invertebrate tracks and fossilized burrows do exist. The fourth layer is Hermit Shale from swamps and lagoons 280 million years ago. It's composed of soft, easily eroded shales which have formed a slope. As the shales erode, they undermine the layers of sandstone and limestone above which causes huge blocks to fall off and into the lower reaches of the Canyon. The color of this layer is a deep rust-colored red. Fossils found in this layer included ferns, conifers, and other plants, as well as fossilized tracks of reptiles and amphibians. The fifth and bottom layer is the Supai Group - sandstone, limestone, and shale from lagoons and tidal flats 300 million years ago. This layer is composed primarily of shale intermixed with small amounts of limestone and capped by sandstone. The limestone becomes more prominent in the western regions, leading one to believe that that area was more marine. The eastern portions probably had a muddy river delta that led into an ancient sea. The color of this layer varies from red for the shale to tan for the sandstone caps. Numerous fossils of reptiles, amphibians, and terrestrial plants exist in the eastern portion which are replaced by marine fossils as you move westward.
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Bernie Sanders aide apologizes for suggesting Jews have dual loyalty
(JTA) — A campaign aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders apologized for a Facebook post in which she suggested that American Jews have a dual loyalty to Israel.
Politico reported that Belen Sisa made the comment as part of a discussion in a Facebook thread in which she said that she supports Rep. Ilhan Omar in the Minnesota Democrat questioning “the political influence in this country that says it is OK to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
Sisa, the national deputy press secretary for Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, deleted the post after Politico contacted her about it, according to the report.
“In a conversation on Facebook, I used some language that I see now was insensitive. Issues of allegiance and loyalty to one’s country come with painful history,” Sisa told Politico. “At a time when so many communities in our country feel under attack by the president and his allies, I absolutely recognize that we need to address these issues with greater care and sensitivity to their historical resonance, and I’m committed to doing that in the future.”
She wrote in the thread, according to Politico: “This is a serious question: do you not think that the American government and American Jewish community has a dual allegiance to the state of Israel? I’m asking not to rule out the history of this issue, but in the context in which this was said by Ilhan.”
Another person on her Facebook asked: “do you think Bernie Sanders has dual loyalty?”
Sisa replied: “I think I would probably have to ask him. But his comments make me believe otherwise as he has been very blunt on where he stands.”
The 5 weirdest kosher foods you’ll be eating in 2018
For ‘Aya,’ a long journey from Israel to the Oscars
Jerusalem Pride Parade murder sparks calls for change to laws — and pushback, too
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The Gordon Heights Fire Department
Longwood Central School District » Community » Longwood Journey » Modern History » Gordon Heights » The History of Gordon Heights
The History of Gordon Heights
The first settlement of Gordon Heights extended west from Gordon Avenue and Baldwin Court, east to West Barlett, south to Granny, and north to Seymore. Most of the early building took place within sections 14 (south from Granny to Park Lane North and Central Parkway West to Barlett Road.)
The community had its beginning in the 1920's when a man by the name of Mr. Louis Fife went to the black communities and churches of New York City in search of presenting a dream to a group of Black Americans. Little did he know that these black people had already dreamed of a place in the country to plant families, crops, and a future for themselves.
As Mr. Fife knocked on the doors of these people in Harlem, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, he stirred up their hopes and desires. Financially, this proposition would mean sacrifice, but these early pioneers knew it would be worth it for their families. Land was offered as low as $ 10 down and $10 monthly or $10 weekly. Building on that land would have to come later. This meant more sacrificing and saving.
Who were these people? They were workers in factories, private homes, office buildings, and whatever jobs were available. They were sincere and hardworking family people. In many cases, both parents worked. They were participants in community functions and organizations to better their families. They were concerned about the quality of education of their children. They were concerned about hours away from home and their children's well being as a result of the over-crowded situations in the city.
From where did these people migrate? They came from the West Indies and the South. They came from strong cultural backgrounds that knew the importance of land and ownership. They knew what it meant to have and build a homestead and lay foundations for a solid well-knit community. Many of them had come from such communities. They had come to the big city with their past experiences, and had to defer their dreams. The opportunity to buy land on Long Island revived a dream deferred.
And so the pilgrimage to Long Island began in 1927 when Louis Fife sold five one hundred-by-one hundred acre plots to these black pilgrims. His son, Herzl, some years later offered this explanation of his father's land transactions: "It was an ordinary commercial venture. But it also happened that my father was able to place people from the slums of Harlem in a rural and wholesome atmosphere. On the whole, it was a moderately profitable venture."
Louis Fife's thoughts were "When I decided to offer Gordon Heights as a community of small farms to the public, it filled a need. I was a lone pilgrim in those days. There were other projects, but they belonged rather to the fly-by-night, get-rich quick variety. From the very start, we began to develop to build homesteads, and lay the foundation for a solid, well-knit community of small farms. Bankers, both in the city and on Long Island, would not extend any mortgage credit, however small. 'It will not last,' they said. So I had to do it myself, and make it last. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a call, "Back to the Land," and followed it through till the end of his days. He wrote, 'A nation of home owners, of people who own a real share in their land, is unconquerable.' The 'Back to the Land' movement caught on, and the public turned to Gordon Heights, which showed promise of becoming a real community of homesteads.
"There followed hard years for our country, years of depression, years of W.P.A., of bare subsistence. People were willing, but they did not have the means for a homestead. Many developments, some of the fly-by-night variety, and some honestly planned, could not stand the strain, and they went under, causing heavy losses to their investors.
"In those trying years, I gave all I could. Every purchaser of land had his chance to continue and to hold on. I nursed the young settlement with all the care and resources I could command, until it outroad the hard years, until it grew up into a community that could be on its own."
The early settlers in Gordon Heights wanted elbow room, a feel of the soil, and a chance to grow things and live. Harlem then was a small area. The area called Sugar Hill was forbidden territory, as was the East Bronx. The East River became the River Jordon for the residents. The city was overcrowded.
The settlers heeded the call of the Gordon Heights Development Corporation. They began their purchasing of land and slowly moving their families and properties -- come as summer dwellers at first and some weekenders. They found it hard and very much a struggle to survive. However, they became true homesteaders almost immediately.
They raised vegetables, canned their produce, raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and pigs.
They made roads where there was only wilderness. They built their homes and secured all necessary utilities. They eventually had their churches, civic associations, fire department, and sports and social clubs.
Banks opened their doors to the black residents for loans for repairs, additions, and new homes eventually.
Jobs in the early days were not available to the new black residents. Many of the residents traveled back and forth to the city daily and some stayed over during the week in order to afford their place in the country. Later, jobs opened for these residents.
MR. GORDON HEIGHTS HOMESTEADER - 1942
I have been living here these past fifteen years. We have
all the elbow room we want. We raise vegetables, chickens and even a piglet or two.
We are not in the wilderness.
We have churches of all denominations. We have a playground, a firehouse, a community center, a social club, and Sport clubs. Our men and our women, our boys and our girls find plenty to do here. Whether it be church work, civic or social, there's always something going on that needs our help and attention.
I am glad I've settled here. My wife and I feel happier because of it. So will you, when you make up your mind to join us. Don't worry about leaving the city. You'll find your work and activities right here. We are all waiting for you. There is plenty of room for all of you.
Gordon Heights Homesteader
Mrs. Thelma Hall was one of the earliest pioneers in Gordon Heights. Mrs. Hall was formerly a member of the Lincoln Drama Ensemble in New York of which a cousin, Mrs. Evelyn Ellis, played one of the original roles of Bess in Porgy and Bess. Because Mrs. Hall had the responsibility of taking care of her cousin and traveling with her as a professional actress, Mrs. Hall also played bit parts in the theatre. It was while in the theatre in New York with this acting company that she first heard of Gordon Heights.
Mr. Fife came to the theatres seeking blacks who wished to fulfill that dream of country living. Mrs. Hall's cousin was interested, and between 1927-28, they bought property on Dunbar - the present home of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong.
This was known as Mr. Fife's hunting lodge. People who came out to look at property and the area were also fed and rested at this site.
When Mrs. Ellis decided to return to the theatre, after some illness, she resold the house to Mr. Fife. While she lived in the house, it was also a chicken farm, and Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Ellis shared a business with Mr. Fife of country egg selling to city dwellers. When Mrs. Ellis returned to the city and the theatre, Mrs. Hall remained and ran what was the first water system in this area. Mr. Fife leased out water to the new homeowners with a well and pump which remains in the Armstrong home. It was from this system that the first water came to Gordon Heights. It served the young community for many years.
Mrs. Hall also produced, directed, and participated in many original presentations for the community with many of the young people. She knew many people in the theatre and they came out to help her. This was a form of entertainment for the community, especially the participating young people.
Mrs. Hall also remembers how the young community enjoyed bus outings, picnics, swimming, and other activities. The night entertainment spot was the Casino, later to be bought by Mr. McNeese and known as Gordon Heights Rest. This building, located on Granny Road, was bought by Mr. Fife as an entertainment center in order not to use the churches for non-church activities. When Mr. McNeese later bought the hotel area, the place was combined. People now enjoyed entertainment and a place to live (the hotel).
Mrs. Hall remembers how difficult it was for Mr. Fife to secure property and to build in this community for lack of money or a place to secure it. Whites in certain areas knew who Mr. Fife was buying and building for. Racism and discrimination dominated thinking and attitudes towards the young black settlement.
Interestingly, however, there was an old white man known as "Pop" Gordon. He owned, originally, most of the property around the area - sections I - 4 - among which was the hotel which Mr. Fife bought. Mrs. Hall remembers him as a kind, old man. The community was named after him. It became Gordon Heights.
Mr. Hall, who came to Gordon Heights later (around 1933), was a member of the first black fire department of the community and New York State. He was one of the few blacks who did not have to travel back and forth to the city for his livelihood. He ran a taxi from the community to Medford and worked at Northport Hospital. Mrs. Hall continued her work with Mr. Fife in the Armstrong home for many years. Along with her was a white man employed by Mr. Fife as caretaker, Mr. Smith, and later, a Mr. Johnston, also employed as a caretaker.
And so, the first homesteaders came and began to build a life and a community.
As the community grew, Mr. Fife gave names to the various roads, later streets. Beach Lane was named after the Beaches; Adams Lane was named after Mrs. Thelma Adams Hall; Carr Lane was named after the Carrs. There was even a Robeson Lane named after the famous Paul Robeson, black singer and opera performer.
The roads became smoother and were the first thing that intrigued Mr. Beaton as he drove, in 1932, to Gordon Heights. He described it as a "smooth concrete ride from the city down Jericho Turnpike to Gordon Heights."
There were eight homes in the community at that time. These were the homes of Mr. and Mrs. Rich, Mrs. Brodie, Mrs. Ellis, Mr. and Mrs. Gray (Prof. Gray) and his sister-in-law's house, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Carter, and Mrs. Morris-.
Mr. Beaton bought 40 lots (20 x 100) on Hawkins in 1933. His fulfilled dream was to raise chickens and have a cow. Lots were $35 each.
Mr. Beaton built his home, but with a different builder than Fife because of a difference of opinion in price of building and building a very different kind of home with much larger rooms. Mr. Beaton remembers discrimination and racial problems with getting money to build and problems Mr. Fife faced securing additional sections of land in Gordon Heights, most specifically the land near Jericho Turnpike which is now Wilson Avenue.
In spite of prejudice and building problems, blacks continued their pilgrimage to Gordon Heights. Around 1936, the Fredericks came, and later, the Beaches, the Henrys, the Gilmores, the Flats came to make their home.
Because of lack of telephone poles, the town refused light. Telephone poles were denied because the town felt the residents couldn't pay for it. The residents then discovered that they could get the poles put up if they accepted the telephone. The black residents then proceeded to get phones. This was around 1947-48. And so the lights (in homes) came. It took 14 years for lights and telephone services. The residents used wood to cook and kerosene lamps for light.
Children traveled a mile to school in Yaphank. The school in Yaphank was closed and then they were transported to Port Jefferson by bus. The bus came to Granny Road first and then later came closer to the homes to pick up. Later, of course, schools were erected and the area became centralized and known as Middle Island Central Schools. A very unique black man became the first black to serve on the Board of Education. His name was Tyrell Wilson.
Tyrell Wilson came to Gordon Heights to live in 1940 with his family. He planted his roots firnily as he continued his involvement in the improvement and concern for mankind. He came to this community already a devoted civic worker. In 1946, after the first presidency of Walter Brown of the newly chartered Gordon Heights Progressive Association, Tyrell Wilson became president of the Civic Association and served for ten years as its president. During that time, the Civic Association fought for more telephones and telephone service, better roads and lights for the community. Under his direction, the Civic Association was able to get power lines in 1947.
Because again there was a problem of where to meet, land was finally secured by this Association on its present site. It was planned that this site would eventually serve two functions - a meeting place and a place to house fire equipment.
Building materials were donated by the residents for the building and the men of the community gave their labor. An earlier fire, the first church building by Mrs. Spence, had proven without a doubt the need for a fire department. And so this building would serve that function too.
Prior to the Gordon Heights Progressive Association, there was a Civic League with the same objectives as the Progressive Association. They very soon merged their efforts to make for a stronger community.
In 1948, Mr. Tyrell Wilson became the first black to serve on the Board of Education in Middle Island Central Schools. In 195 1, he was able to get the first black teacher hired in the district. She was Mrs. Samuel Farrell.
Mr. Wilson's civic work continued and he retired in 1970. He is still active, however, in the development of Gordon Heights.
The community continued to grow and continues. More sections of the community opened up as rapidly as the earlier sections. The Coram sections of land became available and land was bought throughout the Coram sections.
Many residents either through their professions or talents contributed so much. Mr. Sydney Murray worked long and hard with real estate and also found time to be a poet and singer. He also served many years as president of the Progressive Association.
Let us not forget the great women in the settlement of this community. Mrs. Alberta Beach, who worked long and hard with the Ladies Auxiliary during those early years in the establishment of its work. She was also the black reporter for the community to the Long Island Advance while also serving as financial recording secretary for many years to the Progres-sive Association. She was very involved in church work also.
Mrs. Zeathe Armstrong was a very devoted and kind mother to many homeless children for-many years in the community. There were others - many -- like her.
Mrs. Hall's involvement in the community was mentioned earlier. Mrs. Spence was responsible for the first church build-ing. Mrs. Woodburn worked with the youth of the community in recreation for many years. Mrs. Hylton Pinto also worked with the Progressive Association and programs with the youth especially her sewing classes at St. Michael's. Mrs. Haynes, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Henry, Mrs. Una Smith, Mrs. Brooks Payne, Mrs. T. Wilson, Mrs. M. Carpenter, Mrs. Hattie Jackson, Mrs. B. Allman, Mother Hudson, and Mother Christian were all contributors in the building of this great community. And the list goes on and on.
The women of Gordon Heights were not housewives. They were supportive spouses. They were builders of homes for their family and a community for their families and neighbors. They sacrificed and supported every effort to make a home and a community. They helped and sometimes alone. fought fires. They gave parties and sold refreshments to earn money, not for themselves, but for a growing fire department and Progressive Association - a community. In spite of all the struggle and hardship in those early years, they helped to build homes, continued families, and shared in the development of a black community of pride - Gordon Heights.
The history of this great community is still developing. Homes are going up each and every day. There are many builders involved in this development today. The movement from the city to Long Island and Gordon Heights continues. The desire for a piece of land to grow things and to find growth for families and a community goes on.
The original organizations are growing and many community needs are being met. New organizations and cultural needs are being discovered. People are beginning to become as involved as in earlier years. More families, however, are finding that they must maintain their jobs in the city as with the earlier settlers, but jobs have been available for a few.
The development of the black community of Gordon Heights has come a long way. The residents years ago gave the community a foundation. Today's residents must continue to build on that foundation. Gordon Heights, we love you!
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Home » Timelines by Topic » Topics » Governance » Human Rights » Civil Liberties
US Civil Liberties
Project: US Civil Liberties
Open-Content project managed by Paul, KJF, mtuck, paxvector
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May 2, 2006: Bush Gives DNI Authority to Allow Telcoms to Conceal Information about Provision of Citizens’ Phone Records to the NSA
President George Bush issues a memo granting the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) the authority to authorize a corporation to conceal any of its activities related to national security under United States Code 15 USC 78m(b)(3)(A). [US Code Title 15,78m; George W. Bush, 5/5/2006] The memo follows recent allegations that telecommunications firms AT&T, BellSouth, and Verizon have all provided records of US citizens’ telephone communications to the National Security Agency as part of the NSA’s warrantless surveillance program (see October 2001 and February 5, 2006). Almost two months later, Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) learns of the memo and demands an explanation from DNI John Negroponte. Schakowsky will write in part: “I am concerned about this new authority because under it, the DNI does not need to seek any permission from the president or Congress to issue such directives and there is minimal oversight once the directive is given. In fact, it is my understanding that since the DNI is only required to report on directives ‘active’ on the annual October 1st reporting date, the DNI could in fact cover up all directives by having them expire on September 30th of the reporting year. I believe that such expansive authority coupled with lax oversight could lead to the misuse of the power, the over-issuing of directives, and the hiding of activities that could be unconstitutional and violations of citizens’ civil liberties. For instance, I believe that such directives could have been issued to the major telecommunications firms concerning the sharing of phone call records with the National Security Agency without citizens’ knowledge or consent.” Schakowsky asks if there was “a particular corporate activity that the DNI or another believed warranted such protection from disclosure and liability,” how many such directives his office has issued since he was granted such authority, whether any such directives were retroactive, how it is determined that “national security” matters are at stake and who makes such determinations, and whether directives telecommunications firms provide citizens’ phone records without their knowledge or consent are being “covered up.” Negroponte’s reply to Schakowsky, if any, is not known. [Jan Schakowsky, 6/27/2006]
Entity Tags: National Security Agency, Verizon Communications, John Negroponte, George W. Bush, BellSouth, Jan Schakowsky, AT&T
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
May 5, 2006: CIA Director Goss Resigns amid Scandal; Replaced by Former NSA Director Michael Hayden
CIA Director Porter Goss abruptly resigns “amid allegations that he and a top aide may have attended Watergate poker parties where bribes and prostitutes were provided to a corrupt congressman.” A senior law enforcement official says, “It’s all about the Duke Cunningham scandal.” Congressman Randall “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty in late 2005 to taking millions of dollars in bribes. Goss is replaced by General Michael Hayden, the former director of the NSA. [New York Daily News, 5/6/2006] The Bush administration gives no explanation for the resignation and even Goss publicly describes his own resignation as “just one of those mysteries.” [CNN, 5/6/2006] It is later learned that Goss’s resignation is spurred in part because of the controversy surrounding his chosen CIA Executive Director, Kyle “Dusty” Foggo. Foggo is being investigated for his connections to Cunningham. Both Foggo and Cunningham are being investigated by the office of US Attorney Carol Lam (see November 8, 2002). [Talking Points Memo, 2011] In 2007, former senior CIA analyst Valerie Plame Wilson will write: “Once John Negroponte became the de facto intelligence czar as director of national intelligence (DNI—see February 17, 2005)… Goss’s effectiveness, prestige, and daily access to the president had been considerably diminished. This, in turn, further degraded and undermined the organization he led. During a time of driving massive change, which Goss and other senior intelligence managers were attempting to do at the agency, effective and clear communication with all levels of the organization is critical. Goss failed completely at this task and the cost was high.… [H]e had been a poor fit from the beginning. In an underperforming bureaucracy such as the CIA, a strong leader, respected by the rank and file, is essential to managing needed change and modernization. On a personal note, I was not sorry to see him go.” [Wilson, 2007, pp. 247-248]
Entity Tags: Randall (“Duke”) Cunningham, Porter J. Goss, Valerie Plame Wilson, Michael Hayden, John Negroponte, Bush administration (43), Kyle Dustin “Dusty” Foggo, Carol C. Lam
Timeline Tags: Torture of US Captives, Complete 911 Timeline
May 6, 2006: Charles Koch Admits in Interview to Coordinating Funding of Large, Influential Conservative Network of Political Organizations
The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore interviews reclusive billionaire Charles Koch, the head of the Koch Brothers oil empire. Among the items of interest in the interview is Koch’s admission that he, along with his brother David (see 1977-Present, 1979-1980, 1981-2010, 1984 and After, and Late 2004), coordinates the funding of the conservative infrastructure of some of the most influential front groups, political campaigns, think tanks, media outlets, and other such efforts through a semiannual meeting with wealthy conservative donors. (Moore himself receives Koch funding for his work, according to a Think Progress report published four years later. In return, Moore is quite laudatory in the interview, writing that Koch is a “creative forward-thinking… professorial CEO” who “is immersed in the ideas of liberty and free markets.”) Koch tells Moore that his basic goal is to strengthen what he calls the “culture of prosperity” by eliminating “90 percent” of all laws and government regulations. Moore writes of the twice-yearly conference: “Mr. Koch’s latest crusade to spread the ideas of liberty has been his sponsorship of a twice-yearly conference that gathers together many of the most successful American entrepreneurs, from T. Boone Pickens to former Circuit City CEO Rick Sharp. The objective is to encourage these captains of industry to help fund free-market groups devoted to protecting the fragile infrastructure of liberty. That task seems especially critical given that so many of the global superrich, like George Soros and Warren Buffett, finance institutions that undermine the very system of capitalism that made their success possible (see January - November 2004). Isn’t this just the usual rich liberal guilt, I ask. ‘No,’ he says, ‘I think they simply haven’t been sufficiently exposed to the ideas of liberty.’” [Wall Street Journal, 5/6/2006; Think Progress, 10/20/2010]
Entity Tags: Think Progress (.org), Charles Koch, Wall Street Journal, David Koch, Stephen Moore
Category Tags: Campaign Finance
May 9, 2006: NSA Quashes Justice Department Investigation into Warrantless Wiretapping Program
Maurice Hinchey. [Source: Washington Post]A Justice Department investigation into the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program ends before it begins, because the NSA will not grant Justice Department lawyers routine security clearances. The investigation had been opened in February 2006 (see February 2, 2006) when Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) asked the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to investigate the NSA’s warrantless surveillance of US citizens (see After September 11, 2001). Without security clearances, investigators could not examine NSA lawyers’ role in the program. OPR counsel H. Marshall Jarrett writes in a letter to Hinchey: “We have been unable to make any meaningful progress in our investigation because OPR has been denied security clearances for access to information about the NSA program. Without these clearances, we cannot investigate this matter and therefore have closed our investigation.” Jarrett and his office have made routine requests for security clearances since January, to no avail. The OPR’s investigation would have focused strictly on whether Justice Department lawyers violated ethical rules, and would not have examined the entire NSA program. Hinchey says, “This administration thinks they can just violate any law they want, and they’ve created a culture of fear to try to get away with that.” [Associated Press, 5/11/2006] Hinchey writes to Jarrett, regarding the failure to grant clearances: “We are perplexed and cannot make sense of your denial of these security clearances. Our request did not ask OPR to give us the intricate details of the NSA program; we understand that such a request would not even be within OPR’s jurisdiction. There appear to be no reasonable grounds for blocking this investigation. Not only does your denial of their request for a security clearance not make sense, it is unprecedented.” Hinchey will try, and fail, to get a bill through the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee to force the White House, Justice Department, and Defense Department to turn over to Congress all documents related to the closure of the OPR probe. He will write in a letter to President Bush, “If the NSA program is justified and legal, as you yourself have indicated, then there is no reason to prevent this investigation from continuing.” [US House of Representatives, 7/18/2006] In June 2006, it will be revealed that Bush personally made the decision not to grant the OPR investigators security clearances (see Late April 2006).
Entity Tags: Office of Professional Responsibility, Maurice Hinchey, US Department of Justice, George W. Bush, H. Marshall Jarrett, National Security Agency
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Privacy, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
May 11, 2006: Bush Claims NSA Wiretapping Program Only Targets Terrorist Suspects
President Bush reiterates claims that the NSA wiretapping program specifically targets only suspected al-Qaeda members and sympathizers and does not target domestic communications without court authorizations. “[T]he privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities,” Bush asserts. “We’re not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans.” Serious questions have been raised about the accuracy of these assertions (see October 2001, December 18, 2005, and May 12, 2006). [Democracy Now!, 5/12/2006]
Entity Tags: Terrorist Surveillance Program, National Security Agency, Al-Qaeda, George W. Bush
Category Tags: Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
May 11, 2006: USA Today Reports NSA, Telecom Firms Cooperating in NSA Domestic Surveillance
USA Today headline. [Source: CBS News]USA Today reports that “[t]he National Security Agency (NSA) has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by the nation’s three biggest telecommunications providers, AT&T, Verizon, and BellSouth,” according to “people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.” None of the sources would allow USA Today to identify them by name, job, or affiliation. The USA Today story claims that the NSA program “does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations,” but does use “the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity,” according to their sources. One source says that the NSA program is compiling “the largest database ever assembled in the world,” with the goal of creating “a database of every call ever made” within US borders. President Bush has said that the NSA program is focused exclusively on international calls, and for the calls to be recorded, “one end of the communication must be outside the United States.” However, this is now shown not to be the case (see January 16, 2004). A US intelligence official says that the NSA program is not recording the actual phone calls themselves, but is collecting what he calls “external” data about the communications to allow the agency to emply “social network analysis” for insight into how terrorist networks are connected with one another. Another large telecommunications company, Qwest, has refused to help the NSA eavesdrop on customer calls (see February 2001, February 2001 and Beyond, and February 27, 2001). USA Today’s sources say that the NSA eavesdropping program began after the 9/11 attacks, a claim that is not bolstered by the facts (see 1997, February 27, 2000, February 27, 2000, December 2000, February 2001, February 2001, February 2001 and Beyond, February 2001, Spring 2001, April 2001, April 4, 2001, July 2001, Before September 11, 2001, and Early 2002). The sources say that the three companies agreed to provide “call-detail records,” lists of their customers’ calling histories, and updates, which would allow the agency to track citizens’ calling habits. In return, the sources say, the NSA offered to pay the firms for their cooperation. After the three firms agreed to help the agency, USA Today writes, “the NSA’s domestic program began in earnest” (see After September 11, 2001, After September 11, 2001, October 2001, September 2002, and Spring 2004). NSA spokesman Don Weber says the agency is operating strictly “within the law,” but otherwise refuses to comment. Former US prosecutor Paul Butler says that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which governs surveillance operations by US intelligence agencies, “does not prohibit the government from doing data mining” (see 1978). White House press spokesman Dana Perino says, “There is no domestic surveillance without court approval,” and all surveillance activities undertaken by government agencies “are lawful, necessary, and required for the pursuit of al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists.” All government-sponsored intelligence activities “are carefully reviewed and monitored,” she adds, and says that “all appropriate members of Congress have been briefed on the intelligence efforts of the United States” (see October 11, 2001 and October 25, 2001 and November 14, 2001). Don Weber, a senior spokesman for the NSA, refuses to discuss the agency’s operations, saying: “Given the nature of the work we do, it would be irresponsible to comment on actual or alleged operational issues; therefore, we have no information to provide. However, it is important to note that NSA takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law.” All three firms released similar comments saying that they would not discuss “matters of national security,” but were complying with the law in their alleged cooperation with the NSA. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is suing AT&T for what it calls its complicity in the NSA’s “illegal” domestic surveillance program (see January 31, 2006). [USA Today, 5/11/2006]
Entity Tags: Verizon Communications, USA Today, Qwest, Paul Butler, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Jane Harman, AT&T, BellSouth, National Security Agency, Dana Perino, Don Weber
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Privacy, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind, Media Involvement and Responses
May 11-12, 2006: Hayden Disputes Allegations from Former Qwest CEO about NSA Domestic Surveillance
Former NSA Director Michael Hayden, testifying as part of his nomination hearings to head the CIA, denies that the NSA has engaged in illegal surveillance operations against US citizens, after allegations by former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio that he met with NSA officials well before the 9/11 attacks and discussed such a surveillance program. Nacchio refused to cooperate with the NSA, and he says that his telecommunications firm suffered retaliation as a result of his refusal (see February 27, 2001). Other telecom firms such as BellSouth, AT&T, and Verizon did cooperate (see February 2001 and Beyond). Court documents show that Nacchio balked at cooperating with the NSA after learning that the agency wanted Qwest’s phone records of the firm’s customers, but had no warrants or approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees all US intelligence agencies’ surveillance operations.
Denial - Hayden denies that the NSA has broken the law, and that it has complied with its oversight responsibilities. “Everything that the agency has done has been lawful,” he says. “It’s been briefed to the appropriate members of Congress. The only purpose of the agency’s activities is to preserve the security and the liberty of the American people. And I think we’ve done that.” Nacchio says the NSA continued to make similar requests of Qwest until he left the firm in June 2002. The court documents are part of Nacchio’s trial on numerous counts of insider trading.
Political Reaction - The White House and Senate Republicans are generally supportive of Hayden while Senate Democrats have mixed feelings. One who questions Hayden’s credibility is Ron Wyden (D-OR) of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who says, “The American people have got to know that when the person who heads the CIA makes a statement that they are getting the full picture.” In contrast, Kit Bond (R-MO), a member of the select panel allowed access to classified information on the warrantless surveillance program, says, “The president’s program uses information collected from phone companies,” but only the telephone number called and the caller’s number. Conversations, says Bond, are not recorded. President Bush says that the NSA wiretapping program is not “mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans.”
Scope of Program - A senior government official given permission to speak anonymously about the program says that while the NSA has access to records of almost all domestic phone calls, the records are used solely to trace regular contacts of “known bad guys.” The NSA needs access to the entirety of citizens’ phone communications, the official says, but it isn’t “interested in the vast majority of them.” [Associated Press, 5/12/2006; New York Times, 5/12/2006; CBS News, 5/12/2006]
Entity Tags: National Security Agency, Senate Intelligence Committee, Michael Hayden, Verizon Communications, Ron Wyden, Qwest, George W. Bush, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, AT&T, Bush administration (43), BellSouth, Joe Nacchio, Christopher (“Kit”) Bond, Central Intelligence Agency
Category Tags: Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
May 12, 2006: Telecoms Sued over Allegedly Illegal Cooperation with NSA’s Domestic Spying Program
Two public interest lawyers sue Verizon Communications for $5 billion, claiming the telecommunications firm violated privacy laws by giving the phone records of its customers to the NSA for that agency’s secret, warrantless domestic surveillance program. Lawyers Bruce Afran and Carl Mayer are asking that Verizon stop turning over its records to the NSA without either a court order or the consent of the customer. Afran says of the NSA program, “This is the largest and most vast intrusion of civil liberties we’ve ever seen in the United States.” [CBS News, 5/12/2006] Days later, AT&T and BellSouth are added to the lawsuit. [CNN, 5/17/2006]
Verizon Helped Build an NSA Database? - The day before, the press reports that the NSA has built a database of millions of domestic phone records since shortly after the 9/11 attacks, using records from Verizon, BellSouth, and AT&T (see May 11, 2006). Former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio, whose firm refused to cooperate with the NSA, says that he was approached months before the attacks to help set up such a program (see February 27, 2001). The NSA has the power, under President Bush’s interpretation of his wartime authority, to have the agency eavesdrop on international calls made to or from the US, but cannot legally eavesdrop on internal calls unless it has a court order. The lawsuit claims that the telecoms violated the Constitution and the Telecommunications Act by giving its records to the government without court authorization. The lawsuit seeks $1,000 for each violation of the Telecommunications Act, or $5 billion if the case is certified as a class-action suit. The lawyers are seeking documents detailing the origins of the NSA program, as well as Bush’s own role in authorizing the program. “Federal law prohibits the phone companies from giving records to the government without a warrant,” says Afran. “There was no warrant, nor was there any attempt to get warrants, which is in violation of the constitution and the Telecommunications Act.” [CBS News, 5/12/2006; CNET News, 5/15/2006] Afran says, “One of the purposes of this case is to, quite frankly, hold the threat of financial destruction over the heads of the phone companies to make them abandon this policy of cooperating with warrantless searches by the government.” [National Public Radio, 5/17/2006] The lawsuit alleges that Verizon constructed a dedicated fiber optic line from New Jersey to a large military base in Quantico, Virginia, that allowed government officials to gain access to all communications flowing through the carrier’s operations center. A former consultant who worked on internal security will later say he had tried numerous times to install safeguards on the line to prevent hacking on the system, as he was doing for other lines at the operations center, but he was prevented from doing so by a senior security official. One of the allegations against Verizon in the lawsuit is made by Philadelphia resident Norman LeBoon, who says after he read of the alleged surveillance of US citizens, he began asking Verizon if his landline communications were being shared. LeBoon says he eventually spoke with “Ellen” in Verizon customer service, who told him, “I can tell you, Mr. LeBoon, that your records have been shared with the government, but that’s between you and me.… They [Verizon] are going to deny it because of national security. The government is denying it and we have to deny it, too. Around here we are saying that Verizon has ‘plausible deniability.’” [Truthdig, 8/9/2007]
AT&T Grants Unlimited Access? - The lawsuit claims that in February 2001, days before Qwest was approached, NSA officials met with AT&T officials to discuss replicating an AT&t network center to give the agency access to all the global phone and e-mail traffic that ran through it (see February 2001).
Earlier Reporting Made Key Error - Earlier reporting of the NSA’s cooperation with the telecoms got a key detail wrong, says telecom analyst Scott Cleland: “What I think people got wrong with the original reporting, was that this was local phone companies tracking local phone calls. What is clear now is they were tracking long distance calls.” [National Public Radio, 5/17/2006]
Entity Tags: Norman LeBoon, Qwest, National Security Agency, George W. Bush, Joe Nacchio, Michael Hayden, Bruce Afran, Carl Mayer, Verizon Communications
May 12, 2006: Former NSA Director Says NSA Wiretapping Program ‘Not Authorized’
Bobby Ray Inman. [Source: DefenseTech.org]Former NSA director Bobby Ray Inman says that the secret NSA program to wiretap US citizens’ phone and e-mail conversations without court warrants (see After September 11, 2001) “is not authorized.” President Bush authorized the secret wiretapping over four years ago (see Early 2002), a program only revealed at the end of 2005 (see December 15, 2005). Since the program was revealed, it has created tremendous controversy over its possible illegality and its encroachment on fundamental American civil liberties. Bush and other White House officials have repeatedly asserted that the program is legal, mainly because Bush and his officials assert that the president has the authority to implement such a program (see December 15, 2005); Bush also insists, as recently as the day before Inman’s statement, that the program is only being used to spy on terrorists and the privacy of US citizens is being “fiercely protected,” a statement that does not jibe with the facts. [Democracy Now!, 5/12/2006]
Entity Tags: National Security Agency, Al-Qaeda, Bobby Ray Inman, Bush administration (43), George W. Bush
May 13, 2006: Justice Department Files Brief for Dismissal of AT&T Lawsuit on ‘State Secrets’ Grounds
The Justice Department files a brief with the US District Court of Northern California asking that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)‘s lawsuit against AT&T (see January 31, 2006) be dismissed on the grounds that it would breach “state secrets” vital to “national security.” The Justice Department publicly announced its intentions of asking that the lawsuit be dismissed on those grounds two weeks ago (see April 28, 2006). EFF is suing AT&T for compromising its customers’ privacy by colluding with the National Security Agency (NSA) in that agency’s domestic surveillance program. The lawsuit is Hepting, et al v. AT&T, often shortened in the media to Hepting v. AT&T. The government submits a number of secret documents to Judge Vaughn Walker as evidence, along with a heavily redacted document submitted for public perusal. Other documents include affidavits from the Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, and the head of the NSA, Lieutenant General Keith Alexander. Some observers believe that Walker, a conservative appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush, will quickly comply with the government’s request. However, as AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein (see December 15-31, 2005 and July 7, 2009), who is working with EFF on the lawsuit (see Early January 2006), will later write, Vaughn is independent-minded and possessed of a “strong libertarian bent,” and will not be so prone to do the government’s bidding as some believe. [Klein, 2009, pp. 72-73] Walker’s first hearing on the brief will be held four days later (see May 17, 2006).
Entity Tags: John Negroponte, AT&T, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Keith Alexander, Mark Klein, US Department of Justice, Vaughn Walker, National Security Agency
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Privacy, Court Procedures and Verdicts, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
May 16, 2006: Former NSA Analyst Slams NSA’s Domestic Surveillance Program
Ira Winkler. [Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]Former NSA analyst Ira Winkler, author of the 2005 book Spies Among Us, writes of his disgust with the NSA’s domestic surveillance program, saying that because it is warrantless, it is illegal. He argues the program violates both the NSA’s rules of engagement and its long-term missions.
Warrantless Surveillance is Illegal - Securing warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is easily done, Winkler says: “FISA blocks no legitimate acquisition of knowledge. It doesn’t even slow the process down.” The problem, Winkler says, is that the program is so large that securing FISA warrants for every communication the NSA monitors “would [take] an army of lawyers to get all the warrants they’d need to be in compliance with FISA.” However: “[T]he law is the law. No president has the right to pick and choose which laws they find convenient to follow.” President Bush could have asked Congress to amend the FISA laws: “After all, after 9/11 Congress passed a wide variety of laws (without, for the most part, reading them) that were supposed to prevent another attack. They could have easily slipped something modifying FISA into all of that legislation. They did not, though recent revelations about this administration’s use of signing statements may indicate that they simply didn’t want to raise the possibility of questions.” Merely ignoring FISA “is illegal,” Winkler writes.
Weakens National Security - Another issue is national security. Not obtaining warrants actually weakens natural security, he argues, “since the process of obtaining the warrants has an effect on quality control.” For example: “To date, FBI agents have been sent out to do thousands of investigations based on this warrantless wiretapping. None of those investigations turned up a legitimate lead. I have spoken to about a dozen agents, and they all roll their eyes and indicate disgust with the man-years of wasted effort being put into physically examining NSA ‘leads.’ This scattershot attempt at data mining drags FBI agents away from real investigations, while destroying the NSA’s credibility in the eyes of law enforcement and the public in general. That loss of credibility makes the NSA the agency that cried wolf—and after so many false leads, should they provide something useful, the data will be looked at skeptically and perhaps given lower priority by law enforcement than it would otherwise have been given.” Winkler says the NSA’s claim that it does not retain any personal information is ludicrous. “Frankly, you have to be a complete moron to believe that,” he writes. “It is trivial to narrow down access to a phone number to just a few members of a household, if not in fact to exactly one person.”
Extortion - And the warrantless surveillance is not the only illegal action taken by the government. If the government did threaten one telecom firm, Qwest, for not cooperating (see February 2001), “[t]hat’s extortion—another crime.” Winkler writes that both Congress and the American people must demand answers, or the White House and the NSA will continue to usurp our freedom under the cloak of protecting freedoms.
Arguments For Program are Specious - Winkler says the arguments for the program that he hears are groundless. He hears three main threads:
“I have nothing to worry about so I don’t care if they investigate me.” Winkler points out that plenty of people have been investigated and incarcerated in the US and abroad without doing anything wrong: “I believe that Saddam Hussein would cheerfully agree with the tired allegation that if you did nothing wrong, you shouldn’t mind the government looking at your calls. I think Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and the Chinese government would also agree with that line of thought. Is this the company we consent to keep in the name of safety?”
“[W]e need to do everything we can to protect ourselves.” Protecting ourselves, Winkler argues, means letting law enforcement work to protect US citizens against real, ongoing crimes. The government is “watching for dragons while very real snakes multiply freely in our midst.”
“[T]he NSA isn’t listening to the content of the calls, so there’s no harm.” Aside from the fact that Winkler believes the NSA is lying about not listening to the calls themselves, he says: “[The NSA] doesn’t need to hear your chatter to invade your privacy. By simply tying numbers together—an intelligence discipline of traffic analysis—I assure you I can put together a portrait of your life. I’ll know your friends, your hobbies, where your children go to school, if you’re having an affair, whether you plan to take a trip and even when you’re awake or asleep. Give me a list of whom you’re calling and I can tell most of the critical things I need to know about you.” The NSA is made up of mostly “good and honest people,” but it has “more than its share of bitter, vindictive mid- and senior-level bureaucrats. I would not trust my personal information with these people, since I have personally seen them use internal information against their enemies.” Winkler reminds his readers that the Bush administration deliberately outed CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson because her husband dared debunk an administration claim about Iraq (see November 20, 2007), and tried to undermine the credibility of former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke when he spoke out against the administration (see March 24, 2004). The NSA could easily provide the administration with damaging information about other administration enemies.
'Against Everything I Was Taught' - “NSA domestic spying is against everything I was ever taught working at the NSA,” Winkler writes. “I might be more for it if there was any credible evidence that this somehow provides useful information that couldn’t otherwise be had. However, the domestic spying program has gotten so massive that the well-established process of getting a warrant cannot be followed—and quantity most certainly doesn’t translate to quality. Quite the opposite.” The terrorists number in the hundreds, Winkler writes, but “the NSA is collecting data on hundreds of millions of people who are clearly not the enemy. These numbers speak for themselves.” [Computerworld, 5/16/2006]
Entity Tags: Qwest, George W. Bush, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ira Winkler, National Security Agency, Valerie Plame Wilson, Saddam Hussein, Richard A. Clarke, Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin
Category Tags: Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, Database Programs, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
May 17, 2006: Court Holds First Hearing on Government’s Request to Dismiss AT&T Lawsuit on State Secrets Grounds
Judge Vaughn Walker of the US District Court of Northern California holds a hearing on the government’s request to have the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)‘s lawsuit against AT&T dismissed (see May 13, 2006). The Justice Department says the lawsuit must be dismissed on the grounds that it would breach “state secrets” vital to “national security” if allowed to go forward. EFF is suing AT&T for compromising its customers’ privacy by colluding with the National Security Agency (NSA) in that agency’s domestic surveillance program (see January 31, 2006). AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein (see December 15-31, 2005 and July 7, 2009), who is working with EFF on the lawsuit (see Early January 2006), attends the hearing along with a small phalanx of lawyers; a woman slips a piece of paper into his hand containing her name and the telephone number for CBS News’s 60 Minutes. The AT&T lawyers are furious at Klein because an online news site, Wired News, just published his 2005 memo containing evidence against AT&T that the firm wants suppressed (see May 17, 2006). Klein will later write that he has no knowledge of how Wired News received the document, though the AT&T lawyers believe he supplied it to Wired News, and he will say he is pleased at the publication. (Wired News will later explain why it chose to publish the document—see May 22, 2006.) In the hearing, Walker refuses to order Klein to return the documents to AT&T, noting that Klein is not a plaintiff in the case and therefore Walker lacks the judicial authority to make such an order. Walker advises AT&T if it wants the documents back, it will have to sue Klein for their return. EFF lawyer Cindy Cohn challenges the government’s claim that the lawsuit should be dismissed on “state secrets” grounds, arguing that “this can be litigated without reference to any state secrets.… The question is whether the information has been acquired by AT&T in order to give it to the government and whether it’s been divulged to the government and what the government does with that information afterward, which I think could implicate state secrets, is completely irrelevant, or not necessary for us to pursue this case.” The motion to dismiss is not decided in this hearing. [Klein, 2009, pp. 73-78]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, AT&T, Cindy Cohn, Mark Klein, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Vaughn Walker, National Security Agency, Wired News
May 17, 2006: Online News Site Publishes Whistleblower’s AT&T Memo
Wired News, the online technical news site, publishes a copy of AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein’s unclassified memo written in 2004 (see January 16, 2004). Klein has joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in its lawsuit against AT&T. Klein has evidence that AT&T colluded with the National Security Agency (NSA) to illegally wiretap Americans’ domestic telephone and Internet communications. [Wired News, 5/17/2006]
Entity Tags: Electronic Frontier Foundation, AT&T, National Security Agency, Mark Klein, Wired News
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Privacy, Media Involvement and Responses, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
May 18, 2006: Khalid El-Masri’s Lawsuit against CIA Dismissed Using State-Secrets Privilege
The lawsuit brought forth by Khalid el-Masri and the ACLU (see December 6, 2005) is dismissed by US District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria, who rules that the state secrets privilege (see March 9, 1953) was properly invoked by the US Justice Department. The judge argues that Masri’s “private interests must give way to the national interest in preserving state secrets.” [Washington Post, 5/19/2006]
Entity Tags: American Civil Liberties Union, Central Intelligence Agency, T.S. Ellis III, Khalid el-Masri
Timeline Tags: Torture of US Captives
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
May 21, 2006: Attorney General: Government Can Prosecute Journalists for Leaking Classified Information
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says that the government has the right to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information. “There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility,” he says during an ABC News interview. “That’s a policy judgment by the Congress in passing that kind of legislation. We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected.” Asked if he is considering prosecuting the New York Times for revealing the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program (see December 15, 2005), Gonzales says the Justice Department is trying to determine “the appropriate course of action in that particular case.” He continues: “I’m not going to talk about it specifically. We have an obligation to enforce the law and to prosecute those who engage in criminal activity.” Experts believe that Gonzales is probably referring to the 1917 Espionage Act, which prohibits government officials from passing classified information to anyone without proper clearance; those same experts say that the Espionage Act was never intended to apply to the press. Furthermore, journalists are protected from such prosecution by the First Amendment. Gonzales says that while the Bush administration respects the right of freedom of the press, “it can’t be the case that that right trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity.” [New York Times, 5/22/2006] Thirty years ago, then-White House chief of staff Dick Cheney recommended such prosecution against a journalist who revealed the existence of a Cold War-era submarine program (see May 25, 1975). In 2007, reporter and author Charlie Savage will write that in 1975, the attorney general had scuttled the idea. Now, the attorney general is embracing the idea. [Savage, 2007, pp. 175-176]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, Alberto R. Gonzales, Bush administration (43), New York Times, Charlie Savage, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney
Category Tags: Freedom of Speech / Religion, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Media Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Government Classification, Media Involvement and Responses
May 22, 2006: News Publication Explains Why It Published Sealed Documents in AT&T Lawsuit
Wired News logo. [Source: Delve Networks]Evan Hansen, the editor in chief of Wired News, an online technical news site, explains why the site published a set of documents from AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein (see December 15-31, 2005 and July 7, 2009). Klein is working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in that organization’s lawsuit against AT&T for invading its customers’ privacy by taking part in the National Security Agency’s warrantless domestic wiretap operation (see January 31, 2006). The presiding judge, Vaughn Walker, has denied requests from the EFF and a number of news organizations to unseal the documents and make them public. For its part, AT&T wants the documents to remain sealed, claiming they are proprietary and that it would suffer harm if they were disclosed (see April 6-8, 2006). Hansen and the Wired News senior staff disagree. “In addition,” Hansen writes, “we believe the public’s right to know the full facts in this case outweighs AT&T’s claims to secrecy.” Hansen erroneously says that the documents seem “to be excerpted from material that was later filed in the lawsuit under seal,” though “we can’t be entirely sure, because the protective order prevents us from comparing the two sets of documents.” Klein later writes that the Wired News staff “confused my 2004 memo (see January 16, 2004) with my court-sealed legal declaration” (see February 23-28, 2006); even so, Klein will write, “it was true that all of the AT&T documents were still under court seal.” Hansen says Wired News reporter Ryan Singel received the Klein documents from “an anonymous source close to the litigation.” Hansen also writes: “We are filing a motion to intervene in the case in order to request that the court unseal the evidence, joining other news and civil rights organizations that have already done so, including the EFF, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, the San Jose Mercury News, the Associated Press, and Bloomberg. Before publishing these documents we showed them to independent security experts, who agreed they pose no significant danger to AT&T. For example, they do not reveal information that hackers might use to easily attack the company’s systems.” Hansen writes that Wired’s publication of the documents does not violate Walker’s gag order concerning the documents’ publication, as the order specifically bars the EFF and its representatives—and no one else—from publishing or discussing them. “The court explicitly rejected AT&T’s motion to include Klein in the gag order and declined AT&T’s request to force the EFF to return the documents,” he notes (see May 17, 2006). [Wired News, 5/22/2006; Klein, 2009, pp. 75]
Entity Tags: Vaughn Walker, AT&T, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Evan Hansen, Mark Klein, Ryan Singel, Wired News, National Security Agency
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Media Freedoms, Privacy, Court Procedures and Verdicts, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind, Media Involvement and Responses
May 24, 2006: AT&T Lawyers Accidentally Release Redacted Information in NSA Lawsuit
AT&T lawyers accidentally release sensitive information in their defense of a lawsuit accusing AT&T and two other telecommunications firms of illegally cooperating with an NSA wiretapping program (see January 31, 2006). They release a 25-page legal brief, heavily redacted with thick black lines intended to obscure portions of three pages, in PDF (Portable Data File) format. But some software programs can read the text. The redacted information offers alternative reasons why AT&T has a secret room in its downtown San Francisco switching center designed to monitor Internet and telephone traffic (see February 2001). The Electronic Frontier Foundation, who filed the lawsuit, says the room is used by the NSA surveillance program. The redacted sections argue that the room could be used for “legitimate Internet monitoring systems, such as those used to detect viruses and stop hackers.” Another argument reads, “Although the plaintiffs ominously refer to the equipment as the ‘Surveillance Configuration,’ the same physical equipment could be utilized exclusively for other surveillance in full compliance with” the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The court filing is not classified, and no information relating to the actual operations of the NSA’s surveillance program is disclosed. [US District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, 5/24/2006 ; US District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, 5/24/2006; CNET News, 5/26/2006]
Entity Tags: National Security Agency, Electronic Frontier Foundation, AT&T
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Privacy, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, Database Programs, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
Late May, 2006: Bush Administration Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit on ‘State Secrets’ Grounds
The Bush administration submits a legal brief arguing that the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s lawsuit against AT&T, alleging that firm cooperated with the NSA’s domestic surveillance program (see January 31, 2006), should be thrown out of court because of the government’s “state secrets” privilege (see March 9, 1953). Justice Department lawyers want Judge Vaughn Walker to examine classified documents that they say will convince him to dismiss the lawsuit. However, the government does not want the defense lawyers to see that material. “No aspect of this case can be litigated without disclosing state secrets,” the government argues. “The United States has not lightly invoked the state secrets privilege, and the weighty reasons for asserting the privilege are apparent from the classified material submitted in support of its assertion.” [CNET News, 5/26/2006]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, Electronic Frontier Foundation, AT&T, Vaughn Walker, Bush administration (43)
Category Tags: Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, Database Programs, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind, State Secrets
June 1, 2006: Ousted CIA Official Returning as Deputy Director
Almost two years after resigning from the CIA (see Early November, 2004), Stephen Kappes agrees to return as deputy director for the new agency head, General Michael Hayden. Kappes is leaving his position as the chief operating officer for ArmorGroup International, a British security firm, to take the position. He is a former Marine with 25 years of service in the CIA. He is fluent in Russian and Farsi, and took part in agency operations against Iran while serving in the Frankfurt, Germany, station. After the 1991 Gulf War, Kappes reopened the CIA’s Kuwait station. He also was a key participant in the agency’s attempts to find information on nuclear black marketeer A. Q. Khan. He was deputy director for operations under former CIA chief George Tenet before coming into conflict with Tenet’s replacement, Porter Goss (see September 24, 2004). Kappes was one of the first of many CIA officials to leave the agency under Goss’s tenure, either by resignation or by firing as Goss attempted to purge the agency of all but Bush administration loyalists (see November-December 2004). [New York Times, 5/30/2006; Time, 6/1/2006] In May, CNN reported that Kappes was being offered the job in part to assuage concerns among members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who doubt Hayden’s ability to lead the agency and question whether he will run it in a nonpartisan fashion. Many observers see Kappes’s return both as a repudiation of Goss, who abruptly resigned over allegations of involvement with prostitutes and bribery schemes (see May 5, 2006), and as a potential brake on any possible instances of Hayden putting his loyalty to the Bush administration over his loyalties to the CIA and the nation. John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, said when Kappes’s nomination for the position was announced: “I believe that Mike’s appointment, and I think together if the appointment of Steve Kappes goes through, I think that’s going to be a boost for the morale out there. And I think they’re going to welcome this new leadership.” Hayden himself has said that Kappes’s return is a signal that “amateur hour” is over. Former clandestine CIA agent Milt Bearden says, “The simple fact is that he is a very solid choice to come to the agency at a time when it is extremely wobbly.” And a former top CIA official says: “The really good people are happy he’s coming back. The ones who are scared of him should be scared of him.” [CNN, 5/9/2006; New York Times, 5/30/2006]
Entity Tags: Michael Hayden, ArmorGroup International, John Negroponte, Stephen Kappes, Central Intelligence Agency, Senate Intelligence Committee, Milt Bearden
June 4, 2006: American Bar Association Votes to Investigate Bush’s Use of Signing Statements
The Board of Governors of the American Bar Association (ABA) votes unanimously to investigate whether President Bush has exceeded his presidential authority by using signing statements to assert that he can ignore or override laws passed by Congress (see April 30, 2006 and September 2007). ABA president Michael Greco, who served with former Republican govenor William Weld (R-MA), appoints a bipartisan, blue-ribbon panel of legal experts, including former government officials, legal scholars, and retired FBI Director William Sessions, to carry out the inquiry. The ABA Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine will work for two months on a report (see July 23, 2006). [Savage, 2007, pp. 244-245]
Entity Tags: Michael Greco, ABA Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine, American Bar Association, George W. Bush, William Weld, William S. Sessions
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Signing Statements
June 5, 2006: Former Justice Department Official Argues Data Mining is Not Electronic Surveillance
George Terwilliger, a former deputy attorney general under George H. W. Bush, argues that the current Bush administration’s controversial data mining program (see Late 1999 and After September 11, 2001) is not illegal. Terwilliger tells the conservative National Review, “I think it’s fair to say that the statutes contemplate the transfer of this generic type of data much more on a case-by-case rather than a wholesale basis,” meaning that the law calls for a court order only in cases when the government is making a targeted request for information. But, he adds, “I don’t see anything in the statute that forbids such a wholesale turnover.” Terwilliger’s argument echoes the arguments of the Bush Justice Department, which argues that the data mining program—part of the NSA’s “Stellar Wind” surveillance program (see Spring 2004 and December 15, 2005)—does not technically constitute “electronic surveillance” under the law. Both the Fourth Amendment and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as interpreted by the courts, define such actions as “electronic surveillance,” according to a number of legal experts, including law professor Orin Kerr. And, Ars Technica reporter Julian Sanchez notes in 2009, “the Stored Communications Act explicitly makes it a crime to ‘knowingly divulge a record or other information pertaining to a subscriber to or customer of such service… to any governmental entity.’” Sanchez will call Terwilliger’s argument “very strange,” but will note that Terwilliger is the attorney for then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and “a prominent defender of the administration’s surveillance policies.” Sanchez will conclude that while the argument “might pass for clever in a high school debate round… [i]t would be deeply unsettling if it [passes] for anything more in the halls of power.” [National Review, 6/5/2006; Ars Technica, 12/16/2008]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, Alberto R. Gonzales, ’Stellar Wind’, Bush administration (43), National Security Agency, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Julian Sanchez, George Terwilliger, Orin S. Kerr
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, Database Programs, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
June 6, 2006: Former Iran-Contra Investigation Chairman Says There Is Little Difference between Reagan-Era Conspirators and Bush Administration Officials
Retired Republican Senator Warren Rudman, the former co-chairman of Congress’s Iran-Contra investigation (see July 7-10, 1987), says that today’s White House officials are little different in at least one respect to the Reagan-era officials who constantly leaked information to the press, then claimed Congress leaked so much information that it was unfit to be trusted with the nation’s secrets. “Just look at the case now with that CIA agent [Valerie] Plame [Wilson],” Rudman says. “God forbid anyone did that on the Hill, there would be hell to pay. The administration would be lining up howitzers on the White House lawn to fire at the Capitol.” [Dubose and Bernstein, 2006, pp. 76-77]
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43), Warren Rudman, Valerie Plame Wilson
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power
June 8, 2006: National Archives Asks Cheney to Comply with Disclosure Order
J. William Leonard, the head of the National Archives’ Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), writes to David Addington, Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, asking for reports on classification activity by Cheney’s office. [J. William Leonard, 6/8/2006 ] The request was prompted by a May 28, 2006 letter from Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists that states in part, “I believe that the Office of the Vice President is willfully violating a provision of [Executive Order 12958, as amended by President Bush (see 2003)] and of the implementing ISOO directive. Specifically, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) is refusing to comply with the ISOO requirement to ‘report annually to the Director of ISOO statistics related to its security classification program.‘… As you know, the President’s executive order states that this and other ISOO Directive requirements are ‘binding’ upon any ‘entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information.‘… Yet despite this requirement, the OVP has failed to report on its classification and declassification activity for three years in a row. Moreover, this appears to be a deliberate act on the part of the OVP, not simply a negligent one.” [Federation of American Scientists, 5/30/2006 ] Since 2003, Cheney and his staffers have argued that the Vice President’s office is not strictly part of the executive branch and therefore is not bound by the mandate of the executive orders: Cheney’s officials have also stated they do not believe the OVP is included in the definition of “agency” as set forth in the executive order, and therefore does not consider itself an “entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information.” [J. William Leonard, 6/8/2006 ] Aftergood wrote in his letter, “Nothing in the executive order excuses the OVP from reporting on classification activity in the performance of its executive duties merely because it also has separate legislative functions. It is hard to see how such an argument could be proposed by a reasonable person in good faith. Since the OVP has publicly staked out a position that openly defies the plain language of the executive order, I believe ISOO now has a responsibility to clarify the matter.… [B]y casting its non-compliance as a matter of principle, the OVP has mounted a challenge to the integrity of classification oversight and to the authority of the executive order. In my opinion, it is a challenge that should not go unanswered.” [Federation of American Scientists, 5/30/2006 ] In his letter to Addington, Leonard notes that until 2002, Cheney’s office did submit such reports to the ISOO. He also notes that under the Constitution, the Vice President’s office is indeed part of the executive branch, and that if it is not, then it is in repeated material breach of national security laws, as it has had routine access to top secret intelligence reports and other materials that are only available to the executive branch. Leonard asks Addington to ensure that Cheney’s office begins complying with the law. [J. William Leonard, 6/8/2006 ] Leonard’s letter is ignored. [Henry A. Waxman, 6/21/2007 ]
Entity Tags: Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, J. William Leonard, Information Security Oversight Office, David S. Addington, National Archives and Records Administration
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification
June 13, 2006: IT Association Warns of Risks in Allowing Law Enforcement, Intelligence Agencies to Wiretap Phones and Internet
Vinton Cerf. [Source: Ipswitch.com]The Information Technology Association of America, an information technology (IT) trade association, presents a paper authored by Internet founder Vinton Cerf and others which notes that the new capabilities of electronic surveillance of Internet, cellular communications, and voice-over internet protocols (VoIP) by US government and law enforcement officials under CALEA (see January 1, 1995) is inherently dangerous for fundamental civil liberties as well as technological innovation. (CALEA mandates that US telecommunications providers such as AT&T give US law enforcement agencies and intelligence organizations the ability to wiretap any domestic or international telephone conversations carried over their networks.) Cerf and his colleagues write, “In order to extend authorized interception much beyond the easy scenario, it is necessary either to eliminate the flexibility that Internet communications allow, or else introduce serious security risks to domestic VoIP implementations. The former would have significant negative effects on US ability to innovate, while the latter is simply dangerous. The current FBI and FCC direction on CALEA applied to VoIP carries great risks.” In order to implement the mandates of CALEA, the authors write, the nation’s electronic communications systems will become inherently less secure from hackers and others seeking to eavesdrop or disrupt communications, innocent citizens will not be secure from possibly illegal surveillance by law enforcement or intelligence agencies, and the nation’s communications systems will face near-insurmountable technological hurdles that will make it difficult for US telecommunications and Internet providers to continue to innovate and improve services. They conclude, “The real cost of a poorly conceived ‘packet CALEA’ requirement would be the destruction of American leadership in the world of telecommunications and the services built on them. This would cause enormous and very serious national-security implications. Blindly applying CALEA to VoIP and realtime Internet communications is simply not worth this risk.” [Information Technology Association of America, 7/13/2006 ]
Entity Tags: Information Technology Association of America, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), Vinton Cerf, Federal Communications Commission
Category Tags: Other Legal Changes, Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Other Surveillance
June 13, 2006: Wisconsin Government Official Convicted in Corruption Probe
Georgia Thompson, a Wisconsin state purchasing executive, is convicted of two felony charges of manipulating the bid process on a state travel contract, intending to “cause political advantage for her supervisors” (see October 19, 2005, October 2005, and January 24, 2006). The indictment said her actions “were intended to help her job security,” though it did not allege the existence of a so-called “pay to play” scheme that traded campaign donations for contracts. Thompson was charged with improperly steering a travel contract with the state, worth $750,000, to a travel firm whose executives made political donations to Governor Jim Doyle (D-WI). She pled not guilty to the charges, and was not asked by prosecutors to take a deal in return for testifying about alleged improprieties by Doyle and other administration officials. Her lawyer, Stephen Hurley, said at the time: “They can squeeze all they want. There’s nothing to squeeze out.” Hurley called the charges against her “the most bizarre application of the statute I’ve ever seen.” US Attorney Steven Biskupic, a Bush administration appointee, is using the Thompson case to find evidence of criminal corruption within the Doyle administration. Thompson faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Wisconsin Republicans have dubbed the affair “Travelgate,” and are using it to drub Doyle in campaign ads. Doyle is expected to face stiff competition from Republican challengers in the November 2006 election. During the trial, prosecutors did not allege that Thompson colluded with anyone in the Doyle administration to rig the contract process. Instead, they said Thompson carried out the improprieties on her own in order to curry favor with her superiors. Biskupic called her actions “politically motivated bid-rigging,” and said she inflated her scores for Adelman Travel in the bid assessment process “for private gain for herself and others” rather than using the criteria established by state law. Hurley called Biskupic’s logic “bizarre,” and noted that Thompson did not profit in any way from her alleged bid-rigging. In fact, Hurley said, her actions saved the state $27,000. Hurley said during the trial that she had no way of knowing about the campaign contributions, and her job did not depend on which company received the contract. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Adelman Travel was involved in setting the parameters for the contract awarding criteria months before being invited to take part in the bidding, though Thompson was not involved in those dealings. Thompson testified that she is not politically active and knew nothing of the politics behind the contract. She said she was not pressured to award Adelman Travel the contract. She said that she had a negative reaction to Adelman’s competitor for the contract, Omega World Travel, because unlike Adelman Travel, it was not a local firm, and she found Omega’s representatives “pushy, abrasive, and East Coast” in their manner. Through tears, she testified: “As a consumer, you can say, ‘Gee, I need a new refrigerator,’ look in the Sunday paper, see that there are refrigerators for sale, and say, ‘Okay, this is the one I want. This looks like the right price.’ You go in to buy it, and you don’t like the salesperson, so you don’t buy it. In state government, you can’t do that.” If you do, she said, the contract could be called into question. In his closing arguments, Biskupic called Thompson a liar, noting that her testimony in court was different in some aspects to statements she had given reporters. Doyle says after the conviction is issued: “It is clear that Georgia Thompson acted on her own and that no other state employee was involved.… As I have stated before, I have zero tolerance for ethical lapses in government. When public servants abuse the public’s trust, they forfeit their rights to continue in the state’s employ.” Doyle says that Thompson will likely be fired after a review is conducted. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 2/3/2006; Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 6/3/2006; Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 6/6/2006; Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 6/9/2006; Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 6/13/2006] She will resign her position shortly after her conviction. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 4/5/2007]
Entity Tags: Adelman Travel, James E. (“Jim”) Doyle, Omega World Travel, Steven M. Biskupic, Stephen Hurley, Georgia Lee Thompson
Category Tags: Court Procedures and Verdicts, 2006 US Attorney Firings
June 22, 2006: House Republicans Cancel Vote on Renewal of Voting Rights Act
Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA). [Source: That's My Congress (.com)]The House Republican leadership cancels a vote to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA—see August 6, 1965 and June 29, 1989) after a number of House Republicans declare their opposition to renewing key portions of the legislation concerning the requirement of bilingual ballots and continued federal oversight of voting practices in some Southern states. Eight months ago, Congressional Republicans announced they intended to take the lead in renewing the VRA (see October 4, 2005). The press reports that House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) was taken off-guard by the vehemence of the opposition within his party; he and other senior House Republicans believed that renewal of the VRA was on track. President Bush has said he supports renewing the VRA. In early May, House Republicans and Democrats joined on the steps of the Capitol to announce bipartisan support for the renewal of the law. However, some Southern Republicans argue that the law has served its purpose and is no longer necessary. They are now joined by Republicans from other states who resist providing ballots in languages other than English. Hastert says the Republican leadership “is committed to passing the Voting Rights Act legislation as soon as possible,” while some House Republicans say it is unclear whether the issue will be resolved before the Independence Day recess. Hastert and other House Republican leaders apparently did not anticipate the surge of anti-immigrant sentiment among their colleagues, which fuels the opposition to bilingual ballots. A previous attempt by Senate Republicans to include a provision in the VRA proclaiming English the “national language” failed. Seventy-nine House Republicans, led by Steve King (R-IA), an outspoken opponent of immigration, signed a letter written by King objecting to the VRA’s provision for bilingual ballots in precincts with large Hispanic and Asian populations. The requirement is costly and unnecessary, King wrote, adding, “The multilingual ballot mandate encourages the linguistic division of our nation and contradicts the ‘Melting Pot’ ideal that has made us the most successful multi-ethnic nation on earth.” Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) says: “A lot of it looks as if these are some old boys from the South who are trying to do away with it. But these old boys are trying to make it constitutional enough that it will withstand the scrutiny of the Supreme Court.” King said in committee, “There is no need to print ballots in any language other than English.” When King’s provision to end multilingual requirements was removed in committee, King and his fellow anti-immigration Republicans publicly withdrew their support for the VRA. Charles Whitlow Norwood (R-GA) says flatly: “What people are really upset about is bilingual ballots. The American people want this to be an English-speaking nation.” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) says: “Clearly, there are some on the Republican side who object to this legislation, and they forced the leadership’s hand today. House Democrats stand in virtual unanimous support for this important bill.” Mel Watt (D-NC), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, says, “We fear that pulling the bill could send the wrong message about whether the bill enjoys broad bipartisan support and that delaying consideration until after the July 4 recess could give those with partisan intentions space and time to politicize the issue.” Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights says in a statement, “We are extremely disappointed that the House did not vote today to renew and restore the Voting Rights Act because a small band of miscreants, at the last moment, hijacked this bipartisan, bicameral bill.” Henderson’s colleague Nancy Zirkin agrees, saying: “The fact of the matter is that you have a small group of members who have hijacked this bill, and many of these individuals represent states that have been in violation for a long time. We believe these individuals do not want the Voting Rights Act reauthorized.” [King, 1/28/2006; New York Times, 6/22/2006; Washington Post, 6/22/2006]
Opposition Letter Written by Far-Right Anti-Immigration Advocate? - Citizen investigators later demonstrate that many portions of the King letter may not have been written by King or his staffers, but by a representative of two far-right anti-immigration groups, NumbersUSA and ProEnglish. Both organizations belong to a network of groups operated by anti-immigration leader John Tanton (see February 2009). The provisions in the King letter were apparently written by K.C. McAlpin, a member of NumbersUSA and the executive director of ProEnglish. The latter group proclaims itself “the nation’s leading advocate of official English,” working “through the courts and in the court of public opinion to defend English’s historic role as the common, unifying language of the United States of America, and to persuade lawmakers to adopt English as the official language at all levels of government.” The investigators will be unable to prove McAlpin’s authorship beyond dispute, but through comparison of the King letter with McAlpin’s written testimony to Congress in November 2005, they find significant conceptual and linguistic similarities. The investigators will posit: “Given that the King letter posted at [the US House Web site, before being removed] was authored by McAlpin on software registered to NumbersUSA, coupled with its striking similarities to McAlpin’s testimony, only one of two possible causes seem plausible. Either King copied his letter from ProEnglish literature almost word for word, and then asked McAlpin, or someone using his computer, to type up a copy to post at the House of Representatives Web site, or McAlpin authored the letter himself. Either way, the letter that 79 Representatives signed to force the cancellation of the renewal of the VRA came from ProEnglish.” [King, 1/28/2006; Duke Falconer, 7/12/2006]
Entity Tags: Nancy Zirkin, John Tanton, George W. Bush, Dennis Hastert, Charles Whitlow Norwood, K.C. McAlpin, Mel Watt, US Supreme Court, Lynn Westmoreland, Wade Henderson, Steny Hoyer, US House of Representatives, ProEnglish (.com), Voting Rights Act of 1965, NumbersUSA, Steve King
Category Tags: Voting Rights, Election, Voting Laws and Issues
June 23, 2006: Government Admits AT&T Lawsuit Documents Not Classified
In a follow-up hearing, Judge Vaughn Walker of the US District Court of Northern California hears arguments by AT&T and the Justice Department as to whether he should dismiss a lawsuit against AT&T by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF—see January 31, 2006). The EFF argues that AT&T violated its customers’ privacy by colluding with the National Security Agency (NSA) in that agency’s allegedly illegal domestic wiretapping project. The government asserts that the lawsuit would jeopardize “state secrets” if permitted to go forward (see May 22, 2006). In today’s hearing, Justice Department lawyer Peter Keisler admits to Walker that the documents presented on behalf of the EFF by AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein (see December 15-31, 2005 and July 7, 2009) and others are not classified. “None of the documents they (EFF) have submitted… implicate any privileged [classified] matters,” Keisler tells Walker. The judge says, “Including the Klein documents.” Keisler agrees, saying: “We have not asserted any privilege over the information that is in the Klein and Marcus (see March 29, 2006) documents.… Mr. Klein and Marcus never had access to any of the relevant classified information here, and with all respect to them, through no fault or failure of their own, they don’t know anything.” Klein will later write that Keisler’s admission is a crippling blow to the government’s assertion that the EFF documentation would compromise national security if made public or submitted in open court. [Klein, 2009, pp. 77]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, AT&T, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mark Klein, Vaughn Walker, National Security Agency, Peter Keisler
June 26, 2006: Lawsuit Shows NSA Worked with AT&T to Spy on American Citizens Seven Months before 9/11 Attacks
Lawyers file court documents alleging that the National Security Agency (NSA) worked with AT&T to set up a domestic wiretapping site seven months before the 9/11 attacks. The papers are filed as part of a lawsuit, McMurray v. Verizon Communications, which cites as plaintiffs AT&T, Verizon, and BellSouth customers whose privacy was allegedly violated by the NSA warrantless wiretapping program (see May 12, 2006); it also alleges that the firms, along with the NSA and President Bush, violated the Telecommunications Act of 1934 and the US Constitution. AT&T, Verizon, and BellSouth have been accused of working with the NSA to set up domestic call monitoring sites (see October 2001). Evidence that the NSA set up domestic surveillance operations at least seven months before the 9/11 attacks is at the core of the lawsuit (see Spring 2001). The suit is similar to one filed against AT&T by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF—see January 31, 2006) and other such lawsuits. A lawyer for the plaintiffs in McMurray, Carl Mayer, says: “The Bush administration asserted this [the warrantless wiretapping program] became necessary after 9/11. This undermines that assertion.” AT&T spokesman Dave Pacholczyk responds, “The US Department of Justice has stated that AT&T may neither confirm nor deny AT&T’s participation in the alleged NSA program because doing so would cause ‘exceptionally grave harm to national security’ and would violate both civil and criminal statutes.” Verizon has denied being asked by the NSA for its customer phone records, and has refused to confirm or deny “whether it has any relationship to the classified NSA program.” BellSouth spokesman Jeff Battcher says: “We never turned over any records to the NSA. We’ve been clear all along that they’ve never contacted us. Nobody in our company has ever had any contact with the NSA.” The NSA domestic wiretapping program is known as “Pioneer Groundbreaker,” a part of the larger “Project Groundbreaker” (see February 2001). According to Mayer and his fellow lawyer Bruce Afran, an unnamed former employee of AT&T provided them with information about NSA’s approach to AT&T. (That former employee will later be revealed as retired technician Mark Klein—see Late 2002, July 7, 2009, December 15-31, 2005, and April 6, 2006). The lawsuit is on a temporary hiatus while a judicial panel rules on a government request to assign all of the telecommunications lawsuits to a single judge. [Bloomberg, 6/30/2006]
Entity Tags: Verizon Wireless, US Department of Justice, National Security Agency, George W. Bush, Jeff Battcher, Bruce Afran, BellSouth, AT&T, Mark Klein, Carl Mayer, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Dave Pacholczyk
June 27, 2006: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Use of Signing Statements
Inspired in part by the American Bar Association’s upcoming task force report on President Bush’s use of signing statements to ignore the law (see July 23, 2006), Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) holds a hearing on signing statements. Specter asks the White House to send either Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or Steven Bradbury, the acting head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, to testify to the use of the statements. Instead, in what some observers feel is a calculated snub, the White House sends Michelle Boardman, a low-ranking Justice Department deputy. Boardman refuses to answer questions about the use of signing statements by Bush, and instead argues that Bush has shown respect to Congress by using signing statements to indicate his refusal to comply with legislation rather than vetoing entire bills. “Respect for the legislative branch is not shown through [making] a veto,” she tells the assembled committee members. “Respect for the legislative branch, when we have a well-crafted bill, the majority of which is constitutional, is shown when the president chooses to construe a particular statement in keeping with the Constitution, as opposed to defeating an entire bill that would serve the nation.” The president has the power and responsibility to ignore any portion of any law passed by Congress when he feels it conflicts with the Constitution, she says, even in cases “where the Supreme Court has yet to rule on an issue, but the president has determined that a statutory law violates the Constitution.” She notes that previous presidents also used signing statements to raise constitutional questions about specific portions of selected legislation. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) is unconvinced by Boardman’s arguments. Bush is using signing statements, he says, “to advance a view of executive power that, as far as I can tell, has no bounds. [The White House has] assigned itself the sole responsibility for deciding which laws it will comply with, and in the process has taken upon itself the powers of all three branches of government.” [Savage, 2007, pp. 248-249]
Entity Tags: Michelle Boardman, Alberto R. Gonzales, Bush administration (43), US Department of Justice, Senate Judiciary Committee, Office of Legal Counsel (DOJ), Steven Bradbury, Arlen Specter, Russell D. Feingold
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Signing Statements
June 28, 2006: Supreme Court Upholds Most of Texas’s Controversial Redistricting Map
The Supreme Court upholds most of Texas’s far-reaching redistricting plan as engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX—see 2002-2004). The case is League of United Latin American Citizens et al v. Perry et al. The Court rejects one element of the plan, saying that some of the new boundaries fail to protect minority voting rights. Some district boundaries will need to be redrawn, particularly one “oddly shaped” district, District 23, in the Associated Press’s description, that saw the shift of 100,000 Hispanics out of a district represented by a Republican incumbent and into the unusually crafted district. Critics called District 23 the result of illegal gerrymandering, and said it violates the Voting Rights Act (VRA—see August 6, 1965, 1970, 1975, April 22, 1980, and June 29, 1989). Justice Anthony Kennedy, author of the majority opinion, says that under the plan, Hispanics have no chance to elect a candidate of their choosing. Democrats and minority groups have accused Republicans of unconstitutionally redrawing Texas’s electoral districts to ensure that the state’s legislature is controlled by Republicans. In the 2004 elections, the first with the new districts, Republicans took control of Texas’s legislature and four Democratic incumbents lost their seats. The Court upholds the contention that states can redraw district maps when they choose, not just once a decade as claimed by Texas Democrats. In essence, this means that any time a political party takes power in a state legislature, it can redraw maps to suit its purposes. The Constitution mandates the redrawing of state congressional district boundaries once a decade to account for population shifts; the Court says such redrawings can be more frequent if desired. The 2003-2004 redrawing of the Texas district map cost DeLay his position; he has resigned from Congress in the face of money laundering charges in relation to his fundraising activities for legislative candidates. While two other states, Colorado and Georgia, have undertaken similar redistricting efforts, law professor Richard Hasen says he does not believe many more states will move in the same direction. “Some people are predicting a rash of mid-decade redistricting. I am skeptical,” he says. “It would be seen as a power grab in a lot of places.” The 5-4 Court majority is not along ideological lines. While Kennedy, who usually joins the other conservatives, writes the majority opinion, the four liberals of the Court—Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, John Paul Stevens, and David Souter—write their own concurrences in conjunction with his opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts dissents, and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas join his dissent. Justice Antonin Scalia writes his own dissent. [Associated Press, 6/28/2006; FindLaw, 6/28/2006; Oyez (.org), 2012]
Entity Tags: John G. Roberts, Jr, Associated Press, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Samuel Alito, Tom DeLay, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Richard L. Hasen, John Paul Stevens, US Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer
Category Tags: Voting Rights, Court Procedures and Verdicts, Election, Voting Laws and Issues
June 30, 2006: Cheney Says New York Times Makes ‘It Harder to Defend America’ by Publishing Information Administration Wants Kept Quiet
At a campaign luncheon for Representative Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Vice President Dick Cheney lambasts the New York Times for reporting information that the administration wants kept secret. “Some in the press, in particular the New York Times, have made it harder to defend America against attack by insisting on publishing detailed information about vital national security programs,” he says. “First they reported the terrorist surveillance program (see March 2002), which monitors international communications when one end is outside the United States and one end is connected with or associated with al-Qaeda. Now the Times has disclosed the terrorist financial tracking program. On both occasions, the Times had been asked not to publish those stories by senior administration officials (see December 15, 2005). They went ahead anyway. The leaks to the New York Times and the publishing of those leaks is very damaging to our national security. The ability to intercept al-Qaeda communications and to track their sources of financing are essential if we’re going to successfully prosecute the global war on terror. Our capabilities in these areas help explain why we have been so successful in preventing further attacks like 9/11. And putting this information on the front page makes it more difficult for us to prevent future attacks. Publishing this highly classified information about our sources and methods for collecting intelligence will enable the terrorists to look for ways to defeat our efforts. These kinds of stories also adversely affect our relationships with people who work with us against the terrorists. In the future, they will be less likely to cooperate if they think the United States is incapable of keeping secrets.” [White House, 6/30/2006]
Entity Tags: Scott Garrett, New York Times, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney
Category Tags: Media Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Media Involvement and Responses
June 30, 2006: Supreme Court Rules Existing Guantanamo Military Commissions Are Illegal; Detainees There Have Legal Rights
Salim Ahmed Hamdan in 1999. [Source: Pubic domain via the New York Times]In the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case, the Supreme Court rules 5-3 to strike down the Bush administration’s plans to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions. Ruling in favor of detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan (see November 8, 2004), the Court rules that the commissions are unauthorized by federal statutes and violate international law. Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens says, “The executive is bound to comply with the rule of law that prevails in this jurisdiction.” The opinion throws out each of the administration’s arguments in favor of the commissions, including its assertion that Congress had stripped the Supreme Court of the jurisdiction to decide the case. One of the major flaws in the commissions, the Court rules, is that President Bush unilaterally established them without the authorization of Congress. [New York Times, 6/30/2006] During the oral arguments three months before, Hamdan’s lawyer, Neal Katyal, told the Court: “The whole point of this [proceeding] is to say we’re challenging the lawfulness of the tribunal [the military commissions] itself. This isn’t a challenge to some decision that a court makes. This is a challenge to the court itself, and that’s why it’s different than the ordinary criminal context that you’re positing.” [Savage, 2007, pp. 274-275]
Major Defeat for Bush Administration - Civil libertarian and human rights organizations consider the ruling a shattering defeat for the administration, particularly in its assertions of expansive, unfettered presidential authority. Bush says in light of the decision, he will work with Congress to “find a way forward” to implement the commissions. “The ruling destroys one of the key pillars of the Guantanamo system,” says Gerald Staberock, a director of the International Commission of Jurists. “Guantanamo was built on the idea that prisoners there have limited rights. There is no longer that legal black hole.” The ruling also says that prisoners held as “enemy combatants” must be afforded rights under the Geneva Conventions, specifically those requiring humane treatment for detainees and the right to free and open trials in the US legal system. While some form of military trials may be permissible, the ruling states that defendants must be given basic rights such as the ability to attend the trial and the right to see and challenge evidence submitted by the prosecution. Stevens writes that the historical origin of military commissions was in their use as a “tribunal of necessity” under wartime conditions. “Exigency lent the commission its legitimacy, but did not further justify the wholesale jettisoning of procedural protections.” [New York Times, 6/30/2006] In 2007, author and reporter Charlie Savage will write, “Five justices on the Supreme Court said Bush had broken the law.” [Savage, 2007, pp. 275]
Hardline Conservative Justices Dissent - Stevens is joined by Justices David Souter, Stephen Breyer, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Anthony Kennedy issues a concurring opinion. Dissenting are Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas. Thomas, in a dissent signed by Scalia and Alito, calls the decision “untenable” and “dangerous.” Chief Justice John Roberts recused himself from the case because of his participation in a federal appeals court that ruled in favor of the administration (see November 8, 2004).
Not Charged for Three Years - Hamdan is a Guantanamo detainee from Yemen, captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 and taken to Guantanamo in June 2002. He is accused of being a member of al-Qaeda, in his function as driver and bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. He was not charged with a crime—conspiracy—until mid-2004. [New York Times, 6/30/2006]
Entity Tags: Samuel Alito, US Supreme Court, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John G. Roberts, Jr, Al-Qaeda, Antonin Scalia, Bush administration (43), Center for Constitutional Rights, Anthony Kennedy, John Paul Stevens, David Souter, International Commission of Jurists, Gerald Staberock, Geneva Conventions, Clarence Thomas
Category Tags: Court Procedures and Verdicts, Expansion of Presidential Power, Government Acting in Secret, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
June 30, 2006: Law Professor: Supreme Court Ruling Codifies Bush Detention Policy as War Crime
Former Justice Department official Marty Lederman, now a Georgetown law professor, writes of the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case (see June 30, 2006): “Focusing just on the [military] commissions aspect of this misses the forest for the trees. This ruling means that what the CIA and the Pentagon have been doing [detaining prisoners without due process] is, as of now, a war crime, which means that it should stop immediately.” [Savage, 2007, pp. 276]
Entity Tags: US Department of Defense, Bush administration (43), Martin (“Marty”) Lederman, Central Intelligence Agency
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
Mid-2006: CIA Suffered Long-Lasting Damage from Depredations by Bush Administration, Say Former CIA Officials
Former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman tells authors Lou Dubose and Jake Bernstein that the damage done to the agency by the Bush administration is long-lasting and may well be permanent. “The CIA is a brittle bureaucracy, fragile as any other,” he says. “It’s now broken.” Part of the reason for the damage is the pressure brought to bear on the agency by senior White House officials (see 2002-Early 2003, Fall 2002, and Fall 2002). A former deputy director of the CIA tells the authors: “In the history of the agency, I’ve never heard of a vice president making specific demands of analysts. It’s never occurred. It’s without precedent.” It will change the way the CIA functions, he says. “The mere fact that [Vice President Cheney and his then-chief of staff Lewis Libby] were out there will generate in the bureaucracy—and the CIA is a bureaucracy—a sort of thinking that says, ‘Gee, can we make them happy, can we continue to satisfy them?’ That’s not the sort of thinking you want in an intelligence agency.” [Dubose and Bernstein, 2006, pp. 222]
Entity Tags: Melvin A. Goodman, Bush administration (43), Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Central Intelligence Agency
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Other
Mid-2006: Former Justice Official Blames Cheney for Abrogating Congressional Powers
Bruce Fein, a former senior Justice Department official in the Reagan administration, says that Vice President Dick Cheney is the person most responsible for abrogating the constitutional powers of the US Congress and presenting them to the executive branch. “Dick Cheney exercises all the powers of the presidency,” Fein says. “He has great contempt for Congress. You can get pretty cynical about Congress. Some of those people are yahoos. But that’s not the point. You don’t have to be brilliant to provide the checks and balances. You just need the constant questioning, the restraint.” [Dubose and Bernstein, 2006, pp. 223]
Entity Tags: Bruce Fein, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Bush administration (43)
July 7, 2006: Court Rules that Washington State’s Felon Disenfranchisement Laws Are Valid
A Washington State district court dismisses the case of Farrakhan v. Gregoire, a 2003 lawsuit which contended that Washington’s felon disenfranchisement laws and restoration policies were discriminatory against racial minorities and thusly violated the Voting Rights Act (VRA—see August 6, 1965, 1970, 1975, April 22, 1980, and June 29, 1989). The court writes that it is “compelled to find that there is discrimination in Washington’s criminal justice system on account of race,” and that such discrimination “clearly hinders the ability of racial minorities to participate effectively in the political process.” Even in the face of its own finding, the court dismisses the case, citing a “remarkable absence of any history of official discrimination” in the state’s electoral procedures and felon disenfranchisement policies. “Washington’s history, or lack thereof, of racial bias in its electoral process and in its decision to enact the felon disenfranchisement provisions, counterbalance the contemporary discriminatory effects that result from the day-to-day functioning of Washington’s criminal justice system,” the court finds. The case will continue in the court system, and the district court’s findings will ultimately be upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will cite the state’s lack of “intentional discrimination” (see October 7, 2010). [Brennan Center for Justice, 1/5/2010; Equal Justice Society, 10/14/2010; ProCon, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Voting Rights Act of 1965
Category Tags: Voting Rights, Court Procedures and Verdicts, Election, Voting Laws and Issues, Voter Fraud/Disenfranchisement
July 7-16, 2006: Economist Accuses Bush Administration of Using 9/11 Attacks to Expand Presidential Power
Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes that, five years after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush and his allies have used the attacks to dramatically expand the power of the executive branch at the expense of the legislative and judiciary branches. Bush and his allies are “engaged in an authoritarian project,” Krugman writes, “an effort to remove all the checks and balances that have heretofore constrained the executive branch [and] create a political environment in which nobody dares to criticize the administration or reveal inconvenient facts about its actions.” In a follow-up column, Krugman writes: “It is only now, nearly five years after September 11, that the full picture of the Bush administration’s response to the terror attacks is becoming clear. Much of it, we can see now, had far less to do with fighting Osama bin Laden than with expanding presidential power. Over and over again, the same pattern emerges: Given a choice between following the rules or carving out some unprecedented executive power, the White House always shrugged off the legal constraints.” (Emphasis in source.) [Roberts, 2008, pp. 3]
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43), George W. Bush, Paul Krugman
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power
July 8, 2006: Lawyer: ‘Hamdan’ Ruling Leaves No More Arguments for Legality of NSA Surveillance Program
Civil liberties lawyer and columnist Glenn Greenwald states that the recent Supreme Court ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (see June 30, 2006), finding that the Bush administration’s Guantanamo Bay military commissions violate both federal law and the Geneva Conventions, also proves that the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program is illegal (see December 15, 2005). “To arrive at its decision,” Greenwald writes, “the Court emphatically rejected the administration’s radical theories of executive power, and in doing so, rendered entirely discredited the administration’s only defenses for eavesdropping on Americans without the warrants required by law. Actual compliance with the Court’s ruling, then, compels the administration to immediately cease eavesdropping on Americans in violation of FISA,” the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (see 1978). “If the administration continues these programs now, then they are openly defying the Court and the law with a brazeness and contempt for the rule of law that would be unprecedented even for them.” Greenwald notes that FISA prohibits any surveillance of American citizens without judicial approval and oversight. The Bush administration has already admitted to conducting just such surveillance (see December 17, 2005 and December 21, 2005), and President Bush has even stated his intention to expand the program (see December 19, 2005). The Justice Department and a number of administration officials have attempted to claim the NSA surveillance program is both legal and necessary (see December 19, 2005, December 19, 2005, December 21-22, 2005, and Early 2006); Greenwald writes that the Hamdan decision “decimated” those claims, a conclusion shared by a number of legal experts (see January 9, 2006). Moreover, he writes, there is no remaining excuse for Democratic senators not to endorse Senator Russ Feingold’s resolution to censure Bush for violating FISA (see March 12, 2006 and After). The argument advanced by, among others, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), that Bush believed he was complying with the law because his lawyers told him he was in compliance, is no longer relevant in light of Hamdan, Greenwald argues. “[T]here is no longer any good faith basis left for violating FISA. Ongoing warrantless eavesdropping can only be ordered by the president with a deliberate intent to break the law. After Hamdan, there are no more excuses left for the president to violate FISA, and there is therefore no more excuse left for Democratic senators to refuse to take a stand with Sen. Feingold against the administration’s lawbreaking.” Bush has two clear choices, Greenwald writes: either to comply with FISA or openly defy the Supreme Court. “If we are a country that continues to operate under the rule of law, compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling compels the immediate cessation of the president’s warrantless eavesdropping program, as well as what are undoubtedly the other, still-secret programs prohibited by law but which have been justified by these same now-rejected theories of unlimited executive power. Put simply, after Hamdan, there are no more excuses left for the president’s refusal to comply with the law.” [Crooks and Liars, 7/8/2006]
Entity Tags: Geneva Conventions, Barack Obama, Bush administration (43), Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Glenn Greenwald, US Department of Justice, US Supreme Court, George W. Bush, National Security Agency
Category Tags: Freedom of Speech / Religion, Privacy, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
July 12, 2006: Bush Administration Agrees to Follow Geneva Conventions with All Al-Qaeda Suspects in US Custody
Daniel Dell’Orto. [Source: US Department of Defense]Shortly after the Supreme Court rules that the Geneva Conventions apply to detainees suspected of terrorist affiliations (see June 30, 2006), the Bush administration publicly agrees to apply the Conventions to all terrorism suspects in US custody, and the Pentagon announces that it is now requiring all military officials to adhere to the Conventions in dealing with al-Qaeda detainees. The administration says that from now on, all prisoners in US custody will be treated humanely in accordance with the Conventions, a stipulation that would preclude torture and “harsh interrogation methods.” Until the ruling, the administration has held that prisoners suspected of terrorist affiliations did not have the right to be granted Geneva protections (see February 7, 2002). Lawyer David Remes, who represents 17 Guantanamo detainees, says, “At a symbolic level, it is a huge moral triumph that the administration has acknowledged that it must, under the Supreme Court ruling, adhere to the Geneva Conventions. The legal architecture of the war on terror was built on a foundation of unlimited and unaccountable presidential power, including the power to decide unilaterally whether, when and to whom to apply the Geneva Conventions.” But in the wake of the ruling the administration is pressuring Congress to introduce legislation that would strip detainees of some of the rights afforded them under the Conventions, including the right to free and open trials, even in a military setting. “The court-martial procedures are wholly inappropriate for the current circumstances and would be infeasible for the trial of these alien enemy combatants,” says Steven Bradbury, the acting chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. Bradbury and Daniel Dell’Orto, the Defense Department’s principal deputy attorney general, have repeatedly urged lawmakers to limit the rights of detainees captured in what the administration terms its war on terrorism. Dell’Orto says Congress should not require that enemy combatants be provided lawyers to challenge their imprisonment. Congressional Democrats have a different view. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) says, “I find it hard to fathom that this administration is so incompetent that it needs kangaroo-court procedures to convince a tribunal of United States military officers that the ‘worst of the worst’ imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay should be held accountable” for crimes. “We need to know why we’re being asked to deviate from rules for courts-martial.” [Washington Post, 7/12/2006]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, US Supreme Court, US Department of Defense, Patrick J. Leahy, Al-Qaeda, Daniel J. Dell’Orto, David Remes, Geneva Conventions, Office of Legal Counsel (DOJ), Steven Bradbury
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Government Acting in Secret, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
July 13, 2006: US House Passes Voting Rights Act Renewal Bill over Conservative Opposition, Obstruction Efforts
The US House of Representatives overcomes challenges by conservative Republicans and votes overwhelmingly in favor of renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA—see August 6, 1965 and June 29, 1989). Congressional Republicans originally voiced strong support for renewing the landmark voting rights legislation (see October 4, 2005) but some 80 House Republicans have worked for weeks to block renewal of the bill over objections to providing bilingual ballots in some areas, and over continued oversight by the Justice Department in areas with a history of racial disenfranchisement and discrimination at the voting booth (see June 22, 2006). The renewal bill, officially entitled the “Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act” after a number of prominent civil rights figures, passes the House on a 390-33 vote. Representative John Lewis (D-GA), an African-American veteran who was beaten by white police officers during the civil rights struggle, gives an impassioned speech on the House floor before the vote is cast. Lewis reminds the House that “I gave blood” to ensure that blacks and other minorities had the right to vote without discrimination. “Some of my colleagues gave their very lives. Yes, we’ve made some progress; we have come a distance. The sad truth is, discrimination still exists. That’s why we still need the Voting Rights Act, and we must not go back to the dark past.” Lewis and other supporters took part in over a dozen House hearings where, according to Lewis, proof of voter discrimination was highlighted. Some conservative lawmakers have argued that such discrimination is a thing of the past, and therefore the VRA is obsolete and need not be renewed. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) is one of those making that argument, telling the House: “A lot has changed in 40-plus years. We should have a law that fits the world in 2006.” Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) agrees: “Congress is declaring from on high that states with voting problems 40 years ago can simply never be forgiven. That Georgians must eternally wear the scarlet letter because of the actions of their grandparents and great-grandparents.… We have repented and we have reformed.” Westmoreland says many people are “prejudiced” against Southern states. David Scott (D-GA) accuses House Republicans such as Gingrey and Westmoreland of working “to kill the Voting Rights Act” both through opposition and through the attempted addition of a number of unpalatable amendments that would strongly water down the law, such as an amendment by Steve King (R-IA) that would have removed the provision for bilingual ballots and forced naturalized citizens to prove their fluency in English before being allowed to vote. The bill moves to the Senate, where Democrats are urging quick passage and accusing House Republicans of unjustly delaying the bill’s passage. “For two months, we have wasted precious time as the Republican leadership played to its conservative base,” says Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). “There are only 21 legislative days left in this Congress, and the time to act is now.” [New York Times, 7/13/2006; Associated Press, 7/14/2006]
Entity Tags: Steve King, David Scott, Harry Reid, John Lewis, Lynn Westmoreland, Phil Gingrey, US House of Representatives, Voting Rights Act of 1965
July 20, 2006: Judge Refuses Government Request to Dismiss AT&T Lawsuit
Judge Vaughn Walker of the US District Court of Northern California rejects a request by the Justice Department to dismiss a lawsuit by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF—see January 31, 2006) against AT&T. The EFF argues that AT&T violated its customers’ privacy by colluding with the National Security Agency (NSA) in that agency’s allegedly illegal domestic wiretapping project. The government has asserted that the lawsuit would jeopardize “state secrets” if permitted to go forward (see May 22, 2006 and June 23, 2006). According to AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein, working with the EFF in the lawsuit, Walker “ridicule[s]” the government’s request for dismissal on state secrets grounds, finding that “[t]he government has opened the door for judicial inquiry by publicly confirming and denying material information about its monitoring of communications content.… AT&T and the government have for all practical purposes already disclosed that AT&T assists the government in monitoring communication content. [T]he government has publicly admitted the existence of a ‘terrorist surveillance program’ (see After September 11, 2001, After September 11, 2001, October 2001, and September 2002).… Considering the ubiquity of AT&T telecommunications services, it is unclear whether this program could even exist without AT&T’s acquiescence and cooperation.” EFF had given Walker the ammunition for his finding by providing him with a raft of media stories about AT&T’s involvement in the NSA surveillance program, as well as media coverage of Klein’s assertions (see April 12, 2006 and May 17, 2006). “The very subject matter of this action is hardly a secret” any longer, Walker finds (see May 24, 2006). “[D]ismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security.” Walker also rejects a separate motion to dismiss by AT&T, which had argued that its relationship with the government made it immune from prosecution. Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) says: “This cases arises against the backdrop of the accountability of the government as it pursues its surveillance program. This is a significant victory for the principle of government accountability.” AT&T spokesman Walt Sharp refuses to give a direct comment about the ruling, but says that AT&T has always protected its customers’ privacy (see February 2001 and Beyond, February 2001, and Late 2002-Early 2003). The government will obtain a stay of Walker’s ruling while it files an appeal, preventing the EFF documents from being publicly disseminated. [New York Times, 7/21/2006; Klein, 2009, pp. 78-79]
Entity Tags: Mark Klein, AT&T, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Marc Rotenberg, US Department of Justice, Walter Sharp, Vaughn Walker, National Security Agency
Category Tags: Freedom of Speech / Religion, Privacy, Court Procedures and Verdicts, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
July 20, 2006: Senate Votes 98-0 to Reauthorize Voting Rights Act
The US Senate votes 98-0 to reauthorize the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA—see August 6, 1965 and June 29, 1989). Many Republicans in the House have attempted to thwart the law’s renewal, citing their opposition to providing bilingual ballots in some areas, and over continued oversight by the Justice Department in areas with a history of racial disenfranchisement and discrimination at the voting booth (see June 22, 2006). However, that opposition was overcome by a bipartisan effort when the House voted to reauthorize the law (see July 13, 2006). Democrats and Republicans alike acknowledge that racial discrimination and efforts to disenfranchise minority voters still exist: “Despite the progress [some] states have made in upholding the right to vote, it is clear the problems still exist,” says Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). On the same day that the Senate votes to approve the bill, President Bush, on a visit to the annual NAACP convention, promises to sign the bill into law. One senator voicing his objection to the bill is Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), who says: “Other states with much less impressive minority progress and less impressive minority participation are not covered, while Georgia still is. This seems both unfair as well as unwise.” Chambliss is not joined in his opposition by fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), whose home state of South Carolina is, like Georgia, subject to Justice Department oversight for any changes to its voting procedures. “South Carolinians, you have come a long way,” he says. But we, just like every other part of this country, still have a long way to go.” [New York Times, 7/21/2006]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Voting Rights Act of 1965, US Senate, Saxby Chambliss, Lindsey Graham
July 23, 2006: ABA Task Force Declares Bush’s Use of Signing Statements Unconstitutional
The American Bar Association (ABA)‘s Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine issues its final report for its investigation into whether President Bush has exceeded his presidential authority by using signing statements to assert that he can ignore or override laws passed by Congress (see June 4, 2006).
Bush Violating the Constitution - The report concludes that Bush is violating the Constitution by signing a bill and then issuing a signing statement declaring that he will refuse to obey selected sections of that bill. The president’s own belief that a particular provision of a law is unconstitutional carries no legal weight, and gives him no right to ignore or disobey that provision, the task force finds. The Constitution gives presidents only two options: veto a bill, or sign it and enforce it. “The president’s constitutional duty is to enforce laws he has signed into being, unless and until they are held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” the report reads. “The Constitution is not what the president says it is.”
De Facto Line-Item Veto - Signing statements as used by Bush and earlier presidents (see 1984-1985, August 23, 1985 - December 1985, October 1985, February 6, 1986 and After, and November 1993) are evolving into a kind of back-door line-item veto, which the Constitution does not grant presidents—especially when Congress cannot override it. “A line-item veto is not a constitutionally permissible alternative,” the report reads, “even when the president believes that some provisions of a bill are unconstitutional. A president could easily contrive a constitutional excuse to decline enforcement of any law he deplored, and transform his qualified veto into a monarch-like absolute veto.”
Bringing the Presidency Back into Alignment - Over 150 newspaper editorial boards, columnists, and cartoonists quickly endorse the ABA’s call to end the abuse of signing statements. Some critics of the ABA report say that, in attempting to avoid singling out Bush for criticism, the task force failed to address the root issue behind the signing statements—the unitary executive theory espoused by the administration (see April 30, 1986). Instead of asking that signing statements themselves be ended, some critics say, the Bush administration’s attempts to usurp other branches’ power for the presidency must be curbed. Law professor Laurence Tribe calls the Bush administration “pathological power holders” and “misfits” who are abusing a valid presidential tool. Task force member Mickey Edwards, a former Republican congressman, says the fundamental issue is to bring the presidency back into proper alignment with the other two branches. “It’s not about Bush, it’s about what should be the responsibility of a president,” he says. “We are saying that the president of the United States has an obligation to follow the Constitution and exercise only the authority the Constitution gives him. That’s a central tenet of American conservatism—to constrain the centralization of power.” [American Bar Association, 7/23/2006 ; Savage, 2007, pp. 245-247]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, ABA Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine, Bush administration (43), Mickey Edwards, Laurence Tribe, American Bar Association
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Signing Statements
July 27, 2006: President Bush Signs Voting Rights Act Reauthorization; Law Overturns Supreme Court Decisions Protecting Discriminatory Practices
President Bush signs the Voting Rights Act (VRA—see August 6, 1965 and June 29, 1989) reauthorization into law. The extension, called the “Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act,” makes the VRA the law until 2031. It also overturns the decision rendered in Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board (see May 12, 1997) by outlawing electoral redistricting for discriminatory purposes, and invalidates the decision rendered in Georgia v. Ashcroft by declaring that Section 5 protects the ability of minorities “to elect their preferred candidates of choice.” [MSNBC, 10/4/2005; White House, 6/27/2006; American Civil Liberties Union, 2012] In October 2005, Congressional Republicans declared that they intended to lead the way towards renewing the VRA, particularly Section 5 (see October 4, 2005). But in June 2006, House Republicans balked at renewing Section 5 and another provision mandating bilingual ballots in many areas (see June 22, 2006). The bill survived a number of attempts to derail or weaken it by those House Republicans (see July 13, 2006), and was upheld 98-0 in the Senate (see July 20, 2006).
Entity Tags: Voting Rights Act of 1965, George W. Bush, US House of Representatives, US Senate
July 28, 2006: White House Lawyers Ignore JAG Lawyers’ Objections to Use of Secret Evidence in Detainee Trials
Following up on the Supreme Court’s recent Hamdan ruling that the Bush administration’s military commissions trial system is illegal (see June 30, 2006), a dozen members of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps meets with a team of White House lawyers. The JAG officers are experts in military law; much of their training centers on how to best conduct their legal proceedings in line with the Geneva Conventions. Most JAG officers had opposed the Bush administration’s decision to ignore Geneva (see June 8, 2004) in its treatment of detainees; in return, the White House’s civilian lawyers had dismissed the JAG officers as, in author and reporter Charlie Savage’s words, “closed minded, parochial, and simplistic.” The JAGs view the Hamdan ruling as vindication of their objections; for its part, the Justice Department is eager to be able to say that it incorporated the JAGs’ views in its proposed legislation for a new system of detainee trials. The JAGs’ overriding concern is to ensure that no secret evidence can be used against detainees in future trials. Defendants must be able to see and respond to all evidence used against them, the JAGs believe, otherwise the trials are not in compliance with Geneva. The original military commissions required that defendants and their lawyers be removed from the courtroom when classified evidence was introduced, a practice that the military lawyers believe was a basic violation of defendant rights. Unfortunately for the JAGs, they quickly learn that the White House lawyers are uninterested in their views. When they take their seats in a Justice Department conference room, the White House lawyers inform them that there is no reason to discuss the secret evidence question, because more senior officials will ultimately make that decision. Instead, the JAGs are limited to discussing minor technical issues and typographical changes. The meeting does allow Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to testify to Congress in early August that “our deliberations have included detailed discussions with members of the JAG corps,” whose “multiple rounds of comments… will be reflected in the legislative package.” Unlike the White House lawyers, Congress will listen to the JAG officers, and will outlaw the use of secret evidence in detainee trials. [Savage, 2007, pp. 279-281]
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43), Alberto R. Gonzales, US Department of Justice, Geneva Conventions, Judge Advocate General Corps
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
August 17, 2006: Judge Finds NSA Warrantless Wiretapping Program Unconstitutional
Federal district court judge Anna Diggs Taylor rules that the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program (see Early 2002) is unconstitutional and orders it ended. She amends her ruling to allow the program to continue while the Justice Department appeals her decision. The decision is a result of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil liberties groups. Taylor rules that the NSA program violates US citizens’ rights to privacy and free speech, the Constitutional separation of powers among the three branches of government, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (see 1978). Taylor writes: “It was never the intent of the framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights. There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. So all ‘inherent powers’ must derive from that Constitution.” [Verdict in ACLU et al v. NSA et al, 8/17/2006 ; Washington Post, 8/18/2006] The program “violates the separation of powers doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth amendments to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title III,” Taylor writes, and adds, “[T]he president of the United States… has undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders.” [CNN, 8/17/2006]
Judge Lets One Portion Stand - Taylor rejects one part of the lawsuit that seeks information about the NSA’s data mining program (see October 2001), accepting the government’s argument that to allow that portion of the case to proceed would reveal state secrets (see March 9, 1953). Other lawsuits challenging the program are still pending. Some legal scholars regard Taylor’s decision as poorly reasoned: national security law specialist Bobby Chesney says: “Regardless of what your position is on the merits of the issue, there’s no question that it’s a poorly reasoned decision. The opinion kind of reads like an outline of possible grounds to strike down the program, without analysis to fill it in.” The White House and its Republican supporters quickly attack Taylor, who was appointed to the bench by then-President Jimmy Carter, as a “liberal judge” who is trying to advance the agenda of Congressional Democrats and “weaken national security.” For instance, Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) says that halting the program “would hamper our ability to foil terrorist plots.” [Washington Post, 8/18/2006]
Democrats, Civil Libertarians Celebrate Ruling - But Democrats defend the ruling. For instance, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) says the ruling provides a much-needed check on the unfettered power of the Bush White House. “[N]o one is above the law,” says Kerry. [Washington Post, 8/18/2006] Lawyers for some of the other cases against the NSA and the Bush administration laud the decision as giving them vital legal backing for their own court proceedings. “We now have a ruling on the books that upholds what we’ve been saying all along: that this wiretapping program violates the Constitution,” says Kevin Bankston, who represents the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in its class-action case against AT&T for its role in the NSA’s surveillance program (see January 31, 2006). [Washington Post, 8/18/2006] Legal expert and liberal commentator Glenn Greenwald writes that Taylor’s ruling “does not, of course, prohibit eavesdropping on terrorists; it merely prohibits illegal eavesdropping in violation of FISA. Thus, even under the court’s order, the Bush administration is free to continue to do all the eavesdropping on terrorists it wants to do. It just has to cease doing so using its own secretive parameters, and instead do so with the oversight of the FISA court—just as all administrations have done since 1978, just as the law requires, and just as it did very recently when using surveillance with regard to the [British] terror plot. Eavesdropping on terrorists can continue in full force. But it must comply with the law.” Greenwald writes: “[T]he political significance of this decision cannot be denied. The first federal court ever to rule on the administration’s NSA program has ruled that it violates the constitutional rights of Americans in several respects, and that it violates criminal law. And in so holding, the court eloquently and powerfully rejected the Bush administration’s claims of unchecked executive power in the area of national security.” [Salon, 8/17/2006]
White House Refuses to Comply - The Bush administration refuses to comply with Taylor’s ruling, asserting that the program is indeed legal and a “vital tool” in the “war on terrorism.” It will quickly file an appeal, and law professors on both sides of the issue predict that Taylor’s ruling will be overturned. [Savage, 2007, pp. 206]
Lawsuit Ends with White House 'Compromise' - The lawsuit will end when the White House announces a “compromise” between the wiretapping program and FISC (see January 17, 2007).
Entity Tags: John Kerry, Kevin Bankston, Mike DeWine, US Department of Justice, Peter Hoekstra, Glenn Greenwald, National Security Agency, George W. Bush, James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr., Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Alberto R. Gonzales, American Civil Liberties Union, AT&T, Anna Diggs Taylor, Bush administration (43), Bobby Chesney, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Category Tags: Freedom of Speech / Religion, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Privacy, Court Procedures and Verdicts, Expansion of Presidential Power, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
August 23, 2006: National Archives Makes Second Request for Cheney to Obey Law
J. William Leonard, the director of the National Archives’ Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), writes a second letter to David Addington, Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, after Addington ignored Leonard’s first letter (see June 8, 2006). The issue is Cheney’s continued refusal to follow Executive Orders 12958 and 13292 (see March 25, 2003) that require his office to report periodically to the ISOO on what it is classifying and how it is protecting that information. Cheney’s argument is that the Vice President’s office is not part of the executive branch and therefore is not bound by those orders. Leonard writes that, in the light of Cheney’s continued refusal to comply with the law and of Addington’s failure to respond to the first letter, he believes the issue should be referred to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (see January 9, 2007). [J. William Leonard, 8/23/2006 ] Addington will refuse to respond to this letter as well. [Henry A. Waxman, 6/21/2007 ]
Entity Tags: J. William Leonard, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Office of Legal Counsel (DOJ), David S. Addington, Information Security Oversight Office, National Archives and Records Administration
September 6, 2006: Bush Admits Existence of Secret CIA Prisons, Announces Plans to Try Top Al-Qaeda Leaders in Military Tribunals
Bush acknowledging the secret CIA prison network. [Source: Gerald Herbert / Associated Press]In a speech, President Bush acknowledges a network of secret CIA prisons and announces plans to try 14 top al-Qaeda terrorist suspects in military tribunals. [Knight Ridder, 9/6/2006]
Admits Existence of Detainees in CIA Custody - Bush tells his listeners: “In addition to the terrorists held at Guantanamo, a small number of suspected terrorist leaders and operatives captured during the war have been held and questioned outside the United States, in a separate program operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.… Many specifics of this program, including where these detainees have been held and the details of their confinement, cannot be divulged.… We knew that Abu Zubaida (see March 28, 2002) had more information that could save innocent lives, but he stopped talking.… As his questioning proceeded, it became clear that he had received training on how to resist interrogation. And so the CIA used an alternative set of procedures… The procedures were tough, and they were safe, and lawful, and necessary.… These procedures were designed to be safe, to comply with our laws, our Constitution, and our treaty obligations. The Department of Justice reviewed the authorized methods extensively and determined them to be lawful. I cannot describe the specific methods used—I think you understand why.” Bush then adds that Zubaida “began to provide information on key al-Qaeda operatives, including information that helped us find and capture more of those responsible for the attacks on September 11” (see June 2002). Another high-value detainee, 9/11 planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (see Shortly After February 29 or March 1, 2003), provided “many details of other plots to kill innocent Americans” (see March 7 - Mid-April, 2003 and August 6, 2007). [Vanity Fair, 12/16/2008; New York Review of Books, 3/15/2009] The 14 prisoners will be put on trial as soon as Congress enacts the Military Commissions Act (MCA—see October 17, 2006), which he is sending to Congress for its approval today. [Savage, 2007, pp. 308-309]
Political Reasons to Acknowledge CIA Prisons - The US government has never officially acknowledged the existence of the CIA prisons before, despite numerous media accounts about them. Bush’s speech comes less than two months before midterm Congressional elections and also comes as the White House is preparing new legislation to legalize the CIA’s detention program and shield US officials from prosecution for possible war crimes. Knight Ridder comments that the speech “appeared to be intended to give him more leverage in his negotiations with Congress over how to try suspected terrorists.… In addition to the potential political benefits, Bush had other reasons to make the program public. A Supreme Court ruling in June struck down the administration’s plan to bring terrorist suspects before military tribunals and called into question the legality of secret CIA detentions.” [Knight Ridder, 9/6/2006]
Sites Closed Down? - Other administration officials say the CIA prison network has been closed down, at least for the time being. (In fact, it will be reopened a short time later (see Autumn 2006-Late April 2007).) Reportedly, “fewer than 100” suspects had ever been in CIA custody. It is not known who they were or what happened to all of them, but most of them reportedly were returned to their home countries for prosecution. Fourteen “high-value” suspects, including accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, were transferred from the secret CIA prisons to the prison in Guantanamo, Cuba in the days just prior to Bush’s speech (see September 2-3, 2006).
Torture is 'against [US] Values' - Bush says: “I want to be absolutely clear with our people and the world: The United States does not torture. It’s against our laws, and it’s against our values. I have not authorized it—and I will not authorize it.” However, he says the Geneva Conventions’ prohibition against “humiliating and degrading treatment” could potentially cause legal problems for CIA interrogators. Other administration officials say harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding were used in the CIA prisons. Such techniques are considered by many to be forms of torture. Bush claims that information gleaned from interrogations in the secret prisons helped thwart attacks on the US and provided valuable information about al-Qaeda operations around the world. [Knight Ridder, 9/6/2006; Washington Post, 9/7/2006]
Entity Tags: Geneva Conventions, Central Intelligence Agency, George W. Bush, Military Commissions Act, Abu Zubaida, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Category Tags: Detainments Outside US, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
September 6, 2006: US Military Issues New Rules Explicitly Prohibiting Torture
The US military issues “a new manual on the treatment of prisoners that explicitly prohibits waterboarding, sexual humiliation, electric shocks, the threatening use of dogs, and other degrading or painful tactics.” This comes the same day President Bush gives a speech acknowledging the existence of a network of secret CIA prisons (see June 16, 2004). Both moves are believed to have been made in an effort to protect US officials from prosecution for possible war crimes. [Knight Ridder, 9/6/2006] Lt. Gen. John Kimmons, the Army’s chief intelligence officer, says, “No good intelligence is going to come from abusive practices.” Newly approved questioning techniques involve mainly psychological approaches, such as making a prisoner fear he may never see his family. [USA Today, 9/6/2006]
Entity Tags: John Kimmons
Category Tags: Detainments Outside US, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
September 17, 2006: Former Guantanamo Detainee Protests Possible Denial of Detainees’ Right to Court Hearings
Abu Bakker Qassim. [Source: McClatchy News]Abu Bakker Qassim, a Chinese Muslim and a member of that country’s Uighur minority, writes a column for the New York Times concerning what he says is his wrongful imprisonment at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Qassim is writing to protest Congress’s consideration of passing legislation that would deny Guantanamo detainees their habeas corpus right to challenge their detentions in federal court. Qassim says he and 17 of his fellow Uighurs fled Chinese government oppression and went to Afghanistan, where they were captured by Pakistani bounty hunters and “sold… to the United States military like animals for $5,000 a head. The Americans made a terrible mistake.” After he and four other Uighurs were granted court hearings, US authorities deported them to Albania. “Without my American lawyers and habeas corpus, my situation and that of the other Uighurs would still be a secret,” he writes. “I would be sitting in a metal cage today. Habeas corpus helped me to tell the world that Uighurs are not a threat to the United States or the West, but an ally. Habeas corpus cleared my name—and most important, it let my family know that I was still alive.” Qassim says that like his fellow Uighurs, he is “a great admirer of the American legal and political systems.” He continues: “I have the utmost respect for the United States Congress. So I respectfully ask American lawmakers to protect habeas corpus and let justice prevail. Continuing to permit habeas rights to the detainees in Guantanamo will not set the guilty free. It will prove to the world that American democracy is safe and well.” [New York Times, 9/17/2006] Because of this editorial, Qassim and four other Uighurs will be dubbed “returning to terrorist activities” by the Pentagon (see January 13-14, 2009).
Entity Tags: New York Times, Abu Bakker Qassim
September 19, 2006: Defense Authorization Act Gives Bush Enhanced Ability to Declare Martial Law, Suspend Posse Comitatus
President Bush signs the 2007 Defense Authorization Act into law. The bill contains a provision that allows the president to more easily declare “martial law” in the US. If Bush or a successor does so, the bill gives the administration the ability to strip much of state governors’ powers over their National Guards and relegate that authority to the federal government. Congress is likely to challenge that provision in the future. The bill makes significant changes to the Insurrection Act that allows the president to invoke the Act during events such as natural disasters, and thereby suspend the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act that prevents the US military from acting in a law enforcement capacity. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) says, “[W]e certainly do not need to make it easier for Presidents to declare martial law. Invoking the Insurrection Act and using the military for law enforcement activities goes against some of the central tenets of our democracy.” [US Senate, 9/19/2006] The relevant section of the bill is entitled “Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies.” This section states that “the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of… maintaining public order, in order to suppress, in any State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.” [US Congress, 9/19/2006] GlobalResearch’s Frank Morales will write that the new law allows the federal government to, if it chooses, “commandeer guardsmen from any state, over the objections of local governmental, military, and local police entities; ship them off to another state; conscript them in a law enforcement mode; and set them loose against ‘disorderly’ citizenry….” Under the new law, the federal government may more easily order National Guard troops to round up and detain protesters, illegal aliens, “potential terrorists,” and just about anyone else, and ship them off to detention facilities. Those facilities were contracted out for construction to KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, in January 2006, according to the Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security International, at a cost of $385 million over five years. The Journal noted that “the contract is to be executed by the US Army Corps of Engineers… for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing [immigration] Detention and Removal Operations (DRO)—in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the US, or to support the rapid development of new programs.” [GlobalResearch (.ca), 10/29/2006] Virtually no Congressional lawmakers seriously objected to the bill’s provision during debate. One of the few exceptions is Leahy, who will, six weeks later, sharply criticize the provision during debate over a separate piece of legislation. Leahy will say, “Using the military for law enforcement goes against one of the founding tenets of our democracy, and it is for that reason that the Insurrection Act has only been invoked on three—three—[occasions] in recent history. The implications of changing the Act are enormous, but this change was just slipped in the defense bill as a rider with little study. Other congressional committees with jurisdiction over these matters had no chance to comment, let alone hold hearings on, these proposals.… This is a terrible blow against rational defense policy-making and against the fabric of our democracy. Since hearing word a couple of weeks ago that this outcome was likely, I have wondered how Congress could have gotten to this point.… [I]t seems the changes to the Insurrection Act have survived… because the Pentagon and the White House want it.… Because of this rubberstamp Congress,… [w]e fail the National Guard, which expects great things from us as much as we expect great things from them. And we fail our Constitution, neglecting the rights of the States, when we make it easier for the president to declare martial law and trample on local and state sovereignty.” [US Senate, 10/29/2006]
Entity Tags: National Guard, Insurrection Act, Halliburton, Inc., GlobalResearch (.ca), George W. Bush, Frank Morales, Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International, Patrick J. Leahy, Kellogg, Brown and Root, Posse Comitatus Act
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Detainments in US, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification
September 19, 2006: Court Throws Out Controversial Georgia Voter Identification Law Likened to ‘Jim Crow’ Voter Suppression Laws
Georgia’s controversial state voter identification law, which was touted by Bradley J. Schlozman, the Justice Department’s head of the voting rights section, as not being discriminatory towards minority voters (see November 25, 2005), is declared unconstitutional by Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr., who said this law “cannot be.” The law, pushed through the Georgia legislature by Governor Sonny Perdue (R-GA) and state Republicans in order to fight what they call persistent voter fraud (see 2005), says that forcing citizens to pay money for a state voter identification card disenfranchises citizens who are otherwise qualified to vote. The state voter ID would require what the law calls “proof of citizenship.” Many poor and minority voters lack birth certificates, some because they lack the financial means to obtain them and others because they were born in a time and area in which birth certificates were not routinely issued. Rosalind Lake, an elderly and visually disabled voter, brought a lawsuit against the state because she says she is unable to drive and would not easily be able to obtain such an ID. Even though the state offered to deliver an ID to Lake’s home, her lawyer, former Governor Roy Barnes (D-GA), says others in her position would not be given such an offer. “We have a low voter participation,” he says. “We’re going to make it more difficult?” Under earlier law, Georgia voters could submit any of 17 types of identification to prove their identity. The new law poses one voter ID that would require a birth certificate. Perdue and others have cited information showing that 5,000 dead people “voted” in the eight elections preceding the 2000 elections, but Barnes notes that those votes were all cast by absentee ballots, which would not be affected by the new law. Barnes says, “This is the most sinister scheme I’ve ever seen, and it’s going on nationwide.” The law was already rejected by US District Judge Harold L. Murphy, who likened it to Jim Crow-era legal restrictions designed to stop African-Americans from voting. The Georgia General Assembly rewrote the law to remove the $20 fee for its acquisition, but Murphy refused to lift his injunction against the law. Bedford rules that the law places an unwarranted burden of proof on voters. “Any attempt by the legislature to require more than what is required by the express language of our Constitution cannot withstand judicial scrutiny,” he says. [Washington Post, 9/20/2006]
Entity Tags: T. Jackson Bedford, Jr., Bradley J. Schlozman, Roy Barnes, Harold L. Murphy, Sonny Perdue, Rosalind Lake
Category Tags: Election, Voting Laws and Issues, Voter Fraud/Disenfranchisement
September 22, 2006: Dean: Military Commissions Act Befits ‘Totalitarian State’ More than a Democracy
Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean is troubled by the Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006) currently under consideration in Congress. The MCA authorizes military tribunals instead of criminal court trials for suspected terrorists. Dean supported the idea of tribunals when they were first suggested in 2001, but, he writes: “[T]he devil… arrived later with the details. It never occurred to me (and most people) that Bush & Co. would design a system more befitting a totalitarian state than a democratic nation that once led the world by its good example.” After a previous tribunal procedure was struck down by the Supreme Court (see June 30, 2006), Bush sent another proposal to Congress in early September. Where the bill did not actively rewrite the Court’s findings, it ignored them altogether, Dean writes. Dean finds the law a stunning reversal of decades—centuries, in some instances—of US jurisprudence and international law, including its dismissal of Geneva protections, its retroactive protection for US officials who may have tortured detainees, and its dismissal of habeas corpus rights for detainees. Dean calls the proposed legislation “shameful,” and writes: “This proposal… is going to tell us a great deal about where we are as a nation, for as General [Colin] Powell said, ‘The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. To redefine [the Geneva Conventions] would add to those doubts.’ As will amending the war crimes law to absolve prior wrongs, denying detainees ‘a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples,’ and enacting a law that insults the Supreme Court.” [FindLaw, 9/22/2006]
Entity Tags: US Supreme Court, Bush administration (43), Military Commissions Act, Colin Powell, Geneva Conventions, John Dean
Category Tags: Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification
September 22, 2006: Former Wisconsin Supervisor Sentenced to Jail in Corruption Case
Wisconsin Department of Administration supervisor Georgia Thompson (see 2001 and June 13, 2006) is sentenced to 18 months in prison for allegedly steering a state travel contract to a firm whose executives contributed $20,000 to the campaign of Governor Jim Doyle (D-WI—see October 19, 2005, October 2005, and January 24, 2006). She was convicted of misapplying government funds and of defrauding the state of its right to honest services. Aside from her prison term, Thompson is sentenced to pay $4,000 in fines and serve three years of supervised release. The jury concluded that the firm, Adelman Travel, would not have been awarded a $750,000 contract had Thompson not manipulated the selection process. “People are deserving of good and honest government,” says District Judge Rudolph T. Randa. “There has been too much of this recently; people tend to lose confidence.” Thompson is appealing the conviction. The judge and attorneys for both sides have acknowledged the political nature of the case. Wisconsin Republican Party chairman Rick Wiley has already used Thompson in attack ads targeting Doyle for the upcoming election, with one ad saying, “Jim Doyle has rigged contracts for cash, he’s rigged votes to make political attacks, and by failing to protect our electoral process, this election is ripe for fraud once again.” Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Joe Wineke says of the ads, “For months, Republicans have been trying to use the Georgia Thompson case for their own political advantage and to smear Governor Doyle.” [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 9/22/2006]
Entity Tags: Georgia Lee Thompson, Adelman Travel, James E. (“Jim”) Doyle, Joe Wineke, Rudolph T. Randa, Rick Wiley
September 25, 2006 and After: CBS Interviews AT&T Whistleblower for ‘60 Minutes,’ Refuses to Air Segment
Retired AT&T technician Mark Klein (see December 15-31, 2005 and July 7, 2009), working with a civil liberties group about his knowledge of governmental illegality in eavesdropping on Americans’ telephone and Internet communications (see Early January 2006), gives an interview for CBS’s flagship news program 60 Minutes. The interview is conducted by Steve Kroft. Klein later describes the interview as “good [and] solid,” and says it should make for a “blockbuster news story.” Klein has agreed to give CBS an “exclusive,” so he gives no interviews for the next four months while CBS fails to run the story. “I was silent during the entire 2006 election period,” Klein will write. Klein’s lead attorney, civil rights lawyer Jim Brosnahan, is astonished at CBS’s failure to run the segment, telling Klein the network has “no good reason” for not broadcasting it. CBS will never air the segment featuring Klein. Klein will later write, “It seems obvious to me that someone higher up at CBS had killed the story for political reasons, but could not tell us that, so they put us off without explanation.” Klein will later grant interviews to ABC and PBS; those interviews will be aired. [Klein, 2009, pp. 62-63]
Entity Tags: Public Broadcasting System, ABC News, AT&T, CBS News, Steve Kroft, James Brosnahan, Mark Klein
Category Tags: Freedom of Speech / Religion, Privacy, Media Involvement and Responses, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
September 28, 2006: MCA Applies to Anyone Pentagon Designates ‘Enemy Combatant,’ Says Law Professor
The Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006) is characterized by many as not applying to US citizens. Law professor Marty Lederman disagrees. Under the MCA, Lederman says, “if the Pentagon says you’re an unlawful enemy combatant—using whatever criteria they wish—then as far as Congress, and US law, is concerned, you are one, whether or not you have had any connection to ‘hostilities’ at all.” [Unclaimed Territory, 9/28/2006] Six months later, an administration lawyer will confirm that the law does indeed apply to US citizens (see February 1, 2007).
Entity Tags: Martin (“Marty”) Lederman, Military Commissions Act, US Department of Defense
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification
September 28, 2006: Military Commissions Act Legalizes ‘Tyranny in the United States,’ Says Former Civil Litigator
Glenn Greenwald. [Source: Mother Jones]Former civil litigator Glenn Greenwald writes that the upcoming passage of the Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006) is nothing less than “legalizing tyranny in the United States. Period.” Greenwald puts the responsibility on both “the authoritarian Bush administration and its sickeningly submissive loyalists in Congress.” Greenwald continues: “There is a profound and fundamental difference between an Executive engaging in shadowy acts of lawlessness and abuses of power on the one hand, and, on the other, having the American people, through their Congress, endorse, embrace and legalize that behavior out in the open, with barely a peep of real protest. Our laws reflect our values and beliefs. And our laws are about to explicitly codify one of the most dangerous and defining powers of tyranny—one of the very powers this country was founded in order to prevent.” [Unclaimed Territory, 9/28/2006]
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43), Glenn Greenwald, Military Commissions Act
Category Tags: Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights, Media Involvement and Responses
September 28, 2006: Amnesty International: Military Commissions Act Turns ‘Bad Executive Policy into Bad Law’
Amnesty International logo. [Source: Amnesty International]Amnesty International objects to the Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006) currently being passed by Congress. It comments, “With the passing of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Congress has turned bad executive policy into bad law.” [Amnesty International, 9/28/2006]
Entity Tags: Military Commissions Act, Amnesty International
Category Tags: Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
September 29, 2006: Senior Defense Officials Allegedly Request Al-Qaeda Detainee Convictions before 2008 US Election
Air Force Colonel Morris Davis. [Source: US Department of Defense]Politically motivated officials at the Pentagon push for convictions of high-profile detainees ahead of the 2008 elections, according to Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, lead prosecutor for terrorism trials at Guantanamo Bay. Davis, whose later resignation is partially caused by this pressure (see July 2007), says the strategic political value of such trials is discussed at a meeting on this day, and that officials prefer “sexy” cases, rather than those that are most solid or ready to go. Davis will later say: “There was a big concern that the election of 2008 is coming up.… People wanted to get the cases going. There was a rush to get high-interest cases into court at the expense of openness.” [Washington Post, 10/20/2007] Davis specifically alleges that Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England says to him and other lawyers, “We need to think about charging some of the high-value detainees because there could be strategic political value to charging some of these detainees before the election.” [Miami Herald, 3/28/2008]
Entity Tags: Morris Davis, Gordon England
Timeline Tags: Torture of US Captives, Complete 911 Timeline, 2008 Elections
September 30, 2006: Analysis: Military Commissions Act Gives President Sweeping New Powers at Expense of Judiciary
The newly passed Military Commissions Act (MCA—see October 17, 2006) gives the executive branch sweeping new powers sought by President Bush and Vice President Cheney since the 9/11 attacks, according to a New York Times analysis. Reporters Scott Shane and Adam Liptak write, “Rather than reining in the formidable presidential powers Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have asserted since Sept. 11, 2001, the law gives some of those powers a solid statutory foundation. In effect it allows the president to identify enemies, imprison them indefinitely, and interrogate them—albeit with a ban on the harshest treatment—beyond the reach of the full court reviews traditionally afforded criminal defendants and ordinary prisoners. Taken as a whole, the law will give the president more power over terrorism suspects than he had before the Supreme Court decision this summer in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that undercut more than four years of White House policy” (see June 30, 2006). The MCA “does not just allow the president to determine the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions; it also strips the courts of jurisdiction to hear challenges to his interpretation.” Additionally, it gives Bush and his designees the absolute, unchallenged power to define anyone they choose as an “enemy combatant,” thereby stripping them of any traditional US legal protections and placing them under the far harsher and restrictive rubric of the MCA. “Over all, the legislation reallocates power among the three branches of government, taking authority away from the judiciary and handing it to the president.” Law professor Bruce Ackerman notes, “The president walked away with a lot more than most people thought. [The MCA] further entrenches presidential power” and allows the administration to declare even an American citizen an unlawful combatant subject to indefinite detention. “And it’s not only about these prisoners,” says Ackerman. “If Congress can strip courts of jurisdiction over cases because it fears their outcome, judicial independence is threatened.” [New York Times, 9/30/2006]
Entity Tags: Scott Shane, Adam Liptak, Bruce Ackerman, Geneva Conventions, George W. Bush, Military Commissions Act, US Supreme Court, New York Times, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Classification, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights, Media Involvement and Responses
September 30-October 17, 2006: Congress Gives President Power to Deploy Federal Troops at Will
Congress rewrites a two-centuries-old prohibition against the president using federal troops, or state National Guard troops acting under federal control, to act as police on domestic soil. The prohibition dates back to the Insurrection Act of 1807, which stated that the only circumstance under which the president could use troops to enforce the law against US citizens is during a time of armed revolt. The ban on using troops against citizens was strengthened by the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids any government official from using military soldiers as police without specific authorization from Congress. The new law stems from the reported lawlessness that swept New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated large parts of the city. The governor of Louisiana, Democrat Kathleen Blanco, refused to allow the federal government to take over the evacuation of the city, fearing that the change would amount to martial law (see 11:00 am EDT August 25, 2005). After this rejection, and the devastation wrought in Texas by Hurricane Rita just weeks later, President Bush began discussing the idea of a new law that would allow the president to impose martial law in a region for reasons other than citizen uprisings. He called it “making the Department of Defense the lead agency” in handling emergencies such as those created by Katrina and Rita, or by another terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11. (Former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo argues that the president does not need any new laws because his inherent authority as commander in chief lets him send federal troops anywhere he likes, no matter what the law says.) A year later, Congressional Republicans slip a provision into a large military appropriations bill allowing the president to deploy federal troops as police at his discretion, regardless of the possible objections of state governors. Any situation in which the president feels the “constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order” can trigger military control of a city, county, or state at the president’s behest. Bush signs the law into effect on October 17 with virtually no debate or public discussion. [Savage, 2007, pp. 316-319]
Entity Tags: US Department of Defense, George W. Bush, Insurrection Act, Posse Comitatus Act, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, John C. Yoo
October 2006: Bush Says He Will Ignore Requirement to Nominate Experienced Official to Head FEMA
Congress, stung into action by the Bush administration’s poor response to Hurricane Katrina and particularly the ineptitude of Michael Brown, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA—see Early September 2001), passes a law saying that President Bush must nominate a replacement who has “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management,” and “not less than five years of executive leadership.” In a signing statement, Bush says that only he, the head of the executive branch, can decide who to appoint to offices. Therefore, he states, he is ignoring the prohibition. [Savage, 2007, pp. 239-240]
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43), George W. Bush, Federal Emergency Management Agency
October 9, 2006: Military Commissions Act ‘Unnecessary,’ ‘Abusive,’ Says Human Rights Watch
Joanne Mariner, an attorney with the civil liberties organization Human Rights Watch, calls the Military Commissions Act (see October 17, 2006) “exceedingly harmful” and a “grab-bag of unnecessary and abusive measures” that creates for detainees “a system of justice that is far inferior to that of the federal courts and courts-martial.” The bill does not directly address detention, Mariner writes, but does nothing to limit detention and, she believes, will be used by the administration to justify its current detention practices. [FindLaw, 10/9/2006]
Entity Tags: Joanne Mariner, Human Rights Watch, Military Commissions Act
October 17, 2006: Military Commission Act Becomes Law; Authorizes Torture, Restricts Fundamental Legal Rights
President Bush signs the Military Commissions Act into law. [Source: White House]President Bush signs the Military Commissions Act (MCA) into law. [White House, 10/17/2006] The MCA is designed to give the president the authority to order “enemy detainees” tried by military commissions largely outside the scope of US civil and criminal procedures. The bill was requested by the Bush administration after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (see June 28, 2004) that the US could not hold prisoners indefinitely without access to the US judicial system, and that the administration’s proposal that they be tried by military tribunals was unconstitutional (see June 28, 2004). [FindLaw, 10/9/2006] It is widely reported that the MCA does not directly apply to US citizens, but to only non-citizens defined as “enemy combatants. [CBS News, 10/19/2006] However, six months later, a Bush administration lawyer will confirm that the administration believes the law does indeed apply to US citizens (see February 1, 2007).
Sweeping New Executive Powers - The MCA virtually eliminates the possibility that the Supreme Court can ever again act as a check on a president’s power in the war on terrorism. Similarly, the law gives Congressional approval to many of the executive powers previously, and unilaterally, seized by the Bush administration. Former Justice Department official John Yoo celebrates the MCA, writing, “Congress… told the courts, in effect, to get out of the war on terror” (see October 19, 2006). [Savage, 2007, pp. 319, 322]
'Abandoning' Core 'Principles' - The bill passed the Senate on a 65-34 vote, and the House by a 250-170 vote. The floor debate was often impassioned and highly partisan; House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) called Democrats who opposed the bill “dangerous,” and Senate Judiciary Committee member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said this bill showed that the US is losing its “moral compass.” Leahy asked during the debate, “Why would we allow the terrorists to win by doing to ourselves what they could never do, and abandon the principles for which so many Americans today and through our history have fought and sacrificed?” Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) had said he would vote against it because it is “patently unconstitutional on its face,” but then voted for it, saying he believes the courts will eventually “clean it up.” Specter’s attempt to amend the bill to provide habeas corpus rights for enemy combatants was defeated, as were four Democratic amendments. Republicans have openly used the debate over the MCA as election-year fodder, with House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) saying after the vote that “House Democrats have voted to protect the rights of terrorists,” and Boehner decrying “the Democrats’ irrational opposition to strong national security policies.” Democrats such as Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) say they will not fight back at such a level. “There will be 30-second attack ads and negative mail pieces, and we will be called everything from cut-and-run quitters to Defeatocrats, to people who care more about the rights of terrorists than the protection of Americans,” Obama says. “While I know all of this, I’m still disappointed, and I’m still ashamed, because what we’re doing here today—a debate over the fundamental human rights of the accused—should be bigger than politics.” [Washington Post, 10/19/2006] After winning the vote, Hastert accused Democrats who opposed the bill of “putting their liberal agenda ahead of the security of America.” Hastert said the Democrats “would gingerly pamper the terrorists who plan to destroy innocent Americans’ lives” and create “new rights for terrorists.” [New York Times, 10/19/2006]
Enemy Combatants - The MCA applies only to “enemy combatants.” Specifically, the law defines an “unlawful enemy combatant” as a person “who has engaged in hostilities or who has purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States or its co-belligerents,” and who is not a lawful combatant. Joanne Mariner of Human Rights Watch says the definition far exceeds the traditionally accepted definition of combatant as someone who directly participates in hostilities. But under the MCA, someone who provides “material support” for terrorists—whether that be in the form of financial contributions or sweeping the floors at a terrorist camp—can be so defined. Worse, the label can be applied without recourse by either Bush or the secretary of defense, after a “competent tribunal” makes the determination. The MCA provides no guidelines as to what criteria these tribunals should use. Taken literally, the MCA gives virtually unrestricted power to the tribunals to apply the label as requested by the president or the secretary. Mariner believes the definition is both “blatantly unconstitutional” and a direct contradiction of centuries of Supreme Court decisions that define basic judicial rights. [FindLaw, 10/9/2006] Under this definition, the president can imprison, without charge or trial, any US citizen accused of donating money to a Middle East charity that the government believes is linked to terrorist activity. Citizens associated with “fringe” groups such as the left-wing Black Panthers or right-wing militias can be incarcerated without trial or charge. Citizens accused of helping domestic terrorists can be so imprisoned. Law professor Bruce Ackerman calls the MCA “a massive Congressional expansion of the class of enemy combatants,” and warns that the law may “haunt all of us on the morning after the next terrorist attack” by enabling a round of mass detentions similar to the roundup of Japanese-American citizens during World War II. [Savage, 2007, pp. 322]
Military Commissions - The MCA mandates that enemy combatants are to be tried by military commissions, labeled “regularly constituted courts that afford all the necessary ‘judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples’ for purposes of common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.” The commissions must have a minimum of five commissioned military officers and a military judge; if death is a possible penalty, the commissions must have at least 12 officers. The defendant’s guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt; convictions require a two-thirds vote. Sentences of beyond 10 years require a three-quarters vote, and death penalties must be unanimously voted for. Defendants may either represent themselves or by military or civilian counsel. The court procedures themselves, although based on standard courts-martial proceedings, are fluid, and can be set or changed as the secretary of defense sees fit. Statements obtained through methods defined as torture are inadmissible, but statements take by coercion and “cruel treatment” can be admitted. The MCA sets the passage of the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA—see December 15, 2005) as a benchmark—statements obtained before the December 30, 2005 enactment of that law can be used, even if the defendant was “coerced,” if a judge finds the statement “reasonable and possessing sufficient probative value.” Statements after that date must have been taken during interrogations that fall under the DTA guidelines. Defendants have the right to examine and respond to evidence seen by the commission, a provision originally opposed by the administration. However, if the evidence is classified, an unclassified summary of that material is acceptable, and classified exculpatory evidence can be denied in lieu of what the MCA calls “acceptable substitutes.” Hearsay evidence is admissible, as is evidence obtained without search warrants. Generally, defendants will not be allowed to inquire into the classified “sources, methods, or activities” surrounding evidence against them. Some human rights activists worry that evidence obtained through torture can be admitted, and the fact that it was obtained by torture, if that detail is classified, will not be presented to the court or preclude the evidence from being used. Public access to the commissions will be quite limited. Many experts claim these commissions are illegal both by US constitutional law and international law. [FindLaw, 10/9/2006]
Secret Courts - The military tribunals can be partially or completely closed to public scrutiny if the presiding judge deems such an action necessary to national security. The government can convey such concerns to the judge without the knowledge of the defense. The judge can exclude the accused from the trial if he deems it necessary for safety or if he decides the defendant is “disruptive.” Evidence can be presented in secret, without the knowledge of the defense and without giving the defense a chance to examine that evidence, if the judge finds that evidence “reliable.” And during the trial, the prosecution can at any time assert a “national security privilege” that would stop “the examination of any witness” if that witness shows signs of discussing sensitive security matters. This provision can easily be used to exclude any potential defense witness who might “breach national security” with their testimony. Author and investigative reporter Robert Parry writes, “In effect, what the new law appears to do is to create a parallel ‘star chamber’ system for the prosecution, imprisonment, and elimination of enemies of the state, whether those enemies are foreign or domestic.” [Consortium News, 10/19/2006]
Appeals - Guilty verdicts are automatically appealed to a Court of Military Commission Review, consisting of three appellate military justices. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has extremely limited authority of review of the commissions; even its authority to judge whether a decision is consistent with the Constitution is limited “to the extent [that the Constitution is] applicable.”
Types of Crimes - Twenty-eight specific crimes fall under the rubric of the military commissions, including conspiracy (not a traditional war crime), murder of protected persons, murder in violation of the bill of war, hostage-taking, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, mutilation or maiming, rape, sexual abuse or assault, hijacking, terrorism, providing material support for terrorism, and spying. [FindLaw, 10/9/2006]
CIA Abuses - The MCA, responding to the recent Supreme Court decision of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (see June 30, 2006) that found the CIA’s secret detention program and abusive interrogation practices illegal, redefines and amends the law to make all but the most pernicious interrogation practices, even those defined as torture by the War Crimes Act and the Geneva Conventions, legal. The MCA actually rules that the Geneva Conventions are all but unenforceable in US courts. It also provides retroactive protection under the law to all actions as far back as November 1997. Under the MCA, practices such as waterboarding, stress positioning, and sleep deprivation cannot be construed as torture. [FindLaw, 10/9/2006] The MCA even states that rape as part of interrogations cannot be construed as torture unless the intent of the rapist to torture his victim can be proven, a standard rejected by international law. The MCA provides such a narrow definition of coercion and sexual abuse that most of the crimes perpetrated at Abu Ghraib are now legal. [Jurist, 10/4/2006] Although the MCA seems to cover detainee abuse for all US agencies, including the CIA, Bush says during the signing of the bill, “This bill will allow the Central Intelligence Agency to continue its program for questioning key terrorist leaders and operatives.” International law expert Scott Horton will note, “The administration wanted these prohibitions on the military and not on the CIA, but it did not work out that way.” Apparently Bush intends to construe the law to exempt the CIA from its restrictions, such as they are, on torture and abuse of prisoners. [Salon, 5/22/2007]
No Habeas Corpus Rights - Under the MCA, enemy combatants no longer have the right to file suit under the habeas corpus provision of US law. This means that they cannot challenge the legality of their detention, or raise claims of torture and mistreatment. Even detainees who have been released can never file suit to seek redress for their treatment while in US captivity. [FindLaw, 10/25/2006]
Retroactive Immunity - The administration added a provision to the MCA that rewrote the War Crimes Act retroactively to November 26, 1997, making any offenses considered war crimes before the MCA is adopted no longer punishable under US law. Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean will write in 2007 that the only reason he can fathom for the change is to protect administration officials—perhaps including President Bush himself—from any future prosecutions as war criminals. Dean will note that if the administration actually believes in the inherent and indisputable powers of the presidency, as it has long averred, then it would not worry about any such criminal liability. [Dean, 2007, pp. 239-240]
Entity Tags: Human Rights Watch, Joanne Mariner, US Supreme Court, Patrick J. Leahy, Military Commissions Act, John Dean, George W. Bush, Scott Horton, Geneva Conventions, Bruce Ackerman, Dennis Hastert, American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Detainee Treatment Act, Arlen Specter, War Crimes Act, Barack Obama, Central Intelligence Agency, Bush administration (43), John Boehner
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights, Government Classification, Detainee Treatment Act, Citizenship Rights
October 19, 2006: Torture and Executive Power Advocate Celebrates Military Commissions Act
John Yoo, a former Justice Department official, celebrates the passage of the Military Commissions Act (see October 17, 2006). Yoo writes that Congress has ordered “the courts, in effect, to get out of the war on terror.” The bill is not so much a victory for the presidency, Yoo writes, as it is a loss for the judiciary, a “stinging rebuke to the Supreme Court. It strips the courts of jurisdiction to hear any habeas corpus claim filed by any alien enemy combatant anywhere in the world.” It supersedes the Court’s ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (see June 30, 2006), which Yoo calls “an unprecedented attempt by the court to rewrite the law of war and intrude into war policy… [a] stunning power grab.” Now, he writes: “Congress and the president did not take the court’s power grab lying down. They told the courts, in effect, to get out of the war on terror, stripped them of habeas jurisdiction over alien enemy combatants, and said there was nothing wrong with the military commissions. It is the first time since the New Deal that Congress had so completely divested the courts of power over a category of cases. It is also the first time since the Civil War that Congress saw fit to narrow the court’s habeas powers in wartime because it disagreed with its decisions. The law goes farther. It restores to the president command over the management of the war on terror. It directly reverses Hamdan by making clear that the courts cannot take up the Geneva Conventions. Except for some clearly defined war crimes, whose prosecution would also be up to executive discretion, it leaves interpretation and enforcement of the treaties up to the president. It even forbids courts from relying on foreign or international legal decisions in any decisions involving military commissions.” Yoo had previously authored numerous torture memos (see October 4, 2001, November 6-10, 2001, November 20, 2001, December 21, 2001, December 28, 2001, January 9, 2002, January 11, 2002, January 14, 2002, January 22, 2002, January 24-26, 2002, March 13, 2002, July 22, 2002, August 1, 2002, August 1, 2002, and March 14, 2003) and opinions expanding the power of the president (see September 21, 2001, September 25, 2001, September 25, 2001, October 23, 2001, October 23, 2001, and June 27, 2002). [Wall Street Journal, 10/19/2006]
Entity Tags: Military Commissions Act, John C. Yoo
October 19, 2006: New York Times Errs in Saying Military Commissions Act Does Not Apply to US Citizens
The New York Times pens an editorial issuing a grim warning about the ramifications of the newly passed Military Commission Act (MCA—see October 17, 2006). The editorial calls the law’s stripping of habeas corpus rights for so-called “enemy combatants” “undemocratic.” It criticizes the highly charged rhetoric of the Republicans who attacked Democrats in opposition to the law as part of the Republican Party’s “scare-America-first strategy” for the upcoming midterm elections. The Times notes that President Bush misled the country into believing that the MCA is the only way the country has of adequately putting 9/11 suspects on trial: “The truth is that Mr. Bush could have done that long ago, but chose to detain them illegally at hidden CIA camps to extract information. He sent them to Guantanamo only to stampede Congress into passing the new law. The 60 or so men at Guantanamo who are now facing tribunals—out of about 450 inmates—also could have been tried years ago if Mr. Bush had not rebuffed efforts by Congress to create suitable courts. He imposed a system of kangaroo courts that was more about expanding his power than about combating terrorism.” The editorial criticizes Bush’s new “separate system of justice for any foreigner whom Mr. Bush chooses to designate as an ‘illegal enemy combatant,” one that “raises insurmountable obstacles for prisoners to challenge their detentions [and] does not require the government to release prisoners who are not being charged, or a prisoner who is exonerated by the tribunals.” However, the editorial gives false comfort to its readers by asserting that the MCA “does not apply to American citizens, but it does apply to other legal United States residents.” [New York Times, 10/19/2006]
Times Errs in Stating MCA Does Not Apply to US Citizens - Most other mainstream media outlets do not mention the possibility of the MCA applying to US citizens. But on the same day as the Times editorial, author and investigative journalist Robert Parry gives a powerful argument that the MCA can indeed be applied to them. The MCA reads in part, “Any person is punishable as a principal under this chapter who commits an offense punishable by this chapter, or aids, abets, counsels, commands, or procures its commission.… Any person subject to this chapter who, in breach of an allegiance or duty to the United States, knowingly and intentionally aids an enemy of the United States… shall be punished as a military commission… may direct.” The legal meaning of “any person,” Parry notes, clearly includes US citizens, particularly those who may act “in breach of an allegiance or duty to the United States.” Parry asks, “Who has ‘an allegiance or duty to the United States’ if not an American citizen? That provision would not presumably apply to Osama bin Laden or al-Qaeda, nor would it apply generally to foreign citizens. This section of the law appears to be singling out American citizens.” If an American citizen is charged with a crime under the MCA, that citizen, like the foreign nationals currently laboring under the weight of the law, cannot challenge their detention and charges under the habeas corpus provisions of US law, and cannot expect a fair trial. They will not be given the chance to appeal their convictions until they are prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced. And since the MCA defendant has no right to a “speedy trial,” that defendant cannot expect to be granted an appeal in any reasonable length of time. In effect, an American citizen, like a foreign national charged under the MCA, can be imprisoned indefinitely without recourse to the US judiciary.
Potential to Jail Media Leakers and Reporters - One aspect of the MCA that has not been widely discussed, Parry notes, is the provision that would allow the incarceration of “any person” who “collects or attempts to collect information by clandestine means or while acting under false pretenses, for the purpose of conveying such information to an enemy of the United States.” That provision is tremendously vague, and could easily be stretched to fit, for example, the whistleblowers who revealed the existence of the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program to the Times (see December 15, 2005) and the reporters and editors who published the story based on those revelations. [Consortium News, 10/19/2006] Six months later, a Justice Department lawyer will confirm that the Bush administration believes MCA does indeed apply to US citizens (see February 1, 2007).
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush, Al-Qaeda, Military Commissions Act, New York Times, US Department of Justice, Robert Parry
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Classification, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights, Media Involvement and Responses, Citizenship Rights
October 19, 2006: Olbermann: MCA the ‘Beginning of the End of America’
Keith Olbermann. [Source: Spidered News.com]MSNBC political commentator Keith Olbermann says that the nation has passed a grim milestone with the passage of the Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006). By accepting this law, Olbermann says, the nation has accepted that to fight the terrorists, the US government must become “just a little bit like the terrorists.” But the ultimate threat to the nation is not terrorists, Olbermann says, it is George W. Bush himself. “We have a long and painful history of ignoring the prophecy attributed to Benjamin Franklin that ‘those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.’” Speaking directly to President Bush, Olbermann continues: “But even within this history we have not before codified the poisoning of habeas corpus (see March 28, 2007), that wellspring of protection from which all essential liberties flow. You, sir, have now befouled that spring. You, sir, have now given us chaos and called it order. You, sir, have now imposed subjugation and called it freedom. For the most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons. And—again, Mr. Bush—all of them, wrong.” The MCA gives Bush a “blank check drawn against our freedom to a man who may now, if he so decides, declare not merely any non-American citizens ‘unlawful enemy combatants’ and ship them somewhere—anywhere—but may now, if he so decides, declare you an ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ and ship you somewhere—anywhere” (see September 28, 2006). Habeas corpus is now “gone” for those in the prison camps, Olbermann says, and Geneva Conventions protections are “optional.” He concludes: “The moral force we shined outwards to the world as an eternal beacon, and inwards at ourselves as an eternal protection? Snuffed out. These things you have done, Mr. Bush, they would be ‘the beginning of the end of America.’” [MSNBC, 10/19/2006]
Entity Tags: Geneva Conventions, Bush administration (43), George W. Bush, Keith Olbermann, Military Commissions Act
October 20, 2006: Harman, AIPAC Deny Involvement in Scheme to Influence House Assignment
After an investigation into whether an Israeli lobbying organization improperly tried to influence House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) into naming Jane Harman (D-CA) as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee (see Summer 2005 and October 2005) becomes public knowledge, Harman calls the allegations “irresponsible, laughable, and scurrilous.” Former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, a Republican just hired by Harman to represent her in the matter, tells Time reporter Timothy Burger: “Congresswoman Harman has asked me to follow up on calls you’ve had. She is not aware of any such investigation, does not believe that it is occurring, and wanted to make sure that you and your editors knew that as far as she knows, that’s not true.… No one from the Justice Department has contacted her.” Burger notes that “[i]t is not, however, a given that Harman would know that she is under investigation.” Olson confirms that Harman hired him because even though she doesn’t believe the media reports of the investigation, she takes the possibility seriously. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), allegedly Harman’s partner in the scheme, also denies any wrongdoing, and says it takes no position on the question of who wins the committee assignment, which was perceived to be a contest between Harman and fellow committee member Alcee Hastings (D-FL). AIPAC spokesman Patrick Dorton says: “Both Congressman Hastings and Congresswoman Harman are strong leaders on issues of importance to the pro-Israel community and would be exemplary Democratic leaders for the House intelligence committee. AIPAC would never engage in a quid pro quo in relation to a federal investigation or any federal matter and the notion that it would do so is preposterous. AIPAC is not aware that the Justice Department is looking into issues involving the intelligence committee, and has not been asked any questions or contacted by the government on this matter, but certainly would cooperate with any inquiry.” Dorton adds that AIPAC has previously been assured that the organization and its current employees are not being investigated. [Time, 10/20/2006]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, Alcee Hastings, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harman, Nancy Pelosi, Theodore (“Ted”) Olson, Timothy Burger, Patrick Dorton
Category Tags: Government Acting in Secret, National Security Letters
October 20, 2006: Bush Administration Uses Military Commissions Act to Remove Detainee Cases from US Court
Exercising its new authority under the just-signed Military Commissions Act (MCA—see October 17, 2006), the Bush administration notifies the US District Court in Washington that it no longer has jurisdiction to consider 196 habeas corpus petitions filed by Guantanamo detainees. Many of these petitions cover multiple detainees. According to the MCA, “no court, justice, or judge” can consider those petitions or other actions related to treatment or imprisonment filed by anyone designated as an enemy combatant, now or in the future. The MCA is already being challenged as unconstitutional by several lawyers representing Guantanamo detainees. The MCA goes directly against two recent Supreme Court cases, Rasul v. Bush (see June 28, 2004) and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (see June 30, 2006), which provide detainees with habeas corpus and other fundamental legal rights. Many Congressional members and legal experts say that the anti-habeas provisions of the MCA are unconstitutional. For instance, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) notes that the Constitution says the right of any prisoner to challenge detention “shall not be suspended” except in cases of “rebellion or invasion.” [Washington Post, 10/20/2006] Law professor Joseph Margulies, who is involved in the detainee cases, says the administration’s persistence on the issue “demonstrates how difficult it is for the courts to enforce [the clause] in the face of a resolute executive branch that is bound and determined to resist it.” Vincent Warren of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents many of the detainees, expects the legal challenges to the law will eventually wind up before the Supreme Court. [Washington Post, 10/20/2006]
Entity Tags: Center for Constitutional Rights, Arlen Specter, Bush administration (43), Vincent Warren, Military Commissions Act, Joseph Margulies
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Classification, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
October 26, 2006: Bush Administration Seeks to Prevent Detainee from Revealing ‘Alternative Interrogation Methods’
Majid Khan. [Source: Public domain via Washington Post]The Bush administration submits documents to US District Judge Reggie B. Walton arguing that Majid Khan, a Guatanamo detainee who was held in the secret CIA prison system for three years, cannot be allowed access to lawyers because he may reveal what interrogation techniques were used on him. CIA Information Review Officer Marilyn A. Dorn says in an affidavit that since “detained by CIA in this program, he may have come into possession of information, including locations of detention, conditions of detention, and alternative interrogation techniques that is classified at the TOP SECRET//SCI [sensitive compartmented information] level.” [Washington Post, 11/4/2006]
Entity Tags: Central Intelligence Agency, Reggie B. Walton, Majid Khan
November 13, 2006: Justice Department Argues Military Commissions Act Gives Government Right to Detain Enemy Combatants Indefinitely
The Justice Department argues in federal court that immigrants arrested in the US and labeled as “enemy combatants” under the Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006) can be indefinitely detained without access to the US justice system. The argument comes as part of the Justice Department’s attempt to dismiss a habeas corpus suit challenging the detention of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a Qatari citizen accused by the government of being an al-Qaeda agent (see December 12, 2001 and February 1, 2007). The government argues that the MCA “removes federal court jurisdiction over pending and future habeas corpus actions and any other actions filed by or on behalf of detained aliens determined by the United States to be enemy combatants, such as petitioner-appellant al-Marri.… In plain terms, the MCA removes this Court’s jurisdiction (as well as the district court’s) over al-Marri’s habeas action. Accordingly, the Court should dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction and remand the case to the district court with instructions to dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction.” This is the first time the Bush administration has argued in court that the MCA strips a detainee held within the US of habeas rights.
Defense Counterargument - Al-Marri’s lawyers say that because he is being held in a South Carolina detention facility, he has the right to challenge his detention in a civilian court like any other non-citizen held on criminal charges. The Justice Department says that enemy combatants have no such rights regardless of where they are being held. Jonathan Hafetz, one of al-Marri’s lawyers, says: “[T]he president has announced that he can sweep any of the millions of non-citizens off the streets of America and imprison them for life in a military jail without charge, court review, or due process. It is unprecedented, unlawful, and un-American.” [Jurist, 11/14/2006] The government has “never admitted that he has any rights, including the right not to be tortured,” Hafetz adds. “They’ve created a black hole where he has no rights.” [Progressive, 3/2007] The Bush administration is also challenging lawsuits filed by detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility on similar grounds. [Jurist, 11/14/2006]
Entity Tags: Military Commissions Act, Bush administration (43), Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, Jonathan Hafetz, US Department of Justice
November 21, 2006: Six Muslim Imams Removed from US Airliner
Six American Muslim religious leaders (imams) are forced off of a US Airways jetliner soon after boarding. The plane was scheduled to leave around the time of evening prayers and the imams decided to pray off to the side of the gate before boarding. This apparently made some passengers nervous and they reported it to a flight attendant who then, with the captain, asked the six Muslims to leave the plane. When they refused, the police were called and they were led away in handcuffs. [Associated Press, 11/21/2006]
Category Tags: Airport and Immigration Security
November 27, 2006: Newt Gingrich Advocates Imposing Limits on Free Speech in the Name of National Security
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich says in a speech, “My view is that either before we lose a city, or if we are truly stupid, after we lose a city, we will adopt rules of engagement that use every technology we can find to break up their capacity to use the Internet, to break up their capacity to use free speech, and to go after people who want to kill us to stop them from recruiting people before they get to reach out and convince young people to destroy their lives while destroying us.” He also suggests pressing for a new “Geneva convention for fighting terrorism which makes very clear that those who would fight outside the rules of law… are in fact subject to a totally different set of rules that allow us to protect civilization by defeating barbarism… .” [Newt (.org), 11/27/2006; New York Sun, 11/29/2006] Gingrich makes these remarks as the featured speaker at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications’ annual first amendment awards dinner, which honors New Hampshire citizens who exemplify and defend free speech liberties. [Union Leader, 11/28/2006]
Entity Tags: Newt Gingrich
Late 2006-July 2007: Bush Administration Tries to Block Lawsuit against NSA
The Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, and NSA Director Keith Alexander try to get a lawsuit dismissed that alleges the NSA illegally wiretapped a Saudi charitable organization (see February 28, 2006). The organization, the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, is presenting a classified US document as proof of the illegal wiretapping.
Invoking 'State Secrets' Privilege - In late 2006, Negroponte and Alexander tell the presiding judge, US District Judge Garr King, that in order to defend itself, the government would have to disclose “state secrets” (see March 9, 1953) that would expose US anti-terrorism efforts. This same argument will be reiterated in July 2007, when government lawyers say, “Whether plaintiffs were subjected to surveillance is a state secret, and information tending to confirm or deny that fact is privileged.” The judge will hear arguments for and against dismissing the case on August 15, 2007. [Associated Press, 8/5/2007]
Judicial Examination - King, in Portland, Oregon, examined the document for himself, and read classified briefs supplied by the Justice Department. Upon reading the briefs, King met with government lawyers to discuss turning over yet more documents in discovery—a decision unlikely to have been taken had King not believed the evidence did not show that the Al Haramain plaintiffs were, in fact, monitored. And, under FISA, had the surveillance been lawful and court-ordered, King would have been legally constrained to dismiss the lawsuit, since according to that law, plaintiffs can only sue if no warrant was ever issued for the alleged surveillance. “If there was a FISA warrant, the whole case would have crumbled on the first day,” says plaintiff attorney Thomas Nelson, “It’s pretty obvious from the government’s conduct in the case, there was no warrant.”
'Inherent Authority' of President - Justice Department lawyers rely on the argument that the president has the inherent authority to order surveillance of suspected terrorists with or without warrants, and that to judge the president’s decision would reveal national secrets that would alert terrorists to government anti-terrorist actions, thereby mandating that this and other lawsuits be dismissed.
Consolidation of Lawsuits - An August 2006 court ruling ordering that the Al Haramain case be consolidated with 54 other NSA-related lawsuits, under US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, damaged the government’s argument that it cannot be sued in court. Walker has presided over the year-old class-action lawsuit brought before his court by the Electronic Frontier Foundation against AT&T for the telecom firm’s cooperation with the NSA program (see January 31, 2006); Walker ruled in July 2006 that the case would proceed, against government requests that it be thrown out because of national security requirements. Walker ruled that because the government had already admitted to the existence of the program, the state secrets privilege does not apply. (The Justice Department is appealing Walker’s decision.) As for Al Haramain, its lawyers want that case to be adjudicated separately, because the court has sufficient evidence to decide on the case without waiting for the appellate court decision. Another lawyer for the plaintiffs, Jon Eisenberg, tells Walker in February 2007, “You need only read the statutes to decide, ‘Does the president have the right to do this without a warrant?’” Walker has yet to rule on that request. [Wired News, 3/5/2007]
Entity Tags: Thomas Nelson, Vaughn Walker, National Security Agency, US Department of Justice, Jon Eisenberg, John Negroponte, AT&T, Al Haramain Islamic Foundation (Oregon branch), Garr King, Keith Alexander, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Category Tags: Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Other Legal Changes, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
December 2006: Study Finds that US Interrogators ‘Made Up’ Harsh Interrogation Tactics ‘On the Fly’
National Defense Intelligence College logo. [Source: National Defense Intelligence College]A study just released by the Intelligence Science Board, a wing of the National Defense Intelligence College, suggests that after the 9/11 attacks, when US military and intelligence agency interrogators were asked to use harsher tactics on suspected terrorists to find out information about upcoming attacks, the interrogators were not sure how to implement such tactics. Therefore, they began “mak[ing] it up on the fly,” the study finds. It continues, “Th[e] shortfall in advanced, research-based interrogation methods at a time of intense pressure from operational commanders to produce actionable intelligence from high-value targets may have contributed significantly to the unfortunate cases of abuse that have recently come to light.” [Congressional Quarterly, 4/4/2008]
Entity Tags: Intelligence Science Board, National Defense Intelligence College
December 2006: Bush Asserts Right to Open Private Mail in Defiance of Congressional Law
Congress passes a bill that restates an existing ban on government officials opening citizens’ first-class mail without a warrant. The single exception is if authorities suspect a letter or package of containing a bomb. President Bush issues a signing statement asserting the right of the executive branch to open mail without a warrant when “specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection.” The statement, if interpreted as legally meaningful, renders Congress’s law impotent, since during the entire warrantless wiretapping controversy the administration has asserted it is authorized by the “law” of the president’s inherent power as commander in chief to intercept phone calls without a judge’s approval, and this power would also apply to opening mail. [Savage, 2007, pp. 238]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, Bush administration (43)
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Privacy, Signing Statements
December 2006: Bush Says Congress Has No Right to Enjoin US from Transferring Nuclear Technology to India
Congress passes a law prohibiting the US from transferring nuclear technology to India if that nation violates international nonproliferation guidelines. President Bush signs the law, then issues a signing statement saying that since only he has the right to determine US foreign policy, he views the legal ban as nothing more than “advisory.” [Savage, 2007, pp. 239]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes
December 2, 2006: Reyes Named House Intelligence Committee Chair
Silvestre Reyes. [Source: Foreign Policy (.com)]Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), slated to become the new speaker of the House when the Democrats take over leadership of the House in January 2007, names Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Reyes, a former soldier and Border Patrol chief before being elected to Congress, is named to the chairmanship over two other Intelligence Committee Democrats, Jane Harman (D-CA) and Alcee Hastings (D-FL), both of whom outrank him on the committee. Generally an advocate for the military, Reyes supports withdrawing from Iraq, and voted against the original war resolution. He has accused the Bush administration of using “cherry-picked” and “manipulated” intelligence to justify invading Iraq. He is also a strong critic of the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program (see December 15, 2005). [Washington Post, 12/2/2006] Evidence will later show that Harman may have improperly accepted assistance from an Israeli agent, who promised to lobby Pelosi on Harman’s behalf for the chairmanship (see October 2005 and April 19, 2009).
Entity Tags: House Intelligence Committee, Bush administration (43), Jane Harman, Nancy Pelosi, Alcee Hastings, Silvestre Reyes
Category Tags: Other, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
December 13, 2006: USGS to Screen All Documents by Agency Scientists of a ‘Policy-Sensitive Nature’
The US Geological Survey establishes new rules requiring the screening of all facts and interpretations by agency scientists. The rules say that the USGS’s communications office must be “alerted about information products containing high-visibility topics or topics of a policy-sensitive nature.” Such “products” include all public documents, even minor reports or prepared talks. P. Patrick Leahy, USGS’s head of geology and its acting director, insists the new requirements are being implemented to improve scientists’ accountability, maintain their neutrality, and “harmonize” the review process. Jim Estes, an internationally recognized marine biologist in the USGS field station at Santa Cruz, Calif, disagrees. “I feel as though we’ve got someone looking over our shoulder at every damn thing we do,” he says, adding that he thinks the motivation behind the new rules is “to keep us under their thumbs. It seems like they’re afraid of science. Our findings could be embarrassing to the administration.” [Associated Press, 12/13/2006]
Entity Tags: P. Patrick Leahy, US Geological Service, Jim Estes
Category Tags: Government Classification, Government Acting in Secret
December 13, 2006: Conservatives, Liberals Join in Legal Brief Supporting Enemy Combatant’s Right to Trial
Civil libertarians, both conservative and liberal, join in filing a legal brief on behalf of suspected al-Qaeda sleeper agent Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri (see December 12, 2001), whose lawyers are preparing to file a suit challenging his detention as an “enemy combatant” (see February 1, 2007). Liberal and progressive law school deans Harold Koh of Yale and Laurence Tribe of Harvard are joined by conservatives such as Steven Calabresi, a former Reagan White House lawyer and co-founder of the staunchly conservative Federalist Society, in a brief that argues an immigrant or a legal resident of the US has the right to seek his freedom in the US court system. Al-Marri is a Qatari citizen who attended Bradley University in Illinois. The brief argues that the Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006) is unconstitutional. The brief “shows the phrases ‘conservative’ and ‘libertarian’ have less overlap than ever before,” says law professor Richard Epstein, a Federalist Society member who signed it, adding, “This administration has lost all libertarians on all counts.” Koh says: “This involves the executive branch changing the rules to avoid challenges to its own authority. Serious legal scholars, regardless of political bent, find what the government did inconsistent with any reasonable visions of the rule of law.” Epstein, who says Koh is “mad on many issues,” agrees, calling the al-Marri case “beyond the pale.” He says, “They figured out every constitutional protection you’d want and they removed them.” Lawyer Jonathan Hafetz, representing al-Marri, says the case brings up issues about what the framers of the Constitution intended—something libertarians and judicial conservatives often look to. [Associated Press, 12/13/2006]
Entity Tags: Richard Epstein, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, Federalist Society, Harold Koh, Steven Calabresi, Jonathan Hafetz, Laurence Tribe
December 21, 2006: Civil Rights Group Files Lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security over Terror Risk Scores
The Electronic Frontier Foundation files a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to obtain more information about a secret program called the Automated Targeting System (ATS) (see 2002 and After). This program allows the government to assign terror risk numbers to American citizens who enter or leave the US. The suit demands an expedited response to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request it filed earlier in the month. Frontier Foundation Senior Counsel David Sobel says, “DHS needs to provide answers, and provide them quickly, to the millions of law-abiding citizens who are worried about this ‘risk assessment’ score that will follow them throughout their lives.” [Electronic Frontier Foundation, 12/19/2006]
Entity Tags: Electronic Frontier Foundation, US Department of Homeland Security
December 31, 2006: Top Rumsfeld Aide Cambone Resigns
Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone resigns. His resignation closely follows that of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (see November 6-December 18, 2006). Cambone, who had held his position since early 2003, was widely considered Rumsfeld’s closest aide and his “hatchet man” (see March 7, 2003). [US Department of Defense, 12/1/2006] He was in charge of many of the military’s most covert and controversial programs. Less than a year later, Cambone will be hired by QinetiQ North America (QNA), a British-owned military and intelligence contractor based in Virginia. Shortly after Cambone is hired, QNA wins a $30 million contract to provide unspecified “security services” to the US military’s Counter-Intelligence Field Activity office (CIFA). Cambone helped create and run CIFA. In 2003, CIFA launched an electronic database called Talon to collect domestic intelligence. The database later faced scrutiny when it was reported to be collecting data on anti-military protesters and peaceful demonstrators. [CorpWatch, 1/15/2008]
Entity Tags: QinetiQ North America, Donald Rumsfeld, Stephen A. Cambone, Counter-Intelligence Field Activity
Category Tags: Database Programs
2007: US Citizens Harassed by Customs
The Asian Law Caucus (ALC) receives over twenty complaints from Northern California residents reporting excessive and repeated screenings by US Customs and Border Protection agents upon their entering the country. The residents say they have been interrogated about their families, religious practices, volunteer activities, political beliefs, and political associations when they returned from traveling abroad, regardless of their First Amendment rights. The residents say their books, business cards, handwritten notes, personal photos, laptop computer files, and cell phone directories were examined and sometimes copied. When they complained, some of them were told, according to the ALC, “This is the border, and you have no rights.” [Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2/7/2008; Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2/7/2008]
Interrogation at the Border - Nabila Mango, a US citizen from San Francisco, returns from a trip to Jordan in December 2007. She will say she is told by customs officials at San Francisco International Airport to list every person she met and every place she slept. Her Arabic music books, business cards, and cell phone are examined, and she believes some of her documents are copied. [Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2/7/2008] Her daughter tries repeatedly to call her on her cell phone during the interrogation, but Mango finds that customs officials erased the records of her calls. [Washington Post, 2/7/2008] “In my 40 years in this country, I have never felt as vulnerable as I did during that interrogation,” Mango will say. “I want to find out whether my government is keeping files on me and other Americans based on our associations and ideas.” A California citizen, Amir Khan, will also say he is stopped and interrogated every time he returns to the country. He has his laptop, cell phone, and personal notebooks searched. He is never told why he is being singled out. “One customs officer even told me that no matter what I do, nothing would improve,” he will say. “Why do I have to part with my civil liberties each time I return home?” [Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2/7/2008] Software engineer Kamran Habib, a permanent US resident, has his laptop and cell phone searched three times in 2007. Now, Habib says, “every time I travel, I basically clean out my phone. It’s better for me to keep my colleagues and friends safe than to get them on the list as well.”
Search and Seizure - Maria Udy, a marketing executive in Bethesda, Maryland, will say her company laptop is seized by a federal agent as she attempts to fly from Washington’s Dulles International Airport to London. Udy, a British citizen, is told by the agent that he has “a security concern” with her. “I was basically given the option of handing over my laptop or not getting on that flight,” she will recall. Udy is told that it is standard procedure to keep the computer for 10 to 15 days; over a year later, her laptop will not have been returned, and she will not be given any explanation. A tech engineer who wishes to remain anonymous will say he has a similar experience in the same airport months earlier. The engineer, a US citizen, says a federal agent requires him to open up his laptop and type in his password. “This laptop doesn’t belong to me,” he protests. “It belongs to my company.” He has little choice; he logs on, and the agent copies down every Web site he had visited on the laptop. The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE)‘s Susan Gurley will say her organization has filed its own FOIA request to find out what happened to seized laptops and other electronic devices. “Is it destroyed right then and there if the person is in fact just a regular business traveler?” she asks. “People are quite concerned. They don’t want proprietary business information floating, not knowing where it has landed or where it is going. It increases the anxiety level.” The ALC’s Shiran Sinnar says that by examining the websites people visit and the phone numbers they store, “the government is going well beyond its traditional role of looking for contraband and really is looking into the content of people’s thoughts and ideas and their lawful political activities.” Legal experts say that if conducted inside the country, such searches would require a warrant and probable cause. The government insists that a laptop is legally the same as a suitcase, and can be opened and examined essentially at will. Law professor David Cole disagrees: “It’s one thing to say it’s reasonable for government agents to open your luggage. It’s another thing to say it’s reasonable for them to read your mind and everything you have thought over the last year. What a laptop records is as personal as a diary but much more extensive. It records every website you have searched. Every email you have sent. It’s as if you’re crossing the border with your home in your suitcase.” [Washington Post, 2/7/2008]
Entity Tags: Nabila Mango, US Customs and Border Protection, Association of Corporate Travel Executives, Asian Law Caucus, Amir Khan, David D. Cole, Maria Udy, Washington Dulles International Airport, Shirin Sinnar, Susan Gurley, Kamran Habib, San Francisco International Airport
Category Tags: Other Legal Changes, Detainments in US, Airport and Immigration Security, Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Other Surveillance
2007: Study Concludes Real Cases of Voter Fraud Extremely Few; Such Cases Are ‘More Rare than Death by Lightning’
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s School of Law issues an in-depth report entitled “The Truth about Voter Fraud.” The report is written and overseen by Justin Levitt, counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center. Levitt’s study analyzes reports over the last 10 years from around the nation, and finds that real instances of voter fraud are a vanishingly small number, usually less than a tenth or even a hundredth of a percent. Voter fraud of the sort that is usually alleged, he writes, is “more rare than death by lightning.… It is more likely that an individual will be struck by lightning than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls.”
'Voter Fraud' Usually Conflated with Other Kinds of Election Irregularities - Levitt continues: “‘[V]oter fraud’ occurs when individuals cast ballots despite knowing that they are ineligible to vote, in an attempt to defraud the election system. This sounds straightforward. And yet, voter fraud is often conflated, intentionally or unintentionally, with other forms of election misconduct or irregularities.”
Allegations Almost Always Exaggerated - Levitt writes that the allegations often stem from dramatic and unverified stories from bygone days, and those stories “make… a popular scapegoat” for other, non-criminal issues such as a vote not going the way someone wishes it had gone. “In the aftermath of a close election, losing candidates are often quick to blame voter fraud for the results,” Levitt writes. “Legislators cite voter fraud as justification for various new restrictions on the exercise of the franchise. And pundits trot out the same few anecdotes time and again as proof that a wave of fraud is imminent.” However, he finds: “Allegations of widespread voter fraud, however, often prove greatly exaggerated. It is easy to grab headlines with a lurid claim (‘Tens of thousands may be voting illegally!’); the follow-up—when any exists—is not usually deemed newsworthy. Yet on closer examination, many of the claims of voter fraud amount to a great deal of smoke without much fire. The allegations simply do not pan out.”
Allegations Used to Justify Restrictive Voter Requirements - The false allegations, he writes, have provided, and will continue to provide, justifications for restrictive policies such as heightened requirements for voter registration, voter identification requirements, enhanced demands for proof of residency, and others that actively restrict the ability of many legal voters to participate in the democratic process. [Levitt, 2007 ; Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, 2012]
Entity Tags: Justin Levitt, Brennan Center for Justice
Category Tags: Voter Fraud/Disenfranchisement, Voting Rights
Early 2007: FBI Requests Funds for Massive Domestic Data Mining Program
The FBI requests $12 million for its proposed National Security Analysis Center (NSAC), which would mine nearly 1.5 billion records created or collected by the FBI and other government agencies in an effort to expose terrorist cells. The FBI’s budget request says that the new agency would “pro-actively” mine the data to find terrorists using “predictive” analysis. Predictive analysis entails combing though personal data—such as bank transactions and travel purchases—to identify patterns of behavior that are believed to be terrorist-like. But this methodology for identifying terrorists is unproven. In 2006, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence completed a report concluding that terrorism researchers “cannot readily distinguish the absolute scale of normal behaviors” for terrorists or ordinary Americans. [ABC News, 6/12/2007] The FBI’s proposed National Security Analysis Center is very similar to another initiative called the Total Information Awareness program (see Mid-January 2002) that was started by the Pentagon in 2002, but which was curtailed by Congress after it was revealed by the New York Times (see November 9, 2002).
Entity Tags: National Security Analysis Center, Federal Bureau of Investigation
January 2007: Pentagon Pressures Guantanamo Prosecutor to Charge Suspect as a Political Favor
Pentagon General Counsel William J. Haynes, whose involvement with a set of documents known as the “torture memos” threatens his nomination as an appellate court judge (see November 27, 2002), telephones Morris Davis, the lead prosecutor at Guantanamo, to pressure Davis to charge accused Australian terror suspect David Hicks. Haynes is apparently attempting to do a political favor for Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Haynes is advised that his interference is improper, but calls Davis a second time and suggests that Davis charge other prisoners along with Hicks to avoid any impression that the charges are “a political solution to the Hicks case.” Davis will resign in part because of pressure from Washington to politicize his prosecutions (see October 4, 2007). [Jurist, 11/2/2007]
Entity Tags: Morris Davis, William J. Haynes, David Hicks, John Howard, US Department of Defense
January 9, 2007: National Archives Office Refers Cheney’s Refusal to Comply With Executive Order to Attorney General
J. William Leonard, the director of the National Archives’s Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), writes to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requesting an opinion on Vice President Dick Cheney’s decision to exempt his office from the mandate of Executive Order 12958. The order requires that everyone in the executive branch take steps to protect and secure classified information regarding national security, and report periodically to the ISOO (see 2003). Cheney’s position is that the vice president’s office is not strictly part of the executive branch. Leonard notes that until 2002 Cheney’s office did submit such reports to the ISOO. He also notes that under the Constitution, the vice president’s office is indeed part of the executive branch, and that if it is not, then it is in repeated material breach of national security laws, as it has had routine access to top secret intelligence reports and other materials that are only available to the executive branch. Leonard asks Gonzales to determine that Cheney’s office does indeed fall under the mandate of the executive order. [J.William Leonard, 1/9/2007 ] Gonzales will ignore the letter; Cheney’s office will attempt to abolish the ISOO (see May 29, 2007-June 7, 2007). [Henry A. Waxman, 6/21/2007 ]
Entity Tags: J. William Leonard, Alberto R. Gonzales, Information Security Oversight Office, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, National Archives and Records Administration
January 17, 2007: Bush Administration Reaches Deal to Continue Wiretapping Program under Judge’s Authority
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sends a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee informing it that the lawsuit against the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program (see August 17, 2006) is moot—the National Security Agency will now operate under the aegis of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) in its wiretaps. One of the FISC judges, Gonzales writes, has issued an “innovative” and “complex” order that allows the NSA to continue doing what it had been doing with the overall approval of the court, or at least the approval of the single FISC judge. Gonzales does not go into detail about the judge’s ruling, but the administration intensifies its attack on the lawsuit, asking an appeals court to set the previous ruling aside in light of the new FISC protocol, and even to erase the ruling from judicial history as a matter of “public interest.” The appeals court votes 2-1 to set aside the previous ruling; the majority opinion finds that the state secrets privilege prevents the courts from learning whether the plaintiffs in the case had the standing to sue. [Savage, 2007, pp. 207]
Entity Tags: Alberto R. Gonzales, Senate Judiciary Committee, National Security Agency, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind
January 17, 2007: Gonzales Says Right of Habeas Corpus not Protected by Constitution
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales stuns Senate Judiciary Committee questioners when he says that the fundamental right of habeas corpus, the right for an accused person to go to court and challenge his or her imprisonment, is not protected by the Constitution. Gonzales, in response to questions by Arlen Specter (R-PA), says: “The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or every citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas.… There is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution. There’s a prohibition against taking it away.” Specter is incredulous, asking how the Constitution could bar the suspension of a right that didn’t exist—a right, he notes, that was first recognized in medieval England as protection against the king’s power to send subjects to royal dungeons. Gonzales does say that habeas corpus is “one of our most cherished rights,” and admits that Congress has protected that right. But Gonzales refuses to acknowledge that the Constitution itself protects the right. If the Constitution does not, then Congress would be able to limit or nullify habeas corpus rights if it so chooses. Congress has not passed such an all-encompassing law yet, but it has passed a law, the Military Commissions Act, that strips the courts of any authority to hear habeas corpus suits filed by “enemy combatants.”
Experts Fear Government Encroachment on Civil Liberties - But constitutional experts on both the left and the right say that Gonzales’s position implies a far broader power. Erwin Chemerinsky, a law professor who has frequently criticized the Bush administration, says: “This is the key protection that people have if they’re held in violation of the law. If there’s no habeas corpus, and if the government wants to pick you or me off the street and hold us indefinitely, how do we get our release?” Former Reagan Justice Department official Douglas Kmiec agrees. If Gonzales’s view prevails, Kmiec says, “one of the basic protections of human liberty against the powers of the state would be embarrassingly absent from our constitutional system.” A Justice Department spokesman says that Gonzales is only noting the absence of a specific constitutional guarantee for habeas corpus, and acknowledges that the Supreme Court has declared “the Constitution protects [habeas corpus] as it existed at common law” in England. These rights, the spokesman says, do not apply to foreigners held as enemy combatants. [San Francisco Chronicle, 1/24/2007]
Habeas Protected in Constitution - The right of habeas corpus is clear in Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 of the Constitution: “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” [Think Progress, 1/19/2007]
Expansion of Presidential Powers - Former Reagan Justice Department attorney Bruce Fein says that Gonzales’s stance on habeas corpus is an underpinning of the Bush administration’s attempt to advocate the “unitary executive” theory of presidential power. Gonzales’s statements contain a message: “Congress doesn’t have to let [judges] decide national security matters. It’s part of an attempt to create the idea that during conflicts, the three branches of government collapse into one, and it is the president.” [San Francisco Chronicle, 1/24/2007]
Entity Tags: Senate Judiciary Committee, Military Commissions Act, George W. Bush, Patrick J. Leahy, Erwin Chemerinsky, Central Intelligence Agency, Alberto R. Gonzales, Arlen Specter, Douglas Kmiec, Bush administration (43), Bruce Fein
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Freedom of Speech / Religion, Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
January 18, 2007: Gonzales Says President Has Power to Ignore Law in Interest of National Security
In a second day of testimony (see January 17, 2007), Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that the president has always had the inherent authority to bypass or ignore statutory law if he is acting in the interest of national security. Gonzales is referring to a recent Bush administration decision to use a sympathetic FISC judge to sign off on the warrantless wiretapping program (see January 17, 2007). “We commenced down this road five years ago because of a belief that we could not do what we felt was necessary to protect this country under FISA [the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act],” Gonzales testifies. “That is why the president relied upon his inherent authority under the Constitution. My own judgment is, the president has shown maturity and wisdom here in this particular decision. He recognizes that there is an inherent reservoir of inherent power that belongs to every president. You use it only when you have to. In this case, we don’t have to [anymore].” Yale law professor Jack Balkin strenuously disagrees. He points to a “remarkable similarity between the administration’s behavior in the Padilla case (see October 9, 2005 and December 21, 2005) and its behavior here.… Once again, the goal is to prevent a court from stating clearly that the president acted illegally and that his theories of executive power are self-serving hokum.” Instead of going to Congress for the authority to conduct a warrantless wiretapping program, Balkin writes that the administration used FISA’s supposed deficiencies “as an excuse to disregard the law, so that it could make claims of unbridled presidential authority to ignore FISA.” [Savage, 2007, pp. 207-208; Jack Balkin, 1/18/2007]
Entity Tags: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Alberto R. Gonzales, Bush administration (43), Senate Judiciary Committee, Jack Balkin, George W. Bush, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
January 18, 2007: Bush Usurps Congressional Power in Creating Agency ‘Apparatchiks’ to Enforce Administration Policies
Two weeks after a newly Democratic Congress is sworn in, President Bush issues an executive order directing every agency head to “designate one of the agency’s presidential [political] appointees to be its regulatory policy officer [RPO].” These officers are, according to author and reporter Charlie Savage, “the president’s political enforcers, apparatchiks embedded inside each bureaucracy and empowered ‘to ensure the agency’s compliance’ with his mandates as the professionals went about making decisions on new regulations.” No new regulations or rules can be implemented without the approval of the RPO, allowing them to stop new regulations “before outsiders could learn that agency professionals had identified a health, safety, or environmental problem they thought was worth fixing.” The rule also prevents any rules from being enacted until an agency can identify a specific “market failure” that justifies government intervention instead of allowing businesses to identify and handle problems themselves. Congress had already decided that certain problems, particularly health and safety issues, should be handled through regulation. But now, Bush officials get to override Congress’s intent and allow permissive standards even when a regulation is justified. Business groups hail the decision as an aggressive new attempt to reduce “burdensome” regulations. Critics say that Bush is trying to reward special interests by choking off new rules corporate interests may oppose. The aspect of the order that gets little media attention is the abrogation of Congressional intent and the usurpation of power to the executive branch. The order “achieves a major increase in White House control over domestic government,” says law professor Peter Strauss. “Having lost control of Congress, the president is doing everything he can to increase his control of the executive branch.” [Savage, 2007, pp. 306-307]
Entity Tags: Charlie Savage, George W. Bush, Bush administration (43), Peter Strauss
February 1, 2007: Al-Marri Challenges Enemy Combatant Classification
Attorneys for accused al-Qaeda sleeper agent Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri (see December 12, 2001) challenge his detention as an enemy combatant (see June 23, 2003). The attorneys, appearing before a three-judge panel in Richmond’s Fourth US Court of Appeals, say that al-Marri is being held unconstitutionally and should be allowed to challenge his imprisonment in court under his right to habeas corpus. Al-Marri, a Qatari national, is the only person being held as an enemy combatant on US soil. His lawyers argue that he has inalienable rights as a legal resident of the US, including the right to due process and to challenge his accusers in court. One of al-Marri’s lawyers, Jonathan Hafetz, tells the court: “The basic question is whether criminal or military law governs this case. [The president] cannot militarize the case of a man in Peoria with the stroke of a pen.” The government says that the Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006) gives the government the right to hold al-Marri and any other designated enemy combatant indefinitely, without recourse to the courts. Hafetz contends that the MCA doesn’t repeal defendants’ right to challenge their detention. He also says al-Marri was improperly classified as an enemy combatant. Justice Department lawyers argue that the court has no jurisdiction to hear such cases, and that the government has classified evidence proving that al-Marri is indeed an al-Qaeda agent. Judge Diana Gribbon Motz asks Justice Department lawyer David Salmons what would stop Bush from declaring anyone he chose an enemy combatant, even if that person was a citizen of a nation not at war with the US. “What I don’t understand is how you make one an enemy combatant,” she says. “What did the president look to, to call someone an enemy combatant?” Salmons says that Congress and the Supreme Court have granted Bush the authority to fight terrorism, (see September 14-18, 2001) and that authorization grants Bush the right to designate people with suspected al-Qaeda links as enemy combatants. Motz disagrees: “If the US can do this, it’s contrary to the Constitution. It would give other nations the ability to do that by declaring a US citizen an enemy combatant.” Salmons says the 9/11 attacks make the situation different. Al-Marri is supported in the court by, among others, former Attorney General Janet Reno, seven former Justice Department officials, and 29 US law school professors, who all contend that the government’s treatment of al-Marri is unconstitutional and sets a dangerous precedent in depriving US residents of basic legal rights. The case is al-Marri v. Wright, 06-7427. [Associated Press, 2/1/2007]
Entity Tags: Diana Gribbon Motz, Al-Qaeda, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, Janet Reno, David Salmons, Military Commissions Act, Jonathan Hafetz, US Department of Justice
February 1, 2007: Bush Administration Lawyer Claims US Citizens Can Be Charged Under Military Commissions Act
The Bush administration confirms that it believes US citizens can be designated as “enemy combatants” under the Military Commissions Act (MCA—see October 17, 2006). The confirmation comes during the trial of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a Qatari and the only person on the American mainland being held as an enemy combatant. Al-Marri, currently held at the Charleston, South Carolina Naval brig, is a legal US resident accused of being a sleeper agent for al-Qaeda (see September 10, 2001). He was arrested in December 2001, while living with his family and studying computer science at Bradley University in Illinois. Al-Marri is charged, not with any direct terrorist activities, but with credit card fraud and lying to federal agents. He is challenging his indefinite detention in federal court, and the government is using the MCA to argue that al-Marri has no status in the courts because of his designation as an enemy combatant. One of the appellate court judges, Roger Gregory, asks Justice Department lawyer David Salmons, “What would prevent you from plucking up anyone and saying, ‘You are an enemy combatant?’” Salmons responds that the government can do just that, without interference from the courts, and adds, “A citizen, no less than an alien, can be an enemy combatant.” Gregory and the second of the three appellate judges, Diana Gribbon Motz, seem uncomfortable with the law’s provisions that the US judiciary has no role in such designations. When Motz asks Salmons about the difference between nations making war and individuals committing acts of terrorism, Salmons retorts with a familiar, and long-disputed, argument that the US Congress gave the government the right to detain terrorist suspects without charge or recourse to the judiciary when it granted the administration the right to use military force against terrorists after the 9/11 attacks (see September 14-18, 2001).
Theoretically Declaring War on PETA - Motz is skeptical of the argument, and asks a series of hypothetical questions about just what organizations or individuals President Bush could designate as enemy combatants. Using the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as an example, Motz asks, “Could the president declare war on PETA?” Salmons says the question is unrealistic, but refuses to say that Bush could not do so if he chose. The Bush administration is careful in its use of the enemy combatant designation, Salmons says, therefore, “The representative of PETA can sleep well at night.” [New York Times, 2/2/2007]
Ignoring Constitutional Concept of 'Inalienable Rights' - Author and investigative journalist Robert Parry notes that in the al-Marri case, the Bush administration is arguing against the concept of “inalienable,” or “unalienable,” rights as granted by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. According to the administration, as long as the US is embroiled in what it calls the “war on terror,” Bush can use his “plenary,” or unlimited, executive powers to essentially waive laws and ignore Constitutional rights if he so chooses. Parry writes that “since the ‘war on terror’ will go on indefinitely and since the ‘battlefield’ is everywhere, Bush is asserting the president’s right to do whatever he wants to whomever he wants wherever the person might be, virtually forever.” Parry concludes, “The Justice Department’s arguments in the [al-]Marri case underscore that Bush still sees himself as a modern-day version of the absolute monarch who gets to decide which rights and freedoms his subjects can enjoy and which ones will be denied.” [Consortium News, 2/3/2007]
Entity Tags: Military Commissions Act, Bush administration (43), Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, Al-Qaeda, David Salmons, George W. Bush, Robert Parry, Roger Gregory, Diana Gribbon Motz, US Department of Justice, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Other Legal Changes, Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights, Citizenship Rights
February 12, 2007: Military Commissions Act Strips Habeas Corpus, Must be Repealed, Says Author
Thom Hartmann. [Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]Author and talk show host Thom Hartmann issues a call for the repeal of the Military Commissions Act (MCA) (see October 17, 2006). He frames his argument with a quote from the revered British Conservative Prime Minister, Winston Churchill: “The power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious, and the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist.” The MCA is “the most conspicuous part of a series of laws which have fundamentally changed the nature of this nation, moving us from a democratic republic to a state under the rule of a ‘unitary’ president,” Hartmann writes. The MCA is an “attack on eight centuries of English law,” the foundation of US jurisprudence that goes back to 1215 and the Magna Carta. While the MCA’s supporters in and out of the administration give reassurances that the law only applies to non-citizens, Hartmann notes that two US citizens, Jose Padilla and Yaser Esam Hamdi, have already been stripped of their habeas corpus rights. Habeas corpus, Hartmann writes, is featured prominently in Article I of the US Constitution. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was flat wrong in saying that the Constitution provided “no express grant of habeas” (see January 17, 2007), Hartmann writes. “Our Constitution does not grant us rights, because ‘We’ already hold all rights. Instead, it defines the boundaries of our government, and identifies what privileges ‘We the People’ will grant to that government.” The authors of the Constitution “must be turning in their graves,” Hartmann writes, quoting the “most conservative” of those authors, Alexander Hamilton: “The establishment of the writ of habeas corpus… are perhaps greater securities to liberty and republicanism than any it [the Constitution] contains.… [T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.” Hamilton’s colleague Thomas Jefferson said that laws such as habeas corpus make the US government “the strongest government on earth.” Now, Hartmann writes, the strength of that government is imperiled. [CommonDreams (.org), 2/12/2007]
Entity Tags: Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, Alberto R. Gonzales, Alexander Hamilton, Jose Padilla, Magna Carta, Military Commissions Act, Yaser Esam Hamdi, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Hartmann
Category Tags: Expansion of Presidential Power, Privacy, Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Classification, Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights
Spring 2007: Congress Opens Investigation into Civil Rights Division’s Hiring of Conservative Ideologues
Bradley Schlozman. [Source: US Department of Justice]Congress’s new Democratic leadership decides to investigate the Bush administration’s politicization of the Justice Department’s civil rights division (CRD—see Fall 2002 and After). The investigation is part of a parallel investigation into the firing of nine US attorneys for allegedly political reasons. One of the first replacement US attorneys, Bradley Schlozman, had spent three years as one of the CRD’s political hires most responsible for hiring conservative ideologues to replace CRD career lawyers. The complaints also dovetail with a report that another key figure in the US attorney firing, the Justice Department’s White House liaison Monica Goodling, was being investigated for using partisan political affiliations as part of her decisions to hire career assistant prosecutors, a practice forbidden by federal law. Goodling will later admit to having “crossed the line” by using political litmus tests in her career hiring decisions. Scholzman will admit to having bragged about hiring only Republicans at the Justice Department, but will deny asking any job applicants about their political views or partisan affiliations. [Savage, 2007, pp. 299]
Entity Tags: Bradley J. Schlozman, Monica M. Goodling, US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (DOJ)
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, 2006 US Attorney Firings
Early March 2007: Alaskan Fish and Wildlife Service Biologists Instructed to Keep Quiet on Climate Change-Related Issues
The US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska issues a memo to biologists and officials instructing them not to discuss climate change, polar bears, or sea ice unless they are designated to do so, when traveling around the Arctic. The memo, which bears the subject heading “Foreign Travel—New Requirement—Please Review and Comply, Importance: High,” states, “Please be advised that all foreign travel requests (SF 1175 requests) and any future travel requests involving or potentially involving climate change, sea ice, and/or polar bears will also require a memorandum from the regional director to the director indicating who’ll be the official spokesman on the trip and the one responding to questions on these issues, particularly polar bears.” [New York Times, 3/8/2007] The memo forbids the scientists to discuss climate change, polar bears, and sea ice, even if asked. A White House spokesman says the rule about having a single spokesman is merely an attempt to observe “diplomatic protocol,” but Deborah Williams, a former Interior Department official in the Clinton administration who later sees the memo, has a different view. To Williams, the rules sound like an attempt to impose political control over what government scientists can and cannot discuss with their peers. “This sure sounds like a Soviet-style directive to me,” Williams will observe. [Savage, 2007, pp. 107; New York Times, 3/8/2007]
Entity Tags: US Fish and Wildlife Service, Deborah Williams
Timeline Tags: Global Warming
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret
March 9, 2007: Government Claims Key Evidence Against Padilla Has Been Mislaid
Judge Marcia Cooke. [Source: Daily Business Review]Federal prosecutors in the Jose Padilla case (see May 8, 2002) say that a video of Padilla’s final interrogation, on March 2, 2004, is inexplicably missing. The video was not part of a packet of DVDs containing classified material turned over to the court handling the Padilla case. Padilla’s lawyers believe that the missing videotape may show Padilla being subjected to “harsh” interrogation techniques that may qualify as torture, and wonder if other potentially exculpatory recordings and documentation of Padilla’s interrogations have also been lost. Padilla’s lawyers say something happened during that last interrogation session on March 2, 2004, at the Navy brig in Charleston, South Carolina, that led Padilla to believe that the lawyers are actually government agents. Padilla no longer trusts them, the lawyers say, and they want to know what happened. Prosecutors say that they cannot find the tape despite an intensive search. “I don’t know what happened to it,” Pentagon attorney James Schmidli said during a recent court hearing. US District Court Judge Marcia Cooke finds the government’s claim hard to believe. “Do you understand how it might be difficult for me to understand that a tape related to this particular individual just got mislaid?” Cooke told prosecutors at a hearing last month. Padilla, a US citizen, is scheduled to stand trial in April. Padilla’s lawyers want the brig tapes, medical records, and other documentation to prove their claims that Padilla suffers intense post-traumatic stress syndrome from his long isolation and repeated interrogations, though Cooke has ruled that Padilla is competent to stand trial. They believe that he was mistreated and possibly tortured in the Naval brig before being transferred to civilian custody. This missing DVD may not be the only one because brig logs indicate that there were approximately 72 hours of interrogations that either were not recorded, or whose recordings were never disclosed. Prosecutors claim some interrogations were not recorded, but defense lawyers question that, pointing out that there are even videos of Padilla taking showers. [Newsweek, 2/28/2007; Associated Press, 3/9/2007] Statements by then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey in June 2004 indirectly support the defense’s claim that Padilla was subjected to harsh interrogation tactics (see June 2004). Other videotapes that may pertain to the Padilla case have been destroyed by the CIA (see November 22, 2005). Former civil rights litigator Glenn Greenwald writes, “[I]f the administration’s patently unbelievable claim were true—namely, that it did ‘lose’ the video of its interrogation of this Extremely Dangerous International Terrorist—that would, by itself, evidence a reckless ineptitude with American national security so grave that it ought to be a scandal by itself. But the likelihood that the key interrogation video with regard to Padilla’s torture claims was simply ‘lost’ is virtually non-existent. Destruction of relevant evidence in any litigation is grounds for dismissal of the case (or defense) of the party engaged in that behavior. But where, as here, the issues extend far beyond the singular proceeding itself—we are talking about claims by a US citizen that he was tortured by his own government—destruction of evidence of this sort would be obstruction of justice of the most serious magnitude.” [Salon, 3/10/2007]
Entity Tags: Anthony Natale, US Department of Justice, US Department of Defense, Marcia Cooke, Jose Padilla, Al-Qaeda, Glenn Greenwald, James B. Comey Jr., James Schmidli
March 9-19, 2007: FBI Issues Tens of Thousands of Improper National Security Letters, Audit Finds
A report by Glenn Fine, the Justice Department’s Inspector General, finds that the FBI used self-issued subpoenas known as National Security Letters (NSLs) to obtain phone, e-mail, and financial information on at least 143,074 targets between 2003 and 2005. The report’s main conclusions include:
More than half of those targeted are US citizens;
In many cases FBI officials evaded limits on NSLs and sometimes illegally issued them;
60% of the audited NSLs do not follow the FBI’s rules of issuance, and a further 22% contain unreported possible violations of the law, including improper requests and unauthorized collections of information;
The number of surveillance targets is probably far higher than the audit finds, because the FBI practices poor record-keeping that allow at least 22% of surveillance to go unreported;
Fine finds that agents had routinely issued the letters even when they had no open investigation, as required by law;
One office made arrangements with telecommunications firms to get information instantly, even before issuing NSLs, by sending “exigent letters” claiming it needed the requested information because of an emergency, and that the letters and necessary court warrants were in preparation (see Before Mid-March, 2007). But, the audit finds, “we could not confirm one instance in which a subpoena had been submitted to any US attorney’s office before the exigent letter was sent to the phone companies” and that “many were not issued in exigent circumstances.”
Representative Edward Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, wants hearings. “The Inspector General’s report is a scathing critique of FBI misuse of the secretive process,” Markey says. Although the FBI has used NSLs for years, their usage soared after the USA Patriot Act (see October 26, 2001) eased the restrictions on them. Now, FBI agents in counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations can issue NSLs themselves, without court warrants or even the approval of a supervisor, as long as the agent affirms that the information they seek is “relevant” to an open investigation. The information obtained by NSLs remains in a massive “data warehouse,” where it can be accessed again for data-mining or subsequent investigations. [Wired News, 3/9/2007]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Edward Markey, USA Patriot Act, Glenn Fine, US Department of Justice, House Homeland Security Committee
Category Tags: Impositions on Rights and Freedoms, Government Acting in Secret, Government Classification, National Security Letters
March 9-April 28, 2007: Combat Status of High Value Detainees Is Reviewed in Guantanamo Prison
High value detainees. Top row, from left: KSM, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, Hambali, Khallad bin Attash. Middle row, from left: Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Abu Zubaida. Bottom row, from left: Majid Khan, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, Mohamad Farik Amin, Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, and Gouled Hassan Dourad. [Source: FBI (except for AFP for Hambali, New York Times for Abu Zubaida, and Reuters for Majid Khan)]Combat Status Review Tribunal hearings are held for fourteen high-value detainees who have been moved to Guantanamo Bay and are being held there by the US military (see September 2-3, 2006). The purpose of the hearings is to check that the detainees are properly designated as “enemy combatants.” Transcripts of the unclassified part of the hearings are released to the media, but no journalists are allowed to attend the hearings, and no photographs of the prisoners are released. However, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and former Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) view Khalid Shaikh Mohammed’s confession on closed circuit television in Guantanamo Bay (see March 10, 2007).
Alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM) admits to being involved in dozens of terror plots and attempts to morally justify his actions (see March 10, 2007), causing a good deal of interest in the media (see March 15-23, 2007 and Shortly After).
Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi says he is not an al-Qaeda member. However, he admits receiving military training from al-Qaeda, and helping some of the 9/11 hijackers, as well as knowing Osama bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and KSM (see March 21, 2007).
Hambali is accused of being a leader of al-Qaeda affiliate Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and being involved in several bomb plots in Southeast Asia. He submits a wide-ranging written statement and denies all involvement in terrorist acts, saying he resigned from JI in 2000. [US department of Defense, 4/4/2007 ]
Khallad bin Attash is accused of being involved in the attacks on US embassies in East Africa and the USS Cole. He says that the details of his participation in the attacks, as presented in the evidence, are incorrect, but admits being involved in the attacks. [US department of Defense, 3/12/2007 ]
Ali Abdul Aziz Ali (a.k.a. Ammar al-Baluchi) admits sending hijacker Marwan Alshehhi some money, but says he knew nothing of the plot, denies being an “enemy combatant,” and says he has provided “vital information” to the US (see March 30, 2007).
Ramzi bin al-Shibh refuses to attend the hearing, or talk to his personal representative and translator, so only the summary of unclassified evidence is read out at the hearing. He is accused of knowing three of the hijacker pilots and facilitating the plot, as well as helping Zacarias Moussaoui and being captured at an al-Qaeda safehouse. [US department of Defense, 3/9/2007 ]
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is accused of involvement in the African embassy and USS Cole bombings, but claims that he was tortured into confessing details of plots he invented (see March 10-April 15, 2007). However, he admits knowing Osama bin Laden and several other militants, as well as receiving up to $500,000 from bin Laden and distributing it to associates, some of whom used the money to get married and some of whom used it “to do other stuff.” He admits knowing the people involved in the USS Cole attack, such as al-Qaeda leader Khallad bin Attash, who he describes as a “regular guy who was jihadist,” and he admits buying the boat used in the attack and some explosives in Yemen using money provided by bin Laden. [US department of Defense, 3/14/2007 ]
Abu Zubaida is accused of heading the Khaldan and Darunta training camps in Afghanistan, and admits heading Khaldan, but denies actually being a member of al-Qaeda (see March 27, 2007) and complains of torture (see March 10-April 15, 2007).
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani is accused of being involved in the 1998 embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998), for which he was indicted in the US. He admits being present when one of the bomb trucks was purchased and traveling in a scouting vehicle, but not to the embassy; and he admits buying the explosives, but argues another team member “could have gotten it himself, but he sent me to get it and bring it to him.” He also says he was told the explosives were for “mining diamonds.” He admits working with al-Qaeda, but denies actually being a member. He concludes by saying he “would like to apologize to the United States Government for what I did before… it was without my knowledge what they were doing but I helped them.” [US Department of Defense, 3/17/2007 ]
Majid Khan, who is alleged to have facilitated travel for extremists and to have planned an attack inside the US, attends the hearing, but says he “would rather have a fair trial… than a tribunal process.” He also denies the charges, complains of being tortured in US custody (see March 10-April 15, 2007), and submits favorable testimony from witnesses. For example, one witness claims he was forced to make a false statement saying that Khan wanted to participate in a suicide operation against Pakistani President Musharraf by the FBI, which threatened to transfer him to Guantanamo Bay. Khan also points out that he helped the FBI catch an illegal immigrant and says he will take a lie detector test. [US department of Defense, 4/15/2007 ]
Abu Faraj al-Libbi, who was accused of running an al-Qaeda guest house in Afghanistan, running a communications hub, and facilitating travel for militant trainees, elects not to participate in his hearing, as, according to his personal representative, “his freedom is far too important to be decided by an administrative process and [he] is waiting for legal proceedings.” [US department of Defense, 3/9/2007 ]
Mohamed Farik Amin is accused of being involved with the al-Qaeda affiliate Jemaah Islamiyah and of helping finance attacks by it. He attends the hearing, but does not say anything. [US department of Defense, 3/13/2007 ]
Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep (a.k.a. Lillie) does not to attend the hearing and is represented by his personal representative. He is accused of facilitating the transfer of funds for attacks in Southeast Asia, being an associate of Hambali, and having suspicious materials in the apartment where he was arrested. He says he has “nothing to do with JI” and that “it is true I facilitated the movement of money for Hambali, but I did not know what it was going to be used for.” He also points out, “it is not against the law in Thailand to have an M-16 in your apartment.” [US Department of Defense, 3/20/2007 ]
Gouled Hassan Dourad is accused of heading an al-Qaeda cell in Djibouti and of participating in operations by Al-Ittihad al-Islami in Somalia, but decides not to attend the hearing. He denies the specific allegations, but acknowledges fighting Ethiopians, which he says is his “right.” [US Department of Defense, 4/28/2007]
Entity Tags: Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Gouled Hassan Dourad, Jemaah Islamiyah, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Hambali, Abu Zubaida, Majid Khan, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, Mohamad Farik Amin, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, Khallad bin Attash
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline
March 26, 2007: Former Los Angeles Times Editor Denies Decision Not to Publish NSA Wiretapping Story Came in Wake of Government Pressure
Former Los Angeles Times editor Dean Baquet says his newspaper did not bow to government pressure in choosing not to run a story about allegations by AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein (see July 7, 2009, December 15-31, 2005, and February 11, 2006 and After). In an ABC News report on Klein’s allegations of AT&T’s complicity with the National Security Agency (NSA) to illegally conduct warrantless electronic surveillance against American citizens, Klein says that the Times bowed to government pressure from the then-Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte and the then-Director of the NSA Michael Hayden. Baquet, now the Washington bureau chief of the New York Times, says that while he spoke to both Negroponte and Hayden about the story, “government pressure played no role in my decision not to run the story.” Instead, Baquet says he and managing editor Doug Frantz decided “we did not have a story, that we could not figure out what was going on” based on Klein’s highly technical documents. Baquet says Times reporter Joseph Menn disagreed with his decision, “and was very disappointed.” Klein’s story was published in the New York Times in April 2006 (see April 7, 2006 and April 12, 2006). [ABC News, 3/26/2007] Klein will later write that Baquet’s explanation is an “absurd and flimsy excuse,” and will say it is obvious that the Los Angeles Times “capitulated to government pressure.” [Klein, 2009, pp. 62]
Entity Tags: Joseph Menn, Dean Baquet, AT&T, Douglas Frantz, John Negroponte, Mark Klein, National Security Agency, Michael Hayden, Los Angeles Times
Freedoms and Responsibilities
Airport and Immigration Security (12)Citizenship Rights (38)Freedom of Speech / Religion (59)Gun Rights (6)Impositions on Rights and Freedoms (804)Media Freedoms (34)Privacy (267)Taxation (5)
Legal Changes
'Tenther' Initiative (7)Court Procedures and Verdicts (214)Expansion of Presidential Power (477)Other Legal Changes (165)Patriot Act (24)Signing Statements (27)Sotomayor Nomination (7)State Secrets (37)
Media Involvement and Responses
Media Involvement and Responses (72)
Detainee Treatment Act (14)Detainments Outside US (87)Detainments in US (72)Gov't Violations of Prisoner Rights (345)
2006 US Attorney Firings (119)Continuity of Government (110)Government Acting in Secret (445)Government Classification (347)
Database Programs (78)NSA Wiretapping / Stellar Wind (264)National Security Letters (20)Other Surveillance (103)
US Elections, Voting, and Campaign Finance
Campaign Finance (254)Election, Voting Laws and Issues (154)Voter Fraud/Disenfranchisement (154)Voting Rights (163)
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Holy Cross School > The Holy Cross Way > Catholic Identity / Religious…
The Vision of Religious Education
The identity and culture of Holy Cross School is derived from gospel values and Church tradition and expressed through the school’s values, culture, rituals and practices. Opportunities are offered for students, staff and parents to build community, to engage in spiritual formation, to pray, to celebrate and to practise social justice and stewardship for the earth.
The Religious Life of the School is complementary to the Religious Education Curriculum. It incorporates the liturgical and prayer life of the community. Holy Cross engages in regular Whole School and Year Level Masses, as well as weekend Family Masses, in all of which families are encouraged to participate. Our school’s Feast Day falls on September 14th, The Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Triumph of the Cross). All students participate in daily meditation, which is predominantly Christian Meditation.
Holy Cross School forms part of the Northern Beaches Parish. Currently, the Sacramental Programme undertaken by students, is parish-based family preparation. Students from Year Three are eligible to enrol for First Reconciliation and from Year Four they are invited to participate in a combined Confirmation and First Holy Communion programme.
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Josh Sheehan Wins Red Bell X Fighters With Double Backflip!
Australia’s newest Freestyle Motocross superstar, Josh Sheehan, won his first major international competition at his home-nation Red Bull X-Fighters final round, held on Cockatoo Island, Sydney, Australia on Saturday afternoon.
Sheehan defied the odds after almost crashing earlier in his semi-final, to quickly turn his mistake into a career defining moment when he executed a perfect Double Backflip in his Semi-Final round against eventual 2011 Tour winner, Dany Torres to set himself up with a Final round against New Zealand’s Levi Sherwood, where he would go on to win.
“Today’s win for me here in Sydney was overwhelming! My family were here to see it, and I’m glad to be part of three ‘firsts’. It is the first time I have won X-Fighters. The first time X-Fighters have come to Australia in 11 years and the first time I have done a Double Backflip in a freestyle competition” Sheehan said.
“I knew I had to pull the Double Backflip earlier than I wanted to, because I had to go head-to-head with Dany Torres in the semi-finals. I felt confident with it, and knew I just had to land it to be a chance to go through to the final” Sheehan said.
The deafening Australian crowd who packed out the Cockatoo Island venue reached fever pitch when Sheehan made it into the final, but it was his final run against Levi Sherwood that would seal Josh as one of world’s best Freestyle MX riders when he landed his second Double Flip for the day to take the win, and in doing so became 4th overall for the 2011 series.
“I felt so much better in the final round. I was so nervous before I did my first Double flip, but after I landed it, I was much more confident in myself and went back to my original run. I knew what the strong winds were doing, and I was comfortable with the doing the Double Flip again.”
Sheehan displayed one of the most technically difficult freestyle runs in Freestyle MX history, when he performed not only the Double Backflip, but also a 360 Heelclicker and one of the biggest Ruler backflips in his two-minute run, while utilising the very intense dirt course and continually riding the highest on the tallest wall-ride ever seen in competition.
Josh Sheehan is supported by Carlton Dry Honda racing team, Red Bull, Valyside Apparel, Dragon and DEFT gloves.
For more information on Red Bull X-Fighters, visit: www.redbull.com
For more information regarding Josh Sheehan, email
Photos by Jorg Mitter/Red Bull
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Club/Appointed
May 9, 2017 - Current (2 Seasons)
Michael Flynn was appointed as Caretaker Manager in March 2017 before being given the role on a full time basis in May 2017.
Flynn has a long connection to the Exiles having come through the Youth Team ranks before breaking into the 1st team as a teenager in 1999. After just one season at the club, Flynn moved to Barry Town FC (a professional Welsh League Team at a time when County were in the Southern League Premier Division) to further his career but never forgot his roots. After an excellent playing career which included Wigan Athletic, Gillingham, and Blackpool, Flynn returned to County in 2012 and was part of the promotion winning team that put Newport County AFC back in the Football League.
Over the years, Flynn has had many roles at the club including Director of the Academy, First Team Coach, Football and Business Development Director, and is now at the helm of the club."The club for me is everything," Flynn said during his first interview as Caretaker Manager. "It is a lot more than just football. I am a Newport boy and seeing this club be successful is everything I want."
Source: Newport County
2 Honours
SKY BET EFL MANAGER OF THE MONTH AWARDS: APRIL 2019
LG PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: NEWPORT COUNTY BOOKS FIFTH ROUND FA CUP TIE WITH MAN CITY
SKY BET EFL MANAGER OF THE MONTH AWARDS - SEPTEMBER 2018
LG PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: FLYNN LEADS NEWPORT COUNTY TO SAFETY WITH LAST-GASP WIN
MICHAEL FLYNN APPOINTED NEWPORT COUNTY MANAGER
Honours (2)
Newport County:
Manager of the Month, Sky Bet League Two, (30/04/2019)
Newport County Manager
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LFHHS Online
LFHHS Home
LFHHS Newsletters
British Army Casualty Lists 1939 - 1945 on Findmypast
The records of over 1.1 million casualties sustained by the British Army during the Second World War have been published online at Findmypast.
Released in association with The National Archives to coincide with the 77th anniversary of Britain’s entry into the war, the British Army casualty lists 1939-1945 record the details of officers, nurses, and other ranks who were reported as killed in action, dead as a result of illness or accident, missing, or taken as a prisoner of war.
The records are comprised of daily lists prepared by the War Office. Each list covers the various expeditionary forces serving in different locations such as The Western Desert, Malaya, Italy, Greece or France, and also cover those killed or injured at home or at overseas stations outside theatres of war. In some cases, the lists also recorded casualties suffered at sea when transport ships were attacked by enemy vessels.
The records consist of fully searchable transcripts and scanned colour images of the original documents. Each entry lists the person’s name, rank, service number, regiment, status, and previous theatre of war. The image may also provide additional information such as a date of death or a notation on their previous status.
LFHHS Online Blog
#LFHHS
#LFHHSonline
Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society
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Guest View: Budget impasse devastating public health services in Illinois
The state of Illinois’ budget impasse is eroding the capacity of local health departments to protect the health of its citizens.
Local health departments are taking appropriate – yet drastic – action in response to this crisis: They are laying off staff, reducing the work week and reducing the hours they’re open for business.
Rural health departments are particularly hard hit because their populations are older, incomes are lower, property values are less, there are fewer local tax revenues for the health department, cash reserves are smaller, and the demand for public health services is greater.
Sixteen of Illinois’ 97 local health departments, serving nearly a million people, already have reduced staff, hours and services.
More health departments will be forced to take similar action if no state funding is received for the services that have been delivered but not paid for since July 1.
It is only a matter of time until there is a disease outbreak that leaves many people sick and may even cost some their lives – an outbreak of a disease that could have been prevented by public health. In Illinois, front-line public health services are provided by local health departments.
They are units of local government. They are supported by local tax revenues, fees and grants from the state and federal governments.
There are 97 of them; they serve 100 of Illinois’ 102 counties and more than 99 percent of the state’s population.
Essential public health services provided by local health departments – such as restaurant inspection, regulation of private sewage systems, investigation of disease outbreaks and immunization against communicable diseases – are in jeopardy because of the budget impasse.
In addition, because of the loss of staff, the local public health system is losing its capacity to protect the public and respond adequately to public health emergencies, such as the cases of measles in northern Illinois, outbreaks of mumps downstate, and the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Adams County.
The case of Vermilion County Health Department illustrates the impact of both the short-term crisis and the long-term trend of diminished state and federal support for local public health services.
In response to the state fiscal crisis in 2010, the health department discontinued 14 programs and laid off two-thirds of its staff (from 74 to 27 employees).
It was able to respond effectively to the 2009 influenza pandemic because it had 34 nurses on staff; today, it has five nurses, two of whom are part time. If a pandemic or another public health emergency would occur today, it would have very few resources with which to respond.
The governor and the General Assembly can take action now to avoid further erosion of Illinois’ public health system. The Illinois Public Health Association – which represents more than 7,000 public health professionals in local health departments, hospitals, clinics, academia and other settings – calls on the Illinois General Assembly to pass, and the governor to sign, Senate Bill 2178, which appropriates $17.1 million for the Local Health Protection Grant. This is the funding level the governor requested for the current fiscal year.
These funds are distributed to all 97 certified local health departments in Illinois, and they support the provision of essential public health services statewide – in every House and Senate district, for every citizen in Illinois.
Many in Springfield are saying this year’s budget may not be passed until March.
Local health department administrators already are stretching every dollar they have to the breaking point. Some – especially in rural Illinois – simply won’t be able to last that long.
If your readers have benefited from the services provided by local health departments – if they are glad they eat in restaurants that have been inspected to ensure that food is handled safely, if they are glad they were helped through a difficult pregnancy, helped to stop smoking, or had a place to have their children immunized, if they are glad they drink clean water from their own wells, if they are glad someone is making sure sewage is disposed of safely – I urge them to call their state representatives and senators now.
Pass this bill to pay for the services that protect the public’s health.
• Miriam Link-Mullison, M.S., is president of the Illinois Public Health Association.
Guest View: Alternate Revenue Bonds in Morris District 54 will not increase property tax rates
Guest View: Refusal by Springfield to resume discussions difficult to tolerate
Guest View: After court loss, Illinois Policy Institute levels false attacks against SEIU Healthcare
Letter: Consider St. Jude Parish
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Stories from Friday, February 5, 2010
Jean M. Peters (Obituary ~ 02/05/10)
April 29, 1915 - Feb. 3, 2010 GRAND ISLAND -- Jean M. Peters, 94, of Grand Island, formerly of McCook, died Wednesday (Feb. 3, 2010) at Wedgewood Care Center of Grand Island. There will be no services and at Jean's request cremation has taken place. All Faiths Funeral Home of Grand Island is serving the family...
Colorado Springs pushing limits on cutting city services (Editorial ~ 02/05/10)
How much service should we expect from our city government? It's a question city councillors struggle with every budget season and city administrators deal with on a day-to-day basis. Now one of the bright spots on the front range of the Colorado Rockies -- Colorado Springs -- is finding out just how far city services can be cut...
Joseph A. Haag (Obituary ~ 02/05/10)
Jan. 27, 1926 - Feb. 2, 2010 FARMINGTON, N.M. -- Joseph A. Haag, 84, died Tuesday (Feb. 2, 2010) at the San Juan Regional Medical Center. He was born Jan. 27, 1926, in Danbury to John and Nellie May (Thomas) Haag. He attended school at Danbury and later was drafted into the military during World War II and served in the 8th Army Air Corp, where he was an MP on Kwajalein Island, guarding the atom bomb...
Drugs and doctors (Column ~ 02/05/10)
Drugs don't always work and doctors aren't always right. In the Feb. 8 edition of Newsweek magazine, science editor Sharon Begley reports something many of us already intuitively believed; that some drugs aren't effective and placebos can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy...
Santa Claus Lane of McCook Nebraska -- the true story (Letter to the Editor ~ 02/05/10)
This is a story of an artist, U.S. (Bill) Grant, and his family, residents of McCook. Dad had an idea and he named it Santa Claus Lane. I feel Dad wanted to surprise the residents of McCook by giving them a Christmas gift, for all to enjoy. Dad's vision was born at our home, 711 W. ...
Sara L. Utter (Obituary ~ 02/05/10)
Dec. 26, 1932-Feb. 2, 2010 NORTH PLATTE -- Sara L. Utter, 77, died Tuesday (Feb. 2, 2010), at St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island. She was born Dec. 26, 1932, to George and Hazel (Neal) Genau at North Platte. She graduated from North Platte High School...
Sund birth (Births ~ 02/05/10)
Jeremie and Tiffany (Clark) Sund of Omaha, announce the birth of a son, Oliver William Sund. He was born Nov. 19, 2009. He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 201/2 inches long. Grandparents are Bob and Renalle Loshbaugh, Steve and Sharon Clark, Gloria Clark of McCook and the late Bill Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Sund and Mr. and Mrs. Ira Slater of Hastings...
Lawson, Stevens engagement (Engagement ~ 02/05/10)
Denys Lawson, formerly of Lincoln and Christopher Stevens of McCook announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Parents of the couple are Caroline Lawson of Bartley, Dennis Lawson of Grand Island, Rick and Rita Bose of Cambridge and Van and Sandy Stevens of McCook...
Hidy birth (Births ~ 02/05/10)
Matthew and Mari (Hobbs) Hidy of Mead, announce the birth of a son, Wyatt James Hidy. He was born Jan. 20, 2010, at Alegent Health Lakeside in Omaha. He weighed 7 pounds, and was 19.5 inches long. Grandparents are Clarence and Susan Hidy of Saginaw, Texas, Darlene Hobbs of Nehawka and the late Mick Hobbs. Great-grandparents are the late Lew and Elizabeth Hidy...
Walker birthday (Birthdays ~ 02/05/10)
The family of Velma M. (Wilson) Walker is requesting a card shower in honor of her 85th birthday, Feb. 15. Cards of congratulations will reach her at Rural Route 1, Box 4A, Maywood, NE 69038
Bryant birthday (Birthdays ~ 02/05/10)
The family of Wayne Bryant is requesting a card shower in honor of his 80th birthday, Feb. 15. Cards of congratulations will reach him at 712 East 6th Street, McCook, NE 69001.
Arterburn anniversary (Anniversary ~ 02/05/10)
The family of George "Kermit" and Charlene Arterburn of McCook is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 40th wedding anniversary, Feb. 14. Their children include Deb and Jim Winchell of York, Dan Arterburn of Conifer, Colo., Tom and Cindi Arterburn of McCook, Lynda and Dave Kreutzer of Grand Island, Chris and Randy Zwickle, 11 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Cards of congratulations will reach the couple at 2206 Norris Ave, McCook, NE 69001...
McCarville anniversary (Anniversary ~ 02/05/10)
The family of Harold L. and Phyllis L. (Brunswick) McCarville is requesting a card shower in honor of the couple's 60th wedding anniiversary, Feb. 9. Their children include Teresa "Tess" and husband, Dan Brown of Palisade; Tom and Sherrie McCarville of Lincoln; Tim McCarville of St. Louis, Mo.; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. An open house is set for Feb. 13, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m., at the Eagle's Club...
3,800,000,000,000 (Column ~ 02/05/10)
On Monday, February 1, President Barack Obama submitted his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. This is the first step in the budgetary process, though the evolution will continue on for several more weeks as Congress proposes its own version...
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Find this article at: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000843279/article/brandon-mcmanus-broncos-agree-on-3year-extension
Brandon McManus, Broncos agree on 3-year extension
By Around The NFL staff NFL.com
Published: Sept. 11, 2017 at 03:26 p.m.
Updated: Sept. 11, 2017 at 03:58 p.m.
The Denver Broncos made sure Brandon McManus will be their kicker for the long haul on Monday.
General manager John Elway announced the team and the kicker agreed on a contract extension. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source, it's a three-year extension worth $11.254 million with $6 million of it guaranteed. McManus is now the NFL's fourth highest paid kicker.
We've agreed to terms with Brandon McManus on a new four-year deal. Brandon's made a lot of big kicks & is an important weapon for our team! pic.twitter.com/dgPq6QYhF0
— John Elway (@johnelway) September 11, 2017
McManus connected on 68 of his 82 field goal attempts in his three years in Denver with a long of 57 yards. He also made 108 of his 110 career extra-point attempts. Last season, McManus missed just five of his 34 field goal attempts.
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Apr–Jun 2009: Mathew Hale
Mathew Hale
Der Mond vs Le Monde
DER MOND v LE MONDE is Mathew Hale’s first solo exhibition in London for five years. It consists of five works: one two-projector and one three-projector slide piece; a constructed painting (that could equally be described as a wall-mounted sculpture); and two large collage works. He has also produced an artists’ book, or more precisely a ciné-roman of one of the slide pieces, TAXI STOP FIJI, that will be available free to visitors to the exhibition.
Hale’s work has many possible points of departure: a found photograph, a scrap of paper, a page torn from an instructive and obscure book, a bit of out-moded pornography, some anachronistic advertising from the 1970s or 1980s and so forth. Once plucked from a huge collection of such material amassed in his domestic studio space, the work evolves like an unplanned journey – both moving away and turning back on itself… The path of discovery in Hale’s work is the subject of his work, providing it with narrative and process.
With its roots in the collage traditions of political photomontage, dadaist assemblage and free associative surrealism, Hale’s work prioritises process over methodology or style. It activates a complex web of references that takes in history, politics, literature, and philosophy, as much as it does sex, religion, art, architecture and popular culture. To engage with the work is to become carried along by clues that lead to other clues and then circuitously lead somewhere else unexpected yet somehow familiar. Sometimes the clues are visual, sometimes they are language based, often they are both. Even when the work is finished and exhibited it is in a state of flux, the meaning is not fixed. Hale likes slippage of meaning and this constant state of ambiguity and openness for (mis)interpretation or confusion. He explains the title of the show as follows: ‘[in German] ... and strikingly weirdly, “der Mond” means “The Moon” and, as we all know, “Le Monde” means “The Earth”. How can a word flip so totally by crossing a border? I am making a work for the show which hinges on their being apparently identical (almost) and yet meaning precisely the opposite – I wonder how it happened.’
Mathew Hale was born in the UK and studied in London. He has lived in Berlin since 2000. He is represented by Galerie Wentrup, Berlin and by Galerie Michel Rein, Paris and Brussels, to whom we are grateful for their contribution to the production of the artist’s book.
The First 15 Minutes of Taxi Stop Fiji, a cine-roman, has been published on the occasion of Mathew Hale's exhibition. Click here to buy a copy.
Art Monthly: review by Larne Abse Gogarty
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5th July 2019 PCCCommunications
You may have seen in the media at the weekend that young adults are half as likely to own a home now as they were 20 years ago.
The claim was made by the Local Government Association in a report titled Understanding the Local Housing Market, which warns that many young people face renting into retirement as high rents hinder their ability to save.
It is a problem, which is why we work closely with housing associations and home builders to achieve a good mix of new housing in the city, including affordable homes to buy and rent.
In the past five years 5,328 new homes have been completed in Peterborough, with 1,074 of these affordable. Housing associations have provided an additional 150 homes for affordable ownership and rent, with a further 252 anticipated in the current financial year.
Only last week Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority approved funding of £1.2 million to acquire a 5.1 acre site in the north of the city for around 60 homes, with 30 per cent of these affordable.
The combined authority has also agreed funding of £735,000 to convert 21 new homes from open market sale to affordable rent at Belle Vue in Stanground. It’s the second site to be developed by Medesham Homes, the joint venture partnership between the council and Cross Keys Homes.
In May, the city council agreed to provide almost £6.2million to Medesham Homes, funded from Right to Buy receipts, to deliver 35 new affordable homes at Eye Green.
These projects are all really encouraging and are part of a long term plan to deliver homes across the city for everyone, whether it’s for the private sector, social rent, shared ownership or private rental.
The city council has also invested £10million for the purchase of homes off the open market for use as temporary accommodation for families who are homeless and awaiting permanent re-housing. So far we’ve purchased 51 properties and anticipate being able to buy a further eight.
Our city continues to grow faster than many other parts of the country with significant levels of growth and housing experienced in the past ten years. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of this slowing down, so it’s important that our efforts to create new housing don’t either.
Continuing the A47 dualling campaign
Last week I attended a reception at Parliament hosted by Brandon Lewis MP, along with the Mayor of Cambridgeshire James Palmer and businessman Rob Facer of Barnack Construction, to support the campaign to dual the A47 between Peterborough and Lowestoft.
This road joins the city with the east coast and is of national strategic importance, linking the Midlands with Eastern seaports and acts as an economic artery that runs through Peterborough.
At the meeting I made sure I represented Peterborough’s interests and explained that dualling the sections on our patch would bring huge benefits, reducing journey times and congestion and supporting our vision to see more local economic growth.
Future road proposals
In further good news, the combined authority has agreed to include two Peterborough road schemes on its list of priorities. This list is then shared with the government for a decision on funding.
The two projects are access to the new university site on The Embankment and linking the A47 better with Eastern Industry, taking the pressure off Eye and Parnwell.
Congratulations to Safer Off the Streets!
The city’s Safer Off the Streets partnership is celebrating this week after winning a regional award at the Britain and Ireland Awards, organised by Premier Christian Radio.
The partnership, which scooped the ‘Best Start-Up’ category, helps on average two rough sleepers to leave the streets a month since it began in October last year and has raised a whopping £8,000 for charity.
I know many of you, myself included, have donated money either online or via the contactless card reader in St Peter’s Arcade, the money goes towards the running of the Garden House in the cathedral grounds.
The Garden House is run by the Light Project Peterborough – which also won an award – and does a fantastic job of creating a welcoming environment for rough sleepers thanks to its kind-hearted volunteers.
Another of the scheme’s partners, Care Zone, which operates out of Kingsgate Community Church, also won an award at the ceremony, which is a great achievement.
I’d like to say a massive well done to all those involved in the Safer Off the Streets partnership and to the Light Project for their efforts over the past nine months. Next stop is the national awards, let’s put Peterborough on the map for the right reasons!
Council newsletter
Finally, did you know the council now sends a e-newsletter to residents every week? It includes a link to my blog and other important news about the council. You can sign up at www.peterborough.gov.uk.
Achievements, Awards, Budget, Campaign, Community, Development, Funding, Homelessness, Housingaccommodation, Achievements, Awards, budget, City College, community, Council, funding, Government, homelessness, housing
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OSW-PH-M-21-8 – Morton Hall, Morton
Morton Hall. Oswestry. (Earl of Bradford.) Stanley Leighton Sketch
Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Ld. Keeper in Charles II’s time, married Judith d. and h. of John Kynaston of Morton. In this house, his father, the Bishop of Chester, is said to have lived after resigning his Sea: and here he died in 1652 and was buried in the Church of Kinnerly where there is a monument to his memory. There are portraits of the Bishop at the Palace, Chester; at the Hall, Wigan; of which town he was rector, and at Weston, where there is also one of his wife, Elizabeth Helyar. The Bishop’s motto was Dei gratia, pons homini which may be translated ‘By God’s grace, a Bridge man’.
This house,which had long been used as a farm house, was entirely demolished in 1874 by the Earl of Bradford, and a new one built on the site.
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Watch Lucian Freud’s Very Last Day of Painting (2011)
in Art | June 8th, 2015 Leave a Comment
All artists are mortal. Lucian Freud was, by anyone's definition, an artist. Therefore, Lucian Freud was mortal — as, so his artistic vision emphasized, are the subjects of his "stark and revealing paintings of friends and intimates, splayed nude in his studio," which, wrote William Grimes in Freud's 2011 New York Times obituary, "recast the art of portraiture and offered a new approach to figurative art." Freud "put the pictorial language of traditional European painting in the service of an anti-romantic, confrontational style of portraiture that stripped bare the sitter’s social facade. Ordinary people — many of them his friends — stared wide-eyed from the canvas, vulnerable to the artist’s ruthless inspection."
Or, in Freud's own words: “I work from the people that interest me and that I care about, in rooms that I live in and know.” Just as every mortal artist's career must begin with a first work, so it must end with a final work, and in the clip at the top of the post you can witness a few minutes from the very last day the painter spent painting somebody who interested him and whom he cared about, in a room he lived in and knew. He spent it on this canvas, an enormous and unfinished portrait of his assistant David Dawson and his whippet Eli called Portrait of the Hound.
"Every morning, seven days a week, I sat for Lucian," said Dawson to The Telegraph's Martin Gayford. "There was a very open acceptance of his not having so long to live. But he still had a burning desire to make a very good painting, right up to the end. He was painting three weeks before he died." Dawson shot this footage of Freud's final working day, July 3, 2011, which made it into the documentary Lucian Freud: Painted Life [part one, part two]. "We are in Freud’s home, which is very quiet, with lots of paintings on the walls, and filled with a subtle, natural light," writes Hyperallergic's Elisa Wouk Almino. "He was particular about painting under a northern light, which he once described as 'cold and clear and constant.'"
Whether Freud lived the last truly painterly life, we can't know for sure; we do know, however, that he lived one of the most resolutely painterly lives in recent history. "Lucian didn't bother about what he didn't need to," said his final subject. "What was important was trying to make the best painting he possibly could. Work was what kept him going: that need to get out of bed, pick up a paintbrush and make another mark, make another decision. So that was what he did. It was a good way to go about living a life."
via Hyperallergic
Jackson Pollock 51: Short Film Captures the Painter Creating Abstract Expressionist Art
Astonishing Film of Arthritic Impressionist Painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1915)
Watch Picasso Create Entire Paintings in Magnificent Time-Lapse Film (1956)
Colin Marshall writes on cities, language, Asia, and men’s style. He’s at work on a book about Los Angeles, A Los Angeles Primer, and the video series The City in Cinema. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.
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Jackie Gallant
Jackie Gallant is a musician, video artist, composer and performer who creates and performs for dance, video and film. She began her musical career as a drummer for several Montreal rock groups. Since then she’s toured nationally and internationally with everyone from La La La Human Steps to Lesbians on Ecstasy and collaborated as sound designer and composer in various contexts for several artists. Recently she collaborated with actor/director Marie Brassard, Sarah Williams and video artist Sabrina Ratté on the dance/theatre piece Moving in This World. In fall 2015, in addition to working with dancer/choreographers Karen Fennell and George Stamos, she composed, directed and performed in a pop opera (POD~the musical) as part of the Phenomena festival. As a sound, performance and video artist, her work addresses and deconstructs pop culture with self-referential humor and subtle subversion.
The King of Pop
Audio Art / Electronic Soundscapes: Indigenous Feminist Sound Production
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Winter 2011 TCA Press Tour: Top 10 Quotes from Day 3
Posted by Will Harris (01/08/2011 @ 6:19 pm)
Day 3 of the Winter 2011 TCA Press Tour ran me ragged, moreso than any day which preceded it and, I feel rather certain, than any day to follow. Very rarely has it ever come to pass that I schedule a day full of one-on-one interviews and have every single of them go off without a hitch, and you can probably already guess that yesterday wasn’t an exception to that rule. I should probably just be happy that I got some of them, though: the way things were looking, I wasn’t entirely convinced that I was going to get any of them.
The last day of the cable portion of the tour began with breakfast with the members of the Rainbow Networks: WEtv (“Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best” and “Braxton Family Values”), IFC (“Onion News Network” and “Portlandia”), and AMC (“The Killing”). Shifting ballrooms, we next listened to A&E (“Breakout Kings”) and Lifetime (“Seriously Funny Kids” and “Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy”), but…do you detect a trend here?…we soon moved back to the other ballroom to get the scoop on stuff from Hallmark (“Goodnight for Justice”) and Starz (“Camelot,” “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,” and “Torchwood: Miracle Day”). Lastly, it was – oh, dear – back to the other ballroom again. This time, however, HBO kept us sitting still for the duration of the afternoon, giving us looks into “Mildred Pierce,” “The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway,” “Cinema Verite,” “Game of Thrones,” “Too Big to Fail,” and “The Sunset Limited.”
My problem, however, was this: I had to keep bowing out of this panel and that in order to participate in various roundtables and one-on-one interviews. Worse, one of the roundtables – stand up, please, Tommy Lee Jones – was shifted from a perfect location on the schedule into a spot which utterly disrupted almost all of the interviews that followed. In the end, though, I did manage to participate in two roundtables for “Game of Thrones,” including one with author George R.R. Martin, I and two other writers sparred with Mr. Jones (surviving the encounter without having any of my questions ridiculed or dismissed outright has earned me some sort of entertainment journalism merit badge, I feel certain), and still managed to chat one-on-one with the too-sweet-for-words Eve Myles (“Torchwood: Miracle Day”) as well as John Hannah and Peter Mensah (“Spartacus: Gods of the Arena”).
The evening event was brought to us by Hallmark, and it took place at the Tournament House…as in the Tournament of Roses…in Pasadena. It was a pleasantly low-key event which began with cocktails and featured a classy sit-down dinner. What I’m saying, basically, is that it was old-school in all the right ways, including familiar TV faces like Doris Roberts, Marion Ross, and Marilu Henner, who regularly found herself holding court about her superior autobiographical memory. I also had an opportunity to sit down and chat with 11-year-old Kiernan Shipka, who plays Sally Draper on “Mad Men.” What a little sweetheart.
Okay, that’s it for the Day 3 wrap-up. Time for your daily dose of my favorite quotes…
1. “I knew that I was doing a lot of plastic surgery, because Melissa, one time, called me when (my grandson) Cooper was four years old and they had ‘Return of the Mummy,’ and he ran to the TV and went, ‘Grandma, Grandma.’ But I think plastic surgery come on, guys. You know. How many people have you interviewed…if you had a stitch for every if you had a dollar for every stitch in the face of someone you’ve interviewed, you wouldn’t be sitting here. You know what I mean? It’s part of our business.” – Joan Rivers, “Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best” (WEtv)
2. “It is literally impossible to be more ridiculous than Fox News or MSNBC. It’s actually impossible. It’s happened multiple times that we’ll be kind of talking and brainstorming a joke in the writers’ room, we’ll get excited about it, and then it’s literally on the FoxNews.com website. So I think we have to kind of embrace that closeness. And the excitement for us is not being a parody of 24-hour news, but we are real news. Those are our competitors in a kind of slightly different world, and I think that believability is also part of what’s exciting about it. We’ve had online cases where, for example, last year there was a case where we published a story about Neil Armstrong now saying that the moon landing was a hoax, and all these papers in Bangladesh picked it up. There was a story about the Make-A-Wish Foundation being bankrupted by a child who wishes for unlimited wishes, which is pretty out there. It went on MySpace, which is kind of the Internet hub for morons, and we got this letter from the Make-A-Wish Foundation that was, like, ‘We’re getting hundreds of e-mails every hour, people who are concerned.’ So how ridiculous those things are, I think, really kind of opens up a lot of doors for us.” – Will Graham, “Onion News Network” (IFC)
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Posted in: Interviews, News, Reality TV, TCA Blog 2011, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Reality
Tags: 2011 Winter TCA Blog, Amanda Know: Murder on Trial in Italy, Bieber Fever, Bill Pullman, Camelot, Carrie Brownstein, Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, Hallmark Channel, Heidi Klum, Jamie Campbell Bower, Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best, Joan Rivers, Justin Bieber, Kate Winslet, Kiernan Shipka, Marcia Gay Harden, Mel Brooks, Melissa Rivers, Mildred Pierce, Onion News Network, Pee Wee Herman, Portlandia, Return of the Mummy, Robert Pattinson, Roland Emmerich, Russ Meyer, Russell T. Davies, Seriously Funny Kids, Smooch, Spaceballs, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway, Torchwood, Torchwood: Miracle Day, Twilight, Will Graham
RIP Tura Satana
Bullz-Eye’s TCA 2011 Winter Press Tour Wrap-Up: Kneel Before Oprah!
No surprise: “Alice in Wonderland” earns all the mad teaparty crumpets
Weekend box office: “Alice” will be in the zone and out of everyone’s league
Emmerich says “Independence Day” sequel still alive, “2012: The Series” not so much
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
Posted by Ross Ruediger (12/28/2010 @ 4:04 pm)
Leave it to Steven Moffat to take the annual “Doctor Who” Christmas special tradition and finally get it right. Given how adept the man is at penning this series at this point, this should probably come as no surprise, and yet, for me at least, it did. I’d learned over the years to set my expectations very low for these holiday outings due to Russell T. Davies’ mind-numbingly action-oriented yearly offerings. I do love Davies, but his Christmas stories always ranked pretty low for me, or rather I cut him and his holiday specials an immense amount of slack, as in interviews he was always going on about how most of the audience is drunk anyway, and are basically looking for mindless fare on Christmas night. So that was his approach and it worked well as far as the U.K. viewing figures were concerned it seems.
To be fair, they got better as they went along, with only the bloated disaster yarn, “Voyage of the Damned,” bucking that trend, although last year’s episode was barely even a Christmas tale, being the first half of “The End of Time” and all. More than anything else, though, what was most disappointing about Davies’ Christmas outings is how none of them ever became holiday traditions for me as a “Doctor Who” fan, which is pretty amazing since there were four to choose from. Indeed, the best Christmas tale the series had unveiled prior to this past Saturday night was Season One’s “The Unquiet Dead,” penned by Mark Gatiss, which of course wasn’t even a holiday special. As you’ll no doubt remember, “The Unquiet Dead” detailed the Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose (Billie Piper) meeting Charles Dickens (Simon Callow) right before Christmas in 1869 Cardiff, and here we are, well over five years later, returning to Dickens once again, and once again we discover that Dickens and “Doctor Who” make for a potent combination.
At its start, “A Christmas Carol” alarmingly resembles a Davies-era holiday adventure, with a giant spaceship plummeting through the atmosphere towards the ground below. Honestly, I was scared at this point – not over the potential fate of Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), but that I was being set up for “Voyage of the Damned II.” But the story quickly shifts gears into far more character driven territory, as we move onto the surface below and meet the cantankerous Kazran Sardick, played by the great Michael Gambon. Most people equate Gambon with Dumbledore these days, and with good reason, because it’s the role he’s been seen in more than any other. Myself? I first became acquainted with the man 20 years ago via Peter Greenaway’s “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover,” in which he played the thoroughly despicable Albert Spica alongside Helen Mirren. His performance in that film is so perfect, playing such an awful man, that to this day it’s the role I still associate him with the most, and it was cool to see him return to that shouting, obnoxious type of character. It’s interesting to note the decision to give neither Gambon nor the other high profile guest star, Katherine Jenkins, billing in the opening credits, while Gillan and Darvill – neither of whom have an enormous amount of screen time during the hour – are credited at the top.
Posted in: Doctor Who, TV, TV Action, TV Sci-Fi
Tags: A Christmas Carol, Arthur Darvill, BBC America, Billie Piper, Charles Dickens, Christopher Eccleston, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Christmas special, Doctor Who The End of Time Part One, Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol, Euros Lyn, Headlines, Karen Gillan, Katherine Jenkins, Kazran Sardick, Mark Gatiss, Matt Smith, Michael Gambon, Russell T. Davies, Simon Callow, Steven Moffat, The Unquiet Dead, Toby Haynes, Voyage of the Damned, Where's the TARDIS
Doctor Who 5.13 – The Big Bang
Doctor Who 5.12 – The Pandorica Opens
Doctor Who 5.11 – The Lodger
Doctor Who 5.10 – Vincent and the Doctor
A Chat with Arthur Darvill (“Doctor Who”)
Posted by Ross Ruediger (07/25/2010 @ 7:13 am)
And so we come to yet another season finale of the greatest science fiction series ever created. This is the recap I’ve been both anticipating and dreading writing in equal parts since first seeing “The Big Bang” some weeks ago; anticipating because of how much I adored this finale, and dreading because there’s no way I can do it justice in a mere recap. It’s not even an issue of space or time (or is it?), it’s a matter of the story, as well as the 12 episodes prior to it, being too dense to dissect thoroughly. You’ll have to forgive that this doesn’t resemble a recap proper, and I instead ramble on about other issues.
I didn’t go into “The Pandorica Opens” and “The Big Bang” expecting a whole lot, conditioned as I am on Russell T Davies’s extravagant-yet-ultimately-lightweight season finales. Don’t get me wrong, they were most always a great deal of fun, but they most always left me somewhat wanting – excepting Season Three’s Master trilogy, although I’m not sure that’s in line with popular opinion. Oh, and “The Parting of the Ways.” Wait a minute…I loved most of his finales! But I often felt as if they didn’t go as far as they could. Part of the way through the current season the Pandoricrack, as I’ve come to call it, started to annoy me, and I began not so much resenting the thread, but rather simply dismissing it – assuming that whatever it was about wouldn’t be terribly thrilling. It turned out to be not only thrilling, but strange and deep and stimulating. This was Steven Moffat’s trademark “Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey” taken up to 11. (Maybe next year will go to 12?) This two-part finale forces viewers to go back and reexamine most of the season, and that isn’t something that can really be said for the Davies finales, which isn’t to imply they’re inferior. More on that later…
Tags: Alex Kingston, Arthur Darvill, Christopher Eccleston, Coupling, David Tennant, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Blog, Doctor Who Season Five, Doctor Who The End of Time Part One, Doctor Who The End of Time Part Two, Flesh and Stone, Headlines, Karen Gillan, Matt Smith, Peter Davison, Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat, The Big Bang, The Eleventh Hour, The Pandorica Opens, The Waters of Mars
Doctor Who 5.4 – The Time of Angels
Posted by Ross Ruediger (07/11/2010 @ 12:05 am)
Each season of the new “Doctor Who” has one or two “experimental” episodes – stories that just don’t feel like anything that’s come before. Thus far, most – if not all – of these stories have been successes. “Boom Town,” “Love & Monsters,” “Blink,” “Turn Left,” and “Midnight” have arguably been highlights in each of their seasons. It’s noteworthy that all but one of those was written by Russell T. Davies (and of course the one that wasn’t, “Blink,” was written by Steven Moffat). Davies seemed to be giving himself chances to think outside the [police?] box, and do something radical and different with the series on each occasion. I’m still not sure whether “Amy’s Choice” (which, like this one, was also directed by Catherine Moreshead) should be lumped into this group, but surely “The Lodger” is oddball enough to add to the list. So how does it stack up?
Well, it’s worth pondering why the story was made in the first place. For starters, it was very likely a chance to save some money. Aside from the episode’s climax, most of this tale is just people involved in seemingly everyday situations. But I think maybe there was more to it than just saving cash. Aside from “Boom Town,” the aforementioned stories were all designed to give the lead actors breaks. Given that this was the inaugural season of a new era for the show, it probably would have been a risky move to write the Doctor and Amy out for the bulk of a story, so instead what “The Lodger” does is remove Karen Gillan for most of the episode, while allowing Matt Smith the chance to chill out and just banter with James Corden (“Gavin & Stacey”) for an hour. Oh, and he also gets to play football, but since Smith has a history with the game, that probably wasn’t too taxing for him – the guy looks like he had a blast in that scene. Yes, for those of you who don’t know, Matt Smith once upon a time had dreams of being footballer, but a back injury led to him taking up acting instead.
Unlike Davies however, Moffat handed the oddball story over to Gareth Roberts, who has a long and winding history with “Doctor Who.” He’s one of “those” writers who’s been tied to it in one form or another for seemingly forever. I’m not familiar with the prose work he’s done over the years, so I can only really judge him on the scripts he’s written for the series, most of which haven’t been any great shakes. I quite liked “The Shakespeare Code” back when it was broadcast, but time hasn’t been too kind to my opinion of it. The following year he did “The Unicorn and The Wasp,” which I hated then, and hate only slightly less now. A recent viewing of it on BBC America led me to take it less seriously than I did a couple years ago, and hence, I was able to laugh at it a little more. The ending and the idea behind it is still pants though.
Tags: Amy's Choice, Black Orchid, Blink, Boom Town, Catherine Moreshead, Daisy Haggard, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Blog, Doctor Who Season Five, Elisabeth Sladen, Flesh and Stone, Gareth Roberts, Gavin and Stacey, Headlines, James Corden, Karen Gillan, Love & Monsters, Matt Smith, Midnight, Peter Davison, Planet of the Dead, Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat, The Lodger, The Sarah Jane Adventures, The Shakespeare Code, The Time Monster, The Unicorn and the Wasp, Turn Left
Doctor Who: 5.8 – The Hungry Earth / 5.9 – Cold Blood
Doctor Who: The End of Time Part Two
Last week, when writing about the first part of the Tennant/Davies swansong, I talked about not making any predictions, as well as the possibility of expectations not being met. On the predictions front, I’m glad I didn’t bother (although one of the few that I did make may actually be true – more on that in a bit), because there’s really no way I could have predicted the bizarre manner in which this tale concluded. The narrative meat of this episode – the stuff involving the Time Lords, Gallifrey and the Master – was quite frankly difficult to wade through on the first viewing; a second viewing alleviated some of that, and yet I’m still not convinced it all makes perfect sense. Perhaps I’m looking at it too deeply, and wanting more than there is?
I’d also be lying if I said I went into this episode without any expectations – I mean, how can you not? Many, if not most of them weren’t met, although there were plenty of other treats on display that made up for that. Indeed, this episode was hell bent on subverting expectations. “The End of Time” as a whole, which is how it should be judged, is a landmark slice of “Doctor Who,” even though the writing isn’t as tight as the intricate standard set by “The Waters of Mars.” Oh well – based on previous finales, I didn’t really expect it to be, and on that level it can’t be called a letdown. It’s so steeped in the mythology of Davies’ vision of “Who,” that it’s difficult to imagine it could possibly work as a piece of standalone drama for anyone unfamiliar with the past five years of the series. But that also can’t be a criticism, since what it really is is a jagged love letter to everyone who’s been paying attention during that time. Davies really backed himself into a corner with this one, because “Journey’s End” very much felt like the end of the era, only it wasn’t. So this proper ending, which feels more like a coda or an afterward, had to be a horse of a different color, and it most certainly was.
Posted in: Doctor Who, TV Sci-Fi
Tags: Bernard Cribbins, Billie Piper, Catherine Tate, Claire Bloom, David Tennant, Doctor Who, Doctor Who 2009 Christmas special, Doctor Who Blog, Doctor Who The End of Time Part One, Doctor Who The End of Time Part Two, Doctor Who: The War Games, Elisabeth Sladen, Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman, John Simm, Rose Tyler, Russell T. Davies, The Tenth Doctor, Timothy Dalton
Doctor Who: The End of Time Part One
TCA Tour, Day 2: “Doctor Who”
James Bond Fan Hub
Check out our 007-themed fan hub as we look back at all the James Bond films, from Connery to Craig, and more.
Blu Tuesday
New Blu-rays are released every Tuesday and Jason Zingale lets you know which ones to see or skip.
Plenty of Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Romijn like you've never seen her before.
Bullz-Eye.com
FilmBender
Hollywood.com
StarPulse.com
Pop Candy
Red Balcony
with any comments, tips or questions.
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Category Archives: Science
Eclipse, family, Science, self-discovery, Solar Eclipse
August 27, 2017 Roy Reichle 19 Comments
Eclipse Diamond
Last Monday, America was graced with an experience that hadn’t occurred in about one hundred years: A total solar eclipse that spanned the nation from coast to coast. Being science geeks, (Or just geeks really) my family and I had been planning to place ourselves in the path of totality for about a year. I had ordered the finest glasses, studied the best camera settings for capturing solar eclipses, and reserved a campsite right on the lunar shadow’s center-line. Once the day arrived, all we had to do was load our camping gear in the car and tiny trailer, then drive south and west through the the lonely heart of Nebraska’s Sandhills.
For five hours, we rolled up and down miles of hills and empty two-lane highways, plenty of time for thought. I spent my time watching out the window at the pale green of little blue stem, cheery yellow sunflowers, and spiky yucca soap weed. All doing their part to anchor the sand dunes hidden underneath. Below the sand, ran a giant delta of freshwater called the Ogallala Aquifer. It was invisible, but it kept the world above alive with it’s ancient and silent running water. If you didn’t know it was there, you’d wonder what magic kept the landscape from drifting away.
Windmill in the Sunflower Covered Sandhills of Nebraska
So much of the world is hidden — eclipsed by layers of nature that both blanket and depend on what’s underneath. I thought of how, in two days, the moon would slip between Sun and Earth and wondered, “What revelations might emerge from the lunar shadow?” I couldn’t say, or rather, didn’t want to say. I wanted my memory of the eclipse to rise out of experience, not expectations.
Then, in an incongruous jump, I thought, “Really, why see an eclipse at all?” Some of my friends had said, “What’s the big deal? There’s a shadow and it get’s dark. So what?” But that low estimation was lost on me. People traveled around the world to experience a few minutes of totality. Something drew them. Something was drawing me. I wasn’t completely sure of what it was: the rarity, the beauty of the corona, or maybe the uniqueness of being surrounded in a shadow from space. Everyone held some individual idea or expectation of one degree or another.
My friend, Sofia, who traveled all the way from Maryland to Nebraska with her family, was with us, too. She is an aerospace engineer who worked on the Hubble Telescope at one time and still works at the Goddard Space Flight Center, so her interest in a cosmic phenomenon is understandable. But she had other reasons.
Through a close friend’s confrontation with an unexpected illness, Sofia solidly collided with her own mortality. Her friend and colleague had been recently diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which is always terminal. In looking back on his life, he saw there were many things left undone, so to fill his last months or years, he started a bucket list. He urged Sofia to do the same, but soon, and not to wait for a death sentence. She took his advice, created a bucket list, and “see a total solar eclipse” was on the list. So, here she was.
Paul, Sofia’s husband, was there largely in support of his wife, and he wanted to see, as he put it, “the solar system’s engine run with all the perfection needed for an eclipse to occur.” I have to say, that’s one of my reasons too. The improbability of our Sun, Moon, and Earth all being the exact sizes and the exact distances necessary for a total eclipse is mind-boggling. For me, that astronomical implausibility adds to an eclipse’s mystical draw.
On the day of the eclipse, we awoke under a thick blanket of fog. Everyone was a little anxious, and we attempted to get satellite pictures on our phones, looking for unclouded areas we could quickly drive to if the skies refused to clear. Unfortunately, our remote location in the Sandhills made reception an iffy proposition. Sofia was very concerned. She had invested a lot into this trip, financially, and even more emotionally. In the end, the maps revealed the the same message Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz learned — that no place was really better than where we were, so we settled in to wait.
Soon the fog lifted and clouds cleared away. Our anxiety lifted too. Paul and Sofia set up their enormous binoculars and SLR digital camera on tripods and we tracked the sun as it moved across the sky and watched the moon chase it even faster.
As the moon Pac-manned it’s way across the Sun, our excitement built as the light changed, turning slightly more yellow and intensifying the grass-green hills. The light on our skin lost some of its heat and the air turned cool and still. By the time the last sliver of sunlight disappeared behind the Moon’s stony lid, everyone in our group grinned uncontrollably, clapped, cheered, or happily cried.
At totality, The Sun stood seemingly still in the noonday sky. Its center utterly black. The solar corona wisped around it like, as Sofia said, “white hair floating in water.” Darkness had fallen like a stone. The stars lit like someone had flipped a switch. All around us, morning and evening colors painted the horizon like stained glass. I felt directionless, and no matter how beautiful, it was disconcerting.
Two minutes and thirty four seconds. That’s all we had to absorb this, perhaps, once in a lifetime event. That’s a lot of pressure. I wanted to savor every second, but at the same time, I wanted to take pictures, look all around me, actually be with my friends and family, see the totality through the binoculars. It was too much. So I sat in my chair, craned my neck back and gazed into the totality. Well, I did take some pictures.
Sunset at Noon
A black gem ringed with silvery light, a little like a star sapphire. That’s my analogy for what it looked like. Ebon and beautiful. The fact that the gem was our Sun and Moon made it all the more magical. Since I don’t believe in magic, you could say a part of me was in disbelief. But another part was awed beyond belief. Emotions were all that were left me.
Did I cry? Almost.
Even though I fell short of tears, my feelings must have connected to an ancestry stretching back into pre-history, because, nagging in the back of my mind, there was a tiny fear that the sun wouldn’t return. Science be damned. Paul held that same niggling dread and made the observation that, “the Sun’s return seemed like a physical manifestation of hope.” I like the idea of a cosmic reprieve. We don’t deserve it, but I’ll take it.
After the Moon brushed by the Sun, and the light slowly brightened, it felt like that moment after all the Christmas presents are opened. Now what? I wanted to hit rewind, see the instant replay. It couldn’t be over.
But it was and we were finally more free to interact with one another and so we milled around laughing and saying things like, “That was amazing!” and “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced in my life!” Nothing Neil Armstongish, but everyone knew what the other meant. We had gone through it together.
It’s been just a week since millions of people united together in their appreciation of nature’s wonder. We all stood in the Moon’s shadow for a minute or two and gazed into the Sun’s corona for the first time — that unseen solar atmosphere is what warms our planet. Like the Ogallala Aquifer and the Sandhills, it keeps us alive, even when we can’t see it.
Much has happened in a week. Charlottesville stands out. It’s surreal in a way to live for a few days outside the sphere of the news and then to return. I’ve done it dozens of times as a backpacker, gone into the wilderness and returned to find all kinds of things changed. This time I returned to something out of the late 1950’s. But, the total eclipse has formed a new analogy of hope for me. Even as we slip into a shadow, I feel like the light of our better nature will soon emerge, and we’ll walk in the Sun again.
Bucket ListCharlottesvilleEclipseNebraskaSand HillsScienceself-discoverySolar Eclipse
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Home / Front / Automatic Rapid Transit trial run in Al Khor next week: MoTC
Automatic Rapid Transit trial run in Al Khor next week: MoTC
The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) is planning a trial run next week of the Automatic Rapid Transit (ART), an innovative, modern and environment-friendly public transport system.
With intelligent controls, ART is a rail-less system for urban transport which is essentially a crossover between buses and trams. It also integrates electrical and mechanical systems.
The trial in Qatar for the ART system will be the first in the world since it has been in operation in the manufacturing country, China.
The trial, which will start on Al Khor Expressway next week, will continue for a specific period of time and will be assessed by the MoTC to make sure the ART fits Qatar’s weather conditions before going ahead with its deployment.
The new system, if successful, will support the diversification of Qatar’s transportation sector. This will contribute to achieving economic and environmental balance in the transportation sector’s infrastructure projects.
This will also offer an exceptional experience for fans and visitors during the 2022 FIFA World Cup with high-quality services providing smooth mobility to stadiums, residences and tourist spots.
This initiative comes as part of the MoTC’s endeavors to provide a world-class, multimodal integrated transportation system that connects all areas and regions in Qatar, helping the public to reach in all vital areas easily with safe and reliable services in line with the pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
This will be a significant contribution to developing transportation modes in Qatar according to the latest eco-friendly universal systems and deploying alternative and clean energy to reduce harmful emissions.
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Amir meets top US officials
QNA Washington The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at HH the Amir’s residence in Washington DC on Wednesday. The meeting reviewed the strategic bilateral relations and ..
Two military training planes collide, pilots eject safely: MoD
Two military training aircraft collided in mid-air without causing any casualties as both pilots ejected safely, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) stated on Wednesday. “During a training flight, a collision occurred ..
US media heap praise on Amir-Trump meet
The summit meeting between the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and US President Donald Trump drew great attention by US media and newspapers, as the two sides affirmed the deep-rooted relations between the two ..
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Home / Pakistan / Former Pakistani PM Abbasi arrested by anti-graft agency
Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency arrested former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday, prompting opposition accusations that the government was trying to silence criticism.
The National Accountability Bureau said in a statement that Abbasi had been detained in a case that was opened last year over a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project.
The arrest, as Abbasi was on his way to a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore, further roiled a political scene already thick with accusations of corruption and abuse of office with opposition parties planning a day of protest next week.
“The government has buried Pakistan’s economy and (is) now arresting our leaders to divert the masses’ attention from the real issues,” Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistani opposition leader and head of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), told a press briefing in Lahore.
“I believe today is yet another black day in Pakistan’s history,” Ahsan Iqbal, a senior parliamentarian from Abbasi’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, told reporters. Iqbal accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of trying to suppress opposition.
“We are not afraid of your fascist acts. Don’t think that you will gag our voices through such arrests,” he said. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, head of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the other main opposition force, condemned Abbasi’s arrest as what he called part of a government “witchhunt” against elected representatives.
The PML-N was already engaged in a bitter stand-off with Khan’s government, which came to power last year accusing Abbasi and his predecessor, Nawaz Sharif, of large-scale corruption and mismanagement of the economy.
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R. C. Goodwin
The Stephen Hawking Death Row Fan Club
2019 Events:
May 13, 2019 7:00pm-9:00pm Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore Local author Night – Mystery Books! 413 Main St. Middletown, CT (860)685-3939
Event details: https://www.facebook.com/events/2295533684037795/
Past Events:
March 30, 2019 1:00 Reading/Signing at River Bend Bookshop 2217 Main St., Glastonbury, CT (860) 430-6608
Jan. 31, 2019 7:00-8:30 pm for All Access Authors: New Year/New Genre at The Storyteller’s Cottage 750 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT 06070
Sun. 12/23 11:00-3:00 Holiday Pop-up Shopping Event: Signing at BOOK CLUB Bookstore 869 Sullivan Ave., South Windsor, CT 06074
Sun. 12/2 11:00-3:00 Holiday Pop-up Shopping Event: Signing at BOOK CLUB Bookstore 869 Sullivan Ave., South Windsor, CT 06074
Nov. 17, 2018 9:00-3:00 South Windsor High School Holiday Hoopla Signing at South Windsor High School 161 Nevers Rd., South Windsor, CT
Nov. 1, 2018 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM Mystery Authors Panel at the East Hartford Public Library Reading and Signing at 840 Main St., E. Hartford, CT
Oct. 25, 2018 at 7:00 pm for All Access Authors: Halloween Edition! at The Storyteller’s Cottage Reading and Signing at 750 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT 06070
Sept. 25, 2018 7:00pm Enfield Central Library Reading and Signing
Sept. 24, 2018 1:30pm-5:00pm Big E Connecticut Building Signing
Sept. 20, 2018 6:30pm Connecticut Authors Trail Finale at Mohegan Sun Signing 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville, CT 06382
Aug. 9, 2018 6:30pm CT Authors Trail Appearance at Mansfield Public Library Signing
Aug. 4, 2018 12:00 Bank Street Book Nook Signing
July 15, 2018 3:00-4:00 The Storyteller’s Cottage Simsbury, CT
June 12, 2018 5:30pm-8:30pm Barnes and Noble UCONN Hartford, CT
June 9, 2018 1:00pm-3:00pm Bank Square Books Mystic, CT
June 5, 2018 6:00pm Barnes and Noble UCONN Hartford, CT
April 28, 2018 3:00pm at Bookie’s 10324 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL
April 7, 2018 Model Child Book Launch at BOOK CLUB Bookstore 869 Sullivan Ave., South Windsor, CT
R. C. will be in conversation with John Valeri, talking about MODEL CHILD, his experience working as a psychiatrist in CT correctional facilities, his writing process, and more. Q&A and book signing to follow. This event will be ASL interpreted.
This is a free event with refreshments. Signed books available for purchase. Details & RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/743135709224295/
7/7/17 2:00pm-5:00pm Hartford Public Library Author’s Table 500 Main St. Hartford, CT R. C. Goodwin will be chatting about & signing The Stephen Hawking Death Row Fan Club. Stop by – he’ll even tell you about his next book, Model Child (coming in 2018)!
R.C. Goodwin will be at a signing at the 4th Annual Craft Waterbury Craft Show. This will be held on Nov. 13, 2016, from 10AM until 2PM, at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown (63 Grand Street, in Waterbury.)
R.C. Goodwin will give a reading and signing at THE BOOK CLUB Bookstore & More, At 2 Main Street, in Westfield, MA On Saturday, Aug. 6, from 10:30 until 11:30. For Further information, please go to www.bookclubma.com Or call (413) 579-5383.
He will give a signing and reading at the Public Library of New London. This will be held on March 11, 2017, from 11AM to 2PM at the Library (63 Huntington St. in New London, CT).
He will give a signing and reading at the Kent Memorial Library in Suffield , CT. This will be held on May 24, 2017, from 7 to 8PM, at the Library (61 Fyler Place in Suffield CT).
Copyright © 2016 · All Rights Reserved · R. C. Goodwin
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Sarah Goldblatt’s career in architecture stretches back more than 20 years, and includes a masters degree in Architecture with an emphasis in historic preservation from the University of Washington in Seattle and six years as a freelance writer for publications such as Architect Colorado, 5280, 5280Home, Modern in Denver, and Fort Collins magazine. As a licensed architect, Sarah has more than 15 years of experience as a project manager/ project architect designing educational, religious, and National Park Service projects. Her design work can be found in public and private schools throughout Denver and dotted throughout Rocky Mountain National Park. She also works with WordenGroup PR, promoting the work of select design firms to local, national and international media outlets.
Sarah lives with husband and two teenage children in a lively Denver urban neighborhood and maintains a high-level of community engagement by volunteering with various local non-profits. Additional diversions include hiking and playing in the Colorado mountains and enjoying the recent food truck phenomenon.
Honors and Awards:
Minnesota State Figure Skating champion
International Council on Monument and Sites Fellowship, Wirksworth, England: non-governmental international organization dedicated to the conservation of the world’s monuments and sites
Graland Country Day School Snooky Award: Outstanding Parent Volunteer
Ekar Community Garden and Farm Apple Pie contest: Runner-up
Temple Emanuel: Volunteer of the Year
© Sarah Goldblatt All Rights Reserved.
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Category: Articles » Automotive » Article
Jaguar S-Type: A Blend of Performance and Prestige
By Michelle Crimson
Jaguar Cars is actually a British based subsidiary of the American Ford Motor Company that is quite famous for its production and manufacturing of luxury saloon and sports cars. It has both performance and luxury and occupies the markets for both. Its competition is quite diverse and includes the BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti, and the Lincoln which is another subsidiary of the Ford.
The Jaguar has certainly come through a lot and has acquired quite a name for itself with many important and popular people using it themselves. The British Prime Minister Tony Blaire is driven around in a bottle-green Jaguar XJ8. In the British television series Minder, the character Arthur Daley is seen to be driving a Jaguar XJ6. Inspector Morse in the British television series of the same name used a Jaguar Mark 2 to drive about his travails. Harold, of Harold and Maude, had a Jaguar E-Type hearse. The film 52 Pick-Up had featured a silver Jaguar E-type, and Austin Powers also drove the same type of vehicle, and calling it a "Shaguar". The 1968 movie Danger: Diabolik, Diabolik drove a black Jaguar E-type and his love interest, Eva, had used a white one. The Heist which is a made-for cable 1989 film had featured two dark green Jauar XJS couples. In the music scene, Sting drove a Jaguar for his music video for the song "Desert Rose", and due to this, the song had been used in past Jaguar commercials.
At present, the Jaguar line up includes the X-type which is a mid-size saloon; the S-type which is a luxury saloon; the XJ6, XJ8, and the XJR, which are full-size saloons; and the XK8 and XKR, which are sports cars and convertibles.
One of the newest Jaguars introduced to the market is the 2006 Jaguar S-type. It is a four-door luxury sports sedan that is capable of having five passengers. This car was styled by the late Geoff Lawson. In 2004, this had undergone a minor facelift that refined the car's overall appearance, and also received an aluminum hood. Advantages of this vehicle, as compared to other vehicles in its class, includes Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), air conditioning, alarm, automatic transmission, CD player, child safety locks, child seat tethers, an above average highway mileage, leather seats, power windows and locks, side airbags, side impact door beams, a sunroof, and traction control.
For the most trusted and reliable source of superb quality engine parts, electrical engine parts and other Jaguar parts, like Jaguar Stype parts, there is no other car parts online supplier than Jaguar Parts and Jaguar Auto Parts.
This model has been first introduced in 1999 as a 2000 model. It bore the name of the first S-Type that was introduced in 1964. In 2008, it is expected to be updated yet again.
Michelle Crimson holds a degree in business administration. She is currently working as an editor in New Orleans, Louisiana. This 32 year old mother of two is also a car racing fanatic.
Some other articles by Michelle Crimson
Jaguar's New Entry for 2007: the all-new Jaguar C-XF
"Great Jaguars turn heads in the street. They make people stop and pay attention. They evoke instant desire. That's what the C-XF does and that's what the next generation ...
C-XF Shows Jaguar's Future Design Era
Jaguar pushes the green button and starts it futuristic design. The new design direction is imbibed in Jaguar C-XF concept car which will make its debut at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, ...
Ford Corporate Realignment Promises New Light
Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford Motor Co., earlier announced a corporate realignment. Said realignment delved into putting greater concentration on ...
The Cat Dances In XK8 Convertible
The XK8 Convertible concept car that was flaunted by Jaguar at the Detroit Auto Show is making a graceful impact in the auto industry. XK8 exudes sensibility wrapped in stylish curves and elegance. Auto ...
XF: New Teaser From The Jag
The Jag in the auto industry has partly pulled the curtain covering its new teaser - the XF. Teaser image ...
Jaguar XKR: headed for the Race Track
All-new Jaguar XKR is headed for the race track next year. The Jag is set to run in the FIA GT3 European Championship endurance series. In said racing competition, ...
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Life in San Juan
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Legendary football coach hanging up the cleats
San Juan Record Classifieds, Events, Businesses In Monticello, San Juan County, Utah
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The San Juan Bronco football team recently completed another successful year. The Broncos won the south region and made it all the way to the 2A state semifinal before they fell to the South Summit Wildcats. This is the last team to be coached by longtime head coach Monty Lee. Team members include: (front row, left to right) Zach Brown, Nathan Nielson, Jaxon Lee, Peter Shumway, Lucas Giddings, Jordan Blake, Connor Palmer, Coleman Black. Second row: Bayl’r Eldredge, Dylan Ivins, Kavika Su’esu’e, Harley Davis, Quentin Billsie, Yancye Guymon, Carver Black, Walker Black. Third row: Shane Brewer, Ethan Vess, Avery Mitchell, Shay Laws, Corbin Palmer, Yakeisin Tso, Izaak Lee, Jay McDonald. Fourth row: Tanner Black, Ammon Ward, Bridger Meyer, Isaiah Hannigan, Carlos Rios-Redd, Porter Ivins, Cameron Hathale, Lazarus Lee. Fifth row: Scott Henderson, Landon Nielson, Landen Pemberton, Ryan Imlay, Audrian Tallman, Shaw Nielson, Elijah Lee, Kian Conway, Gavin Jones. Sixth row: Tyson Billsie, Hyatt Todachinnie, Jayden Sam, LaSean Blackhorse, Frankie Tohonni, Josh Whitehorse, Ryan Marian, Randall Flavel. Seventh row: Isaac Jacobs, Nigel Sam. Top row: Coaches Monty Lee, Ryan Nielson, Chad McDonald, Tad Barton, Miles Harrison, Mike Harrison. Courtesy photo
by Scott Boyle
“When you don’t play on the last day of the season, it never ends the way we hoped.”
And with that, Monty Lee, the long time head football coach at San Juan High, summed up his career, ending 30 years after it started at SJH.
“We start every year with that,” states Lee. “Records to me don’t mean anything. When the cards are dealt and the hands are folded, it’s just a game.
“In high school, some people take it beyond that. They are missing the true vision of what high school athletics are all about.
“I hurt terribly for the way the season ended this year, but not for me. I hurt for the young men, because of the amount of time and effort that they put in.
“That’s the way I feel every year. I feel bad when I can see where I let them down, where I have faltered. But these are great kids that go on to be great men. Maybe somewhere along the way, I had a small part in their success. That gives me a little bit of satisfaction.”
Lee began his teaching and coaching career at San Juan High School in 1987 as an assistant to a new head coach, Art Burtenshaw. It was a renewal of a partnership that began many years before. This alliance started in the second grade, when Lee’s family moved to Blanding.
“Art was my neighbor, right next door,” Lee remembers. “We did everything together. We ran from the police together. We threw a snowball once that hit a guy’s windshield and broke it. We got tracked down and got a stern talking to by our moms and the cops.”
The relationship continued through high school and into college. Lee was playing football for Southern Colorado and Burtenshaw joined him there after an LDS mission.
The year Burtenshaw took the head coaching job at SJH, Lee landed a job with San Juan School District after short stints at Milford, East Carbon and Uintah. Burtenshaw promptly asked if Lee would be his assistant.
Their partnership lasted 16 years, with Lee manning the defensive coordinator position. And a successful partnership it was, except that first year, when the Broncos went 2-8 and got blasted 53-8 by Emery in the semifinals.
But that playoff experience started a run of 16 straight years of reaching the playoffs, a streak that continues to this day, making the finals seven times in 16 years and winning three state championships. The Broncos won 128 games, losing just 45 in the Burtenshaw years, many times featuring one of the top defenses in the state, led by Lee.
“That was a great moment (when Burtenshaw asked Lee to be his assistant) and a great chapter in my life being around that man,” reflected Lee.
“I was a screamer and a hollerer. He was a very mellow, vey humble, quiet leader. He taught these kids to love the game of football. I miss him everyday.” He repeated softly, “I miss him every day.”
In 2003, Burtenshaw left the Broncos to take over a football program at Ben Lomond in bad need of rebuilding. Burtenshaw passed away unexpectedly two years later.
The head coaching job was now in the capable hands of Lee, who picked up right where Burtenshaw left off, though they lost in the quarterfinals the first two years. Finally, in his third year, Lee made it back to the finals, losing to Grand County in 2005.
“That blocked punt against Moab was difficult to handle” and resulted in a 25-22 loss, their only loss of the season.
The Broncos returned to the finals in 2006, blanking Millard 13-0 to complete the Broncos’ first-ever undefeated season at 12 and 0. The Broncos returned to the finals in 2009 and 2010, winning state championships both years and 20 games in a row, including a 12-0 record in 2010, a streak that they stretched to 30 straight wins before losing in the quarterfinals to Millard in 2011.
The Broncos last trip to the finals was in 2012, when they lost to Manti on an otherworldly 53-yard field goal in overtime. The Grand loss and the Manti loss were two of the toughest defeats for Lee.
But the loss this season (38-21 to South Summit in the semifinals) “was really, really hard,” Lee laments. “I’ve taken it really hard. Nobody likes to end any adventure on a down note. This will take a while for me to get over.”
During Lee’s 14 years at the helm, the Broncos went 127 and 31, with three state championships in five trips to the finals.
But the Broncos never let the tough losses hurt them. “I’ve had the philosophy that if you live in the past, then that’s where you die,” Lee says.
“We very seldom even brought up the previous year, whether it was a championship or whether it was a loss. Simply because we tried to instill in each of the senior classes that this was their legacy. This was their year.
“Whatever happened in the past was somebody else. This season was their legacy. Winning is a habit, but so is losing. The way you reinforce either is to live in it. If you live in a defeat, then someway, somehow, kids are going to have that in the back of their minds.
“We’ve had a great run since I’ve been here. I can remember back when we first started. Art was in tears, wanting to know what we needed to do to change things to develop a winning team and program. We had to force these kids to live in the future, not in the past.
“Back then we found ways to lose, instead of finding ways to win. So we played to win; we didn’t play not to lose. You are what you think about all day long and if you’re going to be a losing program, that’s what you’re going to think about.
“We had to change mentally. Each year we put to bed what happened last year and went on.”
Highlights of the last 30 years focus on family for Lee. “Coaching my sons. To have my sons able to be on a bus with me, from the time they could carry water out on the field is one of my greatest highlights,” Lee says.
“I’ve been around the world 10 times on a bus just for football.” (3.3 times actually on 83,210 miles. He’s kept track.) “And then coaching my sons and having to watch them deal with the pressure of being the coach’s son and how they were able to respond and evolve to that level is probably one of my greatest memories.”
Another highlight for Lee is his wife, Lana. “I can be replaced, but Lana can’t.”
Besides being the quintessential coach’s wife, knowing just when to put her arm around the coach or leave him alone, Lana supported Lee splendidly, doing “all the yard sales, all the boot camps, organizing the food and activities, putting hours into fundraisers, spending money for food, gas, clothes.
“The number of kids that she has paid for their spirit packs, for meals, for shoes. There is just nobody like her. I’m more worried about her missing all that than me sometimes. It’s been just as much her life as it’s been mine. She reminds me constantly of what matters most in life,” Lee smiles.
So, now that he’s retiring, one wonders about the next Bronco head coach. Lee smiles when talking of his assistant coaches.
“There are a lot of head coaches, a lot of assistant coaches, and a thousand bleacher coaches,” he laughs. “People respect the game, but they don’t wanna get in the profession if they don’t respect and revere the game.
“Hopefully, it is brought on by examples of coaches. I’d like to think I had a little to do with that. I have had some of the best men alive helping me. That’s one of the things I’m going to miss the most, that association with great men that, number one, care about kids and playing the game the right way.
“Urban Meyer could come, but if Urban Meyer doesn’t have a strong, supporting coaching staff, he’s not going to be successful. It’s not the head coach, it’s your assistant coaches that pull the wagon, and if the head coach can’t see that, he’s not going to be successful. ”
About the future coach, Lee ponders, “I would like to think that some kids will come home. There are great coaches out there, that have themselves well established that I would like to think would come back to Blanding, but you never know.”
On a personal level, Lee had many opportunities to go to other programs during his stay in Blanding. “Blanding has always been loyal to me. I would hate that someone would come here with the goal and the idea to be just a stepping-stone in their progression.
“I would like the new coach to be somebody who is going to want to be in Blanding, who loves Blanding as much as Blanding is going to love them.”
“I’m proud of this program,” Lee sums up. “I hope all the kids know I love them. I have had the responsibility to bring out the very best in who they are and what they have. I’m entrusted with that.
“The game has moved far beyond my level of comprehension. It is so technical now. It almost gets to the point when people who understand technology know when you’re going to spit. That’s beyond my level.
“I feel like ‘I’ll put my best against your best and we’ll see who can end up on top.’ Now it’s far beyond my level of comprehension. And it’s time. It’s necessary for someone who really grasps the game to step in and take these kids to a different level that I can’t.”
So, as Lee said at the beginning, “When you don’t play on the last day of the season, it never ends the way we hoped.”
Notice, he didn’t say, when we don’t “win” on the last day of the season. He said, when we don’t “play” on the last day of the season. Thanks, Coach of 30 years, for understanding and doing just that.
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21 West End
21 West End Avenue, New York, New York
Design Architect & Technical Delivery
Mixed-Use / Commercial, Residential Rental
755,000 sq. ft., 43 Stories, 616 Units
This mixed-use residential project represents the first of many new buildings comprising the remaining southernmost parcel of the original Riverside South development, a site additionally complicated by an active and functioning below-grade rail line requiring extensive superstructure coordination.
At 43 stories and 768,690 square feet, the building comprises 616 studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental apartments, in addition to 22,000 square feet of retail space, a 117,000-square-foot public school with library and gym (K–8), and a highly curated amenity package that includes a private restaurant, indoor pool, sauna, yoga, and the usual components of full exercise and wellness programs.
In addition, a full 127 units at 21 West End are dedicated to affordable housing for low-income families. The evolving amenity program of the building has included an archeology exhibition (“The Riverside Project”) and is now home to New York City’s largest digital sculpture—Luci.
Bergen Saratoga Apartments1 QPS Tower
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Rocky Horror Picture Show 20th Anniversary (1995 Press Release) 2,927 views
CATEGORY: Press Releases TAGS: 20th Anniversary Barry Bostwick Jim Sharman Jonathan Adams Little Nell Lou Adler Meat Loaf Patricia Quinn Peter Hinwood Press Release Richard O'Brien Rocky Horror Picture Show Susan Sarandon Tim Curry
20th Anniversary '95
The long success of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW has completely redefined the meaning of 'cult film.' Used all too often as a synonym for "interesting flop," the words apply literally to the musical horror comedy, which debuted in 1975 and continues to play nationwide on Fridays and Saturdays at midnight in theatres where it is the object of a cult with its own rituals, vestments and liturgy, spontaneously created by the film's fans.
As the longest-running film in cinema history, ROCKY HORROR has surpassed the $150 million mark in gross box office receipts.
And now, Dr. Frank N Furter, Janet Weiss, Brad Majors, Riff Raff and the rest of one of filmdom's most beloved, enduring and unusual cast of characters are getting ready to celebrate "The Master's Affair" - The 20th Anniversary Bash for THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. The Cosmic Happening will be held on October 21st, and the film's one-of-a-kind sensibility will be reflected in the event's locale: 20th Century Fox and the film's producer, Lou Adler, will host the party at Hollywood's renowned entertainment palace, the Pantages Theatre.
The evening's freewheeling and interactive festivities will include ROCKY HORROR fashion and karaoke contests, and a live stage show toplined by the film's writer/star, Richard O'Brien, performing songs from the soundtrack. The event culminates at midnight with a showing of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. "Lost footage" of ROCKY HORROR star Barry Bostwick performing "Once in a While" will also be screened. Confirmed attendees from the film include Bostwick, who plays the clean-cut Brad Majors; O'Brien, who, in addition to penning the screenplay, portrays the hunchback henchman, Riff Raff; and Pat Quinn, who plays Magenta.
"The Master's Affair" marks another summit in one of the most improbable success stories in movie history. When THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW opened nationally in 1975, it only did well in one Los Angeles theatre, and might have had a very short history if the producers and Fox executives hadn't noticed something: in the theatre where it was working, there were people coming back to see it again and again on a regular basis, and in some cases they were singing along with the on-screen musical numbers. Fox subsequently chose to open the film in New York as a midnight movie at the Waverly Theatre in Greenwich Village - long-time home of such cultish midnight fare as "El Topo" and "The Night of the Living Dead." Opening at the Waverly on April Fool's Day, the film immediately attracted a cult following, and the cult assumed proportions never seen before, even on the traditionally rowdy midnight circuit.
History records that the first audience member to talk back to the screen was Louis Farese, a kindergarten teacher from Staten Island. On Labor Day Weekend, 1976, five months into ROCKY HORROR's New York run, Farese was moved to shout out a piece of advice to Janet, the film's prissy heroine, which subsequently became part of a repertoire of responses, questions and directions that audience members - many of them veterans of scores or eventually hundreds of screenings - began performing in counterpoint to the on-screen dialogue. Props were added to enhance the pleasures of audience participation, and when some audience members began coming in costume, a full-scale pre-screening floor show was improvised, MC'd by a young actor named Sal Piro who played a major role in encouraging and codifying the evolving rituals of the cult.
The audience-participation phenomenon which sprang up at the Waverly (moving in 1978 to the Village's 8th Street Playhouse and in 1989 to the uptown Eastside Cinema) was duplicated in cities around the country where ROCKY HORROR was opened as a midnight attraction - each local group developing its own repertoire of lines and props to integrate into the weekly performance. A fan club was started with a newspaper, The Transylvanian, and national conventions began to be held. The ROCKY HORROR phenomenon had become part of the culture and was even documented in passing in Paul Mazursky's "Willie and Phil" and integrated into the plot of Alan Parker's "Fame." In 1985, to celebrate the tenth anniversary, a live show was staged at New York City's Beacon Theatre, ending with a screening of the film 'performed' by the group from the 8th Street Playhouse. And now on the twentieth anniversary the cream of groups from movie theatres all over the country where the film continues to play in midnight screenings will be 'performing' the film together at a very special screening in the presence of the original cast members.
(Information for this brief history of the ROCKY HORROR phenomenon comes from Sal Piro's personal memoirs of the cult, Creatures of the Night and Creatures of the Night II, both published by Stabur Press, Inc.; and Midnight Movies by J. Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum, published by Harper & Row.)
CAST AND FILMMAKERS: CAREER UPDATES
SUSAN SARANDON was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in last year's "The Client." She also was Oscar-nominated for "Atlantic City." Her recent film credits include "Dead Man Walking," directed by Tim Robbins; "Little Women," "Safe Passage" and "Lorenzo's Oil." Her other films include "Thelma and Louise," "Bull Durham," "The Witches of Eastwick," "A Dry White Season," "The January Man," "Pretty Baby," "Sweetheart's Dance," "Tempest," "Compromising Positions," and "White Palace." Sarandon is also a political and social activist who has become involved in such issues as AIDS, world hunger and political oppression.
TIM CURRY, who received a Tony nomination for Best Actor for the Broadway production of "Amadeus," has continued his career on the New York and London stages with starring roles in "The Pirates of Penzance" and "The Art of Success," among others. His films include "The Hunt for Red October," "Annie," "Legend," "Clue," "Oscar," "The Shadow," "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," "The Hunt For Red October," and the recent box office hit "Congo." He has been seen on American and British television in "Wiseguy," "Blue Money," "Oliver Twist" and "Rock Follies II"; he was heard as the voice of Captain Hook in "Peter Pan and the Pirates" on the Fox Network, and starred in the miniseries of Stephen King's horror epic "It." Curry has recorded three albums for A&M Records: "Read My Lips," "Fearless" and "Simplicity." He currently resides in Los Angeles and continues to be one of Hollywood's busiest actors.
RICHARD O'BRIEN followed up THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW by writing and starring in "Shock Treatment' (1981). He also wrote and performed in the plays "Disaster" and "T-Zee" in London. His other acting roles include "Jubilee," "Flash Gordon," "Revolution" and the British television series "Robin of Sherwood." He enjoyed a second wave of celebrity as the host of the successful British quiz show "The Crystal Maze." O'Brien is currently working on two projects - a motion picture fairy tale musical entitled "Alive on Arrival," and a play, "Disgracefully Yours," which he is bringing to London's West End in spring, 1996. O'Brien continues to oversee the many ROCKY HORROR productions worldwide, and attends various ROCKY HORROR conventions and charily events.
PATRICIA QUINN, who continues to work extensively on the London stage and in British television, has appeared in the features "Shock Treatment" and "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life." Her television credits include the acclaimed British miniseries "I, Claudius" and "Doctor Who." She has also kept busy on the London stage and recently completed the 25th anniversary tour of the original play in Great Britain, recreating her role of Magenta.
NELL CAMPBELL ("Little Nell") recorded a number of songs for A&M Records including "The Swim," "Beauty Queen," "Fever," and "See You Round Like a Record." Her motion picture credits include "Jubilee," "Lizstomania," "Pink Floyd: The Wall" and "Shock Treatment." In 1985 she moved to New York and opened the successful nightclub Nell's. In 1994 she received rave reviews for her role in the off-Broadway show "You Should Be So Lucky" by Charles Busch.
JONATHAN ADAMS, who has pursued a dual career as a star of the English stage and a successful artist, had a continuing role in the smash British television series "Yes, Minister" and has recently appeared on stage in productions of "Tomfoolery" and "Metropolis." In 1990 he re-created the role of the Narrator in a revival of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, and appeared on the cast album. He also starred in the West End productions of "Tomfoolery" (a review of Tom Lehrer's music) and "Metropolis," also performing on both original cast albums. Adams is also an artist, songwriter and cabaret performer. He continues to live and work in London.
PETER HINWOOD is currently an antique dealer in London.
MEATLOAF's recording career took off with his platinum album "Bat Out of Hell" and the follow-up, "Dead Ringer." He then won a Grammy for his multi-platinum "Bat Out of Hell 2." His film roles include "Americathon," "Leap of Faith," "Motorama," "Out of Bounds," "The Squeeze," "Wayne's World 2" and the title role in "Roadie."
BARRY BOSTWICK won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in "The Robber Bridegroom." He also starred on Broadway in the musical "Nick and Nora," and in the Los Angeles production of "Pirates of Penzance." He has had starring roles in the feature films "Movie, Movie," "Megaforce" and "Weekend at Bernie's II." His numerous television credits include the miniseries "George Washington" (as Washington) and "War and Remembrance"; the movie-of-the-week "You Can't Take it With You"; and two television series: "Dads" and "The Parent Trap." He also guest-hosted "Saturday Night Live."
Director JIM SHARMAN subsequently directed "Shock Treatment" and "The Night Prowler," and recently directed the Australian production of "Chess." He lives and works in Australia and is very involved with the Sydney Opera House.
After three decades as one of the music industry's top figures, producer LOU ADLER made his film directing debut with "Up in Smoke," a low-budget comedy which grossed over $100 million and caught the socio-economic lifestyles of the youthquake generation. He also produced the cult films "Brewster McCloud" and "Shock Treatment." Now semi-retired, Adler nonetheless continues to work on projects reflecting his wide-ranging interests. He has completed a functioning recording studio at the Los Angeles Children's Museum as a hands-on exhibit, the first of its kind. Another recent endeavor was the very successful Children's Hospital International Music and Entertainment Festival (CHIME) at Knott's Berry Farm for the benefit of the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The event, which broke attendance records, brought together most of the best-selling and quality children's entertainment performers of the day. Adler recently started Ode 2 Kids, a family record label, and he reactivated Ode Records for product by a youth choir, "All God's Children."
THE FILMMAKERS ON THE ROCKY HORROR EXPERIENCE
"I started writing ROCKY HORROR as a way for me to spend winter evenings when I was an out-of-work actor."
- Richard O'Brien
"Elvis came to one of the midnight showings! That was worth it forever."
- Meatloaf
"It had every cliche in the book about B-movies ..."
- Patricia Quinn
"We were influenced by '50s science-fiction films; we viewed a lot of those. The other influence was Russ Meyer's 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.'"
- ROCKY HORROR designer Brian Thomson
"He walked into the door of the theatre and just ripped up the role."
- Jim Sharman on Tim Curry's audition
"On one hand, ROCKY HORROR has a popular comic book surface; on the other, it has a very sophisticated set of sensibilities."
- Jim Sharman
"The fact that it's lasted is, in enormous part, due to the design."
- Tim Curry
"The early previews were not successful at all ~ and that's being kind."
- Lou Adler
"I have no idea why it's been so popular. Maybe it's like being in love; you shouldn't try and dissect it."
- Susan Sarandon
"Every Saturday night there's a guaranteed party, whether you have a date or not."
"The success of ROCKY HORROR came out of the failure of ROCKY HORROR."
"A lot of these kids who perform at the showings will keep it alive for a long time and pass it on to the next generation."
- Barry Bostwick
"It's probably the first time that the audience has been as much a part of the creative process as the people who made it."
"These are moments I'll never be able to re-capture. Who's going to ask me at this point in my career to dress up in that kind of costume?"
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School of Engineering Science
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Home / Research / David Bensted Visiting Fellowship / David Bensted Visiting Fellows
David Bensted Visiting Fellows
Professor Anthony T.S. Ho
Bensted Lecture Title
The application of Natural Laws for detecting malicious attacks in natural, biometric and network data
Wednesday, July 6, 2016 @ 14:00 - 15:00 p.m.
Applied Science Bldg., Room 9705
The areas of biometrics and digital forensics have recently attracted much attention from the research community. Both research areas are becoming more and more integrated, stemming from security concerns due to intentional/malicious tampering of raw biometric samples. These malicious attacks could have a significant impact to the integrity of digital evidence being presented in criminal cases in the court of law. In recent years, the use of natural laws such as the Benford’s law, which is also known as the first digit law, has been shown to be very effective in detecting anomalies in biometric data. In this talk, the use of natural laws for the detection of malicious attacks in different biometric applications will be presented, which will include fingerprint identification, face recognition, keystroke data and network traffic flow.
An introduction to Secret Communication, Active Watermarks and Passive Forensics
Friday, July 8, 2016 @ 14:00 - 15:00 p.m.
IRMACS Auditorium 10900
The tremendous growth of advanced telecommunication and Internet technologies in the past two decades has led to the proliferation of multimedia content for digital transmission and storage. The talk will give an overview of the convergence of technologies in the information forensics and security domain such as data hiding techniques and their applications to digital images. For example, image steganography for secure communication of secret messages via an open channel, and digital watermarking for protection and authentication of content integrity. Finally, the talk will also introduce forensic techniques for identification and forgery detection of and videos.
Professor Anthony (Tony) T.S. Ho holds a Personal Chair in Multimedia Security and served as Head of Department of Computer Science, University of Surrey from 2010 to 2015. He is a Guest Professor of Wuhan University of Technology, China. Tony was the recipient of the prestigious Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Innovation in Engineering Award under the Security category for his research and commercialization work on digital watermarking in 2006.
Tony obtained his BSc (Hons) in Physical Electronics from Northumbria University in 1979, his MSc in Applied Optics from Imperial College London in 1980 and his PhD in Digital Image Processing from King's College London, University of London in 1983. After graduation, he worked in technical management positions in industry for 11 years in the UK and Canada. From 1994 to 2005, Tony was a Senior Lecturer and then Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He has published more than 140 articles in international journals and conference proceedings as well as 8 international patents granted related to watermarking and steganography.
Tony is Founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Information Security and Applications (JISA) and an Area Editor for Signal Processing: Image Communication. He is an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security (TIFS). He also served as Associate Editor for IEEE Signal Processing Letters (SPL) and
EURASIP Journal of Image and Video Processing. He was invited keynote speaker at the International Symposium on Information Technology Convergence (ISITC’2015), 1st ACM Workshop on Information Hiding and Multimedia Security (IHMMSec'2013) and IEEE International Conference on Advanced Infocomm Technology (ICAIT’2010). He has also been invited to present a keynote speech at the upcoming 10th International Conference on Network and System Security (NSS’2016) in September 2016 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Currently Tony serves as Section Secretary on the Executive Committee of IEEE UK and Ireland Section and has served as members of a number of IEEE Technical Committees, including Signal Processing Society (SPS) IFS-TC, Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) MSA-TC and VSPC-TC. Tony is a Fellow of Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET), Fellow of Institute of Physics (FInstP), Fellow of British Computer Society (FBCS) and Senior Member of IEEE.
Professor Alain Trouvé
Riemannian Shape Spaces, Diffeomorphisms & Computational Anatomy: A walk in high dimensions
Friday, July 12, 2012 @ 13:30 - 14:30 p.m.
Professor Alain Trouve is a Professor of Mathematics at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Cachan, Paris, France, where he is also the Chair of the department of Mathematics. His research interests are in the areas of Applied Probability, Stochastic Optimization, Pattern Recognition, and Shape Spaces and Deformable Models for Neuroimaging. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of the area of metric spaces in Computational Anatomy.
Professor Chintha Tellambura
Precoder design and power control using convex and non-convex optimization techniques
Thursday, August 16, 2007 @ 14:30 - 15:30 p.m.
Global optimization has provided both an insightful modeling language and a powerful solution tool to the analysis and design of communication systems over the last decade. In this talk, I will present two specific global optimization formulations.
The first part of this talk provides a convex optimization approach to the precoder design problem in MIMO systems employing Orthogonal Space-Time Block Codes (OSTBCs). A general precoder design framework is developed for OSTBC-based MIMO wireless systems to exploit the partial channel state information (CSI) on both transmits and receive correlations. The precoder is designed for minimizing the exact symbol error rate (SER) and is formulated as a convex optimization problem that can be efficiently solved using modern optimization techniques. Our proposed design is applicable for various antennas configurations and modulation constellations. Moreover, we show that for some particular correlation models, computationally simple closed-form precoders can be developed.
Convex optimization in communications systems has long been an active research area. However, nonconvex optimization problems usually arise naturally when formulating real-world problems.
The second part of this talk presents a new approach to nonconvex optimization problems. One of such problems is the power control problem in wireless networks in order to optimize the transmission subject to quality of service (QoS) constraints. It has been shown earlier that the power control problem in the wireless cellular network framework can be efficiently solved using the so-called geometric programming. However, in order to enable the application of geometric programming the signal to interference ratio (SIR) has been considered instead of SINR. Such change of the original problem formulation is obviously imprecise and might be very loose because it does not take into account the noise component, especially for low SNR operation. In this work, we show that the power control problem for wireless cellular systems can be efficiently solved via the so-called difference of two convex functions (D.C.) programming.
Chintha Tellambura received his PhD in Electronics Engineering in 1993 from the University of Victoria in British Columbia. From 2002, he has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Alberta, where he is a Professor. His research interests include MIMO, OFDM, and wireless communication theory, and he has published about 100 refereed journal papers.
Prof. P.Y. Kam
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
National University of Singapore
Frequency Estimation and its Applications in Wireless Communications
Detection and estimation
Stochastic processes
Prof. Pooi Yuen Kam was born in Ipoh, Malaysia, in 1951, and received the B.S, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering in 1972, 1973, and 1976, respectively, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. From 1976 to 1978, he was a Member of the Technical Staff, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ, where he was engaged in packet network studies. Since 1978, he has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, where he is now a Professor. His research interests are in detection and estimation theory, and its applications to digital communications and coding. Since 1996, he has been the Editor for Modulation and Detection for Wireless Systems of the IEEE Transactions on Communications. He won the Best Paper Award at IEEE VTC 2004 Fall.
Prof. Ross D. Murch
Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Clearwater Bay
Cross-Layer Optimization for Multiuser MIMO Wireless Communications
Wireless communication systems
MIMO antenna systems
UWB, WLAN
Cross-layer design
Professor Murch completed his PhD in 1990 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Since 1992, he has been with HKUST. He has research interests in wireless communication systems including high speed wireless communication using MIMO signal processing and novel antenna technology. He has several US patents related to wireless communication, over 150 published papers and acts as a consultant for industry. In addition he is an editor for the IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications and was also the technical program chair of the Advanced Wireless Communication Systems Symposium at the 2002 IEEE International Conference on Communication in New York. He is also the founding Director of the Center for Wireless Information Technology which was begun in August 1997.
Dr. Peter Smith
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
MIMO channel models in space, time and polarization: How complex should they be?
Statistical design and analysis of communication systems
Digital mobile radio systems
Antenna arrays
Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems
Email: enscoa@sfu.ca
Office: ASB 9801
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Southern Shrimp Alliance Crystal Truong: SSA’s Newest TX Board Member
Crystal Truong: SSA’s Newest TX Board Member
Crystal Truong is the newest member of the Southern Shrimp Alliance’s Board of Directors, representing the state of Texas. While many of SSA’s Board members have been involved in the battle against unfairly traded shrimp imports and the push for science-based fisheries management for over a decade, Crystal brings fresh eyes to the problems.
As the assistant manager at Texas Gulf Seafood, the first and largest fish house in Galveston, she has worked with shrimp fishermen for nearly twenty years. However, she did not learn of SSA’s existence until last year, when a fisherman brought her information distributed by SSA to be translated from English to Vietnamese.
Crystal reached out to SSA and later met with John Williams, the executive director, after a town hall meeting. She was surprised to learn about the wide variety and number of issues in which SSA is the sole representative of the shrimp industry. Texas Gulf Seafood became a member. A year later, Crystal was elected to the Board of Directors.
Crystal Truong has a ten-year old son who is in sixth grade. He likes to ask his Mom to retell stories of when she was his age. The stories, which come over a warm dinner or in a cozy bed, put his problems into perspective.
In 1980, when Crystal was only eight-years old, her parents made a difficult decision. They saved a large amount of money and hired people to sneak their young child out of southern Vietnam in hopes that she would be granted asylum in the United States of America.
The efforts landed Crystal in a communist jail for three weeks. Her father, Than Ton, visited her. It was his actions during the Vietnam War, when he dug holes and hid the U.S.-backed soldiers of South Vietnam during their fight against the People’s Army of Vietnam and Viet Cong, that brought his family under the scrutiny of the Communist regime. He was hoping Crystal would be free of the life he lived. The family worked hard to grow food and flowers to sell in the market, which brought home $1 to $2 a day–just enough to make ends meet for the family of twelve. He did not want her to live a country where boys were often taken from the home at age 18 and forced into the communist Army, many times never to be seen again.
Crystal left her parents and siblings once again when she was ten years old. Instead of starting middle school like her son is now, she was starting a new life.
Tough Journey
Crystal traveled with her uncle and month-old cousin on a boat with more than 30 other paying passengers destined for the Philippines. The hope was that she would end up living with her oldest sister, the first family member to arrive in the United States in 1978.
The conditions on the boat were horrible. Refugees were laying down, side-by-side, like dead people. There was not enough food. People were sick. Crystal’s infant cousin became deathly ill.
As luck would have it, the boat was intercepted by a U.S. vessel. A friend of Crystal’s that had tried to escape with her earlier was not so lucky. Her boat was hijacked by pirates from Thailand. The passengers were robbed, raped, and left adrift in the ocean.
The U.S. vessel called for a helicopter to evacuate Crystal’s uncle and cousin to the nearest Philippine hospital. The baby did not survive.
Upon arrival, Crystal was placed in a large refugee camp, where she slept on a dirt floor with a blanket under a roof of thatched leaves. Her uncle was staying in a Nipa hut with his family. After a few weeks, he came for Crystal and allowed her to stay in a room with other women.
Food was scarce. Some days, her uncle had enough for her and others he didn’t. Like other refugees, Crystal would go to the local beach and fish for sustenance, a memory she recalls fondly from an otherwise very stressful time for such a young girl.
Crystal was in touch with her oldest sister, a cashier at a convenience store in Galveston, Texas. As a U.S. resident, her sister was working to secure a visa card for Crystal and sent her money. Upon receiving $50, a very large sum of money, Crystal decided to treat herself what she really longed for…ice cream. However, the child with an ice cream cone garnered attention. Older children shoved her down and stole her money. She learned the hard way to be discrete in the future.
After six long months in limbo, Crystal was granted passage to join her sister and immigrated in 1982.
Working and Waiting
If being adaptable is a life skill, Crystal has it in spades.
Unfamiliar with English when she arrived in Texas, Crystal was placed in an English as a second language (ESL) class as a third grader. After a few years she was mainstreamed.
By the time Crystal was fifteen, her sister had been promoted to manager of the convenience store and was in a position to hire family members to run the store. Crystal eagerly started to work so she could save for her education, a car, and other needs.
Shortly after turning eighteen, Crystal sponsored her parents for a green card. The application took ten years to be accepted, during which time her father passed away from cancer. Grief-stricken, Crystal’s mother, Hoa Nguyen, immigrated to the United States in 2000. However, immediately upon her arrival, Crystal’s Mom suffered a life-altering stroke that left her bedridden. Crystal cared for her until she passed in 2010.
Finding Her Way
While the shrimp industry was around her growing up, Crystal did not plan to work in this industry. She was in her third year of a nursing program when she received a call from her niece, Cathy Huynh. In 1996, Cathy and her husband Andy opened Texas Gulf Seafood, the first fish house at 7th and Wharf. They hired Crystal as a secretary in 1997.
Within the decade, the company grew from serving a single Vietnamese shrimp vessel to having 30 customers.
After nine years as a receptionist, Crystal was promoted to her current position as assistant manager. She is kept busy managing the accounts for up to 40 boats that are docked, supplied and unloaded by the company. She finds the work to be rewarding, especially assisting Vietnamese fishermen and their families to overcome language barriers.
However, her greatest pleasure is traveling to new locations with her extended family. Despite all the change she has faced in life, she is still up for new adventures.
Crystal’s next adventure will be as the Texas Representative on SSA’s Board of Directors. The shrimp industry is facing a quickly changing market. It needs to adapt to the influx of shrimp import and changing regulations. Crystal has survived a lifetime of hardships and shown empathy and support to those facing similar conditions. We expect her to bring her ability to overcome obstacles to the SSA Board as she helps guide the industry through these challenging times.
Industry Legend Passes
Ranking Member Grijalva Requests GAO to Assess…
June 5: Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and…
2017 Ends With Shrimp Landings in Louisiana at…
ITC Votes to Maintain Antidumping Duties on Shrimp…
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The BMW 8 Series is a Grand Tourer built by BMW from 1989 to 1999 powered by either a V8 or V12 engine. The E31's mutually related predecessor is the BMW E63, as well as the BMW i8 in 2015. While they are not direct model derivations of the "8xx" lineup, they are the only other touring cars produced by BMW after the E31's introduction in 1989 with as much size, performance options, and technology that can be classed as anything similar to what the E31 lineup offered for its age. Furthermore, the E31 was BMW's flagship car and had an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). There has never been an ungoverned test for top speed but it's unlikely the E31 would've exceeded 288 km/h (179 mph) even with the 372 HP engine. BMW 850i was the first model launched in 1990 with the 5 litre M70B50 V12 engine producing 300 PS (221 kW; 296 hp). It was available with either a 4-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual gearbox.
J377 TTF
WBAEG22080CB57722
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TERESINA PANORAMICA
A beautiful place that you need to visit
An Interesting City
This capital of the state of Piauí in the country Brazil was not the original one but it was established as it was made into a law. When it was signed in the year of 1859, efforts were quickly made to make the city look like it by building structures that are needed to have the capital functioning as it should be. Some works are halted and slaves and other farmers were commanded to go to the new capital and help build it. It is a bold move by the ruler at that time.
Now it is already hundreds of years since that time and the city has also changed in some ways. The original structures were changed or rebuilt again but there are some who are still standing and they just undergo renovation. They have adopted the eclectic style of design when they have built the structures at that time. Schools were built and churches and other structures like the social club. There is also the train station that still bears the original spelling of the city which is Theresina.
There are many popular buildings and that they were being used today for different purposes as they become the historic landmarks that form the city. They are places that many people become interested also while they visit the place. Truly it has become a panoramic place as you can view the different building and you can feel some of the oldness in it and the modernization it also carries. It is a great place to visit.
Discover Teresina, Brazil
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Trayvon's Dad, Tracy Martin Speaks to The Root: 'My Kid Was Perfect to Me'
(The Root) -- June 10, 2013 was the beginning of jury selection for the second-degree-murder trial of 29-year-old George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old high school student Trayvon Martin. The trial comes just ahead of Father's Day, and The Root spoke with Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, to ask him about the son he knew and loved.
We discussed the media war with Zimmerman's defense team and what advice Tracy Martin would offer African-American fathers in a society all too prone to finding black and brown boys suspicious. The family attorney, Benjamin Crump, also offered insights into the facts of the case, racial profiling, "Stand your ground" laws and what an acquittal or conviction would mean in a supposedly postracial America.
The Root: If you knew then what you know now, would you have told your son anything different about what it means to be a young black man in an American society that treats him as suspicious? What would "the talk" sound like? And do you have any advice for African-American fathers raising sons?
Tracy Martin: You can't prepare your child to contend with the warped mentality of someone else. You can only teach them to be good and live by the laws of the land. George Zimmerman acted in a deranged way -- and all the evidence supports that. I know how society negatively portrays black boys, and my son Trayvon wasn't naive. He wasn't blind to stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. But I shouldn't have to tell my child to fear walking to the store to get snacks just because he's black.
We're supposed to be living in a free society, aren't we? Trayvon lived in a diverse community. His school is mixed, and Trayvon had friends who are white, black and Hispanic. I never thought this could happen to him, and I know Trayvon was scared and confused in those final moments. This wasn't anything that any parent could prepare their child for.
TR: What was Trayvon Martin like? What do you want the public to know about him?
TM: My child was a fun-loving kid. He loved being outside and loved working with his hands -- bikes, motorcycles, anything like that. He could take a radio apart and put it back together. That's how his mind worked.
So many people want their kids to grow up to be doctors, lawyers or professional athletes. My son was interested in aviation. He took two summers and studied for his pilot-mechanic license. He would have definitely become an engineer. And I would have been so proud. Trayvon would have learned to fly.
TR: What's your reaction to the Zimmerman defense team's attempts to destroy Trayvon's character?
TM: My kid was perfect to me. As a father, it hurts to see how Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, has tried to twist the truth. And I can't defend my son, who has been killed. It's demoralizing. How do you blame the victim?
What they don't understand is that Zimmerman didn't only murder my son -- he destroyed an entire branch of my family tree. I looked forward to the possibility of having grandkids from Trayvon. And that's something that can never happen now. But as far as the attacks on Trayvon's character, it certainly isn't true, and therefore doesn't affect me personally. I just hope it doesn't work with the jury and the public.
O'Mara has tried to focus attention on whether or not Trayvon had smoked marijuana in the past. First, that's irrelevant to the facts of the case. I recently read a government report that showed 36 percent of American high school seniors had tried marijuana in the past year. And white kids do it more often than blacks or Hispanics. Is that a reason to shoot a kid? Would Zimmerman have shot a white kid in that neighborhood. My child was walking to get Skittles; that's a fact. Zimmerman has no defense, and O'Mara ... is relying on lies and the power of suggestion. My son was a good kid. Deep down in my heart, I believe justice will be done.
Benjamin Crump: What's important to keep in mind, from a legal perspective, is whether or not George Zimmerman acted with a depraved mind. It is fully established that Zimmerman has a past that includes an arrest for "resisting an officer with violence," and his former girlfriend sought a restraining order against him for domestic abuse. That order was granted by a judge who clearly had enough evidence to justify the order.
What isn't relevant to this second-degree-murder trial is the teenage victim's alleged dalliance with marijuana. In fact, that narrative has been constructed by Mark O'Mara as a red herring to deflect from the fact that Zimmerman was taking various prescription drugs that are known to have violent side effects. At the time he shot and killed Trayvon, Zimmerman was on Temazepam and Adderall -- drugs that cause insomnia, anxiety, aggressive behavior and hallucinations.
And because Sanford police failed to do a toxicology report on his blood-alcohol level, it's quite possible Zimmerman may have mixed those drugs with alcohol -- and thereby exacerbated the effects of the prescription drugs. These are the cold, hard facts that O'Mara doesn't want to talk about and he's afraid for the public to know.
TR: Are there broader legal implications to the case that aren't being discussed?
BC: Yes, absolutely. And it's troubling. The larger issue is the precedent that a potential acquittal of George Zimmerman would set. It would show how far this country still has to go with respect to offering equal protection under the law regardless of race. If Zimmerman gets off, it will tell other deranged minds and trigger-happy police officers that they can kill black and brown boys with impunity.
It is very clear from this case -- and American history in general -- that if it had been a black man who had tracked and killed a white child, no defense would be sufficient. That man would be in jail and likely facing the death penalty. George Zimmerman is every parent's worst nightmare. A self-proclaimed vigilante, on prescription drugs, taunting and tracking a child in the dark.
TR: Where does Zimmerman's "Stand your ground" defense place things legally?
BC: Well, let me first say that "Stand your ground" was intended to protect victims like Trayvon -- not predators like George Zimmerman. Mark O'Mara realizes that and so decided to forgo the "Stand your ground" pretrial hearing. This was a surreptitious move. Why? Because "Stand your ground" requires Zimmerman to take the stand, whereas "self-defense" does not.
O'Mara knows that once Zimmerman is forced to speak, his inconsistencies and mendaciousness will be revealed for all to see. And Zimmerman certainly wouldn't survive a cross-examination. Prosecutors would destroy him. What remains to be seen is whether black mothers and fathers, especially in the South, can receive justice in a court of law. Emmett Till's mother didn't, but I believe Sybrina and Tracy will.
Edward Wyckoff Williams is a contributing editor at The Root. He is a columnist and political analyst, appearing on Al-Jazeera, MSNBC, ABC, CBS Washington, Arise America and national syndicated radio.
newamericamedia.org
This was printed in the June 16, 2013 - June 29, 2013 Edition
(Please note that a correction was made to the date. It originally stated July, 10, 2013. We regret the inconvenience.)
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Slow Food For Fast People, An Interview With Amanda West
Fast food is the ultimate American invention--quick, cheap meals for people on the go. But we pay a heavy price for our national addiction--an epidemic of obesity, the destruction of our fragile environment, and the loss of community ties that could be maintained by taking the time to prepare and eat food together.
Despite these negatives, the need for quick, affordable food is undeniable in today's world. But why on earth are McDonalds and its competitors our only options? Every single time I get hungry on the road, in an airport, or at a shopping mall I wish that someone would hurry up and open a healthy fast food restaurant!
Turns out the wait is finally over--Amanda's Feel Good Fresh Food restaurant opened it's doors for business in Berkeley at the end of July 2008.
The restaurant happens to be located right downstairs from my office so I was among the first to check it out (you may remember seeing my review this summer.) I'm happy to report that Amanda's is pretty much exactly what I'd been wishing for--the food is healthy (they have the nutrition guidelines to prove it, too), tasty, and affordable (a cheeseburger made with naturally raised beef and organic cheese is $4.50, baked sweet potato fries are $1.50, and a freshly made agave-sweetened soda is $1.75.)
Amanda's also goes out of its way to reduce its impact on the environment. For example, they don't sell bottled water since it creates too much landfill waste and takes a lot of petroleum to transport. Everything served in the restaurant is also fully compostable so any "trash" left over at the end of your meal can be deposited in one of the restaurant's green bins that feed directly into Berkeley's city composting program where it will become rich soil for local farms and city landscaping projects in a matter of months. The restaurant also tries to foster a sense of community with a series of events in the restaurant and around the neighborhood. The future of fast food has never looked so green, nor so healthy!
Amanda is often behind the counter in the restaurant, filling orders alongside her team (the handwritten "Amanda" on her wooden nametag was the only thing that tipped me off.) I was curious to know more about how she'd gone about making her idea a reality and what her plans were for the future of the restaurant, so I introduced myself. She was kind enough to meet with me and answer my questions late last week.
How did you come up with the idea for Amanda's?
I'd wanted to someday run a business that had a social and environmental mission ever since college when I was inspired by a book I read by Tom Chapel, the founder of Tom's of Maine. So I always had that in the back of my mind. I went into technology when I graduated from college because that's where there was great opportunity to learn business -- I figured I needed to learn about business first and then I could figure out how to bring in the social mission.
I went back to business school because I wanted to focus on businesses with a social mission and Stanford has a really great social responsibility/public management program. After my first year, I ended up doing my summer internship at Niman Ranch, a natural meats company located in Oakland. That was the same summer that the movie Supersize Me came out and that I read Eric Schlosser's book, Fast Food Nation.
I got to do some ride-alongs on the Niman Ranch delivery trucks that summer. We came up to Berkeley and went to Chez Panisse and Whole Foods and some other really nice grocery stores and I realized that that quality of food was not reaching many people, and definitely not reaching the people Schlosser writes about in Fast Food Nation. So that's when I started really thinking about this need. Then I spent my second year of business school focusing on building a business plan for the restaurant, researching the market, and talking to everyone in the restaurant industry. When I graduated from business school, I decided to actually start implementing the plan.
Once you'd had the idea for the restaurant, what was the path to making it a reality?
I think almost everyone who saw the movie Supersize Me had the same idea - that was the clear reaction. But the restaurant industry is really challenging and a lot of people who had the same idea probably didn't pursue it because it's so tough - there's a lot of competition and profit margins are slim --that's what I found out after studying it more in business school. But I also knew that I had the passion to do it anyway.
There are just hundreds of people who've helped build this. The restaurant has my name on it but it's definitely a community effort. In business school there were probably half a dozen classmates of mine and also people in other graduate programs helped put the business plan together. It was very well-researched which I think gave me confidence in it as well as giving a lot of other quality people the confidence to invest in the business both financially and with their time as advisors or as the consultants that helped design the menu and helped design the space.
How much of that designing and visioning did you do while you were at Stanford and how much did you do after?
Most of it was after. We had the vision of "Whole Foods meets In-N-Out Burger" as what we wanted to create but in terms of making that more tangible, it all happened after I graduated.
Was it difficult to find funding; did you find that process painful?
I actually found the process fun. I like meeting new people and talking to them. There were definitely a lot of people that I talked to that were not interested and that had a lot of fears about investing in a restaurant. Although everyone thinks that restaurants have a really high failure rate, they actually have a similar failure rate to other start-up businesses. The difference is that the failures are so much more public, more visible--people see the restaurant open up and then they see it close its doors. But ten little start-up software companies could fail and you'd never know they existed in the first place! That preconception made the fundraising a little more difficult. So the people that invested had to be really passionate about the concept and about the team.
How long did it take between when you had the idea and when Amanda's actually opened?
Four years. I was in business school for a year researching and putting the business plan together and then it took two years to find the location, several months to negotiate the lease and get the permitting and then some time to construct it.
How big is your team?
There are hundreds of people who made it happen though mostly they don't play an active role at this point. We have some advisors who I talk to every month or so. But on a day-to-day basis it's me and the team in the restaurant -- about 20 people. I have an amazing assistant manager named Peter and he and I did all the hiring and training for our team.
What was the most surprising thing about the process of creating this type of restaurant?
I really think the surprising thing is that everything went as smoothly as it did. Our operations and our team are really amazing.
What has been the hardest part?
Well, before we opened the biggest challenge was finding the location. We knew that it had to be in the right location with great accessibility and walking traffic to supply the masses of people we need to be successful. We knew that what we were creating was not going to be a destination in and of itself - people are just not going to spend half an hour looking for a parking spot to buy a hamburger! At the time, competition for commercial real estate was really stiff. We looked at lots of spots where the landlord chose Starbucks or Peet's Coffee over us.
The hardest thing now is that my team and I have put so much of our hearts and effort into this that it's hard when people are not happy, when we're not satisfying people. There are so many different things--for example, some people like crunchy fries, some people like not-crunchy fries. That surprised me because I had never managed a restaurant before. That's definitely the hardest thing for me; I probably take things a little more personally than I should. I'm trying not to do that as much. But it's also balanced by the customers who are so supportive of what we're doing and so excited about it.
What are your plans for the future of Amanda's? Do you envision it becoming either a chain or a franchise?
That is the intention. We want to be able to grow this and, honestly, we need to get to scale to be able to offer affordable prices. We want to bring this food and this sort of feel-good environment to lots more people. Franchising is probably a no, at least not early on. We really want to focus on quality and build the brand and I think that's harder to do as a franchise. But we are considering next locations now.
May I ask where you're considering opening the next Amanda's?
Definitely in the Bay Area. Ideally, something that is somewhat close to where we are now - that's important from a management perspective and for delivery and that sort of thing. So somewhere either in the East Bay or San Francisco would be great.
Berkeley can be a hard place to open new businesses because a lot of people are pretty anti-development. What has your reception from the community been like?
I have felt nothing but support from the City of Berkeley and from the majority of people here. The mayor comes in to the restaurant and so does the head of economic development. We actually got honorable mention at the Berkeley Sustainability Summit for modeling sustainability so I've felt very supported.
What I like about being in Berkeley is that it is activist central and people really care about our social and environmental mission and they push us on it. I know that it's hard for people who aren't in business on a day-to-day basis to understand the trade-offs that have to be made but that's okay because it's good to have people who care and who ask the questions. You can get wrapped up in the business and then it's easy to be tempted to give up some of your values in trying to be successful. But being in a community like this means that people take the trouble to ask things like why we're using compostable plastic containers "for here"? As a result, we've just changed from using the compostable plastic containers for the "for here" salads to serving them in cardboard boats. The cardboard will reduce our compost waste and will also be more efficient from an environmental perspective than the PLA (compostable plastic) stuff is. So I think it's great.
There are actually a lot of start-up restaurant concepts have come out of Berkeley from Peet's Coffee to Naia, the gelato place. And, of course, Chez Panisse.
Amanda's seems to be a melting pot of sorts. I see a pretty diverse mix of customers -- Berkeley high kids, UC students, local professionals, young parents, hippies, security guards, and people who look like they'd be equally at home in the McDonalds up the street. Is that what you expected?
It's what I hoped! It's interesting because we thought that women would be our core customer (and I think they still are though I haven't spent enough time analyzing our customer base and actually counting customers) because women tend to care more about their health and make a lot of the restaurant decisions for their families and co-workers but it has been even more diverse than I expected. That's one of the things I like about being in Berkeley--we're not only bringing healthy food to people who already eat healthfully, there are also so many different people here that we can start actually making a change in the way some people are eating.
It's good. It's been great this year. It was really great when we first opened. But just like all the restaurants around here, we have felt the impact of the economy. The seasonality of the students is also a big thing for us--the winter months are going to be a bit more challenging for us. But our price point is pretty low, it's a hamburger economy like everyone talks about, so we're really well-positioned. We're trying to cut costs and be as efficient as we can now. The good part about that is that it's setting us up to run the business even more efficiently in the future as we grow.
It seems as though the big fast food chains are constantly offering some new thing - salads, yogurts, chalupas, some new regionally-inspired take on a hamburger or chicken sandwich, etc. Do you have plans to expand Amanda's menu?
We have some ideas of thing we could do and, in fact, we're about to add coffee and tea. But at the same time, we are really trying to keep thing simple from an operational perspective. Those big companies are trying to eke out the next 1% of sales but we have so much growth to do just in what we're offering now. We do have our seasonal salad which changes. But I don't think we're going to make any drastic changes any time soon.
Have you considered listing where you source your different ingredients from on your menu or your web site?
It's a balance, we try to talk about it on our web site but also not everyone wants to know. I'd rather source things locally (and it's cheaper to do that!) but you can't get organic tomatoes locally all year round or local organic apples so sometimes they have to come from New Zealand because we offer our apple fries all year long.
It's interesting -- everyone is so enamored of Niman ranch. If you say you buy your beef from Niman Ranch, people automatically assume that it was raised up in Marin County but in reality their meats come from ranches all around the country. We source our meat with a local family-owned distributor that sources its meats similarly to the way Niman Ranch does. So if people ask, we tell them our beef is from the Midwest and raised all-naturally. The veggies are as local as we can get them - they're sourced through a local produce company. But we don't go to the farmers market. I know that Bobby G (of Bobby G's Pizzeria around the corner) does, though and I am amazed! I don't know how he finds the time to do that - I am very impressed. I would like to learn more about it. We want to continuously improve - there are always things we can do better.
Have you put a lot of effort into marketing?
Not too much yet other than our signs in front of our location and the great reviews we've received thus far. This is going to be the year of marketing. Early on, we had more sales than we expected and we wanted to focus on making sure that we were doing everything right and pleasing our customers and keeping costs under control. But now my team does not need me in the restaurant - I'm actually in the way when I'm there. So I'm going to be spending less time there - for their sake and also so that I can get more involved in the community and do more marketing and start looking at more growth.
We did get a lot of great PR early on. We're going to be on View From the Bay in February - that will be neat. That plus word of mouth... That is why I really wanted to focus on our service because that's what keeps people coming back. If we can provide a great product and great service then hopefully, we should not have to market ourselves too much. But at the same time there are people right in this area who don't know we're here so we do have some work to do.
Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?
Well, one thing that I didn't mention is that everything we do, all the decisions we make in the restaurant are based on our goal of creating a healthy community. For example, when we're deciding whether to buy local or to buy organic, that is what we use as our decision-making metric. This goal of a healthy community is something that we're trying to foster with our own customers and with our employees - we got all our staff trial memberships to the YMCA and Funky Door Yoga to encourage them to exercise. And they're really inspiring - most of them find more time to exercise than I do! Our team really makes us what we are - we'd be nowhere without them.
Great concept. I've been hopeful something similar will surface in the Sacramento area. Best of luck, Amanda.
Aaron Rester said...
Wow, that sounds great. Can you convince her to open one in Chicago? Please?
Kristin A. said...
This is excellent news! I can´t wait to try it out.
Please, please, please come to the South Bay! I would love to have this as a quick lunch option, especially with my kids....
Tallyhoalby said...
It's really fantastic, but now we need it on the East Coast too!
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Usually when I write about awareness, it's a good thing. It's something that we want. Something that we strive for.
But recently, I've found that awareness may not always be such a great thing.
Do you think I've lost my mind?
Maybe so... but hang on - let me explain...
Sweetpea has started to become aware - more aware - of the fact that she has diabetes.
And the fact that others do not.
Maybe that's one of the good things about being diagnosed so young. I think she just thought that it was a normal part of life. Something that happens when you're little.
It's taken a year and half for her to start to see how it affects her life - beyond the shots and the fingerpricks and the counting carbs.
Or maybe it's just the fact that she's able to verbalize it better now.
It's been little things...
We were watching home movies the other night and out of the blue she said, "That was before I had diabetes. Right?"
She's thinking.... thinking about it... trying to make sense of it.
At bedtime last night she said, "Why can't I ever have orange juice?" I told her that it was because it was full of sugar and it made her blood sugar go high, high, high and then it would drop low, low low. And that that wasn't good and would make her feel yucky.
"How do you know that, Mommy? How do you know that stuff?"
"Well, Sweets, I learned it in the hospital. They taught me how certain food affected your blood sugar and how to take care of you and make sure that you're super healthy. And you can have orange juice. When you're low."
"Oh. When I was in the hospital. I had things in my arms. You gave me a shot. In my butt. I wasn't expecting that. We had movies and toys in the room. You slept on that purple couch."
"You remember a lot about the hospital!"
"Yeah. People brought me toys because I was sick."
Wow. I had no idea she remembered so much about that.
She also has been asserting her independence more and more.
We were at a playground the other day and I was walking around with her. Because I've gotten used to her not playing unless I do. But she turned to me and said, "Mom. Quit following me."
Geez.
She really, really wants to go over to play with her best bud from school. But she wants to go home with this little girl in HER car. WITHOUT me.
There are many reasons why this can't happen. And I've tried to explain them to Sweetpea.
I try to focus on the non-D things... Like her mother is babysitting other kids. She's WORKING. You can't just go over to play. You don't go over to play at people's houses that Mommy and Daddy don't know (Actually, We do know these folks somewhat and they are great - so I really have no worries about THAT. But...)
But Sweetpea knows. She's not stupid. She's aware.
"Her mommy doesn't know about diabetes."
"No, she doesn't. And I can't just leave you with someone who doesn't know how to take care of you."
It breaks my heart to say that to her. All the while thinking that not only do most people not know how to handle D - many would be too afraid to try.
We can have this little girl over to our house. We will offer.
But that's not the point. The point is she wants a little freedom. And while I'm ok giving her some... it's got to be on my terms. Certain people. Certain places. Not just anyone, anytime.
And that's not good enough for Sweetpea. She is as stubborn as her mother.
I happened to be following Sweetpea and this little girl down the hall at school yesterday. They were coming to find me to give insulin for her snack. They didn't know I was behind them.
They were STILL talking about this playdate plan. The other little girl said, "I can tell my Mom that if Dexie beeps she just has to look at it."
And although Sweetpea gives ME a hard time, this was her answer.
"Well.... but she has to know how to take care of diabetes. And she has to know what to do."
It just breaks my heart. Growing up is hard enough. Adding this in the mix makes for a delicate balance.
The other night she wanted to go play with friends. But her neighborhood friends were out playing at other houses. People I don't know. Without parents. I can't let her do that. Go off by herself like that.
But she doesn't understand. And so she cries. And so do I.
At the unfairness of this life. At how it makes her grow up faster. At how it forces her to deal with unpleasant realities earlier than I'd like.
I know we've got a long road ahead of us. Dealing with adolescence and diabetes is going to be a struggle - and not just from the blood sugar end of things. But emotionally.
I worry. Adolescence is a time when you are searching for people like you. When you want to fit in. Be like everyone else.
How much of a challenge will be that be for a little girl with a BIG personality and an insulin pump? Only time will tell...
I wish I could always run interference and handle all the crap that D slings at us. I wish I could make it all better. I wish there was a cure.
Wendy November 6, 2010 at 1:47 AM
I know it might sound cliche', but....playdates DO get easier!!! I KNOW! I never thought I'd say that. But it's true! At 7, Sugar is able to spend about THREE HOURS at a friend's house and just calls me to confirm carb counts before operating the pump INDEPENDENTLY.
I know you don't believe it.
Just you wait :)
Reyna November 6, 2010 at 5:41 AM
First off...me too (on the CURE comment). Secondly, what Wendy said..."me too...too". I know that crappy place that you are at right now though. The place where Bridget could just run down the street 4 houses and play. The place where I would have to go with Joe 4 houses down the street and loiter in strangers backyards, garages, and driveways to watch Joe (when he was 3,4,and5). It has gotten easier. But, it is still "different". Joe has 3 houses that he has gone to for playdates to date. He does do all of his checks, boluses etc...with me over the phone...and I send the playdate cheat sheet that I posted about a month or so ago. It is hard Hallie and I so hear you on this one...
Lora November 6, 2010 at 9:01 AM
As she gets older... she WILL be able to go. She is pretty "on top of things", she will be able to operate that pump before you know it.
Not that you want to do it too quickly ;/
Sarah November 6, 2010 at 11:13 AM
I've been having a hard time with this mostly because it's been so different with my oldest since his younger brother has been diagnosed. I don't fully know how to explain it except that him and I were really spontaneous and now it feels like we have to work a lot more at getting out the door and I know this frustrates him. As for playdates I get that too...my other suggestions was one that another d mom around my town offered...she trains one babysitter with d care and then has that person go on playdates with her child. That way the child is getting time away from "mom's watchful eye" but is still safe no matter where they play. She first trains the babysitter at their house for several weeks by using her as a "mother's helper" type person then she leaves for an hour, then two, then three...once this is achieved all is well and she then utilizes the babysitter for herself and other d parents to have playdates and relax. It's pretty fantastic. She finds most of the babysitters through the private college near her or from references from friends.
I've been surprised at how much Isaac remembers about his dx in the hospital, too. Just last week we ran into one of his nurses at a playground and recognized her before I did, he was hiding behind me and told me, "that lady held me down." It took me a while to realize that she was the nurse that helped put an IV in and had to hold him with me because he was thrashing so much. Great memories :(
I just hope it keeps getting better and know that our children are surrounded by love. ENjoy your weekend.
Heather November 6, 2010 at 12:12 PM
Wow, I am not looking forward to Lovebug becoming so aware. Or if she is she isn't verbalizing it yet. I'm sure it will happen soon enough though. It makes me scared that Lovebug remembers her hospital stay. I was hoping she wouldn't remember that because if she remembers that she might remember life before she was diagnosed.
You are handling it so well though. I only hope I do the same as Lovebug becomes more aware too. I wish that I could tell you it gets easier, but I am in the same boat. Nice to hear Wendy and Reyna say it does get better.
I want a cure too.
I found your blog from a friend facebook page. Her son Joel was diagnosed with Diabetes after almost dying. I had no idea the struggles families with Type 1 Diabetes face. Thank you for your honesty and willingness to share. Please know you are being prayed for and covered by His grace and peace tonight.
Thankful mom in Ky.
Ellie asks questions every once and awhile. She has not to date asked to go somewhere without me...she still asks us to come outside and "keep an eye on her". But I know she knows things are different and I know sometimes it gets to her. She has also begun to throw her dexter on the floor and tell me she isn't going to "take care of her body anymore" when she gets mad at me...OH MY!!! I try very very hard not to react to that, she's quite a spit-fire at times...I do not look forward to her asserting her independence sometimes!!! Good luck and thanks for sharing the story! ((hug))
Calling All D Mamas, Papas, and PWD's: WE NEED AD...
Super Nanny Be Damned
Santa - the D Sibling
A D-Lightful Thanksgiving
The Black Friday Sugar Bolus
I Love Fred
Diabetes Blessings
My Beautiful Broken Shell
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad.... Week...
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Play it Out
Isn't it Ironic
Danielle has a new pair of PJ's for the Cure!
Happy World Diabetes Day!
GET BLUE!
The Great PJ WDD Give Away!
Are YOU part of the Cure?
You Are More
D Blog Day - The Princess and The Pump Style
Say What?!?
Life is Just a Click Away
The Wee Small Hours
Halloween Wrap Up
Stop Diabetes
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Apple iOS 7 Announced – New Features, Details about the Upgrades and Launch Date
Apple launched the iOS 7 with tons of new features, and a stunning new user interface. This announcement was made at the WWDC 2013 event by Apple at San Francisco where along with the iOS 7, the Mac OS X Mavericks and the new Apple Macbook Air version was launched. Here are the various features of the Apple iOS 7.
Apple iOS 7 Features
New Slide to Unlock from the bottom, pulling up to the top.
New interface, totally revamped from the previous one.
Heavy use of translucency, for more vitality and depth.
The new iOS 7 comes with the 3D interface, when you tilt the phone the perspective changes. As the team says, “We see iOS 7 as defining an important new direction.”
There’s just a lot of stuff changed and included in the iOS 7, and this has been one of the biggest changes to the iOS since the launch of the first iPhone. Every pixel gets perfectly detailed in the retina display of the iPhone. One of the best reasons for this is that Apple has got just the iPhone to bring out the best in it, thus they did it.
Weather App in the iOS 7
Weather app gives you all the details of the climate around, and a tap would give you more details. Just swyping to the left would give you the weather details of the different locations. Pinch and you would get the overview of all the cities along with the time, so it can work as a world clock.
Notifications in iOS 7
Today, All and Missed notifications in separate tabs.
Calendar notifications, stocks, app notifications.
One of the best features about Notifications is that it can be opened directly from the Home Screen.
There’s a lot of changes made in several apps, and even stuff like the iTunes Radio, the new Control Center and there’s a list that we have made to showcase the Best Features of the iOS 7.
Apple iOS 7 Launch & Devices Supported
The beta version of the iOS 7 is going to be available for the following devices from today, and one can take full advantage of the new beautiful interface already.
iPhone 4 and Later
iPad 2 and Later
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Bibi Andersson, Swedish actress and muse of Ingmar Bergman, dies at 83
April 15, 2019 Kurucz JuditLeave a Comment on Bibi Andersson, Swedish actress and muse of Ingmar Bergman, dies at 83
Bibi Andersson, the Swedish actress who starred in 13 Ingmar Bergman films, died Sunday in Stockholm. She was 83.
Director Christina Olofson confirmed her death to several outlets. Andersson had suffered a stroke in 2009 and was hospitalized.
Andersson made a name herself after her type-defying role in 1966’s “Persona,” for which she received the award for best actress at the 4th Guldbagge Awards, the Swedish equivalent of the Academy Awards. Previous to the role, she was generally cast in more innocent parts, like in “The Seventh Seal” and “Wild Strawberries.”
Andersson won the silver bear for best actress as the Berlin Film Festival in 1963 for her work in Vilgot Sjöman’s “The Mistress” and in 1968, she was nominated for best foreign actress at the BAFTAs for her roles in both “Persona” and “Syskonbädd 1782.” After her “Persona” fame, she went on to work consistently throughout the ’60s and ’70s and accumulated roles in more than 50 films, including John Huston’s “The Kremlin Letter” and Robert Altman’s “Quintet.”
Andersson had joined the Dramaten (Royal Dramatic Theatre) in her early years and continued to perform throughout her film career. In 1990, she began working as a theatre director, directing several plays for the Dramaten, Sweden’s national stage.
She is survived by one child and her husband, Gabriel Mora Baeza.
Another Successful International Cultural Evening – Participants and Performers had a blast at ICE 2019
Flower Carnival coming soon
August 14, 2014 Kurucz Judit
Spanish Conversation Club this afternoon
April 3, 2014 Kurucz Judit
Programs for Friday
June 21, 2012 Judit
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2000 Aprilia RS125 - Added by Sebastian.nospam.comcast.com on 10-Apr-2016
Uploaded for: Sebastian - 2000 Aprilia RS125
More Information on the Aprilia RS125
The Aprilia RS125 is a GP derived replica sport production motorcycle. It is powered by a Rotax single cylinder 124.8 cc two-stroke engine with Nikasil coated aluminium cylinder block, and liquid cooling.
Aprilia has had many Grand Prix victories in the 125 cc and 250 cc two-stroke classes. This racing experience has been used by Aprilia to produce updated and improved versions of the RS125.
RS125R Extrema 1992 to 1995
Aprilia introduced the first RS125 in 1992. It has the distinctive features of having an angular tail section and swept front fairing, square cut headlight unit, three spoke rims, air scoops on the upper front middle fairing, Electric starter or kick start on the left hand side and analogue gauges.
RS125 1996 to 1998
The RS125 is revised and the R suffix is dropped. The RS retains a lot of the appearances of the previous RS but there are some notable differences. The first one is a new engine, the Rotax 122, a new improved version to the previous one. The front air intakes are integrated into the front upper portion of the middle fairing. The headlight unit is rounded and the lip is introduced to the top centre. A digital gauge is added in place of the temperature gauge.
The RS125 was revised again in 1999 with more rounded and bulbous fairings, five spoke rims and a single air duct on the driver's right hand side. The lip on the headlight unit is increased in size.
The RS125 was given completely new fairing styling similar to the RSV 1000R. The most notable features are the angular fairings, two headlight units, digital gauge and multispoke Marchesini-styled rims.
The bike's brakes have also been upgraded,featuring a radial four-piston brake caliper and braided brake lines.
In 2008, the bike's electronics were changed froml Nippon-Denso to Piaggio/EFI Technology electronics, most notably the new ECU to meet the more stringent EURO3 Emissions standards.
The bike has also been fitted with a vacuum fuel tap on the tank and a new Dell'orto 28 mm VHST carburettor that features the vacuum pipe extension.
The line was dropped in 2012 to make way for the new RS4 125, going from a two-stroke to a single-cylinder four-stroke fuel injected system.
Tuono 1999 to 2005
The RS125 Tuono was introduced in 1999 as a semi naked version of the RS125. Production ran until 2005 and was subsequently dropped from the line-up.
The Tuono was essentially an RS125 with the middle and lower portions of the fairings absent and a handlebar fitted on the top yoke.
Race replica colour schemes
Throughout the history of the RS125, various race replica colour schemes and tributes to motorcycle racers have been produced.
RS 125 Official site.
http://uk.aprilia.com/en-GB/Model/29421/RS+125/Overview.aspx
http://www.aprilia.com/en-US/Model/40/RS+125/Technical.aspx
//scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Aprilia+RS125%22
//www.google.com/search?&q=%22Aprilia+RS125%22+site:news.google.com/newspapers&source=newspapers
//www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22Aprilia+RS125%22
//www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22Aprilia+RS125%22+-wikipedia
//www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22Aprilia+RS125%22+-wikipedia
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikereviews/searchresults/Bike-Reviews/Aprilia/Aprilia-RS125-2006-current/?&R=EPI-115
https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22Aprilia+RS125%22&acc=on&wc=on
The photo 2000-Aprilia-RS125-292346.jpg (2000 Aprilia RS125 - Uploaded for: Sebastian
2000 Aprilia RS125) was uploaded by: Sebastian.nospam@comcast.com.
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3M BIC turns five and officially launches the Huddersfield Innovation and Incubation Project
Innovation Centre celebrates five years and launches new technology offering.
One of the UK’s first business innovation centres, based in Yorkshire, celebrated its fifth anniversary in May, and officially launched the Huddersfield Innovation and Incubation Project (HIIP) as it looks ahead to the future.
Set up as a one-stop-shop for business support and providing companies across the Leeds City Region with access to advanced technologies, the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC) based on Firth Street in Huddersfield celebrated five successful years last month. To mark the milestone, it officially launched the HIIP which has enabled the Centre to enhance its technology offering for businesses in the region, including x-ray, microscopy, metrology, metal additive manufacture, virtual reality and data analytics facilities.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Huddersfield, the 3M BIC was built as a business for business, providing access to high-quality technology and commercial support. The Centre was funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Kirklees Council to aid regional economic development up until 2013.
It was officially opened on 21 May 2013 by the Duke of York. Fast forward five years and the 3M BIC has accommodated 55 tenants, supported over 300 associate businesses and network members, and provided 20 placements for students from the University of Huddersfield, over half of which were employed by tenants, with many securing permanent roles. The Centre has also invested over £4m in technology.
The HIIP has been funded through a £2.9m grant from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal – a £1bn package of government investment to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.
The funding has enabled significant investment in state-of-the-art technology at the 3M BIC to aid business growth. Facilities now include: a self-serve digital “space” equipped with a range of 3D printers, virtual reality, 4K videography; a fully supported metal additive manufacturing (AM) centre of excellence; an imaging suite equipped with optical, laser and electron microscopy equipment; metrology grade X-Ray CT; a visualisation suite for product design, animation, and business data analytics and High Performance Computing, plus a fully equipped software training suite that can accommodate 18 delegates.
Prof Liz-Towns-Andrews, CEO of the 3M BIC, said: “The concept for the 3M BIC was to create a state-of-the-art centre for the co-location of spin-in companies alongside the University of Huddersfield. It was all about breaking down those barriers between industry and academia. We’ve created a one-stop-shop where businesses can innovate, collaborate, and help facilitate local and regional regeneration, as well as transfer knowledge with universities, such as Huddersfield.
“Its innovative approach directly impacts the growth of tenants and network members, as well as the regional economy. Any profits get ploughed back into the Centre to improve its offering to other businesses, and thanks to funding, such as the HIIP, we have been able to grow our offering significantly, to ensure we remain at the forefront.
“Looking to the future, we are hoping to engage with more micro businesses in the region, as well as streamline our business support triage system in response to customer need.”
Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “Leeds City Region has a rich heritage of innovation and invention and this can only be strengthened with the opening of world-class facilities at the Huddersfield Innovation and Incubation Project. Services like HIIP – alongside the LEP’s own Access Innovation programme that provides funding and support for businesses that want to develop new products and process – are helping to boost local business productivity and our City Region economy for the long-term.”
Cllr Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council, said: “The new facilities provided through the Huddersfield Innovation and Incubation Project will enable businesses from Kirklees and beyond to boost their innovation footprint and overall productivity. Local Growth Deal funding is supporting Kirklees companies to compete on the national and international stage for digital, design and smart manufacturing as well as creating jobs and growing the economy for the long-term.”
Sir Andrew Witty recognised the 3M BIC as an exemplar of SME support and innovation in his report ‘Encouraging a British Invention Revolution: Sir Andrew Witty’s Review of Universities and Growth’ in 2013. It also featured in the Government’s independent review of industrial digitalisation, Made Smarter Review 2017, led by Professor Juergen Maier, CEO Siemens UK, as a Digital Innovation Asset in the North West region.
Photo shows: Michael Wilson, HIIP Director and 3M BIC Centre Manager, Andrew Wright, LEP Board Member and 3M BIC CEO Liz Towns-Andrews
• The 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC) in Huddersfield is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013 and Kirklees Council. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information, visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf.
• 3M BIC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Huddersfield.
• 3M BIC facilitates business growth through a range of dedicated technical, professional and commercial support services for businesses, as well academic collaboration with the University of Huddersfield.
• Facilities include open plan, hot desks and individual office spaces to rent in a variety of sizes, as well as flexible workshops and laboratories and meeting and conference spaces.
• Innovation Avenue houses leading edge technology with dedicated technical support for businesses, including: high performance computing, additive manufacturing, surface measurement, 3D visualisation and rendering and University lab services, which include surface metrology and advanced manufacturing.
• The Business Engagement Centre is a unique partnership between the 3M BIC, the University of Huddersfield and NPL North of England, providing a one-stop-shop for commercial support for organisations in the greater Leeds City Region.
• 3M BIC offers a network membership giving companies access to high-tech equipment, discounts on meeting and conference rooms, as well as the opportunity to become part of a wider business support network
• For more information on the facilities and services on offer at 3M BIC, go to www.3mbic.com or call 01484 505601
• Twitter @3MBIC
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
• We work in partnership with local councils and businesses to ensure that everyone in our region benefits from a strong, successful economy and a modern, accessible transport network. By championing the region’s interests nationally and internationally, we secure the investment to deliver better transport and housing, help businesses to grow and create jobs.
• The Combined Authority works in partnership with the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to help businesses in our region grow and become more productive and operates the Metro-branded network of bus stations, travel centres and public transport information for West Yorkshire.
• We want our region to be recognised globally as a strong, successful economy where everyone can build great businesses, careers and lives.
• For more information visit www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk.
About Local Enterprise Partnerships
• Local Enterprise Partnerships are playing a vital role in driving forward economic growth across the country, helping to build a country that works for everyone.
• That’s why by 2021 Government will have invested over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund, allowing LEPs to use their local knowledge to get all areas of the country firing on all cylinders.
• Analysis has shown that every £1 of Local Growth Fund invested could generate £4.81 in benefits.
About Northern Powerhouse
• The Northern Powerhouse is a key aspect of this Government’s approach to addressing the productivity gap in the North and ensuring a stronger, more sustainable economy for all parts of the UK.
• The government has awarded £3.4bn in three rounds of Growth Deals across the Northern Powerhouse.
• 17 Enterprise Zones across the North have already attracted £1.3bn of private sector investments and helped attract nearly 9,000 jobs since 2012.
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Warrnambool, Vic.
Our Labour Day Weekend Tour destination was the Warrnambool area in western Victoria. The Wendish Heritage Society thanks Betty Huf, and her husband, Colin, who were entirely responsible for the organisation of this highly successful event.
The tour was led by local historian and researcher, Betty Huf.
The itinerary was as follows:
Saturday 8th March
1.00pm: “Cheeseworld”. The tour commenced in this Museum at the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory, located just off the Princes Highway at Allansford. For those arriving early, there was a large café area which provided reasonably priced light lunches, and a shop which sold a comprehensive selection of local gourmet items including wines, cheese, olives, jams and preserves, etc. We had a guide to explain various aspects of the Museum collection, which included many artefacts relating to the dairy industry and a wide range of engines and motoring accessories donated and maintained by the Warrnambool and District Historical Vehicle Club.
Of particular interest were those dairy items which pertain to the Uebergang and Grauer families and the chassis of a steam car built by Johannes August Carl Ziegler in 1892, and reputed to be the first built in Australia.
2.30 pm: Warrnambool Cemetery. A short guided tour of the cemetery was conducted by Betty. There are some notable people buried here, including a former Premier of Victoria.
4.00 pm: Pleasant Hill Gardens. These gardens were established outside the Fletcher Jones & Staff trouser factory which opened in Warrnambool in 1948. They became famous across Victoria as one of the most visited and photographed “industrial” or private gardens in the State. Although no longer as glorious as in the past, it is still possible to enjoy a stroll through the garden, and wander along the façade of the former Fletcher Jones factory. A small portion of the building houses an immense Market, and it is possible to envisage how extensive the factory was in its heyday whilst browsing amongst the many rows of “treasures”. Afternoon tea was available for tour participants to enjoy.
6.30 pm: Dinner at the Warrnambool Lutheran Church Hall, corner of Henna and Koroit Streets, was catered by the Women’s Auxilliary. The guest speaker, Betty Huf, gave an illustrated talk titled “Warrnambool Germans 1849 – 1900”.
Sunday 9th March
8.15 am: We met at the Lutheran Church, corner of Henna and Koroit Streets to board one of two buses which conveyed us to to Hawkesdale, and all subsequent destinations for the day.
9.00 am: Worship service at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Main Street, Hawkesdale, followed by morning tea with congregation members.
11.00 am: Visit to the Lutheran section of the Hawkesdale Cemetery, followed by a drive through the Macarthur Wind Farm (the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere).
12.30 pm: Lunch at the historic Macarthur Hotel, built in 1860.
2.00 pm: Drive to the Byaduk Lutheran Church and Cemetery, and then on to view the Tumuli, circular mounds of volcanic rock that rise up to 10 metres from the lava flow, and which are considered unique in Australia and rare on a world scale.
4.30 pm: Return to Warrnambool via Tower Hill Game Reserve, which features a deep circular crater, which is one of the largest maars (shallow, flat-floored crater) in the world. After a drive inside the crater, we returned to Warrnambool.
6.30 pm: BBQ with our hosts at the Warrnambool Lutheran Church. Congregation members will be given a brief presentation on the Wends, who they are, their culture and history.
Monday 10th March
9.30 am: Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, a maritime museum and outdoor village with Australia’s richest shipwreck collection; all contained in an 1870’s village located overlooking Lady Bay. The village provides a glimpse into the maritime lifestyles and trades of the 1870’s era, the peak of Australia’s maritime heritage. The museum houses two items carved by August Landmann, who emigrated on the Wilhelmsburg in 1847.
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Browsing food and drink within 10 miles of Dedham Art and Craft Centre
Dedham Art and Craft Centre, High Street, Dedham, Essex, CO7 6AD (0 miles, 0 km)
Essex Rose, Dedham, High Street, Dedham, Essex, CO7 6DE (0 miles, 0 km)
Gun Hill, Dedham, Colchester, Essex, CO7 6HP (1 miles, 1 km)
Stratford Road, Dedham, Colchester, Essex, CO7 6HW (1 miles, 2 km)
20-21 Middleborough, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1QX (6 miles, 10 km)
15 – 19 Head Street, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1NX (6 miles, 10 km)
235 Lexden Road, Colchester, Essex, CO3 4DA (8 miles, 12 km)
High Street, Dedham, Essex, CO7 6DF (0 miles, 0 km)
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ (6 miles, 10 km)
The Mistley Thorn
High Street, Mistley, Essex, CO11 1HE (4 miles, 6 km)
www.mistleythorn.co.uk
The Mistley Thorn offers award-winning dining in tastefully designed surroundings opposite the River Stour. American born executive chef Sherri Singleton has developed a menu using the best of the area’s seasonal produce.
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Rev. William Jones, Soar (Zoar)
The Rev William Jones: He came from Blaenllechau and he completed his theological training at Llangollen. Was ordained as minister to Soar Church on 1st January 1890 but after 33 years as a faithful minister, he passed away after a protracted illness on 3rd October 1923. A memorial tablet in memory of the late Rev William Jones was unveiled in 1935. At the service his son and two daughters as well as a grandson attended.
Reverend William Jones ministered at Soar (Zoar) from 1890 to 1923.
His period of ministry included the First World War. He had a son in the forces, Private W.A. Jones, who wrote letters home in 1914 and 1915 that were featured in the Llais newspaper.
The Rev William Jones gave out Bibles to those young men from his congregation who left to join the armed forces. He also presided at the meeting of the Ystalyfera Free Church Council in October 1916 where funds were raised to endow a bed at the Netley Hospital.
The Great War at Soar Chapel, Ystalyfera.
The Labour Voice newspaper, 8th July 1922 records that the Rev W Jones had been unwell:-
SOAR BAPTIST CHAPEL
On Sunday last the pulpit at Soar Welsh Baptist Chapel was occupied by the pastor, the Rev W Jones, who at the evening service, delivered a particularly able sermon. We are pleased to learn that the health of the rev gentleman continues to improve. The pulpit at Soar will on Sunday next be occupied by a student from Cardiff College.
The death of Rev William Jones was recorded in the Labour Voice Saturday 6th October 1923:-
Death of Reverend Pastor
Rev William Jones, Soar, Ystalyfera
We regret to announce the death of the Rev William Jones, Pastor of Soar Baptist Church, Ystalyfera, which took place on Tuesday night last, at the age of 59. For the last two years he had suffered severely and had attended Swansea hospital for a cure, but it became evident to his relatives and friends that a recovery could not be expected and for nearly a year he had been confined to his bed. Although suffering greatly, he bore it all with patience and fortitude and had a kind, welcome smile for all his visitors.
Since his arrival in the Swansea valley 33 years ago, Mr Jones had been one of the best known and most highly respected leaders in the religious life of West Wales. Although frail physically, he was a great worker and all good causes had in him a strong supporter. The church at Soar prospered under his wise guidance and vigorous leadership and he was also greatly interested in all aspect of the social and religious life of the community. Although his long illness had prepared his friends and admirers for the end, it is still true that his loss will be seriously felt not only in Ystalyfera and district, but in a much wider circle, and especially in the churches and councils of the West Glamorgan Baptists.
Mr Jones was a native of Gwernogie, Carmarthen, and was educated at Carmarthen and at Llangollen Baptist College. On the 1st January 1890 he was ordained minister at Soar, Ystalyfera, which was his first and, as events have proved, his only pastorate. The relations between Mr Jones and the church have been singularly happy. On the completion of 21 years as pastor, the church showed their regard and appreciation by presenting him with a gold watch and chain and a purse of gold, along with other gifts. It is also well-known that the church have acted very kindly and honourably towards their pastor in his long illness. Although able to preach but a few times during the last two years, his salary was paid fully and regularly to the end.
His brethren throughout the denomination showed their high regard for Mr Jones by appointing him to many honourable positions. He read a paper on "The Church and its Young People" in the Baptist Union meetings held at Treorci in 1909 under the presidency of the Rt Hon D Lloyd George. This paper proves that Mr Jones was a wide reader and a deep student of psychology. He was one of the prime movers in forming the Ystalyfera District Quarterly Meeting and one of its first officers. He was also appointed president of the Welsh Young Baptists Union and was secretary of the Home Mission for many years. The latter position having the welfare of weak churches in its charge, involved work in which he took the greatest interest and no one laboured more and felt more for these churches.
In 1922, he was president of the West Glamorgan Baptist Association and his address on that occasion, when the meetings were held at Soar, on "The Special Mission of the Church" was a notable one.
He was a leading member and for some time president of the local Free Church Council. In this capacity he proved a fearless fighter, having the courage of his convictions, regardless of consequences, which were not always pleasant. He also served on the Pontardawe Group of Managers.
He leaves a widow and 3 children. The funeral will be on Monday at 3 o'clock, the burial being at Soar churchyard.
His burial was recorded in the Labour Voice newspaper, 13th October 1923:-
At the burial service of the late Rev William Jones on Monday the tablet erected to the memory of Mr Jones' predecessor reminded us that Soar is a church of long pastorate. The Rev Charles Williams was pastorate for 35 years and his successor for 23.
FUNERAL OF REV WILLIAM JONES
The funeral of the late Rev William Jones Soar, took place on Monday. The regard in which he was held throughout the district not only amongst his own denomination but by the whole community was made evident by the large and representative character of the cortege which accompanied his remains to Soar Chapel Graveyard. Especially notable was the large number of ministers present, some of whom came from long distances.
A short service was held at the house in which Revs D J Davies Ainon Ystradgynlais and B James Tumble took part.
The service at Soar Chapel was presided over by the Rev E D Lewis Caersalem Ystalyfera. The introductory parts of the service were conducted by the Rev D W Stephens Jerusalem Ystalyfera and Ben Lewis Llangyfelach.
The Rev David Price Bethesda Swansea [formerly of Beulah Cwmtwrch] said that he had known Mr Jones when a lad at Carmarthenshire. It was at Ferndale that he was urged to enter the Ministry when he joined the Baptist cause there. The speaker and Mr Jones had been together at college and their relations through life had been close and intimate. Jones had always been a true religious man and his religion was natural and sane.
The Rev Arthur Maddocks Caersalem paid a warm tribute to the influence which the deceased had exerted upon him at the Band of Hope and Sunday school at Soar when he was a lad and young man. It was the inspiration which he had received from the sermons and the saintly character of his pastor, which were responsible for his entering the ministry. He had a way of presenting the truth that was both attractive and stimulating and the speaker would always be grateful for his guidance and the paternal interest which he had always taken in his career.
The Rev W R Watkins MA Llanelly paid tribute to the many sided activities of Mr Jones. He was a great worker and the church at Soar under his leadership had prospered. He also complemented Soar Chapel for its great kindness towards their pastor in his long illness.
South Wales Voice newspaper for Saturday 15th October 1932 carried the full details:-
A SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE
YSTALYFERA UNVEILING
TABLET TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE REV WILLIAM JONES, SOAR
Although nine years have passed since the death of Rev William Jones, who was for 33 years pastor of Soar Church, Ystalyfera, his memory is being cherished by the church and district. This was amply testified by the large gathering which assembled at the unveiling of a memorial tablet at Soar Church last Thursday. The service, which was an impressive one, was attended by representatives of local churches and movements connected with them. All speakers referred to the sterling character of the deceased reverend gentleman and to the untiring efforts he made to improve the social amenities of Ystalyfera. The Reverend Ivor Jones, Soar, presided over the service and said it should be regarded as something more than the unveiling of a memorial - it was a service of remembrance of a great man. It was an expression of thanks for the services of a man of God.
The chairman then called upon Mrs (Rev) William Jones to unveil the tablet and said he could not say why it was that the erection of the memorial had been delayed for nearly ten years. He took advantage of the opportunity to thank the members of the church for their active co-operation in the matter.
Mrs Jones then unveiled the tablet.
The inscription on the tablet is as follows:
"Cofodael serch i'r Parch William Jones, gweinidog ffyddlon yr eglwys hon am doros 33 o flynyddoedd. Ganed, Hyd. 31ain 1863. Ordeiniwyd Ion. 1af, 1890. Bu farw Hyd. 2ail, 1923.
Cyfraith gwirionedd oedd yn ei enau, a llawer a drodd efe oddiwrth anwiredd. "
Mr Maurice Davies, secretary of the church, gave a brief account of the reverend gentleman and said he could say a great deal about him from what he knew during their close friendship. As a young man Mr Jones was a great reader and his hobby was the collecting of books to improve himself. His intention of entering the ministry was evident early in life. Mr Jones always preached from memory and sketched his sermons in a very attractive manner.
PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH
When Mr Jones became pastor of Soar, the membership was 98 and this had been increased to 220 before he died. During his pastorate he baptised 313 people, besides accepting many others into membership. Mr Davies paid a tribute to Mrs Jones for her good work during Mr Jones' illness and said she had done a great deal towards alleviating his sufferings.
Mr Martin Edwards, Llanelly, who erected the tablet, thanked the members and officers of the church for their help to him. He said that the co-operation he had been accorded had helped considerably in his work.
A PEEP INTO THE PAST
Mr Fred Rees gave a very interesting account of how he first met the Rev. William Jones. He said that Mr Jones was engaged to preach at Soar while a student at Llangollen. He arrived at Brynamman at about 6:30pm and found that the last train to Ystalyfera had left. He made enquiries and found that there was a bootmaker from Ystalyfera working at Brynamman who traveled to and fro in a pony and trap. Mr Jones approached the bootmaker (who happened to be Mr Rees) and was given a lift to Ystalyfera. Mr Jones was apprehensive of entering his lodgings so late at night, but everything passed off smoothly. Before the end of the year, Mr Jones was invited to become the pastor and was ordained. While Mr Jones did not neglect his church work in any way, he took a great interest in public affairs. He was the secretary of the first movement to provide a hall at Ystalyfera 32 years ago. Mr Rees read out a notice of the meeting of the committee which was held at Wern Vestry on Tuesday 4th December 1900, when the question of a site was discussed.
Speaking as a pupil of Mr Jones, the Reverend A T Maddocks, Aberdare said he owed a debt of gratitude to him. Mr Jones had helped him to realise to urge to enter a ministry. The late reverend gentleman was progressive in his ideas and was very keen on the provision of a larger vestry. Mr Jones' hobby was the reading of good literature and he passed on the benefits to his flock.
A FEARLESS FIGHTER
References were made to the strong fighting qualities of Mr Jones by Mr D W Davies, Ty Coch. Mr Davies said there was keen agitation against the closing hours of the local public houses. At that time the houses closed at 11pm and the Free Church Council petitioned for an earlier hour. The case was heard by a Commission at Cardiff at which Mr Jones and he (the speaker) were witnesses, and they were cross-examined by Mr (now Sir) Marlay Samson. It was held that the Free Church Council had established a case but an appeal was made. The Council was again successful.
Mr Tom Davies, Derwen Dairy, spoke on behalf of the Free Church Council and referred to Mr Jones' activities as a strong temperance advocate. He said that through his efforts four public houses were closed. Mr Davies said he summed up Mr Jones' life in the following words:
"Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in the dust"
The Reverend T Valentine Evans of Clydach, recalled the day that the Reverend William Jones was ordained as pastor of Soar 42 years ago. Mr Evans said he attended the service for the reason that he wanted to hear the renowned Reverend John Jones, Blaenllechau, preaching. It was the Reverend John Jones that baptised Mr William Jones and to him fell the honour of delivering the charge to the church. There was no real need for a memorial for Mr Jones, as his life has been sufficient to cause him to be remembered for years.
AN UNSELFISH MAN
The Reverend E Edmonds, Swansea, secretary of the Baptist Union of Wales and Monmouthshire, and president elect of that body, paid a tribute to what he described as the chief characteristic of the late Reverend William Jones - his unselfishness.
Speaking as personal friends, the Reverends Ben Lewis, Salem, Llangyfylach, and E D Lewis, Caersalem, Ystalyfera, recounted the story of their college days. They said that the friendship created in their youth had remained unbroken to the end of Mr Jones' days.
Several of Mr Jones' favourite hymns were sung, including "Rhoddaist imi lawer arwydd", the singing being under the conductorship of Mr E J Evans. Mr Emlyn Evans presided at the organ.
Among those present were the son and daughter of the late Reverend William Jones, Mr W A Jones, Great Western Railway, Merthyr, and Nurse Samuel, Penrhiewtyn, Neath.
One week previously, presumably in a build-up to the event, the South Wales Voice had carried a biographical article on the Rev. William Jones, this being in the 8th October 1932 edition of the newspaper:-
A BELOVED PASTOR
MEMORIAL TO THE LATE
REV WILLIAM JONES
SOAR YSTALYFERA
It was on 2nd October 1923, that the Rev William Jones, for 33 years pastor of Soar Baptist Chapel Ystalyfera, passed away. On Thursday evening, nine years to the day, a memorial was unveiled at the church where he had laboured for so long.
At the unveiling service on Thursday, the secretary of the church, Mr Maurice Davies AFI gave a history of the rev gentleman.
AN EARLY HANDICAP
It was at Blaenwaun, Rhosycorn Carmarthenshire that Mr Jones was born and his mother died at his birth. The youngest of 5 children, he was fortunate in being looked after with the tender love of a mother by his sister. As was the custom in the country, the future servant of Christ worked as a farm labourer for some years, afterwards going to Blaenllechau. The training he had received in his home in religion had the effect of whetting his appetite for the work of the church. His people were staunch Methodists but Mr Jones became a Baptist and was baptised by immersion by the Rev John Jones Blaenllechau. As time went on he displayed exceptional talent and a delight for preaching.
On 16th October 1885, he entered the Old College School Carmarthen and succeeded so well that he won a scholarship to Llangollen College, where he had a brilliant career. On the day he first travelled to college he struck up an acquaintance with another student, Mr D Price, who later became pastor of Beulah Lower Cwmtwrch and Bethesda Swansea. The firm friendship thus formed, lasted until the end of Mr Jones' life. At the end of their studies both students were called to pastorates. Mr Price went to Beulah and Mr Jones to Soar Chapel as successor to the Rev Charles Williams. Two other students at the same college who received "calls" and remained at the same charges were the Revs Ben Lewis, Salem Llangyfelach and E D Lewis Caersalem Ystalyfera. The former was ordained in September 1899, Mr Jones on 1st January 1890; and Mr Price at Beulah on 2nd January 1890 and 15 years later, Mr E D Lewis became pastor of Caersalem Ystalyfera.
The Rev William Jones possessed a retentive memory and never used notes for his sermons.
In 1904, Mr Jones formed the Young People's Society to which he lectured every year. An able and entertaining speaker, he was highly praised for his address at the Union meetings at Treorchy on, "The Church and the Young People".
Mr Jones was secretary of the Home Mission of the Welsh Glamorgan Baptist for many years and his labours to help churches in distress was so successful that in 12 years the sum of £1,407 4s 5d was collected and distributed; it was about that period that the Sustentation Fund was formed. Mr Jones was also the first Secretary of the District Meeting, Ystalyfera area, which was formed in 1902 and he became chairman. He was nominated on three occasions as president of the Gymanfa and twice he refused to allow his name to go forward saying that there were more able candidates. On the third occasion he accepted the honour, despite a serious illness. He was installed to the office at Soar in 1922 at one of the most successful conferences ever held. He delivered a powerful address on "Eglwys Crist a'i Chenadaeth Arbennig".
Mr Jones also took an interest in public life and was the years a member of the Pontardawe Group of School Managers and the Governors of the Ystalyfera Secondary school.
To mark the close of 21 years of successful ministry, the members of Soar Mr Jones with a gold watch, the gift being handed to him by Mr John Jones, Gough Road Ystalyfera.
Mr Jones suffered a severe blow in the year 1898, when he lost his wife who was his biggest helpmate.
The plot of land at Soar graveyard, where his remains rest, was given by Mr Charles Jones JP Aberavon.
History of Soar Chapel
People of Soar Chapel
- - Rev William Jones
- - Rev Ifor Jones
- - Rev T. Arfon Jones
- - First lady deacon
- - Golden Wedding 1935
- - Maurice Davies, Deacon
Soar Chapel Buildings
- - 1st Rebuild (Soar)
- - 2nd Rebuild (Soar)
- - Vestry (Soar)
- - Schoolroom (Soar)
- - Cemetery (Soar)
Royal Humane Society Certificate
The Great War at Soar Chapel
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Woman confronts tailor for objectionable remarks, gets stabbed
Thursday - June 20, 2019 12:18 am , Category : INDIA
New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) A 30-year-old woman was stabbed by a tailor with a scissor after a verbal spat broke out between the two in outer Delhi's Nangloi area.
The incident took place on Monday after the tailor reportedly made objectionable remarks against the victim's sister, the police said.
According to the police, the woman along with her two sisters had gone to the tailor's house to confront him over the comments he made against one of the sisters. But the verbal confrontation soon turned ugly as the tailor, identified as Brijesh, lost his cool and stabbed the woman on her face with a scissor.
"The woman sustained injuries on her face. She was discharged from hospital after treatment the same day," a senior police officer said.
A case has been registered against Brijesh and his two accomplices, Arvind and Aakash, who have been arrested, the officer added.
--IANS rag/arm
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401k Rollover
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What Is A 1031 Exchange DST
Tax Extension Form
DST Returns
One of the earliest examples of crowdfunding occurred in 1884 when funds ran short for building the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. The publisher Joseph Pulitzer used his newspaper to appeal to Americans to donate the money needed to complete the pedestal’s construction. Over $100,000 in six months was raised from more than 125,000 people.¹
But it took the Internet to truly put the wind in the sails of this unique form of fundraising. According to the World Bank, crowdfunding in developing countries alone will reach nearly $100 billion by 2025.²
Crowdfunding Roots
Up until now, the primary use of crowdfunding has been to find donors to support the personal endeavors of artists, inventors and filmmakers. In return, donors may receive a perk, recognition, or a product as a form of gratitude. These tokens of appreciation are often tiered to be more attractive the larger a donor’s gift.³
Crowdfunding has not been generally viewed as an investment and thus has escaped regulatory oversight or supervision.
Crowdfunding Grows Up
Until recently, crowdfunding to solicit investments from the general public was not allowed. However, with the passage of the JOBS Act of 2012 and recent rulemaking by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the table is now set for raising equity and debt capital for businesses, heralding a new era in capital markets allocation.⁴
Crowdfunding sites are springing up like mushrooms following a heavy rain. Not only are they multiplying in number, but they are also beginning to specialize.
Crowdfunding continues to gain momentum as more people search the Internet for new financing choices and fundraising alternatives. It’s strongly recommended that you take the time to research and investigate crowdfunding sources before making any commitment.
National Park Service: Statue of Liberty, 2017
Forbes, March 15, 2016
SEC.gov, March 10, 2017
Winthco Wealth Management
1871 Tapo Street
Series 6 | Series 63
kyle@winthco.com
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Student accused of multiple crimes, involving theft, vandalism, drugs and porn, across KU Central District
Feb 6, 2018 - 11:49am
Nick Gerik
A University of Kansas student is accused of breaking into multiple construction sites in the KU Central District in recent months, stealing items, tagging walls with spray paint and in one case, pulling up pornography on a computer in a construction trailer.
KU Public Safety officers on Monday arrested 18-year-old Cole Patrick Phillips, of Middleton, Wis., on suspicion of burglary, theft, criminal damage to property, unauthorized computer access and drug charges, the department said in a news release Tuesday.
The arrest followed an investigation of crimes that were reported from December 2017 into February 2018, police said.
Related case numbers on the department’s online crime map detail a string of six incidents, three in mid-December and three more at the end of January and beginning of February.
According to the online reports, from Dec. 9 to Dec. 11, someone reportedly broke into two trailers at Central District construction sites, as well as several buildings and vehicles in the area.
In one incident, items worth $269 were stolen from a trailer. In another, the window to a trailer was broken and prescription drugs were stolen. And in a third incident, which occurred sometime between 7 p.m. Dec. 10 and 5 a.m. Dec. 11, $15,000 in damage was caused after several vehicles and buildings were broken into and damaged with spray paint. An additional $100 in loss was reported, and marijuana and drug paraphernalia were left in one of the vehicles.
More vandalism and burglaries occurred the morning of Jan. 31, when someone broke a glass door at the Central Utility Plant in the 1600 Block of Ousdahl Road and tagged a wall with spray paint, causing $2,000 in damage.
Shortly after, a glass window was broken at a construction trailer and the inside walls, desk and toilet were tagged with spray paint, causing $2,000 in damage. A person then used a private computer to access pornographic content, according to the online crime report.
The final incident was reported Saturday morning and occurred overnight, according to the online crime report. In that incident, police said someone entered a secure construction site and spray painted graffiti on the walls of two apartments, causing $1,500 in damage.
Phillips was booked into Douglas County Jail around 8:30 p.m. Monday on six counts of burglary, six counts of criminal damage to property, two counts of possession of marijuana, two counts of use or possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia, one count of possession of stimulants, one count of theft and one count of unlawful acts or unauthorized access on a computer.
Lawrence boy missing at Clinton Lake; water rescue suspended overnight
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Wanna Live Like a Hillbilly?
Photo: Google Earth
For a measly $350 million you can live like Jed Clampett in Beverly Hills. Swim in the concrete pond and cook grits in the massive restaurant chef-style kitchen!
It's one of the most famous houses in America, and was the home used in the filming of the old Beverly Hillbillies TV show. The home was built in 1933, and according to Zillow it's over 21,000 square feet with 10 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. It sits on 10.3 acres of prime real estate on Bel Air Road in Beverly Hills.
According to Bloombergquint.com it's currently the most expensive home for sale in the United States. Now, let's say you do have an extra $350 million and you wanna go for it. Well, the mansion and the grounds might be yours, but any home owner will tell you, that's just the beginning. The property tax in 2016 was $347,475. The tax assessment in 2016 was $28,950,368, an increase of 1.5% over the previous year.
Then of course you have upkeep costs, utility bills, water bills, and so on. Zillow is also suggesting that some updates and upgrades may need to be done.
Still, if you DO win the Powerball or the Mega Millions and decide this is the place for you, here's a video of what the home looks like. The Kirkeby Mansion A.K.A. The Beverly Hillbillies Mansion.
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Aaron Rodgers Owns the Cowboys — Things We Learned in NFL Week 5
Joe Student
Big wins for the Packers and Panthers; big losses for the Texans and Giants. Here's what we learned in Week 5 of the 2017 NFL season:
The Texans Lost a Game & J.J. Watt
Alex Smith passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns and the Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the Houston Texans, 42-34, on Sunday night.
Kansas City (5-0) remained undefeated with the win, while Houston (2-3) lost defensive star J.J. Watt -- potentially for the season -- with a broken left leg. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year was injured in the first quarter. He missed the last 13 games of 2016 with back surgery.
The Chiefs never trailed Sunday, scoring the game's first 16 points and leading 23-7 at halftime. Rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson brought the Texans back, throwing for 261 yards and five touchdowns, including a 48-yard strike to Will Fuller that got Houston within six points early in the fourth quarter.
Kansas City was up to the challenge, subsequently scoring a touchdown on a six-play, 70-yard drive and getting a 82-yard Tyreek Hill punt return for a touchdown to put the game away for the Chiefs. Kansas City rookie Kareem Hunt carried 29 times for 107 yards.
Sorry Jerry Jones: Aaron Rodgers Actually Owns the Cowboys
Aaron Rodgers threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams with 11 seconds to play, and the Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 35-31, on Sunday in Texas. Green Bay (4-1) beat Dallas (2-3) for the seventh time in eight meetings, including the divisional round of the playoffs last January.
Dak Prescott put the Cowboys up 31-28 with an 11-yard scramble for a score with 1:13 remaining, but that was just enough time for Rodgers to get the Packers down the field to rip out the hearts of Dallas' owner Jerry Jones one more time.
Rodgers finished 19-for-29 for 221 yards and three touchdowns, including two scores to Adams, the receiver who was carted off the field after taking a nasty hit during Green Bay's win over Chicago in Week 4.
Aaron Jones carried 19 times for 125 yards and a touchdown for the Packers.
Prescott finished with 251 yards passing with three touchdowns and a costly interception that was returned 21 yards for a score by Damarious Randall in the fourth quarter.
Ezekiel Elliott ran for 116 yards on 29 carries for the Cowboys, who fell two games behind the Eagles in the NFC East.
Mike Pence Missed a Great Colts' Win
Adam Vinatieri kicked a 51-yard field goal in overtime, and the Indianapolis Colts beat the San Francisco 49ers, 26-23 on Sunday. Indy's win was overshadowed by the pregame exit of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who tweeted that he left the game because of player protests during the national anthem.
A former governor of Indiana, Pence was at the contest for the unveiling of a Peyton Manning statue outside Lucas Oil Stadium. The former Colts' quarterback was also inducted into the team's Ring of Honor and had his jersey number 18 retired by the franchise.
Manning saw what Pence missed: the Colts squandering a 14-point fourth quarter lead to winless San Francisco (0-5). The team rallied, winning the game on Vinatieri's fourth field goal of the day.
Brian Hoyer completed 26 of 49 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns for the Niners, including a seven-yarder to George Kittle that tied the score with 20 seconds to play in regulation. Marquise Goodwin had five catches for 116 yards for San Francisco.
Jacoby Brissett was 22 of 34 for 314 yards for Indianapolis (2-3). Both the Colts wins have come against winless teams.
The Panthers Might Be the NFC's Best Team
Cam Newton threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns and the Carolina Panthers held off the Detroit Lions, 27-24, on Sunday. After trailing 10-3 early, Carolina (4-1) scored 24 straight points and then held on for the win.
Newton's play was not hindered by the criticism he received after making sexist comments to Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue during a press conference earlier this week. His 17-yard, third-down pass to Kelvin Benjamin late in the game allowed the Panthers to run down the clock and clinch the win.
Tight end Ed Dickson caught five passes for 175 yards for Carolina, which left tied with Green Bay and Philadelphia for the best record in the NFC. The Panthers host the Eagles on Thursday night in Charlotte.
Matthew Stafford threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns for Detroit (3-2). He was sacked six times.
The Giants Lost Odell Beckham Jr. & (Another) Game
Philip Rivers threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Melvin Gordon with 2:58 left and the Los Angeles Chargers kept the New York Giants winless, 27-22, on Sunday in New Jersey. Worse than losing another game, New York (0-5) seemingly lost receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for the season with a broken ankle
Rivers finished 21 of 44 for 258 yards for Los Angeles (1-4). His third touchdown toss of the game came just three plays after Kyle Emanuel's strip-sack and recovery of an Eli Manning fumble.
Manning was 21 for 36 for 183 yards, with an interception and two touchdowns. He was sacked five times. Without Beckham or adequate protection for Manning, the Giants' season seems all but over in 2017.
The Titans & Raiders Missed Their Starting QBs
The NFL is a quarterbacks league, just ask the Raiders and the Titans, both of whom lost to AFC also-rans on Sunday with respective starting quarterbacks Derek Carr (back) and Marcus Mariota (hamstring) sidelined with injuries.
Jay Cutler, a starting quarterback who many Dolphins fans wish were benched, threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry and Miami beat Tennessee, 16-10.
Cutler was a dismal 12 for 26 for 92 yards on Sunday, but the Dolphins were able to hold the Titans offense in check long enough for the game-winning drive. Miami (2-2) won despite gaining just 178 yards on offense.
Mariota's replacement, Matt Cassel, never got the offense going for Tennessee (2-3). He was 21 for 32 for 141 yards, suffering six sacks -- one with a fumble returned for a score.
Meanwhile, Joe Flacco threw for 222 yards and led the Ravens on several long scoring drives, and Baltimore beat the Oakland Raiders, 30-17, on Sunday. Jimmy Smith returned a Jared Cook fumble 47 yards for a score for the Ravens, who never trailed in the game.
Oakland (2-3) lost its third consecutive game, this time with E.J. Manuel playing in place of starting quarterback Derek Carr. Manuel did connect with Michael Crabtree on a 41-yard touchdown pass, but the Raiders offense sputtered often, especially after entering the fourth quarter trailing just 24-17.
Flacco found receiver Mike Wallace on two 50-yard-plus passes that allowed Baltimore (3-2) to set the tempo and leave the West Coast with a win.
The Steelers Are as Terrible as Their Towels
Ben Roethlisberger threw five interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns, and the Jacksonville Jaguars crushed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-9, on Sunday. The Jaguars' top-ranked pass defense prevented the Steelers high-powered offense from doing much of anything.
Roethlisberger finished 33-for-55 for 312 yards with no touchdowns. Wide receiver Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 157 yards. If Pittsburgh (3-2) can't find its offensive rhythm, it will open up the AFC North for Baltimore and Cincinnati, both of whom have also looked terrible this season.
Rookie running back Leonard Fournette ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns for Jacksonville (3-2), which beat the Steelers for the first time in 10 years.
New England 19, Tampa Bay 14
Seattle 16, L.A. Rams 10
Cincinnati 20, Buffalo 16
N.Y. Jets 17, Cleveland 14
BYE WEEK:
Atlanta, Denver, New Orleans, Washington
Source: Aaron Rodgers Owns the Cowboys — Things We Learned in NFL Week 5
Filed Under: NFL
Categories: News, nfl football, Sports
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The Hug Heard Around the World: Beyoncé Meets Meghan Markle at ‘The Lion King’ Premiere
Power couples collided at the UK premiere for The Lion King this weekend, as Beyoncé and Jay-Z finally met Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on the gold carpet. The “Spirit” singer plays Nala in the live-action edition of the film, but before the screening in London, Bey and her husband greeted the...
Jay-Z Is Getting Into the Weed Business
Jay-Z has a lot of titles, and now he’s getting another one: chief brand strategist of a cannabis company. California-based Caliva says the rapper will play a crucial role in driving creative direction, outreach efforts and strategy. Jay-Z will also be involved in social justice issues surrounding...
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JAY-Z Dedicated His NAACP Award to All the Women in His Life
Both JAY-Z and Beyonce were honored last night at the NAACP Image Awards in Hollywood.
Listen to Beyoncé and JAY-Z's Emotional GLAAD Award Acceptance Speech
The Hive wasn't the only thing buzzin' last night. It was an absolutely electric scene in Los Angeles as music's most powerful couple were honored with the Vanguard Award at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Beyoncé and JAY-Z were honored for their role in supporting the LGBTQ community both in...
Which Jay-Z Album Is Being Honored by the Library of Congress?
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Beyoncé and JAY-Z to be Honored at GLAAD Awards for LGBTQ Advocacy
Power couple JAY-Z and Beyonce are in line to be honored at this year's GLAAD Awards for their role in advocating for the LGBTQ community.
Beyoncé and JAY-Z Urge Fans to Go Vegan: Here are Some Easy Ways to Get Started
Power couple Beyoncé and JAY-Z are kicking off their New Year’s resolutions by challenging fans to take a huge step towards sustainable living.
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What Roy Moore's 8 accusers have said and his responses
meghan keneally and john parkinson
Nov 15, 2017, 9:46 PM ET
PlayBrynn Anderson/AP
WATCH New reports question whether there were once concerns about Roy Moore
Eight women have accused Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct or impropriety.
Interested in Roy Moore?
Add Roy Moore as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Roy Moore news, video, and analysis from ABC News.
He has denied any wrongdoing and points to a political conspiracy as the reason why the allegations are being made public now.
Four of the accusers were named in an initial Washington Post article, with a fifth accuser telling her story in a news conference Monday and a sixth describing an alleged encounter with Moore in an AL.com story Wednesday. Two more accusers came forward in the Post in an article published on Wednesday.
Here is a summary of the accusations against Moore and what he has said about each case.
Leigh Corfman
Corfman spoke to The Washington Post and accused Moore of making sexual advances toward her.
Corfman told the paper that she met Moore outside a courthouse in 1979 where her mother was attending a child custody hearing. Moore, who was then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney, volunteered to wait with the young teen while her mother went inside for the hearing.
When they were alone together, Corfman told the paper that Moore asked for her phone number. Corfman said he later picked her up for a drive around the corner from her house and drove her to his house, where Moore kissed her. She alleges that Moore removed his clothes during a second visit and touched Corfman over her underwear and also guided her hand to touch him.
On Nov. 10, the day after The Washington Post article was published, Moore spoke to conservative personality Sean Hannity on his radio show and denied the allegations, at times going into specifics about the different allegations.
When asked about Corfman, Moore said, “It never happened.”
"I don't know Miss Corfman from anybody. I never talked to or never had any contact with her. Allegations of sexual misconduct with her are completely false,” Moore told Hannity.
"I never knew this woman. I never met this woman and these charges are politically motivated," he added.
Wendy Miller
Wendy Miller, the second woman named in The Washington Post story said that she first met Moore when she was 14 years old and working as a Santa’s Helper at the local mall. She said Moore asked her out on dates two years later but they did not go out because her mother forbade it.
During the same interview with Hannity, Moore was asked about both Miller’s claims and then about Corfman’s in the same question, and he pointed to political sabotage as the explanation for all of the allegations.
"I've run five successful campaigns or five campaigns, statewide campaigns, three in the county. This has never been brought up. It has never been even mentioned and all of a sudden, four weeks out, they're bringing out -- they're bringing up -- because it's political. It's a direct attack on this campaign and it involves a 14-year-old girl, which I would have never had any contact with -- nothing with her mother or any courthouse or anywhere else -- would I have done that,” he told Hannity.
Debbie Wesson Gibson
Debbie Wesson Gibson told The Washington Post that she was 17 years old when she met Moore after he spoke to her high school civics class. Gibson told the paper that it was then that Moore asked her out on several dates “that did not progress beyond kissing."
Moore said that he did recognize the maiden name of this accuser, Debbie Wesson, and a subsequent accuser, but denied the allegations.
"I do not remember speaking to civics class. I don't remember that. I do not remember when we ... I seem to know or remember knowing her parents ... that they were friends. I can't recall the specific dates because that's been 40 years, but I remember her as a good girl. But neither of them have ever stated any inappropriate behavior. She didn't say anything,” Moore told Hannity on the same program.
Moore said that he doesn’t “remember specific dates." Hannity then asked him again, “You never dated her ever? Is that what you’re saying?”
"No, but I don't remember going out on dates. I knew her as a friend. If we did go on dates then we did. But I do not remember that,” Moore replied.
Gloria Thacker Deason
Gloria Thacker Deason told The Washington Post that she was an 18-year-old cheerleader when Moore started taking her out on dates. During those dates, they drank bottles of wine, which would have been illegal for Deason at the time because the drinking age in Alabama was 19.
When Moore was asked by Hannity if the dates with Deason happened, and specifically if they included the consumption of alcohol, Moore said: “No. Because in this county is a dry county. We would never would have had liquor.”
"I never provided alcohol, beer or intoxicating liquor to a minor. That'd be against the law and against anything I would have ever done,” Moore said.
In spite of what Moore said, the county was not dry at the time that Deason alleges she went on dates with Moore. According to The Washington Post article, the dates that she alleges happened would have taken place in Etowah County in 1979. Etowah County approved legal alcohol sales in 1972.
Earlier in the interview, Moore acknowledged that he recognized Deason's maiden name.
"I seem to remember her as a good girl or I seem to remember I had some sort of knowledge of her parents, her mother in particular,” Moore told Hannity.
Beverly Young Nelson
Richard Drew/AP
Beverly Young Nelson, left, the latest accuser of Alabama Republican Roy Moore, reads her statement as attorney Gloria Allred looks on, at a news conference, in New York, Nov. 13, 2017.
The latest accuser came forward on Monday, reading a detailed statement at a news conference in New York alongside attorney Gloria Allred.
Beverly Young Nelson said she met Moore when she was 15 years old while waiting tables at a restaurant in Gadsden, Alabama. The future judge acted in a “flirtatious manner” and even signed her yearbook “Merry Christmas” and “Love, Roy Moore, D.A,” Nelson said.
Nelson said that a short time later, after she turned 16, Moore offered to give her a ride home after work one night.
Instead, she said, he parked his car next to a dumpster behind the restaurant and sexually assaulted her.
"Mr. Moore reached over and began groping me, putting his hands on my breasts," Nelson said in her statement. "I tried to open my car door to leave, but he reached over and locked it so I could not get out. I tried fighting him off while yelling at him to stop, but instead of stopping, he began squeezing my neck, attempting to force my head onto his crotch."
"I continued to struggle. I was determined that I was not going to allow him to force me to have sex with him. I was terrified. He was also trying to pull my shirt off. I thought that he was going to rape me. I was twisting and struggling and begging him to stop. I had tears running down my face," Nelson said in her statement.
"At some point, he gave up. He then looked at me and said, ‘You are a child. I am the district attorney of Etowah County. If you tell anyone about this, no one will believe you,'" Nelson added.
Moore’s campaign team had released a statement before Nelson’s news conference saying that attorney Allred “is a sensationalist leading a witch hunt,” according to The Associated Press.
Moore later spoke publicly, calling Nelson’s accusations of sexual misconduct against him "absolutely false."
WBMA
Former Alabama Chief Justice and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore makes a statement denying allegations of sexual misconduct while standing next to his wife, Kayla Moore, Nov. 13, 2017.
Moore denied ever knowing Nelson and said he "never did what she said I did,” going on to call the accusations a “political maneuver.”
Moore also said he is unfamiliar with the restaurant that Nelson worked at, while she claimed he had been a regular customer.
In a press conference Wednesday, Moore's attorney Phillip Jauregui and Moore's campaign chairman Bill Armistead stood by the candidate and challenged Nelson's story further.
"In the cases where it's true, it's horrible for the person making the accusations," Jauregui said, "When the allegations are made and it's not true, it's also horrible for who the allegations are directed against."
Among the challenges to Young's story presented by Jauregui was the assertion that the handwriting in the yearbook Nelson held up at a presser earlier this week with Allred does not match other samples of Moore's handwriting. Jauregui said that Moore's legal team has sent a letter to Allred demanding the original copy of the yearbook be released so that a "neutral custodian" can examine the handwriting.
Jauregui also referenced that in 1999, when Moore was a circuit court judge in Alabama, the candidate's signature appears on documents relating to Nelson's divorce from her husband at the time, Ervine Lee Harris. Moore's signature does appear on documents obtained by ABC News related to Nelson's divorce proceedings from 1999.
In the press conference in which she detailed the alleged misconduct by Moore, Nelson did not reference that Moore had signed an order relating to her divorce case.
In a statement released Wednesday responding to Moore's attorney, Allred said she would release the original yearbook on the condition that the Senate Judiciary Committee and/or the Senate Select Committee on Ethics hold hearings regarding the allegations against Moore, and again said Nelson is willing to testify under oath regarding Moore's misconduct.
"The time has come for Roy Moore to announce whether he is willing to be examined under oath concerning his conduct with regard to the five accusers before the Senate Committees," she said.
Allred also urged the committees to "subpoena Roy Moore to testify under oath about his denials of the accusations made against him."
Moore did not respond to ABC News' requests for comment. Neither Jauregui nor Armistead took questions from the media during Wednesday's press conference.
Tina Johnson
In a story published on AL.com Wednesday, Tina Johnson of Gadsden, Alabama, described being allegedly groped by Moore after meeting with him in 1991 to review a custody petition involving her son and mother.
Johnson, who was 28 at the time, said Moore complimented her looks multiple times and sat within close proximity to her at times during their meeting. As she left his office, Johnson claims Moore grabbed her buttocks. She said she was caught off-guard by the action and did not tell her mother, who was also present.
"He didn't pinch it; he grabbed it," Johnson recounted in the story.
Moore has yet to specifically comment on Johnson's story and AL.com noted that a spokesperson for his campaign did not provide a response as of Wednesday afternoon. Reached by phone by ABC News, Johnson confirmed the details in the AL.com story about her alleged encounter with Moore.
Gena Richardson
Gena Richardson told The Washington Post in a story published Wednesday evening that Moore first approached her at the Gadsden Mall in 1977, when she was a high school senior.
Richardson said Moore asked where she went to school and for her phone number. She declined to give it to him, she said.
Days later, she said she received a call at her school from Moore.
“I said ‘Hello?’” she told the Post. “And the male on the other line said, ‘Gena, this is Roy Moore.’ I was like, ‘What?!’ He said, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m in trig class.’ ”
Richardson said she eventually agreed to go on a date with Moore. The date allegedly ended with him driving her to a parking lot behind Sears, where he gave her a “forceful” kiss.
“I never wanted to see him again,” Richardson, now 58, said.
Moore’s campaign did not address Richardson’s allegations in a statement to the Post.
“If you are a liberal and hate Judge Moore, apparently he groped you,” the statement said. “If you are a conservative and love Judge Moore, you know these allegations are a political farce.”
Becky Gray
In an interview with The Washington Post, Becky Gray said she was 22 and working at Pizitz when Moore first approached her.
Gray said Moore asked her out repeatedly. “I’d always say no, I’m dating someone, no, I’m in a relationship,” she said.
Gray told the Post that she found Moore’s alleged overtures so disturbing that she complained to the manager of Pizitz, who she says told her it was “not the first time he had a complaint about [Moore] hanging out at the mall.”
Moore’s campaign did not address Gray’s allegations in a statement to the Post.
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Bachelor of Science (Augustana Faculty) Biology
www.ualberta.ca
With over 100 years of history, the University of Alberta (U of A) is one of the top research-intensive universities in Canada. Serving more than 37,000 students, the U of A is also one of the largest universities in Canada. Sixteen faculties offer over 60 undergraduate degrees, 200 majors and specializations and approximately 5,000 individual courses.
The U of A not only provides a variety of program options but also a variety of campuses for students to study at. The main campus in Edmonton, which covers about 50 city blocks with more than 90 buildings on the edge of the North Saskatchewan River Valley, houses the majority of U of A programs. For students interested in pursuing their studies in French, the U of A's Campus Saint-Jean in east central Edmonton offers degree programs in arts, commerce, education and science. The Augustana Campus located in Camrose, about 45 minutes southeast of Edmonton, is a small campus specializing in liberal arts and science programs. Students can also choose to study for up to one year of their program at the U of A campus in Cortona, Italy, where classes are offered in a variety of liberal arts subjects.
The U of A offers a rich and varied student life through more than 400 clubs and groups and a residence program for over 4,000 students. Other highlights of the university include over $25 million in undergraduate scholarships and the second largest research library system in the country. Prospective students can arrange a campus visit, including a meeting with an advisor and a guided tour.
201 Administration Building
Edmonton, Alberta, T6G2M7, Canada
chat@ualberta.ca
For B.A.: English 30-1, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, one other approved Grade 12 academic subject, and a fifth approved 5-credit Grade 12 subject. For B.Sc.: English 30-1,Mathematics 30-1, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, and a fifth approved 5-credit Grade 12 subject.
Transfer(s) available outside of Transfer Alberta: Yes
Updated July 24, 2012. The information contained in this profile is current as of the date shown.
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Find the Best Accommodation Deals
Things to Do in Phuket and Top Destinations In Thailand
What to do in Thailand, and What Do Things Cost In Phuket
Many travellers are searching for What Do Things Cost In Phuket, Phuket Thailand is quite a large province, a very popular part of the country for vacationers. It's definitely a way for you to immerse yourself in the culture of the country and get to know the customs and traditions of the locals. You can imagine all the markets you can visit for shopping and all the beach adventures you can enjoy. You can find What Do Things Cost In Phuket travel information.
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What Do Things Cost In Phuket, First, have you been acquainted with where Phuket is located in Thailand? It's southern Thailand, in the west coast. Would you anticipate visiting any other areas of Thailand while you're there? You'll need to know where those locations will be in proximity to Phuket and the way you plan on getting around. Now, let's take a good look at those ideas for you to do while you're there.
First, you are going to be privy to at the very least 140 gift shops and specialty shops, including RK Fashions and Tailors and InStyle Fashion. Imagine having clothes tailored and fit to create, and take into consideration every one of the unique souvenirs you will find while you're there. That is quite a few shops available, but you will want to remember again that Phuket can be a rather large and popular province. Still, you can't go far without running into something fun to perform.
After you're done shopping, it's time for you to hit up some attractions. We'll talk specific beaches here in just a minute, but first take into account the specific beach adventures you might have. As an example, while vacationing in Phuket, you may continue on different scuba and snorkeling adventures. One popular place is Simba Sea Trips, and there is Super Divers, Aussie Divers Phuket and a lot more. You can also continue different boat tours, offered by Two Sea Tour, Phuket Sail Tours plus more. Simba Sea Trips offers the two boat tours along with the scuba diving and snorkeling adventures.
Wat Chalong is within Phuket Town, as well as the area looks beautiful. This building is actually a temple in line with the reviews, and other people describe gorgeous Thai architecture. Among the other attractions is nearby, too, a Big Buddha. Several of the reviews speak about firecrackers, which sounds cool when you're flanked by beautiful scenery.
Speaking of beautiful scenery, you need to stop by Karon View Point, that is also evidently linked to the Big Buddha. Reviewers describe the views as breathtaking, which should help you realize you're planning to have plenty of photo ops while vacationing in Phuket Thailand. The viewpoint provides you with an excellent layout from the land, a vantage point should you will, and you could even start to see the coastline.
Have you been planning to see some great animals? You will need to begin to see the animals of Thailand, right? It's gonna be diverse from simply going to a zoo in the usa. So, one cool destination to go in Phuket if you're wanting to see some animals may be the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. You'll see considerably more than animals there, too. The beautiful scenery continues having a waterfall and everything else the national park has to offer its visitors.
These animals are rehabilitating inside their natural habitat, and I'm sure it's great to view a task like that. You get to take a good look in to the wildlife which can be in Thailand. It's time to think about those famous beaches you learn about that Thailand provides. Phuket Thailand has the best beaches for certain. For instance, there may be Kata Noi Beach using its pristine and clear water.
That's the type of beach you would like to visit while you're on holiday, right? Well, there are numerous others as well so keep in mind that as you're planning your days in the beach. Evidently, this is among the beaches in Phuket in which the waves can become big based on the reviews. People also mention jet skis, and whatever beach you visit, you actually want to investigate the activities available.
Nai Harn Beach can be another recommended beach stop when you're in Phuket. It's actually regarded as being the very best beach in Phuket as well as the top attraction or 'thing to do' as well. You could expect exactly the same kind of beach in lots of ways, and then there are vendors there. Lifeguards have duty in line with the reviews, and swimming and the body surfing is pretty popular there.
Straight back to the animals! Specifically dogs are the topic of the next attraction in Phuket. It's the Soi Dog Foundation, that is a rescue center that features cats. Isn't it cool how a pair of the top attractions handle rescuing animals? It's really neat they have made it a location that men and women want to visit, as well as the reviews talk about the knowledge being heartwarming.
The Important Buddha was mentioned earlier, although the attraction hasn't been formally introduced. It's the Phuket Big Buddha, and it is quite large indeed. The monument consists of white marble. I for just one don't like visiting other attractions that take care of religion, but you can find others who want to see the attraction, which is rather new incidentally.
Regardless of what you wish to do while vacationing in Phuket, there may be plenty to find. You will find a nightlife there, and you may imagine there will be some really awesome restaurants serving up local cuisine plus more. In addition there are spas there. Are you able to imagine receiving the connection with per day spa in Thailand? It could be quite not the same as the kinds of health spa services offered by one in your house.
Another beach that is popular to see is Freedom Beach. Other attractions include Surf House, which appears like fun for the kids, Naka Market, Monkey Hill and Tiger Kingdom. This list goes on and on, so you are invited to spend some time vacationing in Phuket, Thailand. What Do Things Cost In Phuket
| Must Do Phuket | Must See Near Phuket | Things To Do In Bangtao Phuket | Phuket Holiday What To Do | Things To Do Near Sunset Beach Resort Phuket |
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Tag Archives: Britpop
Pulp – This Is Hardcore – Classic Music Review (Britpop Series)
By altrockchick on February 28, 2019 | 6 Comments
While you could make the case that both Blur’s shift to a distinctively American sound on Blur and the much-anticipated but ultimately horrid Oasis production Be Here Now should earn serious consideration as “the album that killed Britpop,” I have to go with Pulp’s This Is Hardcore as the coup de grâce.
To be fair, Britpop had pretty much run its course anyway. If you define the Beatlemania era as the period between “Please Please Me” and the last concert at Candlestick Park (The Beatles had already moved on, but the fans hadn’t), you’re talking about a little more than three-and-a-half years. Assuming Britpop covered the period between the first Suede album and the second Supergrass album, the phenomenon endured for about four years (and no, I don’t consider The Verve a Britpop band). Britpop had lasted longer than the psychedelic era and the original British punk movement, so it really was time for a change.
My selection of This Is Hardcore for this symbolic honor-of-sorts is based on a combination of factors. While Britpop was full of trenchant social criticism and black humor, it rarely crossed the line into dark and depressing. This Is Hardcore was described by its lyricist as “Songs about panic attacks, pornography, fear of death and getting old.” The music feels more like a film noir soundtrack, and Jarvis Cocker’s self-portrayal echoes the seedy loser archetype of noir films, someone like the hapless, hopeless Walter Neff in Double Indemnity.
I never thought I’d compare Jarvis Cocker to Fred MacMurray, but the shoe fits.
As he did in Different Class, Cocker wrote about what he knew: his own life. The difference is that he wasn’t a Britpop superstar when he crafted the lyrics to Different Class, and the experience he writes about in This Is Hardcore is of a man traumatized by fame, addicted to coke and desperately trying to find a piece of solid ground somewhere in the universe. If The Cure hadn’t already used the title, Pulp could have titled the album Disintegration and no one would have thought it inappropriate.
It didn’t help matters that Russell Senior had left the band, taking his first-class musicianship and artistic discipline with him. While This Is Hardcore has its moments, the album is marked by some very poor arrangements, some really bad ideas and occasionally sloppy execution that makes one miss the tightness of the band on His & Hers and Different Class. Senior’s absence is most strongly felt when Pulp attempts to compensate for his violin by increasing the use of electric guitar. Not only does the shift compromise Pulp’s signature sound, but the guitar tones on the album are frequently annoying.
The performance issues extend to Jarvis Cocker’s meandering vocal performances. Sometimes he finds the right tone, but every now and then he sounds like he’s suffering from a very bad cold (or maybe too much snow up the nose), and on a couple of occasions you’d think David Bowie had popped into the studio to do a guest turn at the mike. Oddly enough, the instability of his voice adds to the general pathos of the album, so in a curious way it successfully reinforces the disintegrative mood.
The lyrics also fall well short of the standards established by Different Class. There isn’t much in the way of wit on This Is Hardcore, nor are there many memorable lines. As for those who might excuse the lyricist on the basis that Cocker’s dark mood hampered his facility with the English language, I would point out that the best lines in Shakespeare come from the tragedies—especially Macbeth, the darkest of the lot. Somewhere in the midst of his wild ride through stardom, Jarvis Cocker lost his negative capability—the perspective of detachment Keats accurately identified as an essential factor in the creation of high-quality poetry. When Cocker wrote about his life experience on Different Class, he wrote with self-deprecating detachment. On This Is Hardcore, it becomes obvious fairly quickly that he is still too immersed in the experience and trappings of sudden fame to make any sense of it, often crossing the line into self-confessional melodrama that would have been more appropriately shared with his therapist.
This Is Hardcore doesn’t entirely lack value. If you listen to it through a film noir lens, the experience becomes more engaging and (for the most part) tolerable. A more informative angle is to view the album as a documentary detailing the impact of fame on the artist and the art. Through that perspective (and by considering the narratives of most of the other Britpop bands), we realize that Britpop died out for the same reasons that caused nearly every rock era to meet its demise: the unreality of celebrity, the disconnection from everyday life and the people who live that life, and the hopeless attempt to cope with the surrounding madness by turning to drugs.
I will give Pulp credit for making a clear statement of intent with the opening passage of “The Fear,” an ominous, funereal segment that represents a clean break from the energetic presentation of Different Class. Jarvis takes the stage as the character of man-falling-apart, alternating between short bursts of self-awareness and an apology to fans hoping for Different Class II:
This is our “Music from A Bachelor’s Den”
The sound of loneliness turned up to ten
A horror soundtrack from a stagnant waterbed
And it sounds just like this.
This is the sound of someone losing the plot
Making out that they’re okay when they’re not
You’re gonna like it but not a lot
The exposure of pretense (“making out that they’re okay when they’re not) is the most powerful message, an enduring indictment of the stigma attached to mental health and addiction problems—a stigma that makes it difficult to address those problems with any reasonable possibility of success. I cringe at the first two lines, though, which send a signal to the listener to expect a whole lot of self-pity to come into play.
Up to this point, Pulp is appropriately working in a minor key (A minor), a reliable means of communicating unpleasant emotions. After introducing the chorus with pure lyrical filler (“and the chorus goes like this”), they manage to ruin both mood and continuity by shifting to a major key, as if to say, “Hooray! We’re scared, lonely and temporarily celibate!” They make it even worse by adding a trio of female background vocalists singing their hearts out as if the heavens have burst open and the angelic hosts are proclaiming their asses off in the blinding light and ecstatic joy of The Resurrection. Let me correct Mr. Cocker here: THIS is the sound of someone losing the plot. I lose all interest at this point, easily tuning out the embarrassingly uninteresting lyrics, waking up only to feel quite annoyed at the superfluous introduction of weird electronic noises that must have seemed okay to the band but they’re not.
Jarvis then goes full nasal and seriously off-key in the male-as-masochist-in-a-dying-relationship tune, “Dishes.” Though he doesn’t exactly compare himself to Jesus, he uses the fact that “I have the same initials” as a basis for the Christ-related metaphor of the miraculous transformation of turning water into wine. It’s a torturous connection at best, and the mention of the crucifixion in the last verse is a serious stretch:
And I’m, I’m not worried that I will never touch the stars
‘Cause stars belong up in heaven
And the earth is where we are
Oh, yeah
And aren’t you happy just to be alive?
Anything’s possible
You’ve got no cross to bear tonight
It’s really difficult to believe that the man who wrote “Common People” could have come up with such empty lines, but there’s the evidence, right there, in plain view.
The rough start continues with “Party Hard,” where Jarvis does a second-rate disco-era Bowie imitation accompanied by intensely grating guitar tones. He makes a bad vocal even worse by applying a vodocoder to his voice to the randomly-appearing line, “Baby, you’re driving me crazy,” which also describes the way I feel when listening to this piece of crap. The only couplet that hints at a possible method behind the madness is “I was having a whale of a time until your uncle Psychosis arrived/Why do we have to half-kill ourselves just to prove we’re alive,” the poetic equivalent of using a sledgehammer to drive home the obvious.
Things do get better on the next track, but in the interests of balancing my evaluation, I’ll share a divergent opinion. Here’s Russell Senior’s recollection of what led to his departure:
For years, we spent a lot of time in Transit vans. But suddenly it was all gold discs, condos, famous mates and people whose reality comes from cocaine, telling you you’re great, night after night. I felt a revulsion for it. We were doing songs about common people and it was, “Jarvis, Prada’s on the phone, they’ve got your outfit.”
The last concert I did with Pulp was a corporate gig for a lager company in Barcelona. We were put up in a fantastic hotel, there were supermodels hanging around, but we were playing for bored executives. I felt myself backing away.
There were other things, such as awards ceremonies where somebody’s coke dealer has nicked your limo and you have to walk home because the record company are looking after Jarvis. We had become his backing band. Previously, the music always came collectively, from creative clashes, but I think Jarvis believed his own press and suddenly he was coming in with his own tunes. I didn’t think “Help the Aged” was worthy of following “Common People,” so I sabotaged it by playing blues guitar in the studio.
The Guardian, “The Ones that Got Away,” June 1, 2009
I agree that “Help the Aged” falls short of the standard set by “Common People,” but that song was the ultimate impossible act to follow. One of Jarvis Cocker’s most admirable qualities is the willingness to write songs about taboo topics, and in our youth-obsessed culture, getting old is one of the worst crimes a person can commit. Though sometimes the lyrics drift into Public Service Announcement territory, the empathy he expresses on behalf of these often-forgotten people is admirable:
Help the aged
‘Cause one day you’ll be older too
You might need someone who can pull you through
And if you look very hard
Behind those lines upon their face
You may see where you are headed
And it’s such a lonely place
I also whole-heartedly endorse the lines, “It’s time you took an older lover, baby/Teach you stuff, although he’s looking rough.” The couple who trained me in BDSM were twice my age (in their late 40’s at the time), and one of my favorite fucks is a guy in his 60’s.
Now that is a Public Service Announcement!
This is the one song on the album that demands I heap praise on Mark Webber’s guitar work, which alternates between sweet-and-lovely on the quiet verses and kicking ass on the Pixie-esque choruses. Though I wish they’d completely dispensed with the sore thumb bridge with Jarvis’ superfluous stutter, I consider “Help the Aged” one of the stronger arrangements on the album.
The title track is an even stronger musical composition, though credit for that goes to Peter Thomas, whose 1966 composition “Bolero on the Moon Rocks” was used as the central theme. Thomas is still with us at the age of 93, and while the bulk of his work involved sci-fi and horror soundtracks for television and film, this piece has a late-noir feel that would have been a good fit for 60’s noir films like Shoot the Piano Player or The Naked Kiss (most apt in this context, as the film is about a traumatized prostitute). Borrowing this remarkable piece of music could be considered a Pulp masterstroke; on the flip side, it shows that the band was running out of ideas and inspiration (or, as noted by Mr. Senior above, the band was no longer a collaborative enterprise).
The mood of the piece is smoky, reeking of debauched sexuality. As it turns out, Jarvis Cocker was watching a lot of porn in hotel rooms during Pulp’s commercial peak—oh, the glamorous life of a pop star!
‘This Is Hardcore’ is a bit about fame, actually… I ended up watching a lot of porn – hah! – on tour. If you get back to the hotel and you’ve got nothing to do, you put the adult channel on and have a look… It’s the way that people get used up in it. You’d see the same people in films, and they’d seem to be quite alive, and then you’d see a film from a year later and there’s something gone in their eyes. You can see it, that they’ve done it all and there’s nowhere else to go. There seemed to be something really poignant about that to me. (Q magazine 2012 interview)
Nice spin, but there’s scarcely a whiff of poignancy in the lyrics. There is an emphasis on the mechanical, impersonal production of porn (“then that goes in there/then that goes in there/then that goes in there/and then it’s over”), but really very little about what is “gone in their eyes.” Truth be told, Cocker sounds like your typically lonely lecher who watches these badly-acted, phony sex shows and fantasizes about someday directing a porn film himself:
You are hardcore, you make me hard
You name the drama and I’ll play the part
It seems I saw you in some teenage wet dream
I like your get-up, if you know what I mean . . .
I’ve seen all the pictures, I’ve studied them forever
I want to make a movie, so let’s star in it together
Don’t make a move till I say “action”
Oh, here comes the hardcore life
Bottom line: wake me up when the instrumental-only soundtrack version comes out—I’d buy it in a heartbeat. As for the rest, it’s obvious that Jarvis Cocker learned nothing while watching adult entertainment, so I hope he at least got his rocks off.
The “we’re all in this video together” theme continues, with “TV Movie,” a lost-love song with lyrics summarized quite nicely within the song itself: “All I know is I can’t even think/I can’t even think of anything clever to say.” I’ll second that motion! The arrangement is quite odd, featuring an acoustic guitar with unpleasant electronic residue on both channels for intro and first verse, followed by a leisurely build that never quite reaches a climax. Once the song vanishes into no one’s memory (except for the guy on Stereogum who thought it was the best thing Pulp ever did), we get “A Little Soul,” where Jarvis Cocker calls up the father who abandoned him in childhood and has him deliver a dramatic monologue to his now-adult son. This song has been singled out for praise by some reviewers; what I hear are clichés (you look like me, don’t grow up like me) and a son’s understandable resentment about abandonment that unfortunately negates any effort to understand the father’s motivations or circumstances. As Cocker was way too close to the subject matter to provide anything in the way of insight (such as filling us in on what he learned from the experience of abandonment), the song falls short in terms of emotional impact (unless you were abandoned by a parent in your childhood and can fill in the gaps). The pleasantly dull music is an exceptionally poor fit for what should have been a more thoughtfully constructed composition.
One could say that the moral of the story in “A Little Soul” is actually played out in the following song, “I’m a Man.” While it’s not the most original title, the song does capture Cocker’s thorough disgust with the cultural definition of maleness:
Laid here
With your advertising sliding past my eyes
Like cartoons from other people’s lives
I start to wonder
What it takes to be a man
Well, I learned to drink
And I learned to smoke
And I learned to tell
A dirty joke
Oh, if that’s all there is then there’s no point for me
All very well and understood, but as in so many songs on This Is Hardcore, Cocker doesn’t dig any deeper, listing these most superficial characteristics as if he were filling out the grocery list. The question he poses—“So please can we ask why we’re still alive?”—is a throwaway, broad-brush question that ignores the truth that despite cultural programming, many men pay little or no attention to the all-powerful he-man image propagated by myth and modern advertising. I have few problems with the music, and from a structural perspective, “I’m a Man” is a solid piece of work. But what the hell is that noise that appears initially in the first chorus—is that a badly-distorted guitar or an electric kazoo? Whatever it is, it makes the song feel like more of a joke than a credible statement on masculinity.
If you’ve got eight-and-a-half minutes to kill and want to experience what it’s like to truly piss away your time, have I got a song for you! “Seductive Barry” is as complete an embarrassment as one can imagine, with Cocker playing off singer/rapper Neneh Cherry’s stereotypically seductive vocalizations as he embraces the role of egomaniacal lecher. If this is supposed to be satire, it lacks the bite; if it’s supposed to be an attempt to set the sexual experience to music, it’s fucking pathetic. I hereby nominate “I will light your cigarette with a star that has fallen from the sky” for the most ridiculous line in history, and tell you that when I’m done listening to this song, I want to run away from Jarvis Cocker as speedily as possible and take a long shower to cleanse myself of his disgusting aroma. Worst. Pulp. Song. Ever.
Jarvis Cocker’s strongest vocal on the album can be heard on “Sylvia,” an intriguing story of latent yearning for the unattainable beauty of a young man’s adolescence. The image of that long-lost Helen causes the narrator to insult a prospective partner (“You look just like Sylvia/Well, you look like her to me”), add injury to insult by launching into an extensive monologue about Sylvia’s likely whereabouts, and wrap things up by engaging the invisible Sylvia in a conversation (by this time, the prospective partner has probably left the table to call the police). What’s intriguing about what seems a narrative disaster is the hint that Sylvia was the victim of sexual abuse on the part of her father, an interpretation based on this sequence:
Her father’s living with some girl
Who’s a year younger than her
She’s living in the country now
Oh, she’s trying to get better
Her beauty was her only crime
The narrator then reveals that it isn’t only the lingering attraction that draws him to Sylvia but also the guilt that comes from the awareness that he too had questionable motives in his pursuit of the girl (though not of the predatory kind):
Who’s this man you’re talking to?
Can’t you see what he wants to do?
He thinks if he stands near enough then he will look as good as you
Oh, he don’t care about your problems
He just wants to show his friends
I guess I’m just the same as him
Oh, I just didn’t know it then
With genuine passion, Cocker sings the words he wishes he could say to Sylvia if she really were there, attempting to alleviate her misplaced sense of guilt and validate her self-worth:
I can’t help you but I know things are gonna get better
And please stop asking what it’s got to do with you
Oh, keep believing ’cause you know that you deserve better
The arrangement features strong build, good old-fashioned Pulp tightness and a very effective guitar solo in just the right tone (hooray!). While I think the lyrics could have been a bit more explicit, “Sylvia” is a definite plus, allowing Jarvis Cocker to explore one of those taboo topics where he is at his best.
“Glory Days” is probably the song that captures how I feel about most of This Is Hardcore: there are off-putting moments, occasionally brilliant lyrics, and promising possibilities that end with a thud. Cocker gives us Bowie AND the snow nose guy on the first verse, making me want to leap from my seat and rip the needle from the disc . . . but the line “and learn the meaning of existence in fortnightly installments” gets stuck in my head . . . so I press on to discover the best lyrics on the album:
Oh, my face is unappealing and my thoughts are unoriginal
I did experiments with substances
But all it did was make me ill
I used to do the I Ching
But then I had to feed the meter
Now I can’t see into the future
But at least I can use the heater
Oh, it doesn’t get much better than this
‘Cause this is how we live our glory days
And I could be a genius if I just put my mind to it
And I—I could do anything if only I could get round to it
Oh, we were brought up on the space race
Now they expect you to clean toilets
When you’ve seen how big the world is
How can you make do with this?
If you want me, I’ll be sleeping in
Sleeping in throughout these glory days
That is an excellent exposition of how the generation in power fills youthful heads with the unlimited possibilities that await them, then offers little in the way of help or real-world education to make any of those possibilities real. When your life is pure drudgery, what’s the fucking point? This is great stuff!
Unfortunately, the great stuff morphs into gibberish in the closing verse:
Yeah we’d love to hear your story
Just as long as it tells us where we are
That where we are is where we’re meant to be
Oh, come on, make it up yourself
You don’t need anybody else
And I promise I won’t sell these days to anybody else in the world but you
No-one but you (4)
Geez. I count at least three detours from the main narrative in seven lines. Foreplay without the orgasm really, really sucks.
And speaking of sucks—and we’re talking Yoko Ono-level sucks here—Pulp ends the program with “The Day After the Revolution,” fourteen minutes and fifty-eight seconds of sheer torture that leave me in a state of frothing madness. The song proper is a bloody mess, featuring noisy guitar, a frantic vocal and a barrage of disconnected lines mingling utter meaninglessness (“the revolution begins and ends with you”) with pathetic attempts at establishing artistic cred (“Bergman is over, irony is over”). Then, at the 4:52 mark, the band noise vanishes into background and we’re treated to a shimmery, synthesized organ sound for ten fucking minutes and six fucking seconds, interrupted only by Jarvis Cocker intoning the words, “Bye, bye” at the 9:56 mark. To pass the time, I started counting the overtones, grew bored with that after about a minute, and spent the rest of my time gnashing my teeth, wishing desperately to be transported to a more pleasant environment—something like Siberia in January or the Sahara in the summer.
Look. I don’t mind dark. It’s half the yin-yang of life, a valid approach to exploring the human experience. What I resent is dark done badly. And I firmly believe that Pulp simply had to follow Different Class with something that bore little resemblance. Had they tried to reproduce that experience, they would have essentially committed themselves to an artistically-limited formula. I support the attempt but bemoan the execution.
Pulp would return in 2001 with the far more coherent and satisfying album We Love Life, ending their run on a positive note. From a historical perspective, Pulp’s contributions definitely qualify as significant impactful, and I find it oddly fitting and curiously satisfying that the band that gave us the masterpiece of the era should be the band that symbolically laid that era to rest.
Posted in: 1990's, Britpop, Classic Music Reviews, Rock, Punk, Alternative, Garage | Tagged: A Little Soul, altrockchick, Britpop, female music blogger, Help the Aged, Jarvis Cocker, Pulp, Russell Senior, Sylvia, This Is Hardcore
Supergrass – In It for the Money – Classic Music Review – Britpop Series
By altrockchick on February 21, 2019 | Leave a comment
In the previous episode, our heroic young lads had emphatically declined Steven Spielberg’s offer to become the 90’s version of The Monkees, making the preternaturally wise decision to head to the studio and record their second album. Prior to the recording, the darlings of Britpop had toured for eighteen months, during which time I am quite certain they purported themselves with the utmost propriety and decorum.
(cough)
Funny things happen when people hang out together in close quarters for too long, and sure enough, Supergrass entered the studio bickering with each other over the usual silly shit bands bicker over—girlfriends, loyalties, the label, the album title, ya-da-ya-da-ya-da. Having only come into the studio with two songs, they had a lot of work to do, and really didn’t need all the interpersonal noise.
Meanwhile, questions abounded! Would the sudden stardom, long months of touring with the utmost propriety and decorum and the desperate cries of fans who wanted to hear I Should Coco, Part Two break the spirit of our dear boys, rendering them klutzes in the studio and making them regret blowing off that lucrative deal with Spielberg? Or could our heroes overcome the self-imposed difficulties, the enormous weight of expectations from their label masters and the listening public as well as the dreaded jinx of the sophomore slump to produce a work worthy of the name Supergrass?
Fuck yes! In It for the Money is WAY better than I Should Coco. Supergrass lets it rip on In It for the Money, combining hard, punk and melodic rock in a power-packed lo-fi extravaganza slightly softened with the occasional acoustic arrangement and a touch of soft jazz. While it doesn’t have the relentlessness or social consciousness of Rancid’s And Out Come the Wolves, In It from the Money certainly qualifies as one of the stronger rock records of the decade. Cute was completely abandoned for an edgier, sexier feel, a shift confirmed by two vitally important data points: I have zero songs from I Should Coco on my fuck playlists, and four from In It for the Money. The best rock ‘n’ roll puts you in the mood to grind, and In It for the Money hits the sweet spot.
On the flip slide, there aren’t too many quality records that begin and end as weakly as In It for the Money—it’s a custard-filled maple bar with all the good stuff in the middle. The title track opens the album, a piece that comes across as three fragments rudely patched together—the first almost gothic, the second a rather unimaginative attempt at a build and the third a harmonic rock segment that plays more to their strengths but doesn’t fit lyrically or musically with the other two parts. The closing track, “Sometimes I Make You Sad,” is an experimental disaster, featuring a heavily filtered Gaz Coombes vocal that sounds like he’s singing from the bottom of a toilet. I fully understand and respect their desire to do a 180º and distance themselves from their status as the band responsible for “Alright,” but they could have achieved that more effectively by deleting those two tracks, placing “Richard III” in the pole position and closing with “Hollow Little Reign.”
“Richard III” has nothing to do with the king whose death at Bosworth Field ended the silly Wars of the Roses . . . or with the fact that he wasn’t really a hunchback . . . or with the fact that he did some good for the common people . . . or even with the high likelihood that he was a scheming, murderous asshole. The sparse lyrics seem to address the futility of escape from the humdrum of daily life, but really, the music is what matters, and opening with the dissonant chord combination and punk sensibility of “Richard III” certainly dispelled any notion that the boys wanted to hang out in adolescence beyond their years.
That dissonant chord combination begins by alternating the root chord with the flatted fifth chord (A to D#), creating an edgy, delightfully evil sound. They double-down on the odd chord strategy early by using a C-D-D#-F rise as the lead-in to the all-out bash rhythm of the verse, inserting a non-sensical off-key minor scale into the mix. The effect of this unexpected sequence is equivalent to the excitement of rough foreplay, as in “Don’t fiddle with the buttons, baby, I’ll just rip it off,” and following it with relentless drive tells me these fuckers (figuratively speaking) mean business. If Supergrass had chosen to continue the song in the same vein, “Richard III” would be remembered solid punk song with a little flair, but they change positions (again, figuratively) for the chorus, moving to a C-G#-G combination where Gaz bends the blue notes in his vocal like a man in heat.
I know you wanna try and get away,
But it’s the hardest thing you’ll ever know.
Read those lines in the context of sex and try to tell me there isn’t some serious double entendre going on here! I don’t make this shit up, people! When Gaz Coombes repeats the line, “Trying to get atcha, tryin’ to get atcha,” my diddle goes all a-flutter—so much so that the appearance of a Theramin in the instrumental break fails to register until well after the song is over and “Good Vibrations” comes to mind during the post-fuck cigarette. No one in the band slacks off for this one—Danny Goffey beats the crap out of those drums, Mick Quinn fills the ground with penetrating bass and Gaz cranks out hot guitar and an even hotter vocal, navigating the strange scales with cocky passion (double entendre intended).
We leave the sweaty mosh pit for the sweaty dance floor as soon as we hear the clever opening guitar riff of “Tonight.” Gaz opens with a Keith Richards-like guitar attack, making things more interesting by avoiding the flatted third of the blues scale until he shifts from A to D. The chorus involves yet another unusual key change to F major; and the bridge gives us another with its D-A-C-G pattern. As mentioned in my review of I Should Coco, Supergrass was one of the best when it came to making unusual chord changes, and this skill is on full display throughout the album. As the song heads towards the fade, the band pulls back and allows a horn section with supporting to piano to add some texture and give any dancers in the audience time to recharge the batteries for the high-speed sock-hop style finish. “Tonight” is probably more suited for the grind of a rock club environment than the heavy bruising in the mosh pit, but hey, I’m always ready to rock to whatever you’ve got!
Even the heartiest rockers need to shake it up from time to time, but what we don’t need is light and cheerful (aka “Alright”) . . . we need something with a little soul in it. “Late in the Day” fits the bill, starting as an acoustic love song and ending more along the lines of a rock ballad. The chord changes are again magnificent and off-the-norm, with the main pattern taking a roundabout path through a set of on-and-off-key major seventh and basic chords to find its way back to the root. The beat picks up in the chorus, and the alternating tempos and keys somehow combine to form a holistic composition. The lyrics aren’t much to write home about (except for the tantalizing line, “We’d slip off down the oily way,” which is probably only tantalizing to a filthy mind like mine), but Gaz takes control with an appropriately moody vocal and brings this one home a winner.
“G-Song” brings back a little oomph to the party in the form of a bouncy rocker enhanced with rhythmic variation and a key change in the break. Early-stage Supergrass seemed to suffer from some kind of phobia when it came to song and album titles: “G-Song” is named after the song’s key; “Richard III” reflects their habit of applying common names to songs (Richard, Fred, Brunhilde, whatever); and the album’s title was selected by the record company after getting fed up with the band’s procrastination in the matter. It’s more of a quirk than anything seriously disturbing (a far cry from Keith Moon driving a Rolls into a Holiday Inn swimming pool), but does tend to echo their relative indifference to lyrics at this stage in their career.
“Sun Hits the Sky” features a simpler chord pattern in the verses (F-Eb, G-F), placing the emphasis on the driving beat instead of the chords. Yet another brilliant chord change occurs in the chorus where the band shifts to D major, offsetting the D-A dominant pattern with an extended stay in G minor. The lyrics are typically opaque but I love the way the words sound, especially in the chorus:
I am a doctor, I’ll be your doctor,
I’m on my way, you won’t come down today,
Live for the right things, be with the right ones,
Or they’ll hold you down, they’ll turn your world around.
The Beatles were particularly strong in that skill, and since Supergrass music at this point in their careers was message-light, coming up with euphonious lyrics was critical to their success. Early Supergrass songs are easy to sing along with, especially if you don’t mind that the words don’t add up to much.
“Going Out” is a mid-tempo rocker integrating organ and a horn section with close harmonies that are quite Beatle-esque. This is the song that led to a spat between Gaz and Danny, with the latter accusing the former of writing lyrics designed to exploit the tabloids’ exploitation of Danny’s romantic goings-on with Pearl Lowe (who eventually became his wife). Danny must have been hypersensitive about the whole thing, for the lyrics are pretty much a nothingburger, a mild warning that the paparazzi will catch up with you sooner or later, at home or on the club circuit. Compared to Ray Davies’ “Other People’s Lives,” it’s not much of a diatribe. Putting all that noise behind, “Going Out” is a pleasant experience, a catchy tune with a strong beat, suggesting that Danny therapeutically took out most of his anger on the drum skins.
Supergrass dials it down for “It’s Not Me,” a reflective song dominated by acoustic guitar strumming supported by piano and a horribly annoying synthesizer that comes close to ruining the entire piece. From a melodic perspective, I find “It’s Not Me” the loveliest song on the album, with Gaz revealing impressive range and sufficient command of the emotional content in the lyrics. It’s a classic coming-of-age story where one learns that expanding awareness of the surrounding culture engenders feelings of separation and isolation—the differentiation between self and expectation. There have been a gazillion songs written on this topic, but I get the sense that this one didn’t come out of the pop formula playbook but reflects Gaz Coombes’ sincere feelings during a time of life transition—a transition made more difficult by his presence in the public eye.
Another great chord sequence accompanied by a rhythmic shift awaits us in “Cheapskate,” one of a more subtle variety involving the simple difference in tone between minor and major chords. The verses consist entirely of A minor variants, and minor chords always feel a bit “off,” communicating sadness, wistfulness, edginess or unrequited desire. The lyrics in the verses are therefore entirely appropriate, as they describe a tension shared by Gaz and his companion, both of whom feel a bit “off” in relation to society:
Lift me up, and move a bit closer,
Holding on to what I know
She’s the one who plays with fire,
I see a side you’ll never know
The chorus marks a shift to the A major chord, and as major chords tend to be uplifting, we goddamn better get some uplifting lyrics—and we do:
I need someone to be around,
‘Cause I’m breaking into life,
Somebody stop me,
‘Cause I’m looking for my, looking for my high
That rise in spirit is intensified by a rhythmic change from loping to driving and the emphatic appearance of electric guitar in distortion mode. Often the simplest moves are the most effective (she insists for about the hundredth time, thank you Count Basie), and the excitement that results from that tiny change from the flatted third to the major third is palpable—it’s hard not to want to stand up, jump in and sing along.
While this attention to a single note change in a chord may seem excessive, its importance will be underscored when we get to Pulp’s This Is Hardcore and hear an example of a songwriter completely blowing it.
The next two songs foretell a mellower, moodier future for Supergrass, songs that serve as precursors to Supergrass and Road to Rouen. “You Can See Me” is a melancholy minor key piece about the disconnection between public figure and real person, and the corresponding insistence among fans that the public figure is the real person and therefore both knowable and available for purchase. “If you like me, you can buy me, and take me home,” Gaz writes, as if his person is embodied in Supergrass merchandise. While he tries to remind the fanatics, “You can’t see me, I’m not really there,” his tone indicates he knows he has embarked on an exercise in futility. “You Can See Me” wasn’t a single and doesn’t generate much discussion today, but from a lyrical perspective, it’s the strongest piece on the album.
“Hollow Little Reign,” which should have closed the album, has also unfortunately languished in obscurity. It’s a mellow piece with jazz and funk overtones emanating from the Gm/Am11 pairing, wah-wah guitar and piano backing from Rob Coombes. This piece also uses a minor to major transition to highlight the hope in the one-line chorus (“some day when I can”), a hope immediately tempered by following the C major chord with an F minor. Danny does a fabulous job with the drum builds, and though I would have liked to hear a bit more in the way of innovation from the horn section, the extended instrumental passages are a net positive.
In referring to In It for the Money during an interview with Q magazine, Gaz commented thusly: “The fact that it has sold more worldwide than I Should Coco means we can sleep at night.” Going harder and grittier risked alienating the fan base, but the album’s success proved that what originally attracted fans to Supergrass wasn’t their cuteness but their irrepressible energy. That energy allowed them to overcome the bad vibes and noise, move their music forward and produce what would turn out to be one of the last great albums of the Britpop era.
With Blur having already moved on and Suede preparing to do the same, Britpop would die a horrible death within a year thanks to a combination of the Gallagher Brothers, Jarvis Cocker and a whole lot of cocaine.
Posted in: 1990's, Britpop, Classic Music Reviews, Rock, Punk, Alternative, Garage | Tagged: Britpop, Danny Goffey, female blogger, female music blogger, Gaz Coombes, Hollow Little Reign, In It for the Money, Lenny, Mick Quinn, music review, Richard III, Rob Coombes, Sun Hits the Sky, Supergrass, Tonight, You Can See Me
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Confirmation.com Announces Promotion of Brian Fox to President
NASHVILLE, TN – July 29, 2013 – Confirmation.com, the creator and world’s leading provider of secure audit confirmation services, is pleased to announce that Brian Fox has been promoted to President effective immediately. As the founder of Confirmation.com, Brian recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for the company.
Since founding the company in 2000, Brian played a critical role in creating Confirmation.com, the first ever online audit confirmation service that has received three patents on its service. Brian was also instrumental in implementing corporate strategies that now position the company as the world’s leader in electronic audit confirmation services.
Confirmation.com provides a faster, more secure way for auditors and responding entities to send and receive audit confirmation requests. More importantly, Confirmation.com helps auditors identify financial fraud as it did in uncovering long-running frauds at Peregrine Financial Group (PFGBest), Shepherd Major Play Fund and China MediaExpress. The service has received industry recognition and numerous national awards. Today, Confirmation.com is used by more than 70,000 auditors in more than 100 countries, and by all of the top 10 banks in the U.S.
“Brian’s vision, knowledge and expertise created a solid roadmap for our company, and as a result we have experienced remarkable growth over the last five years,” said Chris Schellhorn, CEO of Confirmation.com. “I’m very excited about this promotion, and the leadership he will provide as our company enters its next growth phase of expanding our product offering globally.”
Prior to starting Confirmation.com, Brian worked in audit for Ernst & Young LLP and in mergers and acquisitions for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Dallas, Texas. He is a member of the AICPA and The Tennessee Society of CPA’s, and a four-time winner of the accounting profession’s ‘Top 40 Under 40 CPA in America’. Brian completed his MBA at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management with a dual concentration in Finance and Electronic Commerce and received a BBA in Accounting from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business.
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What is Adopt a Student?
A Chance to Change a Life!
Catholic schools are second to none in providing a high-quality, values-based education where students learn to respect themselves and others. But many families in our community who want a brighter, faith-filled future for their child can’t afford the benefit of a Catholic school education.
Recipients of Adopt-A-Student scholarships have significant financial need. Often, these are hard-working single-parent families and grandparents who are legal guardians, trying to provide an education in the tradition and environment of Catholic schools. As a result, we have seen students who were recipients of scholarship awards excel and develop into promising future leaders.
Many students now in our schools through Adopt-A-Student have languished or been lost in traditional schools. Instead, the advantage of a Catholic school education, supported through Adopt-A-Student, has meant the difference between a life lost and a future filled with promise.
A Sound Investment
Since its founding in 1989 by Bishop Timothy J. Harrington, Adopt-A-Student has been coordinated almost entirely by committed volunteer leaders. With minimal overhead, Adopt-A-Student gifts, dollar-for-dollar, have a greater direct impact on a young life than most any scholarship program today
Not Charity, But a Chance
Instilling the values of hard work, respect, and reaching their full potential is part of our Catholic mission. Adopt-A-Student scholarships are awarded not only on financial need but also on academic merit. Each Adopt-A-Student scholar must adhere to their school’s code of conduct and become involved in an extracurricular activity such as a club, student government, music or athletics. In addition, each family must pay a portion of the tuition fee — creating a true partnership and investment by all.
Make the Investment of a Lifetime….Today!
Live the Gospel and give a deserving student an opportunity through an education in the tradition and environment of Catholic schools. Become an Adopt-A-Student benefactor today! Donate online today! Remember your gift is 100% tax deductible.
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Tag: book
YA Review: Rules for 50/50 Chances by Kate McGovern
October 3, 2017 andywinderLeave a comment
Title: Rules for 50/50 Chances
Author: Kate McGovern
Two-sentence summary: Seventeen-year-old Rose Levenson must decide whether to take a test that tells her if she carries the mutation for Huntington’s disease, a terminal condition that her mother genetically inherited. When Rose meets a boy who also comes from a genetically-troubled family, she must learn to live without a clear view of what lies ahead.
What I loved: I loved how real these characters were, especially Rose. Sometimes YA books about tough subjects (especially diseases) paint the protagonist as a martyr who can get through any difficulty with their head held high and neverending patience. Rose, however, is not a saint. She’s a seventeen-year-old girl whose mother is dying from a degenerative condition, and sometimes she lashes out at those around her or breaks down when she worries about the future. This makes her, in my opinion, very relatable and easy to empathize with.
The dialogue in this book was also tasteful, and McGovern often used her characters’ speeches to tackle issues relating to race, mental health, and disability. This is done in a very frank but natural way. Every word progresses the narrative and addresses powerful questions without sounding contrived. The dialogue and descriptions are both full of valid, real emotions.
Quote: “If you had a crystal ball, like in a fairy tale – or a magic mirror or one wish or whatever – would you want to know how you were going to die? Would you want to watch it happen, in slow motion, every day?”
Recommended: Recommended particularly for those who have family members with genetic conditions like Rose, as they might find this novel cathartic. But sometimes the most meaningful novels are those that we can empathize with even if we ourselves haven’t experienced it, so recommended for anyone who struggles with uncertainty when it comes to their future.
Next: The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller
Posted in UncategorizedTagged anxiety, book, book review, huntington's disease, ya book, ya book review, ya fiction, ya review
YA Review: Love Letters to the Dead
September 19, 2017 andywinderLeave a comment
Title: Love Letters to the Dead
Author: Ava Dellaira
Two-sentence summary: When Laurel’s English teacher assigns her to write a letter to a dead person, Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her recently-deceased sister, Mary, loved him. As Laurel writes letters to famous people who died young (like Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and Janis Joplin), she navigates love and friendships over her freshman year, mourns and comes to terms with Mary’s untimely death, and faces the trauma that Mary didn’t protect her from when she was still around.
What I loved: This book is so moving and a beautiful meditation on grief. Laurel’s character is open, and the emotions she experiences are real. She feels pain deeply, both in her life and in the lives of her loved ones, but she also sees beauty. It’s easy to relate to her as a protagonist because of her vulnerability. Those who love to immerse themselves in the protagonist’s emotions will find it easy to do in this novel. It’s steeped in both joy and sadness without being overdone or gimmicky.
I also loved the book’s format, which is told primarily in the form of letters. Most of the letters Laurel writes are to her sister, whose recent death is a heavy burden for her family to bear. Why Laurel writes to each historical figure when reveals a lot about both her and her relationship with her sister. As the novel progresses and the letters reveal just how complicated Laurel’s relationship with May was, you can’t help but hurt with her. I think that’s the sign of a good book: when you don’t just feel bad for the character but you feel with her. That’s exactly the kind of book Love Letters to the Dead is.
Quote: “I wish you could tell me where you are now. I mean, I know you’re dead, but I think there must be something in a human being that can’t just disappear. It’s dark out. You’re out there. Somewhere, somewhere. I’d like to let you in.”
Recommended: Recommended for anyone who enjoyed The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Stephen Chbosky mentored Dellaira as a budding writer and helped workshop Love Letters to the Dead. While the book stands well on its own, the influence is there. Perks and Love Letters to the Dead have a similarly honest, emotional feel.
Next: Rules for 50/50 Chances by Kate McGovern
Posted in UncategorizedTagged book, book review, depression, mental health, ya, ya book, ya book review, ya fiction
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Museullaneous
Museum Authority
Lynda Kelly
What is museum authority and why do we need to think about it now?
The demands of the “information age” have raised new questions for museums. It has been argued that museums need to move from being suppliers of information to providing usable knowledge and tools for visitors to explore their own ideas and reach their own conclusions because increasing access to technologies, such as the internet, ‘… have put the power of communication, information gathering, and analysis in the hands of the individuals of the world’ (Freedman, 2000, p.299). Freedman also argued that museums should become mediators of information and knowledge for a range of users to access on their terms, through their own choices, and within their own place and time.
Research has found that visitors appreciated the role museums could play as authoritative, trusted and credible sources of information, and that they were accessed by a wide range of people (Cameron, 2006; Ellenbogen, 2002; Falk, Brooks & Amin, 2001; Lake Snell Perry & Associates, 2001). In research conducted looking at controversial topics it was found that visitors welcomed museums having exhibitions and programs on these kinds of topics as long as they could comment on them somehow (Kelly, 2006). At the time that research was undertaken the Internet was in early stages of development, a Web 1.0 environment with a primary focus on access to information (Seely Brown & Adler, 2008). Since that time the Internet has opened up a whole new way of engaging users, with Web 2.0 now giving access to people – where those with common interests can meet, share ideas and collaborate. Seely Brown and Adler feel that the most profound impact of the Internet is ‘… its ability to support and expand the various aspects of social learning” (2008, p.18) and therefore, I suggest, to solve problems together.
In the most recent edition of the Exhibitionist, Daniel Spock discussed whether museum authority is ‘... up for grabs ... or following a long trend line’. He notes that museums have always been participatory spaces, however, I believe that now the ground rules have shifted due to Web 2.0. Daniel also makes the pertinent point that ‘If you invite people to really participate in the making of a museum, the process must change the museum’ (2009, p.7, emphasis in original). Audience research has long been the way museums can invite and encourage participation, and the new tools of the web (such as Facebook and Twitter) can enable a more transparent two-way dialogue between museums and their audiences, as Ellis and Kelly (2007) stated ‘Web 2.0 puts users and not the organisation at the centre of the equation. This is threatening, but also exciting in that it has the potential to lead to richer content, a more personal experience’.
Many years ago now, Stephen Weil said that museums need to transform themselves from ‘… being about something to being for somebody’ (p.229, emphasis in original), and Spock notes that addressing this may be hard as ‘... a museum has to be willing to both listen and change’ (p.8). In my view, social media provides the perfect vehicle to take this further, with the museum being about doing with somebody and well as being for somebody.
Cameron, F. (2006). Beyond Surface Representations: Museums, Edgy Topics, Civic Responsibilities and Modes of Engagement. Open Museum Journal, 8.
Ellenbogen, K. (2002). Museums in Family Life: An Ethnographic Case Study. In G. Leinhardt & K. Crowley & K. Knutson (Eds.), Learning Conversations in Museums (pp. 81-101). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ellis, M., & Kelly, B. (2007). Web 2.0: How to Stop Thinking and Start Doing: Addressing Organisational Barriers. In J. Trant & D. Bearman (Eds.), Museums and the Web 2007: Proceedings. Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics.
Falk, J., Brooks, P., & Amin, R. (2001). Investigating the long-term impact of a science center on its community: The California Science Center L.A.S.E.R. Project. In J. Falk (Ed.), Free-Choice Science Education: How We Learn Science Outside of School (pp. 115-132). New York: Teacher's College Press, Columbia University.
Freedman, G. (2000). The Changing Nature of Museums. Curator, 43(4), 295-306.
Kelly, L. (2006). Museums as Sources of Information and Learning: The Decision-Making Process. Open Museum Journal, 8.
Lake Snell Perry & Associates. (2001). Americans Identify A Source of Information They Can Really Trust. Washington: American Association of Museums.
Seely Brown, J., & Adler, R. (2008). Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0. EDUCAUSE, January/February, 17-32.
Spock, D. (2009). Museum Authority Up for Grabs: The Latest Thing, or Following a Long Trend Line? Exhibitionist, Fall ‘09, 6-10.
Weil, S. (1999). From being about something to being for somebody. Daedalus, 128 (3).
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1940s: The Australian Museum - Breaking Out
"Museum's are not morgues and should expand along modern lines." So commented J.R Kinghorn in the Women's Weekly
Australian tribal names, with their synonyms. Compiled from ethnographical works in the Australian Museum Library, 1909
Description of a Dapanoptera from Australia
Graptolite localities of the Snowy Mountains, New South Wales
A simplified key to the sessile barnacles found on the rocks, boats, wharf piles and other installations in Port Jackson and adjacent waters
The Torres Strait Islands collection at the Australian Museum
On a new asteroid from Queensland
DNA Evidence Combats Trafficking
Forensic scientists at the Australian Museum use our DNA library to help authorities’ crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade globally.
A review of the Whitehouse report on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Using biological indicators to monitor the health of freshwater ecosystems
Descriptions of some New Guinea mammals
Studies on Recent Petralidae (Bryozoa)
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Jewel Kilcher: A Night Without Armor
jgarden
A Night Without Armor
Charles Bukowski once wrote, "To say I'm a poet puts me in the company of versifiers, neontasters, fools, clods, and scoundrels masquerading as wise men." Jewel Kilcher, a Bukowski fan responsible for the 10-million-selling pop-folk album Pieces Of You, is now happily joining this disreputable company with the release of her own collection of neontasting, A Night Without Armor. By now, Kilcher's background is pop legend: A displaced Alaskan songstress living out of her van, she achieved great heights after being discovered in San Diego. Her image is so precious, so inflated in its storybook nature that it's easy to want her poetry to suck outright or reveal too much of herself. It avoids that, but it also avoids many other things, such as deep insight into the human condition. Kilcher's poetry is competent and sometimes evocative—most obviously in her barbed short poems—but her age and relative lack of experience show. When it comes to poems about sex, for example, she isn't above resorting to purple clichés: "I'd be your hungry Valley / and sow your golden fields of wheat / in my womb." Sure, it's more evocative than Ice-T's "Let's get butt naked / and fuck," but it's not long on subtlety or cleverness, either. It's hard to say what direction Kilcher's poetry will take after this. Most of her influences, including the aforementioned Bukowski (or, as she spells it, "Bukowsky") and Tom Waits, lived on the periphery for some time before being assimilated into popular culture, if at all. At 24, Kilcher may never again be able to escape into anonymity, and who really wants to read poems about how rotten it is to be rich and famous? For what it's worth, here's a score sheet for A Night Without Armor. Number of times Kilcher refers to bones or describes something as "bony": 8. Number of times Kilcher refers to tongues: 13. Number of times she refers to her own breasts: 4. Number of times she refers to her breasts as "pillows": 1.
Comics’ craziest crossover returns in this Archie Vs. Predator II exclusive
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« Governor Tim Pawlenty Statement On Budget Vote | Main | Newt Gingrich Statement Reacting To The President’s Speech Today »
The National Association of Manufacturers To Host Republican Presidential Candidate Forum In Pella, Iowa On 11/1/11
Manufacturers to Host Republican Presidential Candidate Forum in Iowa
Candidates Invited to Discuss Issues Critical to Job Creation and Competitiveness
Washington, D.C., 04/13/11 - The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and its Board Chair Mary Andringa will host a forum for the 2012 Republican presidential candidates in Pella, Iowa, on Nov. 1, 2011. The forum will be moderated by Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad.
Vermeer Corporation’s headquarters will be the site for this important discussion. Vermeer is a family-owned manufacturing company that produces construction, agricultural and environmental equipment. Its products are used on job sites in more than 60 nations around the globe. Vermeer Corporation also operates sales manufacturing facilities in several countries and employs more than 2,400 people worldwide. Mary Andringa is Vermeer’s president and CEO and also serves as chair of the NAM Board of Directors.
“Manufacturing is vital to the American economy, and we expect issues that affect manufacturers – from tax reform to energy security to job growth – to play a central role in the presidential election,” said Vermeer Corporation President Mary Andringa. “We look forward to welcoming the candidates to Vermeer and learning about their visions for keeping manufacturing in America strong.”
"I am pleased to have been asked to participate in Vermeer Corporation and the National Association of Manufacturers' Republican presidential candidate forum," said Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad. "This is an excellent opportunity for all of the candidates to discuss manufacturing, trade, tax reform and other issues that are critically important to the state of Iowa and the United States' economic prosperity."
The forum will provide an opportunity for the candidates to talk with manufacturers about their positions on critical issues. The NAM’s comprehensive “Manufacturing Strategy for Jobs and a Competitive America” outlines three goals to keep manufacturing in America competitive which include making the United States: the best country in the world to headquarter a company and attract foreign direct investment; the best country in the world to innovate, performing the bulk of a company’s research and development; and a great place to manufacture, both to meet the needs of the American market and serve as an export platform for the world.
“In today’s global economy, manufacturers are facing unprecedented challenges and costs imposed from Washington that hurt their ability to compete,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “We are excited to have the opportunity to discuss our goals for policies on taxes, trade and regulations that will promote sustained economic growth and job creation here in the United States.”
The major Republican candidates running for President in 2012 will be invited to participate in the forum. The NAM will also extend an invitation to President Obama to meet with manufacturers to discuss issues critical to manufacturing competitiveness.
The United States is the world’s largest manufacturing economy, producing 21 percent of global manufactured products. Nearly 12 million Americans are employed directly in manufacturing. Manufacturing in Iowa employs more than 200,000 people and accounts for more than 20 percent of Iowa’s economy.
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Can you take action to save a man’s life?
Terry Williams at the age of 17.
It’s been 13 years since anyone was executed in Pennsylvania. In the 1990s, three men voluntarily ended their appeals to accept death. It has been 50 years since anyone was involuntarily executed in the commonwealth. This, despite a bursting death row with more than 200 people, the fourth-largest death row in the country.
Terrance “Terry” Williams is at risk of being the first person executed against his will in Pennsylvania since John Kennedy was president.
The basic facts of Terry’s case are not in dispute. In 1984, just a few months after his 18th birthday, he killed Amos Norwood in Philadelphia. Less than a year earlier, while he was still 17, Terry killed another man, Herbert Hamilton.
But there were key facts in Terry’s case that the jury never heard, facts that may have convinced the jury to spare his life. Terry had been a victim of repeated sexual assault since the age of six, and his two victims had been abusing him. His trial attorney never investigated these facts, so the jury never heard them.
This case was and is a tragedy in every sense. Several jurors recently stated that they would have ruled for a life-without-parole sentence for Terry if they had known these facts. Some jurors have also said that they opted for death because they mistakenly believed that a life sentence would afford Terry a parole opportunity. Death and life-without-parole have been the only sentencing options for first degree homicide in Pennsylvania since the 1920s.
Terry’s appeals options are exhausted, and his execution is scheduled for October 3. His attorneys are now asking the pardons board and Governor Corbett to commute Terry’s sentence to life-without-parole. To be successful in that arena, the pardons board must first unanimously recommend a commutation. Governor Corbett must then agree and grant the commutation.
Support for commutation is strong and broad. Supporters include Norwood’s widow, several jurors, 22 former prosecutors and judges, 34 law professors, 40 mental health experts, and more than three dozen faith leaders, including the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput.
How can you help? Contact Governor Corbett directly and ask him to support clemency for Terry Williams. Sign the petition in support of clemency that currently has nearly 14,000 signatures. And learn more about the case at a website dedicated to Terry’s plea for clemency.
Take action. A man’s life depends on it.
1 thought on “Can you take action to save a man’s life?”
Laure80 on September 17, 2012 at 2:04 am said:
bdivie 99He had no childhood and no life for another 28 years and now they want to kill him..and for what really?..for the failure of the system,because the system wasn’t able to save him when it was the time,they’re always covering everything with death..everytime!what a shit.
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7 June 2018 / Remarks
And Leftists Wonder Why No One Trusts the Media
It would appear that ThinkProgress has published a hit piece on me. The article ends with the following:
Mahler did not respond to ThinkProgress’ requests for comment on Thursday.
There is a bit of irony in this, as I received the following email from Mr. Barnes today at 13:11 PDT (16:11 EDT):
Dear Mr. Mahler,
My name’s Luke Barnes and I’m a reporter with ThinkProgress in Washington DC. I’m currently writing a story about your continued attempts at funding Jason Kessler and Chris Cantwell, who as I’m sure you’re aware were both heavily involved with last year’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville VA.
I wanted to give you the chance to comment on this article, specifically the following questions:
Can you explain why you think it’s important to fund Cantwell and Kessler? Why are you also funding Cantwell’s activism and artwork?
Can we talk a bit about your political beliefs? What would you describe yourself as?
What will happen if PayPal cuts your access? Will you keep up trying to fund Cantwell and Kessler?
Do you agree with Kessler’s former description of murder victim Heather Heyer as a “fat, disgusting communist”?
We’re hoping to get this article out soon, so a prompt reply would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time and cooperation.
All the best, Luke Barnes Reporter – ThinkProgress 202-741-6347 – @LukeBarnes_92
For those who are not fond of math: Mr. Barnes gave me two hours and five minutes to reply to his email before publishing his article and insinuating that I refused to respond to requests (inaccurate plural in the original) for comment. If this is journalistic integrity, it is no wonder faith in the media has taken a nosedive.
As it is clear that Mr. Barnes is acting in bad faith, I am publishing what was originally going to be a reply email to him publicly instead of sending it to him personally. (However, shortly after I hit "Publish" on this response, I'll be replying to Mr. Barnes' email with a link to this post.)
Mr. Barnes,
Before I get to my response to your inquiry, let me start by stating that it is rather disingenuous and journalistically questionable to end your piece with:
when I was given a mere two hours to reply to your single email. That aside, my response to your email is included, infra.
As I'm sure you are aware, I am a California-licensed attorney. You may not, however, be aware of the fact that all California attorneys must take an oath before being admitted to the Bar. This oath, per Business and Professions Code § 6067, typically takes the following form:
I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of an attorney and counsellor at law to the best of my knowledge and ability.
Both the Constitution of the United States (Amendment I):
— Constitution of the United States, Amendment 1
and the Constitution of the State of California (Article 1 § 2):
Every person may freely speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of this right. A law may not restrain or abridge liberty of speech or press.
— Constitution of the State of California, Article I § 2(a)
protect the freedom of speech. The bounds of this protection have been very clearly delineated by the Supreme Court of the United States (see, e.g., Brandenburg v. Ohio):
These later decisions have fashioned the principle that the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.
It is utterly irrelevant how you or I feel or how anyone else feels about the speech of another, so long as it is legal. It is, in fact, the case that "if there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other, it is the principle of free thought -- not free thought for those who agree with us, but freedom for the thought that we hate" (US v. Schwimmer, recently cited in Matal v. Tam). It is no great test of our commitment to freedom of speech for us to support the right to speak of those with whom we agree; the true test of our commitment to the ideal is our support of the right to speak of those with whom we disagree, with whom we may even disagree vehemently, those whose speech we find distasteful, objectionable, or abhorrent.
To clarify: I am not funding Mr. Cantwell or Mr. Kessler. Not a single cent of my own money has gone to either man. I am merely facilitating others in donating on behalf of Mr. Cantwell and Mr. Kessler because they have been routinely shut out of the system in a way that can best be described as concerted, discreditable, and, in my assessment, illegal. The free speech guarantees enjoyed by US citizens are meaningless if their exercise results in having one's life systematically destroyed. The Government has failed to act to address these transgressions by various financial entities, so it falls to those who have sworn oaths to protect these cherished ideals to act in its stead.
My own political beliefs are simple: I am a Republican. I believe in the Constitution and I support a return to its protections and prohibitions. The Constitution is the oldest, written constitution still in use today; it has served our Nation well for over two centuries. I hope to wish it a happy 250th anniversary in March of 2039.
If my current payment processors cancel my accounts, then I shall seek out other payment processors to keep the services I offer functioning, hopefully without interruption. I do not believe that these financial entities should be gatekeepers for who may and who may not exercise the freedom of speech, but they have been, effectively, given this role. I believe the Government should step in and regulate these entities and force their compliance with US law, including the Constitution.
In truth, I do not follow most of the political intrigue on the far Right (or, for that matter, the far Left). These are not issues that truly affect my life or the country in any meaningful way. I know virtually nothing about Ms. Heyer or her political beliefs, so it would be without my personal knowledge to make any assessment of her in that realm. If she were, in fact, a Communist, however, then I would decline to break with decades of sentiment on the political Right: Better dead than red.
If you are inclined to include in your article items from my blog, it might be best to include the most topical one:
Free Speech Corporations and Dissent
Corey J. Mahler, Esq., J.D., LL.M.
— Corey J. Mahler —
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Mar18 Comments Off on SXSW brings new talent and discoveries
SXSW brings new talent and discoveries
Posted by Andrew Battifarano
Those who are familiar with music festival giants such as Coachella in Indio, California or Lollapalooza that’s nestled between downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan may have heard of SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austin, Texas.
Unlike the aforementioned music festivals, SXSW is more of a conference that not only hosts new and loved bands, but also showcases independent films and introduces emerging technologies. You’ll see your favorite not-yet-mainstream bands, as well as newer ones who hope to get their names out there and possibly even secure a record deal by the end of the festival. That’s how John Mayer was discovered. Various interactive showcases occur throughout the week, with indie films discussed and new apps being displayed.
At SXSW this year, protestors held signs advocating against robots.
PHOTO VIA GOOGLE IMAGES VIA IBTIMES.CO.UK
This year’s lineup seems to be more diversified than the previous years — if that is even possible. Even months before the lineup was made official, SXSW boasted of a differentiated and unique pick of artists. A songwriter from Philadelphia, who goes by the name Alex G, showcased his mellow “bedroom pop” style with the song “Serpent is Lord.” Girlpool, a band consisting of two Los Angeles natives, performed an original, “Chinatown,” with only a guitar and bass.
The festival went international this year, bringing in some of the biggest names in Asia, specifically Korea. This makes the festival truly unique. Epik High, a hip hop trio consisting of two MCs and a DJ, are one of seven acts that will go live on Thursday, March 19, at SXSW. Tablo, the leader, is a Stanford University alum who combines Eastern and Western cultures seamlessly and spits them into lyrical poetry. This group has been known as one of the main contributors to bring hip-hop to the mainstream in South Korea.
As previously mentioned, however, music is not the only thing that goes on at SXSW, and this year is certainly no exception. On Sunday, protesters staged a mini-rally against the use and development of artificial intelligence. About two dozen protesters, led by a computer engineer, held signs with the phrases “Stop the robots,” and “Humans are the future.” The protesters seemed to be expressing their concern of a future society in which technology dictates everything.
On Monday, SXSW hosted an entrepreneur from a company that is rapidly growing. Lyft’s co-founder and CEO Logan Green presented a keynote on “Fixing Transportation With Humanity and Technology.” The main idea Green expressed was that Lyft has a greater mission above providing a relatively inexpensive form of transportation. This greater social mission is to eliminate the need for car ownership. Time will tell if Green will be able to execute this goal.
SXSW prides itself in hosting revolutionary and pioneering spirits. A subcomponent of SXSW, SXStyle is a platform in which creative minds come together and discuss their ideas and work. YouTube beauty guru Michelle Phan and COO of Lucky/Conde Nast Eva Chen came together and discussed social media as a powerful medium in which ideas are spread, as well as how to be sincere while trying to appeal to the masses.
Music, technology and food are varied events, which are a testament to the diverse and innovative atmosphere of SXSW. The festival will continue offering its goers fresh and exciting events to attend until it ends Sunday.
Entertainment, Film, Music Alex G., Chinatown, Coachella, Epik High, Eva Chen, Girlpool, Logan Green, Lollapalooza, Lucky/Condenast, Lyft, Michelle Phan, Serpent is Lord, South Korea, SXSW, YouTube
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Themes in Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” →
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vanimy on April 6th, 2012 03:40 pm (UTC)
Part 2 of (yeah, I think it's gonna be) 3 --
3.12 - Elena telling Stefan about the kiss which I know that I and some others didn't see as romantic and about her feelings for Stefan, but I also know that many S/Ers DID see it as such.
3.13 - Stefan admitting he did still love her.
3.14 - Elena working with Stefan again, taking his arm at the dance, him watching her with Damon, showing signs of jealousy, dancing with each other, her telling him that he always respected her, with them having a moment there, and the porch scene which wasn't supposed to seen as romantic, but definitely was.
3.16 - Elena upset by seeing Stefan like that which showed she did still feel strongly for him, and her description of what she felt for him. I dunno, I know I didn't see it as good, but S/Eers might have.
3.17 - Stefan helping her out with Ric, by her side, helping to save the day.
3.18 - Elena showing concern for him (as in not wanting him to go over the edge), yes, he said she was in love with Damon and she couldn't deny it, but she also said she never stopped loving him, and he said he loved her and they he was touchy-feely on her face.
Okay, didn't even realize there's been so many S/E moments.
Still...
Not over-the-top romantic, but they've definitely had moments, just as D/E have.
Yeah but I think S/E shippers who were used to so many moments must feel disappointed. Stefan and Elena haven't kissed since late season 2 (not even the finale actually).
(Hah! I can't believe you made me recount romantic-ish S/E stuff, LOL!)
hehe, playing the devil's advocate here!
Oh, we don't disagree. It's a combination of factors. Too much Originals, lack of urgency (I agree there), but I do think that the biggest reason is Damon/Elena and I say that because the first two factors were in place in the first half of the season.
True but the first two factors weren't that present in the first half. Klaus and Rebekah were heavily tied to Stefan's storyline in the first part of the season. No sign of Elijah and we knew nothing about Kol and Finn. I think there was some sense of urgency because Stefan had to be saved then the Mikael storyline worked because Mikael himself as a villain worked.
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Spokeswoman: Kane working from home because of concussion, not grand jury | TribLIVE.com
Politics Election
Spokeswoman: Kane working from home because of concussion, not grand jury
Brad Bumsted
Thu., November 13, 2014 12:01 a.m. | Thursday, November 13, 2014 12:01 a.m.
Jasmine Goldband | Tribune-Review
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane listens to questions and comments from the audience at a community drug forum at the Penn Hills Library Saturday, April 5, 2014.
John Morganelli
Levels of severity
Concussions explained in a graphic. A4
HARRISBURG — More than 3 1⁄2 weeks since suffering a concussion in an auto accident, Attorney General Kathleen Kane is working from home while under medically ordered travel restrictions that prohibit her from appearing before a grand jury or going to her office near the Capitol, her spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Aide Renee Martin strongly denied that Kane is attempting to avoid the grand jury in Norristown that is investigating a leak from her office.
“Absolutely not,” she said, though she said she could not acknowledge the grand jury’s existence.
Kane hasn’t suffered memory loss but was “experiencing pain” last week when Martin visited her home in Clarks Summit, a borough of about 5,000 people near Scranton.
Martin did not know what medication, if any, had been prescribed for Kane and said she could not talk about her condition or release her doctor’s name or the medical orders.
Kane is the first Democrat and woman elected attorney general. Her salary is $156,264. The health of the state’s top prosecutor for civil and criminal matters is a “legitimate concern” for the public, said former Acting Attorney General Walter Cohen, now in private practice in Harrisburg.
If Kane has lasting symptoms from a concussion, she should temporarily relinquish duties to her first deputy, said Bruce Castor, former Montgomery County District Attorney. Castor said he did so while on painkillers after surgery in 2007.
“If I were the judge, I’d move the grand jury on a bus to see her,” said Castor, a Republican county commissioner who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2004. Castor said he had no firsthand knowledge of the grand jury and based his remarks on published reports.
“She has not turned over operations of her office to anyone” and doesn’t intend to, Martin said.
Kane struck her head in an Oct. 21 car accident in Dunmore that her office did not make public for 10 days. Dunmore police changed the accident report to reflect Kane’s statement that she was not wearing a seatbelt while riding in the back seat. The police report said Kane’s car was not exceeding the 15 mph posted speed limit. Two security guards traveling with her are former Dunmore police officers, one of them the ex-chief.
The accident occurred the morning Kane was scheduled to appear before the grand jury under subpoena, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Dunmore is immediately east of Scranton and south of Kane’s home in Clarks Summit.
Martin told the Tribune-Review she did not know why Kane was in Dunmore or where she was going at 6:55 a.m. when the accident happened.
Former Attorney General Ernie Preate, a Republican who resigned in 1995 to plead guilty to mail fraud, called the circumstances of the accident “mystifying.”
“I hope she is not too seriously ill that she can’t perform the duties of her office,” said Preate, a Scranton lawyer.
The secrecy surrounding Kane’s medical condition has raised questions, Preate said. “It’s truly an unnecessary problem she created,” he said.
Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said he sees no need for Kane “to turn over the reins of power.”
There’s no formal mechanism to do so, said Bruce Ledewitz, a Duquesne University Law School professor. Ledewitz said he believes Kane likely informally delegated more matters to First Deputy Bruce Beemer.
Martin said Kane keeps in regular contact with Beemer and her senior staff.
John Burkoff, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, said he trusts Kane’s “ability to realize when and if she is so incapacitated that she needs to temporarily turn over some or all of her authority to someone else. … The need to work from home temporarily, even for someone at as high a level as the AG, should not be viewed as disabling.”
It should not matter if the grand jury’s term elapses Dec. 31, Morganelli said. Investigative reports typically transfer from one grand jury to another. The special prosecutor assigned to the case may be able to ask for another grand jury to be approved by the Supreme Court, he said.
Though some concussion patients might face driving restrictions, there’s no real reason for them not to travel as passengers, said Dr. Jack Wilberger, chairman of neurosurgery at Allegheny General Hospital in the North Side, speaking in general.
“You have to get in the car at some point to go see the doctor,” said Wilberger, who is not involved in Kane’s care. Some people experience sensitivity to light after a concussion, which might stop them from going outside, he said.
Concussions caused by vehicle accidents are as common as sports-related concussions, experts said.
“The forces are greater in car accidents than what we see in sports,” said Micky Collins, director of UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. He is not involved in Kane’s case and did not speak specifically about her treatment.
Concussion symptoms might be exacerbated in people who suffer accompanying injuries such as broken bones.
Wilberger said recovery time varies, depending on the severity of the concussion, but most people recover in three to four weeks. Wilberger said they should be able to make sound decisions. He cautioned that symptoms may linger in people who return to work too soon without proper treatment.
“We’ve seen high-profile folks who want to get back into action right way. Some never stop. Unfortunately, that can make the concussion symptoms last much longer. The brain doesn’t like that overstimulation,” Wilberger said.
Depending on the severity, concussions can cause thinking problems or interfere with the ability to move or see, Collins said. They can cause headaches or migraines, neck problems, anxiety and mood problems, he said.
“Every case is different,” Collins said. “The most important thing is to make sure the person is getting the right rehab and treatment for that specific type. Some people don’t get better if it’s not treated right.”
Brad Bumsted is Trib Total Media’s state Capitol reporter. Reach him at 717-787-1405 or [email protected]. Medical editor Luis Fábregas contributed.
WPXI co-anchor departing; replacement named
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Prince Charles: a lifelong love of architecture
BIMcrunch Posted On 14th November 2013
On the day of his 65th birthday, The Telegraph looks at how Prince Charles has always had a passion for architecture.
From commissioning a booming eco-town to clashing with the architectural elite, Prince Charles has influenced Britain’s building trends more than any other public figure.
Earlier this month, the Prince of Wales stood in the newly built Jubilee Hall in Poundbury, Dorset, and declared: “Perhaps it was worth being obstinate after all.”
In just 20 years, the eco-town he commissioned on Duchy of Cornwall land on the outskirts of Dorchester has been transformed into an empire. There are 1,100 homes – 300 affordable – built to the Prince’s classical vision for architecture. And still the diggers plough on. Poundbury is set to more than double in size over the next 12 years.
The town is the “living embodiment” of the 10 principles of architecture the Prince set out in his 1989 book, A Vision of Britain, and which he has stuck to resolutely over the past few decades, wielding more influence than perhaps any other public figure on the country’s building trends.
Poundbury’s success has caused the planning rulebook to be more or less rewritten, with imitation models springing up across the UK. The 2,200 residents love it; 1,600 of them are employed locally in 140 businesses, walking or cycling to work.
But volleys of criticism still get lobbed against its neo-classical walls. Many in the architectural profession have ridiculed its ‘toy town’ aesthetic. In June, vandals – albeit ones of a very Poundbury sort – added “ugly buildings” to a road sign pointing the way to the town. Even Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has waded in, calling for a halt to expansion plans for fear of wrecking the heart of Thomas Hardy land.
But ever since his infamous 1984 broadside against modernist architecture, in which he attacked a proposed “monstrous carbuncle” planned for the National Gallery, the Prince has shown that, when it comes to architecture, he is not a man to back down.
Quinlan Terry, the Prince’s favourite architect, says his repeated interventions are “absolutely justified”. “He is absolutely constant in his views. He is remarkably courageous, too. He will go down in history as the man who really represented the heart and soul of the ordinary people in this country. As opposed to all the rubbish that seems to get built around us.”
For some, however, his persistence goes too far. Not least leading modernist architect Lord Rogers of Riverside, who has long clashed with the Prince. Lord Rogers was left fuming when his proposed £3 billion redevelopment plan for Chelsea Barracks was abandoned in 2009, after the Prince wrote to the Emir of Qatar (the emirate’s property arm, Qatari Diar, having bought the site from the Ministry of Defence) complaining it was “brutalist” and a “gigantic experiment with the very soul of our capital city”.
In the personally-signed letter, he said the scheme made his heart sink and lauded Georgian areas such as central Bath and Edinburgh, as “timeless” – one of 14 words underlined for added effect.
It was not the first time Lord Rogers had fallen foul of the Prince. Originally one of the front-runners to develop Paternoster Square beside St Paul’s Cathedral, his scheme was dropped after another classic barb. “You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe,” Charles said in a 1987 speech at The Mansion House, referring to the Lord Rogers masterplan. “When it knocked down our buildings, it didn’t replace them with anything more offensive than rubble.”
Many modern buildings have been subjected to similarly scathing attacks, from the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall at the University of Essex (“looking like a dustbin”), to the brutalist Birmingham Central Library (“a place where books are incinerated, not kept”).
It was the Chelsea Barracks letter, though, that provoked Prince Charles’s opponents to fire back. A group of architects including Lord Foster, Sir Nicholas Serota and Jean Nouvel put their names to a response calling for the Prince to keep out.
“By definition it’s going to be controversial as he is saying what they’re doing is wrong,” says architect and friend John Simpson, who designed the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace (opened for the Golden Jubilee in 2002). “But he had the courage to say these things, and he didn’t have to. When people started saying he is just a dreamer he said, ‘Right, I’m going to show you what this is about’.”
The Prince himself has stressed his intention was never to “kick-start some kind of ‘style’ war between Classicists and Modernists”. As what has been achieved in Poundbury has shown, his influence extends far beyond clashing with the architectural elite.
The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, formed in 1997, has worked on more than 70 projects across the country, redeveloping historic buildings for a modern purpose, often in unfashionable post-industrial heartlands. Schemes such as redeveloping wharf buildings at Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax, and Stoke’s Middleport Pottery (Britain’s last working Victorian pottery) have helped create 1,100 jobs.
The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, meanwhile, is involved in more than 30 projects across the country.
“I don’t think his passion is principally about architecture but building a more harmonious society,” says Dominic Richards, executive director of the foundation. “What’s been the major impact is local authorities now completely accept the principle of creating mixed-income workable communities. That’s an enormous credit to him.”
As the Prince told his Poundbury audience, his is a vision of Britain that is spreading. “The difficulty I have now,” he said, “is ensuring I live long enough to see the final buildings.”
Original article can be viewed at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/10433574/Prince-Charles-a-lifelong-love-of-architecture.html.
How work works for a new generation
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11 Jan 2013 - The 'Django Unchained' Premiere
January 11th, 2013.
I was back in Australia from early December to Christmas/New Year, and as a consequence of this things have been quiet the premieres front for me.
While I was away from the English capital, I missed three premieres, one of which hurt me to be absent from (The Hobbit). However, I was fortunate (if by 'fortunate' you believe that this was not deliberate) that I was back in London the night before the premiere of the new Quentin Tarantino movie, Django Unchained.
And I might have been rusty and tired, but I was there, not merely with two cameras but also a certain 12x18 inch photo of Mr Tarantino that I'd taken back in 2009 at the premiere of "Inglourious Basterds" that I really REALLY wanted to get signed by the man, if possible.... and at the expense of photography if need be
So...here's how it went down:
This reporter is no doubt hoping her boyfriend will take her to a nice romantic comedy... which this is assuredly not. (.... or is it??)
"Jamie, the sunglasses are meant for everyone else who has to look at your suit, not you when wearing it" It's Jamie Foxx! He's won Grammies AND an Oscar, whereas I once won a merit certificate in High School for punctuality / full attendance during a calendar year. We're all winners, is what I'm sayin'.
Disagrees with the veracity of your scurrilous assertions. But will accept belated congrats on the Oscar win. It was back in 2005 though, so really if your card is still in the mail it's probably not going to get delivered.
"And here's another guy in the crowd I owe five dollars to. Doesn't matter... he'll still pay to see my movie". Probably true. Also : even more likely to be true if you sign my photo, Mr Tarantino.
Kerry Washington arrived, but more or less eluded me at this premiere. It wasn't her fault : the dress was eye-catching enough. I was just kind of distracted dealing with other things. Not, like, paying bills or playing Angry Birds or anything, but sometimes the multitasking kind of gets a bit much!
"Anyway, I ended my audition for the role of Django by threatening to kill Will Smith if Quentin hired him instead of me. I like to think it made all the difference. Ahahaha. I'm kidding of course : I threatened Quentin directly. Next question?"
Oh, good. An even better view of Kerry Washington's dress!
It's Samuel L Jackson!! After his failure to attend the premiere of both "The Avengers" (though Scarlett Johansson's presence made that one awesome) and (perhaps slightly less surprisingly) "African Cats" (but the Duchess of Cambridge's attendance made THAT one memorable) last year, it's great to finally be able to photograph The Man. And with a beanie nestled so artfully on his head and that sideflash providing some serendipitous lighting, I think we can all agree it was worth the wait.
"Sure, acting opposite Jar Jar Binks was the highlight of my career. And yes, of course I'm lying"
"Fine, steal my wallet if you want to. I don't care"
Samuel L Jackson was introduced to the crowd as the highest-grossing actor in movie history. Which makes sense - all three Star Wars prequels, Jurassic Park, cameos in all the Avengers leadup films and Avengers itself, plus many other films. So he could probably stand to have his wallet stolen.
"Well, yes. I would have auditioned for the role of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, as a presence in that Trilogy AND the hobbit trilogy really would have cemented my all-time box office haul. But overall I'm glad Ian McKellen got the role"
I'm pretty sure if I dared him to say "what" just one more time, he'd cheerfully rip out my larynx. Which would be a shame. It would be hard to hold a camera if I was using my hands to staunch a heavy blood flow. AND I'd risk putting blood on the photo I want Quentin Tarantino to sign.... (on which subject.... where is Quentin Tarantino??)
Kerry Washington is being interviewed on stage, which ordinarily would be a great thing, except Quentin Tarantino is approaching our area and I really want that autograph. Sorry, Miss Washington!
And........
*YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!* ps. Thanks, Mr Tarantino! It's currently hanging, framed, on my wall.
Christoph Waltz won an Oscar for Inglourious Basterds and starred in a little known Australian TV movie called 'The Alien Years' back in the late '1980s. Not important. Everyone starts (or continues) (or ends up) somewhere. That is all.
"I don't care if it's telekinesis, stop tickling me!"
"With that I'd usually add some garlic butter and serve on quinoa. I'm sorry, I forgot what question you were asking"
By this time Kerry Washington had gone into the cinema, and everything had (sadly) calmed down a bit. So... here's a lady in a red dress. A few frames later she gave a half-smile in my direction, but if I'm honest I don't mind the pout. No idea who she is.
Also on the subject of 'no idea who this is'... I have no idea who this is.
"So I guess you'd pronounce it 'Tshango' in German? Sorry, that's all I've got right now. Anybody else got any questions for Christoph?" Christoph Waltz won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Tarantino's own "Inglourious Basterds" and has been nominated once again for this film.
Christoph Waltz isn't going to trashtalk The Green Hornet. Why would he - unlike those who paid money to go see it, THEY paid HIM!
And finally, on the stage, Quentin, Tarantino had already signed my photo (!!!), and now he's waving at me too!? Good times, and I'm still jet-lagged enough to realise it
Not content to merely wave, he's now suggesting Peace is the answer. I'm not sure about that, iTunes' customer service is pretty shabby a lot of the time.
Okay, fine, I'll watch your movie. But only because the trailer looks great, and because it's a Tarantino film. Not merely because you signed my photo and seem like a really nice person too!
Quentin Tarantino presents a film by Quentin Tarantino that has already been nominated for a Best Picture academy award. In other words, Quentin Tarantino isn't exactly kicking cats over how bad his life has turned out. Nor me... just this once.
So... that was pretty awesome, I would say. And a nice way to ease back into premieres. And all too soon, there's another one tomorrow that's a small horror film directed by Twin Sisters from Canada. I'm not sure if I should go! But regardless of that, it gets a slot in my still growing "Archive of Movie Premieres"
Until next time!!
And if you ever want to know when I post one of these journals, feel free to follow me on twitter @berndt2_photo or facebook at premieresdotco.
Tagged: Django Unchained, Premiere, Premieres, London, Leicester Square, Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Bernd Talasch, Christoph Waltz
Newer Post12 Jan 2013 - The 'American Mary' premiere
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21 Feb - The 'Viceroy's House' Premiere
February 21st, 2017.
With the left side of my mouth still mostly numb following a 2hr long dental procedure (don't ask....) hours before, somehow the idea of heading down to Curzon Mayfair immediately afterwards still didn't seem entirely crazy. But then I am who I and I do what I do... and anyway, it was either this or see what the fifth and final day of London Fashion Week 2017AW had to offer..
Here's how it went down:
As previously noted (and posted about for the last four days) London Fashion Week is on right now. So just for now I'm actually noticing little things like miniature pompoms hanging off the bottom of trousers worn under a dress/jacket.
The Curzon Mayfair can be quite the tricky and unpleasant venue to photograph premieres, but when they close down the street and lay down a red carpet, it's much more pleasant even if a whole bunch of white vans and taxis need to find another shortcut through Mayfair, and the presence and questionable hygiene of autograph dealers threaten property values for people living in the area.
"You've heard of Downton Abbey? From the stuff you've brought to get signed and your general deameanour I wouldn't have picked you all as the types" - Hugh Bonneville is right insofar as I'm concerned. I haven't gotten around to watching it yet, and it's been on since 2010.
"You should watch it. It's great. Also this movie, I should add, which I'm here to promote". Hugh Bonneville was also in such movies (and premieres) as "The Monuments Men" and "Paddington"
"Sorry about that. Ever since I turned my phone to silent mode, the ringtone has switched to a blazing inferno of light. Or I've inherited magic. I hope it's magic."
"You sould take some photos of the scaffolding work on our right, too. It's exquisite"
The look of somebody who just realised that the somebody who owes somebody five dollars might actually have shown up at this premiere. (Gurinder Chadha directed this movie, and is probably still best known for directing a young Keira Knightley in 'Bend it like Beckham' in 2002)
"OMG - he is GORGEOUS. Wait.... did I say that out loud?"
"Yes, ma'am"
"Excellent. And is his girlfriend within earshot?"
"She says you're gorgeous. You gotta leverage that, bruv"
Manish Dayal is in this movie, and was also the male lead opposite Helen Mirren in "The Hundred Foot Journey" which I thought was a very enjoyable movie.
"You think I'm pretty? Well, I think you're... uh.... well, you're here so you're obviously punctual?" - Lily Travers is in this film, and was also in (but possibly not at the premiere of) "Kingsman : The Secret Service", and in (as well as at the premiere of) "Me Before You" at this same location last year.
Actress Huma Qureshi's imbd film credits sounds like a delicious buffet of movie's I've never heard of, let alone seen, including: "Jolly LLB 2", "Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar", "X : Past is Present" and "Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana"
It took me about three times looking at this image before I realised Huma Qureshi's arm isn't actually that long and her hands not actually that big, and she's not patting some dude in the crowd on the head.
"No, I'm just an assistant : I can't sign autographs while on duty. I have been deputised to sign as Huma Qureshi, though. It's a completely different signature, mind you...."
"You're right. Even I find my cheeky smile delightful. This selfie is really with the guy behind us, by the way."
"Insouciant? I don't even know the meaning of the word". Meanwhile, I can't say with 100% certainty whose finger is pointing (vaguely) in my direction : hers or his.
"We gotta keep up this mirroring thing we've got going. It's crazy-effective" - the man on the right is Darshan Jariwala, while the man on the left presumably works locally and is not a twin/double.
"You with the camera up top. Either your lens cap is on or your autofocus isn't working" - Gillian Anderson was the main drawcard for dealers at this event - she was in The X-Files and (for example) Johnny English Reborn, both of whose premieres she attended.
"If you drew that portrait of me, I'm impressed. If it's a random stick-figure instead... then I'm slightly less impressed"
Girl at Right : "I'm not going to take your photo... I'm going to record this moment with my eyes and store it organically in memory and never forget it". For now, it's safer and less likely to be hacked into than your average cloud storage service.
"Is there any direction I can turn where I won't be faced by strangeness?" - well, my face only looks like that because of the residual anaesthetic. But no, not really.
"You're photographing the scaffolding instead of me -- did Hugh put you up to that??"
"I say let's leave it there and call it "art" " - I don't know who this is, but I like her style.
"Your shoulders are broad enough to block decent photographic deals, but I'm quite taken by them". Still don't know who she is, and/but annoyed by who he is.
"It's actually not a scarf. It's an oversize novelty tie that I didn't have time to properly assemble, so I ran with it.... and here I am.". It's London Fashion Week. I'll take 500 in all colours.
"I know it's been around for decades, but that Minesweeper game sure is addictive..."
So... that was that. Premieres on either side of four consecutive days of London Fashion week, and there are two more scheduled next week (and another dentist visit in a fortnight, in case you're interested). And of course it's another entry for the Archive of Movie Premieres, too.
ps. If you ever want to know when I post one of these journals, feel free to follow me on twitter (@berndt2_photo), or on facebook (premieresdotco).
Tagged: Viceroys House, Viceroy's House, Gillian Anderson, London, Curzon Mayfair, premiere, premieres, premieres.co, Huma Qureshi, Manish Dayal
Newer Post23 Feb - The 'Beauty and the Beast' premiere you have when you're not having a 'Beauty and the Beast' premiere
Older Post16 Feb - The 'The Lost City of Z' Premiere
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Watch the November Episode of “Kaleidoscope”
The Canisius College Video Institute production of the November episode of “Kaleidoscope” premiered earlier this month on WGRZ-TV 2. This 30-minute television program celebrates the religious diversity of the region and is produced in conjunction with the Network of Religious Communities. “Kaleidoscope” will rebroadcast today, November 20, at 6:35 p.m. on Time Warner Cable 20, and Sunday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m. on Time Warner 6 in Olean.
In the first segment, Rev. Christos Christakis, PhD, of the Hellenic Church of the Annunciation, talks with Metropolitan Bishop Kallistos Ware of the Greek Orthodox Church under the Patriarch of Constantinople. Bishop Ware is also the Spalding Lecturer of Eastern Orthodox Studies at the University of Oxford and the chair of the International Dialogue between the Anglican and Orthodox Churches.
Next, Stan Bratton, PhD, talks with Dilip Sinha, PhD, of the Hindu Cultural Society about the celebration of Diwali, as well as the teachings of Hinduism regarding healthcare and the end of life.
Students in the Canisius College Video Institute produce “Kaleidoscope” under the guidance of Jamie O’Neil, associate professor of digital media arts and co-director of the Video Institute, and Paula Angelis-Stein ’86, MS ’02.
Submitted by: Barbara Irwin, PhD, professor, communication studies
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Petitions and petitioning
Voice, Politics, Practices, Codes, Technologies
Keith Brown is Professor of Politics and Global Studies and Director of the Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies at Arizona State University. His work explores political participation, and pathways into and out of violence, especially in the 20th century Balkans. He is the author of Loyal Unto Death: Trust and Terror in Revolutionary Macedonia (Indiana University Press 2013) and more recent articles include Order, Reputation and Narrative: Forms of State Violence in Late Socialist Macedonia (EHQ 2015) and Burek, Da! Sociality, Context and Idiom in Macedonia and Beyond, in David Montgomery (ed.) Everyday Life in the Balkans (Indiana University Press, 2018).
Golfo Alexopoulos is interim chair of the History department at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, founding director of the USF Institute on Russia, and professor of Russian/Soviet history. She is the author of Illness and Inhumanity in Stalin’s Gulag and Stalin’s Outcasts: Aliens, Citizens and the Soviet State, plus journal articles on complaints and petitions, including: ‘Victim Talk: Defense Testimony and Denunciation under Stalin’ in Law and Social Inquiry and ‘The Ritual Lament: A Narrative of Appeal in the 1920s and 1930s’ in Russian History/Histoire Russe. She received her PhD in History from the University of Chicago.
Julie Billaud is a Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Her research interests are in the area of legal and political anthropology, with a specific focus on Afghanistan, gender, Islam, international governance, humanitarianism and human rights. In addition to her on-going research on the United Nations Universal Periodic Review carried out in collaboration with Jane Cowan, she is conducting an ethnographic study of the International Committee of the Red Cross. She is the author of Kabul Carnival: Gender Politics in Postwar Afghanistan (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015). She is also a co-founder and editor of Allegralaboratory.net.
Jane K. Cowan is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Sussex and (for 2018-2019) Jane and Aatos Erkko Visiting Professor in Studies on Contemporary Society at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. While her early work investigated gender, power, identity and the body, she is currently exploring the nexus of rights claiming and international governance in two sites: League of Nations supervision of minorities treaties and, with Julie Billaud, the UN human rights monitoring mechanism, the Universal Periodic Review. Her publications include Dance and the Body Politic in Northern Greece (1990), Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference (2000), Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives (with M. Dembour and R. Wilson, 2001) and ‘Between learning and schooling: The politics of human rights monitoring at the Universal Periodic Review’ (with J. Billaud), Third World Quarterly 36(5) 2015.
Marie-Bénédicte Dembour is Professor of Law and Anthropology at the University of Brighton. She is the author of numerous publications, including the seminal Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives (2001) (co-edited with Jane Cowan and Richard Wilson), Who Believes in Human Rights? Reflections on the European Convention (2006) and the award-winning monograph When Humans Become Migrants: Study of the European Court of Human Rights with an Inter-American Counterpoint (2015). Her human rights four-school model (2010) is one of the most downloaded articles of Human Rights Quarterly. She has recently been awarded an ERC advanced grant to work on a research project entitled ‘DISSECT: Evidence in International Human Rights Adjudication’.
Andrew Graan is Lecturer in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Helsinki. A cultural and linguistic anthropologist, his research examines the cultural politics of the public sphere in Macedonia. He earned his Ph.D in anthropology from the University of Chicago in 2010. His current project, ‘Brand Nationalism: Neoliberal Statecraft and the Politics of Nation Branding in Macedonia’, is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Kone Foundation. The project examines how the coordinated efforts to regulate public communication that are found in nation branding projects constitute a wider program of economic and social governance.
Miia Halme-Tuomisaari is a legal anthropologist specialising in the history of human rights and the analysis of the contemporary human rights. Docent (Adjunct Professor) in International Law at the University of Turku, and co-founder of Allegralaboratory.net and Allegra Lab Helsinki, she is currently a Core Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Her publications include Human Rights in Action: Learning Expert Knowledge (2008, Brill), Revisiting the Origins of Human Rights (co-edited with Pamela Slotte, Cambridge University Press 2015) and ‘Meeting the World at the Palais Wilson’, in Palaces of Hope, edited by Ron Niezen & Maria Sapignoli, CUP 2017.
Matthew Hull is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on the nexus of representation, technology, and institutions. His book, Government of Paper: The Materiality of Bureaucracy in Urban Pakistan (University of California Press, 2012), examines governance as a semiotic and material practice. He is currently working on the history and theory of the modern corporation as a governance institution, and police communication systems and lotteries in India.
Dmytro Khutkyy is Kone Foundation Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, in Finland, National Researcher at the Independent Reporting Mechanism, Open Government Partnership initiative and Expert at the Coalition for the Advance of e-Democracy, in Ukraine. He obtained his PhD in Sociology at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. After that he participated in several international programs in Austria, Estonia, Germany, and the United States, including the Fulbright Faculty Development Program. Dmytro Khutkyy conducts research, training, and communication to promote civic participation, good governance, and institutional change.
Susanne Melde is a senior analyst at the International Organization for Migration’s Data Analysis Centre in Berlin, Germany, but is attending in a personal capacity. She received her PhD from Sussex University in 2017 on Argentina’s human rights-based migration policy, as part of which she analyzed a friendly settlement that helped reform the former migration law. Her research interests include migration governance in countries of the global South.
Parvathi Menon is a PhD candidate at the Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights, University of Helsinki. She has LL.M.s from Harvard Law School and the London School of Economics. She was previously a lecturer in public international law at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and at the University of The Gambia. Her PhD is a historical study of the meaning of protection in International Law under the British Empire; her project studies protection as a legal measure through the course of three non-homogenous phases of colonial ordering, focusing on specific imperial locations of the British Empire from 1797 to 1932: the slave colony of British Trinidad, the colonial protectorates of British West Africa and the mandated territory of Iraq. She studies the adaptation of the discourses of protection to fit shifting schemes of imperial administration within the framework of international law’s history of humanitarian aspirations and its authoritarian underpinnings.
Agathe Mora teaches in the Anthropology Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Allegra Lab and a Research Associate at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Her work combines legal and political anthropology to analyse the workings of international organisations, first at the UN-mandated Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) and the European Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), and more recently at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. In both cases, her research is concerned with the considerable work required to promote specific, seemingly self-evident ideas of human rights and the rule of law, and the often unexpected effects and inherent contradictions of such processes in complex political settings. She is currently working on a monograph based on her research on property restitution in post-war Kosovo.
Dr. Nil Mutluer, (PhD, Gender Studies, Central European University, Budapest) is currently the Einstein Foundation Senior Scholar in the Diversity and Social Conflict Department at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, where she was an interim professor of Public Law and Gender Studies Department in 2018. Until February 2016 she was the Head of Sociology Department at Nişantaşı University, but after she signed the Peace Petition titled ‘We Will Not Be Party to this Crime’ the university administration fired her from her position. Then, she was awarded the Philipp Schwartz Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2016 – 2018). She is the editor of the books, States of Gender: The Intersectional Borders of Gender in Turkey (2008) and States of National: Citizenship and Nationalism, Are We Aware? (2008). She has published extensively in the areas of diversity (gender, ethnic and religious), nationalism, migration, memory studies and Turkish politics in various academic and non-academic journals and newspapers. Her recent publications include ‘The intersectionality of gender, sexuality, and religion: Novelties and continuities in Turkey during the AKP era’ in Southeast European and Black Sea Studies (2019); ‘Diyanet’s Role in Building the ‘Yeni (New) Milli’ in the AKP Era’ in European Journal of Turkish Studies (2019) and ‘Exile and Plurality in Neoliberal Times: Turkey’s Academics for Peace’ in Public Culture (2019).
Leyla Neyzi is Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sabanci University in Istanbul. Her areas of research include oral history and memory studies in conflict-affected settings, minorities, nationalism, youth culture, Kurdish studies, ethnography of Turkey and its diaspora. Her multimodal research projects and publications can be viewed at http://myweb.sabanciuniv.edu/neyzi/. Her article, “National Education Meets Critical Pedagogy: Teaching Oral History in Turkey” is forthcoming in Oral History Review. During 2017-2018, Leyla Neyzi was Keyman Visiting Professor at the Keyman Modern Turkish Studies Program at Northwestern University. Granted a Lewerhulme Visiting Professorship, Leyla Neyzi will be based at the University of Glasgow in 2019-2020.
Evthymios Papataxiarchis is Professor of Social Anthropology at the Department of Social Anthropology and History, University of Aegean, where he directs the Laboratory of Ethnography, the International Post-graduate Summer School ‘Cultures, Migrations, Borders’ and the Observatory of Refugee and Migration Crisis. He has published extensively on gender, kinship, power and extra-domestic sociality, and has combined historical anthropology and microhistory in the study of mid 19th c. transformations in Ottoman Western Anatolia. His more recent work is on migration, humanitarian governance and the management of cultural difference. His recent publications include The politics of everyday life: Border, body and citizenship in Greece (2014), Adventures of Alterity: The Production of Cultural Difference in Contemporary Greece (second edition with a new introduction 2015), ‘Being “there”: At the frontline of the “European Refugee Crisis”’, Anthropology Today 32 (2 and 3) (2016) and ’Pragmatism against austerity: Greek society, politics and ethnography in times of trouble’, in D. Dalakoglou and G. Agelopoulos (eds), Critical Times in Greece: Anthropological Engagements with the Crisis (2018).
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Dawn Wells
January 11, 2018 BlowoutBuzzLeave a comment
Notables on base cards: Tatum O’Neal, Bo Derek, Jackie Earle Haley, Sparky Anderson, Jerry Lewis, Jane Russell, Henry Fonda, Eva Gabor, Branch Rickey, Earl Campbell, Grace Kelly, Jim Thorpe, Jimmy Carter, Seabiscuit, Henry Ford, Johnny Carson, Red Grange, William “Buckwheat” Thomas, Curley Neal, Yogi Berra, Bob Hope, Mel Ott, Penny Marshall, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mario Andretti, Evel Knievel, Abraham Lincoln, Knute Rockne, The Three Stooges, Walter Cronkite, Henry Winkler, Harry Houdini
Baseball, Buzz Break, Multi-sport, Non-sports2013 Panini Golden Age, Abraham Lincoln, Al Simmons, Bo Derek, Bob Gibson, Bob Hope, Bowie Kuhn, Branch Rickey, Brooks Robinson, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Curley Neal, David Stambaugh, Dawn Wells, Earl Campbell, Ed Kranepool, Eddie Cicotte, Elizabeth Montgomery, Eva Gabor, Evel Knievel, Frankie Frisch, Grace Kelly, Grantland Rice, Harry Houdini, Henry Fonda, Henry Winkler, Jackie Earle Haley, Jake Daubert, Jan Stephenson, Jane Russell, Jerry Lewis, Jim Thorpe, Jimmy Carter, John Belushi, Johnny Carson, Johnny Evers, Joker, Kelly Leak, Knute Rockne, Lou Brock, Mario Andretti, Mel Ott, Mike Schmidt, Molly Brown, Panini America, Penny Marshall, Red Grange, Reggie Jackson, Stan Musial, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tatum O'Neal, The Bad News Bears, The Three Stooges, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Hearns, Wally Pipp, Walter Cronkite, War Admiral, William "Buckwheat" Thomas, Yogi Berra
Notables on base cards: Evel Knievel, Abraham Lincoln, Jackie Earle Haley, Knute Rockne, Mario Andretti, Tatum O’Neal, Elizabeth Montgomery, David Stambaugh, Lana Turner, Bobby Jones, Grace Kelly, Bobby Hull, Erin Blunt, Bob Gibson, Henry Ford, Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Earl Campbell, Jane Russell, Mel Ott, Johnny Carson, Eve Plumb, Sugar Ray Leonard, Rocky Marciano, Henry Winkler, Walter Cronkite, Jimmy Carter, Penny Marshall, Grantland Rice, Donna Douglas, The Three Stooges, Tris Speaker, Jean Harlow, Bo Derek
Baseball, Buzz Break, Multi-sport, Non-sports2013 Panini Golden Age, Abraham Lincoln, Arky Vaughn, Barry Williams, Bigfoot, Bo Derek, Bob Gibson, Bobby Hull, Bobby Jones, Buck Weaver, Carl Yastrzemski, David Stambaugh, Dawn Wells, Donna Douglas, Earl Campbell, Elizabeth Montgomery, Erin Blunt, Eve Plumb, Evel Knievel, Gary Lee Cavagnaro, Grace Kelly, Grantland Rice, Henry Fonda, Henry Ford, Henry Winkler, Jackie Earle Haley, Jane Russell, Jean Harlow, Jim Thorpe, Jimmy Carter, Johnny Bench, Johnny Carson, Knute Rockne, Lana Turner, Lyndon Johnson, Mario Andretti, Mel Ott, Nancy Lopez, Panini America, Penny Marshall, Red Grange, Rocky Marciano, Rudolph Valentino, Stan Musial, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tatum O'Neal, The Bad News Bears, The Three Stooges, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Hearns, Tommy Smothers, Tris Speaker, Walter Cronkite, Yogi Berra
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← Construction sector registers its lowest growth in 13 years
New Reserve Safeguards Vital Landscape in Bolivia →
Trust yourself and make your own everything: Hear the artist hustle of Amado Espinoza
John Jared Hawks reports for Startland:
Whether directing a contemporary indigenous stage performance, covering the Beatles classic Elanor Rigby with a pan flute and charango for TEDxKC or creating a diatonically-tuned bendy-straw, Amado Espinoza understands the importance of fully committing to a pursuit.
“For me, being a professional musician means when you dedicate your entire life to music,” he said.
A prominent face in the Kansas City music mosaic, Espinoza has most recently been featured as the 2017 Charlotte St. Resident Performing Arts Fellow, co-director/composer for the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s 2018 Storytelling project, and is currently recording a new album with percussionist Andres Ramirez, violinist Tina Bilberry, and bassist Johnny Hamil, set for release in November.
The road that brought Espinosa to Kansas City and international renown, however, winds all the way back to his childhood in the high Andean deserts of South America. Born in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Espinoza’s interest in music “awoke” at age 9 during school, he said.
Check out Espinoza’s website here.
“My first encounter with music was through … what we call a Sikus, an Andean pan flute,” Espinoza said. “I was playing for a marching band.”
Espinoza soon realized he could imitate melodies heard on the radio, and began balancing music with his daily chores.
“Growing up, I would take two containers and walk three or four blocks to get water every day,” he said. “It was very difficult.”
During that time, in a foreshadowing of his professional career, the young musician began making his own instruments.
“In the very beginning it was very hard, especially in Bolivia — I didn’t have Internet,” Espinoza explained. “I would make instruments, and sometimes I would have only the picture of that instrument, I’ve never heard it. I learned by myself to make instruments.”
Despite his rising trajectory, Espinoza’s spirit for music was nearly crushed at a critical time.
“When I was 16 years old, I was studying at the Andrés Bello Institute. One of the teachers, they said, ‘You don’t have ear, you are very bad. Don’t come,’” he said. “It was hard to hear that. So I had two options: one is to quit and dedicate to something else, or to work double, work very hard. I decided to work very, very hard.”
And so, nose to the grindstone, Espinoza went on to make a name for himself. After studying at Conservatory Milan in Cochabamba, Bolivia, he established the Museum of Musical Instruments for the Foundation Luis Ernesto of the Andes in 2000. Later, he founded and produced four albums for Tribu Kona, a world music ensemble, and collaborating with many other artists including one of Bolivia’s top rock bands, Oil.
It was during this period Espinoza met his future wife, Karen Lisondra.
“My wife, she is from Hutchison, Kansas,” he said. “We met in Bolivia. She is an actress, and she was looking for someone to compose music for her play.”
KC collabs, creations
After collaborating on the stage play “Mocambo,” the couple came to Kansas City in 2014, where Espinoza immediately immersed himself in the area’s community of artists. The transition was aided by the nature of musical collaboration — and his nearly 40-instrument repertoire, he said.
“In the beginning, it was very easy to connect with other artists,” he said. “I think it was easy because … one is simply music, it’s a universal language. The other is that I can play not only percussion or woodwind instruments, but many others — I love instruments, so it was very easy for me to connect with other musicians.”
Esponiza’s collaborations and original works span vast genre gulfs, encompassing everything from baroque to country and Arabic to African music, and beyond. Along the way, Espinoza has also established his reputation as a crafter of native instruments, shipping handmade didgeridoos, N’gonis, and Kalimbas to clients in Europe, USA, Mexico, and South America.
“A lot of instrument makers, they don’t see a lot of details or improvements that you can do in one instrument,” he said. “For me that is very important.”
Not always satisfied with conventional instrument designs, Espinoza continues to mix and meld instruments from different traditions. His latest creation: a design featuring elements of the Andean charango and the American banjo, which he’s named the “Charbanjo.”
“I like experimenting, it’s very fun for me,” he said. “A goal of mine is to create unique instruments. I’m working right now on a didgeridoo saxophone. I have more ideas.”
The artist hustle
Even — or especially — for artists’ of Esponiza’s caliber, success means organization, diversification, and practice; lots, and lots of practice.
“It’s not easy, because every day you need to practice, you need to maintain your level,” he said. “And people expect a lot from you. For me, it is dedicating all my energy and time to all of my instruments.”
To survive marathon practice sessions of 10 or even 12 hours, Espinoza will often continuously rotate instruments.
“Sometimes it hurts my fingers — I play a lot of string instruments,” he said. “If that happens, I’ll switch to practicing, say, didgeridoo, and then if I tire of breath instruments, I’ll play drums.”
Finding alternative, consistent means of income besides performance is also key for the working artist, Espinoza advised.
“For me, it’s better for an artist to have a continuous, solid foundation,” he said. “For us, it’s working with schools or libraries. If I were to just play music, I would probably play twice a month. … It’s not enough.”
Handling that more business-centric side of artistry requires a willingness to DIY aspects of self promotion, he added.
“For the business side, you always need to develop more skills,” he said.” You need to be able to design your flyers, your videos, your website. You need to make your own everything.”
Looking back over his experiences as a working artist — the good, the bad, and the ugly — Espinoza often advises young artists to adopt a transformational attitude, he said.
“One thing I always want to share with young kids is to trust in themselves,” he said. “And they need to work hard, to continue, even when people say no, you aren’t good enough, or you won’t have a good future.
“The bad things you need to transform into inspiration or energy to work harder.”
Watch Espinosa’s TEDxKC performance below.
https://www.startlandnews.com/2019/06/amado-espinoza/
This entry was posted in Art, Bolivia and tagged Bolivian heritage, music, music instruments. Bookmark the permalink.
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Different types of cannabis strains explained Information about Hybrid strains White widow strain
Cannabis Strains | Different types of cannabis strains explained | Information about Hybrid strains | White widow strain
What is White Widow?
The White Widow strain is one of the most famous strains worldwide. It originated in the Netherlands and was first pioneered by the famous Green House Seeds, a Dutch coffee shop and seed supplier. White Widow is a very potent hybrid, a cross between a Brazilian sativa strain and a South Indian indica strain. It is a staple of the Dutch coffee shops and one of most iconic cannabis strains, ever since its first introduction in the 1990s.
Where can you use White Widow for?
White Widow is not particularly flavorful, but certainly makes up for that in terms of cerebral effects. It is ideal for those looking for a strain that gives them a distinct high, while still combined with a physical relaxation. This makes it perfect for recreational users, but also for those looking to treat mental conditions. Some have reported White Widow to increase their energy in cases of fatigue or depression. Other usages are helping those who suffer from attention deficit disorders focus and some users have even reported that White Widow has helped them relieve migraines. Do however note that the effects of White Widow can be quite profound and so users who are looking to use it medically should use it with caution. The best advice is to start with small dosages and work up from there.
What are the effects of White Widow?
The most profound effect of White Widow is the cerebral high it creates. You will feel more energetic and more aware of your surroundings, combined with a euphoric feeling. This effect may last anywhere from one to several hours, but White Widow is generally considered to be one of the stronger strains and so you should expect the effect to be strong and linger for quite a while. There are also some reports from users that White Widow can make you feel paranoid, which is another reason to use this strain with caution, especially for the first few times. Other side effects include the feeling of cotton mouth, but this is not particularly pronounced.
What makes White Widow unique?
The White Widow strain is a very popular strain and has been for years. This alone makes it a strain worth trying: it is a staple of many coffee shops and other suppliers and so you should be able to access it easily. It is one of those hybrids where the balance is just right according to many users, while still remaining a very potent strain. It has also been used by many different patients and so could be very useful in that aspect as well.
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CN donates $150,000 to the Milton District Hospital Foundation
GlobeNewswire• June 12, 2019
Funds will be used to ensure that Milton District Hospital is equipped to meet the needs of fast-growing community
MONTREAL, June 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN has donated $150,000 to the Milton District Hospital Foundation (MDHF) to support annual equipment priorities for Milton District Hospital.
The donation will be used to ensure that the hospital is equipped to meet the needs of fast-growing Milton.
Milton District Hospital supports the healthcare needs of the Milton community, providing care in more than 45, 700 annual Emergency visits, delivering more than 1,000 babies a year in the Maternal Newborn unit, and performing more than 10,500 surgeries and procedures annually. It also provides Diagnostic Imaging services to the community, including upwards of 3,000 MRI scans in the last year.
“We’re proud to continue our partnership with the Milton District Hospital Foundation to support the hospital’s ongoing equipment needs,” said Sean Finn, executive vice-president, Corporate Services and chief legal officer, CN. “The amount of CN’s donation -- $150,000 – represents a more than doubling of the court costs the company was awarded following an unsuccessful legal challenge over the planned CN Milton Logistics Hub. We believe strongly in giving back to the communities we serve.”
In February 2018 the Region of Halton, the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, the Town of Oakville, and Conservation Halton, announced a joint Court application to confirm their jurisdiction to review CN’s proposed Milton Logistics Hub.
In October 2018 the challenge was stayed by the Superior Court of Ontario. CN was awarded court costs.
MDHF has completed the Our Home, Our Hospital Campaign, raising $30 million to support new and replacement equipment for the expansion of Milton District Hospital. CN was a leadership donor to the campaign, making a $300,000 gift in January 2015 through the CN ‘Miracle Match’ program, which launched a compelling and innovative match gift challenge to the business community – and doubled the impact of its gift. In recognition of CN’s generosity, the Family Lounge in the in the newly expanded Maternal Newborn Department was named in honour of the company.
About Milton District Hospital Foundation
Incorporated in 1980, Milton District Hospital Foundation is the Milton District Hospital’s fundraising arm. Its sole purpose is to raise funds for new and replacement essential medical equipment, renovation needs, and other supplemental projects of the Milton District Hospital.
About Halton Healthcare
Halton Healthcare is a healthcare organization comprised of three community hospitals – Georgetown Hospital (GH), Milton District Hospital (MDH) and Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) and several community-based programs. Halton Healthcare has been recognized for best practices in a number of patient safety and patient care initiatives. In 2018, Halton Healthcare was accredited with Exemplary Standing – the highest possible status granted by Accreditation Canada.
About CN
CN is a true backbone of the economy transporting more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America. CN – Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries – serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information about CN, visit the company’s website at www.cn.ca.
Media Investors
Jonathan Abecassis Paul Butcher
Senior Manager Vice-President
Media Relations, CN Investor Relations, CN
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Press Release: Lambda Rising to Close at Year’s End
With “Mission Accomplished,”
Lambda Rising to Close at Year’s End
Lambda Rising, known for 35 years as Washington’s “bookstore that celebrates the gay and lesbian experience,” has announced the imminent closing of their two stores in Washington DC and Rehoboth Beach DE.
“The phrase ‘mission accomplished’ has gotten a bad rap in recent years,” said Deacon Maccubbin, Lambda Rising’s founder and co-owner, “but in this case, it certainly applies. When we set out to establish Lambda Rising in 1974, it was intended as a demonstration of the demand for gay and lesbian literature.”
Maccubbin explains that it was virtually impossible to find gay books in general bookstores or even in libraries. “We thought if we could show that there was a demand for our literature, that bookstores could be profitable selling it, we could encourage the writing and publishing of glbt books, and sooner or later other bookstores would put those books on their own shelves and there would no be less need for a specifically gay and lesbian bookstore.”
“Today 35 years later, nearly every general bookstore carries glbt books, often featuring them in special sections,” Maccubbin noted.
“The other part of our mission was to make good glbt books and information available to anyone anywhere at a time when such items were very hard to find. Today, people almost anywhere can access glbt information on the internet.”
Maccubbin founded Lambda Rising on a shoestring – the initial investment consisted of $3,000 he had saved and another $1,000 borrowed from a local gay activist. When the store opened June 8, 1974 in a 300 square foot room in a townhouse on 20th Street NW, it boasted 250 gay and lesbian book titles. “That’s all there were at the time,” Maccubbin explains.
But it was enough to capture the attention and the loyal patronage of Washington’s glbt community. It also captured the attention of anti-gay forces – phone harassment was an almost daily occurrence, bricks were hurled through windows, and police had to bring their bomb-sniffing dogs following some threats. But the staff held their ground and kept the doors open seven days a week. “Over the years, we have been blessed with wonderful staff members, people who shared the vision and who were committed to being on the front lines of the battle for glbt equality every day. I will forever be grateful to them,” Maccubbin said.
There were challenges outside the store, too. Some publications, including the Washington Post and the Yellow Pages (then published by Verizon’s predecessor, Bell Atlantic) refused to accept advertising containing the words “gay” or “lesbian” until Maccubbin threatened boycotts and public campaigns. Lambda Rising even broke international ground when, in February, 1975, it ran the first gay-oriented television commercials ever aired anywhere in the world. Both the NBC and ABC affiliate stations in Washington first refused to accept the ads, but following a successful appeal to the National Association of Broadcasters’ Standards Office, both stations recanted and aired the commercials.
Other milestones followed: in June, 1975, Lambda Rising hosted the first annual Gay Pride Day, drawing over 2,000 people to a block party that was the precursor to today’s massive DC Pride Day. “We hosted it for the first five years,” Maccubbin said, “but when the crowd grew to 10,000 in 1979, it was too large for the 3-block space we had, so we turned the whole thing over to a non-profit foundation to run in subsequent years.” That event now attracts more than 200,000 participants each year.
In 1977, having outgrown the original 20th Street space, Lambda Rising moved around the corner to 2012 S Street NW (now the site of TD Bank). That same year, the store launched a national mail order service with a catalog that eventually reached a quarterly circulation of a quarter million copies.
By 1984, the store had once again outgrown its space. In November of that year, Maccubbin and his husband, Jim Bennett, who had begun managing the store, moved it to its present home, a nearly-5,000 square foot two-story building at 1625 Connecticut Avenue. The Mayor declared that opening day “Lambda Rising Day in the District of Columbia” and more than 200 people waited in line for the door to open on the new space. That same weekend, Maccubbin and Bennett opened their first satellite bookstore in Baltimore MD.
Other stores were to follow in Rehoboth Beach DE (1993) and Norfolk VA (1996) and, in 2003, Maccubbin stepped in to buy New York’s Oscar Wilde Bookshop, saving it from imminent closure. Oscar Wilde was the first gay bookstore in the world when it opened in 1967. It had been the inspiration for Lambda Rising and other glbt bookstores. Maccubbin spent three years building up Oscar Wilde’s stock and customer base, then sold the store to its manager to put the store back in the hands of a New Yorker. Unfortunately, the financial crisis proved to be more than the small store could weather and the new owner had to close that store earlier this year. (Lambda Rising’s Norfolk store closed in 2007 and the Baltimore store closed last year.)
In another effort to encourage writers and publishers to produce quality glbt books, in 1987 Maccubbin began publishing the “Lambda Book Report,” a bimonthly review of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender literature. That publication spawned the “Lambda Literary Awards.” The first “Lammys” were given out in a black-tie awards ceremony held in Washington DC in 1989. Lambda Rising continued to shepherd both the review and the Lammy awards until 1986 when it turned the whole program over to a new non-profit organization, the Lambda Literary Foundation, which continues to run the annual awards program today.
The staff of Lambda Rising brought hundreds of authors to their various stores over the past 35 years. The largest crowds turned out for celebrity authors like Andy Warhol, Sandra Bernhardt and Olympic Gold Medal Diver Greg Louganis (whose appearance drew a record 2,000 fans to the bookstore), but popular authors Armistead Maupin, Rita Mae Brown, E. Lynn Harris, Leslie Feinberg and many others could also fill the store and even new and unknown writers would often draw substantial crowds of eager readers.
The book and gift shop was known for its community outreach, sometimes traveling many miles to set up temporary book nooks at Pride events in Asbury Park NJ, Columbus OH, Raleigh NC, Roanoke VA, and other cities that had no local glbt bookstore. Fundraising for non-profits was also a constant part of Lambda Rising’s operations; through ticket sales to community events and concerts, through donations of cash or merchandise to hundreds of non-profits, the store raised and contributed amounts ranging from about $25,000 in lean years to nearly a quarter million dollars in its more robust years.
“Closing the store now will certainly leave something of a hole in Washington’s literary and political scene,” Maccubbin surmises, “and even though I’m excited about the opportunities that will open up for us as we move into the next phase of our life, there is a bittersweet component to it all. But the book market has been changing dramatically, the glbt community has been making progress by leaps and bounds, and 35 years is enough time for any person to devote to any one thing. It’s just time to move on.”
“We’ll continue operations at the DC store through Christmas because we want to give DC one more great Christmas window display,” Maccubbin notes. Bennett, who took a leave of absence from the store’s day-to-day operations in 1999 but has continued as an officer, will be coming back to the store to install this year’s holiday display window. “It’s something I’ve always enjoyed and I know so many customers get a kick out of our campy, kicky holiday displays, so we’re going to pull out the stops for this year’s,” Bennett said. He added, “I spent 20 years working in Lambda Rising and it was a marvelous experience. The store has touched the lives of so many people – it was never just a bookstore, but always so much more. Every day I went to work there, I knew I was doing something that made a difference.”
“We’ve already brought in our popular line of glbt holiday cards, and we’ve got a wonderful new line of campy Christmas tree ornaments. We’ll be running some great sales through the holiday season,” Maccubbin promises, “then a huge liquidation sale right after Christmas, with closure tentatively scheduled for early January.”
For information, contact:
Deacon Maccubbin, 202-462-6969
1625 Connecticut Ave NW • Washington DC 20009-1013
Phone 202-462-6969 • Fax 202-462-7257 • www.lambdarising.com • shop@lambdarising.com
Tags: gay, GLBT, Lambda Rising, LGBT
« Verizon Wireless calls the iPhone a homo
Aiden Shaw’s Appearance at EFN Lounge »
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Tag Archive: Anti-Gay
Uganda Poised to Begin Criminalization of Gays
Filed under: You oughta know — 1 Comment
The east African nation of Uganda is on the verge of passing a bill criminalizing homosexuality. There is a growing campaign against homosexuals in Uganda which has culminated in the draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill. David Bahati, the bill’s author, has gone on record stating “Homosexuality is not part of the human rights we believe in” that the legislation is about promoting family values.
The bill, which is still in committee stage, proscribes the death penalty for “serial offenders” and is expected to pass with little opposition and with a few minor changes. The changes are expected to include modifying the death penalty to life imprisonment, altering clauses nullifying international treaties, conventions and protocols that contradict the act, and removing a section about extradition.
“It’s catastrophic. People are being arrested, intimidated already. What’s going to happen if it’s passed?” said Frank Mugisha, chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a local activist group.
Kate Sheill, Amnesty International’s expert on sexual rights, has issued the statement that “Certain provisions in this bill are illegal. They are also immoral. They criminalize a sector of society for being who they are, when what the government should be doing instead is protecting them from discrimination and abuse.”
The legislation is seen as another sign of the growing impact of U.S. evangelicals and anti-gay campaigners in Uganda. This stance taken by activists is countered by Bahati who has stated that homosexuality is a Western import, joining some Ugandan and continental religious leaders who believe it is un-African.
The act will criminalize anyone “who acts as an accomplice or attempts to promote or in any way abets homosexuality”, and a person in authority who “aids, abets, councils or procures another to engage in acts of homosexuality”.
Frank Mugisha of SMUG has stated “We’re not going to stop. We’re going to challenge it in the constitutional court. The bill is not just about homosexuals, it can touch anyone.”
Tags: Anti-Gay, Bill, Christians, evangelical, GLBT, law, LGBT, Uganda
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Community College Pays Hacker $28,000 for Ransomware Attack
Last month, Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) was hit with a ransomware attack, forcing the California Community College system to pay an unidentified hacker nearly $28,000 to retrieve stolen data. The investigation is still in the early stages, and as of now no breach data was identified.
LAVC consulted with its leadership, outside cybersecurity experts and law enforcement before making the payment. “It was the assessment of our outside cybersecurity experts that making a payment would offer an extremely high probability of restoring access to the affected systems, while failure to pay would virtually guarantee that data would be lost,” according to a statement. The attack has disrupted many computer, online, e-mail and voicemail systems.
The United States Department of Justice estimates that approximately 4,000 ransomware attacks occurred every day in the U.S. in 2016. Education is the sector most targeted by ransomware, according to a recent report from security analyst BitSight, which found that 13 percent of institutions experienced ransomware attacks last year.
A PDF explaining what happened at LAVC in more detail is available here.
Higher Education Technologies: More Critical Than Ever
Expanding the Horizons of Augmented and Virtual Reality in Higher Education
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Princess Anne received one of the shrouded figures from Geraldine Norris, of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, to place among the more than 72,000 others at the Olympic park. Rob Heard (right) is the artist who created Shrouds of the Somme (Photo: Centenary News)
Centenary Update - Royal visit to Shrouds of the Somme
Posted on centenarynews.com on 09 November 2018
Princess Anne has toured the Shrouds of the Somme tribute in London marking the Centenary of the First World War Armistice.
The Princess Royal spent more than an hour at the Olympic park site on November 15, meeting artist Rob Heard, Shrouds of the Somme Chairman Jake Moores and the volunteer team behind the project.
Rob Heard has individually handstitched shrouds for 72,396 figures, each commemorating a missing soldier of the Battle of the Somme, whose name is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial.
The Princess Royal viewed the installation with Jake Moores, Shrouds of the Somme Chairman, and Rob Heard (Photo: Centenary News)
During her visit, Princess Anne stepped forward to lay one of those figures amid the 1000s arranged shoulder to shoulder across 4,000 square metres of lawn.
She also spoke to soldiers of 1 Royal Anglian Regiment who helped to set up the installation within view of the London 2012 Olympic stadium.
The 10-day exhibition, spanning the November 11 Centenary of the Armistice, is the culmination of a series of commemorative displays. The names of the fallen have been sourced from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission - CWGC - which cares for the Thiepval Memorial.
Shrouds of the Somme is at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, until Sunday, November 18. Read more here in this Centenary News feature by Patrick Gregory.
Images: Centenary News
Posted by CN Editorial Team
Duke of Kent opens new museum at HQ of Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Centenary Update: more photos of centenary event at Scarborough
Poems wanted for Centenary contest in memory of First World War Poet Wilfred Owen
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What are gynepathologies?
“Gynepathologies” are non-cancerous diseases of the female reproductive tract. They affect well over half of all women during their lifetimes. Gynepathologies, including endometriosis, uterine fibroids, polycystic ovarian syndrome, Asherman’s syndrome, and others, involve aberrant growth of reproductive tract tissues, often leading to symptoms of debilitating pain, bleeding and infertility.
Endometriosis is a condition that can cause chronic pelvic pain, especially at the time of menses. It is unclear exactly why endometriosis develops, but it is believed to be caused by reverse flow of menstrual blood from the womb to the abdomen through the fallopian tubes. The menstrual blood contains endometrial cells that can implant anywhere in the belly. The most common location of implantation is the peritoneum, which is a layer of tissue that lines the surface of the abdomen. These cells can also implant on the organs in the belly, such as the bowel, bladder, and ovaries. During menses, these implants can grow and become inflamed, causing significant pelvic pain. The inflammation can also cause scarring in the abdomen. This scarring may cause constant pelvic pain, as well as infertility by distorting the anatomy of the fallopian tubes and ovaries.
Although many physicians may make a presumptive diagnosis of endometriosis and begin treatment with hormones for women who present with pelvic pain with menses, women must understand that endometriosis is one of many possible causes of pelvic pain. Therefore, further investigation is necessary to pinpoint the cause of the pelvic pain; other causes of pain include fibroids, adenomyosis, ovarian cysts, intestinal problems, bladder problems, etc.
Endometriosis can only be definitively diagnosed after surgical confirmation. Lesions suspicious for endometriosis are identified and tissue samples are sent to the pathologists who ultimately confirm the diagnosis. Pathologic confirmation is necessary because although most surgeons are able to identify lesions that are suspicious for endometriosis, visual diagnosis of endometriosis is not an accurate mode of diagnosis. The appearance of endometriosis varies significantly from person to person. Here are some examples of the different types of endometriosis lesions.
How is endometriosis managed?
Endometriosis can be treated with a variety of surgical methods. If a woman has completed child-bearing, definitive surgery can be performed, which entails removal of the uterus, with or without removal of the ovaries. For women who desire future pregnancy, surgeons will eradicate just the endometriosis lesions and attempt to restore the natural anatomy of the pelvis. The lesions can be removed in a number of ways: 1) burning of the lesions with laser or other electrocautery devices and 2) resection (cutting out) of the lesions. Some lesions are superficial, just on the surface of the peritoneum, while other lesions invade deeper into the tissue, requiring more extensive dissection. The technique used to eradicate these lesions varies from physician to physician.
What is adenomyosis?
The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines adenomyosis as uterine thickening that occurs when endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus, moves into the outer muscular walls of the uterus.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002481/
How can I make an appointment with a doctor who treats endometriosis or adenomyosis?
For individuals in the Boston area, we recommend our clinical collaborators at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. You can call them at 617-243-5205.
https://www.nwh.org/womens-health-center/center-for-minimally-invasive-gynecologic-surgery/center-for-minimally-invasive-gynecologic-surgery
Are there other resources for those suffering with endometriosis?
The World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) on Facebook
“WERF has a vision of a day when no woman is crippled by endometriosis nor prevented by the disease from having children.” With over 4000 members on Facebook, the WERF is a global charity which fosters (and funds) research in endometriosis to improve knowledge and treatments. This group allows for a safe internet dialogue between women all over the country to talk to each other about dealing with endometriosis.
Daily Strength: Endometriosis Support Group
http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Endometriosis/support-group
Daily Strength is one of the largest, most comprehensive network of people sharing their knowledge, experiences and support. On this website, women can create journals, track goals, share photos, and speak with women about their experiences on discussion boards. Expert advice from medical doctors is available as well.
Are there other organizations doing similar endometriosis research or outreach?
Endometriosis Foundation of America
http://www.endofound.org/endometriosis
MyEndometriosisTeam
https://www.myendometriosisteam.com/
MyEndometriosisTeam is a social network for women living with endometriosis, where members can interact with each other about the experience and struggles with endometriosis.
How do I support the efforts of the CGR?
Donate to the CGR by clicking here.
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by chriswalters | posted in: Life in Lesvos | 0
Pictured above is the most regular of the buskers who plies his trade on Ermou, Mytilini’s main shopping street. He varies his location from time to time (though not by much), and his music is a pleasant and welcome addition to my regular walk to work. There are also other musicians who appear for a short while. When I first arrived, there was a trio – accordion, guitar, and middle-eastern drum – whom I would swear used to follow me about. I would walk past them on the harbour front and make my way to some obscure tavern within the old town, and within five minutes there they were again. They were competent enough, though their repertoire was limited (though I never had to put up with it for long, as they moved on quickly.) But they have now disappeared, so I assume they have moved on to islands new. More recently, a young guitarist appeared on Ermou, strumming his stuff inconsequentially, and largely ignored, so far as I could tell, and he too has now disappeared. (This sounds far more sinister that it actually is, I suspect. And hope.)
There are more actual beggars here than I had expected. There are various elderly women who sit on the pavement, some waving a plastic cup at people passing, others remaining stoically silent. There is one old gentleman who occupies one particular spot, who tugs at his forelock as one passes; I do tend to acknowledge his presence with a nod, but don’t give him any money (and I don’t know whether this makes me more or less irritating, from his point of view.)
Then there are the numerous children. I at first made the lazy assumption that they were refugee children, but actually they are roma. They spend all of their time approaching people sitting in cafes for money, using the international symbol of hunger by raising their hands to their mouths, using a hangdog expression which presumably looks for sympathy. They usually operate in a group, and are the most persistent, sometimes borderline aggressive, beggars. There is no doubt that they are in need, for they are filthy, and undoubtedly hungry, for they will accept food when it is offered, either by customers or waitresses clearing tables. But while I am sympathetic to their situation, I never give them money. If they are ever to escape the lives they lead, they need to find a role (or have a role found for them) that offers them something else.
This evening, a small group of us volunteers trudged up the hill to the Castle to attend a music concert, arranged by Connect By Music, an NGO which provides music education for refugee children on Lesvos. It was impressively organised, with a large stage, sound and lighting equipment, and (to my relief) a seated auditorium, all within the outer grounds of the castle.
There was a huge number of young people involved, mostly guitarists, strumming and gently picking, about fifty at a time, though it was a pity that they were effectively drowned out by the adult leaders, all amplified – a couple of violins, a clarinet, a guitar. Notably, the quality of the guitar-playing improved as the evening progressed; sensible programming. Other acts were interspersed: a children’s choir, a flamenco dancer and singer, one or two vocalists coming forward from the other musicians. The highlight of the evening was a group of drummers and an Afghan man playing a traditional instrument – something like a long-necked lute – which really got the crowd jumping. A gang of Afghan young men, including the male half of my cast, had a sort of mosh pit in front of the stage, and they clearly enjoyed themselves hugely.
Afterwards, Jaime and a Dutch/Singapore volunteer called Sin joined me in a pizza and some pleasant conversation, before I made my way home. But en route I encountered the Lesvos Ouzo festival in a park near the theatre on the waterfront. I was attracted by the lights and live music, but quickly discovered that the purchase of a two euro glass entitled one to as much ouzo as you wanted, from about a dozen stalls, all operated by different distilleries. My amazement was why everyone was not completely legless, and said as much to a group of three guys who were sitting down at my table, just as they promptly fell of their chairs. They were pleasant, if inebriated, company, and pointed out the best ouzos (as ever with such things, they all tasted the same to me.) We also shared a couple of rounds of shots of pomegranate liqueur.
Lesvos Ouzo festival
I then fell into conversation with a couple of ladies next to me; appropriately enough, they were lesbians (though not Lesbians – they came from Athens.) We chatted about Brexit, Grexit, the state of the world. I headed home as things began to pack up at about 1.30, drunk but not too drunk, at the end of a pleasant evening.
Takhteh
…also known as backgammon, and ubiquitous throughout the middle-east. It is also immensely popular here, and just one more example of how Greece, despite being European, Christian, etc, is closer to its near neighbours than it cares to admit. The food here has many equivalents in Turkey, and both are very fond of their national spirit, Ouzo/Raki. The game is largely a male preserve, though there are isolated examples in the hipper bars of couples asking for one of the sets which is kept behind the bar. Far more common are the bars which have many tables outside, occupied by men playing, watching, offering advice.
I am currently engaged in an ongoing series of games against Andrew, which he is winning 5-3, though he does have a distinct advantage, having introduced me to two radical variations of the standard game. I am struggling to get a handle upon the tactics; actually I barely understand the rules.
This evening I met up with Iman, the Drama teacher from the School for Peace, for a few games. We met at Pi’s, the café I had had such difficulty locating back in February, half a year away, and the polar opposite of conditions today. Then it had offered a cosy sanctuary; now we are outside, sweltering in the summer heat, enjoying frozen lemonade. I managed to hold my own respectably, though it was clear Iman was far more at home. He knew almost automatically what moves to make, while I had to give mine a lot of thought.
When we finished – an honourable draw – we chatted for a while about his life in Iran. He had been a keen footballer, but had been prevented by his father from pursuing the sport, and had more recently fallen out of love with the game there because women were banned from even attending matches. It seemed that he was that rarest of creatures, an Iranian feminist. He did make me realise how fortunate I am to be able to be able to follow my love for theatre. He had been an actor, but had had limited opportunities to perform. Despite this, and a certain regret at the hand he had been dealt, he considered himself fortunate to be living and working in Mytilini. A splendid, humbling man.
Greek myths
Inside the Stage 2 transit centre for refugees in north Lesvos
Generally speaking, I tend to avoid politics in these posts for the same reasons one was always urged to avoid politics and religion at the dinner table, because it causes arguments. Except, of course, my very presence here is its own kind of political statement: I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think that young people forced out of their war-torn homeland have a right to the same liberal educational opportunities as everyone else.
I do understand that people have fears of “the other”, that many people are worried about the preservation of their own culture. But I also believe that a strong culture is able to absorb other influences and grow as a result. Britain has always done so, from the Normans and Huguenots down to West Indians and the peoples of south Asia, who have enriched and renewed the Britain we know today. Especially as climate change takes its toll, the pressures caused by people forced to flee their land for very survival can only increase. Building ever higher and stronger walls is no answer. Where they have been constructed – in Berlin, Palestine, Northern Ireland, and maybe yet on the southern border of Trump’s America, the result has not been peace and security, but ever-growing human misery. Groups of people who were themselves migrants now decide it is time to pull up the ladder on future generations, amid claims that their country is now full are demonstrably false, such as in Britain when we do not have the people to run our NHS, pick our fruit, care for our elderly.
I have been reading a very coherent and well-argued book – Persistent Myths About Migration in Greece, published by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, which backs up its arguments with well-sourced statistics. I know, of course, that people read material which already chimes with their own opinions, and it is difficult to counter this, since it is something we all do to a greater or lesser degree. However, I find that the arguments in the book correspond with my own learnt experience. The young people that I have met and taught here would be a tremendous asset to any society; their religion is irrelevant, for they are kind, funny and intelligent, and I am proud to call them my friends as well as my students.
One particular myth that the book addresses is the “pull” factor, the notion that by offering common humanity (let alone warmth), we are somehow encouraging people to come. In my own case, the idea that young people are risking their lives in order to be directed by me in a production is sort of flattering but also idiotic. Instead, people who do good are demonised, even criminalised. Instead of lauding people who leave water in the Mexican desert, or who rescue the drowning at sea, they are cast as criminals. What would Jesus do?
Pikpa
I had already recruited James, a Better Days volunteer at the Ecohub garden, as musical director for the production, and he invited me to see him and a friend of his from One Happy Family perform at an informal concert. This was to be held at Pikpa, another of Lesvos’s network of refugee camps. I was joined by Jaime (who was more interested in seeing Pikpa than attending the concert) as well as Laura and Ciara, newly arrived volunteers from Ireland.
Pikpa is indeed an interesting place. It is a former holiday camp, situated close to the airport, which had first been occupied and squatted by refugees and volunteers in 2015. It now has semi-official status, and is run by Lesvos Solidarity, an umbrella NGO, also responsible for Mosaik. A holiday camp in many ways provides the ideal infrastructure for a refugee camp, having chalets, administrative offices, communal areas and facilities (including a modern, well-equipped kitchen.) We only got the most superficial view of the site, as to wander and gawk would have been intrusive, but it appeared to be a very civilised environment. The chalets have often been extended with canvas awnings, and I am guessing that this is to provide individual cooking facilities. But I don’t know for sure that these housed families; James told me that the site is for the most vulnerable of the refugee population. I can’t be certain what this means exactly, but presumably includes disabled people.
Our timing was excellent, as we arrived just as the concert was about to begin. It was informally arranged: some benches in what appeared to be the camp reception area. James’ friend Iman is a guitar teacher at One Happy Family, and it was him and his students, about a dozen young men and women with acoustic guitars, who were the main act, though they were supported by James on a keyboard, a bass guitarist, and a refugee man with a home-made harmonium. Various of the group contributed vocals, my favourite being two beautiful Afghan girls with equally beautiful voices.
However, there were also a number of other acts contributing to the entertainment: some break dancers, a very talented juggler, the harmonium player performing some solos, a Farsi rapper, an African man singing a pop song. Best of all to my mind was one of the guitar group who revealed himself as a magnificent Spanish/classical style guitarist, playing two beautiful pieces that would have graced any concert anywhere.
The evening was completed by everyone sharing a huge pot of Afghan stew, which was delicious. In all, a splendid way to pass an evening.
Mytilini’s ancient theatre is not easy to find, situated at the top of the largest of the hills which ring the town, with no direct route up, but I managed to make it even harder. I had seen signs pointing to it down by the ferry terminal, so that was where I headed, but of course, they were intended for travel by car. If I had looked at the map before setting out, I would have realised that the far more direct route was to head into town and then work my way up through the higgledy-piggledy maze of streets that lie above. But I daresay the additional exercise did me good, and eventually, with the help of some local shopkeepers with very limited English, I found myself at the entrance to the site. I was told the entrance fee was one euro, but when I proffered a five euro note, I was waved through.
It took me a few minutes to understand what I was looking at. Many people will know the layout of a traditional Greek theatre: a half-circle of marble terraces (the theatron) looking down onto a flat circle (the orkestra) with a raised stage (the skene) behind. Of these three components, at Mytilini only the orkestra is still entirely clear, having been excavated by archaeologists in 1958. The terraces are covered in earth and grass, even a tree or two, and little remains of the skene or the tall building which would have stood behind it (presumably the large stones which lie around the site are what it was built of.)
Nonetheless, it is still possible to imagine an impressive site. The orkestra is 24 metres across, and the terraces which stretched up away from it would have held about 15,000 people. Apparently, it was so impressive that it became the model of the theatre at Pompeii. One interesting, slightly more modern adaptation is that the Romans built a six foot high wall around the orkestra, replacing the first few rows. As the high culture of Greek theatre gave way to low Roman spectacle, the audience needed to be protected from the wild animals used in such events. An early and physical demonstration of dumbing-down.
I have been involved in theatre for virtually all of my adult life. Coming to Greece for the first time gives me the chance to perform my own pilgrimage. In that way, visiting the theatre at Mytilini is, I suppose, my own personal journey to the holy land, the roots of the culture that has threaded its way through my life. But let’s not get too pompous about it.
Working on the new fountain in the park
The only thing I know about the political situation in Greece is that economically they have been (and may remain) in a pretty bad way, and that the EU in general, and Germany in particular, have imposed a pretty austere budget in an attempt to get their economy under control. My apologies if that is an oversimplification; as I say, my knowledge is patchy at best. I do know that Grexit was a thing before Brexit was. Not that Grexit happened (but then, as yet, neither has Brexit.)
There is physical evidence of decline. There are some areas of town with clusters of derelict shops, and plenty of abandoned factories in the industrial estates outside town. On the other hand, the main shopping street looks pretty healthy, better than its British equivalent, though it probably isn’t fair to use a tourist town as an example; if there is one time people put aside their laptops and shop in actual shops, it is when they are on holiday.
There are also lots of large houses which at one time must have been magnificent, but which are now empty, derelict, and “beyond economic repair.” But Mytilini is actually better off in this respect than other places I have seen which once had a proud history: Havana, Myanmar, Johannesburg. The specific causes of decline are different in each case, but in each case it is sad to see the sorry state to which they have been reduced.
But there are also positive signs in Mytilini. Modern shops on Ermou are undergoing rapid refurbishment, even in the short time I have been here. And one particular project is the nearby park. An elaborate guided pathway for the blind has just been laid, new decorative walls and flower-beds built, and a large central fountain is under construction. The children’s playground is as yet in a sorry state, with broken slides and roundabouts, and for now it is surrounded by a high security fence (though I was amused to see one father helping his young children to scramble over.) A contractor told me the whole project would be complete in two months. The cost? Nearly half a million euros. Paid for by the EU.
Barber shop quartet
I needed a haircut, so took myself to Vintage Cuts, a modern salon right next to the Mousiko café. I had spotted another barbers’ in town, but it was small, dark and unprepossessing, tucked away down a side street, and I wasn’t sure I could even find it again. Vintage Cuts, in comparison, was bright, modern, airy and stylish. When I arrived, the barber was at work on another customer, so I waited and watched.
He was obviously both skilled and meticulous, taking great care and plenty of time to create a look that was too extreme for my taste, shaven at the sides and back, and a diminishing top-knot. Meanwhile, a slim and very pretty young woman was working on another customer, a huge, overly muscled guy covered in tattoos. She had put a rubber cap like a swimming cap on his head, and was teasing tufts of his hair through holes in it with something like a crochet hook. He looked ridiculous, but I daren’t show my amusement. Besides, I was getting rather nervous at what I had let myself in for.
A motorbike roared up to immediately outside the shop, and another man came in; evidently another barber, for he was a slightly taller version of his colleague – same cut-off jeans and t-shirt, same stylish hair and beard. Once he had deposited his helmet, washed his hands, and checked I was there for a haircut, he indicated that I should sit in a low chair next to a sink. “Oh no,” I replied, “I’m not here to have my hair washed, just a haircut.” “It is the system,” he replied, but by now I was in total panic, stammered my apologies, and fled. I felt a complete fool, realised how ridiculous I must have appeared, even thought of seeking out the other barbers’. But once I had calmed myself, I resolved to return the next morning – I still needed a haircut.
The next day I tried to explain that at home, I went in, sat down, had my hair cut, paid, and left – five minutes. They were all charming, and if they thought me a silly old fool (and they must) they didn’t show it. I had my hair washed – “is better for me” he explained – by the young woman, which was extraordinarily pleasant, and once it had been dried, I was in the chair. “A grade 4 all over,” I said. He understood, but looked doubtful. “I think, on top, yes, but here, and here…” I decided to go with it; in for a cent, in for a euro. “You’re the professional.”
And professional he undoubtedly was: careful, thorough, meticulous. He told me I was shaving my sideboards too short, snipped and clipped with dexterity. Eventually I was ushered back to the sink, where the girl washed my hair – again! – and then he applied various gels and powders. It was quite an experience, and cost me eight euros.
But when I left, I realised that though I had enjoyed the experience, I didn’t appreciate the result. My hair was hard and stiff, my neck exposed. It occurred to me that I had been given the haircut of my childhood, fifty years before: a short back and sides. My dad would have approved… but I am not my dad.
In terms of seeing live theatre, Val and I went from the feast of South Africa, where we saw lots of wonderful productions, to the famine of Lebanon, where we saw nothing. So when I saw a poster advertising a commedia dell’arte performance, I was very interested. The poster was entirely written in Greek, except for just two words in English – Hope Project – so I knew where to discover further information.
I went with Jaime, a newly arrived volunteer from Madrid, here to teach English, and arriving at the Hope Project we discovered a stage set up in front of the warehouse. Since we were punctual, and the cast and audience were operating under Greek time, it was easy to claim a prime spot, and we took our seats in the second row.
For the benefit of those who do not know anything about commedia dell’arte, it is a theatrical style and tradition which began in Italy, played by companies of travelling players, and has been an important influence upon theatre since the 16th century. It has a number of characteristic aspects – largely based upon improvisation, it features traditional costumes and distinctive, caricatured half-masks, and includes music and acrobatic movement. It also includes famous stock characters, such as Punchinello and Arlecchino, which are the originals of Mr Punch and Harlequin. Despite knowing all of this in theory, it was the first time I had ever seen it in action.
I loved the beginning, a mimed prologue which involved a pair of bumbling fools stealing some sacred bones from a church, and I laughed lots. From then on, I did not enjoy it anything like as much as I thought I would. It is hard to pin down why. The live band was excellent; the costumes and masks were authentic, colourful and most effective; the players were skilled, acrobatic, energetic, and with all of the required exaggeration. I think the real problem was that there was also a great deal of language, and apart from some occasional (and welcome) modern references in English, it was all in Greek and really quite hard going. Of course, I am not suggesting that the performance should have been tailored to the very small number of English speakers in the audience, but although there was some laughter from the audience at some of the references, I think there ought to have been more. There was much to enjoy, but the scenes did seem to go on more than they needed to.
I am pleased to have had such a unique opportunity, but it did remind me of the advice that it is better to leave the audience wanting more, rather than hoping it had been just a little bit shorter.
Alea cafe
Neither Val nor I have ever been much for the lazy, take it easy sort of holiday, where one spends the morning relaxing over a leisurely breakfast, and the rest of the day strolling, reading, lazing in the sun and plotting where to go for dinner. We are both too driven, with too low a boredom threshold, for any of that. (And I still recall the look of incredulity on my sister-in-law’s face when, joining her for a few day’s holiday in Spain, I told her that this was the first time I had ever spent time lounging on one of those pool inflatables with a holder for your beer.) But having said all that, I am rather enjoying that sort of lifestyle here… though only on the condition that, for the rest of the time, I have plenty of work to do.
And there are plenty of places to sample such a way of life. I have never seen a town with so many places to sit and while away the time, all of them spilling out onto the street, and most of them with plenty of customers. If Mytilini is overstocked with taxis (and bakeries, butchers, fishmongers…) that goes ten times over for cafes and bars. I am something of a creature of habit, but do now spread my custom over a wider range of establishments – morning coffee at Alea in the nearby park, refreshing iced lemonade with mint at Frames in the middle of town, Diavolos for beer and backgammon on the fashionable side of the harbour, the unnamed bar on the unfashionable side where I have beer and nuts while watching the football.
Everywhere has free wifi (and a stronger signal than I get at my apartment, so I often take advantage of it to write something, read the Guardian, catch up on correspondence.) Because, provided you buy something when you arrive, you can pretty much stay for as long as you want. You know, I could get used to this sort of life… though I am also looking forward to getting back to the very different attractions of home.
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July 6, 2018 / sbaringer
2018 Iowa Legislature In Review
By State Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids
rob.hogg@legis.iowa.gov • find bills at http://www.legis.iowa.gov
More Damage to Iowa’s Working Families, Health Care, Women’s Health, Seniors, Students, Public Safety, and Natural Resources
After the devastation from the 2017 legislative session, the Republican majority in the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds continued to pass legislation that hurts Iowa’s working families, health care, women’s health, seniors, students, public safety, and natural resources. After eight years of the Branstad and Reynolds Administrations, they made significant cuts to vital services and public investments.
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds continued to hurt Iowa workers and their families by making more mid-year budget cuts to education, human services, public safety, and natural resources (SF2117), by cutting income taxes for the wealthiest at the expense of working families (SF2417), and by taking away local control over lease-purchase construction projects to the detriment of local workers (HF2253).
The tax bill (SF2417) made larger income tax cuts – in actual dollars and as a percentage – for the highest income earners than for lower-wage workers. For example, the average 2019 income tax cut for the 2,616 taxpayers making $1 million a year or more is expected to be $18,773, or 15.0%, while a worker making $40,000 a year is expected to receive an average tax cut of $92, or only 8.9%. In addition, the tax bill is expected to raise sales taxes by $132.5 million in 2019. Overall, the state will lose over $400 million in income tax revenue, with a total revenue loss of $255 million in 2019, which will lead to even more Republican budget cuts in the future.
These bad bills came on top of the 2017 session during which the Republican majority reduced the minimum wage for 65,000 Iowans (HF295); circumvented “Buy American” and “prevailing wage” rules for road projects (HF203); created barriers and reduced workers compensation for all future injured workers (HF518); took away local control over worker qualifications for construction projects (SF438); and took away collective bargaining rights from state and local public service workers (teachers, firefighters, police, sanitation workers, etc.) (HF291).
Health Care, including Women’s Health
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds passed the most extreme abortion ban in the country (SF359). This came on top of the 2017 legislative session in which they passed a three-day waiting period (SF471) and took away access to Planned Parenthood and other health care providers for birth control, cancer screenings, and other preventive health services by making those providers ineligible for the family planning program (HF653).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds took away state matching funds for graduate medical education at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Broadlawns, forcing both institutions to cover $8.1 million in non-federal medical school costs (SF2418). This attack on hospitals can on top of 2017, in which hospital reimbursement was cut $27 million (HF653). That funding was not restored in 2018 (SF2418).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds cut public health by $662,000 (SF2117) and did not restore any funding for addictive disorder treatment (SF2418). State funding for addictive disorder treatment has been cut by $3.7 million since FY16, with an ongoing cut of $2.5 million, or 9% less. (Compare “notes on bills and amendments” for HF2460 in 2016 with SF2418 in 2018).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds allowed certain agricultural organizations to sell non-insurance health plans that allow discrimination against pre-existing conditions (SF2349). This came after 2017 legislation that took away outreach for the state’s children’s health care programs (HAWK-I and Medicaid) from Iowa’s tax forms (HF625).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds cut the resource centers at Glenwood and Woodward by a total of $1.7 million, (SF2418), and continued the prior cuts to our two remaining mental health institutes. In 2017, the two mental health facilities (Cherokee and Independence) were cut by $1.7 million (HF653).
Seniors, Children, Families, and Veterans
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds made even more cuts to aging services ($110,012) (SF2117). Since the original budget for FY2017, aging services have been cut by $1.73 million, or over 12%. (Compare “Notes on Bills and Amendments” for SF2418 in 2018 with HF2460 in 2016.)
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds cut additional funds for health facility inspections including nursing homes (SF2117/SF2416). Overall, they cut $550,000 from inspections in 2017-18, with an ongoing cut of $357,351 since FY2016 (Compare “notes on bills and amendments” for SF2314 (2016) with SF2416).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds cut an additional $4.3 million from the Department of Human Services (SF2117). Overall, DHS field operations including child support recovery have now been cut by more than $12 million on an ongoing basis since FY2015, or by more than 16%. (Compare “Notes on Bills and Amendments” for SF2418 in 2018 with HF2460 in 2016.)
In 2017, the Republican majority cut veterans home ownership assistance by 20% or $500,000 (HF653). In 2018, they did not restore any of that cut to veterans’ home ownership (SF2418).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds continued to hurt our students by short-changing our public schools with the second lowest funding increase (1%) in history of the school funding formula (HF2230). This came on top of the third lowest level (1.1%) in 2017 (SF166).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds again made mid-year cuts to our community colleges ($500,000) and our universities ($10.9 million) (SF2117). These cuts came on top of major cuts to our community colleges and our universities in 2017 (SF130/HF642). Overall, since the original appropriation in FY17, the University of Iowa has been cut $20.7 million, or 9%, Iowa State University has been cut $16.9 million, or 9%, and the University of Northern Iowa has been cut $3.3 million, or 3.4%. (Compare “notes on bills and amendments” for SF2415 in 2018 with SF2323 in 2016). For the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, funding is now at its lowest levels in actual dollars since 1998.
In addition to the cuts to our community colleges and our universities, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds made additional cuts to the College Student Aid Commission (SF2117/SF2415), which now receives $3.1 million less than it did in the original FY17 appropriation for student financial aid, and $6.7 million less than in FY15. (Compare “notes on bills and amendments” for SF2415 in 2018 with SF2323 in 2016.)
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds again cut vocational rehabilitation with a mid-year cut of $54,472 (SF2117). Vocational rehabilitation is now receiving $248,000 less than was appropriated in FY17, or 4% less. (Compare “notes on bills and amendments” for SF2415 in 2018 with SF2323 in 2016.)
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds cut the Department of Education ($784,000) which included more cuts to Early Childhood Iowa (SF2117). They did not restore the $1 million cut they made in 2017 (HF642).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds continued to make cuts that jeopardize public safety. They cut an additional $3.4 million from corrections (SF2117). This comes on top of cuts to corrections in 2017 (SF130/SF509) as well as cuts to services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault (SF509). Overall, corrections has been cut $16.3 million over two years, and $3.3 million on an ongoing basis, jeopardizing safety in prisons and leading to higher recidivism from loss of post-release community supervision and services. (Compare “notes on bills and amendments” for HF2458 in 2016 and HF2492 in 2018.)
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds continued to make cuts ($1.6 million) to our courts, which play an important role in preventing crime through juvenile services and specialty courts (SF2117). Overall, our courts have lost $7.6 million over two years and $1.1 million on an ongoing basis (See “notes on bills and amendments” for SF130/SF508 in 2017 and SF2117/HF2495 in 2018).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds hurt public safety by passing a so-called “anti-sanctuary city” bill, which is really an unfunded mandate on local government to assist with immigration enforcement, jeopardizing law enforcement relationships with immigrant communities (SF481).
In 2018, the Republican majority also passed a proposed Constitutional amendment for broader gun rights than provided by the Second Amendment (HJR2009). This amendment would have to be passed again in the next General Assembly to go to voters in 2020. This proposed amendment is on top of a bill the Republican majority passed in 2017 to allow expanded use of deadly force, the so-called “stand your ground” bill (HF517).
Water, Energy, and Natural Resources
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds attacked clean energy sources for the first time, ending long-time bipartisan support for clean energy jobs. This attack included a bill that will slash utility energy efficiency investments by over $100 million per year starting in 2019 (SF2311) and a provision to take away the general commercial property tax rollback for new wind energy projects (HF2502).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds made even more cuts to the Department of Natural Resources ($123,000) (SF2117) and to the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Program ($2 million) (HF2491). This comes on top of cuts in 2017. Overall, REAP has been cut by $6 million, or 37%, since the original FY17 appropriation, and the DNR has been cut $1.7 million since the FY16 appropriation. (Compare “notes on bills and amendments” for HF2491 in 2018 with SF494 in 2015.) This includes a cut of $115,000, or 5.7%, to the DNR for floodplain management. These cuts also come on top of the elimination of funding for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the elimination of the Watershed Improvement Review program in 2017 (SF510).
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds cut the Iowa Flood Center an additional $28,778, for a total ongoing cut of $328,778, or 21.9% of total funding (SF2415).
After cutting the Iowa Flood Center, the DNR, the DNR floodplain program, REAP, Watershed Improvement, and the Leopold Center, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds promised they would provide additional funding for the voluntary clean water program in the future (SF512). That promise is another Republican bait-and-switch in the making, with no watershed approach and no monitoring or accountability for results.
In 2018, the Republican majority and Gov. Reynolds targeted voters in Linn and Polk Counties by making it harder for them to vote for County supervisors county-wide, rather than by districts, by imposing a two-thirds vote requirement on those two counties to choose county-wide elections (HF2372). This comes on top of their attack on voting rights in 2017 by imposing multiple new government barriers to voting, including restrictive and costly identification requirements and more restrictive absentee voting periods (HF516).
Key Bad Bills from 2017 (see http://www.legis.iowa.gov)
SF130 – Made major mid-year budget cuts for our community colleges and our universities, courts, corrections, public safety, and human services, and emptied the Cultural Trust Fund
SF166 – Short-changed Iowa’s public school students with third lowest school aid funding level (1.11%)
SF438 – Prohibited local governments from using pre-qualification for project bidders
SF471 – Mandated three-day waiting period before abortions can be obtained
SF509 – Cut state funding for services to survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault by 26% ($1.7 million cut) and made additional cuts to corrections ($7.3 million total cut)
SF510 – Ended funding for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State, eliminated Watershed Improvement Review program, and slashed REAP natural resource funding by 25% ($4 million cut)
HF203 – Circumvented “Buy American” and “prevailing wage” rules for road projects
HF291 – Took away collective bargaining rights from more than 180,000 public service workers
HF295 – Took away local minimum wage increases for 65,000 Iowa workers
HF516 – Created new government barriers to voting, issued costly new voter cards (cost: $700,000+)
HF517 – Allowed expanded use of deadly force, even when a court or jury finds it was not reasonable
HF518 – Created barriers and reduced compensation for injured workers
HF625 – Reduced outreach for our children’s health insurance program (HAWK-I)
HF640 – Cut funds for nursing home inspections ($270,000 cut)
HF642 – Made deeper cuts to university funding (total $24M cut – for University of Iowa and Iowa State University, now lowest level since 1998), cut Iowa Flood Center ($300K cut); cut early childhood programs ($1M cut), and cut vocational rehabilitation for workers with disabilities ($300K cut)
HF653 – Cut field operations for department of human services, reducing child abuse and elder abuse investigations (over $10M cut); cut hospital reimbursements ($27 million); cut veterans home ownership assistance by 20% ($500K cut); cut two remaining mental health institutions ($1.7M cut); and made Planned Parenthood and other health care providers ineligible for family planning program
SF359 – Ban all abortions after detection of fetal heartbeat (approximately six weeks)
SF481 – Mandated cooperation with ICE on informal detainer requests – so-called “anti-sanctuary city” bill
SF512 – Promise future funding for voluntary clean water practices, but no guarantee of funding, no watershed approach, and no measuring of or accountability for results
SF2117 – More mid-year budget cuts to our community colleges, our universities, vocational rehabilitation, courts, corrections, public health, human services, aging services, and natural resources
SF2311 – Impose 2% cap on utility energy efficiency programs, slashing investment by over $100 million/year
SF2349 – Allow certain agricultural organizations to provide non-insurance health plans that can discriminate
SF2415 – Continued most cuts to our community colleges, our universities, and vocational rehabilitation; did not restore additional mid-year cut to Iowa Flood Center (total cut of $328,778)
SF2416 – Only $50,000 restored toward nursing home inspections (ongoing cut from FY16 of $357,351)
SF2417 – Increase sales tax collections by over $130 million a year; reduce income tax revenue by over $400 million a year which will cause further budget cuts; slash income taxes for million-dollar incomes by average of $18,773 in 2019, while average cut for earners making $40,000 is $92.
SF2418 – Continued 2017 cuts to hospital reimbursement and made Broadlawns and University of Iowa Hospitals pay non-federal share of graduate medical education ($8.1M); addictive disorder funding (substance abuse treatment) has been cut $3.7 million, with an ongoing cut of $2.5M each year
HJR2009 – Constitutional amendment for broader gun rights; no gun regulation unless passes “strict scrutiny”
HF2230 – Shortchanged public school students with 1% funding growth (second lowest in history)
HF2253 – Ban use of lease-purchase agreements by cities and counties that prefer local companies or labor
HF2372 – County districts must use LSA to draw map; for Linn & Polk, 2/3 vote required to elect county-wide
HF2491 – Additional cuts to REAP ($2 million) and DNR; no restoration of DNR floodplain program
HF2492 – Corrections funding: $16.3 million in total cuts in 2017-18; ongoing cut of $3.3M
HF2495 – Judicial Branch funding: $7.6 million in total cuts in 2017-18, ongoing cut is $1.1M
HF2502 – End commercial property tax rollback for new wind energy developments
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CMSICO
http://modx.com/
MODX Evolution is the classic codebase of the popular, open source content management system and framework built in PHP. MODX gives designers and developers total creative freedom over the design, content, Manager interface and site structure. In July 2007, MODX was awarded Packt Publishing's Most Promising Open Source Content Management System award. MODX Revolution is the Open Source PHP web content management system that gives you complete control over your site and content, with the flexibility and scalability to grow with your business. With our first release in 2005, you could build HTML5/CSS3 websites, years before the others caught a clue. MODX’s template method doesn’t forc
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Home Business Real estate is all smiles at Smires
Real estate is all smiles at Smires
S Pastorella
Ed Smires stands next to one of his favorite paintings, “The Closing” by Jimmy Dyer, in the office of Smires and Associates on September 13, 2010. (Photo by Stacey Pastorella.)
It is fitting that Smires and Associates Real Estate officially opened for business on Jan. 1, 2010. Owner Ed Smires says the agency takes a fresh, new approach to real estate.
“We have agents from other offices, established agents from other offices coming on board because they realize that we’re something new. It’s just a new book. It’s just a new idea to go into the next era,” Smires said.
The agency itself was established in a similar way. Smires, who has been a real estate agent for 16 years, was working at a larger franchise, when he and some coworkers, a group of about 10 agents, decided to start their own company.
“Even though my name’s on this, we did this as a group,” Smires said. “This isn’t like a single person’s idea and efforts here.”
The team mentality is evident in the office, where work stations are arranged in the same room, without doors separating the employees.
“It’s a refreshing feeling to go in and have your broker-owner and staff readily available to help you, and the agents are a family. So, we all work together and it’s a team effort,” said Theresa Kolb, a sales associate at the agency.
Bernice Bigley, also a sales associate, said the collaborative approach benefits the agents as well as their clients.
“Here, we discuss it. We sit and we come up with the best ways,” Bigley said.
Smires and Associates uses a combination of traditional and innovative methods to serve its clients. Smires said that one of the benefits of not running a franchise, is that the agency is able to focus its financial resources on promoting properties for their clients.
They list homes online, in newspaper advertisements, and in the company’s magazine. The magazine is distributed for local businesses to provide as a free resource for their customers. It is also mailed to residents who are actively involved in the real estate market.
Smires said he believes in spending resources on serving the clients, rather than self promotion.
“The key is that we spend the money promoting the client’s property, not promoting ourselves,” Smires said. “We promote ourselves by getting those ‘for sale’ signs out there.”
Smires said that the agency has had a fast start in what many people considered a less than ideal market. Although it has been open for only nine months, it has already surpassed a lot of its competitors, and the company has received many referrals from satisfied customers, Smires said.
Smires, who also lists and sells homes, is optimistic about the future of the market. He said that current prices and interest rates provide a good buying opportunity, and that the agency has had great turnouts at recent open house events.
“The market has become very positive,” he said. “The fall market looks very encouraging.”
Smires said that the agency prides itself on the personal service it provides to clients, The agency’s team of sales associates handles every aspect of each transaction from start to close, Smires said.
“We’re big on being accessible to our clients,” Smires said. “We’re available 24 hours a day. We all work off our cell phones. Even our phone systems are designed so that when someone calls in, looking for us, it advances to our cell phone.”
The agency focuses on central New Jersey, but does business in several counties, including Mercer, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex. The company currently employs about 33 licensed agents, and it continues to grow. Although the agency already offers commercial real estate services, Smires said he hopes to establish a commercial division within the organization. Another goal is to build the company and open offices in other counties, Smires said.
Smires said the sales associates are continuously learning about the best ways to serve their clients. There are training programs and mentorships for new agents, as well as advanced training opportunities for those with more experience.
Smires and his agents live in the area and are familiar with the local communities. That is a valuable resource for clients, including those who are moving into new areas, he said.
“Some of us have children in the school systems, some of us grew up in the area, so we know the areas, and we believe in the areas. It’s very easy to sell something that you believe in,” Smires said. For more information on Smires and Associates, call (609) 259-1414 or visit its Web site at smiresandassociates.com.
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Citizen Held Hostage
PUBLISHED: 7:50 PM 28 Aug 2018
UPDATED: 7:52 PM 28 Aug 2018
NASA Doctor In Turkish Prison
He is kept in solitary confinement and accused of being a C.I.A. spy.
by Sam Di Gangi
In a Turkish prison much like this one (pictured) sits a NASA doctor who claims to be wrongly accused and mistreated.
NASA scientist, Dr. Serkan Gölge, claims he is being held hostage, the Turkish Minute has reported today.
The doctor received “seven years, six months in prison in February” because of his alleged ties to the Gülen government. For the last two years, Gölge has been “unlawfully kept” behind bars and he has stated that this is a sign that he is being “held hostage” by the corrupted Islamic government of Turkey, according to t24 News.
The 38-year-old is a duo citizen of both the United States and Turkey. The Gülen government attempted “a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, on July 23, 2016,” at least as the Turkish leadership tells it. The NASA scientist was netted and “detained” as the whole matter was investigated and has been stuck in the oubliette ever since.
He was originally kept for 14 days in police custody, up until the time of his sentence.
Now, his wife has said that he is being kept in solitary confinement and has reported that he’s said, “[for] two years, I have been kept in jail based on an empty dossier and unlawful evidence. My being kept in such a way shows I am a hostage. This is a heartbreaking situation.”
The captive also said that for him, the law has “been suspended” and it appears that he can be kept illegally on trumped-up charges indefinitely. Government authorities accused the doctor of being a C.I.A. spy during a visit.
In a somewhat confusing ruse of “proof,” an “anonymous informant” cited “a Bank Asya bank account belonging to Gölge and a one dollar bill found in his brother’s room.”
The scientist denies these charges and has done so since day one.
Would a man who was only in his early to mid 30’s at the time of his arrest who managed to get enough education to work on landing men on Mars (as he was doing before his arrest) have time to learn how to be a spy too? If so, when? While getting a doctorate or while drafting engines?
That doesn’t seem likely. So, the question from there would be, would the U.S. risk a major scientific mind who was ill-trained to be a spy, knowing that he may botch it up, get exposed, and that NASA would lose his work?
That bucket holds no water, either.
Hopefully, Turkey looks at this bit of common sense and uses it. The imprisoned man “is awaiting the verdict for an appeal he filed at a superior court, which will be decided on Sept. 19.”
God willing, he won’t be targeted just due to his status in the U.S. because if so, America has a man in the White House who, so far, has been quite good at getting U.S. prisoners back.
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Younger Women Often Miss Signs of Heart Attack
Small study found they attributed symptoms to stress, indigestion and fatigue
FRIDAY, May 2, 2008 (HealthDay News) -- Many younger women ignore or simply don't recognize the warning signs of a heart attack, often because it doesn't resemble the typical "Hollywood heart attack."
So say the authors of a study being presented Friday at the American Heart Association's annual Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, in Baltimore.
"So many women said, 'We wish we had a better stereotype, you never see anything in the media,'" said study author Judith Lichtman, an associate professor of epidemiology and public health at Yale School of Medicine. "I personally would love to see some cutting-edge TV series of, for example, a young person having a heart attack with atypical symptoms."
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"The classic image of someone having a heart attack is someone like John Belushi. It's a heavy man clutching his chest. We never think of young women as having heart disease, so the image is not part of their consciousness," added Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women & Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "It's so important that we not only tell women that heart disease doesn't necessary have to look like [a Hollywood script], but they have to understand what makes them at risk."
Heart disease is the leading killer of American women, claiming almost half a million lives a year, or about one death per minute. According to background information from the authors, 16,000 young women with heart disease die every year and 40,000 are hospitalized.
Last year, a study from the same group of researchers found that women under the age of 55 often fail to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack until it's too late.
Eighty-eight percent of women in that trial reported traditional symptoms of severe chest pain. Yet only 42 percent suspected something was wrong with their heart.
Only half of the women experiencing heart attack symptoms sought care within the first hour, apparently because they thought their symptoms weren't real or weren't serious.
For this study, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 30 women aged 55 and older a week after they had been discharged from the hospital following a heart attack.
Many didn't realize the symptoms were due to a heart attack. For example, one woman said she was told she was experiencing symptoms of acid reflux. Others attributed symptoms to fatigue, overexertion or stress.
Often, the symptoms just didn't line up with how heart attacks are presented in the popular media.
"I [had] probably seen a show or something with somebody having a heart attack," said one woman. "And they fall. They grab their chest. And then they grab their arm... I mean, you don't see anybody saying I have pain in my jaw or especially a heart attack, you don't see them vomiting . . . I did not know that and it's probably because of television, I would say is why I thought it would just be in the chest."
Similarly, another woman told investigators, "It's like... I didn't have any of the typical heart attack symptoms that you always hear about on TV and the ER hospital shows."
Some delayed treatment because symptoms went away for a while, or because they were too busy or had experienced prior, negative encounters with the health-care system (" . . . they throw you out, you know," said one woman. "If you don't have the money right there, then in two days you're gone").
One woman said she called her doctor about chest pains but was scheduled for a regular appointment in five days. Another woman who went to the emergency room spent an hour trying to find a supervisor to help her after a "rude" nurse just kept telling her to have a seat.
"A lot of women were triaged for a regular visit or, even in the ER, were being looked up for a lot of things other than a heart attack," Lichtman said.
Ironically, for some women, it was actually a relief to know that they were having a heart attack, that finally the mystery was over, Lichtman said.
Lichtman and her colleagues will be looking at this issue in more depth in a U.S. National Institutes of Health-funded study enrolling 2,000 women under 55 and 1,000 men in the same age range.
"A little bit of empowerment goes a long way," Steinbaum said. "Knowing your risk and knowing the potential for heart disease, seeking early care for symptoms that are really unclear and then saying, 'I am at risk for heart disease, please help me' becomes important in the paradigm of how this needs to develop."
Visit the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women for more on women and heart disease.
SOURCES: Judith Lichtman, Ph.D., associate professor, epidemiology and public health, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.; Suzanne Steinbaum, D.O., director, Women and Heart Disease, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; May 2, presentation, American Heart Association's Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, Baltimore
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
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The Tripper
On 4.20, Hippie Blood Will Trickle Down.
Move Over Jason, Look Out Freddie. HEEERE’S RONNIE!
Sex, Drugs, and Rock’N’Ronnie!
Courteney Cox as: Cynthia
Directed By: David Arquette
Release Date: 13 October 2006 (USA)
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, drug content, language and some sexuality/nudity.
Big Basin Redwoods State Park – 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, California, USA
Santa Cruz, California, USA
Cast Highlights:
…David Arquette
…Richmond Arquette
A Ronald Reagan-obsessed serial killer targets a bunch of hippies who are heading to a weekend-long concert.
(•) Pictures
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(•) Official Site
(•) IMDb
(•) Buy DVD
• N/A
• It rained so much during filming of The Tripper that director David Arquette, at the wrap party, gave each cast and crew member a personalized poncho. In fact, one of the few days it DIDN’T rain was when they shot the rain scenes. They had to make rain for these scenes.
• David Arquette went on a nationwide tour of U.S. cities, with the help of myspace.com, to promote the film.
• When David Arquette did a panel for this film at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con International, the footage he wanted to show was missing. He offered a reward of a car that was used in the movie for the return of the footage.
• David Arquette stated during his bus tour that he came up with the idea for the film during a Reggae party held outside, where he envisioned a murderer “coming out of the woods and slashing up all the hippies.” The idea eventually led to The Tripper.
• The film was originally going to be a part of After Dark Production’s “8 Films to Die For,” but Arquette wanted the film to be released in theaters and on April 20th (4/20), so they respectfully parted ways.
• Arquette has said that despite political elements, his intention was never to further an agenda but to just make a “fun” movie.
• David Arquette, the director, showed up for a screening of this film in a fake-blood-spattered suit.
• Its title in Germany is “President Evil”..
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Indiana Insurance Department to Hold Hearing on Anthem Acquisition of CIGNA on April 29
April 11, 2016 / CTByTheNumbers.info
The Indiana Insurance Department will consider the proposed acquisition of Bloomfield-headquartered CIGNA Health Care by Indianapolis-based Anthem, Inc. at a public hearing on Friday, April 29 in Indianapolis. “Any member of the public interested in the proposed acquisition of control may attend the hearing,” indicates a public notice of the hearing. In addition, “Any policyholder of Cigna HealthCare of Indiana, Inc., or other person whose interests may be affected by the proposed acquisition of control shall have the right to appear and become party to the proceeding.”
Officials indicated that written testimony could be mailed in lieu of an in-person appearance, and would be considered. Members of the public may make written submissions without appearing in person at the hearing. Length of submissions should not exceed 5 pages, double-spaced. Officials indiated that submissions should be sent to John Murphy, outside counsel to the Commissioner in this matter, by close of business on April 26, 2016. Contact information is: John T. Murphy, ICE MILLER LLP, One American Square, Indianapolis, IN 46282, (317) 236-2292, john.murphy@icemiller.com [this information was updated on 4/19]
Consumer Groups, State Comptroller Call for Full Review
Among those aligned in opposition to the acquisition is the American Medical Association, noting that the deal would make the combined firm the nation’s largest insurer by membership and also give the company a tremendous amount of leverage when negotiating with providers. In a press release, AMA President Steven J. Stack, MD, said such proposed mergers threaten to reduce competition and choice. “To give commercial health insurers virtually unlimited power to exert control over an issue as significant and sensitive to patient health care is bad for patients and not good or the nation’s health care system.”
Anthem and CIGNA suggested that the deal will create new efficiencies that will make the healthcare market function more efficiently. A website, www.betterhealthcaretogether.com, has been established to highlight the companies commitment to “drive health care innovation.”
Last month, a coalition of consumer and medical organizations in Connecticut called for greater public input into the Connecticut Insurance Department’s review of the proposed Anthem-CIGNA mega-merger, expressing concerns about the potential “negative impact on both the cost and quality of care in Connecticut” of that acquisition and the proposed Aetna-Humana merger. The groups – Universal Health Care Foundation, Connecticut Citizen Action Group and the Connecticut State Medical Society – formed the “Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice” coalition and urged state Insurance Commissioner Katherine Wade to “ensure an open, transparent hearing process in Connecticut, where policy holders, physicians and other interested parties are given maximum opportunity to share their views.” The coalition has been conducting public information sessions, including one in Mansfield this week, to provide state residents with information on "what the proposed health care mergers will mean for Connecticut consumers."
A week ago, State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, in a letter to the Department, urged an open and thorough review in order to address significant concerns raised by health care consumers and providers. Lembo expressed his support for the efforts of the Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice, noting that a merger between Anthem and Cigna would increase the Connecticut health insurance concentration over 40 percent. Lembo indicated that only Georgia is expected to experience a more significant increase in market concentration.
CIGNA Questions Anthem; Feds Question CIGNA
A week ago, Modern Healthcare, a web publication focused on healthcare business news, raised questions about the absence of detail in the year since Anthem disclosed “what was by far the largest data breach in healthcare history. The cyberattack—in which hackers stole the names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, home addresses and other personal information of 78.8 million current and former members and employees – caused consumers to question “whether Anthem and other healthcare organizations could manage the volumes of data they had,” according to the news report.
The publication also questioned whether state regulators would consider not only the breach, but CIGNA’s reaction to it at the time:
“Trust with customers and providers is critical in our industry, and Anthem has yet to demonstrate a path towards restoring this trust,” CIGNA CEO David Cordani and former Board Chairman Isaiah Harris Jr. wrote in a June 21, 2015 letter: “We need to understand the litigation and potential liabilities, operational impact and long-term damage to Anthem's franchise as a result of this unprecedented data breach, as well as the governance and controls that resulted in this system failure.” It was estimated that in Connecticut, about 1.7 million people were affected.
In January, published reports indicated that U.S. regulators temporarily banned CIGNA-HealthSpring from offering certain Medicare plans to new patients after a probe uncovered issues with current offerings, citing that CIGNA’s deficiencies “Create a Serious Threat to Enrollee Health and Safety.” CIGNA disclosed that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had suspended the company from enrolling new customers or marketing plans for CIGNA Medicare Advantage and Standalone Prescription Drug Plan Contracts. CIGNA acquired HealthSpring in 2012.
In an enforcement letter, CMS accused CIGNA of "widespread and systemic failures," including the denial of health care coverage and prescription drugs to patients who should have received them. The actions "create a serious threat to enrollee health and safety," said CMS, which required CIGNA to appoint an independent monitor to audit its handling of the matter.
“Cigna has had a longstanding history of non-compliance with CMS requirements. Cigna has received numerous notices of non-compliance, warning letters, and corrective action plans from CMS over the past several years. A number of these notices were for the same violations discovered during the audit, demonstrating that Cigna has not corrected issues of non-compliance,” said the 12-page enforcement letter from the Director of the Medicare Parts C and D Oversight and Enforcement Group.
CIGNA, First in Connecticut
Nearly five years ago, in July 2011, CIGNA announced it was to receive $50 million in economic benefits from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development with the promise of adding at least 200 jobs the following two years, which would increase the company’s employment in the state to more than 4,000. CIGNA also declared Bloomfield its corporate headquarters in the United States, replacing Philadelphia which had been the company’s corporate headquarters since 1982.
CIGNA was the first company to receive economic incentives under Governor Dannel Malloy’s “First Five” program, which was designed to spur job growth and support Connecticut businesses in becoming more competitive in the global marketplace. “CIGNA is proof that these tools work and that Connecticut is open for business,” Malloy said at the time.
“Through this partnership with the Governor and the state, we are building upon our long history in Connecticut,” added CIGNA Chief Executive Officer David Cordani.
Anthem's application states it has "no current plans or proposals to reduce in any material respect the number of employees employed by the Cigna companies." The $54 billion merger would increase Anthem's membership from 38 million to 53 million members nationwide.
Approval in Florida, Concerns in California
“There are no meaningful adverse impacts resulting from the acquisition,” Florida’s Insurance Commissioner said last week in approving the acquisition in his state. “The companies, individually or in combination, are an important part of, but not a dominant factor in, the Florida market, and their combination does not noticeably increase the market concentration across the broadly measured market on a statewide basis.”
In California, the combined membership of Anthem Blue Cross and Cigna would make it the largest insurer in the state with more than 8 million members. At a public hearing in California last month convened by that state’s Insurance Department, consumer advocates and the AMA opposed the acquisition.
"This merger would create the nation's largest insurer, which could have a significant impact on California's consumers, businesses, and the healthcare marketplace," said California’s Insurance Commissioner. "I am considering what is best for consumers and the overall marketplace. Anthem and Cigna bear the burden of demonstrating this proposed merger is in the best interest of California consumers and the health-care marketplace."
Shareholders of Anthem and Cigna voted overwhelmingly in favor of the merger plan late last year, and regulators in 26 states where the companies operate are at various stages of considering the acquisition. Attorneys General in a number of those states, including Connecticut, are looking into the proposed acquisition on anti-trust grounds, and the U.S. Department of Justice has the final authority to approve the deal, published reports indicate.
The news site Business Insurance reported soon after the acquisition was announced that “viewed in tandem with rival Aetna Inc.'s recent $37 billion merger agreement with Humana Inc.— as well as St. Louis-based health insurer Centene Corp.'s proposed acquisition of Woodland Hills, California-based Health Net Inc. for $6.3 billion — experts said regulators may be more stringent in examining the Anthem/Cigna deal's potential to dampen health insurer competition.”
April 11, 2016 / CTByTheNumbers.info/
Business, Community, Health
acquisition, Anthem, CIGNA, Connecticut, Indiana
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PAROMITA VOHRA, RENOWNED WRITER & FILMMAKER HELD A GUEST LECTURE ON FILM MAKING AT DIGITAL ACADEMY- THE FILM SCHOOL, MUMBAI.
Posted on December 9, 2009 by dafilmschool
Paromita Vohra, renowned Writer & Filmmaker held a guest lecture on Filmmaking at Digital Academy- The Film School, Mumbai.
Paromita Vohra is a Filmmaker and Writer. She has written, produced and directed ‘Morality TV and the Loving Jehad: Ek Manohar Kahani’, a documentary on moral policing and tabloid culture set in Meerut, ‘Q2P’, a film about toilets, and the language of urban development with a focus on Bombay, ‘Where’s Sandra’, a film about sexual and community stereotyping of Christian women, often referred to as ‘Sandra from Bandra’ in Bombay, ‘Work In Progress’ about the World Social Forum which took place in Bombay in 2004, ‘Unlimited Girls’, an exploration of what feminism means to different people in urban India which has won several awards and many more.
Her work as a writer includes the feature films ‘Khamosh Pani’ (Silent Waters), about a woman whose life is transformed by growing fundamentalism in a Pakistani village (Dir: Sabiha Sumar), for which she won the Best Screenplay award at the Kara Film Festival, 2003 and ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ (Additional Scriptwriting), which was directed by renowned filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Ms. Vohra has conducted many workshops that focus on creativity, politics and media with young people. At the lecture she began by asking the students some questions about the birth of an idea and its progress. The emerging discussion was an inquiry into the concept of creativity and its anatomy. Talking about this she said, “The social background, culture, gender, location, where we come from, make and shape the way we look at the world around us… the connection between the what we are and the world around results in a kind of idea… it is a combination of something very general and something very particular to yourself…” Elucidating her process she said that the birth of an idea is often in a very general space, like perhaps a newspaper clipping which catapults into an interest resulting in an idea. The idea begins to transform as one starts reading and thinking about it. Discovering all the ingredients that make a story engaging all over the world develops the story. Stories are ultimately about interesting events and how characters relate to each other; the plot can be easily made, however, what is of essence is the larger philosophical argument that is the theme of the film.
Another important aspect of Filmmaking is the perspective from which a film is told, every story can be told in an infinite number of ways and it is the decision of the filmmaker to choose where he positions the story. In the non-fiction realm the story is actually a relationship between research and imagination. Explaining this she said, “With research you have to constantly keep looking for what you want to tell, because you can endlessly research on something, but you need to find the story within that you have the urge to tell…there are infinite number of plots but it is only the larger philosophical idea that can have multiple interpretations…”
There is a notion amongst Indian filmmakers that they need to capture a large audiences attention, for which they endlessly dilute their films to make it basic for any kind of audience. But generalizing something does not necessarily make it universal. To transcend barriers a universal philosophical core is needed. Explaining this she said, “You can learn the craft of scriptwriting and it will help you put your ideas into a good script… but you need to have a good relationship with ideas, written material and basically with how people live their lives… because craft is not enough…”
Talking about the conditions of the Indian Film Industry she said, “Sadly, if you have a truly unique idea/ story, no big corporate house will fund you… its always an individual with a genuine interest in the story who will end up financing such a project because in our industry, the Producers only want to know about the stars in your film and stars don’t want to play character roles… that unfortunately is the dynamics of our industry…” In spite of this it is possible to make the film one wants to make if one is prepared to struggle. The misconception that a film is worth something only if it’s a feature film is a dangerous mentality because it excludes many individual efforts that have resulted in very good cinema and it is important to be exposed to different kinds of cinema, because there is always something to learn. She felt that people who are in the field of filmmaking at least should not have such biases, especially because they are exposed to various kinds of cinema. It also depends on how one perceives filmmaking. Explaining this she said, “History is never one thing. Someone after all writes it and as soon as you change the author of a history, the history itself changes. In some sense writing film is like writing history… that’s why I think its important to read a lot of non- fiction and be interested in non-fiction, because non-fiction is just in fact stories about our reality that we tell ourselves…”
Speaking about writing she said that story telling is the same in non- fiction and fiction only the mode is different. For her film ‘Unlimited Girls’, which was about gender and feminism in the urban landscape, she had many conversations with women on the given topics and wrote the film for an audience that would relate to those concepts. She took care to not get embroiled in the ‘target audience’ canard, simply because she feels the term implies a ‘shoot to kill’ approach to Filmmaking. She perceives Filmmaking along with all the other Arts, to be a conversation and just as conversation can sometimes mean one party not understanding the other, what is essential is that one is able to say what one has the urge to say.
She advised the students to be aware of what kind of writers they are and be very clear about what they are good at and especially what they are not capable of. She suggested that they draw from people and places, not DVDs and literature. Concluding the lecture she said, “You have to become interested in people, in the way they speak, their opinions and their roles in a particular situation and story – if you want to tell real stories. Then you script your story in a way that allows for unplanned things to happen. The writing is done to create the shape of your film like a map, you can’t decide everything…”
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SHARMISHTA ROY CONDUCTED A GUEST LECTURE ON THE SUBJECT OF ART DIRECTION IN CINEMA AT DIGITAL ACADEMY- THE FILM SCHOOL.
Sharmishta Roy, renowned Production Designer & Art Director conducted a guest lecture on Art Direction in Cinema at Digital Academy- The Film School, Mumbai.
Sharmishta Roy has worked on movies like ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham’, ‘Gajagamini’, ‘Fiza’, ‘Mohabbatein’ and many more. She is the daughter of the illustrious Art Director Mr. Sudhendu Roy and one of the first women Art Directors in the Bollywood Film Industry.
Enumerating what Art Direction is all about Ms. Roy said, “The job of an Art Director is as important as that of the Cinematographer or Costume designer, because what we are doing is without speaking a single word, we are communicating the culture, socio-economic status and personality of the people in the story being told…” .The Director asks the Art Director to create an ambience. The job of an Art Director is to create an extension of the Director’s vision or perception of how he envisages a film. This involves looking up references, doing drawings based on research work that involves studying similar films, books or even nature. For the final execution the drawings are given to highly specialized people who can understand and analyze production drawings and finish making them in a very short period, they also keep the construction and finishing under the stipulated budget.
The process usually begins with a script narration by the Director, where he explains the dialogues, the scenario and the characters. The character sketches of almost all the characters are given to the cinematographer, costume designer and the art director, who sit together to design the character’s space, costume and ambience. Explaining this she said, “If the Director decides that the film is set in the 1950’s then the Production designer, which in India is the Art Director, decides the costumes, ambience, lighting and basically visualizes all the elements with the Director. Then he translates this onto paper and realizes the visualizations through a set designer, set constructor, set dresser and set prop designer…” So what the film looks like finally largely depends on the way the Art Direction is done. Every script can be interpreted in numerous ways; the final output primarily depends on who interprets the script in what way.
Describing her work in ‘Mohabbatein’ she said that for Narayan Shankar’s character (played by Amitabh Bachchan) the ambience, lighting and costuming were made to suggest a rigidity and isolation in his personality, which was achieved by shooting his scenes in a monochromatic tone and contrasting them with the vibrant colorful parts of the students. Speaking about color she said, “You don’t have to be obvious with color, it doesn’t have to scream visually unless the script demands that… Each one of you will develop and have your own kind of styles and practices, some will work and some will not… but you have to be honest to the script and understand what it is about the story that you want to express…”
Like painting, every form of art is a means of expression. Film is a collaborative medium, so at every level of collaboration the film undergoes a change due to the inputs of the various professionals. Enumerating her understanding of what can jeopardize the sanctity of the final film she said, “A lot of my work earlier used to shout out and be boisterous, but with time I have realized that I should mellow down a little and let the film take over… with a certain degree of maturity and understanding I have begun to realize that I need to be humble enough to accept that my work should enhance the film and its characters, not function as a showcase for my talent…” She advised the students to work with groups that they feel comfortable and enthusiastic in, because the production time that lasts more than 7-9 months can become disastrous if the atmosphere is not inspiring.
Story boarding is an important process of Art Direction because it helps to visualize what is required, what is not and to eliminate many unnecessary costs. Even though the dominating star system controls a lot of the shot taking in the Indian industry, as an exercise story boarding helps to create a concise idea of the shots required so that economizing the shots can be easier and faster. Color finds its role in the shots, with this process. Each color has its own psychology and a specific physical reaction. Citing the Hollywood movie ‘The Sixth Sense’ she said, “In The Sixth Sense, the color red was used in every frame where a spirit was around, not blatantly but through subtle objects like doorknobs etc… So if I understand color theory and know how to use it then while I’m decorating I will tend to use the colors that are suggestive of the desired emotional reaction required in the scene…” She recommended the students to read books and material in color theory and to understand the significance of colors in different cultures, societies and other frameworks. She cautioned them against using color literally and urged them to understand the palette and wield it consistently and in an intelligent, balanced manner.
She stressed on the importance of communication in this field, especially between departments, because it is absolutely necessary that the work from all the departments comes together and functions in a cohesive manner. In some sense the Cinematographer and the Art Director complement each other. Explaining this she said, “A lot of times, the things that are discussed in the Direction department don’t reach the Art Director or the Cinematographer, leaving them in a lurch because if dialogues are changed or anything is changed, then they should ideally translate into changes from the Art Director, if they want to be true to a script and want to preserve a nuanced quality…”
She encouraged the students to think about Art Direction as a big responsibility wherein they have to design along with express through the visual framework the soul of a film. One of their key roles is to interpret characters and their spaces. Explaining this she said, “If I’m given a house to do up, then through the script I can imagine the temperament of the character and predict his space through that… but it is not just superficial structures that make up a space, you need to understand the nuances of a space, the influences and the history of a space to recreate it…” There is also a need to be honest to a story rather than ponder to what other people think is the best approach, so one must be sure about what one is trying to communicate.
It is essential for students to understand that each individual has a specialty or a forte, which he/she is good at, so an Art Director cannot do all kinds of films. That is why technicians should seriously consider each project that they do and not jump into each an every project that comes their way. As Ms. Roy’s parting advise, she said, “If you are not willing to take risks then you wont move ahead… Just remember to invest your time greatly in research, analysis and study as well as be quick thinking… figure out things, anticipate things… and when you think something is absolutely necessary for the film, try your best to communicate to and convince your Director to make or finish the set in the way that is required…”
RENOWNED MUSIC DIRECTOR, SAMEER TANDON CONDUCTED A GUEST LECTURE ON THE SUBJECT OF MUSIC IN CINEMA AT DIGITAL ACADEMY- THE FILM SCHOOL.
Posted on November 23, 2009 by dafilmschool
Renowned Music Director, Shamir Tandon conducted a guest lecture on the subject of Music in Cinema at Digital Academy- The Film School. Shamir Tandon made his debut as a Music Director with Raveena Tandon’s ‘Stumped’ in 2003 and has 13 films to his credit so far, including ‘Rakht’, ‘Page 3’, ‘Corporate’, ‘Traffic Signal’, ‘Bal Ganesh’, ‘Superstar’ and more recently ‘Jail’ among others. He is one among the very few music directors of today who has made legendary singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Jagjit Singh and Manna Dey sing to his tunes. He composed the album ‘Asha and Friends’, which had some interesting duets by Asha Bhosle with actor Sanjay Dutt, actress Urmila Matondkar and Australian fast bowler Brett Lee.
He has to his credit more than 150 advertising jingles; audio visuals for popular brands like Coke, Pepsi, Liril, Reliance, Taaza, Samsonite etc. and has done the world cup anthem for the last World Cup where he made 11 leading singers sing in one song. He has done an MBA and was a Cost Accountant by profession. He worked with Singapore-based Virgin EMI, a very big multinational corporation, as CEO of Virgin Music India. He moved on from Virgin in 2006 as a country head to pursue his dreams of composing music. Today, he has been Managing Director and Music Director both with equal ease. Mr. Tandon began by speaking about his unusual career graph, which began in merchant banking, Hire Purchase & Lease and then took a major shift to entertainment when VIRGIN EMI music set up shop in India. The usual mentality of the corporate world regards the creative professions as secondary, however, his passion for music succeeded in luring him towards the music industry. He soon realized that Bollywood films dominated the entertainment industry in India and that any music can thrive only if it is connected to the films.
The Music Directors were generally undermined and led very low-key lives. Citing the successful careers of artists in the west, he inferred that the reason why Indian music composers who make hundreds of songs, don’t find any returns is the lack of a stoic copyright system. He said that the only way things can change is if the new generation of professionals and viewers/audiences creates an environment where creativity and copyright is respected. Demystifying the creation of music in the industry he said, “Often it is assumed that the Music Director is solely responsible for the music of a film, the fact is that there are many people collaborating to make the music come through… the music arrangers and programmers often are the creators of the instrumental ‘climb’ before the song is sung… and bring together the different bits of music to create a song…” Although the composer through his inspiration creates the seed, which is the tune, the final output is a result of a great degree of collaboration and teamwork. He extolled the brilliance of legendary singers like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle who he has closely worked with, venerating their dedicated and disciplined attitude towards ‘riyaaz’ (practice), which fuels their beautiful voices. He lamented that today’s singers concentrate less on their voices and more on creating an image thus making their intrinsic product weak. He relies on the knowledge he accumulated from the corporate world to work in the field of music.
Explaining this he said, “Creative impulse is important but you have to understand consumer preferences and market your music in tandem with their changing tastes…” He stated that any creative process finally boils down to man management, hard work and talent selling. He advised the students to develop an in-depth knowledge of anything they do so as to be able to accept any challenge that comes their way. In the actual act of composing there is no way to say whether the tune incites lyrics or the other way around. He cited the example of the legendary R.D. Burman who being a Bengali and not knowing Hindi very well, would compose his tunes while mouthing nonsensical Hindi words. In relation to a film it is the Director who defines the musical boundaries for the Music Director, he decides the fabric of the music he wants to dress the film in. Describing the magic of creation he said, “There are no schools for Music Direction, even if there were any, they’d teach you some instruments, some ragas and tones etc. what one can learn are the tools and the elements employed to create a song, but the creation of something itself can never be taught…” He said that having no classical training in music does not restrict him in any way simply because the ragas and the technical aspects come naturally/ instinctively to him, which is the result of extensive exposure to music, constant experimentation and conscious study.
He suggested to the students that they should always remain open to new technology as that is the only way they can survive. He recounted the time when he had to make a recording with the great singer Asha Bhosle, while she was seven seas away in the US; so the song was recorded over the Internet and was one of the first of its kind for the Indian industry. He said that it was made possible only because Ms. Bhosle was willing enough to try something new. He concluded the lecture by advising the students to look at opportunities outside of Mumbai also, so as to derive more knowledge and not just be steeped in Bollywood. He illustrated the need for traveling and encountering different cultures, by discussing the influences of Scandinavian music on some of his songs and the enrichment it brought. He reminded the students that passion should always be the driving factor.
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KUNAL KOHLI, RENOWNED WRITER & DIRECTOR HOLDS A GUEST LECTURE ON FILM MAKING AT DIGITAL ACADEMY-THE FILM SCHOOL, MUMBAI.
Kunal Kohli, renowned Writer & Director of the films ‘Hum Tum’ and ‘Fanaa’, holds a guest lecture on Filmmaking at Digital Academy -The Film School, Mumbai.
Kunal Kohli is a Hindi Film Director and Writer. He has made films like ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge’, ‘Hum Tum’, ‘Fanaa’ and ‘Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic’. He started out as a film critic in the late nineties and hosted the show “Chalo Cinema” on Zee TV. He also directed about 24 Music Videos before finally giving up Video and Televison for films. He started his production house Kunal Kohli Productions in 2007 to make films for himself and launch new directors.
Kunal Kohli began by stating that he came from a regular Indian middle class family, which made his journey into Films a difficult escapade, explaining this he said, “I’ve been in this line since 1990 and it takes a lot of time and a lot of struggle… that is why I chose TV first… because I knew it would be more difficult to break into films…” He elucidated that to survive in this industry all one needs is passion and the willingness to fight for that passion. Another thing he believes is that learning Filmmaking is the same as learning to live, which is why honesty is a key quality that any Filmmaker should possess.
Talking about his film ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge’, he said, “Mujhse dosti karoge didn’t work simply because it wasn’t from my heart… I had a film which had all the elements of a hit film, but what was missing was the most crucial element, the director’s soul, I was trying to be someone else and so I was rejected, because originality always succeeds and to know whether you are being yourself or being someone else you have to treat your thoughts with honesty and it is difficult to do that…” His disappointment with ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge’ led him to understand that being afraid of failure is the first step to failure and thus he decided to make a film that he believed in, resulting in the hit film ‘Hum Tum’.
Describing the difficulties he came across while making ‘Hum Tum’ he said, “It was a very difficult film to make… I was ready to accept any failure that would come my way and so I gave it my best… when I was in doubt I asked myself if this is the film I want to make and if I felt convinced about it then I would do it passionately…” A three-hour film allows one to narrate a story that can take place in an hour, a few years or maybe even across centuries, but how one uses the time is what matters. While writing a script, he advised all the students to write each scene as if it were their last, making sure that every scene has a moment.
On the clichéd and formulaic nature of Hindi cinema, he said, “I love Hindi cinema, I’m not embarrassed by Hindi films nor do I have a problem with being ‘filmi’ in certain realistic parameters and that’s the beauty of Hindi cinema, that some clichés work and sometimes some don’t, but at the end its your conviction that makes it work not your calculation…” Commenting on contemporary films he said that today’s protagonists have interesting jobs and are well defined, whereas earlier they used to be vague. This trend has made writing a script easier, especially because characterization has taken an important role. On this topic he said, “When you write about a character you have to know everything about him…from what he likes to eat, how he speaks, what he likes to wear, to what his interests are, you should have at least a 3 page character sketch… In fact when I think about the characters in my films I don’t think they are fictional, they in fact will live longer than I will… I mean look at Gabbar Singh’s character from ‘Sholay’, he is still alive and kicking!”
Mr. Kohli attributes all his knowledge of Filmmaking simply to watching films an innumerable number of times, especially movies by filmmakers like Vijay Anand, Manoj Kumar, Ramesh Sippy, Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, Raj Khosla and many more. He feels that as students of Filmmaking it is important to study a filmmaker’s body of work.
In Filmmaking problems relating to weather, lighting conditions, crew, production, equipment etc always exist, but to be a good director it is important to have man – management skills, to be able to handle people and to be able to inspire the crew, including the light boy sitting up on the rafters despite these problems. Describing his process he said, “I plan my scene at the location, then call my actors and show them what I want… at this point my actor’s suggestions are taken into account and they are sent for their make – up etc, here I watch the entire scene like it were a play after which I discuss the whole thing with my DOP, who gives me his inputs about how to shoot the scene and we gradually breakdown the shots…” On set he never says ‘Cut’ as soon as the desired scene is done, because he likes to wait awhile to let something magical happen. He explained that Filmmaking is a lot about being fluid, allowing things to happen on their own and ‘going with the flow’ while always having a plan. As there is no perfect way to shoot a scene, it is mostly about what the Director is convinced about.
On being asked about his stint with Film Criticism he said, “When I couldn’t make films I decided that since I love films so much I might as well talk about them and figure out what people like and dislike… the best way to do this in fact is to see a film with the public and you can tell if the film will work or not… In that sense I was a strange kind of film critic…I wasn’t too concerned about my own viewpoint, you could say that I was a populist kind of critic or reviewer…” In the field of Television he learnt how to work within a time constraint and a budget, and turned out to become very disciplined. With these events in his life he illustrated that everything can teach one something but only if one is open and willing to learn new things at all times, which essentially is the only method to learn Filmmaking, since it is all about taking things from life and becoming a Director hardly stops that learning process. He advocated exhaustive scheduling and planning, as that is a very crucial part of the process of Filmmaking. Finally, without any prolific parting words and with a courteous thank you he concluded the lecture and wished the students good luck.
ONIRBAN DHAR, RENOWNED WRITER & DIRECTOR OF THE FILM ‘MY BROTHER NIKHIL’, HOLDS A GUEST LECTURE ON FILM MAKING AT DIGITAL ACADEMY- THE FILM SCHOOL, MUMBAI.
Posted on November 3, 2009 by dafilmschool
Mr. Onirban Dhar, renowned Writer & Director of the film ‘My Brother Nikhil’ and ‘Bas Ek Pal’, holds a guest lecture on Filmmaking at Digital Academy –The Film School, Mumbai.
Mr. Onirban Dhar is an Indian Film Director, Editor, Writer and Producer. He was born in a small town in Bhutan. In 1986, he moved to Kolkata where he studied comparative literature. Having an interest in Filmmaking from a very young age he also attended the film institute in Kolkata simultaneously. After participating in a workshop organized by the Max Mueller Bhavan he won a scholarship to study Filmmaking in Berlin. Since he got back about eight years ago, he has been working in Mumbai, as Editor and Director of a number of corporate videos, serials, music videos and Films.
Mr. Onirban commenced the lecture by speaking briefly of his history and what eventually led him to his present day. He said that as a new comer he had worked as an editor, producer, art director and many more things, simply because he wanted to increase all & any inputs that would make him a better Director.
Talking about his momentous film ‘My Brother Nikhil’, he said, “If I wanted to then I would have made my first film 6 years ago, but I would’ve had to make it the way other people wanted it to be made… For me the reason for making a film is so that I can tell my story, its not commissioned work, its something that gives me creative satisfaction and helps me grow as a human being…” In his initial days he would write scripts, with which he would approach producers and stars that would get scandalized by the script. This led him to search for an idea whose production and finances, could be managed by him and a few friends. He made sure that this strategy did not make the film look like a low budget production but rather strived for a budget that is appropriate for the subject.
While he was working for the serial called ‘Men Only’ produced by renowned Director Shekhar Kapur he stumbled upon a person called Dominic Dsouza who was the first known HIV+ person in India. As he researched the man he began to form a picture that stayed long enough, to motivate him to write the script of ‘My Brother Nikhil’. He had originally planned to make it in the Digital format however with the support and encouragement of his Actor friend Sanjay Suri, he proceeded to make the film on Cinemascope with the intention of releasing it in theaters. Karan Johar viewed a rough cut of his film and was completely enthralled, which led to the Yash Raj Banner releasing the film and providing it the countrywide platform it required.
The film has garnered international acclaim and has traveled to many international festivals, it is also widely used by NGO’s for AIDS awareness, sexual awareness, Human Rights Organizations and has been touted to be a compulsory film in schools too. Speaking about this, he said, “The film is firmly about accepting differences & showing it to school children is the best way to educate children about understanding diversity…” Speaking about the making of the film, which was shot in 29 days, he added that budget constraints trained him to look at what was possible with whatever resources he possessed.
The characters according to him are the most important aspect of any film and in casting for a character it is important to preserve honesty towards the character as it finally makes the script come alive. To be accurate with his characterizations he interacted with many NGO’s to be able avoid stereotypes, clichés and make sure that he does not send out a wrong message. Elaborating on this he said, “As I was writing the script, Nikhil became a homosexual character and portraying him as anything else would destroy him and I’m glad that my actors had the guts to play the roles in such a film… How you project your characters always sends out a message about you as a human being and every film sends out a message…”
Having worked on films with shoestring budgets he advised the students to plan exhaustively for their films, stressing on aesthetics he said, “It is important that when you start shooting you think of styles… not by referencing other Directors but by evaluating your scripts on the basis of what mood you want to project through the scenes and essentially how you will integrate content and style, because even style has to have a very specific reason…” He spoke about his second film ‘Bas Ek Pal’ where he had tried to find an intrinsic visual style, by playing around with colors, characters and styles. He cited Kieslowski’s films: Red, Blue, and White as an inspiration. He suggested that filmmakers should always try something new instead of presuming that no one will understand and said, “Cinema is supposed to be watched by the audience on a big screen so you can play around with the visuals… Unfortunately, in India people are so used to everything super-lit, with fast cuts and the whole television style that they don’t recognize the beauty of the frame or what it can express…” When asked about which actors he would like to work with he said, “I don’t write scripts for actors, I want to write stories that I want to tell and then see who fits into the role… I hardly find myself yearning to work with any particular actor mostly because that choice has to come innately from the character…”
Recollecting his days as an Editor he said that as an independent professional he aspired to be wholehearted towards his work and so never allowed the directors to be present when he made the first cut. Explaining this he said, “I’m not just a machine operator, I respect myself and its important that I am given that respect… sometimes you learn that something you did, is not working for the director, but you have to try it first, so you have to learn to assert your creative sensibilities and not be scared all the time…Trust your instinct but at the same time be open to criticism…”
The modest Filmmaker presented to the students a promo of his film ‘Bas Ek Pal’ which he had edited himself and proceeded towards the strenuous aspect of filmmaking: the film’s promotion. He described his disappointment at the state of film promos today wherein there is no concept or narrative just a random assortment of shots with music that is not corresponding. He said that as a filmmaker he specifically looks for Producer’s who allow him creative independence and no interference as that is the most productive work environment for him.
He advised the students to distance themselves from their scripts by making as many people read them and since filmmaking is a collaborative medium he suggested that they should trust their team. Concluding the lecture he announced his aspirations of becoming a better Director so that someday he will be able to produce films for first time filmmakers.
RENOWNED FILM CRITIC, MAYANK SHEKHAR CONDUCTED A GUEST LECTURE ON THE SUBJECT OF FILM CRITICISM IN CINEMA AT DIGITAL ACADEMY- THE FILM SCHOOL.
Posted on October 30, 2009 by dafilmschool
Mayank Shekhar is a well known Film Critic and Journalist who has been writing for leading Mumbai dailies. He has been recently appointed by the Hindustan Times as National Cultural Editor. Prior to joining Hindustan Times, Mr. Shekhar was freelancing as a Film Critic and Columnist with Mumbai Mirror, and hosting special review and interview shows on NDTV Good Times, NDTV 24×7 and other national channels for almost two years. He is a member of the Central Board of Film Certification and was the winner of the Ramnath Goenka Award for Journalism in 2007. He has headed the features team at Mumbai Mirror for two years and was also part of the Mid-Day features team for four years.
Mr. Shekhar has also authored a book called ‘Bombay Talkies’, which is a critique on contemporary Bollywood cinema and is in the process of finishing two more books on pop culture.
Starting off with what Film Criticism is all about, he said, “The only difference between me and perhaps all of you is that, you can go watch a movie…like it or dislike it and the matter ends there but I have to explain why I liked or disliked the movie…and the explanation cannot be that the cinematography was excellent or that Amitabh Bachchan rocks!” He felt that the Film Critic should respond emotionally to a film as a whole. The response can combine the Critic’s associations of literature, his life, other films, the industry etc. However, film criticism is ultimately a person’s opinion and cannot be classified as right or wrong because one thing is viewed differently by different people because of the varied circumstances, ages, backgrounds and cultures to which they belong.
It is a known fact that one of the highest read things in a newspaper is the film review. Writing movie reviews then becomes a way of taking a standpoint about anything on the planet, even if subtly with the knowledge that the article is being read. There are two kinds of reviews generally in existence; one where the story itself is so senseless that just narrating it makes for humor writing and the other where there is more to the film than the film itself, for example if the film is doing something different that is testing the waters. Every work of Art, even if unwittingly comes with a point of view, so even a film that is touted as brainless is somehow expressing the point of view of its Filmmaker, so Mr. Shekhar said (tongue-in-cheek) that there are no brainless films only brainless Filmmakers. However he firmly stated that to be a Film Critic, one does not need to have an extensive background in Cinema. It is after all his job at some level to represent the public and the lay viewer does not watch a movie in scenes & shots but as a whole, since they are not masters of cinematic grammar.
Describing the process of writing a film review he said, “Say if you go to a beautiful city like Tehran… or you go for a theatrical performance or even if you go parasailing… whatever it might be you come back with an experience and it is up to you as a writer to pen that experience and express it in any way you want… the mediums can be cinema, painting or writing but essentially film criticism is, coming back from the experience of a film and just expressing what you feel creatively…”
The topic of Film Appreciation is completely different from Film Criticism. Film Appreciation means watching and studying the films of the masters that truly changed the landscape of filmmaking. Emphasizing this he said, “It is important to have watched the films of the masters…you might say that Citizen Kane doesn’t entertain you anymore but it is important for you to know the evolution of various elements… if you are going to be part of the process that takes things forward, then I presume you need to know where things are coming from…”
Being an intense Film buff, he excitedly recounted the history of new waves in Cinema, citing the progression from Italian Neo-realism to French New Wave to today’s Mexican Frontier Cinema. He felt that it is necessary for one to keep abreast of the goings on in World Cinema, explaining the reason he said, “You don’t want to go overboard with admiration over something that has been copied from somebody else’s work… you might argue that it will be new to the audiences because they’ve never seen it before… but it is chiefly because credit must be given where it is due… people who take movies a little seriously should feel incensed at movies that are copied, because plagiarism cannot have an excuse…” As human beings the brain organizes stimuli into data patterns, it becomes more complex as the associations to stimuli increase. Ideas and thoughts are referenced from these data patterns, so at some level everything is the result of copying. However, direct stealing is unethical; it is necessary for one to build the idea in an individual manner, which is what makes it original.
On being asked about the Critic’s effect on the commercial gains of a film he replied saying, “I don’t think it is the critic’s job to say whether a film works or not…In India film reviews can even be bought! That is why the quality suffers… Essentially, nobody knows what works, what you do know is what works for you and that is what I as a Film Critic should do, tell you what ‘I’ think…” According to him, the idea of a Film Critique is not about agreement or disagreement with the reader/filmmaker, but rather to develop a conversation. It is a medium of dialogue that must also stand alone as an independent piece- with a beginning, middle and end, which can amuse, inform, irritate and do all the things that any writing does.
It is a common misconception however that reviews and ratings are the same thing. A review is a text that encapsulates the writer’s emotional response, his worldview, his opinion and his tastes, thus provoking the reader into a discussion. Speaking of ratings he said, “I don’t believe in ratings, unfortunately the public only seems interested in the marks… the problem is that when I rate a movie poorly, it might be for the very reasons that make you like the film, but when the conclusion is drawn based only on the number of stars…you miss the point of a film review! I am someone who would like to read someone’s opinion about why they liked or disliked a film… ” The film ‘Om Shanti Om’ by Farah Khan succeeded in garnering audiences in the Multiplexes as well as in the small towns. The film is about‘re-incarnation’, which was a popular theme in the Indian Cinema of the 80’s that was produced largely for the masses. The small town audiences perceived the film with renewed interest since it was a new film, which was about an old forgotten theme whereas the educated, Hollywood exposed, urban gentry at the multiplexes perceived the film as a spoof on Bollywood, which it was. A review sounds the perceptions of the critic’s background thus proving that reactions to a critique are just as unpredictable as they are for a film.
Although he cited the examples of Film Critic turned Directors like Jean Luc Godard, François Truffaut & Robert Bresson who made brilliant films, Mr. Shekhar felt that Filmmaker’s don’t necessarily make good Film Critics as the two processes are diametrically opposite: the Film Critics job is about deconstruction, viewing the film as a whole and responding to the film itself whereas the Filmmaker’s job is about construction, viewing the film in scenes, shots & building up the entire film.
Talking about Film Criticism as a profession he said that he fancied a job that was solely about writing Film Reviews, except that it is still not a full time job in India, as the public doesn’t follow specific reviewers for their opinion unlike the west where one finds the likes of Roger Ebert, the famous American Film Critic. Describing the constraints of the print media he said, “That’s the hazard of working in newspaper journalism, we’d all like to work a little bit more on our stories, except that they have to be turned in the next morning…” Urging the students to become active about the lamentable condition of newspaper’s attitudes towards Film Criticism he said, “If you believe in the Newspaper, if you read the Newspaper, then write to the paper, inform it if you find a complacent or appeasing review… make it a strong letter… they cannot ignore the letters of a thousand people… opinions will be printed and voiced…that itself is enough, after all Film Criticism is about an opinion voiced!”
RENOWNED FILM ACTOR BENJAMIN GILANI CONDUCTS A GUEST LECTURE AT DIGITAL ACADEMY-THE FILM SCHOOL
Renowned Film, Television &Theater Actor Mr. Benjamin Gilani conducted a guest lecture at Digital Academy-The Film School.
He is a noted Indian Actor, especially for portraying Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1993 film Sardar. He also acted in the hit movie, ‘Hum Dum’ along with films like ‘Hero Hiralal’, ‘Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon!’ ‘Waqt: The Race Against Time’, ‘Barah Aana’, ‘8 x 10 Tasveer’ & more.
He took admission for the Economics Honors course at St. Stephen’s College. He soon shifted to English Honors & thereafter joined the staff of St. Stephen’s college in August 1970 and taught undergraduate classes for two years. An accidental look at an advertisement for the acting course at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune led to an impulsive decision to apply and, when he was selected, he resigned from the job at the College and proceeded to Pune for the two-year course. Over the years, he has worked with film directors like Shyam Benegal, Basu Bhattacharya, S. Ramanathan, Ketan Mehta and others. In 1979, he started a theatre company with Naseeruddin Shah and Tom Alter, called Motley.
Mr. Gilani commenced the lecture with a discussion about creativity; he felt that it is most important for one to learn to use one’s imagination to develop new and original ideas or concepts. Film being an expensive medium does not allow indulgence, but what it does allow is consumption, which results in a demand for quality. According to him an artist is not an ordinary professional who can update himself once in awhile, but rather someone who has to constantly fine tune himself & broaden his sensibilities to create films that are of high quality.
On the subject of acting he said, “What can I say about acting? It is plainly human behavior… the details of it are endless… but overall an actor is a communicator, in the sense that he is the façade of the entire filmmaking process…” He expressed that communicating is largely about transferring knowledge and that whatever he passes on to the students can find true fulfillment only if they themselves figure out what to do with that knowledge, as Acting simply cannot be taught but only learnt.
He reported some of the growing statistics of the Film Industry in India; he felt that the whole process has become commoditized to a great degree and that although the numbers of films have increased, there hasn’t been a parallel improvement in the quality of the films. He asked the students about what defined quality or how it can be recognized. Summarizing the attributes of good quality he said, “One can recognize good quality by the means of comparison… also there are certain formulae that govern a story, but one has to approach it with creativity…Stereotypes have to be dissolved and made to suit the story and many more such things have to be thought out seriously”
The root of creativity in cinema is a thought, a thought requires a body for it to take shape and words provide that body. Every individual has a different concept for every word and hence an idea can be born in many avatars. It is absolutely necessary for Filmmakers to have a take and to possess clarity of thought, which can be achieved through developing an idea into several directions. To illustrate the riotous nature of the process of filmmaking he said, “As a Filmmaker, you have to be a saint, a sinner, a psychiatrist, a sane person, an insane person, a servant and a master to come even remotely close to understanding human nature… and what are films if not ways of delving deeper into the human psyche? Either ways you have to make a film that elicits a reaction…” He also declared that as a stage performer he realized that one must never give up no matter what the circumstances are if one is truly convinced and conviction comes only if one recognizes their own abilities. He advised the students to evaluate themselves honestly, without fearing their limitations and said, “As a Filmmaker you will have an identity and you have to know your limitations…knowing them doesn’t mean restraining yourself from expanding or experiencing more… Paradoxically limitations can often lead you to your style…”
Narrowing down the subject to just the Art of Acting, he asked the students what they felt acting was all about. Finally he said, “Acting for me is “Doing”. An action should have a beginning, middle & end. But somewhere between not doing anything and doing to an extreme lies Acting…” Examining the general attitude of amateur actors he observed that there tends to be a lack of confidence and a hesitation. Then he initiated Acting exercises by dividing the room into a stage area and an audience area. A volunteer was called upon and asked to walk from one point to another; as the tasks he had to do with walking became more complex, his gait, pace & body language changed, suggesting that, the more preoccupied the actor was in actually doing the task the less self conscious and contrived he seemed. Elucidating, he said, “When I pick up this cup… I have to be intimate with it… I have to learn to be friends with it… I don’t have to exaggerate, but rather realize how I or others do things in real life…” He felt that the situation in the script must absolutely compel the actor to behave in a certain way. The act should become part of his very reality; only then will his actions lose their self-consciousness and become natural, truthful and meaningful. Apart from this he felt that an actor must constantly observe how people do things, how they move, speak and aspire to match the entire presence of that body.
Since acting is a physical expression of an internal script, concentration is key and one’s physical reflexes must be at their sharpest. He conducted another exercise wherein a group of students were asked to randomly walk around in the makeshift stage area without bumping into each other; they were to freeze as soon as they heard a particular sound. The exercise demonstrated how much effort is needed to stop all body movements immediately after the sound. Scrutinizing this Mr. Gilani said, “It is absolutely necessary for actors to have crisp physical reflexes… he should constantly be alert to external stimulus like sight, sound, smell & movement… Always find a reason to move slowly or fast…use logic and reason to design your actions…” Another exercise he made the students do was to make them walk around and then freeze their body in an exaggerated or contorted position and maintain it, simply to illustrate the importance of body balance. Other exercises were aimed at making the volunteers make extensive use of their body, explaining the need for this he said, “We must be able to make our bodies suggest or communicate something, the more we understand our bodies the more we will be able to express with it…”
In the final exercise they were supposed to speak out the numbers 1- 25, in series and with only one voice saying one number at a time, an error meant that they had to start from the beginning. This exercise required all the students to be calm, to listen, to anticipate each other and exhibited the dynamics of the group. Observing the many attempts the students made Mr. Gilani said, “There is rhythm in nature, rhythm exists everywhere and we have to learn our body’s rhythm…and an actor must be receptive, he must learn to listen, to accept what comes to him, to become conscious…” Speaking about the relationship between Director & Actor, he said that a good Director should be able to communicate to the actor, what is needed, especially when he is stuck. He suggested that the best way to act is the simplest use of body & mind, but slightly more than what is used in real life.
He concluded the lecture by saying that Acting for stage is most difficult since there is no space for mistakes, but he also advised them saying, “The actor’s world is full of mistakes…we don’t want artificiality or Xeroxes or parrots…be really observant and operate with conviction then you can make great even the smallest role…”
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This South African City Moves Forward On A Controversial Land Seizure Policy
REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
Chris White Tech Reporter
October 19, 2018 10:20 AM ET
South African city Ekurhuleni is preparing to seize without compensation land from private landowners as the country’s officials consider the legality of seizing land from white land owners.
Ekurhuleni’s city council voted in September to move forward on a plan distributing land more equitably among the city’s white and black population, The Associated Press reported Friday. White South Africans comprise 8 percent of the population but hold the bulk of privately-owned land.
South Africa temporarily withdrew in August an expropriations bill enabling the country to make compulsory land purchases from white farmers to redress racial disparities rampant during the apartheid. It was withdrawn to pave way for a potential constitutional amendment allowing the government to expropriate land without pay.
The Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party crafted the bill as part of a so-called “land reform” program to even what some reports show is a disparity in property ownership between the black majority and white minority.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa — and his party, African National Congress (ANC) — reassured lawmakers in March that any redistribution program would be done in a way that does not disrupt normal farming operations. ANC widely supports an amendment authorizing expropriation.
Some lawmakers in the Democratic Alliance (DA) party, along with agricultural economists, worry the program could suffer the same fate as one Zimbabwe created in the early 2000s, which effectively seized land from white farmers.
A cow is seen near a dry river outside Utrecht, a small town in the northwest of KwaZulu-Natal, November 8, 2015. Cattle are the traditional asset by which Nampie Motloung, a subsistence black South African farmer, has long measured his wealth. But a blistering drought has made them a liability. Picture taken November 8, 2015. To match SAFRICA-DROUGHT/REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Zimbabwe, under the direction of former dictator Robert Mugabe, seized and redistributed land from about 4,000 white farmers to landless black people to compensate them for years of colonial rule.
The land confiscation scheme ultimately destroyed Zimbabwe’s once thriving agricultural sector and forced the government to rely on international aid to feed 25 percent of the population. Agricultural revenue declined by roughly $12 billion in the space of a decade, according to Zimbabwe’s commercial farmers’ union.
Ekurhuleni’s Executive Mayor Mzwandile Masina, who heads the local ANC coalition, mirrored Ramaphosa’s sentiments on the policy, suggesting that people should not be scared about the spread of violence. (RELATED: What’s Going On In South Africa And Why Is Trump Tweeting About It?)
“Our policy is not to take the land by force,” Masina told reporters. “Our policy is to make sure the land is shared amongst those that need it.”
The maneuver is partially intended to elicit a court challenge to determine whether the policy is legal on its face or if the constitution must be amended to move forward.
“The court may find you do have to pay some level of compensation,” Ben Cousins, an academic who researchers poverty and land redistribution at the University of Western Cape, told reporters. “It could backfire quite badly.”
Follow Chris White on Facebook and Twitter
Tags : donald trump south africa zimbabwe
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Altcoins October 10, 2018 Daily Hodl Staff
Monero (XMR): Anonymous Transactions and Decentralized Crypto vs. the Surveillance State
An outreach group for Monero published a paper highlighting why the anonymous cryptocurrency is designed to help protect people’s rights. In a blog post entitled, “Preserving the Fundamental Right to Privacy For All”, writer Jack M illustrates the plight of Barrett Brown, “a revolutionary journalist who caught the ire of US Federal Authorities.”
Monero (XMR), the supporters argue, allows users to make anonymous donations to controversial figures, particularly activists who are being targeted or prosecuted by the government. As a decentralized, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency, Monero masks identities, and, in the case of a donation to a controversial cause, political prisoner or government agency target, could keep the supporter out of the line of fire.
Brown, formerly associated with the hacktivist collective Anonymous, is the founder of Project PM, an initiative to probe and investigate the secret world of private intelligence.
According to a report by The Daily Dot, Project PM uncovered “Romas/COIN”, among several covert surveillance campaigns.
“Romas/COIN was a sophisticated campaign of mass surveillance and data mining targeted at Arab countries, which was unveiled in an exclusive Project PM report during 2011. The report was picked up by Raw Story and one other outlet, and it resulted in an article by Brown in the Guardian and a segment on Russia Today featuring confirmatory comments from Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer. But otherwise it didn’t get much traction.
Most striking was the revelation that companies like Apple and Google were team partners in this effort. While its exact nature and scope is unknown, mobile phone applications were believed to constitute a major component of the program. The contract for Romas/COIN was set to be replaced by a successor, codenamed Odyssey, which is quite possibly being used today to monitor, deceive, and manipulate whole populations.”
After facing up to 45 years in federal prison, Brown was sentenced to 63 months. His indictment stemmed from a shared link as part of Project PM. The link led to hacked data from Stratfor, an Austin-based private intelligence company that reportedly spied on activists on behalf of corporations.
Writes Jack M,
“When the courts sentenced him, most knew it was excessive. An organic movement, ‘Free Barrett Brown,’ started to raise funds to pay his attorney’s fees. The extensive court process and appeals, over a long stretch of time, would have left most people penniless. The organization only wanted to ease Brown’s financial pain caused by a court who clearly had it out for him. Slapped with a hefty prison sentence and an $800,000 fine for Stratfor, the plaintiff, Brown states:, ‘I will spend the rest of my life in a strange state of post-cyberpunk indentured servitude to an amoral private intelligence firm that’s perhaps best known for having spied on Bhopal activists on behalf of Dow Chemical. That the prosecution did not quite manage to articulate how I did any damage to this particular company did not seem to dissuade U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay in this matter.'”
Writes Kevin Gallagher, digital rights activist and founder of FreeBarrett,
“Hundreds of persons donated to Barrett’s defense, not just through WePay, but also PayPal or through checks in the mail or during a benefit event. Journalists wrote about what was happening to him. Designers and artists created images, artwork, info-graphics, leaflets, even performed songs about his case. Many prominent people spoke out, as did several non-profits, digital rights and press freedom groups. The judge Sam Lindsay received one hundred letters requesting leniency. Could all these be considered targets? Cloudflare did the right thing in providing notice to Sebastiaan Provost, whose account there was subpoenaed over the Project PM domain name, giving him an opportunity to intervene and quash. I never had such an opportunity.
I am pursuing this because I believe that financial donations to any cause, political or otherwise, are protected speech and free association. I think that supporters and donors to those who are jailed or under indictment are outside the scope of any legitimate criminal investigation; their identities essentially sacrosanct.”
$2.7 Billion: Crypto Giant Grayscale Hits All-Time High in Assets Under Management
IMF: Crypto Assets May Surpass Traditional Forms of Money
Analyst Calls Bitcoin at $18K by September As Crypto Market Surges
Bitcoin Analyst Andreas Antonopoulos Reveals the Pitfalls of Old Money, Power of Bitcoin and Ethereum
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